Music
TIFF block party brings Polaris entertainment
by Melody Lau
September 13, 2010
Toronto’s annual TIFF festivities may appear to be an exclusive gathering of film enthusiasts but it’s never complete without a slew of musical happenings, whether it's nightly showcases at the Drake Hotel, after parties at Wrongbar or in yesterday’s case, a free block party at the corner of King and John Street.
Photo by Frank Yang
Toronto’s annual TIFF festivities may appear to be an exclusive gathering of film enthusiasts but it’s never complete without a slew of musical happenings, whether it’s nightly showcases at the Drake Hotel, after parties at Wrongbar or in yesterday’s case, a free block party at the corner of King and John Street.
Closed off and lined up with everything from food vendors on the street to even a bouncy castle for children, TIFF treated passersby, film and music fans to a full day of free sets by Polaris nominees past and present.
The Sadies were the first of three 2010 Polaris Shortlisters peforming Sunday morning. Bringing their explosive country folk-rock set to the sunny streets is the contrast to their well-known residencies at your local bar, playing till 3am, but the band delivered a highly entertaining early set.
The morning also saw performances from francophone nominees this year Karkwa and Radio Radio. Though short (sets were only limited to 20 or so minutes), both bands proved why they stand to be strong competition to the rest of the shortlisters this year with energetic but very different musical strengths. Karkwa’s indie alt-rock songs were perfect, on-point and sounded phenomenal live whereas Radio Radio stirred up a dance party with their fun mix of Acadian-French rap.
Also making a mid-day appearance was Canadian pop star Fefe Dobson (remember her?). Her outlandish dance moves and cliché rock star attitude (the fist pumping, air guitar, air drumming, air whatever) made for a cartoonish performance that was just a bit too contrived to be taken seriously. Jumping from full-on rock mode (covering Guns and Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle”) to dance pop diva (her latest single “Ghost”), Dobson was just another example of an artist trying on every musical outfit possible in order to please and fit in. The one kudos I must give Dobson was her ability to jog my memory of her 2003 hit “Bye Bye Boyfriend”. I’m confident many left only to YouTube that song when they got home.
Come Sunday morning it was no surprise but the headliner of the event was none other than FIFA songster and past Polaris nominee K’naan. His always inspiring and lively performance wowed the packed crowed on the streets, enabling them to clap and/or wave along to almost every song. The rapper transitioned from upbeat dance numbers (“ABCs”) to extended slow jams (“Take A Minute”) without loosening his grip on the audience’s adoration and attention. Evidently leaving “Waving Flags” for last, everyone cheered at the mere piano prelude opening before K’naan even kicked into the first verse. Somehow we’ve gone from a relatively unknown up and coming rapper a few years ago to soliciting an entire block of people to cheer and even sing along to a song people around the world has heard at least a handful of times (on TV, online, etc) is not only an impressive feat but a well-deserved one for such a humble artist. I may even dare to say the free K’Naan set was better than the free cupcakes served at the block party. And this is coming from one of the biggest food loving music writers you will ever meet.
