Thrush Hermit to reunite in 2010 for live dates

  photo via Exclaim

Although still not officially confirmed, a Pollstar listing from late last week has Thrush Hermit fans excited:

Wed 03/24/10 Peterborough, ON The Historic Red Dog
Thu 03/25/10 Ottawa, ON New Capital Music Hall
Fri 03/26/10 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace
Sat 03/27/10 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace

chartattack reports it a little differently that the band are also expected to play gigs in Moncton, N.B., Halifax, Montreal and Ottawa and that they will be doing two-night stints in most of these cities. Update: As Chromewaves points out, Joel Plaskett confirms the reunion in an interview with Exclaim.

I recall someone on Facebook commenting that for the Toronto shows, the band would play their album "Sweet Homewrecker" in its entirety on March 26 and "Clayton Park" on March 27, interspersing songs from their EP's on both nights. So far that's just all hearsay, but it sounds plausible.

In googling the band recently, I found out that Thrush Hermit's last show in Toronto was a decade ago at the Reverb on December 6, 1999, a somewhat bittersweet revelation with the recent news that The Big Bop venue (which includes the Reverb, Holy Joe's, & Kathedral) is closing in January in the new year.

I'm looking forward to the Thrush Hermit reunion tour and hope this is not all a cruel joke. I even loaded up the iPod yesterday with all my Thrush Hermit releases. Although "Clayton Park" includes my favourite Thrush Hermit song ever, that being 'The Day We Hit The Coast', damn I forgot how much I liked "Sweet Homewrecker". But back to 'The Day We Hit The Coast', I also loved the video, especially the part of the band dressed up as mountain men roaming the mountain winter wilderness, then stopping to take a breather at a park bench. Classic:

Video: Thrush Hermit - "The Day We Hit The Coast" (music video)

"Last Christmas"

Just in time for the holidays! Ohbijou cover Wham's 'Last Christmas':



MP3: Ohbijou - "Last Christmas" (Wham cover)

Bonus:

UK pop artist Little Boots did an impromptu cover of this song as well:

Video: Little Boots - "Last Christmas"

Artic Monkeys' Matt Helder sang the song at one of their recent live shows in NYC (the audience sings along too!):

Video: Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders - "Last Christmas" (live in NYC, December 2009)

The Hidden Cameras, Gentleman Reg @ The Opera House, Toronto (December 5, 2009)

  The Hidden Cameras @ The Opera House: photo by Michael Ligon

Update [Dec 12/09, 3:27 pm]: Review posted below.

With transplanted Hidden Cameras frontman Joel Gibb now living in Berlin, any chance to see The Hidden Cameras play live in Toronto is an occasion. Fortunately, the band's found the time over the last year and a half or so to get together to play in their hometown including the Pride Festival in 2008 and more recently an intimate record release show at Goodhandy's in Toronto in September, both of which I was fortunate to go to. Last Saturday, they ended a recent North American tour jaunt in support of their new album "Origin: Orphan" with a spectacularly fun show at The Opera House with their cohort Reg Vermue aka Gentleman Reg opening the show.

At one point during the set, Reg mentions the current tour then expresses that Winnipeg was "fun" with a chuckle prompting a fan to ask with a grin "what kind of fun?". Such was an indication of the looseness Reg exuded on stage in between performances of songs from his most recent album "Jet Black" and other past audience faves. Reg took sips of alcohol from a cup admitting he hadn't drank alcohol in about a three months, then expressed he was feeling a little drunk but in the end Reg and the band got the job done. The incestuous relationship that Reg has with his friends The Hidden Cameras (who he used to perform live with more regularly) resulted in The Hidden Cameras' Joel Gibb, Maggie Macdonald and Laura Barrett joining Reg for a few songs with some added instrumentation and vocals. Ex of The Organ, special guest Katie Sketch also came on stage to provide vocals. Continuing his giddiness, Reg introduced the band members then prompted the audience to clap more for himself. The set ended with members of The Hidden Cameras and other assorted friends lining up near the back of the stage on either side of drummer Dana Snell for a group dance-a-thon. I'll admit my newbie status to Reg's music [at the show, I picked up a copy of his album "Jet Black", as well as his CD compilation of his Three Gut recordings entitled "Little Buildings"], but under the radar for me, he no longer is.

It's not been too long since I've last seen The Hidden Cameras live, that being in September at Goodhandy's where the band performed their new album in it's entirety. Even in those cramped confines, they managed to squeeze in both a vocal choir and small horn section, although both relegated to that venue's balcony which was a interesting setup but a little physically awkward to spectators. Last Saturday, the band brought pretty much the same setup to The Opera House onto one stage, and when all components were actually on stage at one time, it was a pretty spectacular sight. As they did at their last show, The Hidden Cameras donned black hoods as they strolled slowly onstage in the dark during the ominous keyboard drone of 'Ratify The New', it's cacophonic climax leading nicely into the steadied rhythm and melody of "Awoo" track 'Follow These Eyes". Obviously the set focused heavily on the new album but the band squeezed a good selection of older tunes even reaching back to "The Smell Of Our Own" for the crystalline 'A Miracle'. As such it turns out, the ambitiousness of some of the newer material provided somewhat of a counterpoint to some of their older more stripped down indie pop, but in the end it was Gibb's vocals and melodic sensibility that truly tied it altogether.

It seems like the audience were split, even in the literal sense, about their enthusiasm for the band, with Gibb at one point pointing out that the right half of the audience[the left side of the audience from the band's perspective] were much more enthusiastic than other half. I myself was about centre and somewhat expressive about my appreciation. Given that I was close to the front of the stage, I never visually saw how the crowd behind me was acting, but I couldn't help feel like there could have been a little more enthusiasm at times. I remember past Camera shows when the crowd at the front of the stage would turn into an all-out dance party. Such a vibe didn't pervade the entire show this time, but with a little coaxing from Gibb at times and just seeing the collective party atmosphere onstage seemed to coax more of the audience to come out of their shells.

Although the performance of the new album's wasn't entirely sequential it did come to that for the main set's final three songs with the band's dance-oriented 'Underage', their brassy/choral 'The Little Bit' and their melancholy 'Silence Can Be A Headline'. When the band came back for a fantastic cover of Rihanna's 'Umbrella' (which actually had the audience singing along!) and the spirited 'Music Is My Boyfriend' (which ended up with a few of the band on the floor with the audience) it was just icing on the cake. A ghostly choir clad in gold sheets, a horn section, the female members of Reg's band in blond wigs and waving flags and a general giddiness amongst other things combined for a homecoming show that one should not take for granted. Come back soon 'Cams and let's do this again.

Photos: The Hidden Cameras, Gentleman Reg @ The Opera House, Toronto (December 5, 2009)
MySpace: Gentleman Reg
MySpace: The Hidden Cameras

Zero 7, Body Language @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto (December 3, 2009)

  Zero 7 @ Phoenix Concert Theatre: photo by Michael Ligon

Update [Dec 8/09, 11:45 pm]: Review now posted below.

Last Thursday marked UK's Zero 7's return to Toronto having last played here in 2006 for that year's Virgin Festival. Along on their current tour were Brookly dance trio Body Language.

Body Language were a trio of young indie types (Matthew Young & Grant Wheeler both on keys/vocals and Angelica Bess on vocals/glockenspiel) who played surprisingly effective synth dance pop. The music was reminiscnet of say Junior Boys although perhaps sunnier, based in song and melody but fleshed out with synthetic elements like synths, vocoder and beats and some natural elements like glockenspiel. They had good stage presence, moving and dancing along to their own beats and encouraging the crowd to do the same, although the Toronto audience was typically introverted never really dancing as they could have, although you could sense some people almost wanted to. However, the crowd did show appreciation with their applause.

Prior to this show, I'd seen Zero 7 twice before, the first time back in May 2004 at The Opera House, a truly stunning and enjoyable live set and then in September 2006 at Olympic Island as part of Virgin Festival, a generally disappointing set plagued with delays and technical difficulties. Zero 7's strength for me laid not merely with their sultry downtempo electronic grooves melded with natural and acoustic instrumentation but also with a capable group of vocalists including Sia Furler, Sophie Barker and Tina Dico, although by the time their third album, 2006's "The Garden" rolled around, only Sia was left from the original three. Zero 7's seemingly been a reboot for the trio of vocalists' respective solo careers although with varying degrees of success (Sia seemingly the most successful of the bunch), but the new album, this year's "Yeah Ghost", includes none of the original three female vocalists, and having read some mixed reviews for the new album, made me quite apprehensive about how relevant and or essential they still were. Although for the record, technically, I lost touch with Zero 7 after 2004 album "When It Falls".

While the downtempo aspects of Zero 7's sound are perhaps a little dated in 2009, the live set was quite a melange of musical influences from soul, r n' b, electronica, and folkier, pastoral elements. The vocals were handled more than dutifully, incorporating the soulful, jazzy vocals of vocalist Eska Mtungwazi and the versatile, earthy vocals of folk-artist Olivia Chaney and even Zero 7's Henry Binn. I especially liked Olivia's vocals which while displaying a certain technical prowess still sounded very much natural and inviting - I enjoyed her vocals on 'Pop Art Blue'. While the musicianship itself was impeccable, there was a casual, effortless vibe over the whole set and oft-times expressing a playfulness at least in body language. Focussing heavily on new album "Yeah Ghost" the band also jumped backwards to play select songs from their previous three efforts. If like me, you hadn't bothered to familiarize yourself with anything after their 2004 effort, it turned out to be a generally unfamiliar set(I think the only song I really recognized was their debut's 'Destiny' although which they spiked with a bit more energy than the original's sultrier vibe), but still managed to convey Zero 7's strength adequately. Sultry downtempo grooves, gave way to extended instrumental jams, which gave way to pastoral, folky acoustic, then led to intimate soulful vocal numbers, and finally at the end of the show to a soulful, funky collective dance vibe. The crowd was indeed quite enraptured at times, and the show definitely made up for their disappointing 2006 Virgin Festival set. While the studio may been Zero 7's foray into the music industry(as remixers), over the years and as displayed with this most recent Toronto gig, with a capable group of vocalists, Zero 7 has developed into a highly effective and enjoyable live act.

Photos: Zero 7, Body Language @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto (December 3, 2009)
MySpace: Body Language
MySpace: Zero 7

Phoenix / A Take Away Show / Paris, France (October 9, 2009)

When it comes to Toronto's oft-hated Sound Academy, there aren't many acts I'd tolerate the hassle and experience of going there but I may have given in for Phoenix if the show hadn't sold out. Still, I had the pleasure of seeing them back in June at the Phoenix Concert Theatres, which was just about the best show of the year. The band were filmed for a Take Away Show for La Blogtheque, riding around on an double-decker tour bus and performing around town in their hometown of Paris, France back on October 9 and the clips were just released to the web a few days ago. Sublime:

Phoenix - Lizstomania / One time too many - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Phoenix - Long distance call - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Camera Obscura, The Papercuts @ Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (November 26, 2009)

  Camera Obscura @ Phoenix: photo by Michael Ligon


Throwing around descriptors like 'indie' and 'pop' (and especially when they're conjoined) can sometimes be to the detriment of bands they're applied to. Certainly, they are overused terms but as well they're also wholly inadequate on they're own. Scottish indiepop band Camera Obscura and San Franciscan indiepop band The Papercuts played the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto this past Thursday, but in my opinion could have none been more different.

Opening the show were San Francisco four-piece The Papercuts. Closest point of reference for me was Luna as The Papercuts share a similar woozy, pop-rock sensibility. But whereas Luna's pop takes it's cue from the muted energy of The Velvet Undergound, The Papercuts express their melodicism with a more spacious, dreamy quality. Lead vocalist Jason Quever had the sort of vocals that soothed it's way into your cerebelum, a nice match to the equally soothing pop-rock instrumentation. Despite a few guitar cord mishaps, which eventually seemed to be resolved, it was a good set. As first impression go, they made a good one.

At this point in their career, Scotland's Camera Obscura really need no introduction, especially with their last show in Toronto at Lee's Palace back in June being still fresh in some of our memories. I've had a little more time since then to familiarize myself with their most recent album "My Maudlin Career" and have come to like it a lot. My initial impressions were that it was 'more of the same' - as good though not better than their last album "Let's Get Out Of This Country" which in my opinion was front-to-back a fantastic pop classic. However, with each successive listen of "My Maudlin Career" it reveals itself to be downright fantastic in it's own right. And on that point alone I appreciated the new album's songs more this time than at their last show. Balancing the exhilirating uptempo numbers with melancholy slower material the band touched on their last few albums, reaching back to their debut, "Biggest Blue Hi Fi", for a sentimental rendition of 'Eighties Fan'. But what I could tell from the new material especially was that lead vocalist Tracyanne Campbell is singing with ever so slight strength and confidence, certainly not the vulnerable crackle of the recorded version of 'Eighties Fan'.

The one-two punch of 'Lloyd...' followed by 'Looks Could Kill' now seems predictable but still sounded as good as ever. The melancholy slower material almost seemed the most effective such as the new album's 'James', but even moreso the country-ish balladry of 'Forest and Sands' (with the added Toronto-centric lyric of "like a river in Toronto") which popped up during the encore sandwiched between 'Let's Get Out Of This Country' and encore closer 'Razzle Dazzle Rose' stood out for me as the highlight of the night. Unless, perhaps they bring a real string section along next time, there was not much of a visual element to Camera Obscura's stage presence except for handclaps, a shy smile, a tilted head bob from keyboardist Lindsay BoydCarey Lander, and Tracyanne's thick Scottish-accented banter (which there was precious little of this time). It didn't otherwise matter for me or the relatively packed house. It's a treat to see Camera Obscura live when the opportunity arises and am thankful that Toronto continues to be one of the band's regular stopovers.

ps. Thanks for the well-stocked merch table. My new band t-shirt is looking fine and their Christmas single 'The Blizzard' b/w 'Swans', which I picked up on vinyl is fantastic.

Photos: Camera Obscura, The Papercuts @ Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (November 26, 2009)
MySpace: The Papercuts
MySpace: Camera Obscura

Music News & Concert Annoucements (November 30, 2009)

  Elizabeth Fraser: photo by Sally Mundy

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been reflective lately about the last decade of music (given best of decade lists like Uncut's and Bob's) and have been revisiting some old favourites and loading up the old iPod. I may just throw a list together and post it. Or not. One thing I realized however is that in our/everyone's quest for seeking out new music it's easy to forget all the great music that's come before. So if I haven't posted about whomever is the hot new musical act right now, you'll understand right?

New Massive Attack album coming out in February. Pitchfork has the deets.

One-time Massive Attack collaborator, Elizabeth Fraser(of Cocteau Twins), has a new single(aww, just a single) entitled "Moses". Limited to 900 copies on 12" vinyl, it's available for order through Rough Trade. The song is a tribute to Jake Drake-Brockman, late keyboardist of Echo and The Bunnymen. The Guardian has a revealing article on Ms. Fraser regards to The Cocteau Twins reunion that never happened, about her distance from the music industry over the last 12 years, and her relationships with Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie and singer songwriter Jeff Buckley. (The Guardian link via The National Post)

On an Liz Fraser tangent, I just picked up Echo and The Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch's 1989 debut solo album "Candleland" on vinyl which contains a track that Ms. Fraser sings background vocals on. Wonderful:

Video: Ian McCulloch(w/ Elizabeth Fraser) - "Candleland" (music video)

Pondering travel plans in 2010 already and thinking a revisit to Barcelona, Spain next year for the Primavera Sound Festival may be in order. The intial lineup is fantastic. Pavement, Pixies, Wilco, New Pornographers, the Fall, The xx!

Local country outfit $100 have some shows lined up this month and in the new year. There'll be a duet show on December 1 at Graffiti's as well as December 5 at Canadian Corps. There'll be a trio configuration when they play Holy Oak on December 3. They'll play Horseshoe Tavern on January 22 in the new year in what I presume will be a full band. From the band's MySpace.

Winsome pop-folk outfit Ohbijou will be performing for an in-studio session for Third Floor Sessions on December 5 at 3 pm. You can be part of the studio audience - tickets are $5 and can be had by e-mailing livingghostproductions@gmail.com. Details at Stille Post and Facebook. The radio program is through SPIRITlive a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week live Internet Broadcaster, produced by students in the School of Radio & Television Arts (RTA) at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Also according to the Facebook page, Toronto indie roots act The Wooden Sky are to perform for Third Floor Sessions on December 15.

Underneath the organic, sunny pop-rock of Will Currie and The Country French belies a band who embrace technology as they hope to broadcast their live shows on their Ustream Channel whenever they can. They play to stream their upcoming Waterloo show taking place December 3 at Maxwell's Music House. (via chartattack)

Rural Alberta Advantage @ Soundscapes in Toronto (November 17, 2009)

No I'm not stalking Rural Alberta Advantage 's Amy Cole as much as the above photo may seem - it was just the best photo I could capture having arrived a little late for the band's intimate instore performance at Soundscapes in Toronto this past Tuesday. 'Intimate' is the key word as the band opted for a more subdued performance than their usual live show as will likely be on display when they play a sold-out show at Lee's Palace tomorrow night. It was very much a bedroom performance as if they were trying not to disturb the neighbours and the crowd on hand was perfectly attentive. RAA's Nils Edenloff compared this set to their days when they hosted an open mic night at a venue on Parliament [presumably the now defunct Winchester, if this article is accurate]. A brief but good preview it was for tomorrow night's show and I believe they played at least one new song (anyone know the title?). With any luck I'll be at Lee's tomorrow night for the show (which I'll remind you is sold out); next time I won't wait so long to buy a ticket.

So what else fancies me these days, at least musically speaking?

The Magnetic Fields perform an all-ages show Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto on February 8, 2010, tickets $30.50, and go onsale to the public on Saturday November 21 at 10 am. Some of you scored presale tickets I see. Jealous.

Paper Bag Records are giving away a free digital sampler to celebrate 7 years in business - entitled '7 year itch', it features the labels artists covering a selection of tunes by various artists. Have yet to hear it but The Acorn covering Gowan's "Strange Animal" seems strangely intriguing. On a related note, it's news to me that The Acorn's "Glory Hope Mountain" was the only Canadian album to make the longlist(although not the shortlist unfortunately) for the 2009 Uncut Music Award back in September (the winner to be announced in the magazine's January 2010 issue). Just recently the album also made Uncut's list of the Top 150 Albums of the decade, scoring in at 147. Seems like a good time to reacquaint myself with this album.

Dan Auerbach, Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield @ Phoenix Concert Theatre (November 7, 2009)

Update [Nov 13/09, 12:41 am]: Review now up. Sorry for the lack of punctuality lately. Anyone still bothering to read?

I was only ever casually familiar with Akron, Ohio duo The Black Keys' stripped down take on blues rock. Their direct rock n' roll approach to the blues was exciting on its own merits but that said never really grasped on to them. It was only curiosity that lead me to check out The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach's debut solo album "Keep It Hid" which I found to be quite terrific. Stepping up from the Keys minimalist drums / guitar approach, on "Keep It Hid" Auerbach uses a full band effort on most songs, doing an admirable job of filtering various musical influences like rock n' roll, soul, folk and country. Well thought out and enthusiastically executed, it's one of the better albums I've heard all year. With that in mind, I looked forward to seeing Auerbach's show at the Phoenix last Saturday night.

An early show as it was, in order to make way for the dance party to take place in the venue later that night, the two opening acts went dutifully performed and transitioned with precision. Kent, Ohio's Jessica Lea Mayfield was already performing when I got to the venue and a good crowd was on hand to listen to her solo acoustic folk set. In a smaller venue, I'd have been very much in to her set - acoustic guitar, tuneful melodies, casually sung Midwestern sounding vocals - but with the crowd chatty as you'd might expect from Toronto audiences, there was little ambiance for the set which really deserved it.

And within the span of what seemed like under ten minutes, the next artist on the bill was off and running, the artist in question being Nashville's Justin Townes Earle (yes, son of that Earle). I'm aware he's made a several stops through Toronto in the last few years, and has impressed some country-minded folks and his talent was quite apparent. Though his setup (vocals / acoustic guitar) was the same Ms. Mayfield's set who preceded him, Mr. Earle's songs were very much entrenched in a traditional country sound. A hint of twang in his vocals at times, his guitar strumming was simple but effective, and his tunes alternated between mid-to-up tempo swingers and more tender country ballads("Mama's Eyes"). At one point, an overly enthusiastic strum of his guitar resulted in a bleeding finger. Not your average country music set, and quite possibly one of the best country set's I've ever seen.

Dan Auerbach and his band The Fast Five took to the stage not too long after to play songs off "Keep It Hid" for the enraptured Toronto crowd. Listening to the album didn't necessarily prepare me nor the audience for the volume that would hit us during Auerbach's live set. It felt as if Auerbach decided to crank up the amps to ten, the effect being ever more brutal to the eardrums (and thank God for earplugs). As loud as it was, it still seemed tolerable, and the added crunch was more than appreciated. Background info - Dan's backing band "Fast Five" are a band called Hacienda, and one of the percussionist's on tour with him is Patrick Hallahan from My Morning Jacket. The set started out solemnly with the quieter "Trouble Weighs A Ton" with Dan and guitarist Dante Schwebel leaning in on the mic to harmonize beautifully. From there though it was really more of a rock n' roll set, trading in for guitar licks and a double drumkit assault. Percussionist Patrick Hallahan, when he wasn't playing drums, was on congos and or maracas, and with his long shaggy hair and with him wearing a Mexican poncho was a spectacle until himself. My favourite song in the set "The Last Mistake" came on quite early in the set, a perfect balance between infectious pop melodies, an injection of soul, and vibrant rock n' roll energy. Most definitely, it deserves to be a new American rock n' roll classic. Overall, the stew of rock n' roll, country, soul and folk created by Dan and The Fast Five was confidently and loudly performed, the only disappointment being they only had one album to draw from (although they did include a rocking cover of a song by a band called Rocking Horse). And so as quietly as the set began, so did it end as for the final song of the encore, Dan remained onstage with guitar to performing the fittingly entitled "Going Home". And so we did with smiles on our faces. [Ok, maybe not all of us went home, since it it was only 9 pm. Ha.]

Me, BlogTO, chartattack and Eye are all in agreement that the show was stupendous. mandrs has some photos from the show .

Photos: Dan Auerbach, Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield @ Phoenix Concert Theatre (November 7, 2009)
Myspace: Jessica Lea Mayfield
Myspace: Justin Townes Earle
Myspace: Dan Auerbach

Junior Boys, Woodhands @ Lee's Palace in Toronto (November 6, 2009)

Update [Nov 11/09, 12:23 AM]: Review now up.

I commented recently in a recent gig review that Toronto band Parallels "... pursue a genre that is particularly lacking in Toronto" and the genre I was referring to was synth / electro-pop music. In retrospect, it is perhaps unreasonable to expect a an explosion or scene of bands within such a narrowly defined genre. Maybe that's why Hamilton's Junior Boys have been so successful as over the course of three albums, their most recent being this year's "Begone Dull Care", the duo have built upon a synth-pop basis using bass and guitar and a live drummer, merging that live instrumentation and vocalist Jeremy Greenspan's smooth vocals with the sampled beats of electronic noodler extradornaire Matthew Didemus. Most apparently, especially with the new album, the boys have brought greater attention to their R n' B influences which I've enjoyed immensely. Having toured North America for the new album since the beginning of October, the final three dates culminated with shows within the Golden Horseshoe, the third last date stopping in at Lee's Palace in Toronto for a sweaty, packed show this past Friday night.

The Toronto duo of Dan Werb (vocalist/keytar) and Paul Banwatt (drummer) known as Woodhands opened up the show. It was a pretty high energy set with Banwatt's compact but explosive drumming and Werb's enthusiastic vocals and keytar playing. Musically, they tended towards a modern new-wave, electro-pop dance-rock sound that had people dancing and moving within the crowd. Through the use of some sort of electronic do-dad, drummer Banwatt sung "Dancer" sounding like pixie-ish Toronto female music artist Maylee Todd who sings on the studio version. Later on Werb would go hardcore-ish vocals on us with a abrasive version of Biz Markie's "Just A Friend". For my first time seeing them it wasn't difficult to see why they're so loved - they are the definition of fun, and I'd definitely check 'em out live again - but I'll leave the young un's to fawn over them, as I'm not there yet.

On the other hand, I've been fawning over Hamilton's Junior Boys since there early days. Vocalist Jeremy Greenspan mentioned that Junior Boys' first and last time playing Lee's Palace was about 6 years ago during the band's earliest days on a bill that'd featured another band made up of male models. Strange bill indeed. Returning to Lee's Palace 6 years later, Jeremy said the venue had a special place in their hearts. My previous times seeing Junior Boys live was at the El Mocambo and The Mod Club but this show at Lee's was by far my favourite. While the boys live stage presence hasn't changed much (and thank God for the live drummer) - Matthew still fairly removed from the audience as he goes on with his electronic noodling and Jeremy with some groove in him as he sings and plays guitar, bass, or keys - the venue did present one of the loosest audiences I've seen at a Junior Boys gig.

I didn't so much watch the band onstage as I watched the audience dance or immerse myself in my own euphoria. Junior Boys' music tends to simmer slowly before a melody or beats kick in but once they do, they take hold and don't let go. This was especially true during their set with tracks like the new albums' Depeche-Mode-ish "Parallel Lines" or the sultry beats of "Work". On the other hand, Junior Boys' showed an immediacy with the R n' B-ish "Bits And Pieces" and "Hazel" both which got many people including myself dancing. Other highlights included their debut album's "Birthday" and set closer "In The Morning" (off of "So This Is Goodbye"). Subsequent to Toronto, they played Waterloo then ended off in their hometown of Hamilton. They've been around the world and are now home for a deserved rest. I'm happy as a fan that this is probably their most successful tour to date, but on the other hand it's a little sad that we won't get to see them play live any time soon. I'm glad they played Lee's Palace this time. Something about Lee's Palace lends itself to the best audiences I've seen at gigs and maybe that's why I keep on going back. It was one of if not the loosest audience I've seen at a Junior Boys gig and it definitely made it the most enjoyable Junior Boys show I've seen ever.

Jen at Narratives has a review of the show. Spot The Groove reviews the show as well and has some photos.

Update: The Singing Lamb just posted their review of the show.

Photos: Junior Boys, Woodhands @ Lee's Palace in Toronto (November 6, 2009)
MySpace: Woodhands
MySpace: Junior Boys

Hottest Bands in Canada, 2009 edition

    photo credit: Joe Fuda

As Matthew of I(Heart)Music has done over the past four years, he's again polled a selection of Canadian music writers, journalists and bloggers for their top ten hottest Canadian bands / artists of the year. I've always been happy to participate and this year's not any different. In some ways, I'm behind the curve on some of the new artists that made the top 32 - bands like The Balconies, The Wooden Sky and Bruce Peninsula who I've only had cursory listens of but am intrigued but have yet to check out live. Past favourites of mine like Ohbijou and Great Lake Swimmers didn't make it to my top 10, and not because they were not 'hot', but rather because personally I didn't end up spending much time with them, either listening to their new releases or going to see them live. My top 10 list was a very subjective one, although scrutinized with a little objectivity - in the end what made my top 10 were those bands / artists who had some sort of activity in 2009 (whether it be touring, releasing music etc...) and who musically had an impact on me. Check out the list below with the commentary for each I submitted (numbers in brackets indicate the artists' ranking in the final top 32):

01. (1) Rural Alberta Advantage (Toronto, Ontario)

They played New York City, SXSW, Toronto and all points in between. They signed to Saddle Creek. I saw them live at for the first time earlier this year during Canadian Musicfest, saw them perform a rapturous hometown CD release show at the Horseshoe Tavern, and then ended the summer seeing them at this year's Virgin Festival[who were immensely better than most of the acts that played the larger stages that day]. I was generally behind the curve latching on to them but better late than never.

MySpace: Rural Alberta Advantage

02. The Hidden Cameras (Toronto, Ontario)

Led by Mississauga-homeboy Joel Gibb, Toronto's The Hidden Cameras returned quietly with their newest album "Origin: Orphan". I had the pleasure of catching their special intimate CD release show at Goodhandy's in Toronto which only emphasized that it's one of my favourite Canadian albums this year. One will still find pleasure in the band's gay-friendly sunny pop tunes but to the provide some balance there's some darker songs and more ambitious instrumental arrangements. Maturity never sounded so good.

MySpace: The Hidden Cameras

03. (9) Metric (Toronto, Ontario)

Fuck the haters. Their most recent album "Fantasies" is a good album. Metric were always rock stars even when they were indie but bottom line they were and still are credible. "Gimme Sympathy" was one of the best singles of the year and there's something so profound about the lyric "who'd you want to be, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones". And when Ms. Haines returned to perform an acoustic version of this song at Broken Social Scene's homecoming show at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto back in July, it was heaven.

MySpace: Metric

04. (22) Gentleman Reg (Toronto, Ontario)

Reg Vermue aka Gentleman Reg played a shit load of live shows this year, and will continue to do so until the end of the year, in support of his most recent release "Jet Black". The more I listen to the samples on his MySpace, the more I wonder why I haven't yet picked up the album. Delicious, edgy pop music.

MySpace: Gentleman Reg

05. (27) Olenka and The Autumn Lovers (London, Ontario)

This London, Ontario outfit seems to be winning new fans incrementally with each live show. I continue to brag about being one of only a few people who caught their live set at C'est What during North By NorthEast back in 2008 but it seems people are now catching on to the band's charming hybrid of rootsy, acoustic, gypsy-folk. Festival-heavy participation this year for the band including NXNE, their own hometown LOLA festival, Pop Montreal and Halifax Pop Explosion as well as the self-release of their debut full-length has made it a successful and busy year for them.

MySpace: Olenka and The Autumn Lovers

06. Junior Boys (Hamilton, Ontario)

The Hamilton duo released their newest album "Begone Dull Care" continuing in the vein of past releases with another album of organic and electronic elements that intersect with the duo's solid songwriting aspect. Any year the boys release an album, they'll be hot.

MySpace: Junior Boys

07. (32) Still Life Still (East York, Ontario)

Signing to Arts & Crafts this year with the release of their debut album "Girls Come Too", Toronto's Still Life Still combine the youthful exhuberance of peers like Tokyo Police Club but with a scruffy pop sensibility that's more in line with their label brethren Broken Social Scene. BSS jr. perhaps, but there's a tune or two from Still Life Still that'd sound terrific on your next playlist[ok the old-schooler in me really wants to say mixtape, but hey who I am kidding?].

MySpace: Still Life Still

08. Hooded Fang (Toronto, Ontario)

This young Toronto outfit makes me smile with their boy-girl vocal-sung indie pop. They only have a five-song EP under their belt(released in early 2009), but 5 songs is better than none right? The band seems content playing around Toronto for now, but do check them out if they hit a town near you. Trust me - their song "Land of Giants" - the definition of pop gem.

MySpace: Hooded Fang

09. The Diableros (Toronto, Ontario)

They've been pretty quiet lately but they're slowly easing back into playing live and the band step up to professional-quality recording with the release of a new EP entitled "Old Story, Fresh Road" to tide things over until the next album. I still remember how insanely good their debut album, 2005's "You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts" was, and how their 2007 album "Aren't Ready for the Country", if not as intoxicating as the debut, was still quite good. The new EP's "Heavy Hands" stands as one of my favourite tracks of the year.

MySpace: The Diableros

10. Tokyo Police Club (Newmarket, Ontario)

TPC spent the year touring, playing dates at All Points West Festival(in New Jersey), the Canadian National Exhibition in TOronto, Hillside Festival in Guelph and even a l'il free summer show in my hometown of Mississauage, and they will continue to play live into November. God love 'em. Late on the wagon as I was, I finally got down to listening to their debut full-length, 2008's "Elephant Shell" and haven't looked back since.

MySpace: Tokyo Police Club

The Raveonettes, The Black Angels @ Phoenix Concert Theatre (October 22, 2009)

Update [Oct 31/09, 5:50 pm]: Review now below. Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been a holiday which draws me to music that isn't necessarily Halloween-themed but is of a particular mood that makes it a good soundtrack. The double-bill of Austin's The Black Angels and Danish band The Raveonettes who played the Phoenix Concert Theatre about a week ago would have made one of helluva of Halloween show in my opinion.

Openers, Austin 5-piece The Black Angels performed a setlist that sounded like a murky stew of psychedelia, drone-rock and The Velvet Underground. Backed with a rhythmic drum stomp, woozy surf guitar tones, and casually-cast vocals, the band played on stage bled mostly in red light, fitting illumination given the sonic aesthetics.

Danish rockers The Raveonettes, on the heels of their newest album "In & Out of Control", came on stage with a good amount of fanfare from the audience but delved almost immediately into their set. Frontman Sune Rose Wagner decked out in a black-and-white striped shirt and slim trousers and bassist Sharin Foo wearing a 60's influenced black mini dress traded off lead vocals as well as singing together through a balanced setlist that as expected focused on the new album as well as their previous effort 2007's "Lust Lust Lust". The setlist also included a few songs from each of their earlier releases, "Whip It On", "Chain Gang Of Love" and "Pretty In Black". With reverb-drenched pop songs mingling with more sinister-sounding garage rock tracks, the band plodded through the set with nary a word. Close your eyes and you'd get drawn in to the ambiance of it all, but otherwise they aren't the most visually enticing band to watch on stage, Sharin Foo notwithstanding. However, there were moments of visual stimulation, especially later in on the set as the strobe lights kicked in and the band dove into episode of guitar dissonance. Fittingly, the band ended the night on the uptempo pop magnificence of "The Great Love Sound", a shining light relative to the overall darker-toned setlist.

As a soundtrack to Halloween, The Black Angels and The Raveonettes were particularly fitting. Some bands are just not meant to play during the day, so as Halloween night is upon us, put on a Raveonettes or Black Angels tune and enjoy.

Photos: The Raveonettes, The Black Angels @ Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (October 22, 2009)
Myspace: The Black Angels
Myspace: The Raveonettes

Echo & The Bunnymen @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto (October 20, 2009)

Update [Oct27/09, 11:50 pm]: Wonderful show by Echo and The Bunnymen last week which was hard to put into words until now, but here I go finally.

I've been basking in the dreamy memories of Echo and The Bunnymen's performance last week at Queen Elizabeth Theatre to perform their classic fourth album, 1984's "Ocean Rain" with an orchestra in tow. It was a mini-orchestra about 9 or 10 members strong complete with conductor and while it doesn't even come close to the 35-member orchestra that participated in the recording of the original studio album, it was as close to the real thing as I could have imagined. I have vague memories of seeing the music video for "The Killing Moon" on Much Music or hearing the song on CFNY back in the 80's but I'd only acquired a vinyl copy of "Ocean Rain" back in the 90's[which has multiplied into several more copies I'd picked up on the cheap - and no I don't plan to get rid of them or sell them]. I upgraded to a CD copy which I picked up at the Flagship Sam The Record Man before it closed but it was only last year that I'd really obsessed about it when I'd just about christened my new Zune mp3 player with it[along with a few other albums] and had it on repeat for the whole summer. It was a real treat to hear the album live with an orchestra as it was fully intended to be heard.

Before the piece de resistance "Ocean Rain" portion of the evening, the band warmed up the crowd with a 'hits' set. Brief as it was, the setlist touched on their first three albums "Crocodiles", "Heaven Up Here" and "Porcupine" as well as several latter day songs including a couple from their most recent album "The Fountain". I was just so glad to hear key tracks like "Rescue", "Bring On The Dancing Horses"(off of "Songs To Learn and Sing"), and "The Cutter" the latter prompting some a fit of selective dancing in the audience, all swaying arms and moving side to side as if it were the 80's all over again. I must mention that the attendance was comprised of many fans 3o years of ag and up, myself included, so no doubt there was a nostalgic element to the show. As I'd heard the older material, I realized how well it's held up, and while lead vocalist Ian McCulloch is sounding a little gravelly-voiced, he's still sounding much like his old self while guitarist Will Sargeant supple guitar playing is still a joy to hear. But as latter day tracks like the stupendously infectious "Stormy Weather"(off of "Siberia") had shown, Echo continue to be relevant also. As musically superb as it was up to that point, it was easy to forgive them for not being the most animated bunch. Although such presentation did in a sense help to uphold a mystique of a band that I'd for the most part visualized as stark, mysterious figures I'd seen them on their early album covers. However, once the perpetually-sunglass-wearing Mr. McCulloch had spoke a few words, I'd realized he was pretty much a regular Joe, especially as I recalled gave a shout out to his hometown of Liverpool, England, then said something about football, which prompted an audience member to stand and show his jersey [which I presume was maybe, Manchester United?].

After a 20 minute intermission, and as the excitement in the audience was about to burst, the band and orchestra took the stage and dove right into "Silver", the first track off of "Ocean Rain". But man those strings, oh those glorious strings. It was pure heaven. As the band performed, the audience's eyes were drawn to the black and white images of the band in their hey day, projected behind the band who for the most part stood in shadow or dim lighting for most of the evening. There's something very poignant about seeing photos of bands in their youth although perhaps none more poignant than seeing photos of former member Les Pattinson or the late Pete De Freitas which drew an extra response from the crowd. "The Killing Moon" was obviously the 'hit' everyone was waiting for and was hard for me not to sing a long at times. Front to back, it's such a terric album but hearing "Crystal Days", "My Kingdom" and "Seven Seas" were my particular favourites. While the original album was barely 40 minutes it was pretty obvious that the band might come back for a few more, and come back they did, performing a couple more including their big hit "Lips Like Sugar", revved up in the guitars it seemed for the new millenium but drawing me instantaneously back to 1987 when I was an awkward teen obsessed with music and bands like Echo and The Bunnymen, The Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain and New Order. Some things never change.

Check out a review and photos of the show over at Chromewaves.

Photos: Echo & The Bunnymen @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto (October 20, 2009)
Myspace: Echo & The Bunnymen

The Airborne Toxic Event, The Henry Clay People @ Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (October 19, 2009)

Update [Oct 22/09, 1:01 AM]: Review now posted below.

The Airborne Toxic Event's last show in Toronto back in March at The Mod Club, sold out at that, was an extremely satisfying show on all fronts including a rapturous audience, an equally enthusiastic band and a taut performance. It was a show that had a sense of occasion, most definitely illustrated when the audience was invited to jump onto the stage for their last song during the encore to celebrate the conclusion of an extremely successful show. Their majestic art-pop opus "Sometime Around Midnight" may have been the only song of theirs I knew at the time and to me still is their best song, but they managed to perform a selection of tunes, that though may have a high let's-spot-the-influences-quotient ["Sometime Around Midnight" is their Arcade Fire song] but were still dutifully performed.

Glendale, California's The Henry Clay People had seemingly just begun their set when I got to the venue. The Henry clay People, as they'd displayed when they also opened for The Airborne Toxic Event back in March at The Mod Club, played their brand of rock n' roll that continues to sound like "Wowee Zowee"-era Pavement with vocalist Joey Siara sounding very much like Stephen Malkmus and the band demonstrating some competent rock riffage although Henry Clay People drop Pavement's slacker-tude for more genuine and skillful musicianship. The band performed telling covers including a medly that merged their own original with Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side", The Rolling Stones' "Can't Always Get What You Want" and even respectable, if tongue-in-cheek sampling of headliner Airborne Toxic Event's "Sometime Around Midnight". They ended their set with a well-intentioned cover of David Bowie's "All The Young Dudes". Overall, they do play above-average heartfelt rock n' roll and so as The Hold Steady may hold the rock n' roll fort on the east coast, The Henry Clay People dutifully represent in the west.

The Airborne Toxic Event's return to Toronto was marked this time with a step up to a larger venue, the Phoenix Concert Theatre, and their return was greeted by the audience with a hero's welcome. Although I don't think it was sold out, it did seem pretty close to being by the time the band took the stage. The setlist was obviously rooted in their debut self-titled album and also included a few new ones, and a choice selection of covers. "Sometime Around Midnight" still remains their best song, although I found it strange they'd performed the song around three quarters of the way into the main set rather than end the main set on a high note. As with openers The Henry Clay People, it was The Airborne Toxic Event's choice of covers which were telling. During the band's brief acoustic set where the band set up their acoustic instruments(simple drum kit, violin, stand up bass, guitar(?)) and performed closer to the front of the stage while vocalist Mikel Jollett sat down stage left [coincidentally, right near I was standing] they'd performed a few originals before a brief interlude into Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire". Later on they'd did a brief medley of The Smiths' "Ask" and "Panic". During one of their encores they performed with the help of The Henry Clay People a rousing rendition of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died" during which the audience were at the pinnacle of being at their most energetic and responsive.

The sense of occasion that greeted their last show in March 2009 at The Mod Club wasn't quite there this time around in my opinion, but there's no doubt that the audience and band were equally psyched for this show. The air of complacency wafting over from the chatty crowd in the back was especially audible during the band's brief acoustic set but otherwise did little to detract from the audience's enjoyment. Personally, as I've listened to their debut more often recently, I realize that they're a band that holds their musical influences near and dear to their hearts, perhaps a little too tightly at times. Fault them as we may at times for that(and some like Pitchfork who've condemned their debut album outright), but I can't deny that they do have something.

Also check out the photos and review of the show over at At The Rock Show.

Photos: The Airborne Toxic Event, The Henry Clay People @ Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (October 19, 2009)
Myspace: The Henry Clay People
Myspace: The Airborne Toxic Event

Wilco, Liam Finn @ Massey Hall in Toronto (October 15, 2009)

At last Thursday's Wilco show at Massey Hall, the second night of a two-night stint, for much of the night I was waiting for Mr. Jeff Tweedy to call us a bunch of motherfuckers like he did back in 2006 at the same venue. To put in more in context, the reason Mr. Tweedy resorted to cussin' us out back in 2006 was that he was trying to get us to all stand up, which we eventualy did. So when the band returned to Toronto to play Massey Hall in June 2007, there was a visceral energy within the audience, with many standing up right from the start of the show. As appreciative as the audience was for Wilco's show last Thursday night at Massey Hall, there seemed to be a level of restraint in the crowd, and from my fairly central balcony seats was quite apparent. A few expletives from Mr. Tweedy might have jarred some from their catatonic state.

Missed opener Liam Finn's set entirely, although I'd had every intention to catch it. Not realizing that road construction had closed off some of my usual parking spots on Queen St. and every other parking in the vicinity of Massey Hall taken, eventually I'd found a spot a little further away but only at the price of walking in to Massey Hall just as Mr. Finn's set concluded and everyone was filing out for a bathroom break. Ran in to Chromewaves, who I'm sure'll have his review posted tomorrow. Looking on the bright side, me missing Mr. Finn's set means less to write for this review. (In any case, Liam's back for a show at Lee's Palace on October 29 with opener Miracle Fortress.)

Last Thursday's show was my second Wilco show this year. Earlier in the year during my vacation trip to Barcelona, I capped off my nine days in the city seeing Wilco at Barcelona's opera house, L'Auditori. Terrific venue, terrific enthusiasm from the crowd, and terrific energy from Mr. Tweedy and the band, it was a wonderful way to spend my last night in Barcelona. So while last Thursday's show, paled in comparison as an experience(for me), a Wilco show's a Wilco show, and it turned out to be a satisying musical evening.

It took Jeff about eight songs into their set before he'd offered a greeting to the crowd, and part of me imagines if he'd said anything sooner to the crowd, the crowd would have been more energetic. From my vantage point from my fairly central balcony seating, it seemed much of the balcony was pretty catatonic remaining seated while the gallery seating crowd had pockets of people standing, and from what I could see of the floors there seemed to be more energy down there. And there was the crux. The non-uniformity of the crowd energy was a drag. Not to say that I'm the most extroverted person but at least I was nodding my head and whooping it up at some key musical points, which is more than many around me in the second-level balcony seats had done.

Cutting out "Summerteeth" entirely yet even reaching back to "A.M" during the encore, the setlist focused on the new album "Wilco (The Album)" as well as their previous three efforts "Sky Blue Sky", "A Ghost Is Born" and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". So the initial disappointment of not hearing usual "Summerteeth" inclusions like "Via Chicago" or "A Shot In The Arm" was shortlived as the rest of the setlist touched on many Wilco favourites, new and old. There were the singalongs like the soulful "Jesus, Etc"(which had Jeff letting the audience sing the first half of the song by themselves before Jeff and the band joined in later) and the main-set closer piano bounce of "Hummingbird". There were the Nels Cline-guitar workouts on songs like "At Least That's What You Said", "Handshake Drugs" and "Impossible Germany", with Nels monumental guitar solo on the last mentioned song at least awakening some momentarily. Some of the most satisfying songs were the straigt-ahead rockers like "Wilco (The Song)", "Kamera", "Walken" and "Casino Queen". Of the new songs, the folk-rock ambiance of "Deeper Down" with Nels on pedal steel was particularly effective.

It was the encore that was perhaps the most successful and invigorating segment of the show, motivating some of us like myself to finally stand up and enjoy ourselves. A band theme song like no other, the encore lead off with the scruffy guitar squall of "Wilco" (The Song), leading into the goosebump-inducing melancholy of "Misunderstood". Liam Finn and band mate would join Wilco on a charming rendition of "California Stars". Undoubtedly it was the next song "You and I" featuring a guest appearance from hometown girl Leslie Feist that had everyone in rapture as audibly could be heard as Feist walked onto the stage, performed the song dutifully then left the stage. Such a treat it was for us to see her since she hadn't made an appearance the previous night. The show could have perhaps ended on that high note but as if to expend us of all our new-found energy entirely, the band ran through the next three uptempo songs, "Casino Queen", "Kingpin" and "I'm A Wheel" forcefully before bidding goodnight and promising to return for a cross-country Canadian tour in the new year. No Toronto date on that leg but that Hamilton date [February 23, 2010 at Hamilton Place Theatre] is looking mighty tempting.

There's more discussion of that show over at the Via Chicago forums.

The National Post and BlogTO have reviews of the show. Eye has a review of Wilco's Wednesday night show at Massey Hall.

Photos: Wilco @ Massey Hall in Toronto (October 15, 2009)
MySpace: Liam Finn
MySpace: Wilco
Video: Wilco (w/ Feist) - "You and I" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of lubicon)
Video: Wilco (w/ Feist) - "You and I" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of cabinboy15)
Video: Wilco (w/ Feist) - "You and I" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of tigsy23)
Video: Wilco - "Jesus, etc" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of tigsy23)
Video: Wilco - "Impossible Germany" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of tigsy23)
Video: Wilco - "Bull Black Nova" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of mediapartyvideo)
Video: Wilco - "California Stars" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of mediapartyvideo)
Video: Wilco - "Casino Queen" (live @ Massey Hall, October 15 2009) (courtesy of the2scoops)

Built To Spill, Disco Doom @ Lee's Palace in Toronto (October 6, 2009)

Update[Oct 15/09, 12:21 pm]: my review, err, ramblings of the show are now below. Next show on my schedule - Wilco at Massey Hall tonight, October 15 (and hopefully that review won't take me a week to get up).

Boise, Idaho's Built To Spill were a band that I'd somehow had missed the boat during my indie rock upbringing in the 1990's so in some respect I'm sorely underqualified to review their show last Tuesday night at Lee's Palace(the first night of a two-night stint) with anything other than a gutteral reaction. So even though the band had made the leap to a major label(Warner Brothers) in 1997 with their album "Perfect From Now On"(an album I've yet to hear - shame on me, right?) it was only with 2006's "You In Reverse" I gotten down to listening and admiring them.

Consistent with most of my recently attended shows, I'd only caught part of the opening act's set. At the point that I entered the venue, Swiss four-piece Disco Doom were in the midst of a drawn-out storm-approaching guitar - bass - drums instrumental coda. That song plus the samples I'd heard on their MySpace which displayed their dynamics-abound guitar indie rock were enough for me to feel just an ounce of regret for not catching more of their set.

As unfamiliar Built To Spill's set was to me, with the exception of the several "You In Reverse" tracks they performed, overall it was a satisfying set. Orange - Kurt - Vonnegut - t-shirt wearing frontman Doug Martsch led the band through a set touching on their newest album "There's The Enemy" as well as pogoing through their catalogue to the crowd's delight. I really enjoyed their musicianship which was full of teeth especially in terms of guitar sonics and arrangements as well as its solid rhythm section and yet at the same time there was a nice melodic sensibility. And though I'd fully anticipated an evening of rock, it turned out to be more of the listening and head nodding variety than full-out head-banging and fist-pumping. Perhaps it was a little low-energy at times, but for the most part I was more than satisfied with the musical quality. And thus, I have a little bit of back-catalogue exploring to do.

Check out Pete Nema's and blogTO's reviews of and photos from the show. Chromewaves has a review and photos of the band's second night show on October 7.

Photos: Built To Spill, Disco Doom @ Lee's Palace in Toronto (October 6, 2009)
MySpace: Disco Doom
MySpace: Built To Spill

Bob Mould @ The Mod Club in Toronto (October 5, 2009)

Update[Oct 13/09, 11:50 pm]: review now up, and only a week later!

Kicking off his brief North American tour in Toronto last Monday night at The Mod Club before he heads over to the UK in December was Mr. Bob Mould promoting his new album "Life and Times". I was first and foremost a fan of his through his band Sugar in the 90's and it was only laziness really that stopped me from exploring his Husker Du and solo work with any sort of eagerness. With hopes I'd hear a few Sugar tunes and maybe a familiar Husker Du song or two I eagerly awaited Bob's set.

It's expected that Monday night shows are sometimes a hard sell but I thought that perhaps Mr. Mould would have drawn out a larger attendance. By no means was it empty by the time Bob and his drummer and bassist hit the stage but neither was it sold out. That said, for opener Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson the attendance was sparse. I'd only caught the tail end of Miles' and his band's set, but my impressions of the 25-year old Brooklynite's music are at best vague. A little raggedness in its folk-rock instrumentation? Perhaps a little Bob Dylan influence? I enjoyed the samples on Miles' MySpace much better than the few songs I caught live which for some reason I remember being a bit more plodding. Perhaps next time.

If Mr. Mould proved anything at his show at The Mod Club last Monday night, he's maintained a relevancy with his songs that shall never go out of style. Drawing out to the show fans that visibly were fans of his back in his Husker Du and Sugar days and younger music fans who I'd assume had an appreciation for his old songs and perhaps his newer material, the setlist seemed to be a fair sampler of his work, albeit limited to key parts of his catalogue. It was reasonable to expect that Bob would play a bunch from his new album "Life and Times" which he did, but the rest of the set was limited to selections from his Husker Du and Sugar days as well as "Workbook"-era solo material. Obviously, I'd love the Sugar material which Bob and band performed with a bit more raggedness than on record. Physically, Bob seemed as energetic as ever on stage as he churned out his guitar chords and vigorously sung his lyrics. With less hair on his head[which seemingly has transposed itself now as facial hair] than in his younger days, and with Bob wearing glasses[yes, I know he's been wearing glasses for a while now], he's visibly older but still possessed much of the same energy as I'd ever seen/heard him[which was only in video format] in his younger days. That said, Bob did tone things down a few times picking up the electro-acoustic guitar with a highlight being a stupendous reading of Husker Du classic "Hardly Getting Over It". My favourite Sugar/Bob Mould song ever(and one of my favourite songs ever) "If I Can't Change Your Mind" was initially not on the setlist so it was with utter surprise that instead of ending off the encore with "JC Auto" we instead got "If I Can't Change Your Mind". He's playing it a little faster and scruffier these days but just to hear the song's melody, lyrics and guitar chords was pure joy. Thank you Bob.

And if merch was your thing, you'd not have contained yourself when you saw the quantity of Sugar and solo-work merch(including tapes, CD's, vinyl, t-shirts, and DVD's) that Bob brought for sale. With much of the older items at $5 a pop it was a good opportunity to fill out your Sugar collection or pick up the vinyl.

Photos: Bob Mould @ The Mod Club in Toronto (October 5, 2009)
MySpace: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
MySpace: Bob Mould

Yo La Tengo, The Horse's Ha @ The Opera House (October 3, 2009)

Update [Oct 12/09, 12:18 am]: Review now up.

While Nuit Blanche was to(and eventually did) take over my senses last weekend, my auditory senses were once again given the pleasure of hearing Yo La Tengo live, this time around at The Opera House earlier in the evening. Touring to promote their most recent album "Popular Songs" out on Matador, I'd only made an effort to finally listen to the album just prior to the show, but it was immediately apparent that the band's pop sensibilities were as strong as ever.

I was running slightly behind schedule, making into the venue just after openers Chicago's The Horse's Ha had begun. At the time I hadn't realized that the crystalline vocals I'd heard were of Freakwater's Janet Beveridge Bean. The music, embellished with subtle acoustic instrumentation and cello, was of a folk-ish quality that while had its merit was only slightly of interest to the chatty crowd. That said there was a polite expression of appreciation by the crowd but as an opener for Yo La Tengo they seemed a little out of sorts in my opinion. As an aside I just like to mention that I'd spent my first 10 minutes of my arrival at the merch table, eventually buying a t-shirt(which turned out to be small when I got home, grrr) and exchanging a pleasantries with Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan to who I'd mentioned I'd seen Yo La Tengo performing in Barcelona at the Primavera Sound Festival earlier in the year and was looking forward to seeing perform again that night.

With a catalogue as expansive as Yo La Tengo, they have virtually any number of setlists they could have pulled out of their hat, and that night it was all about pop music. Steering clear from their harsher, noisier experiments for the most part, it was surprising how low-key, and pop-based the set list was, coinciding nicely with the similar tone of their most recent album "Popular Songs" which there was a heavy emphasis on. All three members(Georgia, Ira, and James) traded off lead vocals during the night with the mood shifting as members also switched up on instruments. The nine-minute plus slow-building 'More Stars Than There Are In Heaven' was a surprising choice for their second song. 'Periodically Double Or Triple' was a fun organ-based, minimalist soul track. 'If It's True' had a cool Motown-ish melodic quality. The psychedelic-tinged 'Here To Fall' reminded me that they aren't all about brushed drum rhythms and minimalist bass lines. The remainder of the setlist was a patchwork of their past catalogue with a bunch from "I Can Hear Your Heart Beating As One"(highlights including the James-sung 'Stockholm Syndrome' and the main-set closer sugar-rush of 'Sugarcube') and a few select tunes from other past albums. As the setlist revealed, there were also a few covers thrown in from Devo and The Velvet Underground during the band's two encores. It was a thoroughly enjoyable if not too exhausting of a set which in a way was a blessing for those of us who planned to take in Nuit Blanche after midnight. And it was all too funny when Ira wished us happy art-gallery hopping.

Also check out Chromewaves' photos and review of the show.

Photos: Yo La Tengo, The Horse's Ha @ The Opera House in Toronto (October 3, 2009)
MySpace: The Horse's Ha
MySpace: Yo La Tengo

Glass Candy, Desire, Parallels @ The Garrison (October 1, 2009)

Update [Oct 11/09, 4:02 pm]: Apologies for the untimeliness of this review. There were other more important things I was preoccupied with but I hope to get back into the fold soon.

I'd disappointedly missed out on tickets to the Sufjan Stevens show at Lee's Palace on October 1 so instead I decided to take in the show at The Garrison featuring a dancier bill than I'm usually found at. Headlining the show was Portland electro-disco duo Glass Candy who I'd actually been intrigued to check out ever since hearing their stone-cold-classic disco-soul track "Rolling Down The Hills" a few years ago. Based out of New Jersey label Italians Do It Better, their label-mates Montreal's Desire were also on the bill with Toronto synth-dance trio Parallels starting out the night.

Initially I was a little disappointed that the show had been moved from The Great Hall on Queen St. to the newly opened Garrison on Dundas near Ossington. The Garrison lacks The Great Hall's historic design details and is instead a very bare-bones establishment with a bar and tables visible through it's window front and a back room music space. Over time it'll be interesting to see how the venue establishes it's identity. The venue's apparently the new venue for Wavelength and while Sneaky Dee's may be the sentimental preference for many Wavelength regulars, I must inform that The Garrison's stage has better sightlines overall and could very well be easy to convert to(just hope they still have the cheap beer). And with the Dakota Tavern just down the street and several other bars and establishments in the area, perhaps Dundas and Ossington will be the destination of choice for some in the future.

Toronto's Parallels opened with their cool, dark synth-pop and while the 11 pm opening band start time was already making me anxious, I settled in front-stage left to absorb their set. Since first seeing them live at the Reverb during NXNE in June, I'm more or less indifferent about them. I'd favour more icyness a la Ladytron in the vocals from vocalist Holly Dodson but the icy synths from Joey Kehoe and the bubbling electro beats were decent. Drummer Cameron Findlay given his pedigree as ex-drummer of Crystal Castles not surprisingly provided much of Parallels' momentum. I'm still uncertain whether Holly's use of vocoder at times was a good or bad thing. I'll take Parallels in small doses for the time being at least only because they pursue a genre that is particularly lacking in Toronto.

With producer Johnny Jewel at the helm of both Glass Candy and Desire, it harkens back to the days of disco divas when it was the vocalist that established the identity of a song. While Glass Candy's been in existence for several years, Johnny Jewel's relationship with Desire vocalist Megan Louise is relatively new. With Nat Walker on drums, Johnny on beats and synth, and Megan on vocals they pursued a sound that favoured less of Glass Candy's buoyancy for a darker, cooler dance pop sound with washes of synth, leaner beats and clearer vocals. On the downside, there was a triteness to the lyrics at times that was sometimes hard to stomach. It was those times, I'd wished she sing more often in French than she did that night.

With Glass Candy vocalist Ida No and producer Johnny Jewel on synth and production, they concocted a stew of scintillating disco-pop tracks for the hungry crowd. Not surprisingly, the Toronto audience showed a bit of restraint to 'get into the groove' so to speak, but others were more freely expressive. Johnny Jewel's production in Glass Candy showed more textures and details than he did with Desire, and combined with Glass Candy vocalist Ida No's free-spirited stage presence as she danced and moved with abandon, it was one of those ree - your - mind - and - your - ass - will - follow kind of shows. With the show's conclusion approaching 2 am, we were all a bit tired I'm sure, but it was all worth it to witness a Glass Candy performance. Now if only they'd performed "Rolling Down The Hills".

Photos: Glass Candy, Desires, Parallels @ The Garrison in Toronto (October 1, 2009)
MySpace: Parallels
MySpace: Desire
MySpace: Glass Candy

The Hidden Cameras @ Goodhandy's (September 29, 2009)

update [Oct 4/09, 11:19 pm]: Review now posted below.



It was Goodhandy's, a little hidden grotto (at least to me) at the intersection of Church and Richmond Sts. in Toronto which was the site for The Hidden Cameras' special record release show for their new album "Origin:Orphan". Tickets for the show were given away with a limited number of their new album sold through local record shows Rotate This, Soundscapes and Criminal Records or online through Arts & Crafts. With the album selling for $13.99 at Rotate This, a free ticket to the show was a nice bonus. Even if I'd already picked up the album, purchasing the album again just to get the concert ticket would have been more than worth it (and then of course, I could have given the CD away to a friend, sell it to a used CD shop or perhaps just leave it on someone's doorstep). Whether it was a sly method for Arts & Crafts and or the band to pad album sales as someone at Stille Post hypothesized or if it was just a nice promotional gimmick, in the end it was the fans that won.

With no prior knowledge of Goodhandy's, it was immediate that I realized it was a club that catered to the gay community - of course there was much evidence, although the ads in the men's washroom with guys with their cocks hanging out definitely gave an impression that this wasn't Lee's Palace or Horseshoe Tavern. Ultimately, it was not too surprising a choice of a venue I guess given the band playing that night. Actually, it's a nice little venue with a good stage and a standing area balcony that overlooked the main floor. Indie rock shows are apparently not their forte but perhaps in the future, in between the dance and sex show nights, they'll branch out to indie rock.

As a record release party would dictate, the Cameras' Joel Gibb declared they wouldn't be playing any old songs and the band played their new album "Origin:Orphan" in its entirety. Prior to the show, I'd only heard first single 'In The NA' which I thought was a good uptempo addition to their ouvre but hearing the rest of the album for the first time I realized how consistently good it was. Musically they still maintain a balance between a melancholy folkiness and their sunnier pop side although there seems to be a bit of a darker streak that runs through the album. With a track like the more ambitious 'Walk On' it utilized a commanding horn section(for the show playing from the second floor balcony overlooking over the audience. Also for lead off track 'Ratify The New' the band came onto the stage dressed in black hoods, like part of a secret society, with the song beginning ominously with a lengthy keyboard drone before building to a cacophonous climax.

But the Cameras still possess their sunnier side as lead single 'In The NA' illustrated. The Cameras even performed a more groove-oriented dance number for which Joel encourage the audience to dance to(and with the upper balcony eventually revealing a band of gold-sheeted ghosts dancing vigorously along), presumably trying to get us out of our shell as we'd been generally quiet between songs. Joel stuck to his word, at least for the main set, that they'd only play songs off the new album but of course they came back for an encore. The encore turned out to be one song which Joel said that the last time they'd performed it was when they played the Metro Theatre (which if you go by the band's show history was back in 2001). Overall, the main set thoroughly illustrated in my opinion how good the new album is. Perhaps it's time for them to reclaim their title as Toronto's best current band.

The band are currently on tour in Canada and the U.s. from now till December. They play the James St. North Arts Crawl in Hamilton, Ontario on October 9 and end this tour leg on December 5 back in Toronto at The Opera House.

Photos: The Hidden Cameras @ Goodhandy's in Toronto (September 29, 2009)
MySpace: The Hidden Cameras
Video: The Hidden Cameras - "In The NA" (music video)
Video: The Hidden Cameras - "He Falls To Me" (live)

The Hold Steady, Still Life Still @ Lee's Palace (September 27, 2009)

Update [Oct 3/09, 4:59 pm]: review now up



I'd suspect that wherever The Hold Steady play they're greeted like hometown heroes, and in Toronto you can count on no less. Selling out two shows at Lee's Palace way in advance and with their live album "A Positive Rage" released earlier this year to flock, seeing them live is the way to truly experience them as I did on the second night of their two-show stint, also the last night of their Canadian dates.

Local's Still Life Still opened the show with a tuneful racket that beared a passing resemblance to their labelmates older brethren Broken Social Scene. Maybe I was just a little turned off by their over abundance of enthusiasm the first time I'd seen them live when they opened for Stephen Malkmus at the Phoenix Concert Theatre last year (not to mention that Fleet Foxes cancelled their opening slot that night). The enthusiasm seemed a little more natural and in check with the tempo of the music this time around so I was more focused on the music and on at least a few occasions I was taken by their scruffy melodicism. I could imagine having at least a few of their tunes on a mixtape (ok, I mean iPod playlist).

On any given occasion one is fortunate to see The Hold Steady live I'd imagine it could be one of the best shows you'd ever experienced. I'd seen them live for the first and my only time back in October 2006 at the Horseshoe Tavern which was stupendous in its own right, and the show last Sunday night was as good if not better. I know it's a good show when the energy of both the band and the audience drives me to pogo, which I rarely do. I must say it's transcendental. With the band's Springsteen-ish, though perhaps punk-infused, riffage, combined with university - teaching - assistant - looking lead vocalist Craig Finn's bordering - on - stream - of - consciousness sing-speak, the band ran through a sweat-filled set that spanned their four studio albums, slowing things down every now and then for both the band and audience to catch their breaths. A rock show on a Sunday night never felt so good.

Photos: The Hold Steady, Still Life Still @ Lee's Palace in Toronto (September 27, 2009)
MySpace: Still Life Still
MySpace: The Hold Steady