Words by: Curtis Sindrey | Photos by: Stephen McGill & Curtis Sindrey –
The first night of Canadian Music Fest (March 19) saw many talented Canadian artists including Niagara Falls’ Cousin and Vancouver’s JP Maurice.
The night began with Niagara Falls indie rockers Cousin, who’s mix of Pavement-inspired alternative rock and upbeat pop/rock broke the initially sparse audience out of their shy exterior.
Performing tracks from their debut LP S/T like, “Kamin,” “Breather,” “8bit,” “Jawbreakah,” and “Young Liars,” which is their longest song on their album and is the most musically complex song in their catalog as it includes four time changes between 5/4 and 4/4 time. Lead singer Giulio Rocco’s howling vocals, and the band’s thundering instrumentation reverberated through the venue and how sweet those sounds were.
They also performed a spirited cover of The Rolling Stones’ “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” which borrowed some of The Stones’ own youthful energy back in the ’60s. For a band who is mostly known for Constantines covers, this was a fresh change from the ordinary.
They played the track “Road Mess,” which will appear on their next album, for the very first time and it stayed true to Cousin’s indie rock sensibilities.
Vancouver rocker J.P. Maurice broke into one of his softer songs with “Gamechanger,” from his forthcoming album “The Arborist,” followed by new song “Anti-Hymn.” Drummer Jordan Kurtz, who’s current project, Fisticuffs, is also based out of Vanocuver and bassist Jamison Troy is a Vancouver-based singer/songwriter, joined Maurice. His set was also notable for a cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity,” where he took the original R&B style of the song and made it into his own. Maurice concluded his set with an epic version of “Scorpions,” from his album “Young People With Faces,” where the band played with raw intensity and it surely made his set a memorable one of CMW.
The night followed with sets from the likes of Brews Willis, Peter Katz and Vaudeville Smash at both the El Mocambo and The Silver Dollar.
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 
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