Apr 19, 2011
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Friday, April 15
The exuberant Canucks of Rural Alberta Advantage offered solutions. Their scrappy, ramshackle folk-rock means to be rabble-rousing in a manner befitting an outdoor festival, but there's also an intimacy to it all so that it doesn't feel awkward even if the crowd is a bit thin. Most importantly, there's something that just makes you want to root for them, whether it's frontman Nils Edenloff's resemblance to Chris Elliott circa "Get A Life", keyboardist Amy Cole's overall adorability, or Paul Banwatt's astounding drum performance (if this RAA gig falls through, he'll have his choice of speed metal gigs). Here's a band that makes small, relatable devastations feel universal and uplifting-- as Edenloff introduced "Tornado '87", a song about a twister that ran through Edmonton, one of the many Canadian bros in attendance shouted: "I LOVE TORNADOS!" That's making a connection. --Ian Cohen, Pitchfork
[Outdoor Theatre, 115pm]
Coachella tends to be a sweaty, hopped-up exhibition of the
madness of crowds, but sometimes those crowds get it right:
hardly anyone shows up at 1:15 in the afternoon. And for good
reason, since the early part of any given day usually showcases
overbearing DJ's or hip-hop acts begging the crowd to "put your
hands up!" every five minutes or major-label baby bands, well...
pretty much doing the same thing.
The exuberant Canucks of Rural Alberta Advantage offered solutions. Their scrappy, ramshackle folk-rock means to be rabble-rousing in a manner befitting an outdoor festival, but there's also an intimacy to it all so that it doesn't feel awkward even if the crowd is a bit thin. Most importantly, there's something that just makes you want to root for them, whether it's frontman Nils Edenloff's resemblance to Chris Elliott circa "Get A Life", keyboardist Amy Cole's overall adorability, or Paul Banwatt's astounding drum performance (if this RAA gig falls through, he'll have his choice of speed metal gigs). Here's a band that makes small, relatable devastations feel universal and uplifting-- as Edenloff introduced "Tornado '87", a song about a twister that ran through Edmonton, one of the many Canadian bros in attendance shouted: "I LOVE TORNADOS!" That's making a connection. --Ian Cohen, Pitchfork
