CMW Review: Night Two at The Garrison

March 12th, 2010

cadence-weapon1
Cadence Weapon

Toronto was still a buzz as Canadian Music Week moved into its second day Thursday. The city gets an energy this time of year that almost rivals the excitement of September’s Toronto International Film Festival. I stopped by the second of three Eye Weekly showcases to check out the diverse set. Check out my reviews after the jump.

First Rate People
First Rate People are a part folk-rock, part soul, part dance group of talented youngsters who play pop music about puberty and crashing your girlfriend’s girl’s night.

Stage Presence: A
First Rate People warm your heart with their positivity during CMW, a festival that can sometimes come off as too cool for school.

Stage Banter: A
These kids definitely made it clear that they are just the kind of people you want to befriend, with their self-deprecating humour and smart pop-culture references.

Actual Talent: B+
The band had a great balance of ballads, dance tracks and even incorporated beats and samples. Also, you have to love a co-ed band with sugary sweet vocals.

Audience Response: B
It always sucks being the first band up in a stellar line-up so First Rate People were stuck with people slowly streaming in.

Potential for Superstardom: A+
This band has the poppy coolness of Vampire Weekend while being young, cute and relatable. Plus, one of the singers has Justin Bieber bangs.

Overall Grade: A

Extra Credit: Singing a song about Jacob from the TV show Lost. Amazing

Diamond Rings
Diamond Rings is the colourful, androgynous and oh so cool solo dance act helmed by Johnny O also of The D’Urbervilles.

Stage Presence: A+
If Diamond Ring’s Johnny O has one thing going for him, it is his stage persona. His gender bending musical identity is one part Karen O and one part David Bowie.

Stage Banter: C+
Diamond Rings kept the audience interaction to a minimum, but somehow I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. His quiet, mysteriousness adds to the impression that he is performing for himself and no one else.

Actual Talent: A-
Johnny O’s smooth, deep voice is the epitome of listenable and he is a master of the synthesizer. Not to mention his talent shines through his command of the stage.

Audience Response: A
The audience was easily enthralled by Diamond Rings’ peacockish display along with his danceable songs.

Potential for Superstardom: A
Johnny O is already making a name for himself with his other musical project The D’Urbervilles and if his talent outlasts the novelty of his look, superstardom is definitely eminent.

Overall Grade: B+

Extra Credit: The rainbow unicorn tapestry draped in front of his synthesizer.

Fields of Fur
Fields of Fur are a rock trio lead by Holy F-ck member Brian Borcherdt. This show was a rare one. Fields of Fur have no songs of their MySpace and no shows booked to come.

Stage Presence: B
The band is three shows old so they have yet to cement their on-stage rolls. But, the band members aren’t newbies to the stage themselves (bass player Anna Edwards is from the band Foxfire) so it won’t be long before they are confident with their new band.

Stage Banter: B
Lead singer Brian Borcherdt stuck with the gracious “Thank you for being heres” and the standard pre-song blurbs but missed out on the relatable stage raport.

Actual Talent: A
This band knows what they are doing. Despite their youth, it is clear that they are each veterans of their respective instruments because of the stripped down simplicity of their music.

Audience Response: B-
It must be said that for an indie three-piece to follow Diamond Rings is an unfortunate line-up decision and even Brian Borcherdt’s minor celebrity wasn’t quite able to quiet the chit-chatty crowd.

Potential for Superstardom: B+
Lead singer Brian Borcherdt already has two other successful projects on the go, a solo project and Holy F-ck. He will have to find the time to focus on Fields of Fur for it to be as popular as his other music.

Overall Grade: B+

Extra Credit: Nabbing a second to last spot in a popular Canadian Music Week showcase for their third show.

Cadence Weapon
Cadence Weapon is a poetic Canadian rapper. His CMW set was a self-described experiment which more closely resembled a rock show.

Stage Presence: A+
Cadence Weapon is incredibly charming and exciting to watch. His on stage presence almost dares the audience to do the impossible, look away.

Stage Banter: A+
Cadence weapon is a master at the type of stage banter I love the most, story telling. He keeps the crowd tuned in between songs with stories from his Canada Reads failure to the trials of testing out a new musical format.

Actual Talent: A+
The category of “Actual Talent” almost becomes laughable when you think about Cadence Weapon. He lies somewhere between talented and a mastermind.

Audience Response: A-
A lot of the audience members I talked to were at The Garrison for the sole purpose of checking out Cadence Weapon and it showed. Even the most jaded, head-bobbers in the crowd were inspired to move when he jumped down among the masses.

Potential for Superstardom: A
For Cadence Weapon to become a superstar he won’t have far to go. If this CMW show gave a taste of what his new rap/rock album will be like, he definitely is teetering on the edge of explosion.

Overall Grade: A+

Extra Credit: Cadence Weapon’s drummer is Gordon Lightfoot’s son.

Check back tomorrow for my review of tonight’s Lee’s Palace show with Winter Gloves, The Russian Futurists, The Acorn and more. Also, look out for more about Cadence Weapon and Diamond Rings coming soon.

Tags: cadence weapon, Diamond Rings, Fields of Fur, First Rate People