The Acorn/Ohbijou and The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Lee's Palace - Nov. 27.2008

First, before I say anything to make you think otherwise, I had an excellent time last night. All three bands were awesome. Was it annoying that there were a pile of people at the back of the room who talked through the whole show? Uh, yes.

Second, props go to Liz, Jen (not that Jen - although I suspect she was there), Liz's Mom, and the Artist known as Mr. Grosman and Mrs. Grosman (sorry if that just got really awkward for the two of you, but you wanted a shout out, and, let's be honest, I'm just not a great writer).



The Rural Alberta Advantage were up first, and, well, I thought they were in much better form than when I saw them last. They played a lot of stuff from their record Hometowns with a bunch of new stuff that I hadn't heard before (does this mean there's a new album on the way?... I hope). And while their sound isn't for everyone, I think they gained a few more fans, particularly since it was very buz-ay even early on last night.

(Oh, and Nils, if you're reading this, Liz felt much better about your vocal performance... so, I may get to play your record at home more often.)



Ohbijou was second. They are a really awesome band, one of my favourites from the GTA, and definitely one that Liz and I both listen to a lot. But, this was not a good venue for them at all... either that or they have a lot of a-holes that went to watch them/The Acorn last night. The first time I saw them (Aoelian Hall - London On - opening for Great Lake Swimmers - where GLS recorded Oniagra), the acoustics were amazing, everyone was dead silent, possibly because they were knocked on their collective asses by how good Ohbij was/is.

Especially after re-listening to some of the audio from the show, the chatter has made me increasingly more upset. Maybe the talking had something to do with Ojbij playing a lot of stuff that wasn't on their outstanding debut Swift Feet for Troubling Times and the crowd being unfamiliar with the new stuff... either way... you need to shut up.

On the bright side, they've got a new record coming out March '09, which, at this point, might be my front-runner for album of the year '09 (that is, unless KanYe releases an album).


(anyone else get a Jimmy Fallon vibe from Rolf [right]?)

I've seen the Acorn once before, and maybe I have a terrible memory, but I didn't remember them rocking out like that... the percussion gave off this unbelievable tribal kind of feel (that Mr. Grosman remarked on after the show), they wailed on their guitars (like I do in the Rock Band game), and they were generally just awesome.

The funniest moment of the night...

Girl in Crowd: "Wooooo.... TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF!"
Rolf: "No, SERIOUSLY you take your shirt off... "

I like living in Toronto...

Also: "History Jen" + her thoughts on the show.
Additionally: Paul comments on the RAA's record Hometowns.