A Little Less Alone: Status/Non-Status, By Divine Right, Self-Cut Bangs & sadbirthdays live in Calgary, AB
Photo credit: Sara Zori - sadbirthdays live @ the Palomino
It’s Friday evening at the Palomino and a steady stream of people trickle in and make their way downstairs.
The crowd buzzes with anticipation. Status/Non-Status and By Divine Right have been touring together across Canada, no easy feat. By Divine Right are a foundational Canadian indie rock band that helped pioneer the waves of the 1990s and 2000s and Status/Non-Status has been short and long listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Opening up the night for them on their Calgary stop is sadbirthdays and Self-Cut Bangs.
sadbirthdays, the music project of Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse, eased the crowd into the night with their atmospheric and mostly instrumental rock. The juxtaposition of their mellow atmospheric tunes performed amongst a bundle of multi coloured balloons, was true to their name and oddly fitting. The music invites introspection and quiet contemplation.
Photo credit: Sara Zori - Self-Cut Bangs live @ the Palomino
Well loved within the scene, Calgary locals Self-Cut Bangs are having an album release for their third album, Growth Spurts. And the community has come out to support. The vibe is Fleetwood Mac (check out the photos by Heather Saitz) but without the toxic relationships and rampant drug use. A testament to their connection to the scene, they had a flock of Calgary music locals involved in the process, including cool cover art by Erik Olson. The record has some features from what might be the next generation of Calgary musicians, in the way of their brood. The set is tight and fun, lead singer Cayley Petsche is clearly having a blast. The connection between the band members is palatable, they bounce off each other in such a playful way. It feels like watching a bunch of friends jam in their basement…only with the musical intuition of seasoned professionals.
Photo credit: Sara Zori - By Divine Right live @ the Palomino
By Divine Right are long time Toronto staples. Although they’ve gone through changes over the years, the constant has been José Miguel Contreras, who has led the band for over three decades. José was as high energy as ever, giving a performance that was animated and uninhibited. And oddly enough dedicated East Side Anthem to the south western suburb of Belmont — although the crowd had its concerns. In a sweet moment, bassist Alysha Haugen was reunited with her childhood friend who lives a country apart.
The night came to a close with Status/Non-Status. The band fuses distorted guitar textures, untamed sonic landscapes, and Indigenous identity into something wholly its own. The new release, Big Changes, confronts belonging, survival, and collective obligation across today’s Canadian landscape. Lead singer, Anishinaabe singer-songwriter Adam Sturgeon, told the crowd he usually talks a lot on stage but “doesn’t have anything to say” right now. Can we blame the fog only a full meal at the Palomino can put you in, or is it something in the air? After all, I can’t imagine the drive across Canada has been without challenges.
Photo credit: Sara Zori - Status/Non-Status live @ the Palomino
I couldn’t help but feel like we’re all going through some collective experience at this point in time. A lot of Status/Non-Status music is about their frustrations with our current state. Particularly with the bands “F**ked up hometown” of London, ON, as it was eloquently put by Sturgeon. We’re all living it. A frustration and sense of hopelessness with lack of action and the increased difficulty and struggle of everyday folk in a country so rich, both in resources and wealth, but with an ever growing class divide.
What’s the cure for hopelessness? In an odd way, the collective feeling of it might be a step in the right direction. Part of its hold is how isolating it is, so there’s a kind of beauty in knowing you’re not alone. After all, a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved. What’s clear is we’re all feeling kinda wrecked. But what’s more universal and healing than music? On a Friday night, in the basement of the Palomino, a common love for music was communion, and that’s as good a cure as any.
