The Acorn, Ohbijou and The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Lee's Palace, Toronto
- Dec 01, 2008
On the same night that arguably the current biggest brand in Canadian indie rock ⓠthat's Broken Social Scene if you were wondering ⓠwere putting on the first of two sold-out hometown shows at the cavernous and generally awful Sound Academy, a lineup that could well represent the next wave of great Canadian artists were putting on a night to remember at the much cozier quarters of Lee's Palace. And while The Acorn, Ohbijou and The Rural Alberta Advantage have thus far achieved different levels of fame, they all share the talent and potential to be this country's next great musical ambassadors.
The Rural Alberta Advantage ⓠRAA to their friends ⓠhave long been on of Toronto's best-kept secrets, but lately word has finally been getting out. The trio blends the very best aspects of Neutral Milk Hotel, Yo La Tengo and Sufjan Stevens to create simply assembled but brilliantly crafted folk songs spun out of the bittersweet recollections of songwriter Nils Edenloff, who moved from the prairie province to Ontario in the wake of a heartbreak. Playing to perhaps their largest audience yet, the RAA rose to the occasion by putting on a joyous and raucous performance, all clattering percussion, frantic acoustic guitars and sweet and strident harmonies, that would set the bar for the evening quite high.
Ohbijou and The Acorn were entering the home stretch of a joint North American tour and though the former technically had hometown advantage at this stop over the Ottawa-based Acorn, they deferred the headlining slot to the visitors. The beguiling chamber pop of their debut "Swift Feet For Troubling Times" had garnered them a goodly amount of attention across the country since its release two years ago, and with the release of its follow-up "Beacon" set for next March, it was the perfect opportunity to showcase new songs and old favourites to the faithful. Led by sisters Casey and Jennifer Mecija, the six-piece were augmented at points by a trumpeter and Acorn singer Rolf Klausener in crafting a set that was the aural equivalent of snuggling up under a warm, comfy duvet.
Which left it to The Acorn to cap it all off. Since their last headlining appearance in Toronto almost exactly a year previous, their latest album "Glory Hope Mountain" had earned them rave reviews in the US and the UK as well as at home, and the band had toured relentlessly in support. Though bolstered by a second drummer, the first portion of their set was relatively sedate, focusing more on recreating the thoughtful folk atmospherics of the record. But as things progressed, particularly when the sublime pop of their "Blankets" and "Tin Fist" EPs were visited, they got more boisterous and things culminated in a glorious encore of "Low Gravity", assisted on stage by the whole of Ohbijou.
It's tempting to be selfish and wish that none of the bands would get bigger than they are now, and thus continue to play in as wonderful bills such as this. But the fact is, if there's any sort of cosmic justice, all are destined for bigger and better things and so fans can just be thankful they were able to see them like this, back in the day, and hope that it'll still be a little while at least before they have to trek down to the Sound Academy to see them perform.
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