Smells Like Teen Spirit

Just after lunch on Saturday at The Paradise Theatre, there was a charity concert organized by Moscow Apartment. The proceeds from the show were going to help with Wet'suwet'en challenge of the oil pipeline. Meanwhile, money raised from a raffle and auction were for Climate Justice Toronto. Since both Pascal and Brighide were teenagers, and it was an all-ages show, there were plenty of young folks here including toddlers with their parents.

As tomorrow will be International Women's Day, almost all performers were women. Whether because of the aim of the show or their own personal interests, I liked that very few love songs were sung. The exception was Caroline Brooks (The Good Lovelies) but even her lyrics described the measured tone of mature love and not the melodrama of most songs.

I arrived as Kritti Uranowski finished a solo set of upbeat Lavender Bruisers number. Mimi O'Bonsawin led with a reggae-esque Black Clouds that segued to Get Up Stand Up (Bob Marley). She switched out her guitar for a hand drum for the remaining numbers. They were quite interesting as I've never heard an Indigenous singer composing English lyrics over tribal rhythms.

Caroline Brooks did several brand-new songs while praising the girls of Moscow Apartment and their generation. The Good Lovelies were essentially surrogate parents for them when they toured together. She was joined onstage by most of the singers to cover Anais Mitchell's sublime Why We Build A Wall. I couldn't believe I haven't heard this song until now. Brooks was bang-on to describe it as a modern "classic folk song".

Andrea Ramolo took over with a small wooden pallet for percussive foot tapping and her electric guitar. She gave us gritty numbers like Wild Town and Deeper Well (Emmy Lou Harris). Skye Wallace joined her for Fleetwood Mac's Dreams.

Wallace then used her vocal range and propulsive guitar and thrilled the audience with Swing Batter (inspired by the domestic abuse case of Angelina Neapolitano) and Blood Moon. There was a 10-minute break so people could stretch their legs, get refreshments, and buy raffle tickets.

After intermission, there were a few 1-song guests. The final performers were 2 full bands. First up was pop-punk Tange. This trio was comprised of women (Luna Li, Deanna Petcoff, Sabrina Carrizo Sztainbok) with solo careers. In addition to harp, guitar, and violin, it seems that Hannah Bussière of Luna Li can also play drums. They played fun, punchy songs like what was i wearing (the day I destroyed the universe) and victories. After being the hosts all afternoon, Moscow Apartment closed out the show with pointed songs about cat-calls (New Girl), best friends (Halfway), and body image (Annie).

Organizing the concert, getting sponsors, and other tasks were greatly aided by their moms since for all their passion, they were "still teenagers". But as Pascal's mom pointed out, "these girls (and their generation)" were much more engaged with the pressing issues of the day than her when she was their age back in the 90s.