Since it’s pretty obvious from the photo who won, I’ll start by congratulating Owen Pallett – aka Final Fantasy – on winning the first annual Polaris Music Prize for his album He Poos Clouds. The award was given out last night at the Phoenix at a mildly fancy awards gala featuring performances from half of the 10 finalists for the prize – K’Naan, Sarah Harmer, Cadence Weapon, Malajube and the eventual winner, Final Fantasy. The other nominees got a little video montage comprised of clips from their promo videos and MuchMusic interviews.

All of the performers were terrific, making compelling arguments for why they are some of the top talent in the country but really, Final Fantasy’s two-song set of looped violin-driven classical pop stood head and shoulders above the rest. The finalist judges could have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had just watched him play instead of being sequestered away deliberating – they could have handed him the giant cheque right there and gone to enjoy some nachos. I’ve not been a huge fan of Final Fantasy but after seeing him perform last night, I will have to reevaluate.

Also impressive were Montreal’s Malajube, who though they didn’t win, have probably gained the most out of being nominated than all the others in terms of exposure and profile. Because the singer was sick they only played one song of high-energy guitar pop but they definitely made the most of the opportunity. BrooklynVegan, who has probably been following the awards far closer than any Canadian outlet, has an interview with the band.

Though I don’t think there was any real concensus favourite coming into the night, it was evident from the response from the audience, made up of media and industry folk, that no one really wanted any of the high-profile bands (BSS, New Pornographers, Metric) to win – after all, Canadians do love an underdog. But I’m sure that as thrilled as Pallett is to be taking home $20K (maybe he can buy himself back a website), it was Wolf Parade who did the most celebrating when the award organizers announced that the sponsors would indeed be picking up their bar tab from the night before.

It was kind of an interesting experience for me because even though I was a judge and was invited to the event, I don’t actually work within the industry in any meaningful way and thus, didn’t know anyone there. So when I say “interesting”, I probably mean “kinda dull”. But even though I was up in the balcony with the hoi polloi, I was able to shoot a few decent photos of the performances. In hindsight, I probably could have walked down to where the media photogs were and shot from there, but eh. Lazy. The awards themselves were farily low-key with some minor technical difficulties, a not-terribly funny host and no shortage of digs at Broken Social Scene. But still, it was nice to be a part of what should be a worthwhile annual event and though it sounds like such a cliche, after last night I have a few CDs to pick up.

Canada.com and The Toronto Star reports on the awards outcome while Zoilus offers no info about how the final judging process went. Rock? Scissors? Paper? Come on!

Update: Just got a link to the video for the title track of the winning album.
Update 2: Pop (All Love) liveblogged the event… in his head. ESSENTIAL READING.

Photos: Polaris Music Prize Gala @ The Phoenix – September 18, 2006
MP3: Final Fantasy – “If I Were A Carp”
MP3: Final Fantasy – “Many Lives 49 MP”
MP3: Malajube – “Montreal -40°C”
MP3: Malajube – “Le Metronome”
Video: Final Fantasy – “He Poos Clouds” (YouTube)
MySpace: Malajube

Keeping it Canuck – is Ottawa the next big scene? Simultaneous lists on the best bands in the nation’s capital from Cokemachineglow and I Heart Music tip the magic eight ball towards “possibly”.

I Heart Music also has an interview with Andrew Scott of Sloan, while The Canadian Press talks to Chris Murphy. Their new one Never Hear The End Of It is out today and apparently it’s something more than business as usual from the band? They’ve also announced a Toronto date at the Kool Haus for October 11 6 – thanks to For The Records for the tip.

Victoria News chats with Amy Millan and The London Free Press talks to Metric. The AV Club shuffles Emily Haines’ iPod, Pitchfork reviews her solo record and there’s a new MP3 and video to check out:

MP3: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – “Dr Blind”
Video: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton – “Dr Blind” (MOV)

Pitchfork interviews John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats and Carl Wilson also has an expansive review of Get Lonely at The Globe & Mail. The Goats are in town tonight at Lee’s Palace.

My segment on The New Music is now available to view online at MuchMusic but only within Canada – something to do with broadcast rights to the music used in the piece, etc. And it’s too bad, because the CGI is really impressive. It really looks like I’m breathing fire and crushing Neo-Tokyo under my giant lizard feet. But my thoughts? They say some people have a face for radio – I apparently have a voice for the internet (and I’m not talkin’ podcasts).

np – Sarah Harmer / I’m A Mountain

I don’t know what the rider was for Saturday night’s Eric Bachmann/Richard Buckner show at the Horseshoe, but I suspect it read something like, “50 cartons cigarettes, 12 gallons bourbon, 10 lbs gravel – finely ground”. The co-headlining tour featured two of the roughest voices in music – both of whom have just released brilliant new records – and despite the rough week behind and ahead of me, I was raring to go for this one. The eleven hours of sleep accrued over the past day helped, too.

First up were local openers Delta who offered up a set of upbeat, personable and occasionally downright perky country tunes. With songs about trains, drinking and sex powered by frontwoman Emily Weedon’s high, lonesome chirp, Delta delivered an energetic opening set that got the crowd up and ready to be taken right back down by the headliners.

Buckner drew the middle slot and while based on the production of Meadow I was expecting a full band, Buckner’s only musical compatriot on this tour would be Doug Gillard, ex of GBV and sideman on the album. The duo played seated, surrounded by guitars and an assortment of pedals that would impress the staunchest shoegazer. With these loopers and line switchers, Buckner was able to create musical passages between the proper songs that kept the sound going while he switched guitars, tuned or whatever. While it confused the audience about when to applaud, it did keep the flow going and also meant Buckner didn’t have to talk to the audience to fill in the dead air.

Performing with just two guitarists (and sometimes just Buckner alone), much of the material from Meadow was significantly re-arranged, not only instrumentally but the vocals as well. Freed from the restrictions of a rhythm section, Buckner played more with the cadence of his singing to fit the overall flow of the set. He also sounded fairly under the weather, if the coughing fits were any indication, so maybe that was part of it too. But there was something about the almost break-free ebb and tide of his set and his worn yet powerful rasp that made me think that Richard Buckner sounds like the road. Being on the road, watching the highway lines, the actual asphalt, all of it.

After Buckner wrapped up his set, a fair portion of the audience cleared out to my amazement and bewilderment. As good as Buckner was, I knew that Eric Bachmann was going to put on an amazing show because, well, I don’t think he’s capable of NOT doing so. I had expected Buckner to play with a band and Bachmann to go it solo, but instead it was Bachmann who brought along the supporting cast. Frequent collaborators Barbara Trentalange Kate O’Brien and Miranda Brown were along with him on violin/cello and keyboards respectively, with both contributing vocals. To The Races is so stripped down that I’m sure it would have sounded great if Bachmann had gone it alone but the backing players really added so much, moreso on the Crooked Fingers material than the new stuff. It’s amazing how a simple violin part or keyboard line can lift a song to a whole new level.

As a performer, Bachmann is just mesmerizing – and not just because the guy is huge. There’s something about his voice, his guitar, his songs – they just combine to create my happy place (which, I guess, is a dusty, sad and sepia sort of place). I had feared that maybe his amazing set at SxSW in March was a unique experience but as it turns out, it was just a taste. Over an hour fifteen, it’s even better. There’s still just under a fortnight left in this tour and it gets my absolute highest recommendation as one not to miss. “You Must Build A Fire”. Man.

A couple Buckner radio sessions to check out if you want to hear what the current live experience is like – one with MPR and The Sound And The Fury has his recent KEXP session MP3-ified. Buckner has also been keeping a tour diary on the Merge Blog (one, two, three and four so far) while Miranda Brown is journaling the tour from the Bachmann POV here.

Photos: Eric Bachmann, Richard Bucker, Delta @ The Horseshoe – September 16, 2006
MP3: Eric Bachmann – “Lonesome Warrior”
MP3: Eric Bachmann – “Carrboro Woman”
MP3: Richard Buckner – “Town”
MP3: Delta – “Clark St”
MySpace: Eric Bachmann

Newsday.com gets apolitical with M Ward.

The trailer for the forthcoming Jeff Tweedy solo tour DVD is now online. Sunken Treasure Live In The Pacific Northwest (no idea how that’s meant to be punctuated) is out October 24.

Trailer: Jeff Tweedy: Sunken Treasure Live (MOV)

Magnet interviews John Roderick of The Long Winters, in town at Lee’s on October 4. The new issue features The Shins, just in time for… well, nothing. Wincing The Night Away isn’t out till January 23.

The Washington Post asks Kurt Wagner of Lambchop, “what’s your Damage(d)?” They’re at the Mod Club next Sunday, a show I will be forced to miss because some joker decided to get married. Thanks a lot, Five.

So tonight is the awards ceremony for the first annual Polaris Music Prize. As I’m not one of the final judges, I’ll be relegated to the cheap seats (aka kid’s table) at the Phoenix when nominees K’Naan, Sarah Harmer, Final Fantasy, Cadence Weapon and Malajube perform. The Toronto Star and The National Post consider the chances of all the nominees, The Ottawa Citizen and Globe & Mail consider the merits of the award while Zoilus, who IS a final-round judge, has some thoughts on the whole thing as well as this eye piece which talks to Mrs. Fantasy and Weapon. It also asks each of the finalists what they’d do with the $20,000 if they won – in inimitable Canadian fashion, all the responses are sensible and unexciting. I can’t believe no one is gold-plating ANYTHING.

And finally, while celebrity appearances on The Simpsons (and The Simpsons in general) are kind of yawners to me nowadays, the White Stripes appearance last night was pretty funny – check out the clip at BrooklynVegan before Fox’s lawyers wake up.

np – Richard Buckner / Dents And Shells

Jule Brown / Smoke And Mirrors (Enabler) The best way to get my attention with a CD is to put a big sticker on it that says “produced by Dean Wareham” Best way to get me to listen to it immediately is to have a “Dean Wareham – rhythm and lead guitar” credit on the back cover. Canny. Jule Brown is the alter-ego of Mark Holland who made a name for himself as drummer in ’90s Chapel Hill act Jennyanykind and his latest release is a healthy dose of roots/Americana with vocals that sound a lot like Mark Knopfler crossed with Tom Petty (and that will surely send some people running for the exits). The songwriting is solid if unspectacular and a little too genrefied. But Wareham’s distinctive guitar work does indeed grace a lot of this album and while it can sound a bit odd stylistically, it works and makes the record that much interesting. Luna should have used more pedal steel. Smoke And Mirrors comes out September 19. MP3: Jule Brown – “The Losers” MP3: Jule Brown – “Can’t Get It Right”

The Big Sleep / Son Of The Tiger (French Kiss) It’s been a while since I listened to any instrumental music that couldn’t be easily slotted into the post-rock category, but New York’s The Big Sleep have no time to waste in building to the crescendo. They start off running and don’t let up for the duration of the record – even the slower numbers crackle with kinetic energy looking to bust out. Okay, there are some vocal tracks on Son Of The Tiger but while they offer a welcome bit of variety to the record, it’s the instrumentals that really carry this album. Thunderous yet giddy, trippy yet ultra-focused and above all, very melodic. Very nice stuff. No Toronto dates on the calendar but they will be at Pop Montreal playing with Islands at Saints on October 6th. The album is in stores Tuesday. MP3: The Big Sleep – “Murder” MP3: The Big Sleep – “You Can’t Touch The Untouchable” MySpace: The Big Sleep

Bound Stems / Appreciation Night (Flameshovel) I think I’ve actually become allergic to Isaac Brock, or more specifically, anyone who sings like Isaac Brock. And sadly for Chicago’s Bound Stems, guitarist and vocalist Bobby Gallivan fits the bill. I was able to get past it for their debut EP The Logic of Building the Body Plan but over the course of a full-length, well that’s when I reach for my Reactine. But personal prejudices aside, Bound Stems have crafted a densely upbeat slab of prog-pop that stands as an impressive realization of the ambitions evident on Body Plan. I just can’t listen to it. Appreciation Night is out Tuesday. MP3: Bound Stems – “Andover” MP3: Bound Stems – “Western Biographic” MySpace: Bound Stems

np – The Dears / Gang Of Losers

An upside to Serena-Maneesh’s stage-destroying short set on Wednesday was that I was able to hoof it a couple blocks down to the Tranzac to see Early Day Miners. I was exhausted but also really wanted to hear them play their latest album Offshore, which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite albums of the year.

If the album Offshore is described as the “director’s cut” of the song, originally off of Let Us Garlands Bring, then the live show was like the “edited for TV” version – still maintaining all the sex, violence and language as well as the widescreen aspect ratio, just trimmed slightly for length. The fact that they began a fair bit later than their scheduled start time which was a concern, considering the Tranzac has a pretty firm midnight curfew and with the intention being to play the album in its entirety, it’d have been a travesty if they were cut off.

Happily, they were able to get through the whole thing, or at least the important parts – I think they cut maybe five to ten minutes of droning and jamming. As I mentioned earlier this month, the record tends to blur into a singular, epic entity for me. High points were the thundering drums of opener “Land Of Pale Saints” and closer “Hymn Beneath The Pallisades” as well as the majestic centrepiece of “Return Of The Native” with keyboardist Kate Long ably handling Amber Webber’s recorded vocals. I’m pretty sure all points in between were present and accounted for, nothing sounded missing. In fact, it actually sounded better live – the seven-piece band making the compositions even more dynamic than they are on the album without losing any of the rich, mournful ambience. Excellent. I’ve seen a lot of live music over the past week on stages huge and tiny, and this lightly-attended show in a converted community centre was one of the best. I’m very glad that I was able to stick it out.

Only downside was right before they started playing when they said, “you can turn all the lights off – we can pretty much play in the dark”. Le sigh.

Photos: Early Day Miners @ Tranzac – September 13, 2006
MP3: Early Day Miners – “Return Of The Native”
MySpace: Early Day Miners

Bradley’s Almanac comes through again with a live set from Austin’s The New Year, who may well be the last band I have yet to see live and whom I have no great expectation of ever seeing unless I go to them. They never seem to want to cross that ol’ border.

Anyone disappointed with the track selection for the North American edition of The Best Of Luna will be pleased to know that Beggars, the label that handled most of their career in Europe, will be releasing their own two-disc edition on October 9. It’s not perfect either, also criminally overlooking swan song Rendezvous though to be fair, I don’t think they had the rights to that album. But it does have a number of tracks that the US edition is missing and more importantly, is a double-disc set with a CD-version of the covers compilation released in digital-only form over here as Lunafied though again, the tracklist varies slightly. Which is to say that Luna completists had better get their credit cards out…

The Los Angeles Times talks to Starflyer 59’s Jason Martin. Their new album My Island came out on Tuesday.

Radio Free Silver Lake chats with Dirty On Purpose’s Joe Jurewicz. DoP are in town November 9 at Lee’s and have also made a bunch of radio sessions available to download. Nice.

Filter‘s recent cover story on TV On The Radio is now online. Return To Cookie Mountain came out on Tuesday and while I dutifully pre-ordered it, it still hasn’t arrived from Insound. Bastiches! But to compensate (slightly), they’ve got the first single available to download. TVOTR are at the Opera House October 12.

MP3: TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”

Wonderfully breezy New York folk combo Hem are at the Horseshoe on October 16. Their new record Funnel Cloud came out earlier this month.

My second (and last) TIFF film this year was Exiled, a new film from director Johnnie To who apparently is quite the big name back in Hong Kong. I had never heard of him and had basically selected the film blindly – well I guess I got lucky because it was excellent. Ostensibly a gangster flick about five childhood friends double-crossing gang leaders in Macau, it’s really more a buddy flick with lots of stylish gunplay, action sequences and a strong dose of humour. If this film is typical of To’s cinematic output then I really have to investigate further, maybe starting with The Mission, to which Exiled was an unofficial sequel/prequel featuring much of the same cast and some common plot threads. To also had two other films running at the festival – now that’s impressive. Consolation Champs was also in attendance and has a more detailed, equally postive review.

Trailer: Exiled (YouTube)

Has anyone else upgraded to iTunes 7 and found that they have no desktop icons for the shortcuts? Weird.

np – Cat Power / You Are Free

I am going to open this review by stating that Wednesday night was my fifth straight day of concert-going, including the two-day soiree on the islands last weekend. Which is the say that my head was probably not right. Just a caveat.

If any bootlegs of Serena Manesh’s SxSW set exist, they probably sound a little like “KKKCCCHKKKSSSSSSSSGGG”, but with maybe more bass. But despite it being sonically incomprehensible, it was still a spectacle and a half and one of the best things I saw that week. The Norwegian glam-gazers were a whirlwind of scarves, hairs and guitars flung around the stage and a refreshing dose of over-the-top, in-your-face showmanship in a sea of introvert indie rockers. They had originally been slated to make their Canadian debut back in the Spring but had to cancel because of immigration issues related to getting back into the US, but had all that sorted out this time around as they finally rolled into Toronto.

Also in tow were Oklahomans Evangelicals, touring in support of their debut album So Gone (which I reviewed in June). On the record, I found the overriding feeling to be of youthful energy and optimism – live, however, there was something significantly darker going on. In part it was their stage setup, decking everything out with foliage, pillars and a smoke machine and relying on just a pair of green and red floodlights on the floor for illumination. The result was a kind of Hallowe’en funhouse meets haunted forest vibe which turned out to be pretty apt. Musically they were as high-energy as I’d been told, but more anxious and frantic than exuberant and rambunctious and overall a little unsettling. Though the story/cautionary tale about making out with transvestites was pretty funny.

Serena Maneesh’s set may have been short – barely 45 minutes – but what it lacked in duration, it more than made up for in volume, stage destruction and sheer ridiculousness. They often get dismissed as a My Bloody Valentine tribute but what I witnessed was a band channelling the spirit of The Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray” with the chaos knob turned up to 10. I think the mix was far superior to the one in Austin, but damned if I could make anything out – instead, once again, the band’s physicality counted for as much as their music. Frontman Emil Nikolaisen, resplendant in leather, bandana and frills, was a dervish on guitar while sister and bassist Hilma Nikolaisen was a giantess Nico, bounding about the stage the rhythm of the omnipresent drone.

But curiously, for all the band was putting out on stage, there seemed to be this fundamental disconnect with the audience. It was a reasonable-sized crowd, but for a few exceptions most people seemed to be watching with the eye of the curious and not the converted. Which is fair since they’re not the most immediately accessible act, but it did make the general vibe in the club a little odd – I think for a fully enjoyable experience, you have to be totally into what the band is doing and I didn’t sense that level of buy-in from the audience for much of the show. They were cheering heartily by the end but that may have had much to do with the band’s wanton destruction of their stage setup. Everyone loves a good demolition derby. The fact that drummer Einar Lukerstuen’s kit was strewn all over the stage in many pieces also pretty much guaranteed there would be no encore.

Photos: Serena Maneesh, Evangelicals @ Lee’s Palace – September 13, 2006
MP3: Serena Maneesh – “Un-Deux”
MP3: Evangelicals – “Here Comes Trouble”
MP3: Evangelicals – “Another Day (And Yoor Still Knocked Out)”
Video: Serena Maneesh – “Drain Cosmetics” (YouTube)
MySpace: Serena Maneesh

Pitchfork rounds up the activities of the former members of On! Air! Library!. I’ve talked at length before about Daylight’s For The Birds and their new album Trouble Everywhere out October 31, but Claudia Deheza’s A Cloud Mireya and Alley Deheza’s School Of Seven Bells both seem worth investigating as well. All bands should break up so productively – I just got a copy of the Daylight’s record and it’s so very pretty.

NOW previews Asobi Seksu’s show next Wednesday at the Horseshoe which I’m giving away passes for – go here to enter. There’s also a new remix of one of their songs up for grabs.

MP3: Asobi Seksu – “Strawberries” (Cassettes Won’t Listen remix)

Brooklyn noise-poppers Dirty On Purpose are coming back to town on November 9 in support of The Album Leaf. That show is at Lee’s Palace.

JAM! declares Sloan to be still relevant. Sloan is relieved. Their new album Never Hear The End Of It is out Tuesday.

Beck is at the Ricoh Coliseum on October 16, tickets $42.50 on sale tomorrow at 2PM. Pitchfork has details and full dates. His new album The Information is out October 3.

File under: unexpected. PopMatters bids farewell to The Dance Cave, the dingy club atop Lee’s Palace where I also spent many (many) a wasted night in my twenties. Though I don’t think I ever liked it nearly as much as the author – it was just somewhere to go.

np – Daylight’s For The Birds / Trouble Everywhere