INDIE WEEK 2013

FEATURE EDITORIAL

By: Fridae Mattas

Indie Week came and went, like all the festivals this year I did not cover as many bands as usual because of how busy my schedule has been this past year. Trying to squeeze in as much coverage as possible is too much stress so I winged it to the fullest this year. Most of the bands and artists playing I have already seen but some I will always support like Angela Saini, I tried so hard to cover her set but I couldn’t make it on time because I was trying to reach the Underground Garage for Australia’sArcane Saints. Personally I had not seen them yet so this time I promised myself I would, after all they came across the globe to be at this festival.

Arcane Saints played three shows during Indie Week 2013 and I caught one of the three shows on Friday night. The sound at the Underground Garage is not the greatest, neither is the stage but it is somewhere that has live music and that is important. The venue was packed, people were everywhere and of course the band was already playing, Their sound is your good ol’ fashioned rock and roll with a little grunge vibe . You can check out a tune from their set below the photo.

After Arcane Saints set I ran as fast as I could to Queen street but both The Horseshoe and the Rivoli were between bands so I migrated farther west towards the Hideout and again it was between bands so I ended up at the Bovine where my memory left me but there were a few super blurry shots of some random bands I still don’t know of on my camera, to remind me that indeed there was more.

When cool people come to the city I often miss a lot of them due to my non existent time, like when Doors Drummer John Densmore had a chat as a keynote speaker at the festival this year, a day after he did a Q&A at the first ever Reel Indie Film Fest. Completely bummed that I couldn’t fit him twice into my overflowing schedule. I did manage to reach the dual album release by Breached and The Joy Arson at the Rivoli Saturday October 19th. That show was like a reunion of all the cool folks, frenemies and posers alike. The music industry, well, the entertainment industry as a whole has the most unique collection of beings.

The Joy Arson gave it their all musically but vocally, singer Matt Moffit was off that night. Most of the tracks played were pitchy, I couldn’t even find a decent enough video clip to put up. A few vocal lessons and breathing exercises to help with the nerves should do the trick. The rest of the band were pretty good, they even added a new guitarist to the lineup. Next to hit the stage was Breached, you can check out a video of their set below.

Breached are one of my favorite bands on the scene currently and they threw it down at the Rivoli! This was probably one of their best sets, of course the light show was pretty cool! The new tracks are so good, and they do sound a little more commercial than their previous material. These days if you want music to be your sole source of income you better write some catchy fucking tunes or sell your soul to the devil… Just ask Katy Perry, who clearly sold her soul to the devil…

And that my friends is where this jibber ends, the winners of Indie Week are Sumo Cyco who battled it out Sunday October 19th at the Tattoo Rock Parlour with the other semi-finalists. Keep it locked for a photo editorial with a couple of specially chosen bands, and next year I hope to declutter more of my schedule so I can discover even more of Toronto’s indie music to share with all of you.