Sled Island Day One: Thanya Iyer, Planet Giza, The Serfs, and More
The Serfs @ The Legion - photo Credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder)
Sled Island is in full motion and we hit the slopes to hear an eclectic array of bands in some of Calgary’s most noteable venues. From the experimental art rock sounds of Dial Up at the Palomino to the smooth flow of Planet Giza - Sled continues to prove that there’s something for everyone at the festival. Hear our team’s top picks down below.
Thayna Iyer
To admit upfront, this was my first ever Central United Church show at Sled Island, a hallowed tradition that I have only heard the most glowing things about. I couldn’t have picked a better show to begin this journey with than Montreal’s own Thayna Iyer, as her set was filled with nothing but ethereal beauty. Thayna began her set on violin, and it was a taste of what was to come in the rest of the set, as it didn’t just showcase her own bountiful talents, but also her stellar band, which includes Pompey on bass (just simply Pompey. He’s like Cher, and if you saw how much he killed it on bass, you would understand he more than earns the one name moniker) and the wonderful Emilie Kahn on harp, who is playing Sled Island twice in the coming days, first at Sloth Records at Thursday at 5pm and Friday at 9pm at Modern Love.
Thayna Iyer would then transition to the piano, as she opened up to the audience how she suffers from chronic pain, which led to a stunning performance of her song “Slow Burn,” which had Kahn’s harp complementing Iyer’s piano so beautifully, building to a true crescendo. Iyer previewed some new songs, from her upcoming April-release, including “What Can We Grow That We See From Here,” a song she wrote at the beginning of the pandemic, a song that details how we as people are tied together that I cannot wait to hear the studio version of.
One of the key joys of a music festival like Sled Island is not just seeing your old favourites come to your city, playing the venues you hang out at throughout the year, but also discovering new favourites. Sled Island has always been excellent at placing like-minded artists together on the same bill, and I can assure you first-hand that Thayna Iyer gained plenty of new fans from the people who came to see Slauson Malone 1 and Jeff Parker, and I am most definitely one of those new converts. In the years to come, I look forward to Thayne Iyer headlining her own Sled Island set and discovering the new artists who are backing her up. To paraphrase Sir Elton John and Tim Rice, it’s the Circle of (festival) Life. - Ben Goodman
Photo Credit: Liam Dawe
Slauson Malone 1
This is going to be different from other show reviews, as what Slauson Malone 1 (real name Jasper Marsalis) did on stage at Central United Church on Wednesday night was more than just a normal set. The Warp Records artist, who was handpicked by guest curator Show Me The Body, alongside his violin player who accompanied him, genuinely made people *feel* deeply. Sure, Slauson Malone 1 is also an incredibly talented musician, combining hip-hop, classical, jazz, hardcore screaming, and more into a set that also combined some expert use of live sampling, featuring Cher’s “Believe” (the “no matter how hard I try” line in particular), Usher’s “Climax,” to Daft Punk’s “Around the World.”
What set this set apart was near the end Slauson Malone 1 confided to the audience that someone close to him was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer yesterday, followed by him projecting an image of his hand holding the person, as he performed his last song. It was gentle beauty, mixed with primal screaming, it was music as therapy, as he tried to unpack his emotions in real time. The artifice of artistry and performance were stripped bare and at that moment, and at that point we saw Jasper Marsalis on stage, not Slauson Malone 1. There were portions of the set that showcased the ugliness of the world (a projector ran at one point, flashing images that included everything from Despicable Me’s Minions to Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Message), eerie quiet was often followed by intense instrumental dissonance, but it all cohered into this one visceral experience. The reactions you heard after the set were more than just a normal set; people cried, people were inspired to make their own art. Even after writing this, I am still grappling with the moments that I saw, but I know it is an experience I won’t soon forget. - Ben Goodman
Concertgoers packed into the pews at Central United Church Wednesday evening for Slauson Malone 1, a performance piece presented by Los Angeleno musician Jasper Marsalis. Donning bare feet, it was a warm but evidently vulnerable space, as Marsalis began by dedicating the entire set to “anybody who has ever lost someone close to them.”
What followed was the sonic dichotomy of two extremes; a back-and-forth between ethereal melodies and sharp outbursts pushed through a myriad of vocal effects. Audioscapes of guitar triads, harmonic keys, and a haunting cello backing permeated the halls of Central United while emphatic oral expressions from Marsalis filled the room with emotion. The jarring contrast between soft and harsh kept an edge throughout the audience, but undoubtedly provided a cathartic experience to those who came looking for one. - Liam Dawe
Planet Giza
It’s hard not to come away from a show impressed when it was pinky-promised to the cosmos that good times were to be had; something that Planet Giza frontman Tony Stone made and delivered upon Wednesday night at Commonwealth. The Montreal-based trio formally introduced themselves to Calgary, as the band’s first ever live performance in the city can certainly be characterized as one thing: worth the hype.
While the face and voice of Planet Giza may be incarnated through Tony Stone, the groovy instrumentals and air-tight production credit is owed to Rami B and DoomX, who collaboratively guided last night’s performance through healthy EQ and savvy DJing. The group aimed to please both new fans and day ones, as the setlist featured everything from unreleased material to deep cuts off of their debut project, 2019’s Added Sugar. After being left off of tour dates for years, it feels safe to say that amends were made to Calgarians and Sled Islanders through a performance they won’t soon forget. - Liam Dawe
Photo Credit: Liam Dawe
Jeff Parker
When you think of a quote-unquote “guitar hero” you might be thinking of Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani; people who play the guitar as loud as possible, ripping through solos at a blistering fast pace. Guitar heroes come in all stripes, and Jeff Parker is just as much of a guitar hero as anyone. Sitting on stage at Central United Church, with just himself, his guitar, his loop, and his phone, Parker had the audience in quiet, hushed reverence, making sounds with this guitar that I didn’t even know were possible. His use of loops and harmonics were genuinely mind-expanding, vibrating the church with its every being. If I was more of a music theory person, I would attempt to describe what Parker did with his guitar, but as a lay person, I just knew it sounded absurdly beautiful.
I mentioned Jeff Parker had his phone on stage, and it was so, at one point, he cued up street and transit noises, as he played along with the music, like the world’s greatest ambient noise tape. That song, by the way? At the end of the performance, he said it was his rendition of Frank Ocean's' 'Super Rich Kids,” which was such a mind-blower of a twist. He took the very bones of that song, and put it in the same tradition as Thelonious Monk, which he confirmed by following “Super Rich Kids” with his version of Monk’s “Ugly Beauty.”
Jeff Parker makes you luxuriate in the quiet. My favourite moment from his set happened during his last song, as he stopped playing his guitar, his loop of what he played reverberated throughout the entire Central United Church for an extended period of time, and his eyes followed, watching as that sound he once played fade away into the great beyond. A beat of silence followed, as Parker gestured to the audience that was the end of his set, as graceful and as quietly beautiful as it began. - Ben Goodman
The Serfs
I thought The Serfs were great. I missed the first 2-3 songs because i couldn't get into the basement due to the lineup snaking all the way to palomino. The Serfs have been making a name for themselves over the years, and its easy to see why. I thought the trio packed a lot of heat in their set, especially with the lead singer's spartan marching band style drumming. The set was a great mix of synth punk bangers along with dancier new wave tinged danced numbers. I couldn't decide whether to raise my fists or throw my hands up in the air. - Piyush Patel
Serving an espresso shot as a night cap for Sled day 1, The Serf's effortlessly cool synth punk sound had the crowd moving until the wee hours. Ending with a cover of Electric Avenue where Arielle of Puppet Wipes assisted by banging on the metal roof shingle the drummer uses as a cymbal. If you missed the set, don't fret, the band recorded a CJSW live session which will be available soon. - Julia MacGregor
Last Waltzon
Stumbling upon Montreal's the Last Waltzon was the best of circumstances as they performed a rip roaring technical set with at least one guitar acrobatic feat. It might have been a somersault but I was dancing so hard that reports cannot be verified. They play again Friday at PinBar - Julia MacGregor