Calexico w/Cuff The Duke @ The Phoenix

After many years of neglect, I finally got around to seeing Calexico live on Tuesday night at The Phoenix. Admittedly I haven't been an avid follower of their style of Latin tinged eclectic folk rock, but I've always been curious enough to want to see them live, and thankfully they did not disappoint. They were already here back in July at the much more intimate Mod Club, and at that time they chose the very energetic Scout as their opener. This time around they chose to adopt a more subtle approach, opening with Brisbee Blue from 2006's Garden Ruin CD. The charisma of Joey Burns was evident to me as soon as he hit the stage, endearing the crowd in a way that only a seasoned professional could. His ability to improvise lyrics based on the shout out's and general silliness of the crowd was hillarious and any drunken heckles were taken in stride. The show featured a pretty hefty helping of selections from Carried To Dust, their latest release, which was cool with me since it sounds like a pretty solid album overall; easily one of their finest works in recent years. In fact, I'd say about half of their set was from this album while the rest of their set was compiled of classics like Frontera and Trigger from The Black Light as well as their 'made it their own' rendition of Love's Alone Again Or which is one of my all time favourite covers. For me though, the highlights were definitely the songs that were heavily steeped in Tejano horn arrangements. This could be because I was more tired than I ever remember being in my life, (busy week) and those songs consistently gave me the shot of adrenalin necessary to make sure I stuck it out for the whole show. Calexico is the type of band whose experience is obvious, and finally getting to see them live only confirmed what I had suspected all along, that is, that they are one of the must-see bands of our generation.

Photos: Calexico @ The Phoenix on flickr
Myspace: Calexico
Download: Two Silver Trees mp3


The opening band for the evening was Cuff The Duke. I went to see them back in August, and I made no secret of the fact that their show was one of my favourites of the year. Obviously this one would be a shorter set, but the band did a very good job of engaging the crowd in much the same way; holding their own with the legends that were to follow them. They opened with the mild tearjerker Remember The Good Times and went through a paced set that felt like it was over before it even began. I guess I was just spoiled by their headlining set the last time. Still, Wayne plays a pretty mean guitar and again, I was floored at how tight this band is, especially considering their relative newness to the music scene. The fact that many of those in attendance seemed to be quite familiar with the songs was also a bit of a surprise, and I thought it was great to reflect on just how far these guys have come in the past couple of years or so. I was swelling with some true down home Oshawa pride. Seriously.

Photos: Cuff The Duke @ The Phoenix on flickr
Myspace: Cuff The Duke
Download: Rossland Square (live) mp3

The Breeders w/ Flash Lightnin' @ The Phoenix

"What are you guys doing here? There's a blizzard outside" So were the wise words of Kelley Deal, as many fans from the Greater Toronto and surrounding area braved the storm and made it out to see The Breeders perform as part of Canadian Music Week. Sorta. They were actually another one of the "limited wristband" choices, and once again, I was there early enough to get in.

Unfortunately, this is probably not going to be the most detailed review that you're likely to read of this show simply because I'm not as familiar with their music as many other people are. I realize that pokes a few holes in my credible armor of musical knowledge, but unfortunately it's true. I was and am a huge Pixies fan, but as far as The Breeders go, I'm really only familiar with their singles and the only album I owned was, of course, Last Splash. But that didn't make the show any less enjoyable. The band was in top form and they blasted through their set with precision and vitality. Apparently they featured a lot of songs from their upcoming release Mountain Battles, which is out on April 8th. From what I understand, in a gutsy move, even the encore consisted of 3 new songs. But the night was also filled with classics, including their monster hit, "Cannonball" which was accompanied by a pretty cool light show, something that I've never really noticed at The Phoenix before. It was also nice to see them enjoying themselves and having a really good time.

Photos: The Breeders @ The Phoenix on flickr
Download: Bang On mp3
Myspace: The Breeders
Video: Cannonball on youtube

Prior to the show, I briefly sampled the music of Flash Lightnin' in order to be relatively acquainted with them. At first listen, I thought that they were kind of an odd choice of an opener for The Breeders. They seemed to be your typical barroom bluesy classic rock type of band. On second and third listen, and upon seeing them live, I realized that they were actually your typical barroom bluesy classic rock type of band. That didn't mean that they weren't good, just perhaps a bit predictable. They were talented though, I'll give them that, and by the end of their set they won me over a little bit with the simple fact that they were quite good at what they did.

Photos: Flash Lightnin' @ The Phoenix on flickr
Download: Made Up My Mind mp3
Myspace: Flash Lightnin'

Stars w/ Jade McNelis @ The Phoenix

The first time I saw Stars was at a small venue in Hamilton. (I'm of course talking about the band Stars. The first time I saw actual stars was in grade 3 when Barry Stevens and I both decided we were in love with Tammy who sat in row three of our class. We figured that the only logical way to decide who gets to marry her would be by means of a schoolyard brawl. He pushed me. I fell. My head hit the ground and that's when I saw the aforementioned 'stars.' Needless to say, I didn't win Tammy's heart. But if I remember correctly neither did Barry so booya! But I digress...)

As I was saying, the first time I saw Stars was a few years ago in Hamilton at a place called The Casbah, which had a capacity of only 250 or so and, if I remember correctly, it wasn't sold out. Well, here we are a few years later and they're playing four sold out shows at the 1100 capacity Phoenix. They've hit the big time, and it's totally deserved as they are nothing if not consistent.

The opening act was Montreal's Jade McNelis. Her performance was adequate enough although I don't know if this was the right venue and/or crowd for her style of music. She's your typical singer- songwriter who plays the piano, and she definitely has a beautifully haunting vibrato in her voice. At the show, the songs were a little bit too "been there, done that" for me, but upon sampling her music on her myspace page, her songs do demonstrate a certain measure of promise. It would be neat to see her at a smaller venue in a more intimate setting to see what her music is actually capable of.

By the time Stars hit the stage however, the audience was poised and ready, enthusiastically taking in every note and every sound. Torquil Campbell, more than ever before, did everything he could to prove himself to be the most endearing frontman there is, consistently thanking the audience simply for "listening to the music." Amy Millan was also in fine form, playing up her persona as the incredibly eccentric indie girl who loves to rock. The setlist was equally made for old and new fans alike, highlighting most of the songs from both this years' In Our Bedroom After The War and their previous effort Set Yourself On Fire. They included a few of their older songs as well, making for a very well rounded evening. During "Genova Heights," Torq spent the first verse singing backstage, before donning a crazy looking light bulb suit, reminiscent of the type of thing you would've seen at a Peter Gabriel concert 15 years ago. During the duets, Torq and Amy would often look at each other while singing, as if they were a lovestruck couple on their first date. And closing with the title track of their latest CD was just as gripping as I assumed it would be. Stars are one of those bands that you can always count on to put on a spellbinding show EVERY SINGLE TIME. Something that I personally found quite euphoric was the deafening sound of the audience singing their songs. I realize that this is nothing new when it comes to the live show, but I guess that it just felt surreal to me personally as I constantly reflect back to that first show in Hamilton, where several people didn't even know who they were, let alone enthusiastically singing along. It is awesome to see the amount of success that Stars have been enjoying both here, and in other parts of the world. It's definitely a confirmation of the fact that we are living in a very exciting time for music, where artists that would not have been able to get arrested in the label controlled world, are now being able to sell out larger capacity venues and have their music exposed to throngs of music lovers everywhere. Stars understand because if you've ever heard or read an interview with Torq or any of the other members, you'd know that nobody loves music more than they do. Songs for music lovers, by music lovers. Long live bands like Stars.

Photos: Stars @ The Phoenix on flickr / Jade McNelis @ The Phoenix on flickr
Myspace: Jade McNelis / Stars
Videos: The Night Starts Here by Stars on youtube / Wins bu Jade McNelis on youtube

Camera Obscura w/Last Town Chorus @ The Phoenix

Last night Camera Obscura were back in Toronto yet again, which enabled them to acknowledge the fact that they wonder why everybody keeps coming back to see them. "Suckers for punishment," they assumed. Of course this isn't true, although I actually wasn't planning on going to this one since I'd already seen them earlier this year. But my wife convinced me otherwise (as well as Megan Hickey, but more on that later,) and it's a good thing because last night's performance was probably their best so far. It was nice to see Tracyanne Campbell smiling on several occasions throughout the night. For those who have seen them before, you know that this isn't always the case at a Camera Obscura show. However, everyone seemed to be in high spirits, and that translated very well onstage. They performed more or less the same songs as last time with a few surprises. For example, they pulled out "The Sun On His Back" from the 2001 debut. They claimed to have not played this one for about 5 years and for the long time fans in the crowd, this was a real treat. I also enjoyed the slightly countrified cover of Abba's "Super Trooper." I never realized the song was so sad. Finally, the encore began with guitarist Kenny McKeeve doing his rendition of The Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon." Apparently he was required to do so at the loss of a bet, and the rest of the band just sat idly by and watched him, with huge mischievous grins on their faces. Tons 'o fun.

Photos: Camera Obscura @ The Phoenix on flickr
Downloads: If Looks Could Kill mp3 / Let's Get Out Of This Country mp3
Myspace: Camera Obscura
Video: Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken youtube

Although I enjoy Camera Obscura, the real person I was there to see was Megan Hickey, otherwise known as The Last Town Chorus. The album "Wire Waltz" just gets better and better with every listen and Megan is truly a captivating presence. She also helped me to realize that The Phoenix isn't all bad. She stated that it has one of the best sounds of any of the places that she has played at, and I had to admit that the ring of her lap steel sounded pretty sweet. She alternated between 'hilarious' and 'deadly serious' with exquisite ease, keeping the banter witty but the playing emotive and charismatic. She even handed out Last Town Chorus bookmarks, jokingly grasping at the rock 'n roll virtues of reading! She promised to be back in town regularly which is exciting for me because I definitely plan on seeing her perform again.

Photos: The Last Town Chorus @ The Phoenix on flickr
Downloads: Modern Love mp3 / Oregon mp3
Myspace: The Last Town Chorus
Video: Modern Love on youtube

Peter Bjorn and John w/ Au Revoir Simone & Fujiya and Miyagi @ The Phoenix

On Sunday night I was beyond exhausted and if I had not already bought the tickets to go and see Peter Bjorn and John, I would have certainly backed out. However, I’m very happy that I didn’t because, so far, they put on my favourite show of the year.

It was sort of an add choice for opening acts, since neither one of them really fit into the power pop mould of PB&J. For starters we had Au Revoir Simone, an all female trio from New York. They were beyond adorable, and they specialized in dreamy synth-heavy indie pop. Both the style of music, and the fact that all three girls stood behind their own keyboard/synthesizer, obviously didn’t lend itself to a highly animated performance. Still, the strength of the songs and the charm of the performers helped to win over the still relatively small crowd at this point.

Download: Through The Backyards mp3
Au Revoir Simone on myspace
Purchase the CD "The Bird Of Music"
My pics from the show are on flickr.

Next up, was another trio, this time from the UK known as Fujiya & Miyagi. I had heard of these guys and I was already mildly intrigued. They had a highly danceable sort of Krautrock thing going on, equal parts Can, New Order and Roxy Music. They played mostly songs from the “Transparent Things” release, and I have to admit that they were really really good. My highlight was a mostly instrumental number that they pulled out midway through their set. Being new to their music, I don’t know what the song was called, but it had a very progressive electronica vibe to it that entirely enthralled me.

Download: Electro Karaoke in the Negative Style mp3
Fujiya & Miyagi on myspace
Purchase the CD “Transparent Things”
My pics from the show are on flickr.

Peter Bjorn & John were, in a word, fantastic! I figured the show was going to be enjoyable, but I did not expect this to be the high energy rock spectacle that it was. The three of them were in fine form, with Peter’s energy and sense of humour being highly contagious. The show was packed with singalongs and jump-arounds and there were so many highlights to choose from. Of course, the way-to-much-fun performance of their signature song (and all of a sudden mega hit) “Young Folks” had us all grinning from ear to ear. To fill the irreplaceable role of Victoria Bergsman was Heather D’Angelo of Au Revoir Simone. She did an admirable job, and they looked like there were having just as much fun performing it, as we were watching it. Bjorn was also highly energetic, and he took over lead vocals for a stripped down version of “Amsterdam.” It’s really great to see a band having a total blast onstage and I really hope they’re back again soon (although hoping for the $15 price tag next time around might be a little too optimistic.)

Download: Young Folks mp3
Peter Bjorn and John on myspace
Purchse the CD “Writer’s Block”
My pics from the show are on flickr.