Thousands of fans sporting their Arkells and Hamilton is Home shirts will be gathering at the Tim Hortons Field this Saturday for The Rally. The Arkells are playing only one summer show in the Greater Toronto Area and the occasion has turned into the biggest party, right here on the band’s home turf.
Hamilton Flea has been tasked with putting together a free market prior to the show and have announced over 20 vendors that will be selling art, handmade products, vintage, records and treats.
We’ve highlighted a couple must-see vendors for market-goers, some of which are recognizable to Hamiltonians while others are in the city just for market, so catch them while you can!
Local favourites
All Sorts Press
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Sara Froese will be bringing letterpress printed cards, prints, notebooks and totes. Her unique and one-of-a-kind designs are handmade out of her Cotton Factory studio right here in Hamilton. She uses antique techniques to print on a human-powered Chandler & Price platen printing press from 1910.
Group of 7 Billion
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Group of 7 Billion create unique and vintage collage art that has graced the walls of Hamilton galleries and art spaces for nearly 10 years. Sift through Hamilton-based collage artists Eady and Gadoury’s collection to find a one-of-a-kind piece just for you.
Hello Baked
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Got a sweet tooth? Jessica Lee’s art is disguised as sugary treats. The McMaster Alumna specializes in sugar cookies and has designed a colourful set of Arkells themed bullhorn and foam finger-shaped treats for The Rally.
Foundry Ice Cream
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Cool off with some rich diary and vegan French-style ice cream produced right here in Hamilton. Foundry Ice cream will be popping up at market and offering original and inventive flavours of ice cream made using in-season fruits and locally sourced ingredients, such as Detour coffee, for a true taste of our region.
Into the Abyss
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Head over to the Into the Abyss booth for some good vibes and a diverse range of records. Strike up a conversation with the owner Brad Germain on all things music while going through vinyl, both new and old. The Into the Abyss collection includes some popular albums, sought-out vintage records, ambient, avant-garde and music from Latin America and Africa.
Must-see vendors
Outpost Vintage + Thrift
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The Guelph-based shop shop will be setting up a trailer filled with vintage and thrifted pieces that’ll complete your summer wardrobe. Dresses, rompers, overalls, colourful sunglasses and exclusive drawstring backpacks designed in collaboration with Gillian Wilson are just a few items to expect at the vendor.
Rosehound Apparel
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Check out the Rosehound Apparel booth for a cool new tee, some trendy accessories, pins and patches to add to your growing collection. Toronto-based fashion designer and Hamilton native Megan Campagnolo’s collection was inspired by cult high school movies and shows from the 90’s, while her brand inspired a girly trend on pin and patch culture.
Cabin Journal
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The small Toronto-based stationary and home goods company will set up shop at the market and will be selling posters, art prints, cards and small towels. Expect to see colourful and bright designs, summer floral and fruit illustrations and typography inspired by the illustrator’s vintage collection.
The Rally Market is free to the public and will be open on the Tim Hortons Field from 1 to 5 pm on Saturday June 23rd.
Find out more info about the rally here.
Frank Turner is no stranger to the stage. He began touring at the age of 16. Following his attendance at the London School of Economics, he developed a proclivity for history and spent four years as the vocalist for post-hardcore band Million Dead until its dissolution.
The English folk singer-songwriter and punk troubadour opened with The Sleeping Souls, for Arkells homecoming concert.
Despite his transition from punk rock to folk in his solo career, Turner’s presence very much emulates his post-hardcore roots with an air of aggression and intensity, albeit in a beguiling sort of way.
He writes in what he calls a confessional, autobiographical style, most notably in his fifth studio album, Tape Deck Heart, which documents a raw narrative of heartbreak.
Produced by Rich Costey, who is acclaimed for his work with Muse, Tape Deck Heart became one of Turner’s biggest successes both critically and commercially. Turner followed with his most recent record, Positive Songs for Negative People, which offers a more upbeat tone to accompany a personal resurrection from the events of the prior record.
After an unruly debacle that followed some comments he made regarding his political beliefs to a major newspaper, it’s no wonder even someone as ardent as Turner has shied away from speaking his mind in the limelight.
“[Politics] is an issue which I oscillate on, to be honest… I certainly just made two records in a row that are self-consciously not political because I got to a place in my career where I got pretty sick of politics and music,” said Turner.
"When we did the first shows with them I was just instantly blow away. I think they're one of the best bands I've heard in a long, long time."
Frank Turner
Singer/songwriter
“The problem with it is that… there’s a large constituency of people who look to music for politics and for nothing else. They couldn’t give a toss if you’ve written a great song, they just care whether or not you’re singing their pre-existing opinions back to them in rhyming couplets. And if you do that, they’ll love you. If you say any one thing that they disagree with, they will burn you at the stake as a heretic.”
Despite his qualms, Turner says he is currently in the middle of a political rebirth in his writing, inspired by current events around the world.
He is nervous about plunging into political waters once again, but also finds it difficult not to respond to current events in some way as a writer. Last year, Turner played at the Reading Festival for the 10th year in a row. He has played around the globe, from pubs to festivals to the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, which he found to be a cool but strange experience.
The show he played at the FirstOntario Centre with the Arkells was his 2,025th as a musician. Although this is his first experience working with the Hamilton natives, he details the gigantic bromance that has formed between him and members of the band already.
“[Arkells are] a phenomenal band… when we did the first shows with them I was just instantly blown away. I think they’re one of the best bands I’ve heard in a long, long time… we get on really well, we have fun… Everyone’s in love with everyone else in this camp right now. It’s kind of glorious.”
When he’s not touring, Turner’s life is both unexpectedly and expectedly normal. He has a girlfriend. He can be found on walks around London and he’s learning to cook.
Fans can look forward to the release of a new record by the end of this year. Over the course of his prolific career, the Brit has created an expansive repertoire that he tucks under his heavily tattooed arms, one of which is actually an ode to Canada.
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“I was playing a show in Fredericton, New Brunswick and I [played my song “Tattoo”]… a guy in the front row who [said he was a tattoo artist] and I said ‘cool, I’ll get a New Brunswick tattoo’ as a joke… He had been tattooing in that town for 25 years and no one had ever got a New Brunswick tattoo. So I decided to actually get a New Brunswick tattoo because why the fuck not?”
Turner’s nearly two decade-long career has seen him transition from a frustrated punk rocker with precocious musical talent to a singer-songwriter with rare lyrical gifts.
When asked which tour stop will become the latest addition to his tattoo collection, Turner glanced at his decorated limbs.
“We’ll see, we’ll see. I’m slightly picking my battles these days, space is in high premium.”
The evening of Sunday Feb. 17 a homecoming of sorts took place in downtown Hamilton. 227 people eagerly flooded into This Ain’t Hollywood to see Arkells play their first hometown show in over a year. The show was a secret one only announced on Friday morning, and proceeds benefited Boys and Girls Clubs of Hamilton. It was sweaty, loud and passionate show - everything the band has come to be known for.
The show was dubbed “a celebration of downtown Hamilton,” and as such, tickets were only available in hard-copy from downtown icons Dr. Disc and Cheapies Records. As if there was any doubt in the show’s buzz, it sold out in less than 15 minutes. Thanks to a break in classes, a spur-of-the-moment decision and a dash across Main to catch a bus, I managed to get my hands on two of them.
New Hands, young natives of - you guessed it - Hamilton, were chosen to warm up the crowd just after 10 p.m. Their new-wave indie-rock goodness got plenty of heads bobbing and rightfully garnered some new fans. Midway through their set, vocalist Spence Newell asked, “So who’s excited to see Charlemagne?”, eliciting a few cheers and laughs from fans who knew Arkells’ former moniker back from their McMaster days.
The headliners were introduced by the amiable venue owner Lou Mollinaro, with a short story about booking Charlemagne when they were just a fledgling quintet. Mike, Max, Nick, Tim and Anthony followed to take the stage to overwhelming cheers. Here was a band who, just four days prior, had opened for Canadian heavyweights The Tragically Hip at a sold out ACC, playing to 13,000 people. After the show frontman Max Kerman told me what the change in audience was like: “tonight was much more fun. And more sweaty, too.”
They got right to it: launching into “Tragic Flaw,” a song that has been around since their Deadlines EP, followed by the infectiously-cheerful “Michigan Left” and 19 other songs that spanned almost their entire catalogue. The band’s raw, energetic, soulful sound was proudly and loudly exhibited.
Picking highlights for a show that cemented itself as the best you’ve ever been to is difficult, but my standouts are: “Abigail” (and its necessary ode to the Jackson Square food court), “Oh, the Boss is Coming!”, “Ticats Are Hummin’”, “Where You Goin’” and a cover of the Clash’s “Rock the Casbah”. Max constantly exhibited his impressive stage presence, talked about the HSR and sung a verse of “Whistleblower” with me.
The show’s encore saw New Hands and some venue staff on stage for two covers; the crowd-pleasing, dance-inducing “Book Club”, where the audience contested Max for the loudest singing of its retrospective lyrics and Hamilton name-drop; and lastly a send-off with John Lennon, an ode to nights at McMaster and living in Westdale, among other things.
The audience danced through the entire set. The sober people sang, the drunk people sang, and genuine smiles flashed across the faces of the five as they played their hearts out.
It all started not so long ago. Arkells met through a collective love of music and an ambitious dream to make it their jobs. They got kicked out of the basement of Woodstock for jamming too loudly. They lived in student houses. They took courses, wrote papers and did and didn’t go to class. They named themselves after the Westdale street where a couple of them lived and rehearsed. They devoted endless hours to their craft and weathered the early struggles it brought. A change of keyboardist didn’t slow their momentum. Today it seems they’ve figured out what works: talking to fans after shows, sending out signed postcards at Christmas, interacting through social media, releasing surprise recordings and collaborations.
Arkells have had quite an evolution since the 2006 McMaster Campus Music Explosion. Guitarist Mike DeAngelis explained his initial hopes for the band: “I didn’t have big expectations at first. Back then I just wanted to open for another band at the Casbah, that’s it. When Max called me and told me we got a spot doing that, I couldn’t believe it. I thought I couldn’t do it.”
Even with their seemingly-endless tour schedule which has brought them across continents and a fan base that has quickly multiplied, Arkells are always quick to acknowledge their humble roots and be grateful for where they’ve risen to. They have proudly taken on the role of Hamilton’s rock ambassadors while hitting new stages and crafting new material. Even though each is originally from another city, the band was born in Hamilton, and they’ll undoubtedly continue to tell that to the world. Their tenacity and ambition has garnered them their deserving success, past, present and future. If you weren’t aware of it yet, the future of this band is definitely something to watch.
Lucas Canzona
