Burden of Salt was an arts and culture blog I operated from 2010 through 2014. Don’t ask me about the name. This also served as an online portfolio for some of the work I contributed as a volunteer (2009-2011), Arts and Culture Editor (2011/2012), and Editor-in-Chief (2012/2013) to The Ontarion (the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper) as well some reviews and interviews for Aesthetic Magazine and Truth Explosion Magazine.
’90s alterna-rockers The Lowest of the Low performed July 6 at Toronto Urban Roots Fest. Photo: Tom Beedham
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, “Salesmen, Cheats, and Liars,” straight from its source was not just a set highlight from the thrice-revived alt-rockers (indeed, the wisdom sported on the backs of fans’ t-shirts spotted at TURF – “There’s no life like low lifes” – rings true), but a festival highlight on its own. The band also performed new songs, noting a return to the studio would soon follow – so get excited for that, Low Lifers.
Frank Turner & The Silent Souls performed at Toronto Urban Roots Fest July 6. Photo: Tom Beedham
“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” utilized in his logo), but his music is likely more of a result of the latter compounded genre or a kind of meta-punk than an actual courier of its MO.
Turner’s songs have the virtues of blunt, transparent lyrics, but their fraternal pub-fit themes and subject matter are generally anthemic before they are subversive, and his instrumentation is the stuff of good pop.
You can give him points for his ethics, though. Prior to his set, even though swarmed by fans just seconds afterwards, Turner ventured out into the crowd to get a feel of the environment the rest of the festival was enjoying. The singer’s been vocal about everyone at his shows being equal and not getting high on anything like his personal celebrity, so kudos to him for making good on that.
You can call Frank Turner (and the Sleeping Souls) alternative, but the music is a little too watered down (albeit with a pint or two) for punk classification. (And if you’re not satisfied with the above justification for that, the comment section’s down there; do your thing and educate me. I want to believe.)
While Turner’s punk sensibilities are up for debate, his folk status is undeniable, beholden nearly entirely to his singing/songwriting. Either sung over the electric guitar, drums, bass, and keys of the Silent Souls or simply the acoustic guitar of his solo work, Turner’s songs are by and large relatable stories told through a steady stream of consciousness.
The one exception that definitely gains him some punk credit, though, is his “Glory Hallelujah,” which, containing the lyrics “There never was a God / There is no God” prominently is comparatively confrontational. At TURF, it registered as an entertaining social experiment, visibly placing the broad festival audience that had sung along to set opener “Four Simple Words” and its “I want to dance” chorus in an uncomfortable position.
Otherwise, Turner put forth a great cover of The Weakerthans’ “A Plea From A Cat Named Virtue,” supplied as part of Turner’s tradition of performing regional covers based on where he’s playing. (The Weakerthans are from Winnipeg, but hey, close enough.)
Setlist:
“Four Simple Words”
“If I Ever Stray”
“Try This At Home”
“Losing Days”
“Glory Hallelujah”
“Long Live The Queen”
“The Way I Tend To Be”
“Wessex Boy”
(unknown)
“A Plea From A Cat Named Virtue” (Weakerthans)
“Reasons Not To Be An Idiot”
“Plain Sailing Weather”
“I Am Disappeared”
“The Road”
“Recovery”
“I Still Believe”
“Photosynthesis”
Matt Mays played Toronto Urban Roots Fest July 6. Photo: Tom Beedham
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 under the hot plus-25 weather.
Any speculation was left reserved for his fashion choice and otherwise cast aside, however, when Mays and his band played to Fort York.
Serving up what could be described in simple terms as a physical performance, Matt Mays and his band rocked the crowd with plenty of spunk and gritty, unreserved duel guitar and wisdom-imparting vocals, contrasted by sentimental keyboard hooks. Mays might have paid for it with his sweat, but the crowd was all smiles by the end.
Dawes bassist Wylie Gelber at TURF July 6. Photo: Tom Beedham
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 Griffin Goldsmith’s march-worthy drums, Wylie Gelber’s steady bass, and Tay Straithairn’s subtle keyboard embellishments.
It’s nostalgic roots rock for the lovers of Crosby, Stills, and Nash.
Celebrating 25 years as a band, Skydiggers performed at Fort York for TURF July 6. Photo: Tom Beedham
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 the group never took off at quite the same rate as their contemporaries.
But the band’s foundation was disturbed early on; their eponymous debut released on Enigma in 1990, the label soon after filed for bankruptcy and the band was denied the opportunity to properly tour the LP. It was also forced to endure the bankruptcy of FRE Records (subsidiary of Capitol Records), subsequently denying the band the possibility to distribute its records as widely as, say, the more commercially successful Hip.
Still, the Skydiggers have managed to keep themselves busy: the group has released 13 full lengths (their most recent, No. 1 Covers, a cover album of Canadian tracks by the likes of Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, and Jason Collett, was released earlier this month); Toronto’s Legendary Horseshoe Tavern has built a tradition on hosting an annual Skydiggers Christmas show, as festival founder and Horseshoe owner Jeff Cohen mentioned before their set; frontman Andy Maize launched independent record label MapleMusic Recordings in 2002; and Maize also has a side project with Skydiggers guitarist Josh Finlayson, Finlayson/Maize, which released an LP, Dark Hollow in 2006. It only seemed fit that, with a bit of new blood in the lineup, Skydiggers performed their 1990 single, “I Will Give You Everything” to a captured audience at Fort York in the middle of the afternoon on July 6.
The Felice Brothers played Toronto Urban Roots Fest July 6 at the Fort York Garrison Commons. Photo: Tom Beedham
Day three of TURF brought audiences the stylings of a hillbilly jack-of-all-trades five-piece formally known as The Felice Brothers.
Switching off on vocal duties and instrument responsibilities, and ranging in sound as a result, The Felice Brothers showed Toronto what a democratic Americana act from Catskills, NY can do to the traditional notion of a folk group frontman.
Performing liquor-soaked tracks like “Whiskey in My Whiskey” couldn’t have been bad news for the Canadian Club sponsors on site, either.
Hannah Georgas favoured music off her new album at TURF on July 6.
After releasing a self-titled record in 2012 that distanced itself from her previous acoustic work in its pursuit of a more atmospheric synthpop, singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas followed suit at TURF, sticking to her newer material, even if it meant ignoring the inaugural urban roots festival’s designation.
Not that it – like her new album, which received a nod on the longlist for this year’s Polaris Music Prize – wasn’t welcome.
With her four-piece post-Metric indie dance rock band in tow, fans got to hear Georgas perform tracks like her self-titled album’s “Robotic,” as well as her treatment of a portion of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey,” which saw her performing both Jim Reid and Karen Parker’s vocal parts (assumedly one of Georgas’ favourite songs, as she placed it at the top of a list of tracks she said she would put on a mixtape in an interview she gave Canadian Blast during this year’s South by Southwest).
Larry and his Flask gave TURF-goers a furious wake-up at an 11:30 a.m. Fort York set on July 6. Photo: Tom Beedham
Those who know Larry and his Flask can expect to witness a wild and crazy stage party when they see the band live. Playing adrenaline fueled bluegrass folk music with a gypsy punk ethos, the group is known for members that refuse to stay put; even their drummer refuses to play seated. This is a band that takes full advantage of its unplugged components: double bass player Jeshua Marshall performs with particular intensity, lifting his massive instrument to drag it from stage left to right, all the while wailing on it with open palms, summoning the odd bow, or even technical sweeps to sate his seemingly furious need to move.
Larry and His Flask opened TURF’s July 6 festivities at 11:30 a.m., pushing its “workday ahead 12 hours,” as lead guitar and vocalist Ian Cook put it. But when it played day three of TURF, by the end of its set, the group had arrived at a level of exhaustion entirely different from what they would at any old early show – they played an 11 p.m. set just the night before.
The band will also close out the festival at Lee’s Palace with Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls and Northcote.
Arkells played a special set of Motown covers after their regular set at TURF on July 5. Photo: Tom Beedham
If you’ve never been to Detroit, the Arkells have. And when they played Toronto Urban Roots Fest on July 5, they brought enough of Motor Town for everyone to share.
Closing out the regular portion of their TURF set with the Detroit-referencing “Where U Goin” from their 2011 LP Michigan Left, the Arkells then dove into a special collection of hits curated from Motown’s catalogue.
Known to inject a cover or two into their sets, the Arkells switched into shirt and tie and suit attire for the special presentation, going on to play The Four Tops’ “It’s the Same Old Song,” The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love,” The Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears,” The Temptations’ “Aint Too Proud To Beg,” “Get Ready” and “My Girl,” Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours.”
The band contracted some help from super cover band Dwayne Gretzky to make it all happen; friends Tyler Kyte, Nick Rose, and Edwin Sheard played the less Arkells-like saxophone and tambourine parts as well as additional guitar and backing vocals.
The regular portion of the set opened with “Whistleblower” and consisted of other singles like their Hamilton hometown banger “Oh, The Boss Is Coming!,” and “John Lennon,” as well as fan favourites like “Deadlines” and “Kiss Cam.”
Fitz and the Tantrums played Toronto Urban Roots Fest July 5 at Fort York. Photo: Tom Beedham
Filling in the slot just preceding the Arkells’ set, Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick and the Tantrums transported a TURF audience that had so far in the day only been treated to antique music forms like JD McPherson’s ’50s nodding rockabilly and Justin Townes Earle’s country western music to an all out dance party.
Channeling soul, pop, and electronic dance music, Fitz and the Tantrums’ set ran on high energy, with Fitz and Noelle Skaggs turning the stage into a facility for physical fitness and doing their best to transfer that energy into the crowd by barking what were technically orders but ultimately fiesta instigating words of wisdom.
Set highlight? Fitz and the Tantrums put on a ramped up cover of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”
TOM BEEDHAM 