Rarely has there been more Canada in one place than when Toronto’s The Wooden Sky graced the Eh! Stage at Folk Fest in jean-on-jean outfits.
Vocalist Gavin Gardner opted for a variation of our country’s national denim-on-denim uniform by matching a sexy wool trim with impeccable time changes, and teetering vocals.
Festival-goers got a full palate of ethereal soundscapes injected with lo-fi indie and ascendant violins.
The band played a series of new songs from their September release, Let’s Be Ready.
Tunes like “Oh My God (It Still Means a Lot to Me)” had knees jerking, some more pronouncedly once Gardner ditched his harmonica and took a foray into 80s new wave riffs.
At this point, all the old folks in the audience seemed to, on cue, execute their best “I’m a dad” moves.
Their song Saturday Night harkens to the scattered raw melodies and choppy vocals of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock.
From French Canadian folk, to southern twang, Wooden Sky subverts the many sub-genres of Canadiana and Americana.
Wooden Sky’s broad melodies resemble fleeting memories that sound like home or maybe something you’ve heard before. These folk underdogs are a band with a lot of potential to be a Canadian festival staple.
The guys from Wooden Sky didn’t let the high stage phase them. Gardner brought the band down to the crowd’s level with friendly conversation, at one point exchanging modest professions of love with a fan.
“Oh, I love you too. I’m kidding. No. No. I’m not kidding,” he said.
A man wearing plaid and a Beau’s hat sipped his Ottawa craft beer, looked up into the crisp fall sky. Inundated with shimmering rhythms and the wind in his moustache, he knew he was home.
It wasn’t the first time Hey Rosetta! joined the Folk Fest bill last minute. Providence and a cancellation from the Gaslight Anthem brought them back this year.
Two years ago, The Lumineers cancelled and the east coasters jumped right in their place, offering an honest performance that garnered a decent crowd.
The band had an option between staying at home and coming to join the festivities, so they made the trip, said lead vocalist, Tim Baker.
Hey Rosetta! didn’t hesitate even momentarily on song intros, an important contributor to their encompassing sound that commands your attention.
Enamoured folk-festers had no sooner lit up their sparklers—a new take on the Bic lighter—when the orchestral abilities and seamless song transitions fostered an undeniably euphoria.
During “Seeds,” the band fed off the audience’s percussive claps.
No one melody could be extricated as the band layered call and response singing until the air was filled with twangy mandolins and push bass lines.
They paused for nearly a minute before exploding into a soulful outro.
“We don’t wanna, don’t wanna crash,” Baker screamed into the microphone.
Songs from Seeds offered themselves best to live performance, with their ebbing rhythms, and tempered song structures.
Although Folk Fest received noise complaints for unfavourable decibel levels earlier in the weekend, the band performance of “Yer Fall” is proof that thousands of people can stand in near silence.
A chorus of angelic singing melted with sorrowful violins, running into a big bad bass interlude, only to rise again for a frozen moment of symphonic perfection.
Hey Rosetta! are veterans of how to create a stellar festival performance.
They selected “Welcome” as their closing song—evidence that the band knows how tempo and cliffhanger breaks can grab listeners and leaving them wanting. Hey Rosetta! returned to the stage and sent fans off with a solemn acoustic lullaby, and satisfying the need they had created.
