From experimental puppet theatre to improvised jazz, CFRC’s Airwave YGK matinee had it all.
On Sept. 28, the Broom Factory hosted the CFRC Airwave YGK capstone matinee concert, showcasing three musical groups: Birdbone Theatre, Foster, Shea and Sudac, and The Oscar Evans Group. All acts are connected through CFRC’s YGK residency, which provides artists a chance to collaborate at the station’s studio spaces according to CFRC’s website.
Opening the afternoon at 1:30 p.m. was Birdbone Theatre, an independent puppet theatre collective founded in 2012. Known mainly for their experimental puppet shows, the group leaned into the musical side of their art for this performance.
“This is the first time that we’re putting together an entire show that is music-based, as opposed to puppet-based,” Multi-instrumentalist Alison Gowan, BEd ’14, said in an interview with The Journal. Gowan added that “I know that has led some to say, oh, we’re in a theatre, that’s not a band. And it’s like, yes, we’re a band.” Birdbone’s music spoke for itself, however the theatrical influences were still tangible in the set, which drew from the music featured in their productions Broom Dance and Bear’s Garden.
“Today, what we’re bringing is a really varied program of old songs, of Foley-type soundscape, and new compositions,” Co-Founder of Birdbone Theatre Aleksandra Bragoszewska said in an interview with The Journal. “Stylistically, it’s going to be incredibly broad. And we are singing in seven different languages.” Included within Birdbone’s set were songs in several language’s including Bulgarian, Occitan, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, Italian, English. “Eight, if you consider gibberish [a language],” Gowan said with a laugh.
Their short 30-minute set was a sonic smorgasbord, featuring everything from bird calls and layered vocals to a hurdy-gurdy. The audience laughed so often throughout the set that their voices could be considered part of the cacophony.
Reflecting on how the YGK Residency contributed to Birdbone’s performance, Bragoszewska said they “were able to develop a lot of the new works that will really feed the show. That was a real gift.”
The next act on the stage after Birdbone Theatre was the folk-music trio Foster, Shea, and Sudac, who delivered a tight 30-minute set of harmonized originals and covers with their signature folk twang. Begging their set at 2 p.m., they opened with Bruce Cockburn’s “Into the Now,” and then transitioned into originals from all three members, and closed with Laura Mvula’s “Sing to the Moon.”
The trio described their sound as a balance of laid-back folk music and playful acoustic arrangements. “We do a mix of original music and cover music, acoustic, folky-inspired, harmonizing,” singer Anna Sudac said in an interview with The Journal.
For the group, the concert was more than just a gig; it was a chance to connect with fellow Kingston artists. “I’m really excited,” guitarist Savannah Shea said in an interview with The Journal. “I have no idea who’s going to be in the audience, but I know that the organizers are people who love and appreciate music [and] art.”
Finally, the Oscar Evans Group took the stage as the headliner around 3:00 p.m. The group’s comprised of bassist Oscar Evans, guitarist Dave Barton, multi-instrumentalist Spencer Evans, and drummer Andy Love. They delivered a funky instrumental jazz set. Bassist Ocsar Evans began the set with a solo onstage on the double bass, gradually adding band members onstage with each song.
On the second song of the set, Dave Barton rocked the rhythm guitar for an original song, “Nice Buddies.” Oscar’s father Spencer Evans later joined on accordion and clarinet, followed by Andy Love on drums. The band finished by inviting Gowan back onstage to join them for an original song, “Sanddune.”
It seemed each round of applause was louder than the last at the matinee, representative of a musical community eager for any chance to see live shows.
Although it was my first time leaving a concert in the middle of the afternoon, the music of CFRC’s Airwave YGK Matinee stayed stuck in my head well into the late night.
Tags
Airwave YGK, Arts, broom factory, CFRC, Music
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