What with the holiday season, December is usually a wasteland for live music, and the last week of the month even moreso. Which is unfortunate because for many that stretch between Christmas and New Year’s is either off from work or majorly slack, at the very least (unless you work retail in which case you have my deepest sympathies).

But this year the Drake Underground has seen fit to remedy this with what they’re calling “What’s In The Box”, a solid working week’s worth of live shows. Five bands, every night from the 26th through the 30th and for only $5 cover. Well, at least the stuff I recognize. Can’t vouch for the rest, but the page linked above has links to everyone’s MySpaces so you can investigate for yourself. I’ve got three of the five shows penciled in my calendar and that could easily grow.

Anyway, the lineups are as follows:

December 26, 2006:
Pawa Up First
Liz Powell of Land Of Talk (solo)
Woodhands
We Are The Take
Foxfire Forest

December 27, 2006:
Sunriser
inUniform
Foxes
Stonefox
Ken Reaume

December 28, 2006:
The Russian Futurists
Vitaminsforyou
The Ghost Is Dancing
Fjord Rowboat
Now YR Taken.

December 29, 2006:
Mahogany
Off The International Radar
Detective Kalita
Hexes And Ohs
Sandro Perri

December 30, 2006:
The Coast
Barons & Lengthy
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club
Noyan Hilmi of Five Blank Pages

While the solidity of the lineups is without question, pay particular attention to the 29th when Mahogany will be in town. They’re an exciting young outfit out of Brooklyn that mashes together atmospheric dreampop tendencies with straight-up electro-dance rhythms with a chaser of classic Spector pop for good measure. Marathonpacks has some nice commentary on the first single from their new album Connectivity!, “Supervitesse”, which they’re quite proud of having been produced by Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie. The album has also gotten a modest Pitchfork seal of approval, for what that’s worth. Check them out, both below and on the 29th.

MP3: Mahogany – “My Bed is My Castle”
MP3: Mahogany – “Supervitesse”
MP3: Mahogany – “Springtime, Save Our Country”
Video: Mahogany – “Supervitesse” (YouTube)
Video: Mahogany – “One Plus One Equals Three Or More” (YouTube)
MySpace: Mahogany

Chart talks to Liz Powell of Land Of Talk, who’s playing a solo set on Boxing Day, the first of the five nights.

The New York Sun eulogizes the soon-to-be-departed Rainer Maria, playing their final shows this weekend in NYC. Via Largehearted Boy.

Emily Haines tells Billboard how her solo work has affected the writing of the new Metric record, namely in mellowing out. And don’t forget I’m giving away a pair of passes to Haines’ Toronto show at the Danforth on January 6 – go here to enter.

The Boston Globe welcomes back native son Evan Dando and his Lemonheads.

First: Sparklehorse and Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter. Mod Club. February 23. $21, on sale December 21. HELL YES.

Ahem.

Howe Gelb, who so dazzled at Pop Montreal in his Giant Sand guise is back in Toronto this Sunday with Ottawa’s Voices Of Praise gospel choir as The ‘Sno Angel Project, from whence his latest album ‘Sno Angel Like You got it’s name. Mixing new compositions with old ones rejigged for the format (compare the drunken roar of “Get To Leave” in it’s original form on Long Stem Rant with the hushed hymnal of that opens ‘Sno Angel), the record is bluesy and spiritual and despite its wintry title and Canadian origins, still carries a lot of Gelb’s trademark raffishness and distinctive Arizonan desert vibe throughout.

Released back in March, ‘Sno Angel is a slow, subtle and steady grower and has been a real late-year favourite for me – just in time for Sunday’s show. This one’s got my highest recommendation to check out, so if you’re free on Sunday night then I strongly urge you to head over to Lee’s – this is one of only three shows he’s doing with the ‘Sno Angel Project (they play Montreal and Ottawa tonight and tomorrow respectively) so you should go, if not for yourself than for the Gelb fans out there who’d probably give their left arm to be there. They go on at 9:15 – tickets are still available, $17.50 advance and $20 at the door.

He discusses the transcendent experience of the live performance with eye and the making of the album with NOW and The Toronto Star. Back in the Spring, he talked to Harp about discovering the Voices Of Praise choir and his long-simmering feud with former collaborators Calexico. And despite being one of the best-reviewed albums of 2006, I’ve noticed it to be conspicuously absent from many year-end lists which is really a damn shame.

Stream: Howe Gelb – “But I Did Not” (QT)
MySpace: Howe Gelb

Ottawa’s The Acorn are at Lee’s tonight with Elliott Brood and in regards to their new EP Tin Fist, this five-star review at eye says everything I would want to, only more articulately. It, and its short-form predecessor Blankets! are both wonderful and almost set the bar impossibly high for their full-length due out next Spring but you know what? I’m not worried. The Acorn are on at 11PM tonight.

And as long as I’m raiding this week’s eye for fodder, I’ll point out this nifty Great Lake Swimmers item – the Zunior/Great Lake Swimmers digital box set. It’s a USB drive with digital versions of the first two GLS albums, the new Hands In Dirty Ground EP, tour photos and the video for “To Leave It Behind”. Cute, eh? For those not so technologically inclined the new EP will also be available on 10″ vinyl. Tony Dekker tells The Waterloo Record to look for a new Great Lake Swimmers full-length in the Spring. And Zunior also has a free holiday mix available to download.

Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy discusses his next album, Heartland, with Pitchfork. He also talks about how he spent his Polaris winnings and his work with Arcade Fire, who are finally ready to drop their new album. It’s called Neon Bible, will be out in March and you can hear the first single, “Intervention”, at ArcadeFire.net. Update: MP3 is gone but link to BBC webcast from which it was taken is available. Expect Toronto show(s) to be announced soon-ish, as well. There are rumours flying about the where and when but I will refrain from spreading gossip until it’s confirmed.

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Carl Newman of The New Pornographers about the art of songwriting. Newman and co will be at Nathan Phillips Square on February 3 as part of the WinterCity 2007 festival. Thanks to For The Records for the link to the sked.

Looking way ahead, Edmonton’s Shout Out Out Out Out are at Lee’s Palace on March 3, tickets $13.50.

np – The Brother Kite / Waiting For The Time To Be Right

Now that my promo contest extravaganza is done and I’m recovered from the weekend of envelope stuffing and mailing label taping, I’ve got another whatsit to give away. Ms Emily Haines and her Soft Skeleton will be at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto on January 6 of next year, and courtesy of Last Gang Records, I’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to said show.

But note – entry in this contest is NOT the same as usual. Last Gang is handling the entries themselves so to enter, email THEM at pickme@lastgangrecords.com with “Emily Tickets” in the subject line. I know, a little different, a little crazy, but I think you’re up to the challenge. This contest will close at midnight, December 20.

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

So yeah, that was it. The streak ends at 1050 days. Mark it. Felt good. Now let’s get on with our lives.

It’s been a while since I was last at the Drake Underground, and in the interim they’ve made some changes – what looks to be a much bigger PA and this crazy riser thing in front of the stage that’s a good half foot higher than the rest of the stage. Maybe it’s useful for rock star-approved guitar solos, but that wasn’t going to much be the case on Tuesday night when Jenn Grant and Barzin performed.

Barzin caught my interest last month and I’ve been enjoying his album My Life In Rooms when I’m in the mood for really quiet folkistry. Live, Barzin Hosseini and his bandmates were somewhat less cloistered-sounding than on record though still not nearly what you’d call extroverted. They ably blended the warmth of Neil Halstead with the melancholy of Mark Kozelek, all served up on a shimmering bed of slide guitar and vibraphone. Terrifically pretty but for some reason, they played hardly anything from the record – tres odd.

It’s entirely possible I’ve seen Jenn Grant perform before as she did time as touring vocalist for The Heavy Blinkers back in the day. But that was then and this is now and the now is that Jenn has a solo career going and that’s what brought her to Toronto for a whole series of shows in and around southern Ontario. Taking the stage with a four-piece backing band The Night Painters, she treated the audience to selections from both her old EP and her forthcoming album Orchestra For The Moon and even if you were unfamiliar with her material, it was instantly welcoming and thoroughly enjoyable. Her rich voice and jazzy singing style combine for some sophisticated pop not unlike Feist’s, but trades Gallic urbanity for an appealing Maritime rootsiness. With a charming and personable stage persona, Grant seems well set to do big things in 2007, but you can still say you saw her when as she’s got another show at Supermarket in Kensington tonight and shows in London and Guelph tomorrow and Friday night, respectively – then it’s back to her old stomping grounds out east. Definitely keep an eye and ear out for this one when her album hits in the Spring, but in the meantime there’s a 2-song single available at Endearing Records. Chart talks to Grant about the making of her album.

And there was a third band on the bill – Halifax’s Down With The Butterfly – but alas I was too tired to stick it out. They’re also playing again tonight at the Rivoli.

Photos: Jenn Grant, Barzin @ The Drake Underground – December 12, 2006
MP3: Jenn Grant – “Dreamer”
MP3: Barzin – “Leaving Time”
MP3: Barzin – “Lets Go Driving”
MP3: Barzin – “Won’t You Come”
eCard: Barin / My Life In Rooms
Video: Barzin – “Leaving Time” (YouTube)
MySpace: Jenn Grant
MySpace: Barzin

Aversion reports on the state of the forthcoming third British Sea Power album. For teasing us with a cancelled-almost-as-soon-as-it-was-announced show last month, it damn well better be a good one.

The Boston Globe catches Andy Partridge in a prickly, immodest and entertaining mood (via Largehearted Boy). Maybe it’s because he saw the figurines that are being made of XTC. And contrary to what Pitchfork says, they’re not really action figures if there’s no articulation. I will wait for the XTC figures with swivel-action battle grip, thank you very much. The Pitch caught Partridge in a sunnier mood.

Joe Pernice in the latest issue of The Big Takeover on living in Toronto:

“The Kit Kat has a red wrapper up here. The Kit Kat I grew to love had an orange wrapper. When it comes to a chocolaty treat with a curiously crispy wafer center, ‘a pox on multiculturalism,’ I say”.

We love you too, Joe. And we have Coffee Crisp up here.

Battlestar Galactica vs The Simpsons.

So what did I do with my day off? Got a sweet deal on a telephoto lens and just happened to have it with me when Duarte pointed out that Toronto eatery and celeb hangout Sassafraz was on fire. Cue photos, cue Toronto Star linkage. What an afternoon. I bet if I quit blogging altogether, I could become an astronaut.

np – Matt Pond PA / Emblems

Henri Faberge & The Adorables’ monthly residence gigs at the Embassy in Kensington Market are something of a Toronto institution, or so I’ve been told as I’ve never been to one. This confession usually gets me a reaction somewhere between incredulity and disdain from the Torontonians I tell, so I’ve kept it on the down low. No particular reason I’ve never been – whenever it’s occurred to me I’ve usually been busy or whatever. And, while I still haven’t been, I did finally see the band live this past Sunday at the Whipper Snapper Gallery as the musical component of a holiday craft show.

While seeing The Adorables was something to cross off my “to do” list, the big draw for me was Ohbijou, whom I’d seen and been greatly impressed by at V Fest and opening for Joanna Newsom but was anxious to see again a) in a cozier environment and b) now that I’ve gotten to know their album Swift Feet For Troubling Times. And while it’s not meant as a slight to the record at all – it’s a warm and immensely beguiling collection of chamber pop – but it really doesn’t do the band justice if you’ve seen them live. Without compromising a bit of the charm of the album, the seven-piece band just sound so much bigger and lusher in performance. And on this night the band had a special Christmas treat in the form of a really amazing cover of Annie’s “Heartbeat”, transfered from clubland to the treehouse brilliantly. With this show, Ohbijou further cemented their status as one of my favourite new finds of the year.

The middle slot went to one Carmen Elle, who I’d initially assumed to be a folkie-type singer-songwriter based on the samples available online. And that’s certainly part of her game, her voice is far richer and songwriting more sophisticated than you’d expect to look at her, it’s evident that she has ambitions beyond that particular niche. She also assembled a band from locals Donlands & Mortimer and Spiral Beach and with them, engaged in some full-on prog-rock jamming that I certainly didn’t see coming. It was more than a bit incongruous but they had the chops for it and kept those excursions relatively compact. While Elle felt obliged to apologize for her perceived unprofessionalism, citing extreme nervousness, I found the promise and talent displayed far outweighed the general lack of focus. When – not if – she pulls all that together, I expect she’s going to do some mighty impressive things. And she’s got time – she’s only seventeen.

In true Toronto style, The Adorables have an immense and fluid lineup and on this night they were ten – maybe eleven – members strong, including almost all of The Bicycles. And I think there’s some cosmic rule that when you’ve got that many people on stage, it’s impossible to not produce upbeat pop tunes and have a good time doing it and that’s what the Adorables did. Sounding like the finale of a high school production of Grease held at a barn dance, their exuberance and antics didn’t quite live up to the legendary status I’d been promised (though some recent lineup changes may have had something to do with it), but they were still mightily entertaining if a bit exhausting to watch. And watching the band’s interaction with their regulars in the audience, of which there were many, it was easy to see why their fans are as devoted as they are.

That said, it was still the two acts on before them that left me most impressed for the evening but top to bottom the bill was a great sample of what’s right with Toronto at the moment. See? I’m coming around. For some Adorables audio, head over to I Heart Music, who is a big band booster.

Photos: Henri Faberge & The Adorables, Carmen Elle, Ohbijou @ The Whipper Snapper Gallery – December 10, 2006
MP3: Carmen Elle – “Violet”
MP3: Carmen Elle – “Some Apples”
MP3: Carmen Elle – “Edgar”
MP3: Ohbijou – “Misty Eyes”
MP3: Ohbijou – “Steep”
MySpace: Carmen Elle
MySpace: Ohbijou