Out of this Spark

Happy anniversary

D'Urbervilles and guests bring in the noise for Out Of This Spark's second birthday

Michael Roberts

The D'Urbervilles, Forest City Lovers, Timber Timbre and Jenny Omnichord played the Albion Jan. 16 to a crowded second floor to attend Out Of This Spark Records Anniversary Party.

Jenny Omnichord took the stage first. I think about half of her songs were played in dedication to her little baby Otis, who is becoming as much of a fixture as Omnichord in Guelph's music scene with his tiny earmuffs. I always liked the idea of Omnichord when I listened to her music, but I never really took it seriously until I saw her bust out some chops on her omnichord. Her fingers were flyin' all over the place like a virtuoso, arranging tempo knobs and moonwalkin' her fingers all over the touch plate. My favourite part of the set was when her dad joined her on stage wearing a Céline Dion t-shirt for an adorable father-daughter moment.

Timber Timbre decided he wanted to take it down "one thousand notches" for his set. I'll go one step further and say that he pretty much obliterated all widely acknowledged systems of notches. Now, as a member of the Notch Systems Analysis Association, I was quite taken aback by this. Tim Tams (I'm not sure if he will appreciate being affectionately nicknamed after an Australian biscuit, but I prefer it to the more widely accepted "T-Unit") kicked out all the lights except for one green bulb that left a rather eerie aura about the stage. Mika Posen from Forest City Lovers joined him on stage for some violin accompaniment. While his songs are usually rather stark to begin with, Posen's violin brought his music to a level that was post-apocalyptic. These songs were meant to spin from a back porch at the end of the world to a fallow.

The mood that usually accompanies a Timber Timbre set had trouble establishing itself because people didn't seem to want to stop talking, but this didn't seem to bother him too much. He seemed perfectly content to play for the people in the first couple rows, who were actually there to listen to his songs.

Forest City Lovers played next. Their set started out on the sluggish side; lead singer Kat Burns seemed somewhat exasperated. After a couple songs, they hit their stride and took off running. I normally wouldn't say this about them, because their music tends to be pretty melodic and breezy, but they blazed through a pretty rockin' set. You might even venture to say that they kicked out the jams. Songs like 'Country Road' have more riffs hidden in them than you would expect.

My favourite part of the set was that I was stationed right next to the glockenspiel. My head was literally about 16 inches away from it. Usually glockenspiels tend to drown a little in the mix of a live show, but that night the glock' chime was glorious and crystal clear.

I've seen the D'Urbervilles many, many times and every time I see them they outdo themselves. This time was no exception. They took the stage like a blast wave. Their energy was absolutely manic right from the get-go. Rhythm section Kyle Donnelly and Greg Santilly (bass and drums, respectively) were tighter than lead singer John O'Regan's pants (and trust me, they were pretty tight) as he flew around the stage in a near-epileptic fit. At one point he almost knocked over his Casio. Considering how beat up that thing looked already, that could have been tragic.

The main thing I've noticed at more recent D'Urbervilles shows is that the amateuristic and quirky enthusiasm that used to be the cornerstone of their sets seems to have dissipated. Now their exuberance seems carefully measured, to a degree approaching professionalism. These worries were dismissed when they broke it down and O'Regan jumped into the crowd while bustin' out some Notorious B.I.G. rhymes. Big-ups for stayin' true to their crew.

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