Tom Fun Orchestra w/ The Coast @ The Horseshoe Tavern

Wow. My concert reviews are now reaching a point where I should probably start referring to them as my 'classic concert reviews', since the time lapse between seeing a show and blogging about a show has got to be dipping close to the 'does anybody still care' level. I swear I haven't forgotten about those loyal readers who still hinge on my every word, but I assure you that my tardiness is not due to my being a lazy man. However, instead of wasting any more time with repetitive excuses and my own delusions of grandeur, let's just get into some more rock talk, shall we?

The last time that the Tom Fun Orchestra were in town, they played an electrifying show that was exactly the type of celebration you would expect from a Nova Scotian nine piece with the word 'fun' in their moniker. I'll have to admit, that the memory of that amazing show was etched so spectacularly in my mind that a part of me was almost reluctant to see them again so soon, since I didn't want anything to tarnish what was easily one of the best shows of the year. Thankfully this show did not even come close to sullying that memory, even if it did lack the same magical feel.

Admittedly, this performance did have a few more things going against it. First of all, if memory serves, the January show was on a Saturday night, whereas this one was on the darkest of all concert going nights: a Thursday. Every band knows, that it's harder to get a crowd excited on a Thursday night. Secondly, not only is it difficult to get a crowd excited on a Thursday night; it's also difficult just to get a crowd at all on a Thursday night. Not only was there a smaller crowd this time around, there was a SIGNIFICANTLY smaller crowd this time around. The third obstacle of the evening was more of a personal nature. Whereas the last time I went into the show with no expectations, this time around I went in with MASSIVE expectations. So, needless to say, although this was still an awesome show, it certainly wasn't the spectacle that I witnessed the first time around. As can be seen by my three reasons though, this was hardly the band's fault.

The band still displayed the same time of insane energy that their East Coast Maritime rock lends itself to, and they seemed quite content with the fact that their onstage party may have been just as much for their own enjoyment as it was for all of ours. I noticed that a few members of the ensemble were different from the last show, but the key players were still the same. Lead vocalist Ian MacDougall was as witty and bizarre as ever, while Carmen Townsend displayed an intensity that I would love to be able to incorporate in my own life from time to time. What also makes this band stand out from other 'collectives' out there, is the fact that each member has a specific role to fill, whether it be banjo, accordian, fiddle or trumpet. The only shared role seemed to be that of playing really hard and shouting really loud when the song calls for it. What was really cool was that, even though the tendency to not want to embarrass yourself would understandably be heightened within a smaller crowd, this didn't stop certain pockets of people from showing their appreciation by dancing up a storm anyways. Although, it's a shame that many in the city obviously missed out, the small crowd that was in attendance certainly witnessed something special and this show was another wild party indeed, albeit a subdued one. (A subdued wild party? Does that even make sense? OK, let's say that they were wild and I was subdued. Better?)

Photos: Tom Fun Orchestra @ Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Tom Fun Orchestra
Video: Throw Me To The Rats on youtube
Download: Watchmaker mp3

Opening up for the Tom Funners was local band The Coast; a band that I had seen a few years ago but honestly remembered very little about. I've definitely been hearing their name mentioned around town though, with 2008's Expatriate receiving it's fair share of good reviews, and the local (mainly female) support for the band was substantially represented that night. There's no doubt that as musicians, they have become very proficient at honing a stadium worthy sound complete with the type of ringing guitars and atmospheric keys that simply beg to be heard at a larger venue. As performers however, they seemed to me to be a little bit too subdued for their larger than life sound. I found it hard to remain attentive for their entire set and there were moments where the band actually looked bored, which is never a good way to win over a Thursday night audience. Luckily, for them, their friends and supporters were all there to pick up the slack and what they lacked in performance, they made up for in relatively strong material.

Photos: The Coast @ Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: The Coast

CONTEST: Win tix to see the Tom Fun Orchestra live along with a copy of their latest CD!!!

Way back in January, I told you about a nine piece cluster rock outfit from Cape Breton known as the Tom Fun Orchestra. Described by many as Tom Waits meeting the Arcade Fire, the band has a hyperactive sound that is authentic in keeping with its Maritime origins, while still incorporating enough outside influences such as jazz, blues, mob rock and horn section empowered epics to keep things very interesting throughout the course of the entire album. If you're interested in other bands to name drop in association with them, they actually remind me of The Pogues more than anyone else, while their CD, You Will Land With A Thud, was produced by Gordan Gano of the Violent Femmes. Still, as great as the album is, nothing could have prepared me for the merry chaos that ensued upon seeing them live. This band is fun, fun, fun and as I type this at the halfway mark of this current concert going year, their January show at the Horseshoe is sitting comfortably amongst the top three shows that I've attended so far this year. It even had the ability to arouse the generally stoic ensemble that is a Toronto audience, and this, my friends, is no simple feat.

Well if you were one of the unfortunate ones who had to miss that show, thankfully, you didn't have to wait too long for that second chance because their summer tour has begun, which means that they're returning to The Horseshoe Tavern on Thursday August 6th. Opening for them will be local band The Coast and a solo set by fellow Tom Funner Carmen Townsend. The show is going to set you back a whopping 8 bucks.

CONTEST: Still, if you'd rather spend that $8 on beer, than I've got two tickets to this show to giveaway, along with a copy of Tom Fun Orchestra' latest CD: You Will Land With A Thud. If you're interested in this one, email me at quadb2001 [at] gmail [dot] com with "I Want To Tom Fun Tonight" in the subject line, and your full name in the body.

Contest is now closed. Congrats to Ashley G and thanks to everyone who entered.

Myspace: Tom Fun Orchestra
Myspace: The Coast
Myspace: Carmen Townsend
Video: The Answer on youtube
Video: The Vacation on youtube
Video: Watchmaker on youtube
Download: Highway Siren Song Breakdown mp3

Download: Last Of The Curious Thieves mp3

Santa Dog, The Coast & Reily Live @ Clinton's

The only show I caught at this year’s Canadian Music Week was Saturday night at Clinton’s on Bloor, where I was eagerly looking forward to seeing how Santa Dog’s retro brit-pop sound would translate to our Canadian bar patrons. They did not disappoint, although they definitely had their work cut out for them.

They were preceded by Ottawa’s Loudlove, who were your typical hard rockin’, funky bar band with a bit of ska thrown in for good measure. They were better than average, and they brought the house down (as bar bands generally do in bars.) However, the only logical follow up would have been a 70’s band like Foghat, not Santa Dog. But The Dog did not let that deter them from playing a stellar show. Lead singer Rowena Dugdale is just as charming as I expected she would be, and her overall enthusiasm for coming to icy cold Canada (although Saturday’s temperature wasn’t too bad), just added to her onstage fervor. It should also be noted that bassist Rob Ash has rock star swagger down to a science, and he also gave those who stuck around a good show! They played several songs from the “Belle de Jour” EP and also included several cuts from their upcoming full-length “Kittyhawk” which I’ve listened to and it’s fantastic (more on that in a later post.) It was also very nice to meet them and I was very glad to hear that the rest of their visit to Canada had been a rousing success.

Santa Dog on myspace.
View my pics of Santa Dog live at Clinton’s on my flickr page.

I was going to leave at that point but some friends showed up and we decided to stick around for the next two bands. Glad we did. I had wanted to see The Coast for some time now, and their live show was exactly what you would expect if you’re familiar with their music. They play full-out stadium rock, complete with ringing guitars and triumphant vocals. Their songs are encompassed in atmosphere, and although they sounded exceptional, I would love to hear them open for a bigger band at a larger venue. Still, their songs really translated well to the live stage and The Coast will no doubt continue to get bigger and better as they continue to hone a sound that is tailor made for fans of U2 or The Verve.

Listen to The Coast on myspace.
View my pics of The Coast live at Clinton’s on my flickr page.

The greatest surprise of the night was Brampton’s Reily. How have I not heard of them? If the expression “destined for greatness” were to apply to any indie band, Reily would be the one. They all look like they’re pretty young, but their sound boasts a real maturity, particularly in the harmonies, which are above and beyond anything I’ve heard in a while. Female vocalists Megan and Lisa have such intricate and unique voices that it’s really hard to give those who haven’t heard them a point of comparison. With the inclusion of Nick’s equally impressive vocals, I suppose I hear a bit of Stars, and then a touch of Arcade Fire in the instrumentation. The songs they have posted on myspace do not sound like the type of songs you would hear on a debut release. If they are this good already, it is mind boggling to think how good they will be as time goes on. I am eagerly looking forward to picking up their CD, and I guarantee I’ll be introducing them to more than a couple of my friends.

Reily are playing this Friday at Sneaky Dee's on College St. and Saturday at The Mod Club also on College St. I highly recommend checking out their show.

Listen to the music of Reily on myspace.
View my pics of Reily live at Clinton’s on my flickr page.