Olenka and the Autumn Lovers w/The Phonemes and Bahamas @ The Tranzac

Last Wednesday night was another winter filled evening of freezing rain and dirty snow, yet the girls and guys of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers made the trek from London, Ontario to our slushy city anyways for The Tranzac's Wombat Wednesdays, and boy, am I glad that they did! The last time that I saw this band, I was completely taken in by their uplifting sound, as well as Olenka Krakus' captivating vocal charms. They've been back a few times, but until now, I had been unable to catch their live show again. In the interim, they've continued to impress new audiences on a regular basis and, as I predicted, the buzz surrounding them is starting to grow.

This time around they were only a four piece, as violinist Sara Froese was unable to attend, apparently at the last minute. The band hinted at a little bit of nervousness, due to the fact that the violin is such a key player in their overall sound. However, they need not have worried, since the music flowed like honey, and their brand of eastern European folk sounded as full as ever. I thoroughly enjoyed the band's playful demeanor onstage as they presented themselves in a completely non-intimidating way, totally devoid of pretentiousness. Although the themes contained in their lyrics can be dark, their show is anything but, which is what makes them such a delight to witness live. Besides all of the great songs that they played from their new self titled full length, they also included an amazing cover of The Everly Brothers' All I Have To Do Is Dream, which is one of my favourite songs of all time. They slowed it down to a sonic sonnambulance, that culminated in a Phil Spector wall of sound-esque saxophone part, mesmerizingly delivered by Shawn Clarke. The crowd's demand for an encore made it obvious that this is a band to continue to keep my eyes on. Unlike our economy, I'm pretty sure that the Autumn Lovers' stock is going to continue to rise in the months ahead and I, for one, am going to enjoy investing in their sound, as the payoff has proven to be great.

Photos: My pics of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers @ The Tranzac are on flickr.
Myspace: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Download: Flash In The Pan (demo version) mp3


There were two opening acts for the evening, the first of which was a local band known as The Phonemes. Sort of. Let me explain.

The lead vocalist for The Phonemes is Magali Meagher (of Hidden Cameras fame) who has been hosting Wombat Wednesdays for the month of February. According to the myspace page, The Phonemes are comprised of Magali and several regularly rotating associates. On this night however, filling the role of her bandmates were the members of another band, namely Forest City Lovers. So, although they were still going by the name The Phonemes, this clearly wasn't the regular cast of characters. Although their set opened with a relatively upbeat number, and it closed with a couple more, overall this was a very subdued affair. Their music is lovely, as it sits comfortably within the realms of warm and dreamy indie pop. Magali's voice is restrained yet haunting, as its subtle hush serves as the perfect accompaniment to the sophisticated instrumentation of her band members. Although I enjoyed the full set, I particularly liked it when the Forest City gang took a break and left Magali alone with only Katie Crown and Stephanie Markowitz to accompany her. The three of them have a definite vocal chemistry that I hope will continue to be pursued further, as it is ethereal and inspirational.

Photos: My pics of The Phonemes @ The Tranzac are on flickr
Myspace: The Phonemes

Taking the stage immediately prior to Olenka and her Autumn Lovers was Afie Jurvanen's latest project, known as Bahamas. If you're unfamiliar with his name, there's no doubt that you're likely familiar with his work. He's played guitar with Jason Collett, as well as handling guitar and piano duties with Feist. He also played in Paso Mino, an eclectic country rock band that has managed to establish a bit of buzz by means of their Good People album, which was released a couple of years ago.

For his latest project, it sounds as if Afie is exploring relatively similar territory. His talent, as well as his experience was instantly apparent, as he showed himself to be a very adept guitarist, as well as a unique sounding vocalist. On the live stage, I thought his sound was very much rooted in classic rock and standard blues arrangements. Upon listening to the songs on his myspace, I'm now also noticing a knack for lyrical craftsmanship, with a style that actually reminds me a bit of early Ron Sexsmith. Another interesting contrast that I'm noticing between the music I'm listening to now, and the performance that I saw on Wednesday night was that the performance I saw seemed to be more of a rock show than what his recorded material would suggest. Admittedly, this could just be due to the fact that The Phenomes were really quite subdued, and his guitar sound simply came across as more in-your-face as it followed them. Either way, the songs were very good, and it'll be cool to see how this project progresses in the near future. As of right now, there really isn't much online information about Bahamas since the project really is quite new. The myspace page was set up on the 8th of this month, and as of my writing this, he only has 37 friends. If he continues to impress the way that he did the other night, that statistic will undoubtedly be changing soon.

Photos: My pics ofBahamas @ The Tranzac are on flickr
Myspace: Bahamas