Sergio HuidorAs much as I’d have liked to have indulged in the recent re-release of the entire Galaxie 500 oeuvre – they were reissued worldwide in March by Domino and by Damon & Naomi’s own 20-20-20 label in North America – I couldn’t really justify buying those albums a third time, particularly since these new editions weren’t sonically different from the Rykodisc reissues that came out in the mid-90s and those, I’d already bought twice. Almost three times, actually.

My education started with the Portable Galaxie 500 compilation, which was then replaced with all three of their albums in their expanded editions, which were in turn again replaced by the Galaxie 500 box set, which added the Uncollected compilation to those albums in a fancy package. I actually remember the record store owner refusing to buy those individual CDs from me until I assured him that it was okay, I still had the music. Factor in additional purchases of the Copenhagen live album and the Peel Sessions collection, and I think I’ve done my fair share for keeping the G500 flame alive (fiscally speaking) – but that doesn’t mean I can’t encourage anyone who hasn’t bought On Fire at least a few times to do so… so do so. The double CD-editions, pairing the three studio records with Copenhagen, Uncollected and Peel Sessions are a tremendous value and the studio albums were also all put out on heavy vinyl for the analog-inclined.

The point of all this rambling is to lead into this terrific Pitchfork feature that compiles the story of Galaxie 500 as told by those who lived it, from the humble beginnings in a Harvard dorm through the sudden departure of singer/guitarist Dean Wareham and subsequent end of the band. It’s ground that’s been covered a fair bit already – in the press that accompanied the Don’t Let Our Youth Go To Waste DVD in 2004 and then with the publication of Wareham’s memoirs Black Postcards in 2008 – but it remains a fascinating story, particularly as time passes and acrimony between the parties fades. Not that the three of them have been in the same room together in almost 20 years, but they seem capable of speaking honestly, respectfully and even fondly of what they created.

And while it seems that most everything Galaxie 500 ever recorded has been released (and re-released), there’s at least a few more bits and bobs lying about – a few years ago, MP3s of what was labeled as one of their earliest demo tapes were circulating and while three of those tracks did show up on Uncollected… the others didn’t. Here’s one of them, along with a Joy Division cover that appeared as a b-side to “Blue Thunder” and most of their videos. And here in the present, Dean & Britta are preparing to release their soundtrack to 13 Most Beautiful… Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests sometime this Summer and Damon & Naomi’s latest release was last year’s Sup Pop Years which, as the title implies, collects the best of their work for the SubPop label.

MP3: Galaxie 500 – “Pride”
MP3: Galaxie 500 – “Ceremony”
Video: Galaxie 500 – “When Will You Come Home?”
Video: Galaxie 500 – “Blue Thunder”
Video: Galaxie 500 – “Fourth Of July”

Athens, Georgia’s Venice Is Sinking also pays tribute to G500 on their new album Sand & Lines: The Georgia Theatre Sessions with a cover of “Tugboat”. The live-off-the-floor album is out June 15.

MP3: Venice Is Sinking – “Tugboat”

Billboard, NPR and San Francisco Chronicle profie The Hold Steady, who just released their latest record Heaven Is Whenever. They’re at the Kool Haus on July 17.

Spinner has got a couple of new tracks from Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos, who’re working on album number three, entitled Buzzard and targeted for a Fall release.

MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “New York City Hotel Blues”
MP3: Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s – “Birds”

The National are in the spotlight at PitchforkTV this week, with video performances of the band playing tracks from High Violet – out next Tuesday – in a castle overlooking the Hudson River. So far they’ve got “Terrible Love”, “Anyone’s Ghost” and “Little Faith”. And on May 15, The National will be webcasting a live performance of High Violet from the Brooklyn Academy of Music via YouTube. It’ll be directed by legendary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker and they’ll be soliciting donations for the Red Hot Organization; details at Pitchfork. The National have two dates at Massey Hall on June 8 and 9; Spinner talks to the band about selling out the Royal Albert Hall in London.

JAM talks to LCD Soundsystem main man James Murphy. This Is Happening is out on May 18 and they play the Kool Haus on May 25.

New York Magazine gets an update on the next Strokes record from Fabrizio Moretti.

Having trouble keeping track of all the preview goods that have been coming out for the new Band Of Horses record Infinite Arms? Yeah, me too. But this is a new video. And the record is out May 18. And they play the Toronto Islands on June 19. These things, I know for sure.

Video: Band Of Horses – “NW Apt”

The Sydney Morning Herald talks to Spoon frontman Britt Daniel. They’re at the Molson Amphitheatre on July 8 with The Flaming Lips.

Frank YangDan Mangan has come through town a few times since his show at the Rivoli last October, but for my purposes that show and the one this past Thursday night at the Horseshoe make for very good comparison points. At that show, I noted he seemed “on the cusp of bigger things” and while the ‘Shoe is physically bigger than the Rivoli by a fair margin, selling it out as fully as Mangan did also represents a sort of watershed moment for a Canadian artist. Dan Mangan isn’t just rising; he’s risen.

And along for the ride (and this tour) was Victoria’s Aidan Knight, who himself has been getting some attention for his debut mini-album Versicolour… though not from me. Though I knew I had a copy, I hadn’t gotten around to checking it out before the show and so basically went into his opening set cold. What I found was an artist possessed of a voice that was simultaneously wearily aged yet earnestly youthful and with a timbre not unlike Tony Dekker’s and armed with a brace of songs whose tones ranged from quirky to weighty. Decent stuff made more entertaining thanks to Knight’s charmingly awkward stage presence and band arrangements that were more intricate and interesting than they probably needed to be. And I did finally give Versicolour a listen afterwards, and must say it’s a much more impressive document of Knight’s abilities than his live set was – well-crafted, musically ambitious and with just the right amount of downbeat mood, it definitely marks Knight as a talent to keep an eye on.

Which, really, is what people were probably saying about Dan Mangan a year or so ago, when his Roboteering EP was released and foreshadowed what was to come later last Summer with his second full-length Nice, Nice, Very Nice. And as much as credit must be given to that record for being excellent and one of my favourites of last year, I think it’s largely Mangan’s work ethic and relentless cross-country touring that was responsible for packing the Horseshoe on this night – the vibe in the room wasn’t so much of fans seeing a favourite performer but of friends visiting with one another, and that sort of rapport is really only built in the live setting.

Nowhere was this more clearly evident than early in the set for “The Indie Queens Are Waiting” – whereas at the Rivoli show, Mangan had a female band member cover Veda Hille’s vocals on the studio version, this time Mangan’s crew were all men so it seemed he was prepared to let the responses to his calls go unmade. The audience, however, would have none of it and quietly and chorally filled in that space, in particular one girl standing just behind me who nearly nailed Hille’s timbre and phrasing. Also unlike the Rivoli show, this time out Mangan had a full-time drummer behind him, giving the set a bit more meat and propulsion than in October but the overall pacing was kept at a fairly even keel and interspersed with corny jokes and anecdotes, such that the evening had less the feel of a performance than a friendly conversation. And for the quality of his songwriting and records, it’s that resonance and relatability that may be Mangan’s greatest talents – you can go far by just making great music, but there are some heights that can only be reached if you’re lifted up on the shoulders of your fans.

BlogTO, The Globe & Mail and Music Vice also have reviews of the show (though the Globe piece is really more of an extended, “I don’t get it”) while NOW and The Toronto Star chime in with feature pieces on Mangan.

Photos: Dan Mangan, Aidan Knight @ The Horseshoe – April 22, 2010
MP3: Dan Mangan – “Road Regrets”
MP3: Dan Mangan – “Robots”
MP3: Dan Mangan with Shane Koyzcan – “Tragic Turn Of Events/Move Pen Move”
MP3: Aidan Knight – “Jasper”
Video: Dan Mangan – “Robots”
Video: Dan Mangan – “The Indie Queens Are Waiting”
Video: Aidan Knight – “Jasper”
Stream: Dan Mangan / Roboteering
Stream: Dan Mangan / Nice, Nice, Very Nice
MySpace: Dan Mangan
MySpace: Aidan Knight

Pitchfork talks to Caribou’s Dan Snaith; they play The Phoenix on May 3.

NYC Taper is sharing a recording of Owen Pallett’s show in New York last week. Dallas Voice also has an interview.

Under The Radar talks to Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine.

Fresh off announcing the release date of her new record – June 29 – M.I.A. has released the first decidedly NSFW video and leaked the corresponding MP3 from the record herself. Clearly, motherhood has mellowed her out. Yeah, right. Update: YouTube has moved the video behind the adults-only curtain. Kids of all ages can watch it and it’s ultra-violence at her website, though.

MP3: M.I.A. – “Born Free”
Video: M.I.A. – “Born Free”

The Hot Chip/xx show from Washington DC this past weekend is now available to stream at NPR, and if you want some visuals to go with the audio, check out the photos over at Photokyle. There’s also a Hot Chip feature at The Independent.

Slow Club are giving away a free EP – head over here and swap your email for their Let’s Fall Back In Love EP.

Idlewild have chosen to call it a day – I guess that rumoured North American tour for the Fall isn’t happening.

An Horse have released a new video from Rearrange Beds. They play the Garrison tonight.

Video: An Horse – “Postcards”

MBV Music reports that the long-awaited new Versus album – their first in ten years – has a title of On The Ones And Threes and will be out this August on Merge and Teenbeat.

It seems I jumped the gun a bit on announcing that Mirah show at the Horseshoe last week. Not because the show’s not happening – it is, on June 26 – but because it’s part of a massive co-headline tour with Thao with The Get Down Stay Down. I can’t speak for the live Mirah experience – or the recorded one, really – but Thao live is terrific. I suspect this show – and tour – is wholly worth your time.

MP3: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – “Know Better Learn Faster”

Billboard has an extensive feature piece on The National, whose High Violet is just a fortnight from release and who are at Massey Hall on June 8 and 9.

PitchforkTV has a video session with The Antlers; they open up both of those National shows at Massey Hall.

NPR interviews Midlake. They play the Mod Club on May 22.

The Georgia Straight and Tuscon Weekly talk to Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburg.

The Line Of Best Fit interviews Band Of Horses’ Creighton Barrett. Infinite Arms is out May 18 and they play Toronto Islands on June 19.

Crooked Fingers has taken to Kickstarter to solicit financing for a most worthy of projects – a follow-up to their 2002 covers EP Reservoir Songs. Pledges can be for as little as $1, but starting at the $6 point you’re entitled to a download of the finished product, while $15 or $25 gets you a limited-edition LP and if you get into the four-figure territory, you can get to pick a song for them to cover or have them come to your living room to perform. For serious. They’re targeting an early Summer release for the EP and a new Crooked Fingers full-length before the year is out.

Seeing as how they initially reported on its existence, it seems fitting that Torontoist have an update of sorts on the Imagine Concert, which is still supposed to usher in a new Age of Aquarius (aren’t we already in one?) emanating from Downsview Park in Toronto starting the weekend of July 10 and 11. It seems the city still hasn’t signed off, never mind provincial or federal authorities and the promoter is tilting at windmills and trying to pay artists fees with peace and love. I also apparently gave them too much credit in assuming they’d secured The Flaming Lips as part of the “Pink Floyd tribute” portion of the show as updated touring itineraries show the Lips as being at Ottawa Bluesfest on the 10th and in Louisville, Kentucky on the 11th. That does, however, leave two days open between Montreal on the 7th and Ottawa on the 10th where the Lips could conceivably make their first Toronto appearance in three and a half years. Presumably at a show that would pay them in actual money, and not just good vibes. Now don’t get me wrong – I still hope this thing happens and that it’s wonderful or at least interesting (in a good way or a train wreck way, whichever) – but it doesn’t look too good right now.

Mick RockFor those of us who’ve become accustomed to the all-encompassing scale, splendour and chaos of that grandaddy of all club-level music festivals – that’s SxSW, in case you were wondering – It can be kind of fun to pick on the Toronto versions CMW/CMF and NXNE for, essentially, not being South-by. It’s not a fair comparison by any means, but it’s inevitable. We’ve had to check those darts and break out some laurels in recent years, however, as both fests have made significant improvements in terms of organization, public relations and most importantly, bookings. NxNE, in particular, has been wise in making use of the public space at Yonge-Dundas Square to get right in the faces of Toronto for the middle of June and make it feel like much more of a major city event, instead of one of many things going on in the Big Smoke at a given time. They started out with modestly interesting day shows but as of a couple years ago, began booking some of the biggest names of the fest there for shows that were completely open to the public. That is how you build good will.

And with the initial announcement of artists coming to town from June 17 to 20, they’ve really kind of outdone themselves. The big coup is clearly Iggy & The Stooges, who will play for free at Yonge-Dundas Square on the evening of June 19, and the punk legends set the tone for many of the other names announced yesterday, many of whom come from the big, loud and sloppy side of the tracks. Obviously the actual schedule is still a ways away, but some digging has revealed at least some of the when and where of some of the acts playing the festival – just to give you a taste of some of the tough choices that the Toronto club-hopper will have to make (besides the obvious one of Iggy vs Pavement/Broken Social Scene). These are not complete and are subject to change, but do come from legitimate sources.

Thursday, June 17 2010
X, Mudhoney @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free)
Warpaint, Free Energy, Elliott Brood @ The Horseshoe
The Besnard Lakes, Young Galaxy @ The Mod Club
HEALTH, Gold Panda, Indian Jewelry @ Sneaky Dee’s

Friday, June 18 2010
Sloan @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free)
Man… Or Astro-Man?, Mudhoney @ The Horseshoe
AA Bondy, Simone Felice, Avi Buffalo @ The Great Hall
Japandroids, Wavves @ Lee’s Palace
Inlets @ TBA

Saturday, June 19 2010
Iggy & The Stooges, Wavves @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free)
Quintron & Miss Pussycat, JEFF The Brotherhood @ The Garrison
Cold Cave, Avi Buffalo @ Lee’s Palace

Sunday, June 20 2010
De La Soul, Kid Sister, Phenomenal Handclap Band @ Yonge-Dundas Square (free)

And playing free shows at Yonge-Dundas at some point during the week will be The Raveonettes and Surfer Blood, while confirmed but still without a date or venue are Les Savvy Fav, Thee Oh Sees, The Soft Pack and The Strange Boys, amongst many, many others. And these are just the “bigger” names – by June, surely there’ll be a whole new batch of buzz bands to complain about being booked into undersized venues. Such is the joy of NXNE. But at least it will be warm.

Elsewhere and/or elsewhen. Rae Spoon has just released the thereisafire EP as a preview of his new record Love is A Hunter, due out in August. The EP is available to download for free and he will be at the Holy Oak in Toronto on Friday night, April 16, for a show.

MP3: Rae Spoon – “Come On Forest Fire” (CPI Remix)
MP3: Rae Spoon – “There Is A Light”
ZIP: Rae Spoon / thereisafire

Her time as a Decemberist at an end, at least for now, Shara Worden is returning to work as My Brightest Diamond and will be at the El Mocambo on May 4, presumably to showcase material from the follow-up to 2008’s A Thousand Shark’s Teeth. Tickets for that show are $10.50 in advance.

MP3: My Brightest Diamond – “Inside A Boy”
MP3: My Brightest Diamond – “The Diamond”

Local heroes-in-waiting Zeus have set a date at the Mod Club for May 27. Tickets for that will be $12 in advance.

MP3: Zeus – “Marching Through Your Head”

Blitzen Trapper have added a Toronto date to the end of their North American tour in support of their new record Destroyer Of The Void, due out June 8. Look for them on August 3 at the Opera House, accompanied by Avi Buffalo who – with their two NxNE shows – are going to be hanging around Toronto a lot this Summer.

MP3: Blitzen Trapper – “Heaven & Earth”
MP3: Avi Buffalo – “Remember Last Time”
MP3: Avi Buffalo – “What’s In It For?”

Dan Snaith of Caribou talks to Chart about new album Swim, out April 20. Caribou play the Phoenix on May 3.

MySpace Transmissions has a watchable/listenable/downloadable session with Broken Bells. They are at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on June 2.

A second MP3 from The National’s High Violet is now available. The record is out May 11. They play Massey Hall on June 8 and 9.

MP3: The National – “Afraid Of Everyone”

Filter gets to know She & Him; they have a sold-out show at The Phoenix on June 9.

BBC6 talks to Ryan Monroe of Band Of Horses about their new record Infinite Arms, from which they’re previewing another new track on their website. The record is in stores on May 18 and they play the Toronto Island Concert on June 19.

Mother Jones and Spinner talk to Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, who’ve just released a new video. Yeah, it’s weird.

Video: The Flaming Lips – “Powerless”

Josh Ritter previews his new record So Runs The World Away via Daytrotter session. The record is out May 4.

Le Blogotheque is hosting a Take-Away Show with Megafaun.

aux.tv Q&As Liz Powell from Land Of Talk, who also stopped in at Explore Music to perform a Big Star cover.

Video: Land Of Talk – “Thirteen” (live at Exploremusic)

Woodpigeon have a video for the title track of their new Spirehouse EP, which also appeared on Die Stadt Muzikanten. You can download the song for free in exchange for your email at Bandcamp.

Video: Woodpigeon – “Spirehouse”

OMG Blog has premiered a new video from Gentleman Reg for his cover of Stevie Nicks’ “Wild Heart” from his Heavy Head EP.

Video: Gentleman Reg – “Wild Heart”

Forest City Lovers have christened album number three as Carriage. Look for it around July.

Frank YangI’ve seen Shearwater’s latest album The Golden Archipelago referred to as the final part in both a trilogy and triptych in the band’s discography, completing the set started with 2006’s Palo Santo and 2008’s Rook. The “trilogy” appellation doesn’t really fit, however, as it implies that there’s some sort of overarching narrative across the records whereas the single unified tapestry implied by calling it triptych seems much more appropriate. Not that these are anything more than semantics – what is important is that The Golden Archipelago more than measures up to the immense heights set by Palo Santo and Rook.

Since putting aside their original mandate as the softer side of Okkervil River and becoming Jonathan Meiburg’s primary creative outlet, the Austin, Texas band have dedicated themselves to capturing the mystery and wonder of nature in the musical medium of prog/folk-rock and in the process, have carved a unique niche for themselves in the indie-rock landscape. The Golden Archipelago finds the band expanding their palette – though they’ve never restricted themselves to conventional instrumentation, the tones and textures at play here are more otherworldly than ever – while actually streamlining their songwriting into more pop-sized packages. No one would likely To be able to capture as much drama and majesty as they do without feeling rushed is an amazing achievement – “Castaways” lasts just three and a quarter minutes, but feels absolutely epic.

Epic is also a proper adjective to apply to Shearwater’s live shows, where they somehow manage to recreate the expansiveness of their recorded works. Since the first time I saw them in 2005 opening up for Mountain Goats, I’d been waiting for them to come back to Toronto in a headlining capacity but they’d been the perpetual undercard, at least until this past Thursday night when finally, it was “Shearwater” in big letters atop the Lee’s Palace marquee. Or at least the chalkboard outside the front door.

Anyone walking into Lee’s at around 9 and seeing Hospital Ships on stage would be forgiven for thinking they’d arrived two hours late and the headliner was already on. At various points in their set, the Lawrence, Kansas outfit included anywhere from three to five members of Shearwater, including frontman Jordan Geiger, also of Minus Story. Geiger apologized at one point for any sloppiness, saying they’d only been together a little while – maybe he was being ironic, considering how long the individuals on stage had been playing together in other projects – but it true that Hospital Ships weren’t exactly drum-tight up there, with some missed notes, cues and whatnot. But what they were was charming – Geiger was equipped with some pretty choice banter about visiting Toronto – and some solid, if not overwhelming tunes from their album Oh, Ramona.

Almost as long as I’d been waiting for Shearwater to come to town in a headlining capacity had I been waiting for Baltimore’s Wye Oak to come back to town, having missed their last appearance in May of 2008. I had seen them before though, back at SxSW 2008, a month before their debut If Children came out, and that show – like the album – spoke to me more about their potential than what they had actually accomplished at the time. A potential that was realized in a big way with last year’s follow-up The Knot, and happily that big leap forward has also carried over to their live show. Though it was still just Andy Stark behind the drum kit with keyboard and melodica at his side and Jenn Wasner on vocals and guitar, their confidence in what they were doing was clearly much greater and it made for a much more engaging performance. Stark’s ability to simultaneously manage the drums and keys was something to behold and Wasner put on a pretty impressive display of guitar heroics amidst leading the band’s aching, country-tinged dreampop. World take note – there’s not just one Baltimore-based duo out there right now that’s worthy of your notice.

Shearwater’s arrival onstage was heralded by a total dimming of the stage lights, an aesthetic choice that would sadly (for photographers, anyways) remain in effect through the whole show except for the one number where Meiburg asked, “how dark can we make it in here?”. But all the necessary luminosity for the night would be provided by their music, which would cover most of The Golden Archipelago and a handful of tracks from each of Rook and Palo Santo, all of which fit so well with each other that perhaps it should be mandated that all three are listened to in their entirety and in sequence. While Meiburg stayed in the (figurative) spotlight on either guitar or keys and of course his soaring voice, the band around him morphed with each song, adding and subtracting players and changing instruments as necessary. As always, Thor Harris proved himself the band’s secret weapon, not only handling the complex percussion that both anchors and buoys Shearwater’s sounds, but stepping out front on clarinet and teaming with bassist Kim Burke on the dueling glockenspiels of “Hidden Lakes”. Being the first time I’d seen them in a non-support, non-festival setting, it was the longest Shearwater set I’d seen – an hour-long main set plus two-song encore – and the extra time and lack of curfew really did allow the band the necessary space to properly stretch out and spread its wings. Simply grand.

Exclaim has a review of the show, while On Milwaukee and The National Post have conversations with Jonathan Meiburg.

Photos: Shearwater, Wye Oak, Hospital Ships @ Lee’s Palace – April 1, 2010
MP3: Shearwater – “Black Eyes”
MP3: Shearwater – “Castaways”
MP3: Shearwater – “Rooks”
MP3: Shearwater – “The Snow Leopard”
MP3: Shearwater – “Red Sea, Black Sea”
MP3: Shearwater – “Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five”
MP3: Shearwater – “I Can’t Wait”
MP3: Shearwater – “Room For Mistakes”
MP3: Shearwater – “An Accident”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Warning”
MP3: Hospital Ships – “Bitter Radio Single”
MySpace: Shearwater
MySpace: Wye Oak

Beatroute interviews Beach House, who will be at the Toronto Island Concert on June 19.

Also on the islands that day are Band Of Horses, who’ve shared the first look/listen of their new album Infinite Arms, out May 18.

Video: Band Of Horses – “Compliments”

Wilco will be streaming their live shows in Boston and Concord tomorrow and Wednesday night, respectively, at their Roadcase.

Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan talks to Metro about their first new record in almost a decade, due out later this year. Mac and Jim Wilbur will be in town on Wednesday to play a special acoustic set at The Royal following the screening of the film Passenger Side, which features their music (amongst others) and stars the guy with the unreasonably large jaw from Party Down. NOW talks to director Matt Bissonnette about the film.

PitchforkTV has a Tunnel Vision live video of Memory Tapes from the same show I was at. I only spent a little bit of the video trying to see if I could spot myself – the rest was remembering how marvelously well Memory Tapes works and sounds live. You might not expect it, but ’tis true.

The Irish Independent talks to Damon Krukowski about the legacy of Galaxie 500.

Spinner, The San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, Georgia Straight and Yorkshire Evening Post interview Jonsi, whose Go is out tomorrow and who plays the Sound Academy on April 30 and May 1.

Having now (presumably) recovered from the equipment theft that forced the cancellation of last week’s show at the Drake, Toro Y Moi has set a new date at Wrongbar for April 17.

MP3: Toro Y Moi – “Blessa”

UK punk forbears Buzzcocks have scheduled a North American tour to coincide with the re-release of their first three albums, Another Music In Another Kitchen, Love Bites and Different Kind Of Tension, wherein they’ll be playing the first two in their entirety in addition to other classic tracks. Spin has the full tour itinerary, which includes a May 19 date at the Opera House in Toronto.

Video: Buzzcocks – “What Do I Get”

London’s Turin Brakes will be at the Mod Club on May 20 in support of their new record Outbursts, out in North American on April 20.

Video: Turin Brakes – “Sea Change”

And while we’ve yet to see an official NXNE press release, some of the bigger names who’ll be at the festival have started leaking out – LA punk legends X and Seattle grunge forebears Mudhoney are doing a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 17 and Man… Or Astroman and Mudhoney are playing the Horseshoe on June 18. Not a bad start.

Frank YangThe Bellwoods crew is certainly setting a high standard when it comes to set dressings. Thanks to them, I’ve now attended shows in the heart of a volcano, an exploding library in the sky and as of this past Friday night, a heavily wooded lumberjack camp. In reality, it was the Tranzac and the occasion was the record release party for Evening Hymns’ new album Spirit Guides; a grand and gauzey statement of gospel-inflected folk-rock which is quite highly-regarded around these parts.

Support for the night came from The Harbour Coats, who on most occasions are a miniature Canadian super-group of sorts with members of Constantines, Snailhouse and Evening Hymns principal Jonas Bonnetta but on this night, due to logistical issues, were just frontman Bry Webb and an acoustic guitar and his own And if the oft-repeated reference point for Constantines is a heavier Springsteen, then Harbour Coats is a nod to the Boss’ more stripped-down side. Decked out head to toe in blue Christmas lights, Webb turned in a short set of tunes rich with images of the Canadian north and proving that he was as compelling and charismatic a songwriter a performer outside the Cons as he was with them.

At one point in the set, Jonas Bonnetta mentioned that this was pretty much his first-ever headlining show and for the occasion, he did it up right. Enlisting many/most of the contributors who played on Spirit Guides, Evening Hymns ranged from Bonnetta solo to a stage-filling 10-piece band including members of The Wooden Sky, Ohbijou, The Magic and The D’Urbervilles as well as a couple of his own siblings. And though all the parts were in place to recreate the expansive beauty of Spirit Guides – the stage even looked the part of the record’s rustic aesthetic – it would prove to more a question of chemistry than mathematics.

Though the show began strongly and remained so as the band’s numbers ebbed and flowed, at one point leaving Bonnetta to perform solo for a few numbers from his first record Farewell To Harmony, to my ears they weren’t quite managing to capture the ineffable specialness of the recorded work. And there’s no shame in that – to catch lightning in a bottle once and commit it to tape is a feat, to be able to do it again and on demand is asking a lot. But as the show progressed, it became evident that things were starting to coalesce and by the time the band’s numbers swelled for what was clearly the climax of the show, for which they’d wisely saved the record’s biggest moments, they were sounding like something much greater than the sum of its parts, in the same way that Spirit Guides is much more than the sum of its influences and reference points. As if cued by the bold organ of “Tumultuous Sea”, the show found a new level and through the encore and its gloriously jubilant readings of “Broken Rifle” and “Mtn. Song”, all crashing chords, thundering percussion and choral vocals, it was finally everything it could have been.

With so many of the record’s performers involved with other bands, it’s a bit difficult to envision how they could take this record on the road and do it the same sort of justice they did on this evening. This is not to say it can’t be just as effective and affecting with a different configuration, and I’m sure that however they end up taking it on tour, even if it’s just Bonnetta solo, it will be its own kind of special but I’m pretty pleased to have been able to witness it with the original cast, so to speak.

Soundproof and The Vancouver Sun have interviews with Bonnetta and London Burgeoning Metropolis, another review of the show.

Photos: Evening Hymns, The Harbour Coats @ The Tranzac – December 4, 2009
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Dead Deer”
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Broken Rifle”
MP3: Evening Hymns – “Cedars”
MySpace: Evening Hymns

NXEW is offering a free seasonal download from Olenka & The Autumn Lovers.

Great Lake Swimmers have posted up a set of live videos entitled The Legion Session. They play Trinity-St. Paul’s on February 6.

Thrasher’s Wheat is hosting a stream of the new Neil Young live record Dreamin’ Man, featuring live performances of all of Harvest Moon, out tomorrow.

Stream: Neil Young / Dreamin’ Man Live ’92

In addition to playing the Constantines’ 10th anniversary shows at Lee’s Palace on December 12, Oneida will play an in-store across the street at Sonic Boom at 4PM with what they’re calling an “improvised set”.

MP3: Oneida – “I Will Haunt You”
MP3: Oneida – “Saturday”
MP3: Oneida – “What’s Up Jackal”

American Songwriter talks to Canadian landed immigrant songwriter Joe Pernice.

Country-rockabilly-bluegrass-punk-whatever trio Those Darlins will bring their debut self-titled album to the Horsesehoe on February 9.

MP3: Those Darlins – “Red Light Love”

Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes talks to Pitchfork about how and where things are going with album number two.

Swear I’m Not Paul interviews Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers and learns they’ll be releasing two new albums in 2010 – a rocker called The Big To Do, presumably out first around February, and a “R&B Murder Ballad album” entitled Go Go Boots due out later in the year. There’s also features at Charleston City Paper and Charleston Daily Mail (I think the band might have just played in Charleston).

Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell talks hometowns with Spinner. They’re currently in Los Angeles working on their third record.

Cat Power tells The Courier-Mail that she’s working on a new record and the one that was reportedly done and ready to go, entitled The Sun, has been shelved.