Live Reviews
Canadian Music Week 2008
The Fiery Furnaces - Lee's Palace
Wye Oake - Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
Architecture in Helsinki - The Opera House
The Avett Brothers - Horseshoe Tavern
Virgin Music Festival 2007 – Day 1
Virgin Music Festival 2007 – Day 2
Crave Fest #2
Crave Fest Music Video Awards Night
The Besnard Lakes - Horseshoe Tavern
Damien Rice
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
!!! (Chk Chk Chk)
Arcade Fire
Air
LCD Soundsystem
Love of Diagrams
The Ponys
Dub Trio
The Indie Awards
Harmonica
The United Steel Workers of Montreal
Psychotic 4
Back Door Slam
The Hollows
David Hein with guests Flickershow and Boulay
Big Day Out 2007
Bionic/The Fucking Machines/Tokyo Sex Whale
The Big One
Sloan
Tapes 'n Tapes/White Denim
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Opera House, Toronto
While the Opera House was nearly packed for Tapes 'n Tapes, those who arrived early for opening act White Denim were presented with a real treat. The trio from Austin, Texas took the stage just after 9 p.m. and rolled through their half hour set in a frenzy. It took a while for the sparse crowd to get into them but by the end of their performance, the band had the audience bobbing their heads in unison to their brand of spazzy post-punk. Singer/guitarist James Petralli didn’t stray too far from his effects pedal but barely stopped bouncing, as he was constantly hopping up and down. Drummer Josh Block had the intensity of Animal from The Muppet Show, as he was bent on mashing all of his cymbals nearly into oblivion during each song. Although they were faltered by some mic problems, it’s a shame many missed out on the energetic band as they provided the perfect atmosphere for an opening act.
Tapes 'n Tapes needed no introduction, as the Minneapolis-based indie rock quartet had the audience in the palms of their hands the moment they took to the stage to a feverous applause. The band mixed their set with material from their debut album, The Loon, as well as tunes from their recently released follow-up, Walk It Off. While the band dashed through their newer songs, the crowd reacted more favourably towards “Just Drums” and “Insistor,” both from their initial release. Singer/guitarist Josh Grier was the most energetic member of the band, as he constantly thanked the crowd and at one point joined the audience as they chanted during the set. Matt Kretzman ventured from his keyboard a few times with a trumpet in hand but his multi-talented skills weren’t as prominent in the mix, dominated by the thunder of the bass and drums. Indeed, newer songs like “Hang Them All” and “Time of Sounds” sounded heavier than their studio counterparts.
The band closed their hour-long set with “Demon Apple.” Grier aimed his guitar to the roof as he twirled the final notes, looking like he was either channeling the guitar gods or trying to achieve star power in Guitar Hero. While the lack of an encore was a disappointment, the roaring ovation at the conclusion of the show was a clear indication the audience went home happy.
http://www.whitedenimmusic.com/
-Jon Brazeau
Plants and Animals
(Thursday March 7th - The Horseshoe Tavern)
On Thursday March 7th, the official kickoff night for Canadian Music
Week Montreal’s Plants and Animals played the historic Horseshoe Tavern.
Not surprisingly the venue was at capacity as the trio hit the stage.
The band truly showed that they are worthy of all their recent praise.
They delivered a very tight set of intelligent-roots-rock that the crowd
absolute loved. Tunes from their latest album Park Avenue like ‘Bye Bye
Bye’, ‘Faerie Dance’ and ‘New Kind of Love’ had jaws dropping and feet
moving. Plants and Animals are an amazing creative force to see live.
The band is a simple trio that mix keyboards, percussion, drums, bass,
layered electric guitars and awesome harmonies. Now is the time to catch
these guys live as they are being touted as the next big thing out of
Montreal.
The Acorn
(Thursday March 7th - The Horseshoe Tavern)
Always a treat to listen to, the Acorn have a style and sound that is
all their own and is hard to pin down in a specific category. They
played Thursday night with an ensemble of talent that looked about eight
strong. The stage was packed, as was the Horseshoe Tavern, with hard
drinking patrons and industry folk all grooving to the eccentric sound
of this brilliant Ottawa band. Lead man Rolf Klausener is an awesome
performer and most suited for the lead role in the band as he naturally
barks jokes and banter between songs before ripping into songs and
putting as much vocal passion as he does physically into the show. There
was never a dull moment during the set and The Acorn did a fantastic job
keeping the crowd engaged.
Grady
(Thursday March 7th - Tattoo)
The last time this reviewer saw Gordie Johnson was with Big Sugar at the
Horseshoe Tavern back in 2002 and he absolutely blew the roof off the
place with his screaming arsenal of Gibson guitars and blistering loud
amps. He now leads the Austin southern rock trio Grady who are louder
and dirtier than any of his past musical endeavors. The band really
knows how to throw a party, and they got things started right by playing
tunes off their new album A Cup of Cold Poison. They then moved into
songs off their debut disc Y.U So Shady? before busting out the show
stopper ‘Digging a Hole’. The old Big Sugar hit got place going totally
crazy and had most of the audience singing along. This was the first
Canadian show for their new drummer Nina Sing who came out swinging and
rocked the house hard. She also had a great stage piece with her vintage
blue Ludwig Vistalite drums with a huge bull skull hanging off the front
of the kit. Gordie Johnson and Ben Richardson are the perfect duo up
front both sporting big black Stetsons and all black attire; the
chemistry is truly a sight to behold. Grady was definitely one of the
highlights of CMW 08.
United Steel Workers of Montreal
(Friday March 8th - The Silver Dollar)
United Steel Workers of Montreal are a very unique band; they are
exactly what their name exemplifies, hard working, hard living people.
They sing for the people, they represent the folks that work tireless
days and don’t complain, but compensate with heavy drinking and good
times. Listening to them live one thinks of Hamilton steel workers and
dirty Detroit auto plan employees who will spend half their lives
working in harsh environments to make ends meet.
The two lead singers of the band both have heavy raspy and seasoned
voices that tell great real life stories of love, hard work and weekend
binge drinking with the odd tale of drinking and driving thrown in for
good measure. This band is raw, to the point, and very confident in what
they deliver. The female lead of the band, Felicity Hamer, is an
irresistibly sexy woman who comes off strong with her rough whiskey
voice and good looks. On the opposite side of the stage there is big o'l
Gern, who is a husky individual with a huge personality that resonates
with direct force. His countless stories are from the heart and sincere.
No one could have asked for a better show.
Dearly Beloved
(Friday March 8th - Tattoo)
The highly anticipated Dearly Beloved hit the stage at 12:45 to a
capacity crowd at Tattoo, and really turned up the heat. They played
most of the tunes off their latest CD Repo Repo, which is an absolutely
awesome album. The lighting that supported the stage show was
incredible, with blue, red, orange and green lights hitting the band at
intermittent moments, creating a larger than life atmosphere for the
band. Dearly Beloved is really fun to watch, they have lead singer Rob
Higgins all over the stage getting right into the music and moving like
he means it from the heart. On the opposite side of the stage doing
backing vocals is the sexy Nina Chow, swinging her hair, and shaking her
ass to the hard rocking catchy tunes. The music was as tight and they
delivered in a big way.
Steve Hill
(Friday March 8th - Tattoo)
Just when the night looked over after the Dearly Beloved set, a band
began setting up that no one paid much attention to until they started
blaring through the PA system. “Holy shit! Who the hell is this?” were
the carefully chosen words I had for my friend. The band was Steve Hill,
and unbelievably hard rocking and talented trio that put on an
absolutely amazing show. Lead man Steve Hill, is a killer guitarist who
lays down his heavy 3 to 4 chord riff rock similar to that of Motorhead
and AC/DC. Unfortunately the venue somewhat emptied out after Dearly
Beloved's set, so there were only about 50 people in the place for the
set. This is a band this reviewer will be seeing again for sure, and
they were quite a nice way to end a night of great music.
- Andre Skinner
The Fiery Furnaces
Lee’s
Palace
December 12, 2007
Newcomers to The Fiery Furnaces should be warned that this band thinks nothing of changing keys and/or time signature at any given point in any given song. After seeing them play for an hour and change, this tendency proves to be both the presentation of a major strength on their part and an absolute source of frustration for their listener
Picture a kid with ADHD running around the house banging on a pan with a wooden spoon and singing a made-up song at the top of his lungs, then slamming the door, knocking down the wind chimes, and thinking up a whole new song to play with them. That’s The Fiery Furnaces.
Comparing a band to a hyper-active kid can be problematic for a few reasons. While the songs do bounce from idea to new idea in new key to new idea they also demonstrate a near-sublime level of musicianship, and their tight, high-octane performance revealed a band that’s well rehearsed and attentive to the most minute details. Drummer Bob D’Amico pounded away through intricate beats of both the bruising and grooving varieties. Bassist Jason Loewenstein pulled double duty, easily carrying the instrument’s rhythmic weight and playing consistently frantic lead parts in the absence of any guitarist. Matthew Friedberger chimed in on keyboards, seeming to know exactly how much to play for maximum efficacy and his sister Eleanor Friedberger (the brother and sister duo make up The Fiery Furnaces proper) used her vocals to carry a good deal of rhythm on her own. In fact her singing frequently proved to be the only reliable bridge from one section to the next.
What was most maddening about The Fiery Furnaces was that despite their ability to build incredibly textured soundscapes, they were too often abandoned before being fully explored. They have the ability to conjure at will that climactic moment of a song and deliver it in a heartbeat without it feeling contrived or making you wonder how you got there. The Fiery Furnaces are an extremely talented band but have little interest in taking their audience for a smooth ride. Those expecting for one should look elsewhere; those who like a little dissonance should check them out.
- John William Blakely
Wye Oak
January 8, 2008
Local 506,
Chapel Hill, NC
Baltimore-based Wye Oak's set had barely started when drummer and electronic noise maker Andy Stack discovered a bleeding digit. "You're bleeding already?" Jenn Wasner, lead singer and guitarist, playfully asked. But despite having to push through regular blood-lettings and a waning guitar amp, they were positively giddy. And they have every reason to be downright jovial as recently signed Merge recording artists embarking on a mini-tour to support their forthcoming album, "If Children."
Tuesday's stop at the Local 506 in Chapel Hill proved that while it may be tempting to attribute Wye Oak's unabashed enthusiasm to inexperience and youth (the duo is in their early 20s), their stage presence belies much older, and perhaps more damaged souls. Lead singer Jenn Wasner exuded a blithe confidence on stage and moved easily between showering the crowd with heartfelt "thank you's", while in the next breath gearing up to play some very painful indie pop. One of these defining moments and a testament to Wye Oak's deftness as performers, was their live rendition of Family Glue. While the studio version of this song contains multiple voice tracks of Jenn, this ballad proved more moving when stripped of the over-produced, multi-track harmonies. The nakedness of Jenn's whispery, raspy vocals displayed a desperateness and depth that channeled what Cat Power's less fucked-up little sister might have sounded like if she had one.
What Wye Oak is known for is a transcendental and polyphonic wall of sound. Andy Stack proved to be the ultimate multi-tasker by doing double-duty with a drum kit and a trusty little noise box, as instruments bled one into the other. And like the oak tree they are named for, the layering upon layering of sounds filled the club to its rafters like tree branches soaring into eternity.
Towards the end of the set Jenn's guitar amp started giving out. "Cross you fingers for my guitar amp. If it dies that's the end of the song," she said to the audience, still gleeful to be on stage. And speaking of death, Wye Oak closed with a snappy little pop tune, entitled ironically, Obituary. If this Baltimore-based duo is any indication of the next generation of indie bands being cultivated today, soon other indie rockers will finally have to start admitting it's finally cool just to be happy, even when you're singing about being sad.
-Amy Loeffler
Architecture
in Helsinki
Oct. 18th 2007
The Opera House
It's a good
sign when a venue sells earplugs at the bar, and an even better one when
every corner of the dance floor is either a speaker stack or a bar. The
excellent design of the Opera House was matched by excellence on stage
as Australian independents Architecture in Helsinki played a great show.
You know you're at an Architecture gig when you see a bizarre dual-drum
kit dominating the stage, looking like something left half-assembled in
the corner of some bizarre percussion-based scientific laboratory.
Another clue is four separate buckets of drumsticks scattered around the
stage, and more different instruments than you shake a small size
orchestra at. I can honestly say my life is more complete after seeing
this gig, because I can now use the phrase "surprise trombone" without
it being a euphemism for something absolutely filthy.
The band seem ready to perform under enemy fire - every member can play
at least three different parts, often changing mid-song, giving an
extremely dynamic stage presence. It also means the band could probably
finish a show even if up to three members had heart attacks, though
hopefully we'll never find out. Whatever the reason, the multi-musical
member makeup might be what gives the band such a unique sound,
especially valuable in the notoriously cookie-cutter field of pop. They
are constantly varying between feels and tones while never being less
than enjoyably original.
The band poured out great energy in their performance, which the front
five rows of the audience enjoyed tremendously. Unfortunately the rest
of the audience seemed struck by some kind of Easter Island syndrome, or
perhaps passed Medusa in the cloak room, standing stock still most of
the concert with a little head-bopping being the most energy they could
muster.
The band weren't deterred one bit by those boring bystanders, having fun
with the section of the audience that actually acted like they were at a
concert (including some repartee about the choice of encore). How do you
know you're in the right place at a concert? You should feel a strong
breeze every time they hit the bass drum. The hour-long set ended far
too quickly, and many were almost too hoarse to join the shouts for an
encore. Almost.
There's a simple test to know if you'll enjoy Architecture in Helsinki:
do you like music? Do you like original things? If you answered yes to
both, Google "hold music" and watch the video. And if you answered no,
why are you reading this magazine?
- Luke McKinney
The Avett Brothers
Horseshoe Tavern
October 7, 2007
From the moment they stepped onstage, the Avett Brothers, a three-piece bluegrass rock band from North Carolina, had the audience completely at their mercy. Writhing with incessant energy, the group featuring Seth Avett on guitar, brother Scott on banjo, and Bob Crawford on double bass, joined by some occasional cello accompaniment, tore through their set with the reckless abandon of a teenager speeding down a bumpy country road with no police in sight.
Playing their second-ever Canadian show, the band had more than just abundant enthusiasm to offer the ravenous, mostly plaid-clothed crowd. All members smoothly handled vocal duties in frequent 3-part harmonies, and they showed some serious imagination and playfulness in their delivery, whether it was by singing really fast (almost every song), singing seemingly different songs at the same time without devolving into utter chaos (“Distraction #74”), or just plain belting it out like a screamo band (“SSS”). The songs were unpredictable, ranging from sprints to epics, classic country sounds to tunes that rocked as hard as three acoustic instruments could ever manage. The crowd of roughly 75 drank in everything and roared for more.
It’s hard to say whether it was the audience or the band itself that enjoyed the show more. The Avetts bantered back and forth about playing in Canada, joked around with the audience (at one point noting that a guy in the crowd was putting more into his vocals than they were), and frequently apologized for making requests of their sound guy on his birthday. When every light in the house went off as the music of closer “Pretty Girl from Chile” began to fade, the crowd roared its thanks for a show that truly felt special. Then the lights returned and the band, now with electric guitars and Scott on a drum kit, kicked back into the song reinforcing the point they’d been driving home all night; these guys know how to rock.
No matter how much the Avett Brothers gave, the crowd just couldn’t get
enough. After the encore, after the sound guy left, even after the
house lights and bar music came back on, the crowd cheered and chanted
for more. They kept it up for a full 15 minutes before the sound guy
returned and the band, now changed from their stage clothes, rocked them
once more.
www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers
- John William Blakely
Virgin Music Festival 2007 – Day 1
Attention all Earth Intruders, welcome to the 2nd annual Virgin Music Festival! With over 35,000 tickets sold and over 60 hot acts, V-fest on the Toronto Islands is the largest music festival in Canada.
When I woke up that morning and took my seat in the media briefing room with the other 40 or so music journalist, and listened to the V-fest organizers talk about the history of v-fest, it made me realize that “hey, this isn’t one of those typical corporate festivals…Virgin originally started off as a music record label” (a very interesting thought to ponder). Anyway, I knew that these 2 days would be unlike any other just by looking at the band line-ups on all 4 music stages. Local Canadian bands to big international hits like Paolo Nutini, M.I.A, Crowned King, Dragonette, Arctic Monkeys, Interpol and Bjork definitely had something up their sleeves for their fans.
I actually became a fan of some of the bands that I’d never even heard of before. The openers for the Virgin Mobile Stage, The Vincent Black Shadow, took me by surprise with their songs. Even though the swarms of fans weren’t packed to the stage yet, they delivered quite a show to kick-off the day.
Another great act to take to the Virgin Mobile Stage was Paolo Nutini from Scotland. He really got the ever-growing crowd up on their feet and he was brilliant to watch as he mixed soul, acoustic and alternative rock together.
Something very cool, was witnessing the Contraband contest winners, Crowned King from Vancouver take the Budweiser Stage. I recalled seeing their music videos a few years ago and forgot all about them. But now, the Virgin Festival has given lesser-known bands their chance to shine and take the stage. Upcoming bands like Dragonette and The Wildbirds, both of whom took on the Future Shop Stage, were very refreshing to watch play.
Back to the Virgin Mobile Stage…k-0s made it feel like Sunday morning as he performed hits such as “crabbuckit”, “b-boy stance” and “electric-heat”. It’s always been a pleasure to watch k-os live on stage.
Continuing with the almost flawless line-up, the UK phenomenon M.I.A rocked and even got some 30 lucky fans onto the Virgin Mobile Stage to dance with her to tracks like “Bucky Done Gun” and “Boys”. After the M.I.A performance, there was a special gig by non-other than Kid Kuala to replace Amy Winehouse.
When the sun began to slowly set and give crowd a bit of breathing room after standing for seven hours in the blistering sun. This is when The Arctic Monkeys hit the main stage to get the fully-packed crowd to start moshing to, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor”, “Matador” and “When the Sun goes Down”. One could certainly tell by the crowd’s reaction that they love their garage rock bands from the UK…as do I.
At this point, the main stage lights were all lit-up and the smoke machines running furiously, it was time for much anticipated post-punk American indie band Interpol to show the island what they were made of. Everyone from teens to older adults nodded their heads, danced around and sang along to all their hits like “Evil”, “Slow Hands” and “Not even Jail”.
The final act of Day 1 of V-fest was non-other than the queen of alternative music her-self, hailing from the beautiful country of Iceland…Bjork! Her brilliant set started off with an explosion of confetti everywhere and laser lights fired away endlessly into the night sky. Singing wonderfully as always and moving around, doing random poses and movements made it hard to keep your eyes on her. But performing tracks old and new, it was an unforgettable set.
The
thing that I really liked about the band line-up was that, in the crowd,
there were no distinct “types of fans” like emos, Goths or
teeny-boppers…it was a good mix of everyone and all styles of music, and
that is what it is all about in the end, not too much of one thing and a
lot of just enjoying everything.
By: Sean Chin
Virgin Music Festival 2007 – Day 2
I thought being a photographer…a VIP to the 2nd annual Virgin Music Festival was the sickest job in the world…yea I thought so until I saw two young ladies in little tree/bush costumes wandering around the Toronto Islands and were randomly dancing around the festival-goers. Now that’s sick.
On day numero de, we were all blessed with the fact that the skies did not come pouring down on us and instead, festival-goers got to enjoy a nice cool breeze compared to the previous day’s heat. I was very excited because the entire band line-up was basically my play-list on itunes. We got Jamie T, Blonde Redhead, Explosions in the Sky, Tokyo Police Club, Stars, Metric, The Killers, and the return of The Smashing Pumpkins, baby!
Another surprise for me was that I actually became a fan to some new bands that I’ve never heard of before. Justin Nozuka kicked off the day for the Future Shop Stage and I actually stayed and listened to his entire set. What was really interesting was that he had drawn the Future Shop Stage to almost half the capacity…and he was the opening act! Justin got his fans moving to some good old soul and acoustic rock tracks that were impressively catchy. Another great band that I saw was Honeycut, who hail from sunny California. They had a bit of some sound technicalities at the beginning of their set, but they easily made up for that with their music.
After some lunch in the media tent, I headed to the Virgin Mobile Stage where Jamie T (holy crap he was awesome!) was rocking up the crowd with his fancy British accent. His style of rock, reggae…or what ever you want to call it…was just a pleasure to watch.
By this time, those little “tree” ladies have made their way over to the main stage and were ready to rock for the ever so energetic, Tokyo Police Club. No hits were missed here as the young Newmarketers dished out everything they had to songs like “Nature of the Experiment” and “Cheer it On”. My “live play-list” now continues as the loveable Stars and then Metric, took the main stage and kept the crowd pumped. Emily Haines (always a sight to see) bobbed her head away to the fast-paced beats of “Monster Hospital” and “Poster of a Girl”.
At this point I’ve seen enough from the main stage, and rushed back to the Future Shop Stage to see the NY phenomenon which is Blonde Redhead. Indie-rock and alternative fans should look no further, as Redhead has everything “indie” your brain would ever need to be satisfied. Another band I was eager to see live was Explosions in the Sky. There was no mic set-up as it was just guitars, bass, and drums rocking it hard deep inside to some kick ass lighting effects.
Static began to appear on the video screens that hung over the Virgin Mobile stage set to some pretty dramatic music all in preparation for The Killers. Man, I have say that that was one solid performance by Flowers and his gang. At this time the Toronto Islands had to be at almost full capacity as I couldn’t see the end of the ocean of fans. Songs such as “When you were Young”, “Somebody Told Me” and “All the Things That I’ve Done” really got everyone jumping out and down and dancing around.
If The Killers didn’t reap the energy of all the fans, the Virgin Festival had one more bullet in its pocket. It was finally time that everyone had been waiting for, the first Toronto performance from The Smashing Pumpkins in many years. Zeitgeist flags were held out in the crowd and surfers got ready. Classic favorites like “Tonight, Tonight”, “Bullet and Butterfly Wings” and my new favorite, “That’s the Way (my love is)” were all played out like masterpieces.
At the end of it all, my final impression was the same if not better than the first day of the festival: there was some damn good music being played here in Toronto! A good mix of all the indie-rock, alternative, hip-hop, ska, you name it and V-fest had it all. I look forward to another one next year!
By: Sean Chin
CraveFest – Various
Artists
Revival Bar - 783 College St.
Tuesday August 14, 2007
Last week was an unusual week for CraveFest attendees. For those unfamiliar with CraveFest, it’s a four-day music video festival that culminates with an awards show. Musical acts, both signed and unsigned, get the chance to submit their videos and have the public vote on them. The top five videos per category are then shown throughout the week at various venues across Toronto and on the final day, panels of judges from the video and music industry announce the winners.
The festival was kicked off on August 14 with Hustle ‘N Flow: A Fusion of Urban Video & Sound where a number of hip hop videos and acts took the stage to strut their stuff. Videos by Classified, Infinite, Chuckie Akenz and Prince Ali were featured with performances by sister-duo act SanGia and reggae master Mr. Flowers breaking up the video screen visuals.
Despite playing to a sparse crowd, Mr. Flowers really hyped things up. His charisma and entertainer-personality livened up the joint, making the night not seem like a total bust after all.
The night really picked up when Solitair – who’s video “Make a Movie” won Best Video in the Signed Hip Hop category – took to the stage and brought along his Black Jays crew for support, including local celeb Kardinal Offishall.
Overall, the night wasn’t too bad. Some interesting videos were shown – some that people should never see and others that deserved to see the light of day, hopefully leading to a deal or two. The concept of the festival has potential but for some reason the execution failed to do it justice. In the end, it would be nice to see what Cravefest 2008 has in store – provided it gets better submissions than this year.
-Antoinette Mercurio
Crave Fest
Music Video Awards Night
Friday August 17th 2007
The Mod Club, Toronto
(Photo by Agata
Waliczek)
Commencing with the clang of a gong sounded by a hunchback in face paint
the inaugural Crave Fest award show turned out to be much more of a
freak show than its theme demanded. Plagued by the inept MC skills of
host Tara Sloane (of Rock Star INXS fame) shoddy production values,
absentee winners and a half capacity Mod Club crowd the whole event
smacked of poor planning and a lack of substance. Between the presenters
stumbling through their teleprompter lines and the pre-recorded
acceptance speeches that appeared to have been filmed on webcams in
bunkers, at times it felt as if the whole show was nothing more than an
expensive high school spirit assembly. Though the event planners
obviously went out of their way to add as many bells and whistles to the
show as possible the flaming sword wielders, circus freaks and topless
burlesque girls only seemed out of place and awkward in the ugly mess
that was Crave Fest.
The one saving grace of the night however was the excellent albeit brief
musical performances that punctuated the award speeches. Laid back pop
rock group Roz Bell played a note perfect set that featured
buttery guitar solos, a comfy mid tempo swing and a charmingly happy
front man whose smooth vocals won over the crowd. Solitair, the
lone rapper on the bill, gave a spirited performance of his latest
single off his forthcoming album, a fact he made sure to mention more
than once. Handing out beer bottles to the crowd and running through the
usual call and response tricks of any good hip hop MC, Solitair was
impressive and memorable in his set and won over the predominantly rock
crowd. Indie rock group The Scenario did a solid Interpol
impression with their five minutes of allotted time and warmed up the
crowd nicely for the night’s closing band Ill Scarlett. Living
up to their headliner status Ill Scarlett gave a professional
performance of all three of their hit singles off their new album
All Day With It. The front row of seventeen year old brace
faced girls ate up every note played by the Mississauga quartet and
every chorus featured the crowd’s backing vocals. The band obviously
enjoyed the well deserved feedback and played with passion and energy
running over their set time to close with the night’s highlight “Police
State”; a tune whose distinctive riff and Sublime-like vocals displays
the band’s solid songwriting skills and gives hope for more good music
from Ill Scarlett.
Though Crave Fest gets credit for displaying some bands with merit, the
promoters need to iron out of the kinks of this event and insure their
nominees next year actually show up. Crave Fest has its heart in the
right place but next year let’s hope they ditch the circus folk and hire
a decent event planner.
www.cravefest.com
- Sam Stilson
The Besnard Lakes
Horseshoe Tavern
June 22, 2007
The Besnard Lakes are another great band that has emerged from Montreal’s seemingly bottomless well of talent. Their music is slightly less poppy than counterparts like The Arcade Fire, but they do share a similarly large bombastic sound. Instead of the orchestral pop that Arcade Fire plays, Besnard Lakes create something much more dense. It is a full sound that brings to mind the sprawling feedback of My Bloody Valentine, but simultaneously channels the harmonies of The Beach Boys. Listening to their most recent album The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse, one would expect them to put on a show similar to that of Pink Floyd, packed with special effects. One could not however put on such a show at Toronto’s Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, especially as the opening act, but they still managed to make their short set a memorable one.
I arrived at the Horseshoe in time to catch the first performer of the night Jade McNelis, who performed a very pleasant set that was similar in sound to recent Cat Power. I ordered myself a pitcher of Lager and settled in by the soundboard where unfortunately all the talkers decided to congregate. As soon as The Besnard Lakes began setting up a large crowd made their way to the stage and it became clear that for many, they were the headliner that evening. Songwriting duo and couple, Jace Lasek & Olga Goreas lead the band on to the stage, and take their place at the front where they will trade vocals (after Olga has placed her purse behind the drum kit.) The fog machine starts up, blanketing the stage in a haze, and the slow building “Ride the Rails” opens the show. The fog is about as close as we will get to any elaborate stage production on this evening, but it will suffice. They then moved into heavier territory with the slow rocker “Devastation” which Olga covered lead vocals on and hooked the crowd with.
The music The Besnard Lakes make is very specific, and watching groups like this live is sometimes frustrating because they do not venture too far from the album’s set notes and sound. Complex albums like theirs do not leave a lot of room for expansion, because the sound is quite fleshed out already. Without any kind of stimulating visual accompaniment, listening to progressive mood rock live can sometimes be exactly the same as listening to the album. It is for this reason that I’m not really blown away by the show initially. My first impressions are immediately forgotten once the third song “For Agent 13” started up. A beautifully simple piano starts the track and is then joined by the awe inspiring and effortless sounding falsetto of Jace Lasek. The surreal and sublime song matches anything Sigur Ros has done, and would not sound out of place on one of their albums. Lasek’s vocals are a major aspect of the show that must be seen and heard in a live environment to be fully appreciated. In the live setting Lasek pulls out all of the song’s emotion and gives it a wonderfully hypnotic effect.
On the album, The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse, (which made up most of the evening’s set) there are many moments when the music livens up a bit. There are songs that speed up the beat and provide a nice little wake up call. During the show though, these tracks (specifically “On Bedford and Grand”) kind of distract from the mood that the group has created with the slower and more thickly layered tracks. It’s possible that I was the only one that really felt the atmosphere had been broken because there were a couple of guys to my right that ate the whole thing up, giving each other high fives, and pointing to each other whenever a favourite lyric was sung. I ignored this minor qualm and had no difficulty getting back into the zone I had been in when the next song started up. The set ran about 45 minutes and by the end of it the group really seemed to be warmed up and ready to go longer. I certainly would have been game for more, but headliners In-Flight Safety were ready to take the stage, so Lasek addressed the crowd for the first and last time of the evening shouting “My children of the night!” and the group walked backstage. Hopefully one day The Besnard Lakes will be able to bring their progressive pop to dazed audiences in a venue like Massey Hall where you can almost see each crucial note floating around the room.
-Daniel Demois
Damien Rice
Massey Hall
May 2007
Hailing from County Kildare, Ireland singer songwriter Damien Rice
trekked across the ocean for a much-anticipated show at Massey Hall.
Being a lover of Irish music and culture, I was overjoyed about the
chance to see and hear him in a place that does justice to the
acoustics.
In anticipation, I picked up a copy of his latest release,
9, a follow-up
to the much-acclaimed O. I
tried to love it but honestly I was sadly
unimpressed. 9 was a
bit too rock and not enough of the Irish soul and
melancholy that usually sends chills down my spine when listening to
Rice,
especially after a couple of pints!
So off I went to the concert half-heartedly and half pissed that I spent
a
small fortune on the tickets. I was happily surprised and put straight
about Damien Rice the minute he got on the stage and his equally
delightful band joined him.
Rice is a performer, an artist, has a strong stage presence and an air
of confidence and attitude that both intimidates and stimulates. This
was more of a rock theatre than just a folksy Irish singer. Needless to
say, the life that was missing on his CD was given new breath in his
live delivery.
"I used to have a feeling that I had to spend a long time at a song,
work at it til' it got better, but recently I have discovered that the
better songs I have written are the ones that come really fast, where I
stop trying to be a song writer, stop trying to be anything, and just
live, experience and be free." That is exactly how his performance came
off; it was chillingly unaffected which is very refreshing in modern day
stage shows.
The stage set-up was minimal with candles and soft lights; occasionally
the hippy-trippy lights and cameras flashing were a bit of a distraction
and irritation. Some powerful political images were flashed on a
backdrop during a protest song, "Unplayed Piano", which he and Lisa
Hannigan had written for Burmese Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San
Suu Kyi, who was detained and has spend her 62nd birthday in prison for
being an outspoken democratic leader of that country and Rice went to
visit her and dedicate this song to her struggle. This could have been
cheesy and opportunist but it was moving and impact.
Rice has a reputation as being a difficult live performer, moody and
demanding of his audience but that said he expects something of the
audience but he his also a very giving performer. Although he and
singer, Lisa Hannigan who debut on
O have since parted
company, Rice's
lineup included Vyvienne Long, cello player who sang a beautiful Irish
hip hop solo reminiscent of Sinead O'Conner.
The show lasted well over 2 hours and Rice did a great encore, which
closed with "Blower's Daughter" (from the movie
Closer)
O. He even did
some comic theatre with a couple of glasses of wine that must have been
rehearsed but didn't look staged in the least. Damien Rice managed to
evoke a range of emotions in his music and his audience. We laughed,
were silent and even the toughest customer had a tear in his eye.
Needless to say, I went home in a much happier state than when I arrived
and now will have more appreciation when I play
O and 9
and give them a
deserved second chance listening and my memories will only be fond ones.
Damien Rice made me feel complete.
-Daria Essop-Lafontaine
Black
Rebel Motorcycle Club
Kool Haus, Toronto
May 26, 2007
"Sorry, but our guitars aren't properly tuned anymore…" So remarked Rob Been, three-quarters of the way through the night, as BRMC went on to play 24 songs last night at the Kool Haus, performing for just over two hours. In support of their fourth album, Baby 81, an album more in the vein of their traditional white noise sound from years previous, but without totally disregarding their country/bluesy evolution on Howl, BRMC, with only a few glitches, rocked the night out.
Kicking off the night with the opener from the new album, "Took Out a Loan", BRMC began the night drenched in a smoke-filled stage with blue and red lights dancing off their silhouettes, very shoegazer. They were loud and the club echoed with their staple white noise that launched their career nine years ago. They started hard, playing their more traditional rock songs from the new album, captivating and drawing in the crowd, a curious mix of indie kids, your stereotypical frosh brood, and "middle-agers" wearing biker jackets. All of us were united in our enjoyment of the night put on by this trio who unleashed a wall of noise at us. But halfway through the night, Been and Jago left, leaving only Hayes to continue on for a few acoustic sets. And this is where the band started to lose me.
Even though I was never a fan of Howl, I felt this diversion to an acoustic set pulled them away from the noise-rock crescendo they had nurtured up until this point. And the skull-n-bones backdrop really did not feel appropriate anymore. There was some shuffling going on and there were tired faces around. Not that it was necessarily a bad set, but unexpected and, frankly, not as invigorating as the earlier part of the night. Finally, after the three song acoustic set, the smoke had cleared by this stage, BRMC finally got back into the rhythm and ripped off "Love Burns" and "Rifles", from their first album, recapturing their lost momentum, and once more choking the stage with smoke and light, before ending the night with "All You Do is Talk", or so they said.
But we were in for a surprise. The band disappeared to waves of applause and cheers, the lights went on and the crowd began to dissipate. However, for the ones who hung back, Been returned and with a, "fuck the manager!" remark, the entire band came back and fed us six more songs, including two requests, before finally, for real this time, ending the night with their classic, "Spread Your Love".
BRMC lost me midway through the night with their bluesy/country acoustic set simply because the "tough guy" persona and swagger they cultivated from the start was lost. But redemption was had with their improvised finale, the most remarkable and appealing part of the night, turning what would have been an average show into something a lot more enthralling.
-Belal Khallad
!!! (Chk Chk Chk)
Lee's Palace, Toronto
May 20, 2007
If Nic Offer had performed in the mid-'50s, with those (never-stopping) swinging hips and disco-ish dance moves, he most likely would have been crucified, a fate that even Elvis was able to avoid with his (now) tamer gyrations. And this is what we got last night as !!! stopped off at Lee's Palace to a sold out-show, with an energy that quickly spread from the stage to the floor, not stopping until it hit the back-wall. Everyone was grooving and I mean everyone (including an older overweight gentleman who stood up from his seat on the side to "get down"). !!! lent an energy to the night I haven't seen since Le Tigre played, "Deceptacon", on their encore bill a few years back. And that was only for one song! !!! kept it up all night.
With a show time of midnight, the venue was stiflingly hot from all the bodies. But one forgot the discomfort once Gerard Fuchs started the night off with a beat. He was slowly joined by other members until finally, when the moment was perfect, Nic Offer emerged and kick-started the night with "Myth Takes" from their new album of the same name. Taking us through 11 songs from all three studio albums, !!!, never let up for one single moment. In fact the energy kept building with the addition of Shannon Funchess who lent her vocal talent for "Yadnus" and "Heart of Hearts" while providing backing vocals to Offer a few other times and dancing to the groovy beats.
While everyone in the band seemed to be enjoying themselves, Offer proved to be the true showman, rarely stopping for a break. He showed us how to dance the entire night, joining us on the floor for a few moments before making a spectacle of himself by mounting one of the speakers and dancing go-go style and then vanishing over the backstage wall only to re-emerge, swinging hips and all, not a moment later. And the crowd? We loved it. Everyone was clapping, dancing and just having a grand old time. Even the folks in back, the site of retreat from the mixing of sweat and bodies, were enjoying the entertainment provided by these indie dance-punk revivalists.
About the only let-down of the night was the acoustics at Lee's. The instruments easily overpowered Offer's best attempts to bellow out his vocals and even managed to suppress Funchess' sexy funky voice. In fact, one could only make out a few of the individual instruments. Everything else was just a loud drone.
Interestingly, the band never actually left the stage prior to the encore, as is standard fare these days. Rather, Offer and a few others retreated backstage for a few moments, while the remaining members played on, only to re-emerge and end the night with their first album classic, "Intensify". Funchess had us all clapping as the song wore on and the night ended the same as it began, with each member leaving the stage individually, wrapping up a set of an hour and fifteen minutes. If it weren't for the club lights alerting us to the conclusion, most would have stayed and awaited the expected encore. There were even chants from the crowd, "CHK CHK CHK", hoping for one last go-around. But alas, the night had ended.
-Belal Khallad
Arcade
Fire
Toronto Massey Hall
Their set began with an eerie video of a preacher and then eventually the lights went out and a electrically buzzing sound began, the light lit back up with the neon bible logo in the background and then the band came out to a standing ovation. I remember clearly as “Black Mirror” began Win Butler yelling to the crowd “STAND UP!!!” waving both his hands. The show was just stellar and solid. “Keep the Car Running” was easily one of the best songs I’ve ever heard and just seeing Regine play the hurdy gurdy was a sight. Yes, the entire crowd watched in awe and sang along to the lines “Between the click of the light, and the start of the dream” in the bands epic from their EP, “No Cars Go”. The biggest highlight of the night was definitely “Power Out” which then transitioned into “Rebellion (lies)”, everyone was so energetic and the band fed off it and gave the energy back through their performance followed by two encores.
There is no wonder or any doubt why Arcade Fire is the greatest band in the world.Arcade Fire Setlist for May 15. 2007:
black mirrorkeep the car running
antichrist television blues
no cars go
haiti
laika
neon bible
my body is a cage
windowsill
Well and the lighthouse
intervention
power out
rebellion
---------
ocean of noise
tunnels
--------
in the backseat
- Sean Chin
-
Air
Kool Haus, Toronto
May 5, 2007
In light of the dreamy sound that make up the electro-pop duo, Air, one wonders just what type of performance would, or could, they put on especially when one considers the inappropriateness of the venue: no seating and concrete floors and walls. For that, I had to find out and made my way to the Kool Haus to see Air perform in support of their recent release, Pocket Symphony.
And what did we get from Air? Nothing less then a flawless performance encompassing all four of their studio albums including the much maligned, 10,000 Hz Legend, where we were graced with a smoke and light show with the beams revealing geometric patterns in the smoke hanging over the well dressed duo, Dunckel and Godin. Although there was a backing band assisting in the performance of the show, the focus clearly was on the duo who appeared pleasant and thankful to the fervent applause given by the audience after playing favourites such as "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "Sexy Boy", from their treasured first album, Moon Safari.
Throughout the show, one didn't spend the night anticipating the next song. Rather, one wrapped themselves in the beautiful pop melodies emanating from the band and almost forgot that they were standing in a former warehouse. And that was the beauty of Air and their performance that night. They provided just enough visual appeal to keep ones eyes focused on something during the performance, but for the rest of us, we were caught up in our own little world of pop bliss.
Which begs the question: is it really worth going to see Air when one can, maybe, better enjoy the flowing melodies at home? For me, I enjoyed being amongst others who appreciated the sounds of Air and who energetically applauded the band after each song. And it was a treat to see and hear the characters who put such beautiful melodies together, something that many seemed to have agreed with if one takes into account the throng of people that kept building throughout the night. It seemed few were driven away from the subdued performance on stage. Rather, they were being drawn in.
Overall, it was a wonderful performance by Air which drove me to do the unthinkable: buy overpriced band merchandise. And yes, I was the ass that picked up the last small Pocket Symphony Tee.
-Belal Khallad
LCD Soundsystem
Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto
May 8, 2007
Ever since 2002 and the release of the unparalleled single, Losing my Edge, fans of LCD have been waiting. And waiting. Other then a few snippets of excellent songs released on the DFA compilations, we had to wait until 2005 before the first release and the inevitable tour brought the sound of LCD to our backyard. Now that LCD was a real band producing a full length album, it seemed that the excruciating wait between songs and live performances, which personally felt like forever, were over.
With the arrival of the second album, "Sound of Silver", this year, Toronto was to be graced with the arrival of LCD once again. But once again, we were forced to wait. The tickets for the show gave us an 8:00PM start time but it wasn't until at least 9:30 when the one-man show encompassing, Yacht, came on to entertain a crowd already grumbling and generally annoyed; it was a Tuesday night after all, in a grungy venue that served plastic beer cups for six bucks each. After the dreadful and irritating opener finally disappeared, to few applause I might add, it wasn't until 10:30 when LCD finally graced us with their presence.
And was the wait worth it? Well, forgiving the fact that the stage was jam-packed with instruments and equipment making for a very un-graceful-like entrance, as James and his crew of five climbed over and squeezed amongst the mess to get themselves into position, it was when the opening song, Us v Them, that the truth finally came out: it was worth it. At least initially.
LCD began the show on a high note and maintained it throughout most of the night. Playing a slew of their mid- to high- tempo songs off both albums, LCD rewarded us with precise playing, great dance beats and generally came across as an unpretentious source of fun, usually missing from many similar performers who are too self-absorbed to realize their own unimportance. Playing great dance/rock indie tunes such as Watch the Tapes, Tribulations and Time to Get Away, as well as crowd pleasers such as Daft Punk is Playing at my House and North American Scum, LCD had the entire venue grooving away and seemingly having a good time.
But one soon began to wonder who did we come and see in the first place? Murphy had no stage presence whatsoever, standing off-center on stage, due to the lack of room spoken about earlier, and occasionally beating a snare drum or pounding a keyboard for a few moments being the only movements he carried out. Otherwise, he looked more like he was in the studio, staring at the wall of equipment as he sang, while the rest of the band just seemed to fade behind the mass amounts of equipment on stage. In fact, if you just had the crowd do a 90 degree turn to face each other and dance, one wouldn't even notice that there was a live band playing.
As good as the music was, the pent-up energy of waiting for so long for the arrival of an, almost invisible, LCD began to drain away quickly. We did come to see someone perform didn't we? This was only heightened when LCD had equipment failure during their performance of Yeah. From the talk, it looked like they blew an amp. Many waited to see if they would return. But the momentum built up from the beginning of the night was lost and was not to be reclaimed. Everyone was tired, tired of waiting to see a band that one had to squint to make out and that frankly didn't come across as a band that could produce such catchy beats.
LCD did return for a two song encore ending the night on a low note with New York I Love You but You're Bringing me Down , which captured the fatigued mood of the crowd at that point. Some grumbled after the show while others were indifferent, but overall, there was a sense of disappointment that LCD didn't live up to their own hype started in 2002. And maybe that was the problem. Murphy and crew put on a great show and, beyond the equipment failure, did entertain. But there was a sense of underachievement during the night. That maybe, the hype was just too much and that expectations were out of reach for LCD. Maybe LCD should have remained an enigma and never toured rather, just continued pumping out great singles and albums in order to maintain the momentum and anticipation of seeing a phantom band. One decries the loss of anticipation after seeing them live. After all, the wait was part of the fun.
- Belal Khallad
Love of Diagrams
The Mod Club Theatre, Toronto
May 2, 2007
Opening for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at the Mod Club, the Love of
Diagrams conveyed a sense of nostalgia for the post-punk movement,
carrying the sound of that era straight into the new millennium with
little deviation from the source material. Think Siouxsie and the
Banshees and Gang of Four, but without all the dreariness,
experimentation and overdone eye-shadow some of us (fondly!) remember.
Rather, the Love of Diagrams have put together a sound that captures
the moment, with their mid-tempo riffs tied to Antonia Sellbach's
monotone and unemotional singing, but have also added catchy pop
melodies to their songs that offer an alluring and dramatic presence
of sound on stage.
The Love of Diagrams come across as a group of music enthusiasts who,
one dull day, discovered the glory of the post-punk era and decided to
emulate it, something they did very nicely on the night they opened
for Leo and the boys. Having always been fond of that era, but, alas,
being born too late to enjoy the living fruits of post-punk, without
descending, of course, to watching reunion tours of the remaining
bands well-past their expiry date, the Love of Diagrams put on an
enjoyable and immaculate live show of seven songs, some from their
just released album, "Mosaic", and a few others, I would guess, from
an earlier release.
With an egalitarian setup where no one took center stage: Luke Horton
and Antonia Sellbach covering the front corners with Monika Fikerie
taking the center back, no one musician dominated the show,
commandeering the performance for themselves. In fact, quite the
opposite, they used each other for reassurance and built of each
others roles as they grew more confident through the progression of
the night. With Fikerie confidently pounding the drums, after she
stopped, what looked like, counting beats initially, Horton and
Sellbach picked up on her cue and, with fervour, ripped off cords in
perfect harmony with one another. Although Sellbach did most of the
lead vocals that night, she and Horton made a perfect pair during the
moments when they vocally sparred with each other for a few of the
songs.
But my favourite moment came during their final song of the night, the
single, "The Pace or the Patience", where Horton, with bravado, ripped
off sharp and abrupt notes that cut in and out of the song, a reminder
of Andy Gill's hacked riffs done more then a quarter of a century ago.
Now, whether the crowd truly appreciated the sounds that emitted from
the band that night can be difficult to say at times. The crowd
showed initial indifference, but by the end of the show, from the
overheard comments and growing attention given the band throughout the
night, it may be safe to say that there still is a place for bands
like Love of Diagrams, carefully carrying the torch of their
predecessors for a whole new generation to hear. 'About the only
thing left for the Love of Diagrams to do would be to improve on their
wear. Anyone seen any Afrika Korps uniforms down at Kensington
lately?'
Belal Khallad
The Ponys
Lee's Palace, Toronto
March 29, 2007
Headlining with the Black Lips, The Ponys stopped off at Lee's Palace last night to promote their new album, Turn the Lights Out, written with guitarist Brian Case who joined the band just after their second release, Celebration Castle. Appearing very humbly on stage and clarifying their Chicago routes (not those other guys from Portland who have since changed their name), the Ponys dashed through fourteen songs, mostly from their new album, hardly pausing between songs to give us a chance to catch our collective breath, except when vocalist/guitarist Jered Gummere needed to perform his dual role as keyboardist for a few moments.
The effect was to keep the crowd entranced, not allowing them to fully grasp what they were hearing. This hypnotic effect was even felt outside, as the stragglers were quickly drawn to fill in the now vanishing gaps on the floor. But the crowd soon broke this spell when The Ponys played, what is one of the bands most notable songs, "Glass Conversation", from their second album, and quickly followed that up with "Double Vision" off the new. We had figured it out now and it all made sense. They were a tight band, each member glued perfectly to their role, dashing off songs that you swear were coming directly from the studio, Jered Gummere's voice, never wavering even when belting out the higher-pitched chorus on "Double Vision", Brian Case perfectly integrated and complimenting Gummere on guitar and Melissa Elias and Nathan Jerde providing the backup. There were no gimmicks, strobe lights and prancing about. They simply stuck to the music and the crowd showed their growing approval of this indie rock quartet after each remaining song.
But if there was one grievance of the night, that would have been the lack of earlier material. The Ponys, with three albums now notched into their belts, have developed a sufficient amount of quality songs to choose from. Although their third album proves they are now more technically capable then ever before, their earlier material could have been easily incorporated into their set, providing a deeper revelation of The Pony's evolution through three albums, thereby encouraging a rummage through their older material. But nevertheless, The Ponys still managed to keep everyone entertained for the hour and the crowd showed their appreciation for it.
The Black Lips may have been the showmen, swaggering and rolling around on stage, and been the main-draw to this double-billed night, due to their well-placed notoriety, but the prize of this night was The Ponys, who managed to latch onto the remaining three-quarters of the audience that remained behind and rewarded them with noisy and echoing guitars, melodic hooks and a flawless and precise set.
-Belal Khallad
Dub Trio
The Opera House
March 17, 2007
In a dark pocket, I stand on the grounds of my beloved Opera House, where my assumptions are confirmed: the drink of choice is beer. As if music and stimulants are not already an agreeable mix, add the justification of a holiday (St. Patrick’s day) and you have a guarantee of a high-spirited crowd. Which partly explains the hyper patience and glee the crowd exhibits as they wait for Dub Trio and headliner Clutch.
I survey long frizzy hair, a few Metallica shirts, and many thirty to forty year olds, struggling to conclude the crowd demographics. There was an eclectic mix of metal fans, punk fans, and some artsy twenty something year olds.
At 8:30 p.m. the stage ignites in a flash of red and white, followed by the warm salutations of the opening band, Five Horse Johnson, who wonder, “Are you drunk yet?”. The four musical warriors unleash their weapons of choice to ensure an intoxication of sounds: harmonica, bass, guitar and drums. “Silver”, “She don’t know” and “Mississippi King” supply the venue with toe tapping, twangy metal tunes. Not my usual cup of tea, but there were nods of approval—in the form of head bops—from some crowd members. Eric Oblander, and Brad Coffin sing in a rumbling, blues style. Their last song, with Clutch member guest on keyboards, concludes their performance on a pleasing note.
|
“Yes, we all feel the music penetrating to the depths of our bones; the bass vibrates with such invasiveness, I can actually feel my body shake.” |
After meticulous instrument checks and tested sonic echoes, Dub Trio takes the stage with a Rocky-themed recording intro, in a blast of horns and all its glory. And in center ring, we have beefy-armed Joe Tomino on drums, to my left cute DP Holmes on guitar, and equally cute Stu Brooks on bass to the right. Ding ding! Let reggae, let punk, jazz and everything in between battle it out!
The opening track, a showcase of raw pleasure assaults, with its hyper-sped drum beat, is followed by a slower more baseline prominent set, and topped with a lashing of electric cries. The sound is very dramatic because of all the contrasts: short silent breaks carefully inserted among instrumental chaos; sudden switch from metal to reggae (among other genres); fluctuations from crack speed to lay back mode.
The goggle-eyed crowd, now thickened to full venue capacity, is undeniably hooked and yearning for more. Yes, we all feel the music penetrating to the depths of our bones; the bass vibrates with such invasiveness, I can actually feel my body shake. Another reaches to touch the speaker. Anything to get closer to the earthquake inducing music.
A juggling act, Holmes and Brooks bounce from their instruments to insert an array of dubbed sounds; from raggae inspired dialect, gunshots, scratching, keyboard tones, to space inspired noises. This music is out of this world and these ornaments add mad mad flavour.
At times it’s hard for me to identify when one song ends from when the next begins. But what I believe to be the end of the second track, I laugh when I hear the guy next to me say, “Man I’m f#*king tripping out!” when it concludes with a long droning dub sound.
My favourite track (arguably the fourth track) is a slow paced, dark, deep-in-the-jungle, drum and bass-feel, with slowly variating keyboard tones acting as a sonic backdrop. I enter delicious hypnosis, heightened by the smoke machine, the sweet marijuana stench and the wavering green lights. In automated response, my body sways indexing other pleasing moments, which include any and all reggae breaks which are frequently embedded in the tracks.
The musical ingenuity of each member is undeniable as they have mastered the techniques of various styles of music, each proving he stands with equal presence: the bassist with pronounced slaps to sinful liquid bass lines; the drummer with beating precision and endless novel transitions; the guitarist with electric violence to peppy upstroke delight. No need for vocals, the music clearly speaks a bloody, raw, multi-dimensional, dark language.
After thirty-five minutes, Dub trio leaves the crowd in full erection. I hear someone say, “I have to buy their cd!” and I relate to their desire for continual satiation. I am officially a big fan of threesomes. I leave before experiencing Clutch; to pursue my other St. Patrick plans. Besides, I felt I got lucky: I had already climaxed.
http://www.dubtrio.com/newheavy/
http://www.myspace.com/dubtrio
-*Cathy Lee-
The Indie Awards
The Docks
Wednesday March 7
Canadian Music Week’s seventh annual Independent Music Awards can be pretty much summed up in two words: kinda lame. Not because there was anything particularly bad about the night, but just because the whole evening generally lacked energy. Last year’s media salon was moved from the second floor (which this year was used exclusively for interviews) to the cramped Liberation Lounge beside the main floor washrooms, which quickly came to resemble an Acapulco cabana on March Break: packed and full of drunk college guys in their best tight white shirt.
Out on the main floor the crowd just wasn’t really feeling it either – at least, not until the Stills took the stage at the end of the night. This was likely due, in part, to the evening’s MC, the improbably incongruent Jully Black. Just as you won’t likely find Rivers Cuomo hosting the Vibe Awards, so too it seemed an odd choice to have the quintessentially urban Jully Black introducing award winners and performers like the Meligrove Band (InDiscover.net Favourite Artist/Band of the Year Award) and Hellogoodbye. But she did her best to be entertaining in a room of distracted and half-drunk student and indie reporters, catching everyone’s attention for at least half a second when she shouted out something about “dicks” – I didn’t really catch the full context and the crowd’s babble quickly drowned her out shortly thereafter.
Highlights of the evening included performances by Montreal rock gods Priestess and Australian 70s throwback rockers Wolfmother. The Stills closed the night with a live concert that redeemed most of the preceding hours of apathy.
- James Sandham
Harmonica
Sneaky Dee’s
Friday March 9
Three super-hot Norwegian rocker chicks (Monica Johansen on lead vocals/guitar, Nina Hammervoll on bass /vocals, and Ingeborg Selnes on synth/vocals/percussion) plus two slight Norwegian rocker dudes (Geir Pedersen and Karl Magnus Bjorøy on guitar and drums respectively) equalled one awesome set, just one of many during SoundProof Magazine’s fantastic Friday night showcase. Balancing a fine line between raw punk and sugar-coated candy pop, Harmonica were like a cuter, more modest, and more vibrant version of the Sounds.
I say “modest” because of their apparent surprise at the crowd’s enthusiasm.
“Wow,” said Johansen at one point, taken aback by a room full of love-struck and cheering indie boys, “maybe we should move to Toronto?” I hope so. The crowd ate this up, and dozens more immediately proclaimed their love from the floor.
Precocious and full of energy, Harmonica were just one of the many reasons why Norway rocks, and why SoundProof’s showcase was one of CMW’s best.
- James Sandham
The United Steel Workers of Montreal
The Silver Dollar
Friday March 9
Just one of Toronto-based label (weewerk) records’ fantastic acts on showcase Friday night, the United Steel Workers of Montreal wowed the crowd and capably demonstrated how they came to be one of the leading pioneers of the Montreal alt-country scene.
More powerful than a freight train, rougher than a gravel pit, vocalist Gern F. proceeded to burn through his vocal chords without mercy as he launched into one blistering, blues- and bluegrass-infused song after another. Impeccable vocals by the ravishing Felicity Hamer carried the rest of the set, with instrumental work provided by a variety of other musicians who packed the stage almost as tightly as the crowd was packed on the floor.
If you like Tom Waits but always thought he could do with a female vocalist, you’ll be happy to hear the USWM have not only answered your dreams but exceeded them.
- James Sandham
Psychotic 4
The Reverb
Friday March 9
I’d have probably dismissed all hair rockers as a bunch of 1980s throwbacks – that is, until I saw Psychotic 4 at the Reverb on Friday. Taking the stage at the ripe old hour of 1:00am (so I guess the show was on Saturday, technically) the quintet (why isn’t it “Psychotic 5”?) proceeded to thrash fuck out of their guitars and vocals for the next hour or so, swelling the Reverb’s initially sparse attendance to impressive size by about half way through their set.
Rocking out under the credo “bang your head to the new revolution”, Psychotic 4’s frontman Diamond Dean put more bravado in his performance than Mick Jagger and Axel Rose combined. Insane shredding by Hollywood Jimmy J. and Dave Ablaze kept the madness alive when Dean took time out to fondle the nearest leather-clad groupie. Great hair and insane perms all around provided coherency and continuity among the musicians, and it was all totally awesome. When I arrived I was already so drunk I was thinking of just calling it a night, but once I saw what these maniacs were doing I just figured fuck it, and got two more beers in before last call. Psychotic 4 cranked it to eleven. Maybe even twelve, man.
- James Sandham
Back Door Slam
The Rivoli
March 12th 2007
Back Door Slam’s
“first international gig” went off with a moderately sized bang which
unfortunately echoed through the empty Rivoli this Monday evening.
The trio from the Isle of Man played a note-perfect though somewhat
underwhelming one hour set to a sparse crowd of twenty. Undeterred by
playing to an empty room the Brits pushed through their set of blues
rock tunes from their forthcoming album Roll Away. Despite their
young age (nineteen and twenty) Back Door Slam handled their instruments
like they had been playing them for thirty years. In particular, front
man Davy Knowles showed an incredible wealth of skill. His strong blues
voice, which carried many of the tunes, was reminiscent of Johnny Lang,
but it was his mesmerizing soloing skills that truly impressed. His
string shredding was so jaw-dropping he nearly rivaled both Clapton and
Hendrix on covers of their songs “Rattling the Cage” and encore set
closer “Red House”.
The problem with blues rock however is it can get dull and predictable
very quickly. Back Door Slam left much to be desired lyrically as their
catalogue consisted of blues clichés about lost lovers and coming home.
Couple this with a lifeless rhythm section (whose most intriguing
characteristic was that the bassist wore no shoes) and you’ve got a
recipe for ennui. Crassly put, the show was boring as fuck except for
the saving grace of Knowles guitar solos. The one time the trio’s tunes
did show life was when they broke briefly from blues form for the
plaintive acoustic song “Stay” written about the death of a friend.
Back Door Slam are
embarking on a tour of the southern United States in May which should
generate them enough buzz to book some blues festivals this year where
they will undoubtedly be touted as “the hot new thing”. It is something
of paradox that such a youthful band is limiting themselves to such an
old music and subsequently, old audience. With a foray into rock and
roll, the band, or Davy Knowles at least, could have a decent chance at
wide scale success. But if they are happy touring the blues circuit they
should have no problem impressing their peer’s parents the world over.
I know my 53 year old parents would have loved the show, but
those with fresher blood may pass on Back Door Slam for something with a
little more vigour.
www.backdoorslam.com
- Sam Stilson
The Hollows
The Central, Toronto
February 23, 2007
Toronto-based rock band The Hollows played a cramped yet cozy house at The Central bar and restaurant on Friday night. Thanks to the warm, acoustic renderings of the opening act Lindi Ortega, The Hollows were ready to take the stage and wow the audience with their calm, cool and collective rock personas.
The opening song “Visiting Hours” seems appropriate for the evening because the moment you step in the bar, you feel as though you’re visiting old friends and the night is one of those rare evenings where the music sweeps you away and the lyrics quiet the irritating noise you’ve been trying to avoid for the whole work week. Their next track “Static” offers a quicker guitar riff than the opener but that thought quickly escapes your mind once you realize how great the harmonies sound. The lead singer David Browne sets the tone and backed by bassist Stephen Court and guitarist Coz Costa the trio unite to deliver euphonic melodies.
In the middle of their set “Show Yourself” is sung and the cute touch of a xylophone adds a dream-like quality to the song. Browne calmly quiets his voice at intervals throughout the track only to be peaked by a deep bass line and a hard tug of the guitar strings.
It’s at this point in the performance you realize the band is a good mix not only of sounds but people. You can tell each band member has their own personality and style that they bring to the table to create a well-rounded, diverse sound. Their track “Comforts of Home” illustrates this point. Starting off with a slightly reggae beat in a Bedouin-Soundclash kind of way, the middle of the song lays low on the lyrics and marries an anticipated guitar phrase with a sweet tambourine jingle. The gentle tambourine in the background reminds the audience of the meticulous yet spontaneous beatings of the talented drummer Jay Herdman. Home is what you feel listening to these guys. As if you’re jamming to your friend’s high school band but better because these guys have cultivated their craft and honed a mature sound that brings you the comforts of home with a youthful energy.
Once the band gets the crowd clapping with their supposed final song “Falling” the audience refuses to take no for an answer. Shouting encore, the crowd gets new life breathed into them with “Life Support.” Final diagnosis: An all-around good time with some good friends, some good company and of course, some great music.
www.myspace.com/thehollowsmusic
-Antoinette Mercurio
David
Hein with guests Flickershow and Boulay
CD Release show at Healey's
Singer songwriter, David Hein had a lot to celebrate on Wednesday night and celebrate he did by playing to a room full of cheering friends, family and fans at Toronto club, Healeys. This was the release party for his latest CD, "North of Nowhere" as well as the eve of day one of his North American tour.
Hein opened with a solo acoustic number and the first thing that struck me was his wit, charm and down to earth presence. He then called on his band to join him on stage to play numbers from his new CD as well as a few fitting covers. Hein's well crafted songs are a narrative of real-life stories about road trips and cityscapes; of past loves and his coming of age.
Hein's North American tour starts in North Bay, Ontario and takes him through western Canada to British Columbia, through various states in U.S.A. and back to Ottawa for his final date. "You are probably wondering how I will get to all these places," he said to the crowd. He then thanked "Rent-A-Wreck" for sponsoring his tour by providing him with a bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
Hein will be traveling solo with his acoustic guitar but for this show he was backed up by a solid band consisting of lead guitar player, Dan Surman, bass player Jeff Daze and drummer, Clarke Allore. Throughout the evening, Hein also called upon a couple of guest musicians including his former bass player, Shawn Doyle as well as Jay Moonah from local band "Uncle Seth" who played a wailing harmonica.
Opening the show was acoustic pop-duo, "Flickershow." I got to Healeys just in time to catch their last song which caught my attention because of the tight vocal harmonies. But just as I finished paying for my beer and turned to focus my attention on the stage, the band finished their set. I plan check out a full "Flickershow" set in the near future.
I was
planning on making it an early night and leave as soon as David Hein got
off the stage but the last band, "Boulay" gave me plenty of reason to
stay. Front man, Ray Boulay was absolutely captivating and I was amazed
by the quality of his voice and the diverse range he sang with. Ray was
also backed up by a group of hard-rocking talented musicians who played
unyielding in-your-face rock with plenty of hooks. I will definitely be
keeping my eye out for this band.
www.davidhein.net
www.flickershow.com
www.boulaymusic.com
-Liz Lulu
From a land Down Under
BIG DAY
OUT 2007
Gold Coast,
Queensland, AUSTRALIA
Walking through Surfers Paradise last Saturday night, I stopped dead in my tracks when I passed by a Jumbotron set amongst trendy restaurants and high-rise apartments. From the oversized plasma came Men At Work’s “Be Good Johnny” – a video I don’t think I’ve seen since its release in the 1980s. The band is sporting the requisite spandex and looking slightly skeptical about this new medium. It would be a bit like an Australian walking through Dundas Square on a Saturday night in July, and seeing a clip of Triumph’s “Magic Power”.
Growing up in Toronto, my exposure to Australian music came in the form of my mom’s cassette copy of Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”, and a friend’s “Business As Usual” vinyl. Later, I recall CHUM FM picking up the sounds of Midnight Oil and Crowded House, while CFNY was doing their bit with Hunters and Collectors. Now, living in this “big brown land”, I often consider sending everyone I know back home a mix cd of current Aussie bands whom I know Canucks would eat up.
Australians love their music. More specifically, they love their festivals. It’s February, and it’s summer – a concept I’m still trying to get used to. Big Day Out is an annual excuse to stand in the sun, drink Tooheys, and run between eight stages of great music. There are tents over several of them, as well as “cooling stations” - welcome relief from the 33-degree weather that starts early and stays late. The crowds are well behaved and friendly. BDO is a national touring show along the lines of the now defunct Another Roadside Attraction. Landing smack-dab in the middle of the hottest season, it is the lead up to Australia Day on January 26.
The line-up is the same for every show around the country, and similar to back home, they love to show support for their local bands. Tool and Muse will have to wait until Jet, Little Birdy, Eskimo Joe, The Sleepy Jackson and The Butterfly Effect appease the crowd. The Brits brought their big names to the table as well, in the form of Lily Allen and The Streets.
But wait, is that Tim Hortons I smell? And not just any Canadian – it’s Peaches. And in case I was still feeling lonesome for North American fare, Lupe Fiasco and The Killers also did their thing.
The event itself is very well organized – a major feat given it showcases 80 bands over 11 hours. In front of the main stages there are even rides, including a slingshot/bungee contraption in the shape of a giant ball. Instinctively I think, “What idiot would be so bored of this stellar line-up that they’d feel the need to go on a ride?” Then, considering the awesome vantage point of the stages and crowd that you would get from up there, I realize that yes, I am so doing that next year.
I’m hooked. I instinctively want to drop out of uni and follow various festivals around the country for a few months. But no need. There are plenty of them, and in the Land of Oz they all come to a town near you. Up next – Good Vibrations Festival featuring Snoop, the Beasties and a heap of DJ’s who will appear on the next mix I send back to Canada.
Best Of The Day:
Aussie band
– TZU
International band – The Vines
Concertgoer t-shirt – “I have no money. I have no job. But I’m in a
band”
Hilary Stephenson is an ex-pat currently studying on the Gold Coast of Australia. In between attending law school and concerts, she has become an avid surfer. She has yet to catch her first tube.
Bionic/The Fucking Machines/Tokyo Sex Whale @ the Dominion Tavern, Ottawa
Out here in Toronto, it’s very likely that you’ve never heard of Bionic. However, in Montreal they are the band led by grizzled battle dwarf and music writer for the Montreal Mirror, Jonathan Cummings (also of the Doughboys fame - and Ian Blurton is in there too, for good measure). Originally, I didn’t even plan to stay past the recently formed Tokyo Sex Whale. Alas, the giant red beardedness that is Jonathan Cummings lured me back into Ottawa’s dingy Dominion Tavern. Described by Kerrang as “Queens Of The Stone Age buttfucking the Hellacopters with Bad Religion clapping along,” I’d likely throw in some other analogies, like “while the love child of Rob Zombie and Henry Rollins learns how to jam,” just to catch that extra bit of dirty noise that Kerrang seems to have missed.
So I guess the main attraction, Bionic, are best described as dirty, local punkers. The Fucking Machines play a similar kind of music – in the words of one of their own band members, ”it is what it is. Shitty punk music,” particularly that of the pre-1900s variety. Their brash minute and a half ditties about nothing you could talk to your mother about are indeed what they are, which is pretty fucking good. Guitar solos rip only as hard as the Machines’ vocal chords, and though their set is barely more than a minute, they definitely get the job done.
Last but not least was another local band, Tokyo Sex Whale. Oddly enough, the Ottawa three piece isn’t the only Tokyo Sex Whale around, sharing the namesake with a jazz-fusion band from Chicago as well as a reputable Japanese punk band. However, this Sex Whale is definitely the best Sex Whale of them all. TSW bears some resemblance to the well-executed fuzz of Queens of the Stone Age, but whereas the Queens’ vocals are usually lost in the mix, TSW’s front woman Julia Loan throws hers out loudly (if incoherently) in a heavy vibrato (not dissimilar to the Cranberries - take it as you will). With better than average dynamics and unity (especially for a stoner rock band) the only missing element was the absence of harder vocals. Though I spent the whole set wishing Loan would drop into a Karyn Crisis shriek, she seemed more comfortable singing in mid range. For a band that, though made of seasoned members, has been around for less than a year, Tokyo Sex Whale’s already competent music will surely grow heavier and tighter and I think that the whale will likely rise in your town sometime in the near future.
www.myspace.com/tokyosexwhale1
www.sound-king.com/ bionic /main/
www.thefuckingmachines.net
The Big One
(Presented by Make It Funky)
[God Made Me Funky, Killa Kella, Fort Knox Five]
August 19th
2006
El Mocambo, Toronto
Who digs the funk? If Make It Funky’s The Big One funk-a-thon Saturday night is any indication, there is no simple definition of a funk-head. Black and white, young and old, ultra-chic and anti-chic, everyone had an equal opportunity to get funked up.
After a short warm-up set by DJ’s ? & Farbsie, Toronto’s own 9-piece funk collective God Made Me Funky took to the stage to heat the joint up – not just metaphorically. Anyone who has ever seen GMMF play knows that they know how to get a crowd bumping. Opening with their namesake song “God Made Me Funky,” the band never let the pace slow, moving effortlessly between old songs and new tracks from their forthcoming sophomore album, and occasionally throwing in a classic cover by bands like House of Pain, Digital Underground & Biz Markie.
By the time GMMF was done funk-a-fying the joint, it was easily 120 degrees inside the club. I stepped outside momentarily to catch my breath, and when I went back in UK beat-boxer Killa Kella was making strange and funky noises. I saw that DJ Big League Chu was set to continue spinning the funk well into the early morning, but since I’m an old fucking man I was asleep before he even hit the stage. Funk me.
All in all, The Big One was a funky party. If you are down with the dirty, sweaty, bottom-of-your-gut, bootie-shakin’, eyes-watering, clothes-drenched, gotta-go-outside-cause-you-can’t-breath funk, it’s in your interest to check out www.nufunk.com and check out the next Make It Funky show. Or you could go to www.godmademefunky.com to get the funk directly from the source.
- Matthew Gorman
Sloan: The People Who Know What Rock n’Roll is About
Photo by Sean Chin
Glancing around the darkened Koolhaus while waiting for Sloan to make their entrance, I’m struck by the familiarity of it all. You look around the sea of faces and recognize the fans that’ve been going to see Sloan with you for years: same style, different clothes, but everyone is wearing Converse All-Stars. We join together in drawn out chants of “Slooooo-aan, Slooooo-aan” a la Four Nights at the Palais Royale, and later we’re led in song and hand claps to our old favorites by our old friends on stage.
Being at a Sloan concert makes me feel a little like the way I wish I felt with my family at Christmas. The excitement is a lot less similar to that of a group of friends who have all just written their final essay of the semester and a lot more like the vibe at a huge sale at Pier 1 Imports. Unfortunately for Sloan, this meant the concert got off to a rocky start. They began their set with 3 songs from their latest album, Never Hear The End of It, playing to a quiet, but appreciative audience. It wasn’t until Jay Ferguson took over as front man with the Canadian classic from 1996’s One Chord to Another, “The Lines You Amend”, that the show really seemed to begin. Once it did, it exploded!
Reassured that this was, in fact, the Sloan that we all know and love, the crowd couldn’t get enough. By reputation, Torontonians are neither “movers” nor “shakers” when it comes to concerts, but tonight they were both of those things and more. This isn’t surprising as fans and critics are touting the latest album as a refreshing return to the uniquely catchy not-quite-rock-not-quite-pop-we-like-heavy-metal-AND-classical Sloan style that they’d seemed to abandon recently in favor of chunkier, and hopefully radio friendly, rock singles. The set list, which was largely made up of songs from the new disc with a handful favorites thrown in for good measure, was eaten up by a jumping, clapping, dancing, cheering, shouting group of fans.
Years of playing together have made the group ultra tight. Though their confidence can seem to border on the verge of apathy, Sloan commands the stage with an effortlessness that can only come from a long history of solid songwriting and the knowledge that the crowd is going to get that that’s what you’re all about.
Well, that and good, old-fashioned rock n’roll. This show proved that Sloan is still giving us both.
- Sarafina DiFelice
Danielson Shines from Under the Black
Hearts’ Shadow
Castanets, Devics, Danielson, the Black Heart Procession: Lee’s Palace, Aug.
3.
By James Sandham
Befitting their name, the Black Heart Procession took the stage at the stroke of midnight. Whether this witching hour entrance was planned or mere coincidence is uncertain but, given the band’s penchant for all things dark and gloomy, one has to suspect the former.Pitchfork has coined the term “haunted house” to refer to an emerging genre of music, most aptly applied to Sweden’s the Knife. The Black Heart procession could also be referred to as haunted house although, unlike in reference to the Knife, pejoratively so. They were, after all, introduced at Lee’s to a soundtrack of wailing winds and creaking doors more commonly heard in the entranceways of community Halloween parties.
Yes, in the world of rock and roll, it’s a fine line between irony and cliché, kitsch and cool. Unfortunately for the Procession, they tended to lean in the kitschy direction.
Formed in San Diego by Pall Jenkins (vocals, guitars, synths), Tobias Nathaniel (piano, guitar, organ), drummer Joe Plummer, bassist Jimmy LaValle and violinist Matt Resovich, the Procession have been a musical force for close to ten years now. But while their goth-lite style and sound may have been progressive in those early times, a prophetic emo precursor, it is now a much harder to take seriously this group of 30-year-old-men with, if not balding, long, greasy hair and similarly long, sombre faces.
The world has changed since those early, idyllic if angst-ridden days. Waistlines excepted, these man-boys have not.
Perhaps afraid the Walmart Halloween sounds and black clothes would be too subtle a conveyance of their desired ambiance, the Procession started their set with two songs dominated by Jenkins on the saw. Haunting, eerie, but ultimately overpowering, it proved to be an instrument more likely to be enjoyed in extreme moderation, if ever. The following songs, however, drawing from their latest release, The Spell, were more energized and captivating, and had a noticeable effect on the receptive crowd.
It was a crowd, however, that had shrunk markedly since the departure of Danielson, the Procession’s preceding band. While the Black Hearts may have been headlining, it was clearly Danielson that carried the show.
And perhaps that’s the root of the cynicism regarding the Procession. Their music, after all, is not so bad they haven’t managed to release five LPs and an EP since their debut, One, in 1997. But compared to Danielson – a truly innovative, experimental, and challenging musical outfit – a tried, tired and true archetype like the Procession can’t help but come up short.
Danielson is the concept project of Clarksboro, New Jersey, native Daniel Smith. Originally created in 1997 for his senior art school thesis, the band has metamorphosed over the years into its current, spastic form. And if their Lee’s Palace set was anything to judge by, this metamorphosis has been one of slow progress to entertainment excellence.
Because Danielson isn’t just about rock and roll. While the music is a significant piece of the concept, the group also wear their signature hand-made uniforms, interact determinedly with the audience, and work together not just to create sound but an encompassing aesthetic experience. Animated, anxious, and clearly enjoying themselves, the band spun together 40 minutes of original, genre-defying music that wavered somewhere between the White Stripes, Billy Corgan, Modest Mouse, and Of Montreal.
Smith, yelping his lyrics in characteristically spasmodic style, was beautifully complimented by the rushing whir of his keyboardist and Megan’s fine musicianship on the glockenspiel. It was an energetic, entertaining, and enthralling set that had the audience alternately clapping, snapping, and laughing.
And that was probably Danielson’s greatest achievement over the Procession. Unlike the Procession, Danielson remembered that it’s only art they’re making, and it’s okay to have fun with it. In a world of terrorism, warfare, and incalculable suffering, independent art and music are some of the few things genuinely and exclusively dedicated to enjoyment. They bring people together, allow for the testing of ideas, and help us heal. To use the medium as a means to wallow in self-imposed penance, as the Procession appear to, seems exorbitantly indulgent in this day and age.
In the end it was an evening of music that covered a variety of genres. Warm-up acts the Castanets and Devics were excellent as ever, and while the crowd started small the venue quickly filled. By the end of the night the Lee’s was bustling, swaying resignedly to the plodding rhythms of the night’s woeful headliners.
Workin’ for their Dollar: Watermelon
Slim and the Workers Play the Silver Dollar Room to Enthusiastic
Response
Watermelon Slim and the Workers
The Silver Dollar
Fri. Aug. 11, 2006.
By James Sandham
Texan blues-master Watermelon Slim (aka Bill Homans) returned with
his band the Workers to their “musical home” – their latest,
self-titled release was recorded here in Toronto on the Northern
Blues label – with a knockout show at the city’s legendary Silver
Dollar Room. And while it may have been the quartet’s last Canadian
show of the year, it was certainly not one to be forgotten.
With searing guitar work by Ronnie “Mack” McMullen (filling in for
guitarist Ike Lamb) and Slim’s incomparable stage presence, their
Silver Dollar Room show proved to be just one more reason why
Watermelon Slim and the Workers are, as Chip Eagle, publisher of
Blues Review, puts it, “the real deal.” Powerful, engaging, and
with a life story to give the blues to any man, Slim and Workers
ladled hour after hour of scorching Memphis-style blues on their
receptive audience.
Since playing his first gig more than 30 years ago at age 18, Slim
has lived a varied life, but has only recently received recognition
as a musician with the critical success of his 2003 sophomore LP, Up
Close and Personal. It earned him a 2005 W.C. Handy Nomination for
Best New Artist Debut, and brought him praise from such publications
as the Memphis Flyer, who refers to Slim as “a performer deeply
connected to the primal forces that shaped the blues.”
But while the blues have always been a part of Slim’s life, their
status has up until recently been more experiential than musical.
Slim taught himself left-handed backward slide guitar on a $5
balsawood guitar using his Zippo lighter as the slide while laid up
in an army hospital in Vietnam. Returning to the United States, he
worked briefly as a watermelon farmer before putting in 12 years as
a truck driver to support his family – despite having earned a
perhaps fortunately underemployed Masters degree in history.
But those aren’t the only hats Slim has worn. As he recounted at
the Silver Dollar, over the years “I’ve been a farmer, I’ve been
a forklift driver – and I’ve been a felon. I was the wheelman,”
he told the crowd before launching into a sneak peek of his upcoming
CD – tentatively schedule for release in the spring – with the
song “Wheelman,” chronicling his past life as the title character.
But in typical style, the show wasn’t about Slim alone. Opening his
set by thanking “the workers” – and then proceeding to name the
bar staff and club security – Slim made clear he remains true to
his roots despite being on the stage. Tribute was also paid to the
band’s forbearers, most notably Muddy Waters, with covers of
“Mannish Boy,” among others, and Slim’s repeated mid-set
pilgrimage to the back of the bar to kiss the mural of Waters there
situated.
Other standout numbers included “Hard Times” and “Juke Joint
Woman,” both from Slim and the Workers’ latest self-titled
release, and the reggae infused “Black Water,” another unreleased
cut from the upcoming album. Describing the damage of Hurricane
Katrina, “Black Water” was not the first time in the set Slim
approached politics. Not only did he begin the show by holding up a
Six Nations flag and reiterating his support for the Natives in the
current Caledonia land dispute, he was also forced to translate his
initially French-spoken comments about George W. Bush. Looking
surprised the Canadian audience hadn’t understood the first time
around, Slim reiterated: “What I said is ‘[Bush] can go fuck
himself.’ He’s even from Texas. What a disgrace.”
It was another frank reminder of why Slim and the Workers are the
force in blues they are today: unvarnished, unabashed, and
unapologetic, they are a shot of authenticity in an industry often
more concerned with image than substance. Check them out online at
www.myspace.com/northernbluesmusic, or
www.watermelonslim.com.
The Big One (Presented by Make It
Funky)
[God Made Me Funky, Killa Kella, Fort Knox Five]
August 19th 2006
El Mocambo, Toronto
Who digs the funk? If Make It Funky’s The Big One party Saturday
night is any indication, there is no simple definition of a
funk-head. Black and White, Young and Old, Ultra-Chic and Anti-Chic
- everyone has an equal opportunity to get funked up.
After a short warm-up set by DJ’s Sunpredictable & Farbsie,
Toronto’s own 9-piece funk orchestra God Made Me Funky took to the
stage to heat the joint up, literally and figuratively. Anyone who
has ever seen GMMF play knows that they know how to get a crowd
bumping. Opening with their self-titled song “God Made Me Funky”,
the band never let the pace slow, moving effortlessly between old
songs and new tracks of their forthcoming sophomore album ‘We Can
All Be Free’ and occasionally throwing in a classic cover by bands
like House of Pain, Digital Underground & Biz Markie.
By the time GMMF was done funk-a-fying the joint, it was easily 120
degrees inside the club. I stepped outside momentarily to catch my
breath, and when I went back in UK beat-boxer Killa Kella was
creating some crazy funky noises with only his mouth. Now, I love
the funk as much as the next guy. But what I like even more than the
funk is the ability to breathe. I saw on the schedule that DJ Big
League Chu was set to continue spinning the funk well into the early
morning, but I guess I am an old man…because I was asleep in bed
long before he ever hit the stage.
All in all, I thought The Big One was a super funkdafied party. If
you are down with the dirty, sweaty, bottom of your gut, bootie
shakin’, eyes watering, clothes drenched, gotta go outside cause
you can’t breath funk…it would be in your best interest to check
out
www.nufunk.com and check out the next Make It Funky show. Or you
could go to
www.godmademefunky.com to get the funk directly from the source.
-Matthew Gorman
Left of the Sun
June 14th 2006
The Stones Place, Toronto
By: Farren Whittaker
We all know it when we see it; it?s in a stare, in a wink, in the
way a musician takes their little moment in the spotlight and rolls
their eyes into their head, seeming to forget all inhibitions and
letting the sound soak in. The roots of true independent music lie
somewhere within that moment and for most fans, a truly great band
is one you simply can't turn away from. At the Stones Place in
Toronto?s Queen-West area on a muggy June night, Left of the Sun
introduced themselves to a captive and enthusiastic crowd and made
quite an impression?
In a sea of cookie cutter pop-punk bands looking to piggy-back on
the success of a trendy new sub-rock genre; it?s becoming harder and
harder to find THAT band. Label A&R spend much of their time
searching for bands with new sounds and new stylistic approaches;
it's all new new new.
Left of the Sun should be playing in front of thousands of
people. They should be touring and they should be cashing in on the
appeal of their haunting, rock-sexy lead, Diana DiGiovanni. But as
of yet, they are comfortable to be moving along at their own pace.
True to all the things people love about a live show, it?s hard
even turning away from the voice long enough to order a pint once
the set begins. Regardless of gender, people are entranced by tracks
like ?His Hotel Room? and ?Joey? (not the Concrete Blonde song),
songs that bleed emotion and give the feeling that every tune is,
in some way, explaining the feelings we?ve all had for a person
somewhere along the line. The crowd simply stands in awe as each
member makes their mark at some point in the half hour set,
furthering the fact that this band is, in no way your average jam
band.
They are free of all the clichés that make so many bands a joke,
and Left of the Sun is going to make you feel good about music
again. A band that will give the quality-starved genre of modern
rock and roll a renewed hope that great things can still come out of
the Canadian independent music scene.
Diana DiGiovanni, a truly gifted vocalist and talented musician,
is as modest and soft spoken as they come - and with all the right
things in all the right places, she and her band of loyal followers
will, with a little luck, make the world a better place, if only to
give us a great night out.
www.myspace.com/leftofthesun
White
Cowbell Oklahoma
Friday, June 9
The Horseshoe Tavern
I’ve heard about White Cowbell Oklahoma for years now, but had
never gotten the chance to see them. I really should have made the
effort sooner, because they were a riot. The large crowd at the
Horseshoe Tavern was still hot from C’mon, and everybody wanted the
rock to continue. More than a few cowboy hats dappled the eagerly
awaiting audience. When WCO took the stage, I felt like I was
watching a live episode of Reno911 or Trailer Park Boys. The first
band-member I saw had a shotgun, and wore a sheriff’s uniform. He
stood completely still, gun in hand, and surveyed the audience
through his mirrored aviators while the rest of the band came on. I
think there was about forty of them. Awash with Stetsons and
handlebar moustaches, they busted out with a full-fledged hard rock
hoedown. Musically they reminded me of KISS with a southern flavour.
Songs like “Put the South in Your Mouth” or “Faster than Sin”
echoed in my ears while their performance included choreographed
dancers (The White Cowbellettes, I learned later), a stripper, a
buzz saw, and a blazing cowbell. (The cowbell took a lot of abuse
that night.) There’s nothing boring about this band. An organ
wailed as the end of the set became reminiscent of a southern
gospel, and the audience was asked to accept Rock n’ Roll as their
lord and saviour. “Can I get a Halle-motha-fuckin-god-damn-lujah?”
lead vocalist Sergeant Rock asked. He was enthusiastically obliged.
I saw a couple of people with raised eyebrows and plugged ears, but
everyone else loved it. Not for the faint of heart, or easily
offended… but WCO put on a stellar hootenanny if I ever saw one.
www.whitecowbell.com
-Sara Percival
The
Creeping Nobodies w/ the Wharton Tiers Ensemble, Wyrd Visions, Ryvyr
Horseshoe Tavern
June. 2nd
First and foremost, the bass player from Wharton Tiers sweats more
than I've seen anyone sweat ever. Seriously. Like that R&B guy in
Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise sweaty, ie easily spoofable by Wierd Al
sweaty. You'd think that with today's high-falutin' medicines that
we'd have a cure for rock-induced hyperhidrosis.
Anyhow, Toronto's overly-quaffed hipster set (who look a little more
'Kids of Degrassi Street' than SoHo) began wandering in more than
fashionably late. Most folks missed Wyrd Visions' miniscule set of
ghostly campfire ballads, sort of a Radiohead on a budget, and
Ryvyr's pounding Dan Snaith-esque (on a budget) indie breaks. As a
disclaimer, I might have confused the order of the bands, so
apologies if Ryvyr was the budget Radiohead. In any case, it's worth
catching either of these bands who call Toronto home.
Third up was the 'legendary' Wharton Tiers Ensemble. I have to admit
that I've never heard of this soundman whose portfolio (encompasing
three decades) includes work with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.
Despite this, his driving drums and multi-guitar saxaphonic wall of
sound, warranted at least a little of this legendary status. Their
mix was layered in such a way that one had to struggle to hear any
one instrument, dropping some knowledge on the opening bands as to
what it means to actually play 'ensemble.'
I wasn't sure what to expect after Whaton Tiers, but luckily the
Creeping Nobodies avoided looking shabby in front of their elders,
through their frentic energetic style, which, embodied more than
mimicked the likes of the Fall. Manic boy-barks from frontman Derek
Westerholm are accompanied by indie girl coo-ing, and scattershot
instrumentation (synth and cowbell) are woven into one tight live
act, offering the rare exception where the encore is actually
desired. All in all, the Nobodies' live show (and stellar new album
which was released that night) make it clear that they are one of
Toronto's more exiting up and coming bands.
Christoper Langer
Lovejoy
Apr.21/06
Horseshoe Tavern
Friday night had quite the buzz with a wide variety of ages filling the Horseshoe Tavern. The crowd anticipated Lovejoy, who arent strangers to the Toronto scene having been around for quite some time. Take a little bit of soul, funk, rock and pop and what you have is a sound that hits hard and causes the body to move uncontrollably. They played a mixture of new and old tunes and even without the help of a back-up singer, Lovejoy managed to give one kick-ass rock and roll show. Everyone seemed to respond well to the crazy guitar solos of Jeff Eager and the high energy performance of their ever charming bassist Liz Lulu. The band played an awesome version of Billy Idols Rebel Yell which had the whole club singing along with Lead Vocalist Duarte Castro. A unique find here with Lovejoy, as one can hear sounds comparable to Led Zeppelin and The Killers as well as 54-40 and Pearl Jam. They are a well-rounded band with a tight performance that anyone into music should experience live. Check out their website for more information at http://www.lovejoy.ca.
Never Ending Whitelights Marco Solo - at the Mod Club
April 5, 2006
I watched the exuberant excitement Daniel Victor had when backing up Marco Solo on drums. It was refreshing to see the childlike energy in the smiles and singing along Victor had. I knew when he would step up to the mic that feeling would remain. And I was not disappointed.
Powerful and quiet. Those are the two words that describe both NWLs and Marco Solos performances. Crowds are definitely more quiet when the musical act is on the quiet side. Not to say the crowd was quiet in either case when it came to showing their appreciation. Marco Solo a.k.a Marco Di Felice of Supergarage pulled in the audience with his strong voice and ability to multitask. Using pedals that could echo vocals or an instrument of choice, Di Felice used everything that was within a one foot radius keys, guitar and even tapping on the square wooden box he used for a stool. Definitely captivating, Di Felice previewed songs that he was working on that were available not only for five dollars at the merch table, but are also found on his myspace website. My personal favourites were when he sang the original demo version of his NWL contribution and when NWL joined him on stage, with Victor in a black shirt so as not to take away from Di Felices glory. This collaboration not only added so much more sound, but also to the excitement of the NWL preview on stage.
The fire quickly rekindled as Victor and band returned to stake their claim on stage. The final version of the Di Felice and NWL collaboration was taken over the top with its commanding energy when Di Felice stepped back up the mic. Victor and NWL turned out a steadily engrossing show. The only disappointment I had was the too short, just over an hour show.
Making reference to past comments that a reviewer had about a previous Neverending show about it not being rock ‘n roll for Victor to smile, I can honestly say as a concert goer it adds to my pleasure in watching a band when I see them enjoying themselves. Theyre giving that passion into the performance. It can only make for a better performance. When a band puts on airs or is jaded because theyve played together for so long or maybe even too long in their minds, its just not as great. You couldnt say that about Victors performance, fleshed out with a full band.
Unwilling to admit to his innate, quiet sexiness, Victor replied No, Im not. when an excited fan yelled out Youre hot! The backlit form that became more apparent through a fitted white button up was definitely so. I guess maybe I should keep that to myself.
Covering Death From Above 1979s Black History Month, NWL rocked it up louder after the hit and crowd enthused, version of The Grace, the Dallas Green sung radio single.
I didnt know that swamps could be so sensual. With all the dark, moody textures NWL bring in all their musical layers, I felt like I was swaying through safe, deep, sweet gloom. I want to stay wrapped up in the velvety blanket that is Victors voice.
www.danielvictor.com
www.neverendingwhitelights.com
www.myspace.com/neverendingwhitelights
www.supergarage.com
www.myspace.com/marcodifelice
Team Love
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins
March 16, 2006 – The Opera House, Toronto, ON
By Jessica Shulist
You can start things off rehearsed and polished; organized down to the set-list. Or, as was the case with the opening act, Whispertown 2000, you can literally spill out of your van and onto the stage, guitar in hand, and hammer out a terrific pre-performance show. After waiting an hour for Whispertown 2000 to emerge from back stage, they finally did, mentioning that they had just got out of their van after spending six hours trying to get from the border to the venue, the Opera House on Queen Street East.
Morgan Nagler, the petite and quirky lead singer of Whispertown 2000, immediately won over the crowd with her whiskey-laced rasp that turned out such songs as “Restless” and “Goodbye Baby”. At one point she told the crowd that should someone buy her a shot of whiskey she would later repay them. Not 10 seconds later, an eager fan pushed his way to the front and gently placed the little cup at Nagler’s feet. She kept cooing her thanks to the crowd for listening, while she interjected with anecdotes of why she loved Canada, recalling something about the wind and a pretty girl’s short skirt flying up.
After their short set was over, two lanky fellas stepped up and announced that they were Johnathan Rice and Farmer Dave, guitarist and organ/piano player respectively, from Jenny’s band. Although we all immediately swooned over Rice’s voice, a hard-hearted drawl eerily similar to Johnny Cash, and the way his emo-hair hung in his eyes, he had a poor connection with the crowd. Between pushing his hair out of his eyes and stumbling to and from the mic, he would call the crowd, “the loudest bunch of motherfuckers we’ve ever played for” and that they had to resort to playing their rock songs because “it’s too loud for anyone to hear our folk numbers”. After that, people impatiently shuffled from foot to foot while others checked their Blackberrys and chatted with friends, waiting for Ms. Jenny Lewis.
Finally, from the side door, Jenny and the Watson twins, Chandra and Leigh, emerged in single file, moving slowly as if in a solemn funeral procession. You could see that their mouths were moving but over the dying din of the crowd, it wasn’t apparent that noise was being emitted until they stepped in front of the mics. Once they secured the attention of everyone in the room, they swiftly moved into the opening number of the night, “The Big Guns”. Clearly, we were in for a foot-stomping good time at this pseudo-barn dance. And while performing the cheeky tune that roughly translates into: all the world’s gone to hell and where the hell is god now, Lewis improvised to our delight by trilling out a line with “…it’s in the belly of the beast, it’s on the Toronto streets…” and we all kicked up our heels with glee. And even though Jenny, child star from the eighties, was very gracious about keeping the spotlight equally trained on the whole band, we couldn’t help but swoon at her feet, especially during the songs that melted all our hearts.
By far, the most moving and memorable songs sung during the night were the ones that placed Jenny firmly in the spotlight of our adoration for how real she appears to be, and actually is in person. With every breath and longing look she cast up and out into the crowd, she matched it with a strong and clear note of sadness. But it is in her sadness that you hear the most love, for her band mates and even her enemies. The whole atmosphere of the venue had an ethereal quality of holiness made real by the way Jenny looked underneath the floodlight, like the saddest angel. So, there she was, standing all four foot nothing of her, with the white light casting it’s own version of a halo around her head, wearing a beautiful old Victorian dress trimmed with lace and colored a rich regal blue, she came back for an encore and ushered us out onto the Toronto streets with the dreamy lullaby, “It Wasn’t Me”. Jenny Lewis knows how to get you stamping your feet and nodding your head in agreement with her socio-political commentary while soothing you with her honey dipped voice as she sways to a close in the song and bids the crowd a goodnight.
CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK 2006 - LIVE REVIEWS
With Canadian Music
Week '06 off in full swing, it had definitely come time
for some of the home-grown metal talent to strut their stuff. Thanks
to
Metal Queen Management, four of Canada's most talked about
underground bands had gathered in The Vatikan for an intimate
display of what has been brewing lately in local scene. The line-up
featured some pretty diverse sounds with both established names as
well as some up-and-comers. Just as much as I was looking forward to
see headliners Cryptopsy, I was curious about what sort of reactions
the less familiar openers would recieve.
Warmachine kicked
off the evening. Their debut album has been creating quite the buzz
since it came out. Makes me wish I'd gotten out on time to watch
them perform. Fortunately, I wasnt too late to catch Shatterpoint
get on
stage next. Hailing from Brampton, they have a very
straight-up-thrash
flavour that in many ways resembles something inbetween Sacred Reich
and
early Machine Head. Shatterpoint didnt take long to get aggressive
with
their infectious riffing and guitar solos. That, on top of clever
tempo-variations and a broad vocal style made for a great live
performace.
They are definately one of my favorite emerging acts and have the
potential
to go a long way. Despite all this the crowd seemed more content
just
watching them play rather than engage in the traditional
flailing-of-arms-and-legs. All the same, judging from the rowdy
appluse
between songs, everyone seemed quite impressed.
Penetrator was up
next. Their very old-school feel completely changed the
vibe from the previous set. From the very first strum these guys
looked like
they were absolutely loving their stage time. Guitarist Bess Ross
carried a
huge smile on his face, like he was just born to be playing this
part. Given
their vast musical experience that doesnt come as a surprise.
Penetrator are
one of the few remaining bands that dare to play what stopped being
played
ages ago: a distinct 80s power-metal style that will remind you of
your
favorite Judas Priest records. But once again, everyone seemed to be
conserving their energy for Cryptopsy. Lack of a shindig aside, they
still
made their appreciation very clear.
And finally, without
doubt the biggest crowd-drawer and winner of the
Favorite Metal/Hardcore Artist catagory of CMW '06, on came
Montreal's
Cryptopsy. With little ado, guitars and drums were set ablaze,
accompanied
by an insane flurry of headbanging. This set was as awsome to watch
as it
was to hear. First of all, it's amazing that these guys can actually
play
live the berserk and mind-bogglingly fast stuff they put on their
records.
The visual centerpiece had to be the monstrous drum-set that barely
left any
room for the rest of the band-members. Notorious drum-man Flo
Mounier is a
spectacle of his own, and is often cited as one of the most capable
masters
of his instrument in the known world.
Cryptopsy have made
a name for themselves for being easily one of the most
extreme group of musicians in their genre, playing their instruments
as hard
and fast as imaginable. They take extreme music to the extreme. And
as can
be expected of that, so did the fans. Just leave it to Cryptopsy to
set off
a riot of a mosh-pit. If you want to see guitars and drums being
played to
their physical limits, this is where to go. It's hard to imagine how
exhausting it must be for them to play their music for more than a
few
minutes at a time, but they did it for the entire set while barely
ever
taking a moment to slow down. I guess this must have made front-man
Lord
Worm hungry, because he eventually brought out his chalice of worms.
After
slurping down one or two himself, he went on to feed the eager
front-rowers.
Metal Queen
Management's CMW showcase gave these bands a chance to make some
noise and be seen, and gave us a chance to sample some great coming
attractions. The fact that a show like this attracted a full house
with
barely any radio promotion speaks a lot about the fans as well.
Although not
everyone was familiar with all of the performers, they were all well
recieved. The tremendous talent that was on display goes to show
that the
domestic brew is just as good as any.
Royal Wood at the Cadillac Lounge - March 4th
The night started pretty frustrating as my girlfriend and I we're denied entry to both the Horseshoe Tavern and Lee's Palace by frustrated doorperson's seemingly on a mission to make lives miserable. Even with the CMW delegate passes we we're denied, this being a first as I'm used to no lineups and no questions. So I decided on trying out the Cadillac Lounge which proved to be a wise choice and there was room to breathe in the bar and good acts to be seen. As I entered Royal Wood was on stage doing his best to wow the crowd with his somewhat Harry Connick Jr. esque soft voice and tall slim good looks. He's one of those musicians that even if he tried he could not hit a sour note, he had the smooth confidence that made his tunes stick in your head and roll along with groovy melodies. The first tune I saw was played on an acoustic guitar and to my surprize he hopped on the keys and jammed out a couple of more ditty's. For someone who was playing solo he was simply brilliant.
Andre Skinner
Yellow Light at the Cadillac Lounge - March 4th
After Royal Wood's easy going and laid back tunes I figured something similar would follow, well I was wrong. Enter 2 bombshell babes from Vancouver heading up their hard rock combo Yellow Light. They got started on the right note as their Les Paul's engaged and started blasting away at the crowd, the music was heavy, rocking and ballsy similar to that of Hole and Veruca Salt. The band stood out more visually than they did musically as I think they need a little more time writing hits than looking hot.
Andre Skinner
Sylvie at the Horseshoe Tavern - March 4
I decided to try the Horseshoe again after being denied earlier in the night and was let in before the lieup of 30 plus people without question??? As I entered the back room Wintersleep we're just finishing up and Sylvie we're about to grace the stage. The band was way cool, I mean there's something about a female bassist that usually lends to ballsy rockin' music. Sure enough this Regina band was blazin' though their set with the crowd engaged in every song. The singing duties we're traded off between the bassist and rhythm guitarist which made for a pretty cool and diverse set of hard/emo/rock somwhat remeniscent of Sonic Youth. With Sylvie's innovative sound I was pleasantly surprised and I'm now a fan. Excellent performance.
Andre Skinner
Cougar Party
The Reverb
Sat. Mar. 4, 2006
“Holy shit, we’re
Cougar Party, and this night is gonna rock,” Cougar Party’s
guitarist screamed as the band took up their positions on stage.
That kinda set the tone for the rest of the set. For about the next
40 minutes these three women did, indeed, rock – savagely. With a
sound similar to Kittie or Alexisonfire, Cougar Party’s drummer and
vocalist dedicated the rest of the evening to presenting an even
more torture sound of screamo than the two aforementioned bands,
while the bassists and guitarist dutifully thundered away with her.
But what this band lack in originality and profundity, they
certainly compensate for with volume.
James Sandham
Shelly
Rastin
Cameron House
Sat. Mar. 4, 2006
All the way from the
badlands of London, Ontario, Shelly Rastin brought her form suburban
soccer-mom alt-country to the Cameron house on Saturday, putting on
a solid set despite some persistent technical difficulties. Strong
vocals and a confident stage presence worked in Rastin’s favour, as
did her recent collaboration with BTO’s Randy Bachman, giving her
music a professional, polished edge. Although she did try to play
the Canadian patriotism card to a crowd clearly unreceptive to such
nationalist appeals, and at times reminded me of my middle-aged and
perpetually drunk neighbour when dancing, Rastin and her band did
deliver some solid new-country tunes à la Patti Loveless complete
with some great blues guitar.
James Sandham
Bella
Healey’s
Sat. Mar. 4, 2006
If the four members
of Bella are in any way an accurate representation of their
hometown, Vancouver, it must be a very happy, bouncy place.
Somewhere between Weezer, Of Montreal, and the Mouldy Peaches, Bella
bring what could be a new genre to the music scene: anti-Emo. Clad
in matching white outfits, with red accents such as ties and belts,
and Converse sneakers, Bella are the sort of group geeky enough to
be really cool. Unashamed, authentic, and genuinely having fun,
judging by the smiles that rarely left their faces, this
80s-electronica influenced post-punk outfit was one of the youngest
and most unique groups I’ve seen during CMW – and the only one that
came with groupies. Clearly Bella are already building a fan base,
and if their show last night was any indication of their talents,
deservedly so.
James Sandham
Fun Times Galore at The Crow Bar
Galore makes you
remember when rock was young. They honour the music but don’t take
themselves too seriously. With all due respect to the 100s of CMW
bands I didn’t get to see, Galore wins my “Next Band to Break Out”
award. They’ve got it all going for them. Galore is another band
with the Moe Berg’s (producer) influence - infectious harmonies,
catchy beats and choruses that invite you in.
Already getting satellite radio play this band is one break form
Main Street to main stream. The show concluded with a rocking’
version of John Lennon’s “Cold Turkey” and closed the deal with
“She’s an Elevator.”
Kudos to the owner and staff of The Crow Bar, who hosting a great
night for Bhurr Records. Chris Case (RCDmusic.com) emceed what was a
great night for the future of Canadian Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Joe Chisholm
www.indiecan.com
Tacoma Redd Raises the Crow Bar
Here’s a band with
two gears – neutral and 5th gear, without much use for neutral. 100%
power pop describes them perfectly. They come at you full throttle
and you wonder how they will keep this up then they do. Front man,
Doug Smart engages a crowd like no other – dancing, pointing, wide
eyed and when the constraints of a stage were too much for him, Doug
join the audience, mic in hand. Kind of like a zoo with no fences,
Tacoma Redd makes you part of the show.
Talking to Chris Bell (bass), Bryan Richards (guitar) Dean Glover
(drums) and Doug afterwards they talked with glee about working with
producer Moe Berg on their CD. “Simplicity was the theme of the day”
recalls Chris, “Keep it simple and be true to the song.” “Moe gets
us.” Doug piped in. “We shopped around a lot for a producer but
about two sentences into talking to Moe we all thought, ‘Wow, this
guy gets it.’”
If you missed them, Tacoma Redd isn’t going drift into the shadows.
Catch up with them at www.myspace.com/tacomaredd and check out an
upcoming show. Bring your ID, but leave the Prozac at home. There
guys will get your synopses firing.
Joe Chisholm
www.indiecan.com
Dunes rock
the Rancho Relaxo for CMW
If asked “what were your expectations, playing at Canadian Music
Week?” some artists would say “Lights, cameras, a river of Champaign
and a spectacle of journalists, A&R reps and industry insiders
clamoring for our attention.”
When asked the same
question, Kevin Pullen, singer and rhythm guitarist of The Dunes
said, “If we can get our music out to a few new people we’ll be
happy.” This humble and healthy approach to music will be one of the
important building blocks that will keep these blue collar Rockers
prominently in the face of the Toronto indie scene. Like the pied
piper, The Dunes music is creating an ever growing following of
Dunes fans, from town to town and venue to venue. If you missed
them, you don’t want that to happen again. From their Rancho Relaxo
CMW set (The first venue they ever played at by the way), The Dunes
are off to Guelph before coming back to The Mod Club, Gladstone,
Savoy, Cadillac Lounge and somewhere in there, finding time to do a
live feature for IndieCan.com.
The Dunes alt/rocked the Rancho Relaxo, breathing fresh life into
the CMW weary midnight crowd. A packed house enjoyed a hot set and I
am certain Kevin got his wish – a few new Dunes fans were added to
their following. Keep these guys on your radar screen by following
them at www.myspace.com/dunesrock.
- Joe Chisholm
www.indiecan.com
Barzin
Holy Joe’s
March 3
When Barzin’s singer
asked the crowd if his band were being “too loud,” I couldn’t at
first tell if he was being sarcastic. I believe he wasn’t, which
makes it all the funnier, lilting and softly melodic as their set
was. Playing to an attentive and appreciative audience at Holy Joe’s
(Friday March 3), Barzin’s sound floated somewhere between Pink
Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and Gary Jules as exemplified in
“Mad World.” But instead of a mad world, for Barzin “it’s a sad and
beautiful world,” as they sang during their second last song of the
night. That may be true; and if so, this is definitely the music for
it. Soft, beautiful song writing and vocals are driven by swelling,
organic instrumental arrangements that incorporate xylaphone,
acoustic and electric guitar, drums, and bass. The band demonstrated
great cohesion as they moved through their set, concluding with
marginally more upbeat “Just More Drugs.” Good music for society in
decline.
-
James Sandham
Knorkator
Kathederal
March 3
I wandered into the
Kathedral a little after 9:00 on Friday night (March 3) and wondered
what in the hell I’d just stepped into. My girlfriend gripped my
arm. We stood stunned, but after a couple seconds regained our
composure and set up camp around the back of the bar. In front of us
on stage loomed the German industrial outfit Knorkator, straight
from Deutschland and ramming their brand freak-out hardcore down our
throats like a rusty spike. Knorkator is five guys, two of whom
appear shaven from head to toe, and one who almost qualifies with
nothing but a ponytail at the back of his head, all just as heavily
tattooed, plus another who looks like he rolled out of Van Halen in
the 80s, and a relatively moderate looking drummer. I guess
Rammstein is the easiest thing to compare them to, musically
speaking. Knorkator’s lead vocalist, clad in nothing but a leotard
riding halfway up his arse, put on an enthusiastic performance,
exuberant to the point of psychotic on stage, but trying nonetheless
to cheerfully communicate with the crowd through the most broken
English I’ve heard. As their last song concluded, entitled, if I
heard them correctly, “I Want to Fuck,” I wondered what exactly I’d
just experienced, and was strangely sad it was over.
-
James Sandham
United Steel
Workers Of Montreal
Reverb
March 3
Live from la belle
province, the United Steel Workers of Montreal rolled into the
Reverb last night (Friday March 3), delivering a great set to an
initially sparse audience. And maybe it was better that way; there
seemed to be something appropriate about a half-full and half-lit
lounge while USWM pounded out their brand of urban alt-country. The
ambiance was right. Their music creeps over you from the stage like
cigar smoke in a dimly lit room. Sounding like something somewhere
between The Band and Tom Waits, the six members that comprise USWM
delivered an at-times weary, melancholy, but always inviting sound,
incorporating banjo, stand-up bass, ukulele, female and male vocals,
and guitars. Tinged with sounds from both bluegrass and UK folk
(think the Pogues), USMW deliver the genuine country-blues goods.
-
James Sandham
Robocop
Kraus
Kathederal
March 3
The Robocop Kraus
are a band from Germany unhappy with their airline. Equipment had
been lost in transit. Whether or not it was recovered wasn’t
revealed, but regardless of their state of instrumental affairs, the
five members of the group put on a decent show last night (Friday
March 3) at the Kathedral. With vocals sometimes reminiscent of
Dexy’s Midnight Runners, but more consistently comparable to a manic
Ian Curtis (of Joy Division infamy), the Robocop Kraus delivered a
solid, spastic, and enthusiastic set, often coming out into the
audience and doing their best to pump up the energy level. Infusing
a Stooges-inspired sound with subtle electronica beats from the
keyboard, Kraus are a post-punk blast to the eardrum doing their
best to be noticed on this side of the Atlantic. Easy to lump in
with the rest of the upstart, garage-punk scene, they exude
nonetheless a confidence and professionalism that might just set
them apart from the competition.
-
James Sandham
Great Lake
Swimmers, Justin Rutlege, Luke Doucet
The Reverb
Friday March 3
As Queen Street West gets invaded by the delegate badges of industry reps and the buzz bands of late, there's a certain excitement that comes with all this and that's knowing that Canada's best are all here in Toronto.
Great Lake Swimmers got off to a great start with their catchy yet serious twang that had the packed house nodding and some even swaying around. Tony Dekker the lead singer seemed a little nervous and very serious, he define tally could have lightened up a bit considering there was about 200 drinkers in the house wanting to loosen up. Overall the songs we're really great however I felt the crowd got a little bored after 3 songs and we're ready to move on to the next act.
Justin Rutledge had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand from the first note he strummed, the crowd was quiet and listened very intently song after song till then end of his set. Adding to his stunning performance was his alumni band that included Blue Rodeo's Basil Donovan on bass and local producer/musician David Baxter on lead guitar, making Justin's set unforgettable.
Luke Doucet Luke Doucet has been around the musical block a few times and it really shows in his stage presence, he smiles at all his band mates and looks like he's having tonnes of fun playing. The one thing that stood out for me was how talented of a guitarist he is, everytime he soloed my jaw dropped to the floor. Quite simply the best set of the night.
Dunes rock the Racho Relaxo for CMW
If asked “what were your expectations, playing at Canadian Music Week?” some artists would say “Lights, cameras, a river of Champaign and a sceptical of journalists, A&R reps and industry insiders clamouring for our attention.”
When asked the same question, Kevin Pullen, singer and rhythm guitarist of The Dunes said, “If we can get our music out to a few new people we’ll be happy.” This humble and health approach to music will be one of the important building blocks that will keep these blue collar Rockers prominently in the face of the Toronto indie scene. Like the pied piper, The Dunes music is creating an ever growing following of Dunes fans, from town to town and venue to venue. If you missed them, you don’t want that to happen again. From their Rancho Relaxo CMW set (The first venue they ever played at by the way), The Dunes are off to Guelph before coming back to The Mod Club, Gladstone, Savoy, Cadillac Lounge and somewhere in there, finding time to do a live feature for IndieCan.com.
The Dunes alt/rocked the Rancho Relaxo, breathing fresh life into the midnight crowd. A packed house enjoyed a hot set and I am certain Kevin got his wish – a few new Dunes fans were added to their following. Keep these guys on your radar screen by following them at www.myspace.com/dunesrock.
- Joe Chisholm
Troy Van
Balthazar
The Drake Hotel
Thursday March 2
Once initial
technical difficulties were overcome, Troy Von Balthazar played a
solid set of ethereal tunes before a packed Drake Lounge last night
(Thursday
March 2). Whether anyone appreciated this is another matter. As my
girlfriend and I sat relishing the glass of wine and pint of beer
we'd paid $20.00 for, it seemed that most of our Drake compatriots
were more engrossed with their entrées than with the ghostly
crooning of Mr. Von Balthazar and his occasional female guitar and
vocals accompaniment. But with good reason, I suppose; given the
cost of a couple drinks, the cost of a meal would demand one pay
serious attention to the food before it is consumed and, hence, gone
forever. Nonetheless, this was perhaps an appropriate atmosphere for
Von Balthazar's music. Reminiscient of Grandaddy or Moufette, his
songs were minimalist, haunting, without percussions, and, as my
girlfriend leaned across the table to tell me, what she'd listen to
"before committing suicide;" as such, it was preferable they served
as background music rather than the central focus of the evening.
Peter Elkas
March 2
Cameron House
As Canadian Music Week unfolds, it is nice to find a treasure among the vast ocean of talent in the city this week. Peter Elkas, an up-and-coming talent that is sure to be a good friend during despondent periods in your life. Just pop in his debut CD, “Party of One” and you will not be alone anymore.
Peter Elkas, playing to a full capacity at the Cameron House last night, brought me to places I forgot I could go. The venue was excessively small for this popular solo artist. People were turned away at the door. Supported by a 5-piece band that consisted of a keyboard player, drummer, bass player and two back-up vocalists, I must confess, I was impressed.
Peter’s voice is flexible to meet the great demands of the complex harmonies and well arranged music. Much of the blues-like sounds came from Jeff (introduced as Dr. Jeff), the keyboardist, who played a traditional Hammond Organ with great passion and bang on timing. He also sang back up. The balance of the entire band complimented Peter’s style and they were seemingly tight.
The song “Party of One” was skillfully executed with the added influx of a simple, but strategically placed guitar lead. My favorite of the set was “Wall of Fire.” Dr. Jeff plays a solo that got the crowd going and everyone applauded with pleasure. Peter ended his set with “Will Power.” This song was extremely difficult to undertake from a musicians point of view. It gave us the opportunity to witness Peter playing staccato style guitar while his voice along side the talented back-up singer Alana Stewart, created a soul searching effect that left the crowd with a need to hear more. We were hooked!
Peter Elkas is a talented musician, and good-looking guy who has a great understanding of the human spirit that is certainly evident in his music.
You can find out more about Peter Elkas by logging on to his website www.peterelkas.com
The Indie
Awards 2006
Part of Canadian Music Week
I think I’m going bloody deaf; my ears are still ringing. But I suppose it’s no one’s fault but my own, camped out as I was for most of Wednesday (March 1st) night a mere few feet from the speakers powering the 2006 Indie Awards at the Docks. I could have retired to the media room, saved my hearing, and bought another $6.00 can of beer, but the media pit right in front of the stage was too good to leave. With sets by the Stars and Magnet, and award performances by Cursed, Elliott Brood, and the Pursuit of Happiness, amongst others, it was a long night of rockin’ at the Docks, to use a tired cliché. Looking back from that happy/hurtin’ vantage point of the next morning, I can’t believe I almost left at 9:30.
That said, I should note that it was pretty slow when I got there. I’d been running around since 5:00 trying to secure a wristband for a friend. It was a fruitless effort and at 7:30 I returned home, empty handed and hungry as hell, not sure when the awards show began and more than a little pissed that I’d be paying the cab fare to the Docks on my own.
I signed in a little after 8:30 and found my way up to the media room. It was large but busy with floor to ceiling windows on two sides, the third open and looking down onto the show. In the back people were doing interviews and slipping in and out of a side door to smoke on the balcony. Judging by the crowd at the far end of the room, I assumed a bar must run down that side. I considered pushing through for a drink but, after second thoughts, abandoned the idea and set up shop to cover the show. I had somehow managed to manoeuvre myself into a position from where I had a pretty good view of the proceedings below, and it seemed a shame to lose it for overpriced, tinny suds.
Something heavy was just finishing up. I caught the last lines, something about having a “one track mind,” as the song closed and the crowd cheered. Someone from XM Satellite Radio had now taken to the stage, mixing subtle XM promotion into his spiel as he announced the nominees for the XM Satellite Radio Favourite Album: the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, the New Pornographers, Theory of a Deadman, Wolf Parade… I was just reflecting, damn, the Canadian music scene’s not looking too shabby, when the announcement of Arcade Fire as the (well deserved) winners of the award shook me from my reverie. Their win was followed by Bedouin Soundclash, picking up Favourite single for “When the Night Feels My Song,” Death From Above 1979 for Chart Magazine Favourite Group/Duo, Franz Ferdinand for Favourite International Artist/Group… amongst others. The list continued in rapid succession.
Once Elliott Brood had played, followed shortly by the Pursuit of Happiness and a rousing rendition of their single “I’m on the Dole Now,” things appear to be wrapping up. Awards had been awarded, performers had performed, and now roadies were doing what they do: setting up the stage for the next act, Magnet. They were scheduled to hitt he stage in 45 minutes or so. I was doing what I do: scratching out some notes and trying to look occupied, checking my watch and thinking “Christ, 45 more minutes of standing here waiting; my bloody feet are killing me; maybe I’ll catch the first song and then get out of here.” That sure-to-have-proven unrewarding decision was narrowly averted by a jab in the ribs. I turned around.
“Leslie!” And then looking to the right of her, “Emily!” I looked to the left – no, I didn’t recognize the last member of their party, but two out of three’s not bad – “Fuck! I don’t think I’ve seen you guys since highschool!” Yet here they were, up covering the event for Noise Magazine out of Niagara. As I headed out to the balcony with cigarettes and Emily, my feet had stopped hurting and the crowd at the bar no longer seemed so impenetrable.
We put down the last of our drinks about halfway through Magnet’s set and headed downstairs. The floor was packed but, us with a good glow on, undaunting. Emily was leading, thrusting away with that phallus of a telescopic lens as she and her camera cut the path. I followed behind. Squeezing through the last of the crowd and past security we stumbled out into the media pit at the front of the stage and, for the next half hour, sat transfixed.
Magnet was
incredible. I don’t know what the hell instrument that Norwegian kid
was playing, some kind of lap-guitar thing, but his music was
beautiful, touching. As Emily said, turning to me after the set and
rousing me from awe, “That fucking touched me; fuck, he probably
touched every woman in here.” But not just the women. Magnet’s sound
gets in your soul. It’s emotional, moving – and just the stuff to
warm a crowd up for the Stars, another band that I’d soon find out
opens their heart to the audience.
Maybe it was the hometown vibe – the Stars grew up in Toronto before
relocating to Montreal; or maybe it was just being so close to the
performance, caught up as I was in a swarm of photographers at the
foot of the stage, flashes blazing, and close enough to touch the
singer’s shoes as he stood above us, saluting the crowd, while the
band filed in; but most likely it was the band themselves that
generated the intensity of their performance. Bathed in the light of
table lamps that, with roses, dotted the stage, the Stars launched
into a set that reflected the ambiance their lighting created:
familiar, comforting, intimate, and electrifying. I’ve never had a
religious experience but this was a buzz.
I remember looking up from my notes at one point during the set, the singer gripping the mic in front of me, and remarking how happy he looked, absolutely beaming as his falsetto washed together with the soft voice of the guitarist, flooding a crowd who were projected on screens behind him and smiling just as wildly. Indeed, it was music that makes you smile; the Stars are a band who expose themselves through their music so utterly and without pretence that you can’t help being drawn into the spirit. There was some hamming by the front man, but consciously done, satirical and without egotism.
I left just past 12:00, the smell of dry ice still in my nose and the Stars’ violin still ringing in my head. It was a hell of a night. Thank god I didn’t leave at 9:30.
Much “Anti-cipated” Anti-Hero Rocks the Bovine
Not many years ago, “pop-punk” would have been an oxymoron. We are blessed to be in a time in music that is seemingly free of constraints. Anti-Hero rides this wave by delivering a one-two punch of pop and punk that leaves a **** eating grin on your face as your knees buckle and you fall to the mat. Anti-Hero is both of pop and punk, both rude and charming, while being true to both extremes. The reason it works is their sincerity and energy.
Toying with the catholic goth school girl gone bad fantasy, Rose Perry fronts the band. Never far from her side is Nic, the tall blonde goddess foil to Rose, with the face of an angel but the voice of a demon. “I am 21” says Rose after the show. “Nicole here is still a tender 20 years of age.” To Rose’s right is band co-founder Jesse on lead guitar. Keeping the beat alive on drums is Matty - who the band kidded on stage, about having the nicest boobs of the team.
The band held nothing back, opening their set with the title track to their CD, “Unpretty.” Another song was later dedicated to their producer Rob Sanzo (Parade, Rob Black, Crash Kelly) who said to me later that although they showed a little greenness their first time in the studio he can see their potential, he loves their energy and is excited that Anti-Hero has no where to go but up. “Two words” was another crowd pleaser and by that time in the set the band owned the whole crowd.
The band had the presence of a stadium headliner. Rose knows how to front a band; she knows where the cameras are and won’t let the audience drift off. Anti-Hero got into the audiences face at Canadian Music Week and if they live up to their obvious potential, everyone in attendance will be boasting years from now, “I saw them first way back in ’06 at the Bovine Sex Club.”
Joe Chisholm
www.indiecan.com
Canteen Knockout - Mitzi's Sister - 14/1/2006
For anyone who likes
a little "twang" in their rock or a little "alt" in
their country, Canteen Knockout (along with guest act Shawn Sage)
was their
best bet last Saturday night at Mitzi's Sister. The hip low-key
venue had
a great crowd in attendence and Andre Skinner and his henchmen
served up a great set of alt-country/grassroots rock offerings that
they are known for.
The band seems to have mastered their sound and the material seems
to be
delivered now in a way that only CKO can deliver it. Skinner is one
of
those frontmen who is at his best when he is at his most relaxed,
and on
this night he definitely was. Guitarist Alex Maxymiw always
alternates
seamlessly from the electric guitar to pedal steel, depending on the
song.
That band's staple tunes were performed like their 2003 EP opener
BENT OUT OF SHAPE, as well as their new material garnering attention
like the
single-bound HEADLINES and the beautiful easy-going HOME, both from
their forthcoming full length album hopefully out sometime in 2006.
The music
seems definitely headed more in the (alt) country vein rather than
the
variety of styles explored in their debut disc. The marketing, more
spagetti western (check out their kick-ass posters these days) and
the
Skinner attire more fitting, great black western style shirt he was
sporting
on stage(!). This was CKO's first big local gig of 2006 and a good
beginning to what will hopefully be a good year for our T-dot
twang-packing
unsung heroes. Long may they ride.
- Jeff Cole
Bobfest at the Renaissance Cafe 24/2/2006
The Renaissance Cafe had no shortage of a crowd last Friday as the local Dylan hardcores gathered for the first installment of Bobfest. The humble east end bar located at Danforth and Woodbine was pretty much at capacity by 9:30pm as the crowd was ready and on time for the 8:30pm start. Local singer songwriter and host Shawn Sage got things started right by playing Like a Rolling Stone and night was off on great note. There was amazing local talent on the bill with names such as Sam Larkin, Arthur Renwick, Jeff Cottrill, Peter Verity, Mike Barr and many more. The night went on till the wee hours and the music was still hapenning in the form of an open jam at 2:30am. From my perspective everyone in the place had a blast and I saw many leave with huge smiles on their faces. So keep your eyes and ears peeled for the next Bobfest.
- Andre Skinner
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