Good morning everybody, and One Louder to you. Here's a mini review of last night's experience at the Boat. As you might recall, we spent a lot of last year's festival reminiscing, thinking happy thoughts about the decade with an ethic that can be summed up by the lyric "how are you people going to have fun if none of you people ever participate?" This year has a real "right now" feel to it, the past year has been a real eye-opener for Wavelength, it feels a bit like a young horse roaming out of the pen for the first time, last year was the first year where we had the chance to focus our attention on the fun and semi-regular one-offs instead of spending a lot of energy feeding the Sundays, and we romped around Guelph and Montreal and even more exotic locales like Gibralter Point, Wavelengthing away, and the new sense of wonder about the here-and-now pervaded last night's show.

Not a hint of nostalga, the four bands who played were all spot-on taking care of the exacting business of making this precise moment awesome, Anagram coaxed out the softest mosh pit ever to break out in the centre of the universe, sworling and swirling around like heat swooshing around the surface of the sun.

Watching the Guest Bedroom was like watching a cable TV show about a team of experts who build a cake in the shape of the Tower of Babylon and opening the curtains to let the light of the full moon spill through the drapes overtop the television and as each layer of cake is laid down the tension builds, right up to the last breath of the last verse, the teetering sense that the band couldn't possibly ride that wave through the whole set, but they do! And as the last song outros, the cake is presented, the credits roll, and you cry, you can't be sure if you're crying because the cake didn't fall or because of the silver moonlight. That's what the Guest Bedroom sounded like to me.

Bruised Knees built each tune out of deceptively simple tones, and chaperoned their songs while their songs emerged and explored their surroundings and, the performances were restrained and exuberant at the same time, they allowed the songs to layer back and over and through themselves, the band breathed and huffed the songs along until the listeners got lost in the weight and fog of each tune. Loved their set. For some reason they reminded me of elephants making elephant art, broad strokes followed by gentle touch followed by a flash of insight. I like elephants, I hope nobody takes that the wrong way.

I can't be objective about Jim Storie Juniors, I wasn't able to watch the show since I was singing at the time, but from my perspective it felt better than taking a chocolate bath with Michelle Phillips and I hope some of that good vibe spilled over to rest of you, helped set the mood.

Looking forward to tonight's show at the Music Gallery! We have installed our Poster Show.

It's 11:23am and in one week we'll be waking up bleary eyed and hung over and ready to do it all one more time to bring it all home at The Garrison. With familiar faces in Ghostlight, 2010 breakouts Neon Windbreaker, Canadian punk icons Simply Saucer and Wavelength's unofficial house band and extended family Lullabye Arkestra, who'll be bringing a few friends along. Take a listen to three of these bands below. Plus earlier in evening and afternoon we have our first speaker series. It's Pay-What-You-Can on a Sunday night. See you there.

Wavelength - ELEVEN - Night Five by wavelengthtorontoGHOSTLIGHT

NEON WINDBREAKER

LULLABYE ARKESTRA

There is a nice piece about Wavelength Eleven: One Louder in the upcoming issue of NOW Magazine by my new favorite writer in the universe, Richard Trapunski. His piece makes a passing but significant reference, a little gentle nudge of criticism, regarding a trace of the Toronto apathy flu, it's a strain that is constantly circulating in our adoptive and natural hometown, generally held in check by healthy imaginations and hopeful minds. Sometimes the apathy flu flares up when the conditions are right, and in a climate where the war on the car is over, and the war on the citizen has begun, a bit of unneccesary hopelessness creeps in and makes for a climate condusive to the apathy flu. But there's nothing to worry about, we've all got it licked. The piece also says great things about the bands playing and the community vibe they help foster, in fact all five nights of Eleven consitute the five shows listed in this week's Must See section. But the thing that struck me about reading the online edition of the article was an online dating ad banner featuring what must be an old photo of his handsomeness Jonny Dovercourt, circa the Fatigue Kills era of Christiana. See for yourself and tell me this isn't the same guy?! - Doc Pickles

Two weeks from today we'll all be cozied up at Music Gallery for night two of the ELEVEN festival. The Music Gallery night of Wavelength's anniversary festivals is always a nice change of pace and a last chance to relax before the long weekend of celebrating begins. And being a church, the Music Gallery lets us present some quiet and beautiful music that would just get lost in a rock club among the clinking of beers and cranked amps. Click on for a sneak preview of the four bands playing night two.

Wavelength - ELEVEN - Night Two by wavelengthtoronto

EIYN SOF

EAST VAN STRINGS

NOT THE WIND NOT THE FLAG

KITE HILL