Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
It Kills, Great Lake Swimmers, Milks & Rectangles and more at Halifax Pop Explosion
Frank YangI guess the final day of coverage is as good a time as any to talk about some of the non-Pop Explosion aspects of my visit to Halifax, which was my first-ever visit to the east coast and first trip within Canada in over three years. Though to be honest, I didn’t do a whole lot that wasn’t HPX-related – some wandering around downtown Halifax, which seemed to be in a particularly epic state of construction and/or renovation, the previously mentioned fast/walkabout to Point Pleasant, and most enjoyably a visit to the exceedingly photogenic but also incredibly cold and windy Peggys Cove, which had the added bonus of some picturesque Autumn foliage on the drive out.
Still, the best parts of the trip were thanks to the festival and conference, where I got to participate in a panel on blogging (natch) with You Ain’t No Picasso, Hero Hill and The Line Of Best Fit (and apologies to anyone who misinterpreted when I said, “the first songs you write will be terrible, and the next ones will also be terrible but less so” – I was trying to be encouraging! They’ll get better!) and just generally got to hang out with peeps old and new; Halifax offers many great places for lounging about, waiting for the… leisurely wait staff.
And of course there was the music. I’d gone relatively light on shows through the first few days so Saturday was the day to make it up some – and a good start was a matinee performance by Great Lake Swimmers. I hadn’t seen the band play since Spring 2007, by which point they’d already graduated to playing churches and halls that complimented their gorgeous, ghostly folk – pretty much the polar opposite from the dark and (pleasantly) grubby Seahorse Tavern. And as lovely as the performances in those more stately venues are, there was something really exciting about seeing them in relatively rougher and tumbler (?) environs – they ran through their set with more jump and flourish than I think I’ve ever seen them with and having a great time of it. Seeing as how a tour of churches and the like would be a special outing for most bands, I propose that the Great Lake Swimmers cross Canada while playing the seediest clubs possible. By the time they hit the coast, they’ll be downright metal.
Photos: Great Lake Swimmers @ The Seahorse Tavern – October 23, 2010
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “Pulling On A Line”
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “Your Rocky Spine”
MP3: Great Lake Swimmers – “I Am A Part Of A Large Family”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “River’s Edge”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Stealing Tomorrow”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Palmistry”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Pulling On A Line”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Still”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Back Stage With The Modern Dancers”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Your Rocky Spine”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “To Leave It All Behind”
Video: Great Lake Swimmers – “Bodies & Minds”
MySpace: Great Lake Swimmers
The evening programme kicked off at Hero Hill’s showcase at the cozy Company House and locals It Kills. Of all the bands’ MySpaces I cruised in advance of the festival, theirs caught my attention the most and buoyed by Radio Free Canuckistan’s glowing review of their self-titled debut, it was one of the few immovable shows on my schedule. Describing them is no easy task; the four-piece of guitar, cello, drums and piano certainly incorporated elements of Godspeed, Kronos and Explosions into their baroque take on orchestral post-rock, but rather than the build-and-release typical of the style, they instead meditate on the moment like a suspended breath. Add on top of that choral harmonies that may or may not be wordless – it could be hard to tell in the mix – and you had something that had familiar touchstones but still sounded unlike anything I’d heard before. Recommended? Yeah.
Photos: It Kills @ The Company House – October 23, 2010
MP3: It Kills – “Jump Kid”
It was then down the street to the Paragon Theatre for Toronto’s Dilly Dally. I hadn’t heard of them before but they were pretty appealing in their punky (though not especially punk) rock, which came liberally drenched in grease and snot, but also with a dollop of melody and attitude. About midway through their set frontwoman Katie Monks mentioned her brother’s band would be playing later that night, and something snapped into place – you could hear some of the same record collection DNA that informs Tokyo Police Club’s sound in Dilly Dally’s, but while rougher, the latter is potentially more interesting. Their set lasted barely 30 minutes and exhausted their entire repertoire, but it was more than enough to impress. They have a couple of Toronto shows coming up – The Tranzac tomorrow night, October 27, and The Garage on November 5.
Photos: Dilly Dally @ The Paragon Theatre – October 23, 2010
MP3: Dilly Dally – “Helen Hunt”
MP3: Dilly Dally – “Pretty Pretty Pictures”
The lack of anywhere else to be at 10PM kept me at the Paragon for Calgary’s Ghostkeeper, even though their self-titled debut had failed to impress me the way it had those who got it onto this year’s Polaris long list. Happily, I found them more enjoyable live as their brand of abrupt, deconstructed blues and pop was prone to outbursts of rocking out and was softened up by some nice boy-girl vocals. Even so, about midway through their set I noticed on Twitter that someone said the venue was at capacity and, being the generous soul I am, I decided to let someone else have my spot.
Photos: Ghostkeeper @ The Paragon Theatre – October 23, 2010
MP3: Ghostkeeper – “Like Moose Do”
MP3: Ghostkeeper – “By Morning”
Video: Ghostkeeper – “Haunted”
After a visit to Pizza Corner for my first donair and one of the messiest dining experiences of my life, it was to the Foggy Goggle for the last stop of the night and the festival. Prince Edward Island’s Milks & Rectangles wasn’t the reason I went there, initially, but quickly into their set they became just about the highlight of the night. I would be surprised if any reviews of the band failed to mention Franz Ferdinand, and the comparison is an apt one – though they may not cut as dapper a figure as the Scots, they do mine much of the same New Wave/post-punk dance rock landscape and do it really well. That’s not all they’ve got in their arsenal, though – they also had a knack for half-anthemic (no fist pumping) singalongs and quirky art-rock, but most importantly, they knew that if you got the girls in the audience dancing, you’d already won. And having apparently brought an entire party with them from PEI, the girls were definitely dancing. It was a loud, sweaty and irresistible set that deserved – and got – an encore. Their last two EPs – Dirty Gold and Troubleshooters – are available to download for free and while neither quite captures the tightness and excellence of the live show, they do affirm that this is a band that could do great things.
Photos: Milks & Rectangles @ The Foggy Goggle – October 23, 2010
MP3: Milks & Rectangles – “Gold Teeth / Diamond Ring”
MP3: Milks & Rectangles – “Wink And A Gun (The Jury’s Hung)”
MySpace: Milks & Rectangles
And to wrap it all up, Gramercy Riffs. Now I had thought that, hailing from St. John’s, Newfoundland, that they’d have a flotilla of fans out to support them but as it turns out, they now call Toronto and Montreal home and this was, apparently, their first time playing Halifax. Needless to say, the big, rowdy throw-down I expected didn’t quite happen but considering how… boisterous their appearance at NXNE got and how it didn’t quite feature the band at their best, maybe that was a good thing. Because though this performance was a few degrees more subdued than that one, it was also less ramshackle and put the focus on the band’s proper strengths – namely their two excellent frontpersons in Mara Pellerin and Lee Hanlon (even though Pellerin’s vocals were poorly mixed for much of the show). Their different yet complimentary deliveries elevate Gramercy Riffs and their debut It’s Heartbreak above many others who’d seek to make adjectiveless pop-rock. A performance level somewhere between this one and the NXNE one would have been ideal, but still a good time and a good wrap to the fest.
Photos: Gramercy Riffs @ The Foggy Goggle – October 23, 2010
MP3: Gramercy Riffs – “Call Me”
MySpace: Gramercy Riffs
Many thanks to the folks at HPX and in Halifax in general for a great trip. Less thanks to the security staff at Stanfield International airport, who take whole Maritime friendliness a touch too far in stopping to chat with everyone who passes through their metal detector. I barely made it onto my flight and that included a 10-minute boarding delay. But anyways.
Under The Radar has details on the new album from The Dears – Degeneration Street will be out February 15 of next year and the first single, “Omega Dog”, is available now for $0.99.
I don’t know if all the names will fit on the sandwich board outside, but a worthy bill hits the Horseshoe on November 25 with The Wilderness Of Manitoba, Leif Vollebekk and Olenka & The Autumn Lovers.
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”
MP3: Leif Vollebekk – “Northernmost Eva Maria”
MP3: Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – “Eggshells”
There’s interviews with Diamond Rings over at aux.tv, Macleans, Spinner, Exclaim and Interview. Special Affections is out now and the record release show goes tonight at the Garrison.
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Basia Bulat with Symphony Nova Scotia at Halifax Pop Explosion
Frank YangThe “see something new” mandate largely fell apart on the third night of Halifax Pop Explosion, but with good reason; when you get the opportunity to see Basia Bulat perform with a symphony, you take it. Bulat was the third artist to be brought together with Symphony Nova Scotia as part of the Pop Explosion, Ron Sexsmith and Owen Pallett had done so in past years, and it was Pallett who crafted the orchestral arrangements of Bulat’s songs for this performance which took place in the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium on the Dalhousie campus.
The evening was structured more like a symphony concert than a pop one, split into two halves and opening with the symphony performing a piece by Toronto composer Jordan Pal before being joined by Bulat and bandmates Holly Coish on vocals and taropatch and Bobby Bulat on drums. Bulat’s songs have often been called orchestral-pop and often come out of the box lovingly adorned with strings, brass and woodwinds, but the strength of her work comes from the emotional directness of their simple folk hearts. So to hear them with their sonic dressings increased tenfold (or so) was fascinating to witness. Pallett’s treatments took those supporting elements and gave them a new level of animation, sometimes taking hues that were muted and enhancing them to technocolour levels or simply adding all-new shapes and colours and in doing so, inverting the tone of the song completely. The symphony emphasized the shadows lurking on “Heart Of My Own” and practically inverted the usually-joyous “I Was A Daughter” into an elegiac sort of farewell.
For me, the real test would be “The Shore”, which was pretty much perfect in its austere presentation on Heart Of My Own and was even more stunning in its live solo arrangement. The rearranged version pretty much came out of it a draw, with the timpani and percussion giving it a stirring, tidal rumble but the trilling woodwinds distracting from the song’s emotional heft. And that would largely sum up how the collaborative pieces went – a lot of embellishment and some distraction. When they played together, it could feel trepidatious, particularly rhythmically, as though songs that were used to flitting freely in light Summer dresses were now having to move with heavy, fancy formal wear on. But even so, in the end the pieces were always made winners not by the massive orchestra or Pallett’s contributions, but by Bulat and her songs.
In addition to the eight orchestral pieces, Bulat played a number of selections either with Coish and her brother or solo, and those performances – aided by the theatre’s stunning acoustics – were just as much highlights of the night as those with the symphony. In particular, one of two new songs – “It Can’t Be You” – featured a vocal performance from Bulat that was just jaw-dropping, and the encore-closing unamplified stomp-and-clap of “Death Come Creeping” on the fancy auditorium stage in front of the orchestra, was as wonderful as it was incongruous. More, actually.
I won’t say that the symphonic treatments improved Bulat’s songs – I think they’re “right” the way they were originally conceived and presented – but that wasn’t the intention in the first place. Rather, it was an artistic and musical experiment for everyone involved that yielded interesting and frequently beautiful results, and one that I still feel privileged to have gotten to see. Here’s hoping that more orchestral collaborations are in the cards for the future so that others can share that privilege and the works can evolve further as their own entities.
This ended up being the only thing I attended on the third night of HPX – partly because Rebecca Cohn was far enough from any other venue that it would have required a whole lot of effort to get anywhere else, partly because the idea of going to a little club after this show and getting blasted in the face with some punk rock wasn’t very palatable and partly because it was going to be more fun to just kick back and hang out with friends afterwards. I’d make up for it the next night.
The Halifax Chronicle-Herald also has a review of the show. She now opens up a series of cross-Canada shows for Josh Ritter, including tomorrow night at The Phoenix.
Photos: Basia Bulat with Symphony Nova Scotia @ Rebecca Cohn Auditorium – October 22, 2010
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Go On”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Snakes & Ladders”
Video: Basia Bulat – “The Pilgriming Vine”
Video: Basia Bulat – “In The Night”
MySpace: Basia Bulat
Rae Spoon rolled out a couple more videos from Love Is A Hunter over the last while.
Video: Rae Spoon – “There is a Light (but it’s not for everyone)”
Video: Rae Spoon – “Joan”
Sufjan Stevens talks about some of the personal issues that informed and delayed The Age Of Adz with Exclaim.
The Vancouver Sun talks to Matt Ward of She & Him.
The Asheville Citizen-Times chats with Band Of Horses’ Bill Reynolds and Tyler Ramsey.
NPR interviews School Of Seven Bells.
The video for Johnny Flynn’s new single is out, featuring a live performance in a garden with Laura Marling covering her parts as she does on the studio version on Been Listening. Flynn will be at Lee’s Palace on November 14.
Video: Johnny Flynn with Laura Marling – “The Water”
A couple of interesting international bands are on the Nu Music Nite bill at The Horseshoe tomorrow night (October 26). From the UK there’s folk singer Alessi’s Ark and all the way from Australia, The Jezebels. Easier for you to give the samples a listen, than for me to try and describe a couple of acts I’m only a little familiar with, but the combination of both on one bill and it being free makes it hard for me to stay cooped up at home, as much as I’d like to.
MP3: The Jezebels – “Mace Spray”
MP3: Alessi’s Ark – “Hands In The Sink”
The Dumbing Of America and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview Sky Larkin, who are in town at the Horseshoe on Wednesday night.
Under The Radar talks to Rose Elinor Dougall.
Lykke Li has put out a new single – mainly digital but also as a 7″ for collectors – and you can download the a-side below and the b-side at her website. A new album should be out in the early part of next year.
MP3: Lykke Li – “Get Some”
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
Superchunk covers David Bowie
AmazonI was originally going to save this for next week so that it could go up ON Hallowe’en, but then realized that if I did that, it’d only be timely for a day and then be like the jack o’lantern that sits on the porch from November 1, slowly mouldering and having bits of its face eaten by raccoons. Okay, that’s not quite what I meant to say but it’s going up today so you can add it to Hallowe’en mixes, play it at parties, what have you.
“It” being Superchunk’s cover of the title track from David Bowie’s 1980 album, originally released as a b-side to the “1000 Pounds” single, circa Come Pick Me Up, and again on their 2004 b-sides compilation Cup Of Sand. I don’t know if there was any compelling reason to choose this particular Bowie tune, but they rip it up so why not?
Superchunk returned to active duty this year after nine years away with the excellent Majesty Shredding and will make a long-awaited return to Toronto on December 9 in a supporting slot for Broken Social Scene at the Sound Academy. David Bowie has been unofficially retired since 2003’s Reality, not touring since heart surgery cut short the promo jaunt for said record in 2004. In the interim, his legend has only grown as a new generation of indie kids discover his work and if/when he ever makes a new record or tours, the news would break Twitter in half. In the meantime, he is happily being David Bowie and probably ignoring calls from Coachella to come play their festival daily, if not hourly.
MP3: Superchunk – “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)”
Video: David Bowie – “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” (live)
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Rebekah Higgs, The Darcys, The Modern Superstitions and more at Halifax Pop Explosion
Frank YangWhen I went to Vancouver some seven years ago, I made the mistake of venturing out onto the seawall in Stanley Park without first having lunch or bringing along some water. And so it was that I ended up trudging around the perimeter of the park for over an hour, hungry thirsty and tired and accompanied only by some crazy guy who, despite being crazy, had managed to rent a bike and was following me around. The point of this being that I clearly didn’t learn anything from the experience as yesterday, driven by a desire to see the ocean, I walked from downtown to Point Pleasant Park without eating first or bringing any water. At least there wasn’t any crazy guy on a bike this time. Clearly there’s something about large parks on either coast of Canada that make me dumb as shit. Anyways.
The second night of ye olde Halifax Pop Explosion didn’t fully pass my “see only new stuff” mission, but it wasn’t entirely my fault. Take The Modern Superstitions, in all the way from Toronto – sure, I saw them last year when they played the boardwalk baby band stage at V Fest, but a) they were only called The Superstitions then, and b) they didn’t sound nearly as good as they do now. That band was very much a work in progress but this one – with a new EP in All The Things We’ve Been Told under their belts – came across much more like a finished product. Everything they sounded like they were trying to do before – show the world there was still a need for a female-fronted Strokes-y garage rock band – they were now actually doing, particularly singer Nyssa Rosaleen. Last Summer, she seemed uncomfortable with being the frontwoman of the band; now, while not exactly devouring the role, she does come across much more confidently and her delivery is all the better for it. Sometimes a dose of modernity is all it takes.
Photos: The Modern Superstitions @ Tribeca – October 21, 2010
MP3: The Modern Superstitions – “Visions Of You”
Montreal’s Camaromance was a “hey the MySpace sounds alright and I’ll be around there so why not” selection, and largely failed to remind me of why I chose to see them play. Playing as a two-guitar duo, Martine Groulx’s compositions didn’t have the same richness as the recordings and while the lack of embellishment and quiet venue allowed her downbeat, dense narratives the attention required to absorb, it also revealed it as pretty standard singer-songwriter fare.
Photos: Camaromance @ The Foggy Goggle – October 21, 2010
Video: Camaromance – “Mostly Harmless”
MySpace: Camaromance
I didn’t plan on seeing The Darcys, but some staggered set times and side-by-side venues made it happen, and I’m glad it did. I seem to check in on my fellow Torontonians every six months or so, and each time they seem to have improved markedly. This time, as always, I was impressed by their musicianship and ability to pull off the complex rhythms, intricate guitar work and great dynamics that make their epically-inclined, proggish-but-not-prog rock so compelling. But what was missing was the big hook or chorus to make them the anthems they aspire to be. No, it’s not an easy thing to achieve – it’s a skill that careers are built on – but I think they’ll get there. When? Dunno, check back with me in six months or so.
Photos: The Darcys @ The Seahorse Tavern – October 21, 2010
MP3: The Darcys – “House Built Around Your Voice”
MySpace: The Darcys
I hadn’t checked in with Halifax native Rebekah Higgs for a few years, since she was in Toronto fairly often circa her promising self-titled debut. Ruby Jean & The Thoughtful Bees, the electro-dance project which occupied her time the last little while didn’t do much for me, though, so I was pleased to hear she was returning to working sans pseudonym just in time for me to catch a hometown show. Her debut was am ambitious melding of folk, pop and electronic elements whose reach occasionally exceeded its grasp but was still quite promising, and from the sounds of the set of all-new material she showcased last night, that promise is being delivered on. As before, she played surrounded by an ocean of technology in the form of keyboards, pedals and sonic gewgaws, but even though she had a bit of trouble navigating it all mid-song, she still largely pulled off all the loops and samples needed to recreate her songs and deliver them with confidence and sass. The ingenue-ishness of her older material has been traded in for a more mature and musically rangier style and it works for her. Her new album is due out next year and will be preceded by the Little Voice digital EP coming out November 23.
Photos: Rebekah Higgs @ The Seahorse Tavern – October 21, 2010
MP3: Rebekah Higgs – “Little Voice”
Video: Rebekah Higgs – “Parables”
Video: Rebekah Higgs – “Parables” (alternate video)
MySpace: Rebekah Higgs
Westword asks three questions of Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes.
Here talks to Craig Finn of The Hold Steady.
Writers On Process delves into the muck of songwriting for Titus Andronicus with Patrick Stickles.
Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam talks about his new record Kiss Each Other Clean to Spin. There’s no official release date as of yet, but January 25 appears to be shaping up as the first big new record day of the year, so that’s as likely a candidate as any.
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
Ty Segall, Styrofoam Ones and The Modern Men at Halifax Pop Explosion
Frank YangOne of the perks of being my own boss, as it were, is that no one can tell me what I have to cover when I’m out and about, particularly at a festival like Halifax Pop Explosion. And since I’ve already had and taken the opportunity to see many of the big names playing the festival, I went into this week with the mandate of seeing stuff I hadn’t seen before, be it on recommendations from others, positive MySpace first impressions or just because it’s located nearby and I’m lazy.
The Wednesday night festival programme was bit lighter than the rest of the week, basically offering one show per genre of interest. There was the pop show, the metal show, the electro-dance show, the punk show, the GWAR show. Having seen The New Pornographers not three weeks ago, I skipped the pop-friendly bill at The Forum and headed to the Paragon Theatre – conveniently located around the corner from the hotel – for some synth-driven action, kicked off by Halifax’s The Modern Men. Their online samples implied an ’80s-indebted New Wave/New Romantic-ish outfit, and that’s pretty much what was delivered, though more organic and meaty-sounding than expected. Propelled by two drummers with nary an electronic kit or laptop in sight, they had songs that weren’t especially deep – like their influences – but heavy on hooks and groove. The quality of the tunes made up for the general lack of stage presence and mood-killing stage banter – there’s really no need to introduce each song with the title and the style it’s in.
Photos: The Modern Men @ The Paragon Theatre – October 20, 2010
MySpace: The Modern Men
I’d intended to see the next act, Styrofoam Ones, a number of times back in Toronto but apparently we both had to travel to the east coast for that to happen. And interestingly, their set was the inverse of Modern Men’s, in both the positive and negative sense. Delayed by some technical issues, when the trio finally got underway they seemed a bit out of sorts, audibly out of time with one another and when your MO is tightness, that’s a problem. This, however, was offset to a degree by the fact that they didn’t seem to notice or care and kept playing with enough on-stage attitude and swagger that you almost believed that this was how they meant to sound. Within a few songs they did get it together, though, and from then on their showmanship was working with and not in spite of their tunes – good-time synth-rock that favoured vintage combo organ sounds rather than ’80s square waves and reliant more on punkish energy than sophistication.
Photos: Styrofoam Ones @ The Paragon Theatre – October 20, 2010
MP3: Styrofoam Ones – “Blue Lines”
Video: Styrofoam Ones – “Blue Lines”
MySpace: Styrofoam Ones
I had been advised to check out San Francisco’s Ty Segall – whom I’d never heard a note of – on the basis that his shows in Toronto not long ago were “intense”. After being in the front line (or kill zone) of his show at the Seahorse Tavern last night, I’d say that yeah, that’s pretty accurate. And it’s not because his stuff – garage rock with a goodly amount of pop melodicism injected – is especially aggressive or even his performance. It’s because his fans – jammed into the small underground space – were intent on creating bedlam and he was perfectly happy to soundtrack it, and woe to anyone who was so unfortunate as to be up front innocently trying to take some pictures. But besides being kicked in the head by a crowdsurfer and mashed into the stage ad nauseum, it wasn’t really that bad – I’ve been in worse – and for the most part it was just people having fun. Amidst material that I presume was from his latest record Melted, we got a cover of Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and the kids going nuts somehow managed to find another gear. Fun times, nothing broken, night one finis.
Photos: Ty Segall @ The Seahorse Tavern – October 20, 2010
MP3: Ty Segall – “It #1”
Video: Ty Segall – “Finger”
Video: Ty Segall – “Lovely One”
Video: Ty Segall – “Cents”
Spinner has a profile on the Halifax Pop Explosion.
For Folk’s Sake and Blast interview Dan Mangan. He plays Trinity-St. Paul’s on October 28.
NOW talks to both halves of the Diamond Rings/PS I Love You bill playing the Garrison on Tuesday, while eye features just PS I Love You.
Crystal Castles have a date at the Sound Academy on April 2.
Video: Crystal Castles – “Baptism”
The National have released a video for the version of “Terrible Love” that appears on the deluxe edition of High Violet which is coming November 22.
Video: The National – “Terrible Love” (alternate version)
The Line Of Best Fit talks to The Joy Formidable; their forthcoming debut The Big Roar is out in early 2011 and they kick off a North American tour on November 3 at the Horseshoe.
Laura Marling tells NME that she no longer intends to release a second album in 2010 but will instead finish off new material early next year and release that instead. Which is fine, but one hopes that at least some of the material that was recorded alongside I Speak Because I Can will eventually see the light of day in some form.
1 Comment
facebook
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.chromewaves.net/images/interface/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}