Suoni Per Il Popolo 2013

Iceage, Milk Music, Grouper, highlights and lowlights from Suoni Per Il Popolo

So I've decided to write about the highlights of my Suoni Per Il Popolo festival this year, where I got to witness some memorable moments alongside boring experiences.

My first stop on June 5th was at Sala Rossa, a great venue when it's packed, to see the inspiring Grouper. I walked to the venue at approximately 11 pm and was greeted by my cousin outside who told me I had missed half of her set. I walked in to what was a library - everyone sitting down, gazing at the stage while Liz Harris manipulated her instruments, calmly strung a bass-heavy guitar and performed in front of visuals consisting of a river or some sort of stream of water. After hearing familiar tunes from The Man Who Died In His Boat, she definitely altered some parts. I ordered a drink and a gentleman bartender whispered the price to me, I realized I hate ambient shows where it requires absolutely no output from the crowd. Harris was great, from what I caught, however I can't waltz in somewhere and feel like it's the nap segment of the day in kindergarten. Never did I fall asleep once and we had to nap like everyday. Never do I want to return to an experience like that in my life. But whatever; ambient shows, I guess. I also missed Syngja, who I heard was really good. I have a hard time coming out early to shows. 

I hate long shows. Actually, the truth is I hate opening bands. I used to love them when I was emo but now I dread them. Does that make me an asshole? Yes, it does. Opening bands should always be supported, local or from abroad, and nobody shows up early enough which creates the indie-rock time delay, you become part of the problem. Also, you never know, you may be seeing the next Nirvana play a twenty minute set at 8 pm and your calling card to life will be "I saw the next Nirvana at Il Motore for $8". My confession is I'm a journeyman with no friends so I can't wander around for 4 hours looking like I'm the only guy in the venue on meth. It's just not a good look for me. If I was going to Bal-en-Blanc then I'd be fine but I also like my music without the "holy shit, this sucks" factor.

Monday, June 11th had one of the best bills I've seen in a while. Sadly, I missed Ultrathin but I have a good excuse: I needed to work overtime or I couldn't pay rent. I got in minutes before Arizona's Destruction Unit took the stage and I must say they were the best band I've seen thus far in 2013 (minus The Rolling Stones). They pummeled through tracks from their standout Void as well as new material from their upcoming Sacred Bones release Deep Trip, including a track called "The War on Drugs", which is by far the best quit-your-job-and-skateboard-away song of the year. Their rock 'n' roll fashion gimmick was a little over the top but it coexisted well with their fierce, heavy-as-hell triple-guitar assault and sheer lack of excitement to be playing. One of the loudest bands I have ever heard at the venue, which constantly smells like a lobster gone badly. You can watch a few tracks here, via this black-market YouTube set:

I was thrilled to see Milk Music in Canada again. I caught their set last year when they opened for Iceage (the headliner was the worst musical experience of my life) and their rock 'n' roll mixed with nineties punk-rock fusion amazed me. They're not doing anything different from Mudhoney or Dinosaur Jr., but dammit who isn't? Their drummer Dave Harris (who looks eerily similar to a longhaired Luke Wilson), was not there but they had a replacement that kept up sharply.

The band didn't look as energetic and that more excited than the previous act, mainly because the crowd sucked. Man, Montreal has got some weak-ass crowds. Maybe they don't want to get their fleece pullovers wrinkled but God almighty, move a bit. Not one person was dancing, prancing or bouncing—only my fat head rocking back and forth while I bumped into accidentally bumped into someone who expected an apology, as if this is a seated Elvis Costello show. After their third track "Out of My World", guitarist/vocalist Alex Cohen looks like he's struggling with something, breathing heavily and shaking his head. He looks around and says:

"Where is he...(points to the crowd)? Oh well, thanks for the ecstasy man".

After playing some new cuts from their fantastic Cruise Your Illusion, including "Runaway" and "I've Got A Wild Feeling", the band hopped off the stage and chilled at the merch booth, heavily bored. 

Merchandise, the Tampa Bay pop outfit, was headlining and after enjoying their Total Nite EP, I was excited to see them. However I don't know what the hell Carson Cox was doing to his voice, but he tried hitting these high notes, accelerating his pitch and although he didn't crack; it just sounded too forced. They opened with "Anxiety's Door" and there were about thirty people in the venue that honestly looked deader than any played-out zombie television series. Before playing a ballad, Cox addressed the crowd:

"This song is a lot like you guys—Shhhhhh...".

Well played, my man.

They're a little better on record. They weren't band but they certainly could have kept to the basics. But my friends, diehard fans, seemed to enjoy it immensely. Maybe the thin crowd was due to the fact that the show finished at well past 1am so they needed to catch the last metro. Either way, it was a great show and I anticipate the next triple-bill that excites me.

Last year, I caught Iceage at Il Motore and it was packed to the rim. Milk Music warmed up the audience nicely before the Danish punks took the stage and absolutely murdered their songs, carelessly blazing through a twenty-five minute set where Johan Surrballe Wieth was incapable of pronouncing a syllable we could understand. It was so bad, I think Macy Gray opening for David Bowie at The Bell Centre in 2004 and saying "Yo Toronto!" was so much better. What was so frustrating is that these guys put out spectacular records but you couldn't even tell if it was the same band live. Maybe they were exhausted or pissed off—the moshpit at that show was intense though and I expected a similar setting.

So here I am, at about 12:30 am, nearly black-out drunk and purposely heightening my expectations, waiting for something to entice me. Iceage opens with "Ecstasy" from the brilliant You're Nothing, and during the last note Wieth cocks back his guitar and accidentally smashes it on the floor, twisting the entire neck upside down. He looks at the crowd and boyishly smiles—it goes uphill from there. 

Highlights include "Wounded Hearts" and the fantastic "Morals", which got the best crowd reaction. This show was incomparable to last year's: they were tighter, looked much happier to be there and sounded almost like they did on record. The crowd though, sucked again. It was nearly as packed but nobody really moved around a lot. There was a pit but barely—a pit your Mom can go into and take a selfie. They played an entire set comprised of tracks off their latest album except for the encore, the uplifting "You're Blessed" off New Brigade was a perfect ending and finally, the chaos began in the crowd. But too late, Montreal – your sardine poses got the best of you.

--Follow Alex Giardini on Twitter: @giardinia