Riverfest Elora 2018: A compendium of posts - Concert Photos

Three days in August. Thirty-seven live bands captured. Thousands of photos taken, culled, edited and posted, hundreds of songs heard, dozens of words written and we have another Riverfest Elora in the books. It may take a while for me to get through all of those steps, but I hope there's still appreciation for the content, and as the temperature falls along with the coloured leaves and we ease reluctantly into autumn, it's a great time to reflect back on an incredible summer of music and another incredible Riverfest Elora.

This year marked the festival's tenth anniversary. That's quite an impressive milestone when the realities of how hard it is to put on a great festival year after year become more and more apparent. I only hope that Riverfest Elora can keep it up and I'll still be covering it over the decades to come.

Riverfest Elora gathers an amazing mixture of established and classic acts, up and coming artists and brand new discoveries. I'm guaranteed to come away having experienced the best of each, along with some new bands that blew my mind. It's an exceptionally well-curated festival that is well organized and well run, and attracts an enthusiastic and fun-loving yet easy-going crowd. It's a pretty difficult combination to pull off and Riverfest Elora does it so well. I look forward to this festival each year.

I was left this year with one amusing thought. It totally cracks me up that people have these new canoe shaped lounge chair things and they have to run like crazy, trailing them behind like some tubular stringless kite, and do this many times, just so they can sit down. *Shrugs and sits on the grass*

Click through on the links below to a post dedicated to every act I caught at this year's Riverfest Elora.

Day 1

July Talk

Cuff the Duke

Julie & The Wrong Guys

Wolf Parade

Ariana Gillis

New Swears

Royal Castles

Day 2

The Flaming Lips

Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs
Born Ruffians

Carly Rae Jepsen

Ralph

Moon Hooch

The Beaches

The Creepshow

Donovan Woods

Heartstreets

The Dill

Rawlins Cross

Love Wagon

Madison Galloway

The Bearskins

Day 3

Blue Rodeo

The Flatliners

Dear Rouge

Carole Pope (Rough Trade)

Land of Talk

Weaves

Haviah Mighty

Les Deuxluxes

Bedouin Soundclash
Ellevator

Alanna Gurr & The Greatest State

Leeroy Stagger

Bonnie Trash

cleopatrick

Lee Watson

Riverfest Elora 2018: Day 2: The Beaches - Concert Photos

The Beaches played an awesome set on the main stage at Riverfest Elora 2018. I've seen the band many times now and they've never failed to impress; they just keep getting better every time I see them. They put on a fun, empowering show that their growing fan base loves, while impressing and drawing in new fans every time.

Their latest release, Late Show, keeps putting out the hits and the band keeps putting on bigger and bigger, more impressive shows. Keep it up!

The Beaches have been covered on the virtual pages of One In Ten Words many times over the past few years. Click the links to check out photos of The Beaches at Wayhome for the Holidays, The Ex, Field Trip, The Bovine Sex Club, Harbourfront Centre and Riot Fest.

Some tunes from their setlist:

"Gold"

"T-Shirt"

"Give It Up"

"Money"

"Boy Wonder" and "Late Show"

Best of: Top 50 of 2016: My favourite songs of 2016

I loved 2016.

Lots of other people didn't. And that's okay. There was lots to get down about. Lots of aging (and not so aging) rockers that dove into the inevitability and lots of pretty shitty human behaviour, just to name a couple of things.

But there was lots to be very, very happy about. Life was pretty damn good to me, personally. I spent much of the year bathed in art. Lots of real "me time". I attended more shows and saw more bands in 2016 than I have in any other year. I spent a lot of time with a lot of very cool people. It's a concert-going record I don't think I'm going to break any time soon. Or any time at all.

And there was great music. So much great music. This year, I probably listened to less recorded music than I have in many, many years, but I made up for it with live shows. This is reflected in the fact that my favourite songs of the year came mostly from acts I saw live. Many of them I saw multiple times, giving their tunes more time to wedge themselves into my consciousness.

The bonus that comes with this post is that you're also getting a preview of my favourite albums list if you notice the number of repeat songs by certain artists that appear amongst my favourites. It'll be coming soon. And so will a post of my favourite concert photos of 2016. Which comes with a special announcement.

And so, here they are, at long last, my latest ever best of list, except for the ones for my favourite albums and favourite concert photos, which are still in progress... These are my favourite fifty tunes of 2016:

50. "Break My Heart Sweetly" John Moreland

49. "In Stars" Marlon Chaplin

48. "Radio of Lips" The Joy Formidable

47. "Blank Ribbons" Split Single

46. "We Had Everything" Broods

45. "Personal Weekend" Partner

44. "City Club" The Growlers

43. "Molotov Girls" The Zolas

42. "Voices In My Head" Bob Mould

41. "Kiss Me When I Bleed" White Lung

40. "Coo Coo" Weaves

39. "Cannonball" Yuck

38. "Fossils" Marlon Chaplin

37. "Money Money" The Balconies

36. "Easier Said" Sunflower Bean

35. "Swooner" The Zolas

34. "Beautiful Girl" Ron Hawkins

33. "Santa Fe" Wintersleep

32. "Goin' Down" Dinosaur Jr.

31. "Doing It To Death" The Kills

30. "Lemontrees" Eagulls

29. "White Bear" The Temperance Movement

28. "Miracle" The Darcys

27. "Silence" Sate

26. "Beck + Call" July Talk

25. "Swings and Waterslides" Viola Beach

24. "CV Dazzle" The Zolas

23. "Cruel Ways" Drowners

22. "DVP" Pup

21. "Pen to Paper" Modern Space

20. "Wall Watcher" Sunflower Bean

19. "Soundcheck" Catfish and The Bottlemen

18. "Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah)" White Denim

17. "Human" Weaves

16. "Blood In The Cut" K.Flay

15. "Give It Up" The Beaches

14. "Get Out" Frightened Rabbit

13. "It Don't Seem Right" Public Animal

12. "It's Just Us Now" Sleigh Bells

11. "Hold Me Closer" Yuck

10. "Tiny" Dinosaur Jr.

9. "The End of Things" Bob Mould

8. "Heart of a Dog" The Kills

7. "Warrior" Sate

6. "Amerika" Wintersleep

5. "Invisible" The Zolas

4. "Hearts In Motion" Yuck

3. "New Song" Warpaint

2. "Spirits" The Strumbellas

1. "Push + Pull" July Talk

The Beaches at Wayhome for the Holidays at The Phoenix Concert Theatre - Concert Pictures

The fine folks who give us such a great summer highlight in Wayhome Festival want to make sure we get through the cold winter months with dreams of next year's summer fest. They did so by putting on Wayhome for the Holidays at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto last Wednesday night.

First up on stage were one of my favourite bands, The Beaches. They came out in their holiday best to rock the growing crowd. I love seeing this band live and I enjoy them more every time I see them. I think they get better each time and have more fun every time, too. Go see them next time you have the chance.

Their short set was filled with tunes both new and old. Highlights for me were their new single "Give It Up", the first Beaches song I ever heard "Loner" - I love the live power of that tune - and the one-two punch of closing tunes "Boy Wonder" and "Late Show". Fantastic!

Photos by B. Hartling.

Check out some of The Beaches' music:

"Give It Up"

"Loner"

"Boy Wonder" and "Late Show"

The Ex 2016: The Beaches at The Bandshell - Concert Pictures

Last Sunday night at The Ex marked my fifth time seeing and shooting The Beaches. They were playing at The Bandshell opening for Walk Off The Earth. It was a beautiful night for an outdoor concert and The Beaches brought their fun tunes and attitude, along with homemade GRL BAND t-shirts, along for the ride.

The Beaches played a solid set and looked like they were having a great time. I'm sure they won over some new fans as they entertained those of us who've seen the band before.

If you want to check out my other pics, click the links to photos from their shows at Field Trip, the Bovine Sex Club, Harbourfront Centre and Riot Fest.

Give them a listen and go see them live:

"Loner"

"Boy Wonder" and "Late Show"