Jam It

Sidney York

My first night at the Canadian Music Fest, I found myself at a sparse Supermarket in Kensington.  First up was Lori Nuic. She's an R&B singer who has been playing for the last couple of years. Backed by 2 singers, a funky drummer, her brother on guitar, and a jovial keyboardist, she sang standard R&B tunes. There wasn't anything exceptional about her music, and she also committed the typical sin of modern R&B: run-on lyrics.

Next was Sidney York, an outfit from the West Coast. I caught the tail-end of their Horseshoe show a while back and wanted more exposure. I was rewarded with a high-energy show. The 3 female singers jumped and bopped around for the entire set. They also played unusual instruments: french horn (though the lead singer mostly stuck with piano and ukelele), oboe, and bassoon. What you got from this mix was interesting and sunny pop music. They sounded like a more mature Hooded Fang, if the latter hadn't decided to veer off into lo-fi pop-punk. Unlike the cherubically innocent Fang, they had 2 songs that involved (tongue-in-cheek) orgasmic moaning.

The last band of the night (for me) was a revelation. In response to the sometimes whiny and anemic Indie rock aesthetic, a few bands have tried to go back to the more muscular jock rock sound. But they seem mostly derivative and dated to me: the best-before date of extended guitar solos has passed. However, the "southern funk" of The Bright Light Social Hour was exceptional: modern with a nod to the past, energetic, and ... well, funky. The bassist kept the groove tight, the guitarist played screaming licks, the keyboardist got that 60s organ sound going, and the drummer played almost Metal-like percussive runs in between toe-tapping rhythm. They were fast and crisp even through multiple melodic changes and their songs, though long, never flagged. One of the best live act I have seen in a while. Too bad they didn't have enough of an audience for it tonight, but hopefully their other two nights including a sold-out show with I Mother Earth will make up for it.

Lori Nuic

The Bright Light Social Hour