The Sound of Canada with The Acorn, The RAA and Ohbijou

There are times you should be proud of Canada and the music we're putting out into the world. A couple of weeks ago, I got to see a solid sold-out triple-bill of some of the rising stars of the indie-music scene as The Acorn, Ohbijou, and The Rural Alberta Advantage rolled into Lee's Palace and put on a solid show from start to finish. Best $10 ticket I ever bought, and it will seem like a bargain when these bands all start to headline their own seperate gigs.

The opening set from Edmonton's The Rural Alberta Advantage had just started up when we got into Lee's Palace, and the Edmonton-based trio's indie folk-rock got the night of to a strong start with their upbeat energetic percussion and narratives that took me back to the long drives across the prairies of my youth. My interest in them came about from picking up their well-reviewed debut album Hometowns (2008) as part of my eMusic subscription, and that live show got the crowd happy and moving right from the start.

The RAA Don't Haunt this place (mp3)
The RAA Frank, AB (mp3)

Next up was the hometown lovefest for Toronto's Ohbijou, who've been touring with The Acorn in support of a collaborative 12" EP, with The Acorn covering 2 Ohbijou tracks and vice-versa (the entire album can be heard streaming on the Kelp Records site). I'd heard good things about Ohbijou following both a strong debut album Swift Feet for Troubled Times (2006) and a performance I missed at Harbourfront. I had no idea what I was in as guitars, cello, violin, drums and keyboards took the stage. From the first rapturous notes sung by guitarist/composer/singer Casey Mecija, I was hooked on this band, probably for life. Their songs were full of urgent strings and soaring harmonies that bring to mind walking through Toronto's downtown neighbourhoods during that first snowfall of the year. Casey looked pleased to see the crowd, calling out to her and her sister/violinist Jenny's parents out in the crowd. They played a song or two that Casey said would be on their new album, due in the spring. No idea which label is distributing, but they should jump at the chance to release such a band that's bound for glory.

By the time Ottawa's The Acorn hit the stage, I was thinking the night couldn't get any better. The Acorn's critically acclaimed Hope Glory Mountain was a highlight of my listening year. The album is named after it's subject, Gloria Esperanza Montoya, mother of lead singer Rolf Klausener, and it lovingly, beautifully, tells her life story from Honduras to Canada. The songs run over rivers and mountains with layered percussion rhythms and passionate vocals that give a global taste to the music. The live show was passionate and charming, culminating with an encore that saw Ohbijou and The Acorn collaborate on some of the songs from their EP. The look of joy on their faces let you know these musicians love the music, and love doing it together.

Video for one of my favourite songs, The Acorn's "Crooked Legs" (h/t to Stereogum)

I think about some shows I've been to before, those ones that you keep telling people "I was there before they really got big". This show will be one of those stories as each one of these bands made a lifetime fan out of me and many people in that crowd.