No Kinda Man

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In A Moment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Till The End Of The Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Soundscapes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Family Day

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

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

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

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

And now on to the concert info:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Coast Is Clear

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

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

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

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

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

You Turned My Head Around

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



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

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

Check out some of my photos from the show.

MySpace: Dean & Britta
MySpace: Keren Ann

Locate The Pieces

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Free Not Free

Another hodge podge of links and tour reminders today:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Radiohead on Strombo

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

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

photo from Wired

Dive Deep

I had no idea that Morcheeba were releasing a new album until I read the news over at Speed of Dark, but apparently the band's new album "Dive Deep" was released in the UK today. I haven't heard it yet...actually I'd lost interest in them for a while, mostly because I don't think they'd come to Toronto for a full band tour since maybe circa "Big Calm"(I think a few of them came over for a mini acoustic set a few years ago but that's it). According to their MySpace, they'll be in Toronto for a show at The Opera House on March 30. Songs from the new album are streaming at their MySpace.

Cat Power was in the BBC 6 Music Studio's for a live performance on the George Lamb show. Listen here and also check out some photos from the session. Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues are at Kool Haus on February 9.

The Raveonettes performed an acoustic session for LiveDaily recently - they performed stripped-down versions of "Dead Sound", "Aly Walk With Me", and "Lust", three new tunes off their latest record, "Lust Lust Lust". They come to The Opera House in Toronto on March 21. [via Skatterbrain]

Via Pitchfork comes confirmation of an upcoming New Pornographers/Okervill River tour. Both bands will be at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on April 9. Also confirmed lately, sometime-New Pornographer(although not for the upcoming April 9 show at the Phoenix), Dan Bejar aka Destroyer has his own show booked for Lee's Palace on April 19[via Chromewaves].

Eels return to Toronto for a show at The Mod Club on April 4 to promote its latest discs(yes, plural), hits and rarities collections ("Meet the Eels" and "Useless Trinkets", respectively). Via Pitchfork.

NME reports that Billy Bragg and The Blokes newest album 'Mr Love And Justice', is slated to be released in the US on April 22. The UK release date is March 3. NME has the tracklisting.

Just a reminder, that blog-faves Vampire Weekend make what I believe is their network television debut tomorrow night on Late Show With David Letterman. Their debut self-titled full-length was just released in North America recently.

Who'd have thought that perky television chef/cutie Rachael Ray was an indie rock fan. She invited Battles and Holy Fuck to perform at her SXSW party. I bet she makes some mean barbeque.

Cheer It On

Tokyo Police Club @ Nathan Phillips Square(Toronto, Ontario), January 26, 2008


I caught Tokyo Police Club over the weekend at their free show at Nathan Phillips Square. I'd avoided listening to them for so long, except for the occasional "Nature Of The Experiment" which would pop on 102.1 The Edge every now and then. As the buzz around the band has temporarily subsided(at least until their debut full-length "Elephant Shell" is released in April), I went into their set on Saturday night with a relatively open mind and honestly I found them to be impressive. Not impressive in terms of musicianship necessarily, but they do have a certain rough-hewn brand of melodic, spunky indie-rock that's enjoyable and hasn't passed it's expiry date, at least in my books. One thing comes to mind and that's how come I couldn't be that cool when I was their age? Aside from the tunes from their EP's and upcoming full-length I assumed they played, they also did a guitar-y version of The Rentals' "Friends of P" that really hit the spot. Part of me avoided listening to them for so long because they had to cancel their appearance at last year's Beating Heart Festival concert series in Mississauga(my neck of the woods). I guess I'll forgive them now.
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In other news:

Pitchfork interviews Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo.

Junkmedia has an interview with Ottawa's The Acorn.

Popjustice has a brief interview with Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell. I wish they'd come back to Toronto already. I'm still waiting for my "Boxette" to arrive in the mail.

Listen to a live session that UK's The Duke Spirit did for BBC 6 Music's George Lamb program last week. See some photos from the session here. The band's new album "Neptune" will be released as an import on February 12 with the band setting out on a mostly UK tour(with a couple of North American dates, but no Toronto one yet) starting at the end of this week. They're in New York City on February 13 & 14 then in Austin(for SXSW) on March 12 so my guess(duh) would be that a Toronto date could be inbetween.

Laura Barrett has some Ontario/Quebec tour dates coming up in February and March. According to her new label Paper Bag Records, she'll be in Toronto at the Gladstone on February 4(@ 9pm) for a live webcast courtesy of Eyes On Toronto. I don't have info about attending it live but I guess you can catch it online. Her "Earth Sciences" EP will be out through Paper Bag Records on February 26. Laura has a nice artistic new music video for her song "Robot Ponies" which you can view below(thanks to John Sakamoto's The Anti-Hit List for the tip):

Video: Laura Barrett - "Robot Ponies" (music video)

Not big news anymore, but I'm 99 % sure I'm going to pick up a ticket for the R.E.M./The National/Modest Mouse show at Molson Ampitheatre coming to the venue on June 8. The last big-venue show I went to(not counting outdoor festivals) was coincidentally the same venue several years ago for Oasis and Sloan. [news via Brooklyn Vegan]

Also via Brooklyn Vegan, Hugh Masekela's Chissa All-Stars will be in Toronto on February 15 as part of the Small World Music Series. The show's at the Phoenix Concert Theatre and tickets are $30 in advance.

Listen to the live session that The New Pornographers did for World Cafe on January 25, 2008.

Contest - Win A Copy of Nicole Atkins' "Neptune City" - CLOSED

New Jersey's Nicole Atkins describes her music as pop-noir, as apropos a term I could have come up on my own, a mix of melancholic pop with a dramatic, almost cinematic tone. It's not surprising she's caught my ear given my weakkneedness for similiar artists over the last few years like Richard Hawley, A Girl Called Eddy, and to some extent Neko Case. Since posting about her back in August 2007, she's released her debut full-length "Neptune City"(on the heels of her indie ep "Bleeding Diamonds") a collection of songs that's upped the production factor but not to the detriment of it's songs, which run the gamut from girl-group pop melodies("Maybe Tonight"), to the lush and solemn("The Way It Is"), to spright pop-rock("Party's Over"), and the longing melancholic homage to her hometown "Neptune City". By my count, her and her band The Sea have swung through Toronto three times as an opening act, two of which I caught and have only the fondest of memories of. I met her briefly at the merch table once and she was one of the nicest artists I've ever met.

Courtesy of Sony BMG Canada, I have two copies of her debut full-length "Neptune City" up for grabs. Send an e-mail to mligon@yahoo.com with the subject heading "I want the Nicole Atkins CD" and I'll pick two winners randomly. Contest closes January 31, 2008 at midnight.

In the meantime, check out some Nicole Atkins multimedia links below:

Video: Nicole Atkins and The Sea - "Maybe tonight" (live on Late Night With Conan O'Brien)
Video: Nicole Atkins and The Sea - "The Way It Is" (live on Late Show With David Letterman)
Video: Nicole Atkins - "Neptune City" (music video)
Video: Nicole Atkins - "The Way It Is" (music video)
Video: Nicole Atkins - "War Torn" (live at SPIN.com studios)
Video: Nicole Atkins - Journey Through Neptune City Vol. 1
Video: Nicole Atkins - Journey Through Neptune City Vol. 2
Video: Nicole Atkins - Journey Through Neptune City Vol. 3
MySpace: Nicole Atkins

photo from here

Update: Congrats to Anne and Craig - your CD's will be going out in the mail soon[Craig, I still need your address].

Nature Of The Experiment

I've never been particularly compelled to really listen to Tokyo Police Club. It's not like their indie-hit "Nature Of The Experiment" didn't have it's moments. But with their almost exponential rise to indie-stardom[ok, I realize that's an oxymoron], I've been less and less inclined to buy into the hype. However, it's hard to deny the critical and blogger buzz surrounding the band especially with regards to the band's live set. So, it's that buzz around their live set that has me committed[well, at least 99%] to standing out in sub-zero temperatures to catch their free live set at Nathan Phillips Square(as part of the WinterCity festival) this Saturday night. Pitchfork has their full tour itinerary plus details of the band's debut full-length "Elephant Shell" coming out through Saddle Creek in April.

Coming in February from the 14th to the 18th is the Wavelength 8th Anniversary Festival, and the lineups been announced over at Stille Post. The artist lineup is a lot less familiar(to me at least) this year than in past years but should be interesting nonetheless.

In other news, the iconic Leonard Cohen is reported to tour the US and Canada in May and Europe in the summer, Wolves, Hawks, and Kites points out the tracklisting for the new Constantines album "Kensington Heights" coming out April 15th through the band's new home Arts & Crafts, and Billboard reports that Portishead's long-overdue third album coming out internationally on April 14(with the North American release date still pending) will simply be titled "Third".

And as a teaser, it looks like Toronto can look forward to shows(courtesy of Against The Grain) from The New Pornographers(w/ Neko Case), Okkervil River and Sally Shapiro - that's what it says in black and white at the Horseshoe Tavern website. Dates/venue info to be confirmed.

California (All The Way)

Stay tuned today for the announcement of the Coachella lineup. Update: Among the early confirmations for this year's Coachella are Portishead, My Morning Jacket, and The Verve according to Billboard. The rest of the lineup is expected to be announced by later on today. Update: Billboard updated their original story and other confirmed acts for Coachella include Jack Johnson, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters (performing the band's classic album "Dark Side of the Moon"), the Breeders, Rilo Kiley, Death Cab For Cutie, the reunited Love And Rockets, Justice, M.I.A., Sasha & Digweed, Fatboy Slim, Cafe Tacuba, and The Raconteurs. Update: Full lineup here. The Canadian contingent going down to Cali for Coachella include Tegan and Sara, Stars, Islands, Metric, Holy Fuck, and DJ A-Trak.

One of the bands rumored to be there this year(and who could possibly sway me to consider to go to Coachella this year) is Portishead who recently announced some long-overdue tour dates, with more dates to come(cross your fingers for Toronto!). Update: Portishead headline the second night of the 3-day Coachella festival.

From Blown Speakers points out that Vancouver indie-choral group The Choir Practice will be singing the US and Canadian National Anthems for tonight's Vancouver/Minnesota NHL game - game's at 10 pm EST on SportsNet.

The Montreal Mirror spoke to Young Galaxy's Stephen Ramsay. Young Galaxy open for Peter, Bjorn and John at the Phoenix on January 22.

I guess I haven't been paying attention. Firstly, I didn't know that Metric had filmed a live performance(at Metropolis in Montreal in 2006) of theirs for a DVD. Secondly, I didn't know that they show the film at The Royal in Toronto twice last week(including Jimmy, Emily and Joshua participating in a Q & A after the screening). Well, the DVD "Live at Metropolis" gets its release on February 12 and BlogTO linked to the trailer. The band takes a break from the recording of its fourth album and to celebrate the release of the new DVD with a show at Sound Academy in Toronto on February 7.

The Kooks are back in Toronto for a 19+ show at The Mod Club on February 11, onsale through Ticketmaster on January 26 at 10 am, tickets $20.00.

Brooklyn's Vampire Weekend performed a live session on BBC 6 Music's George Lamb program last week which you can listen to here and see some photos from the session here. They return to Toronto for a show at Horseshoe Tavern on February 11. The band's self-titled debut full-length gets its official release January 29 through XL Recordings.

In addition to their already announced date in Toronto at Circa on March 28, Crystal Castles have a secret show in Toronto on February 21. Full dates over at their MySpace.

While we wait patiently for the new album from Kathleen Edwards entitled "Asking For Flowers"(out March 4), the Hamilton forum at Stille Post is indicating a show in their fair city on March 22 at Westside Concert Theatre, tickets $25.00. I'd assume a Toronto date wouldn't be far off.

Domino Records is streaming clips of songs from UK's Lightspeed Champion (ie. Dev Hynes) debut album "Falling Off The Lavender Bridge", out in the UK this week and in North America the following week. Frankly, I never had listened to his music until last week when Chromewaves wrote a post about him - his music is quite lovely at times. There's something about Brits performing twangy, pastoral pop music - it just sounds so good. As Chromewaves mentioned last week, Lightspeed Champion is heading to North America for SXSW and an acoustic tour with a stop in Toronto on Tuesday March 4 at Horseshoe Tavern(Tuesdays at the Horseshoe traditionally being no cover, Nu Music Nite). It's circled on my calendar as a definite maybe.

Up All Night

Skatterbrain has an interview with Toronto indie pop faves The Airfields. They'll be at Sneaky Dee's on February 2 for their CD release party for their debut full-length "Up All Night" being released through Humblebee Recordings on February 5. You can also catch the band on March 6 at Wrongbar in Toronto, along with The Two Koreas, The Paper Cranes, Huckleberry Friends and special guests, Norwegians Syme.

And speaking of Scandinavians, Swedish disco pop cutie Sally Shapiro is coming to Toronto on March 4 to Wrongbar...no not for a performance, but rather as part of an oh-so-short DJ tour she'll be on with producer Johan Agebjörn. For CanCon, Pitchfork reports that Junior Boys did a remix for Ms. Shapiro which will appear on an upcoming spring release on Paper Bag Records entitled "Remix Romance".

Staying on the topic of dance-pop, I've been patiently waiting for my copy of Saint Etienne's "Boxette" to arrive in the mail. "Boxette" is a compilation of several fanclub-only releases in one fancy package(and something to tide me over until they hopefully come back to Toronto - it's been years it seems and I never have seen them live). I believe there were only about 2000 made and at least as of January 7 there were only 450 left so hop to it. Ordering info is here. Purchase it here.

The Canadian Music Week schedule is slowly filling in and it shows that Young Galaxy and Attack in Black have been added to the list of performers at The Indies awards show taking place at Canadian Room (inside Royal York Hotel) on March 8.

Time Of The Season

It finally appears concert festival season in and around the GTA is shaping up:

The Brampton Indie Arts Festival taking place at Rose Theatre goes down February 13 to 15 with these year's featured musical acts including Nadja, Born Ruffians, Forest City Lovers, Claire Jenkins, Spiral Beach, Sandro Perri, The Bicycles and iNSiDEaMiND. View the program here. Ticket info here.

The Wavelength 8th Anniversary concert festival happens in several venues in Toronto from February 14 to 17 - stay tuned for more details, but The Music Gallery have already confirmed they'll kick things off on February 14 with a show which'll feature large band troupe Bruce Peninsula, with female minimalist post-punk trio Huckleberry Friends and more.

Following in March, Canadian Music Week takes place in various venues throughout Toronto from March 5 to 8. Big name highlights include a reunion(?) of The Breeders who'll be playing the Phoenix on March 8 - tickets $28.50 with limited CMW wristbands / passes accepted. The New Pornographers, Tokyo Police Club, Lowest of The Low and The Cliks will be playing The Indies awards show at Canadian Room (inside Royal York Hotel) on March 8, tickets $25 Advance / $35 Door and limited CMW wristbands / passes accepted. Up-and-coming Jason Collett will be at Lee's Palace on March 6, tickets $15.00. As a special bonus, The Hives/The Donnas show at Kool Haus on March 3 will accept all CMW wristbands / passes. Otherwise, check out the still-in-the-works schedule - most of the artists are relative unknowns to me but it should be fun exploring. I've come across a few artists that I think I want to check out - the shoegazey Helsinki outfit Pooma(whose MySpace says they'll be playing on March 6, venue TBD) for one are terrific from what I've heard of them so far.

The relatively new Pitter Patter Festival, a multi-venue, multi-city(although mostly in Toronto) festival is happening March 27 to 30 with a whack load of bands confirmed so far. Keep checking the Stille Post thread for updates.

Turntablist Kid Koala was recently added to the DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist bill coming to the Phoenix on January 30[details here].

A Beach Boys tribute night is in the works for the Silver Dollar on February 5 - keep up with updates over at Stille Post, but some notables confirmed so far to participate include The Bicycles and Laura Barrett.

Metric return for a hometown gig at Sound Academy on February 7[via Emerge].

Indie-folk-rocker Jeff Lewis, who's opening for Super Furry Animals at The Mod Club on February 20, will precede that show with a free instore at Soundscapes on February 19 at 7 pm[info].

Baby Eagle brings his acoustic strummings and fractured vocals to the Dakota Tavern in Toronto on February 26 - Jim Bryson will also be there. Brother and sister Jill and Matthew Barber will be heading out on a cross-country tour together which will stop in Toronto at the Rivoli on April 4. Matthew's new record "Ghost Notes" is out through Outside Music on March 4 and he's in the midst of a Sunday night residency throughout January at Jane Bond Cafe in Waterloo, Ontario[tour date info via Outside Music].

Via rootmeansquare, Chromewaves-fave Headlights, plus openers Evangelicals, will stop in Toronto for a show at the El Mocambo on March 2, tickets $10.00, while those masked Brits Clinic will be at Lee's Palace on May 11, tickets $15.00.

The Rainbow Connection

Toronto's on the shortlist of cities for Radiohead's upcoming North American tour! Ok, no venues and or dates have been confirmed yet but those sneaky buggers have us salivating already. Vancouver's also on the list as well. [via Pitchfork] Speaking of Radiohead, they have a contest going on to celebrate their new album "In Rainbows". Full details are here - I suggest you read the full contest details(as they are important) but it basically requires one to submit a photo or image which will become part of a digital rainbow[I'm not sure what they mean by that exactly - a collage?] and you might win some free "In Rainbows" merch. Good luck. Contest closes February 5.

Chromewaves has already covered the following three items this week but just as a reminder, Caribou have a 2-night stand at Lee's Palace on March 20 and 21, tickets $15, Hot Chip are at the Phoenix with openers Free Blood on April 16, tickets $20, and Justice return to Toronto for a show at The Docks(or Sound Academy, whatever name the venue's going by these days) on March 17 with Fancy and Busy P in tow.

Hayden will performing on MTV Live(@ Masonic Temple in Toronto) on January 14 and you can be there - to be part of the audience, call 1-888-491-6888, or email liveaudience@mtv.ca.

The Weakerthans have there turn at MTV Live on January 31, the start of a busy weekend for them with them already scheduled for an instore at Sonic Boom Records on February 1(start 6:30 pm), then performing a free show at Nathan Phillips Square on February 2(start 8:45 pm) as part the WinterCity Festival.

Pollstar indicates that Crystal Castles and Health will be at Circa on March 28, and What Made Milwaukee Famous will be opening for Nada Surf at The Opera House on April 7.

That musical chameleon Joe Jackson will be at Danforth Music Hall on April 1. I wonder what sort of set list he's playing these days. He does have a new album entitled "Rain" being released through Ryko on January 29 - his MySpace is streaming several tracks. Tickets for the Danforth Music Hall show are on sale this Friday.

Congrats to Laura Barrett for her signing to Paper Bag Records! She will re-release her debut "Earth Sciences" EP on Paper Bag on Tuesday February 26, 2008.

It's funny/spooky that a few days ago, the day that I chose to listen to my Echo and The Bunnymen "Ocean Rain" CD for the first time in a long time, Pitchfork reports that same day that the band will be performing that album in its entirely with a full orchestra at London's Royal Albert Hall on September 18. Pitchfork also report that Echo and The Bunnymen's only other upcoming gigs are a free gig in Spain[Pitchfork don't specify where and when] and an appearance at January 12's Liverpool 08 concert, where they'll perform "Nothing Last Forever" from 1997's "Evergreen" with the Liverpool Philharmonic. Frontman Ian McCulloch will also appear on CBS' "The Early Show" on CBS January 11(although apparently only an interview according to the Bunnymen website). Well, that last item's something we can ALL look forward to but damn would I love to see Echo perform "Ocean Rain" live with an orchestra.

Cure The Post Holiday Blues

I'm back to work today with post-holiday depression almost setting in but I hope to stave off with some good musical things to look forward to(not that I'll be partaking in all of these, but hopefully at least a few of them):

Via Stillepost, Mongrels and The Brown Hornets will be at the Bovine to bring the rock this January 11. I can't speak for The Brown Hornets who I haven't heard yet, but I can vouch for Mongrels who I saw live last year in March opening for The Zoobombs at The Comfort Zone and to quote myself, they "...played a devasting set of rock riffage..." with Janis Joplin-esque vocals.

There's a few shows coming up this week that I'd only found out about - Aesop Rock will be at Sound Academy(formerly The Docks) on January 11 while De La Soul hit the same venue on January 18 - tickets for both shows $20.00.

Playing their first Toronto show in a long while(at least from what I recall), Magneta Lane will be at the Rivoli for an early show on January 16, playing new songs from their upcoming album "Gambling with God".

Republic of Safety are at Sneaky Dee's on January 26 for a "Border Closing Show" according to their MySpace - I'm assuming this is their hometown farewell show. It's a shame I only ever caught them once live(back in 2005 at the El Mo which I believe was one of their first live shows).

In addition to their already announced free show at Nathan Phillips Square on February 2(as part of WinterCity Festival), The Weakerthans will also be at Sonic Boom Records in Toronto the day prior on February 1(6:30 pm) for a free instore performance.[via It's Not The Band I Hate...]

North American tour dates are still forthcoming for February according to their MySpace, but newest Last Gang recording artists Crystal Castles, with Los Angeleans Health and Stab City are so far confirmed for a show in Hamilton, ON at The Casbah on February 22, tickets $10. [via Stille Post] I know I'm sort of a late-comer, but I'm addicted to their song "Crimewave".

Jose Gonzalez has introduced a whole bunch more of North American tour dates and will coming back to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix on March 15 - a portion of the tour(starting on Feb 29) will be in "eco-friendly" according to Pitchfork.

There's a few unconfirmed events that I came across: Dave Bookman's "3 n' Out" column in the Jan 3/08 column of Eye Weekly(the print version) mentions that the rumour is that The Constantines will celebrate their record release for their forthcoming still-to-be-titled new album with a shows on April 22 and 23. Also the Lee's Palace website indicates that Glasgow, Scotland's Sons and Daughters will be hitting the venue sometime in the near future[my guess would sometime after February but before they travel to Austin for SXSW in March]. The band's new album "This Gift" will released in North America on January 29 through Domino Records. Update: Thanks to Chromewaves for the S & D tour date info - they'll be at Lee's Palace on March 26 - info confirmed at their US booking company Ground Control Touring. Whoopee! (So, I was a little off with my estimate.)

In non-concert news, Billboard has details on the upcoming new Destroyer album "Trouble in Dreams" to be released March 19 through Merge and Torontoist has an interview with The Hidden Cameras' Mississauga-hatin' frontman Joel Gibb.

The Diableros have launched their new website and in the spirit of giving have graciously provided an mp3 of an acoustic version of their song "Broken Barns". Thanks guys! They'll be heading to SXSW in March but hopefully they'll squeeze in a hometown date or two. I finally got around to picking up their most recent album "Aren't Ready For The Country" but if you haven't yet, you can stream it here.

In My Next Life, A Workhorse

One of the most interesting band's I've heard in the last little while, Montreal's The Luyas have a few upcoming dates including a couple in Toronto - January 11 at The Silver Dollar as part of Katie Stelmanis' CD release, then February 9 at The Music Gallery with Rick White. I explored some samples at their MySpace and downloaded a few mp3's, and it's really good stuff - the best description of the music I can come up with right now is Cat Power-ish vocals set atop atmospheric, sometimes baroque(courtesy of some thrilling french horn) indie-rock that occassionally veers into Sonic Youth dissonance. At their most accessible, like "In My Next Life, A Workhorse", they echo a quiet, desperation, as similarly beautiful as anything Julie Doiron has ever written. The band's first album "Faker Death" was released this year on Pome Records. (For availability info, check here.) [photo from CBC Radio 3]

Starting on January 17 in Guelph(@ Ebar) Jason Collett will be hitting the road for dates in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Edmonton, British Columbia, then back to Ontario in April all in support of his new album "Here's To Being Here", set for release on February 5th. His Toronto date will be at Lee's Palace on March 6 as part of Canadian Music Week. Full dates here.

Audio: Check out a few mp3's from Jason's upcoming album here.

To pilfer Pitchfork a little: Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks have a new album("Real Emotional Trash", out on Matador on March 4) and tour(currently some US east coast dates in March and April but nothing for T.O. yet although some more live dates in April are promised), Beck's "Odelay" will be reissued in a deluxe 2-disc version on January 29 through Geffen featuring 19 tracks not available on the original version, and Neko Case has scheduled a few upcoming dates in January and February(nothing in Toronto again, but some of her upcoming dates are in upper New York State, so maybe she can throw a T.O. date on the sched.) More info here, here and here respectively.

A Kinks reunion could be in the making(a longshot, though) for later this year according to Aversion.