Sarah Harmer (Luminato Festival) @ David Pecaut Square, Toronto (June 15, 2013)

  Sarah Harmer: photo by Michael Ligon


  Sarah Harmer: photo by Michael Ligon


  Sarah Harmer: photo by Michael Ligon

While the kids were probably living it up on Bruise Cruise on Saturday June 15th of NXNE weekend, I decided to take some time out of NXNE and check out Sarah Harmer who was performing a free set at David Pecaut Square as part of the Luminato Festival. As Sarah had mentioned, it had been about a year since she last performed in Toronto, which I'm assuming she's referring to her participation in the Bicentennial Celebration of the War of 1812 concert that took place at Fort York Garrison Common on July 14 of last year.

This concert plus her show last year at Fort York Garrison Commons are/were such chill events that if it were not for Sarah's outstanding songs and songwriting I'd have probably been asleep. For the hour or so that she and her band [including Miss Julie Fader on background vocals and keyboards] performed, the audience was pleasantly entertained with some fan favourites like "Silver Road", "Almost", "Greeting Card Aisle", and "The Hideout". 'Here's a little acoustic number', she expressed as she segued into the bluegrass-y "I Am Aglow" and later some deeper cuts [well, at least to me] like Sarah's tribute to Canada's National Parks appropriately titled "The Park Song" [which included a cool organ solo], the mid-tempo pop of "Late Bloomer" and during the encore, the waltz-ian "Oleander" prior to which she exclaimed to the audience that we could stand up, but then slightly retracted that statement by saying that then again it was a country number. Sarah's music is such a sublime combination of her influences of folk, country, rock and pop and the set was such a sweet reminder of how truly talented she is.

Check out the rest of the photoset here.

Joel Plaskett Emergency, Beast @ David Pecaut Square, Toronto (June 10, 2011)

  Joel Plaskett: photo by Michael Ligon

NXNE just wrapped up so before the bombardment of festival coverage that will be upon you, I just wanted to get up a post on the Joel Plaskett Emergency show which kicked off Luminato over a week ago, a festival which also just wrapped this weekend.

Taking place at Metro Hall Square (renamed David Pecaut Square) a good sized crowd was onhand for the free show that was kicking off Luminato. Montreal alterna-rock outfit Beast wasn't really appealing to me from the start, with their somewhat dated sound merging 90's grunge and alternative rock with trip hop, hip hop and electronic rhythms. They were technically proficient, Francophone vocalist Betty Bonifassi posessing a strong, soulful singing style and the band was obviously appealing to some but they overall weren't my cup of tea. Drummer Jean-Phi Goncalves near the end of the set put on a fantastic display of drumming proficiency and when the band's bassist joined in and they both together segued into the intro of Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" I got excited for a moment although it only turned out to be a tease. Oh well.

Since the end of his Thrush Hermit days, Joel Plaskett has been alternating between releasing solo albums and as well as under the moniker of Joel Plaskett Emergency, the latter of which is a band configuration that chose for the Lumintao launch show that took place down at David Pecaut Square in Toronto on June 10. With original Emergency drummer Dave Marsh behind the skins and with multi-instrumentalist and current Toronto resident Peter Elkas as well as bassist Chris Pennell in tow, Joel and the band played a set that touched on all aspects of his career from the kick-off song which was Thrush Hermit's "From The Back of The Film", to recent solo tunes like "Deny Deny Deny" & "Through Through Through" to Emergency standards like "Come On Teacher" and "Extraordinary". I think I've underappreciated Plaskett outside of Thrush Hermit when I should have been paying more attention. As was fully exemplified during this live set, he's a clever lyricist and outstanding songwriter and while his gangly physical appearance may not be an indicator, Plaskett's seasoned comfort on stage as a performer (including humourous banter) is apparent. He's got a foothold in classic rock influences but at the same time his songs have a timeless quality which cannot necessarily be said of his Thrush Hermit days which definitely have a 90's indie rock quality to them. Regrettably, I wish I'd been more familiar with Plaskett's work as I would have sung along with many of those that were in attendance. It was one of those shows, that I'd not expected much but came out with a reaction like, that was really great. The show was not without a certain bit of promotion as Plaskett just released a solo-spanning rarities collection entitled EMERGENCYs, false alarms, shipwrecks, castaways, fragile creatures, special features, demons and demonstrations via his own label, New Scotland Records. The collection boasts 20 tracks spanning over a decade of his career and as impressed I was with Plaskett during this live appearance I may just have to pick up this new collection and rediscover him all over again.

Photos: Joel Plaskett Emergency, Beast @ David Pecaut Square, Toronto (June 10, 2011)
MySpace: Beast
MySpace: Joel Plaskett

Bell Orchestre @ Harbourfront (part of Luminato) - June 13, 2009

  Bell Orchestre @ Harbourfront: photo by Michael Ligon


Montreal's Bell Orchestre took to the Harbourfront Centre Sirius Stage this past Saturday night as part of the Luminato festitivities. A supergroup of sorts, the band consists of Pietro Amato(french horn, member of the Luyas and Torngat), Stefan Schneider(drums & percussion, member of the Luyas), Kaveh Nabatian(trumpet), Richard Parry(bass, member of Arcade Fire), Sarah Neufeld(violin, member of Arcade Fire), and Mike Feuerstack(lap steel guitar, aka Snailhouse). I'm unsure of whether he's a full-time member, but saxophonist Colin Stetson also joined them. Their most recent effort is "As Seen Through Windows" released through Arts & Crafts. Obvious baroque influences, intermingle with rythmic and slight rock influences to create instrumental music that's intriguing as well as accessible. Defacto centrepiece Sarah Neufeld, if only because she's the lone female, does manage to live up to the attention with her energetic violin playing, with her violin arrangements often in conjunction with the horns guiding the pieces along. Although, a short percussive piece like 'Stripes' found Mike, Sarah and Pietro kneeling down at centre stage with the rest of the band around them as they tapped out rhythms on the floor with drumsticks. A polite call and response dominated the evening with each song prompting a courteous response from the audience but later in the evening things livened up first with the group singalong of 'Happy Birthday' for Pietro and lastly when the group pulled out a couple of livelier dance songs(which prompted a few to get up and dance) to end the set. An appreciative audience response even prompted the group to play an encore, and as that concluded the band expressed their polite(although appreciative) thank-you's, as politely as I'm sure they'd begun the evening.

Photos: Bell Orchestre @ Harbourfront (part of Luminato) - June 13, 2009
MySpace: Bell Orchestre

Egg Hunt

Just clearing out some links and info below before the weekend's done and hopefully I'll have my review of The Raveonettes show at The Opera House from this past Good Friday up tomorrow:

Just around the corner on April 7 and 8, the one and only Jens Lekman returns to Toronto for two shows at The Music Gallery. The first night local Katie Stelmanis will play a short set and the second night Final Fantasy, Mr Owen Pallett will be there. Presented by Wavelength, the two shows are part of a fundraiser for The Music Gallery as well as a special addition to the Images Festival. Tickets are $20 advance at www.ticketweb.ca, on sale now(oh, and $25 at the door - advance tickets for the April 8 show might already be sold out.) Full details of the shows over at Stille Post.

Eye Weekly lists the The Teenagers at Lee's Palace on May 1, although the band's MySpace is still saying the venue's suppose to be Anti. Things should hopefully get sorted out soon according to Danieljosef in my last post's comments.

Brooklyn, NY indie bad Mobius Band have been added to the Black Kids/Cut Copy bill at Lee's Palace on May 9.

Kids, get your dance on - Diplo and Nasty Nav stop at Wrongbar on April 19 while Berlin DJ Ellen Allien is at The Mod Club on May 7. I believe both of these shows are performance(not DJ shows) but I'm only guessing since their respective MySpace sites don't seem to indicate they are DJ gigs.

Stay tuned this March 25 for the announcement of the lineup for the 2nd annual Sled Island Festival which takes place in various venues around Calgary from June 25 to June 28.

Looking to the summer, for more cultured events look to the Luminato Festival - there's already a schedule of events posted over at the festival MySpace.

Brooklyn Vegan has tour dates for Toronto comedy troupe Kids In The Hall who are jumping on the reunion bandwagon for a series of live shows in the US and Canada. Things get underway on April 4 and culminate with a hometown show at Massey Hall in TOronto on June 5.

Thank God for Youtube and for someone posting the videos for PJ Harvey 's recent performance/interview on VH1 Jo Whiley's Inside Track(and no, still no news of any North American tour dates):

Video: PJ Harvey - "Grow Grow Grow" - VH1 Inside Track (3/21/08)
Video: PJ Harvey - "Interview" - VH1 Inside Track (3/21/08)
Video: PJ Harvey - "The Devil" - VH1 Inside Track (3/21/08)