Monday, October 17th, 2011
Notes from Iceland
Frank YangHello all. Have you been keeping well? That’s great.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a working holiday the past week in Iceland, the working part being Iceland Airwaves and the holiday being everything around it, and I just got back in last night, hence the light posting last week. Festival coverage will begin tomorrow when I’ve had a chance to go through photos and gather my thoughts, but having arrived in Reykjavik a couple days before the Fest for tourist purposes, I’ll offer up the equivalent of holiday snaps today. And for real holiday snaps, head over to Flickr, I’ll be posting more there as the week goes on. And for reference, the “we” on this trip were Carrie of Live Baby Live, Lauren of No Shame Promotions, and Lauren of Amplify This; a finer group of traveling companions I could not ask for.
The list of things we’d planned to do in Iceland but didn’t get to is pretty long: marvel at the glacier bay at Jökulsárlón, drive at least a portion of the Route 1 ring road, gape at the majesty of the Aurora Borealis, walk the basalt beaches of Vík í Mýrdal, go snorkeling over the continental divide at Þingvellir, witness Geysir, the namesake of geysers around the world, visit an island of puffins, and meet up with many other music journo types from around the world also in Reykjavik for Airwaves. And yet even with so many things on the to-do list left unchecked by the time I left, the past week will go down as one of the most memorable ever: I got to luxuriate in the world-famous Blue Lagoon twice. I had my third ridiculously fancy prix fixe meal of the year as well as some super-tasty hot dogs, I saw some of the most spectacularly desolate yet beautiful landscape in the world, I befriended a pair of gorgeous Icelandic ponies (well I think we’re friends now), I visited the site of one of the oldest parliaments in the world just down a trail from a thousand year-old man-made waterfall. I learned that the rules of roundabouts work differently in different countries. And oh yeah I crashed my first car. Those last two points are not entirely unrelated.
So to begin. Following a Monday night red-eye that was only barely long enough to qualify as such and discovering our rental apartment which looked all kinds of awesome online was even moreso in person, we took advantage of what was forecast to be the only sunny day of the trip to explore the compact capital and put the excessive amount of camera gear brought across the Atlantic to work. Then it was back to the airport to pick up the European quarter of our contingent and on the way back to town, a short – okay long – pit stop at the Blue Lagoon. It’s not unreasonable to expect the experience of the lagoon to be overstated, but the truth is that it’s really an astonishing place. I can’t comment on the therapeutic benefits of it – though I will say my messed-up shoulder certainly didn’t mind the experience – but drifting in a milky, lava-heated, silica-saturated man-made lake is something else. Going on the Tuesday turned out to be a smart move as crowds were sparse, and getting there for sunset was just luck. And word of advice? If you’re wearing contact lenses, don’t dunk your head. It’s sea water and sea water and contacts? Do. Not. Mix. There’d been an ambitious plan to drive out of town later that night for Northern Lights spotting, but the frailty of being human won out over the marvels of nature and instead of aurora-chasing, it was sleep.
Wednesday was also ambitiously planned – 10 hour road trip anyone? – but in this case, nature was victorious thanks to its ability to whip up gale-force winds and horizontal rain. Compound that with Iceland’s rather spare approach towards highway signage and you get us missing an off-ramp on the highway and while technically we were still going to reach our destination, we were on the extra-scenic, 600-mile longer route. All of which is to say that within an hour and a half of setting out, Mission: Glaciers had been aborted and we went to an outlet mall and supermarket instead. Don’t judge. The weather remained intermittently dismal back in town but sightseeing still happened, though said sights were largely wet and grey. But the fish & chips were remarkable and antique shops well stocked with interesting gewgaws and in all, what was supposed to be a day spent on the road was instead down chilling around town and in out apartment and you know what? Totally fine with me. Things would start getting crazy the next day – or more accurately that night. We’ll get to that tomorrow.
And for those of you wholly disinterested in my travels, well here’s a handful of concert announcements I didn’t get around to posting last week.
On November 13, British trio Peggy Sue will be at The Garrison as part of a short North American tour in support of their second album Acrobats, which will be out over here on October 25. And if you think you knew what they were about based on their debut Fossils & Other Phantoms, think again. Someone bought themselves some amps.
MP3: Peggy Sue – “Cut My Teeth”
This is probably coming too late to be of any use as it’s likely sold out, but Bon Iver announced a second show at Massey Hall for December 7, the previous night having sold out faster than you could say, “hey remember when Bon Iver made a video set in Iceland?”.
MP3: Bon Iver – “Holocene”
Video: Bon Iver – “Holocene”
If you were wondering when and where Toronto would fit in St. Vincent’s touring itinerary for Strange Mercy, the answer is December 15 at The Phoenix. And if you were wondering how much, the answer is $20. And if you were wondering what she might say if asked questions by Arizona Central, The Vancouver Sun or The Province, well now you know.
MP3: St. Vincent – “Surgeon”
Video: St. Vincent – “Cruel”
Sunday, October 16th, 2011
Dum Dum Girls cover The Smiths
Sub PopEverything about Dum Dum Girls is pretty danged American, from their California garage rock-meets-’60s girl-group sound to their vintage biker pin-up aesthetic, but hearing them take on arch-English mope-masters The Smiths as they did for the closing track on their He Gets Me High EP earlier this year, you can easily imagine an adolescent Kristen Gundred swooning over romanticized notions of rainy Manchester as much as SoCal’s sunny beaches. But maybe it shouldn’t be any kind of surprise – their band name does come half from The Vaselines’ debut album.
On the same note, it’s not surprising that Gundred would look to another American gone Anglo for inspiration for their new album Only In Dreams; the way she evokes Chrissie Hynde’s vibrato all over that record is uncanny. Look to hear it live when they play Lee’s Palace tonight. And while The Smiths won’t be playing anywhere live anytime soon, fanatics can shell out for the exorbitantly fancy Complete box set, which is out this week.
MP3: Dum Dum Girls – “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
Video: The Smiths – “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Portishead at The Sound Academy in Toronto
Frank YangSome have been lumping Portishead’s return to recording and touring, starting with the release of 2007’s Third, in with the spate of ’90s band reunions and reconciliations which the more cynical would assume be intended to cash in on the nostalgia of today’s 30-somethings. This is basically wrong. Yes, the band were last properly active in the late ’90s, their second self-titled album coming out in Fall 1997, but what separates Portishead from the pack are that Third was written and recorded if not released before their return to the stage and rather than rest on past laurels as the progenitors of what would become datedly known as “trip-hop”, they opted to evolve far beyond what they were known for and leave the genre behind. There was no trip-hop on Third, only dark and fascinating Portishead. The band didn’t go away, they were just taking their time, and in the interim no one was able to replicate what they did.
And while it took them a good while to get around to touring North America for the new record – three and a half years or so – they finally got around to it this Fall and brought their show to Toronto’s Sound Academy for two nights over Thanksgiving weekend, of which I was at the first evening. Portishead may not immediately seem like they’d be an incredible live band, what with being very much studio creations and not “rocking” in the conventional sense, but the PNYC live set proved they were fully capable of recreating the same sense of desolate and desperate wonder of their records on stage. There was no reason not to expect greatness. And while there was no orchestra accompanying them this time, playing in front of a riveting lightshow made up of recorded projections and live camerawork, the six-piece band was more than equipped to create every tone and texture needed to do their material justice. Be it seamlessly combining live and electronic drums, inserting a brilliant turntable break or just jazzing the tempos the right amount to keep the dirgier songs moving, they were delicate when needed but heavy as hell on demand.
And at the centre of them all, of it all, either draped over the mic or with back to the audience, was Beth Gibbons – the enigmatic voice and face of the band. Her sorrowful, emotive vocals were reflected in the pained expressions on her face as she sang, and with her refusal to do interviews you couldn’t help but wonder if she was in character up there or if she was actually laying herself bare; in either case, whatever emotions Portishead were channelling were coming directly through her. At points her vocals seemed undermixed, not an unusual occurrence at the Sound Academy, but you couldn’t help thinking it was also deliberate to a degree, to allow for even more dramatic effect when she rose above the din. And despite the limits of her stage moves – she didn’t stay at the mic, face the crowd any longer than was necessary or say a word – she was a mesmerizing figure to watch, to try and figure out. It was only at the very end of the final song, “We Carry On”, that the mask broke and Gibbons leapt into the photo pit, all grins, and shook hands with as many fans in the front row as she could. It was a stunning and surprising dropping of what was now clearly a performance, and what a performance.
Some fans might have found room to complain that the set list leaned too heavily on Third, overlooking the fact that it’s a brilliant record for the fact that it’s not their favourite, and yeah – a couple more songs off Portishead would have been welcome – but the there’s no ground to be had in arguing that the show was anything less than brilliant for it. Perfectly paced, presented and performed. Perfectly Portishead.
The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Sun, The New Zealand Herald, and Beatroute have interviews with the band. Examiner.com and NOW were on hand for Sunday night, Exclaim on Monday and it’s unclear when Torontoist was there.
Photos: Portishead @ The Sound Academy – October 9, 2011
Video: Portishead – “Chase The Tear”
Video: Portishead – “Magic Doors”
Video: Portishead – “The Rip”
Video: Portishead – “Machine Gun”
Video: Portishead – “Glory Box”
Video: Portishead – “All Mine”
Video: Portishead – “Humming”
Spinner talks to Friendly Fires frontman Ed Macfarlane. They play The Phoenix on October 23.
Clash talks to Still Corners about their new record Creatures Of An Hour. They’re at The Drake Underground on October 25.
Clash reports that Patrick Wolf will report a new 6-song EP entitled Brumalia on November 28.
With the October 31 release of National Treasures impending, NME talks to James Dean Bradfield.
New Horrors video!
Video: The Horrors – “I Can See Through You”
The Fly has an acoustic courtyard session with Veronica Falls.
Interview talks to Ladytron’s Daniel Hunt.
Clash talks books with Slow Club.
Amor de Dias have released a new video from their debut Street Of The Love Of Days
Video: Amor de Dias – “Season Of Light”
Stereogum has premiered a new Fanfarlo video from their forthcoming second album, out sometime under some name.
Video: Fanfarlo – “Deconstruction”
Urban Outfitters have an interview with Anthony Gonzalez of M83 and are also streaming their new album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming ahead of its release on October 18. Black Book also has an interview. They play Lee’s Palace on November 18.
Stream: M83 / Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Sweden’s Niki & The Dove have released a video for the title track of their debut EP The Drummer, due out on Tuesday.
Video: Niki & The Dove – “The Drummer”
The Line Of Best Fit has posted a video session with Loney Dear. He plays the Drake Underground on November 4.
NPR interviews Bjork.
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
Feist at The Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto
Frank YangJust as a point of reference, when someone IMs you late on a Friday afternoon and asks, “do you want to go see Feist at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio tomorrow night?”, the only appropriate answer is yes. And so it was that after assuming that it’d be too much trouble to finagle one of the hottest tickets in a long weekend with no shortage of hot tickets, one was handed to me. No I’m not bragging. Okay I’m bragging a little. But the point being that I didn’t expect to be at this show, with all its advertised guest stars, and assumed that my run of not seeing Feist live would hit six-and-a-half years before her show at Massey Hall later this year, the last time I saw her properly being Canada Day 2005 and the last technical time being when I paused by her set at Lollapalooza 2006 for a few minutes before moving on to who knows what else, thinking “oh I see her all the time”. Or not.
But one consequence of the short notice was that I still hadn’t had a chance to listen to her new record Metals – what, I’ve been busy – and so as much as it was going to be a nice chance to get reacquainted with Feist, I was expecting it to be a bit unfamiliar. It’s safe to say that the unfamiliarity would be felt from the stage as well as from the audience, though. Feist retired from performing for an extended spell following The Reminder, and while there had been a few warm-up shows prior to this one, that it would be a hometown show and recorded for nationwide radio broadcast next month surely added an extra dimension of nervousness for the singer-songwriter.
Not that she was facing it alone. Her backing band was legion, including a keyboardist, drummer, Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene on multi-instrumentalist duties, a three-piece string section and American folk trio Mountain Man as chorus and percussion section. And that’s not even mentioning the steady stream of guest players who came out to perform with her throughout the night, whether on her material, theirs or someone else’s. Certainly all the parts were in place for an intimate and memorable evening, including invitations from Feist for the audience to leave their seats to gather up front, of which only a few took up. Too Canadian, too polite, I would guess.
And that it was – even being unfamiliar with the new material, Feist’s voice and songwriting style haven’t changed and if anything, have grown more sophisticated. Much of the show was driven by complex and unorthodox percussion with one of Spearin’s tasks was to treat a couple of violins clamped to a table as percussion instruments and Mountain Man doubled as a kalimba orchestra and a few nods to Feist’s rock instincts, often played down on record in favour of more subtle timbres. If you wanted to make a metallurgical analogy, it’s like Feist is soft in the studio but annealed and tempered for the stage. And that, folks, is the most that I’ve used my mechanical engineering degree in the past decade.
Even if the set had been made up of all old material, I don’t take for granted that I’d have recognized them all. Reinvention is nothing new to Feist and songs like “Mushaboom” were recast almost completely, given eastern overtones and going from light and fun to exotic and weighty – a risky move with fan favourites but the end result was thrilling to hear as it allowed the listener to rediscover the song anew. As for the special guests, each of ex-Constantine Bry Webb, Doug Paisley, head Hidden Camera Joel Gibb, Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy all came out to share the spotlight with Feist: Tweedy leading off the encore with “You & I” from his band’s Wilco (The Album) and Webb playing Kenny Rogers in a duet of “Islands In The Stream” with Feist as Dolly.
It wasn’t perfection, as playing in front of friends and family probably adds as much stress as comfort when finding one’s feet and Feist took mulligans on not one but three songs, but if any crowd was going to be forgiving it was this one. And while most would have called the performance a triumph in any case, just happy to have Feist back on a Toronto stage and be reminded of her talent, in this case it was praise fully earned. I can’t wait to see how good and together she is when she returns, road-tested, to Massey Hall on December 1.
Yahoo has a streaming video session with Feist, The Stool Pigeon an interview and CBC, The Globe & Mail, and Spinner have writeups of the show. It will be broadcast on CBC Radio 2 on November 2.
Photos: Feist @ The Glenn Gould Studio – October 8, 2011
Video: Feist – “I Feel It All”
Video: Feist – “Honey Honey”
Video: Feist – “My Moon My Man”
Video: Feist – “Mushaboom”
Video: Feist – “1, 2, 3, 4”
Video: Feist – “One Evening”
Exclaim is streaming both sides of a new Suuns 12″ entitled “Bambi”, due out on November 15.
Timber Timbre have released a new video from Creep On, Creepin’ On. They play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on November 26.
Video: Timber Timbre – “Do I Have Power”
Rolling Stone is streaming a new song from Kathleen Edwards, whose next album will be entitled Voyageur and be out January 17. I tend to be kind of “whatever” about Ms Edwards of late, but this tune is great. If it’s a sign of what to expect from the new record, I shall most definitely be paying attention again. Exclaim has more details on the new record.
Stream: Kathleen Edwards – “Change The Sheets”
Already slated as opener for Matthew Barber at the Music Gallery on November 18, Louise Burns will be sticking around town to provide support for the second of Cuff The Duke’s two shows at The Horseshoe on November 26.
MP3: Louise Burns – “Drop Names Not Bombs”
Spinner talks to Ohbijou about their just-debuted new video.
Video: Ohbijou – “Niagara”
NPR investigates the secrets of Sloan’s longevity.
Allmusic gets Kathryn Calder to list off some favourite books. Her new album Bright And Vivid is out October 25.
Interview talks to Stars.
Billboard talks covers projects and originals with Tokyo Police Club.
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
Explosions In The Sky and Wye Oak at The Sound Academy in Toronto
Frank YangI’m sure they didn’t intend to be away for so long – it wasn’t their fault that the 2009 edition of the Toronto Islands show for which they were the undercard was cancelled – but as of Friday night’s long-awaited show at the Sound Academy., it had been over four years since Explosions In The Sky last played Toronto and you could round up closer to five if you’re talking headlining shows. A long time for any active, touring band but an eternity for an act whose fanbase grew markedly in the years between 2007’s All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone and this year’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care through key soundtrack placements and old fashioned word of mouth about how astonishing their cinematic, instrumental post-rock was.
Baltimore duo Wye Oak have been no such strangers hereabouts, their supporting slot marking their third show in Town this calendar year with one still to come. This was less a case of market oversaturation than simply keeping up with demand, though; specifically the demand of larger acts who wanted them to open up for them. And when the likes of The Decemberists, Explosions and The National ask you to come along on tour with them, you say yes. Since playing this same stage in February opening up for The Decemberists, Wye Oak had released their second album Civilian and toured it heavily, so even just eight months later there were noticeable differences in the band’s live show. The moodier Civilian must call for a leaner approach to things, as Jenn Wasner took fewer guitar excursions and Andy Stack seemed to be called on less to handle keyboard duties simultaneously with drums. It was as though the two were feeling more confident in their ability render the songs with just the guitars, drums and vocals, and when the keys were brought in, such as for some gut-punch bass, their contributions were extra-effective. In any case, it was mope-rock on a grand scale.
One of the most magical things about Explosions In The Sky, either live or on record, is how from the moment they begin to play you’re instantly transported to a world writ on 70mm film but left wide open. There is a universality to their music that allows it to be the soundtrack to the movie of each listener’s life, for them to write their own script and direct their own scenes, using the emotions and dynamics created by the band as cues. So I suspect that the people sitting, eyes closed, out of line of sight of the band were getting just as much out of the performance as the people jammed up front watching them actually play – or at least I’d like to think so; it’s possible they were just asleep.
It’s this intangible that allows them to transcend their formula and continue to connect and be remarkable. Their sound hasn’t really changed much since 2000’s How Strange, Innocence – they’re more adept at the push and pull of evoking emotional responses but any stylistic shifts over their career have been relative to the EITS aesthetic – they’ve never redefined, only refined. So even though Friday’s show pulled from their entire decade-plus repertoire, with a little extra emphasis on Take Care, it felt like a single, unified feature-length piece with gentle lulls and soaring crescendos in all the right places. One major difference from their last time through was for touring, they’d expanded to a five-piece with a full-time bassist which allowed for an even bigger sound with either a three guitar-attack or double-guitar, double-bass, all the sounding even more massive without losing any of the intricacies of their arrangements. As the final notes of “The Moon Is Down” rang out and the band bid farewell, hopefully without as long a wait between visits, I wanted to tell those gathered at the front pleading for an encore that the band doesn’t do encores, and if they wanted more they’d have to wait for the sequel.
The Toronto Star alos has a review of the show while aux.tv and The Detroit News have interviews with Explosions.
Photos: Explosions In The Sky, Wye Oak @ The Sound Academy – October 7, 2011
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Trembling Hands”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Welcome, Ghosts”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Memorial”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “A Poor Man’s Memory”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Greet Death”
MP3: Explosions In The Sky – “Look Into The Air”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Civilian”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Warning”
Video: Explosions In The Sky – “Last Known Surroundings”
Video: Explosions In The Sky – “Be Comfortable, Creature”
Video: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
Video: Wye Oak – “Fish”
Chicago post-rock instrumentalist Russian Circles will be at Lee’s Palace on November 12 in support of their new record Empros, due out October 25.
MP3: Russian Circles – “Mladek”
Nicole Atkins is giving away a free live EP entitled …Til Dawn over at her Bandcamp in exchange for an email address.
The Georgia Straight talks to Kristen Gundred – aka Dee Dee – of Dum Dum Girls. They’re at Lee’s Palace next Sunday night, October 16.
NPR is streaming the new My Brightest Diamond record All Things Will Unwind in advance of its release next week. There’s also a new video at Stereogum and some live video performances posted at Le Blogotheque.
MP3: My Brightest Diamond – “Reaching Through To The Other Side”
Video: My Brightest Diamond – “Be Brave”
Stream: My Brightest Diamond / All Things Will Unwind
Beatroute talks to Annie Clark of St. Vincent.
DIY interviews Wild Flag, in town to melt your faces at Lee’s Palace tonight.
NPR is streaming Days, the new album from Real Estate, out next week.
MP3: Real Estate – “It’s Real”
Stream: Real Estate / Days
Clash, The National Post, DIY, Drowned In Sound and The Los Angeles Times all have interviews with Ryan Adams about his new record Ashes & Fire and Exclaim has a list of RyRy trivia, but only LA Weekly manages to piss him off. Bravo. He plays The Winter Garden Theatre on December 10 and has released a live studio video and proper “if MTV still played videos” video from the new album.
Video: Ryan Adams – “Lucky Now”
Video: Ryan Adams – “Invisible Riverside”
The Vancouver Sun and The Republic interview Stephen Malkmus.
Blurt interviews Matthew Sweet.
DIY talks to Girls.
The New York Daily News chats with Mates Of State.
The Alternate Side has an interview and session with EMA.
NYC Taper is sharing a recording of The Antlers’ show in New York last week.
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