July talk gets Hopped and Confused

Day 1 of the 4th annual Hopped and Confused festival went off with a bang on Friday night. Ottawa’s Mill Street brewpub supplied the tasty cold beverages and Dine Alone Records brought out some great rock n roll.  Indie/Blues rockers July Talk headlined the evening with openers Weaves, Alexandria Maillot and NOBRO. 

Montreal punk rockers Nobro kicked the evening’s festivities off. Their Heavy riffs, catchy melodies, and garage band attitude got the party started as the audience made their way into the venue.  Drummer Sarah Dion kept a pretty mean and solid beat, while the energetic Kathryn McCaughey ripped it up on bass and lead vocals.

With the atmosphere in full throttle, things were geared down a couple of notches as Vancouver born, singer, songwriter, actress Alexandria Maillot hit the stage. Maillot’s soothing vocals and melo tempos gave the audience a bit of a chance to “chillax” while awaiting the nights final two acts.

Toronto’s indie pop-rockers Weaves got the tempo going back on an upswing. The band has a very compelling sound that isn’t pinned down to a specific avenue. Lead singer Jasmyn Burke captivates the audience with her powerful vocals, while the band keeps the audience dancing, grooving and at times a hint of getting loose and banging their heads.

The venue was now a packed house. Fans waited in anticipation for the Indy/Blues rockers from Toronto, July Talk to hit the stage. Singer Leah Fay gave a brief shout out to the First Nations people and then the band busted into “Beck+Call” off of their 2015 release ‘Touch’.

The band is super tight on stage, their energy level is phenomenal and thru the roof. The combination upfront of Fay and Peter Dreimanis makes for a very entertaining show. Dreimanis took a moment to talk about the close connection the band has with Mill Street. Drummer Danny Miles worked for the brewmasters in the early days when the band first started out. Many gigs were made possible thanks to the Mill street work van being available to get them to shows. The audience loved every minute of the bands set. The response to each song was loud and thunderous. By this time of the night, everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. It was quite clear that day one of Hopped and Confused was a complete success.