Nevado Records Presents Seedy Ease, Bass Lions, Elephant and The Monster Show: One Night Only! @ The Rivoli

Nevado Records is an awesome local based indie label that features some of my favorite bands of the moment, including Fox Jaws, my current rave-about band of choice. They hosted a special show at The Rivoli last Thursday featuring two bands that are on their label, and two more that aren't. As you are very well aware, that was four days ago but it's been a busy weekend and only now do I have time to post a review. So let's dig into the ole memory banks and see what we come up with, shall we?

The first band of the night was The Monster Show. They are from Guelph and Waterloo, and oh my! did they ever impress me! The band features Duncan Nicholls (guitar, vocals), Daev Mulholland (bass), Kerry Mullen (drums) and Jennie Jackson (keys, percussion.) My immediate reaction to their music was that it had a very authentic rootsy feel, reminding me of Son Volt and Drive By Truckers, with the pop sensibilities of The Lemonheads. There is a real maturity to their sound that is incredibly rare to hear in such a new band. It was a brief set, comprised of only about 7 songs, so I didn't really have the opportunity to completely absorb them but I really liked what I heard and I'll definitely go and see them again.

Photos: My Monster Show @ The Rivoli pics are on flickr.
Download: Beautiful Lost mp3 / Waiting For Rain mp3
Myspace: The Monster Show

The last time I saw Elephant was approximately a year ago, and if I'm having trouble remembering what happened four days ago, then I certainly don't remember too much about what happened a year ago, that's for dang sure! I do remember really liking them, but I had forgotten how atmospheric yet aggressive their sound was. They had become a four piece since the last time I saw them, the band now being held together by the likes of Matthew MacInnis (vocals, guitar), Daniel Tal (keys, bass), newest member Brett Watterton (guitar) and Ian Kennedy (drums.) The appeared to have the biggest fan base of the evening, mostly made up of young girls who obviously thought Daniel was dreamy. (Yes, I do believe I overheard someone use that exact term. Seriously.) Thankfully, the music was pretty dreamy as well, stylistically drifting in and out of dreamland, while also incorporating harder edge sounds. This is most obviously showcased in the song Eulogy, which they wisely chose to close their set. Matthew's vocals are very powerful, cutting right through you, and the ringing guitars continue to echo along until the song builds to its cataclysmic crescendo creating an epic that sounds good on a crappy myspace mp3 player, but truly awe inspiring on a live stage.

I highly recommend seeing Elephant with Fox Jaws at El Mocambo on April 25th. After that, they'll be leaving the city for a few months so I'd jump on this one right away if I were you. Which I realize I'm not, but still...

Photos: My Elephant @ Rivoli pictures are on flickr.
Download: Space and Time mp3 / Colour Your Frailty mp3 / We Need To Rethink This mp3
Myspace: Elephant
Video: Afraid To Die on youtube

From the ashes of Reily, rise one of the most buzzed about local indie bands of the moment, Bass Lions. I have been meaning to check out their show for a while now, but due to life and stuff, I hadn't been able to make it ... until now. Definitely worth the wait. First off, roll call: you've got Nathan Stretch (guitars, bass, vocals), Charlie Murray (bass, keys), Anthony James (drums), James Vander Zaag (guitars, drums) and joining them for the evening was the sometime member Lisa Horvath (vocals, glockenspiel.) To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this band because the vocal play between Lisa Horvath and Megan Bonnell was the major selling point of Reily for me. However, each new song being posted on Bass Lions myspace was better than the one before, and by the time I got around to seeing them, I was actually very intrigued. My intrigue turned into enthusiasm as I came to realize that Bass Lions, although a slightly different band in sound, is every bit as good as Reily was, and dare I say, possibly even better. Having the word 'bass' in their moniker is actually quite accurate, since Murray's heavily structured bass playing is what immediately grasped my attention. Also, making an impression on me is the uniqueness of Nathan's voice; deep and (again) bass-y. They opened the night with a reworking of We Are Geologists, a song by the former band. Giving it such a fresh approach was a good idea, because the song seemed to be infused with a more stunning vibrancy than before. Songs like Ransom Sunset and Like Ashes In My Mouth also got the crowd clapping along. Most of their setlist was, of course, made up of songs from their new More Than Islands EP. The EP is immaculately produced, sounding very crisp and the songs work together in such a way that it's difficult to listen to it on a song by song basis. It definitely works better as an entire piece of music, although it feels like it's over before it's even begun. That's the sign of a great EP, when it leaves you longing for more. Sometimes I listen to an EP and am left wondering if the artist has the ability to keep it going for an entire album. I'm not worried about Bass Lions. I've got a feeling that the full length, should they choose to do one, is going to be amazing.

Photos: My Bass Lions @ The Rivoli photos are on flickr
Downloads: Ransom Sunset mp3 / Like Ashes In My Mouth mp3
Myspace: Bass Lions

The evening ended with Seedy Ease. They are another band that I've been hearing an awful lot about, but still had yet to actually hear. I realize that I referred to them in an earlier post as 'wicked awesome' which leads one to ask, how do you know they're 'wicked awesome' if you haven't heard them? Let me explain: Their drummer is none other than local rock star, Robbie Butcher of Tin Bangs. Now I think Robbie Butcher is 'wicked awesome' so I came to the natural conclusion that anything he touches would likewise be both wicked and awesome. However, I have to admit that they didn't completely blow my mind. Rounding out the rest of the band is Daniel Brooks (guitar, vocals) and Hollie Stevenett on bass. They definitely have the potential for greatness in the sense that they got a lot of things going for them. They have an infectious sound and Daniel's vocals remind me a bit of Glenn Tilbrook. And reminding me of Squeeze could never truly be a bad thing. However, I just thought their songs all sort of sounded the same. It was the end of the night, and I was tired so who knows? Maybe the next time I see them I'll have a totally different opinion.

Photos: My Seedy Ease @ The Rivoli pics are on flickr.
Download: Love Song mp3 / Smash The Black mp3
Myspace: Seedy Ease
Video: I Am A Dreamer, I Dare To Dream on youtube