LIVE: In The Dead Of Winter Festival Warms Up Halifax
Monday February 04, 2008 @ 02:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Jenn Grant Photo by Karyn Haag

In The Dead Of Winter Festival
Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, 2008
Halifax, Nova Scotia
By Shannon Webb-Campbell

With the corporate season behind us, the longing for spring thickens. But there's one final occasion worth noting before the ground thaws, the leaves start budding and a sense of renewal fills the air — the inaugural In The Dead Of Winter Festival.

Posters of the fest's emblematic snowy owl clinging to lampposts via packing tape and staples had little sway during these icy times, yet it's these weary conditions and the great white arctic bird that were the surefire symbols of Halifax's best kept secret last week.

Sure, we have the annual Pop Explosion and we've earned our status as a musical metropolis since hosting 2007's East Coast Music Awards and the Juno Awards the year prior, but In The Dead Of Winter is in a league and season of its own. The opening reception was a casual affair held at FRED Hair Salon, Art Gallery and Whet Cafe, accompanied by background music by Tim Crofts and Melissa Andrew. In addition to the soundscapes, an art show featuring pieces by festival performers Jenn Grant, Daniel Ledwell, Rose Cousins, Kyle Cunjak, Ruth Minnikin and In-Flight Safety's Glen Nicholson, brought their multi-dimensional talents from the stage and onto the walls of FRED Gallery.

The evening ended early, as the real show came into full swing when In-Flight Safety's Daniel Ledwell performed his 24-minute Two Over Seven EP during his 30-minute slot at Wednesday night showcase at the Italian Cultural Club. Ledwell was all nerves and coy confessions, as he played tracks from his EP's collection of wonderfully heartbreaking songs. "I Have Made You A Mixtape," is sure to appear on digital mixes everywhere, perhaps even on cassette reels for those still nostalgic for mixtape swaps.

Ledwell recorded, produced and created the music and artwork for the entire release in his Halifax home. His friend and deflowerer Emm Gryner, of Dead Daisy Records, hand-plucked the collection and released it on the label that's also home to Royal Wood, Hot One, In-Flight Safety and herself.

Local new wavers I See Rowboats added an atmospheric allure to the evening, as the trombonist and saxophone players slowly made their way from the back of the room through the audience, and eventually onto the stage for a sweepingly romantic yet complex rendition of their unusually acoustic set.

Dressed head to toe in white, except the petite violinist whose black gumboots lined with orange rubber soles were tell-tale signs of the conditions outdoors, the ever-expanding cast of storm chasers included: two violins, a cello, drums, saxophone, trombone, guitar, solo and choir vocals. They performed a soul-piercing collection from their Hide And Seek Behind The Throne EP and each thinly veiled, white-cloaked member could be a representation for the animals found on board of a fictional indie-rock version of Noah's Ark, as they navigated their way through wildly unpredictable seas, weathering high, climactic storms and calming crescendos. I See Rowboats are musicians who reach the peaks and stature of high art rather than the low-fi anyone-who's-anyone-can-be-in-a-band indie rock aesthetic.

Thursday night's showcase at FRED featured Barmitzvah sister Jenny Omnichord, who joined Steve Stacey and Ron Leary for a songwriters' circle. Omnichord, a young grasshopper alongside these gruff guitar guys, oozed enthusiasm while sporting a green tank top with a felt rainbow of her name in block letters. The quirky performer held her own on the lap-held instrument while dipping into tracks from her recently released Cities Of Gifts And Ghosts.

Directly across the street at the Italian Cultural Centre, Great Lake Swimmers played for those prone to dead weight, melancholy and existential conundrums. Beginning their set with the precarious "Moving Pictures, Silent Films," the great lake doggy paddlers drifted further downstream with "Various Stages" before floating along with gorgeous full-band renditions of tracks such as "Where In The World Are You" and "Your Rocky Spine." But it was Tony Dekker's solo rendition of Neil Diamond's" Song Sung Blue" that stole the show.

Friday benchmarked the dead fest's most highly anticipated show, Hayden, as it was the recording recluse's first gig in town since the release of 2001's Skyscraper National Park. In the midst of his set, the humble hermit apologized for bypassing the port city during his last tour for Elk Lake Serenade, explaining, "I have a new record out, In Field And Town, and this is why I've left my house."

Highlights from the new album included "More Than Alive," "Where And When" and "Damn This Feeling," accented with a painfully beautiful performance of Everything I Long For's "Stem." Catering to the diehards (including Kyle Cunjack of opening act The Olympic Symphonium, who admitted last time Hayden was in these parts he was kicked out of the bar for being under age), nestled into the pews of the sold-out church the troubadour dipped into various songs that span his discography. He revamped the lyrics to classic "Bad As They Seem" and in an unforgettable rendition of "Bass Song," he improvised Sarah Slean's climactic closing string arrangement by clumsily pounding the grand piano's keys.

Hayden is infamous for his melancholy melodies and humorous on-stage hijacks, but it was his banter — including a tale of one unhappy Starbucks customer — that kept the laughter rolling. Apparently, a dissatisfied latte drinker assumed his track "Woody," which use to be played widely at 'Bucks coffeehouses across North America, wasn't in fact about his wandering cat, but of the songwriter masturbating in the backyard while waiting for his mistress to come home from her escapades. Starbucks wrote Hayden a letter informing him of the news that they were cutting his track from their playlist. Go figure.

Saturday night's closing performance left the audience humming and ready for a night on the town. Jim Bryson and local charmer Grant, playing her first show since September, closed the festival. After a glorious showcase from her Orchestra For The Moon debut, including "Dreamer" accompanied by a spoken-word segment by Tanya Davis, and a "mini pop-up choir" featuring Bryson, Don Brownrigg, Cousins, Ledwell and Davis and Fred Connors (of FRED Salon) accompanying her on "Make It Home Tonight" on the balcony. She utilized her feminine wiles and coaxed Ledwell, somewhat begrudgingly, for what could be the most adorable version of Christmas classic "Baby It's Cold Outside," ever heard.

Undoubtedly, the most wildly wacky moment was when Grant announced that we had heard enough of her singing and she called upon her best friend Lori. While pulling up a pair of slouch socks over her mary jane-style shoes, she yanked a sweatband over her carrot-coloured locks, and the duo busted into a choreographed dance routine to Billy Ocean's "Get Into My Car." The outlandish dance sequence is something only two life-long best friends could get away with, as it seemed the duo were living out their teenage bedroom dance party aspirations — except this time around they had an audience. Festival attendees made their way from the church with Cindy Lauper's "Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun," blaring down Windsor Street and visions of a peculiar ballerina and her friend dancing in the wind. Best friends forever are all we really want.