Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos (Deluxe Edition)

There are few things that elicit as much excitement in the world of music snobbery than the emergence of another cult hero. This is exactly what happened in the late 80's when bands like R.E.M., The Replacements and Teenage Fanclub started singing the praises of an ironically named band called Big Star, who emerged onto the scene in the early 70's to great critical praise, but unfortunate mainstream obscurity. Since the aforementioned name dropping by those highly notable college rock staples, the band's stock has continued to rise, being covered by the likes of Wilco and Elliott Smith, as well as having their music featured in TV (That 70's Show) and film (Adventureland). Interestingly, the Alex Chilton / Chris Bell tag team has been referred to by some as a sort Lennon / McCartney duo, with Chilton being the advanced songwriter and Bell being relegated to the roll of less substantial rocking sidekick. This is a sentiment that I also foolishly accepted until I first listened to I Am The Cosmos, a compilation that was released in 1992 of some of the songs that Chris Bell had been working on prior to his untimely death from a car accident in 1978. That outstanding collection of songs awakened in me the realization that Bell was every bit as substantial a songwriter as Chilton and he undoubtedly had more input into the band's output than is often credited to him (especially on Radio City, their 2nd album that was released after he had left the band).

While Rhino has continued to fuel the continual interest in Big Star with last year's release of a 98-song career retroactive boxset entitled Keep An Eye To The Sky, they also play their part in keeping Bell on the radar by releasing a new double disc deluxe edition of I Am The Cosmos which comes complete with a slightly re-sequenced version of the album on disc one, and a collection of (mostly) unreleased material on disc two. The songs themselves hold up remarkably well, especially some of the mellower heartbreaking numbers. Songs like You and Your Sister and Look Up, for example, exhibit a vulnerability that is immaculately produced, yet presented in a way that sounds genuine and unforced. The acoustic version of the former number on disc two sounds surprisingly clean, which adds an almost haunting quality to the song for some reason, although I find it difficult to articulate exactly why that is. Perhaps it's just the imagery of him performing the song in a small room surrounded my friends and family while completely unaware of the impact that his music would eventually have on so many people. I'm not usually one for spending a lot of time with bonus tracks and such, but I actually find myself enjoying the rarities on disc two just as much as the actual album. Some more great discoveries have been unearthed on this disc, such as Stay With Me, a country duet with his friend Keith Sykes that has an impeccable melody and some pretty impressive guitar work. In My Darkest Hour is sung by Nancy Bryan, and provides an articulate insight into the depression that Bell has been known to deal with during the last few years of his life. The reflective instrumental piece that ends the album (Clacton Rag) is beautiful as it manages to tie the album together in a way that makes it feel like one full cohesive piece which is remarkable considering that, as mentioned earlier, this really is simply a culling together of scattered parts and pieces.

While it is a tragedy that Chris Bell and his Big Star comrades were unable to get the recognition that they deserved until much too late, the impact of albums such as this one are undoubtedly going to continue to grow even more substantial as the music on this double disc set continues to speak to future generations. There is no doubt that this is one emotionally charged listening experience, and perhaps it's not the type of thing that you're going to put on when you're in need of some cheering up, but it's very rewarding to see that there was still much to discover in the legacy of this musical legend.

Preview: All of the tracks on I Am The Cosmos at Rhino Records.
Myspace: Chris Bell
Myspace: Big Star

Other stuff:

Sloan has just released a new compilation of B-sides and rarities entitled B-Sides Win which can now be purchased at their website. [Myspace: Sloan]

Danny Michel has just released his first solo live album called Live in Winnipeg which can also be purchased at his website. [Myspace: Danny Michel]

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips is interviewed at Crawdaddy.  [Myspace: The Flaming Lips]

The White Stripes are releasing a limited edtion CD/DVD boxset chronicling their 2007 tour of the Canadian countryside on March 16th. It will be entitled The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights and a video clip from the set of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground is being featured on Spinner.ca [Myspace: The White Stripes]

Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers debuted a new song called Oh Come Away/Sea To Land on the Grocery List Countdown show on Verge FM. The show will air February 15th, but there's a video of the song posted on Forest City Lovers blog. [Myspace: Forest City Lovers]

Andre Ethier- Born Of Blue Fog

Last year my tardiness caused me to miss out on including Andre Ethier's On Blue Fog in my 2007 year end best of, even though it would have definitely been there had I heard the album when I should have. Well wash, rinse and repeat, it look like I've done the same thing again this year. Andre Ethier's sequel to that brilliant album is entitled Born Of Blue Fog and it was released late last year to such little fanfare that I once again heard about it too late. And just like it's predecessor, it definitely would have made my top 10 of 2008 had I been more on the proverbial ball, so to speak.

Born Of Blue Fog takes all of the elements that made the last album so great, namely the grand acoustic versatility of the song arrangements and his highly literate lyrical depth, and just simply makes it better. The Only Wine I Crave opens the album with a classical sound that dips into the progressive pool ever so slightly with its inclusion of mandolin, moog and vibraphone. Andre's voice is dark and brooding on this one, creating an aire of the renaissance. The tenor sax on Easiest Game is a welcome surprise. I used to joke around about the fact that many sax players must of went on unemployment once the 80's ended, but here Ethier shows how to put them to good use on a song that borrows once again from bands like Traffic and Supertramp, but in a way that sounds way cooler than my description would lead you to believe. The string arrangement on By The Stables is chilling, with a sound that is very baroque symphonic and segues nicely into the next blusier number Infant King. Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair features only Ethier's emotive bassy vocals and his acoustic guitar. This is a traditional number that is so hauntingly beautiful that it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. Heaven Above You reminds me of classic JJ Cale, with the vocals being nicely accompanied by a classic Wurlitzer sound. Polynesian Branch takes all of the aforementioned elements and combines them together, serving as a tasty appetizer to what follows, the laugh-out-loud funny Cop Killer. Despite the seemingly angry title, this is easily the most upbeat song on the album which sees Andre harnessing his inner Lou Reed and delivering lines about his girl "really knowing her way around a badge" with an effortless coolness. Y'know, the way Lou Reed does. The album ends with Can't Go Back Again, a subtle acoustic number worthy of all of the Dylan comparisons that has been heaped upon Ethier over the last couple of years. This is true both in the lyrical depth and in the mild delivery.

From what I understand, this album is only part two of the trilogy, with a third album already being prepared for public consumption. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears peeled for this one so that I can pick it up on time to be included on whatever list it will undoubtedly deserve to be on.

This album is a must-have, as far as I'm concerned. It is available on the Blue Fog Recording Label which distributes its music through Sonic Unyon.

Myspace: Andre Ethier
Download: By The Stables mp3


Other stuff: Soundscapes has a couple of really cool in-stores coming up. Timber Timbre are there tomorrow, that's January 15th at 7pm and Bruce Peninsula are going to be there on Wednesday February 4th, also at 7pm. [Myspaces: Timber Timbre, Bruce Peninsula]

Hamilton singer-songwriter Jacob Moon just recorded an amazing video for his outstanding cover of Rush's Subdivisions on the rooftop of the Staircase Theatre. It has to be seen to be believed. Outstanding. [Myspace: Jacob Moon]

Danny Michel also has a new video out for his song Feather, Fur and Fin. A good quality video is found on his website, a crappier quality video is on youtube. [Myspace: Danny Michel]

Massive buzz band Fleet Foxes are going to be on Saturday Night Live this weekend, which is being hosted by Rosario Dawson. [Myspace: Fleet Foxes]

The latest episode of the Zygiella podcast features three members of Dinosaur Bones as Tyler and Jen's very special guests. The episode is available for download here. They are playing their one year anniversary show this Saturday at The Horseshoe. Congratulations to Kate for winning the Dinosaur Bones prize pack. [Myspace: Dinosaur Bones]

For those who care about this kind of stuff: Chart Attack has reported that City and Colour's Dallas Green has recently gotten hitched to Much Music's Leah Miller, while Stereogum has reported that Death Cab's Ben Gibbard is now engaged to She and Him's Zooey Deschanel. For me, the first one falls into the "yah, whatever" category while the second one falls into the "what the?" category. [Myspaces: Dallas Green, Death Cab For Cutie, She and Him]

And after only 85 253 albums, Ryan Adams has decided to call it a day. Apparently the blog where Ryan says that he's quitting music has been updated so as to sound a little bit less drastic but exclaim.ca quotes him as saying that health issues and never ending stage fright are just two of the reasons why he's decided to pack it in. This is breaking news so I'm still waiting to hear more about what this actually means. I'm intrigued to say the least. It looks like he's going to concentrate his time on being an author, since he's got three books set to be released sometime in the future. Oh, and I just noticed that Rolling Stone has reported on it as well. [Myspace: Ryan Adams]

At Odds With Even

Last week I received a 3 song demo from a local Toronto band who call themselves At Odds With Even. Upon first listen, I have the impression that this is a trio of music lovers who are up on their musical history. I hear traces of The Minutemen, The Melvins and The Cramps who are all bands that only the most astute music fan could successfully draw inspiration from. On the other hand, it's quite possible that Adam Tiessen, Anthony Randall and Dan Roffey are not familiar with those bands at all and they just simply stumbled into this sound without any preconceived mental prodding whatsoever. Either way, this a band that is worthy of our attention.

The demo was presented in an envelope covered in some very original looking artwork and the CD jacket also offered more of the same which leads me to believe that this band is determined to be noticed. The three songs presented on the demo show a broad range of musical styles. Recognize contains some mind altering psychedelia and Adam's vocals remind me a lot of D. Moon from the aforementioned Minutemen. Plastic Bag is the most immediate of the three songs, boasting a lo-fi garage sound and a chunky guitar breakdown that is not dissimilar to the aforementioned Melvins, as well as perhaps begging some comparisons to Mudhoney or Dinosaur Jr. And On The Corner is the third song, a slowed down reggae beat accompanied by some bassy vocals in the chorus that remind me of, yes, you guessed it, The Cramps. There are other songs on their myspace page that showcase a band that does not want to stay confined by any specific musical niche. It'll be interesting to see which direction the band decides to take in the next year or so, but in the meantime they're still playing the occasional gig throughout the city (and likely looking for more gigs too) so keep your eyes peeled and check them out.

At Odds With Even will be playing The Savannah Room on October 31st. PWYC.

Myspace: At Odds With Even
Download: Plastic Bag mp3


Other stuff: 50 extra tickets were just released right now for The Hold Steady and Drive By Truckers show at The Phoenix on November 11th. They are only available through Ticketmaster so all you Toronto cowboys better get on that quickly!
Myspace: The Hold Steady / Myspace: Drive By Truckers

R.E.M's new video for Until The Day Is Done is up on youtube.
Myspace: R.E.M.

Thanks to Chromewaves for directing me to a really cool article about Sloan at Crawdaddy online magazine.
Myspace: Sloan

Historyjen has put up her personal list of the Top 10 Canadian Bands (just below the radar) for 2008. You can check it out here.

Danny Michel has three shows at The Rivoli coming up with Jenn Grant on December 11th, 12th and 13th. Tix are $18 and you can get them here.
Myspace: Danny Michel / Myspace: Jenn Grant

Band and film submissions for NXNE 2009 are starting as of November 1st and running till the end of January. More info can be found at nxne.com.

Ryan Adams' Cardinology is out today. According to some early reports, the album is being touted as lacklustre, but people were saying that about Easy Tiger too and I really liked that album. So we'll see.
Myspace: Ryan Adams

Steve Earle, Allison Moorer & Danny Michel w/ Banned From Heaven @ Gage Park

Mental Note: A free concert held at an open park in Hamilton, Ontario may not be the best venue for seeing one of my all time rock heroes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Hammertown hater. In fact, Hamilton has one of the most underrated music scenes in Canada, as far as I'm concerned. I also realize that, much like in T.O., the weirdos are obviously in the minority. It's just that there can be no argument to the fact that there are some very strange people in Hamilton, and when they are in the general vicinity, they definitely make their presence known. This is the distraction that I and many others, including Mr. Earle himself, had to deal with on the Friday night of this years Festival of Friends, held at Gage Park in the aforementioned township of Hamilton, Ontario.

Having rented a car for the weekend, we arrived at Gage Park around 5pm, which was just in time to see a local band called Banned From Heaven. They were a very run of the mill, old time country blues band that didn't really enthrall me in any way, but were still somewhat entertaining for what they were. There's a time and a place for their style of music, and I suppose the early evening slot at a free park festival is as good a place as any. They've apparently been playing together for years, (yet they don't have any website to speak of?!?!?) and there is certainly no shortage of talent on their part as they whizzed through a set of mostly covers to a relatively small crowd.

Photos: Banned From Heaven @ Gage Park on flickr.

Danny Michel was up next and hey! what can I say about Danny that I haven't already said before? This was a significantly different setting from the last time that I saw him. From where I was sitting, there wasn't a lot of people that were very familiar with his music and when it comes to Danny, that's a very interesting atmosphere to watch him work in. He consistently wins over every crowd he performs to, and he did so once again on Friday night. I noticed that whenever I review his show, I tend to focus on his charisma, sense of humour, and remarkable songwriting. What I've mistakenly neglected to mention is the fact that the man really knows his way around a guitar. There were a couple of times when his songs were interrupted by enthusiastic applause after an impressive display of guitar work. It was a pretty short set running about 45 minutes in length, that included Perfect, Feather Fur and Fin (which he dedicated to the massive Neapolitan Mastiff in the front row), and a heart stopping rendition of I Will Love You For Miles.

Photos: Danny Michel @ Gage Park on flickr
Myspace: Danny Michel
Video: The Invisible Man (live) on youtube

I can't say that I knew all that much about Allison Moorer going into this show. I know that she is Mrs. Steve Earle. I know that she is quite attractive. And I know that she is a country singer. That's about it.

So needless to say, I didn't know the songs that she was playing but they sounded pretty good to these ears. Her voice is far above average, and the fact that this was an acoustic set gave her the opportunity to really showcase her amazing pipes. She opened with Mockingbird and played a mesmerizing set that included an awesome cover of The Rolling Stones' Sweet Virginia. She called hubby Steve out to duet on Where Have All The Flowers Gone? which had the point and shoot cameras out in full force. Although I personally preferred her more blusier numbers, the whole set was very good, and acted as a reminder that people who say that they don't like country music most likely have not heard real country music. As a side note, I just want to mention that it's a shame that more of today's female country artists cannot put out the same type of soulful country that Allison and her sister Shelby Lynne release. I hate! hate! hate! what's referred to as quote new country unquote and the Shania's and Faith's out there are giving country music a bad name. I think it was Pete Townshend who said that new country is just cheesy R&B in a bad country hat. (I'm paraphrasing a bit I think.) Fact is that Allison does not rely on the goofy horrible-punchline-pun-as-song-title-lyricism that we hear way too much of on mainstream new country radio and I am very thankful for that. I think I've said my piece. End rant.

Photos: Allison Moorer @ Gage Park on flickr
Myspace: Allison Moorer
Video: Fairweather on youtube

It's been a while since I've been this excited to go to a concert. Steve Earle is one of the greats, and sadly, I had never gotten to see him live before Friday. The last time he was in town, I had the flu or food poisoning or something and it just didn't happen. Well I was not prepared to miss him twice in one year, so off to Hamilton I went to check out the master. He was awesome, with his charismatic ego in tact, pumping out the attitude in only the way that Steve Earle can. Of course, the crowd made it easy for someone to display a level of 'tude.

The problem with a free show is that you're always going to get a ratio of people who actually know very little about the artist that they're going to see. The people who were screaming Copperhead Road at the top of their lungs every 30 seconds as if it's the only song that he's ever done deserved to be forcefully escorted from the park. Sadly they weren't and this was incredibly irritating. Even Earle addressed this nonsense by pointing out Irritating Audience Member #1's ineptitude in thinking that there was a possibility that he wouldn't play his biggest hit. That didn't stop IAM#1 from requesting the song every 30 seconds though. That goes for IAM#2 and IAM#3 as well, while IAM#2 continued to dance like a spazz case, blocking the view of several audience members, making IAM#4 incredibly angry so that he felt that he had to ... anyways, I digress. Let's just say that the show was full of distractions, and it was evident that Mr. Earle was not impressed, and who could blame him.

That having been said, full props go to Steve for not letting the annoyances get in the way of performing a solid show for all of those who were genuinely there to enjoy his music, and although there were a couple of moments where he did tell off the disrespectful ones, overall it was the music that took over. He opened the show with Christmas In Washington from El Corazon, possibly my favorite Steve Earle album. He played other classics like I Ain't Ever Satisfied, Guitar Town and of course good ole Copperhead, and he included a few newer ones too, like Sparkle and Shine and City Of Immigrants. I suppose to keep things relatively family friendly, he kept the political ranting to a minimum, really only doing so prior to playing Immigrants. It was a fairly mellow set, and I look forward to catching the full band version another time, but there was nothing lacking in this performance to me. It's true that Steve Earle still displays a level of cockiness, but he's just so dang cool at doing so that I can't imagine that I'd ever want to see him any other way.

Photos: Steve Earle @ Gage Park on flickr
Myspace: Steve Earle
Video: City Of Immigrants on youtube
Video: The Revolution Starts Now (live on Craig Ferguson) on youtube

'Sup In August

Well, July didn't go quite as planned with regards to the concert goings. I attended a very small ratio of the shows that I had planned to, due to the fact that I was busy with other stuff and, for some reason, reedonkulously tired. I know everybody in the whole world thinks that they suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but sometimes I wonder if I actually do. Anyways, I did go see a couple of bands on Saturday night and I'll tell you about them as soon as I can, but in the meantime, let's look at the what ups for the month of August, k?

On Friday August 1st, Clouds That Look Like Things are playing at the Rancho Relaxo. I've heard so many great things about this local Toronto band, who have a very hip indie collective sound that would fit in nicely with all of the Arts and Crafts bands that I love so. This is a TWM show with Skip Jensen, The Superstitions and The Wilderness. $6.

I have absolutely no free weekends in August. I'm not sure when I managed to get a social life but somewhere along the way I did. This means that I am missing not one, but two great shows on Saturday August 2nd. The first one is Tilly and the Wall at The Mod Club. They were one of the first bands that I saw upon moving to Toronto, and they put on one outstandingly fun show. The Ruby Suns are opening for them. $14.50

Myspace: Tilly and the Wall
Myspace: The Ruby Suns
Download: Pot Kettle Black by Tilly and the Wall mp3


Also on Saturday night (Aug 2) is the monthly Girls! Girls! Girls! night at The Cameron House. Melanie Peterson hosts an evening of high quality acoustic music featuring performances by Kim Jarrett, Rayna and my friend Laura Jaded-Smith, whose music I had reviewed in the past over here. She's simply amazing and the sincerity in her voice is breathtaking. $6.

Myspace: Melanie Peterson
Myspace: Kim Jarrett
Myspace: Rayna
Myspace: Jaded

I won't be able to attend this one either, but Tuesday August 5th sees The Go Team performing with my guiltiest of guilty pleasures in the name of CSS, and they're bringing their dancey electro punk to The Phoenix. I know not everybody feels that CSS is a guilty pleasure, but I can't help but feel a little guilty listening to them anyways. $23.50.

Myspace: The Go Team
Myspace: CSS

I'm really looking forward to being at The Horseshoe on Wednesday August 6th as I finally get to see Margot and the Nuclear So and So's after several years of avoiding them. This was not on purpose; that's just the way it goes sometimes. I remember hearing their song Quiet As A Mouse all over the podcast-o-sphere a few years back and thinking that it was such a great song. Well, their music has only grown richer with time, and it's an absolute delight to finally get to witness their live show. To sweeten the pot, our own Ruby Coast is opening; another band that every single one of my blogger compadres has seen that I, so far, have not been able to catch as of yet. It's bound to be a solid show. $10.50

Myspace: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's
Myspace: Ruby Coast
Download: Brittle Bones by Ruby Coast mp3


I'm still looking into the logistics of making it out to this next one, due to the fact that I don't have a car. You see, the Festival of Friends is being held in Gage Park in Hamilton from August 8th to 10th. There are some lame acts as well as many other acts that I have never heard of but on Friday August 8th, Danny Michel will be followed by Allison Moorer, who will be followed by Steve Earle. That's quite the triple bill. But wait! there's more! Have I mentioned that it's free? Steve freakin' Earle for free!!! Passing that up is going to be very difficult for a guy like me to accept. I'm in the process of checking out Go Transit schedules and so on, or perhaps I'll have the opportunity to rent a car or something but either way, this is too good to be true. I'm really hoping to catch this one. Free.

Myspace: Danny Michel
Myspace: Allison Moorer
Myspace: Steve Earle
Download: White Lightning by Danny Michel mp3


August 9th is another Saturday, with another couple of options. The Collingwood Elvis Festival may have already come and gone, but Toronto gets its turn when El Vez, the Mexican Elvis, is performing at The Horseshoe. Admit it, there's a part of you that wants to go. $17.50 adv or $20 at the door.

Myspace: El Vez

The show that I'm most bummed about having to miss is The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band & The Spirits at The Silver Dollar, also on August 9th. I was absolutely blown away at their sixties tinged rock and roll edge when I saw them perform at Rancho last year. But I've heard from several sources that they were by far the break out act of NXNE, putting on a rock show that is unrivaled in the city. If you actually have a Saturday night open, then I cannot recommend enough that you make sure you check this one out. They'll be performing with The Speaking Tongues and The Schomberg Fair. (BTW, I've also heard that their debut EP Here is equally mind blowing.) Not sure about the cost; can't find it anywhere.

On Wednesday August 13th, I'm going to be checking out Olenka and the Autumn Lovers at Rancho Relaxo. I can't say that I know very much about them but they were Mike's pick for the best of NXNE, and I have to say that I trust his taste. A quick listen to their music reminds me of an amalgamation of Basia Bulat, Beirut and Gillian Welch. Sounds interesting. They're performing with the awesome Secret Japanese Girlfriend and Sleep For The Nightlife. PWYC.

Myspace: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
Myspace: Secret Japanese Girlfriend
Myspace: Sleep For The Nightlife

One of my top ten CD's of the year so far is Dog Day's Night Group CD. I had to miss their show the last time they were in town, but thankfully I get another chance when they play Dave Bookman's Nu Music Nite at The Horseshoe on Tuesday August 19th. The rest of the evening's lineup currently seems to be a mystery of sorts, as we have surprise guests at 10:20 to be followed by guests at 11:40. Not sure why, but surprise guests sounds more intriguing than just guests to me. Free.

Myspace: Dog Day
Video: Oh Dead Life on youtube

And finally, the show I'm looking forward to the most gives me the opportunity to show some love for my Oshawa roots as Cuff The Duke plays a couple of shows at The Horseshoe. I'm hopefully going to be attending the one on Friday August 22nd, since they will be accompanied by a couple of bands that I truly adore. They are Bruce Peninsula and Oshawa's The Stables. Should be a pretty exciting lineup. What's interesting is the fact that I've seen the two opening acts before but still have never seen Cuff The Duke. I realize that there is no excuse for that, and this is why I must be there. They'll also be performing the next night with Fembots and Steamboat. $12 adv or $15 door, both shows.

Myspace: Cuff The Duke
Myspace: Bruce Peninsula
Myspace: The Stables
Myspace: Steamboat
Myspace: Fembots
Download: Rossland Square (live at Massey Hall) by Cuff The Duke mp3

(Incidentally Rossland Square takes me back to my 13 year old self as I used to walk there every single day to get candy at Beckers or Fish 'n Chips at PB's Fish and Chips. Ahhh, memories.)

As per usual, there are many many more great shows in Toronto for the month of August, but those were some of my picks. Feel free to comment on any other choices that I may have forgotten.

Oh yah, and I think Radiohead is in town. (Molson Amphitheatre, August 15th if you've been living under a rock. It sold out in about 2 seconds but I'm sure you can get some scalped tix for about fifty bajillion dollars.)

Photo of Cuff The Duke by Brad Ferguson.

Danny Michel w/ Wil @ The Mod Club

There was a lot of notable acts creeping around the city on Saturday night. The most notable of these were Dan Bejar's Destroyer at Lee's Palace and Colin Meloy of The Decemberists at The Phoenix. Great acts both, but I've always supported the underdog, and I think that Danny Michel falls into that category. He's got to be the most underrated Canadian act of the moment and I really wish more people would take the time to get to know his music and take in his incomparable live show. Those other shows will no doubt be blogged about like crazy anyways.

Danny's show at The Mod Club was the CD Release party for his new independent release entitled Feather Fur and Fin. He is a singer/songwriter from Waterloo, Ontario and his music has often been compared to Elvis Costello, Neil Young and Ron Sexsmith. I generally add that his sound could also be referred to as Weakerthans-lite, sharing a similar poetic whimsy to John K Samson, minus the harder edge. His CD's are good, but they generally lack the charismatic sheen of his live show. And as usual, I found it difficult to wipe the giddy smile off of my face throughout his set. The band was plagued with some technical difficulties right from the get-go, due to the drummer's drums being "broken", as Danny so eloquently explained. That was unfortunate since the show was being recorded for CBC Radio 2, but leave it to Danny to charm his way out of a potentially uncomfortable situation. Speaking of which, another astute female audience member informed him that he was "flying low" to which he quipped "my eyes are up here!" Yes, as usual, the banter was witty and his stage presence was gold, but it was the music that spoke for itself. He opened with The Invisible Man, the title track from his 2003 "breakthrough" album. The majority of songs were taken from the new one, including Tell Sally, Motorcade, and the awesome title track. He blasted through a set of folksy numbers as well as some rockers before ending things off with I'm 'a Love You Anyway, a terrific rocker, also from the new CD. For the encore, he pulled out a pretty accurate cover of Joe Strummer's Get Down Moses.

Photos: My pics actually turned out really good and they can be seen on flickr.
Myspace: Danny Michel
Download: White Lightning (from 2005's Valhalla) mp3


Opening for Danny Michel was Wil Mimnaugh, known in the biz simply as Wil. Wil is a singer/songwriter from Vancouver Island whose style of folk music treads on similar ground to artists like Jason Collett. The songs were easy to absorb and although they are the type of songs that would likely translate better in a more intimate setting, the setlist was short enough that he whet my appetite for more, without unnecessarily overstaying his welcome. His latest CD is entitled By December and features contributions from 54-40's Neil Osbourne as well as the aforementioned Collett. Definitely worth further examination.

Photos: My pics of the show are on flickr.
Myspace: Wil

Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute To Neil Young @ The Gibson Guitar Artist Showroom

Everybody knows that the music of Neil Young is timeless. Neil is a legend, an innovator, an original and some would even say, the godfather of grunge. He's also perfect material for the often dreaded tribute album. Most of the time, these types of albums don't really work, but Borrowed Tunes, which was released in 1994, did. For the most part. It contained some excellent covers by Crash Vegas, The Skydiggers and Cowboy Junkies as well as some not-so-excellent covers too, which I won't mention by name but if you've ever listened to it, you know what they are. Well, a sequel has been released, and although I haven't listened to it yet, judging by the performances at the launch party last night, it sounds pretty good too.

We were invited to this special event for industry insiders (which I'm not) hosted by Sirius Satellite Radio and Universal Music. The performances were excellent, and the atmosphere was laid back and fun.

The first performer was Pat Robitaille, who performed a whiskey stained version of one of my favorite NY songs, "Sugar Mountain." I really appreciate that he made the song his own, and the same could be said for Melissa McClelland, who's version of "Cinnamon Girl" was a complete reworking, exchanging 'the rock' for something a little bit more subdued and mysterious. In between those two was Liam Titcomb, whose version of "Bandit" could only be described as arresting. You could tell that he was a massive fan of the song, and his enthusiasm was certainly contagious. Next up was the great Canadian smirk himself, Danny Michel. He's been on a bit of a hiatus as of late, but he came out of hiding to perform "After The Goldrush." The guy is a guitar king, and if you haven't yet seen him live, next time he comes, do it. Seriously. Don't even think about it, just do it. He's the most fun you'll have in concert all year. Finally, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings came out to perform "Unknown Legend." Tom Wilson was there, oozing arrogance and attitude, but if you've ever seen them, that ain't a bad thing. In fact, you wouldn't want him any other way. For the grand finale, all the cast got together to do the final tribute song singalong which, if you've ever seen one of those, they rarely work. Unless the song is "Helpless." That one always works. Neil's sister Astrid also jumped onstage for the singalong, which ended the evening on a supremely triumphant note. The only downside is that now I'm REALLY irritated that I can't afford to go to the ACTUAL Neil Young show at Massey Hall on November 26, 27 and 29.

Photos: Borrowed Tunes II @ Gibson Guitar Showroom on flickr

Download Other Neil Young Covers:
Don't Let It Bring You Down (Weeping Tile) mp3
Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Saint Etienne) mp3
Through My Sails (Soulsavers feat. MarkLanegan & Will Oldham) mp3
Hangin' On A Limb (Richard Reagh feat. El Perro Del Mar) mp3
Dying Breed / Cortez The Killer (Marissa Nadler) mp3

Myspace:
Pat Robitaille
Liam Titcomb
Melissa McClelland
Danny Michel
Blackie And The Rodeo Kings
Neil Young

Purchase:
Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute To Neil Young on Amazon.ca
Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute To Neil Young on Amazon.ca