SLED IN THE KEY OF B-FLAT

Jul 14, 2017

Wordplay and Imagery by Brendan Flaherty (CFCR Production Manager & host of The Buzz, Fridays 5-6pm)

This year’s Sled Island festival in Calgary felt like a transitional event. A change in the configuration of venues from years past, with no big outdoor shows at Olympic Plaza and a lot fewer acts playing multiple times (seemingly a staple of bygone editions), it became more necessary than ever to plot out a reliable schedule and stick to it. Of course, I didn’t quite do that.

But, outside of perhaps one event with a massive line snaking down the block, I found it relatively easy to slip in and out of venues at will in order to absorb as much of the multi-faceted spectacle as I could. (And I also found time to drink in a nicely paved alley or two, but that seems like more of an Ominocity thing.) Flying Lotus was this year’s curator, and his picks (including Dedekind Cut and Yves Tumor – pictured here) provided for a vibrant, experimental, and refreshingly un-guitar-centred instalment of this Cowtown throw-down. What follows is a selection of sounds I was able to capture as still frames in my digital device. And if it, indeed, was a transitional year for this festival, I very much look forward to witnessing the next stage.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21
Weyes Blood & Low @ Central United Church