Friday
Fiver & Chad VanGaalen @ Dublin St. United Church
Written by Adrien Potvin
Probably the most well-known act of the festival, Chad VanGaalen brought his trademark weirdo-folk to Dublin Street United Church on the festival’s Friday night. Before VanGaalen took the stage, the audience was treated to the stunning solo music of Fiver (Simone Schmidt). Schmidt, known for her work with The Highest Order and One Hundred Dollars, performed a set of wry, erudite songs, accompanied with impeccable fingerstyle guitar work. The room’s silence spoke to the music’s affectation—you could literally hear a pin drop at some points. Explicitly political and achingly personal, Fiver’s music demands your attention.
VanGaalen, the prolific Calgary-based animator, musician, and producer, took the stage shortly after with his trademark goofy grin and off-kilter sense of humour marking his music and stage presence. Performing songs off of his 2014 LP Sleep Dust and from earlier efforts, VanGaalen’s music is eclectic, bizarre, and wholly enjoyable. With lyrics like, “I made a penis out of stones and clay/Passed out on the grass in the middle of the day,” VanGaalen’s music and persona run the gamut from sincere and heartfelt to downright hilarious, making the indie rock performer a must-see act.
Bonjay, Noah23, SkweeeezyC, & Haolin Munk @ eBar
Written by Robert Janes
Bonjay came to eBar for Kazoo! Fest on Friday, April 8, for a night of diverse music and dance.
Haolin Munk went on the stage first to warm up the souls of the night. The quartet found a way to play their jazz by trading off instruments depending on the song.
The next artist was hip-hop rapper Noah23 and $ensi Bo¥ SkweeeezyC DJing the tracks. Noah23 kept cool while spitting rapid-fire lyrics into the night; he even changed some to accommodate and shout out to Guelph and Kazoo! Fest while SkweeeezyC waved his arms back and forth and danced. During their last song of the night, $ensi Bo¥ SkweeeezyC left his turntables and went front and center with Noah23 to excite the crowd.
Bonjay got on the stage calm and collected, but once their set began all of the bodies in the bar began grooving to some soul and dance. Bonjay is comprised of soul-singer Alanna Stuart and beats master Pho.
“In Toronto, everyone’s like,” Stuart gives her best resting bitch face to the crowd, “but when we come to Guelph everyone is hype!” said Stuart.
As the last song of the night came to an end, Stuart yelled to the crowd,“Can we big up Kazoo! Fest? For real!”