St. Catharines Ontario isn't the biggest city or the most well known. yet every year for the past 15 years St. Kitt's has hosted the S.C.E.N.E. music festival at the end of June while hundreds (if not thousands) of music fans take over the downtown core to take in a wide variety of today's music. With over 160+ bands who performed in multiple venues, it was a day was packed from afternoon into late into the evening with a wide variety of rock, punk, hardcore, pop, and R&B musical talents.
The day itself boasted of warm weather (maybe too warm for some) and a mix of sun and clouds - before the steady downpour of rain took over the evening portion of the days events. People were roaming the sidewalks around St. Paul Street and surrounding areas, enjoying the array of music, the multitude of people, and the delicious food choices. The Market Square, the main venue hosting some of the top names of the music industry today, was filled with many people of all ages waiting to get their wristband that will allow them access to every venue who was participating in the day's events. Event staff and promoters were busy handing out free samples and cards promoting some kind of business.
With so many musical choices it's hard to decide who to see and when to see them. It's best to just pick and choose who's the most important and pick a few new acts in between just to add a little balance.
The Johnstones
Decked out in "poo-stained white pants" and little else, The Johnstones hit the Market Square stage with a burst of energy that never faltered once during their 40 minute set. Their sound boasts a ska punk vibe with a little R&B added into the mix to produce a an up-beat crazy sound that has everybody bouncing to the beat. Lead singer Ryan Long was constantly all over the place and engaging the crowd in every way possible while keeping his energy at the highest level possible.
Their anything but civil attitude is a turn-on to many of their loyal fans. Their rambunctious and almost illegal way of performing grabs the crowds attention from beginning to end and never fails to amaze anybody as to what they are going to do. Performing such songs as "Bank Song," "Down on Me" and "Take Me to the Party," they show their unique skills as performers as well as music artists. The lyrics are funny but they also sound a like they're womanizers. Their choice of instruments (a.k.a. trumpet, trombone etc), are unique and fun to watch and finally their vocals are pretty much on point - when you can understand what Long is saying (he sings so fast sometimes it was hard to decipher what exactly he was saying).
Sixxxer
Jumping to the opposite spectrum of the musical rainbow, Sixxxer rocked out to a small but nevertheless excited crowd at a bar down the street from the Market Square, at Rockford's. Sixxxer consists of four members that include lead singer Rob Turner (Socialight), Joe Manchisi (Dead Celebrity), Dave B (Neverending White Lights) and Nick Dude (American Standard). Although the band itself has only been together for a short period of time, it still consists of a group of talented musicians who just happen to be great friends who just want to play their music.
When anybody listens to their tunes it distinctly sounds like rock and roll, and there's no other way to describe it. Turner's vocals have a rough edge but adds character to whatever he sings. With the rocking of their guitars and the pounding of the drums, as an onlooker, it's not hard to understand why these guys are so talented. Many were found to be tapping their foot to the beat or breaking out into dance. Performing songs off of their new EP "We Are...Sixxxer" while mixing it up with a cover as well as a song or two from Turner's Socialight Days, it was hard not to get caught up in having fun.
Birds of Wales
Onto another genre of music, Birds of Wales has a folk-pop vibe that reminds people of Jason Mraz or newcomer Carly Rae Jepsen. It's catchy and fun to listen to all the while giving a mellow performance. The lyrics are full of imagery and teamed with lead singer Morgan Ross' sexy-intimate vocals, bring out a wide variety of emotions with each song. While only a medium sized crowd gathered to hear them perform, they still engaged and talked to the crowd with so much professionalism and courtesy as any band should. Their friendly nature allowed everybody from old fans to new to enjoy every moment of the performance.
While listening it was hard not to notice some similarities between some of the songs. When it comes to this type of music though, it's hard to make sure every single song has a different feel. The lyrics are what makes the music different and it seems to be that Birds of Wales has done a perfect job at allowing the songs to have a story of their own. This indie-band has so much potential and it'll be interesting to see what they come up with in the future.
The New Cities
The New Cities are another band who has so much energy they sometimes don't know what to do with it. The pop-punk electro group from Montreal always have an amazing show no matter how small or large the crowd may be. And whether the stage is big or small, this six member group always make proper use of their space and bounce around it at every possible moment. Lead singer David Brown speaks and engages the crowd with his cute French accent and funny comments that always seem to tie into their music. The only downfall is the other members rarely spoke.
Their album "Lost in City Lights" has been out for awhile now but the songs always seem fresh when played live. Performing radio hits like "Dead End Countdown" and "Hypertronic Superstar" along with "Leaders of the Mislead" and "Sinking has Never Been so Easy", there was never a quiet moment during their set. A sea of bouncing heads, and a wave of voices singing along to the words, along with a great beat and catchy lyrics, made for one entertaining 40 minutes.
Lights
There's never a set list of words that can describe this petite brunette and her style of music. Her facebook page describes her as a "Canadian girl who makes intergalactic-electro music." Even that description doesn't even fully describe the music she creates. Donning her piano or keytar for the majority of the set, she belted out lyrics that you wouldn't expect from such a small girl.
Her music nonetheless was exciting and enjoyable to listen to. She sang crowd favourites such as "Saviour", "February Air" as well as "Second Go" and "Drive My Soul". It was easy to notice there was a much larger male presence during her act. It's surprising and amusing at the same time, seeing as she has more of a pop sound more than anything else.
Cute is What We Aim For
Pop-punk band Cute is What We Aim For got the crowd warmed up for the final act and they did a stellar job at keeping everyone's attention. Lead Singer Shaant Hacikyan was anything but dull and the band was extremely upbeat despite the downpour of rain drenching the fans. The rain didn't deter the band or the fans though and CIWWAF went on to produce a great show.
Being off of the radar didn't mean the fans were gone. With a wide variety of songs off of their newest album "Rotation" as well as their first album "The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch", they satisfied everybody's tastes, and more than half the crowd was always singing along. Song favourites included "Navigate Me", "There's a Class for This", "Risque" and their newest release "Harbor" among many other hits. Their catchy pop beats were fun and enticing and easy to sing along to whether you were new to the music or not.
Down With Webster
The last act to hit the Market Square stage was the most anticipated act of the whole day. Down With Webster only a short year ago were playing one of the smaller venues at S.C.E.N.E. fest and this year ended up headlining the entire event. In only a year the boys who originate from Toronto writes, produces, and performs (obviously) all their own music which as gotten the attention of many industry favourites such as Timbaland, and KISS frontman Gene Simmons. With their album, Time To Win Vol. 1, just released this past spring, their fan base has grown exponentially and will continue to do so as they move up in the music industry. Using a mix of rock and R&B with a little bit of Tuba and brass, they're style of music isn't exactly what you see on a regular basis. That's what makes DWW such a special and unique band that forever have an impact on how music is created today.
Out of all the performances seen this day, DWW was one of the most energy packed out of them all. The entire band, yet another consisting of six members, were off the wall with the energy and although they were almost an hour behind schedule due to the 2 inches of water gracing the stage (again due to the rain), they put on a stellar performance that will have everybody talking for ages. Performing chart topping hits such as "Rich Girls" and "Your Man" along with other crowd favourites "Time to Win!", "Grind" and new song "Light the Night Up", everybody was dancing around, singing at the top of their lungs and having a freaking great time.
Mean Tangerine and Crush Luther
To end the night our last stop was at The Red Hot Chili Pepper to see Mean Tangerine and Crush Luther. A lot of people who first heard of Mean Tangerine was when they were 'dis-banded' on this year's show
Disband, which is a show hosted by Much Music where they host bands who can either "make it" or "disband". Given a first listen they remind most people of The Johnstones, and they're not lying. But they bring to the table another kind of energy that people love just as much as they do The Johnstones. Although they were playing a small stage, they still managed to make it work.
Crush Luther was a little less crazy and a little more tame when they hit the stage as the last act of the night at The Pepper. They were fun to listen to and although I hadn't heard them in a long time, I still recognized more than one of their songs.
So In Conclusion...S.C.E.N.E. Rocked!
Every year S.C.E.N.E. brings something different to the table then the year before. Although there aren't always favourable bands to some, there are to others. This year was no different and even though the rain decided to try and ruin things, it was still a fantastic day and well organized event.
Written By: Taryn McElheran
*All Photos courtesy of
ZebraPrintSky
(pictures will be up on my Flikr account as soon as a friend of mine adds her photos of the days events!)
Think you've hard of Allstar Weekend? It's probably because you have. Gaining popularity through Disney Radio (and through the Family Channel here in Canada), they've been making a name for themselves since 2007. This four member band from Poway California has since released four studio albums and announced back in January that after Warped Tour they would be on an indefinite hiatus. They currently just announced this past Friday that members Zach, Cameron and Michael will be starting a new band titled The Tragic Thrills and their new single "Tears".
Starting the day off on a good note, these boys were upbeat and friendly onstage. While the crowd wasn't that large, they still acted as if they were performing in front of hundreds. I think that any performer who is able to do that deserves all the success that comes to them. No matter what their band title is. Why? It shows they love what they do.
TO me the only set back to this first set was the security. I'm not sure if it was lack of communication between the Warped Tour organizers and the Amphitheatre security or if it was security was just - for a lack of a better word - stupid, it was a tad annoying when they refused media/photographers access to the pit. You would think they would understand the ins and outs of media access and have been more organized. It wasn't as if there were dozens of people trying to get into the pit. There was probably six or seven of us who were there to take pictures.
