Music and intentional performance disruption at Army Girls/Cara Spooner Failure Fest, with opening act Omhouse, at a one-night only SummerWorks performance at the Scotiabank Studio Theatre at the Pia Bouman last night.
Omhouse brought a kick-ass set of trippy rock, playing in front of a large projected illustration of the four-member band.
For the main event, Cara Spooner started to shake things up even before Army Girls (Carmen Elle of DIANA on vocals and guitar, and Andy Smith on drums) started playing, reversing the audience and staging spaces, setting the scene for ongoing shit disturbance and shenanigans throughout the duration of the band’s kicky, indie rock sound set. Spooner’s impish antics were both fascinating and hilarious, keeping us all on our toes – a woman after my own heart.
The Failure Fest title comes from the fact that Army Girls set out to play “orphaned” songs, once thought awesome and now abandoned as embarrassing shit. And with Spooner moving with the music, beside and through the scene – and moving the microphone, sound equipment and even the drum kit (piece by piece!) – the band and audience can’t help but have a new perspective.
Makes me wonder how Army Girls feels about these songs now.
Here are some snaps I took last night:
life with more cowbell 