Don't Stop

Yesterday evening was filled with so many live music choices I was really torn deciding which one(s) to check out. The New Deal were playing The Mod Club. controller.controller/Uncut/Republic of Safety were playing The 360 Club. The Old Soul/Meligrove Band were playing The Masonic Lodge in Mississauga. Matt Mays and El Torpedo were at Lee's Palace. Having seen all the above artists/bands at least once, I decided to check out the Brazilian Girls at the El Mocambo and then head down to The Two Koreas CD release party at The Boat.

Brazilian Girls @ El Mocambo(Toronto, Ontario), June 3, 2005


Brazilian Girls are actually three gents on drums, bass guitar, programmed beats, and a female vocalist. Apparently, they're one of the hottest acts to come out of New York City. Yesterday's show was hot in more ways than one. It was unbelievably sweltering inside the packed El Mocambo and Brazilian Girls' music was an irresistible mix of exotic influences including reggae, bossa nova, French-pop combined with trip-hop, electro-pop and dance rhythms. By the time I got there, I'd already missed several songs but I managed to catch just under an hour(including encore) of their infectious tunes. I ran out this morning to pick up their debut self-titled CD and I've been listening and becoming more familiar with the songs, in the process, reminding me of some of their set highlights from yesterday. "Don't Stop" had a sultry dance beat with lovely female vocals floating over it, and later on in the song reaches a fantastic melodic break. "Pussy"(with the chorus of "Pussy, pussy, pussy, marijuana") had a great pop-reggae feel, that reminded me a lot of "Pass The Dutchie". Things slowed down in the set to reveal some nice bossa nova influenced songs. Vocalist Sabina Sciubba was in high spirits as a result of the responsive crowd. Really, considering the sweltering temperatures in the place, the packed nature of the club, and my general distaste for seeing bands at the El Mocambo(main floor), Brazilian Girls managed to transcend all those factors and put on a great show. If I wasn't already planning to go to the Feist show at Harbourfront on July 1st, I'd definitely check 'em out again that day in Hamilton, ON at Pepper Jacks. [photos]

The Two Koreas w/ The Diableros @ The Boat(Toronto, Ontario), June 3, 2005


Brazilian Girls' show managed to end before midnight yesterday which gave me the opportunity to check out The Two Koreas' CD release show at The Boat, which was about a 5-10 minute walk from the El Mocambo. I'd never been to The Boat, which is located in the Kensington Market district. The walk to The Boat also reminded me that I need to get down to Kensington Market more often, which features some interesting shopping, restaurants and small live music venues. Maybe this summer. The Boat's named so I guess because of the nautical theme of the venue's interior design. I'm not sure why this venue isn't booked more often, at least for smaller indie shows. It's nice enough. Other than the one-step-up raised platform for the drummer and keyboard setup, there's no real stage though. I made it in time as openers, The Diableros started their set. They played a good set of indie rock tunes that reminded slightly of The Walkmen, not only with the vocals but also with the emotionally-charged, post-punk melodies. They're a young band and they don't necessarily add anything new to the post-punk genre, but for what they do they do very well. Check out the band's MySpace site for an audio sample; it also says the band's playing in Mississauga at the Duke of Marlborough Pub(680 Silvercreek Blvd.) on June 25th, which is just around the corner from me.

The Two Koreas played a set full of songs with Mark E. Smith-inspired vocals, and at various times, hints of post-punk, garage rock and surf-guitar influences. The band members each wore a different colour shirt which actually made some of my photos quite nice-looking. The band played songs off their just-released "Main Plates & Classic Pies" which selling at this show for $5 was quite the steal. Having listened to this all morning, I'm disappointed in its seemingly lo-fi aesthetic. I wish there was more oomph! in the recording because the audio levels seem to be so low. With that in mind, I'd recommend that you check out The Two Koreas live. They'll be playing as part of the NXNE festival on June 9th at The Comfort Zone. [photos]

On a related note, The Two Koreas were featured in yesterday's chartattack.
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Gorillaz are going on a virtual tour, and are scheduled to perform live sessions for a slew of radio stations in the US through June. And with the internet, listening to the streaming feeds is just a click away.[from Aversion]

Just a reminder that Muchmusic will be broadcasting tomorrow, hightlights from Coldplay's recent promo-tour show at the Kool Haus in Toronto.