I Just Got Back

From Wolfe Island Music Fest. After a late start to the day (and missing a number of the opening bands), I literally just stepped out of the car after a 2 and a half hour drive back to Toronto from Kingston.

All of the acts I managed to catch were awesome. Seriously, the lineup was solid... Walking in to witness the lovely Basia Bulat finishing her set, I got to see full acts from Born Ruffians (definitely the best surprise of the event... I had heard good things, but I was thoroughly impressed), Weeping Tile (back together for a NON-Christmas show???), Apostle of Hustle (I expected to have fun for these guys, but they almost beat out Born Ruffians for their sheer creativity and likability), and Holy Fuck (always a pleasure to see live, especially when they're just jamming for the majority of the set... their last song worked SO well).

Meanwhile, the reason why I'm posting this (and it's probably quite incoherent, as my eyes/mind/fingers are beginning to falter more rapidly with each passing second) is because of Wolf Parade. I know that they've more or less fallen off the radar these past few months, especially with the successes of both Sunset Rubdown and The Handsome Furs. But what I didn't realize is that they are, in fact, still together and going strong.

For the past 10 months, Wolf Parade has been busy writing what I'm not afraid to say is likely the best music to come from the Canadian scene. Ever. I wish I could say more, but I was just stuck at that show, jumping around, giddy like a schoolgirl, with a shit-eating grin on my face. Each new song they played was better than the last -- all culminating in a 12-minute long masterpiece to close the show (they didn't need to do that encore...) that I wouldn't have traded for This Heart's On Fire, You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son, and Modern World (three of their favourites that weren't played).

Okay, this post was significantly longer than I intended. I'm gonna go to sleep now, and I'll link things in the morning. A post about my run-in, drinking, and discussions with Craig, Franz, and Tad from The Hold Steady will be coming shortly.