Coming Down From Sled Island

I'm writing this from the car as we cruise out of Cowtown, on our way to a couple of stops in the mountainous midzone before rolling back into Vancouver for sometime around Tuesday...

I'm still trying to properly wrap my mind around (and recover from) the amazing performances (and blazing sun) I was able to experience at Sled Island. It's hard to believe both the amount and range of wonderful music that was up for consumption over the course of four days, and last night's set from mainstage headliners Mogwai, shredding guitars with grace like only they can, followed by a flawless late-night club show by underrated Canadian folk rockers Rock Plaza Central, was the perfect send-off to a festival that defined itself on eclecticism and near unmitigated musical quality.

More in-depth rundowns of each day's music will come soon, but for the time being enjoy this quick recap of the festival as a whole...

Last night was the peak of a weekend that felt all about the music. Sure, it remained a modern festival: there were the obligatory t-shirts, some setlists were on the shorter side, and legitimate sustenance still was still pricier than a Swiss cafe... But from allowing fans to bring in their own food and drink (not to mention smokables), to minimal corporate interference (the event definitely didn't feel 'sponsored', or better, 'branded') to ensuring most main stage bands had the opportunity to play larger sets at smaller venues, it was obvious that organizer Zak Pashak's pledged devotion to 'raising artistic pride' was completely legit.

One of the first words I want to use to describe the lineup is eclectic, but as a Calgarian friend complained to me, the fest was almost devoid of any hip hop or electronica (and no complaints, but some big name country acts would have certainly also amped up attendance). While Sled Island clearly catered to fans of rock, that label has come to encompass so much that the weekend's lineup was anything but predictable. From Jose Gonzalez to Wire via Jonathan Richman and The Dodos, it's as good of an excuse as a writer gets to drop the word smörgåsbord.

So how to best sum up the sled island schedule? Maybe 'highbrow' indie rock? One of the papers in Calgary called the festival 'elitist', another 'pretentious,' but I think it was just the opposite: music with a complete lack of pretense; real art, if you will. The fest was crammed with intelligent, largely non-commercial bands -- many of the biggest names being acts who typically rely on a niche market of long-devoted fans. (Okay, the groups of teenage girls screaming "Kevin I love you" at Broken Social Scene may have been a temporary break in the atmosphere... but whatever, the Beatles or something.)

It took some major guts and some serious devotion to put together this kind of lineup. And it's hard to imagine Pashak could have chosen someone better to curate: Scott Kannberg, ex-Pavement guitarist. He's a mature rocker with real experience (and talent), but one who's always existed on the fringes of contemporary rock. By placing the best young Canadian musicians alongside some of the most critically lauded international artists, the Sled Island boys have shown maturity, balls, and some major taste. Ultimately, I'm interested in whether or not the event was a financial success. Mewata field was crammed (at least on Saturday), but some of the smaller shows I attended were verging on empty.

I mentioned a bunch of the big acts I caught (oh... Yo La Tengo!), and I'll write a little more on them over the next few days, but I was really only able to enjoy a small taste of the big sled island samplings, as I made it a priority to track down a number of the Vancity bands who joined me in crossing the Rockies.

My fist show, Thursday night, was just a tad surreal as I stepped into the Calgary Science Center, home of my highschool hotdog-selling summer job, to see three rising Vancouver rock bands for the first time. Portico, Young & Sexy, and Octoberman. They all impressed in different ways, more on that show soon. The next night I caught The Clips in what was easily one of my festival highlights... reminding me that Vancouver is home to some downright gifted musicians, and their music doesn't need to be ear-shreddingly loud to be genre-definingly great.

Speaking of ear-shredding, I couldn't make it to Calgary in time for Wednesday night's Bison, Japandoids, or DD/MM/YYYY shows, did any readers? Quinn didn't seem to either, but he does have some nice recaps up over at FBS. He made a few different decisions on what to attend each night, catching locals like Basketball and Bend Sinister. Check it.

If there's one gripe I had with the Sled Island promoters, and it's a small one, it's that they wouldn't give me an extra pass for a photographer! My girlfriend payed her own way, and we tried to get shots of everything we saw. But professional grade photographs were unfortunately not produced (don't worry, they're not all as blurry as the two previews included today). My apologies in advance... but if the throngs of young photographers were any indication, I'm sure a ton of good concert photos have turned up online (and I'll point you their way).

As I mentioned, I'm writing this from the car, the laptops just about ready to die, and I need to give the lady some attention before I'm alone, on the side of the highway, in the middle of the BC interior. Update: finally managing to post this from Clearwater and will hopefully be back in time to brew on Tuesday...

Now while you wait for full recaps, who can name the blurry band featured in that final photo?