Dance Like Your Dogs Are Watching With The Highest Order In “Warm Front”
The alternative country band’s new video is a spaced-out concert for pooches.
Many things human enjoy can be poisonous to dogs, but not the music of The Highest Order, who have brought their canine companions to enjoy an intimate concert in their "Warm Front" music video. With lasers and dreamy dances flowing freely, the chilly-colored room brims with warm, dusty guitar licks straight from the Toronto group's own personal heartland. Director Jeff Bierk told us via email how his superfandom for the group led to the video's genesis.
I am the biggest Highest Order fan and part of the Honorary Members' Club. This video comes from two memories: The Highest Order played this basement show last summer in a warehouse, and I was working a smoke machine and projecting realtime footage through a MiniDV camera as they performed. We also had lasers going and I remember holding a laser machine and painting the band and the audience. The visual experience perfectly articulated what I was hearing. This band is the real deal and seeing them live is an experience like no other — a real trip. The show is burned into my mind and so I wanted to recreate the mesmerizing experience of seeing The Highest Order live and package it like a gift to those who haven't seen it.
The second memory is from a show they played at the Galleria Mall. I was in the back and became transfixed by my friend Sally, the way they were dancing. Again, I felt that visually their body articulated perfectly what I was hearing, and it really stuck with me.
So this video is an amalgamation of these two experiences. The long format mirrors the listening experience of the record. The dog actors are Joni, Roxy, and Rhubarb, respectively Paul, Simone TB, and Kyle's dogs. They are being walked by Sally, and represent their owners. There is a premonition of what is to come. Then there is the freedom of the music, the exchange between artist and audience. The trip. The Highest Order.