Made Of Stone

Eye Weekly's Sarah Liss spoke with Spiral Beach about getting busted recently for illegal postering. (NOW also reports on the incident.) I do feel sorry for them though I do find the fine was overly high. Indie bands be careful where you poster. Sarah mentions that Spiral Beach have some 'fundraising' (ie. busking) gigs coming up starting tonight 6pm at Brunswick & Bloor, Saturday at 6pm outside the ROM, and on Sunday in Kensington Market. Stay tuned for more details of a benefit show planned at the Whippersnapper Gallery for June 20. [photo swiped from NOW]

Eye Weekly chatted with Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard (whose band headlines a mini-festival show at Toronto Islands tomorrow). Death Cab For cutie performed a session for MPR: The Current and The Smudge Of Ashen Fluff has graciously split the songs into separate mp3's available for download. It looks like the rain is gonna hold off for the most part tomorrow, though it's gonna be HOT. Have fun if you're going.

According to this Facebook Event page, Toronto record store Criminal Records will be hosting an NXNE-associated multi-band instore on June 13 (5 pm - 8 pm) featuring Mardeen, The Superfantastics, The Amazing Shotgun Jimmie, Old Man Luedecke, Calm Down It's Monday and (maybe?) Attack In Black.

Van Morrison has some select North American dates in July including a show at Massey Hall on July 7. Presale tickets for the Toronto show are already sold out. I'm not sure when the public onsale will be.

July 19, this year's Open House at The Tranzac goes down with a multitude of local indie acts, headlined by Fembots, Castlemusic, and The Burning Hell. Doors at 8 pm. Tickets $10 advance/$12 door. More details over at Stille Post.

With a new double CD 32-song retrospective entitled "Spirituality: The Consummate Compendium -- 1983 - 2008" coming out through Warner/Rhino on July 8, Vancouver's Spirit Of The West will celebrate a month later with a show at Horseshoe Tavern on August 1. The have a slew of tour dates beginning at the end of the month.

Pollstar indicates that Steve Earle and Allison Moorer will be at Gage Park in Hamilton, ON on August 8 and that date is confirmed at Steve Earle's website. It's a FREE show btw, as Steve Earle and Allison Moorer will be participating in Festival of Friends.

They broke up in 2006 which disappoint me but it seems that the split was short-lived as Vancouver's The Organ have decided to regroup. The CBC Radio 3 blog reports that this fall will see the light of a new 6 song EP "Thieves" from the gals. The EP is to come out October 14.

Harbourfront Summer Festivals 2008

Harbourfront Centre has launched a snazzy new website for it's upcoming summer festival season. The schedules for about half of the Harbourfront's World Routes festival's are now posted including A Rocky Mountain High: The Banff Centre (June 27-29), Canada Day (July 1), Beats, Breaks & Culture (July 4-6), Ritmo Y Color, and Tirgan: Iranian Festival (July 17-20). Other Harbourfront festival schedules now up include Luminat'eau (June 13-15) and Franco-Fete (June 21). With this much(and more) going on in Toronto this summer for free, there should be plenty to keep one entertained.

Parks and Rec

In my last post I mentioned that the planned shows for NXNE that are suppose to take place in various parks/street locations around the city weren't listed(except for a few shows) in the NXNE schedule. However, over the last few days I see that has changed. Actually, one of those sets took place near my work today over at the College Park Parkette with local Jennifer Foster playing a set. I was too busy munching on my delicious $2.99 hamburger at the nearby Richtree patio to listen to Jenn's set, but yes, outdoor sets like this are really a great idea. The Yonge-Dundas Square NXNE lineups for the end of this week(Thursday, Friday & Saturday) will likely draw big crowds, but there are variety of other alternative venues around the city that'll be hosting some live sets too.(My pick is UK's This Is Radio Freedom who'll be playing a half hour set at Metro Square [King & John Sts.] on June 12 at noon - their song "Bombthreat", streaming over at their MySpace, is a bristling, anthemic Brit-rock tune.) Peruse the NXNE schedule and see what interests you. (I'm slowly putting together my schedule for NXNE. Any recommendations? I'm mostly interested in club hopping and checking out the lesser known acts.)

In other news, Chromewaves points out that The Watson Twins come back to Toronto for a quite an affordable(and sure to be enjoyable) evening at Lee's Palace on July 15, with opener Tim Fite. Tickets only $10. The gals debut full-length "Fire Songs" will be released June 14.

The Mexican Elvis, El Vez stops in at Horseshoe Tavern for a show on August 9[via The Windish Agency].

Handsome Furs return to Toronto for a show at Lee's Palace on August 22, with openers The Witchies[via Inland Empire Touring].

Eric's Trip at The Mod Club tomorrow night? Hmmm, I'm still pondering about going. I always liked them but I never really listened to them much. But I just finished listening to their album "Forever Again" and it reminded me how much I loved their song "My Chest Is Empty". It breaks my heart every time I listen to it.

Senses Working Overtime

News and a little housekeeping for the weekend:

FYI, The Raconteurs show on June 5 which was originally supposed to be at Ricoh Coliseum has been moved to Kool Haus. Tickets already purchased will be honoured at the new venue.

Just a reminder(although many of you are probably already aware) that the NXNE schedule is now up. I'm still wondering about the planned shows that are suppose to take place in various parks/locations around the city. Only a few of these actually appear in the official schedule. What about the rest? NXNE takes place June 12-15.

Via Emerge is news that UK sensation Duffy will return to Toronto for a show at Phoenix on August 2. Tickets went on sale this morning. 19+ show and are a whopping $27.50.

G Love and Special Sauce with openers The John Butler Trio will be in Toronto August 9 for a show at Sound Academy.

Harbourfront Centre will be hosting the finale of the Luminato Festival (june 6-15) with a weekend long festival of its own entitled Luminat’eau (June 13-15). Much of it will be free as I understand. It'd seem like a good opportunity to broaden one's(ie. my) horizons with various things to experience including Dance, Film, Visual Art and of course Music.

The updated band lineup for this year's Virgin Festival at Toronto Islands(September 6-7) isn't extraordinary but I have to say that Day 2 did get better with the addition of Sons and Daughters and Robyn.

For the third time in what will be just over a year, Okkervil River return to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix on October 12.

And finally, just a little housekeeping, but I got around to posting some photos to my Flickr including:

Destroyer at Lee's Palace (April 19) - photos, review
Clinic, Shearwater at Lee's Palace (May 11) - photos, review
The Long Blondes at Lee's Palace (May 22) - photos, review
Doors Open Toronto 2008 (May 25) - photos

Here Comes The Serious Bit

concert review: The Long Blondes, Drug Rug @ Lee's Palace (Toronto, Ontario), May 22, 2008



I didn't make it for first opener local artist Hunter Valentine but made it to Lee's Palace soonafter second openers Cambridge, Massachusetts' Drug Rug began their set. The four-piece had an exhuberance that was totally admirable. In a way, they sounded like kids bashing away at their instruments(keyboards, drums, bass, guitar) topping it off with their screechy vocals. Much of it came across like a big rig driving down the highway right at you - brash, noisy and ready to knock you off your feet. That's all well and good sometimes actually. I recall an underlying rootsy, melodic element that was quite decent though in some respect I sometimes hoped that the instrumentation would come across clearer to let the melodies shine more. The sparse crowd on hand seemed to love 'em which is well-deserved although I'm still on the fence with them. But I'll keep an ear on them.

Since Sheffield, UK band The Long Blondes' live Toronto debut at Lee's Palace last June, it's somewhat surprising I haven't gained much listening mileage out of their debut album "Someone To Drive You Home". It's a highly listenable album of spunky, glammy guitar pop, perhaps distinguishable most of all by the effervescent vocals of frontwoman Kate Jackson. Even moreso, they nailed their live Toronto debut, much of it of course due to the sparkling personality of Ms. Jackson, that left us salivating for more. Perhaps the only reason I didn't listen to them more often since then was for the simple fact of having too much good music to listen to last summer.

The Long Blondes returned to Toronto and Lee's Palace last Thursday and while it wasn't as packed nor as frenetic of an atmosphere as last time, both original fans and curious onlookers showed their appreciation for the band's energy. Sporting a shorter though still feminine haircut, and wearing a striped short-sleeved top(that prominently displayed her tattoo on her upper-right arm) and short shorts, Kate danced, shimmied and posed while singing. The rest of the band's energy levels may have been pale in comparison, but Kate only proved to showed that some bands are only as good as their frontperson. Guitarist Dorian Cox and drummer Screech Louder achieved a satisfactory level of energy, while the other ladies of the band, though not necessarily emotionally removed from the goings-on, rather, IMO, exuded an aura of euro-cool and subtle sexiness. Bassist Reenie Hollis had such a subtle yet endearing hint of a smile for most of the set while guitarist/keyboardist Emma Chaplin, wearing a retro prom-inspired dress was girl-next-door sexy in her own right.

Musically, as the set was a partial introduction to tunes off their most recent disc "Couples" (which I hadn't heard before that night), it was nice to hear the variations the band have added to the Long Blondes' sound. Some of the new tunes obviously were continuations of the band's uptempo glammy pop numbers from their first album, while others had a darker feel. I recall some almost disco-y influences and a little more variation in tempo with some of the newer material. In my review of their show last year, I wrote, "The band's greatest achievement that night - making this guy in his thirties(and probably many others there) feel like a teenager all over again." The new material shows a maturity of sorts perhaps, but in the end The Long Blondes showed they still are loads of fun.

Stay tuned for my photos. I recently 'inherited' a Canon PowerShot S5 IS and this was my first time using it at a concert - man, do I need to learn how to use all its features. It's hard getting good pics in auto mode. Update: Here's my photos from the show.

MySpace: Drug Rug
MySpace: The Long Blondes

Sweet Talk

On one hand it does make perfect sense that Spiritualized could be playing Toronto Islands on August 6(as Pitchfork reports and the band's own MySpace indicate) since they're playing dates in Montreal, QC and Buffalo, NY in the days preceding that. But then August 6 is a Wednesday night and Spiritualized are already scheduled to be at the Virgin Festival at Toronto Islands on September 6. I could understand this[the Aug 6 date] being a typo, but if it is, how could you on your own MySpace? The band's new album "A & E" is out in North America this coming May 27, and a day earlier in the UK.

Go to the band's MySpace Blog for a link to an iTunes download of a live version of 'Soul on fire' recorded at the Acoustic Mainline show at the Union Chapel last year.

The NXNE Facebook page has preliminary list of hot acts to look out for at this year's festival taking place June 12-15. Most of the acts on the list I'd already heard about but there's a few I hadn't heard about participating at this year's NXNE like Sloan, Ladyhawk, and Great Lake Swimmers - in what capacity I'm not sure, but we'll see. It's been a week since I dropped in on the NXNE media conference at the Mill St. Brew Pub in the Distillery District. The actual media announcements were actually quite brief, but there was free beer(well two beer tickets) and food. Some of the details for the upcoming festival you can read here - aside from the music, I more excited for the different events that'll be happening during the festival like the shows at Yonge-Dundas Square[including a set from Ted Leo and The Pharmacists on June 13!], and the promise of "2 weeks of free outdoor shows in parks and public spaces spread all over downtown". If the weather cooperates, things like these should make it feel much more like a festival atmosphere. Not "SXSW, eat your heart out", but at least a step in the right direction.

Do You Like Rock Music?!

concert review: British Sea Power, The Rosebuds @ Lee's Palace (Toronto, Ontario), May 16, 2008



I started off my evening with Raleigh, NC's indie pop-rock trio The Rosebuds. (For an account on first opener Jeffrey Lewis, check out It's Not The Band I Hate ...). Not much has changed musically since I saw them in July 2005 at The Mod Club opening for Teenage Fanclub. They're an amiable bunch with their sunny pop melodies, girl-boy vocals and just enough ooomph in the instrumentation(electric & acoustic guitars, drums, and keyboards) to keep the twee to a minimum - over time I really think I could get into them. That said, their set was more a pleasant rather than exhilirating experience for me, although the opposite was true for that one vocal male fan in the audience who yelled out a request and which the band later did perform and dedicate to him to his delight.

2005 was also the last time I saw British Sea Power live when they played a frenetic live set in May of that year, also at Lee's Palace. As with that show in 2005, local Toronto anglophile/eccentric Kayvon was on hand again(handpicked by the band themselves apparently) to introduce British Sea Power to the excited crowd(and really 3 years is way too long of a wait!). The 6-member strong group took the stage holding in their hands leaf-adorned tree branches(presumably from the neighbourhood) which they proceeded to decorate the stage with. Yes, they did this last time they were in Toronto but I haven't tired of it yet. With a set heavily focused on the new disc "Do You Like Rock Music?", with several from their debut "The Decline of British Sea Power" and only one(unfortunately) from their second album "Open Season", the band's urgent melodic rock songs swelled with the mix of the energetically performed guitars, drums, keys, viola, cornet and Yan's(or sometimes Hamilton's) vocals. The physical antics(eg. shoulder-carrying of members) of the band were kept to a minimum this time around except for a moment when guitarist Noble lifted Kay-Von(who had a camcorder on hand) and carried him off stage to the side of the club for a moment as Kayvon continued to shoot. Shooting footage for a DVD perhaps? I don't know. Bass guitarist/occassional vocalist Hamilton was an interesting subject to watch for most of the night - wearing a loose sleeveless top(which in all honesty I think was a women's top, though showing off his muscular biceps) he gave off this eccentric weirdo vibe, with facial expressions that alternated between vacant gazes toward the audience and pained expressions of energy. Energy spent by the end of the more than hour long set and drenched in sweat, Hamilton and the band continued their tradition of no encores, and left the stage with the audience wanting more although thoroughly satisfied with what we'd already got. Overall, their set ranks as one of the most exhilirating I've seen this year.

Photos to come. Update: Photos over at my Flickr. In the meantime, check out reviews/photos of the show over at It's Not The Band I Hate... and The Panic Manual.

MySpace: The Rosebuds
MySpace: British Sea Power

Victoria, Victoria

I got my weekend off to a good start with the British Sea Power show at Lee's Palace on Friday. It was one my favourite shows of the year so far. It's Not The Band I Hate... already has his review/photos up - mine should be up hopefully by Tuesday. It's Holiday Monday(Victoria Day) today and I just want to take it easy.

Also my friend and I caught Iron Man on Saturday night and yes it lives up to the hype. But boy, those credits were LONG in order to get to that preview for The Avengers.

Swedish pop band The Concretes released their last LP "Oh Boy" last year but didn't tour North America(or at least Toronto) for it, but recently played in Paris, France which is their last show for a while apparently. While in Paris, they ran through a couple of intimate live performances which they filmed for posterity (links below via the band's MySpace blog):

Video: The Concretes - "A Whale's Heart" (live in Paris, France - April 28, 2008)
Video: The Concretes - "Military Madness" (live in Paris, France - April 28, 2008)

Heading to Glasgow, Camera Obscura are reported to be working with Swedes Peter, Bjorn and John on the followup to 2006's "Let's Get out of This Country". They have two handfuls of live dates this summer, though nothing on this side of the pond unfortunately.

And finally, I might as well rattle off some tour dates before the long weekend comes to a close. So a I get another opportunity to see Eric's Trip live as they're back for a show at The Mod Club on June 3, tickets $15.

I haven't heard much of The Stills these days, but they're kicking around and they'll also be at The Mod Club but on June 11, tickets $18.

I pointed out recently that Pollstar is listing The Hidden Cameras as performing as part of the Pride Festival on June 28-29 and while that hasn't been confirmed yet, I do see that Billboard is listing them playing Pride on June 28, and that Ian Cooke's MySpace says the Ian Cooke Band will be performing from 10:00 to 10:40 pm on June 28 at the TD Canada Trust Wellesley Stage, followed by The Hidden Cameras. Update: Pacquin Entertainment, lists the 'Cams performing June 28 as part of Pride at 10 pm at the South Stage, Church Street! Prior to Pride, Outside Music lists The 'Cameras to be at the Phoenix on June 12 with Rough Trade as part of an NXNE-sponsored event.

Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for pointing out a new set of Hot Chip dates. They'll be touring this fall which'll bring 'em back to T.O for a show at the Kool Haus on September 30. Considerably sooner, Brooklyn Vegan brings just-around-the-corner tour dates for buzzy locals Crystal Castles who'll be at Harbourfront Centre on July 5, presumably as part of the Beats, Breaks and Culture festival.

Local Toronto turntablists iNSiDEaMiND are making the rounds over the next couple of months with several live dates including June 13 at Social (as part of NXNE), June 27 at Gladstone Hotel, and July 4 at Lakeside Terrace at Harbourfront as part of local record label Public Transit Recordings 10th anniversary showcase happening during the Beats, Breaks, and Culture festival.

The July 20 Toronto date for the Rock The Bells tour has been moved to Arrow Hall in Mississauga from original venue Molson Ampitheatre. Anyone happy about that? Anyone? I didn't think so.

Atlas Sound and El Guincho will be at The Mod Club on July 22, according to Pollstar.

Do It

concert review: Clinic, Shearwater @ Lee's Palace (Toronto, Ontario), May 11, 2008



Given Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg doing double duty in that band and Okkervil River at least until recently(as he's now officially left Okkervil River to concentrate on Shearwater), the easy path to describing Shearwater, by a newbie like me, is to compare them to Okkervil RIver. Based on their performance at Lee's Palace this past Sunday night, I did find that they mined a similar sombre territory as Okkervil River during their more introverted moments. With white lights at the base of the stage pointing upwards and half illuminating the band members, it set a dramatic mood that nicely complimented the similarly moody folk-rock numbers. I found Shearwater's dramatic folk-rock tunes to be precision-calculated from the intertwined instrumentation of strings, keys, guitar, drums and Jonathan Meiburg's choir-gentleman vocals to the length of the songs themselves which aesthetically I could have imagined as longer and drawn out but rather for the most part stayed within a more conventional 4-5 minute pop timeframe. All killer and no filler. Although, it wasn't a huge crowd onhand for their set, those of us there audibly showed our appreciation.

An odd lineup pairing Shearwater with headliners Clinic, but then who said consistency was a necessity. Frankly, I was bored with Clinic's last performance at the same venue in March 2007, but this time around it was a marked improvement, even if it seems that attendance to their shows seems to dwindle a little each time they pass through town. Perhaps it being Sunday night kept a few people at home, but by the time Clinic hit the stage at least it filled up more. With nary any medical scrubs in sight, the band still maintained their signature surgical masks, and also came decked out in Hawaian shirts. Clinic's maniacal pop-billy romps have over the years tended to sound a little samey across albums to the extent that I never even purchased their last few albums "Winchester Cathedral" and "Visitations", but with their recently-released new album "Do It" from which the band played some numbers from, Clinic showed they have a few tricks still up their sleeve. Worthy additions to the band's repertoire included skewed takes on rockabilly('The Witch') and 50's bachelor pad lounge music('Free Not Free'). Most of the set material resided in that menacing pop territory with hurried strummed guitar, plodding bass, sinister organ, a bit of melodica, topped off with vocalist Ade Blackburn's distinctive sing-speak and the band played it energetically. It's a bit bothersome they're not much of a talker but oh well, maybe they're trying to maintain their mystique. We did encourage the lads to come out for two encores[which in total, I recall wasn't more than four songs] and I realized one thing at the end - I'm not tired of Clinic yet.

I took some photos but have been too lazy to sort through them, but stay tuned. Update[May 31, 2008]: Photos up. I also added the photo above.

Chartattack enjoyed the show as well.

Just a reminder, that Shearwater will return to Toronto next month for a show with Frog Eyes and Evangelicals at Horseshoe Tavern on June 23.

MySpace: Shearwater
MySpace: Clinic

Wizard of Ahhs

concert review: Cut Copy, Black Kids, Mobius Band @ Phoenix (Toronto, Ontario), May 9, 2008

What differences there may have been between the three bands that played the Phoenix last Friday, the one thing they did have in common was that they all got our booty shaking, and as the night went on increasingly so.

However, given that propensity towards dancing, each band were actually relatively different from each other. Brooklyn, NY trio Mobius Band took the stage amidst the crowd chatted and almost immediately dove into their set. What's interesting about their music is that it merges indie rock, pop melodies and electronic rhythms quite seamlessly, that one never seems to overpower the other. Some easy points of reference are that Mobius Band sound like a rockier version of The Postal Service or from a different angle like the touring version of Junior Boys(who often now tour with a live drummer) with the electronica elements played more subtly. At the end of it all, it was just pop music which just as easily could have been stripped of it's electronica elements and played straight. Would it have been as interesting? I'm not sure, but I'd rather not dwell on that anymore than I have to. As vigorous and vibrant as the drumming was, it was somewhat haphazard and busy at times - at least it made for interesting watching, especially when the drummer seemed to hit the cymbals and snare drum at hummingbird speed. Their set was more intense than anything I remember hearing off their MySpace, especially so for a band on the roster of the usually-mellow Misra Records label.

It's been a long time since I've given in to blog hype and bought tickets to a show based on that, but I figured it'd be fun way to celebrate my birthday(well, actually May 8 was) and I got my buddy to come along, so why not. That said, I'd really only given Black Kids a few listens[alll the more surprising since I've had their free EP "Wizard of Ahhhs" on my hard drive for months] and I don't think I'd heard a note of Cut Copy before that night. I'd assumed that Cut Copy were next but was a little surprised to find Black Kids take the stage as the second openers. Whatevs. The young Jacksonville, Florida 5-piece(3 dudes, 2 girls) come off like the American version of The Go! Team, all youthful exhuberance. But rather than The Go Team! penchant for American hip hop, shouty pop songs, and Saturday morning cartoon themes, Black Kids take American indie rock and maybe a little British post-punk and give it a little funk, soul, and just a tad of doo-wop. As interesting as that might sound, I don't necessarily think they pull it off musically all the time. Lead vocalist Reggie Youngblood [how cool a name is that?] sounds often like The Cure's Robert Smith to me, but he dances(or at least tries to) like James Brown. My last few points leads to my main issue with them which is that such a sonic stew of influences deserves better songs. That said, although the first half of their set I found musically weak, they definitely improved over the second half of their set starting with a newer tune which Reggie stated they hadn't played much up till that point. A more conventional 'pop' tune compared to their other tunes perhaps, but that song was actually my favourite song of theirs during the night.

By the time Aussie headliners Cut Copy took the stage, the crowd swelled to the venue's capacity. If Black Kids' reception was warm, Cut Copy's was downright sizzling. Much-loved apparently by many fans who'd caught them on earlier jaunts through town, and here I was not having heard a note of theirs. I keep on reading about comparison to New Order which quite honestly I wasn't really thinking of as I listened to Cut Copy's set, but in retrospect I guess it does ring true. Although to me while New Order were fantastic at melding pop melodies with electronica influences and some band instrumentation, I thought Cut Copy were much less adept at that. It's like, when the song was more electronica influenced, some of the melodies weren't as memorable while when the electronica elements were laid to rest and the band was all guitars and drums, the melodies were actually better. Part of my impressions might just be due to unfamiliarity with their songs, but that's how I feel. Cut Copy must be given props for the momentum and energy they maintained throughout the show and which was obviously reflected in the crowd's adoring response.

Musically the night wasn't my usual cup of tea, but it was more like an energy drink that get's your heart pumping at just the right time.

MySpace: Mobius Band
MySpace: Black Kids
MySpace: Cut Copy

The Otherside

Hope everything went well at the Ohbijou show in New York City last night. Ohbijou's also playing a show in NYC tonight. I bring this up because it seems they aren't getting much love from New Yorkers, if the comment section over at Brooklyn Vegan is any indication. I must mention that the comments were made prior to Ohbijou's live NYC shows and based on cursory impressions of some YouTube video and photos that Brooklyn Vegan posted. Comments range from the "...asian Broken Social Scene...", "Wow! Another uber-quirky collective!! A new one every fucking day.", and "welcome to Brooklyn!, there are 56,435 bands/idiots just like you!". New Yorkers are a fickle bunch - way to be open-minded. Of course, we can retaliate and tell 'em all about they're shitty bands who come through Toronto, but then we're Canadian and of course we're polite about it(well, some times). Of course, we still like Ohbijou, and they'll be in Toronto for a show at Harbourfront on June 28.

Pitchfork.tv has a special live performance at Avatar Studios in New York City with The Last Shadow Puppets performing a stripped down version of the title track of their debut album "The Age Of The Understatement".

Tokyo Police Club took over MPR: The Current's studio for a live session. Black Kids recently did likewise. Black Kids are at the Phoenix with Cut Copy and Mobius Band tonight.

There's a few more additions to the Toronto Virgin Festival lineup - The Fratellis have been added to the Saturday September 6 lineup while Cadence Weapon and Ladyhawk will perform on Sunday September 7. [via Pollstar].

NME reports that Madonna will set out on a world tour (which she's dubbed "Sticky and Sweet") at the end of August and she'll stop in Toronto for a show at Air Canada Centre on October 18. She'll be in Montreal at Bell Centre on October 22.

Laetitia Sadler will be doing double duty when Stereolab and Monade hit the road together. Monade will open for Stereolab when the the pair drop in at the Phoenix for a show on October 8[via Pitchfork]. The new album "Chemical Chords" will be released August 18 worldwide and August 19 in the US.

Pitchfork reports on Coldplay's upcoming world tour which stops in at Air Canada Centre for two nights, October 29-30. Don't worry rest of Canada - you get a few dates too.

Yippee. Picked up my ticket today for My Bloody Valentine at Ricoh Coliseum on September 25. Floors. Mental note: bring earplugs.

Soon

If the blooming cherry blossom trees in High Park didn't get you in the mood to throw onto your iPod the "Lost In Translation" soundstrack and listen to My Bloody Valentine well then why not the real thing? The big news this week(via Pitchfork) is that My Bloody Valentine have confirmed more North American tour dates which include a Toronto date at Ricoh Coliseum on September 25. Tickets are $47.50, onsale this Friday at 12 pm at Ticketmaster.ca. Is Rotate This or Soundscapes getting a ticket allotment? I don't know. There's been some discussion about whether Ricoh Coliseum's too big of a venue for MBV. Granted I'm sure MBV have gained more and more fans over the years. It's quite possible that MBV won't sell out Ricoh but I'd rather that I have a realistic chance of snagging some tickets rather than the venue be a smaller one and risk not getting any tickets at all. MBV coming to Toronto - best concert news of the year so far. It makes the wait for Portishead(who should hopefully be touring North America next year) that much easier to bear.

Coming up next month with NXNE, there's already a partial list of confirmed bands including Young and Sexy(maybe I'll finally getting around to seeing them). I've been sampling some of the MySpace samples of the different bands and it seems like a stronger more interesting set of artists this year. It should be a good one. There's also a partial list of confirmed films for this year's film component to NXNE.

A few (relatively) recognizable names to look forward to at this year's NXNE are Toronto's The Diableros who'll be at the Silver Dollar on June 13 as part of the Magnificent Sevens showcase while Montreal's The Luyas will be at the same venue on June 14 as part of the Pop Montreal showcase.

I know Chromewaves already mentioned the following info earlier this week, but just another heads up that TV On The Radio hit the Kool Haus on July 2, and Calexico are at The Mod Club on July 6.

I might possibly expand on this further, but I just want to mention that the just released The Last Shadow Puppets disc "The Age Of The Understatement" notably featuring the string arrangements of Owen Pallett conducting the London Metropolitan Orchestra, is bloody fantastic.

Video: The Last Shadow Puppets - "Meeting Place" (live @ Avatar Studios in New York City on March 4, 2008)

Torn Blue Foam Coach

Sometimes all it takes to discovering a favourite new band is to stay up late and watch the late-night talk shows. New Sub Pop signees Grand Archives made their debut television appearance yesterday on Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson performing an energetically poppy version of "Torn Blue Foam Coach". It was first time hearing them, and they're a wonderful discovery. I may just check 'em out live when they come to Toronto for a show at El Mocambo on June 6. Full dates over at their MySpace. And now their performance yesterday:

Video: Grand Archives - "Torn Blue Foam Coach" (live on Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson - April 30, 2008)

video link courtesy of Bona Fide Darling

Raleigh, North Carolina's Annuals are at the Drake Underground on June 16, tickets $15. The band's newest EP "Wet Zoo" was recently released. Check out the video for 'Sore' from the EP:

Video: Annuals - "Sore" (music video)

Jill Barber stops in at Harbourfront Centre on June 27 and 28 as part of the Banff Lake Louise Tourism sponsored 'A Rocky Mountain High' weekend event.

Beth Orton will be at Danforth Music Hall on July 8, tickets $29.50. Her last album "Comfort of Strangers" came out in 2006 and I've heard of no news of new material, but she did a brief solo acoustic tour in the US in March, so I wonder if she'll be going that route for the Toronto show.

Newest Vice Records signees Berlin's King Khan And The Shrines have two shows lined up at the Horseshoe Tavern on July 23 and 24, tickets $15, 8 pm doors the first night and tickets $10, 9 pm doors the second night. I don't know why the ticket price is different for each night but that's what rootmeansquare says.

Lycanthropy brings news that new blog-hyped act Does It Offend You, Yeah? will hit Toronto for a show at Drake Underground on August 4. They remind me of a collision between dance-punk and electronica - I'm sure the kids'll love 'em. Check out a music video:

Video: Does It Offend You, Yeah - "We Are Rockstars" (music video)

Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands points to new Shins. Ok, it's The Shins performing on a children's show, specifically Nickelodeon Jr.'s live-action music series for kids, Yo Gabba Gabba! The song's called "It's Okay, Try Again" and as kids songs goes, it's a fun little ditty. For convenience check out the YouTube vid below(which'll air on Nickolodeon in the future):

Video: The Shins - "It's Okay, Try Again" (on 'Yo Gabba Gabba')

Stereogum's got the goods on the new Sloan album "Parallel Play"[due out June 10]. Stereogum also has an mp3 of the song "I'm Not A Kid Anymore" from the new album available for download. Thanks to Stereogum for pointing to a stream of the album:

Stream: Sloan - "Paralell Play" (album)

Calgary's Sled Island Festival gets even better with the addition of grab bag full of worthy acts including Broken Social Scene, Tegan and Sara, Grizzly Bear, Yo La Tengo, and Okkervil River among others. Check out the news over at Chartattack. Broken Social Scene is playing Sled Island AND Montreal's Osheaga Festival, which makes me wonder if they're ramping up for more Canadian dates including a hometown show.

One Man Show

Jarvis Cocker will be in the virtual Bowery Ballroom for a Q & A session tomorrow April 30 at 3 pm EST followed by the broadcast of a full concert from the last time he visited NYC.

A new Stereolab album, "Chemical Chords" will be released August 19 in the US, and worldwide a day prior [via Pitchfork].

Maybe this year'll be the year I finally attend the Hillside Festival (July 25-27) in Guelph. Some names have already been announced like Cowboy Junkies, Hawksley Workman, Hayden and The Sadies but a little digging on my part reveals more names to look forward to including Six Shooter Records artists Elliott Brood, Jenn Grant, and Justin Rutledge. Other artists scheduled to be there, according to their respective MySpace sites, are akron/family, The Luyas, The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, po' girl, and Spiral Beach.

Chromewaves is on the ball as usual with some interesting/exciting concert news that includes some NXNE-related shows such as Money Mark at Horseshoe Tavern on June 12, Evan Dando at the Horseshoe on June 13 and Redd Kross at Lee's Palace on June 14.

Further down the road, Ohbijou are at Harbourfront on June 28, and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds are at Kool Haus on October 1.

At the end of this week, sister duo(or is that trio now?) Smoosh are playing an instore at Sonic Boom on May 2 at 7 pm prior to their opening slot for Tokyo Police Club at The Opera House later that evening.

Magic Doors

Portishead at Coachella 2008


An an ounce of regret weighed on me as I watched Portishead's set at Coachella this past Saturday night through AT&T's Blue Room internet video feed. With a little motivation I might have just organized another trip back to Coachella, although thinking back to my trip to the festival in 2004, it was a lot of planning, within a short period of time. Cherish that trip as I do, I don't miss the heat, the sweat, the lineups, the overpriced water botteles and my aching body at the end of each day(and back then it was only two days, unlike the present's three day festival).

Whatever one's qualms might be about corporate sponsorship, AT&T's affiliation with Coachella was a positive one if only for them to have the foresight to broadcast Portishead's penultimate set of day two of the festival(no offense, Prince). Remember when internet video was choppy, grainy and just downright not worth it? Internet streaming video today is much better today and while that technical improvement is appreciated, it's still rare that I feel any sort of emotional connection to any live video streaming over the internet. That said, Portishead's Coachella set exceeded all my expectations. As crisp picture quality I've ever seen for internet streaming video, the multi-angled camera shots took full advantage in conveying the awesomeness of Portishead's stage production which cast the band and stage in varying degrees of light and shadow, and hues of black, white, blue and red against a giant video screen backdrop that revealed the subtlties in expression of the band members' faces and musicianship. Beth Gibbons was maybe never more exposed as the camera took the most intimate closeups of her face as she sang into and hung on her microphone for dear life.

Portishead's return to the tour circuit has been a selective one as so far they only have a select number of European dates lined up(and apparently won't be touring in the US[and presumably in Canada] until 2009).For North Americans, Coachella was to be their proving ground after a painful 11 year absence between their last album, the self-tited "Portishead" and the to-be-released-tomorrow new album "Third" and their first live show in North America in 10 years. I will say that Portishead rose to the task both in terms of the performance of the older material(changing things up a bit for example in an even more intimate version of "Wandering Star") and the newer material that bookended and sprinkled the set which displayed the evolution of Portishead from its trip-hop roots but still felt like Portishead in terms of rhythm, vocals, and dynamics(although the loud was louder than anything you'd have expected from them - a pleasant surprise). It was as thoroughly enjoyable and goosebump-inducing as one could expect. Portishead are back.

Watching a concert on the internet will perhaps never replace the live experience - the communal aspect and the sensory impressions - but from thousands of miles away, I made that intimate connection to Portishead. God, I wish I'd been there, but on the other hand, knowing my luck I'd probably have had some tall dude stand right in front of me.

Here's the setlist.

The L.A. Times and NME reviews Portishead's set.

Check out some awesome photos from Portishead's Coachella set over at Brooklyn Vegan(courtesy of Ryan Muir).

Deaf Indie Elephants has the whole set available for download in mp3 format. So does Mystic Chords Of Memory[via Brooklyn Vegan]

Photos galore of Portishead at Coachella over at Flickr.

Lots of spectator video of Portishead's Coachella set over at YouTube.

And a last reminder, Portishead's new album "Third" is in stores tomorrow. Or you can purchase the limited-edition box set over at the Portishead Online Store.

Road To Somewhere

Other than a few US tour dates coming up in the next few days(including an appearance at this weekend's Coachella festival), there's still yet no news of North American tourdates for Goldfrapp. She did recently precede her Coachella appearance with a session for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and a performance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno:

Video: Goldfrapp - Happiness" (live on The Tonight Show - April 22, 2008)
Audio/Video: Goldfrapp - live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic - April 23, 2008

Goldfrapp's tour dates are almost solidly booked throughout the summer in Europe, so a better bet for North American tour dates might be this fall.

Another band on my tour-date radar(and also at this year's Coachella) is Portishead, although no news yet of a Toronto/other North American dates but in the meantime, watch Geoff and Adrian speak briefly(1 min and 36 secs) with The Herald Sun about Portishead's new album "Third", check out a cool live version of "Machine Gun" the band performed in Berlin at the end of March for Vertigo.tv, and check out their live performance on Later With Jools Holland on April 18:

Video: Portishead's Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley speak with The Herald Sun (1 min and 36 sec)
Video: Portishead - "Machine Gun" (live in Berlin - filmed for Vertigo.tv - end of March 2008)
Video: Portishead -"We Carry On" (live on Later... - April 18, 2008)
Video: Portishead -"The Rip" (live on Later... - April 18, 2008)
Video: Portishead -"Machine Gun" (live on Later... - April 18, 2008)

By the way, Portishead's new album "Third" (released in Canada on April 29) is streaming over at Last.fm for your enjoyment for a week(it started April 21).

Concert/festival announcements have been coming with full force this week including preliminary and or full lineups for the Toronto Jazz Festival(June 20-29) at various venues, Rogers Picnic(July 20) at Historic Fort York in Toronto, and Hillside(July 25-27) in Guelph. Check the respective websites for further info. There's also the 'Rock The Bells' tour coming to Molson Ampitheatre on July 20 featuring A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and a reunited Pharcyde among others - more details over at Billboard.

In my neck of the woods, the considerably more modest Mississauga Waterfront Festival(June 13-15) lineup has been announced, and I have to say that most years it doesn't appeal to me much but this year The Sadies are playing the evening of June 13, opening for Matthew Good. While I've never really been a fan of Matthew Good, his most recent album "Hospital Music" (inspired by Matthew's divorce, his battle with bipolar disorder and his eventual overdose) which I'd sampled recently was a more stripped-down affair and revealed moments of clarity and honesty that made me want to give him a second chance. I mean, he sells(did sell?) tonnes of records in Canada, and all those fans can't be wrong.

These New Puritans and French Kicks are at the Reverb on June 12 as part of an NME showcase for NXNE. [via The Windish Agency]

Up and coming indie act Times New Viking are at Horseshoe Tavern on Canada Day, July 1. [via Ground Control Touring]

The Black Keys are at the Phoenix on August 3 and the Osheaga Festival in Montreal the following day. More dates here.

Trouble In Dreams

concert review: Destroyer, Colossal Yes @ Lee's Palace (Toronto, Ontario), April 19, 2007



Even if Oakland, California trio Colossal keyboard-playing frontman Utrillo Kushner mentioned that this show was the first time they'd played more than a few shows in a row, doesn't necessarily excuse them for being a little lacklustre. They weren't without their merits though. I give them props for bringing back the Ben Folds Five configuration - drums, bass guitar, and a keyboard-playing vocalist. There were some moments of enjoyment - a sunny melody here, some spunky rhythms there, and even a little bit of Wilco-esque alt country edginess but overall they lacked the liveliness and charm that Ben Folds Five were known for. Chalk it up to inexperience but perhaps they'll get better with time.

The night did only get slightly better with headliner Destroyer, featuring frontman Dan Bejar and a full band lineup. While Dan's presence was missed slightly for The New Pornographers show at the Phoenix on April 8, I figured the Destroyer show would make up for that. It's surprising that even as rockin'(instrumentally speaking) as Destroyer's set was, it was actually a little boring, part of that due to me not recognizing many of the songs. At least according to some concert-goers, most of the songs were from the most recent album "Trouble In Dreams"(which I purchased at the show, if only because it was only $12) and from past album "This Night", two albums that I hadn't heard. Disappointedly, I only recognized "Rubies" off of Destroyer's last album "Destroyer's Rubies". The intricate pop of some of Destroyer's earlier work was missed for most of the set, replaced by a rockier tone that while I did find enjoyable in spurts, it would have been more of a satisfying set had Dan rounded out the set list a bit better. But so it goes.

Photos to come(only a few, so don't get your hopes up). Update: Here they are finally.

MySpace: Colossal Yes
MySpace: Destroyer

Record Store Day

On a glorious sunny day yesterday, I 'celebrated' Record Store Day down at Soundscapes who were offering 10 % off most of their inventory. Going a little old school & new school, after a little deliberation I picked up The Modern Lovers' self-titled 1976 released album and British Sea Power's most recent disc "Do You Like Rock Music?".

British Sea Power will make their way back to Toronto for a show at Lee's Palace on May 16 while The Modern Lovers' Jonathan Richman only has a handful of US/Canadian dates on his itinerary(including a date at the Sled Island Festival in Calgary at the end of June) but unfortunately none in Toronto. The last time he played in Toronto he played three nights at Lula Lounge in 2004, one of the nights which I went to, so it's not like he's adverse to playing here I guess. C'mon Jojo, put Toronto on the sched.

Youtube: The Modern Lovers - "Roadrunner"
Youtube: British Sea Power - "Waving Flags" (music video)
Youtube: British Sea Power - "No Lucifer" (music video)

ps. Speaking of Soundscapes, Toronto's Born Ruffians will be performing for an instore on Sunday April 27 at 4 pm.

I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too

Uncut has a favourable and well-written review of Portishead's soon-to-be-released new album "Third" as well as a brief interview with member Geoff Barrow.

Transplanted Montrealer, now living in Brooklyn, Martha Wainwright returns to Toronto for a show at The Mod Club on June 6 according to Pollstar. The announcement is on the heels of the news of her upcoming second album entitled "I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too" which will be available June 10.

I guess it makes sense that while Mogwai is already scheduled to appear at the Sled Island Music Festival in Calgary on June 28 that they might as well schedule other North American dates around it. Toronto, consider yourself lucky, because they've so far only confirmed one other date and it'll be at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on June 30[via Ground Control Touring]. Ok, Mogwai fans you can now scream.

The Windish Agency has some upcoming dates for Brazilian hipsters CSS which include a date at Kool Haus on August 5 with UK's The Go Team. Now that should be fun times.

20 Degrees Celsius tomorrow! Time to get out the mountain bike.

Hard Feelings

Here's a stop-gap post of assorted concert announcements and music news until some real content comes along:

Peter Moren(of Peter Bjorn and John) is at the El Mocambo on April 24. The show was moved from The Mod Club.

Aversion interviews The Constantines who are at the Phoenix on May 1 and the Virgin Festival at Toronto Islands on September 6. Their newest album "Kensington Heights" is available to stream over at their MySpace; more tour dates over there as well.

Constantine guitarist Steve Lambke aka Baby Eagle is at Tranzac on April 26 and the Silver Dollar on April 28.

Rebekah Higgs is at Ukula on May 2[last two tour items via Outside Music].

Portland, Oregon's The Helio Sequence are at the Horseshoe Tavern on May 26[via Inland Empire Touring].

Coming back to Toronto on June 6(after her recent sold-out show at the Rivoli), British soul sensation Adele returns for a show June 6 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre [via Beggars Group Canada].

Beggars Group Canada also will also bring the suave folk-pop stylings of Adam Green to Toronto for a show at Horseshoe Tavern on June 6. His most recent album "Sixes and Seven" is out now through Rough Trade and can be sampled over at his MySpace.

My Morning Jacket return to Toronto(after their recent show at Berkeley Church) for a show at Kool Haus on June 16.

Though not confirmed by the band's website nor their MySpace, Pollstar indicates that Toronto's The Hidden Cameras return home to take part in Pride on June 28 and 29.

The Windish Agency is now listing Poni Hoax(no longer Datarock) as the opener for the Ladytron show at Harbourfront Centre on July 4.

Richard Thompson is at The Danforth Music Hall Theatre on July 6, tickets $35.00.

Not riled by bogus record reviews by Maxim magazine, The Black Crowes come to prove themselves at Massey Hall on July 12.

I'm still not quite sure of the musical lineage that runs through the band A Hack And A Hacksaw(are they a Neutral Milk Hotel side project?; what's the Beirut connection?) as I haven't devoted enough time to reading up on them but they're at El Mocambo on July 16 and my interest is piqued by the samples over at their MySpace.

Brooklyn, NY's Oneida are at a venue TBA on August 15[ via Kork Agency ].

Chartattack reports that Sloan's 13-track new album "Parallel Play" will be released through Yep Roc in the U.S on June 8 and it's expected(though not confirmed) that Sloan will release through their own label Murderecords in Canada on the same day. Chartattack has the new album's tracklisting.

Lyncanthropy has mp3's of Portishead's recent performance on Current TV of new songs from their forthcoming album "Third". Thank you Lycanthropy.

The Stage Names

concert review: The New Pornographers, Okkervil River @ Phoenix Concert Theatre (Toronto, Ontario), April 8, 2008



An odd pairing of sorts, Vancouver power poppers The New Pornographers and the literate, emotive Americana of Okkervil River took over the Phoenix last Tuesday. As still a relative newcomer to the band, jumping on the bandwagon so to speak with their last album "Black Sheep Boy" and seeing them for the first time live back in September 2007 at Lee's Palace, Okkervil River's opening set last Tuesday was a chance for me to reacquaint myself with their live set. Do my eyes and ears deceive me but were lead vocalist Will Sheff's vocals and mannerism's more affected this time around? They put on a damn fine set still in my opinion, but it seemed that Will was putting more effort into his vocals to emote rather than letting it come across naturally. New guitarist Charles Bissell from The Wrens was a joy to watch in his sort of jerky guitar playing style, at times locking his elbow as he whipped out some mini windmill guitar strums.

One thing's for sure, but Toronto never gets tired of The New Pornographers, especially if Neko Case and Dan Bejar are in tow. No Dan this time around(in any case, I'll get to see his baby Destroyer at Lee's this coming Saturday), but Neko Case was in the house, and her presence and vocals were a definite asset, especially on brooding numbers like "Bones Of An Idol" and "The Bleeding Heart Show". Of course, The Porns' are best during their uptempo numbers(only because they distract one from the fact that they have little stage presence), by now which you all know which they are, but highlights of course included "Mass Romantic", "The Laws Have Change", "Sing Me Spanish Techno", and "Use It". Thanks, to Neko for pointing out the new art work adorning the Phoenix's walls - somewhat disturbing art of psychotic looking clowns - I"m sure Neko pointed out the art out in jest but really they are kind of creepy, don't you think? I liked how Carl cheekily said he almost didn't notice them. That humorous banter aside, The Porns' stuck to what they do best, which is the music. Musically, they never disappoint at least in my books, but sometimes I wish they'd dress up in bunny suits or do something else visually to make their live set a better live experience. The cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" was a welcome diversion although why during the last few times they come through Toronto haven't they thought of performing their cover of Toronto 80's rock band Toronto's "Daddy Don't Know"? Just a thought. (If they could perform in full cheesy 80's dress-up, that would be a bonus.)

Check out my photos from the show over at my Flickr.

More reviews of the show over at Chromewaves, chartattack and Burnside Writer's Blog.

MySpace: Okkervil River
MySpace: The New Pornographers

Portishead In Portishead

Portishead performs 8 songs from their forthcoming album "Third" for Current TV. The video below has been up on current.com for several hours now but those of you lucky enough to get Current TV through your cable network can watch it now in better resolution(it started at 10 pm EST) and it will be repeated several times - check your local listings. Enjoy:

If I Could Cry (it would feel like this)

concert review: Jens Lekman, Final Fantasy, Katie Stelmanis @ The Great Hall (Toronto, Ontario), April 7, 2008



When I first caught the news that Jens Lekman was going to play a two-night stint at The Music Gallery(for April 7 and 8) with Katie Stelmanis opening the first night and Final Fantasy the next, I decided to buy a ticket for each show. However, those bragging rights went out the window when the two-nighter was changed to one-night and moved to the larger The Great Hall to accommodate more fans, some who'd originally been left disappointed when the original two nights sold out relatively quickly. Much of my excitement for Jens' original plans to play at The Music Gallery were based on that blissful evening that he and a few friends played at that venue back in 2005 which I admitted was by far my favourite show of that year. So it wasn't to be at The Music Gallery this time but Great Hall was a fine replacement. I'd never been there until that night and it was a nice discovery - the second floor banquet hall(where the show took place) was beautiful in it's spaciousness, nice wooden floor, adequately high stage, and second-level balcony area. This was the setting for Jens Lekman's return to Toronto after an almost three year absence.

Young Toronto artist Katie Stelmanis, accompanied by percussionist Maya Postepski, opened the show. Downsized to a duo(from the full band that I'd seen Katie with during CMW), it was Katie on vox/keyboards, and Maya on drums and percussion, as well as activating back rhythm tracks on the trusty iPod. The performance was equal parts stark, dramatic vocals, approaching-on-threatening drum arrangements, and somber minor-key melodies. The drumming(fairly straightforward time signatures) seemed much more propulsive this time around, and to great effect. Towards the end of the set, the string of lights attached to the front of Katie's keyboard were illuminated casting Katie for a bit in half light and shadow to great visual effect. The stage lights were turned up subsequently as Katie and Maya performed a unconventional yet still stirring rendition of Roy Orbison's "Crying".

Given the career path of Owen Pallett(aka Final Fantasy) over the last several years, it's surprising that the most 'intimate' show I saw him live was when he opened for The Arcade Fire at Danforth Music Hall in 2005. The only other time I saw him live was at last year's Canada Day show at Harbourfront. I don't expect him to perform many intimate venues in Toronto anymore, or not all that often, so it was a treat to catch at Great Hall a few nights ago. A set riddled with sound problems, much of it was not really that bothersome to me as it was to others, but perhaps the beautiful visual overhead projections of artist Stephanie Comilang were a distraction. Looping pedal at his disposal, much of the set of course was Owen and his violin, but Owen also took a turn at keyboards. Much of Owen's music is mood music to me - that is, I need to be in the mood to listen to his brand of classically - influenced, sometimes whimsical, pop music, hence my only casual familiarity but live the songs are much more engrossing. Old songs were played and a few new songs were introduced - the regular deal. Good set, but let's move on.

It's a shame that Jens band couldn't join him this time except for percussionist Tammy Karlsson and her "lovely bongos"[I couldn't help but chuckle when Jens said this]. The majority of the set was a stripped down affair with Jens on vox and guitar and sometimes joined by Tammy on bongo drums. Lovely in its own right it, Jens solo performances are perhaps better suited for romantic serenades while sitting under a tree[like he did after the show at a park nearby, for which I unfortunately didn't stick around for]. Much of what is interesting and enjoyable about Jens' most recent album "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is the creative integration of electronic elements/rhythms in Jens' pop confections and for most of the night that element was sorely missing, notably the disco rhythms of "Sipping On The Sweet Nectar". However, the sampler/iPod or whatever Jens was using was striked up as the sampled opening twinkling piano sounds of "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You" wafted over the crowd as Jens segued into a performance of that song. The fuller sound brought to the proceedings by Owen Pallett on violin was much appreciated by me especially on songs like on the romantic "Your Arms Around Me" and "You Are The Light". "The Opposite of Hallelujah" featured the trio of Owen, Maggie Macdonald and visual artist Stephanie Comilang(taking a break from her visual projections) on background vocals. The most audience participation came early on in the evening during "Sweet Summer's Night On Hammer Hill" during the 'My Heart goes ba, ba, ba, ba, ba....' part and other than listening and laughing to Jens' humourous anecdotes and comments, it was mostly about listening to the music and soaking it all in. Unfortunately the show didn't meet the blissful levels of his last show at The Music Gallery in 2005, but considering the almost 3-year gap between shows, I'll consider myself fortunate for seeing him at all.

Check out my photos from the show over at Flickr.

More reviews/photos of the show at Chromewaves, It's Not The Band..., Narratives, chartattack and Eye Weekly. BTW, nice to meet Bob and Jen.

MySpace: Katie Stelmanis
MySpace: Final Fantasy

We Carry On

Coming up on April 11, Bristol trip-hop pioneers Portishead will be performing 8 songs from their third album "Third"(released in Canada April 29) for current.com [thanks to The Music Slut for the info]. It won't be the same as seeing them live like at this year's Coachella(no, I'm not going, btw). The band revealed to NME recently that they're divided about touring - Beth is nervous about playing live, Geoff Hates playing live and Adrian loves it - but given their scheduled Coachella and UK dates, North America can't be far off. I don't expect they'll be playing venues like Trinity St. Paul's in Toronto like they did way back when[the show I think I most regret not seeing] but I'm unsure how big of a venue they could fill. Kool Haus and Massey Hall for sure, maybe Ricoh Coliseum but I'm not sure if they could fill the Air Canada Centre. I hope that Portishead do come to Toronto and play their own headlining show but an appearance at this year's Virgin Festival at Toronto Islands this September might not be a bad thing either. The new album's out in Canada on April 29 and I've resisted downloading any leaks but I've noticed that all the songs on the new album are streaming over at YouTube. I've sampled but not completely absorbed everything but it's dark and haunting and a logical extension of where they left off. It's not trip-hop, mind you, and I'm glad of it, but the rhythm's are still there. You know you can't resist[photo above from MTV UK]:

YouTube: Portishead - "Silence"
YouTube: Portishead - "Hunter"
YouTube: Portishead - "Nylon Smile"
YouTube: Portishead - "The Rip"
YouTube: Portishead - "Plastic"
YouTube: Portishead - "We Carry On"
YouTube: Portishead - "Deep Water"
YouTube: Portishead - "Machine Gun" (music video)
YouTube: Portishead - "Small"
YouTube: Portishead - "Magic Doors"
YouTube: Portishead - "Threads"
MySpace: Portishead

Pitchfork has an interview with Portishead which I have to catch up on.

Toronto's InsideAMind are releasing their debut 12"(highlighting two tracks off their forthcoming Scatterpopia LP and they'll be hosting a record release party at The Boat on May 1[via Stille Post]. I caught them live during the Nuit Blanche festival at The Music Gallery last year and thought their turntablism sounds were very reminiscent of Portishead's Geoff Barrow.

Not as influential to Portishead, but perhaps more to Bristol's Massive Attack, legendary dub reggae artist Lee "Scratch" Perry will be at Harbourfront on June 30, according to Pollstar.

Any having nothing whatsover to do with Portishead, UK pop duo The Ting Tings will be at The Mod Club on June 16, tickets $13.50.

Me and You and a Bottle of Buckie

concert review: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Constantines @ Berkeley Church (Toronto, Ontario), April 3, 2008

Last Thursday, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists and The Constantines made up a dynamite double-bill for a taping of Beautiful Noise down at Berkeley Church. On any other night at any other venue, that double-bill would be an all-out foundations-shaker but I got the impression that both artists were holding back just a tad. After all this was television. But if they were a little more reserved than usual, they still exuded a visceral live energy that's lacking in a lot of other bands on their best nights.

The Constantines opened up the night in fine fashion with "Young Lions" with other memorable songs of the night including "Hotline Operator", "Working Full-Time", and "Young Offenders". Bry worked in some humorous banter here and there including his admission that he and the band were wearing makeup which drew a chuckle from the crowd. I've seen The Cons live a few times now and this set they were relatively more subdued. Sure, more than a few people took part during the the verse of 'Can I Get A Witness?!' during "Young Offenders" but overall the set wasn't the sweat-fest I'm used to seeing The Cons. A few new tunes(I'm assuming off their newest album "Kensington Heights") were performed whose unfamiliarity to me is only adding to the difficulty for me in spitting out this review. One relevatory moment for me though, was during "Hotline Operator", probably my favourite song of the evening - The Constantines make a kick-ass soul band. I should make mention that Bry's parents[well, I think they were] were in the audience, and his father especially, whooped it up almost louder than anyone. Now, that's parental encouragement.

As I'd mentioned back in October 2007 about Ted Leo and The Pharmacists' show at The Mod Club, I'd reached a point that I said I needed a break from seeing them live. At that point I'd already seen Ted Leo live five time(that Mod Club show making it six times) and while it's always an enjoyable experience to see Ted Leo live, his set list was becoming overly familiar. Not much necessarily changed set-list wise this time, with much of the set concentrating on his most recent disc "Living With The Living", with some scattershot older 'hits' like "Me and Mia", "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" and "Timorous Me", but I guess time makes the heart grow fonder. I wasn't as impatient as last time about hearing these songs again; I still wished he delve deeped into his catalogue every now and then. Like The Constantines, Ted also took an opportunity to introduce some new material which likely will be on the next album, apparently to come out this September(at least from what I'd overheard a young audience member mention). Perhaps the greatest part of the show was watching the reaction/participation of the younger crowd at the front of the stage, whether it be a top-of-the-lungs shout of 'Bomb.Repeat.Bomb' or the group of four young ladies at that front that danced with gleeful abandon. To be sixteen again and have a reaction like this.

MySpace: The Constantines
MySpace: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists

It Beats 4 U

concert review: My Morning Jacket @ Berkeley Church (Toronto, Ontario), March 31, 2008

Music program Beautiful Noise commenced a week of tapings for its new season this past Monday at Berkeley Church with a show by Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket. They're a band I've been aware for a while now who I'm aware have their share of fervent fans and while I'd sample their album "Z" a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend, it was only a few months ago I actually got around to buying it. Securing a spot on the guest list for the show, I took this as an opportunity to check out what the fuss was all about.

Before I continue, I must mention the RSVP fiasco which occurred outside. There were a bunch of us(maybe 30 or so) who didn't make it in right away because apparently there was an overbooking of RSVP's which of course didn't go over well given that the understanding was that our RSVP e-mail confirmation was suppose to secure our spot. Of course, phrases like "over-capacity" and "fire-marshall" were overheard. But as luck would have it, I did make it in finally(but only after My Morning Jacket's set began) as they allowed about 20 more people in. (According to The Panic Manual, he and about 8 more people left standing outside at the time were eventually let in by a kind soul.)

As was expected, it was a packed house and us last-minuters were directed to watch from the balcony which would have been great had the whole balcony area been open. The one side of the balcony that was available of course had people along the entire length of the railing which meant I had to basically settle on trying to look over people's heads(but with not much success). Part of the live experience for me is the visual element and being unable to see the stage(except for a few glimpses) was a definite detractor to my enjoyment. However, the acoustics were glorious, so there was not much else to do but settle back, have a drink and enjoy. From the time I got in to before halfway through the show, I spent my time in the balcony soaking up the songs which to me encompassed some of the best elements of rock music like extended jams and guitar solos, rock music that could be anthemic one time, smooth like a summer breeze another, and displaying a spacey, cosmic beauty the next. I was particularly enamored with the reverb-soaked melodic vocals of Jim James of which the venue's acoustics took full advantage of.

About halfway through the set I decided to make my way to the first floor and I was pleasantly surprised that they were no longer blocking access and I was able to get in. It was a tenfold improvement from the balcony and I finally was able to see most of the stage and the band. With the stage drenched in hues of blue and green and probably many other colours, the band was most dynamic during their anthemic rock numbers, at one point vocalist Jim James covering his sweat-soaked head in what seemed to be a towel or t-shirt as he continued to sing to the audience with blissful passion. The band were also adept at performing quieter, desolate numbers and the ironic thing is that, given now that I was finally able to see the band, I almost felt like closing my eyes and soaking it all in.

More reviews of the show over at Chromewaves and The Panic Manual.

ps. I hope there aren't any RSVP foul-ups when I go to the Beautiful Noise taping at Berkeley Church tomorrow featuring The Constantines and Ted Leo. I'll be showing up early, that's for sure.

MySpace: My Morning Jacket