Canadian Music Week

On Thursday, for Canadian Music Week, I went to see a few acts at the Drake Underground. I missed the first act, Digits, because of my Yoga class. I was hoping to check out his electronic pop. I caught about 2/3 of the second act, Low Level Flight. They remind a bit of the Tragically Hip, possibly because of the bald, skinny, flailing lead singer. Even with my earplugs on, the bass and drums were vibrating my chest. The third act is Forest City Lovers, a folk-poppy band with a wispy-voiced female singer. Their songs sounded good on their MySpace page but they were a bit underwhelming live. I think it was because their style would be better suited to a more sit-down affair. Finally, Hooded Fang came on. As always, their catchy, propulsive songs are great to listen to and dance to ... in theory. The reality is that a primarily white, indie-music audience is one of the saddest spectacle when it comes to "getting their groove on". Anyway, the good news is that they are finally releasing a full-length album soon. It's been 2 years since their eponymous EP came out ... an issue with finances?

Once again my personal fetish, lots of cute girls with various permutations of the short hair cut: pixie, bobs, close-cropped. A bob with bangs girl was particular striking ... very Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Turns out she's a "professional" photographer. I only put "professional" in quotes because there was a number of people with cameras and Media tags. However, the definition of Media may not necessary be well-known journal publication for most of these when I saw one using what seems to be a $100 point-and-shoot camera.

I finally put my earplugs to use. At other concerts, I tend to move to the back away from the speakers. The 20 db protection, a 100 fold reduction in sound, did allow me to stand right in the front. I was able to hear most instruments and more importantly, the singers clearly. However, the drastic reduction did take away from my enjoyment. A quick search online reveals that there's no such thing as a volume adjustable earplug. The closest is Etymotic's 9, 15, and 25 db Musicians Earplugs exchangeable filters. However, they require custom earmolds ($100-200) + a visit to an audiologist for the mold/fitting. That sounds a bit pricey.