Last Friday I caught the Cuff The Duke CD Release show at Lee's Palace. Unfortunately, I missed openers The Meligrove Band. However, I'd like to mention that the guys newest album "Planets Conspire", officially out in January 2006, will be released through V2 Music. Which means WORLDWIDE distribution. They had advance CD's for sale and you just couldn't beat the $10 price tag, so I picked up a CD. A cursory listen reveals that the band has cut loose some of the Brian Wilson and Sloan influences of their earlier records for a mature sound that is a little more avant-pop. This just might be the record to finally convert me. Next up were Jon-Rae and The River. I walked into Lee's Palace towards the beginning of their set. It was a great-sounding set which had a back-porch-plugged-into-amps quality. The simmering country vibe of the music transfigured itself as guitar feedback kicked in, keyboards swirled, the drummer(behind his barebones drumkit) cut loose, and the vocals of Jon-Rae, his background vocalist and the vocals of other members of the band went from mild-manneredness to a gospel-like enthusiasm. Jon-Rae, with his guitar slung in front of him, displayed these angular young Elvis Costello-like body movements which was really fun to watch. Even more fun was watching his female background vocalist hip shake, and train-chug as the music got more intense. This was my first time seeing Jon-Rae and it was awesome. And now what it this I hear about Jon-Rae and a Choir? That sounds like it would be even more fun.
Finally, Cuff The Duke took the stage to a packed house. It was surprisingly more packed than I expected, especially for a local band who I thought only had a small loyal following. The group's brand of country-twang meets arty prog-rock meets pop accessibility was thoroughly enjoyable. The band's lineup that night was rounded out by a gentleman on vibes who I recently saw playing bass guitar during The Fembots' recent Soundscapes instore. Also making special appearances on a couple of songs were frequent Fembots contributor Julie Penner on violin as well as The Hidden Cameras' Mike Olsen on cello. Playing mostly songs off their recent self-titled album, the band also delved into their first album for a transcendental take on "Ballad of a Lonely Construction Worker", with that poignant mantra of "everthing's gonna be alright, gonna be alright" at the end of the song which gets me every time. The band had the audience in full dance mode on a foot-stomper "Take My Money And Run" as well as on the country swing of "The Ballad of Poor John Henry" with it's deliriously catch chorus which featured the lovely vocals of surprise guest vocalist Isla Craig who also sang on the album. Towards the end of the night, the band surprised us with a cover of The Fembots "Count Down Our Days", in the process getting the Meligrove boys and I think some of Jon Rae's band to join in for musical onstage love-in. It was a damn beautiful show. [photos from the show]
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As promised, Mr. Jens Lekman will be returning to Toronto on November 5th for a show at The Music Gallery.
Hometown boys, Danko Jones make their return to Toronto for a show at Lee's Palace on October 8th.
Thanks to Brooklynvegan for the links to audio and video downloads of David Bowie performing with The Arcade Fire(on The Arcade Fire's "Wake Up") at last Friday's Fashion Rocks event in New York CIty.
Over at the blog of Halifax's The Heavy Blinkers, head Blinker Jason MacIsaac reports that the band'll be in Toronto this Thursday[September 15th] to unveil some new songs from their upcoming new album entitled "Health". The band is playing as part of Canadian Music Cafe which is affiliated with the Toronto International Film Festival. I think this is an industry/guest-list type thing so I may just consider checking them out on that day in the evening in Hamilton ON at The Casbah where they're on a bill with Julie Doiron and Snailhouse.
The torrent sites have surprisingly been bursting at the seams with a whole bunch of Canadian indie-rock goodies[plus a Pernice Brothers show from 2003 at Lee's Palace which I couldn't pass up linking to; and I was at that show too!]. Links via Largehearted Boy. Get 'em while they're hot:
...And finally. The Ear To The Ground Festival. The plot thickens. Alternate venues, lineup changes. This day-to-day drama is just killing me. As quoted from the festival website, "All of our previously scheduled main acts are still playing." That's good news at least. The alternate venues setup has me a little scared. I just got my weekend pass in the mail, but I'm thinking what if venues reach capacity and I can't get in with my pass. At least with the outdoor setup, there was really no chance of such capacity concerns. The festival is having a launch party[tickets $8 @ the door] this Thursday at The Gladstone Hotel featuring performances from Lindsay Ferguson, A Northern Chorus, The Ghost Is Dancing, Kids on TV, and Lullabye Arkestra.
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