gabedouglas

First, to be frank, this was the show I was most excited about.
I have been on the Sam Roberts train since late 1999 when I first heard ‘Brother Down’ on radio stations being broadcasted out of Manitoba (Winnipeg). I didn’t know who the artist was, but I knew I liked what I heard. Finally heard who he was and started getting his stuff, which was the I. Human Condition EP only sold in Canada. When ‘We Were Born in a Flame’ came out, I immediately got a copy. Same with Chemical City.

The night started out with Jason Collett, who I guess is from the Broken Social Scene. I guess from now on, I will assume any artist who is from Canada and isn’t affiliated with Avril, Celine, or Sum41; is a member of the BSS. He put on a solid show, good band. Good ol’ fashioned singer/songwriter full-band tunes. Catchy licks and quirky lyrics always add to that genre.

Sam went on and completely brought the house down. He played his entire catalog and pushed and pulled the audience as he went. He did the call and responses, the extended guitar solos, everything I want from a rock and roll show. Some guys that were from Winnipeg bought me some beers to, so everything was golden.

It should be noted that Amber drove me there as well,as the night would not have gone on without that.
I bought a shirt because I like to support my favorite artists.
It has an owl.

The night started out with some captain morgan.
I wanted to dance without inhibitions at this show.
Brought an old friend who shares musical taste along, or actually she drove me to set the record straight. Met up with some duluthians there.

Brookville opened up, good stuff, good vibes, not as dancey as I expected but a solid sound regardless.

Tahiti 80 played all their stuff to a T. The catchiest pop with extended synth, guitar, and drum jams. Just great move-your-feet and not grind stuff.
A guy tried to fight me as I asked a girl to dance. At least that is how I remember it.

Solid show.
And another show that wasn’t overly crowded at the 400 bar.
Went to the Dinkytowner aftewards for some after show treats.

I’ve always been a fan of album leaf, dating back a few years now. Most of their stuff is instrumental downtempo with a few tracks on every album with some light vocals, usually very repetitive and chant-like.

The show started with Lymbyc System. A keyboardist/sampler and a live drummer. They played very well, as the keyboardist layered every sound very intricately, by the end of songs, the drummer usually had dropped his brushes and was splashing his cymbals, while the keyboardist had about 5 or 6 loops going over the top. If you like Album Leaf, I highly suggest these guys, very promising sound.

Next was Dirty on Purpose. They were alright. Their stage sound was WAY too loud for the 400 bar, especially a chill show. They also had an entirely live band, which was weird because the other two bands had heavy sampling. They played a little harder than the other two bands and that was to their detriment, not because they were metalheads, but because they bordered generic alt-rock instead of the chill downtempo drumbeat driven songs I was ready for that evening.

Album Leaf played a stellar set. They brought in their own film guy, so he had film that moved with the music behind the band, as well as over the drummer, who was in the field of view of the projector, so he wore sunglasses for the duration of the evening. They played all the stuff I wanted to hear and had a nice, long set. The sound guy pissed off the opener with bad stage mixes, and he still wasn’t getting it right by the time Album Leaf took the stage. During the second song, the fiddle player on center stage stood up with the violin in one hand and his bow in the other and gave a forceful shrug and up-in-arms motion towards the soundbooth citing that he couldn’t hear himself in his mix at all. That didn’t take away from the show though, luckily, as if they still had problems during their set, they played through them gracefully. Through the instrumentals and even during ‘Writing on the Walls’ and ‘On Your Way’ they layered everything even moreso than on the records, which is what you always want to hear from these bands live: more lavish sounds and great organic jams. Great show.