Tracking Wintersleep And The New Odds At JunoFest

04/07/08 3:00pm

by Trevor Morelli (CHARTattack)

After driving for half-an-hour in the blowing snow on Friday night, I arrived at The Republik on 17th Avenue only to find a line stretched around the back of the building. Although JunoFest featured dozens of bands from across the country, it became obvious that Wintersleep had scored the largest draw.

I got to the club around 11:45 p.m. The band were scheduled to start in just 15 minutes. I wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting time in line, so I asked someone if Wintersleep had hit the stage yet.

"I don't know," answered one girl. "What do they look like?"

At this point, I wondered if the Calgarians packing the club actually knew what they were doing or if they were merely there to stay warm and get drunk. Probably a bit of both, I figured.

Lucky for me, the venue was letting media peeps cut the line, so I got in pretty much right away. It's a good thing, too, because the club was surprisingly running on time. The Halifax natives hit the stage five minutes after midnight and played tunes from their Juno Award-winning Welcome To The Night Sky.

One thing that surprised me was that the band played "Weighty Ghost" very early in the set, probably as the third or fourth song. In any case, the catchy single got heads bobbing around the room. "Laser Beams," "Archaeologists" and closer "Oblivion" got the kids dancing as well. After a tight 45-minute set, Wintersleep had no doubt made many new fans in Calgary.

Although Calgary's Jane Vain And The Dark Matter may have been capable of following this fantastic set, I decided to filter out with most of the crowd to check out a couple other shows. Shockingly, the lineup outside had vanished.

Next, it was off to The Warehouse to check out The New Odds. For me, this show was all about nostalgia since Good Weird Feeling and Nest were two of the first rock albums I ever bought. The club was only half-full, which was a shame considering the band sounded pretty crisp.

They cranked out radio-friendly hits "Satisfied," "Nothing Beautiful" and "It Falls Apart" with ease. You'd never know the band were on hiatus for nearly a decade. New member Murray Atkinson looked like a Nickelback outcast with his shaggy beard and goatee, but he managed to hold down the fort on guitar.

Finally, I decided to close the night with a brisk walk down the street to check out The Saint Alvia Cartel at Broken City. It was still snowing, but I managed to catch the last 15 minutes of their energetic set. By the time I got there, it was clear they had whipped the small but adoring crowd into a pop-punk frenzy. I'd definitely like to see more of these guys in the future.

JunoFest was admittedly light on hip shows this year. Perhaps it would've been different if nominees Holy Fuck, Patrick Watson or the Joel Plaskett Emergency performed, but sadly none of them did. I suppose I owe Belly an apology letter for skipping his showcase.