Celebration! 4 nights, 44 venues, 500 bands, all cramped into one city for Canadian Music Week. Such an event could only take place in the centre of Canada (if not the world), Toronto. That same omnipresence rightfully allows us to horde Canada-wide industry bosses and media groupies alike together for an incredibly pretentious reception of the CMW awards gala, the Indies.
Not that there was any shortage of rocking, mind you. Vancouver's New Pornographers headlined a lineup including fan favourite Tokyo Police Club, the Besnard Lakes, the Cliks, and Attack in Black, plus a special appearance by lifetime achievement awardees Lowest of the Low. And they put on a show for possibly the most influential yet least involved crowd imaginable.
The Rosemont's banquet hall was lit more so to see peoples' name tags while mingling than to showcase the bands. One can also assume the drinks were so ridiculously expensive to discourage rowdiness that could result in damaged furnishings. But for what it was worth, the show went on just fine. Of the lesser-recognized acts, the Besnard Lakes made the biggest splash, displaying a multitude of sounds over their two song demo. Attack in Black put on a dope set as well, although you wouldn't be able to tell based on their energy-drained postshow interview.
Lowest of the Low performed an underappreciated set for a crowd generally beyond their time. Although they opened their set with a tuning mix-up, their willingness to rock out with a hardcore fan made at least his day and lightened the show's tense overtone a good deal. That opened the curtains in a sense for Toronto-area rockers Tokyo Police Club. They used the first extended set of the night to showcase some new tracks off their upcoming album, Elephant Shell, as well as their singles to get the crowd at least semi-lively.
The main event was Canadian indie music godfathers the New Pornographers, but a sizable portion of the crowd had left after Canadian indie music darlings Tokyo Police Club were done. Even without Neko Case, though, they still kept it rolling with the liveliest set of the night. They also performed some new joints in support of their 2007 effort, Challengers.
As for the awards themselves, the big winner was Feist, although I'm not sure how much indie cred she has after 1,2,3,4 blew up. Then again, I'm glad she took home something (on behalf of her Arts & Crafts label) after getting jobbed at the Grammys. At the end of the day, she's still got Canada's love. Halifax emcee Classified took home the Favourite Urban Artist award, while commercial rockers Major Maker were crowned best... website. But regardless of who won for what category, Canadian indie music was the real winner throughout CMW.
As for the awards themselves, the big winner was Feist, although I'm not sure how much indie cred she has after 1,2,3,4 blew up. Then again, I'm glad she took home something (on behalf of her Arts & Crafts label) after getting jobbed at the Grammys. At the end of the day, she's still got Canada's love. Halifax emcee Classified took home the Favourite Urban Artist award, while commercial rockers Major Maker were crowned best... website. But regardless of who won for what category, Canadian indie music was the real winner throughout CMW.
The New Pornographers
