Uprecedented! Sort of. Unprecedented but not unwarranted. What, you ask? The fricking crowd at this show, late in the first ever Exclaim!/Dependent Records showcase tour. Wintersleep has of course been through this burg a couple of times before, as you’ve heard about I’m sure. And each time, the audience seems to grow immensely, although even their first show here drew a number of folks who sung along quite heartily to the band’s songs. So I was expecting there would be a good turnout for this gig, but I certainly didn’t expect it would be completely beyond sold out by 8pm or so. When I arrived, there was a collection of people out front trying desperately to get in to the show, to no avail. Even the band had no power at this point to cram yet more people in the rather-full space.

Upon entering, Jill Barber was still on stage. She was close to the end of her set of slow, syrupy Canadiana folk songstress tunes. She fits well into the category alongside our Sarah Harmers and Chantal Kreviazuks, and while sharing the Dependent label with the other bands on the bill, seemed slightly out of place considering what was to follow. Her brother Matthew has had a place on Cord in the past, and is quite close in sound, albeit male and maybe more plugged in. I hear she can party with the best of them though, which is a necessary skill when travelling across the country with a bunch of hearty men from the east coast.

The room was barely move-around-inable, but hey, Contrived was up next, which thrilled me to bits, having never seen them before. What a way to budget on tour though – make sure half of one of your bands is also half of one of the other bands. Mike Bigelow and Loel Campbell from Wintersleep also make up part of Contrived, and I also admit confusion for a few moments as the entire Wintersleep crew was present on stage at the outset of the Contrived set. Anyhow, Contrived is far more raging and loud than either of the other acts on the bill. It’s cutting, snarly music, growling and tumbling. Grrr. This absolutely showcased Campbell’s ridiculous drumming abilities. This is also around the time I noticed the cute little light-up polar bear on one of the amps. Ain’t he cute.

So they rocked it, kicking and whooping through a solid set of sweaty music, before making way for the headliners. I can’t imagine having expended as much energy as Campbell (and Bigelow! He’d been flinging himself around on the far side of the stage and screaming madly) and then having to get right back on stage and keep it going for a second set. But there he was. His sophisticated drumming style really shines with this band, rolling easily from subtle tics to raging solos, slinky cymbals to heavy kicks. Just… unstoppable. As for everyone else, well I just plain can’t quit with the accolades for this crew. The songs are heart-rending, gripping and intensely emotional, and this is only amplified when heard live. The band members at time look to be physically in pain from the effort exerted, Guitars were lifted up to whack the low Media Club ceiling, sweat dripped off of every nose. The audience jovially joined in on various ‘la la la” bits, and otherwise spent the time dancing wildly. In the case of one sidestage gent, perhaps too wildly. I’m all for enthusiasm, but not when it puts the lives of other patrons in jeopardy. Paul Murphy’s distinctive voice yells and whispers from one beat to the next. Basically, it’s a band of vast contrast, and the intensity comes from that. You go running up a steep cliff, huffing with effort, only to catapult into thin air and fall, fast but gentle. It’s incredible the things they do with sound. Tim D’Eon, Jud Haynes, and Bigelow traded off a few times on guitar, keyboard and bass duties. Not to mention Bigelow frequently spinning about in his seat and glaring at me from across the stage with what I swear was sheer malice. Honestly, what the hell did I do? The band was cheered back in a big way for an encore. That encore included “Orca.” Could I be any happier? Hardly! Hardly I say. It was an astounding evening. You should all take part in a Wintersleep experience at some point. Just make sure you don’t slack off on getting tickets or you’ll never get a shot at it.

Elsewhere

By Andy Scheffler
Photos : Andy Scheffler
Published : April, 2006.