This Is The Dream Of Emma & Cam
Last night was the Images Film Festival fundraiser with Final Fantasy, Gentleman Reg and The Two Koreas at Lee's Palace. It was moderately full at 9, about fifteen minutes before Final Fantasy (aka Owen Pallett) took the stage.
It wasn't surprising that most of the songs were off of the upcoming Dungeons and Dragons inspired album, He Poos Clouds [Folks, I wish I was making that up. Honestly]. This was my third time seeing him live and this time was a bit of a slow burner. It wasn't til about four songs in that he hit stride, with the song I call "Son You Suck". Twice during the verses he yells into his violin and that yell later gets looped back through. It's quite intense to see and hear. I finally got to hear some of the lyrics and it's father/son narrative is quite chilling.
This energy was then carried further with the addition of a drummer, Lexi, who complemented the rest of the songs with an energy and exuberance that made the set. After a couple of songs from ... Has A Good Home, they ended the set with a new "epic" song, "This Lamb Sells Condos". For anyone who lives in Toronto or has seen the skyline of late, you can probably guess what this song is about [or you can go back and read the song title...]. It was a great one, with Lexi acting as the rich yuppie. Sadly there were no covers of "Fantasy" or "This Modern Love" but it was tried and true Final Fantasy. I also got to pick up his Young Canadian Mothers 7" on the way out, featuring the excellent "Spell For A Weak Heart". Also, for those of you with turntables, it plays at 33rpm for your convenience.
Next was Gentleman Reg. His backing band had almost completely changed, with only the guitarist left around from the Ottawa Blues Fest show. Their set was fairly high in energy and he seemed a lot more relaxed in the smaller Lee's than a big stage, outdoors at one in the afternoon. There was a lot more banter, combined with a set that was mostly full of up-tempo songs like "Give Me The Chance To Fall" and "The Boyfriend Song". There was even some dancing in the crowd, a spectacle I haven't witnessed for a long time [and never at Lee's].
There were a couple of new songs played that both blended perfectly with the older material and also showed that his song writing is getting even better after last years Darby & Joan. And going back to the new backing band, I hope they keep their drummer. I think he was classically trained, because he spent the whole show sitting perfectly upright and pretty much keeping his back straight. Just think of how Ringo Starr drumming in those old Beatles clip. It was awesome. He was also mouthing the bass line at points and was generally fun to watch.
I didn't stick around for the Two Koreas as I just wasn't up for it, but I'll assume they provided a perfect end to the night. All musical acts were there on their own time, so they should be applauded for that.
The lighting was the usual, generic red that Lee's loves. The Reg ones turned out better than I thought. A lot better. I was worried about what his skin tone and hair colour were going to do, but I like the results. With that knowledge, here come some pictures:
Hopefully I'll be able to do another post before I leave for Ottawa on Sunday, but we'll see. I'll be see Magneta Lane at least once while in the O-Town, so I'll have pics and a review for when I come back. I'll also be hanging out with the i (heart) music crew a lot [and possibly interviewing Magneta Lane for them... not sure if I want that to happen or not]. It promises to be a fun week!
It wasn't surprising that most of the songs were off of the upcoming Dungeons and Dragons inspired album, He Poos Clouds [Folks, I wish I was making that up. Honestly]. This was my third time seeing him live and this time was a bit of a slow burner. It wasn't til about four songs in that he hit stride, with the song I call "Son You Suck". Twice during the verses he yells into his violin and that yell later gets looped back through. It's quite intense to see and hear. I finally got to hear some of the lyrics and it's father/son narrative is quite chilling.
This energy was then carried further with the addition of a drummer, Lexi, who complemented the rest of the songs with an energy and exuberance that made the set. After a couple of songs from ... Has A Good Home, they ended the set with a new "epic" song, "This Lamb Sells Condos". For anyone who lives in Toronto or has seen the skyline of late, you can probably guess what this song is about [or you can go back and read the song title...]. It was a great one, with Lexi acting as the rich yuppie. Sadly there were no covers of "Fantasy" or "This Modern Love" but it was tried and true Final Fantasy. I also got to pick up his Young Canadian Mothers 7" on the way out, featuring the excellent "Spell For A Weak Heart". Also, for those of you with turntables, it plays at 33rpm for your convenience.
Next was Gentleman Reg. His backing band had almost completely changed, with only the guitarist left around from the Ottawa Blues Fest show. Their set was fairly high in energy and he seemed a lot more relaxed in the smaller Lee's than a big stage, outdoors at one in the afternoon. There was a lot more banter, combined with a set that was mostly full of up-tempo songs like "Give Me The Chance To Fall" and "The Boyfriend Song". There was even some dancing in the crowd, a spectacle I haven't witnessed for a long time [and never at Lee's].
There were a couple of new songs played that both blended perfectly with the older material and also showed that his song writing is getting even better after last years Darby & Joan. And going back to the new backing band, I hope they keep their drummer. I think he was classically trained, because he spent the whole show sitting perfectly upright and pretty much keeping his back straight. Just think of how Ringo Starr drumming in those old Beatles clip. It was awesome. He was also mouthing the bass line at points and was generally fun to watch.
I didn't stick around for the Two Koreas as I just wasn't up for it, but I'll assume they provided a perfect end to the night. All musical acts were there on their own time, so they should be applauded for that.
The lighting was the usual, generic red that Lee's loves. The Reg ones turned out better than I thought. A lot better. I was worried about what his skin tone and hair colour were going to do, but I like the results. With that knowledge, here come some pictures:
Hopefully I'll be able to do another post before I leave for Ottawa on Sunday, but we'll see. I'll be see Magneta Lane at least once while in the O-Town, so I'll have pics and a review for when I come back. I'll also be hanging out with the i (heart) music crew a lot [and possibly interviewing Magneta Lane for them... not sure if I want that to happen or not]. It promises to be a fun week!