Ear To The Ground

The Ear To The Ground Festival is looking pretty good from the ad in the new issue[July 2005] of Exclaim![the paper edition] which states that the festival will include Death From Above 1979, Kid Koala, The Hidden Cameras, RJD2, Tricky Woo, The High Dials plus over 40 other acts featured on 3 stages. The shindig goes down at Exhibition Place in Toronto between September 16-18, 2005 and tickets are $40.00. There will be a limited number of early bird passes on sale July 20 through the official festival website. This festival's going to be 'hot' and by the looks of things might be Canada's answer to New York City's CMJ festival, or at least comparable to Pop Montreal. Well, I'm hoping.

One of my favourite bands of the last year Matt Pond PA announced on their website that member Eve Miller(cellist), whose string arrangements were one my favourite things about the band, has left the band. That is really a shame. I've been lucky to have caught them twice live within the last year and I'll miss her string contributions. Matt Pond PA is looking for a replacement who can play both a classical string instrument (cello being ideal of course, but viola or violin will be good too) and keyboards. [link via Bradleys Almanac]

Wilco skipped Toronto this time around on this leg of their current tour, but to ease the pain a bit you can grab a torrent of their June 28/05 show in Montreal. BTW, did anyone go to Wilco's show in Buffalo, NY yesterday? [torrent link from Largehearted Boy]

chartattack speaks to Carl Newman of The New Pornographers who admits that he suffers a bit of band envy towards Broken Social Scene.

Hamilton, ON's View Magazine speaks with New York City's Brazilian Girls who will be performing live in Hamilton at Pepper Jack Cafe on Canada Day. I saw them play last month in Toronto at El Mocambo and they're a really great live band and they have a great celebratory vibe that's perfect for Canada Day. A friend and I are still planning on going to see Feist at Harbourfront on Canada Day but the Brazilian Girls are apparently scheduled to go on at 12:30 am at Pepper Jack Cafe in Hamilton so if Feist ends around 11 pm it is very possible to drive down to Hamilton and catch Brazilian Girls as well.

Allison Outhit(remember now-defunct Halifax band Rebecca West) speaks with The Coast with her insider's look at the Wembley Live Aid show 20 years ago. Yes, a matter of fact she was backstage!

...On a Rebecca West-related note, check out an old concert review I posted on the defunct Sloan-Net mailing list about a Rebecca West show I went to way back in 1996. Anyone remember the now-defunct Toronto live venue, Ultrasound? Although, I'd only been there 2 or 3 times before it closed, it was a cozy little place....Yes, I am old-school.

Have you noticed I've been saying 'defunct' alot?

Set Yourself On Fire

Fresh from an appearance at Sunday's Olympic Island concert in Toronto, Stars headed to the U.K. to perform a live session for BBC 6 Music's Gideon Coe yesterday[June 28th]. They performed awesome acoustic rentions of "You Ex-Lover Is Dead" and "Ageless Beauty". Check out the archived program here[fast forward to around the 20:40:00 mark to hear the live session]. Note: I believe I've been giving incorrect info about the Eastern Standard Time broadcast times for the live sessions which I'd previously indicated as 8:40 pm London, England time(2:40 pm EST). Actually the Gideon Coe site indicates the broadcast time of the program is Weekdays 1000 - 1300, which is 10 am to 1 pm London time, making the EST broadcast time of the program more like 4 am to 7 am[and therefore the time of the live sessions being 6:40 am]. Hmmm, sorry for the confusion. With this new info in mind it's a wonder how the members of Stars ever got over the jet lag to perform the live session yesterday. [photo from Splendid]

Like an episode of "24", but over an 8 hour period, Stuart Berman of eye gives a rundown of the Modest Mouse/Broken Social Scene and friends love-in at Olympic Island over the weekend.

chartattack speaks with Keren Ann about her wandering ways.

Former Lush conspirator Emma Anderson and her new partner in crime Lisa O'neill, who together are Sing Sing, will be performing a live session for Gideon Coe tomorrow June 30. On a related note, you can download an mp3 of Sing Sing's new single "Lover" over at their official website[under 'Downloads']. Finally, their new album drops on July 11th[although I believe only in the U.K.]. You can ask the ladies questions here if you like.

So it's come to my attention through stillepost.ca that Matt Murphy and his new band City Field have a new website...ok, more like a webpage. City Field return to the Silver Dollar in Toronto for a show tomorrow night. Check out the band's New Music Canada page for song samples. "Pretenders", highly recommended.

Sebadoh's Jason Lowenstein will be coming to Toronto for a show at Lee's Palace on July 19th. Opening the show will be Neva Dinova. [from Rotate This]

Pitchfork reports on Death Cab For Cutie's new album "Plans" which is due August 30th through Warner. Go to Pitchfork for the tracklisting. The band's apparently in the process of organizing a North American tour for later this fall.

Down To The Wire

The Canadian date of Live 8 just got infinitely better with the addition of Neil Young who is now scheduled to close the show which takes place July 2nd in Barrie at Park Place. A little late, huh, considering that had organizers been able to confirm Neil's appearance before now, I'd actually have considered going to this FREE show just to see his set. [photo from http://.../]

I was watching Muchmusic's The New Music yesterday evening and they broadcasted Part One of their interviews with Broken Social Scene, Metric, The Dears, Stars, and Death From Above 1979 who all toured Japan recently as part of some sort of Canadian indie-rock invasion tour. If you get CityTV, catch the repeat Saturday @ 2:30 PM ET / 11:30 PM PT and Wednesday @ 11:30 PM ET / 8:30 PM PT. Part Two is suppose to air next week.

On the Feist watch, Reuters reviews her recent show at the Bowery Ballroom on June 25th. Thanks to One Louder for the link and pointing out 'her ability to coax a packed room of hipster New Yorkers to imitate a barnyard of farm animals during her whimsical delivery of "Now at Last."' Let's see if this happens at her Harbourfront show in Toronto on Canada Day[July 1st]. Or let's make this happen. Who's with me? :-)

Go over to Inside Entertainment and check out the virtual version of the print magazine which features some great photos of some great musical artists including Feist and The Arcade Fire. [Note: to access the virtual magazine click on "Hot Cd Releases" on the site's main page, then wait for the magazine to load into the browser. To turn pages place the cursor at the corner of the page you'd like to turn. At least on my computer, the magazine initially loaded a page about Billie Holiday; the Feist/Arcade Fire photos are 13-14 page turns before that. If you're really smart, you'll know how to capture the images. ...Or else you can just pick up the magazine and cut 'em out, I guess.]

More Cowbell gives an update on the Mates of State tour. I'd reported previously that their tour schedule's trajectory was heading towards the east coast and there had been a couple holes in the schedule. Unforunately, with the new tour date update there isn't a Toronto date yet. Perhaps in the fall, as the band's schedule takes 'em towards the east coast in October with shows in Chicago(Oct 8 @ The Abbey Pub), Cleveland(Oct 7 @ Beachland Ballroom) and Alfred, NY(Oct 10 @ Knight Klub @ Alfred University).

Aversion speaks with The Posies about their 'comeback', about past attempts at dissolving the group, and the 'difficulty' of escaping the gravity of the band. Their new disc "Every Kind of Light" was just released today. How about reliving the old days? Download a torrent of a live show by The Posies on May 19, 2005 when they were in Toronto at Lee's Palace.

Another great dimeadozen torrent at the moment which was just seeded is of a live show by The Magnetic Fields at the Roskilde festival on 07/01/01. What's new with Mr. Merritt these days? I still regret missing his show last summer in Toronto.

Mystery and Misery whets the appetites of shoegazer fans everywhere with his spotlight on Estonia's Pia Fraus, including mp3 downloads. Lovely stuff.

Ugh, I think I came down with a cold. I called in sick to work this morning. My throat's a little sore. Otherwise, if it's not a cold, it's possibly a combination of the smog and the drastic temperature changes between the sweltering heat outside and the air conditioning inside which is doing me in at the moment. Apparently, it's been very comfortable in Vancouver recenty according to my brother who recently transplanted himself there. Vancouver, how I envy you.

Birds and Bees

concert review: Snailhouse w/ Julie Doiron, vitaminsforyou (as part of Wavelength) @ Sneaky Dee's(Toronto, Ontario), June 26, 2005

This show was my inaugural Wavelength show and only the second time I'd been to Sneaky Dee's. A Sunday night show is really hard to justify going to since I'm usually wiped at the end of the weekend and I have to drive down from Mississauga but since I wasn't working the next day and the lineup for the show was great, going to this show was a no-brainer.

Another selling point for this show was opener vitaminsforyou who I'd only discovered a couple of days ago. In particular, his cover of The Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go" done in an electro-pop style was so intoxicating. vitaminsforyou is really just one guy behind a barrage of keyboards and laptop screens. With the colourful screen projections behind him, vitaminsforyou exuded a confidence and enthusiasm that made the set more interesting. I think it helped that rather than hide behind his keyboards, he chose to turn his equipment setup towards the left side of the stage which physically opened him up to the audience. It was cool to see him groove to his own beats. Musically, he touched upon 80's electro-pop influences, hip-hop beats, and more atmospheric synth soundscapes. His songs had a way of starting off softly but would gradually grow in intensity by adding layers of beats, synths, and vocals. Actually, his music reminded me alot of Junior Boys, and like them, vitaminsforyou puts a bit of humanity back into electronic music.

I was really anxious to see Julie Doiron. Man, it's really been too long. I've unfortunately missed her swings through Toronto over the years and I think the last time I saw her live was sometime in the mid to late 90's when I believe she was still under the Broken Girl moniker. The crowd grew quite rapidly for Julie Doiron's set, and although I wasn't quite up front, thankfully most spectactors near the stage decided to sit on the floor which left me with a great view of the stage. Half the charm of Julie is her humble and quite endearing spoken manner. She thanked the audience every chance she could and was quite taken back by everyone that came out to see the show yesterday night. She started the set off solo accompanying her modest vocals with her spare electric guitar playing. There was a sad and innocent tone to her music that was really beautiful. Mike Feuerstack aka Snailhouse, came out later on to provide accompaniment with additional vocals and guitar which complimented Julie's musical style quite nicely. By the enthusiastic response of the crowd at the end of the set, I think the crowd appreciated her the most.

By the time Snailhouse's set rolled around it was about twenty minutes after midnight and the crowded had thinned out a bit, perhaps because it was getting late. To return the favour, Julie joined Mike for his set. Julie had joked during her set she'd have to learn how to be a guitar player for Mike's set. Although, Julie and Mike share the same vulnerable, forlorn vocal style, their guitar playing's quite different. In comparison to Julie's modest guitar style, Mike's style is quite accomplished as he finger-picked and guitar-picked rich, melodic arrangements. The new song "Birds and Bees" was wonderful as Mike and Julie's vocals beautifully meshed together, interwoven with the desolate melody that drove the song. Really, it just makes your heart ache. It's this quality that embraced the Snailhouse set. As much as I like the solo format, I'd be interested in hearing fleshed out band versions of these tunes some time in the future. Next time perhaps. Unfortunately, as Mike took the stage for an encore, I had to duck out to catch the TTC, but Snailhouse's main set was a more than sufficient example of his awe-worthiness. [photos]
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Watch 12 webcast performances from this year's Glastonbury including The La's and New Order. [link from the tear that hangs inside my soul forever]

Elvis Costello will be releasing a video compilation of 27 of his music videos entitled "The Right Spectacle: The Very Best of Elvis Costello". It is due out on September 6th and will also include 70 minutes of rare archive television footage. Go over to Soul Shine Magazine for more info and the track listing.

Read reviews/comments of the Modest Mouse/Broken Social Scene Olympic Island show over at broken telephone. nippleholic also gives a rundown of the show. Apparently, all of BSS's ladies(Emily, Amy, and Leslie) were there. I'm dying! Of all BSS shows to have missed.

On the other hand...Broken Social Scene will be headlining a FREE opening celebrations concert for this year's Celebrate Toronto Street Fest! It goes down at Yonge-Dundas Square on Friday July 8th and Broken Social Scene go on at 10 pm. Read the press release for more info. [thanks to a post over at stillepost.ca for pointing this out!]

And lastly, congrats to my nephew for graduating from elementary school tonight. Having not been to anyone's graduation for a while, I forgot how optimistic things are made out to be. Man, if they only knew. ;-)

I Will Internalize

Martha Wainwright performed a live session for BBC 6 Music's Gideon Coe last Thursday June 23rd. You can listen to it here[fast forward to around the 20:40:00 mark). (Although I've mentioned before that sessions are archived, I've actually noticed that they're not archiving every performance so check out Martha's performance while you can because the program is only archived for a week.) Martha played nice acoustic versions of her newest single "When The Day Is Short" as well as a song that isn't on her recent record called "So Many Friends".

Also, according to Martha's mailing list, she is scheduled to peform a live session for BBC Radio 2's Janice Long on June 28th, at 9 pm London, England time[which is 3 pm EST]. The session will hopefully be archived in the near future. [photo at left from http://../]

Stars will be performing a live session for BBC 6 Music's Gideon Coe on June 28th. Sessions start around the 20:40:00 mark(about 8:40 pm London, England time or about 2:40 pm Eastern Standard Time).

Watch the 'riveting' second episode of Joe Pernice's "Cribs".

Stephen Malkmus will be performing a live session for Morning Becomes Eclectic tomorrow, June 27th. Listen online at 11:15 am PST[2:15 pm EST].

Sherri Wood of The Toronto Sun offers a list of 10 artists who should have been taking part in Live 8.

As you may have noticed, the right sidebar's changed slightly with the addition of 1)a list of concerts I'm going to or planning to go to in the future as well as 2)a different graphics style for the CD's that are 'In Rotation' on my CD player. These are hopefully baby steps towards a new site design in the future. Man, does it need it.

Between The Click Of The Light And The Start Of The Dream

Thanks to John Sakamoto(of The Toronto Star) for his column The Anti-Hit List for pointing me towards vitaminsforyou who gives The Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go" a totally nifty electro-pop makeover. Here is his official website. vitaminsforyou's tour schedule shows that the Winnepegger'll be performing at Sneaky Dee's in Toronto this Sunday June 26th with Julie Doiron and Snailhouse. Check out the streaming audio samples at his MySpace site. Update: Download an mp3 of vitaminsforyou's cover of "No Cars Go" courtesy of The New Black[via (((plectrum))) via Technorati]. [photo from http://../]

The final issue of Sponic Zine, the Summer Solstice Edition, is now online.

The Globe and Mail poses 7 questions to Sleater Kinney's Carrie Brownstein.

Be sure to check out Vancouver indiepop-pers Bella whose interview with Going Coastal will air on television tomorrow night(June 26th, 11 pm EST) on Muchmusic.

Canada Day comes early this weekend if you live in New York City with:

Celebrate Brooklyn Festival - Canada in New York!
Saturday, June 25, 2005 - 7:30 pm
The New Pornographers
Stars
The Sadies

Central Park SummerStage - Canada Day!
Sunday, June 26, 2005 - 3:00 pm
Tegan and Sara
Ron Sexsmith
Kyle Riabko
East Village Opera Company

Atta Girl

concert review: Bettie Serveert w/ Driveway @ Horseshoe Tavern(Toronto, Ontario), June 22, 2005

I went to the Horseshoe yesterday to see Bettie Serveert. I considered myself really lucky to see them this past February at the same venue, after it had apparently been nine years since they had played Toronto. Now, a mere four months later, the band has yet again chosen to grace Toronto with their presence. The show had been advertised as openers, Driveway going on at 9:30 pm, but unfortunately their set didn't get going until after 10 pm. I didn't expect much from this non-descript looking Toronto band but they had some nice musical moments. I'm not entirely convinced though. When they were good, they reminded me of the country-rock tendencies of say Jay Farrar and Son Volt. However, at other times they dropped the country-rock approach for a more radio-friendly pop-rock sound which just left me with a bad Hootie-and-the-Blowfish after taste. Sorry guys. I say stick with the country rock and the pedal steel guitar. Even if it was jokingly, the lead vocalist did say that the pedal steel guitarist sold his soul to the devil to learn how to play pedal steel.

It's such dumb luck that Toronto gets two Bettie Serveert shows within the span of four months. So where was everyone yesterday? It's a shame that yesterday night's Bettie Serveert show was so criminally underattended, because the band played an enthusiastic set despite the low attendance. It's hard for me to gage how many people were in attendance but let's just say that I had no trouble getting to the front of the stage and once there I had plenty of elbow room. Fortunately, at least people came to stand in the floor area near the stage to give the appearance that there was more people there. This time around the band played some songs they hadn't played last time including "Ray Ray Rain"(off "Lamprey") and "What Friends?"(off "Dust Bunnies") which I was so happy to hear. Here's the setlist. This show was a mored toned down affair that their last Toronto outing. Peter the guitarist showed less guitar theatrics this time around and the keyboardist didn't rock out as much either. Even then the enthusiasm was in their faces which was really appreciated by the crowd. Carol looked as sexy as ever in her white top and slacks and her smoky, raspy vocals were as alluring as her looks. I can't say much more than I had in my review of their show in February, but I do encourage you to definitely check them out if and when they come back to Toronto. [photos]
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A Feist live session from June 21st in Los Angeles is availabe at purelivegigs.com. I haven't downloaded it yet but I believe it's the session Feist did for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. The pesky torrent's not recognizing my Bittorrent client. Can anyone recommend another torrent client to use?

Just read the June 22/05 news update at Tag Team Media which states that Feist will be performing live(in what I believe is her US late night television debut) on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on July 7th!!!!!

The Montreal Mirror speaks with their recent issue's cover girl, Feist who'll be playing the Spectrum in Montreal on June 30th, then the following day at Harbourfront in Toronto for a free Canada Day show.

The new[July/August 2005] issue of Magnet will feature cover boys, Husker Du, who along with The Replacements will be featured in an article detailing "The Rise And Fall Of The 80's Scene".

Friends of Stars, including Caribou, Junior Boys, Broken Social Scene, The Dears, and Metric will all be contributing remixes of songs off of Stars' "Set Yourself On Fire" for a remix album to be released this fall, says Pitchfork.

View Magazine speaks with Julie Doiron. She'll be playing in Toronto with Snailhouse, first for an in-store at Soundscapes on Sunday June 26th at 3pm then later that night she and Snailhouse will be playing Wavelength at Sneaky Dee's.

Stand Inside Your Love

Thanks to Oh, Summer Life for pointing me towards the news that the Smashing Pumpkins are reforming. Billboard details the power struggles and events that led to the disbandment of the group. At this point in my life, I'm far from being fanatic about them anymore. The height of my fanaticism for Smashing Pumpkins started with "Siamese Dream" in the early 90's when I was in university and it continued with "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness". I was always a fan of their more mellow material including songs such as "Disarm", "1979", "Perfect", the Darcy-sung "Daydream", "Stand Inside Your Love", and the orchestral "Tonight, Tonight". Yeah, their heavier material was nifty too, but call me a softy, their mellower, quieter material is where it's at. Billy Corgan's intentions are to "renew and revive" the Pumpkins and I hope he means all four original members(or if D'Arcy can't make it, Melissa Auf Der Maur will do just fine).

Listen to/watch the archived live session Feist did for Morning Becomes Eclectic yesterday. It was Feist solo accompanying herself on guitar. She started the session off with her wonderful cover of Ron Sexsmith's "Secret Heart", and it shreds her version of the song on her album to pieces. Then, with her "fake jazz chords", she played a stunning version of "Gatekeeper". She played a song that I wasn't familiar with after that. Great versions of "Mushaboom" and "Let It Die" followed. She played a new song called "Intuition"(around the 35 min mark) which'll be on the next record she said. Around the 39 min mark[which I believe is an 'extra' performance not aired during the original Morning Becomes Eclectic broadcast yesterday], there's a performance of Feist performing an acoustic version of her cover of the Bee Gees' "Inside And Out". Can't wait for this session to turn up on dimeadozen.org.

More Cowbell has news that Evan Dando is going on tour. Some west coast Canadian dates have been announced in July as well as some mid-west US dates. I'm assuming he'll eventually make his way to Toronto.

The Dears' Natalia Yanchak kept a tour diary of her band's US/Canada May-June tour. The anonymous comment which says "natalia is the sexiest musician in canada" is not me(I swear), but man, do I agree. Gotta control myself...after all, she is pregnant(see June 10 tour diary entry).

The Hot Rock

concert review: Sleater Kinney w/ Dead Meadow @ Phoenix Concert Theatre(Toronto, Ontario), June 18, 2005

I made it out to the Sleater Kinney show this past Saturday after passing on going to see Sloan at the Burlington Sound of Music Festival. Sloan will undoubtedly play around the Golden Horseshoe again, but who knows when Sleater Kinney'll come back. I almost-literally left it till the last minute(more like an hour before the show) before I picked up a ticket at Rotate This. Surprisingly, it wasn't sold out. First good news of the day. I made it to the Phoenix in plenty of time to catch openers, Dead Meadow's set. The trio, who I assumed were playing songs off their most recent CD, "Feathers" were better than I expected, although not my cup of tea. There was a sludge-rock vibe to them that reminded me a bit of Dinosaur Jr. with a hint of 60's psychedelia thrown in for good measure. I prefer my 'rock' more on the post-punk, and sometimes the garage rock side of the spectrum. Had Dead Meadow's music leaned more towards the melodicism of Dinosaur Jr at least, I'd have been more convinced. Although the the big drums/heavy bass/guitar-solo infused music of Dead Meadow was decent it's not something I'd go back to very often. Next.

Preceding Sleater's Kinney's entrance to the stage, the lights dimmed and sound effects of chirping birds emanated from the darkness, I guess in reference to the title of their new cd "The Woods". When the girls crept from the darkness of the backstage door, they were met with an enthusiastic response from the crowd. I can't be any help in the song-names department since I haven't really listened to them that much in the past[anyone have a set list? Update: Zoilus has the set list as well as a review of the show!]. The girls started off in heavy rock fashion with blistering drum fills from drummer Janet Weiss and some heavy guitar arrangements from Carrie and Corin. I'd have to assume they were songs off the most recent CD. As the set wore on, the more familiar angular guitar arrangements and melodies appeared. There was some nice guitar interplay between Carrie and Corin, Corin focusing on more complex guitar-picked arrangements, while Carrie was all about the barre chord. Meshed together it was absolutely fantastic. I can't think of anything more than Carrie's warble which defines Sleater Kinney's sound, and her vocal delivery played off Corin's urgent vocals was pretty awesome. As SHOT mentioned, the band played a lengthy jam during one of the songs, which normally isn't my thing, but was tolerable if not mesmerizing. What the set lacked in stage banter, was made up by the totally awesome musical pummelling. These girls can rock but with just the right dose of pop to make things go down easier. I'm a little disappointed that the closest thing they have to a 'hit', "You're No Rock N' Roll Fun" they DIDN'T play, but other than that misstep the set was awesome. [photos]
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If you can't get enough of Sleater Kinney, just a reminder but they'll be on Late Show With David Letterman on June 27th.

Feist will be performing a live session for Morning Becomes Eclectic tomorrow June 21st. Listen online at 11:15 am PST[2:15 pm EST].

Pitchfork reports that The White Stripes have added more tour dates, including dates that'll bring 'em to Toronto at The Molson Ampitheatre and Montreal at the Bell Centre on September 16h and 17th respectively. And just think, the last time The White Stripes played these parts was the fuckin' Hershey Centre in Mississauga.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives will be bringing their brand of psychedelic rock for a club date at the Horseshoe on July 6th, tickets $20.00, on sale tomorrow. [note: They are opening Robert Plant's show at the Molson Ampitheatre the same night and the Horseshoe gig is the afterparty.]

Britain's The Cranes will be at Lee's Palace on September 15th.

Secretly Canadian artist Scout Niblett will be returning to Toronto for a gig at the Horseshoe on August 1st. [from Pollstar]

Catbirdseat[June 20, 2005 post] has news of a couple of new Final Fantasy related 7-inches to be released in July and August. And as Catbirdseat mentioned in his June 17, 2005 post, The New Pornographers' new album has been leaked...I have the sucker sitting on my hard drive in mp3 format just begging to be listened to but I'm afraid of spoiling the impact of it's official release by listening to it now. Ah, it's killing me.

The Arcade Fire performed a fantastic version of "Rebellion(Lies)" yesterday at the Muchmusic MMVA's. Making the most of that cramped interior stage, the band was spot on musically. The sleeping marching band, lying on the ground dormant for most of the song, and rising(figuratively and literally) to the occasion towards the end was a nice touch. As the marching band marched out onto the sidewalk, the members of The Arcade Fire followed in procession with Owen and Sarah trailing behind, playing their violins as the last remnants of the song echoed over the crowd. It was such a sublime performance. Too bad most of the crowd couldn't care less. Watch the video here.

And I've Never Seen Anyone Quite Like You Before

The photo at left of a group of girls in school girl uniforms isn't just a mere ploy to gain more readership. [Ok, maybe it is.] Yesterday, I watched "D.E.B.S.". The film focuses on a squad of four girls who are part of secret national defense agency called D.E.B.S. For the public, the organization's taken on the persona of a girls school academy. Hence, the images of girls in school girl uniforms that occur throughout the film. Is there a "The Fast and Furious" connection to this movie? Jordana Brewster is even more gorgeous in "D.E.B.S." than she was in "The Fast and The Furious" and the adorable and sexy Devon Aoki appeared in "2 Fast 2 Furious". "D.E.B.S." is generally lighthearted entertainment, with nods to "Charlie's Angels" and those sort of teen comedies like "Clueless". For all the gratuitous shots of girls in schoolgirl kilts, a few decent but ineffectual action sequences, and the general satirical sheen that drapes the movie, there's actually quite a tender love story[albeit, a lesbian one] between a D.E.B.[Amy played by Sara Foster] and Jordana Brewster's 'villainous' character Lucy Diamond that provides the film it's backbone. Ok, lesbian girls = hot. However[and this is where I show my sensitive side], the relationship was so innocently portrayed that it really tugs at the heart, none so much displayed than during a montage of of the two girls which has New Order's "Temptation" playing in the background. Further on there's also a montage showing Jordana's character lip-synching along to Erasure's "A Little Respect". Running at an efficient 91 minutes, "D.E.B.S." is a wholly satisfying movie.
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SHOT has the lowdown on the new Hidden Cameras album(entitled "Awoo") as well as an upcoming 4-song 7-inch(entitled "Learning the Lie"). And what's this news about a three-night Toronto stint for The Hidden Cameras?!

Filter reported several days ago that Esthero announced US tour dates for July. I have no doubt Toronto'll show up down the line, but I just hope we won't have to wait till the fall.

Slant speaks to Martha Wainwright. Also here's a torrent of Martha's show recently on June 14th in Los Angeles at the El Rey Theatre.

A Pavement reunion could happen maybe in five years, Stephen Malkmus tells chartattack.

On the other end of the reunion spectrum, Bob Mould tells Billboard, don't hold your breath for a Husker Du reunion.

Spoon'll be performing a live session for KEXP later on today at 3:00 pm PST or 6:00 pm EST.

There'll be an encore presentation tonight of Ted Leo's show at The Mod Club last December 2004. Listen to Wired for Sound on CKLN 88.1 FM in Toronto. Or online. Saturday midnight EST.

In Ontario, There's A Light Snow Falling Down

For whatever reason, it slipped through my radar that The Pernice Brothers' new disc "Discover A Lovelier You" was released this week. I'm pretty psyched about the band returning(or in Joe's case, coming back home) to Toronto for a show at Lee's Palace on July 18th. thus spake drake has the Cliff Notes(Coles Notes, if you're in Canada) version of The Pernice Brothers' career complete with an 'essential' Joe Pernice playlist he's compiled and which he's synched up with Rhapsody. Bars and Guitars says he'll be posting a review of the new album for Stylus which should be up this week but in the meantime he's posted an mp3 of "My So-called Celibate Life" from the new album which is absolutely wonderful. Check out that echo-ey guitar at the beginning of the song. Kinda reminds me of Aztec Camera, although the vocals are pure Joe. [photo from http://../]

I bought my ticket a couple of days ago for the Teenage Fanclub show at The Mod Club in Toronto on July 25th. In the meantime, The Oak Room points towards an mp3 of a great cover of Teenage Fanclub's "Radio" done by The Comas. It glides along smoothly sounding a bit like a more uptempo Mojave 3, at least until towards the end of the song where things sound a little spacey.

From pop(all love), he says that Feist will be taping a Bravo performance on June 27th, and he grasps the possibility of her attending the Modest Mouse/Broken Social Scene co-headlining show at Olympic Island the day before. Hey, now I'm excited!

View Magazine speaks with consummate sensitive singer-songwriter, Michael Feuerstack, aka Snailhouse.

Here's an interesting article from New Times writer Jordan Harper who takes aim at 2005's most-hyped bands and how we'll see them when the 'hype goggles' are taken off. The Arcade Fire escapes major punishment but only barely. [link from One Louder]

Prefix has Part One of its interview with British Sea Power. Part Two will be posted on their site on Friday.

Finally good news for Lee's Palace concert-goers. As you might notice at the Lee's Palace website, it indicates towards the bottom of the 'Coming Soon' page that "After July 1st, 2005, Door times from SUNDAY to THURSDAY will now be 8:00 PM. They will remain 9:00 PM on FRIDAY n SATURDAY". So I e-mailed Lee's Palace yesterday to clarify if they meant shows would start earlier(ie. Sunday to Thursday, openers on around 9 pm, which it logically follows that headliners would come on earlier than they had in the past) and they responded that, yes, this is the case. Wow, this is really good news! Imagine going to a Lee's Palace show on Sunday night or weeknight and actually getting out a decent time now. No more having to sleep only 4 hours before having to go to work the next morning. I am so psyched!

I Want Money(That's What I Want)

SHOT contributes some interesting commentary on the continuing indie-yuppie debate. I'm primarily interested in the economic perspective of this debate. This whole indie-yuppie thing isn't new in my opinion. It's been going on for years in one form or another, and really maybe the only difference today is the technological factor(ie.internet, mp3 players, etc). The indie-yuppie tag reminds me of the character Jimmy in "Quadrophenia" who works a 9-to-5 job for 'The Man' in order to finance his Mod lifestyle after work and on the weekend. I think the only difference between Jimmy and an indie-yuppie nowadays is that Jimmy hated his job and worked purely as a source of income to finance his lifestyle whereas someone today working a comfortable-paying job likely enjoys(for the most part) his job as well as reaps its financial benefits in order to finance a lifestyle that he/she strives for. As a consumer of indie culture(specifically indie music) myself since the mid 90's, I've always been thinking, how-the-fuck are you suppose to afford the exorbitant prices for indie music releases unless you work a comfortable-paying job? My job has afforded me the opportunity to go to concerts and buy CD's but my interest in this culture was early-born and genuinely heartfelt and is not an extension of a yuppie self-centeredness. [photo from http://../]

Hey just saw over at eye that City Field(w/ The Disraelis, SS Cardiacs) will be playing the Silver Dollar in Toronto next week on June 21st. City Field are greattttt!!!!

eye does the ol' Q & A with Sleater Kinney who'll be playing The Phoenix this Saturday. NOW also speaks with the ladies.

The Los Angeles Times speaks with The Go-Betweens who've returned to the US after a fifteen year absence. I picked up The Go-Betweens' "Liberty Belle And The Black Di" in a discout bin yesterday and have been basking in its wonderfulness. Their newest CD "Oceans Apart" is now looking tempting.

Not-so-'Broken Girl', Julie Doiron speaks with The Ottawa Sun. [link from Largehearted Boy]

A post at stillepost.ca says that the previously TBA venue for the Of Montreal show in Toronto on August 30th has now been confirmed for Lee's Palace.

Electric Version

Pitchfork reports on The New Pornographers' upcoming fall tour. Um, still no Toronto date but as Pitchfork points out, there are some holes in the schedule and that it's safe to assume that more dates are to come. By my looks of their new tour dates, my best guess for a Toronto date would be after the Chicago date on October 20th. Now that's just too long of a wait. [photo from http://../]

chartattack reviews The Dears show at The Phoenix in Toronto from last Friday June 10th.

Juliana Hatfield's official website is listing the release of her upcoming CD "Made In China" for sometime this August through her own label, Ye Olde Records.

Feist is performing a live session for KEXP today[June 15th], 4 pm PST or 7 pm EST. Be sure to listen online. And a reminder[mark this on your calendars], Feist will be performing a live session for Morning Becomes Eclectic on June 21st.

One Louder points out that you can download a six song acoustic set from Broken Social Scene, recorded in Paris at Radio Aligre, on their digital boutique, galleryac.com. Download the whole thing for $10.92.

Yesterday's Ted Leo/Pharmacists live session is now up at MPR 89.3 The Current. You can listen here.

Keren Ann will be performing a live session for Morning Becomes Eclectic today[June 15th]. The show broadcasts at 11:15 am PST or 2:15 pm EST.

Here's a torrent of a live show from Kathleen Edwards at Academy 3 in Liverpol, England on April 15, 2005.

Surreal moment of the day: being in Futureshop and hearing M.I.A's "Bucky Done Gun" blasting through a stereo system!

Ok, so for the next three years I'll be working in my new cellphone. My old Nokia conked out on me a couple of days ago. I was only a Pay-As-You-Go user. Actually, I only had my Nokia phone since around last September 2004. I'll probably get the old phone fixed through the manufacturer's warranty and give it to my dad. Not that I really got that many phone calls previously but hey, it's got a built-in camera!

We Can Have It

concert review: The Dears w/ Camouflage Nights @ Phoenix Concert Theatre(Toronto, Ontario), June 10, 2005

Montreal's The Dears made a spectacular return to Toronto last Friday night at The Phoenix Concert Theatre. The opener was former Dears member(and ex-Thrush Hermit member) Rob Benvie's band Camouflage Nights. Camouflage Nights also includes another ex-Thrush Hermit member Ian McGettigan with several other members rounding out the band. They were good energetic openers who seemingly blended a little bit of Thrush Hermit's guitar riff-ery, with a dash of the Dears' prog-rock tendencies[a little melodica on a slower track], a pinch of r'n'b grooves, and a whole lot of disco-punk rhythms. As expected, the off-kilter vocals of Ian and Rob were in full effect and made me nostalgic for the good ol' days of Thrush Hermit. At one point in the set a couple of ladies in horse masks came out to dance at either ends of the stage and subsequently a couple more ladies came onto the stage for a brief slinky dance routine. For the record, the beginning of one song did feature one of the best hand clap arrangements I've ever seen. Good, if not inspiring set, although at the early time of 7 pm, perhaps an unusual time to be listening to the celebratory vibe of Camouflage Nights.

For a moment last Friday, The Dears made me forget about that 'other' Montreal band. The Phoenix show last Friday was the fourth time I've seen The Dears live and arguably the best one yet. I count myself lucky for catching them early in the career several years back when they played the indie stage at Molson Park during Edgefest, then catching their free live show at Yonge-Dundas Square during the Celebrate Toronto Streetfest in 2003 and lastly catching them on their home turf in a small club in Montreal during Pop Montreal 2003. I don't recall if they've played Toronto since then but with the last year or so being quite a defining year for the band abroad and down in the States, this show at The Phoenix was a sort of homecoming. Even Mr. Lightburn acknowledged that Toronto was kind of like a second home for them. Some people think that The Dears are a little boring to watch on stage but I think that the aloofness they present on stage(in particular, Natalie's and Valerie's semi-hypnotic gazes into the audience) is perfectly suited to their epic pop tunes. In fact, the rest of the band worked up quite a sweat. If Murray's vocals have been compared to Morrissey's in the past, one thing that Murray's got over him is emotion. I found this set to be much more musically straightforward and enjoyable than say their jam-heavy set they played at the 2003 Pop Montreal festival which, although enjoyable, probably went on longer than it should have.

I really thought that the luminescent coloured lighting effects were unique and pretty but the lighting also switched gears at times to stark white illumination which presented the band(mainly Murray, Natalie, and Valerie) in a wholey vulnerable light. The music, of course, was equally dramatic, from the solemn "We Can Have It"(ending in the accapella audience singalong of the lyrics "It won't ever be what we want"), the driving "Lost In The Plot", the Continental-sounding "The Second Part", the avant-funk of "Never Destroy Us", and the Gainsbourg-ish duet(and my personal fave) "22: The Death Of All The Romance". The band delved into their first album for awesome renditions of another favourite, "End Of A Hollywood Bedtime Story" and their 'heart'-stopping encore "Heartless Romantic", complete with audience handclap partipation. If The Dears have been accused of being downers, it's the beauty in sadness which really defines them. But really, they're quite happy people, and Murray was even driven to chuckle while he was singing the intro to one song after an audience member blurted out something. I hear that their next album will be their 'happy album', so I guess all's well that ends well. And yes this show truly went very well. [photos from the show]
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Oh my god, that other Montreal band, The Arcade Fire will be performing live this Sunday at Muchmusic's 2005 MMVA's!

The Harbourfront website has thoroughly updated its summer festivals schedules. The T.O. Twang Fest looks interesting with notable performances which include The Sadies, Friday August 12th at 9:30 pm at the CIBC stage and Carolyn Mark the same night at 11 pm in the Brigantine Room. Or how about Ancient Chinese Secret(featuring members of Atomic 7) on Sunday August 13th at 3pm at the Toronto Star stage.

Martha Wainwright will be performing a live session for Morning Becomes Eclectic today[June 14th]. Listen online. [11:15 AM PST, 2:15 PM EST]

Ted Leo/Pharmacists will be performing a live session for MPR 89.3 The Current today[June 14th].

Emiliana Torrini will be performing a live session today[June 14th] on KEXP [12 pm PST of 3 pm EST]. She will be performing this Friday June 17th in Toronto at El Mocambo.

emergelive.com is saying that the Gus Gus date at The Mod Club on July 31st is a DJ set. So, what, no band? Rotate This lists tickets for the event at $16.50 a piece. Does this mean one would pay $16.50 to watch someone spin some records. That seems kinda high for a DJ set.

UK online music zine The Beat Surrender returns with a spiffy new site design.

From Catbirdseat, comes news of a new Jens Lekman compilation, which compiles together the "Maple Leaves", "Rocky Dennis", and "Julie" EPs, along with non-EP tracks "F-Word" and "The Wrong Hands". You can order it here. As mentioned, Mr. Lekman will be performing in Toronto at The Music Gallery on October 18th.

When The Day Is Short

concert review: Martha Wainwright w/ Ridley Bent @ The Mod Club(Toronto, Ontario), June 9, 2005

A last minute decision after work last Thursday and I convinced myself to buy a ticket for Martha Wainwright's show at The Mod Club that night. It was an early show at that and it just happened to be a beautiful summer still-lit evening. Before arriving at The Mod Club for the 7 pm doors that night, I'd just come from seeing a street gig by The New Kings at Queen and Bathurst. From the raucaus rock n' roll of The New Kings, it was nice to follow that up with the far gentler Martha Wainwright.

The crowd was a mixture of indie hipsters, adult contempos and everyone in between it seemed and actually I found it to be one of the friendliest audiences I've encountered in a while, even going so far as to strike up conversations with several people. The opener was Ridley Bent who I knew nothing about. It was just him and his acoustic guitar, Ridley's sort of sing-speak style was interesting and his guitar work was competent. His music was not really folk, nor pop in the conventional sense but it definitely had a quirkiness to it, at one point a song of his mutating into Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice". Maybe that Pixies t-shirt he was wearing was also a giveaway to his quirkiness. His sing-speak vocals started to sound a little samey after a while and honestly I didn't have the urge to run out and buy his CD. I appreciate his talent but his music would have to fall into that category of "not my cup of tea". Next.

If casual listens of her debut CD hadn't convinced me of Martha Wainwright's greatness, then her show at The Mod Club last Thursday was all the convincing I needed. With a band which included the lovely vocals of her cousin(Lily?), Martha led them through a setlist which musically traversed genres. The similarities to her brother Rufus' music were downright obvious in folky-pop numbers like "Far Away", "Factory" and "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole". I was constantly impressed by the beauty of the timbre of her voice. Martha turned up the tempo on numbers like "When The Day Is Short" and encore-pleaser "G.P.T.". Martha performed a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song" and introduced it jokingly as being written by "someone who writes songs more depressing than her own". A highlight for the evening was when most of the band members left the stage and she, along with her keyboardist, performed a wonderful French cabaret-pop number[it's times like these that I wish I had a setlist]. I wasn't initally impressed with the production on her album, but in a live setting her music(for example, a song like "When The Day is Short" which is a pleasant pop song on record) took on a punchiness which was alot more enjoyable.

Martha was dressed in a thrift shop dress and black Converse ultra high-tops folded down and this was pretty indicative of the casualness of the evening. Jumping between musical genres, alternating band member setups, her off-the-cuff remarks to the audience, having to tie her shoelace and tune her guitar constantly, there was a loose, intimate feel to the evening as if she was playing for a group of close friends and family. Having lived in the shadows of her other family members' careers(in particular her brother Rufus) for so long, it's nice to see that talent still runs in the family. ...And Martha, Happy belated Birthday! (We have the same birth day!)[photos]
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Oh no...'tis farewell to Three Gut Records according to the most recent news update at their website. The Constantines' new album, "Tournament of Hearts" will be the last official release for the label. Sorry to see you go just when I was starting to get to know you.

Another one to add to the collection, here's a torrent of a show by The Arcade Fire on May 15, 2005 in Brussels. [from largehearted boy]

As I previously mentioned, Secretly Canadian artists Early Day Miners(with openers Windsor for the Derby) are coming to Hamilton[Aug 20th] and Brockville[Aug 21st] for a couple of shows. The Secretly Canadian site's now showing that the lineup will play a Toronto show on August 19th at Rancho Relaxo(well the SC site actually says 'Ranchero' Relaxo but let's just assume that's a mistake).

SHOT posts his point-by-point rundown of this year's NXNE.

Saint Etienne will be performing a live session for BBC 6 Music's Gideon Coe today. Sessions start around the 20:40:00 mark(about 8:40 London, England time or about 2:40 Eastern Standard Time). Sessions are usually archived in the future.

Coast To Coast

concert review: Bella @ The Drake Hotel(Toronto, Ontario), part of NXNE, June 9, 2005

After the early Martha Wainwright show at The Mod Club this past Thursday(which I'm still planning to share a writeup and photos for) I decided to check out Bella's NXNE set at The Drake Hotel. I'd been diggin' them for just under a month now and I had been happy to find out that the Vancouver-based band was coming to Toronto to play as part of the NXNE festival. This was the band's first time in Toronto. For a young band(younger in person than they looked in their publicity shots) I didn't perceive an ounce of nervousness, although they did a thorough sound check before getting things started. With one EP[or is that LP?(there are 10 songs)] entitled "Pretty Mess" out I think they played just about everything off it, from the New Order-ish "Crystal Tears", featuring one of the best falsettos I've heard in a while, to the beggin'-for-a-horns-remix of "Summer" which is a sunny pop song complete with handclaps and jubilant background vocals. The two female members of the group were on drums and bass guitar. I loved it when the bass guitarist would rest her bass guitar on her thigh and guitar-pick a punchy bass melody. I particulary enjoyed when the drummer pulled out of her arsenal a simple but spectacular sounding New Order-ish high hat/snare drum combination on several songs. New wavey keyboards and programmed beats were featured on some songs giving them a Postal Service feel. Guitar arrangements were simple but effective although I'd have preferred a little more complexity. Vocals alternated between 3 members of the band, although I think the first gent(with the great falsetto on "Crystal Tears") was the best and definitely was the most energetic on stage. Overall, it was a great set and I think they've managed to carve a niche for themselves in the indiepop scene. [photos]
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Jens Lekman will be returning to Toronto for a show at The Music Gallery on October 18th. He'll be playing with singer-songwriter Nedelle. [from Kork]

Also from Kork, Jim Yoshii Pile Up will be at Sneaky Dee's on August 17th. I hadn't heard of these guys until yesterday when I sampled an mp3(of "Silver Sparkler" from their upcoming album "Picks Us Apart") from their web site. Really nice stuff.

Live session later today on MPR 89.3 The Current from Spoon. Or if you're going to Ivy's show tonight at Lee's Palace(which I'm still debating going to), their June 8/05 MPR session has already been archived for your listening pleasure.

I might have been excited about this 10 years ago, but Tori Amos with The Ditty Bops and Imogen Heap will be playing a show at The Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto on August 27th. [from Pollstar]

Power Out

concert review: Electrelane w/ Breaker Breaker at Horseshoe Tavern(Toronto, Ontario), June 8, 2005

Having been impressed with Electrelane when they opened for Ted Leo/Pharmacists last year at the Horseshoe Tavern, I decided to check out Electrelane again who were now headlining this time at the same venue. Not previously known to me, Breaker Breaker were up first. (I believe the original opener was suppose to be Scout Niblett.) Breaker Breaker, at least to my ears, mined the same territory as Death From Above 1979, all buzz-saw guitar(in this case, rather than bass guitar) riffing, ferocious drumming, and urgent vocals, but with the added bonus of wicked keyboards. The keyboardist most of the vocal duties but did hand over the duties to the guitarist for a song or two while their female drummer added some of her own "ba ba ba's" now and then. Honestly, I was only mild impressed although as their set progressed the melodies managed to bubble to the surface with greater frequency, making it a bit more enjoyable.

Me and several others with the same idea, made our way up to the front near the stage for the girls of Electrelane's set. Of course everyone else quickly followed suit. While I'm not really that familiar with their music, I remember liking them a bit more when they opened for Ted Leo last year at the same venue. As I remember they had a bit more of a drone-y, Stereolab-ish quality than they did for this show. Last year the girls were touring in support of their album "The Power Out" and their current tour is in support of their new CD "Axes". I'll have to listen to both and see if there are any differences(Unfortunately, I decided against picking up a CD from the merch table because CD's were twenty bucks?!) From what I do recall, they started out their set with a energetic keyboard-driven instrumental number, that while enjoyable, was less droney and featured more classically influenced keyboard playing. Several other numbers featured the same sort of keyboard playing. Also, from what I do recall, the melodies seemed more subtle, and the emphasis was more on avante garde-ish/post-rock instrumentation. The keyboardist/lead vocalist picked up the saxophone for one number to contribute an avante gard arrangement while the guitarist at times displayed an affinity for Thurston Moore-like guitar sounds. Thankfully, their majority of the set featured more conventional instrumentation primarily from the drummer and bass guitarist, but also from the keyboardist and guitarist. Being up front did help me enjoy their set more, but I was only left mildly impressed due to the only subtle(rather than overt which I'd preferred) emphasis on melody and drone during their set. I say less on the 'Sonic Youth' and more on the 'Stereolab' next time. Both good influences, but I'd prefer the latter over the former any day. [Photos: mind you, the lighting was quite dark and I chose to use my flash only a few times.]
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That's it for today. It's a sauna outside. Air conditioned homes and malls beckon.

Power Out The New Kings

It's been a busy couple of days with alot of shows. In the meantime, here's an Electrelane photo I took at their show at the Horseshoe Tavern on Wednesday. Stay tuned for a review/photos. Update: I decided to change the photo at left(from my original Electrelane photo) to one of The New Kings[read below].

After work yesterday, I went to Soundscapes to try to buy a Martha Wainwright ticket for the show that night (sold out there btw, so I bought a ticket for tonight's The Dears show at The Phoenix instead). After, I headed down to Rotate This and was able to buy a ticket for the Martha Wainwright show at The Mod Club. I was about to head up on the Bathurst St. bus towards College St. and then happened by a free concert by this band called The New Kings. Think garage-y, Blues Explosion-influenced rock n' roll. They were really good. Mighty fine idea, whoever thought of this. Just caught this post over at stillepost.ca. Glad I caught this even if it wasn't as spontaneous as I originally thought it was . The band was playing in the middle of Bathurst St., just south of Queen St, and the band had setup their equipment amidst the construction that was going on. This was really, really cool. I wish things like this would happen more often. Luckily, I had my camera and I got some photos which I'll post later. Update: photos here.

Liz Phair will be going on a short summer acoustic tour, which won't hit Toronto, in advance of her upcoming new album. Check Aversion or Liz Phair's website for tour dates.

With respect to my query last week about Los Angeles-based Marjorie Fair, Pitchfork reports that Capitol Records will release their debut "Self Help Serenade" on July 19th. Marjorie Fair are playing an NXNE showcase tonight in Toronto at Club O.V.'s.

I'll be going to The Dears tonight at The Phoenix and haven't decided whether I'll just head home after that or check out some NXNE shows. Although, I'm leaning against going home since I'm going to The Dears show straight from my work and I have my backpack to lug around. However, that didn't stop me yesterday from going to the Martha Wainwright show at The Mod Club AND then the Bella set at The Drake Hotel. Stay tuned for reviews/photos from those shows. ...Yeah, yeah...Electrelane...Horseshoe...photos/review to come. With the amount of shows I've been checking out, you'd wonder how I do it sometimes. Caffeine does wonders in the morning.

The Love For Me

concert review: Lily Frost @ Yonge-Dundas Square(Toronto, Ontario), June 8, 2005

Perhaps, in keeping with the "Summer Serenade Series"(emphasis on 'Serenade') down at the Yonge-Dundas Square, Lily Frost's show down there today was pretty mellow. Rather than use a full band, Lily Frost was accompanied by By Divine Right's Jose Contrera on guitar and another gentleman on keyboards. Lily looked quite lovely and radiant in her blue dress, with her hair wrapped with a lavender scarf. Lily and her bandmates played a set of atmospheric, slightly jazzy at times, pop tunes that floated along on Lily's delicate voice, Jose's distant-sounding slide guitar, and the respectable keyboard arrangements. I didn't recognize any of the tunes and had to assume that most if not all of them were from her second LP "Situation" which I haven't gotten around to picking up. Unfortunately, because I was on a lunch break from work I was only able to catch about a half hour of her set. When it was time for me to head back to work, she finally performed a song I recognized, which in this case was an understated version of "Who Am I", the original which is off her LP "Lunamarium". I stuck around for the song and am really glad I did. Very nice, indeed. And a very good way to kick off the "Summer Serenade Series". Too bad I don't recognize any of the other artists scheduled to perform during these noon-time concerts. You can catch Lily Frost next at The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto on June 12th, playing with Sarah Slean and John Southworth as part of an Art Benefit. For other tour dates check the official website.[photos]

For your viewing and listening pleasure, Lily Frost multimedia here.
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Sufjan Stevens will be coming back to Toronto on September 10th to play at show at St Pauls Trinity Church. Ticket info TBA. [info from billions]

Icelandic musical group Gus Gus, who haven't been to Toronto in ages, will be returning for a show at The Mod Club on July 31st. [from emergelive.com]

I was just perusing the Edge concert listings and saw that Holly Golightly will be returning to Toronto for a show at the Horseshoe Tavern on July 20th. 19+ show, tickets $12.50 at Ticketmaster, Rotate This and Soundscapes. The Horseshoe Tavern website verifies the show date.

Also going to be at the Horseshoe are Wintersleep who will be there for a show on July 21st, tickets $8.00.

I'll be going to the Electrelane/Breaker Breaker show tonight at the Horseshoe. There'll be an interview with Electrelane tomorrow night on CBC radio program Brave New Waves. Grab this torrent of an Electrelane live set from 2003-07-10 in London, England.[torrent link via Largehearted Boy]