NXNE 2009 Day 3 featuring The Sonics, The Zoobombs and The Dudes

As the Saturday night of NXNE rolled around, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do all that much. It's been a busy weekend. Still, it didn't bother me one bit just as long as I got to see The Sonics. That was the band that I was anticipating the most and thankfully, I made it back in town just in time to take in their show.

If you would have told me a few years ago that I'd be standing in the front row of a Sonics concert, I would've said that you were crazy. They are a truly legendary band that could honestly be credited with inventing punk rock, even though that claim has been made several times by other artists. But the fact is that having emerged in the early 60's, they displayed that raw rebellious sound before anybody else, influencing everyone from The Stooges and The MC5 to Nirvana and The White Stripes. They broke up about 40 years ago, but when three of the original members reformed the band, the buzz surrounding their scene stealing set at this year's SXSW has been turning into a legend of its own. This meant that anticipation was running high for this NXNE performance.

Admittedly it took a couple of songs before they really found their groove, but once they did, they were unstoppable. Obviously they're no spring chickens, so obviously the youthful abandon that they once possessed was gone and there were times when I couldn't help but wonder if I would be just as enthused about what I was seeing if I was less familiar with them. Still, The Sonics are The Sonics, and when familiar songs like Strychnine and Psycho came along, Gerry Roslie's scratchy throated yelp was as mind numbing as ever. They also performed standards like Have Love Will Travel, Money (That's What I Want) and Louie Louie; the latter of which may have been the rawest sounding version of that song I have ever heard. I was standing with a couple of people who were obviously there for The Sonics the first time around, but when I turned around to look at the crowd. I was amazed at the fact that, by and large, most of them were the same age as the people who usually go to the shows that I attend. Appreciation for musical heritage is very important to me, so it was great to see all of these young 'uns jumping around like crazy, almost as if they were at a White Stripes concert. The band closed with The Witch, and many in the audience were singing, dancing and jumping along, making this a show that will definitely be its own brand of memorable.

Photos: The Sonics @ Yonge & Dundas Square on flickr
Myspace: The Sonics
Video: The Witch on youtube

As you can see by the fact that the picture above is the world's crappiest picture ever, you can probably guess that my attempt to catch The Zoobombs at Velvet Underground after The Sonics show wasn't quite as successful as I had hoped it would be. The show ended about 15 minutes before the Zoobombs were set to go on, so already I knew it was going to be tight. But when I got to Queen Street, I realized that the streetcars weren't doing their thing, because of the god forsaken MMVA preparations taking place. So figuring "what else am I gonna do?", I started power walking along Queen in the hopes of making it to VU in time for the show. As I passed The Horseshoe, I contemplated popping in for Ruby Coast since ultimately I knew that this quest for the Japanese rockers was going to end in futility. But I really wanted to see The Zoobombs. So I shuffled past the 'shoe and kept on course for the 'bombs.

When I got there, it was basically the busiest, fullest, sweatiest venue ever. My badge got me in, but as I tried to force my way through the massive crowd, I realized that it just wasn't going to happen. So I stuck around for a couple of songs and then trekked on out to see what else I could find nearby. From what I did hear the band sounded truly explosive, and I really hope that I get the chance to see them another time, because right up my alley this was!

The Zoobombs do have one more show in town at The Silver Dollar on June 30th with The Hoa Hoa's. I'd go if I wasn't already going to see Sonic Youth!!!!

Photo: My one photo which is exactly the same as the one above is up on flickr.
Myspace: The Zoobombs

As I strolled into The Reverb, I remember thinking to myself, "hey now this sounds pretty good." The Dudes were into the latter half of their set and although they may not be the most original sounding band of all time, in many ways they were the perfect sounding band to end a Saturday night. Taking a cue from the ghosts of power pop's past, The Dudes are a rock 'n roll band from Calgary, who play songs that are full of catchy hooks and perfect power chords. You could probably compare these guys to many bands, but a few that popped into my head right away were Thrush Hermit, The Odds, and, call me crazy, but I even heard a smidge of our very own Tin Bangs. Lead vocalist Dan Vacon had an amicable-by-way-of-tailgate-party stage prescence, that caused a few smiles and raised a few cheers. They may not be a band that I would listen to all the time, but if their songs were to pop up on my ipod shuffle, I'm sure it would make my head bob and toe tap.

Photos: The Dudes at The Reverb on flickr.
Myspace: The Dudes

So there you go, my mini NXNE, if you will. Hopefully next year the festival doesn't conflict with other priorities so much, but historically, June has always been a busy month in my life, full of anniversaries, weddings, conventions, get-togethers, busy work schedules etc so, as usual, I'm not holding my breath. But that having been said, some of the best shows I've seen this year has been at this festival and I look forward to seeing what will be taking place next year.

NXNE 2009 Day 2 featuring Coeur de Pirate, One Hundred Dollars and The Deep Dark Woods

Thursday was by far my most active day of NXNE, with Friday showcasing only three bands. However once again, quality over quantity, as I settled myself down at the Dakota Tavern to see some authentic rootsy styled bands take over the authentic rootsy styled atmosphere that would accompany them.

Montreal's Coeur de Pirate (aka Béatrice Martin) was scheduled to hit the stage at 8pm which, in theory, means that my 7:30 show up time should have been significantly early enough to secure me a spot in the house. Well, the buzz cranked out by CBC Q's Jian Ghomeshi, as well as her recent nod from the Polaris people, must have been following her around quite closely as, to my surprise, the place had already reached capacity and there was a lineup waiting outside to get in. Thankfully the staff saw my priority badge, along with the badge of real photographer Ryan O'Shaughnessy, and we were let in as they told us that they were only allowed to let in three press spots and we were now two of them. I'm not sure that I totally believed them but whatever...we were in.

Coeur de Pirate is a cute, heavily tattooed, piano playing blonde who plays music that ranges from folksy to jazzy. Her emotive vocals are as endearingly warm as they come. Although her banter was all done in perfect English, she sung almost completely in French and there's something about a wispy French vocal that soothes me and sedates me. I don't speak nor understand French so I'm not really sure what she is talking about lyrically, but in between songs she would give us some clues as to the fact that her songs are laced in heartbreak and tales of lost loves. She's only 19 years old, so she's definitely got a "still learning about love and life" freshness about her, but this only adds to her unique sound. She ended the night with a cover of one of my most hated songs of all time, and as she started to describe what she was going to sing, I already had a feeling that the dreaded song was coming up since I had come across this clip of it earlier while checking out the Anika In London blog. Admittedly it's not my favourite piece in her repertoire, but the rest of her stellar set was more than enough to convince me that this isn't all that we're going to be hearing from this talented musician.

Photos: Coeur de Pirate @ Dakota Tavern on flickr
Myspace: Coeur de Pirate
Video: Comme Des Enfants on youtube

A lot has happened to One Hundred Dollars since I saw them last year, opening for Eric's Trip. At that time they were still relatively unknown, and their spectacular album Forest Of Tears still had yet to be released. Here we are a year later and the band is oozing with buzz, while the album has joined Coeur de Pirate on the Polaris long list. There are several bands who claim to do country music, but you would be hard pressed to find a band that performs it with the genuineness expressed by One Hundred Dollars. I don't know how they take on the role of world weary travelers so convincingly, and to be honest, I don't even know for sure that this is the dynamic that they're going for, but that's the way it comes across to me, and for such a young band to pull that off so successfully, is simply astonishing. The evening's highlight for me was their soul stirring rendition of a song called Black Gold, which I don't think they've released in any finished form as of yet, but when it's performed it'll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. They also included a great cover of Kenny Rogers' Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town, while putting their own significant stamp on it, exemplified mostly by Simone Fornow's gravely voice.

Photos: One Hundred Dollars @ Dakota Tavern on flickr
Myspace: One Hundred Dollars
Video: Black Gold on youtube

That evening I stuck around for one more band from Saskatoon called The Deep Dark Woods. Interestingly I had never heard of them, even though they've already released three albums since 2006, and their sound is definitely within my usual genre tastes, that being of a rootsy alt-country nature. I thought that they performed a very solid set and while the songs themselves were not necessarily anything that I haven't heard before, they were very accomplished musicians who performed with confidence and ease. Ryan Boldt has a very laid back vocal style that contains an outlaw's tone, reminiscent of some of the grand troubadours of country music's past. The band was tight and versatile, while the harmonies where meticulous and emotive. The were well suited to the vibe of the evening, as well as the ambiance of the Dakota Tavern itself.

Photos: The Deep Dark Woods @ Dakota Tavern on flickr.
Myspace: The Deep Dark Woods
Video: Hang Me, Oh Hang Me on youtube

NXNE 2009 Day 1 featuring Spiral Beach, Amos The Transparent, The Love Machine, The Balconies, Pirate Love & Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

This year's NXNE festival was going to have to be more about quality than quantity. Here's the deal: I was out of town during the day which means that there is no way to catch any of the daytime shows. Also, since complete alertness was going to be required of me, I would also have to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Yes, this is the old man's version of the summer festival, but this only meant that being all random about my selections was not an option. I had to choose wisely within those specified boundaries. And, for the most part, I think that I did.

I began my day at Yonge and Dundas Square where the fact that the events to follow were clearly being presented by myspace became painfully obvious when the world's cheesiest MC took to the stage and proceeded to say some pretty embarrassing things. Besides playing the lame card with comments like, "we're so wild the police are going to have to shut us down tonight," he then proceeded to commit a major faux pas by comparing Spiral Beach to the Jonas Brothers. The crowd booed, the band gave each other the "what the?" look and the guy tried to save himself with some sort of "but these guys are way cooler" sort of comment. Anyway, you put that aside and the Beach once again reminded me as to why I love them so much.

It's strange but I never think of Spiral Beach as one of those spectacular bands that I must recommend to everybody, yet every time I see them, I leave in a state of complete elation. To simply refer to them as fun does not give them nearly enough credit. They portray themselves with this campy aire of mystery that makes every performance an odd slice of unforced theater, as much as it is just a great rock show. Guitarist Airick Woodhead was particularly amusing as he knocked over his microphone and accidentally unplugged his guitar and fell to the ground on several occasions in a way that was mildly rock star but mostly just hilariously clumsy. The band is hypnotic in the way that you can't take our eyes off of them, and their music is contagious in the way that you just gotta dance when you're there. This is my third time seeing them, but I just want to go out and see them again. Right now.

Photos: My shots of Spiral Beach @ Yonge & Dundas Square are on flickr
Myspace: Spiral Beach
Download: Made Of Stone mp3


I then headed up the street to Sunrise Records to see Amos The Transparent. I know, I know, there's so much going on in the city that the idea of seeing a band that I've seen a billion times this year already may seem a little bit stalker-ish, but the novelty of seeing them in a stripped down and controlled atmosphere was too intriguing to pass up. The fact is that the last few times that I saw them here in the city, they have put on such a powerhouse show that I couldn't imagine that they still had the ability to quiet down and show a little self control if the atmosphere required it. Well, this was an atmosphere that definitely required it since the place was small and the audience was even smaller. Still, their ultimate strength has always been in the songs themselves and they sounded absolutely beautiful. It was funny to watch them try to pull in the reigns at those moments when they would normally belt it out (such as the "figure it out! figure it out!" part of the song Stale Scent Of Old Beer), but overall the performance was all kinds of enjoyable.

Photos: My shots of Amos the Transparent @ Sunrise Records are on flickr.
Myspace: Amos The Transparent
Download: Lemons (aka Big Fish, Little Pond) mp3


After that, I hopped on the Queen streetcar from hell towards The Drake Underground to catch part of the i (heart) music showcase. It was bad enough that the car was delayed by some sort of track and field type of situation, but we were unfortunately subjected to the whimsical nature of our driver, who started out kind of funny but was sort of irritating me by the end of the ride. The delays made me late for the first act on the bill.

The Love Machine are a band from Ottawa that served as the replacement for The Urban Aesthetics, who just broke up recently. I didn't know very much about them going in, but from what I sampled on their myspace page, they sounded like a solid mix of classic indie rock and radio friendly shout-along anthems. The three songs that I heard that night seemed to follow that pattern well and they did a good job at keeping the crowd in rapt attention from start to finish. The group also displayed a boundless amount of energy that kept their live show anchored in high intensity performances. Although their recorded material is really just a simple display of large choruses coupled with infectious power pop hookery, the band really does make their sense of energy work for them in concert, proving that, sometimes, gimmicks are really unnecessary when a band has the ability to let a simple melody do the talking.

Photos: My shots of The Love Machine @ Drake Underground are on flickr
Myspace: The Love Machine
Download: A Little Cursive In All Of Us mp3


The Balconies blew my mind when I saw them at The Horseshoe just a couple of months ago. This is why I was eager to see them again when they were back in town last week. They've got all of my favourite ingredients: really tight musicianship, a cuter than cute lead singer, a charismatic stage presence, and a sound influenced by elements of all of the great sounds of the past, including (but not limited to) 60's garage rock, 70's post punk and 80's new wave. I really appreciated that schizophrenic sense of variety that pervaded throughout their entire set. The band is not too shy to sandwich a highly atmospheric track inbetween a couple of in-yer-face rockers. The chemistry between Jacquie Neville's surf-jangle guitar style, Steve Neville's boundary stretching vocals and Liam Jaeger's calculated drumming has to be witnessed to be believed.

Photos: My shots of The Balconies @ Drake Underground are on flickr
Myspace: The Balconies
Download: Elephant Lamp mp3

Originally, I had considered just sticking around for the rest of the bill at The Drake since it was pretty amazing, but it was basically compiled of artists that play around the city all of the time and if I could only catch a select number of artists at this festival, than I really should see a few of the out of towners. Thankfully, the streetcars moving from The Drake to the El Mocambo were significantly better than the one that I sat on earlier, and I made it to my next show in record time.

Pirate Love is a band from Norway that was described in their bio as "a refreshing blend of garage, punk, rockabilly and goth" which basically could be alternately translated as "a sonic stew of everything Bob loves." OK, not a huge goth fan but still, I went into this one pretty sure that I would find something enjoyable about their sound. As they started off, I have to admit that I found their particular brand of arrogance to be a bit off-putting. I think a measure of tongue in cheek arrogance can be very entertaining at a rock show and I think most of my favourite artists display that well but when this is done without any sense of irony, it just makes a guy look like a tool. Well, lead vocalist David Al Dajani definitely seemed a bit too tool-like for my tastes as the first couple of songs wizzed by. However, there's an old saying that rock n' roll always wins in the end and each song on the bill just seemed to get better and better, to the point where I found myself really digging what they were doing. The vocals were shredding, while the guitar playing was raw and incendiary. There was also a primal quality to their sound that I couldn't help but surrender to and by the time their set was finished, their psychedelic assault had completely won me over. Good stuff indeed.

Photos: My shots of Pirate Love @ El Mocambo are on flickr.
Myspace: Pirate Love
Download: Laughing Gas mp3


After all is said and done, how could you possibly justify not seeing a band named Natalie Portman's Shaved Head? Many of my friends think that name is awesomely hilarious; I think it's ridiculously bad; but either way it is completely curiosity inducing and I just had to see what these guys are all about.

NPSH is from Seattle, which is an area that is usually synonymous with the grunge movement, but grunge this band is not. These guys specialize in a sweaty, funky electronic sound that is obviously designed to destroy your local dancefloor. According to their wikipedia page, Luke Smith and Shaun Libman formed the band to meet girls, and from what I could tell by the gaggle of young ladies staring longingly at the geeky kids on stage, mission accomplished. The band was all about energy and I can't remember the last time that I'd seen a band so energetic. I have seriously never witnessed the build up of sweat that was gushing from the pores of the eclectic creatures that were bounding across that stage. In fact, next to these guys, Spiral Beach was a silent movie. In other words, the band may lack the depth and originality of other similar bands, but if you just want to dance, party and be sweat upon, it would be hard to get any better than these guys.

I left after their set, but I'll bet that You Say Party, We Say Die and Green Go served as an excellent follow up to Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. I just hope that the kids kept themselves hydrated because I'm sure the sweat loss may have broken some records that night. If they compile records on that sort of thing. Which they probably don't.

Photos: My shots of Natalie Portman's Shaved Head are on flickr.
Myspace: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Download: Me and Yr Daughter mp3

'Sup for NXNE: A Preview

Hey, it's NXNE time again here in Toronto, and as usual, the number of bands to see, movies to watch and things to do is overwhelming. Thanks to the fact that I'm a man who has many other priorities in my life, scheduling conflicts are going to prevent me from having as huge a share in this years festivities as I have in the past. This means that my days are taken up with other things, and my nights simply cannot go on all night. That being the case, I have been making sure that I choose very carefully as to what I wish to take in. However, conflicts abound as always, so I've decided to give you a personal five picks for each day, (of the shows that I likely WON'T be attending), and then a brief summary of where I'm going to be. For a full schedule, you can go to the official NXNE website.

Wednesday June 17th.

This is a weird one since the NXNE site claims that events start on Wednesday, but the schedule calendar only starts on Thursday. Still, if you snoop around enough, you can still find a number of NXNE events taking place around the city on that day.

What I Recommend:
1. Vitamins For You @ The Wrongbar (8:30-ish)
2. The D'Urbervilles @ The Drake (10:30pm)
3. Apostle Of Hustle @ The Courthouse (11pm)
4. Gentlemen Husbands @ The Horseshoe (11:40pm)
5. Woodhands @ The Drake (12:30am)

In connection with the Apostle Of Hustle show, you may wish to just plant yourself at The Courthouse (57 Adelaide East) for the evening as it hosts day one of an Arts and Crafts showcase, featuring Jason Collett, Years, Charles Spearin's Happiness Project and a special guest (likely some part of the BSS family)

Where I'll Be:
The only event I think I'll be taking in on Wednesday is that of seeing Ohbijou play an instore performance at Soundscapes (7pm). I haven't seen them for a while, and I don't think I'm going to be able to make it to their show at The Opera House on June 25th, so this is going to be great. I'd get there early though since there's a good chance that it'll be a little on the packed side of things.

Thursday June 18th

What I Recommend:
1. Green Go @ El Mocambo (down) (1am)
2. Rob Szabo @ The Painted Lady (11pm)
3. The Vibrants @ El Mocambo (up) (11pm)
4. Whale Tooth @ The Boat (10pm)
5. Jim Cuddy, Royal Wood and Oh Susanna @ Lee's Palace (9pm)

Earlier in the day, Sunrise Records is hosting a slew of instore performances beginning at 5pm with Dinosaur Bones, followed by The Coast (6pm) and Amos The Transparent (7pm). There's also day 2 of the Arts & Crafts thing at The Courthouse with Zeus (9pm), Timber Timbre (10pm), Still Life Still (11pm) and The Most Serene Republic (12am) to be followed by special guests. Another big one is at Yonge-Dundas Square with a lineup featuring Spiral Beach (6pm), Xavier Cafeine (7pm), Melissa Auf Der Maur (8pm), Burning Brides (9pm) and Black Lips (10pm)

Where I'll Be:
I may actually try to catch the Spiral Beach show and the Amos instore before hanging out at The Drake Underground for the evening in support of Matthew Pollesel's i (heart) music showcase featuring The Love Machine (8pm), The Balconies (9pm), Oh No Forest Fires (10pm), Black Hat Brigade (11pm) and Amos The Transparent (12am).

Friday June 19th

What I Recommend:
1. Bobby Conn & Monica Bou Bou @ Lee's Palace (9pm)
2. The Sadies @ El Mocambo (down) (1am)
3. Andrea Wasse @ Cadillac Lounge (9pm)
4. Matt & Kim @ Whippersnapper (8pm) & @ Wrongbar (1am)
5. Black Diamond Bay @ The Horseshoe (1am)

Another sweet lineup is the Nevado Records Showcase @ The Supermarket featuring Parlovr (9pm), Bahamas (10pm), Bass Lions (11pm), The Paint Movement (12am) and Fox Jaws (1am). You may also wish to hang out at Yonge-Dundas Square to see In-Flight Safety (7:45pm), The Cliks (8:45pm) and Wintersleep (9:45pm) which are three bands that have to be seen live to truly appreciate. Albums= good but live show=amazing!

Where I'll Be:
For reasons of convenience, as much as sheer talent, I'm going to be just up the street from my place at the Dakota Tavern to check out a pretty stellar lineup that begins with the sultry sweetness that is Montreal's Coeur de Pirate (8pm). She's followed by my favourite alt-country act of the moment, our own One Hundred Dollars (9pm), whom I've only seen once, and it was quite a while ago. Up next is The Deep Dark Woods (10pm) from Saskatoon. I don't really know them very well, but they are also of the alt-country genre and from what I've heard, they're right up my alley. I'll then stick around to see Hooded Fang (11pm), who never let me down. Then, like the old man that I am, I'll likely be heading out after their set, but the rest of the evening doesn't look too shabby either with The Coast (12am), Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few (1am), Chris Velan (2am) and The Beauties (3am) to end things off.

Saturday June 20th

What I Recommend:
1. Holler, Wild Rose @ The Phoenix (6:30pm) ***Highly Recommended
2. The Hoa Hoa's @ Silver Dollar (3am)
3. Olenka and the Autumn Lovers @ Bread And Circus (11pm)
4. Entire Cities @ Mitzi's Sister (1am)
5. Megan Hamilton and the Volunteer Canola @ Bread And Circus (9pm)

Earlier in the day, Aux TV is a special NXNE Special Session featuring Holler, Wild Rose, The Paint Movement and Josh Reichman. It's being held at the Audio Recording Academy (554 Queen St E) at everything starts at 3:30pm. If you're looking to stay at one place for the evening, Sirius & CBC Radio 3 present a stellar lineup at The Horseshoe featuring Woodpigeon (9pm), DD/MM/YY (10pm), Ruby Coast (11pm), Jason Collett (12am), Hot Panda (1am) and The Lovely Feathers (2am).

Where I'll Be:
I will be very surprised it I get to accomplish very much on Saturday night, but what I do do (hehe) is going to be heavily influenced by my love for psych rock. If I'm back in time to see The Disraelis (8pm) at Velvet Underground then by gum, that's what I'm gonna do. I may stick around to catch a song or two by The Job (9pm) before heading down to Yonge-Dundas Square to see the very very very legendary Sonics (9:30pm)!!!! Afterwards I might duck out just a smidge early to go back to Velvet Underground to see The Zoobombs (11pm) from Tokyo, Japan before turning in for the evening. (The Sonics are pictured above.)

Sunday June 21st

Things pretty much wind down by Sunday night, but the weekly Wavelength series at Sneaky Dee's is still making itself available to the first 20 passes or wristband holders. On the bill is Labasheeda (9pm) from the Netherlands, Innes Wilson and his Opposition (10pm), Wax Mannequin (11pm) and La Casa Muerte (12am). For those without passes, entrance is PWYC.

Where I'll Be:
I reckon I'll be pretty beat by the time Sunday rolls around but if I decide to go out, then I'll probably swing by Rancho Relaxo to check out Mardeen (9pm), to be followed by Brent Randall and his Pinecones (10pm) and Dan Griffin and the Regrets (11pm).

'Sup In June

As you've likely noticed by now, the monthly "Sup In ..." post has become less of a list of what I'm doing, and more of a list of what I would do if I were you. The shows that I plan to attend tend not to see the light of day more often than not, and it seems that each month showcases a show or two that I end up going to as more of a spur of a moment type of thing. June is going to be busy with this year's NXNE festival in full force which I'm obviously participating in although, due to other conflicting priorities, my involvement this year will be significantly more reserved than in year's past. Anyways, enough of my jibber jabber and on to the month's events:

To start with, I'd like to tell you about the Aux TV Secret Sessions Series taking place every Saturday during the months of June and July. It all happens at The Audio Recording Academy (554 Queen Street East), it's all ages, it usually starts at 5pm and it's free. To get in, all you have to do is RSVP to rsvp@secretsessionstara.com with the show you wish to attend, your name and the number of guests. Some of the performers for the month of June include The Ghost Is Dancing, Great Bloomers, Holler! Wild Rose, The Paint Movement, Josh Reichmann and Oh No Forest Fires. For more info, go to the website. [Myspace: Secret Sessions Tara]

In support of their critically acclaimed Veckatimest album, Grizzly Bear are in town on Friday June 6th playing The Phoenix. Tix are $18, although I think it might be sold out. [Myspace: Grizzly Bear]

Ma homeboy (I'll never be able to pull that off, will I?) Slakah The Beatchild is having a CD release party at The Revival on Thursday June 11th in support of his excellent new release entitled Soul Movement Pt 1. Looks like it's going to be quite the bill for any fans of hip hop ad R&B, with guests including Divine Brown, Melanie Durant, Ebrahim and Shad K, amongst others. Details for the event can be found here. [Myspace: Slakah The Beatchild]

One Hundred Dollars are playing The Horseshoe on Friday June 12th. They are by far the best country band in the city. Tix are $8. [Myspace: One Hundred Dollars]

Alt-Country giant Alejandro Escovedo is back and playing Trinity St. Paul's on Tuesday June 16th for $27. [Myspace: Alejandro Escovedo]

Also on Tuesday June 16th, Passion Pit are making an attempt to return to our city by playing Lee's Palace. They've already failed twice before so hopefully we get to see this one make it's way to fruition. I've noticed that the tickets are sold out at some of the local points of sale, so keep your eyes on this blog as I may have a couple of spots to giveaway in the very near future. $12. [Myspace: Passion Pit]

Which of course brings us to this year's NXNE festival, taking place June 17th - 21st. I think I'm going to do a more detailed posting for this as we get closer to the date, but you can already get started on your personal picks by perusing the schedule over here. Admittedly I haven't got it all figured out just yet, but one band that I certinaly will NOT be missing is legendary 60's Seattle rockers The Sonics, who will be at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday June 20th at 9:30. It looks like I'm sort of leaning towards checking out more of the 'out of towners' on the schedule, as opposed to the 'will always be heres' on the schedule, but more on that later. [Myspace: The Sonics]

One thing that I will mention, is that Daps All Ages and No Shame are going to be presenting an all ages afternoon show at Rolly's Garage on Saturday June 20th, from 1pm to 6pm. On the bill are Ruby Jean & The Thoughtful Bees, Lightmares, Laura Barrett, Swirling Shores, Times Neue Roman and Pick A Piper (who I just saw last weekend and I gotta tell you, whew! More on that later.) Tix are $10.

The excellent double bill of Jonathan Richmond and Vic Chesnutt are playing the Great Hall on Thursday June 25th for only $20. [Myspaces: Jonathan Richmond; Vic Chesnutt]

Also, on Thursday June 25th, you may wish to check out the always amazing Ohbijou with Great Bloomers and Evening Hymns at The Opera House. Tix are only $13. [Myspace: Ohbijou; Great Bloomers, Evening Hyms]

I have the opportunity to broaden my horizons by attending a day of The 26th Annual Tottenham Bluegrass Festival which takes place June 26th, 27th, and 28th at the Tottenham Observation Area. I cover artists that borrow from the bluegrass genre all the time, but I anticipate that it's going to be downright inspiring to spend an afternoon sitting in the sun taking in some old school meat and potatoes type of classic bluegrass tunes. Some of the artists are a little bit rootsier than I'm accustomed to, but I am looking forward to seeing a set by Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass. Another band that intrigues me is called The Dixie Flyers, who actually have some pretty impressive Canadian bluegrassers playing amongst them. (I've also heard that I've got to try a deep fried Mars Bar at least once in my life.) Schedule and other info can be found at the website. [Myspaces: Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass; Dixie Flyers]

The return of the always delightful Camera Obscura takes place at Lee's Palace on Saturday June 27th. I am madly in love with their latest My Maudlin Career. Tix are $23.50. [Myspace: Camera Obscura]

There's quite a number of legends coming through town in June, one of such is Todd Rundgren, who is playing The Mod Club (!) on Sunday June 28th. Tickets are $49.50. [Myspace: Todd Rundgren]

Tuesday June 30th is a busy day here in the city as New York's legendary glam-rockers the New York Dolls are in town playing Lee's Palace. The tickets are $29.50 and legends of this magnitude do not come around all that often so you really have no excuse for not attending. Actually there is one excuse, that is, if you're planning on seeing... [Myspace: New York Dolls]

...SONIC YOUTH!!!! To say that I'm excited about this show is hardly a strong enough phrase to convey the level of excitement going through my body right now. I once stated that Sonic Youth (pictured above) were basically the best band in the world, and I don't think that my statement is all that far off. They are legends having inspired almost every band that I've loved since and I think this is going to be one epic performance. They are playing Massey Hall on Tuesday June 30th and tickets are $48.50 and worth every penny! [Myspace: Sonic Youth]

Dog Day - Concentration (Review, CD & Ticket Giveaway)

A quick Dog Day scan on the net reveals that the critics already get it when it comes to this band. I'm just wondering what everybody else's problem is? They may be the furthest cry from being a household name as you can get for many, but their last album Night Group was one of my most played albums of 2008, and the only reason it didn't make my year end list is due to the fact that it actually came out in April 2007 and I just found out about it too late. While that album was a fun and upbeat display of Nova Scotia meets New York swagger, it presented only a smidgen of what Dog Day are apparently capable of. Concentration is more mature and focused, with a sound that bands in the past have only accomplished after 3 or 4 albums worth of paying their dues. If Dog Day is this good already, than their future is going to be frightening.

The first song, Happiness, immediately emanates John Agnello's production. Having worked with both Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. in the past, he has managed to harness the production qualities heard on albums by both of those bands. It's that sweet meeting of high production with lo-fi gutteral sounds that allows the album to simmer in sinisterism. Stray is another example of this. Seth Smith's droning vocals accompany a Joy Division-ish bass and drum line, while the female backing vocals remain in a near monotone creating a very hypnotic vibe. Nancy Urich does a good job of harnessing her inner Julie Doiron meets Kim Gordon vocal style. This is noticeably captivating whether she's singing lead, as in the slightly masochistic Neighbour and the epic Rome, or she's singing accompaniment as on the shoegazey Saturday Night. What's most amazing about this release is the fact that although it is all quite deep, dark and brooding, it is also all very very catchy. Judgement Day is a case in point: the song is ultimately about death yet I defy you to avoid dancing and singing along to the vocal doot-doot-doo's.

I don't think that it's a huge stretch to say that Dog Day is one of the most underrated bands in Canada right now. Part of this might be the fact that both shoegaze and psych-rock are a couple of the more underrated genre's in Canadian rock right now. Dog Day is a high quality amalgamation of both and I think that Concentration is a must-have to any fan of either.

Dog Day is playing Lee's Palace on Thursday May 28th. The photo above is on myspace.

Myspace: Dog Day
Video: Happiness on youtube
Download: Rome mp3


***CONTEST UPDATED MAY 15TH***

I've got two Dog Day prizes to giveaway. There are as follows:

1) Two tickets to the show at Lee's Palace on May 28th along with a copy of the new CD. This one is only open to those who are geographically able to attend the show.
2) A copy of the new CD. This one is available to anyone anywhere with a mailing address.

Contest is now closed; thanks to everyone that entered. Congrats to Justin M. and Alex H.

Other stuff:
Bobby B. Fun Fact: Did you know that Peter Gabriel is actually my favourite artist of all time? And while we're on the subject: Magnet Magazine lists their opinion on Pete's most overrated and underrated songs. I would agree with most of it, although Family Snapshot is actually his most underrated and Shock the Monkey is his most overrated IMHO. [Myspace: Peter Gabriel]

Neko Case is back in T.O. again and she'll be playing the acoustically pleasing Massey Hall on July 14th. Tix are between $29.50 and $40.50. Details are at Chart. [Myspace: Neko Case]

Jack White confirms that The White Stripes are still very much together and they do, in fact, have a new album on the way. He also talks about Meg's anxiety and the reasons for their recent hiatus over at Music Radar.com [Myspace: The White Stripes]

This weekend is the Festival In The Square at Don Mills Town Square. On the Saturday night (My 16th) Serena Ryder performs with special guests Carly Rae Jepsen and Danny Michel. It's free and it starts at 7pm. [Myspace: Serena Ryder; Danny Michel; Carly Rae Jepsen]

Because I'm an idiot, I forgot to RSVP to this year's NXNE press conference yesterday, but thankfully it doesn't look like there were any real surprises. The big names at this year's fest are Black Lips, Matt & Kim, Woodpigeon and No Age. The biggest deal for me though is the return of 60's garage rock giants The Sonics, whose "hits" include Psycho and Strychnine. They will be playing Yonge and Dundas Square on Saturday June 20th at the end of the night. Now that's pretty cool. As usual, the best of our locals are playing too and you can see the full lineup over here. [Myspaces: Black Lips, Matt & Kim, Woodpigeon, No Age, The Sonics]

Evelyn Room, Golden Hands..., Spiral Beach and High Dials @ The Horseshoe

It seems like NXNE 2008 had only just finished, and now here we are, preparing for 2009. To celebrate the opening of the '09 festival's submission period, The Horseshoe hosted a free showcase on Tuesday night featuring three of my favourite indie(ish) bands on the current music scene as well as another band that I wasn't really familiar with, but quite enjoyed anyways. Of course, this week has been another massive slab of busy-ness and Tuesday seems like such a loooong time ago, but we'll see what I can remember.

The one band that I didn't really know was The Evelyn Room. They were a somewhat mellower band that likes to combine elements of spacey pysch rock with a slight alt-country feel to create a sound that is similar to what Ryan Adams or Chris Isaac might sound like if they came out in the late sixties. Vocalist Brad Fillatre bellows quite the smokey croon that works well with the subdued shuffle of the drums and bass as well as the ringing echo of the guitars. The songs sounded smart and honest, while the instrumentation seemed very accomplished for such a relatively new band. Apparently their performance at this years NXNE earned them quite a bit of respect and recognition because there seemed to be an impressive number of people in attendance who were familiar with their songs.

Photos: The Evelyn Room @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Evelyn Room

Seeing The Golden Hands Before God Conducts Incredible Magic Band and the Spirits (whew!) live for a second time just solidified the fact that not only are they deserving to be listed among one of the Hottest Canadian Bands of the year, but Jamie Greer's high placing on my own list of the best rock stars in town is also completely justified. I've heard many reports of their show being the highlight at NXNE, and if Tuesday night was any indication, they don't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. There were only 5 people on that stage, but they displayed the intensity of 20, as they rocked through an entire set of classic rock arrogance that was as fun as it was exhausting. I picked up their latest CD Here at the show, and although I'll likely review it sometime in the near future, I feel that it perfectly captures the feel of their live show, which is easily one of the best in the city. The party however, had only just begun...

Photos: The Golden Hands Before God... @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Golden Hands Before God...

I've been itching to see Spiral Beach again since I caught their show at The Shoe earlier this year, at NXNE. Bassist Dorian Wolf was another one who made my list of the city's greatest rock stars, and again ... completely justified! I keep forgetting how young this band is, simply because their CD Ball is filled with so much maturity as far as musical comparisons go, that it's hard to believe that these guys are old enough to have heard the bands that are their obvious influences. That having been said, their youth is no doubt what enables them to put on what was easily the busiest party in town. The audience did not stop dancing for even a second, and I love that this band has the ability to leave you longing for their next show as soon as they finish. Although I probably lost about 10 pounds of sweat water from my body, I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Photos: Spiral Beach @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Spiral Beach
Video: Made Of Stone on youtube

Arguably the most accomplished band on the bill, Montreal's The High Dials had the challenge of hitting the stage on the heels of two of the hyper-est bands on the planet, and this was on a Tuesday night at midnight no less. Unfortunately, most of the crowd had dissipated by this time, but the ones that stuck around were still treated to a solid performance. I couldn't help but feel like we were all grown ups who had just sent their kids to their room to play while we stuck around to do grown up stuff. The contrast between their set and the Beach's set before was beyond obvious, but when it comes to which band is performing the stronger material, my money goes to The High Dials, bar none. They focused mainly on songs from their stellar new release Moon Country, and I thought Killer of Dragons in particular sounded very powerful on the live stage.

Photos: The High Dials @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The High Dials

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

NXNE Extra Series: My Morning Jacket w/ The Besnard Lakes @ Kool Haus

When I first heard Evil Urges, my initial reaction was to wonder just exactly what particular evil it was that urged My Morning Jacket to record this album. I admire their desire to experiment with new ideas, but I also thought the switch from deep fried southern jam rock to funky experimental Prince-like falsetto was just a little bit too drastic for my tastes. Upon further listening, if I try real hard, I guess I can still hear the quality musicianship of these five boys from Kentucky, although I can't say that the album has really grown on me with time. However, since I listen to their earlier works with reasonable regularity these days, I figured it would still be awesome to catch their live show, since I've still never done it. That, and I knew there was a good chance of getting in to see them with my NXNE badge. I also figured that even if the new material doesn't translate too well to the live stage, I can always count on The Besnard Lakes, who were the openers of the evening.

I realize that it's not for everybody, but I think that a live performance by The Besnard Lakes is always a trip. Jace Lasek and his significant other Olga Goreas have a way of creating psychedelic sounds that seemingly have the ability to transcend space and time. If you wanna talk about a cool sounding falsetto, Jace has got it. It comes across to me as sounding as if Brian Wilson had chilled out in a sandbox full of helium as opposed to, um, sand. The vocals are a very unique contrast to the spacey sounds and haunting lyrics emanating from these Montreal mysterians. The set was rather short this time, only about six or seven songs, but as we all know, their songs are certainly anything but brief. From what I can remember, they mostly stuck with songs from Are The Dark Horse, their Polaris prize nominated sophomore. Devastation sounded incendiary and Disaster was also a highlight.

Photos: The Besnard Lakes @ Kool Haus on flickr
Myspace: The Besnard Lakes
Download: And You Lied To Me mp3


Thanks to my photographer friend Walid, who was standing right in the designated photo pass section, I was able to catch a sneak peak at the MMJ setlist beforehand, since he took a picture of it. The setlist gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, it looked great because it featured a decent handful of songs from At Dawn and It Still Moves. The encore in particular looked killer. However there seemed to be way too many songs from Z, which was their last album and one that I also didn't like that much. The set list also just looked long. Period. That worried me since I had just come off quite the whirlwind of a rock 'n roll weekend and I didn't know if I had the stamina left for a two hour show. So that sounds like an awful lot of negativity going in, doesn't it? And what was the final verdict?

Well, basically there's a reason why My Morning Jacket is considered by many to be one of the best live acts out there these days. This show was one fantastically solid jam. The band was beyond tight, and you didn't have to be a musician yourself to figure out that these guys are masters at their craft. Jim James clearly loves what he's doing, and he certainly should be campaigning as a candidate for most dynamic performer. He's also got the chops to back up such claims. There were moments where he donned a cape, and there were also times when he slid across the floor in a rock star pose while singing his little heart out. All the band members are spectacular, but drummer Patrick Hallahan in particular is an animal (as can be seen in the photo I took above!) I thought the songs from Z sounded a little bit more fleshed out in a live setting, and I feel that the same is sort of true for some of the Evil Urges tunes, only less so. (I will add that there is simply no saving Highly Suspicious, a truly dreadful song as far as I'm concerned.)

As I anticipated, the encore was money, featuring Steam Engine, Run Thru and One Big Holiday. These songs are tailor made for the live stage, and the majestic sounds that these killer jams created busted through that Kool Haus stage with reckless abandon, leaving me intensely satisfied! That satisfaction was saturated in zealous fatigue, and my feet felt as if they has accidentally been charcoaled on a George Forman grill, but otherwise, I think the evening, as well as the rest of the NXNE festival was a rousing success.

Photos: My Morning Jacket @ Kool Haus on flickr
Myspace: My Morning Jacket
Download: Evil Urges mp3


And so ends my coverage of this year's festival. I had a lot of fun being introduced to new bands at the same time as checking out some of my old local reliables. I hope that next year the festival doesn't coincide as much with so many personal non-festival related activities, but I think that this is probably wishful thinking since June is always a busy time of year for me. I am sorry that I missed out on the Six Shooter Records sponsored free backyard bbq event, and I would've liked to catch some of the in-store performances, but this is the busy life that I lead. I still think that 18 bands in 4 days is making pretty good use of my badge, and by far the majority of them were gooder than good, so yay me! Here's to doing it all again next year!