Garden State

On the third night of Canadian Music Fest, I finally made it out to to catch a few bands. At Lee's Palace, it was only about a quarter full when the first act came on, but it was packed by the second performance.

The members of The Trouble With Templeton were unprepared for the Canadian winter, as neither their home in Brisbane nor the recent gig at SXSW are in warm climes. But on the bright side, they saw snow for the first time and "Canadians are lovely". Their set contained new material including Six Months In a Cast and songs from their debut album such as Bleeders and 30 Something. Their folk/rock mix informed a majority of their songs, which often start with quiet acoustic guitar arpeggios or piano and building to layered, extended instrumental passages that gave them a chance to rock out.

The first time I saw The Balconies, they played to a mostly empty Lee's. Tonight, they performed in front of a packed house. They have added a new drummer, allowing previous stick-handler Liam to move to lead guitar. On the down side, Jacquie's transition to mostly rhythm guitar diminished her stature as a guitar goddess. But it allowed her to increase her already considerable visceral stage theatrics. She was even more expressive than before. On the up side, they now play with a bigger, heavier sound full of chunky guitars and sonic feedback. From a slowed down Beating Heart, to oldies The Slo, and upcoming Kill Count and Do It In The Dark, they got cheers for their energetic and tight set.

When Rah Rah took to the stage with their inflatable silver letters (spelling R-A-H), battery-powered fluffy robotic plush cats, and pixie-haired singers in flouncy skirts and pink guitar straps, I thought their sound would be twee pop. But they revealed their Saskatchewan upbringing with twangy country on Emmylou Harris and The Grievous Angel and Art & A Wife. When Marshall Burns was on lead, they usually returned to that core. But when Erin Passmore or Kristina Hedlund took the mic, they dipped their toes in exuberant pop (20s, Beaches) complete with instrument swapping and dancing. At the end, Rah Rah got the crowd to beach-ball bounce their letters around while they shot confetti at the front row.