Bearsuit Publishing Presents Black Diamond Bay, Lily Frost, Mardeen & Emma-Lee

Toronto based music publishing company Bearsuit Publishing has been working hard to provide an affordable high quality music catalogue for television, film and commercial use. In order to commemorate the one year anniversary, The Drake Underground hosted an evening of awesome music on Wednesday night. The lineup was as eclectic as it was enjoyable and I'm glad to have been there to be introduced to some solid acts, as well as returning to see one of my favourites. As I often do, I'll start at night's end and work backwards.

The last time that I saw Patrick Krief perform was just under a year ago, and ever since that electrifying performance, I knew that I had to see him again. Of course, a lot has happened since then. He no longer divides his time between this band and The Dears, since the latter has moved on to become simply the husband and wife duo of Murray and Natalia, (with others playing along.) Also, Krief has made his band sound much more solidified by giving them a name of their own. From here on in, they shall be referred to as Black Diamond Bay, presumably named after the Bob Dylan song. I received their self titled CD during NXNE, and although I'll admit that I found it to be a little bit sprawling at first, it's continuing to grow on me more and more with every listen. That having been said, I still consider his live show to be an entity unto its own.

It gets a bit tiring to see the Jimi Hendrix name drop in almost every article about Patrick, but the similarities are undeniable. The guitar becomes an extension of the man himself, as he wails away with grand precision. The highlight for me was during the last song when he walked into the crowd and let the guitar do the talking (or screaming), which understandably worked the crowd into an unmitigated frenzy. I could watch him ignite the axe for hours, and although it left me exhausted, this was an exhaustion tempered with complete satisfaction.

Photos: Black Diamond Bay @ The Drake Undreground on flickr
Myspace: Black Diamond Bay
Video: Amazing footage of his guitar playing on youtube

One thing that I will never understand is the person who puts down some of his/her hard earned cash to purchase a ticket for something that is clearly labeled as being a live music performance, who then proceeds to spend the evening talking really loudly to his/her friends instead of listening to the music that he/she paid to see. If I remember correctly, there are other places where you can go to talk where you don't even have to pay for a ticket to get in. Why not go there?

Although the majority of people standing closer to the stage were paying rapt attention to Lily Frost's amazing vocals, she unfortunately was in the position of having to compete with the rising vocal din of the people closer to the bar. Sadly, they were the ones missing out, because Lily Frost put on a really good performance. Her style is a little bit difficult to pigeonhole, although she certainly has a bit of an eccentric lounge pop chanteuse persona going on. I found it remarkable that, although the back room chatter was irritating me, she seemed to take it all in stride, even making the occasional quip that was most likely lost on the talkers, but highly amusing to the rest of us. Her strength of course, was in her music, and I found her songs to be very well structured and original, straddling a beautiful line between perfect pop and old style folksy-jazz.

Photos: Lily Frost @ The Drake Underground on flickr
Myspace: Lily Frost
Video: Enchantment on youtube

So far, Nova Scotia's Mardeen is one of the buzz bands from this year's V-Fest and after seeing them perform on Wednesday night, I can understand why. They were definitely the most straight forward rock band of the night. The hooks are there and so are the melodies, making them an instantly likable and recognizable band. I found myself singing along to the chorus's with great ease, even though this was my very first exposure to their music. When you listen to as much music as I do, you sometimes long for some sort of gimmick to grasp your attention. However, on the other hand, there are some bands that have that strong ability to craft a perfect pop song without needing to rely on the need to stray too far outside of the box. That pretty much sums up Mardeen for me. They may not be the type of band that I'll need to listen to every day, but for those times that I do pull out their work, it'll always be enjoyable. Onstage, they exude a contagious vigor that will surely continue to win over the audiences that they perform for, which makes them a band to definitely look out for in the next few years.

Photos: Mardeen @ The Drake Underground on flickr.
Myspace: Mardeen

I've actually been mildly familiar with Emma-Lee for a couple of years now and I remember when I first discovered her on myspace, I was immediately drawn in by her sultry vocal stylings. She was the opener on Wednesday night and although I wouldn't say that her songs broke any bold new ground or anything, she still presented herself as an excellent singer-songwriter who just happens to have an amazing voice as well. The fact is that she could probably get by on that voice alone, singing the standards that we've heard a billion times before and marketing herself as another in a long line of adult contemporary jazz singers. The fact that she chooses to write her own songs and present them in her own unique style is a real testament to her integrity and talent. I really enjoyed her set, which featured several songs from her latest release entitled Never Just A Dream. Also, to keep things interesting, she performed a jazzed up cover of Corey Hart's Sunglasses At Night, which sounded great, even if her tongue was planted firmly in cheek.

Photos: Emma-Lee @ The Drake Underground on flickr.
Myspace: Emma-Lee