Frank YangWith every passing year as the middle of March approaches, I feel more and more like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon. Clearly the sensible thing to do would be to buy a boat and sail around the world (or at least a ferry ticket to the islands) rather than throw myself yet again into the annual maelstrom of 6th St. And yet here I was, in Austin for the sixth straight year to do SxSW. Or have SxSW done to me, as the case may be.

Things began Wednesday at noon with a familiar face, Toronto’s own Basia Bulat kicking off two days of epic lineups for Paste‘s parties at the Galaxy Room. Typically, early shows are sparsely attended affairs as people struggle to haul their asses out of bed, never mind deal with registrations and whatnot, but for Bulat’s show at least they were out in force, ready to have their spirits lifted. Though playing with a much smaller band than she normally does – just herself, brother Bobby on percussion and Alison Stewart on viola and vocals – her songs sounded almost as full as ever and the perfect thing to start of the afternoon/day/festival.

I only had to dash around the corner to Emo’s Annex for the next to-see on my schedule, but my apparent inability to tell time mean that when I got there, A Sunny Day In Glasgow were already halfway through their short set. Even so, I was still able to tell that their live experience was much more immediate and conventionally pop than their records – that might be a turn off for some, but for me, who finds their albums just a little too obtuse and twisty, it meant they were a most tasty bit of dream-pop. I’m still debating whether to see them or Serena-Maneesh in Toronto on April 2, but I now definitely want to see more of A Sunny Day In Glasgow. Your move, Serena.

Heading up Red River, it became clear that the Broken Bells “secret” show, which was just announced that morning, was no longer any kind of secret and any thoughts of getting in were quickly put aside. Continuing on past the massive line, I got to the Mohawk where Austinist’s annual party was going down. I had thought I had some time before Sweden’s First Aid Kit were supposed to start, so I watched Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde do their classic rocking thing for a bit before heading inside to see… Anni Rossi. I double-checked my schedule and indeed had First Aid Kit written down, but looking at the show posters they weren’t listed at all. They’re coming to Toronto in June so no big deal, but still perplexing. Not only can I not tell time, I am apparently making stuff up now.

Thankfully playing when and where I thought they were was The Depreciation Guild, who were just beginning to regale Peckerhead’s with their electronically enhanced dreampop when I got there. I had wholly enjoyed their set opening up for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart in February 2009 but perhaps just wasn’t fully in the mood for that in mid-afternoon or maybe I missed the big 8-bit-esque projections that were so cool that time (big sunny windows onto 6th St don’t create the same vibe). Or maybe I just needed lunch. Either way, before long, it was back out onto 6th.

After recharging with some street meat, it was time to catch one of my must-see acts for the festival, former Beulah frontman Miles Kurosky, whose long-promised solo debut The Desert Of Shallow Effects finally arrived last week. And just as the record was worth the wait, so too was Kurosky’s return to live performance. Fronting a band almost as large as his last one – five core members with percussionist and trumpet added when necessary – they brought his post-Beulah works to life in front of a goodly-sized audience that clearly had been anticipating this day for a long time. After shaking some early jitters, Kurosky was in good spirits and obviously just as pleased to be back, cracking jokes about his former band Pavement and even introducing the first of two songs from his past life as “Summer Landslide Babe”. Hearing the opening track from Yoko again was no joke, though, and would easily be the high point of the day, maybe even the week. Running out of time, they reached way back to finish off with “Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand”, capping a short but fantastic set that not only served to remind that Beulah were one of the great pop bands of the last decade, but to notify that their chief songwriter was back and still had plenty more to offer. Win-win.

With the daytime portion of the, uh, day widing down, it was back to the Paste party for Rokkervil – the Roky Erikson/Okkervil River collaboration but seeing as how they were still soundchecking drums 20 minutes past their start time, I ducked to the other stage to see Frightened Rabbit… who also turned out to be running behind. But their problems would prove to be more than just getting their gear soundchecked – some of their equipment was not even working so when they finally got started, it was in a more stripped-down configuration than they’d intended, most notably with frontman Scott Hutchison sticking to acoustic guitar for the set. This actually proved to be a blessing, of sorts, as their new record The Winter Of Mixed Drinks takes their sound into heavier, more electric territory than their beloved Midnight Organ Fight and it was nice to hear the new material delivered with a little less bombast. I’ve not doubt that they can make the big presentation work, as they surely will when they play Toronto’s Opera House on May 4, but I liked seeing/hearing it done small(er).

Then it was time to forage up some dinner before things got official.

Frank YangI don’t know exactly when I became a Joanna Newsom fan. Though I’d certainly heard people talk about her, my first exposure to her music wasn’t through either of her first two records but by seeing her live on her first visit to Toronto in October 2006 – a breathtaking performance that had me picking up The Milk-Eyed Mender almost immediately thereafter and the follow-up Ys when it came out later that year, but even then I didn’t listen to them all that much. They were my go-to records for when I was in the mood for ornate and expansive, harp-led folk music, sure, but for some reason that wasn’t that often.

Even so, I was still amongst those who picked up her new triple-album Have One On Me on the day of release, and while you’d think that two hours of Joanna Newsom for anyone less than a fanatic would be overwhelming, I instead found it surprisingly immersive and immediate. It’s less quirky than Mender and less epic than Ys, but to my ears, more fully realized. Whereas the talking points for her earlier records focused on her unusual voice or the elaborate orchestrations that adorned her compositions, the only thing worth talking about on Have One On Me is the songs themselves. It’s as though she’s developed enough confidence in her craft to no longer hide behind an affected singing style or lush orchestrations, and though on paper it makes her more conventional, the sheer quality of the work makes that complaint null and void. If I wasn’t a huge Joanna Newsom fan before hearing Have One On Me, I certainly was by the time side 6 hit the runout groove.

As such, I fit right in with the rest of sold-out crowd packed into the Phoenix on Saturday night, breathlessly awaiting her first appearance in Toronto in three and a half years. And waiting. It was at least 20 minutes past her scheduled start time before the curtains were drawn back and her band’s setup revealed. Whereas her last visit was just her solo, this time she brought a five-piece backing band – drums, horn, strings and guitar – to help recreate the arrangements on the record and she herself would start things off not at her signature harp, but the grand piano. Leading off with “Easy”, Newsom managed the impressive feat of utterly silencing 1000 people as she played, all of whom were hanging on every note she played, every word she sang.

After a trio of songs on the piano – and after the allotted time for photography was over, hence the piano-only gallery – Newsom moved to the harp for “In California” and remained there for the remainder of the set. For all the elegance of the music, the first part of the set was marked by some endearingly grounded interaction from Newsom and her band. She forgot the words to “The Book Of Right-On” and then took an extended break to tune her harp, leaving drummer Neal Morgan to chat with the crowd, answer questions and generally buy time. Time which would turn out to be at a premium, as the Phoenix’s looming curfew would put a hard cap on the proceedings. Getting back down to business, they played “No Provenance” and the title track from the new record before closing with the sole Ys cut, “Emily”. Everything was uniformly gorgeous-sounding, the Phoenix never sounding better. The only source of disappointment on the evening was that it ended at 9PM, though after some (myself included) had left – the house lights and music were on! – the stalwarts managed to call Newsom and her band back for an encore. I’m sorry I missed that reading of “Baby Birch”, but it in no way diminishes the hour of music I did get to take in. Just as I said after her last show…. Amazing.

The National Post, The Globe & Mail, Exclaim and Chart all have reviews of the show and share the complaint that the set was too short. I agree, but would point out that Newsom’s Mod Club show wasn’t more than an hour long and while I’ve never played a harp, I imagine it’s pretty fatiguing – especially for 10-minute stretches whilst singing. She was toweling herself off after the more sprawling numbers. I don’t know if she does especially long shows, curfew or not? Maybe we’ll find out when her show in Washington DC on March 23 is webcast live on NPR.

Photos: Joanna Newsom @ The Phoenix – March 13, 2010
Video: Joanna Newsom – “The Sprout & The Bean”

Gibson Guitars talks to Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers about his guitars (natch) and just-released new album The Big To-Do, currently streaming at Spinner – who also have an interview. They’re at Lee’s Palace on April 6 and 7 and were, curiously, the pre-show music over the PA at the Joanna Newsom show. Maybe they were late taking the stage because she was playing air guitar to Southern Rock Opera.

Stream: Drive-By Truckers / The Big To-Do

New York drone merchants Cold Cave have a date at Wrongbar on June 19.

MP3: Cold Cave – “Theme From Tomorrowland”
MP3: Cold Cave – “Laurels Of Erotomania”
MP3: Cold Cave – “Life Magazine”
Video: Cold Cave – “Life Magazine”

Pitchfork has a feature interview with Matt Ward and Zooey Deschanel of She & Him, whose new album Volume Two is streaming in its entirety over at NPR, a week before its March 23 release. They play The Phoenix on June 9.

Stream: She & Him / Volume Two

Wye Oak will be releasing a new EP entitled My Neighbor / My Creator on June 8, and are sharing a first MP3 from said release. They’re hitting the road with Shearwater this Spring and will be at Lee’s Palace with them on April 1.

MP3: Wye Oak – “I Hope You Die”

Billboard talks to Spoon drummer Jim Eno. They play The Sound Academy on March 29.

4AD has details of what’s sure to be one of the coolest Record Store Day specials this year – a live concert DVD from The Mountain Goats wherein John Darnielle performs The Life Of The World To Come in its entirety.

NPR has a World Cafe session with Ted Leo.

Magnet kicks off a week of handing the editorial reins to Miles Kurosky, whose solo debut The Desert Of Shallow Effects is out now.

Check out the new video from Retribution Gospel Choir.

Video: Retribution Gospel Choir – “Workin’ Hard”

NPR has a Tiny Desk Concert with The Antlers. They’re opening up for The National at Massey Hall on June 8 and 9.

And speaking of The National, Pitchfork has details on their new one High Violet, due out May 11 including cover art and tracklisting.

New Hot Chip video! They’re at the Kool Haus on April 20.

Video: Hot Chip – “I Feel Better”

The Quietus talks to Bernard Sumner of Bad Lieutenant.

Spinner talks to Swedish duo First Aid Kit. They’re at the Rivoli on June 12.

Serena-Maneesh, whose new record S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor comes out March 23, talk to Spinner. They play the Great Hall on April 2.

Exclaim talks to John K Samson of The Weakerthans, whose Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre is out next week and streaming right now at Exclaim. They play an in-store at Sonic Boom on March 25 and a proper show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on May 26.

Stream: The Weakerthans / Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre

The Toronto date for Lilith Fair has been announced – it’s happening July 24 at the Molson Amphitheatre. I had been saying that if we got the right combination of acts from the pool of talent already announced to be participating, it could be good. Well so far, we have not.

And y’all will excuse me as I immerse myself in South By South Nonsense for the next few days – trip down was completely uneventful, which was all I hoped for, and though it’s a touch cooler here in ATX than I’d like (or have packed for), it’s gonna be a good time.

Frank YangThe Saturday night of Canadian Musicfest featured a considerable shift in musical gears, starting out with the gentle, harp-led orchestrations of Joanna Newsom at the Phoenix – not a CMF show and which will be written up tomorrow – and ending with some big, loud guitar rock at Rancho Relaxo. Who says I don’t have varied tastes?

An expedient streetcar and longer-than-expected set meant that I was able to catch a couple songs from Montreal’s Kill The Lights. It almost seems wrong to say I’d seen them before, as June 2006 seems like a lifetime ago and the band has undergone changes in the interim, most notably losing co-lead singer Steph Hanna sometime in the past few years (I haven’t been keeping up). That said, Kill The Lights circa 2010 didn’t sound too different from what I remembered; their collective music collection clearly overlapped with mine in and around the drone-rock/shoegazer end of things, but they took their influences in a decidedly more extroverted if somewhat anonymous direction. Spending some time with last year’s Fog Area revealed more nuance than was particularly detectable live – they like it loud – and some more personality. The best moments sound like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club with a more electronic sheen and a bit more jump in their step; the rest is just kind of forgettable.

Photos: Kill The Lights @ Rancho Relaxo – March 13, 2010
Video: Kill The Lights – “Prince Pang”

I’d seen Providence, Rhode Island’s The Brother Kite in Austin, New York City and Montreal but never Toronto, even though I was the one who put together the show for their last visit here back in Fall of 2007 (I was still at Pop Montreal when they played Tiger Bar). It’s not that I was following them around, necessarily, it’s simply that our paths crossed at various festivals and why wouldn’t I take the opportunity to see the band who put out one of my favourite records of the past decade in 2006’s Waiting For The Time To Be Right any chance I got? But that they were here again and playing just down the street from home was extra sweet. No airfare required!

Not surprisingly, their set drew a fair bit from their new record Isolation, wholly in the can but still in search a loving home to release it into the world. Though the new material takes a leaner, more spacious approach than the Ride-meets-Beach Boys lushness that made Time such a joy, it’s still immediate and wonderful – what does it say about a band that they can step away from a winning formula and still impress almost as much? It was great to hear new material from them and the contrast it provided to the older material, with its soaring guitars and melodies, made the familiar songs sound even more majestic. It remains a crime that a band this good remains so unknown and underappreciated, but I did take some satisfaction as looking at some of the impressed faces around the room and knowing that they were at least now that much better-known and appreciated.

A few tracks from Isolation (as well as their other two albums) are available to stream at their website.

Photos: The Brother Kite @ Rancho Relaxo – March 13, 2010
MP3: The Brother Kite – “Get On, Me”
Video: The Brother Kite – “I’m Not The Only One”
MySpace: The Brother Kite

Spinner, Owl & Bear and SxSW profile Slow Club, one of my must-see acts for SxSW this week. They’re playing Eastbound & Found on Thursday at 3:15PM (and other days/places but let them plug their own shows).

The Guardian profiles Laura Marling, whose new album I Speak Because I Can is streaming in its entirety over at The Times, a week before its March 23 UK release and three weeks before it comes out in North America on April 6.

Stream: Laura Marling / I Speak Because I Can

The Futureheads’ new album The Chaos will be getting a North American release on June 1.

Video: The Futureheads – “Heartbeat Song”

Nota bene: Florence & The Machine’s April 10 show at the Phoenix has been moved to the Kool Haus. Original tickets still valid for the new venue and 1000 or so more tickets are now available.

Rock rules at the Mod Club on April 28 as Band Of Skulls and The Whigs roll into town. The Whigs released their new record In The Dark today; stream it over at Spinner, who also have an interview with Band Of Skulls.

MP3: Band Of Skulls – “Blood”
Stream: The Whigs / In The Dark

The Guardian, AV Club, SxSW and NPR have interviews with Frightened Rabbit, who have a date at the Opera House on May 4.

And what, you may ask, could possibly prompt me to miss Frightened Rabbit’s second Toronto show in a row? Well, the fact that Welsh trio The Joy Formidable, one of my top new discoveries of the past year or so, will be playing at the Horseshoe that same evening – May 4 – as part of Nu Music Nites (read: free). Now I love me some Frightened Rabbit, but I’ll be seeing them this week at SxSW and they will be back. I would like to believe that the world will discover how excellent The Joy Formidable are and they, too, will be touring the world regularly but… just in case, I’m going to this show. And if you’re not at Frabbits, you should too. The Alternate Side has an interview and video session with the band. Their debut mini-album A Balloon Called Moaning is due for a North American release in March or April and their as-yet untitled first full-length is due out in June.

MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Austere”
MP3: The Joy Formidable – “Greyhounds In The Slips”
Video: The Joy Formidable – “Popinjay”

Jamie Lidell has set a date for the Mod Club on June 12, tickets $20. His new record Compass is due out May 18 and Paste has a chat.

MP3: Jamie Lidell – “Multiply”

BBC talks to The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess about their decision to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut Some Friendly with a reissue and tour.

The Music Magazine has an interview with Jake Evans, the one member of Bad Lieutenant who was never in New Order.

Frank YangConsidering that snow and slush are far more typical environmental hazards for Canadian Musicfest’s timing, complaining about rain that accompanied the unseasonable warmth the last couple days seems ungrateful. And yet, standing in line to get into Lee’s Palace in the freezing drizzle Friday night, I could only take solace in the fact that this would be my one and only stop for the evening. But I would certainly be having words with this “chromwaves” fellow whom festival literature said was presenting the show along with the Billions booking agency. I bet he’s a tool.

The short gap between doors and the first act meant that Montreal’s Winter Gloves were on stage before my shoes had dried, and if anyone had been hoping to be eased gently into the evening’s entertainment… not going to happen. Winter Gloves came out hard, fast and loud with synth-rock from their debut About A Girl and while the album had only rated an “alright” to my ears, the live experience was much more engaging and enjoyable and, consequently, has prompted me to revisit the record. And encourage SxSW-ers to swing by the Paper Bag Records showcase I’m co-presenting this week to check them out. March 17 at Speakeasy, they’re on at midnight. End plug.

Photos: Winter Gloves @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: Winter Gloves – “Let Me Drive”
MP3: Winter Gloves – “Someone Great”
MP3: Winter Gloves – “All Red”
Video: Winter Gloves – “Let Me Drive”
Video: Winter Gloves – “Piano 4 Hands”

If Winter Gloves took their synths to the rock end of the spectrum, sole Toronto act on the bill Russian Futurists steered theirs towards the pop. And while their stage presence paled in comparison to the act they followed – Matthew Adam Hart subscribes to the “stand there as still as possible” school of frontmanship – the band were clearly pleased to be able to bust out new material from their forthcoming album The Weight’s On The Wheels and their indelibly melodic tunes carried the set. A little more on-stage activity wouldn’t have been unappreciated, but what can you do.

Photos: The Russian Futurists @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: The Russian Futurists – “Paul Simon”
Video: The Russian Futurists – “Paul Simon”
MySpace: The Russian Futurists

Any of the next three bands could easily have been tapped as headliner for the night, but The Acorn arguably took the stage with the most anticipation, at least from me. I hadn’t seen them play since late 2008 and in the interim, they’d gone into hiding to write and record their new record No Ghost, which should be out around June. So while the occasion of their return was a happy one, it also became bittersweet when midway through their set, frontman Rolf Klausner announced that guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Howie Tsui would be leaving the band after their show in Kingston the next night to concentrate on his visual arts career. Anyone who’s seen the Acorn live knows how essential Tsui’s contributions are to their sound, so whomever they get to take his place has some mighty big shoes to fill; a fact reinforced with this show as the band showed off some of their new material while busting out old favourites as well. The new songs sound as though they’ve taken the sounds and lessons learned from the Central American-inflected Glory Hope Mountain and brought them back to the northern hemisphere, including the second drummer added for touring said record – those who came to the band via their early EPs would be (pleasantly) surprised at how potent a rhythmic machine The Acorn are today. And Klausener’s between-song banter has also gotten a lot better. Thankfully.

Photos: The Acorn @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: The Acorn – “The Flood, Pt 1”
MP3: The Acorn – “Crooked Legs” (live on XM)
MP3: The Acorn – “Blankets”
MP3: The Acorn – “Plates & Saucers”
MP3: The Acorn – “Darcy”
Video: The Acorn – “The Flood, Pt 1”
Video: The Acorn – “Crooked Legs”

The thing about having your name attached to a show is that it tends to imply an endorsement of every act on the bill. I had tried to get into Montreal’s Plants & Animals with their debut Parc Avenue, which so many people I know and respect seemed to love, but just couldn’t do it. There was a hippie/jam band vibe about it that I just couldn’t get behind, so that their performance on this evening quite nearly tore my face off was just a bit of a surprise. Their musical prowess has never been in doubt, but funneled through an immensely loud and sweaty 40-minute set of classic rock-styled, arena-sized jams… well, you would have to hate rock to not be impressed. And I do not hate rock. I can’t say that I’ll like their second record La La Land more than the first when it comes out on April 20 – what wows me on stage doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll be as interesting coming from my speakers – but I’ll certainly be giving it more of a chance than I would have prior to Friday night. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Photos: Plants & Animals @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: Plants & Animals – “Tom Cruz”
Video: Plants & Animals – “The Mama Papa”
Video: Plants & Animals – “Feedback In The Field”

Post-Plants & Animals, the room – which had been at capacity for the last few hours – began to clear out a bit. Reasonable, since many had probably been there since doors at 8:30 and subways were going to stop running before long. Reasonable, but unfortunate since leaving Lee’s then would have meant missing Think About Life, another band whom I’d done an almost 180 on since first hearing them. I had dismissed their self-titled debut as being too messy for my tastes, but after seeing them and the glorious dance-party explosion that is their live show in Summer 2008, I was more than happy to elevate them to “at least they’re buckets of fun live” status. Then last year’s Family proved that they were an outfit capable of capturing much of that live energy on record while further honing their songwriting into a more focused yet no less rocking disco-soul monster. In short, they appeared to have become the band that their fans had been insisting they were from the get-go.

After some technical delays, they took the stage looking a bit different from when I saw them last – guitarist/electronics-wrangler Graham Van Pelt and manic frontman Martin Cesar were still there, but drummer Matt Shane had been replaced and they had a new bassist in Caila Thompson-Hannant, whom I recognized from her stints in Miracle Fortress and Shapes & Sizes. Adopting a more conventional live band configuration would prove to be a wise move, though, as they sounded even better and more vital than they did the last time I saw them, Thompson-Hannat’s vocals in particular adding a welcome dimension to their sound. Energy-wise, they were as tremendous as before though the larger environs of Lee’s didn’t allow for quite the audience mosh action that Sneaky Dee’s did. Cesar did leap into the crowd towards the end of the set to spread some sweat around but at no point in the show did I fear for my life. Which should probably be considered a good thing, but I was still a bit disappointed – not in the show, the show was great, just in that I never felt compelled to run for cover.

Photos: Think About Life @ Lee’s Palace – March 12, 2010
MP3: Think About Life – “Nueva Nueva”
MP3: Think About Life – “Sweet Sixteen”
Video: Think About Life – “Havin’ My Baby”
Video: Think About Life – “Sweet Sixteen”
Video: Think About Life – “Paul Cries”

Apologies to The Uglysuit for not sticking around for their show-closing set. By 2AM, I was out of fumes to run on and had to hightail it for home. I promise that every effort will be made to see you this week in Austin.

Spinner interviews The Coast.

The Wooden Sky talks to Torontoist.

CBC has an interview with The Rural Alberta Advantage, who won the Galaxie Rising Star award at the Indies on Saturday night. Yeah, I’m not sure what that means either. But congratulations.

Emily Haines of Metric eulogizes Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse at eye.

superchunk.comThis one’s for the oldsters. Of which I am one. But not old enough to have ever seen Superchunk live… okay, I am, but wasn’t tuned in enough to have caught them before they went on hiatus in the early ’00s. Which is why for SxSW this week, for all the shiny young things looking to make a splash, the one act I am most looking forward to seeing is the ‘Chunk. In recent years they’ve come out of retirement just enough to make occasional live appearances like the one or two they have planned for Austin this week. One of them I will have to miss due to other commitments and logistics, so if you’re looking for me, La Zona Rosa on Friday at 3PM is a good start. And if I’m not there, then call the cops because the bats have taken me.

And while all I want to hear from them is their own songs, if, say, Matt Gentling and Eric Bachmann from fellow ’90s college rock heroes Archers Of Loaf were to join them onstage as they did in Atlanta in February 2001 and tear through “Harnessed In Slums”, well allowances can be made. Not that I expect that to happen. Really. Gentling was only a temporary touring member of Band Of Horses so while they’re in town, he probably won’t be. And as Bachmann recently tweeted, he’s getting started on the next Crooked Fingers record, so he’s busy doing God’s work.

Would you look at how young Bachmann looks in that video? Gadzooks.

MP3: Superchunk – “Harnessed In Slums”
Video: Archers Of Loaf – “Harnessed In Slums”