WE DID IT!! Trans-Labrador Highway Crossing Completed

View from the Hotel Alexis Executive Suite.

We did it. We crossed one of Canada's newest and most remote roads in a rear wheel drive Toyota Yaris!
It's freezing cold here in Port Hope - Simpson but the view of Alexis Bay from our hotel here is amazing.

We'll post later on about the drive across. But suffice to say it was some of the most difficult driving I have ever experienced the roads are extremely treacherous and largely unpaved. Apparently the phrase "the highway is open" means something completely different in Newfie. But the drive was also exciting, we sots lots of wildlife including a moose and two more bears yesterday.

MOOSE!!

Tonight, we sail for the island of Newfoundland and begin a new chapter of our adventure, but not before visiting the historic sites along the Southern Coast of Labrador including the ruins and cemetery of a 16th Century Basque fishing village at Red Bay.

Trip Recollections: Day 1 - Goodbye Montreal/Hello Quebec

And so it came to pass we left Montreal and headed East

Monday we left Montreal, buoyed onwards on a gloomy day by a last minute goodbye from our Colorado pals, we headed east towards the capital of Quebec, Quebec City. I was surprised to learn along the way that despite visiitng Quebec City before Erin had never visited it's famous walls -- FACT: Quebec City is North America's only walled city.

We drove into the old town around 4PM and began walking around visiting some of the amazing historic buildings preserved behind Vieux Quebec's fortifications. The sense of history is palpable as you walk the city's quaint 400 year old cobblestone streets, visiting the homes of people like Quebec born Louis Jolliet, European navigator of the Mississippi River and surveyor of the Labrador coastline,  visiting the site of the United Province of Canada's summer parliament in Montmorency Park, or exploring the Plains of Abraham where the English wrested control of Canada from the French, setting off centuries of ill will that continue to confound our nation of "two solitudes".

But perhaps more surprising than all the history, all the uncanny laid bare, was a most surprsing encounter on the street. Whilst admiring the 16th Century Thomas Johnson house a voice called out " Oh my God", turning around immediately we were surprised to see Erin's aunt Laurie standing right behind us. A fortuitous meeting indeed as we had missed her in Montreal but had no idea she would be in Quebec City as well -- though Erin claims a premonition. We thusly spent the early evening hour walking aorund the old city, visiting the fortifications before saying our goodbyes. Erin and I then had dinner at a crappy tourist restaurant where the only good thing were probably the pictures taken below. I always have the worst luck with restaurants in Quebec City!

More reminiscing later on our trip ... Time to hit the Trans Labrador Highway's final leg 

Erin and Aunt Laurie

View of the Quebec National Assembly (Provincial Capital) From the Fortifications

The Quaint Streets of Vieux Quebec

Dispatches from the Happy Valley

About 10kms from Happy Valley - Goose Bay. The sign facing away from us warns drivers in the other direction of Caribou on the highway.

Which there definitely were ....

Along with Black Bears ...

Apologies for the radio silence here. The last few days of Mutek kept us far away from the internet and deep into the parties all of which we're pretty sure we had fun at. As always saying goodbye to old and new friends is bittersweet, but we hope to see everyone very, very soon. Thanks again to the Mutek staff , programmers and volunteers for making a wonderful festival experience we won't soon forget.

Since departing with a wonderful Colorado send-off at the corner of Ste. Catherine and St. Laurent no less, we've mostly been in places that are far away from the interwebs or at least don't have open wi-fi networks. I can happily report however that we have now made our goal of reaching Labrador and as I write, the morning sun is shining through our hotel room window here in Happy Valley - Goose Bay of course it's also 4:45 EST/5:45 AST but the subarctic summers also mean the sun doesn't go down until around 10:30.

The trip has been amazing so far and we hope to be able to share some of the stories and incredible pictures over the next few days.

Our hot wings waiver from Jungle Jim's in HVGB

At any rate, we head out later today towards Port Hope Simpson/Mary's Harbour and hope to catch a private boat to visit Battle Harbour which is technically closed until next week. Here's to hoping our good looks and charm get us as far as the Yaris has, as we prepare to make the treacherous road drive across the Mealy Mountains. A task far more dificult perhaps than Wings night at Jungle Jims.

On the Ecstasy of The Slow Floorburner and the Fear of Trampling

Nicolas Jaar @ Metropolis

Is the new direction of electronic dance music the slow burning sound scape, occasionally punctuated by beats? It's perhaps a valid question to ask after the second night of our Mutek experience, third night of the festival, failed to deliver a clear cut, hands in the air style party rocker, save Alicia Hush's four to the floor Live PA in La Parc De La Paix.

By no means however, is this an unwelcome situation. If anything the whole tone of the festival has felt entirely restrained -- well paced might be another good descriptor -- preferring to focus on aural experimentation and creating the opportunity of a patient listening experience rather than servicing the demands of beat hungry ravers. It's really what Mutek does best - providing unique opportunities to see and hear unique performances.

But the tension is clearly palpable. When this festival explodes it's going to be amazing.

But if the beats weren't always there the audience didn't seem to mind. In fact in proof of the growth and appeal of the Mutek festival and perhaps electronic music in general in North America, the showcase at Metropolis last night was dangerously oversold.

We hung out again toward the rear of the theatre. Opting for a quiet table from which we could hold court, serve as a location reference for lost parties and answer a seemingly unending string of text messages which usually involved questions and statements along the lines of  "Where R U?" "This is sick" "I'm on my way".

The rear seats proved to be an excellent space to hang out as when we attempted to go up front and find some friends right before Nicolas Jaar's performance we were overcome by the crowd.. The relentless push of the crowd forward was as I mentioned earlier, annoying at best, criminally negligent at worst. An unending horde of people crowding their way to catch a glimpse of 22 year old wunderkid who is unarguably one of the most lauded composers of our time.

Jaar's set did not disappoint. Flanked by a guitarist and Saxophone player, the band moved deftly  through familiar soundscapes containing portions and echoes of his globally acclaimed Circus Company debut album Space Is Only Noise, taking their time to weave in moments of improvisation before somewhat predictably dropping the beat hammer for the album's title track some 40 minutes after taking the stage.

During Jaar's performance we beat a hasty retreat for some respite from the crowd then made a pact to leave following Jaar. Apparently a lot of other folks had made this pact as well and as barely the final notes hung in the air, the crowd, so anxious to move forward just a short time earlier took a completely 180 and surged for the exits. I am sure we did not move to the door under our own power. Talking to friends, we rode the push of humans out the exit all of us becoming separated in the process and having to reconnect outside. It was dangerous and perhaps more tellingly it might be proof Mutek has become a bit of a victim of its own success, and much like the extremely wise decision to forego using Metropolis' Savoy Room this year, perhaps it's time to retire Metropolis for good. 

But where one venue falls a bit short the newly renovated SAT does not disappoint providing an excellent venue for the fantastically scored performance by Sendai (Peter Van Hoesen + Yves De Mey) and the new SATosphere space looks to be a remarkable location for Christina Sealy, Jeremy Greenspan and Keith Fullerton Whitman performance tonight.

A few more notes about the show at Metropolis: Rumpistol and Red Baron pulled an otherwise fairly unengaging effort out of the realm of the forgettable with a fantastic vocal pop closer. Deniz Kurtel's intimate R&B inspired grooves fell flat it the largeness of the venue.

In other good stories of the night I proved I can still deliver the facts when called upon to explain the history of the Seven Years War and its legacy on Quebec and Canada, Erica Dixon and Justin Kane Forthuber made the trip up from Colorado, good chats about music with friends, hip hop "nerdery" with Sean Horton and a very funny chat about gum to tooth ratio proclivities. 

Also: Can someone explain to us the expression "So fresh you won't blow out a candle?" Sounds like it could be cool rap lyric, but apparently it's something English people say when commenting on French Open tennis.

Also: URSULA BOGNER IS TOTALLY FAKE!

Also WTF is this disturbing ad campaign for a confection called "Shaving Cream"

Half Time Report - Mutek Friday

Alicia Hush @ Parc De La Paix

Quick halftime report from Mutek. Cincechamber is amazing. Watch this great video from Lady Berg below!Big ups to Recombinant Media Labs and Naut Haumann for an amazing showcase! Plus Tornto's own Alicia Hush delivered by far the best set of the Experiences at Parc De La Paix!

More good times of seeing old friends and meeting new ones -- looking forward to more of this tonight!

Mutek Day 1 - Dudes, Food, Booze & Reviews

Monolake @ Metropolis

The beginning of our Montreal adventures beyond our hotel walls began as any adventure in Quebec should begin - a trip to St.Hubert's Chicken. St. Hubert's is a franchised roasted chicken joint that serves as some sort of baseline social denominator for Quebeckers. Unlike similar restaurants in Ontario and the US such as Swiss Chalet and Kenny Rogers Roasters - typically regarded as fine fare for a date with Grandma -- St.Hubert attracts a diverse range of ages groups and socio-economic classes. Make no mistake it is clearly not an ethnically diverse crowd - this is definitely Whitey's chicken -- but I am constantly amazed at the broad demographic appeal of the joint. Point in case, when we mention to a Quebec friend that we're not so sure that St.Hubert agreed with us so well that night - note: it certainly agreed with us a 4 in the morning eating it in bed and watching French Open tennis -- she immediately looked at us like we were crazy and asked "What? You don't like St.Hubert?" This is the kind of hold this place has on people here. I might also add that St. Hubert's sauce is fantastic but It is by no means Chalet Sauce, however both are excellently drinkable!

After dinner we headed toward the festival headquarters to get our guest passes, began meeting up with friends, making new ones and sitting down to witness our first A/V Showcase of the evening at Canada's historic Monument National Theatre. 

The first performance Transmission by Ben Shemie consisted of two suitably vintage radio receivers on stage - while this would have been an otherwise frustrating attempt at avant-garde-ness that belonged more in a gallery setting than on stage - the piece takes on a new life when you understand that the work, which consisted of two separate radio broadcasts taking place simultaeneously on CKUT and CIBL thus the only way you could hear this work was by tuning in 2 radios at the same time. This very public and yet potentially intimate performance was another great example of how Mutek has grown to really imprint itself on the cultural landscape of the city - and i might add the piece, which was largely made up of long washes, found audio and field recordings - felt especially timely, not to mention joyous, when the sounds of Montreal's casseroles rang out over the airwaves.

Jelinek and Pekler play Ursula Bogner

The second performance by Jan Jelinek & Andrew Pekler was perhaps the stand out of our festival experience thus far. An audio portrait inspired by the potentially fictional early synthesizer adopter Ursula Bogner - the work featured Jelinek and Pekler on a variety of vintage and contemporary gear, tape loops and also included photos drawing and linocuts purporting to form a visual archive of Bogners life and work, which seemed to be heavily inspired by the work of Wilhelm Reich. The music which draws its sound palette heavily from early synthesizer experiments - think Delia Derbyshire, Raymond Scott - helped to create a compelling and touching narrative that was both inspiring and puzzling. 

However as with most experimental music shows, there is a certain length of time one can possibly remain engaged and this work as engaging as it was seemed to come to a natural conclusion about three minutes before it actually ended. Otherwise this was a simply perfect performance by an artist I greatly respect and admire. 

The lessons in perfect timing and audience patience presented by the previous artists however seemed lost on Pierre Bastien and Espen Sommer Eide in their Electric Folkways presentation. Faced with an audience who had been sitting for over an hour and a half now listening to heavily experimental music with no intermission, I was hoping for something short and to the point. Instead what we received was a drawn out performance filled with almost every experimental music cliche you could think of.  From precious home built instrumentation - which admittedly was great for about three minutes - to pretentious jazz inspired noodling and improvisation, old looped film clips and robot voices. Again this could have been a great performance, as the audience got the point after about 15 minutes, but its insistence on continuing at what felt like over an hour was torturous. 

Experimental musicians, no matter how great their ideas or concepts, need a time clock. let's say 45 - 60 minutes for a piece with narrative structure. Without narrative: 20mins. It should be rigorously enforced too.

After a quick smoke we headed off to Metropolis to catch sets by Shackleton, Monolake and Jeff Mills. All who delivered excellent listening sets from well within the comfortable ranges of their oeuvre, though Monolake's certainly ventured into bass oriented/IDM territories he hasn't visited in a very long time, While Mills' Approaching Moon performance seemed to find new context after seeing the Jelinek & Pekler work

Mostly the night was relaxed, involved touching base with festival friends and making plans for the following days - where to party on the weekend, who to have dinner with, when were you going to visit the CineChamber etc.

Fun Fact: St. Hubert is the patron saint of hunters and his legend is often tied into that of St. Eustache - the guy whose religious vision is depicted on the Jagermeister bottle. Ppl used to invoke St. Hubert to try to cure themselves of rabies.

Fun Tracks (promised you two) inspired by two artists im very excited to see tonight

 

and of course .... Nicolas Jaar's brilliant essential mix http://soundcloud.com/everybodywantstobethedj/nicolas-jaar-essential-mix-05

Mummified Spiders & Canadian Shield Friendships

Clear Skies and open road greet us at the begining of this massive road trip

Today we left. The adventure began around 07:00AM and began by meeting Kate O'Malley at the curbside to pick up a sweater. Traffic in Toronto being what it is the morning commute aka our way out of town, was punctuated with accidents including a pretty spectacular double tractor trailer rollover on either side of the 427 and 401 interchange. Synchronicity like that has got to be worth some serious points.  Thankfully though this didn't affect us much as we were taking the DVP out of town and due to Erin's exceptional navigation skills were able to avoid the majority of traffic jams and get on the 401 in a timely manner.

About two and a half hours out side of Toronto, the grass lands and Carolinian forests of Southern Ontario gave way to the magnificent Boreal wood and the Canadian Shield. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the Shield, it is the world's largest exposed section of Archean rock. Formed 3.8 billion years ago - eat that creationists! - the Shield, also known as the Bouclier Canadien in French stretches from as far North as Baffin Island, as far West as the Yukon and as far East as Newfoundland. Thus on this trip it will be our constant companion, not unlike this cute, mummified spider that has been entombed in our tail light for sometime now. 

At any rate we arrived in Montreal safe and sound and checked into our hotel. Traffic was a bit dodgy getting into the city as the Ville-Marie Tunnel has been completely flooded due to torrential rains on Tuesday. 

At any rate we are very excited to get our Mutek on and very much looking forward to the performances tonight featuring Jan Jelinek, Shackleton, Monolake, Jeff Mills and many others. We're off to pick up our festival passes and start visiting with friends shortly and we'll end there for today.  I'm sure this post has enough facts to keep Brandt Kempton happy and as for music we'll share a double helping tomorrow with fest reports. Enjoy the pics below.

The Canadian Shield as viewed from the highway

Mummified Spider