The Polymorphines with Owl Farm and Mississippi Grover
Thursday night at the Mansion was what Rock is all about, this was the first time in awhile where I have watched three bands play without the help of a band in the box or a laptop sitting beside the stage.
The night started off a little later than usual as there was a Kpp show earlier on. The attendance for the show was a little sleek at first but throughout the night the amount of audience members did grow however. Every band which played did have a few people dancing throughout their set, some louder than others but that is what makes a show!
My favourite one man band was on stage first Mississippi Grover. For the amount that I have seen Mississippi Grover each time that I do watch him perform he is just as entertaining. What I like the most about his set list is that it changes each night except for his last song. He did however play a song that he doesn’t play all that often called “It’s A Shit Storm” (I have it up on the video section of the site). I remember the first time that I saw Mississippi Grover play was at the Elixir he managed to keep egg shakers hidden inside of his sock until the very end of his set, but as I looked for them this time they were no where to be found. What I think sets Mississippi Grover up for a memorable performer is his catchy riffs and hooks but mostly his lyrics and song titles. The catchiest song that I can think of the most right now is Snakes in My house, especially because of the rubric opening hook. During one song which I can’t quite remember now which one it was he accidentally attached his harmonica on backwards. As per usual I can’t wait to see Mississippi Grover play the next time.
Kingston’s Alt Rockers Owl Farm was up next. Now here is one local band which is out to entertain. J-P on vocals is probably the most over the top front man for a Kingston band. He makes it near impossible for me to take any decent pictures because he doesn’t stay in one place for more than a second. Right from their opening song J-P had his hands pointing in every which direction, and all moving all over the stage with the song “e.r.t“. This is what makes a show a band doesn’t have to work into a groove they are ready to go right from the start, and every time that I have watched Owl Farm they are exactly that ready to go. After their last show down in the basement of the Mansion I was hoping that they were going to play their Led Zepplin cover (Immigrant Song) and to which to my hopes they did. It is the entertainment factor which I like the most about the song not the actual performance of the song. One song which was getting thrown out a few times before it was played was “Seven Hounds”. My favourite song which they played was “Teacher” if you listen to the opening line of the song you will probably be familiar with it, but it is the lyrics in the song which sets this song aside from the others. Cover songs with Owl Farm played was “Where Eagles Dare”, “Stepping Stone”, and “Immigrant Song”. Owl Farm is one band where you can’t compare their album sound to their live sound. Their live show just blows their album sound out of the water, I think Owl Farm should start recording a live dvd to go along with their albums.
This was The Polymorphines first show on their Eastern Canada tour. They probably didn’t get onto the stage until a little after one in the morning. By this time I was fighting with myself to stay focused and awake. As I said before it isn’t very often where you get to see a band nowadays play live without the aid of a band in the box or a laptop on stage. The Polymorphines are dead against having anything electronic help on stage with them. Their sound to sum up quickly is the mixture of 70’s rock with hard hitting Garage Rock fused together. Their set-up time was great it didn’t take them long at all to get ready to play which was a good thing. From the start of their set to the end which was a two in the morning not one person left the Mansion. One Instrument which was brought out almost immediately was the ever elusive and fan favoured Cowbell, “More Cowbell” was yelled out a few times during the song from a few different people. They played songs from their debut full album called Transistor Sister, and I don’t think anybody left disappointed in what they heard from the album. One of my more favourable aspects about the watching the set was the simplicity of the sound, you could stand there and watch five guys play their instruments and you were not left guessing if what you were hearing was what you were watching. They played Rock how Rock should be played. A nice added bonus to their music and their set is having a member set aside to play the Tambourine, Cowbell, Shakers, and Harmonica. When it came time for the Harmonica to be played the Polymorphines put on a clinic on how a harmonica should be played in a Rock Song. The last time I saw a harmonica being played like that was when I saw Mr. Chill play the last time. Nearing the ending of the set I was surprised at the fact that the skins on the drums were still together due to the fact on how hard they were being hit. If you are in a city where they are playing on this tour I would recommend checking them out.