Review -- Eleanor Friedberger, Hospitality @ The Garrison, Toronto (May 4, 2012)

  Eleanor Friedbierger: photo by Michael Ligon

Brooklyn came to Toronto at the beginning of May when Brooklyn-based artist Eleanor Friedbierger and opening band Hospitality played the Garrison. In fact the first time I'd seen both artists live was during a show at the Bowery Ballroom last year during CMJ when they comprised 2/3 of a bill headlined by indie rock supergroup Wild Flag. Given my fascination and love for NYC which I've only had the pleasure of visiting twice so far over the last few years, this second opportunity to see these artists live here at home would at the very least serve as a good reminder of my time in NYC last year.

Since I'd saw Hospitality live in NYC during CMJ last October the band have signed with Merge Records and released their debut self-titled full-length. As well, since CMJ last year the four-piece have played a few shows (as an opener) in Toronto which I did not make it to, but finally this time around I was able to make it. The band's sound is reminiscent of the breezy indie pop of which I'd so loved in the 90's, centering on the attractive vocals of Amber Papini. It was also the bass-guitar playing of Brian Betancourt which I noticed, less of a low-end rhythmic tool but more melodic and providing some interplay with the more dexterous guitar arrangements. As airy as Papini's vocals could be, she did flex her vocal muscles on a few songs, displaying a bit of grit and yelp, a punk influence perhaps which is not too surprising given this was the same lady wearing a Beastie Boys "Check Your Head" t-shirt during last year's show at the Bowery Ballroom. There was a definite appreciation for the band (even a song request) by the early crowd, as sparse as it was.

As this was an all-Brooklyn bill, I must also mention it was an all-Merge Records bill as well. After having been one half of The Fiery Furnaces for many years, Miss Friedberger quietly released her debut full-length entitled Last Summer on Merge in July of last year. I remembered loving her set at the Bowery Ballroom last year and had only picked up the vinyl album late last year and the buzz around her since last year has I've perceived been generally on the low-end. Although not elbow-to-elbow at the Garrison, it was a healthy turnout for Miss Friedberger, and by the vocal response there were some definite die-hards in the audience.

Eleanor's hipster, vintage retro-threads notwithstanding, her songs came off as a sincere homage to that late 70's / early 80's NYC music scene, flexing a pop sensibility with an edginess, whether musically or lyrically. Like a faded photograph, Friedberger's songs were imbued with a nostalgic quality. However simplistic a description, I imagined Patti Smith fronting Blondie with the grittiness of Television and Lou Reed thrown in for good measure. Shedding the idiosyncrasies of her work in The Fiery Furnaces which made them difficult listening at times, Friedberger has wholly embraced pop song craftsmanship. She and her band played a set that included selections off Last Summer plus a bunch of new songs. My favourite songs of the set included the bouncy "My Mistakes", the sparkling "Heaven" and the funkafied pop of "Roosevelt Island". Coming back for a three song encore, Eleanor played a few songs solo [even revising her lyrics on the spot to acknowledge a segment of the crowd to stop talking], and ended with her and the band playing a cover of Bob Dylan's "True Love Tends To Forget". So true love may tend to forget but I assure you a good show, as this was, you won't.

Photos: Eleanor Friedberger, Hospitality @ The Garrison, Toronto (May 4, 2012)

School Of Seven Bells @ The Hoxton, Toronto (May 2, 2012)

  School Of Seven Bells: photo by Michael Ligon

Several weeks back during Hot Docs (which I was hitting pretty hardcore), I'd also realized that two shows which I'd purchased advance tickets for were taking place during the same week, the first being by New York City group School Of Seven Bells at The Hoxton. The first and only time I'd seen the band live was in October 2010 in their hometown of New York City during the CMJ festival for a headlining bill at Santos Party House. Their set of rhythmic, shoegaze-y, dream-pop was fantastic and the hometown crowd was really enamored with them. That was my last night of CMJ during that year and it was a great way to end the festival. Fast-forward about a year and a half, and here the band were in Toronto promoting their recently released third full-length entitled Ghostory.

With founding member vocalist/keyboardist Claudia Deheza having left the band in 2010, members guitarist Benjamin Curtis and and singer Alejandra Deheza performed as a trio with a drummer during CMJ that year. But as apparent this time around, a fourth member on keyboards and background vocals had been added back into the fold, with the added background vocals melding seamlessly with Alejandra's dreamy vocals. What started out in some ways as a bit mundane, soon picked up steam. I'd only had the pleasure previously of hearing their second album Disconnect From Desire so hearing songs like the ethereal, dream-pop of "Windstorm" were real treats. A respectable-sized crowd was on hand, although not as large as one would hope, but one gets the impression that the band's popularity in Toronto is strictly within cult status. On the contrary, I was thinking the band were more popular than they are, but then in conversation with Chromewaves who was also in attendance, he revealed that the last show he attended back in September 2010 at The Mod Club was quite under-attended. Running through a set and encore in about an hour and change, it was a good set overall. It kind of felt in some ways like the band was running through the motions, but I guess it's a bit discouraging when they still can't fill venues in Toronto.

Chromewaves also has a review of the show.

Photos: School Of Seven Bells @ The Hoxton, Toronto (May 2, 2012)
MySpace: School Of Seven Bells

Hot Docs -- Reviews (May 1-3, 2012)

  Shut Up And Play The Hits

We Are Legion: The Story Of The Hacktivists [Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, May 1, 6:15 pm]

"The geeks shall inherit the earth" may be a phrase you may have perhaps heard of. On one hand, Microsoft's Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs of Apple have proven this well from a corporate standpoint. But from a political standpoint it's grassroots protest groups such as Anonymous, the subject of this documentary, who've proven to be conduits for change and influence against political oppression and repressive behaviors from other groups. We Are Legion traces the evolution of a subculture of online misfits whose perceived juvenile behaviours were but a reflection of a shared mentality that information online should not be repressed nor censored by anyone. The documentary illustrates through news footage, interviews with individuals connected to Anonymous, and other figures, how through a series of key events this subculture organized into the movement we see today, most recently aligning itself with the Occupy movement that had sprouted up in many North American metropolitan cities. As a liberal-minded person myself I can sympathize with some of what Anonymous has tried to accomplish and the documentary takes a sympathetic view of the group, but I can see how this documentary might infuriate some. Like a Michael Moore documentary, We Are Legion is definitely one-sided.

The Queen of Versailles [TIFF Bell Lightbox, May 2, 7 pm]

One wonders what director Lauren Greenfield 's intentions were when she picked buxom trophy wife and mother Jackie Siegel, her eight children and her real estate /time-share mogul husband David Siegel as the subject of her documentary. The beginning of the documentary shows the family, super wealthy but relatively down to earth embarking on building what would have been the largest private residence(inspired by the Palace of Versailles in France, hence the documentary's title) in the United States. I wonder how compelling a documentary this might have been just focusing on this aspect of the family and I could imagine this could have been a superficial mess. But when the economic downturn of 2008 hits, and even the Spiegels aren't immune, this is where the meat and potatoes of the documentary establishes itself. No the Spiegels aren't thrown into poverty but from their own exaggerated perspective they're having to cutback like everyone else and even their dream home remains a dream because of it. Greenfield has a sympathetic subject in Jackie, choosing to show her as an educated, and loving mother, which I have no doubt she is. She and her family were living the American dream and in these economic times will hopefully not be another victim in the pursuit of it.

An Affair of The Heart [Cumberland, May 3, 6:30 pm]

As a preteen of the early 80's who hadn't yet established his musical tastes, I vaguely recall the hysteria of pop artist Rick Springfield. I had older cousins who liked him, and thought he had a wacky stage presence. "Jessie's Girl" may have been the big hit but for some reason I gravitated towards "Don't Talk To Strangers" (I think because it sound like a Hall and Oates songs and I liked Hall and Oates.) Back then he was considered light-weight pop music, and I thought so as well, and as the mid to late eighties came my musical tastes soon gravitated towards "cool" music (eg. The Smiths, The Cure, New Order) and I soon forgot about Rick. Little did I know that his fans never really went away, and while may Rick may have been out of the musical spotlight for a time, especially in the nineties, his career and fan-dom, as this documentary shows, is perhaps stronger than ever. Director Sylvia Caminer takes a well-balanced look at the man and his fans. The documentary is not merely a comeback story of a 80's pop idol, but also one of survival of a man's ongoing bouts with depression that have plagued his life. The documentary also doesn't merely focus on the undying fandom(and the positive effect he's had on his fans) of his mostly female audience but it also chooses to question the rationality of his cult-like fan-base. The camera follows Rick on tour as he meets fans(as well as some of their jealous husbands) and performs and the documentary also splices in various interview footage with Rick as he promotes his memoir "Late, Late at Night". The cynic might take the documentary as a ingenious promotion tool for his book but taken on it's own merits I thought it was pretty decent. And I swear if you weren't a fan before, you will at the very least come out of it humming "Jessie's Girl".

Shut Up and Play The Hits [TIFF Bell Lightbox, May 3, 9:30 pm]

I remember watching the webcast of LCD Soundsystem's final show at Madison Square Gardens in April 2011 and being drawn to both to the music of a band that I wasn't really that familiar with and the euphoric energy of the show itself. It's one of those times I discovered a band too late and felt more than an ounce of regret because of it. This documentary is far from just being a concert film but also shows quiet moments of personal reflection on the part of the band's leader James Murphy in the days after the show is done as he ponders what he's accomplished and what the future holds for him. Murphy's personal reflection is given further clarity with his interview session with author Chuck Klosterman which is spliced in throughout the film in between concert footage. The brief history of LCD Soundsystem is that he started the group when he was 31 years of age, made three albums and then decided to call it quits almost ten years later. There's the factor of Murphy's age which is part of the reason for quitting as he wants to pursue other things as well, especially now that he's in his 40's. And as Klosterman interviews Murphy, Klosterman says he thinks bands are remembered for their successes, but are defined mostly by their biggest failure and Murphy ultimately answers that maybe his biggest failure is “Stopping.” You get the feeling that Murphy's decision to quit was a deeply conflicted one. Such responses from Murphy are deeply insightful. A scene in which Murphy himself is in a storage locker containing all his band's gear where he breaks down in tears are just heartbreaking. The title of the film was a humourous phrase expressed by Arcade Fire's Win Butler (him and his bandmates being special guests during LCD Soundsystem's final show) and musically the song choice focuses on the band's best known ones with "Dance Yourself Clean" (from the band's debut) kicking off the musical segment, with sublime and to me extremely emotional favourites like "Something Great" and "All Your Friends" (focusing on the euphoric energy of the crowd) also being included and the the deeply poignant "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" ending off the night. The documentary takes place over the span of a few days, and is a document of a moment in time. Deeply entertaining, deeply moving, and and frankly one of the best music documentaries I've seen.

Hot Docs -- Reviews (April 29-30, 2012)

  Inocente

The Job [Cumberland, Sunday April 29, 1:30 pm]

The primary scene of this documentary is a French corporate boardroom of a job recruitment agency that pits a panel of headhunters against a ten job-seekers of varying ages and job experience.  As the perspective changes between four static, strategically-placed cameras, the viewer gets to observe the often-tense situations the job candidates go through over the course of two days. With the two days entailing entailing role-playing, mock debates and intimidating panel discussions, candidates are often confused with the techniques and at times even feels border-line demeaning. But there is a method to the madness and the successful candidates that last stand will be the ones that can exemplify the soft skills that the recruiters are looking for. The 2-day recruitment session is interspersed with interviews with most of the candidates a few weeks after, with some honest and sometimes humorous insight each of the candidates had of their experience. I haven't gone through any recent job changes myself, but if what was displayed in this film is what, I have to look forward during a job recruitment process, God help me.

Ping Pong [Isabel Bader Theatre,  Sunday April 29, 4:00 pm]

The competitive spirit knows no limits even age as Ping Pong follows eight over-80 years of age Ping Pong players from the US,  Germany, Australia, China and the UK going to Mongolia for the over-80's table tennis championships. Director Hugh Hartford, shown in a Hot Docs promo video clip for his documentary expresses it's major themes as "morality, friendship, rivalry". It was interesting to see the various back-stories of each competitor, some of it being a bit sad and painful, but overall there is a funny and light-hearted tone to the documentary that strongly illustrates the tenacity of the elderly. 

The Record Breaker [Isabel Bader Theatre, Sunday April 29, 4:00 pm]

Within the span of 28 minutes, Danish director Brian McGinn tells the story of Ashrita Furman of Queens, New York who holds the record of most Guinness World Records held by an individual. Is this driven by the immutable spirit of a perpetual man-child, by a higher spiritual calling, or perhaps one man's quest to give his life meaning? It may be a little of all of these things. As the film focuses on his most recent record-breaking quest to climb Macchu Picchu on stilts, one thing is for sure - Furman is one zany dude, and an immediatedly likable one at that. He chases these records because it makes him happy, and chasing what makes us happy may be the most important lesson The Record Breaker has taught us. Recommended.

Laura [ROM, Sunday April 29, 7:00 pm]

Somewhere within this documentary, there may be a story to tell but overall this feels incomplete and unresolved.  Shot in a very free form, cinema-verite style,  director Fellipe Gamarano follows Laura who lives a dichotomous life, living in a cramped / cram-filled apartment on one hand, and charming her way into the New York socialite-scene on the other. The first half of the documentary feels very superficial as it follows Laura attending socialite events, shopping and going to fancy restaurants with Laura, while not a boring person, doesn't feel like an intriguing enough of a character to hold the audience's attention. And indeed I did observe small groups of people walk out. Even as I was pondering what the point of this documentary was, Laura herself expresses criticism to the director that the footage that he's been shooting of her hasn't been that interesting. It's the second half of the film in which it partially redeems itself as the director himself interjects himself into the story to address Laura's hoarding issue. It feels a little to late by the time this happens, and there are more questions than answers by the end. An overall frustrating experience, all the more surprising given Gamaran's articulate responses during the Q & A afterwards.

The Quiet One [TIFF Bell Lightbox, Monday April 30, 6:30 pm]

Childhood, as does life, alternates between happiness and sadness and this documentary short illustrates this beautifully. Focusing on Maryam, an Irani refugee having to adjust to her school life in Sweden, she not only needs to learn Swedish but also has to deal with the tribulations of making friends and fitting in - it's not easy, and often leads to outbursts and acting up on Maryam's part to express herself.  Equal parts heartbreaking and victorious, this is a lovely, lovely film. 

Inocente [TIFF Bell Lightbox, Monday April 30, 6:30 pm]

Inspiring, emotional, and visually spectacular, this documentary focuses on the story of 15-year old Inocente who while experiencing much pain in her life, from physical abuse from her father, to her subsequent homelessness after she, her mother and siblings left their home, has found hope and optimism through her art work. The documentary  acts as subtle paen to the arts & arts funding as the story focuses on Inocente's preparation for her own art show(for which she needs to create thirty pieces), sponsored by a program at her local youth centre. The camera cuts between an observer's perspective and intimate close-ups of Inocente, and also interviews with people in Inocente's life like the youth centre art program co-ordinator but also perhaps the most  heartbreaking being with her mother's painful confession. Overall,  Inocente is a well-edited, interesting-told story of a an impressive young person.

Hot Docs -- Reviews (April 27-28, 2012)

  Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

Beware of Mr. Baker [Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, Friday April 27, 6:15 pm]

Within the annals of rock n' roll history, Mr. Ginger Baker may not be quite as well known as others but director Jay Bulger successfully makes a case with his documentary why Mr. Baker should be more highly regarded. To some he's most well-known as the drummer in the influential yet short-lived British hard rock group Cream and is highly regarded as the inventor of rock n' roll drumming. The documentary is a funny, insightful look at a man who seems all piss and vinegar and has led his life the way he's wanted to live it (even if it meant alienating friends and family), in more recent years dealing with money and health issues. But as the documentary illustrates through interviews with family, band mates and other musicians as well as through a wealth of fantastic video footage and photographs, Mr. Baker has travelled a unique musical path without ever having planned it through the 60's right up to present day that firmly establishes his contribution to popular music.

Black Block [TIFF Bell Lightbox, Friday April 27, 9:45 pm]

With the horror of the G20 protests of 2010 in Toronto still fresh in memory, I was tempted to check out Black Black which focuses on the protests and even more horrific police brutality of the G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy in 2001. Interspersing raw video footage with present-day interviews with a group of the protesters, director Carlo A. Bachschmidt has created a well-meaning although ultimately flawed documentary. Focusing primarily on individual interviews with each protester, each gives detailed accounts of police brutality that they'd experienced, the culmination of which was the police raid at the Diaz School which protesters had used as a crash pad during the Summit. It's the traumatizing experiences and ultimately the healing and motivations for each to continue to stand up for their individual beliefs in their present lives (even if they're no longer on the front lines) which is the main point of the documentary. It's unfortunate that most of the docmentary's 76 minutes was devoted to the protesters individually talking into the camera about their traumatizing experiences with little insight given to anything else.

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet [Isabel Bader Theatre, Saturday April 28, 4:30 pm]

Jason Becker's story is a sad but ultimately inspiring one. As a young boy, Jason's introduction to the guitar, a Christmas gift given to him by his father was, initially a failed effort due to Jason's boredom. But Jason would overcome that and would eventually gain a true love and talent for the instrument. It's Jason's prodigious talent and hard work that gets him his foot in the music industry even before he graduates high school. The culmination is when Jason lands a gig with David Lee Roth's band in the early 90's which at the time was the most sought after gig for any heavy metal / hard rock guitarist. Jason was able to record an album with Roth but before embarking on a tour, Jason was tragically diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Director Jesse Vile has accumulated a wealth of video footage and photographs and combined with interviews with family and friends tells a revealing story of a would-have-been rock star who through the support of mostly his family as well as his own determination and perseverance has continued to beat the odds of his disease, stay healthy enough and perhaps most important to himself, make music. The closet metal fan in me highly recommends this.

Los Angeles Plays Itself [Innis Town Hall, Saturday April 28, 7:00 pm]

Directed by Thom Anderson his 2003 effort Los Angeles plays itself is not so much a documentary as what he's described as a video essay. With the dry delivery of its narrator (not Anderson), the socio-cultural commentary is spoken against the back drop of a steady stream of Hollywood film clips dating back to Hollywood's earliest years with most recent clips being from films around 1999. Like an essay, Anderson breaks up the film in chapters, displaying titles such as "Los Angeles as subject". Like the city it discusses, at 169 minutes it is sprawling in length, interesting on many occasions but also a bit too academic in its thoughts at times. It really did feel like something I should be watching as part of a university course. The man criticism I overheard from other audience members was the film's length but on a related-note it also cut in to the start times of all the other films starting between 9 and 10 pm that night. Shucks.

Hot Docs in Toronto Kicking Off Tonight

It took long enough but for the first time I'll be diving into Toronto's Hot Docs documentary film festival. Kicking off tonight officially and running until May 6, the festival will be offering many documentaries including local, national and international productions on an array of topics which one is sure to find something of interest. I haven't yet decided what docs I'll be seeing / covering but I hope to catch at least a few  of the music documentaries, most of all Shut Up And Play The Hits which documents LCD Soundsystem's final concert which took place at NYC's Madison Square Gardens on April 2, 2011. And since this is a music blog, I thought it'd be appropriate to give a rundown of the music documentaries at this year's festival:

Marley
As you may have guessed, this is a documentary on the life of Bob Marley. Directed by Kevin MacDonald (Last King of Scotland, One Day in September), the film apparently includes interviews with Marley's family as well as early concert footage. Uo

Beware Of Mr. Baker
Mr. Baker refers to a one Ginger Baker, the undisputed inventor of rock n roll drumming and best known for his work with Cream and Blind Faith. Apparently he's a character.

The Punk Syndrome
This doc focuses on Finland punk rock  four-piece Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day. That each of the members happens to be mentally disabled is what makes their story interesting.  Well, my interest is piqued.

She Said Boom: The Story Of Fifth Column
Back in the 80's I was knee deep in the wave of alternative bands coming from the UK (The Smiths, The Cure, New Order) and perhaps a bit immature to appreciate Toronto's own all-girl art-punk outfit Fifth Column. I remember they were one of the only Canadian acts on US indie label K Records. I remember they had a song called "All Women Are Bitches". I'm expecting that this doc would fill me in on everything else I'd want to know about the group

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet
The story focuses on the life of guitar prodigy Jason Becker who in 1991 was hired as the lead guitarist in David Lee Roth's band, recorded an album with him but never made it on tour after being diagnosed with ALS.  More than 20 years later, Jason is still living strong and making music by communicating with his eyes. 

Shut Up And Play The Hits
Part interview and part concert film, this documents NYC's LCD Soundsystem's final show which took place at Madison Square Gardens on April 2, 2011. I remember watching the streaming webcast and wishing I'd got into this band sooner. The music and the show was that good.

Big Easy Express
L.A.’s Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Nashville boys Old Crow Medicine Show and Londoners Mumford & Sons take a train from Oakland to New Orleans along the way making stops to play sold out shows.  And I'm assuming shenanigans ensue.

Charles Bradley: Soul Of America
 Soul artist Charles Bradley played a sold out show in Toronto this year and has been making waves everywhere. He's an old gentleman whose talents were  discovered later in life (better late than never) and this film tells his story.

An Affair Of The Heart
From what I've read this doc is as much about 80's icon Rick Springfield as it is about his fans.

In The Year Of Hip Hop
This is a documentary about rappers in the Republic of Slovenia documenting the cultural uprising that paved the way for hip hop to form in the country.

No Room For Rockstars
Documenting the 2010 Vans Warped tour and especially the new school and broader range of artists that the tour has been showcasing in recent years, the film will either entertain the masses or else anger old-school punks who'll launch into a diatribe about the death of punk rock.

The Flaming Lips To Headline NXNE Plus Preliminary Lineup Announced

Earlier this week it was announced that The Flaming Lips will be headlining this year's North By Northeast (NXNE) festival with a FREE show at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 16 (a bittersweet announcement since I already have tickets for the Radiohead show at Downsview Park that same night and am already debating whether I should sell the tickets). As well, a preliminary list of other acts have been announced for this year's festival including Bad Religion, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah and Matthew Good who will all be headlining free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square. Chromewaves has done some legwork and posted a preliminary schedule of acts who'll be in town during the festival so that's a good starting point if you want to start planning now. Otherwise for more further official artist announcements, keeping checking here. There seems to be a fair bit of buzz so far on the interwebs about this year's festival (even if most of the acts on the preliminary list are unfamiliar to me) and it's looking to be a good one.

Review -- The Magnetic Fields, Bachelorette @ Sound Academy, Toronto (March 30, 2012)

  Stephen Merritt @ Sound Academy: photo by Michael Ligon

Sorry for the lateness of this posting. I'll first point you towards The National Post, Sticky Magazine, and The Panic Manual who were also at the show.

Can I say I both enjoyed the show but was disappointed. The Magnetic Fields last played Toronto in February of 2010 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, a show I enjoyed very much. But before I get to this current performance, it was New Zealand artist Annabel Alpers who goes by the moniker Bachelorette opening up the show to maybe a half full venue. I'd arrive with her already a bit into her set. At first I didn't think much of it, but soon I started to enjoy her brand of electro-pop which seamed to be a seamless mix between the icy-cool synth-pop of Ladytron with the Krautrock / drone influence of bands like Stereolab and Broadcast, Alpers vocals in the same deadpan vein as Broadcast's late Trish Keenan or Ladytron vocalist Helen Marnie. With computer generated images projected behind it was fitting visuals for Miss Alpers mathematically-precise tunes.

But back to The Magnetic Fields. It was bound to be a letdown, the band this time around playing the dreaded Sound Academy, a venue that required it's audience to stand [unless I guess if you were in the second level VIP section] and whose acoustics were no where close to the acoustics at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The occasion of their trip to the city this time around was the recent release of their new album entitled Love at the Bottom of the Sea with a bevy of great song titles like "Andrew in Drag", "The Horrible Party", and "I've Run Away to Join the Fairies" all included in the band's new-album heavy setlist. With the same / similar acoustic setup(piano, guitar, cello, ukelele, etc.) as their previous show in Toronto back in 2010, the band played delicately with lead vocal duties traded from song to song between Stephen plus members Claudia Gonson, and Shirley Simms, with Merritt singing most of what most might consider his 'depressing' songs while, Gonson seemed to have the more humourous ones [eg. "Quick"] and Simms adding a bit of twangy timbre to songs like the wonderful "Plant White Roses". On comparison to their previous Toronto show in 2010 there was less banter between songs, which in my opinion detracted from the overall enjoyment of the show. As Merritt cheekily exclaimed at one point between songs in his deadpan baritone "Here's another depressing song". It was purely sarcastic remark but on the other hand, without the banter to break up the pacing of the set, I couldn't help but feel the dreariness rear its head. If not for the pristine pop melodies, the whole set would just be a total downer. But then that dichotomous nature of The Magnetic Fields, who on a basic level, whose music can be described as depressing love songs and sunny pop melodies, is precisly what appeals to its audience. Nowadays, I feel the The Magnetic Fields have broadened their audience further than they have before, but in the past I'd say without a doubt that their audience consisted primarily of indiepop aficionados, music geeks, and other assorted misfits. To this last point, The Magnetic Fields is and will remain one of music history's greatest outsider bands. So overall a great set musically, though the comforts and acoustics of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre as well as the greater amount of banter at that show, were sorely missed this time around.

Photos: The Magnetic Fields, Bachelorette @ Sound Academy, Toronto (March 30, 2012)
MySpace: Bachelorette
MySpace: The Magnetic Fields

Review -- Canadian Musicfest (Saturday March 24, 2012)

  ALX @ The Garrison: photo by Michael Ligon

For this year's Canadian Musicfest, Saturday wasn't the official last day of the festival [as Sunday night had a smattering of shows to close out the festival] but for many the Saturday night was the night to end things, and hopefully on a high note. That said, my Saturday night was a generally light one but that was fine by me.

Cooler temperatures than the previous milder nights, I made the decision to stay indoors as much as possible - club-hopping isn't fun when it's cold. With not much of an itinerary in mind for the night, I decided to forgo the first few primtetime hours of the night (between 9 and 11 pm) and instead of seeing bands, decided to take in one of the music films screening as part of the film festival component of Canadian Music Week. The film screening was entitled Girl Walk // All Day. The following information about the film is taken from the film's website:

"Girl Walk // All Day is a feature-length dance music video and tale of urban exploration that follows three dancers across New York City. They turn the city's sidewalks, parks, and architecture into an evolving stage as they spread their joy of movement.

The film is about self-discovery and love, and it's a tale about finding community and vitality in shared public spaces. The idea for this project emerged from our desire to expand the boundaries of the single-track music video, to an epic music film.

Girl Walk // All Day is set to All Day, the album by mash-up musician Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk)."

I enjoyed this very much on many levels. As a love letter to NYC, it made me want to go back so bad - this film has to be seen on a big screen. The pop, hip-hop mash-up soundtrack of Girl Talk brought the dance segments on screen to life. Overall, the film expressed happiness and joy of life. There was one scene that said it all - when dancer Anne Marsen while dancing approached unknowing passersby on the streets, one Orthodox Jewish gentleman questioned why she was dancing, in which she replied "Because she is happy" and which in turn the gentleman replied back "You should always be happy".

Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 1: School's Out
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 2: All Aboard
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 3: It Goes Like This
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 4: Enter The Gentleman
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 5: Chinatown Hustle
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 6: The Creep Takes New York
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 7: High and Low
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 8: Shopping Spree
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 9: When Dancers Collide
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 10: Dance With Me
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 11: Chain Reaction
Video: Girl Walk // All Day - Chapter 12: For The People

After that good start to the night, I headed to the Garrison to catch Toronto's Allie Hughes, whose new electro-pop project was entitled ALX. I'd actually not seen Miss Hughes live although I vaguely recall her in the CBC television program "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" in which she sang a cover of Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet". From that I was aware of her vocal talents but I didn't quite expect the transformation she undertook for ALX. First impressions will most obviously point to fellow Toronto artist Katie Stelmanis who transformed into a electro-goth diva for her current project Austra. If we're to compare ALX to Austra however, ALX is decidely more disco. But rather question her motives, let's just take ALX as a new outlet for Miss Hughes talents. For their second show ever (as Allie announced), it wasn't without it's problems. There were some technical difficulties with one of the synths shutting out, during which the rest of the band continued to play through until the problem was solved. Musically, Allie was in fine vocal form but I didn't find every song as stellar as I'd hoped. I still think Allie might be working out her stage presence as a disco diva - the writhing on the floor's stage, while it may have been a spontaneous act, just felt a bit forced. The band have a song entitled "I Will Love You More" up on YouTube and available for free download on their BandCamp which I think is terrific. If they can work out the kinks and develop a good live set, I will most definitely look forward to seeing them live the next time.

Capping off my Canadian Musicfest this year was, Chapel Hill, NC's Last Year's Men who were capping off a three-night stint at the Silver Dollar. For a Saturday night, it was a surprisingly light crowd at the Silver Dollar, but the young group paid no attention to that and played as if they were rocking a full-house. For fun, the drummer had a blond wig on, with the bassist wearing an old-school, full-length sleeping gown, and the main vocalist wearing a black, robber's mask. There was also a fourth guy on guitar sporting sunglasses and a moustache. Aside from the efforts of one young lady near the end of the set to try to start some slam dancing, the crowd on hand didn't quite get in to it as I'd hoped. The band's music, a mix of 50's / 60's melodies with an infusion of punk / garage sensibilities was at time balls out rock n' roll but there were at times, a few slower tempos. For such a young band, I'm curious as to how the band found this musical direction. Overall it was a good energetic set from the band, ending off their set with a smashed guitar, some spilled beer, and the bassist exposing himself to us. All in the name of rock n' roll.

And so there it was. 17 acts, 1 film over the course of 4 days. Until next year Canadian Musicfest.

PHOTOS: Canadian Musicfest (Saturday March 24, 2012)
BandCamp: ALX
MySpace: Last Year's Men

Review -- Canadian Musicfest (Friday March 23, 2012)

  Spoek Mathambo @ The Great Hall: photo by Michael Ligon

As it turned it out, the third day of Canadian Musicfest was purely spontaneous on my part. I had made picks for the night but really hadn't thought out an itinerary for the day, although with having the day off from work I made somewhat of an effort to check out some of the day shows.

The daytime lineup over at The Toronto Institute For The Enjoyment of Music was somewhat up my alley but I got downtown later than expected and so instead chose to take in some daytime sessions, where else but the Eaton Centre. Clothing Store French Connection in conjunction with local band promoters Audio Blood Media were hosting a few artists playing acoustic sets as part of the festival. An interesting choice of venue but ultimately it didn't seem like many people were interested given the low turnout. Toronto pop outfit Hands & Teeth, ignored the light crowd (which was really just me and a few others) and began their set. Playing acoustically (guitar, percussion, Charles Pump Organ), they were quite a bit different sounding than their electric version, with a folky quality emphasized through the band's penchant for vocal harmonies. As things went on, the band were successful in drawing some shoppers / passersby to come in to the store and check them out. The band's Jeff Pinto on the Charles Pump Organ [I asked a member of the band what the name of the instrument was] took a swipe at lead vocals sounding a bit like Bob Dylan, but it was the songs sung by lone female member Natasha Pasternak that were more successful. Call me a sucker for attractive tuneful female vocals. The band has several releases available, the most recent being 2012's Hunting Season, all of which are available through the band's BandCamp site.

Next up to perform on the same stage [well actually the same space on French Connection's floor] were Toronto band The Archives. Again, because they were playing acoustically (just the vocals of Will Gooch plus bassist Anthony Menecola and guitarist Crispin Day) they sounded much more stripped down than their usual plugged-in electric, melodic rock sound. If the crowd was virtually non-existent at this point, except for me, a few band-related persons, the store staff, and a few other stragglers, the band did an admirable job of ignoring that and performing well. The stripped-down nature of the set illustrated they have musical chops and solid songs even if for the most part it wasn't my thing. Good job, nonetheless.

Still early with a whole night a head of me, I decided I was ready for another instore and so headed over to Sonic Boom to check out The Inbreds. I arrived as the duo [bassist/vocalist Mike O'Neill and drummer Dave Ullrich] were already a song or two into their set, with a good-sized crowd in attendance. This was a warm-up for their proper Canadian Musicfest / comeback show which was the next night at Lee's Palace so the set was understandably brief but they of course couldn't leave without playing their biggest 'hit' "Any Sense of Time" which they saved for last. What a jolt of nostalgia that was. It was 1996 all over again - those were the days.

I'd originally headed to the Horseshoe Tavern to catch Snowblink's 8 pm set but getting into the venue and then waiting around for a few minutes, then realizing that they were already half an hour behind schedule [it was already 8:30 pm at this point] with no sign they'd be coming on soon, I decided to bail and instead headed to Lee's Palace for the 9 pm set of Australian duo's Big Scary. I arrived to the venue after 9 pm with the band already into their set playing to a sparse but appreciative audience. Far more versatile than I expected, they were neither just the poppy indie duo I'd heard ["The Apple Song"] nor a garage-rock act a la The White Stripes that you might imagine, but over the course of the three or four songs I heard, they displayed these various influences generally through their guitar-drums (sometimes keyboards-drums) instrumentation. One of my more interesting discoveries of this year's festival.

The evening portion of the night was centered on me checking out South African hip-hop / r n b artist Spoek Mathambo who was playing The Great Hall at 11 pm and as it turned out I decided to make things easy for myself and just plant myself at The Great Hall for the whole night. It'd been several years since I'd seen Edmonton rapper Cadence Weapon perform live and not much has changed. His combination of old-school rap flow and what I could only described as fucked-up beats is still omnipresent. Assisting him with the beats was a dude who looked like a blonde version of The Cure's Robert Smith. The set was filled with mostly new songs. Making a shout out to the 1059! crew (so-named for the Toronto address 1059 Bathurst where many a secret show was hosted and of which Cadence Weapon had performed on occasion), performed a song called "Loft Party". There was a good energy in the room throughout the set and it seems many are looking forward to his new album Hope in Dirt City which'll drop soon.

The most anticipated act for me this night was South African afro-hip-hop artist, the colourfully-named Spoek Mathambo fresh from his appearance at this year's SXSW. Samples I'd heard of his on YouTube gave me the impression of an artist who fused old-school (hip-hop) / old-world (African) influences with a modern sensibility, similar to the approach of an artist such as M.I.A. With his mostly South African band plus one gentleman(on sax) who I believe was from San Francisco, that old-school/new-school fusion was definitely present (especially in their twitchy cover of Joy Division's "Control" which they played near the end) but the live set in general seemed to emphasize the organic approach(drum, guitar, bass, horns) much like The Roots brand of hip hop when they play live. While Mathambo's elder musical stateman Saul Williams was the headliner of the night, Mathambo and could easily have headlined had there been a need for him to. It was a fully-charged set from Mathambo and crew, with the crowd very much into as well. A successful outing all around, which should do him well if and when he returns to Toronto.

I'd considered ducking out to check another set at another venue {I think it was Toronto's Badbadnotgood @ Wrongbar) but then reconsidered because I realized I'll have more opportunities to see Badbadnotgood live but although I wasn't at all familiar with Saul Williams, what I'd read of him intrigued me, and this perhaps might be the only opportunity I'd get to see him live. Just a little background, but according to the first sentence from the Wikipedia entry on him, Saul Williams is "...an American poet, writer, actor and musician known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop and for his leading role in the 1998 independent film Slam." Prior to his emergence onstage, a colourful-looking gentleman who I think was his DJ hyped up the crowd with an old-school mix of hip-hop blaring from the PA system. From the onset, Mr. Williams was hyped up and determined to hype up the crowd, beating away on a percussive instrument with what I believe was a mallet. The R n B, soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop, and rock influences that all contributed to his music was really just the basis for Mr. Williams himself, as confident and capable as soulful vocalist as he was with his spoken-word, def poetry jam contributions. What was so impressive especially about his def poetry jam capabilities was the amount of words that went into those compositions and even more impressive that Williams was able to memorize it all. It was quite apparent from the performance why Saul Williams is held up in such high regard with many artists and musicians, even though he is not nearly as well-known with the general public. Quite the experience, and one I highly recommend.

PHOTOS: Canadian Musicfest (Friday March 23, 2012)
MySpace: Hands & Teeth
MySpace: The Archives
MySpace: The Inbreds
MySpace: Big Scary
MySpace: Cadence Weapon
MySpace: Spoek Mathambo
MySpace: Saul Williams

Review -- Canadian Musicfest (Thursday March 22, 2012)

  Cold Specks @ The Music Gallery: photo by Michael Ligon

The second night of this year's Canadian Musicfest had even milder weather than the night before, so nice in fact that on top of me not having to work the next day, it made me long even more for summer to come. Surprisingly, though I wasn't working the next day, I surprisingly had a very light Canadian Musicfest planned for the evening. My night was centered around the Cold Specks show at The Music Gallery at 9 pm and I'd also planned on checking out Chinese singer-songwriter Helen Feng's electro dance-pop solo project Nova Heart at 11 pm at Comfort Zone but had nothing else on tap for the rest of the evening.

I figured after work I'd head down to Sonic Boom for their Canadian Musicfest instore sessions. I was almost certain that I'd miss most if not all of Miss Martha Wainwright's set (which in fact I did miss all of it) but coming up next after her was a set by Upstate New York's Simone Felice of The Felice Brothers, a band I'd vaguely heard of and had heard good things about but had not ever heard. With a few hours to kill before the Cold Specks show I headed to Sonic Boom and arrived just a little in to Mr. Felice's set. From Mechanical Forest Sound's account, there'd been a good crowd on hand for Martha Wainwright, so it was a real shame to see how sparse the audience was for Mr. Felice. With two drummers, and members on backup vox and slide guitar, and Mr. Felice on acoustic guitar, the group performed a good set of melodic, country-rock tunes. Felice's backup vocalist Simi Stone (who also performed with Felice in his more recent band project, the more glam / soul influenced The Duke and The King) was a particular highlight, especially on the last song of the set, with her expressive, bright, vocal style. And as the last song winded down, and Felice and Stone smiled and made eye contact with each other, I couldn't help feel how terrific that was. Too bad more people weren't there.

I figure I had another half hour or so before heading down early to The Music Gallery for Cold Specks so I decided to stick around for Toronto's Great Bloomers who were up next. I'd never seen the band live although I'd had an opportunity several years back when they performed at an NXNE kick-off party at the Distillery District which I'd not stuck around for. In my mind, I'd pegged them as a country-rock act (I think based on reviews I may have read about the band in the past) akin to say Oshawa's Cuff The Duke but that isn't entirely an accurate description of the band's music. Although they were all new songs to me, Great Bloomers' vocalist Lowell Sostomi did inform the crowd [which had inflated to a healthy size almost without me noticing] that much of their set night were new songs. There was certainly a countrified pop sound to some of it but also a certain heaviness - this ain't no bluegrass. While the band looks young, they were surprisingly tight and competent musicians and even moreso was I impressed with the songwriting and melodies. I also loved that they performed a cover of Television's "See No Evil". I look forward to seeing the band live again and with their recent signing to Canadian indie label Dine Alone Records who are set to release their sophomore full-length this year, I wish them much success. Look out for Sostomi on the streets of T.O. - he said he lived in the neighbourhood and offered some advice of how well plopping a hundred bucks on some records can help one feel better, rightfully giving props to the store for sponsoring the festivities that day.

I decided to head down a little early to The Music Gallery to secure a place in line for Al Spx aka Cold Specks. With the 23-year old recent signee to Arts & Crafts, who'd been hyped up by the British music press and has already performed live on Later With Jools Holland in the UK, I was expecting the show to be one of the hotter tickets (well actually it was a wristband-only show, but you know what I mean). Having arrived at the venue about a half hour before the 8:30 pm doors, I was surprised to find a small random group of people loitering around the courtyard. A proper line hadn't even formed. As 8:30 approached more people did arrive and as the buzz of the crowd arriving seemed to louden, they let open the doors letting people in finally. We we corralled in the lobby area of the building to enjoy a drink or two, seemingly until capacity for the show was reached and then we were let into the church to fill the pews, waiting with anticipation for the show to start. With only a few samples available on the internet, I'd like what I heard, her old-time, gospel/spiritual influenced blues. I hadn't expected it but she had a bad in tow, including a drummer, guitarist, cellist and a saxophonist. Full-sounding at times, but at others skeletal fragments of percussion and strings, what remained most impressive overall was Cold Specks soulful, spiritual vocals made all the more stunning within the pristine acoustics of the church. This is what shows at The Music Gallery are made for. Although her banter was minimal, she was also charming and humorous at times, even hamming it up for the crowd with a surprisingly soulful yet still playful version of "The Theme From Fresh Prince of Bel Air". She finished off the night with a quick encore done accapella, solidfying her as my highlight and perhaps the highlight of many others in attendance, of this year's Canadian Musicfest. Having performed a good amount of songs throughout the hour-or-so long set, I'm guessing these will appear on her debut full-length in the future.

Nothing may have been able to top that set that night but the set by Nova Heart at the Comfort Zone was a worthy closer to my evening. Led by vocalist Helen Feng, with a guitarist, a bassist and pre-programmed dance beats, it was an enticing set of sinewy guitar, pulsating bass lines, and sultry vocals and dance beats. While it was a small crowd on hand, it was a little less noticeable perhaps given how dark it was inside the venue, with only a bit of blue/red light illuminating the trio onstage. Of all the frontpersons of the acts I'd seen during this year's festival, Feng practically outshined all of them with her energy and stage presence, her writhing to the beats, her at-times cooing vocals and other-times banshee-like screams. Book-ended on either side of her were her guitarist and bassist, the guitarist who seemed to be in perpetual shoegaze stance and her bassist in robotic bass plucking mode. It was the latter playing off the dance beats quite nicely which provided the groups' songs their groove. Quite a disappointment that there weren't more people on-hand for this. I'd have imagined they'd have rocked the Wrongbar crowd had they been booked at that venue instead. Props to Dan Burke for bringing them to Comfort Zone anyway.

PHOTOS: Canadian Musicfest (Thursday March 22, 2012)
Myspace: Simone Felice
Myspace: Great Bloomers
Myspace: Cold Specks
Myspace: Nova Heart

Review -- Canadian Musicfest (Wednesday March 21, 2012)

  Sea+Air @ The Painted Lady: photo by Michael Ligon

Another year's edition of Canadian Music Week / Canadian Musicfest has come and gone and one of the most striking aspects of this year's edition as how mild the weather was. It was pretty much the mildest weather for Canadian Musicfest I've ever experienced to the point it almost felt like NXNE. Consider that, in stark contrast several years back, The Breeders, who were on their reunion tour stopped in during Canadian Music Week to play a show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre, right smack dab during a blizzard (well, heavy snowfall). While the weather was on our side, the major criticism of this year's festival was how less enticing the lineup was. To some extent I'd agree, but on the other hand, with a little research and a little luck I think I caught a good percentage of good to great acts. All's well that end well. Over the next week or so I'll be posting my reviews of each night of Canadian Musicfest, so stay tuned. Now let's begin.

Somehow I'd confused the Cold Specks show at The Music Gallery to be on the first night of the festival (Wednesday March 21, 2012) and after work killed time for a few hours until later on in the evening to head over to The Music Gallery. Little did I realize that the show was actually the NEXT night (after consulting the internet on my phone). Fortunately I did have other options for the night and so proceeded with those.

First stop of the night was, the Cameron House backroom which all these years I'd never been to. Already into their set when I arrived was Toronto's LOOM, aka singer-songwriter Brooke Manning. Playing with two other members as a trio, with Brooke on vocals/guitar, the songs were full of ebb-and-flow sonic washes of keys, strings, guitar and vocals. The vocals/lyrics weren't to the extent of being inaudible but Brooke's laidback timbre did definitely possess a quality of being another instrument in the mix. Given the intimate-sized venue thankfully people did come out early to catch her. Pretty at times, and more difficult listening at others [it wasn't always as melodic as I would hope], but it was definitely intriguing music.

Fortunately, I didn't have to travel at all to catch my second pick of the night which was Dutch singer-songwriter Thijs Kuijken whose band name is I Am Oak. And while later on in the set he would mention to the audience that he usually performs with a band, for this set he was playing solo with just him on acoustic guitar. A slim, bespectacled gentleman, dressed casually in a plaid shirt and light jeans, his set of acoustic, folk-ish tunes were in my opinion several notches above what could be easily have been dull material. Lyrically as well as Kuijken's acoustic guitar playing were great overall but my only criticsm really was that vocally Kuijken's nasal vocals, quite adamantly located midrange in the vocal spectrum, made the whole set blend into each other. It's a similar effect when I listen to someone like Mark Kozelek for example, if that's any help. On a non-music note, Kuijken humoured the audience with his observations like how less hectic CMW was compared to SXSW (but in a good way), how QUIET the audience was and how POLITE Canadians are, how he brought too many sweaters on his trip and not enough socks and that he bought socks earlier in the day and asking us if we have any pigeons in Toronto, that last query being in reference to a song he had just song which was I believe above doves or birds or something.

After a comfortable stay at the Cameron House, the venue-hopping portion of the night began as I jumped on the streetcar to head to westward to The Painted Lady on Ossington Ave. to see German duo Sea + Air. The Painted Lady one of the city's most intimate venues, I'd expected it to be comfortably packed like when I saw when I saw Australia's Dead Letter Chorus there at last year's Canadian Musicfest. The venue was by no stretch empty but there was a little more elbow room this time compared to when I was there last year. The duo comprised of Daniel Benjamin on vocals / guitar /drums and Eleni on vocals / keyboards performed material with a sensitive, baroque pop quality, with Eleni's intricate keyboard arrangements and Daniel's forlorn vocals. A little sombre at times, but then again the duo showed their versatility especially when Daniel switched to the drumkit eventually segueing into a bombastic drum performance that reminded me a lot of Toronto's own Paul Banwatt of Rural Alberta Advantage. It took me by surprise, as well as a few others. It was an enjoyable if brief performance. Daniel did have a few humourous bits of banter including calling their album at the merch table the best thing to come out of Germany in 40 years and then later on informing the audience about their upcoming Canadian tour which'll take them to good cities like Saskatoon; for some reason that last part drew a chuckle from a few audience members.

I'd intended to call it a night, but with the mild weather, the time still being before 11 pm, and finally with my energy level still being pretty good for a Wednesday night (even with having to work the next day) I decided it might be a good idea to try to check out one more set. I decided to check out Toronto's Young Empires who were playing The Great Hall Basement not too far from The Painted Lady. I'd never been to the basement venue of The Great Hall before. A somewhat dingier venue than The Great Hall's upper level facilities, it was a more than appropriate setting for an electro-dance-rock party. I arrived there just as psych-rock outfit Krief were finishing up and after some time setting up, Young Empires finally took to the stage. The venue was a little-less than half-full when I arrived but did fill up more by the time Young Empires reached the stage. To capitalize on their recent wave of success (the release of their first EP, recent radio-play, touring and such), the band and especially frontman Matthew Vlahovich exuded energy on stage to try to get the crowd along for the ride and yes there were definitely some who were really into it. However, in my opinion, there's a quality on record that doesn't quite translate onstage. Their best song, in my opinion, is still "White Doves" which on record has a quality that I imagine should rev up even a Glastonbury-sized audience but then hearing it live (and this time being the third time I've seen the band) it just doesn't match up to those euphoric expectations. The band's strength, in my opinion, lies in their musical direction, their fusion of electronic, rock and pop influences somewhat mirroring one of my favourite acts of all-time, New Order. But with only an EP's worth of material, with most of it ranging from alright to decent but not matching the greatness of "White Doves", the band are off to a good start but still have a long way to go. I wish them luck.

PHOTOS: Canadian Musicfest (Wednesday March 21, 2012)

Canadian Musicfest Picks (2012)

It's that time of year again when music festival season kicks off in Toronto with Canadian Music Week and it's music series Canadian Musicfest starting tonight. Time and time again, CMF has failed to live up to the excitement and anticipation of Toronto's other city-wide music festival North By Northeast which happens in June and seems to get better with each passing year. And if CMF hasn't been on par with NXNE, it's not to say it has nothing to offer. I'm sure with a little research and a little luck, one's bound to uncover a gem or two, and that's generally been my experience with most Canadian Music Week / Canadian Musicfests in the past. I perceive a general apathy towards this year's lineup based on the chatter over social media and with Canadian Musicfest this year happening the week after Austin's SXSW (the mother of all city-wide, multi-venue music festivals), it goes further to emphasize how modest Canadian Musicfest really is. But with the festival about to kick off, I finally buckled down and researched / sampled the list of artists participating in this year's festival and here are the one's I am recommending:

Bear Hands
Fri Mar 23 (midnight) -- Sneaky Dee's (Young Lions Music Club Showcase)
Video: Bear Hands - "Crime Pays"

Obviously not deterred by whether band names derived from names of animals are still in vogue, this Brooklyn, NYC outfit's sound seems catered to the indie rock crowd.

I Am Oak
Wed Mar 21 (9 pm) -- Cameron House, Backroom
Thu Mar 22 (8 pm) -- The Ossington
Sat Mar 24 (8 pm) -- Cabin 5 (Filter Magazine Showcase)
Video: I Am Oak - "Curt" (live)

What I've sampled of this Dutch folkie [his real name being Thijs Kuijken] with acoustic guitar seems more than pleasant enough. His moniker is actually the name of the band but I'm not actually sure if he plays with a band. I guess this is where things get confusing.

Voltaire Twins
Fri Mar 23 (9 pm) -- Wrongbar (present by Union Events)
Fri Mar 23 (midnight) -- Painted Lady
Sat Mar 24 (3:50 pm) -- El Mocambo, Upstairs (Aussie BBQ, Sounds Australia and Stage Mothers)
Video: Voltaire Twins - "Animalia" (music video)

Aussie synth-pop duo Voltaire Twins are made up of siblings Jaymes and Tegan and they create voluptuous electro-pop confections from what I've sampled. Their Romulus EP was released late last year and is available on iTunes.

LOOM
Wed Mar 21 (8 pm) -- Cameron House, Backroom
Thu Mar 22 (9 pm) -- The Ossington
Video: Loom - "Eypllion" (teaser 1)
Video: Loom - "Eypllion" (teaser 2)

The moniker of Toronto's Brooke Manning, LOOM straddles the line between indie-folk sensibilities and a willingness to experiment with other sonic textures with intriguing results.

Nova Heart
Thu Mar 22 (11 pm) -- Comfort Zone
Video: Nova Heart - "Lackluster No. 3" (Takeaway Show for La Blogotheque)

How could you not like or at least have your interest piqued by a band whose name is the same as the song-title of a Canadian new wave classic? The project is the solo effort of Helen Feng, born in Beijing but raised in the US and Canada and who's already had an illustrious music career in China since 2002 when she was hired as VJ for MTV China. La Blogotheque shot a Takeaway Session with her recently [see the link above] and given their impeccable musical tastes plus the fact that I was impressed with Nova Heart's Takeaway Session I'm looking forward to checking them out.

Housse De Racket
Sat Mar 24 (11 pm) -- Wrongbar
Video: Housse De Racket - "Chateau" (music video)

The Parisian duo, with incestuous musical ties to their fellow musical countrymen, having been in-demand session musicians-for-hire with Air and Phoenix, are following in their footsteps with their own electro-pop music creations. Already on album #2 entitled Alesia, could this be the band's breakout year?

BadBadNotGood
Fri Mar 23 (midnight) -- Wrongbar
Video: BadBadNotGood - "The Odd Future Sessions Part 1"

A free-jazz trio consisting of pianist Matt Tavares, bassist Chester Stone Hansen, and drummer Alex Sowinski (who apparently usually plays with a pig mask), they all met while attending Humber College. It's nothing new, the band's fusion of hip hop and jazz, but I can see why the kids like 'em - they groove. BADBADNOTGOOD released their first two albums in 2011, both for free off of their official Bandcamp.

Spoek Mathambo
Fri Mar 23 (11 pm) -- The Great Hall
Video: Spoek Mathambo - "Mshini Wam"

Fusing hip hop and Afro-beat influences with a decidedly modernist sonic approach, he's as exhilirating as the first time you'd heard M.I.A. One to watch.

Big Scary
Thu Mar 22 (8:50 pm) -- Sennheiser Lounge Library Bar (Sounds Australia)
Fri Mar 23 (9 pm) -- Lee's Palace (Windish Agency Showcase)
Sat Mar 24 (4:30 pm) -- El Mocambo, Upstairs (Aussie BBQ, Sounds Australia and Stage Mothers)
Video: Big Scary - "The Apple Song" (music video)

Spunky Aussie indie-rock, drums / guitar, girl / boy duo consisting of Jo Syme and Tom Iansek whose debut full-length Vacation was released this past October.

Chains of Love
Fri Mar 23 (11:30 pm) -- El Mocambo, Downstairs (Dine Alone Showcase)
Sat Mar 24 (9:20 pm) -- Horseshoe Tavern (Collective Concerts)
Video: Chains Of Love - "Lies Lies Lies" (live @ Bitmore in Vancouver, April 20 2011)

The Vancouver Motown-influenced, indie outfit made a good impression on me during last year's NXNE and so here I am recommeding them to give others the opportunity to check them out.

Cold Specks
Thu Mar 22 (9 pm) -- The Music Gallery (wristband-only show, doors 8:30 pm)
Video: Cold Specks - Holland (music video)

A recent signee to Toronto's Arts & Crafts label, this 23-year old (whose real name is Al Spx) from Toronto's west-end recently toured the UK with Timber Timbre and while over their made an appearance on seminal television music show Later With Jools Holland. Mixing currently popular indie-folk sensibilities with that of old-time gospel spirituals, she makes a stark musical statement.

From Indian Lakes
Sat Mar 24 (5 pm) -- Sneaky Dee's (Travis Porter + livemusicto)
Video: From Indian Lakes - "We Never Dream"
Video: From Indian Lakes - "The Canyon" (Acoustic Live Show)

The young quintet, all the way from Yosemite Valley, California have travelled a long way to get here for the festival, and it'd be a shame not to check them out. Both full-band and stripped-down acoustic performances exist on YouTube to check out revealing a versatile act whose emo-tinged songs are thoroughly satisfying.

Hacienda
Fri Mar 23 (11 pm) -- El Mocambo, Upstairs (Dine Alone Showcase)
Video: Hacienda - "Savage"

I saw the San Antonio outfit when they acted as The Black Key's Dan Auerbach's backing band a few year's back when Auerbach was touring his debut solo effort Keep It Hid - they were TIGHT. Fuzzy, blues-inflected, rock n' roll may just be what the doctor ordered.

Janes Party
Thu Mar 22 (11 pm) - Rancho Relaxo (Two Way Monologues & Green Shades Showcase)
Video: Jane's Party - "What you believe in"

If Sloan's pop music aficionado Jay Ferguson formed his own band, Janes Party might be it.

Last Year's Men
Thu Mar 22 (11 pm) -- Silver Dollar (NeXT)
Fri Mar 23 (11 pm) -- Silver Dollar (NeXT & Untold City)
Sat Mar 24 (midnight) -- Silver Dollar (NeXT)
Video: Last Year's Men - Troika 2010

From the American musical hotspot Chapel Hill, NC this young band combines "...the buoyant melodies of ‘50s and ‘60s pop and rock with a youthful pop-punk sneer...". They're good enough that Mr. Dan Burke booked them for a three-night stint at the Silver Dollar during Canadian Musicfest. I was surely impressed by the samples I checked out especially the YouTube video link above.

Minus The Tiger
Thu Mar 22 (10 pm) -- The Ossington
Fri Mar 23 (11 pm) -- Painted Lady
Video: Minus The Tiger - "Follow Me Down" (music video)

A four-piece band fronted by dutch husband-wife team of songwriter Anne Broekman on vocals and her husband / producer, Maarten Besseling. Their bio draws comparisons to The Knife, TV On The Radio, Lykke Li and Kate Bush and what I've briefly sampled is none too shabby.

Nautiluss
Fri Mar 23 (1 am) - Garrison (presented by Red Bull Music Academy and New Forms Festival)
Video: Nautiluss - "Bleu Monday"

One half of the now-defunct Thunderheist, Nautiluss is Graham Douglas Bertie's new project which their bio describes as an "...amalgamation of influences spanning from early 90s electronic to hip-hop to UK bass music and everything in between." He's released a few twelve-inches (both on vinyl and digital) so far through Hemlock Recordings.

Sea + Air
Wed Mar 21 (10 pm) -- Painted Lady
Sat Mar 24 (10 pm) -- Free Times Cafe
Video: Sea + Air - "Take Me For a Ride" (live session)

German duo made up of Daniel Benjamin (vocals, concerto guitar, drums, cymbals, bells) and Eleni (vocals, harpsichord, organ bass pedal, drums) with a decidely baroque style to their musical compositions.

Squarehead
Thur Mar 22 (1 am) -- Rivoli (Music From Ireland)
Video: Squarehead - "Midnight Enchilada" (music video)

This Irish garage pop trio's silly name fortunately doesn't detract too much away from the group's sunny, pop melodies. The band's Wikipedia page prominently features an entry that states that Morrissey went to see the band live at Workmans Club in Dublin in February 2011. And you know if Morrissey speaks, people listen.

Sydney Wayser
Thu Mar 22 (9pm) -- Sneaky Dee's (Audio Blood Showcase)
Video: Sydney Wayser - "Wolf Eyes"

This French-American, New York-based singer-songwriter has been through Toronto for past festivals on several occasions but none of her appearances I'd taken in so far. Two albums since 2007 she has a third full-length scheduled for release later this year. From the samples of her work I'd heard ranging from playful folk-y eccentricities to urgent pop-rock confections, perhaps overlooking her past few Toronto music festival appearances was a mistake. Hopefully, not again this year.

Young Empires
Wed Mar 21 (8:15 pm) -- The Great Hall - The Black Box (basement) (Pirates Blend Showcase)
Fri Mar 23 (11:30 pm) -- The Hoxton (w/ Dragonette)
Sat Mar 24 (8:20 pm) -- The Indies @ Canadian Room
Video: Young Empires - "White Doves" (live on George Stromboulopoulos)

I've touted the talents of Toronto dance-rock outfit Young Empires since their pre-label days when their song "White Doves" made my Fave Songs of 2010 list. With their just-released debut effort Wake All My Youth and recent radio airplay, the band is just hitting their stride.

(An Evening With) The Walkmen @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto (March 2, 2012)

  The Walkmen @ Phoenix Concert Theatre: photo by Michael Ligon

In celebration of 10 years as a band since the release of their debut album, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone in 2002, NYC's The Walkmen embarked on a tour earlier this year, with Toronto making the cut for a stopover. With six albums to date, their last being 2010' Lisbon and with a new album scheduled for later this year, the band had much material to choose from when they stopped over for a show at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre a little over a week ago.

With no opener, and the night being billed as "An Evening With The Walkmen", the band divided the night into two sets with a short intermission in between. In all honesty, I'm really not that familiar with them but their their 2004 single "The Rat" (which the band busted out as their second song of the night) I will state is one of the best rock n' roll singles of the last 15 years. It seemed a little premature to bring out "The Rat" so early but the band did a admirable job representing all aspects of their sound throughout the night, from other garage-influenced rock n' roll songs, to mariachi-flavoured tunes(including a four-member horn section), and more mellow, troubadour-style numbers. Overall, it was an invigorating evening. As a tenth anniversary celebration (since the release of their debut album), it seemed less of an event (except for the unconventional two-set format) than it should have been but then again, the band aren't calling it quits just yet, with plans to release their seventh album later this year. Let's see what they have up their sleeve next.

Check out more reviews of the show over at NOW, Exclaim, and The National Post.

MySpace: The Walkmen
Photos: (An Evening With) The Walkmen @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto (March 2, 2012)

Bry Webb and The Providers, Doug Tielli @ The Music Gallery, Toronto (February 4, 2012)

  Bry Webb @ The Music Gallery: Photo by Michael Ligon

It's been quite a slow start to the year concert-wise for me but, it was the Bry Webb show[the earlier of the two shows] at The Music Gallery in Toronto just over a week ago that finally broke that dry spell. Subconsciously I think I'd been pondering going to this show for a while as I'd recently been listening to Bry's old band The Constantines and having heard good things about his solo album entitled Provider (the plural of which was the name of his backing band) I snagged a ticket for the early show.

Toronto singer-songwriter Doug Tielli opened the show with a selection of songs backed by his reverb-drenched guitar-playing. Doug's vocals were reminiscent of the melancholiness of Mark Kozelek but also at times approached the breathiness of Antony Hegarty (of Antony and The Johnsons). Still, Mr. Tielli was not without a sense of humour during his brief set and while there may have been an element of humour in his choice of covering the song "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", his performance of the song was also quite sincere and remarkable.

After a brief intermission, it was Bry's turn. Oh I forgot to mention, that when I'd first arrived to the venue, I came just after Doug Tielli had begun his set and as I approached the doors to enter the room, it was Bry himself who opened the door for me, and so as I entered I wished him a good show. And a great show it was. With his backing band augmenting the stripped down instrumental sound with pedal steel, stand up bass, and lap steel and with the grit of Bry's vocals and his strummed guitar playing, it was a sublime set of acoustic folkiness that enveloped the acoustics of the intimate church surroundings. "Asa", the name of his son who inspired it, was represented of the languid, country-tinged folkiness of the evening, putting me quite at ease and comfort on that cold February night. On a side note, Bry bantered between songs that his son couldn't even make it to the early show because even the early show was too close to his bed time. It was only the main set's closer "Ex-Punks" (for which Bry brought on one more person on stage to play drums) which approached anywhere close to the urgency of his previous Constantines' work - if anything it felt a bit of a teaser, for there's no doubt in my mind The Cons will rise again, but in the meantime we have Bry's solo efforts to lavish over. With a little less than half an hour until the second round of music of the night was suppose to start, I didn't think there'd be an encore, but Bry and The Providers did come back to play a cover of the The Mills Brothers' sentimental (and perhaps politically-incorrect nowadays) "Smoke Rings". I swear I heard a chuckle or two when Bry sung the chorus, "Puff, puff, puff, puff your cares away, Puff, puff, puff, puff night and day".

Photos: Bry Webb and The Providers @ The Music Gallery, Toronto (February 4, 2012)

Austra - "Spellwork" (music video)

The new music video for Austra's song "Spellwork" directed by Yelena Yemchuk. The user comments over at YouTube aren't all positive but I like it. There's something very soothing about the pacing of the camera work and the framing of the shots in my opinion. Conceptually, it seems very random - the whole scene at the end with the girls gorging themselves on watermelon seemed very tongue-in-cheek but overall I'll give it a thumbs up.

TWELVE: The Wavelength 12th Anniversary Festival

Wavelength, the Toronto concert series [for many years until the last few years that had been running as a weekly concert series] which has introduced fans to a cornucopia of new music acts over the years turns twelve this year, and of course will be celebrating the occasion. TWELVE: The Wavelength 12th Anniversary Festival will be taking over several Toronto music venues over the long weekend [thank you Dalton McGuinty] of February 16-19 with featured acts including Fucked Up, P.S. I Love You, No Joy and Bonjay. An all-access festival pass is available for $36, or else else individual show ticket prices range from $10-$17 adv / $12-20 door. Advance tickets will go on sale January 17, in person through usual outlets Rotate This and Soundscapes or online at GalleryAC.com. Check out the Wavelength site for full lineup and ticket price details.

If you are of the social media persuasion, there is a Facebook event page.

Coachella 2012

Curing the post-holiday blues, a late date announcement brings news of this year's lineup for Coachella taking place as usual on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. In an interesting move but odd move, the festival this year will be replicated over two weekends, first on the weekend of April 13-15 then the next weekend April 20-22. I imagine that festival organizers want to be able to accommodate as many ticket buyers as possible, but doesn't having the festival occur on one weekend and then having the whole festival replicated the next weekend make the whole festival, less special? What if the first weekend is better [weather-wise, performance-wise, what have you] than the second weekend or vice versa? What if scheduled performers, for what other reason make it out only to one weekend? It looks like a formula for someone to feel jipped. Musically, there's a good mix of artists that I think will appeal to the average music festival-goer - your reunions (Pulp, Refused, Mazzy Star, At The Drive-In), your current heavy-hitters (The Black Keys, Radiohead, Bon Iver, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg) and a whole slew of current buzz-worthy acts. The Canadian contingent this year will include Feist, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Destroyer, Zeds Dead, Dragonette, The Weeknd (will Drake make a surprise appearance perhaps?), and The Sheepdogs. I haven't gone to the festival since my one and only time in 2004 and I don't imagine going this year but if I do reconsider it's only because I'd want to feel that warm Californian sun on my face and soak up the good vibes. Coachella is about music foremost but it's also about the experience. If you've never gone and if at least a few of the acts are worth your while, my suggestion is, GO. There is nothing like Coachella. On the other hand, it is three hot days and nights in the desert. I think I may just watch the webcast.