Holy Fuck at Harbourfront

Date: July 10th 2009
Location: Harbourfront Centre, Sirius Stage
Event: Beat, Breaks + Culture - Holy Fuck w/ Winter Gloves

God bless Holy Fuck and the controversy their name has created. After being caught up in the government-funding debate last year, having been cited by the government as an example of the kind of thing that Canadians shouldn't be supporting, the band was caught up in yet another scandal when their names were removed from posters advertising Calgary's Sled Island festival. I can't help but think that this is yet another Barenaked Ladies phenomenon and it brings up some great questions about the ethical implications of words. The MC at Friday's concert at Harbourfront stumbled when he went to announce the band as if he had just been handed the lineup as he was coming on stage. You'd think the MC for a show would remember the name of the headlining band; I hope they didn't pay him.

I digress. What we're here to talk about is music.

With Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh at the helm of a rats nest of cables and keys, (and what Wikipedia says is a 35 mm Film Synchronizer), this band's sound is nothing that can be reproduced. had them running across stage swapping gear, unplugging cables and even changing batteries between songs. You could tell the two were working hard up there, piling on effects in just the right order to bring out a tune's mind-blowing climax just as you thought it get get no higher. However, the complicated setup got them into a bit of trouble during the last (pre-encore) song, when Borcherdt had a hardware malfunction and spent the length of the song trying to sort it out but bassist Matt McQuaid and drummer Matt Schultz held it together and gave the crowd something to move to.

This little mishap was very revealing. What other band could just vamp for five minutes and create music that wouldn't result in booing and civil unrest? In their best songs, the whole thing seemed almost spontaneous, as if the band was just vamping on a set of changes that got going whenever they telepathically decided it was time. It also revealed how much this music relies on its rhythm section. The subconscious interplay between McQuaid and Schultz really held the whole thing together. Yet Holy Fuck shows depth in their music too, proving that their performance isn't just a well-rehearsed jam-session. This comes via some very effective and often very elaborate changes that the band members had to coordinate, including a tasteful number of coordinated stops (what academics would call stoptime) that really hit you in the face with the silence they created. It's no wonder the band won a CBC Radio 3 Bucky award for Best Live show and was shortlisted for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize. If you've never seen Holy Fuck play, I would suggest getting yourself to their next tour date in your area.

Openers Winter Gloves from Montreal deserves no small amount of praise for a fun, high-energy set. Unfortunately, they won't get it here. Check out the track "Party People" for a good sample.