ATL's got some guest bloggers in - Cutaways are reporting back to the ATL despatch desk as they wind their way through a Canadian adventure. Enjoy...
When we set off for Toronto, the excitement we felt when we were selected to head to Indie Week Canada way back in July is still well andÌýtrulyÌýpresent, despite it being ridiculous o'clock in the bowels of Dublin airport. We had no idea what to expect from the scene in Toronto or how our music would go down there. We also went with the sense that, as the first Belfast band to play at the festival, we needed to convey what an exciting and vibrant time it is for music in Belfast.
Cutaways areÌýsynonymousÌýwith the word class, or more accurately, economy class. Despite having booked the cheapest flights we could find without travelling in the hold, the 7-hour flight to Toronto is actually a lot more pleasant than what we're used to fromÌýour domestic short-haulÌýexperiences at home. After a couple of no-brainer films to keep us occupied, along with in-flight radio of Nickelback, Bryan Adams and Metric, we land.
First stop was a hardware shop for some yellow paint - a black keyboard stand just won't do... And we managed to check out Niagara Falls while the paint dried. Lovely!
We arrived in Toronto a bit worse for wear and carrying too many bags but we soon came round once we got to the venue, which was only a short walk and a few tram stops away. The Hideout is the basis for the Indie week festival, which is spread acrossÌýfive venues in the downtown area, and was a great place to touch base and meet the other bands we'd be playing with. The first night of Indie Week was absolutely packed with an atmosphere that reminded us of the Limelight in Belfast. Cutaways took to the stage 4th ofÌýfive bands, a lot of listening for any music fan, but most punters seemed to stay to the end (perhaps the free shots provided by the Irish bar owner had something to do with that!). The crowd didn't even seem at all miffed by our series of "technical difficulties" duringÌýthe line check; we can safely say that after that we are prepared for every eventuality!
Next day we headed off to CIUT radio station in the beautiful Toronto University, where we recordedÌýfive tracks including two of our new songs. Much fun!
Our second gig as part of indie week was in the Bread and Circus, more of a cafe-come-theatre with a really artistic environment. Fortunately these artistic types were not afraid to dance like there's no one watching. Getting the crowd to lunge in time to Milo of Kroton is a Cutaways first but hopefully not last!
More updates to come on our next few gigs in Cutaways - Canadian Diary # 2...
Over n out,
Saturday was spent at some interesting industry meet ups which were all organised as part of Indie Week. One talk involved having your demo (Lovers Are Lunatics For Us) critiqued by some industry folk, pretty nerve-racking but interesting to hear their comments. We just had enough time to make some last minute prepartions for headlining the big final night of the festival which took place in Reverb.
