The Ontarion Kazoo! Fest Diary

Kazoo! delivers memorable 2018 festival despite ice storm

This year’s Kazoo! Fest featured a bold, distinctive lineup — it also featured a surprise ice storm on Friday night, which turned Guelph into a winter wasteland in a matter of hours. While the University of Guelph and many local businesses shut their doors, Kazoo! Fest plugged on. The result was surreal and memorable. From Wednesday night to Sunday morning, with shows listed in chronological order, here’s our take on what we saw at Kazoo! Fest 2018.

WEDNESDAY

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No Boys — Guelph, Ont.

No Boys hail from right here in the Royal City, and while they’re new to the local scene, the four-piece jangle-rock/pop quartet earned their spot at Kazoo! Fest Wednesday night with a laid-back, too-cool-for-school set, with Jon St Michael and Emily Reimer trading lead vocals. Keeping the DeMarco dream alive (hats and all), these four young musicians are ones to keep an eye on. — Alex Harris

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Mauno — Halifax, N.S.

Seemingly tighter and more detailed with every appearance in Guelph, east coast alt-rock four-piece Mauno highlighted the first night of the festival. For their second Kazoo! Fest appearance, the band was mesmerizing from the first note. Each Mauno song contains plenty of twists and turns, expertly executed by the band, while still constructing distinct themes and landing the audience back on the ground by the end. — Alex Harris

THURSDAY

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Guelph Night Market

Mitchell Hall was packed for most of the evening with the Night Market, leading to long lines. Even 20 minutes to closing, a healthy crowd of visitors was still making the rounds, checking out the vendors selling everything from handmade soaps, to vintage VHS tapes, to jewelry, bags, and buttons. — Will Wellington

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Elle Barbara’s Black Space — Montreal, Que.

Elle Barbara’s Black Space set the mood on Thursday night at the eBar by evoking the night sky with arrangements just spare enough that you could appreciate the twinkling keyboards intertwining. The shadowy space they created was perfect for forgetting yourself and dancing. — Will Wellington

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Faith Healer — Edmonton, Alta.

Faith Healer delivered their summery pop-rock (with a whiff of bluegrass) ably — their rendition of the title track from their 2017 album Try 😉 left me eager to revisit their recordings. However, their overall performance felt restrained, lacking kick, and they inexplicably dropped the energy with a couple “karaoke” songs, where singer Jessica Jalbert performed to a backing track — a cool concept that didn’t quite pan out. — Will Wellington

FRIDAY

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EDDYEVVY — Waterloo/Stratford, Ont.

Noisy shoe-gazers EDDYEVVY know how to grab your attention, effortlessly weaving from inviting, ethereal, rainy-day dream-tones right into a blast of distortion heavy in every sense of the word. You can feel gravity pushing down a little more in these moments, which display the band’s great command of dynamics. No fat to chew here — it’s all straight to the point, a perfect set to witness under Friday’s grey skies. — Alex Harris

Versa — Guelph, Ont.

Celebrating the release of their first record (available on CD and VHS), local audio/visual performers Versa wowed the Friday evening crowd with a truly multi-sensory experience that must be seen live to really appreciate. Psychedelic post-rock instrumental jams dominated the set, with some incredible new compositions from bassist Alex Ricci and stunning improvised visuals from artist Monika Hauck. Using his bass guitar and an elaborate loop setup, Ricci has managed to eliminate the need for a lead guitar in the band, opening up space for splendid sax, keys, and drum passages. Again, the incredible visuals make Versa a must-see live! — Alex Harris

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Prime Junk — Montreal, Que.

They might be called Prime Junk, but the Montreal-based three-piece put on a show that was anything but. The band’s set was short, sweet, and unspoiled by a dash of pop in their garage rock sound (flavoured also with a hint of surf). There was a touch of imperfection to the music and vocals, but that’s all part of homegrown appeal that makes this group so fun to watch. — Alex Harris

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Tough Age — Toronto, Ont.

Tough Age did exactly what a fun, high-energy garage-punk band ought to do. Right from the get-go, guitarist Jarrett Samson threw himself into a sweaty, impassioned performance — even as he was trying to keep his glasses from falling off his amplifier. Penny Clark on bass and Jesse Locke on drums (all smiles) matched Samson throughout the set, and although the sheer volume lost them some of the subtleties present on their records, Tough Age delivered a rousing good time. — Will Wellington

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Ten Boy Summer — Guelph/Stratford, Ont.

Back for a second straight year at Kazoo!, breezy, heartfelt indie-grunge revivalists Ten Boy Summer found a home headlining the rock portion of Friday’s festival lineup. With a live show that will get any crowd moving, the band has shown they’ve come a long way since last year’s performance and have nowhere to go but up. — Alex Harris

Clairmont the Second — Toronto, Ont.

My first “wow” of Kazoo! Fest 2018 came when I arrived slightly late to Clairmont the Second’s eBar set to find a packed house utterly enthralled. The young rapper (these rappers, man, always makin’ you feel washed up at 24) possessed effortless charm and charisma, towering over the pulsing crowd like a grinning boy-priest, leading people in singalongs of tracks like “Tortoise” and “2 Rich 4 Me.” “Just bounce like this!” he said — and lo, the crowd did bounce. Joined by Hezi (whose randy verse on “Old Clothes” got big whoops from the crowd) and DJ Beee, Clairmont the Second tore it up like a great Kazoo! show should. — Will Wellington

SATURDAY

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Innes Wilson — Guelph, Ont.

After a six-year hiatus from music, Guelph’s own Innes Wilson looked and sounded completely comfortable back on stage at the Red Brick Café. Wilson’s solo act evokes a stripped-down Joel Plaskett, with a touch of Dylan and just enough harmonica to add some flavour. Wilson strummed an acoustic tenor guitar, a nice change from your typical six-string singer-songwriter. — Alex Harris

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Dorothea Paas —Toronto, Ont.

Dorothy Paas, playing a clean Telecaster and backed by a three-piece band, provided the perfect set for an icy Saturday afternoon at Kazoo!. Paas’ songs are instantly nostalgic with the tiniest amount of grit, like a 300-grit sandpaper. The band’s sound is absolutely wistful and left me longing for something I never had. — Alex Harris

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WHOOP-Szo — Guelph/London, Ont.

Psychedelic grunge band WHOOP-Szo left behind the electric guitars and (almost) all of the distortion pedals for their set at Dublin Street Church opening for Beverly Glenn-Copeland. For their acoustic set, WHOOP-Szo drew on the folkier side of their catalogue, playing tunes like “Another Show” from their recent album Citizens Ban(ne)d Radio. They still sounded huge, with the clean arrangements highlighting the splendid pop harmonies in their music. Frontman Adam Sturgeon is Ojibwe, and WHOOP-Szo often incorporates Indigenous languages into their songs — Sturgeon commented drily on the weirdness of performing in a Christian church, joking that he looked like Jesus with his long hair. But WHOOP-Szo are in the business of healing as much as protest, and their songs and stage presence spoke to a universal longing for meaning, beauty, and strength, striking a perfect note for the venue and event. — Will Wellington

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Beverly Glenn-Copeland & Indigo Rising — Sackville, N.B.

Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s headlining set at Dublin Street Church is part of a career revival the 74-year-old musician has enjoyed following a performance at Sappyfest and the reissue of his 1986 record Keyboard Fantasies. After almost 20 years away from performing, Glenn-Copeland enlisted some of Canada’s brightest young musicians (“Twinks,” as Glenn-Copeland called them) to back him up, and the result was beautiful. Glenn-Copeland’s music deals with deep and elemental themes — fire, birth, seasons, death, angels — and speaks of transcendent joy, hope, and renewal with lush, almost classical arrangements.

More surprising was Glenn-Copeland’s sheer energy and zest. Always close to laughing, Glenn-Copeland supplied one zany, motor-mouthed anecdote after another, like a living Bugs Bunny cartoon. His puckish whimsy led to some unforgettable moments, like when he got the whole crowd to whistle. It also threatened to throw the show off the rails at least once, and Glenn-Copeland and his band had to cut a few tunes after a particularly long-winded historical explanation. Altogether, this combination of the profound and the jokey produced a stunningly human performance. — Will Wellington

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Pucumber Sasssquash Family Band — Hamilton, Ont.

It’s hard to imagine a vegetable-themed punk band being, well, scary — like The Celery Stalks at Midnight — but Pucumber Sasssquash Family Band somehow manage it. That’s mostly thanks to frontman Zucchini Jackson (real name Mike Simon) who performs like he’s going through an exorcism, thrashing around inches from the audience and writhing on the floor. While Jackson yelped and growled, the band pounded along behind him, delivering jumpy noise-punk riffs to match Jackson’s performance. It came across as messy — and from their crazy art design to their wacky alter egos, it’s clear that Pucumber is going for messy. I just couldn’t quit wishing that sometime someone would just clean it all up. — Will Wellington

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Luge —Toronto, Ont.

Luge’s sound is hard to define. You can throw around words like jazz, punk, prog, and alternative and maybe come close. You’ll just need to see them to understand. The band is absolutely captivating live, producing a controlled chaos that Saturday night’s audience at the ANAF could not resist convulsing to. And just when it seems like a Luge song is going off the rails, the four-piece band snaps back together in perfect sync, returning to what might have been the original time signature … if only you could remember what that was. — Alex Harris

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Doomsquad —Toronto, Ont.

Everyone that I heard mention Doomsquad this weekend compared them to Talking Heads, and while I can certainly understand the comparison, especially when it comes to the vocal stylings of Trevor Blumas, that comparison belies just how bold and fresh Doomsquad sound. The three-piece band of siblings (Trevor, Jaclyn, and Allie Blumas) clearly feel no qualms about pulling from all corners of music history, from dubstep to surf rock — and no qualms either about finding new ways to get people up and dancing. Especially toward the end of their set, Doomsquad pushed their synths and samplers harder and harder, their sounds distorting as the dancefloor heaved. Needless to say, I was regretting dressing for the cold weather. The only shame was that the sisters were so poorly lit, with the video projection screen illuminating only Trevor centre stage. — Will Wellington

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Matthew Progress — Toronto, Ont.

Toronto rapper Matthew Progress has been toiling for years in the under-recognized genre of Hip House or ghettotech, the bouncy love-child of rap and EDM. Indeed, Progress demonstrated the cool confidence of a veteran onstage, inviting the crowd to join his “Slumber Magic War” society (“Slumber Magic War” is also the name of his new EP). He also showed off his rhymes in a couple a cappella pieces bookending the show. Progress got the crowd moving, but as for the house-based production, I could take a pass. I don’t mean to pit the two big rappers on the Kazoo! Fest bill against each other, but I would take another slice of Clairmont the Second’s warm, soul-influenced hip hop over Hip House any day of the week. — Will Wellington

SUNDAY

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Hymns57 — Guelph, Ont.

The pancake breakfast on Sunday morning is a beloved Kazoo! tradition, halfway between a church service and a hangover cure. As a friendly, food-and-family-oriented way to reflect on another year of Kazoo!, it’s a brilliant piece of programming, and Hymns57 (Steven De Taeye) started it off right with a set of improvised ambient soundscapes derived from field recordings on cassette. As De Taeye twisted knobs, adjusted levels, and looped various noises, crashing waves of static, rolling tones, and haunting textures crested and washed over the audience, decaying and dissolving in the mix. Occasionally, a voice or a stringed instrument surfaced in the maelstrom before, too, dissolving, like a glowing, faded memory. — Will Wellington

Lee Watson — Elora, Ont.

If Hymns57 felt like getting lost in memories, sitting through Lee Watson’s set was like pulling your head above water and facing the future with a fresh outlook. On tracks like “Endless Ocean,” Watson struck a fine balance with a clean, calm, and resonant folk sound, neither too wild nor too corny. I don’t know how Watson would feel about this, but after a weekend of various excesses, Watson’s smooth voice and Matt Monoogian’s tasteful pedal steel sounded like a bright, clear blast of welcome sobriety. — Will Wellington

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Joyful Joyful — Toronto, Ont.

The most intimate and tender of the three acts at the pancake breakfast, Joyful Joyful left Kazoo! Fest on a tearful, haunting note. Cormac Culkeen’s voice, angelic and warped, chimed out over droning textures created live by Dave Grenon, who then wove those vocals into the gorgeous backdrop. Culkeen’s warbling notes bent and echoed, reverberating like bells in deep temples or primordial caverns. Culkeen and Grenon even invited L CON’s Lisa Conway and Guelph local Bry Webb (of Constantines) up for a number, bringing a strange, cold Kazoo! Fest to a warm, emotional conclusion. — Will Wellington

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Kazoo! Fest 2018 Top Shows:

Alex Harris:

Versa

EDDYEVVY

Tie: Dorothea Paas and Luge

Will Wellington:

Clairmont the Second

Dorothea Paas

Three-way tie: WHOOP-Szo, Doomsquad, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland

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Photo by Will Wellington/The Ontarion

The Ontarion Kazoo! Fest Diary

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