I had never heard of Wavelength until I actually showed up to one of the shows that is currently going on for their 11th anniversary. I was invited by a friend that has a friend in one of the bands playing the show, so I decided to make an appearance. After hearing about Wavelength at the show I looked them up. Wavelength is a hard to pin down. It is an organization that does a lot of underground music promotion. They have (not sure if they still do?) put out a zine for new happening artists and organize shows featuring those artists. I must say this show I went to was fucking awesome. It was one of a series of events that are happening for their 11th anniversary festival; this one being at the Great Hall on Queen st on February 19th.

I had never been in the Great Hall until last night at the show. It is a big old stone building that has some huge concert hall/theatre type rooms. The setup was in a hall with high ceilings a theatre-type stage (deep wings etc) and had a thin balcony all the way around where some tech dudes manned the lights and sound system -- it was the perfect location for this. The lighting was very well done. They had a bunch of spirograph type spinning stained glass plates in front of lights that project very cool images onto the backdrop as well as the standard stage lights that can change colour and such. Nothing crazy expensive, but effective at creating a fitting atmosphere. I should mention there was a properly provisioned (millstreet and some okay liquor) bar in the back corner as well. I will definately be see more things at this venue.

At first I thought the show might not be that great. A strange looking man in a red shirt (apparently the announcer) got up and told a story about a bear eating a beaver and everyone that beaver loved. He said he was setting the bar low so that we would really enjoy the  show coming up and he was right -- the bar was set extremely low. Between the acts red shirt guy would come back up and ramble meaninglessly. I thought he was blitzed on drugs, but as he started singing about computers while a band tried in vain to do a sound check on the mics I realized that he was probably brain damaged. When he started talking about passing out on mountains and ignoring the crowds pleads for him to stop talking it was apparent that it was probably a combination of drugs and brain damage (caused by drugs?). As the night progressed he just got worse and the crowds would yell at him to shut up as soon as he got on stage. There was especially no way to feel sympathy for him after he made fun of people with AIDS.

The first performer up was Grimes. And she was amazing. She was alone on the stage with a mic, a keyboard, and a mixing deal. She sang hauntingly beautiful melodies along with tracks that she would switch up. The result was an awesome blend of looped vocals (which she did on the spot), solid backing tracks, and herself singing along overtop. It worked out wonderfully. There was a couple hiccups and coughs (she had a cold), but everything she got right was perfect. Unfortunately she did not have an album for sale on the merch table, but I am hoping to see if she has one I can purchase and listen to incessantly.

The next band had a boring name and I have forgotten it. They also had a boring lead guitarist/singer that wanked their entire set. He must have recently purchased a wah pedal and thought "this pedal was expensive; I better use it ALL THE TIME to get my money's worth." He attempted solos for most of most songs that were driven by hitch-pitched wahs influenced with a whammy bar he didn't know how to use. The band was introduced as a trio, but they had four players: the lead guitarist/singer, a percussionist that played a drumkit with no bass drum, a percussionist that played the bass drum and maracas, and the bassist. The bassist was rather talented. The percussionist on the maracas was the happiest guy that night. He just kept smiling a huge smile, eyes closed, shakin the maracas in his right hand and hitting a bongo drum with whatever he had in his left hand (rotating through a string of bells, a stick, a small symbol, and maybe some other ones I missed). He was just happy to be there.

The third act was Little Girls and they were loud. They played some heavy rock with psychadelic tendencies. A custom programmed visualizer ran on the backdrop that was mostly lines that were affected by the instruments and old videos that were often a little creepy. They reminded me of noise punk, but without the punk. Very talented bunch, but I think the acoustics or setup were not ideal for their style; I couldn't really hear the vocals. The drummer of this band was absolutely great. I don't really have that much to say about them. They were a solid act and I bought their record on vinyl after the show.

Maylee Todd was the fourth act. They are fucking amazing. Ridiculously awesome. Unbelievable. I can't believe how good they are. I just... I don't even know how to describe it. Wow. At one point a soul train started on the floor. Mad powerful vocals (she also played killer harp) backed up by some very skilled musicians (and backup vocals). All around an amazing group.

I missed the final band because the red-shirt guy started raving again (it was unbearable!) and there was no way they could top Maylee Todd (sorry final band!).

In the end, this show of the eleventh annual Wavelength festival was great. It had its low points, but the high points were so far out that nothing else mattered. I am super excited that I got to see it.