'Sup In January

I have to admit that a part of me has been enjoying the last few weeks away from the concert goings. I've read somewhere that the best way to know whether or not you're addicted to something is to try doing without it for awhile and see how you hold up. At this point I can honestly say that live music has finally become an enjoyable pastime in my life without being the hardcore addiction that it once was. So, now that I know I can quit anytime, it only makes sense to get right back at it again, doesn't it? Starting tomorrow night...

As I just finished contesting out on this page, Amos The Transparent is playing a TWM show at Rancho Relaxo on Friday January 2nd with Whale Tooth and Bellewoods. I just got the heads up that Amos is going to be filling the tiny Rancho stage with the six piece version of themselves. I also know that there are going to be a lot of people there so I'd definitely get there early, if I were you. $7. [Myspaces: Amos The Transparent, Whale Tooth, Bellewoods]

The 2nd anniversary of local indie label Out Of This Spark is being celebrated here in the city on Saturday January 10th at the Tranzac. Looks like it's bound to be a pretty wicked show since it's featuring some of the buzziest buzz bands that the city has to offer, namely The D'Ubervilles, Forest City Lovers, Timber Timbre and Jenny Omnichord. Tix are $8 w/ a non-perishable food item; $10 without. [Myspaces: The D'Ubervilles, Forest Ciy Lovers, Timber Timbre, Jenny Omnichord]

Another interesting looking show is at the Tranzac on Wednesday January 14th, when Entire Cities takes the stage once again. I've likely just been in the dark, but it feels like it's been forever since they've played live in the city. At any rate, it has been forever since I've seen them, and that just might be a good opportunity to do so again. They are sandwiched inbetween a couple of acts called Hobson's Choice (who are also doing a CD release show earlier in the week on the 10th, also at Tranzac) and The Owle Bird. $5 [Myspaces: Hobson's Choice, Entire Cities, The Owle Bird]

After an exciting jaunt opening for Broken Social Scene on tour, Montreal's Land Of Talk are headlining a show at The Horseshoe on Thursday January 15th. I'm thinking that this may be a good time to see them since Saddle Creek has been promoting them quite heavily as of late and their stock seems to be rising rather quickly. The days of seeing them for $12 at the 'Shoe may not be around for much longer. [Myspace: Land of Talk]

If a heavy hitting rock show is your thing, than you'll want to be at The Horseshoe on Friday January 16th when glamy thrash metal rockers Diemonds take the stage with Dean Lickyer, Drunkula, Birthday Boys and Left Of Zero opening. Not sure if I can make it or not, but I have to admit that Diemonds throwback classic rock sound has been mildly intriguing me for awhile. You can take the man out of the rawk but you can't take the rawk out of the man. Or something like that. $7 [Myspaces: Diemonds, Dean Lickyer, Drunkula, Birthday Boys, Left Of Zero]

One of the best bands in the city, Dinosaur Bones is celebrating their one year anniversary at The Horseshoe on Saturday January 17th with The Junction and Black Hat Brigade. Stay tuned because I've got a pretty cool Dinosaur Bones prize pack contest coming up soon that will allow you to win tix for this show. Otherwise, you'll be dropping a cool $7, which is still a great deal if you ask me. [Myspaces: Dinosaur Bones, The Junction, Black Hat Brigade]

Unfortunately for me, I've got a bit of a scheduling conflict on that day, because I'll be at El Mocambo on Saturday January 17th to see Bishop Allen (pictured above) perform in promotion of their upcoming Grr.. album which is due out in March. I loved their show the last time they were in town so I doubt that my feelings on this one should be any different. Opening for them are Electric Owls (from North Carolina) and the adorable Hooded Fang. $10 [Myspaces: Bishop Allen, Electric Owls, Hooded Fang]

Nickel Eye is at El Mocambo on Tuesday January 20th in support of his upcoming debut entitled The Time Of The Assassins. This is the "cleverly" monikered new act featuring Strokes' bassist Nikolai Fraiture. Personal opinion: It's never a good thing to have your name looking THAT similar to Nickelback. *shudder* Tix are $12. [Myspace: Nickel Eye]

The Fembots will be banging their pots and pans at The Horseshoe on Friday January 23rd with The Harbourcoats, Tusks and Great Bloomers. $8 [Myspaces: The Fembots, Tusks, Great Bloomers]

It's been a long time since I've had the chance to see Oh No Forest Fires so I just might pop in to check them out on Sunday January 25th at Sneaky Dee's with Adolf Glitter and The Weirdies. PWYC [Myspaces: Oh No Forest Fires, Adolf Glitter, The Weirdies]

Anf finally, a nice way to end the month would be by going back to everyone's favourite watering hole Rancho Relaxo on Thursday January 29th for the very first IndieCredit charity show. This will be headlined by Lovely Killbots and supported by Wilderness of Manitoba and Wendy Leung. Cost: TBA [Myspaces: Lovely Killbots, Wilderness of Manitoba, Wendy Leung]

Welcome to 2009, and I'll blog to ya soon!

The Eatons - Firestarter

I've been in a bit of a good old fashioned power pop kick lately and The Eatons from Scarborough are exactly the type of band you're supposed to put on when you're in one of those moods. I use the descriptive term 'pop' pretty frequently these days, which is odd since I'm not even sure if use it in the right context. Just so you know, when I use it, I'm usually referring to an artist or song that makes good use of catchy hooks and memorable melodies. I am not referring to 'pop' as the short form of 'popular' as in Top 40 schlocky crappy boy band with ridiculously white teeth, mid-drift bearing young chick with the word flava on her jogging pants type of pre-programmed prepubescent overproduced happy time music. Got it?

The Eatons are definitely the former, and they do it extremely well. Their first EP is entitled Firestarter, and at 3 songs and 12 minutes, it's definitely a blink-and-you-miss-it affair. However, the perfect remedy for that is to just play it over and over and over again. The quality of the songs make this very easy to do. The title track is the opener, and it begins with a subtle da-da-da that quickly bursts into an infectious pounding drum part that is very effective at getting things started before settling into a perfect pop formula: simple verses + bombastic hooky chorus + solid guitar solo + very effective sing along moments = a truly catchy song. They keep this formula going for the next song Give Me Something To Go On, which was featured on the TWM Mixtape compilation. Lead singer Boris Chan gets a bit more emotive in his vocals on this one, and the harmonies are subdued but flawless. The CD ends with Holiday which showcases Boris' best Ric Ocasek impersonation on the vocals before settling on an almost whiny but effective vocal attack on the chorus. I really appreciate that the band obviously put a lot of work into the production on this EP, with every song sounding very professional and radio friendly without being devoid of the all important human factor. I anticipate that the band will likely have to mix things up a little bit when they're ready to launch an album past the 15 minute mark, but if they can do so without sacrificing any of their natural song crafting abilities, then I'm definitely on board for the next one.

The Eatons are playing a FREE show at the New Era Toronto Flagship Store at 202 Queen Street West as part of Nuit Blanche with a whole whack other bands. For more details go to urbanebloc.com

Myspace: The Eatons
Download: Give Me Something To Go On mp3


The Dears, whose Gang Of Losers was my favourite album of the year in 2006, will be releasing their new album Missiles on Oct 21st. Of course, the inevitable has happened and the album has been leaked all over the interweb. They're not happy about it, and they address such here. They're playing two shows at The Music Gallery on October 9th and 10th.

Myspace: The Dears

The Wallscenery Demos debut CD, which I reviewed back in April, has recently been added to the archives by Library and Archives Canada. The purpose of this group is to collect and preserve documents reflecting Canadian heritage. I don't know if this is a big deal or if this is something that happens to everybody, but it sounds pretty cool to me. The thought of future generations being exposed to this amazing, yet still pretty unknown, recording makes me kind of giddy.

Myspace: The Wallscenery Demos

Ireland's Vesta Varro is going to be all over Toronto during Indie Music Week, which runs from October 9th to 11th. They're playing Rok Boutique on the 7th, Tattoo Rock Parlour on the 8th, The Rivoli on the 9th, The Hideout on the 10th, and they're on Edge 102.1 on the 11th. Whew. If I make it to one of these, I'll let you know.

Myspace: Vesta Varro

Also, I was planning on checking out Land Of Talk at Lee's Palace on Saturday night, but it looks like Liz Powell's laryngytis is forcing her to take a little bit of time off. Ah well, next time. Hope you're feeling better soon. Looks like this means The D'Ubervilles also have the night off. For now.

Myspace: Land Of Talk