The Hoa Hoa's / Your 33 Black Angels / The Disraelis @ Silver Dollar

As every music loving listmaker knows, December is a month for lists, and my thrill of culling together a year's best predates this here blog by at least a solid 15 years or so. Of course, the year end lists of my 9 year old self would no doubt be a little embarrassing if unearthed these days which makes me glad that the blogging phenomenon didn't happen until I was well into my 30's. Part of the fun that comes with creating such a list is the reworking of said list when something else comes to mind or, better yet, something better enters the picture and on that note, the psych rock extravaganza that I witnessed last week at The Silver Dollar means that my top 10 shows of the year is going to have to be reworked. You'll have to pardon the hyperbole, but this show was life altering!

The first band of the evening was The Disraelis. Although their recorded output has been highly regarded by most, their live show often gets mixed reviews. Cameron Ingles' "could care less" demeanor no doubt has the ability to repel as much as it may attract and in the end, your personal feeling on their live show is going to be just that: a matter of personal taste. Myself, I loved it! The combination of Ingles' lazy drawl, along with Colin Bowers' ringing guitar sound and David Barnes' precise and original drumming made their set rise above my expectations. There was definitely a psychedelic vibe in the air, and although the band owes just as much to Echo and the Bunnymen and The Charlatans as it does to 60's garage past, their slightly abrasive persona was a perfect match for the reverb soaked drones that emanated forth from the stage. There are an awful lot of bands claiming to emulate that nouveau psychedelic shoegaze sound, and most of them either sound a little bit contrived or they are just plain bad, but the incredibly precise musicianship of The Disraelis makes them sound authentic and, more importantly, genuine. What's scary is the fact that the band is likely to get even better, which makes me marvel at the potential.

Photos: My shots of The Disraelis at Silver Dollar are on flickr
Myspace: The Disraelis

A couple of years ago, a rabid Your 33 Black Angels fan went about emailing a whole bunch of bloggers to tell them about his favorite New York band and, by and large, the blogging community seemed to be pretty impressed. Also impressed was one David Fricke of Rolling Stone who labeled them a 'treasure.' I remember liking them quite a bit; thinking that they shared a cool vibe with the Thurston Moore's and Lou Reed's out there. But when I heard that they were added to this bill, I admittedly remembered their name more than their sound. It was two years ago after all, and I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I listen to a lot of music. I was looking forward to getting reacquainted though, and within a few notes, I realized that their inclusion on this night made perfect sense as they boasted a similar 60's sensibility, albeit more rooted in the 'pop' end of the spectrum as opposed to the 'psych' end. Their set was a sweet contrast to The Disraelis, as they turned up the energy and rocked out by cranking out one compelling hook after another. They were definitely heavy on the riffs and although their music lacked the atmosphere of the bands that preceded and followed them, where they excelled was in their ability to create music that is immediate and accessible. Although the less informed may credit another New York band with saving rock 'n roll (I won't mention any initials but I'm talking about The Strokes), those in the know think that the underground credit belongs somewhere else. This was Your 33 Black Angels first visit to Toronto, but hopefully it won't be their last.

Photos: My shots of Your 33 Black Angels at Silver Dollar are on flickr.
(I'm really happy with how these turned out. The lighting was awesome!)
Myspace: Your 33 Black Angels

As you may remember, my introduction to the live version of The Hoa Hoa's was a triumphant success, making them one of a select number of local bands that I must see at every opportunity. This is a very elite list that literally consists of only a handful of acts, which explains my return to their live set a mere four weeks after the last time. This show was to celebrate the release of their excellent Pop/Drone/Pedals album, which has only sounded better since attending this show. There's no need to rehash the fact that the band themselves sound amazing live, since I covered it well in my last review. But this was a night where the whole show seemed extra special for some reason, and although I'm sure they're going to continue to blow me away the more I see them, I doubt that they'll be able to perfectly duplicate the experience of that Friday night. The psychedelic air was thick that night, and this was not due to any particular waft of chemical substances because trust me, I likely would've smelt it if it was there. (For the record, psychedelic chemicals are not my scene; psychedelic music however, very much is.) No, that air was created by several other factors. First of all, the light show was intense which was amazing given the fact that the Silver Dollar is not a large venue at all. There was one person off stage holding a strobe light, which presented an interesting challenge when it came to picture taking, since I had to time my clicks just so. Another person in front was holding a multi-coloured light that created some pretty trippy effects. Another ingredient to the overall vibe was the fact that almost everybody in the audience felt compelled to engage in their own version of freaky 60's dancing, which made the whole room feel as if we were transported back to 1967. It was pretty awesome! The main ingredient of course was the music, and, believe it or not, they were even tighter than they were the last time. By the time the last song was finished playing, I remembered turning to the guy next to me and saying that I had to leave because, with all due respect to Action Makes, who were closing the evening, I didn't want anything to tarnish what I had just witnessed. I'll catch that band at a later date, but the band's final freak out was the perfect way to the end the evening. I've only experienced it on a couple of occasions, but I love that moment at the end of a show when everybody in the audience looks at each other knowing that they've just witnessed something amazing. That happened that night. And amazing this was.

Photos: My pics of The Hoa Hoa's at Silver Dollar are on flickr
Myspace: The Hoa Hoa's

Invasions - Magic EP

Local garage band Invasions are set to release their debut EP Magic sometime in mid October, but I've been privileged to hear it ahead of time and I've got to say that it's pretty dang good. I saw them perform at Rancho Relaxo a few months ago, and I was entirely blown away by their authentic 60's rock sound, as well as their clear grasp on how to successfully capture an audience and completely put them under your rock 'n roll spell. Besides the obvious 60's bands that they clearly emulate, they also do a good job at harnessing that 70's punk rock D.I.Y. aesthetic, keeping their sound successfully rough and gritty. The first couple of songs are basically garage rock by number, which is not a bad thing. But by the time they get to track three (Atlantic Boulevard) they clearly prove that they are more than a one trick pony, introducing a little bit of carefully placed harmonica. The next song Day By Day begins with an eerie organ sound, not unlike what you might hear in something by The Doors or The Animals, before settling into an almost ska-like territory. And the EP closer Hopeless Magic is a great end to the album, starting out sounding like a lounge lizard of sorts before morphing into an exhilarating garage rock build up that leaves us wanting more. Invasions are the type of band that I can see releasing a couple of albums of solid straight forward garage rock before stretching themselves into other areas, proving that a garage band doesn't need to stay confined to any particular comfort zone.

Invasions have a Toronto date at the El Mocambo tomorrow on Sept 27th before heading to Pop Montreal to play the Petit Campus with some other amazing bands like The Disraelis and Black Mountain Bay. Full lineup can be found here.

Myspace: Invasions
Download: Out Of Touch mp3


Hearya.com has mp3's and video footage of a live studio session featuring Your 33 Black Angels. They have a new 22 track CD coming out with the ultra-cool title Tales Of My Pop Rock Love Life. Three songs from the upcoming CD are featured at this session.

Myspace: Your 33 Black Angels

Ray Foley's Mark Olson documentary - The Salvation Blues - is screening at the Sound Unseen festival in Minneapolis, which runs from October 23-30th. I had never even heard of this movie but apparently it's only 30 minutes long, and it chronicles the making of his last album, the reasons why he left The Jayhawks as well as some details on the break up of his marriage to Victoria Williams. I don't know how you cram all of that drama into only 30 minutes but I'm definitely intrigued. You can view the trailer here. Ready For The Flood is his upcoming collaboration with Gary Louris and it's due out in January 2009.

Myspace: Mark Olson

Nicole Atkins talks about her love of Metallica as well as her time hanging out with Springsteen over at Von Pip Musical Express.

Myspace: Nicole Atkins

I can't believe how out of the indie rock loop I can be sometimes. I've been reading some great reviews of TV On The Radio's new CD Dear Science, which apparently came out last Tuesday. Would it kill someone to tell me about these things? Love TVOTR. Gotta pick it up immediately!

Myspace: TV On The Radio

Finally, I hope that you're enjoying this new "reviews with other indie rock news" format that I'm trying out. It's a direct rip off of most other music blogs that I read and enjoy and that are significantly better than mine, but I notice that the more bands you cram in, the more hits you get. So I thought, hecks, why not try it? Can't guarantee that my posts will always be this jam packed with info though. It takes an awful long time to post things this way.

Recommending Some Recommendations

I'm finding it increasingly more impossible to keep up with all the great music that crosses my path these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm up to the challenge of encountering even more. I'm kinda nutty that way. But for me to write about every great band I come across just ain't gonna happen. However, today I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I have a few spare moments and nothing else to blab about to briefly share with you a few artists that have been recently recommended to me. These are three artists that I know relatively little about, but from what I've heard, they're bound to make my cheeks all rosy red with delight!!




Your 33 Black Angels are from New York, New York and they remind me of all of the great bands that boast that ultra cool, laid back New Yorksy sound. You know who I'm talking about and you know that you don't have to necessarily be from New York to sport such a sound. All of the Lou Reed's and Stephen Malkmus's and Thurston Moore's out there who make sounding cool seem painlessly simple. Well, add Your 33 Black Angels to that list. They've been around for a couple of years but earlier this year they released "Lonely Street", and it's receiving some pretty honorable type mentionings from some pretty honorable type people. Rolling Stones' David Fricke, for example, described it as one of this year's treasures. I haven't yet heard the CD, but judging by the songs on their myspace page, it's probably wise for me to get on that. I particularly like "Psycho On Your Side," which is like an upbeat love song from the bizarro world.

Download: Psycho On Your Side mp3
Myspace: Your 33 Black Angels (you can also purchase "Lonely Street" on their myspace page)




While conversing with William Rees of Mystery Jets during their visit to T.O. earlier this year, he told me that I must check out UK's Late Of The Pier. This is a band that may have a more critical case of ADD than I do. If you listen to their song "Bathroom Gurgle" for instance, the song does not run much longer than your typical top 40 tune, except it goes through more changes than a newborn baby's diaper. There is very little online information about these guys but I guess that I would best describe them as equal parts Prince, Gary Numan and Bobby Conn. They're a lot of fun, they're easy to dance to, and they put a smile on my face. What more can I say? Glam rock with its nose to the funkstone.

Download: Space and the Woods mp3
Myspace: Late Of The Pier

Finally, there's Denmark's Death Valley Sleepers. Tobias Winberg is the brains behind this operation, playing all of the instruments himself. What I find really neat is that it sounds like a full fledged band performing these songs, which is a real testament to the talent and attention to detail that Tobias has carefully honed. Not to sound like a broken record, but I'm sure you've all figured out that I can't get enough of the 60's influenced sound. But DVS is quite unique in that to me it sounds like surf music that you'd hear in a Serge Leone film, if Serge Leone were to put surf music in one of his spaghetti western type films. Which would never happen. Thus the word 'unique.'

Download: Sweet End mp3
Myspace: Death Valley Sleepers