Search Results - "Great Lake Swimmers Church Of The Redeemer Toronto April 14, 2007"
Friday, September 5th, 2008
Those who like their music extra-fragile, rejoice. This Fall, Phil Elverum – he who is sometimes The Microphones and other times Mount Eerie – will be hitting the road this Fall in support of his new record Lost Wisdom and for a good chunk of the dates, he’s bringing along as tourmate one of his collaborators on the record, Julie Dorion.
In addition to the new record, which Pitchfork talks to Elverum about, both artists have also re-released old records this year. In April, The Microphones’ 2001 release The Glow, Pt 2 was put back into print with a bonus disc and in July, Doiron’s second solo record Loneliest In The Morning was also reissued along with three bonus tracks.
The tour stops in Toronto on October 14 at the Church Of The Redeemer along with Calm Down It’s Monday on the bill.
MP3: Mt Eerie – “Woolly Mammoth’s Absence”
MP3: Mt Eerie – “2 Blonde Braids”
MP3: Julie Doiron – “So Fast”
Video: Microphones – “The Glow, Pt 2”
Paste reports that Great Lake Swimmers, who themselves played the Church Of The Redeemer in Spring 2007, will be theatrically releasing a concert film shot at the Phoenix in HD last Fall on November 5 and intend to have album number four out next Spring. They’re at Lee’s Palace on October 25.
And she who accompanied Great Lake Swimmers at that April show – Basia Bulat – has an incendiary new video out. Yes, incendiary. Wait for it.
Video: Basia Bulat – “The Pilgriming Vine”
Blurt interviews Neil Young. He’s at the Air Canada Centre on December 9.
Radio Free Canuckistan has posted the full transcript of his interview with Angela Desveaux which yielded the previously-linked Exclaim piece. There’s also interviews with her at The Montreal Gazette, Montreal Mirror and hour.ca. If you missed her show at the Boat last night, you can still see her October 15 opening up for The New Year at Lee’s Palace. The Mighty Ship is out on Tuesday.
Drowned In Sound follows The Hidden Cameras on tour around Europe.
David Berman of The Silver Jews talks to The Weekly Dig, Valley Advocate, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Metro Boston.
Bradley’s Almanac is sharing audio of The National’s show in Boston this Summer whilst opening up for R.E.M..
If you missed The Secret Machines when they hit Lee’s in July, take heart – they’re coming back. With their self-titled album due out on October 14, they’re hitting the road and will be back at the Palace of Lee on October 22.
New Hampshire Public Radio has an audio interview with Okkervil River’s Will Sheff. The penultimate installment in the Stand-Ins cover project is now up, featuring Ola Podrida. One to go before the album is out on Tuesday. Okkervil are at the Phoenix on October 12.
Video: Ola Podrida – “Calling and Not Calling My Ex”
The Sea & Cake have a new album in Car Alarm, out October 21, and will be at Lee’s Palace on November 14.
I appreciate that posts have been a little on the brief side lately – this one only reached a respectable size at the last minute this morning. Call it a combination of trying to work ahead to minimize the amount of work that V Fest is going to be and some utter madness at work. So if you were hoping for more verbiage… blame the Harper government. No, I’m serious.
Friday, September 7th, 2007
The 5:00 slot at V Fest tomorrow remains vacant and now curiosity is superseding whatever mild anxiety I was feeling on behalf of the organizers. What are they going to do? Maybe Richard Branson will come out and tell some jokes, though I’ve seen nothing to indicate that he’ll even be around like he was last year. Under other circumstances I’d say that Bloc Party – kicking off their North American tour tonight in Chicago with an off day tomorrow before hitting Montreal on Sunday would be a perfect fit.
Yeah, they have their own show at the Ricoh at the end of the month (the 28th) but no one’s going to not go to that and come to this instead – however, the flip side is that probably no one’s going to buy a ticket at the 11th hour if they were added and so the cost of paying the band would basically be recouped via good PR (or the lack of negative PR of having no one play that slot). And anyway, I’m sure that it’d probably be a logistical nightmare to squeeze an extra show at this point, or so I’m assuming – I’ve no idea how that stuff works and I’m just thinking out loud. Most likely M.I.A. will get moved back into that slot and a smaller local band will be added earlier in the day. And many people will complain but life will go on. And yeah, V Fest lineup spotting has become something of a hobby/obsession of mine in the past couple weeks. I’ll be sad when it’s all over.
But with their return to our shores, Bloc Party are making the interview rounds. Chicago Metromix get Kele Okereke to describe his booty as “ample” while Hour.ca talks to him about A Weekend In The City and Matt Tong compliments Paste on America’s generosity when it comes to morphine dosages, and Music Rooms reports that in addition to touring, the band has been hard at work on album number three and will be releasing a stop-gap single in the interim.
And speaking of singles, they recently released a video for Weekend single number three.
Video: Bloc Party – “Hunting For Witches” (YouTube)
The Toronto Star has a full-bore festival preview with guides and interviews with artists playing this weekend, big and small.
Razorlight, who dropped out of last year’s V Fest as well as cancelling their last Toronto show at the last minute will be back to disappoint with a show scheduled at the Phoenix on November 11. Anyone want to lay odds that it’ll actually happen? Maybe they can get Babyshambles to open.
And now we turn our attention from the UK to Texas. Harp profiles Eisley, the family that plays together. Their new one Combinations is pleasantly loud and rocky in all the places that Room Noises wasn’t, but without giving up the sweetness that makes them so endearing. FilterTV has a video interview with the band and you can see the vid for the first single from the new record below.
Video: Eisley – “Invasion” (YouTube)
Okkervil River’s Fall tour has them on the west coast and The Georgia Straight talks to Will Sheff about their degree of fame and The Portland Mercury predicts even more for them. Fame, that is. And The Denver Post has an interview. Okkervil are at Lee’s Palace on September 21, a show that’s damn close to sold out if it isn’t already.
And also out west right now are Spoon – Canada.com talked to drummer Jim Eno in advance of their show in Victoria while The Westender chats with Britt Daniel.
I Heart Music has posted the CBC Radio 3-recorded audio of one of Great Lake Swimmers’ Church Of The Redeemer shows back in April. It’s not the full show and I can’t tell if it’s the early or late show and the audio is recorded a little too hot – the CBCR3 audio is somewhat cleaner (though not downloadable). Great Lake Swimmers play the Phoenix on September 29 and Stereo Subversion has an interview with Tony Dekker.
And a router update for those interested… the Apple Store replaced my unit in under 3 minutes yesterday which was very nice of them, and I got the new one hooked up and running and all seemed well. Then this morning… no router. Thankfully an unplug/replug was enough to get it discoverable again, which is more than its predecessor could say but obviously still troubling. Now the odds of me having two bum units from two different stores are pretty slim, so I’m thinking there’s a problem on my end after all. Only common denominator? My USB drive, which is FAT32 partitioned into two drives and according to the tech specs, the Extreme can only support a single-partition FAT32 drive, never mind the fact that it was able to mount both partitions no problem last night. It must have changed its mind overnight and died? I don’t know. But for now, since I don’t have time to call up Apple support again, I’m going to run the router without the USB drive and see if I ever get more than a few hours of life out of it. If it remains stable, I’ll blame the drive and get a new one, format it in Apple’s file format and transfer all my crap over. If not… well fuck.
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
More than any other band I can think of, the sound of Great Lake Swimmers is defined by their environment. Their self-titled debut was recorded in an abandoned grain silo and the music reflected that rural setting (though the crickets that open the record certainly helped the vibe) and the follow-up, Bodies And Minds, could be said to have a more spiritual flavour to it though equally austere, having been recorded in a church on the shores of Lake Erie.
The new record, Ongiara
, is the band’s cleanest and most sonically impressive record to date, thanks in no small part to the environs of its origin – the Aeolian Hall concert hall in London, Ontario. While it doesn’t have the same enveloping reverb as the first two records, it makes up for it in how perfectly Tony Dekker’s voice and guitar are captured as well as the rich production and arrangements, markedly fuller than on past albums.
But for all the talk of the sonics, the real strength of Great Lake Swimmers has always been and remains the songs. Three records in, Dekker’s compositions haven’t changed that much – and that’s far less a comment about lack of growth than the fact that his songwriting was remarkable from day one and still is. And I hope that my interest in the evolution of the musical accompaniment to his songs doesn’t make it sound like I’m taking that for granted, because I’m not. Dekker has, over the past year as I’ve delved into his works, become one of my favourite current songwriters, local or otherwise. But if distinctions have to be made, I’d say that the songs on Onigara are more animated and outward-looking, with dashes of soft colours appearing in the sepia-toned beauty.
And to return to the theme of environments, it was an inspired decision to hold the band’s hometown CD release shows at the Church Of The Redeemer. I’ve seen a number of musical performances in a few of the churches on Bloor St, but this was my first at this particular house of worship and I think it sounded far and away the best. Sidebar – I was originally going to the late show and thought I had switched to the early show but as it turns out, I still ended up at the 9:00 performance (it’s a long story and not interesting at all). For these shows, the band elected to not have opening acts, instead they played an extended set with a lineup augmented by some stellar talent – Basia Bulat on backing vocals, pedal steel guitarist extraordinaire Bob Egan (formerly of Wilco and currently of Blue Rodeo), Owen Pallet on violin and Andy Magoffin who produced Ongiara, was doing sound and did such a marvelous job he deserves a mention.
Dressed in a beige, Cosby-approved sweater, Dekker led his band through material from all three records (and an encore cover of Neil Young’s “Don’t Cry No Tears” that I would LOVE to get a recording of) and everything sounded stunning. Everything. The performances were note-perfect, the mix perfectly balanced and the church acoustics everything you’d hope they’d be. It would be possible to go on at length (even moreso) about how good it sounded, so let’s just say it sounded better than you could possibly imagine. And though he was as soft-spoken as always, Dekker’s understated charisma was just as amplified by the setting – with the church full of friends, fans and well-wishers, it really did have the intimate vibe of being part of a large family. I’ve always felt that Great Lake Swimmers didn’t get nearly the attention and respect that other, more extroverted Toronto acts did and undeservedly so. The two sold out shows on Saturday night may well be evidence that that’s no longer the case and for that, I say it’s about time.
Or perhaps not – I can’t help noticing that besides the CBC truck out front recording the show, none of the city’s newspapers or media outlets appeared to be in attendance. For shame. For The Records has a review of the early show which sounds an awful lot like the late one, right down to the anecdotes.
Photos: Great Lake Swimmers @ Church Of The Redeemer – April 14, 2007
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “Your Rocky Spine”
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “I Am A Part Of A Large Family”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Back Stage With The Modern Dancers” (YouTube)
eCard: Great Lake Swimmers / Ongiara
MySpace: Great Lake Swimmers
Tickets for The Postmarks’ show at the Amp’d Mobile Studio this Saturday night are now available and like all shows at this new venue/studio/marketing tool, they’re free. I find The Postmarks’ breezy lounge-pop to dwell on the enjoyable side of innocuous and am going as much to check out the setup of the room as much as anything else. Check out some media below and if you like it, go get some free tickets. Did I mention they’re free? The Miami New Times talks to Postmarks singer Tim Yehezkely who, despite the name, is very much a girl. Oh, and I missed out on the cover they made available of Ministry’s “(Everyday Is) Hallowe’en” late last year. Can anyone shoot me an mp3? Thanks.
MP3: The Postmarks – “Goodbye”
Video: The Postmarks – “Goodbye” (YouTube)
MySpace: The Postmarks
Back in February I posted as MP3 Of The Week a cover of Grizzly Bear’s “Knife” by local boys Born Ruffians, recorded during a radio session for KEXP. Well prior to starting work on their full-length debut, they gave the cover another shot in a proper studio and let Four Tet mix it. Give both versions a listen below to compare and contrast – I still sort of like the radio session one better. Sounds breezier.
MP3: Born Ruffians – “Knife”
MP3: Born Ruffians – “Knife” (@ KEXP)
CBC Radio 3 has an audio interview with Land Of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell. PopMatters loves Applause Cheer Boo Hiss, you should too.
La Blogotheque continues their winning streak of Take-Away Shows with a session with The Shins, recorded on the streets of Paris. Wonderful. The OC Register has an interview with frontman James Mercer.
Chart talks to Maria Taylor about being on tour and working with Conor Oberst.
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
Low’s 2005 effort The Great Destroyer was a polarizing record for their fanbase. While they’d steadily moved away from the ultra-slow, ultra-quiet sound that defined them early on, that record abandoned the incremental steps they’d taken previously and dived headlong into the realm of loud guitar rock. For some, it was the last straw for a band that had obviously lost its way, for others, it was a bold sign that they still had a sense of adventure and were not going to be constrained by others’ expectations. I was firmly of the latter mindset and The Great Destroyer was one of my favourite records of that year.
But for anyone who thought that record would be a sign of things to come, Low have confounded expectations again. Their latest record Drums And Guns, released yesterday, is in some ways the polar opposite of The Great Destroyer and in others, its perfect companion piece. It’s an utterly stark and skeletal record, even for Low, that favours spare electronic textures, abrasive percussion and guitar tones and an unrelenting lyrical bleakness and vitriol that’s unmistakably political. Dave Fridmann once again produced this record and whereas the the last effort called for the bombast he’s known for, this time he’s crafted an atmosphere of desolation. There are still moments of beauty – Mimi Parker and Alan Sparhawk’s vocals are still angelic throughout and the strings that rise in “Belarus” are like flowers growing out of the rubble, but such punctuations are rare. In the wake of The Great Destroyer, Drums And Guns are what crawl from the wreckage.
Alan Sparhawk talks to Harp about the undertones of violence in the new record while JAM! offers a capsule history of the band from then to now. Metacritic is tracking a typically positive response to the new record and the band is touring to support, but are not making any stops in the Toronto area this time around.
MP3: Low – “Breaker”
Video: Low – “Breaker” (YouTube)
MySpace: Low
The AV Club asks Win Butler of Arcade Fire why he smashed his guitar on SNL, Student Life talks to brother Will, while Billboard asks Merge how they prepared for what would turn out to be the #2 album in America (Neon Bible, that is).
Chart and Philadelphia City Paper talk to the band that held that same chart position a couple months ago, The Shins.
The incomporable Richard Thompson will be releasing a new album on May 29 entitled Sweet Warrior and he talks to The Associated Press about the politicism of the album and his work in general. He’s also made a track from the record available to download.
MP3: Richard Thompson – “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me”
eye talks to Basia Bulat, opening up tonight for Maria Taylor at the Horseshoe. Her debut Oh, My Darling is out sometime in mid-May in Europe but information on a domestic release remains elusive. She’s also got a few gigs opening for Great Lake Swimmers though not their April 14 shows at the Church Of The Redeemer in Toronto. Their new one Ongiara is out next Tuesday and I Heart Music has a CBC Radio 3 session the band recorded a few years ago available to share. Express talked to Taylor about life on the road.
Audio previews of The National’s new album Boxer, out May 22, haven’t seeped onto the internet yet, so these two live videos at Take Away Shows are pretty much the first taste we’ve got of the new material. WANT. MORE. They’re at the Opera House on June 8.
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Spoon’s Britt Daniel at SxSW and discussed his pants. He also mentioned that their new album is slated for a July release.
And a few big shows announced in the last while – Modest Mouse are at the Hummingbird Centre on April 24, tickets $36.50 and $42, while Dinosaur Jr are at The Phoenix on June 8. I’m wondering if it’ll be a NxNE show of the sort where they let a half-dozen badge holders and wristbands in and sell tickets for the other 950 spots? Either way, that conflicts with the Voxtrot show at Sneaky Dee’s so unless it’s an early show, I’m guessing I’ll miss out on having my eardrums assaulted by J and Lou again. And finally, BrooklynVegan reports that the White Stripes date announced at the Molson Amphitheatre for September 16 isn’t legit, but probably isn’t too far off from the truth.
Friday, February 23rd, 2007
So late yesterday afternoon Pitchfork revealed a bit of news that I’ve been sitting quietly on for almost a couple months now – namely that Shearwater have signed to Matador – congratulations to both the band and the label on what will hopefully prove to be a fruitful partnership. To kick things off, Matador will re-release their 2006 masterpiece Palo Santo on April 10 in a deluxe, expanded format usually reserved for Pavement reissues.
Firstly, the album proper will feature five re-recorded tracks – though Palo Santo was originally in May, the band went back into the studio in December and re-tracked a goodly portion of the album with an eye towards this release (their idea, not the label’s). Now I’m on record as feeling that the record was stellar the first time around but the band disagreed and with this new edition have declared “This is Palo Santo the way we wanted it.”. And based on the new version of “Red Sea, Black Sea” which I’ve posted below, I’m not going to argue. And as further enticement, it will come with a second disc with eight unreleased tracks. Their first Olé-powered disc of new music is slated for an early 2008 release.
You can see a teeny tiny pic of the new cover art to help distinguish it from the original version, but let me say this – I don’t think that the release of this new version in any way diminishes how good the 2006 edition of Palo Santo was. An edition, by the way, that Misra is clearing out for a mere $4 USD right now. Buy it, then buy the deluxe version. Then buy the double vinyl edition. Then go see them at SxSW both at their official showcase at 7:30PM on Thursday, March 15 at the Central Presbyterian Church (Shearwater in a church? Hells yes) and then on the Friday headlining The Hot Freaks at Mohawk. Then see them on tour. Palo Santo was unjustly overlooked in the 2006 year-end round up, so here’s an opportunity for folks to rectify that mistake (though I don’t think I’m allowed to put it on my year-end list twice in a row. I’ll have to check with the judges on that).
MP3: Shearwater – “Red Sea, Black Sea” (new version)
MySpace: Shearwater
X-Press talks to one of Shearwater’s new labelmates, Yo La Tengo, about why they’re no longer quite as prolific as they once were. The Kansas City Star also catches a few minutes with James McNew.
And Chart talks to one of Shearwater’s former labelmates (in the US, anyways), Great Lake Swimmers, about their new record Ongiara, out March 27. They’re playing two shows at the Church Of The Redeemer in Toronto on April 14.
Billboard talks to Rachael Yamagata about creating Wild Hope, the follow-up to Happenstance, which will finally be released later this Spring.
The Age and The Courier-Mail ask Peter Bjorn & John about the whistling thing. They’re at the Phoenix on May 6 and BrooklynVegan directs us to a new video:
Video: Peter Bjorn & John – “Objects Of My Affection” (YouTube)
The Belfast Telegraph talks to Maximo Park frontman Paul Smith about their new album Our Earthly Pleasures, out April 3. He also tells MTV UK that the new record draws on hip-hop for inspiration.
Tortoise are at Lee’s Palace on July 3.
And I had meant to write up Cortney Tidwell today but as it stands, I won’t get to that till probably later next week. But since this album stream from AOL will probably be gone by Tuesday, I’ll post a link to it now and suggest if you’ve got some time and want to hear something great, give it a listen.
Stream: Cortney Tidwell / Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up
I’ve got a lot of work to do this weekend so I’m taking it off from posting. See you Monday.
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