By Briggins and Sagar
After experiencing 40 days and 40 nights worth of rain Thursday, it was nice to hop from show to show in dryness. We both started off the night down at the Company House and Bus Stop Theatre, two venues across from each other that made show hopping easy and convenient.
Daniel Ledwell @ The Company House
Daniel Ledwell @ The Company House
Up until 8:00, I was still deciding what show to check out. The decision came down to banter. There was a certain show down the road at a church that would have been beautiful but possibly a tad depressing. Daniel Ledwell lived up to my expectations providing hilarious banter. There were multiple times during his songs where he just stopped because he couldn’t remember the next lyrics. He gave us multiple lessons on what not to do when songwriting. It was more of a show with a guy sitting with a guitar playing some music and telling lots of jokes. He was hilarious so nobody minded the genuine interactions he was having. Spitting out whatever came to his mind. And really, the songs were good too.
Giant Hand @ The Bus Stop Theatre
Giant Hand @ The Bus Stop Theatre
The crowd was chatting away as Kirk Ramsay aka Giant Hand stood up on stage and introduced himself. Kirk Ramsay (aka Giant Hand) took hushed a chatty cloud when he opened his moth to begin his set. His special voice provides a powerful vulnerability. There is so much raw emotion that he displays so openly on stage. The entire crowd was leaning in, paying incredibly close attention in order to make sure they heard the next word. His stage presence was clever, funny and brought a bit of light to his otherwise dark set. He re-assured the captivated room that he really is a happy person, and he just has “bad days sometimes”. Regardless, the songs connected to most of the audience on a deeper emotional level.
The Provincial Archive @ The Bus Stop Theatre
Right after Giant Hand finished up, the four piece group from Alberta set up their array of various interesting and classically folk instruments. Witnessing the banjo, keys, guitar and double bass come to the stage, one would have expected an extremely traditional folk set. Of course you can never make predictions like this at Pop Explosion. The Provincial Archive swooned the packed Bus Stop Theatre with songs featuring country, emo and even electric styles. The unique poppy, upbeat tracks had the crowd up on their feet dancing. A very interesting show as the stage presence of the group was still very intimate and connectable, but the crowd was still able to dance and be a little more lively. One of the great live strengths of this band would have to have been every single member’s versatility. The group fluidly switched from one instrument to the next without compromising the quality of music. A great band to check out if you’ve ever liked The Weakerthans.
Twin Shadow @ The Palace
Twin Shadow were one of a handful of bigger indie American bands to play at the festival this year. While the album is a tight knit well produced affair, the live show brings many of those elements, but also a bigger, looser and more organic feel. You can check out a video and more of a write up on their performance here.
The Darcys @ North Street Church
The Darcys @ North Street Church
It is unfortunate that the North Street Church is not a well known venue. It is a cool sounding room and an interesting place to see a show with it’s vintage feel. While people were standing in line to get into Gus’ pub, they could have walked 100 feet down the street and seen the Toronto based band put on a lively performance. The band bring a lot of noise in a constrained manner. Whether it means creating a wall of guitar distortion over keys, or pulsing drumbeats over earnest vocals. Although they released their new album this week, the chemistry and maturity the band display through their live show hints towards a bright future in the music scene.
Dog Day @ Gus’ Pub
Somebody must have gotten the word that Gus’ Pub was the place to be Friday night. Pigeon Row was celebrating their 5th birthday, and it seemed everybody wanted a piece of the action. Halifax indie veterans Dog Day took to the stage. Now performing as a duo, the band still pack as much, if not more, punch as they swap back and forth between guitar and drum duties. Playing a number of songs from their new full length album Deformer, they had the crowd bobbing a long in a happy bliss.
