CKXU at Sled Island 2025: Day 3
Day 3 at Sled Island was wet. Wet with fun, wet with RAT distortion pedals, and it was pouring rain too, I guess that was also pretty wet. I (Jeremy) was playing the PERRA gig at Loophole right in the middle of the day, which kinda killed my flow because I wasn’t able to venue hop like we had been for the last 2 nights. Regardless, the show at Loophole was amazing and I was even able to make it around to a few other spots in the city. But the night started at Loophole…
Medusas
The riot grrrl wave is still alive! Medusas brought a crazy energy to kick off the night with straight-ahead riffs and rhythms that punished their audience into a frenzy of ferocious feminism. They did this really fun thing to start some of their songs, where they would talk their way into the riff and song. “Lemme guess you listen to Dystopia? F*cking poser.” That line is what kicked off one of their tunes and it made me absolutely bust a gut. Their sense of humour permeated the music and just brought such an amazing vibe to the beginning of the gig. Sadly, I had to duck out before the end of their set to get ready for my own but the Medusas ripped!
Pinball, 1973
Pinball, 1973 opened up The Mummies gig downstairs at the Palomino and laid down the hottest emo set Calgary has ever done seen. I had seen those boys play once before late last year and I was surprised when the set they played last night sounded almost entirely fresh to my ears. Pinball just had a new single come out this week called ‘The Beer Song” which is also what closed the set, I am in love with the new tune and the cheery, dancey vibes of Pinball, 1973. Long live instrumental emo rock!!!
Jed Arbour
Seeing this band at the Loophole is a long time coming. I first saw Jed Arbour three years ago at the #1 Legion opening for Low on a Wednesday night to kick off a Sled Island weekend. I was so enthralled by their performance that I became an instant fan, they were able to blend post-rock with so many other inspirations that it was beautiful. They also had such a positive disposition on stage, it was totally infectious!
Last night however was a different beast. Now sporting a 4-piece look. The band handed out lyric pamphlets which was tri-folded and generally depicted the 3 “acts” of their performance. They didn’t have a set list, more of just a song, obviously there were ebbs and flows to it but they went full Dopesmoker and it was beautiful. Tears were shed, and Jed was able to deflate and re-inflate the room at will. The absolute control they showed over the crowd at Loophole was legendary. I have no idea when they will play next or if they will release this song (titled “Soft with Rot”), but keep your eyes peeled for whatever Jed Arbour does next.
Photos by Braden Hood (@spicy__salsa) and Kort Woycheshin (@flamesgrain)
Words by Jeremy Collier (not cool enough for a professional insta)