Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart at Sonic Boom in Toronto
Frank YangWhat happens when The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart meet the pains of being busted up in shoulder? You take advantage of the fact that said band used an off day on their touring itinerary to play an in-store a day before their official show, so as to avoid having to stand around The Opera House for three hours, possibly/probably looped on meds. Which is basically what happened on Monday night at Sonic Boom.
Despite the fact that Pains’ self-titled debut was one of my favourites of 2009, I hadn’t seen the New York outfit since their local debut that February, when their buzz was just building and their packed Lee’s Palace show was one of their largest audiences to date. I missed their next two local shows that same year, but obviously the past two and a half years of steady touring through bigger and bigger stages has served the band well, honing them from a group of adorable wide-eyed kids at the start of a great adventure to a pretty damn tight rock band… who are still adorable. Their second album Belong captured this evolution pretty well, keeping the Sarah-referencing winsome pop core that made their debut so delicious but dressing it up in bigger, thicker production that added a little or a lot of roar to their guitar jangle.
It’s interesting to re-read my comments on the live Pains experience circa that Lee’s show and contrast them with the show they put on Monday night. That band was a shy four-piece, light on presence but charming nonetheless and had barely enough material to fill out 45 minutes including encore. This time out they numbered five, with second guitarist Christoph Hochheim along to fill out the sound, and played with the confidence of a band who’s no longer just happy to be there – they were there to play and play well and loud, even if it was just a freebie in the basement of a record store. And to that end, they played a full and sweaty 45-minute set – presumably the same one they delivered the day before to thousands at Osheaga – the the delight of those who opted to wind out their long weekend there instead of clutching a beer on some patio. I’m sure the hundreds who filled the Opera House last night got just as good if not better of a show, but for me this was an ideal opportunity to catch up with the band and still rest up the arm.
Chart and Paste have feature pieces on the band.
Photos: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart @ Sonic Boom – August 1, 2011
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Young Adult Friction”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Come Saturday”
MP3: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “The Body”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Say No To Love”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Heart In Your Heartbreak”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Higher Than The Stars”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Young Adult Friction”
Video: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”
Pitchfork solicits a guest list from American ambient-pop artist John Maus, who has a date at The Drake Underground on September 30 in support of We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves. The Los Angeles Times also has a feature piece.
MP3: John Maus – “Believer”
I am going to assume that The Naked & Famous’ show at Lee’s Palace next week is well and proper sold out because otherwise, they wouldn’t have already announced a return engagement – October 6 at The Phoenix, tickets $20.
Video: The Naked & Famous – “Girls Like You”
Fans of all things rootsy and rocking will want to keep October 30 open, as that’s the day the double-header of Blitzen Trapper and Dawes hit the Opera House. Blitzen Trapper will be promoting their latest American Goldwing, out September 13, while Dawes released their second album Nothing Is Wrong back in June. And to whet your appetite, they’re giving away a six-track sampler EP in exchange for an email at either of their official websites. Playback, Illinois Entertainer and Boulder Weekly have interviews with Blitzen Trapper.
MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “American Goldwing”
MP3: Dawes – “Love Is All I Am”
Having played pretty much every major festival on the circuit, the Death From Above 1979 reunion finally comes home for a show at the Sound Academy on October 28, tickets $36 in advance.
Video: Death From Above 1979 – “Blood On Our Hands”
Video: Death From Above 1979 – “Romantic Rights”
Also in the finally department, those Feist tour dates announced last week have been enhanced with some Canadian dates, including a December 1 stop at Massey Hall. Exclaim has the complete itinerary as of right now, as well as the cover art and tracklisting for her new record Metals, out October 4 and a third vignette preview of the new record is up on her website.
Video: Feist – “Mushaboom”
And for those who’ve gone to put the above two dates in their calendars only to find prior commitments pencilled in, I offer these options – rather than try to choose between DFA1979’s sweaty shirtlessness at the Sound Academy and Dan Mangan’s bearded sensitivity at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, catch Dan either the night before in Hamilton or the night after in Guelph. And as for choosing between Feist and Austra’s homecoming gig at The Phoenix that same night, note that the December 2 slot on her itinerary is currently vacant and the last times she played Massey back in 2007 and 2008, she did two nights and in ’08, there was also that Air Canada Centre nightcap. You do the math.
PopMatters has an interview with Austra’s Katie Stelmanis.
Daytrotter has got a session with Zeus, who’re playing a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square on September 9.
NOW talks to Owen Pallett about getting the band back together, in this case Les Mouches. Pallett and company are at the Phoenix tomorrow night warming things up for Beirut.
The Huffington Post talks to Torq Campbell and Amy Millan of Stars about their ten-year anniversary as a band.
Handsome Furs talk the touring life with The National Post and Georgia Straight.
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Review of Memory Tapes’ Player Piano and giveaway
Windish AgencyI’ve no doubt that Dayve Hawk loathes the term/scene/epithet “chillwave” that was attached to his musical identity of Memory Tapes when he emerged last year, and fairly so – its connotations were rarely positive, or at least applied without some snark, and many of the acts who would been considered his peers were kind of terrible. But if I hadn’t done the cursory, “so what the hell is this all about” investigation, I might not have ever heard his debut Seek Magic and that would have been a shame.
Though it technically passed the chillwave checklist test – homemade dreamy textures made with burbling synths and ’80s electropop echoes – Seek Magic possessed a degree of craftsmanship and songwriting that lifted it well above the also-rans. And the fact that he made it compelling in live performance, as I saw at SXSW 2010, confirmed that while it was probably safe to ignore anything bearing the aforementioned metatag, Memory Tapes deserved to stay on my radar.
The just-released second Memory Tapes record Player Piano takes everything that was good about Seek Magic and reinforces it, offering stronger songs, sharper hooks and less instrumental haze. The guitars still shimmer and echo and Hawke’s voice remains high and pleasantly pinched, but the overall experience is just bigger, in both dynamics and sonic scope – some of Player Piano is M83-scale ambitious. I do find myself wishing there was a little more weight in the low end, be it in the drums or bass, to give it that extra bit of presence but that’s a minor complaint and weighed against Player Piano‘s many merits, a negligible one. File under one of the best dream-pop records you’ll likely hear this year.
Memory Tapes is currently on tour and will be at Wrongbar in Toronto on August 13. Tickets for the show are $12 in advance but courtesy of Embrace, I have two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want Memory Tapes” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me before midnight, August 10.
SF Weekly has an interview with Dayve Hawk.
MP3: Memory Tapes – “Wait In The Dark”
MP3: Memory Tapes – “Today Is Our Life”
Video: Memory Tapes – “Yes We Know”
After some time off turned into a hiatus turned into a disbandment, James Mercer and a new passel of bandmates have reconvened as The Shins and while a new record won’t be out until next year, there will be some Fall tour dates to get folks reacquainted and one of them is September 22 at The Phoenix in Toronto. Ticket prices still TBA but they’ll go on sale Friday.
MP3: The Shins – “So Says I”
MP3: The Shins – “Kissing The Lipless”
Everyone’s favourite family-friendly hip-hop collective Odd Future are coming back to town as part of a massive Fall tour that will allow them to get up close and personal with their fans, and possibly kick them in the faces. The Toronto date comes October 16 at the Sound Academy. Interview has a talk with Wolf Gang leader Tyler The Creator and the collective are featured on the cover of this month’s Exclaim
Video: Tyler The Creator – “Yonkers”
The Black Angels will be back in town at Lee’s Palace on October 24 with Dead Meadow; both are continuing to work 2010 releases – the former with Phosphene Dream and the latter with Three Kings.
MP3: The Black Angels – “Telephone”
MP3: Dead Meadow – “Good Moanin'”
New York DFA-affiliated electro-poppers Holy Ghost! will be at 69 Bathurst on November 1 in support of their self-titled debut.
MP3: Holy Ghost! – “Do It Again”
MP3: Holy Ghost! – “I Will Come Back”
MP3: Holy Ghost! – “Wait & See”
Wears The Trousers interviews Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs. She plays Lee’s Palace on September 24.
Spin finds out some of Mates Of State’s favourite things. The indie-pop duo are readying their latest album Mountaintops for a September 13 release and will be at The Phoenix on September 28.
They Shoot Music has a video session with Wye Oak, who will be at The Sound Academy on October 7 opening up for Explosions In The Sky.
My Morning Jacket have released a video from their latest record Circuital.
Video: My Morning Jacket – “Holdin’ On To Black Metal”
Pitchfork has got a nice Yours Truly-shot video of EMA at the recent Pitchfork Festival.
Magnet Q&As Richard Buckner in advance of making him their website guest editor for the week.
The Montreal Gazette, Boston Herald, Detroit Free Press and Tourisme Montreal talk to members of Death Cab For Cutie.
Monday, August 1st, 2011
Summerworks
What: Summerworks
Why: Celebrated long-running theatre festival that added a musical component four years ago.
Who: In its short run, Summerworks already counts some of the cream of the current Canadian musical crop as its alumnus – this year’s class seems certain to add to that list. For specifics, keep reading.
When: There will be six nights of live music double-headers running over the course of the festival’s week-and-a-bit duration, with the night-by-night breaking down as follows – there’s also opening and closing parties on the 4th and the 14th.
Friday, August 5 – Hooded Fang, Steven McKay
Saturday August 6 – Bonjay, Lioness
Wednesday August 10 – Great Bloomers, House League (featuring members of Forest City Lovers, Matters, Evening Hymns and more)
Thursday August 11 – Bruce Peninsula, Jennifer Castle
Friday August 12 – Miracle Fortress, Ruby Coast
Saturday August 13 – Green Go, Powers
Where: The Lower Ossington Theatre in Toronto (19+)
How: Tickets for each show are $10 in advance but courtesy of the festival, I’ve got three pairs of passes to a show of your choice to give away. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want the Summerworks” in the subject line and your full name and the show you’d like to attend in the body. Contest closes at midnight, August 4.
What else: BlogTO has previewed some of the acts performing at this year’s festival.
MP3: Bruce Peninsula – “Light Flight”
MP3: Hooded Fang – “ESP”
MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Miscalculations”
MP3: Jennifer Castle – “Neverride”
Sunday, July 31st, 2011
Bon Iver covers Feist
YouTubeThis has been shaping up to be a pretty solid year for fans of the more “adult contemporary” end of the indie spectrum. Last month, Bon Iver released their second album of swoony falsetto and heartbreaking romanticism in Bon Iver and after a good number of years of laying low, Feist just this week announced her new record Metals would be coming out on October 4. Between those two records, you’ve got your make-out and/or break-up soundtrack for 2011.
The two acts – or at least one of them and the other’s work – came together in Australian radio station triple-j’s studio back in 2009 when Justin Vernon, he who was and essentially still is Bon Iver, offered up a cover of Feist’s “The Park” as part of an interview and session. Now Bon Iver has done a lot of covers and most of them sound like, well, Bon Iver singing someone else’s song, but this one I liked quite a bit more as Vernon’s delivery enhances the not inconsiderable beauty that Feist crafted into the original.
Bon Iver plays a sold out show at the Sound Academy on August 8. Feist has announced a short US tour to coincide with the release of Metals; I would expect that a Toronto hometown show will come sometime around then as well – I mean, how can one not? In the meantime, you can paint your own version of the Metals album art at her Facebook because that’s almost as good. Obviously.
MP3: Bon Iver – “The Park”
Video: Bon Iver – “The Park” (live on JJJ)
Video: Feist – “The Park” (live)
Saturday, July 30th, 2011
FacebookWho: White Lies
What: London-based gloomy gusses who, following the chart-topping success of their debut To Lose My Life, sought to prove they had more than just Joy Division albums in their collection. Ritual is evidence they also own some Depeche Mode.
Why: Immediately following Ritual‘s release back in January, the band played an undersized club show at The Mod Club to whip up excitement. For this return engagement, they’re playing a room a little more appropriately-sized.
When: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Where: The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto
Who else: Not sure if support has been announced or if I just can’t find it. Either way… surprise!
How: Tickets for the show are $27.50 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see White Lies” in the subject line and your full name in the body. Contest closes at midnight, August 1.
MP3: White Lies – “Death” (Crystal Castles remix)
Video: White Lies – “Holy Ghost”
Video: White Lies – “Strangers”
Video: White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”
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