This past weekend saw the latest edition of Do West Fest take over several blocks along Dundas Street West for a street party full of food trucks, local vendors, and plenty of music. As in past years, a slew of musical acts, mostly local, played throughout the weekend across various stages. And on Saturday evening, the main stage, curated by Transmit Presents, saw some great performances from the likes of Prostitute, Shiv and the Carvers, Sam Jr and The Royal Family.
The evening started off for me with the trippy sounds of The Royal Family. The six-piece Toronto group (made up of members of Possum, ROY, Hieronymus Harry, The John Denver Airport Conspiracy, and Wine Lips) impressed with their ’60s-inspired mellow psych rock jams, occasionally tinged with country/folk vibes. At times, they brought to mind a cross between The Velvet Underground and The Grateful Dead. They finished off with a new song (well, they were all new to me) – a little number called “Dreaming” that did indeed have a rather dreamy vibe.
Following The Royal Family, locals Sam Jr. kept it psych, but with a decidedly heavier, more fuzzed out sound that really kind of blew me away. It wasn’t all heavy all the time however, with the band switching gears for their last song to bust out a beautiful and moody cover of Skeeter Davis’s “The End of the World.” It made for a nice contrast to the distortion and volume that came before.
Next up: a blast of pure punk rock from Shiv and the Carvers, who made the strategic decision to announce their band name at the end of every song. A wise choice – good self-promotion is important at a show where plenty of random passersby might catch their set and wonder, “Hey, who is this group that’s laying down some fun, heavy, melodic punk?” Shiv and the Carvers, that’s who. I wasn’t necessarily expecting to hear them play a song referencing S&M at a free outdoor street fest, but then again, it’s not every outdoor street fest that culminates with performances from bands named Prostitute and Fucked Up.
And though a prior engagement would mean that I’d have to miss Fucked Up’s headlining set (too bad – they’re always great live), I did manage to catch the first few songs from Prostitute and they absolutely did not disappoint. The Dearborn, Michigan-based band put on an intense and passionate set of heavy post-punk that was hard to ignore. Their energy and raw sound capped off an eclectic and entertaining night of music, thus proving that Do West Fest (and Transmit) still knows how to throw a solid block party.
