The curators of this sort-of annual one-day fest graciously took to the stage during the second-last timeslot of the day, beginning with the sun setting and ending at dusk. Between was a whirlwind of musicians and a roaring set full of a heckuva lot of new tracks off Forgiveness Rock Record, their first legit release since 2005. Album and concert opener World Sick was played by a pared down band of only seven, but they quickly ballooned before even reaching song two as people stepped up midsong, including a first appearance by Lisa Lobsinger. Although she was highly praised by BSS-circus ringleader, Kevin Drew, while introducing her for her lead vocals on All to All she was relegated to back-up on other songs and not given the respect I think she deserves. It's hard to hold the limelight though when stars such as Leslie Feist arrive to sing 7/4 Shoreline. Fighting through some early technical difficulties they played on, bringing out Sebastien Grainger sans guitar for a few, as well as introducing Ms. Emily Haines to sing too. There was a duet between Feist and Haines on Sentimental X's which caught them face to face as the sun made a final burst through the clouds minutes prior to setting that was particularly beautiful. There was so much swapping in and out that its difficult to capture it all so here's some notes.
After Lover's Spit concluded the band hit new decibels with Meet Me in the Basement that was almost too much to bear from my range 15 rows from the stage. When they came back for the inevitable encore of Ibi Dreams of Pavement (considering Pavement was closing the night) I was glad I'd stayed to take in all 19 members pour on-stage to finish off the love-in.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
BSS in the Olympic Island Sun
Holy Fuck at Last!
After two years of speculation the electro-rock dirty-word band with the near mythical Hillside performance of yesteryear are returning. That's right, as originally reported here May 13th Holy Fuck will be bringing it back to Hillside this year. With the release of their fully listenable Latin they're jumping on its back and riding it out to festivals across this country (and around the world). Look out for an electrified Island tent (that is if they don't find themselves on the main stage!)
Ted Leo, No, Not in Guelph
Unfortunately the last minute Ted Leo show that was supposed to happen in Guelph last Friday was cancelled almost as quickly as it was created. This was due to uncontrollable car troubles en route. A disappointment for sure but perhaps this opens the door to a true Ted Leo show in Guelph sometime in the future - one with enough notice to plan around even?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Top Albums 2009
Well here we are, at the half-way point of 2010, and here I am, posting my favourite albums of LAST year. Timely huh?
Traveling for the final three months of 2009 (and into 2010) hampered not only my listening but also my blogging. However I'm back and here we go...
10 Jon-Rae Fletcher - Oh, Maria
Leaving The River behind, Jon-Rae reinvented his sound on this album but still features his signature booming voice. Mixing elements from folk, rock and country, this album, bookended by two strong Maria-songs, blazes a new sonic trail - one that I'll gladly walk from end-to-end.
9 Think About Life - Family
A party album through and through. I found myself dancing alone to these songs far too many times for it to be left off my year-end list. Bursting out of the gate with Johanna I could hardly wait for Set You On Fire but luckily the wait was passed with fancy footwork.
8 Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate
Much figurative ink has been spilled about this lovely inked artist on this very blog. She makes Quebec-French sexy with her piano tunes with pop - perfect for the spring (and fittingly including a stand-out track entitled Printemps).
7 Akron/Family - Set 'em Wild, Set 'em Free
There's an energy here. Something indescribable kept luring me back to this album, more than any individual song. I find with that I'm partial to Canadian artists, but in this case I'm more than willing to make an exception.
6 Bus Driver - Jhelli Beam
Favourite song of the year, opening track - Split Seconds. That's a huge reason why this album got so much air-time but it was worthy. Admittedly I don't listen to a heckuva lot of hip-hop however there are songs on here that are like nothing I'd heard before. It's lyrically dense and makes my head swirl, like having your friends spin you as fast as they can on a merry-go-round.
5 Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain is a Mouth
Nothing can capture the spectacle of the wall of voices that is a Bruce Peninsula show, yet this album is still successful in itself. Rumbling along the choir sings tunes that'll stick in your head for days - or in my case all year.
4 Sunparlour Players - North
Album opener, North is a perfect fit. People complain that the trio remains bridled throughout this record, not letting loose as they've been known to do. I pay them no attention - it suits me just fine (and I know the shows continue to be raucous).
3 The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
Quite an amazing year for The RAA and rightly so. This album sticks to its Albertan theme and comes through as a whole. That simple closer, Summertime, had me flipping back over to Side A to immediately start the whole thing over again more than a few times this year.
2 Maybe Smith - Another Murder in the Morning
Its frenetic and it runs by. It feels like new things are being tossed at you throughout it and perhaps that was why I would return again and again. It challenged me to try and get a handle on it, and each time I'd discover something new.
1 Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice
Dan created a gem. His endearingly gruff voice covering a huge range (case and point Basket) while singing quotable, witty lyrics. After hearing the Roboteering EP I could hardly wait for this full-length to arrive, and even those heightened expectations were exceeded. This seemingly simple singer-songwriter closed in on perfecting his craft here.
The End. Enjoy, and see you next year.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Catch Ketch Harbour Wolves (Jimmy Jazz 6/24/10)
A week after the packed house for Dancehall Free For All the Jimmy Jazz was back to business as usual, however with the music being put out by the Ketch Harbour Wolves they deserve a full venue. Those of us in attendance marveled in a solid set focusing on new tunes from Anachronisms, the disc that brought me out to this show (over an interesting bill running at the eBar). Officially hailing from Toronto, despite their name's origin being in Nova Scotia they admitted that members came in from Cambridge today. The male five-piece unnecessarily crammed themselves into a corner of the Jazz but played an equally tight set nonetheless.
Holding it down with a pair of guitars, bass, keys and drums, they tossed in some xylophone early in the set. Impressive on many tracks was the three-part vocal harmonies as the lead singer who was more than capable on his own was backed up to great effect. There was a resounding nod to The National, primarily due to the drumming on Damascus, while the final song Black Skies Around You had a Hey Rosetta! feel to it, what with the piano intro building to a climax before coming back in. Between were personal faves (after only having the record for 2 days)Breakdown and Photograph featuring some neatly amped guitar work. Altogether it was a well-played live rendition of quite excellent songs. Given some exposure the crowds will be out in droves to feed back the appreciation that these guys deserve.
Ted Leo Show, yes, in Guelph! (6/25/10)
Update: The show did not go ahead for reasons explained here.
From what I've heard Ted Leo is royalty, so fitting that he would be playing a last minute show in Guelph - TONIGHT (Friday, June 25th, 2010). Apparently a show in Kingston fell through and Guelphites get to reap the benefits of that. This is the only reason I wish I weren't camping this weekend. Go in my place, and tell me how it is!
There's a facebook invite floating around with more info - I lifted the following directly from it (search:TED LEO LAST MINUTE GUELPH SHOW)
Date: Friday, June 25, 2010
Time: 8:00pm - 11:30pm
Location: The Synnema
Street: 121 Wyndham St N, Suite 106
City/Town: Guelph, ON
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Besnard Lakes Rock (and Smoke) Out the eBar (6/18/2010)
The wall of smoke was literally blinding, and the roaring guitars nearly deafening as the Besnard Lakes broke out Like The Ocean Pt.II as the closing band for the first ever Friday night eBar show. It was like listening to the record, except the record was blasting from an unknown source cutting through the fog. Fuzzing out the guitar duo and bass at the ending of the song brought it straight into the powerful Devastation from The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse. Between waves of fog the band could be seen fronted by a man in a cowboy shirt, while to his left stood his wife holding down bass duties. The other male guitarist and drummer added to the dense sound that brought up psychedelic thoughts more-so than the singer's shaggy '70's haircut. Looks aside, they rocked the place hard with the likes of Albatross and Disaster. Showing some flexibility they also featured a flute at one point and the front-man showed off his sky-high singing voice. Closing the set was an epic, drawn-out, then shred-filled And You Lied to Me, which would have been tough to top so they didn't even try with the encore. Instead they apologized before busting out a spot-on rendition of AC/DC's Dirty Deeds that was hilariously well executed. The show left my ears ringing and in a way I didn't ever want them to stop.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Young Galaxy Rock, and Not in a Good Way (eBar 6/18/10)
The lights dropped, the smoke rolled out and the multi-coloured strobes began swirling, as did the guitars. It was to be a rock show - a loud one at that with all dials set to 11. On the surface this sounds like a the setting for a great set however something didn't quite jive. Young Galaxy on album, including their rather enjoyable Polaris Prize long-listed Invisible Republic, produce pop music with rock tendencies that is quite melodic. When that works, and gains accolades, why offer something entirely different on tour? I may not be in the majority but I was disappointed with this heavy, loud set, and further disappointed that only two of the four members could be made out through the darkness. What was visible was the guy setting up for a guitar smash to end the set, only to pull out in a fake. If you ask me, they should leave the rock (and associated antics) for the rock and roll bands.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Library Voices (eBar 6/18/10)
There'd been discussion as to whether the Library Voices would headline the show, but here they were playing slot one of three at the eBar's first Friday night show ever. It has only been slightly over a year since their opening slot for Hollerado on this same cramped stage and in that time much has happened to this band out of Saskatchewan. Speaking of cramped stages, the eight-piece remains in tact (and I have a theory on that) though the male manning the keys had been relegated to the floor in front of the stage to no ill-effect as it made the show that much more personable. Out of the gate was a rocking intro song that I haven't heard from them recorded or live and it served as a proper opening before assaulting us with pop. In the aforementioned year's time LV has released a full length Denim on Denim and they hit us up with a majority of tunes from that disc, including Insider Trading off the top - a song that charges along. As catchy as their recorded material is, Library Voices are one of those extraordinary bands that really make it happen live. It is the sheer enthusiasm and joy that they pump into those instruments that invite smiles to the faces of the audience, claps to their hands and lyrics to their lips. Their happiness on stage, my theory on why they can stick it out with such a large band, becomes infectious and spreads like the plague through the crowd (if the plague caused you to dance bordering on blissful delirium). Whether they are climbing on amps, strumming from their knees (bassist), or in Carl's case - doing somersaults on the dance floor (while singing) they're something to see.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Whale Tooth Free For All (Jimmy Jazz 6/17/10)
Whale Tooth had to compete with NBA Finals, Game 7, 4th Quarter and did a respectable job of it. Despite my split attention I can recall the five piece putting on a catchy set. The front woman was dressed in hipster vogue yet had a pop-friendly voice with a classic sound I couldn't quite place, but it was complimented well by the occasional male vocals. Not only that but she was an animated dancer, rivaling the drummer in that regard, though he gets respect for doing it while sitting behind a drum set. The five piece actually broke from their quick and catchy tunes for an extended dance breakdown in one of the tunes, that had both the band and the crowd moving. Their triumph on stage almost evened out the disappointment of another Lakers championship.
Jimmy Jazz may not always be the most happening bar on the block but when they're hosting local bands things change. Tonight was no exception as the young Guelphites kept streaming through the door to see the latest from Dancehall Free For All. They've been bringing their danceable mish-mash of genres to the masses since high school and have no signs of stopping. Having made two albums already, a self-titled and last year's 9-5 Lives, this show saw them back with yet another soon-to-be-released disc. The six young men were dressed to the nines, complete with skinny ties, while playing a bunch of new tunes, which obviously did not yet have the crowd recognition but went over okay nonetheless. As the set progressed they did add in some old faves and a cover too but the biggest reaction must have been for the guest rapper. At first I thought he was a punk messing with their mic but soon realized he was welcomed by the band as he spit a mostly unintelligible (for the sound) verse over some Dancehall instrumental doodling. After his departure they did a handful more, including one of the more difficult attempted singalongs I've heard. Tossed in for good measure was a drum, to bass to keyboard solo while the sax and horn section deserve mention. To round out the sextet props to the guitarist, as well as the leader - the man with the voice. It was a slightly underwhelming set when compared only to previously great DFFA gigs. Their closer saw their rapping friend come back up for a chilled out reggae-style song before an additional encore offering finished off the night.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Polaris Long List Lazy First Impressions
Much will be said about the Polaris Prize lists... I like to go off the cuff first impressions and leave it at that. Here are all the albums with my thoughts on them 1-5 (with 0 being "I haven't yet heard it"). FIRST! :)
0Apollo Ghosts - Mount Benson (Vancouver)
2Bahamas - Pink Strat (Toronto)
3The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night (Montréal)
0Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind (Toronto)
3Brasstronaut - Mt. Chimaera (Vancouver)
4Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record (Toronto)
4Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own (London)
0By Divine Right - Mutant Message (Toronto)
3Caribou – Swim (Dundas)
2Jason Collett - Rat A Tat Tat (Toronto)
2Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II) (Toronto)
0Amelia Curran - Hunter Hunter (Halifax)
0Fred Fortin - Plastrer La Lune (Montréal)
0Frog Eyes - Paul's Tomb: A Triumph (Victoria)
3.5Hannah Georgas - This Is Good (Vancouver)
0Ghostkeeper - Ghostkeeper (Calgary)
2Holy Fuck - Latin (Toronto)
0Karkwa - Les Chemins De Verre (Montréal)
0LeE HARVeY OsMOND - A Quiet Evil (Hamilton)
2Greg MacPherson - Mr. Invitation (Winnipeg)
5Dan Mangan - Nice, Nice, Very Nice (Vancouver)
0Misteur Valaire - Golden Bombay (Montréal)
4.5The New Pornographers - Together (Vancouver)
5Owen Pallett - Heartland (Toronto)
3Plants And Animals - La La Land (Montréal)
0Radio Radio - Belmundo Regal (Montréal)
0Justin Rutledge - The Early Widows (Toronto)
0The Sadies - Darker Circles (Toronto)
4Shad - TSOL (London)
0Elizabeth Shepherd - Heavy Falls The Night (Toronto)
0The Slew - 100% (Montréal)
0Meaghan Smith - The Cricket's Orchestra (London)
0South Rakkas Crew - The Stimulus Package (Toronto)
4Tegan And Sara - Sainthood (Vancouver)
0The Wooden Sky - If I Don't Come Home You'll Know I'm Gone (Toronto)
0Hawksley Workman - Meat (Huntsville)
5You Say Party! We Say Die! - XXXX (Vancouver)
3Young Galaxy - Invisible Republic (Montréal)
3Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde (Vancouver)
2Zeus - Say Us (Toronto)
Monday, June 14, 2010
National Antlers
Groping my way to my seat through the extremely dim Massey Hall (bumping heavily into one poor chap) I could hear a great deal of noise coming from the opening band on stage. Arriving at my second-row balcony seat I was overlooking a trio who were entertaining the already half-filled seats. The vocalist was also playing simple guitar into pedals that were reverberating the sound throughout the auditorium, while the stockin' footed keyboardist did his best in front of a rather great drummer. In fact those argyle socks were doing nearly as much work as his hands on the keys but whatever they were doing it was working. The Antlers' style of music, which can be difficult to translate to a live setting, was pulled off. For example there was a mid-set ended for about three minutes, which can either be grating or epic. In this case it was the latter.
Admittedly going into this show I wasn't a HUGE fan of The National - I'd been introduced to them and adored Alligator but hadn't felt quite as strongly towards Boxer (thinking it a lesser duplicate). With the new album being so new I'd been trying to get into it in preparation for the show.
The band took to the stage with confidence; all five core members plus a two-person brass section, and a multi-instrumentalist mostly on keys and sometimes violin. Matt's recognizable vocals only added to his tall stage presence. Immediately following the clearing of the press photographers he jumped to the audience floor and coaxed everyone to their feet (didn't take much persuasion). As people flooded the front of the stage, much to the chagrin of the ushers, and those who had paid top dollar for front row seats, the band carried on with another twenty songs or so. Honestly it was nearly two hours of great music. For me the Alligator section hit the spot with three or four straight tracks from that album. People could be seen singing along to almost every song though, even those off the recently released High Violet which seems to be quickly growing on fans of the band. I couldn't keep track of all the tracks though my friend did (and posted them) however I did find the set closer Fake Empire really caught my ear. As did the song I most anticipated, Mr.November, hoping for the sing-along so I could curse loudly in Massey Hall, and curse I did as Matt climbed over the seats to 20th row during the encore! That was followed up by Terrible Love, the excellent opener to the band's latest effort which translated well. They weren't even done, coming back for a second encore - an acoustic version of About Today before finally deserting the stage for good (well at least until retaking it the following night for their second of two shows at Massey Hall). Despite my reservations going into the show I was not disappointed in the least - it's hard to be with a set list spanning their entire career and nearly two hours - and for true fans of the band it was a show to be remembered.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Futureheads and The Like
With the first flash of the strobe lights the frenetic scene was set for another Toronto Futureheads show after far too long (four years according to the band). They launched into latest album opener and title track The Chaos, counting us in with 5,4,3,2,1! It was instantly clear that the band hadn't lost the edge that had made me see them four or five times back in the day. The chords drove forward at lightning speed while the vocal interchange between the fab four (has that moniker been taken yet :P ) from the UK remained their signature. We didn't have to wonder long whether they'd satiate our appetite to hear tracks from their debut album, an appetite that remains since its 2004 release as the second track came from that self-titled effort. In fact, they said that it would be a night that was a medley of both new and old, but for the most part the main set swapped back and forth between newest album - a return to form - and their beloved oldest album. This was perfectly fine with me and I couldn't help but smile and shout along to one of the tightest groups around - always impressing me with their spot on delivery of dynamic tempo-shifting, multi-harmonizing music. As polished as they are, they do not appear road-weary but in fact seemed fresh and funny even with their banter (and the accents made them that much more endearing too I believe).
It is a toss-up for my favourite song from the new album so luckily for me they got The Heartbreak Song out of the way early in the set. In the middle they did slip in a This Is Not The World track Beginning of the Twist as well as the EP single Area much to the delight of my friends. Notable was their go-to Kate Bush cover Hounds of Love compete with the old gimmick (that never gets old) of splitting the crowd to harmonize on Uh-oh-ohs at the start.
After chanting out my other nominee for favourite new song, Jupiter, they left the stage cheekily telling us they'd be back in two minutes for an encore.
True to their word they returned with the only News and Tributes track, Skip to the End as requested, and continued with a few more requests - almost entirely for the old stuff - before finishing us off with Man Ray.
The excessively early show was already under way when we arrived at 8pm and stepped into a wind tunnel - or at least you'd think so with noise level. Everything was on crank and it took a few moments to make sense of what The Like were doing. Cutely dressed in tights and dresses these four women were no slouches behind their instruments. I'd previewed the LA band's music and had thought "60's girl pop, with an edge" and that proved mostly true. Like The Pipettes and even Gigi they wrote quick, upbeat, catchy songs with a roaring guitar and plentiful keys. Altogether alright.
