No Kinda Man

Phew! Back in business. My computer was on the fritz(I hate viruses!) for a few days but I got it working again.

Canadian Music Week's coming up next week. I put in a request for media accreditation to see if I could get a free media pass/wristband but I haven't heard anything back from them(yet). Regardless, I still plan to attend a few CMW events next week. In affilliation with CMW, Soundscapes is hosting some free instores featuring Immaculate Machine on March 6 at 5 pm, Laura Barrett on March 8 at 4 pm, and the already previously announced Forest City Lovers on March 9 at 4 pm.

The Pop Montreal and Unfamiliar Records/Musebox CMW showcases look interesting. Check out the posters here and here respectively.

Nathan Lawr and The Minotaurs bring their rootsy rock n' roll to The Boat on March 30.

The east coast's Ruth Minnikin and Her Bandwagon play the Horseshoe Tavern on May 27. A to-be-released new song, a playful pop romp entitled "Sleeping And Dreaming" streams over at her MySpace.

Junior Boys will be performing a DJ set at Pia Bouman Ballet School on March 15 according to their MySpace. It's a night-time gig according to the time specified on their MySpace. The gig's related to the release of their first ever DJ compilation "Body Language Volume 6" from which new song "No Kinda Man" appears on and can currently be heard over at their MySpace.

I'm assuming taking time out from recording the new Metric album, frontwoman Emily Haines and her band The Soft Skeleton will be playing a show of their own at the Phoenix on March 30, tickets $26.50.

Female rap trio Northern State play what I believe is their first headlining show in Toronto at The Mod Club on April 27, tickets $16.

Erin recently saw Jens Lekman live in Denmark who admitted to her afterwards that the only reason he hadn't been to Toronto in a long time was that "... he could only play in churches and that he needed a work permit or something, to be there...I don't know. He said it was ridiculously expensive or something, but he is playing in the USA soon. He was such a sweet heart." It comes as no surprise that with the announcement of more tour dates, there's still no Toronto date. Sweet heart, my ass.

In A Moment

Ray Davies @ HMV(333 Yonge St., Toronto), February 22, 2008

I could throw around statements like 'The Kinks made an indelible mark on pop music' and 'Ray Davies is one of the greatest songwriters of our generation' but honestly and ashamedly I'm not that familiar with Ray and The Kinks aside from some of their singles and via covers of their songs by other artists. I would assume more that a few Kinks albums would be found in any good record collection(I could only imagine the entire Kinks discography might be found in that music collection that sold on eBay for 3 million dollars recently). My sole Kinks album is a budget CD compilation I picked up at Walmart a few years back - actually, at 20 songs and a good selection of tunes at that, it's a great compilation. With that sort of casual familiarity I still know a good thing when I hear it. Isn't "Waterloo Sunset" one of the most heart-achingly beautiful songs you've ever heard?

Even with the lack of publicity for Ray Davies' instore at HMV in downtown Toronto last week it was a surprisingly crowded audience, with a good contingent of his older fans there mixed in with younger fans. The performace took place at the top of the stairs that led up to the second floor of the store. And it was on those stairs that finally Ray and a guitarist made their way to the second floor as they were introduced to a throng of applause. Jokingly, Ray said maybe he should have made an entrance with some smoke and effects but it wasn't in the budget.

Unfortunately no photo evidence of the instore from myself as at the time I was forced to accept my defeat for not showing up early enough to get a better spot. As brief as the set was, it turned out to be as uplifting as any other show I've seen in a while. I'm just happy that I got to hear Mr. Davies live and in person in such an intimate setting. Rolling out tunes from his most recent solo effort "Workman's Cafe" he performed "Vietnam Cowboys", the title track and a third song which were as effective as anything I've heard from him. He ended off with The Kinks' "Lola"(complete with chorus singalong and handclaps from the dedicated) although I'm pretty sure I recalled he said he'd play a COUPLE of Kinks tunes but whatever.

For more reviews/photos from the instore check out Thick Specs, Chromewaves, and It's Not The Band I Hate...

Video: Ray Davies - "Lola" (clip - live at HMV 333 Yonge St. Toronto - Feb 22, 2008)
Video: Ray Davies - "In A Moment" (live on Letterman show - Feb 19, 2008)
Video: Ray Davies - "Working Man's Cafe" (live on Regis and Kelly show - Feb 20, 2008)
MySpace: Ray Davies
:
:
Congratulations to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for winning yesterday an Academy Award for Best Original Song In A Movie for their song "Falling Slowly" which appeared in the film "Once" . By this time, I must be the last person to have not seen the film yet but I hope to get around to it sooner or later. The song is lovely. Interesting observation from The Rich Girls Are Weeping about yesterday's Academy Awards - to quote the Girls, "It was kind of the weirdest, most "indie" Oscars ever, what with Tilda Swinton's win (woo!) and the Coen brothers cleaning up and Diablo Cody (née Brooke Busey-Hunt, which is a name with infinitely more caché) not wearing hosiery in front of millions of people." Yeah, it was that kind of Oscars - it's a shame I haven't seen most of the films nominated other than "I'm Not There" for which Cate Blanchett didn't win the Best Supporting Actress award for. But back to Glen and Marketa - wasn't it nice of host Jon Stewart to give some time to Marketa to say her thank-you's. Relive their moments below:

Video: Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly (OSCARS 2008)
Video: Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova - Oscar acceptance speeches

Jam Showbiz reviews The Cowboy Junkies' 20th Anniversary Trinity Sessions' show at Massey Hall that took place over the weekend. Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star also reviews the show. The show was taped by CBC Radio 2 and will be aired on May 11/08.

Via Kat at Muchmusic, Radiohead is apparently coming to Toronto on August 15 for a show at Molson Ampitheatre. I have no reason not to believe her but I guess we'll have to wait and see. A mid-August outdoor show would be perfect though; I'd even be happy with lawn seating.

Till The End Of The Day

Ray Davies will be at HMV(33 Yonge St.) in Toronto TODAY at 6 pm for an instore promoting his newest album "Working Man's Cafe" released late last year.[info via Bookie] And yes, even he has a MySpace. Ray's been making the talk show rounds. He appeared on Letterman on February 19/08 and the following day on Regis and Kelly. The Regis and Kelly clips on YouTube(which you can view below) and hopefully the Letterman clip will pop up on YouTube or the Late Show site in the near future:

Video: Ray Davies - "Lola" (live on Regis and Kelly - Feb 20, 2008)

Swedish artist El Perro Del Mar returns to Toronto for a show at The Mod Club on May 11 with fellow Swede Lykke Li opening. Tickets $15, onsale now at Soundscapes. El Perro Del Mar's upcoming new album "From The Valley To The Stars" is streaming at her MySpace for a week[starting February 20] and will be released officially in the US on April 22. Lykke Li's debut album "Youth Novels" was recently released and can be purchased here.

News via Brookly Vegan, Minus The Bear with The Big Sleep and Portugal The Man are touring together and will stop in Toronto for a show at The Opera House on April 1.

The triple DJ bill of A-Trak, Sinden, and Steve Aoki are at The Mod Club on April 11. Via The Windish Agency

Pollstar is listing Junior Boys at Pia Bouman Ballet School in Toronto on March 15. Anyone know if this is a confirmed date or just one of many examples of Pollstar's inaccuracies?

Speaking of unconfirmed, what's the deal with The Verve at Ricoh Coliseum on May 1st? The date showed up on a Ticketmaster.ca e-mail update recently but the show's not listed on Ticketmaster.ca anymore.

Listen to Tegan and Sara's live acoustic session for BBC 6 Music's George Lamb show they did on February 20, 2008. The session is about 1 hour and 40 minutes into the program and I think the program's only archived for a week. Their most recent album "The Con" was JUST released in the UK(as opposed to 7 months ago when the album was released in North America). So maybe now the Brits know how North Americans feel having to wait so long for those precious Brit releases to be release domestically over here. Hah.

Soundscapes

Of no doubt interest to some of you regarding the upcoming Canadian Music Week festival, the Paquin Entertainment showcase at the Rivoli on March 6 will feature Julie Doiron at 9 pm and Jenn Grant and The Night Painters at 10 pm. If you don't catch Jenn that day you can catch her at the same venue on March 8 at 10 pm as part of the Music Nova Scotia showcase. Also, the venerable Murderecords label will relaunch with a showcase of it's own during CMW at Supermarket with Will Currie And The Country French at 9:20 PM, Pony Da Look at 10:20 PM, Meligrove Band at 11:20 PM, and of course label founders Sloan at 12:20 pm - tickets $12 in advance and $15 at the door(although I would not hold my breath for tickets at the door).

As Mike Feuerstack aka Snailhouse gets ready to release the newest Snailhouse album "Lies On The Prize" (which if I interpret correctly the current news item at his website that he's found a label to release the new album) he's lined up some select east coast gigs for March and April which will culminate in Toronto for a show(with Toronto's Sandro Perri) at the Tranzac on April 30. I'm assuming that some of the songs streaming at his MySpace listed as 'unreleased' will be included on the new album.

BlogTO interviews Soundscapes founder Greg Davis about the store's popularity with discriminating music lovers.

NME reports that several artists have been lined up for a series of gigs organised by iTunes live. The gigs will take place from February 21 to March 2 at AIR Studios, Lyndhurst Hall, London and will feature artists playing acoustic collaborations with selected guests. Check NME for the full lineup info but more excitingly look forward for the recordings to be available for purchase from iTunes in the future. (via Pitchfork)

To fill out the rest of this post, I thought I'd link to some choice musical YouTube finds as of late:

Basia Bulat performs a live cover of Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You In The End" in Chicago at Schubas on February 7, 2008. You can watch the video below. Just a reminder that she returns for a local show at Lee's Palace, along with Amos The Transparent, and Katie Stelmanis on March 29:

Video: Basia Bulat - "True Love Will Find You In The End" (live Daniel Johston cover at Schubas in Chicago - Feb 7, 2008)

Goldfrapp performs "A&E" live on UK television on Feb 16, 2008. Watch the video below:

Video: Goldfrapp - "A&E" (live on UK TV - Feb 16, 2008)

I was watching The Hour this evening. Host George Stromboloupolous is hosting The Hour from London, England all this week and reminded viewers that the Brit Awards will be broadcast on CBC television in Canada this Thursday and he offers his personal choice for British Single of the year which British residents can vote for. Strombo's pick for British single of the year(of the top five listed) is Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse and their cover of The Zutons' "Valerie". Sure, it's the only single of the five listed I'm actually familiar with(although I'm pretty sure I've heard that Mika song) but it's a damn fine choice nonetheless and it was one of my favourite songs of 2007. Gives me an excuse to link to the music video below which I hadn't seen until today:

Video: Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse - "Valerie"(Zutons cover - music video)

ps. Seriously, I'm becoming addicted to The Hour. Arguably the best thing on Canadian television at the moment.

Family Day

Ontarians(like myself) celebrate our inaugural new statutory holiday today entitled Family Day. Read - a day off from work(with pay!).

Pitchfork brings further updates on the upcoming long-time-coming 3rd full-length from Portishead including the tracklisting, cover art and new release dates. Follow the link for the first two items, but to save you the trouble, the UK release date is April 28 while the US date is the following day.

Other than some UK touring and an appearance at this year's SXSW, Montreal's Land of Talk continues to keep us in the dark about it's debut full-length(although here's a vague update from Liz). Hey, but that do have a new song streaming at their MySpace - ok, it's a cover, but it's a nifty cover of Wintersleep's "Weighty Ghost".

Toronto dance-electro-pop group Woodhands are Paper Bag Records newest signees. The duo's debut album "Heart Attack" is due out on April 1 in Canada.

And now on to the concert info:

If you were perusing the Canadian Music Week schedule(which btw, is shaping up interestingly) over the last few days and realized the absence of UK's The Duke Spirit on the sched(who I recall were to play Lee's Palace on March 8), it's unfortunately not a mistake. According to Filter, they've cancelled their Toronto shows and added a few more dates on the West Coast(which I guess makes more sense since they'll be in Los Angeles on March 5). Hey, maybe on the way back from SXSW on March 13 they'll swing through Toronto? Their newest album "Neptune" has it's US release on April 5 through Shangri-La Music.

I didn't make it out to the Brampton Indie Arts Festival last week, part of my disappointment being that I haven't yet seen Toronto act Forest City Lovers live. However, according to their MySpace they have a few local dates line up - they'll be at Soundscapes record store on March 9 at 2 pm for a free in-store then on March 14 they'll be at the Tranzac for a CD release show in celebration of their new disc entitled "Haunting Moon Sinking" out on March 11 in Canada on Toronto based label Out of This Spark. Several songs from the new album are streaming over at their MySpace.

Also at the Tranzac on March 14 will be Guelphites The D'Urbervilles who'll be celebrating their own CD release for their debut full-length "We Are The Hunters"(released tomorrow) also out through Out of This Spark. They have a whack of Canadian tour dates lined up through till the end of April - check out their MySpace for full dates and several songs streaming from the new album.

The Decemberists' Colin Meloy will be at the Phoenix on April 19th in support of his solo album entitled "Colin Meloy Sings Live". Fellow Portland, Oregon-ite Laura Gibson will open. (via Blacking Out The Friction)

Heavy psych-rockers Dead Meadow are at Lee's Palace on April 24. (via Beggars Group)

First word I've come across about this year's Over The Top Fest is that recent Merge Records signees Wye Oak will be playing this year's festival on May 2 according to their MySpace.

Pitchfork reports that Elvis Costello will tour with The Police in North America starting in May. There's a lone Canadian date, in fact kicking off in Ottawa, Ontario at Scotiabank Place on May 1 but the bill will reach Buffalo, NY for a show at HSBC Arena on May 3.

According to The Windish Agency, Shearwater will be on the bill with Clinic at Lee's Palace on May 11.

The Coast Is Clear

In celebration of their debut album "Expatriate" set to be released through Aporia Records on April 1, Toronto's The Coast are lining up tour dates as we speak - a lot dates are up at their MySpace right now. A Toronto date has been confirmed for April 18 when the band will play a CD release show at Horseshoe Tavern with The Wooden Sky, The Ghost Is Dancing and NYC's Mixel Pixel. The preceding day(April 17), they'll be performing a few songs live for MTV Live - to be part of the studio audience call 1-888-491-6888, or email liveaudience@mtv.ca. From a press release I've read, the band's new album's a bit of departure from their atmospheric, shimmering pop-rock sound, a few songs of which I got a taste of when they played NXNE in 2007 - I remember the songs not being as immediate as their self-titled debut EP's material but I hope in the least the new songs are growers.

Chartattack speaks to New Jersey native Nicole Atkins about her hometown-named debut album "Neptune City". She and her band The Sea perform their Toronto debut headlining gig at Lee's Palace this Sunday.

Prior to their show at Kool Haus this coming Monday February 18, Celtic-punkers Flogging Molly will be at Sonic Boom Records earlier that day for a free instore performance and autograph session - autographs at 3 pm and the performance at 4 pm. Via Stille Post.

I thought it strange when I didn't see a Toronto date for Kanye West's upcoming "Glow In The Dark " tour reported by Pitchfork a few days ago, but as Pitchfork subsequently reports more dates have been added putting to the rest all the "WTF, where's the 'insert city name here' date?" questions. Kanye's "Glow In The Dark Tour" featuring himself as well as N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and Lupe Fiasco will hit Toronto on May 21 for a show at Molson Ampitheatre.

Some more quick show news: The Roots are back in Toronto for a show at Kool Haus on March 30 - tickets on sale February 18. As already reported by others, British Sea Power(in celebration of their recently released new album "Do You Like Rock Music?") with openers The Rosebuds hit Lee's Palace on May 16. Funk soul brother Jamie Lidell is at The Mod Club on June 5.

You Turned My Head Around

concert review: Dean & Britta, Keren Ann @ The Mod Club (Toronto, Ontario), February 9, 2008



I've been quite lax with reviewing concerts lately and it's not because I haven't enjoyed the odd show I've gone to. That's the case with the Dean and Britta/Keren Ann show I caught over the weekend at The Mod Club and enjoyed a lot. Most of what could have been said about the show's already been said by Chromewaves, It's Not The Band I Hate..., and Zoilus but I could throw in my 2 cents also. I'd caught Keren Ann live twice before but this time rather than performing solely acoustic and or solo, she performed with a band(drummer and guitarist/bassist). Balancing the folkiness of her acoustic work with the fleshed out band sound of her more uptempo numbers made for an engaging set overall. It seems that with each return to Toronto the vibe of her set keeps on improving - I couldn't speak for her show at the Rivoli last year which I didn't make it to but I will acknowledge that the cautious approach and awkward banter of her show at The Drake in December 2004 was replaced with an improved confidence for her solo acoustic set at the Horseshoe in March 2005(opening for A Girl Called Eddy) and then this most recent set was the best one yet. The trio configuration was a big help perhaps, keeping things intimate but with the extra band members at hand to add a little oomph when needed. Her guitarist in particular provided most of that added oomph with his textured guitar arrangements and background vocals.

When Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard put to rest the GBV moniker, but continued to record under his own name, it wasn't so much an ending as a new beginning. In all manner of speaking, Robert Pollard was GBV and vice versa. In a similar sense, Luna's disbanding was a short-lived mourning as Dean Wareham(who sonically as well as lyrically was the most identifiable with Luna) continued to record with his girlfriend Britta Phillips under the moniker Dean & Britta. Two albums in to their career as Dean & Britta, first with 2003's "L'Aventura", then last year's "Back Numbers", they sonically resemble Luna's Velvet-y pop songs but add more sophisticated musical influences to the mix like Lee Hazelwood(a touch that's most obvious with male/female vocals, resembling the Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra collaborations of the 60's). I'd seen Luna live only once - in fact it was their farewell show at Lee's Palace in 2004. At the time Britta was performing with them. I'd never noticed it back then and maybe it was more identifiable during Dean & Britta's set this past Saturday but Britta is hardly sonic wallpaper. Audible fully realized bass guitar arrangements combined with her sweet vocals displayed a versality I never realized before. Further, while Britta's vocals were mostly expressed in sweet, tender tones she could also make her vocals soar like on "You Turned My Head Around". The most enjoyable element of Dean this time was how much more engaging(relatively) he was with the audience, even if it meant expressing that he didn't like the film "Juno". Such a diss was meant as light-hearted banter at best, and it did get a chuckle out of more than a few people. Musically, Dean, Britta and the rest of the band(keyboardist & drummer) ran it pretty tight letting the melodies speak for themselves. While they didn't fulfill the shout-out request for "Anesthesia" they did turn in an intoxicating performance of "Tiger Lily" during the encore, and I'm sure that one Francophone audience member who kept on complimenting them en francais was delighted when they ended off the night/encore with their cover of Gainsbourg/Bardot classic "Bonnie and Clyde".

Check out some of my photos from the show.

MySpace: Dean & Britta
MySpace: Keren Ann

Locate The Pieces

Touring their most recent album "Last Light"[which I still haven't picked up yet], Matt Pond PA have announced more dates which include a stop in Toronto on April 2 at Lee's Palace which will be an opening slot for Carbon/Silicon (The Clash's/Big Audio Dynamite's Mick Jones & Generation X's/Sigue Sigue Sputnik's Tony James, plus Leo Williams of Big Audio Dynamite and Domonic Greensmith of Reef). Matt Pond PA has a new music video below(and Matt's penchant for popsmith-ery continues to be a wonder):

Video: Matt Pond PA - "Locate The Pieces" (music video)

The New Pornographers(including Neko Case) performed a live session of four tunes off of their most recent album "Challengers" at AOL's The Interface. They're at the Phoenix with Okkervil River on April 9.

At least according to Pollstar, Montreal's Plants and Animals will be part of the Chartattack CMW showcase taking place at the Horseshoe on March 6.

Pollstar also points out that White Denim are set to open for Tapes N' Tapes at The Opera House on April 14.

Kathleen Edwards, in celebration of her new album "Asking For Flowers" out March 4, will have a show at the Phoenix on April 23, tickets $22.50.

Torchy crooner k.d. Lang has annouced a whole bunch of tour dates which will include a stop at Massey Hall on May 31. Tickets on sale February 23 at 10 am.

And on today's date in 1964, The Beatles made their US television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, with an estimated viewership of 73 million people[if I recall correctly when I was listening to the radio this morning]:

Video: The Beatles - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (live on The Ed Sullivan Show - Feb 9, 1964)

ps. Oh, congrats to Anne and Craig for winning the Nicole Atkins CD contest I ran a little while back. They'll be going out in the mail soon[Craig, I still need your address].

Free Not Free

Another hodge podge of links and tour reminders today:

The final schedule for the upcoming Pitter Patter Festival(taking place March 27-30 in venues mostly in Toronto but also in London, Oshawa, Lindsay, Peterborough, and Belleville) has been confirmed.

Masked Brits Clinic are offering a free download of their single "Free Not Free". Registration is required(always a catch). They're at Lee's Palace on May 11 - btw they're taking requests for songs you'd like to hear them play at their upcoming shows(I assume they mean requests for their own songs, although I'd be interested in also hearing them do a cover. Hmmm.)

Get an audio/video sample of what to expect at UK's Lightspeed Champion's upcoming show at Horseshoe Tavern on March 4. (The video btw is of Dev performing 4 tracks solo and acoustic for CNET Networks.) [link via Domino Records]

East Coast buzz-band Dog Day have a few upcoming CMW shows, first March 6 at Horseshoe Tavern then March 8(with Jenn Grant and The Night Painters also on the bill) at the Rivoli. Chartattack confirms more of that March 6 lineup at the Horseshow which will also include The Acorn, Immaculate Machine, Kate Stelmanis, plus several more to be announced. Speaking of Jenn Grant above, Hero Hill has a review and video clip of Jenn's appearance at Halifax's recent In The Dead Of Winter festival.

Watch Will Sheff of Okkervil River covering Loudon Wainwright's "Motel Blues", sitting, singing and playing guitar on a motel bed (ME Backstage Session). (Via Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands). Okervill River as well as The New Pornographers are at the Phoenix on April 9 and tickets are $26.50.

In promotion for their sophomore album "Walk It Off"(out April 8), Tapes N' Tapes will be hitting the road and'll stop in Toronto for a show at The Opera House on April 14.

Pitchfork points to video of Feist's recent appearance on Later With Jools Holland. She's at the Sony Centre For Performing Arts with openers Great Lake Swimmers on May 13.

The following tour dates, I'll shoot off quickly: The Duke Spirt, and UK blog buzz band The Pigeon Detectives are at Lee's Palace on March 8(as part of CMW). Louis XIV with What Made Milwaukee Famous and Carolina Liar are at The Mod Club on March 19. Dragonette with Fritz Helder & The Phantoms and Sweet Thing are at the Phoenix on April 3. Chromeo is at The Opera House on March 22. Gary Louris, with openers Vetiver are at the Mod Club on March 30, tickets $20.

And now some other random music news: Stereogum points out that UK's Guillemots have a new song(not the new single) "Kriss Kross" available for download here and you can also hear the band's new single "Get Over It" over at their MySpace. The band's new album "Red" comes out in March.

NME reports that Brian Jonestown Massacre 's new album "My Bloody Underground" will be released March 31.

If you're crossing the pond, BBC News confirms that Jay Z has been confirmed to headline Glastonbury. Interesting choice - I'm not a big fan, but he's not bad.

Pitchfork has an interview with Alison of Goldfrapp. The new record "Seventh Tree" is out in stores on February 25 in the UK and the following day in the US. Only a few select UK dates on the horizon - I don't think they've been in Toronto since circa "Felt Mountain"(and if you were at their show at The Opera House at that time like I was, you know that didn't go well).

Radiohead on Strombo

While some of you might be watching the New England Patriots attempt to achieve a perfect record this season with a win in tonight's Super Bowl, instead I think I'm going to catch Radiohead being interviewed on the Strombo Show. It's a Canadian radio exclusive and the interview comes on around 8 pm EST, now(7 pm). Sorry for the late post, but better late than never and hopefully the news gets to a few more people. You can listen to the show on the Corus Radio Network(102.1 FM if you're in the Greater Toronto Area) or online at http://www.edge.ca.

ps. Actually the interview is not with the whole band nor with Thom Yorke but rather guitarist Ed O'Brien. I'll still be listening in.

photo from Wired