Hamilton’s The Rest played their second last performance in Toronto at The Drake Hotel on Tuesday June 5.
They began the show with a meaningful rendition of “The Last Day” and I felt certain that they were singing about these final moments of a 10-year long career of three albums and 328 shows. There was a surreal, romantic quality in the crowd’s energy – not unlike their music, which somehow sounded even larger, more layered and lyrical on this last day.
The whole experience was incredibly intimate, and when they played “Always on my Mind,” I felt a curious impulse to grab hold of a nearby stranger’s hand. I didn’t, but I truly wouldn’t have found it too peculiar if the whole audience quietly and casually started holding hands and swaying from side to side, and missing the beat all the while. Lead vocalist Adam Bentley even told us, “Endings are hard, but you guys make it easier.”
The band seemed to play with a heavy heart. After just one song Bentley confessed, “you know if I cry, it’s not a PR stunt.” And their music seemed the perfect soundtrack for memories, goodbyes, and all things bittersweet. They played songs from their earlier albums, but most of the show came from Seesaw, their third and final album.
This last album seemed cursed. Their friend and producer passed away just before they began recording, and once they had finished, they lost everything because of a technical glitch. The album was eventually recovered, but the grueling journey only added to the music’s poetry and significance, which became more intense as they sang those songs for a last time.
They have been a lovely, uplifting indie-rock gem for the past decade. They will return home for their final show at Dundas Valley Montessori School on Saturday June 8. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Hamilton’s arts community has expanded in the last few years, and newcomers CoBALT Connects offer an important program to contribute to this development. Jeremy Freiburger founded the company in 2005, and it was called The Imperial Cotton Centre for the Arts (ICCA) until early last year, when it rebranded. The non-profit organization focuses on services for local artists.
Their mission statement is to utilize creativity as a way to develop a strong economy and positive community identity. The organization divides itself into three programs: Spaces, which focuses on creating hubs for artists and entrepreneurs, Consultation, which works with governments and organizations to align and impact creative communities, and Exchange, which facilitates the sharing of ideas, resources and knowledge between artists.
Through these creative programs, the organization has created the Band Together project. The goal of this project is to give local musicians and filmmakers an easier way to gain funding for music videos. Submissions were received from 19 local teams, and the winners were elected through a jury process. With support from the Ontario Arts Council, each winning team is given $1000 as a grant towards their video production. The funds help cover equipment, venue rentals and other professional costs while CoBALT provides additional support through planning, production and promotional assistance.
The program began last fall, and the results of each team will be showcased at the Lyric Theatre on King Street downtown while also featuring performances from all the bands involved. The event will be held Thursday, April 18th and will feature the following videos:
“Who Knows” by The Rest, directed by Lee Skinner
“Anchor Me Down” by Katie Bulley (formerly of the Barettas) directed by Ryan Furlong of Fenian Films
“Rise The Falling Sun” by Pete Van Dyk and the Second Hand Band, directed by James Maunder
“Kit Kat” by Haolin Munk, directed by BE&ME Productions.
By: Kyle Fisher
