Kicking things off with an instrumental that amasses more sounds and contributors as it progresses, the sprawling B-side that is “Judy Is a Dick Slap” and its late ’80s/early ’90s game show theme comparisons provided a fitting opening number that also allowed Belle & Sebastian’s roster modest introductions to the […]
Author: The Ontarion
TURF reviews: Whitehorse at Fort York – July 7, 2013
Whitehorse is husband and wife Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland’s band. Hamilton-bred, they moved to Toronto a week before TURF and share their band’s name with a city in Yukon. The layers of the group’s genesis are many, but there’s a minimal chance they outweigh those of its sonic output. […]
TURF reviews: The Wooden Sky at Fort York – July 7, 2013
Kicking off the fourth and final day of Toronto Urban Roots Fest, The Wooden Sky played an 11 a.m. set to a dedicated group of concertgoers. The band opened with “Child of the Valley,” then playing through tracks like “(Bit Parent),” “City of Lights/Dancing At My Window…,” “Take Me Out,” […]
TURF reviews: Flogging Molly at Fort York – July 6, 2013
Walking onto a stage with cans of Guinness perched atop every amp, Flogging Molly worked hard at entertaining what was easily TURF’s largest crowd of staggering drunks, which regularly, wouldn’t have offered much surprise, except when it’s taken into consideration that alcoholic beverages at the festival were priced at nine […]
TURF reviews: The Hold Steady at Fort York – July 6, 2013
When The Hold Steady took the west stage at TURF, frontman Craig Finn commented on how, at lots of concerts, bands don’t need introductions, modestly proposing, “We do.” Indeed, the band had its share of lead-ins. TURF co-presenter Donny Kutzbach from Funtime Presents, Canadian sports broadcaster Dave Hodge, and even […]
TURF reviews: The Lowest of the Low at Fort York – July 6, 2013
Seeing The Lowest of the Low listed on TURF’s lineup hinted at some programmed disregard of the roots music promised by the nomenclature of Toronto Urban Roots Fest, but not disregard that was unwelcome. Giving the audience a chance to hear one of the greatest Canadian singles of the ’90s, […]
TURF reviews: Frank Turner & The Silent Souls at Fort York – July 6, 2013
“Because punk is for the kids who never fit in with the rest,” Frank Turner sings in “Four Simple Words.” But his stuff’s not really for those same kids. Some have credited Frank Turner with a folk-punk sound (maybe for the Black Flag tattoo on his wrist or the “FTHC” […]
TURF reviews: Matt Mays at Fort York – July 6, 2013
Walking onto the (west facing) east stage at TURF in the middle of the afternoon and dressed in a denim shirt layered over with a heavy looking leather vest – festival appropriateness aside – some of the audience might have wondered if Matt Mays knew what he was getting into […]
TURF reviews: Dawes at Fort York – July 6, 2013
Travelling from Los Angeles, CA, Dawes brought to TURF folk music routed through a vintaged rock disposition. The group captivates audiences with lyric-based songs delivered over guitar play that sees frontman Taylor Goldsmith rendering neck-squeezing chords that make full use of his instrument’s six strings. That instrumentation’s complimented by brother […]
TURF reviews: Skydiggers at Fort York – July 6, 2013
Celebrating 25 years as a band, with a sound and charisma falling somewhere between that of The Tragically Hip and Blue Rodeo, and having once shared a label with incendiary noise rock group Sonic Youth, when Toronto roots rock band Skydiggers played TURF it raised the question as to why […]
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The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.