[ North of America ] w/ [
Cedarwood ]
Avalon Front
Windsor, Ontario
April 27, 2003
When one of your favourite bands comes to
your hometown, what do you do – freak out and get overly excited about it, or
try to keep your cool? I contemplated that question for weeks before North of
America’s stop in Windsor. In fact, part of me didn’t want to believe the show
was even happening at first since it’s not common for the bands I regard as
highly as NOA to play here. As the show date got closer and closer, my
excitement level built to extremely high levels, and for a brief moment I
doubted whether or not the show could live up to my expectations. It did.
This was my first time going to The Avalon Front, but the venue was much to my
liking. It had all the qualities that every good bar should have: a dancefloor,
casual seating, and a decent-sized area for bands to set-up. Indie rock shows in
Windsor are notoriously under-attended, yet there was a nice crowd of people on
this night who were all dressed to impress. Unfortunately they seemed mostly
interested in talking to each other.
The first set of the night belonged to a local band called Cedarwood, and I
believe this was their first public performance as well. The 3-piece group was
fronted by Ryan Fields (of Full White Drag and Riverfront Ensemble fame) on
guitar and vocals, with two gentlemen backing him up on bass and drums. At first
they played a few songs with a more noticeable verse-chorus-verse song
structure, but midway through the set the drummer took over on a second guitar,
and the remaining songs were more in the vein of Mogwai. The music was all very
enjoyable, but likely would have been even more enjoyable if I was familiar with
the songs before the show.
Song familiarity certainly wasn’t a problem during the North of America set.
Notorious for their slightly longer than average set-up times, the band was
actually ready to go about 10 minutes after Cedarwood finished. After some minor
tuning, Mike Catano counted the band into a bass-heavy version of “Let’s Get
Sick To Our Stomachs” from their latest album “Brothers, Sisters.” In fact, Jim
MacAlpine’s bass was so heavy for the majority of the show that anyone wasn't
familiar with the band’s lyrics would not be able to understand them. Luckily,
much of North of America’s strength as a band comes from the intricacies of
their music as the instruments intertwine with one another. In that respect, the
band was totally in sync on this night and it really showed during songs like
“xrxxrxrxr.”
As the set neared its end, Mark Mullane took over vocal duties and an excitable,
middle-aged woman started dancing around in front of the band, as she let loose
during her birthday celebration. It was a sight so humourous and unexpected that
Mullane was occasionally too busy smiling and laughing to sing properly, leaving
Colavecchia to pick up his slack. After trying to entice the audience to stand
up throughout the set, they finally got their wish.
[ CHRIS ]
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