Hot Chip, The xx @ Kool Haus, Toronto (April 20, 2010)

  Hot Chip: photo by Michael Ligon

A super-hot bill touched down at Kool Haus last week with UK trio The xx and UK electro-dance-pop outfit Hot Chip entertaining the masses. Having recently headlined their own show at the Phoenix earlier this month, I've not much to add about The xx which I haven't already said. While the band's minimalist pop tendencies were still there, there seemed to be more emphasis on their grooveability especially in Oliver Sim's swaying bass lines and Jamie Smith's keen drum machine rhythms. Overall, they seemed more loose and less precise than they come off on record or compared to their show at the Phoenix earlier this month. After that, the crowd was fittingly warmed up for the Hot Chip dance party.

For the record, I'm late to the Hot Chip bandwagon. It was the band's nuanced cover of Joy Division's "Transmission" (including perhaps the most sublime use of steel drum I've ever heard) off the 2009 "War Child - Heroes" compilation which got me to take notice(having since sampled and or purchased their second and third albums respectively, "The Warning" and "Made In The Dark") and since then I've discovered the band's amalgam of organic and electronic instrumentation, creating pop music that is at once cerebral and danceable. The band's most recent album entitled "One Life Stand" had the band hitting the road once again, and fresh off an appearnce at this year's Coachella festival, the band took to the Kool Haus stage last Tuesday night.

It's hard to put it any more succintly than that Hot Chip put on one hell of a dance party. Vocalist Alexis Taylor dressed in a "Wham" band t-shirt, gold(?) trousers and wearing Wayfarer-looking glasses, sang with a certain level of restraint(as he does on record) but his vocal style seems to compliment their music well. It's none more apparent than on their infectious newest single "One Life Stand", a satisfying blend of rhythmic beats, sultry electro/organic instrumentation and singable lyrics. In addition to their several banks of keyboards, their programming setup, drums, and guitar, they added sultry bits of steel drum and french horn. The latter mentioned instruments only add to the band's music geekery and let's face it, even aesthetically, they aren't the hippest looking bunch. But man did they rock the house. While I'd got to the venue not exactly early, I managed to squeeze up front, albeit the right side of the stage(facing the stage) to bear witness to the dance party that proceeded for the next 80 minutes. Fantastic.

Photos: Hot Chip, The xx @ Kool Haus, Toronto (April 20, 2010)
MySpace: The xx
MySpace: Hot Chip

Florence + The Machine, Holy Hail @ Kool Haus, Toronto (April 10, 2010)

  Florence Welch (of Florence + The Machine): photo by Michael Ligon

Update[April 20/2010, 12:16 am]: Review now up and sorry for the delay, but I've have had other things take priority recently.

Back in January I made it known that UK's Florence + The Machine's debut album "Lungs" was quite possibly the best pop album of 2009 and should have been on my Favourite Albums of 2009 list. The only thing is that I didn't get around to listening to her until the beginning of this year. The exhaustion of keeping up with new artists was the only reason I'd ignored her for so long even given the buzz she garnered locally, culminating in her sold-out debut Toronto appearance at The Mod Club a the beginning of November of last year. Originally her followup Toronto appearance was slated for the Phoenix, a natural progression for international up-and-comers who come through Toronto, but apparently she's much more popular than that as the show ended up being moved to the larger Kool Haus and sold out. And how good was the show considering the 2500-capacity venue it was in and known for it's less than desirable acoustics? Couldn't pay enough attention to the acoustics to notice, especially wearing earplugs, but lead singer Florence Welch displayed a confident and energetic stage presence that complimented her thoroughly engaging, full-throated vocals.

Hailing out of Brooklyn were opener Holy Hail. The four-piece split equally between male and female members played a set of DIY pop music merging garage rock amateurism with at times electro-beat embellishments. Initially seeming to hip for its own good, focusing more on textures than melody, that did eventually change as melodies, simplistic as they were, eventually revealed themselves. The charming, indie-rock casual vocals of lead vocalist Cat Hartwell were also a highlight. The band ended their set with a quirky double dose of Perry Farrell, first with Porno For Pyros' "Pets" which then segued into Jane's Addiction's "Jane Says". They didn't necessarily own the stage and are more suited for a smaller venue but for those who did pay attention, the band seemed to go over well.

What's so particularly interesting about 23-year-old vocalist/songwriter Florence Welch is how much confidence she oozes both in her songwriting and as a live performer, and the latter was on display at the Kool Haus a week ago. Dressed in black short shorts and a sheer black top, at times wearing a black-rimmed hat which she later rested on her mic stand, and also at times draped with a veil-like shawl/cloak around her shoulders and or head, she at once oozed mysticism and sensuality. Similarly, her vocals ranged from a Kate Bush-like semi-ethereal quality to throaty blue-eyed[ok she has green eyes in reality] soul and such versatility kept the crowd engaged for a good 80 minutes. Keyboardist Isabella Summers provided enchanting background vocals. From my vantage point from the right side of the stage(facing the stage) it was hard to see and or pay attention to the rest of the band except to recall they were a tight outfit. Nevertheless, at the centre of attention was Ms. Florence Welch as she danced and swayed during most songs, as well as engaging the audience with heart-felt thank-you's and occasional humourous banter. While the setlist on paper seems a little paltry, it(including the encore) was in fact a satisfying 80-minute show, leaving some of the best songs for last. The main set ended on a delirious high note with the energetic "Dog Days Are Over" with Welch motivating the audience to jump up and down on cue during the song's energetic second half - my jumping up and down at shoes have been limited but during this song it just felt so good and so right. The encore featured the soulful "You've Got The Love" before Florence + The Machine ended the night with a stirring "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)", again with Welch's encouragement towards audience participation for the crowd to raise their hands on cue when she'd pointed to different parts of the audience. Definitely one of the best shows of the year so far. Raise it up she did.

Photos: Florence + The Machine, Holy Hail @ Kool Haus, Toronto (April 10, 2010)
MySpace: Holy Hail
MySpace: Florence + The Machine

The National, Colin Stetson @ Kool Haus (May 21, 2009)

concert review: The National, Colin Stetson @ Kool Haus (Toronto, ONtario) - May 21, 2009

The National @ Kool Haus: photo by Michael Ligon


Stepping out from their mini-hiatus The National stopped in at Kool Haus to kick off their summer tour stint, an honour for Torontonians in some ways although the polish of previous shows had somewhat been lost. Ok, that's all a matter of personal opinion but I'm sticking to it.

From the first notes of opener Colin Stetson's experimental saxophone sonic excursions I wasn't entirely confident. Granted while there was an impressiveness in his sheer performance stamina, the music was avant-garde enough that I'd imagined it'd gone over most people's heads or at least in one ear and out the other, if the chatty crowd was an indication. On closer liste, there was a structure to his instrumental concoctions, rapid-fire mantra-like at times, or with an infusion of groove/percussive elements at others. Surprisingly, he did ultimately connect with at least those who were listening, prompting a favourable response from the crowd with each song. As an opener, he wasn't the best choice, but neither was he without merit. I hope he doesn't smoke, because I couldn't imagine him having such a high-level of cardiovascular endurance if he did. If his own set wasn't enough, he also joined The National as part of their 3-member horn section.

Its understandable The National had to take a breather from touring 8 months(?) ago, having been on the road for months at the time touring their most recent album "Boxer", having only taken the time since then to play a few charity shows, especially the Dessner-brothers curated "Dark Was The Night" AIDS fundraiser indie-rock compilation. While Toronto had the pleasure of being first to see The National return to playing live after their mini hiatus, it was understandbly expected that they'd come off a little rusty. Things weren't being helped that the band had stepped up to playing Kool Haus after playing relatively more intimate(and ultimately better) shows at The Opera House in June 2007 and Phoenix Concert Theatre in October 2007 over the last several years. Even with my stage-left, front row spot, I could tell the boys were off. A few forgotten lyrics(during 'Fake Empire'), a dropped mic stand or two, and the less than perfect venue acoustics aside, while the musicianship was overall tight, it didn't have the oomph they'd displayed in past performances. Other than Matt and Scott who displayed some energy, the rest of the membership seemed too sedate although during more fierce numbers like 'Mr. November' things did pick up. I was particularly disappointed in the drumming - Bryan just wasn’t hitting the drums hard enough for my liking (for example - the louder drum parts during 'Fake Empire' didn't have the impact I'd hope for from the record). These are a few specifics although in general my slight disappointment was really only a gutteral reaction. Maybe it was just my vantage point(front row, left side of the stage) that the crowd seemed to be lacking any consistent enthusiasm(I'm curious how the crowd was at the back - anyone?). Perhaps, my slight disappointment was due to my more favourable memories of their past shows - my first time seeing them live was at The Opera House a few years ago and it was a stunning show. Good on you if it was your first time seeing them(at Kool Haus last week) and you absolutely adored it.

Photos: The National, Colin Stetson @ Kool Haus (May 21, 2009)

More reviews/photos of the show at Chromewaves, It's Not The Band I Hate..., and chartattack.

MySpace: Colin Stetson
MySpace: The National
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Sorry, for the lack of updates, but I'm off to Barcelona, Spain today and'll be returning June 5. Looking forward to Primavera Sound Festival from May 28-30 and Wilco at L'Auditori on June 4. Yes, I do plan on exploring the city itself, taking photos, eating some good meals, and hopefully meet good people. Perhaps, I'll squeeze in some train travel to some nearby cities while I'm there. Ultimately, it'll be a good reboot. I do plan on hitting up internet access while I'm there and I'll try posting a few words or photos whenever I can. Otherwise, if anyone has recommendations for things I should check out while I'm there, please leave a comment. Later.

Franz Ferdinand, Born Ruffians @ Kool Haus (May 4, 2009)

concert review: Franz Ferdinand, Born Ruffians @ Kool Haus (Toronto, Ontario) - May 4, 2009



As they did back in December of last year at Franz Ferdinand's highly sought after club gig at Lee's Palace, Toronto's Born Ruffians opened the show at Kool Haus this past Monday night. My only other time seeing Born Ruffians live was on the second stage at Virgin Festival in 2006 who I'd remember being decent although perhaps the sizable stage being a little inappropriate for the band who were a trio at the time. This time a four-piece with new drummer Ahmed Gallab, it was an energetic set of their chirpy pop-rock, echoing bits of Talking Heads and perhaps a little Vampire Weekend. But if Vampire Weekend somewhat wear out their welcome over time(and this is definitely a matter of personal opinion), Born Ruffians are infectiously fun. Their 'hit' 'Hummingbird' garnered the loudest response from fans in the audience who were in the know, but with the band (and bassist Mitch DeRosier in particular) encouraging bouts of audience handclaps during the set, it seems they converted more than a few new fans.

It was at the same venue back in 2004 that I'd last seen Franz Ferdinand live at the advent of their self-titled debut. I'd for the most part ignored their second album "You Could Have It So Much Better" for no particular reason and have yet to listen to their most recent album "Tonight:Franz Ferdinand" but here I was , at an all-ages show mind you, with high expectations of a grand rock n' roll show. And that's exactly what we got. With a video backdrop of various images and video (the most interesting being video of the band themselves being projected on the screen behind them), they showcased their infectious brand of danceable, sometimes incendiary rock n' roll. While lead vocalist Alex Kapranos and band are one of the most dapper-looking bands today, they created an intensely exciting vibe on stage (something that's perhaps a little muted on record). Mr. Kapranos in particular pulled out some guitar poses and combined with his alternately suave and emphatic vocals, he's one of the most exciting frontmans today. He also displayed a good sense of humour when someone from the audience handed him a wishlist of songs they'd play during the set and he read an excerpt of the list which included a request to play the first album in its entirety. There was something quite badass (even though they're quite wholesome looking lads) when guitarist/keyboardist Nicholas McCarthy hobbled out on stage in crutches, then later on Alex had to apply a bag of ice to his sore hand in between songs. Whatever were the specific reasons for their maladies I never found out, but I appreciated that they honoured the whole "the show must go on" sentiment. The audience was deeply involved in the set, whether it be singing, clapping or dancing, and Alex during one song led us into a thoroughly fun call and response singalong. The sentiment of the evening was perhaps best illustrated during the encore with their song 'This Fire', the chorus which goes "This fire is out of control, I'm going to burn this city, Burn this city". They definitely killed it that night.

Photos: Franz Ferdinand, Born Ruffians @ Kool Haus (May 4, 2009)

More favourable reviews of the show over at MuchMusic and Impressionable Youth (who also has a few video clips from the show). Eye Weekly were a little more critical about the show.

MySpace: Born Ruffians
MySpace: Franz Ferdinand

[When You Wake] You're Still In A Dream

concert review: My Bloody Valentine, Gemma Hayes, Flowers of Hell @ Kool Haus (Toronto, Ontario), September 25, 2008

Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine @ Kool Haus (September 25, 2008)


If I'd had the fortuity back in 1992, I'd have gone to see My Bloody Valentine at The Opera House, the last time they'd pass through the fair city of Toronto. It was around the same time I'd discovered them when I'd borrowed a scratched up copy of their album "Loveless" at my local library and being totally floored by what I heard. They were a logical extension of my admiration of feedback and melody I'd developed a few years prior with The Jesus and Mary Chain. Although as the decade of the nineties turned over to the new millenium, I'd just about given up on My Bloody Valentine ever releasing a follow up to "Loveless" let alone tour ever again. However, 14 years later here we are with My Bloody Valentine (Kevin Shields[guitar, vox], Bilinda Butcher[guitar, vox], Debbie Googe [bass], Colm Ó Cíosóig [drums]) touring again.

Opening the show were the transatlantic-composed London-Toronto outfit Flowers of Hell composed by my count of nine members (ten when hometown hero Owen Pallett joined in on violin for several songs). With a kaleidoscope of screen projections in the background, the ebb and tide of strings, horns (sax, trumpet), keyboards, drums and guitar took the audience on sweeping orch-rock acid trip. While I liked them, instrumental acts are always a tough bunch and they were a bit too much of the same thing over the course of the set.

A surprise addition to the bill was Irish singer songwriter Gemma Hayes. She performed a sublimely melodic and satisfying set of singer-songwriter material, competently embellished with Gemma on acoustic guitar and accompaniement by a gentleman providing some sinewy electric guitar. While the music and melodies had a definite accessibility, there was enough grit to keep things from getting too saccharine, even at times the guitar sound augmented with distortion as perhaps a nod to what would come with My Bloody Valentine's set. She did provide arguably the funniest line of banter of the whole night when she came out at the beginning of her set and introduced herself as "Kevin Shields" - I mean, not many had expected her on the bill, some having anticipated MBV coming on right after Flowers of Hell, so I'm wondering how many people were wondering who she was. I'd already clued who she was because I'd pass by the merch table on the way in and saw her CD for sale. She was a pleasant bonus for the night, though at that point my excitement for MBV was running over.

Finally Kevin, Belinda, Debbie and Colm took the stage to rapturous applause and dove into "Loveless" track 'I Only Said". Throughout the set it their was a dichotomy in the physical emotiveness of the band with Kevin and Belinda taking a protypical, shoegazer, non-chalance while Debbie and Colm, especially on pre-"Loveless" songs, were quite more in a rock mode. Like Flowers of Hell before them, MBV had a colourful array of lighting effects, and also flashing lights. On one hand, lighting effects helped to emphasize the hazy blissfulness of the noise and melodies but on the other hand, the flashing lights in particular were an epileptic's nightmare.

My MBV listening always tended towards "Loveless" and naturally I gravitated towards those songs during the set especially the fantastic chainsaw guitar sounds of 'Only Shallow', the danceable-shoegaze[now, isn't that an oxymoron?] pop of 'Soon', and the shoegazey dream-pop of 'When You Sleep'. The "Isn't Anything" tracks emphasized a rock vigor and intensity (mostly in the Dinosaur Jr-like drumming on some tracks) that really rationalizes MBV as a precursor to the early 90's alt-rock/grunge scene. In a different world, MBV would have been just as popular as Nirvana.

The defining moment of the show for most was of course their last song of the set 'You Made Me Realise' which started out normal enough before collapsing into a gradual crescendoing sea of white noise, which lasted a whopping 24 minutes. This part of their live set's was apparently been called the 'holocaust' and with good reason - it was every bit as devastating as the name implies. As it got louder and longer, I had a feeling of both ectasy and fear - the ectasy of feeling the wash of sound waves moving through me, but I also felt a slight tangible fear of whether my ear drums could take it. Thankfully, the ear plugs handed out by security on the way in came in handy [although I'd already come prepared with my own in any case], although at times I still felt compelled to cover my ears with my hands like I witness many a person around me do. I can't imagine having lasted that without ear plugs and even a few around me who braved at least half of that without ear plugs, I observed a concern in their expressions and a realization of the possible permanent hearing loss they were subjecting themselves too. I witnessed a few people leave but even more finally reaching for ear plugs in their pockets or covering their ears with their hands. The noise finally fed back into the song and that was it. I couldn't have imagined the band coming back for another song and in certain respects I was glad it was over. As last remnants of the feedback subsided and the house lights came on, there was a jubilation in the faces over everyone around me, including myself. It felt like I'd gone to war, won, and was going home in one piece.

Ed. note[1 Oct 2008]: Sorry for the late review posting.

Photos: My Bloody Valentine, Gemma Hayes, Flowers of Hell @ Kool Haus (September 25, 2008)

Myspace: Flowers of Hell
Myspace: Gemma Hayes
Myspace: My Bloody Valentine

Don't Make Me A Target

concert review: Spoon, The Ponys @ Kool Haus (Toronto, Ontario), October 20, 2007



I'm losing my patience for the Kool Haus. I have no problems with it necessarily hosting bands/artists that need a large space to accommodate its large fanbase but increasingly it seems that you encounter/observe more and more fuckin' morons at Kool Haus. But more on that later.

4-piece Chicago, Illinois Matador Records band The Ponys opened the show thrashing out a set of tuneful, reverb-charged, punky indie rock exhuberance. I had almost made up my mind before the show that I wouldn't like them based on their ambiguous band name and 2007 album cover, so it was a pleasant surprise they had tunes to back up their hype. If you were a fan of the now-defunct The Rock*A*Teens[who I am only casual familiar with, but who I kniw were also purveyors of a similar reverb-soaked production], you'll probably want to check out The Ponys.

When on-the-brink-of-stardom, band-du-jour, Spoon had their show moved from Phoenix to the cavernous Kool Haus, I underestimated the band's draw. At the show last week, I was towards the front but at least from my vantage point it seemed to be a fairly packed house. And a fair amount of young'uns at that[another thing I wouldn't have guessed]. Ashamedly, I only caught on to the band with their album "Gimme Fiction" (which I admitted was likely my favourite album of 2005), but better late than never. I still haven't explored their back catalogue but I got a taste of it at the Kool Haus last week and it's tempting. But the "Gimme Fiction"/"Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" songs were exciting, especially when the horn section that were in tow got to play like on the most recent album's "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" and "The Underdog". Britt Daniel was impressed by the response the band got from the Toronto crowd, expressing that Toronto's always treated them well back to the day when the band performed first performed in Toronto at the Horseshoe Tavern. Britt even gave a special shout-out to local promoter Craig Laskey for always looking out for them. There's no doubt that the audience was one of the most enthusiastic Toronto audiences I've seen in a long time, although the group of kids(well a few of them at least) I had the unfortunate experience of standing beside were plain annoying, and obviously loaded. Their misplaced hootin' and hollerin' and flailing elbows was grating after a short while. At one point, Britt had even acknowledged them for their 'enthusiasism'. Oh, if he only knew.

I have a few photos from the show over at my Flickr.

MySpace: Spoon
MySpace: The Ponys

More reviews(some good, some not so good) of the show over at Eye Weekly, Torontoist, Just Keep Bloggin', the local black and red, Wolves, Hawks and Kites, Thick Specs, and The Panic Manual.

adangca has some video clips from the show.