Okay, I’m going to try doing contests a little different from here on in – basically, I’ve got too much stuff to give away and the old system of having only one thing running at a time wasn’t working anymore. Plus the spambots had found my contest form. It was ugly.

Instead, I’m going to post my contests up as regular blog items and have you email me your entries. I *think* this should make my life easier, but we’ll see. Anyways, we’ll start off the new format with a bang – courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got three pairs of passes to the sold-out Joanna Newsom show at the Mod Club in Toronto on October 4. Nothing like a little harp action with strobe lights. Brantford-by-way-of-Toronto’s Ohbijou support.

To enter, email me at contests@chromewaves.net with “I want to see the elf girl” in the subject line and your full name in the body. All entries must be received by midnight, September 25.

CONTEST CLOSED

Goats, goats, The Mountain Goats, Lee’s Palace, Tuesday night. We don’t need no stinking preamble, save to say that Get Lonely is one of my favourite records of the year and the Goats are always an entertaining show so a good time was pretty much guaranteed.

Opening up this leg of the tour was Christine Fellows, Winnipeg-er and singer/songwriter much beloved of John Darnielle. Her four-piece band sported some unconventional instrumentation that added a tinkling, whimsical feel to her set that complimented Fellows’ jolly, perma-grin persona perfectly though it seemed a little at odds with the lyrical content of some of her songs – or maybe it fit perfectly (nudge, wink). Darnielle might be a little overly-effusive in saying, “Christine writes the best damned songs in the whole world” but playing material from her latest record Paper Anniversary, she did put on a charming opening set.

I first saw the Mountain Goats live last year on my 30th birthday and while some thought it was odd way to celebrate, it was far more memorable than the ones where I’ve gotten blotto. This show didn’t have the special occasion behind it, but it was special all the same. And you know, reading over the review of that show, I’m at a bit of a loss on how to expand on that without repeating myself. Sufficed to say, everything there still holds – Darnielle is still and entertaining, engaging and more than a bit quirky frontman with his wildly expressive face displaying what could either be joy or agony – you’re never quite sure. And Peter Hughes remains an invaluable musical companion, contributing perfectly composed, melodic basslines and backing vocals in a manner that’s completely minimal, but with a huge impact on the overall sound.

What was different at this show was the contrast between material from The Sunset Tree, from which they chose to play the more uptempo numbers, and Get Lonely, which was represented by the quieter, more wounded material. At points during the latter, Darnielle practically gasped his way through the lyrics, testing the audience’s ability to stay silent, straining to hear. But as before, the focus wasn’t placed squarely on the new material and drew from all across the Goats repetoire. While this surely satisfied the die-hard fans, I felt it did the new record a little bit of a disservice as it’s the collective mood of the songs is a large part of their power. But, on the other hand, if he’d played the album in its entirety, it may have been too depressing to bear. He probably had the right idea.

Mountain Goats fans are a devout, fanatical lot so when Darnielle seemed to open the door for requests about halfway through the set, it became a game of one-upmanship with everyone trying to out-obscure the other. He deftly dodged these by stating that he preferred playing the new songs to old ones and that would be whoring himself – and he was no whore. My own silent requests were answered in the encores, when he rolled out “No Children” to open the first and “The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton” to close the second. Because there’s no real way to top a club full of indie kids screaming, “Hail Satan”.

I picked a prime spot straight in front of Darnielle so I got some real good, sharp shots of the mic stand. Oh yeah. But the next part of the Amoeba Records instore/interview with Carl Newman is now up on YouTube – I think that’s three in total so far out of… more than three. I think. And Zoilus has a far more expansive and detailed review of the show.

Photos: Mountain Goats, Christine Fellows @ Lee’s Palace – September 19, 2006
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Woke Up New”
MP3: The Mountain Goats – “Wild Sage”
Video: The Mountain Goats – “Woke Up New” (MOV)
Video: Christine Fellows – “Migrations” (MOV)
MySpace: Christine Fellows

The latest installment of Richard Buckner’s tour diary is up on the Merge Blog. The Toronto show only gets a passing mention (“my summer cold slapped me in the face”) but at least that’s better than how Montreal treated him (“someone had broken out my back window and taken my cell phone and passport”). Dude has not had good luck touring Canada, as he recounts. The Riverfront Times has a profile of Buckner (or someone claiming to be him – they do have his passport, after all).

The New York Times has a revealing interview with Cat Power that details (and quantifies) exactly how bad shape she was in at the start of the year before cleaning up and drying out.

PopMatters documents the long, hard year of Film School.

Rogue Wave drummer Pat Spurgeon needs your help – to help fund a kidney transplant (he was born with one, it failed, he had it replaced, that’s now failing) the band are holding a benefit concert in San Francisco next week to raise funds but those who aren’t able to make it to San Fran can still help out via a PayPal fund set up via the band’s website. And if you’re interested in donating more than just money, maybe you can spare a kidney – Spurgeon’s blood type is O+. I can’t speak for the band but I suspect that if you were a match, you and all your children would be guest listed for Rogue Wave shows for the rest of your lives. But give a little if you can – it will all add up in the end.

Shows – Chad Van Gaalen will be in town at the Whippersnapper Art Gallery at College and Clinton on October 21, tickets $10. French Kicks and OKGO are at the Mod Club November 13. Most interesting, however, is Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 (aka Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey and Bill Rieflin) at the Mod Club on November 10, tickets $20. Word is that Hitchcock’s new one is a scorcher – more Soft Boys than The Soft Boys. Check it out:

MP3: Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 – “Adventure Rocket Ship”

The Ottawa Sun finds out what’s on Billy Bragg’s mind. The Chronicle Herald also gets a moment or two of his time. He’s at the Danforth Music Hall on Sunday and his Volume Two box set is out October 17.

Chart talks to Final Fantasy’s Owen Pallett about his Polaris win. The more I think about it, the more his victory seemed a no-brainer. Musical merit aside, he’s the perfect winner to inaugurate the award, giving it instant credibility with the oh-so cynical indie nation and handily avoiding accusations of major-label favouritism or general industry out-of-touchness that a more traditional and mainstream winner like Sarah Harmer would almost certainly have gotten. Which isn’t to imply that Final Fantasy wouldn’t have won solely on the artistic merits that the award cites – not at all – but I suspect that the organizers breathed a huge sigh of relief when the winner was announced as it makes their job of promoting the award next year and beyond much easier.

np – Yo La Tengo / I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass

First off, Nashville’s Forget Cassettes has one of the best band names I’ve heard in ages. Something about it just sounds so right to me. And luckily, it’s not wasted on a lousy band.

Like Montreal’s Land Of Talk, of whom they remind me more than just a little, they hearken back to the mid-90s alternative rock heyday of abrasive guitars and angsty female vocals but without sounding like a retread. On their second album Salt, they reclaim the quiet/loud/quiet dynamic, shake it free of the past decade of cliches and make it sound visceral again. The quiet moments are almost uncomfortably intimate and when they explode, damage will be done.

Singer Beth Cameron’s voice has an innate sweetness but she wraps it in barbed wire – imagine if Nina Gordon had left Veruca Salt to make angrier music, drawing inspiration from Polly-Jean Harvey rather than Sarah McLachlan. And there’s a very raw and personal thread running through the album lyrically that sounds more cathartic than any whisper-to-a-scream shift you could muster instrumentally or vocally. Harrowing stuff. I realize that this formula has been done time and time again and could easily be dismissed based solely on the reference points cited, but to me, they sell it.

The late, great WOXY still has a recent lounge session with the band online and Red & Black ran an interview last month. And while they’re touring, there’s nothing remotely close by. A pity – I bet they’d be scorching live.

MP3: Forget Cassettes – “The Catch”
MP3: Forget Cassettes – “Ms Rhythm & Blues”
MP3: Forget Cassettes – “Lonely Does It”
MySpace: Forget Cassettes

This looks like it could be interesting – Cinnamon Girl is an all-female tribute to the songs of Neil Young and yes, I know that sounds more awful than interesting, but Full Of Wishes reports that some of the participating artists will be Tanya Donelly, Britta Phillips and Kristen Hersh. See? Interesting. And proceeds are going to charity so speak ill of it at your own risk.

Massive Attack have rescheduled their cancelled V Fest show – they’re at the Carlu on October 6. So you can see them play and then buy groceries at the 24-hour Dominion downstairs. Bonus!

The Fiery Furnaces are also coming to town on October 30. They play the Opera House with Deerhoof. Full dates at Pitchfork.

Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good has dinner with Shearwater and gets an interview for his troubles.

Chart has some advice for anyone planning to chat up Yuki of Asobi Seksu in Japanese at the Horseshoe tonight – don’t.

Colin Meloy of The Decemberists makes lists for Pitchfork, who also have the first MP3 from The Crane Wife available to download. The album is out October 3 and they’re at the Kool Haus November 6.

Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo lists a dozen crucial records for eMusic and gives Austin360 an interview. I finally found out where my copy of I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass is – Raleigh, North Carolina. Insound sent my order to some other guy in some other country. WHOOPS.

Pitchfork asks Scott Kannberg, aka Spiral Stairs, about the odds of a Pavement reunion. I figure they’ve got two more albums after the Wowee Zowee deluxe reissue drops November 7 before the gravy train runs out and they have to find some other way to make those Escalade payments. Then it’s hello Lollapalooza.

Sufjan Stevens tells The Dallas News he doesn’t want to mess with Texas.

The Globe & Mail gets a look at how the final jurors came to the decision of who to give the really big Polaris cheque. Final Fantasy’s D&D-themed album was probably a shoo-in once they decided that rolling a 1d10 would be the fairest solution.

np – The Mountain Goats / The Sunset Tree

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