Stacey McLeod and Phil Villeneuve walk down the aisle, arm in arm, surrounded by pews full of fans, family members and friends. They are both dressed in black with gold trimmings. The “bride” wears a black veil. The “groom” wears a top hat and carries what looks to be an axe over his shoulder. They proceed to the altar, where a group of musicians awaits them.
They are not about to tie the knot. Rather, this is the CD release party for We Are Here For You and a church is where they have chosen to show their work. This particular church, St. George the Martyr, located at 197 John St., is also known as the Music Gallery. It is one of several churches in Toronto that play host to musical acts before and after its daily sermons. McLeod and Villeneuve’s band, the I Love You Toos, is part of a growing number of musical acts from Toronto that use churches as venues. That’s really nothing new as in the past, churches have always had music in them. But now they host all sorts of sounds from indie rock to gospel choir.
“When you think of churches, you realize that they have actually a very long history of having music in them,” said Jason Aviss, the front house manager at the Music Gallery.”
“Something about having a concert set in a church really lends a focus to it.”
Going to see a live show at a church is different than going to a bar because in a church, he said people are there to just listen to the music.
Jackie Vantvoort is the building co-ordinator at Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church, situated on Bloor Street West between Bathurst and Spadina. It is another venue that hosts various music acts.
“One of the things with playing in this church is that when people come to a concert they’re here to focus on the concert,” Vantvoort said. “(They’re) not paying attention to what the bartender is doing or when the waitress is coming. It’s a much simpler setting for viewing concerts.”
Musicians using the church venue for the first time may be a little apprehensive about playing those surroundings or performing a lyrically suspect song in the house of the Lord.
“It is interesting to see how certain people react to being in a church,” Aviss said. “Some people take it in stride and are even actually kind of caught by surprise when you mention to them that on Sundays there is a service here and there is a priest and this is a functioning church.
“Others just get really into the space itself and are able to disregard the fact that there is an altar and other religious icons all around.”
Finding the venue can be a bit difficult for musicians, as churches such as Trinity-St. Paul’s, the Music Gallery and the Berkeley Street Church rarely advertise their space.
Andrew Smith works at the Berkeley Street Church on Queen East and said that it is their intention to keep a low profile.
He said that roughly the last 200 events the Berkeley Church has hosted, only 11 of those were from people who had played there before.
“Some of the big things that happen here wouldn’t come if we were in the Yellow Pages,” he said. “Because we do stay under the radar on purpose, we’re able to deliver very high quality to the people who appreciate it because they’ve been here and they get it,” he said.
Back at the I Love You Toos’ launch party, the introductory music stops. McLeod and Villeneuve face each other in front of the audience and launch into their first song, a foot stomping folk ballad. The sound lifts off.
“The acoustics are amazing and I think that is the biggest thing. You can’t beat the sound of a church,” McLeod said. “A lot of times in a bar you can’t hear anything or you can only hear what is coming back at you from the monitors.”
She said when playing in a church, there is an intimate feeling that gives them the idea they are playing to their band mates in a living room instead of just playing to the audience.
Churches work best for artists and bands that use mainly softer instruments and omit heavy electric equipment in their performances.
“These buildings are hundreds of years old,” Aviss said. “The construction and the make of the buildings is so attuned to acoustics and to resonance.”
Phil Villeneuve and Stacey McLeod
McLeod said there is more room for performance creativity that might not be possible at a typical concert venue.
“I think there are things you can do in a church or in an alternative venue that you can’t really do in a bar,” she said. “It’s a little harder to go into a regular music venue or a bar and do something creative with a theme.”
Chris Evans is the guitar player for Toronto rock band Poisonous Glass. He said younger musicians are beginning to explore the creative opportunities offered by church venues.
“I think younger musicians are taking to more artistic endeavors,” Evans said. “Now you have these musicians who are adding totally different elements from all kinds of genres into their music and trying to make it more artistic and I think a church definitely is a good venue for that type of thing.”
Sometimes the building itself stirs artists’ creativity and can add a sense of spirituality.
“We have ambiance. We have a lot of attributes that people use,” Vantvoort said. “There’s an element of spirituality just based on the fact that it’s in the church.”
The magnificent building structure, the bouncing acoustics, the picturesque stained glass windows and the overall mood within make the church a memorable venue for music. And to play there, artists and bands need not dip their fingers in holy water, but the audience may still join in song.
“Some bands probably think about booking something in a church and they think there will be tons of rules and you have to be religious, but you don’t,” McLeod said. “I think any church that lets bands come and play is probably a pretty progressive church.”
Meanwhile, the I Love You Toos announce one more creative spin to top the evening off. With the crowd on the edge of their pews, a 30-member samba group bursts through the back doors of the church.
An almost chaotic atmosphere ensues, as the various percussion instruments bounce from one stained glass wall to the other. The audience rises and joins in on the parade clapping and cheering. On stage, the band and the samba group coalesce to create a bombastic sound that seems to be never ending, even after the churchgoers begin to file out. It’s the perfect way to make use of the building’s atmosphere, its sound and creativity.
Laura Godfrey
Rahul Gupta
Ciaran Thompson
