Obiter Dicta Issue 4 - October 13, 2015 | Page 18

ARTS & CULTURE 18  Obiter Dicta Concert review » continued from page 13 nostalgic. Other than a few thank-you’s after the songs, Bajer did not talk to the audience. It was all about the music. I would describe the band’s performance as ‘workmen-like.’ Bejar didn’t play an instrument during the concert. During the instrumental sections of the songs he crouched down into a squat, took a drink of Stella Artois, and basked in the beauty of the music he created. The packed Danforth was buzzing from the opening note until the last. I was lost in the music for the entire set, nothing else ever entered my mind. Destroyer’s encore was the 9-minute “Rubies” from Destroyer’s Rubies. It is a great comparison of how Destroyer’s songs have changed over the years. “Rubies” is lyrically dense with Bajer just spewing out words. Nothing is left unsaid. With Kaputt and Posion Season, less is more when it comes to the lyrics. However, Bajer still manages to pack an overwhelming amount of meaning into his concise lyrics. On the whole, Poison Season is darker and less popy than Kaputt. It features an abundance of dazzling string arrangments which did not feature on Kaputt. The trumpet on the Springsteen-esque “Dream Lovers,” the most popy song on the new album, gave the crowd at the Danforth a extra shot of energy. A charming rendition of my favourite song off the new album, “Times Square” came in the middle of the set. It contains the most memorable lyric on the new album: “Writing on the wall / Wasn’t writing at all”. “Times Square” appears on Poison Season three times in three very different styles. Apparently Bajer couldn’t decide which version he liked best. In interviews, Bajer says there was a plan to record Posion Season live in studio. This is in direct contrast to Kaputt, where the songs were tracked and layered instrument by instrument. As a result, all of the new songs come across naturally streamlined for live shows. Bajer considers himself an artist first and foremost. He would likely cringe at being labelled a rockstar or singer/songwriter. He is one of the few artists working today to include poetry in his lyrics. Bajer believes that art exists because words are not enough to express all of our emotions. In interviews he can come across as pretentious, dull, and a little fed-up. His physical appearance is one notch above what would be expected of a hobo on the street. That is Bajer’s whole persona. It is as if he wants you to believe he is a tortured artist who spends his solemn days writing poetry, engaged in philosophical debates and musing on the shortcomings of the world. And maybe he does. I don’t know. But I can see why he may initially rub some people the wrong way. For me, his music contains a poignancy and intellect that is absent in most popular music today, and this is enough to overlook any shortcoming. u t humbs down The skyrocketing salaries at Hydro One. TV L Rev » continued from page 11 lawyer on TV complaining that legal television is inaccurate is too delicious to not appreciate. There were a few moments that made me genuinely chuckle and the entire case appears to have a real energy. I would say this definitely worth a look especially if you’re in for some less serious melodrama than you would get from HTGAWM. My one complaint would be on the more technical side, the editing and certain framing of scenes felt janky. u THIS WEEK’S BEST LEGAL MOMENT: Both shows were light on legal content and focused mostly on the character drama, but in HTGAWM there’s a scene of Asher (Matt McGory) turning down sexy times to study for a “CivPro” exam. Real law students say “CivPro”; so realistic! Rankings (Graded on the Osgoode Bell Curve): HTGAWM episode 1: A The Grinder episode 1: B+ © 2012–2015 Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. All rights reserved. | 416 869 5300 Cassels Brock 2015-2016 season Obiter Dicta student ad Contact: Heather Murray “Doodle - Resolve Disputes” 2015 [email protected] 4B Prestige, b&w 416 869 5782 - fax [phone] Please PRINT a hard copy of the file and either FAX it or SCAN and EMAIL it back to me, thanks!