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Sunday, May 1st, 2011
Of Montreal cover Neil Young
AbsolutelyricsThough they started out as repping the twee-er than twee end of the Elephant 6 spectrum, Of Montreal have since made their name as purveyors of boundary-pushing, sexed-up psychedelic soul-pop of the sort whose only constant is being outrageous.
So it was a bit surprising that their contribution of an in-studio EP for Sony’s short-lived Connect online music store would strip down in the figurative sense rather than the literal (Of Montreal performances frequently end up clothing optional) for a short and sweet take on one of Neil Young’s sweetest and most nostalgic tunes. Kevin Barnes can be a romantic when he wants to; who knew?
Of Montreal have just released their thecontrollersphere EP as a follow-up to last year’s False Priest, and they’ll be at The Phoenix this Tuesday night, May 3. Neil Young brings his solo tour ostensibly for last year’s Le Noise to Massey Hall for two nights, May 10 and 11.
The Washington Examiner has an interview with Kevin Barnes.
MP3: Of Montreal – “Harvest Moon”
Video: Neil Young – “Harvest Moon”
Monday, March 14th, 2011
Young Galaxy, Miracle Fortress, Imaginary Cities and more at Canadian Musicfest
Frank YangSomeday, possibly not too far in the future, I will have to either admit that Canadian Musicfest begins in earnest on Wednesday nights now, and not Thursdays as it has in the past, or begin ignoring it completely. It’s currently even odds as to which it’ll be. But either way, the 2011 edition started for me on Thursday evening at Lee’s Palace, which would be my only stop for the evening. Hey, it’s not my fault that the programmers put together a bill worth staying put for. Though it is my fault that I’m lazy. Anyways.
I’ve seen The Wilderness Of Manitoba a number of times, most recently last November. And while the intervening months have been eventful for the band, most particularly in the form of a US release for their debut When You Left The Fire come May – their live show continues to be refinements of that with which they’ve been building their audience for the last while. Which is to say, pretty harmony-laden folk-pop that served as a welcome acoustical blanket on a damp, cold night as this one. It was good to see that when obliged to fill the largest room I’ve seen them in, at least, there were not only able to embiggen their sound to fill it out, but they did so by adding some instrumental breaks that introduced a welcome little bit of darkness and/or even chaos to the edges of their sound. Given how good and versatile players they all are, it’d be nice to see the musicianship of the band be given as much weight as their vocals. Or they should go completely post-rock their next time out.
Torontoist and Toro have interviews with the band and a new video has premiered over at Paste.
Photos: The Wilderness Of Manitoba @ Lee’s Palace – March 10, 2011
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Hermit”
MP3: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Mother Song”
Video: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “Orono Park”
Video: The Wilderness Of Manitoba – “November”
At first I thought it was odd that I hadn’t seen Miracle Fortress since Summer 2008, but while Graham Van Pelt hasn’t been completely in hiding since then, he hasn’t provided a lot of opportunities to see his solo project live. Partly because he was concentrating on his disco-rock outfit Think About Life and partly because, apparently, it takes a while to completely deconstruct and reconstruct yourself creatively. This, at least, was what could be inferred from his set, which completely eschewed his 2007 debut Five Roses in favour of new material from his second album which is being teased with the acronym WITW? and is due out in April. The My Bloody Beach Boys ’60s/’90s dreampop of the debut has largely been checked in favour of a sleeker, more synthetic ’80s-ish Depeche Shop Boys sound – albeit more guitar-heavy – and while the aesthetic shift take a moment to adjust to, what matters is that Van Pelt’s impeccable songcraft still underpins it all and it sounds fantastic. In addition to the stylistic shifts, Miracle Fortress has also shed the conventional band configuration that it grew into circa Five Roses and this time out, was just Van Pelt on guitar and synths, a drummer basically doubling the pre-recorded rhythm tracks and a laser-light show which probably could have used some smoke machine support for full effect. Still, for such a limited setup, the show had a lot of physicality and energy and affirmed that if you’d forgotten about Miracle Fortress and their greatness over the past few years, prepare to be reminded.
Spinner and eye also have reviews of the performance.
Photos: Young Galaxy @ Lee’s Palace – March 10, 2011
MP3: Miracle Fortress – “Have You Seen In Your Dreams”
Video: Miracle Fortress – “Maybe Lately”
Video: Miracle Fortress – “Have You Seen In Your Dreams”
Winnipeg’s Imaginary Cities must have felt like they won the lottery when tapped to open up for Pixies on their upcoming North American tour, but judging on their Canadian Musicfest set if they’re going to make the most of the opportunity, they’ve got a little more work to do on their live performance. What they can’t do much about, and probably shouldn’t, is their material, which is solid if not overly remarkable pop-rock – it’s not their fault that it’s rather conventional-sounding next to the Pixies’ genre-bending/defining body of work. But the delivery of said material could be improved; while it certainly looked like they were having a good time, with bandleaders Rusty Matyas and Marti Sarbit looking all smiles on stage, they moved and performed with a decided stiffness and self-consciousness, like when Matyas went for the foot-on-the-monitor move at a moment when not only was he not taking a solo, but his guitar wasn’t even audible in the mix. But to their credit, the show and the material both improved as their set progressed and it became clear that they excelled at the mid-tempo pop numbers rather than when trying to rock out.
Spinner and The Montreal Gazette have interviews with the band.
Photos: Imaginary Cities @ Lee’s Palace – March 10, 2011
MP3: Imaginary Cities – “Hummingbird”
The rehabilitation of Young Galaxy around these parts has come a long way thanks to their latest album Shapeshifting, but that re-appraisal hadn’t yet extended to their live show. A poor first impression in early 2007, wherein they seemed to be some combination of bored and stoned, was mitigated somewhat in Summer 2008 opening up for Death Cab on the Islands and I was hoping that this outing, bolstered by the best material they’ve had to work with, would move them firmly into the plus column.
About midway through their set, Stephen Ramsay apologized to the audience for not being “slick” yet with regards to their show, and it wasn’t unjustified – there were some sound issues, the four-piece band had a lot of gear to wrangle and they weren’t going to be mistaken for a well-oiled machine. But despite the hiccups, it was impressive how well they were able to find the right balance of organicness and synthesis, maintaining the studio-ness of the recordings’ while giving them the humanity necessary to make them come along on stage. And it had the desired effect on the audience, as the well-filled room was dancing – or at least swaying – with the pulse of the music and it didn’t go unnoticed on the band. Ramsay and the decidedly pregnant Catherine McCandless were clearly pleased with the turnout and the response, appearing more engaged and probably feeling pretty validated in the risks taken to get to this point – clearly the critical rebirth of Young Galaxy extended to themselves.
NOW has a feature interview on Young Galaxy while Panic Manual and Spinner were also in attendance.
Photos: Young Galaxy @ Lee’s Palace – March 10, 2011
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Peripheral Visionaries”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “We Have Everything”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Cover Your Tracks”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Long Live The Fallen World”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Outside The City”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Come And See”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Swing Your Heartache”
Video: Young Galaxy – “We Have Everything”
Video: Young Galaxy – “The Alchemy Between Us”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Outside The City”
Video: Young Galaxy – “Come And See”
A little bit of sleuthing my Exclaim has revealed a June 7 release date for Fucked Up’s new record David Comes To Life. They also reported last week that the band would be performing a live soundtrack to the 1928 silent film West Of Zanzibar as part of the Images Festival. It’ll happen on the closing night of the festival, April 9, at the Toronto Underground Cinema and cost $12 in advance.
Diamond Rings has released another video from Special Affections.
Video: Diamond Rings – “It’s Not My Party”
Southern Souls has a video session with Land Of Talk, filmed in Toronto’s Kensington Market.
TV On The Radio have made a track from their forthcoming Nine Types Of Light available to download. The album is out April 12 and they play The Sound Academy on April 18.
MP3: TV On The Radio – “Caffeinated Consciousness”
For Folk’s Sake and The New Current interview Nicole Atkins. NPR is streaming her recent WXPN session while NYC Taper is sharing a recording of the homecoming finale of her recent tour.
J Mascis lists his favourite guitarists for The Guardian. His solo record Several Shades Of Why is out on Tuesday.
The Chicago Tribune profiles Warpaint, in town at Wrongbar on March 26.
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
Jeff Tweedy covers Neil Young
Austin NelsonWilco shows tend to be pretty planned-out affairs – it’s hard to be too spontaneous with song selection with six band members and attendant gear and sound changes – but get frontman Jeff Tweedy out on his own and apparently it’s a much more open-ended affair.
Witness this live solo recording – undated but I suspect it may come from an acoustic 1999 show at Chicago’s now-departed Lounge Ax, confirmation or other info welcome – he indulges some audience requests for a Neil Young cover by going back to 1975’s Zuma, if just to silence them. It will be interesting to see if he’s so patient or obliging when he sets out on a short solo tour next week, kicking off with two nights at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto on March 22 and 23. You think anyone in Toronto would want to request some Neil Young?
Wilco are wrapping up work on album number eight, due out later this year. Neil Young is getting ready to tour last year’s Le Noise and while that doesn’t include a T.O. stop, he will be in town on March 27 to pick up a special humanitarian award at this year’s Junos, where he’s also nominated for Artist Of The Year and Adult Alternative Album Of The Year.
MP3: Jeff Tweedy – “Lookin’ For A Love”
Stream: Neil Young – “Lookin’ For A Love”
Saturday, March 5th, 2011
Joseph YarmushWho: Young Galaxy
What: Montreal dream-pop outfit who’ve proven the third time’s the charm with their best record to date, Shapeshifting
Why: They’re anchoring a pretty stacked lineup as part of Canadian Musicfest, providing a pretty good argument for eschewing the club-hopping that usually comes with the fest and just staying put. And there are burritos in the lobby!
When: Thursday, March 10, 2011
Where: Lee’s Palace in Toronto, 19+
Who else: As mentioned, there’s plenty of goodness on the bill with The Wilderness Of Manitoba, Miracle Fortress, Imaginary Cities and These Electric Lives coming out to play.
How: All festival wristbands, subject to capacity, will be admitted and advance tickets are $16.50 but courtesy of Union, I’ve got four pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Young Galaxy” in the subject line and your full name in the body and get that to me before midnight, March 8.
MP3: Young Galaxy – “Peripheral Visionaries”
MP3: Young Galaxy – “We Have Everything”
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
The Radio Dept. and Young Prisms at Lee’s Palace in Toronto
Frank YangFact one: The Radio Dept. are not, by any conventional standard, an exciting live band. Fact two: I was terribly excited to see The Radio Dept. make their live Toronto debut on Monday night. The first point I’d gained first-hand knowledge of when I took a pilgrimage to see them in New York City in May 2009 for what I figured would be my only chance to see the band who’d made some of my favourite records of the past decade live, and so the fact that I was wrong about that and they were finally coming to my own hood cemented point two. And I wasn’t the only one who’d been waiting patiently for this day, judging from the other 500 people who sold out Lee’s Palace for the occasion.
Theirs wasn’t the only Toronto debut happening on this evening, though technically Young Prisms took their first Hogtown stage earlier that afternoon across the street at Sonic Boom for an in-store. Still, this was probably the first introduction for most to the group of San Francisco youngsters who just released their debut album Friends For Now and even for those of us who’d heard them in advance, there were still some revelations. For example, so effectively is the album sonically obscured and wrapped in distortion that I didn’t realize their lead singer was a girl until she took the mic. Live, they were less about the fuzz and more about the pummel, the bass and guitar often working in tandem for a unified, full-frequency drone attack with one or the other occasionally breaking formation to contribute some melody. All of which would have been overly dull if not for the fact that they had some solid pop tunes anchoring it all and a pleasantly goofy demeanour – in particular, they seemed really excited about both the concept and execution of poutine.
The Radio Dept. are about their songs. The writing of and the recording of those heartrendingly sublime synth/fuzz pop gems, first and foremost, and not the performing of or heavens forfend the promotion of, hence their taking years upon years to release a new record and reluctance to take it on the road. But because those records and songs are so good, their fans around the world can’t help but clamour to hear them live and when they oblige, as they’ve done so more frequently in the past couple of years, it’s on their terms. I think this is important to appreciating their show, which is stripped-down to say the least. Playing in near-darkness with Martin Larsson on guitar and bass, Daniel Tjäder on keys and laptop and Johan Duncanson on guitar run through a cheap-as-you-get practice guitar amp, they were clearly not about spectacle.
With the simplicity of their presentation and reliance on pre-recorded backing tracks, they often seemed like they were jamming overtop CDs or drum machines in their basements, making music for the joy of making music, never mind anything else. And that was really what it was – rather than recontextualizing their songs for the stage, it was as if they instead invited the audience into their studio to hear them work. And really, though I’m as much pro-live drummer as anyone you’ll ever meet, it would have just been wrong on many of these songs, whose simple, distorted mechanical rhythms are like their beating hearts. All of which is to say that yes, The Radio Dept. are understated performers – almost to a fault – but it’s how it has to be.
Happily, the audience seemed to understand this and there was no restlessness in the house over the course of the set. In fact, the enthusiasm of the packed house was rather at odds with the band’s reservedness – between the hearty applause after every song, each one someone out there’s favourite, and hollered requests or just thanks, their Scandinavian stoicism cracked more than a few times into smiles or even grins. They may not like touring but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy it. In return, they played a set that leaned heavily on their breakthrough Clinging To A Scheme and featured only a couple each from Pet Grief and Lesser Matters, but in keeping with the theme of their Passive Aggressive compilation, long-time fans were still rewarded with a good number of non-album singles and b-sides. At an hour including the one-song encore – the soaring “Pulling Our Weight” b-side “The City Limits” – it was far too short a night with too many wonderful songs left unplayed – especially considering that the odds of them returning soon, if ever, are long at best – but that, like expecting rock moves or extended banter, was the wrong perspective to take. That they were here at all was a gift, and a near-perfect one.
Exclaim also has a review of the show while Toronto Star and The Boston Globe have interviews with The Radio Dept. SF Weekly has an interview with Young Prisms, who are back for a show at Parts & Labour on April 21 supporting The Fresh & Onlys.
Photos: The Radio Dept., Young Prisms @ Lee’s Palace – February 7, 2011
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “On Your Side”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The One”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The New Improved Hypocrisy”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Never Follow Suit”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Heaven’s On Fire”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Freddie & The Trojan Horse”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “David”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “The Worst Taste In Music”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “A Window”
MP3: The Radio Dept – “Pulling Our Weight”
MP3: The Radio Dept. – “Why Won’t You Talk About It?”
MP3: Young Prisms – “Sugar”
MP3: Young Prisms – “Weekends And Treehouses”
Video: The Radio Dept. – “Never Follow Suit”
Video: The Radio Dept. – “The Worst Taste In Music”
Video: The Radio Dept. – “Where Damage Isn’t Already Done”
Video: The Radio Dept. – “Pulling Our Weight”
The Fly talks to Lykke Li, whose Wounded Rhymes arrives March 1. She’s at The Phoenix on May 22 and just released a new/alternate video from said record.
Video: Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers”
Jonsi has released a video from his live album/video Live At The Wiltern, available digitally only.
Video: Jonsi – “Go Do”
A second Jeff Tweedy solo show has been announced for March 23 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre; ticket presale goes today at 10AM regular on-sale is Friday. Support for both Tweedy shows and his whole solo tour comes from Toronto’s Snowblink, whose debut Long Live is out next Tuesday and who has an in-store at Soundscapes on March 3 and an album release show at The Music Gallery on March 5.
Basia Bulat will play at The Great Hall on March 26 as part of JunoFest; tickets for the show are $17.50 or free with the $30 JunoFest wristband. And who doesn’t want a JunoFest wristband? They’re like the new LiveStrong wristband. Except not.
MP3: Basia Bulat – “Gold Rush”
Titus Andronicus have assembled a Spring tour that includes an April 1 date at The Horseshoe. Tickets are $11.50, medical bills for the bedlam that will ensue are on you.
MP3: Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
The Civil Wars, who’ve just released their debut Barton Hollow, will camp out at the El Mocambo for two night across April 5 and 6, tickets for each show $10.50 in advance.
MP3: The Civil Wars – “Barton Hollow”
Liam Finn will be at Lee’s Palace on April 7 with The Luyas as support. Tickets for the show are $15.
MP3: Liam Finn – “Plane Crash”
MP3: The Luyas – “Tiny Head”
Just as they promised last week when opening for The Decemberists, Wye Oak will be back on April 9 for a show at The El Mocambo. Their new record Civilian will have been out a month and a day by that point. Let’s hope Jenn Wasner’s guitar amp survives the duration of the show this time.
MP3: Wye Oak – “Civlian”
Nashville rock-rockers accumulating quite the buzz overseas Mona will be in town for a free show at The Horseshoe on April 19. Advance word likens them to Kings Of Leon so maybe make plans to get there early or stay far far away. Their self-titled debut is out May 16.
Video: Mona – “Teenager”
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