Canadian Music Fest 2010: Day Four

featuring The Brother Kite, The Hoa Hoa's, Black Feelings and Action Makes

Because of my little brain fart on Friday night, my much talked about in-store with Dan Mangan and company wasn't going to happen, which meant that I'll just have to be a little bit more on top of things the next time he comes around, which I'm sure will be relatively soon enough (April 22nd at The Horseshoe, to be exact). This meant that instead of being in a dry record store at 6pm, I was standing in line, in the miserable rain, at The Phoenix, waiting to get in to the Joanna Newsom show, which was not part of CMF, and which I'll be telling you about later.

Fast forward to about 9:30 or so, and I was aboard the College streetcar, on my way to Rancho Relaxo to see a band that has been touted by some very respectable sources, but still virtually unknown to me.

The Brother Kite is a band from Rhode Island, that plays some of the most perfect pop music I've ever heard. I've noticed that they often get lumped into a shoegaze category, and I suppose that I heard traces of that in some of the heavier numbers, but to my ears they seemed to have a much cleaner and more structured sound than that pigeonhole would imply. Some of the more obvious references would perhaps be The Beach Boys or Teenage Fanclub, in other words, a style chock full of powerful melodies and larger than life choruses. They played a number of songs from an upcoming album that will be called Isolation, and I gotta tell ya, as each song seemed to be more and more perfect than the one before, it really made me wonder how a band this accessible has managed to bypass the notice of so many. Even now, I'm listening to the songs on their myspace page and their obscurity strikes me as one of the most puzzling things in the world of indie pop today. Of all the bands that I'd seen at this year's festival, The Brother Kite is the one that I plan on familiarizing myself with the most. First step: buy all of their albums. Second: listen to them with great repetition. Third step: dance. And fourth step: gush about them regularly to all of my friends.

Myspace: The Brother Kite
Photos: My pics of The Brother Kite @ Rancho Relaxo are on flickr.

At the end of the show, Frank asked me where I was heading next, and when I said The Comfort Zone, he replied by saying "no, really, where are you heading next?" When Mike, with a twinge of mischief in his voice, recommended that I make sure to use the bathrooms when I get there, I have to admit that mentally I was preparing myself for the fact that I may want to have a backup plan in case the venue's reputation for being less than germaphobe-friendly was accurate.

When I arrived at the darkly lit watering hole beneath The Silver Dollar, I have to say that the fact that I was anticipating something much worse actually made the place seem not all that bad to me. Sure, I could see where the others were coming from, and I don't even want to know what that thin layer of sticky was on the floor, but overall it was a spacious little venue with a decent sized stage and lots of room to move around. And anyway, I wasn't there for the venue, but I was there to see my personal festival sure thing, the always fantastic Hoa Hoa's.

The Hoa Hoa's were my one exception to the "never seen them before" premise that I was more or less sticking to this week. They are easily my favourite live band in the city, not only because of the infectious grooves that their shows consistently put out, but also because of the fact that they have a live show that feels like no one else's, without relying heavily on contrived gimmickry. Sure, they often come equipped with a cool psychedelic light machine, but if you're familiar with their music, this is something that simply enhances their performance, as opposed to distracting from it. As usual, the band was in fine form on Saturday night, creating the 60's party atmosphere that has become synonymous with their show. Now that having been said, they were dealing with some pretty shoddy sound issues that muffled the sounds of the bass and significantly drowned out much of the vocals. It really took about three or four songs before I could ignore that and just enjoy the performance, so I can imagine how that may have felt for those who were unfamiliar with them. This showcase may not have been the best way to introduce yourself to their music, but for all of the established fans, this was yet another remarkable performance. And Blue Acid Gumball is the best set closing song ever!

Myspace: The Hoa Hoa's
Photos: The Hoa Hoa's @ The Comfort Zone on flickr

Because I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss the last band on the bill, I stuck around for the act immediately following The Hoa Hoa's, which were a band from Montreal called Black Feelings. They're the type of band that makes my attempt at descriptive journalism very difficult because I honestly don't even know how to begin describing their sound. Inventing a genre can't be easy, but these guys come pretty close to doing so with their sonic assault of high octane drumming, and tumultuous background vocals. In fact, it almost sounds as if for some of their songs, they took out any lead vocals that may have been there, and deliberately left in the instrumentation and backing vox, creating something that is deliberately raw and atmospheric, a soundscape of colliding guitar and bass riffs that are obviously steeped in psychedelia, but nicely amalgamated with something almost reminiscent of Germany's Krautrock music scene. This is some pretty challenging stuff for sure, but ultimately rewarding, as the band left me wanting more. If you're in the mood to expand your musical palate, then I definitely recommend checking them out when they play with Awesome Color at The Garrison on April 7th.

Myspace: Black Feelings
Photos: My pics of Black Feelings @ The Comfort Zone are on flickr.

Action Makes, one of the newest additions to the Optical Sounds roster, was the last band of the evening, and I don't know if it's possible to find a more engaging end-of-the-night band. This is garage rock at it's finest, full of rock 'n roll riffs and 60's party vibes that gets a crowd dancing in ways that I had only ever seen in old psychedelic 60's counter culture B-movies. The show was full of attitude, swagger and relentless urgency, as the band blasted through a set that did not slow down for a second. It became obvious rather quickly that many audience members wanted to engage in the fun that was being had onstage, as the rabid dancing moved progressively closer to the front so that, after I was able to get a few decent pictures, I slowly inched my way back and allowed them to have the floor. Truth be told, the way some of these people were dancing was just as entertaining to me as the performance itself. There was one guy in particular...man, I'm at a loss for words. If you were there than you know what I mean. (Here's some video, courtesy of  Thee Untold City that doesn't show nearly enough of crazy dancing guy as I would have liked, making a brief appearance at the 1 minute mark, and then again at 1:29,  but at least it gives you a bit of an idea. Haha! Awesome!) The show ended with the drummer leaping over his kit to tackle the lead guitarist and vocalist, in a display of crashing instruments and wild stage antics that reminded me of The Who circa 1967. Amazing!

Myspace: Action Makes
Photos: My pictures of Action Makes @ The Comfort Zone are on flickr

And so ends this year's Canadian Music Fest, which I'd have to say was probably my most successful one so far in the sense that I enjoyed almost every single performance and was introduced to a lot of new music in the process. Definitely some good times that should tie me over for the next little while at least. Other than Thrush Hermit next Friday, and The xx on April 4th, I'll be mostly hibernating for the next couple of months or so, allowing me to rest up before doing it all again at NXNE in June.

Canadian Music Fest 2010: Day Three

featuring The Balconies, Ghostkeeper, Gypsophilia, Gemma Ray, Krupke and Boats

So basically I'm an idiot. Even though I read and reread the CMF schedule over several times, I was still convinced that The Balconies and Ghostkeeper were going to be hitting the Criminal Records instore on THURSDAY, which meant that I would be unable to see them, but very much able to catch Dan Mangan, Aidan Knight and Hollerado at that very same store on the FRIDAY, which had me very excited. I even saw on Chromewaves that he had listed Mangan for SATURDAY and I came very close to making a comment clarifying to him that FRIDAY was the actually night of the Mangan appearance. Thankfully I didn't do this because as I arrived at the store on FRIDAY to see Mangan, it became painfully obvious that Mangan would not be showing up because he was, in fact, slated to appear on SATURDAY, not FRIDAY, as my idiotic brain had been telling me all day. So seeing as The Balconies did not play the store on THURSDAY, this meant that I arrived to see them setting up to play on the day in which I arrived, which, if you've been following, was of course FRIDAY. Yah, so basically, idiot = me.

The mental mixup, along with the fact that the rain was all kinds of annoying, meant that I wasn't in the chipper-est of moods, but I figured that since I was already there, I might as well settle in to watch The Balconies perform, yet again. I suppose that I haven't seen them as often as most other local music buffs have, but it seems that everywhere I turn there's another article about these guys, and honestly, I felt like I was beginning to O.D. on The Balconies. However, two seconds into the band's first song I came to realize that those thoughts were just me being stubborn, because those power chords reminded me quickly that The Balconies really are as great as the buzz that surrounds them, and I could never really get sick of what this band has to offer. My favourite thing about them is the fact that Jacquie and Stephen have distinctly different approaches to the way that they sing and perform, but it works together very well, so that things manage to stay varied, without being disjointed. On top of that, while most bands would use the in-store forum as an opportunity to feature a warmer and more comforting side to their music, these guys rocked out as heartily as any appearance I've ever seen by them, proving that there is never an inappropriate time to rock. Most importantly, I still maintain that their already solid sound is still that of a band who have their most impressive work ahead of them. I think that at this point, the world is very much their oyster, and while there may be a few bigger bands in the city right now, I predict that The Balconies are the ones with the greatest surviving power and in a few years from now, we are going to be shocked by how far they've come. Mark my words!

Myspace: The Balconies
Download: Lulu mp3
Photos: My pictures of The Balconies @ Criminal Records are on flickr.

Up next was a Calgary band whom I had honestly never even heard of, who go by the name Ghostkeeper. Although I personally would not go out of my way to attend a show by a band with such a name, once again, I was already there, so I figured that I might as well see what these guys are all about. Admittedly, there was a bit of an adjustment period after the relatively straightforward approach of the band that preceded them, as there was no instantly discernible hooks or melodies poking through the seemingly irrational compositions. But little by little they were starting to win me over. Lead vocalist Shane Ghostkeeper's voice has a bit of a laziness to it, that is at first a tad off-putting as I wished that he would open his mouth just a little bit more so that I could understand SOMETHING that he was saying. But after a while his laid back intone actually started to have more of a calming effect on me, which allowed me to focus more clearly on the music itself, which was actually a showcase of some old Southern blues and folk that presented itself as sort of a lo-fi Robert Johnson, of sorts. By the end of their set, I found that I was enjoying it quite a bit and I think that if they return to Toronto soon, I might be tempted to hear how they would sound at a place like The Horseshoe or Dakota Tavern.

Myspace: Ghostkeeper
Download: By Morning mp3
Photos: My pictures of Ghostkeeper @ Criminal Records are on flickr

Following the instore sets, I had an hour to kill before heading to Rancho Relaxo, so I thought that I'd walk up Spadina and grab some health food at the local Burger King. The wind and rain was pretty much an established fact at this point, and I think that I can say without exaggeration that that northward walk to my destination may be the worst thing that I've ever had to do. Still, it was nothing a crappy poutine and a Whopper couldn't fix, and after fueling up I was ready to take on the rest of the night. What came next was only the pleasantest of surprises.

I had eluded to earlier that I wanted to use this festival as an opportunity to expand an horizon or two by trying out some acts that I wouldn't under normal circumstances. I think that going to see an instrumental jazz band that drapes itself  in sounds combining elements of European gypsy music, funk and fusion with a touch of Django Reinhardt guitar and a splash of Dixieland fun thrown in, would certainly fall into that category. Upon seeing Halifax's Gypsophilia, their impressive set actually had me twitting (tweeting? tweetering?) that they were the best band of the festival so far, and I meant it! As much as I talk about the rock, indie, prog and folksy vibes that the city has to offer, it's hard to beat live jazz, and this seven piece band cranked it out with great ferocity. There were plenty of fast, upbeat numbers, but they also incorporated some slower tunes (such as a song dedicated to lead guitarist Ross Burns' Opa Ross), and even some sillier numbers (like a song called Jewish Dance Party that included some hilarious old man 'la, la, la's'). The set closer was another nice surprise as it was a song with an almost progressive fusion sound, not unlike something you would hear performed by Weather Report in the late 70's. It was the type of show where you didn't applaud for songs as much as you applauded the moments, whether it was an impressive run on the violin by Gina Burgess, a sweetly spastic blast on the trumpet by Matt Myer, or an impressive solo on the keys by Sageev Oore. It was the first show of the festival whereupon its completion, I was actually still a-hankerin' for some more, which says a lot for a band without any vocals. Even if you wouldn't necessarily listen to this type of thing at home, Gypsophilia's live show comes highly recommended.

Myspace: Gypsophilia
Download: Melostinato (Live @ CBC Radio's Studio H) mp3
Photos: My shots of Gypsophilia @ Rancho Relaxo are on flickr

Next, I walked over to Silver Dollar to see and hear the velvety croon of Britain's Gemma Ray. I actually wanted to see her for awhile, since her vocals have the ability to pierce right through me as her albums boast a classic sound that is reminiscent of something that the wall of sound would've liked to get its hands on in the mid 60's. She's unique in her ability to craft a song that sounds delicate and sparse, yet larger than life at the same time. Unfortunately, it appeared that poor Gemma was battling a pretty intense cold, and she warned us that she really didn't know how much she was going to be able to do on this particular evening. (UPDATE: Turns out that the 'cold' was actually laryngitis, and she had to cancel her other CMF showcase.) Still, after thanking Air India for giving her a 'man' voice, she went on to play four blusier numbers that sounded magnificent, at least to my ears. Not to make light of her ailment, but the cold just made her sound all the more intoxicatingly sultry, which perfectly fit the vibe of the material that she was showcasing that night. In line with the fact that she's about to release a covers album entitled It's A Shame About Gemma Ray, she played covers of Etta James and Alex Harvey that sounded downright haunting as she even played the guitar on the second number using a massive kitchen knife, which probably would have freaked out anyone who happened to pop in without first gaining context, but for whatever reason, managed to put a smile on my face. She ended the night with a cover of Mudhoney's appropriately titled Touch Me I'm Sick, which in this incarnation bared very little resemblance to the original. She made the song downright spooky as she looped it and looped it in several vocal and guitar effects, culminating in a wash of feedback that incorporated chairs and stools toppling over, and microphones falling down until she left the stage to the sound of her husky vocals chanting "Touch me, I'm sick" over and over again through the monitors. Backwards. It was awesome.

Myspace: Gemma Ray
Photos: My pictures of Gemma Ray @ Silver Dollar are on flickr.

Next on the agenda was to pop over to the El Mo to try and catch Parlovr's set. Unfortunately they were opening for Handsome Furs, and at this point they were only letting in ticket holders. In other words: access denied! I foolishly didn't come with a backup plan, so I grabbed an issue of NOW, and quickly scanned to see what was going on in the general vicinity. The only venue boasting a band that I had never seen before was Bread & Circus, so I ran over there to check out a Montreal dance act called Les Handclaps. A couple of songs in and they really weren't doing it for me, so I just decided to go back to the Rancho and see Krupke, a band I love whom I had already seen earlier this year, and I knew would not disappoint. (Upon speaking to Joe from Mechanical Forest Sound on Saturday night. he made a pretty strong case for Les Handclaps, assuring me that they were actually great fun and I should probably give them a second chance. So, maybe next time then.)

There's not much that I can say about Krupke that I haven't said a few times this year already. I love 'em, but what I personally find amazing is that everybody else seems to love them too. They're very weird, but I've always liked weird, so this explains my enthusiasm. Generally speaking though, most people don't get weird, which is the very essence of weird, and is what makes weird weird. In theory, when a band like Krupke hits the stage, the result should be confusion, restlessness, and perhaps even a smattering of absolute hostility. But that doesn't happen. On the contrary, there's dancing, laughter, great enthusiasm and more dancing. Krupke has emerged from a bizarro world where weird is normal, and they've successfully managed to transform the worlds in which they perform to their same unique mindset. I don't know how they do it, but kudos to them.

Myspace: Krupke
Photos: My pictures of Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo are on flickr.

I ended my evening with Boats who are a band from Winnipeg who receive enormous amounts of praise everywhere they go. It's hard to deny their appeal, as strong songwriting and infectious melodies are what they do best, and it's pretty much impossible not to succumb to their perfect pop hooks. As expected, their live show took those strengths and celebrated them by performing a set of (mostly) new material that will be included on their upcoming album entitled Cannonballs Cannonballs, which will be released on May 1st. I've heard the band plenty of times, but prior to the show I still had yet to see them. When they started playing, I have to admit that the visual didn't fit the mental visual that was implanted in my mind, and it was a little bit jarring. Mat Klachefsky has an unusually high voice, and hearing that voice emanate from the mouth of this tall and daunting man with a massive scraggly beard took quite awhile for me to compute. I'm not usually that superficial, but it was hard for me to ignore at first. Still, it didn't change the fact that this band really is about as good as it gets in terms of musical prowess, and I really dug what they were doing up there. A popular quote describing the band is that they're like "Arcade Fire without the drama." While I understand the comparison, I personally found the band to be very dramatic onstage, shifting from the mellow to the hyper several times throughout, with Klachefsky's delivery being about as intense as it gets. The banter of course was quite subdued ("Here's a song called Chrome Eyelids. It's about chrome eyelids.") and I suppose that there wasn't a lot of drama in that, but musically I think that it's the dramatic flair that makes them so good.

Myspace: Boats
Download: TV Scientist mp3
Photos: My pictures of Boats @ Rancho Relaxo are on flickr

By the end of their set, I was pretty tired and I also knew that I had to get up early the next morning, so I called it a night. Another satisfying one indeed. (With the exception of the stupid rain.)

Canadian Music Fest 2010: Day Two

featuring The Elwins, The Black Swan Effect, We Are The Take, Make Your Exit and Sandman Viper Command

My usual late start Thursdays meant that I wouldn't be hitting my first show until 10pm, and since I was determined to make life easier on myself, I decided that I would rotate throughout the College and Spadina corridor. My first stop of the evening was just shy of that, at the Bathurst corner at Sneaky Dee's for the basic pop rock sounds of The Elwins.

Sneaks was still pretty empty when I arrived there at 10:02 and the band was already partway through what I'd imagine was still their first song. They play a style of non-threatening, clean cut 60's inspired pop music that is pretty easy to admire, even if it's perhaps not anything that we haven't heard before. Borrowing from all of the usual suspects, lead vocalist Matthew Sweeney augments his Ray Davies-like snarl with a Peter Noone-ish innocence that laces their tunes with some jangly fun, the likes of which I haven't heard since the (very) early days of The Meligrove Band (circa 2000, the Ductape Years, when the band was a little more sugar and a little less vinegar.) Keeping it simple didn't mean that the band couldn't bring the rock however, and the last couple of songs in particular showcased some power chord laden guitar work that was as addictive as it gets. Really good stuff!

Myspace: The Elwins
Photos: My pictures of The Elwins @ Sneaky Dee's are on flickr

From there I walked down to Kensington Market and into The Supermarket to see a U.K. band known as The Black Swan Effect. Admittedly my reasons for wanting to check them out were partially selfish in the sense that I was feeling relatively anti-social and wanted to go somewhere with little buzz where I can just chill out with my own company. The empty floor space at Supermarket was just perfect for the mood I was in, as I settled in the corner with a beer, waiting for the band to hit the stage. When you think about it, it's actually rather ironic that the BSE were not one of the highly buzzed about bands of the fest. First of all, they're signed to Peter Gabriel's Real World Records, having recently opened for him on a few shows. Also, their bass player is a cat named Jesse Wood, and his father is none other than Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones. Those are a couple of big names to be associated with, but the small crowd was evidence that having a big name behind you ain't what it used to be, and personally I think it's great. Mostly though, I was there because the sounds that I heard on their myspace sounded pretty good, and I was eager to hear how it sounded on the live stage. Answer? Pretty dang good. For obvious reasons, there were plenty of classic rock influences circulating through their sound, including some intricate guitar solos and heavy drums and bass, with songs like Please sounding like the aforementioned Stones circa Exile On Main Street. The best songs were the more ambitious numbers, such as a song called Sick, which wouldn't be out of place on The Bends and Rat In A Cage which also owes its sound to early Radiohead, but is done so convincingly enough to not come across as another copycat band.

Myspace: The Black Swan Effect
Photos: My pictures of The Black Swan Effect @ The Supermarket are on flickr.

It was at this point that my evening of solitude was about to be cut short as the room was quickly being filled by tons of young girls, making me wonder if perhaps The Jonas Brothers were scheduled to appear next and I had been rashly misinformed. As I scanned the exit areas just in case, it turns out that my original sources were correct, and I was simply unaware of the fact that the ladies clearly dig the sounds of We Are The Take with an enthusiasm that is obviously not as limited to the haze of an MTV frosh week as I had once assumed. When they took the stage it was easy to see why. Boyish good looks, charming personalities and the ability to woo an audience were all apparent, and this was all before they even played a note. Still it's the music that counts and I'm glad to say that they clearly know what they're doing musically, as they played a tight set that was a sweet mix of upbeat sheeny shiny rock tunes, and a few piano laden pop numbers. It was obvious that the band has been playing together for awhile now, as their professionalism was probably the biggest selling point to most, as there was not a note out of place and their chemistry was infallible. That sheen was probably both their strength and their weakness. While it made it impossible to criticize their abilities, the lack of rough edges sacrificed a  little bit of that rock 'n roll rawness that would have brought their show to a more memorable level for me. Still, a good time was had by all, myself included, and I'm glad that after an innumerable amount of failed attempts I finally got to see this band that I'd heard so much about.

Myspace: We Are The Take
Photos: My pics of We Are The Take @ The Supermarket are on flickr

From there I had originally planned on heading to The Silver Dollar to see The Ghost is Dancing, but ultimately opted to check out the El Mocambo instead to see Make Your Exit. Originally, I wanted to stick mostly to artists that I had never seen before, but I made an exception in this case by using justificatory reasoning. Although I had seen MYE in the past, I still had yet to see the latest incarnation of the band, that is, the one featuring my personally chosen Rock Star of the Year for 2008, Robbie Butcher, who had recently joined the band on drums. I was curious to see what chemistry would ensue within the group, since the band has always been more of a subdued force onstage, whereas Robbie's work in bands like Tin Bangs has always been a little bit more over the top. Interestingly, the pairing seemed to work very well, as the band's larger than life sound seemed to gel nicely with Butcher's over the top persona. However, his presence, strong as it was, was only one factor contributing to the band's overall greatness. When I saw them back in May 2009, it was obvious that they had plenty of potential, boasting a post-rock sound that was full of intricate spaces and precious atmospheres, yet there was still plenty of room for growth. Upon seeing them this time, it was obvious that grow they did, as their sound was so large that the El Mo could hardly contain it. Placing greater emphasis on musicianship and orchestral sweeps than on anything else, the band has carved itself out an interesting niche that will only grow as they continue to work together in the months ahead. When a large sound is what you're shooting for, well the sky's the limit, as they say.

Myspace: Make Your Exit
Photos: My pictures of Make Your Exit @ El Mocambo are on flickr.

By this time I was the most tired I'd ever been in my life, and under other circumstances I would have just gone home, but Burlington's Sandman Viper Command was up next, and I really like their CD Everybody See This, and I was already there so I forced myself to stick around, at least for a couple of songs. The band specializes in some pretty catchy power pop tunes that are still a bit juvenile in their execution, but show plenty of potential for future releases. One thing that the album does showcase perfectly is a sense of overall fun that should, in theory, translate nicely to a live stage. And in this case, that's exactly what they did. As expected, I was only there to witness the first three songs, but their energy was boundless, which suited their upbeat tunes nicely, and undoubtedly contributed to the audience's second wind. They put on one of the most enjoyable live shows of the whole festival, and I can only imagine that they'll continue to get even better as time goes on. If there was one minor concern, I'd have to say that, having lived in Burlington for 8 years myself, the band doesn't do much to distinguish themselves from many of the other young bands to come out of that area, at least as of five years ago, when I was more in tune with the Burlington music scene. The band needs to find some way to stand out from the crowd, yet from what I witnessed that night, they've certainly got the talent to do so.

Myspace: Sandman Viper Command
Photos: My pics of Sandman Viper Command @ El Mocambo are on flickr.

Canadian Music Fest 2010: Day One

featuring Fergus Brown, The Wilderness of Manitoba and Dead Letter Chorus

Although this year's Canadian Music Fest seemed somewhat more disorganized than usual, I was actually able to keep my personal schedule pretty much in tact, sticking relatively close to my original plans, with the exception of a couple of minor snafus on the Friday night. Even my mood was organized as I opted to go for the festival acoustic ease-in, and lead up to a rock 'n roll finale for Saturday night. (As anticipated, I was a little bit too brain-dead by the time Sunday came along.) Choosing to go mellow for Wednesday night meant that I was starting things off at a place called The Painted Lady on the corner of Ossington and Dundas, a place in my neighbourhood that I must've walked by on several occasions, but failed to notice until this evening.

To describe it as intimate would be an understatement, and when I arrived at the venue, I was a little worried that only myself and the bands would be in attendance for this one. Still, I grabbed myself a beer and settled down at one of the tiny circular tables near the stage. A small but healthy group of people began rolling in, and we prepared ourselves to chill out with the quirky sounds of Australia's Fergus Brown.

When a man named Fergus Brown releases an album entitled Burgers Frown, then you just know that he's going to be of the whimsical sort, and that he was. What made him even more interesting was that those sounds were contrasted with beautiful melodies that could possibly make a sensitive person cry if they're not really paying attention to the lyrics. He started with a solo acoustic number that really highlighted his pitch perfect voice, and even though the guitar was apparently slightly out of tune, it didn't affect his delivery in any way. (I, or course, didn't notice that it was out of tune, but he mentioned it after that first song, jokingly complaining that Air Canada broke his guitar.) For a few numbers, he had some musical accompaniment onstage to flesh out some of the rockier material and the chemistry was obvious. His first single, wryly entitled John, She Was Never Only Dancing (a response to a Bowie song with a similar name, in case you didn't know, although you should) was probably the highlight of his set, which all flowed together nicely as he concluded by thanking us for having him in our "lukewarm city."

Myspace: Fergus Brown
Photos: My pictures of Fergus Brown @ The Painted Lady are up on flickr.
[My refusal to leave my comfortable seat to get up close for a better picture of the man resulted in some of the crappiest photos of my career but I've included them for your entertainment pleasure anyway.]

While the rest of the world continues to sing the praises of the very good, but kinda dull Fleet Foxes, I've been continually ingesting the sounds of The Wilderness of Manitoba, a band that follows that same line of harmony laden folk, but with a lot more imagination and depth, which allows me to listen to their album often, in its entirety, on repeat, which admittedly is something I can't do with everybody's favourite foxes. Still, due to circumstances beyond my control, I had not yet seen them live, and although the opportunity to see them play venues such as The Horseshoe, The Garrison and Glenn Gould Theatre have all eluded me, it seemed somewhat fitting that my introduction to their live selves should be at a place as warm and intimate as this one. Besides the songs from their excellent EP, they showcased a few newer songs as well, some of which were layered in a little bit more atmosphere than before, reminding me a bit of a band that I liked a few years ago called A Northern Chorus. The vibe suited them well and filled me with great expectations on their follow up release, whenever that may be. The song Evening, which is a cover of a song by lead vocalist Will Whitwham's mother, is a beautifully touching tribute to someone who was obviously very instrumental to creating the 60's folk sound that pervades throughout the album and I just loved seeing them perform it. They ended the set with a Timber Timbre cover, that I personally thought outshone the original, making it sound like something that they could have written themselves. There's a reason why they're one of the most loved bands in the city right now, and I'm glad that I got the chance to finally see them live.

Myspace: The Wilderness of Manitoba
Download: Bluebirds mp3
Photos: The Wilderness of Manitoba @ The Painted Lady on flickr.
[Still seated. Pictures still relatively crappy.]

My evening ended with the first really impressive discovery of the festival, Australia's Dead Letter Chorus. The band was mega-excited about their first trip to Canada, and they were clearly determined to impress the socks off of every person that they performed for, and at this showcase they did so swimmingly. A terrific blend of alt-country and power pop, they performed a set of songs that were instantly likable, and perfectly tailored for the live stage. The hooks are strong, the melodies likewise, the musicianship delightful, but the greatest selling point is the vocals of Cameron Potts and Gabrielle Huber, who both encapsulate all of the throaty well worn gruffness and slightly saccharine sweetness that their songs require. They also followed all of the rules of the perfect setlist by starting strong with an upbeat number, simmering down midway so as not to exhaust us all before closing the show with their most anthemic number which no doubt finally made converts of any in attendance who may have been a little bit more difficult to please, although I doubt that there were too many that felt that way. If you missed this show or any of their other sets during CMW, than I highly recommend heading down to The Horseshoe on Tuesday night (March 16th) where they will be playing their CD release show before heading on a cross Canada tour with Two Hours Traffic. It's free.

Myspace: Dead Letter Chorus
Download: Down In The Valley mp3
Photos: My shots of Dead Letter Chorus @ The Painted Lady are on flickr.
[No longer seated and standing much closer to the stage. Pics significantly less crappy.]

Canadian Music Fest: The Plan

 

Well, it was a long and arduous process, but I think that I finally figured out my schedule for this year's Canadian Music Fest, which is taking place this week starting on Wednesday March 10th and running through to Sunday March 14th. My personal difficulty does not stem from a lack of quality material, but more from a desire to experience something a little bit different than usual. As much as possible, I want to use this year's festival as an opportunity to see artists that I've never seen before, and preferably ones that don't come around all that often. This means that I'll be deliberately bypassing several of my favourites in order to throw a little adventure into my life. An advantage of this year's fest is the fact that there are a few earlier in-store performances taking place, which means that there really is no need to stay up late into the night if I start a little bit earlier, which suits me just fine. So what are my plans for the week? Let's see...

Wednesday March 10th

For Wednesday, I'm planning on starting off at 6:30pm at Criminal Records to see an in-store performance by The Besnard Lakes. They're one of only two acts that I'm planning on seeing that I've already seen before, but it has been quite a while, and it'll be interesting to see how their larger than life sound is going to come across in a tiny little record store. Of course, seeing them is going to depend on how late my work day goes.

As far as the evening goes, I'm pretty sure most people will be heading on down to Lee's Palace for The Bonfire Ball (Revue) featuring Zeus, Jason Collett and Bahamas. Myself, I'm opting for the closer to home Painted Lady on Ossington to check out a slightly more subdued affair. On the lineup is Fergus Brown, a quirky singer songwriter from Australia, our own Wilderness of Manitoba, who are one of my favourite bands whom I'm ashamed to say that I haven't gotten around to seeing yet and another Aussie act called Dead Letter Chorus, who specialize in a slightly punky, alt-country sound. Whether or not I stick around for the orchestral sounds of locals Here Comes The Cavalry and the Dylan-esque sounds of Montreal's Colin Moore will totally depend on how tired I am, as well as the state of my ADD.

Thursday March 11th

As usual, my Thursday night is going to start a little bit later, but I think that I'm going to hoof it on down to Sneaky Dee's to catch The Elwins at 10pm. They're another local band who's pop tones make me happy even though I've never gotten around to actually seeing them. At this point, I'm still debating what to do next. Parlovr is a Montreal band that I've heard amazing things about, and they're scheduled to perform at Sneaks at midnight. I'd love to see them but this means sticking around for the middle act, Everything All The Time, who are a very talented band, but not really my cup of meat. This is why I'm leaning towards heading to The Supermarket instead to see a band from the U.K. called The Black Swan Effect. They're signed to Real World Records which is a label that I've always admired, even though these guys are a little more Muse than Youssou N'Dour. I'm intrigued. The good thing is that if I check them out, than I can stick around and FINALLY see We Are The Take, who are an excellent local band that I have promised to see about 8934 times before but, as of yet, have still never actually seen. Maybe this will be the night. Finally, depending on how tired I am, I'll zip on over to Silver Dollar to see The Ghost Is Dancing, another band that I love, but have never seen.

Friday March 12th

This will be my busiest day, as I start it off at Criminal Records to hear the soulful sounds of Aidan Knight at 5pm, the amazing Dan Mangan (pictured above) at 6pm and Hollerado at 7pm. I'll likely use the following hour to grab a bite before popping into Rancho Relaxo to check out a band called Gypsophilia from Halifax who specialize in a sound that is an inspired mixture of everything. From there, I'm going to go to the Silver Dollar to see London's Gemma Ray, who's a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, but a pleasure nonetheless. From there I tread on over to El Mocambo to see the very Parlovr that I'm likely ducking out on the night before. I will then make a Handsome Furs fan very happy by leaving the venue to see Boats back at Rancho Relaxo. I'll most likely be out of steam after that, but if not, then I'll attempt to check out the stadium sounds of Corduroy at Sneaky Dee's. But probably not.

[UPDATE 3/13/2010: Ooops. The instore today was actually The Balconies followed by Ghostkeeper (from Calgary) The above mentioned instore is actually tomorrow (March 14th). My bad.]

Saturday March 13th

My Saturday begins with a non-CMF event that will likely be one of the major musical events of the year, when I check out Joanna Newsom at The Phoenix. It's an early show, with the doors opening at 6pm. Depending on when that ends, I'll likely head west on College Street to Rancho Relaxo to witness the shoegazey vibes of Montreal's Kill The Lights at 9pm to be followed by a similarly atmospheric band from New England called The Brother Kite. From there I'm going to break my "never seen 'em before" rule to attend the Optical Sounds showcase at the Silver Dollar to check out the ever reliable Hoa Hoa's, to be followed by some sonic distortion by The Black Feelings and some more psychedelic rock with Action Makes, who I still feel a little guilty about ducking out on last time.

Sunday March 14th

I can pretty much guarantee that Saturday is going to end it for me, but let's pretend that I'm Superman and say that if I do go out on Sunday, it'll be to The Horseshoe to see a jam band called Woods to be followed by some more sonic noodling in the form of New Jersey's Real Estate. Although, as I mentioned: pretty sure that I'm just going to be staying in on Sunday.

And there is my plan for this year's Canadian Music Fest. As we all know, plans are meant to be changed, and it'll be interesting to see how closely I stick to the itinerary, but if you'd like to make your own plans, than check out the official CMF schedule to see what choices are of particular thrill to you. See you around!

Young Doctors In Love - 5 Golden Greats EP

When I'm in the mood for writing about something, yet lacking the time for anything too elaborate, I can be very thankful that bands like Toronto's Young Doctors In Love exist. I received their 5 Golden Greats EP in my email inbox about 30 minutes ago, started listening to it about 5 minutes after that, finished it about 16.6 minutes after that and realized that their instantly catchy brand of accessible pop music would be easy to sell in only a few brief words. There is nothing challenging or particularly surprising about their music, but the hooks are prevalent throughout as they accomplish exactly what a good hook is supposed to, that is, get lodged into the brain with enough force so as to make a person desirous for more. Every song on this delightful disc has 'hit single' written all over it, yet there's enough variety from song to song that it doesn't come across as a band lacking in ideas. Eloise And Her Sister Marta has a bit of a new wave bend to it, Oh Caroline has some surprising harmonica that adds something slightly unique to its 70's dance pop vibe. The album then proceeds to make some mild forays into ska and disco before ending with an acoustic ballad called Don't Turn Away that suggests that this EP is only meant to be a teaser for something a little bit more involved later on. While the album may not have you brimming over with enthusiasm, it's still a very catchy and enjoyable first release, and it'll be interesting to see in what ways the band will attempt to expand as they record more material in the future.

Young Doctors In Love will be celebrating the release of the new EP on March 27th at Rancho Relaxo. Charms and The Phonemes will also be joining them for the show, which will be $5 at the door.

Myspace: Young Doctors In Love

Other stuff:
The Fratellis'  Jon Lawler is involved with a new project called Codeine Velvet Club who's self-titled debut is set to be released April 6th on Dangerbird Records. They will be playing a few dates stateside opening for Metric, but there aren't any Canadian dates as of yet. The majestic sounding first single Hollywood is available as a free download. [Myspace: Codeine Velvet Club]

Xavier Rudd has a released a new video for a song called Time To Smile which will be featured on his upcoming album Koonyum Sun. Reminds me more than a little bit of Paul Simon's Graceland period. He's playing Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 20th and 21st. [Myspace: Xavier Rudd]


The Shins' James Mercer and Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) will be releasing a joint project known as Broken Bells later this month. They're interviewed in the latest issue of Exclaim! [Myspace: Broken Bells] 

Clothes Make the Man are featured on the latest episode, erm, I mean webisode, of Minilogues. [Myspace: Clothes Make The Man] 

Megan Bonnell (formerly of Reily) has just released a video on Southern Souls for a beautiful new song called Apple Trees. [Myspace: Megan Bonnell]

Lastly, I'm still piecing together my personal schedule for next week's Canadian Music Fest and hopefully I'll have my final picks posted early next week. See you then. [Myspace: Canadian Music Fest]

CMF Day 4: Jon Rae Fletcher, Herman Dune, Basia Bulat, Elliott Brood, Cuff The Duke

I'm actually amazed at how 'not tired' I was by day 4 of Canadian Music Week or Fest or whatever. It's not that I'm not tired, it's just that I was expecting myself to be twice as tired as I actually felt on Saturday night. Still, I avoided venue hopping and had decided to just simply get my twang on at Lee's Palace for the night. The lineup looked solid, featuring some of the more folk and country oriented acts in the city. It looked like it was going to be a chilled and laid back evening. Turns out, I was only sort of right.
Jon Rae Fletcher started the night off with a distinct crooner's warble that was very endearing. His latest album Oh, Maria stands in stark contrast to 2006's Knows What You Need, with its introspective lyrics and downplayed tempo, and this is the atmosphere that he portrayed that night. The personal upheaval that has surrounded his life over the last few years has been well documented, and even though there is something very somber and reflective about his lyrics these days, his performance was still that of a man who is witty, with a good self-deprecating sense of humour. He even attempted to perform an older song as per an audience member's request, and upon realizing that he couldn't quite remember the rest of the lyrics, he simply bowed out gracefully, with a shrug and a laugh, refusing to take himself too seriously.

Photos: Jon Rae Fletcher @ Lee's Palace on flickr.
Myspace: Jon Rae Fletcher
Next up was Herman Dune from Paris, France. The band is a two piece, consisting of David-Ivar Herman Dune on guitar and vocals, and Néman Herman Dune on drums and backing vocals. The band plays a very quirky brand of folk music that is bent in a whimsical direction that comes across sounding as the bizarre love child of The Mountain Goats, Jens Lekman and maybe Cat Stevens. This being my first introduction to his music, I thought the lyrics were very strong and filled with clever wordplay. The melodies were simple, yet effective, and his voice was honest and powerful, although in a slightly nasal sort of way. He also had a very unique stage presence, that of a bearded traveling vaudeville performer. All of these ingredients together made for an enjoyable and bizarre experience that made me feel as if I was in some sort of cartoon or something.

Photos: Herman Dune @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: Herman Dune
I can't believe that I haven't seen Basia Bulat since last summer, and apparently a couple of things have changed. First of all, I noticed that Holly Rancher was not in attendance. Is she still part of the band? Does anyone know? Furthermore, I think that Basia has gained a little bit more confidence than the last couple of times that I saw her. She's always had a very sweet unsureness about her, but this time, even when certain things didn't go as smoothly as she likely would have hoped (i.e: sound problems with the ukelele,) she seemed to handle it with great poise and humour. She opened the show with I Was Your Daughter, a song that I'm pretty sure I'm used to seeing her end with. It's such a great song and the hyper handclaps got the crowd involved right away. She did a lot of the usual numbers, and even introduced a couple of new ones, including a great tune that she said was tentatively called Canyonero (named after the SUV on The Simpsons.) The show was lighthearted, even having a little kazoo thrown in for good measure. Her talent continues to amaze me as she always makes playing the autoharp look effortless.

Photos: Basia Bulat @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: Basia Bulat
At this point, any thought that this would be a nice little laid back evening was dashed to pieces by the time Elliott Brood took to the stage. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought that Elliott Brood was a countrified acoustic band. However, upon speaking to some of the fans in attendance before they hit the stage, it was becoming obvious that the evening was about to be cranked to another level. These guys may have been equipped with acoustic guitars, but they rocked hard! Every song came blasting through the air in a way that had me feeling stupid for forgetting my earplugs, and the band's hyperactive enthusiasm got the crowd whipped into a rock 'n roll frenzy. Partway through their set, they handed out some wooden spoons and aluminum trays and bowls, so as to have the audience provide some thunderous percussion to their songs, and I have to say that we were all having a blast! The crowd started dancing pretty heavily and they did not stop until the show was over. I was exhausted!

Photos: Elliott Brood @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: Elliott Brood
The evening ended with my hometown heroes Cuff The Duke, and as per usual, they put on a great show. It seemed rather tame after the Brood spazzfest that we had witnessed earlier, but The Duke are such an amazing band that they can truly do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned. They opened with my two favourite songs, Remember The Good Times and Rossland Square, which was great, but meant that I didn't have to spend the rest of the night in anticipation. They played a lot of new songs, which all sounded stellar, and indicated that we're likely to hear something new from them in the very near future. Excited! Wayne Petti played the nice guy again, graciously thanking everyone for attending before rocking out on the final song, If I Live Or If I Die.

Photos: Cuff The Duke @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Myspace: Cuff The Duke

'Sup In March [Canadian Music Fest and Beyond]

Well, this post is going to be a bit of a lengthy post since the month of March is looking pretty dang busy as far as I can tell. It's that time of the year when Canadian Music Fest (or Canadian Music Week for all you traditionalists out there) rears its crazy head from March 11 to March 14th, and although I'm not going to be able to share with you all of the goings on, I can at least give you a taste of what to expect.

The week prior to the big festival showcases a few interesting shows, beginning with And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at Lee's Palace on Wednesday March 4th. They are in town to promote their latest release, entitled The Century Of Self. Tix are $18.50. [Myspace: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead]

Sure to be a real blasty blast is the One Hit Wonders Night at Rancho Relaxo on Thursday March 5th. If you've ever had the desire to hear one hit wonders like Reel 2 Real, Marcy Playground and Afroman covered from some of your favourite local bands, then this night is for you. $7 [On the bill is B'MO Crazy, Left Of Zero, Santa With Muscles, PDF Format, The Cheap Speakers, Recordbreaker, The People Of Canada, Fresh Blintz w/Da Regulars, Doc Pickles and Patrick Brealey]

On Friday March 6th, Sebastian Grainger & the Mountains is playing The Horseshoe. Tickets are $10.50. [Myspace: Sebastian Grainger & the Mountains]

Saturday March 7th has a couple of cool shows. The triumphant return of Zygiella VII is taking place at The Old York (167 Niagara Street). As an avid supporter of all things Zygiella, I'm actually ashamed to admit that I've never attended one of these. Hopefully that'll change with this show featuring Carnival Moon, The Wilderness Of Manitoba and the outstanding Leif Vollebekk. Cover is $5. [Myspaces: Carnival Moon, The Wilderness of Manitoba, Leif Vollebekk]

Also on Saturday March 7th is The United Steel Workers of Manitoba, Jon Rae Fletcher and The Schomberg Fair at The Horseshoe. Tickets are $10. [Myspaces: USWM, Jon Rae Fletcher, Schomberg Fair]

On Wednesday March 11th, AC Newman is at Lee's Palace. Tickets are $15adv / $18door. [Myspace: AC Newman]

Which brings us to Canadian Music Fest!! You can see the full schedule here, but here are my recommendations:

Wednesday March 11th: There's the 60's garage sounds of The Job (Gladstone Hotel, 9pm), the fun fun fun dance pop of Foxfire (Gladstone Hotel 11pm), and the pure rawk sounds of Songs From A Room (Tattoo Rock Parlour 10:30pm)

Where I'll be: It's been a while since I've seen Sloan (pictured above) so I'll be checking out their show at The Mod Club with Will Currie and the Country French opening for them. (9pm and 10pm)

Thursday March 12th: There's the sweet sounds of Emma Lee (Glenn Gould Studio 9pm), We Are The Take (Lee's Palace 9pm), the amazing Ketch Harbour Wolves (Silver Dollar 9pm), classic country twang of $100 (Horseshoe 9:20pm), an acoustic set by The Trews (Glenn Gould Studio 10pm), the highly recommended garage rock of Invasions (Silver Dollar 12am), Chad VanGaalen (Horeseshoe 12:10am), the unbelievably amazing prog sounds of Quest For Fire (Horseshoe 1:10am) and one of the best bands out there Rural Alberta Advantage (Gladstone Hotel 1am)

Where I'll be: I won't be able to get out any earlier than 10pm, so I'm thinking that I'll likely head to Lee's Palace for The Waking Eyes (11pm) and Matt Mays and El Torpedo (12am). After that, depending on how tired I am, as much as it kills me to miss Quest For Fire and RAA, I think I'm going to check out old favourite Rob Szabo (who I haven't seen in over 5 years) at Library Bar (1:15am) simply because he doesn't come around very much, whereas the other two are here all the time.

Friday March 13th: There's the cutesy pop of Hooded Fang (Gladstone Hotel 9pm), the experimental folk of The Weather Station (Savannah Room 9pm), We Are Wolves and Bloc Party (Kool Haus 9pm), and, for those who want to chillax with some legendary Canadian perfomers, there's the songwriter's cafe at The Mod Club featuring Arkells, Serena Ryder, Sass Jordan, Tom Cochrane and Burton Cummings, all starting at 7pm. There's also the late night offerings of Hot Panda (Horseshoe 1:10am) and Schomberg Fair (Horseshoe 2:10am)

Where I'll be: For the first little while I'm gonna plant myself at The Horseshoe so I can FINALLY see Dinosaur Bones (8:30pm) followed by Daniel Wesley (9:20pm) and The Bicycles (10:10pm). After that I haven't decided if I'm going to stick around for Handsome Furs (12:10pm) or if I'm going to head on down to Rancho Relaxo to catch the last bit of Black Diamond Bay (11pm), followed by Black Hat Brigade (12am) and my faves Amos The Transparent (1am). I'm thinking probably the latter.

Saturday March 14th: Whew, still with me? There's good clean fun with The Ting Tings (Mod Club 8:30pm), Rob Szabo (Graffitti's 9:30pm), Whale Tooth (Rancho Relaxo 10pm), Young Galaxy (Horseshoe 10:10pm), Dog Day (Drake Underground 11pm), Young Rival (El Mocambo 11pm), Two Hours Traffic (Horseshoe 11:10pm), The Marble Index (Hideout 12am), Modernboys Moderngirls (Rancho Relaxo 12am), Jenn Grant (Reverb 12am), The Golden Dogs (Horseshoe 12:10am) and Melissa McClelland (Reverb 1am).

Where I'll be: Although both The Horseshoe and Rancho Relaxo both look like great venues to stay put at, I'm going to Lee's Palace for Jon-Rae Fletcher (9pm), Herman Dunne (9:45pm), Basia Bulat (10:45pm), Elliott Brood (11:45pm), and Cuff The Duke (12:45am). Once again, depending on the exhaustion factor, I might swing by The Silver Dollar to catch psych rockers The Disraelis at 2am.

Sunday March 15th: The fest is basically over by Sunday but a few venues are still accepting wristbands on that night and I may or may not stretch it out by going to Rancho Relaxo to see Said The Shark (9:45pm), Walter Mitty and the Realists (10:30pm), Make Your Exit (11:20pm) and Acres of Lions (12:10am)

Admittedly, I'm more likely to attend a non CMW event at The Boat on Sunday March 15th. Audio Blood's Rock 'n Roll Tea Party is taking place featuring Great Lenin's Ghost, The Paint Movement, Our History Of Cowboys and Holler, Wild Rose. Tix are $5 and there is rumoured to be lots of free tea!

And finally, on Thursday March 26th, former Eric's Trip-sters unite when Rick White opens for Julie Doiron at The Horseshoe. She's celebrating the release of her new CD I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day. Tickets are $10. [Myspaces: Rick White, Julie Doiron]

Whew. Good night.