Friday, June 18th, 2010

Keep Shining

2010 Polaris Music Prize long list revealed

Christine LimThough not technically related, yesterday afternoon’s announcement of this year’s Polaris Music Prize long list in the midst of all the NXNE hubbub was no coincidence. What better time to reveal the consensus cream of the Can-con crop than in the smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest festivals and conferences in the country? A perusal of the 40 albums that made the cut reveals a lot of the names I’d have expected, based on factors such as public profile, track record and oh yeah, artistic merit, though some others that I thought might have eked onto the list are absent and others that I thought would have been too under the radar to gather sufficient support have moved onto the next round.

Net result? An interesting and diverse list of albums that should provide sufficient grist for acclaim, angst and analysis, at least until the short list when it’s announced on July 6, and then the fun part – endless back and forth about which of the ten finalists should take home the $20,000 cheque – begins and continues until the winner is announced on September 20. For my part, since I was on the Grand Jury in 2008, my duties end this year with submission of my second ballot in a week’s time. And considering that I’ve only got one record from the first ballot that’s not still in the running and a pool of 36 records to choose from, that should be relatively easy. What’s that? What was on my first ballot? Well I’m glad you asked. In order, they were:

1. Shad / TSOL
In a perfect world, my Polaris ballot would write itself. Albums up for the title of “best in Canada” should announce themselves as such and not give you the option to not include it. Not a lot of records do this, but Shad’s third album did. Its blend of heart, humour and hooks are irresistible. TSOL demands its place on the long list, will almost certainly find its way on the short list and I give it good odds of going all the way.

MP3: Shad – “Yaa I Get It”

2. Reverie Sound Revue / Reverie Sound Revue
I knew this album wouldn’t make the long list without some sort of divine intervention, but with each successive listen in the year or so since its release, it has won me over more and more. What it has is understatedly clever wordplay delivered by Lisa Lobsinger’s perfectly matched vocals overtop impeccably conceived and arranged jazzy pop sounds, and the fact that very little out there does what they do this well, from any country. What it doesn’t have is a band able to tour or otherwise promote it as it deserved, and that’s why I’m looking for a new fifth album for ballot #2. But this album should be heard.

MP3: Reverie Sound Revue – “Arrows”

3. Owen Pallett / Heartland
Just five years in, repeat short list nominees are hardly uncommon but we haven’t had a repeat winner yet. And with the name change before this record’s release, pedants could argue it wouldn’t be a repeat, but I digress. Truth is I don’t even know how much I like it – there’s so much going on that even months on I find myself overwhelmed and still haven’t fully absorbed it – but the artistic ambition and achievement of it transcends subjective opinion.

Video: Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes His Shirt Off”

4. Dan Mangan / Nice, Nice, Very Nice
What I said about the Shad record applies here as well, though not quite as emphatically. Some naysayers have criticized Mangan’s album for being just another indie-folk singer-songwriter record and technically, they’re quite correct. Which is why the degree to which Nice, Nice was able to stick and resonate for so long marks it as noteworthy. There’s unquestionably something going on here above and beyond what you get on paper.

MP3: Dan Mangan – “Road Regrets”

5. Basia Bulat / Heart Of My Own
Any reservations I had about nominating Basia’s second album amounted to it being so similar to Oh, My Darling and not yet being the masterpiece statement that I’m sure she has in her. But then I listened to it – and “The Shore” – again and tossed those reservations out the window. I don’t know that I’d go to the wall for it as best album of the year, but thankfully I don’t have to.

MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”

Chart talks basketball and TSOL with Shad, who’s at the Kool Haus with K’Naan on October 1.

The Toronto Star, JAM and Metro interview The Besnard Lakes.

Pitchfork talks to Black Mountain’s Stephen McBean. Their new record Wilderness Heart is out September 14 and they preview it at The Horseshoe on July 23.

Torq Campbell of Stars goes through The Five Ghosts, out next week, song-by-song for The National Post while Amy Milan talks about the new album with Dose.ca.

The Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail and Vancouver Sun talk Twilight with Metric, who recorded an acoustic video session for The Fly. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 9.

Ca Va Cool interviews The Meligrove Band. Their new record Shimmering Lights is out September 21.

Filter Q&A’s Tokyo Police Club, who’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8.

Check out this Takeaway Show with Land Of Talk, whose new record Cloak & Cipher is out August 24. hour.ca has a conversation with Liz Powell.

Wolf Parade are streaming the whole of their new record Expo 86 at their MySpace in advance of its June 29 release.

Stream: Wolf Parade / Expo 86

Diamond Rings has released the video for his new single – the most elaborate one so far – just in time for the 12″ release at Wrongbar tonight. He’s on at 11 and a certain peacock costume may well be making an appearance. His debut full-length Special Affections will be out in the Fall.

Video: Diamond Rings – “Show Me Your Stuff”

The Balconies have released the first video from their self-titled debut; they play the Wine & Spirits Festival in the Distillery District on Saturday evening.

Video: The Balconies – “Serious Bedtime”

A few show announcements to cap off the week – after first cancelling the Toronto date and then the whole tour back in May, reunited shoegaze forebears Chapterhouse have re-booked their North American tour for this Fall and T.O. is back on the agenda – this time it’s set for October 6 at Lee’s Palace, again with Ulrich Schnauss supporting.

Video: Chapterhouse – “Pearl”

If you look at my schedule for SxSW in March, you will see no less than seven Local Natives shows marked down, some of them flagged as “high priority”. Needless to say, I missed them all. I’ll finally get to make that up on October 19 when the Los Angeles outfit bring Gorilla Manor to town for a show at the Mod Club, tickets $17.50 in advance.

MP3: Local Natives – “Sun Hands”

Matt & Kim have slated a massive Fall tour that will include an October 29 show at The Phoenix. Yeah, they’re that big now.

MP3: Matt & Kim – “Yeah Yea”

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Flashlight Tag

NXNE 2010 preview and recommendations

Death Trap PhotographyIf it’s mid-June and my lanyard collection has grown by one, it can only mean one thing – NXNE is again upon us. And that means this is yet another weekend I won’t get to indulge my fondest fantasy – to sit around and do nothing – and that it’s time for another dog’s breakfast of a festival preview post. It’s a little bit of my own schedule, a bit of what my schedule might be if not for what my schedule actually is, a bit of what’s piqued my curiosity and a bit of what I know will be worth seeing. Some of the more obvious big names are omitted – I am assuming everyone’s aware of the super-stacked, old school punk free shows at the Yonge-Dundas Square – so hopefully there’ll be something that people attending the festival might feel compelled to check out and people who aren’t going to be at the festival might also investigate.

Note that I didn’t include Wednesday or Sunday, which despite now feeling more like proper days of the festival rather than prologue and epilogue, still don’t offer enough choice to require choosing. If you’re going out either of those days, you know where you’re going. And previewing Wednesday on Thursday would just be silly. So for the next three nights, here’s some thoughts.

Thursday, June 17 2010

Old World Vulture (Rancho Relaxo @ 8PM) – I recommended seeing these rising local purveyors of surging instrumental post-rock back during Canadian Musicfest, and having heard their just-released self-titled debut EP, that endorsement goes double.
MP3: Old World Vulture – “Benny”

Free Energy (The Horseshoe @ 10PM) – A lot of the talking points around these Philly boys concern the fact that their debut Stuck On Nothing was produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, but what really matters is that it’s ’70s-styled arena-sized power pop with hooks to spare. They also play earlier in the evening at Yonge-Dundas Square at 6PM. The Line Of Best Fit has an interview and NPR is streaming a live show.
MP3: Free Energy – “Hope Child”

Zeus (The Rivoli @ 10PM) – also all about the vintage-tint power pop, these local boys have steadily grown their following and their debut Say Us has them playing much larger rooms than the Rivoli – this could be your last chance to see them in such cozy environs.
MP3: Zeus – “Marching Through Your Head”

Olenka & The Autumn Lovers (The Gladstone @ 10PM) – one of the acts I most sad to be missing, this London Ontario, Balkan-inflected folk-pop band thoroughly impressed when I saw them in November. I take solace in the fact that with their new album recorded, that more shows will be coming in the near future.
MP3: Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – “Eggshells”

CALLmeKAT (NOW Lounge @ 11PM) – Spare and delicate electro-pop from Denmark courtesy of Katerine Ottoson, whom you can apparently just call Kat. Check out her NPR Tiny Desk Concert and video session for CALLmeKAT as well as this interview at Interview. She also plays Czehoski on Friday at 11PM.
MP3: CALLmeKAT – “Flower In The Night”

Warpaint (The Horseshoe @ 11PM) – one of my must-sees for the fest, I saw this LA quartet at SxSW and was intrigued, but quality time with the hypnotic dream-pop of their debut EP Exquisite Corpse has sealed the deal. Their debut full-length is due in the Fall.
MP3: Warpaint – “Elephants”

Sleepy Vikings (The Boat @ 12AM) – proof that randomly clicking on NXNE MySpace links can be fruitful (though it’s still mostly frustrating). This band, who is trekking up here all the way from Tampa, Florida, seems to be made up of all kind of stuff I like – jangly guitars that sometimes get noisy, sweet vocals and hooks a-plenty. Plus they’re playing when I had nothing else pencilled in – if that’s not fate, I don’t know what is.
MP3: Sleepy Vikings – “Calm”

Anaïs Mitchell (Czehoski @ 1AM) – Her latest album Hadestown is a folk-opera that translates the story of Orpheus and Eurydice to a modern setting and it’s actually kind of great. Very curious to see how she’ll render it live, though I’m not expecting Justin Vernon to show up to reprise his parts.
MP3: Anais Mitchell – “Flowers (Eurydice’s Song)”

Friday, June 18 2010

Christopher Smith (Bread & Circus @ 8PM) – His name might be eminently forgettable but his pure, clear voice and wistful songwriting make a lasting impression. His debut album The Beckon Call came out in May.
MP3: Christopher Smith – “Gently, Gently”

Neutral Uke Hotel (The Painted Lady @ 9PM) – Pretty much what the name implies – the songs of Neutral Milk Hotel re-interpreted on ukulele. I suspect it’s actually better than/less gimmicky than it sounds, not least of all because Shawn Fogel, who is behind this project, is also behind Golden Bloom and they’re great.
MP3: Neutral Uke Hotel – “King Of Carrot Flowers Pt 1”

The Happy Hollows (Lee’s Palace @ 10PM) – Slightly off-kilter but always smiling indie rock from Los Angeles. It sounds like the kind of loudness and brashness I’d need to make it through the night. Their debut Spells was released back in January.
MP3: The Happy Hollows – “Faces”

Best Coast (The Garrison @ 11PM) – One of the buzz bands of the fest, they’ve got the garage-sounding hook-heavy pop sounds of Summer that the kids like and will release their debut album Crazy For You on July 27. In addition to this show, they’re playing the Great Hall on Thursday night at 11PM and Wrongbar on Saturday at 2AM and if that’s not enough, their just-announced Fall tour brings them back to town for a September 25 show at Lee’s Palace.
MP3: Best Coast – “When I’m With You”

Rah Rah (Bread & Circus @ 12AM) – This Saskatchewan collective released their new record Breaking Hearts a couple weeks ago, and while the big boisterous band thing is getting a bit played out, it’s hard not to dig it when it’s done this well. They’ll also plan an in-store at Sunrise Records on Saturday at 5PM and at the El Mocambo on Sunday night.
Video: Rah Rah – “My Guarantee”

Rich Aucoin (The El Mocambo @ 12AM) – Rumour has it this Haligonian popsmith’s show here at the end of January made the blind able to see technicolours and the lame able to dance. Excessively high expectations? Maybe, but that’s what big pop ambitions like Aucoin’s will get you.
MP3: Rich Aucoin – “10,342 Cuts For The US”

Evening Hymns (The Dakota Tavern @ 12AM) – Spirit Guides was one of my favourites of 2009 and while I haven’t revisited it lately, the wooden-walled environs of the Dakota would be the perfect place to get reacquainted. NOW has an interview.
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Broken Rifle”

PS I Love You (Lee’s Palace @ 1AM) – I meant to catch this Kingston duo at Canadian Musicfest in March, but didn’t, and with their self-titled debut EP ready to drop on July 13 I better take them in before they blow up because what they do is exactly what the kids like. At the moment, at least. NOW has a feature piece.
MP3: PS I Love You – “Facelove”

Gramercy Riffs (Bread & Circus @ 1AM) – Polished and punchy co-ed jangle-pop from Newfoundland – nothing especially groundbreaking but tuneful in a way that will always be welcome. They also play an acoustic set in Trinity-Bellwoods earlier in the day – exact time to be determined. Ask around.
MP3: Gramercy Riffs – “Call Me”

Murder Ford Monument (The Silver Dollar @ 3AM) – These Montrealers still sound a bit rough around the edges and wet behind the ears, but they’ve got the right combination of moodiness and drama to make the right impression. A shame that their late-night evocativeness has been taken too literally as far as their set time goes… maybe next time.

Saturday, June 19 2010

Valleys (The Drake Underground @ 8PM) – Atmospheric yet jagged folk-pop from Montreal that wanders into the dark parts of the woods that you were told never to go into – I’m going to miss this set but they’re already on my “see them the next time they’re here” list. Their debut album is Sometimes Water Kills People.
MP3: Valleys – “Silent Woods”

Savoir Adore (Sneaky Dee’s @ 10PM) – Despite the rustic overtones of the title of their debut In The Wooded Forest, this Brooklyn co-ed duo’s synth-pop feels entirely made for the city; specifically going out and dancing.
MP3: Savoir Adore – “Bodies”

The Grates (Wrongbar @ 10PM) – This Aussie power pop trio led by the hyperactive Patience Hodgson are as close to a sure thing for a good time as you’re going to find anywhere. When I saw them at SxSW 2009 they had a rhythmic gymnastics demonstration in the middle of their set. For example.
MP3: The Grates – “Burn Bridges”

The Hoof & The Heel (The Drake Underground @ 10PM) – This Montreal pop outfit’s name is familiar enough that I’m sure someone has told me that I need to hear them at some point in the not-too distant past. And now that I have, well that list that I added Valleys to a few entries above? It just got one longer. Something tells me I’m going to regret not being at this showcase.
Video: The Hoof & The Heel – “Fireworks”

Golden Bloom (Czehoski @ 11PM) – Shawn Fogel of Neutral Uke Hotel’s main gig is splendid power pop reminiscent of golden age, Bennett-powered Wilco. I got to their last album Fan The Flames too late to see them at NXNE last year. Hope to not repeat that mistake this year.
MP3: Golden Bloom – “Doomsday Devices”

Jane Vain (The Drake Underground @ 11PM) – Apparenyly Jamie Fooks has dropped “The Dark Matter” from her band name, but as long as she’s still making smoke-filled pop noir, then it doesn’t really matter what she calls herself. As long as she puts out a new record soon.
MP3: Jane Vain & The Dark Matter – “C’mon Baby Say Bang Bang”

The Craft Economy (Neutral Lounge @ 11PM) – It’s been a few years since I saw The Craft Economy but there’s no reason to think they’re not still keeping the flame of fun and dancey New Wave synth-pop burning bright. All their recordings are available for free via torrent on their website.
Video: The Craft Economy – “The Crash, The Wagons, The Dying Horses”

Avi Buffalo (Lee’s Palace @ 12AM) – The absurdly young and absurdly talented crew from Southern California will give Toronto plenty of chances to discover them and their self-titled debut, which is definitely worth discovering. In addition to this full-band gig, songwriter Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg will play a solo set at the Great Hall on Friday at 9PM and they’ll be back on August 3 supporting Blitzen Trapper at the Opera House.
MP3: Avi Buffalo – “Remember Last Time”

The Gin Riots (The El Mocambo @ 1AM) – And since it wouldn’t be a music festival for me without at least a little Brit-rock in the equation, these Londoners owe more than a little to The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys, but when you’re coming from this school it’s less about originality and more about attitude and these guys have enough of that to be worth a look.
MP3: The Gin Riots – “In The Bedroom”

Some other NXNE lists and guides are available from JAM, who have a list of acts to see, Chart has list of strange acts and another of best bets, Paste tries to make their American readers wish they were in Canada, Spinner, who itemize other things to do in Toronto beyond live music and NOW a general guide to how to do the festival. Spinner also talks to festival organizers about the event’s 16-year history.

Zunior is offering a free downloadable sampler of the artists playing the NXEW showcase at the Gladstone tonight.

And while I deliberately left out most of the acts playing Yonge-Dundas Square this weekend, they’re obviously getting a lot of the media attention. Case(s) in point: Spinner, CTV and NOW catch up with John Doe and Exene Cervenka of X, whose Thursday night show at Yonge-Dundas Square will mark the LA punk legends’ first show in Toronto in some 20 years.

NOW talks to Jay Ferguson of Sloan, who are headlining the Friday night programme at Yonge-Dundas Square.

The National Post and NOW Q&A The Raveonettes, who are the penultimate act at Yonge-Dundas on Saturday.

Hellbound talks to the legendary Mike Watt about handling bass duties in the even more legendary Iggy & The Stooges, who are headlining Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday night, while NOW scores an interview with Iggy himself.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band, who are playing Yonge-Dundas on Sunday at 7PM, will play an in-store at Criminal Records that afternoon at 4PM.

And oh my god that took much longer to write up than I was expecting. And now I’m pretty much too tired to do any of the festival.

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

February Snow

Review of Peggy Sue’s Fossils And Other Ghosts

Patrick FordHad the weekend not already wiped me out before Sunday even began, I might well have made it a three-for-three for shows-in-evenings – or five-for-three if I had attempted to make any of the in-stores happening around town – by catching Peggy Sue at Sneaky Dee’s on Sunday night. And if that had happened, you might be reading a live review of their show. But I didn’t, and so you’re not.

But even without my notes from the Toronto stop of their ongoing North American tour – Friends With Both Arms was and has some thoughts and remember, I caught them last time they visited – there’s plenty to talk about with regards to the English trio. They just released their debut album Fossils And Other Phantoms in North America – hence the tour – and melange of folk, soul and blues that their Lover Gone EP hinted at arrives on it fully-formed. It’s a darkly-hued and unexpectedly sensual record filled with tales of love gone wrong, gone off or just gone away, all delivered in the affectingly unvarnished voices and multi-instrumentalism of Katy Young and Rosa Slade and backed by the clattering percussion of Olly Joyce. It’s not the most immediate record, but given the proper attention its a rewarding listen.

As part of their tour, the band are recording a live video on location in each city – I’m pleased to be able to present their communiqué from Toronto, a reading of “February Snow” done by the garden car in Kensington Market. Enjoy it and check out the rest of the series at their YouTube channel.

And on top of that, there’s a Daytrotter session from this Spring and a video from Fossils – not a bad grab bag for having missed the show, eh?

Video: Peggy Sue – “Watchman”

Interpol have finalized details on the release of their fourth album. The previously announced window of mid-September has been clarified and the self-titled effort will be released on September 13, and somewhat surprisingly, it will be coming out on their original label of Matador. Their move to Capitol for 2007’s Our Love To Admire was one of the first in a run of indie rock stalwarts leveraging that success for life in the major leagues – and now they’re one of the first to return. Interesting.

The Line Of Best Fit chats with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Following the August 24 release of their Burning/Special Moves live video/audio documents, Mogwai will be screening the film component around North America – the Toronto date will comprise two screenings at the Drake Underground on September 14. There’s a new clip from the film available to watch.

Video: Mogwai – “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead” (live)

School Of Seven Bells will follow up the July 13 release of their sophomore effort Disconnect From Desire with an Autumn North American tour, supported by Active Child and including a September 15 date at the Mod Club in Toronto.

MP3: School Of Seven Bells – “Babelonia”

Laura Veirs and The Watson Twins will team up for a Fall tour that stops in at the Horseshoe on September 29. Veirs’ latest album July Flame came out in Jaunary, while The Watson Twins released Talking To You, Talking To Me a month later. Veirs’ Daytrotter session just went up as well.

MP3: Laura Veirs – “Wide-Eyed, Legless”

Stereogum has premiered an MP3 from the new Superchunk record Majesty Shredding, out September 14.

PitchforkTV has added a couple more segments to their video session with The Hold Steady. They play the Kool Haus on July 17.

Spinner, The Guardian and Billboard talk to Kele about The Boxer. The record is out next week and he plays the Mod Club on July 29.

Interview puts M.I.A. and the director of her “Born Free” video in conversation with one another.

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Our Own Pretty Ways

First Aid Kit and Samantha Crain at The Rivoli in Toronto

Frank YangThis past Saturday night was one of those evenings with absolutely no shortage of options for Toronto concert-goers – and that’s even before Arcade Fire showed up to siphon off another 1000 people or so to the east end – so I wasn’t sure how well the Toronto debut for both Sweden’s First Aid Kit and Oklahoma’s Samantha Crain at The Rivoli would do, particularly since I heard that First Aid Kit’s free in-store at Criminal Records earlier that afternoon – which I had to miss – was only lightly attended. Any concerns about possibly being the only one there, however, evaporated when I got to the Rivoli’s back room and literally had to squeeze my way through throngs of attendees to get near the front. Yeah, people were there.

I was there to see the headliners but the addition of Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers to the bill – which required them to drive for 14 hours straight following their set at Bonnaroo the night before – actually had me more excited. I’d been hearing great things about Crain for over a year – before last year’s SxSW, I think – but had managed to not get around to hearing any of her music beyond a few drive-by MySpace visits, so her set promised to combine the joy of a new discovery with the assurance that it’d be good. And it was. Classifying Crain as a folk-pop singer-songwriter type is technically accurate, but really doesn’t do the scope of her talents justice. As her set ably demonstrated, in addition to writing songs that are both melodic and affecting, she delivers them in a voice rich with soul and a touch of twang and on top of all that, she’s a fierce guitarist – acoustic and electric, thanks. And she’s funny. Needless to say, everyone who’s been telling me that she’s great over the last however long – you were right. And to everyone who hasn’t heard her yet… you should. Her latest album is the just-released You (Understood). Seek it out.

Crain might have set the bar high, and First Aid Kit were well-set to clear it, thanks in no small part to being frighteningly tall. Both Klara and Johanna Söderberg measure in at close to six feet tall (the former just shorter, the latter a good deal taller) and considering they’re just 20 and 17 years old respectively, they might have a spurt or two left in them. But even so, their statures aren’t the most remarkable things about them – that’d be their voices. I’ve talked about how their respective quirks complimented each other perfectly on record, but it’s live that you really can’t help but be impressed by how perfect their pitch was – hearing them sing was like a master class in harmony. Accompanying themselves simply but effectively on acoustic guitar and keyboard (and occasionally accordion and autoharp), the duo and touring drummer showcased material from their debut Drunken Trees EP and the full-length follow-up The Big Black & The Blue, punctuated by sharp and sassy between-song banter (“we’d like to do a cover by a band called Fleet…. wood Mac”). The set highlight came about midway through when they stepped away from the mics to sing the beautifully sad “Ghost Town” unamplified to the full house. A close second was their encore, for which they brought out Samantha Crain and performed her “Dam Song”, complete with absurdly great three-part harmonies. There may have been plenty of other higher-profile entertainment options in town on Saturday, but I don’t think any of the hundred or so people who chose to hit the Rivoli had any regrets.

First Aid Kit have added another installment to their Filter tour blog (though the Toronto show only gets a passing mention – apparently we have nice architecture). Samantha Crain is profiled by The San Francisco Examiner, Oklahoma Gazette and The Oklahoman and also recently recorded a session for Daytrotter.

Photos: First Aid Kit, Samantha Crain @ The Rivoli – June 12, 2010
MP3: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”
MP3: First Aid Kit – “You’re Not Coming Home Tonight”
MP3: Samantha Crain – “Traipsing Through The Aisles”
Video: First Aid Kit – “Hard Believer”
Video: First Aid Kit – “I Met Up With The King”
Video: Samantha Crain – “Santa Fe”
Video: Samantha Crain – “Traipsing Through The Aisles”
MySpace: Samantha Crain

The St. Louis Tribune, Uptown and AV Club talk to John Darnielle and Peter Hughes of The Mountain Goats.

Spinner talks to Joe Pernice about the new Pernice Brothers record, Goodbye, Killer. It’s out today and available to stream for the next week at Spinner.

Stream: Pernice Brothers / Goodbye, Killer

The Flaming Lips have a new video from Embryonic available to gawk at. You can gawk at the band in real life at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8 and get a preview of what to expect via this NPR stream of this past weekend’s Bonnaroo set, though you really need to get all your senses in play when experiencing a Flaming Lips show.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine”

The Books will be on tour this Fall in support of their new record The Way Out, out July 20, and will be at the Mod Club on October 25.

MP3: The Books – “Beautiful People”

PitchforkTV solicits a live performance of “The Sweet Part Of The City” from The Hold Steady. They have a July 17 date at the Kool Haus.

Spinner is hosting a series of web videos from Fanfarlo entitled Under The Reservoir.

Magnet talks to Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake as the Fannies prepare to take over the editor’s desk of their website this week. Blake also talks to The AV Club about their new record Shadows and to Metro about moving to Canada (he now resides in Kitchener-Waterloo).

Spinner talks to The Joy Formidable about making their debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning.

Kele gives an interview to The Quietus and eye about his solo debut The Boxer, due out next week. He’s at the Mod Club on July 29.

Chart sics Narduwar on Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

That The xx are coming back to town isn’t remarkable in and of itself – they’ve already been here thrice since last December. What is remarkable is that for their Fall tour, they’ve booked their September 29 date… for Massey Hall. Tickets will be $25 to $45 with presale starting tomorrow, regular onsale come Friday. Presumably there’ll be a new record released between now and then, and say what you will about their suitability for such a not-so-basic space, but there’s no question that their show will sound great. Their Bonnaroo set is also up to stream at NPR.

MP3: The xx – “Basic Space”

Islands have set a date at the Mod Club for July 14 – tickets $13.50 in advance.

MP3: Islands – “Vapours”

July 21 brings Jason Collett out for a show at the Mod Club supported by Daniel, Fred & Julie; tickets $16.50 in advance.

MP3: Jason Collett – “Love Is A Dirty Word”
MP3: Daniel, Fred & Julie – “The Gambler & His Bride”

With his own show at the Opera House last Saturday in the books, Shad has been announced as support for K’Naan’s October 1 show at the Kool Haus. Best of Canadian hip-hop, anyone?

Miike Snow have a date at the Kool Haus on October 9, tickets $25.

Video: Miike Snow – “Black & Blue”

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Ready To Start

Arcade Fire at The Music Hall in Toronto

Frank Yang“Thanks for coming out on such short notice.” It was hard to tell if Win Butler was smirking when he said this, midway through the first night of Arcade Fire’s surprise two-night stand at the Music Hall in Toronto this past Friday night. After all, they had given the city just over 48 hours notice that these performances would be happening – though they did offer teasers throughout the week – prompting a mad scramble of canceled plans and fake sick days so that fans could line up for the one-per-person admission wristbands that only went on sale the day of the show.

It was the latest in a series of warm-up shows for the band, starting last week with a private house show in Montreal, through a couple of theatre shows in Sherbrooke, Quebec and a free parking lot performance in Longueuil, all serving to get the band back in game shape and build anticipation for their third album The Suburbs, due out August 3. Of course, accomplishing the latter didn’t require much effort on the band’s part save to announce that the record actually existed – since wrapping up their tours in support of 2007’s Neon Bible, the Montrealers have done remarkably well at keeping out of the public eye and secretive about what they’d be doing next and when.

The need for a retreat following Neon Bible was understandable. It was a tremendously heavy record, both from the weight of expectations as the follow-up to the universally-praised Funeral and its thematic burdens, being informed by the very height (or depths) or the Bush years. The resulting combination of ambition, angst and anxiety made for an album that tried to be grander than its predecessor and while it had more than its share of moments, ultimately came feeling insular and leaden and a relative disappointment. So while the first samples of The Suburbs that were released a couple of weeks ago didn’t immediately induct themselves into the Arcade Fire songbook hall of fame, they did seem to indicate that the band were taking a looser, more spontaneous approach to their songwriting – certainly a good start.

Which brings us back to Friday night and a familiar band in a familiar setting. It was at this same Music Hall on the Danforth that the Arcade Fire played a now-legendary three-night stand just over half a decade ago, and their first time back since their two nights at Massey Hall in May 2007. But rather than fill the bill with warm-up acts that would become huge themselves, this time out it was just Arcade Fire… and a thousand people who’d been waiting a long time to see them again. And at 8:30PM sharp, there was the roar of the audience as the band took the stage, the whoosh of seats being evacuated as the audience rushed the stage and the sound of Arcade Fire breaking into the aptly-named new composition “Ready To Start”… and we were off.

Though the 90-minute set would be heavily loaded with new material, it was well-sequenced to keep interest and energy up – the atmosphere was electric for the propulsive opener and then the even more driving (and familar via the single) “Month Of May”, but with the familiar opening chords of “Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)”, the crowd found another level of freak out. And so the show went – a brace of new songs and then a handful of classics, providing ample opportunity to compare and contrast the songs that will comprise The Suburbs with the old stuff. What I noticed most about the new material was that it felt less epic in scale, but deliberately so – as though they decided in writing that constantly trying to outdo themselves was the wrong way to go. The songs were more focused on finding a groove and riding that rather than attempting to jump the tracks at a certain point to grab sky, and had a more classic rock vibe about them – don’t expect the Springsteen comparisons that cropped up with the last record to go away. The lack of the big, anthemic moments might have disappointed some, but it really did feel as though the band had unclenched and were feeling more comfortable in themselves – it’s probably not a coincidence that Neon Bible‘s black uniform stage garb had been traded in for something in a lighter shade of blue. And while there were some obvious standouts in the new stuff – both “Modern Man” and “Rococo” had people in the audience looking at each other and nodding, “yes” – odds are The Suburbs will end up being a grower, and in the long run I think that’ll be for the best.

Time will tell how much truth there is in that statement, but what is not up for debate is that the show came to a head with what has always been and always shall be their coup de grace, their finishing move – the back-to-back body blows of “Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)” and “Rebellion (Lies)”. All the momentum that had intensifying up through the night, all the energy that had been pent up since the band finished touring Neon Bible, all the anticipation that had been building since their last Toronto show, came to a head with that finale and simply exploded, with the shockwaves carrying through the encore of “Keep The Car Running” and, of course, “Wake Up”. Though the song implies beginnings, here it was a fitting ending to the night. That Arcade Fire are a great band and an important band is not in question, but time away can dim the memory; this show was an intense and extraordinary reminder of why.

There’s more reviews of the show at The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Sun, eye, The Toronto Star, CTV, Pitchfork and Spinner. Arcade Fire return to play the Toronto Islands on August 14.

Photos: Arcade Fire @ The Music Hall – June 11, 2010
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Keep The Car Running”
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Black Mirror”
MP3: Arcade Fire – “No Cars Go”
MP3: Arcade Fire – “Wake Up”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neon Bible”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Black Mirror”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)”
Video: Arcade Fire – “Rebellion (Lies)”
MySpace: Arcade Fire

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Stream: Stars / The Five Ghosts

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