ShoreFest: Steph Macpherson & Sumner Brothers @ Kits Beach -- 08/06/11

The last night of the Symphony of Fire Celebration of Lights also means the last night of the Shore104's annual ShoreFest. Aside from their usual stage at English Bay, this year they also had one in Vanier Park and one at Kits Beach -- spotlighting the Song Search top 10. And yesterday, not only were the last three of the top ten playing, they would also be announcing the winner of the competition.

But first, The Sumner Brothers were up, who were one of the bands I was pulling for in the Song Search. It was just the two brothers, Bob and Brian up on stage with a more stripped down set, and I am not sure if it was that, but the set seemed a bit more low key than the last few times I had seem them. It could have also been they were playing a few slow, sombre songs about death on the beach on a crisp sunny afternoon. But they picked up steam again at the end of the set, with a cover of a Stompin' Tom song, "Luke's Guitar", and a traditional song that is a staple of their show, "Pay Me My Money Down". I still enjoyed their set, but perhaps they're just better suited to venues where the whiskey flows.

Next up was another of my favourite in the top ten, Steph Macpherson. She had a backing band full of familiar faces -- Mike Edel, Shaun Huberts & Jason Cook -- making sure the stage was full of top notch musicians. She kicked off with "Best Of Us" and played a few off her EP To You, as well as a couple new songs.
Even though the sound mix was a little off, it was quite a good set, with highlights being "Something In You" and one of the new ones that I didn't happen catch the name of. Her set wrapped up with the song that, had I any say in the matter, would have been the winner of the Song Search, "Summer Salute", getting some of the gathering crowd on the beach clapping along.

The final band before the announcement of the winner was Freeflow, who had more of a reggae-ish feel to them. They had a pretty decent energy -- especially the guitarist who broke multiple strings throughout the set -- but their songs were lacking in variation and sounded quite similar to each other; even the few covers they threw in throughout the set -- "My Girl" by The Temptations, The Police's "So Lonely", ABC by the Jackson 5.

At then it was time for the announcement, after playing a medley of all the songs in contention, the golden guitar was awarded to Randy Ponzio of Quest Poetics. Which... well, let's just say I respectfully disagree with that outcome.
(Attempting to link to the YouTube video he uploaded for the contest gives a private video error, so... yeah.)

ShoreFest: Wide Mouth Mason & Jeremy Fisher @ English Bay -- 08/03/11

It's that time of year again, time for the Symphony of Fire Celebration of Lights. Which also means it's time for Shore104 to put on their annual ShoreFest. This year they have three stages, one in Vanier Park, one on Kits Beach -- spotlighting the Song Search top 10 -- and the usual stage at English Bay, where the setup was a little different than the last couple years. Two years ago it was on the roof of the bathhouse facing the beach, and last year there was a stage set up on the beach, but this year it was on the bathhouse roof, facing toward the VIP area, so the people on the beach could hear the music, but not see the band. It was a bit of a strange setup, but luckily I was in the prestigious VIP area (where there were also appetizers from The Keg circulating) to catch the bands.

First up was Jeremy Fisher, who I had somehow never seen live on his own, just for the Malahat Revue. He took the stage with just his acoustic guitar (and an assortment of harmonicas) starting off with "Shine A Light" and "Cigarette", playing a good mix of old and new songs. The songs sounded great, and Fisher was also pretty funny, with great banter between songs; playing with the fact that the people on the beach below couldn't really see, like joking that Paul Simon had joined him when he slipped in a cover of "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard". There was another cover near the end of the set, when he mentioned that Prince wanted a ban on people covering his songs, so he had to do this while he still could, playing "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" -- and pausing mid-song to wonder about the lyrical content.

setlist
Shine A Little Light, Cigarette, Ain't Got Nothing but Plenty of Time, Scar That Never Heals (with Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard [Paul Simon cover]), Nothing To Lose, Left Behind, Singing On The Sidewalk, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man [Prince cover], Come Fly Away, High School.

There was only a brief break before Wide Mouth Mason, with their new permanent bassist Gordie Johnson (who you may should know from Grady and Big Sugar). They kicked off the set with "Why", before concentrating on their new album, No Bad Days. I had heard a lot of the songs live at their show back in January, but it was great to hear them again, being more familiar with the album. The funk-infused "Shut Up and Kiss Me" and the bluesy "Sweet Little Thing" were both definite highlights, and it was cool to see how well Johnson meshed with the always awesome Shaun Verreault and Safwan Javed, like they had been playing together for years.
They paused mid-set for the stunt plane that was doing tricks in the bay, and finished off their set with a few more -- including Verreault's amazing guitar playing showcased on "More Of It" -- ending with an old favourite, "Change".

There's one mire night of the fireworks and ShoreFest to go, and on Saturday I plan on checking out the Kits Beach stage which will feature, among others, Steph Macpherson, The Sumner Brothers, and the unveiling of the winner for this year's Song Search.

setlist
Why, Listen Sister, Get A Hold Of You, Go Tell It To The Waterfall, Shut Up And Kiss Me, Sweet Little Thing, Only A Secret If You Keep It, Only The Young Die Good.
Midnight Rain, More Of It, Change.