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Archive for the ‘The Rural Alberta Advantage’ Category

The Rural Alberta Advantage (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2024)

Posted in Julianna Riolino, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, The Rural Alberta Advantage on March 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 27, 2024] The Rural Alberta Advantage

I saw a video of The Rural Alberta Advantage at Massey Hall in 2018 (it was from 2014).  This was the first real exposure I had to the band and the first time I saw how intense they were live.

Since then, they have played Philly three times.  I don’t think the first one registered.  But the second time I was ready to see them. But I already had  tickets to a different show that night.  I decided, however, that I’d rather see RAA, but when I went to get a ticket, it was sold out! (good for them).

But this time, there was no way I was missing them.  I arrived early, got on the barrier and marveled at the stage set up.  Keys, guitar and drums, with the drums on the right side and the drummer facing the other two.

The came out of the mystery door at the side of the stage and immediately started playing FSHG as they walked into the crowd.   Nils Edenloff walked around and sang while Amy Cole sang backing vocals.  I’m not sure if Paul Banwatt played any percussion as I couldn’t really see him.  But soon enough they were marching the song up to the stage. (more…)

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Julianna Riolino (The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA, March 27, 2024) [THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE]

Posted in Julianna Riolino, Philadelphia, PA, The Foundry, The Rural Alberta Advantage on March 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 27, 2024] Julianna Riolino

Julianna Riolino is a Canadian alt-country singer.  I had never heard of her before.

She came across as more country on some songs than on others.  She has a bit of a snarl and can really belt out some notes.

She was a little overly goofy, I thought, between songs.  She said her name between every song (which I liked and was kind of funny), but it also felt like she was trying a little too hard.  Which is odd because she’s been doing this for a while.   But she was certainly memorable.

When she said she was from a small town outside of Toronto (and outside of Buffalo, NY) I was surprised, and I think she guessed it right because she joked about being Italian, so people think she’s from New York. (more…)

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Rural Alberta Advantage / Georgia Harmer (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Georgia Harmer, Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA, Sarah Harmer, The Rural Alberta Advantage on March 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: March 25, 2023] Rural Alberta Advantage / Georgia Harmer

I had tickets to see Ibeyi, but when The Rural Alberta Advantage announced their show the same night, I decided I’d go to that show instead.

I wasn’t sure what our plans were for Saturday night so I didn’t get tickets ahead of time (what’s the point of buying two tickets you don’t use?).  But when I went to get tickets before the show, it was sold out!

I never would have guessed that a relatively obscure Canadian band would sell out, but they did.  Good for them/Bad for me.  I hope this means they will come back again soon.

Georgia Harmer is the niece of the outstanding Sarah Harmer.

She sings in a similar style as Sarah–their voices even have a similar timbre.  Her songs are pleasant and enjoyable–she’d be a great opening act.

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Fucked Up (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, July 17, 2022) [rescheduled]

Posted in Fucked Up, Philadelphia, PA, Robin Hatch, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Underground Arts on July 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 17, 2022] Fucked Up [moved from January 23, 2021]

I’ve been intrigued by Canadian band Fucked Up since I first heard of them. Obviously they had no intention of getting mainstream success with a name like that.  And yet, their music has turned heads.

Which is also a bit of a puzzle because, while it can be very, very catchy, lead singer Pink Eyes screams like the lyrics are comic from the pit of his soul (although you can actually understand most of what he says, which is a neat trick).

Pink Eyes is Damian Abraham who had led the band since 2001.

Fascinatingly, the band won the Polaris Prize in 2009 (for an album with mostly guest vocalists).  They followed up that album with david Comes to Life in 2011–a rock opera set in 1970s and 1980s England. The story involves unreliable narrators and meta-narrative plot devices.

And so it was that in 2021, they were going to do a ten year anniversary and pay the album front to back.  It was postponed, but, undaunted, they pressed on in 2022.

I had never seen Fucked Up before, but had a pretty good idea what to expect.  And yet they exceeded any expectation.

The band came out on stage while a projection of the band with their logo was on the screen behind them.  They played the opening song (an instrumental) and then Damian came out in sweatpants, and a black vinyl glove (he later revealed that he had cut his hand and this was protecting his from getting blood everywhere).  He proceeded to do his screaming thing. (more…)

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Edwidge Danticat–”Without Inspection” (New Yorker, May 14, 2018)

Posted in Calgary Stampeders, Canadian Music, Cuba, Culture Shock, Death, Edwidge Danticat, Haiti, Live at Massey Hall, New Yorker, Short Story, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Tiny Desk Concert on May 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE-Live at Massey Hall (July 8, 2014).

The video opens with Nils Edenloff saying that this concert is an amazing posterity thing.  That it’s ungraspable for them right now, but they’ll look back after the fact and say, “Oh wow, I looked great then.”

“As a scrappy indie band it feels wild to be allowed to set their gear on stage for a spell.”

I have hears some songs by the band, but, wow, live they are a powerhouse.

The way “Luciana” opens is incredible: Drummer Paul Banwatt is a maniac sounding like two or three drummers as he crashes through some snare drum pattern variants and cymbals galore.

Nils Edenloff’s guitar has a great loud sound–very electric and large.  It sounds like the strings are loose wires smacking against the guitar and the fretboard (bot not detuned or anything).  And he sings with abandon.

Amy Cole’s keys are not as powerful as the rest but they provide a foundation for the rest of the band to play on

Muscle Relaxants has Cole singing backing vocals which fleshes out their sound even more.  They make a large racket for a trio that’s almost all acoustic.  Between songs, Nils comments:

“Wow you guys are quiet, no phones out, I guess.”

Don’t Haunt This Place is slower.  The vocal melody is familiar if not common, but the drums are just so thumping, it sounds great.  And the backing vocals are perfect.

Introducing “Tornado 87” he says

For those not from Alberta, you don’t have to sing Alberta songs if you’re from here, it’s just something we stumbled on.  Oddly enough we played part of this song last weekend at the Stampeders home opener and there happened to also be a tornado while we played this song.  Lets hope for the best tonight.

The song continues with the intensity of the other songs but it has a wonderful quiet middle section which erupts into an explosion at the end.

Two Lovers is solo, just Nils and his guitar.  It’s a nice break from the intensity.

“Terrified” is a new song that opens with just a guitar but then …boom…  great harmony vocals and a powerful chorus.

The show ends with “Stamp” which has a great clap-along section and wonderful ooohs to end the song.

This was the final video in Season One of the Live at Massey Hall series.   There are four seasons in total thus far.

[READ: May 9, 2018] ”Without Inspection”

This is the story of a man falling to his death: “It took Arnold six and a half seconds to fall five-hundred feet” is how it opens.

The story zooms in on Arnold’s mind for those six and a half seconds and the few seconds that remain before he actually dies.

He sees his son, Paris and Paris’ mother, Darlene.  And he flashes back to how they met, what has happened since they met and what he hopes will happen after he is gone.

The fall was unplanned and occurred when his left foot slipped off a scaffold and he fell out of the loosened (or broken) safety harness.

The story also details the fall–faster by the second. (more…)

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