On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Humble & Fred Fest
August 28, 1999
Historic Fort York, Toronto

Headstones cancelled (Shit!), I got there too late to see Tricky Woo (Double-shit!) and I had to leave too early to catch Big Sugar (Oh, well). But the rest of the first annual Humble & Fred all-day rock 'n' roll show was pretty damn good. Act by act, then:

Blurtonia
Approach: Great songs, loud guitars, passionate playing
Defining Moment: Ian Blurton's kickass picking during a furious finale of "Capital Mack"
News: A guy named Sam has replaced Corrine "Coco" Culbertson on bass because she's too busy touring with Bif Naked; Blurtonia are touring across Canada throughout September
Rating: 8/10. It's hard to play to a half-filled field of none-too-noisy (though appreciative) people sitting on blankets.

Thrush Hermit
Approach: Early-'70s metal riffery and pop structure, midway between Black Sabbath and The Band; frontman Joel Plaskett makes the little girls swoon
Defining Moment: Plaskett ending up with two mics, howling ""From The Back Of The Film" into both of them
News: Big-ass, four-act indie guitar-rock nationwide fall tour being set up now; Plaskett's solo album will be out within a few weeks
Rating: 9/10. Docked a point because it's not actually 1973.

By Divine Right
Approach: Arching, swaying, loud, positive power rock
Defining Moment: A blissed-out José Contreras shaking pebbles out of a small hole in his maracas, but not even noticing because he'd only had an hour's sleep the night before
News: José was up all night mixing new demos, and the band left right after their set to start a cross-country tour from Vancouver. Guitarist Leslie Feist released an excellent solo album this week, called Monarch. (Go get it.)
Rating: 8/10. José was so tired he couldn't help but sing a bit flat in "Who Am I." But his spirit is so limitless...

Scratching Post
Approach: Betty Boop fronting KISS
Defining Moment: Nicole Hughes practically straddling photographers' lenses to give them a memorable shot
News: The current album/video are doing really well for an indie act
Rating: 7/10 It's good, and kids love it; it's just not my personal taste.

Citizen King
Approach: "Let's build a bridge between hip-hop and rock 'n' roll."
Defining Moment: Singer/bassist Matt Sims leading the crowd in a singalong/dance-along to their big-ass summer hit, "Better Days."
News: Touring their asses off throughout Europe and America, playing with everyone from Len to Moby to Primus to Blink 182, and finally about to release a second single (probably "Under The Influence")
Rating: 10/10. Easily the most animated and exciting thing onstage all day, inspiring the strongest audience reaction to that point

The Watchmen
Approach: Bassist Ken Tizzard's got the energy, singer Danny Greaves has got the voice and the absurdist sensibilities, and they've all got the rock, man
Defining Moment: Danny's a capella opening of Tom Waits' "The Heart Of Saturday Night" was stunning, as were his verse-here-verse-there "covers" of REM and The Police
News: A strong, short, sharp new song called "Everything Is Gray"; current album out shortly in America, followed by relentless touring there (as before in Canada and Australia, where they're doing really well)
Rating: 8/10. One sort of wishes Danny would get a lot more physical without being any less cerebral.

All in all, a pretty good day out in the sun. Here's hoping this is the start of a beautiful annual tradition.