concert review: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, The Constantines @ Berkeley Church (Toronto, Ontario), April 3, 2008
Last Thursday, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists and The Constantines made up a dynamite double-bill for a taping of Beautiful Noise down at Berkeley Church. On any other night at any other venue, that double-bill would be an all-out foundations-shaker but I got the impression that both artists were holding back just a tad. After all this was television. But if they were a little more reserved than usual, they still exuded a visceral live energy that's lacking in a lot of other bands on their best nights.
The Constantines opened up the night in fine fashion with "Young Lions" with other memorable songs of the night including "Hotline Operator", "Working Full-Time", and "Young Offenders". Bry worked in some humorous banter here and there including his admission that he and the band were wearing makeup which drew a chuckle from the crowd. I've seen The Cons live a few times now and this set they were relatively more subdued. Sure, more than a few people took part during the the verse of 'Can I Get A Witness?!' during "Young Offenders" but overall the set wasn't the sweat-fest I'm used to seeing The Cons. A few new tunes(I'm assuming off their newest album "Kensington Heights") were performed whose unfamiliarity to me is only adding to the difficulty for me in spitting out this review. One relevatory moment for me though, was during "Hotline Operator", probably my favourite song of the evening - The Constantines make a kick-ass soul band. I should make mention that Bry's parents[well, I think they were] were in the audience, and his father especially, whooped it up almost louder than anyone. Now, that's parental encouragement.
As I'd mentioned back in October 2007 about Ted Leo and The Pharmacists' show at The Mod Club, I'd reached a point that I said I needed a break from seeing them live. At that point I'd already seen Ted Leo live five time(that Mod Club show making it six times) and while it's always an enjoyable experience to see Ted Leo live, his set list was becoming overly familiar. Not much necessarily changed set-list wise this time, with much of the set concentrating on his most recent disc "Living With The Living", with some scattershot older 'hits' like "Me and Mia", "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?" and "Timorous Me", but I guess time makes the heart grow fonder. I wasn't as impatient as last time about hearing these songs again; I still wished he delve deeped into his catalogue every now and then. Like The Constantines, Ted also took an opportunity to introduce some new material which likely will be on the next album, apparently to come out this September(at least from what I'd overheard a young audience member mention). Perhaps the greatest part of the show was watching the reaction/participation of the younger crowd at the front of the stage, whether it be a top-of-the-lungs shout of 'Bomb.Repeat.Bomb' or the group of four young ladies at that front that danced with gleeful abandon. To be sixteen again and have a reaction like this.
MySpace: The Constantines
MySpace: Ted Leo and The Pharmacists
Showing posts with label Berkeley Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berkeley Church. Show all posts
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
It Beats 4 U
concert review: My Morning Jacket @ Berkeley Church (Toronto, Ontario), March 31, 2008
Music program Beautiful Noise commenced a week of tapings for its new season this past Monday at Berkeley Church with a show by Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket. They're a band I've been aware for a while now who I'm aware have their share of fervent fans and while I'd sample their album "Z" a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend, it was only a few months ago I actually got around to buying it. Securing a spot on the guest list for the show, I took this as an opportunity to check out what the fuss was all about.
Before I continue, I must mention the RSVP fiasco which occurred outside. There were a bunch of us(maybe 30 or so) who didn't make it in right away because apparently there was an overbooking of RSVP's which of course didn't go over well given that the understanding was that our RSVP e-mail confirmation was suppose to secure our spot. Of course, phrases like "over-capacity" and "fire-marshall" were overheard. But as luck would have it, I did make it in finally(but only after My Morning Jacket's set began) as they allowed about 20 more people in. (According to The Panic Manual, he and about 8 more people left standing outside at the time were eventually let in by a kind soul.)
As was expected, it was a packed house and us last-minuters were directed to watch from the balcony which would have been great had the whole balcony area been open. The one side of the balcony that was available of course had people along the entire length of the railing which meant I had to basically settle on trying to look over people's heads(but with not much success). Part of the live experience for me is the visual element and being unable to see the stage(except for a few glimpses) was a definite detractor to my enjoyment. However, the acoustics were glorious, so there was not much else to do but settle back, have a drink and enjoy. From the time I got in to before halfway through the show, I spent my time in the balcony soaking up the songs which to me encompassed some of the best elements of rock music like extended jams and guitar solos, rock music that could be anthemic one time, smooth like a summer breeze another, and displaying a spacey, cosmic beauty the next. I was particularly enamored with the reverb-soaked melodic vocals of Jim James of which the venue's acoustics took full advantage of.
About halfway through the set I decided to make my way to the first floor and I was pleasantly surprised that they were no longer blocking access and I was able to get in. It was a tenfold improvement from the balcony and I finally was able to see most of the stage and the band. With the stage drenched in hues of blue and green and probably many other colours, the band was most dynamic during their anthemic rock numbers, at one point vocalist Jim James covering his sweat-soaked head in what seemed to be a towel or t-shirt as he continued to sing to the audience with blissful passion. The band were also adept at performing quieter, desolate numbers and the ironic thing is that, given now that I was finally able to see the band, I almost felt like closing my eyes and soaking it all in.
More reviews of the show over at Chromewaves and The Panic Manual.
ps. I hope there aren't any RSVP foul-ups when I go to the Beautiful Noise taping at Berkeley Church tomorrow featuring The Constantines and Ted Leo. I'll be showing up early, that's for sure.
MySpace: My Morning Jacket
Music program Beautiful Noise commenced a week of tapings for its new season this past Monday at Berkeley Church with a show by Louisville, Kentucky band My Morning Jacket. They're a band I've been aware for a while now who I'm aware have their share of fervent fans and while I'd sample their album "Z" a few years ago on the recommendation of a friend, it was only a few months ago I actually got around to buying it. Securing a spot on the guest list for the show, I took this as an opportunity to check out what the fuss was all about.
Before I continue, I must mention the RSVP fiasco which occurred outside. There were a bunch of us(maybe 30 or so) who didn't make it in right away because apparently there was an overbooking of RSVP's which of course didn't go over well given that the understanding was that our RSVP e-mail confirmation was suppose to secure our spot. Of course, phrases like "over-capacity" and "fire-marshall" were overheard. But as luck would have it, I did make it in finally(but only after My Morning Jacket's set began) as they allowed about 20 more people in. (According to The Panic Manual, he and about 8 more people left standing outside at the time were eventually let in by a kind soul.)
As was expected, it was a packed house and us last-minuters were directed to watch from the balcony which would have been great had the whole balcony area been open. The one side of the balcony that was available of course had people along the entire length of the railing which meant I had to basically settle on trying to look over people's heads(but with not much success). Part of the live experience for me is the visual element and being unable to see the stage(except for a few glimpses) was a definite detractor to my enjoyment. However, the acoustics were glorious, so there was not much else to do but settle back, have a drink and enjoy. From the time I got in to before halfway through the show, I spent my time in the balcony soaking up the songs which to me encompassed some of the best elements of rock music like extended jams and guitar solos, rock music that could be anthemic one time, smooth like a summer breeze another, and displaying a spacey, cosmic beauty the next. I was particularly enamored with the reverb-soaked melodic vocals of Jim James of which the venue's acoustics took full advantage of.
About halfway through the set I decided to make my way to the first floor and I was pleasantly surprised that they were no longer blocking access and I was able to get in. It was a tenfold improvement from the balcony and I finally was able to see most of the stage and the band. With the stage drenched in hues of blue and green and probably many other colours, the band was most dynamic during their anthemic rock numbers, at one point vocalist Jim James covering his sweat-soaked head in what seemed to be a towel or t-shirt as he continued to sing to the audience with blissful passion. The band were also adept at performing quieter, desolate numbers and the ironic thing is that, given now that I was finally able to see the band, I almost felt like closing my eyes and soaking it all in.
More reviews of the show over at Chromewaves and The Panic Manual.
ps. I hope there aren't any RSVP foul-ups when I go to the Beautiful Noise taping at Berkeley Church tomorrow featuring The Constantines and Ted Leo. I'll be showing up early, that's for sure.
MySpace: My Morning Jacket
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