2008 CASBY Awards @ Kool Haus

October 23rd, 2008

The 2008 CASBY (Canadian Artists Selected By You) Awards and concert took place last night at the Kool Haus. It was definitely a unique experience, with the mini-festival atmosphere inside a modestly sized venue, performances by some really cool bands to go along with some random entertainment from various Edge 102.1 personalities and of course, the awards honouring some of the best that the Canadian music scene has to offer.

Being a first time CASBY attendee, it was all a bit surreal, as both stages were right beside each other and once one band would finish, another band would take the other stage and so on and so forth. I’d like to say that the evening was for the most part very entertaining, but to suggest it went off without a hitch would be unfair to an unpartisan point of view.

The night was supposed to be about Canadian bands and their fans. Knowing this, why would we get a strictly adhered to show time of only 2 hours for 7 bands!? When USS only gets to play 2 (!!??) songs, you know that the night can only reach a certain level of wickedness. There was an after party at the Guvernment that apparently started at 10pm, but is this something that should take away from the concert experience that most if not all had come for? If there is a rational explanation for this, I’m all ears, but the short set time for each band was indeed the low point of an otherwise compelling evening.

The night started with an energetic 3 song set from Die Mannequin, followed right away by 2 songs from the hyper-energetic USS, including one of my 3 favourite songs of the night, Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole. Shortly thereafter, Tokyo Police Club took to the main stage and performed 3 songs including another favourite, The Nature of The Experiment. Their awkward charm is quite becoming, and they come across as really easy to root for. Neverending White Lights came on shortly after them and performed 2 songs, leading us into the stretch run of the festivities with Bedouin Soundclash and their 3 song performance…

Then after a short break of Edge entertainment, my highlight of the night and the band that probably received the biggest ovation (along with USS), City and Colour began playing on the main stage with the beautiful melancholy that otherwise goes by Body In A Box. This song was far and away my favourite of the evening. Dallas Green proved – and quite easily – that his voice is not only one of the most unique and powerful in modern rock, but that he can carry a single note into your brain like an earworm that your erstwhile favourite song needs a whole 3 minutes to do. City and Colour finished with Waiting and the heart-wrenching Sleeping Sickness. Between the efforts he puts in with City and Colour and Alexisonfire, it seems clear that we are looking at a rock export who may some day come to be Canada’s finest (like, umm, ever).

The night concluded with Sloan rocking out like the wily vets they are with 4 tunes, including the pulsating Who Taught You to Live Like That. They are true rock showmen through and through.

If anyone is wondering who took home the hardware, City and Colour won the NXNE award, while USS took home 2 awards including Best New Artist and Best Single for Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole. Tokyo Police Club took home the award for Best Album.

All in all a good night, but if anyone who is anyone reads this, please in the future let the CASBYs be about the music first and foremost (re: longer set times for the bands – I didn’t come for an after party, I came for a concert.) I spoke with several fans in the audience and it’s really all we wanted!

Posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 4:50 pm by Paco G. and is filed under Concerts & Events.

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