Frank YangKids and their punk rock. That none of the bands on the bill at Sneaky Dee’s on Friday night were really what anyone who gave it some thought would call punk was irrelevant – the youth of Toronto were out and were gonna get drunk and smash some shit up. And Titus Andronicus would be their soundtrack.

The evening began relatively politely, with Burlington’s Sandman Viper Command making a strong argument against the attitude that nothing good has ever come out of Burlington (that’s my attitude, anyways). The quartet, who have one album under their belt in last year’s Everybody See This, impressed with a breed of rock that clearly had its eye on interesting and unconventional musical horizons while keeping sight of the directness and melodicism of their garage-y roots. Usually the most a local act opening for a hotly-tipped touring act can hope for is politeness, but when their set was cut a bit short by frontman Rob Janson’s Gibson SG ceasing to function, there was genuine disappointment from the crowd.

That feeling wouldn’t last, however, as Hollerado – who proudly hail from Manotick, Ontario and not Ottawa thank you very much – would turn any frowns upside down with their set. Though almost a year has passed since I first saw them last June opening up for The Dead Weather at the Horseshoe, they were still working their debut Record In A Bag, though in the interim it had gone from free download to actual physical product you could buy (but it’s still available for free). Also the same as last time was the fact that they put on a fantastic show that made it clear that they knew that playing rock’n’roll was supposed to be fun and if there was one thing clear through their loud, tight riffs and big hooks was that they were having fun and when the band’s having fun, the audience is almost certainly having fun. Those seeking angst would find it in spades with the headliners.

It was last week that I declared my obsession/admiration for Titus Andronicus’ new record The Monitor, which is something that really took me entirely by surprise considering their debut The Airing Of Grievances didn’t make all that much of an impression when it was reissued last year. I suspect that put me in the minority of those who were piled into the front of Sneaky Dee’s as the Glen Rock, New Jersey band was setting up shop. If they weren’t already long-term believers, then they were new converts with the zeal that comes that and as soon as the band kicked things off with “A More Perfect Union”, it became very clear to me that my position up front and centre was a very bad place to be if I wanted to survive the night. After basically being pushed onstage and on top of frontman Patrick Stickles’ monitor and pedalboard, I fought my way towards the relative safety of the sides of the stage and let those hell-bent on moshing the night away do their thing.

Without my body to act as a buffer, the mosh pit quickly surged onto the stage and knocked out Stickles’ vocal monitors completely and his appeals to try and keep the bedlam off of his pedals so that he could keep playing looked like they were falling on deaf ears. And right there, in a nutshell, was the odd position that Titus Andronicus seemed to find themselves in with this record and tour – its scope, cerebralness and general awesomeness make The Monitor an album that deserves to be listened closely to, to be meditated upon, but their more visceral qualities – which are legion, especially live – will just make the kids want to freak out. They eventually gave up on the monitors, just crossed their fingers for their gear and aside from a request to try not to crush anyone, plowed ahead.

Now I’d heard many tales of Titus Andronicus’ live prowess at SxSW last month, but even forewarned it was something to behold. With slightly crazy eyes and a thick black beard, Stickles was a magnetic figure on stage, wringing out anthemic guitar lines from his abused Gretsch, screaming himself hoarse into the mic – in key, no less, despite not being able to hear himself – and even going for a crowd surf. And his bandmates managed to recreate far more of the sounds and nuances of The Monitor than we had any right to expect, thanks in particular to keyboardist David Robbins and second guitarist/violinist Amy Klein. As it should have, the set leaned heavily on The Monitor with some of the quieter tracks swapped out for a healthy selection of Grievances‘ raucousness – as such, the only lulls came within the songs and the overall energy level of the hour-plus performance never waned. When the last notes of “Four Score and Seven” rang out, all that was left was a haze – or daze – of sweat and beer and the understanding that as insane as the crowd was, the opportunity to have seen Titus play before their die-hards should be appreciated because as they continue to blow up – and they will – the number of fans whose musical appreciation manifests itself as head-nodding (which largely includes me, tis true) as well as the size of the rooms they play in will only grow. The bruises and aches will fade, but the memory of seeing Titus Andronicus utterly demolish a small club with a little help from their friends – that will remain. Titus Andronicus forever.

Live Music Project, Chart and eye also have reviews of the show. The Boston Herald, Hartford Courant and Philadelphia Inquirer talk to Patrick Stickles about the themes of The Monitor. Hollerado tells Chart why they’re giving away their old van and Brock Press interviews Sandman Viper Control, who have a neat video session over at Southern Souls.

Photos: Titus Andronicus, Hollerado, Sandman Viper Command @ Sneaky Dee’s – April 9, 2010
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Four Score And Seven” (Part One)
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Four Score And Seven” (Part Two)
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”
MP3: Hollerado – “Juliette”
MP3: Hollerado – “Fake Drugs”
MP3: Hollerado – “Americanarama”
MP3: Sandman Viper Command – “Strawberry Quick”
MP3: Sandman Viper Command – “Oh Yeah, It’s Fusion”
ZIP: Hollerado / Record In A Bag
Video: Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
Video: Titus Andronicus – “Titus Andronicus”
Video: Hollerado – “Juliette”
Video: Hollerado – “Americanarama”
MySpace: Titus Andronicus
MySpace: Hollerado

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review talks to Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers.

Daytrotter has posted up a session with The Dutchess & The Duke, who will be at the Sound Academy on June 15 opening up for The New Pornographers.

Bring Back The Boombox talks to Rolf Klausner of The Acorn, whose new album No Ghost comes out June 1.

The Sadies’ new album Darker Circles isn’t out till May 18 but is currently available to stream. They play Lee’s Palace on May 18 and Harbourfront Centre on Canada Day.

Stream: The Sadies / Darker Circles

Paste declares Timber Timbre the “best of what’s next”. He/they play the Toronto Island Concert on June 19.

The Besnard Lakes will be at the Mod Club on June 17 for what’s sure to be a NxNE-affiliated show.

MP3: The Besnard Lakes – “Albatross”

Chart has details on the unexpected return of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, who will curate this year’s Nightmare Before Christmas edition of All Tomorrow’s Parties, taking place December 3 to 5 in Minehead, UK and follow that up with a number of European and “9 american towns” before again fading into the shadows. Whether they mean “United States of” or “North” is unclear, and they’re unsurprisingly refusing to do press so the answer to whether or not they’ll be playing anywhere near here will have to wait until they say so.

The Moment’s GoneConsider this entry a bit of an adjunct to yesterday’s contest post wherein I wondered exactly which edition of Bizarro we’d hear The Wedding Present perform on the album’s 20th anniversary tour. Because if they do what’s probably the right thing and stick to the original album’s 10 tracks, then we may not get to hear their version of Pavement’s “Box Elder”, which was originally included as a b-side on the Brassneck EP and added to the US edition of the album as well as the 2001 reissue.

For further information and context, refer to this FAQs.org piece on the band, particularly item 5.2 which I’ve helpfully copied out here below:

Q5.2 Did TWP cover a Pavement song? Where can I find the original?
A5.2 David Gedge: “Keith returned from a holiday in America in 1989 with a cassette of [“Box Elder”] which we all liked and decided to cover on the Brassneck E.P. ”

This question comes up because Pavement were not credited on the US version, though they were on the UK version. Also the copyright date on Westing is later than that of Bizarro, leading people to believe that Pavement covered TWP.

Though it should be noted that according to this, “Box Elder” never actually did appear on the France-only mini-LP Hit Parade 3. So interestingly, what was one of the band’s more popular early tracks was also one of the more elusive to actually get a hold of in some parts of the world, at least until the digital age.

Anyways, what’s important is this – The Wedding Present are at the Horseshoe this Wednesday night, April 14, and may or may not play “Box Elder”. The reunited Pavement are headlining the Toronto Island Concert on June 19 and almost certainly will.

MP3: The Wedding Present – “Box Elder Mo”
Video: Pavement – “Box Elder” (live)

Jon BergmanKids, they grow up so fast. It was just a couple years ago that those Welsh scamps in Los Campesinos! were causing a ruckus via a free show at The Horseshoe with only their Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP to warn folks what hijinks they were up to, but since then they’ve already released three albums, including this year’s Romance Is Boring, and have moved on to playing much bigger rooms. Case in point, their upcoming April 20 show in Toronto which will see them doing their thing in front of 1000 people at the Phoenix.

Tickets for the show are $16.50 in advance, but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got three pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Los Campesinos!” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Winners will be chosen after midnight, April 15 and because I’ve realized that this is important to some, this is an all-ages show. Come one, come all.

Spin declares the band to be breaking out. As in popularity, not as in their skin. Though that’s probably still happening too.

MP3: Los Campesinos! – “There Are Listed Buildings”
MP3: Los Campesinos! – “The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “There Are Listed Buildings”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future”
Video: Los Campesinos! – “Romance Is Boring”

MySpaceTheir billing isn’t anything more than their names – Daniel, Fred & Julie being Daniel Romano of Attack In Black, Fred Squire of Shotgun & Jaybird and Calm Down It’s Monday and Julie Doiron, all-around Canadian indie-rock heroine. Their album of the same name is just as simple and unpretentious, captured to tape in monophonic sound at Squire’s Sackville, New Brunswick garage and featuring three talents strumming and singing old standards and a couple of original compositions.

It’s a simple and lovely recording that documents a specific week last Summer but the trio are seeking to recreate the intimacy and vibe on tour, and reports from the early shows imply that they’re either doing just that or creating a whole new kind of special. Toronto will see if they can do that at the Horseshoe on Thursday, April 15 – tickets are $12 in advance, but courtesy of Collective Concerts and Pigeon Row, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Daniel, Fred, Julie & Me” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me by midnight, April 13.

The Coast and SoundProof have features on the project, and now’s as good a time as any to note that Julie Doiron will be opening up for Basia Bulat at the Phoenix on June 4.

MP3: Daniel, Fred & Julie – “The Gambler & His Bride”
MP3: Daniel Fred & Julie – “Runner”

Frank YangThe Wedding Present play Bizarro – seems like it should be a pretty straightforward thing, right? Just as they did for their debut George Best in 2007, the Leeds UK legends are marking the 20th anniversary of their sophomore effort with a tour wherein they’ll play the entirety of the record live, but unlike the George Best tour, they’re bringing this one over to North America.

But which Bizarro? The original Bizarro, clocking in at 10 tracks and 47 minutes? The extended US edition which inserted the Brassneck EP between tracks 9 and 10, resulting in a, er, bizarre listening experience that gave the American listener “Brassneck” twice – albeit two different versions (the one on the single was recorded by Steve Albini) – or the 2001 “Camden Deluxe” reissue, which had the good sense to add the “Brassneck” tracklisting after the original running order and three more period-correct songs. Clearly the last of these would offer the best value, though any show dedicated to reproducing the Bizarro experience really should end with “Be Honest”.

We’ll have to wait and see come Wednesday night, April 14, when the Gedge and company arrive at the Horseshoe. Tickets for the show are $17.50 in advance but courtesy of Collective Concerts, I’ve got a pair of passes to give away for this show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want a bizarro Wedding Present” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and get that in to me before midnight, April 12.

New York Press talks to David Gedge about the anniversary tour, and before you ask, word is there will be more songs performed before they begin the Bizarro run-through and no, there will not be an encore.

Video: The Wedding Present – “Brassneck”