Saturday, December 18th, 2004
Last night was the Rainbow Quartz Christmas party at the 360, and even though they’re technically based out of Detroit, they have enough (read: two) Torontonian acts on their roseter to justify an out-of-town bash. Entertaining the folks on this eve were RQ veterans The High Dials, rookies The Frontier Index and non-roster invitees Showroom.
Showroom, whom I should say nice things about since I share a rehearsal space with them and they could put, like, raw meat in the back of my amp if they wanted, kicked things off. Subscribing to the sharply-dressed, mod/new-wave school of rock, they played a decent set of Brit-popish tunes with just enough current retro influence to be fashionable (yes, that’s exactly what I meant to say). I think they need to find another gear or two in their transmission to really impress, though. To “take it up a notch”, as the kids say. I thought the hooks need to be sharper, the energy more crackling, but the response they got from the power-pop friendly audience was good and perhaps being asked to play a label showcase like this augers well for their future.
The Frontier Index have been one of the under-heralded local acts who have caught my ear regardless. The one-line description on them is cosmic-country-soul, and that’s pretty apt though they’ve been turning down the cosmic and turning up the rock as of late. Trotting out songs from their debut album coming out next year on the RQ roots imprint Turquoise Mountain, they played an entertaining, high-energy set replete with rock star moves, particularly when the drummer took over vocals (very capably, I might add), freeing up the guitars to duel. They put on a great show but I find myself hoping that the album showcases a little more of their ‘cosmic’ side, as that’s a large part of what hooked me in the first place. Their next show is opening for The Sadies at the Horseshoe on New Year’s Eve. There will be much torch and twang that night, let me tell you.
Seeing as how I was still pretty wiped from the drunken hijinks of the previous night, I wasn’t up to sticking around for The High Dials – sorry – but there was fairly impressive crowd there by the time I left, so I doubt anyone noticed. Some pics from the show.
Pity The Futureheads – as much as I’d like to go see them, hell, they’ve already been here twice in the past few months and it’ll be thrice on February 27 at Lee’s Palace, I will once again have to give them a pass… why? Because the mighty M Ward is at the El Mocambo that same night. Sometimes a decision’s gotta be made. His new one Transistor Radio is out February 22.
Billboard reports that Elvis Costello will have a couple DVDs coming out in the new year. The most interesting is The Right Spectacle, a career-spanning collection of all his videos plus television appearances and commentary. Sounds delish. It’s out January 17 in the UK with worldwide release details to be finalized. Somewhat less exciting is Club Date: Live in Memphis, which documents a show in a tiny Memphis club from this past Summer. Declan is also releasing some vinyl-only EPs from The Delivery Man, but since I don’t have a record player those are of little interest.
So yes, Vince Carter is a big sucky baby, but I’m still somewhat sad to see him go. I’d said before that if Vince went, that would potentially be a fatal blow for the Raptors not just for his loss, but for him being no less than the fourth star/superstar talent to leave Toronto in their decade or so of existance. I’m talking Stoudamire, Camby, McGrady and now Carter, if you’re keeping track – three of the rookie-of-the-years, I do believe. This is how it felt to be a Montreal Expo fan, I guess. I don’t follow basketball that closely so I can’t comment on what we got in return, save that even I know Alonzo Mourning needs to play with a hospital drip in his arm and we have more Williams’ on the team than I can wrap my head around. The two first-round draft picks could be good but the cynic in me just thinks that it’s just a couple more potential star players who’ll flee Hogtown at the first opportunity. Sigh.
np – The Jesus & Mary Chain / Automatic
Friday, December 17th, 2004
I actually wasn’t going to post today – we had our company Christmas party last night and I was expecting (hoping?) to be so completely out of commission this morning that writing anything beyond, “Hungover. Come back tomorrow” would have been a Herculean feat. But, as it turns out, when you’re out cold by 10:40PM, you tend to wake up extra early the next morning (not especially hungover, amazingly) and with a lot of time on your hands. And so here we are.
And for the record? Alberta Springs is some nasty, nasty, nasty, NASTY shit. Vile, even. You’ve been warned.
Two more pieces on Stars – Chart and JAM! both profile the band. A little sleuthing (read: asking) has revealed the opening acts for this weekend’s shows at the Mod Club. Saturday night, I will be seeing The String Section start things up – no, I have no idea who they are and a Google search on “string section” is the very definition of futility – and on Sunday, the underagers get to experience the dulcet tones of Chad Van Gaalen, whom I’ve never heard but have been told is quite good.
More Cowbell has posted his year-end list in two parts – one and two.
The new New Order album is indeed called Sugarcane – thanks Shaunna. Out March 28.
Okay, I totally need to go back to sleep now.
np – Bettie Serveert / Palomine
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
Some good news from Matador – firstly, they’ve signed New York country/folk chanteuse Laura Cantrell to a worldwide record deal (read the press release here). Cantrell has one of the most lovely, crystalline voices I’ve heard in a long time, and her songwriting and choice of material is top-notch – her albums to date have been a mix of originals and covers, somehow sounding completely traditional and utterly modern at the same time. The late John Peel called her debut record Not The Tremblin’ Kind, “my favorite record from the last ten years, and possibly my life” – high praise, indeed. Her first record for Matador will be out in late Spring, hopefully with touring to follow. In the meantime, the curious should check out her cover of Elvis Costello’s “Indoor Fireworks”, because what is this site about if not providing mp3s of cover songs?
Laura Cantrell – “Indoor Fireworks”
If you like, there’s bucketloads more material available to download here
At the other end of the Matador universe, curmudgeonly Scottish noiseniks Mogwai will finally release their Government Commissions (BBC Sessions 1996-2003), consisting of, well, 10 tracks culled from various BBC Sessions over the course of their career. It’ll be in stores on these shores on February 22.
And finally, longtime Matador flagship band Yo La Tengo will celebrate almost twenty years of wonderous music with Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintilliating Senescent Songs, 1984-2003, a super-sized career retrospective coming out March 22. The ‘best-of’ component will comprise two discs of tracks from all their albums, even the non-Matador ones, and there will be a limited-edition pressing which will include a third disc of rarities, natch. I actually won’t mind shelling out for this – a compact Yo La Tengo would actually be a welcome addition to the collection and there looks to be some good stuff on that bonus disc. Check out the tracklisting here.
New Order’s new album has an official release date of March 28 in the UK, and presumably March 29 in North America though that’s yet to be confirmed. Supposedly their most ‘up’ record since Technique, It is still untitled.
Bettie Serveert’s new album Attagirl will get a North American release (with two bonus tracks!) on February 1 thanks to the good people at Minty Fresh. The band should be touring over here to support soon thereafter, and they even make a point of saying there will be Canadian dates! YAY.
NME gets some info on the new Doves record Some Cities, which drops March 1. There are rumours of a quickie North American tour in late March to coincide with SXSW, but we’ll see about that. From ILB.
Achtung Baby has some audio samples from Texas’ Eisley… I like. Can anyone more familiar with their stuff comment on whether it’s got shelf life? My cynical “band I’ve never heard of debuts on a major label” spider-sense is tingling. It’s unclear to me if their debut long-player, Room Noises, is out or not… their website says it’s out February 8 of next year while Amazon says it was out on Feb 8 of this year (but don’t seem to have much info).
eye and NOW both talk to Stars’ front-fop Torquil Campbell about rock, revolution and Set Yourself On Fire in advance of their 2-night stand at the Mod Club this Saturday and Sunday.
Another member of the Broken Social Scene extended family, Emily Haines of Metric, plays two solo shows – one early, one late – at the Church of the Redeemer at Bloor and Avenue tomorrow night. She’ll be playing songs to accompany projections of films by director Guy Maddin – NOW has more details. Those looking for something a little more conventional from Ms Haines should know Metric plays the Mod Club January 21. Tickets for all shows, solo and band, are $17.50, on sale now.
Comic Book Galaxy takes a round-table look back at the year in comics.
np – Yo La Tengo / Painful
Wednesday, December 15th, 2004
With just over two weeks left in Guided By Voices’ illustrious career, Hold My Life compiles some choice Bob Pollard trash-talking stage banter. Some favourites:
“I think Bob Dylan sucks. Bob Dylan never wrote a good song”.
“If the guy next to you ever bought a Counting Crows album, punch him in the face!”
“Yoshimi Versus the Pink Robots? My fourth graders could have come up with a better album title.”
Ah Bob, we’ll miss you. And so will Budweiser.
JAM! looks back at the year in Feist and reveals that her inevitable domination of America begins next March, when Let It Die gets a State-side release.
InSite Atlanta talks to Drive By Trucker Patterson Hood about Southern accents. From Golden Fiddle.
Productshop NYC assembles a very comprehensive year-end post.
Stereogum has another track from the new Mercury Rev album, The Secret Migration. I dunno, I’ve heard two tracks now and they’re not doing too much for me. Perhaps the album as a whole is more impressive.
You know all the hassle I went through trying to find a used widescreen copy of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind this Fall? Well they’re putting out a double-disc collector’s edition on January 4. I swear, sometimes I hate the world.
Stylus ranks the top indie labels of 2004 all scientific-like, based on the quality of their releases this year. Merge rules the school.
Of Montreal help kick off Over The Top Fest 2005 with a show at Rockit on April 23, tickets $10 in advance.
It’s one of those table scrap days, and I wager there’ll be more of these than less before the year is out. I may very well have to start making shit up to fill out a post… news flash! Interpol’s Carlos D has herpes! What? You mean someone’s already done that one? Sheesh (the blog in mention, carlosdhasherpes.blogspot.com, is no longer in existance, but it was funny while it lasted). Note: Chromewaves in no way, shape or form condones the spreading of baseless rumours about nattily-dressed young musicians from New York City spreading venereal diseases amongst the general populace.
np – Matt Pond PA / Emblems
Tuesday, December 14th, 2004
Alexander Payne’s Sideways is turning out to be one of the most highly-praised films of the year, picking up glowing reviews and awards nominations left right and centre. So, always a slave to critical adulation, I headed out in the bitter cold last night to see what the hubbub was about. That, and I had a movie pass that expired today.
Ostensibly a buddy movie about two guys out on a road trip the week before one’s wedding, Sideways is a really rare bird – an genuinely adult comedy. Not adult in the “ooh we get to see some naughty bits”, though there’s some of that (more male than female, actually), but adult in the “this is about grown-ups dealing with grown-up topics, like mid-life crises and drinking wine”. There’s a lot of wine in this film, seeing as how it’s set in California wine country. I only knew a little bit about wine going in, and now I know more. See? It’s educational too!
But seriously, it’s a remarkably good film. The four principal actors are all excellent, particularly Thomas Haden Church (Lowell!!!) and Paul Giamatti – neither is particularly playing against type, Church being the loudmouth womanizer and Giamatti the neurotic sad-sack, but they manage to invest their characters with a lot of depth and complexity. Virigina Madsen (what happened to her all these past few years?) is also good as Giamatti’s love interest but local girl Sandra Oh doesn’t get to do too much as Church’s last bachelor fling, besides beat his face in. Oh don’t cluck your tongue at me, if you saw the trailer you know it happens.
While there are a few laugh-out-loud moments, it’s more of a sit and smile film rather than a knee-slapper. Payne is more interested in letting the actors do their thing and have them carry the film, and it works quite well. Is it 92% on Metacritic good? Hell, I don’t know. All I can say is that I think it’s good – anything beyond that is strictly subjective. It may not be for everyone, but for those for whom it’s for (okay, that was a grammatical nightmare), it’s a treat. And oh yeah, not one, but TWO Luna songs appear in the soundtrack. Thumbs up.
And on a related note, Stylus picks their ten best films of the year.
Thanks to Eugene for pointing out these clips from The Wedding Present’s Take Fountain, out February 15. I must say, first single “Interstate 5” sounds much more RAWK than I’d expected. I wouldn’t have even recognized it as Weddoes… until Gedge shows up, of course. Interesting.
Billboard offers up some details of the next Ivy album, In The Clear, out March 1.
My Mean Magpie rattles off his top albums of nil-four.
I don’t know how I feel about the Jays signing Corey Koskie. I mean, yeah, nice to have a Canadian on the team again, but $17 million over three years is pretty steep – and his numbers aren’t THAT good. And what about poor ol’ Eric Hinske? No, he hasn’t had a year as good as his Rookie Of The Year season in 2002, but it’s far too early to give up on him. I like the guy, come on. I’m hoping they do move him to 1st rather than deal him. I used to buy into Ricciardi’s master plan, but the constant turnover in personnel (dealing Miguel Batista already?) seems more like panic than long-term planning to me now. Come on! How are we supposed to re-take third place in the AL East without a plan?!? Here’s an idea, how about instead of getting free agents, we throw buckets of money at the league until they move us to ANY division besides the one the Yankees and Red Sox play in?
np – Slowdive / Live Bootleg
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