Frank YangThe baseline for any Fucked Up show is glorious mayhem. Add in factors like a hometown show, a full-album recital of their ridiculously ambitious and critically-acclaimed, concept rock opera David Comes To Life, the last gig of an insanely busy year in support of said album that took the band around the world from bars to festivals to arenas, a fundraising benefit for Barriere Lake Solidarity, and a lineup made up of some of the band’s favourite acts from Toronto (and outlying regions), and expectations will not unreasonably be increased to ludicrous heights.

Things opened with Quest For Fire, the only act of this two-night mini-festival that I’d never seen despite them having been around for some time. And though I’d been briefed on what they were about, musically, I could have guessed from their pedalboards – any band with that many Big Muffs on stage is likely to be stoner-rock inclined, and indeed they were inclined to the big lumbering riffs, but their brief set showed they were also able to move with some velocity when needed. First band of the night and our daily recommended dose of head banging and guitar solos were well covered.

It’d been a while since I’d last seen PS I Love You, and apparently in the interim they’ve decided the two-man band thing wasn’t cutting it. For this show, at least, they’d expanded to a three-piece with Tim Bruton of Matters and countless other local acts helping out on guitar and keys. Not that Paul Saulnier necessarily needed the help – he’d also acquired a double-neck guitar to beef up his already massive sound, and on this night PS I Love You were easily the loudest I’d ever heard them. And also the proggiest – it’s interesting how when they first emerged, all the reference points were ’80s and ’90s college rock because now there’s little chance you’d peg their influences any more recent than the ’70s. There are still plenty of fret-shredding solos, but now you couldn’t ignore the sophistication in the ideas and arrangements – that Rush cover they released a little while back wasn’t ironic, I’ll tell you that.

I don’t think it’s a slight to say that The Sadies are always The Sadies, because if you’ve seen The Sadies live before, you know that means they’re always awesome. As with when I saw them last, opening up for another not-immediately obvious act in Godspeed You! Black Emperor back in April, their set skewed a little more to the rock side of things than the country – Travis Good’s fiddle did not make an appearance – and it may have felt a little looser than they normally are – at one point Dallas Good dedicated a song to everybody in the whole world – but favourites like “Ridge Runner Rell” and “Tiger Tiger” were givens for the set and as jaw-dropping as ever. That there was a mic set up in the centre of the stage but unattended for most of the set was clear sign that a guest would be joining them, but it really could been anyone since the band have worked with pretty much everyone. Who it ended up being was Andre Ethier – the former Deadly Snake, not the current Los Angeles Dodger – who led the band through a couple of tunes reminiscent of Rolling Thunder-era Dylan, this ensuring that the ’70s theme that had been running through the night remained unbroken.

And then it was time for Fucked Up. Speaking objectively, it was hard to ignore that Damian Abraham’s mic sounded either broken or deliberately distorted beyond reasoning, or that the mix wasn’t nearly as balanced as it should have been to allow a work as sonically complex as David to really shine (though standing right in front of Ben Cook’s amp probably didn’t help my perspective), or that at a few points in the set I heard the band’s usual uber-tightness waver some. But none of that mattered one whit. This was the band that had improbably become this city’s musical ambassadors to the world over the last few years celebrating an amazing year with their friends and family for a worthy cause, and any nit-picking about the technical details – which were mostly minor – were rendered completely invalid by the spirit and energy of the show.

For his traditional foray into the audience early in the show, Abraham climbed right up off the stage into the balcony and traversed the entire perimeter of the venue while his bandmates churned through “Turn The Season”. Beneath him, as they did from note one and would through the duration of the show, a relatively small but unquestionably determined mosh pit did what they do; Abraham would encourage the horseplay but also clearly kept a watchful eye on his charges. And though he’s the indisputable focal point of the band, enough can’t be said about the rest of the band and their ability to keep up the exhausting and unrelenting pace that the material demands, be it unloading massive riff after riff or providing the melodic backing vocals so essential to tempering Abraham’s gruff roar. I can’t imagine the endurance necessary to pull off a show like this, but they did it.

Surprisingly, the show seemed to go by quicker than the album itself seems to and with the set finale of “Lights Go Out”, you couldn’t help but feel a huge swell of hometown pride for what had just gone down. Arguably the city’s best band right now, for whom epithets like “punk” or “hardcore” are now so stylistically inadequate, gave us a fantastic gift and reminded us that in a year when so much seems to have gone wrong civically, there was still so much to love about this city. Toronto the good, Toronto the Fucked Up.

Exclaim and BlogTO also have reviews of the show and The AV Club has an interview with drummer Josh Zucker. Pitchfork has the whole of the Fucked Up performance of David in New York City available to watch.

Photos: Fucked Up, The Sadies, PS I Love You, Quest For Fire @ The Great Hall – December 20, 2011
MP3: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Ship Of Fools”
MP3: Fucked Up – “A Little Death”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Queen Of Hearts”
MP3: Fucked Up – “Neat Parts”
MP3: The Sadies – “Another Year Again”
MP3: The Sadies – “Anna Leigh”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Subdivisions”
MP3: PS I Love You (featuring Diamond Rings) – “Leftovers”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Get Over”
MP3: PS I Love You – “2012”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Butterflies & Boners”
MP3: PS I Love You – “Facelove”
Video: Fucked Up – “Turn The Season”
Video: Fucked Up – “The Other Shoe”
Video: Fucked Up – “Queen Of Hearts”
Video: Fucked Up – “Black Albino Bones”
Video: Fucked Up – “Crooked Head”
Video: The Sadies – “Another Day Again”
Video: The Sadies – “Cut Corners”
Video: The Sadies – “Postcards”
Video: The Sadies – “The Horseshoe”
Video: The Sadies – “Flash”
Video: PS I Love You (featuring Diamond Rings) – “Leftovers”
Video: PS I Love You – “Get Over”
Video: PS I Love You – “Facelove”
Video: Quest For Fire – “I’ve Been Trying To Leave”

Kathryn Calder has released a new video from Bright & Vivid.

Video: Kathryn Calder – “Turn A Light On”

Exclaim has details of the new Woodpigeon EP For Paolo, which will be released digitally on January 24. There’s also a new video for the title track.

Video: Woodpigeon – “For Paolo”

Colin Stetson also has a new video for his new 10″ single for “Those Who Didn’t Run”.

Video: Colin Stetson – “Those Who Didn’t Run”

Amos The Transparent have released a video from their forthcoming album Goodnight My Dear… Im Falling Apart, which compiles a pair of previously-released EPs and will be out on February 14. They play a release show for the record at The Horseshoe on February 25.

Video: Amos The Transparent – “Sure As The Weather”

It’s a two-night stand of the in sound from out west at Lee’s Palace on April 12 and 13 when Yukon Blonde and Library Voices roll into town.

MP3: Yukon Blonde – “Fire”
Video: Yukon Blonde – “Water”
Video: Library Voices – “Generation Handclap”

The first official taste of Memoryhouse’s debut full-length The Slideshow Effect is available and it’s very… awake. The album is out February 28.

MP3: Memoryhouse – “The Kids Were Wrong”

Justin BroadbentIn an age where many young bands seek to get on the expressway to your skull immediately after their first rehearsal – assuming they rehearse instead of just uploading jams to Soundcloud – you have to appreciate a band like The Wooden Sky. They’ve taken the time to hone their songcraft and live show since forming as Friday Morning’s Regret in 2003, and with their 2009 sophomore full-length If I Don’t Come Home You’ll Know I’m Gone and its attendant endless touring regimen, have positioned themselves as one of the country’s finest young roots-rock bands.

And after tantalizing with this Fall’s City Of Light EP, they’ll be looking to take that on-the-cusp status over the top on February 28 when their third album, an 18-track nearly-double opus 13-track regular-sized record Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun, is released. Details on the release are available over at Exclaim, as is the itinerary for their accompanying Canada-heavy North American tour. That jaunt includes a hometown show at The Opera House on April 20, tickets $15.50 in advance.

There’s no official preview track of the new album yet but this one from City Of Light, if it’s not on it, should at least point at where they’re going.

MP3: The Wooden Sky – “Angelina”

Rich Aucoin will bring his debut album We’re All Dying To Live and accompanying over-the-top live spectacle to the Drake Underground on January 13.

MP3: Rich Aucoin – “It”
Video: Rich Aucoin – “It”

Fresh off their three-night stand headlining the Phoenix, Tokyo Police Club are back in a support role having been added as openers for Foster The People at The Meadows at Downsview Park on June 19.

MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Party In The USA”

Chart talks to Wes Marskell of The Darcys. They and The Balconies, with whom Plaid has an interview, are a couple of the acts playing this year’s edition of Edgefest, happening July 14 at Downsview Park.

So yeah, new Arcade Fire video(s) for “Sprawl 2 (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”, in conventional and interactive forms. Dance!

Video: Arcade Fire – “Sprawl 2 (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” (conventional)
Video: Arcade Fire – “Sprawl 2 (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” (interactive)

aux.tv talks to Bry Webb about life post-Constantines.

Exclaim has good news and bad news for Karkwa fans: the good is that the band are readying a double-live album – where I’d argue they’re at their best – to be recorded tomorrow night in Montreal and released next year, the bad is that it’ll be their last release for a while as they’re going on a hiatus after that. Which is reasonable – their Polaris win in 2010 made the touring cycle for Les chemins des verre (just certified gold, by the way) many times longer than they probably expected when they released it. Nice problem to have.

The Alternate Side has posted a session and interview with The Handsome Furs.

Exclaim has premiered the first track from John K Samson’s solo album Provincial, due out January 24.

Stream: John K Samson – “When I Write My Master’s Thesis”

CBC Radio 3 has posted a track-by-track live performance from Coeur de Pirate of her new album Blonde.

DIY has n interview and video session with Dan Mangan. Exclaim has also posted a couple of live session videos with the Dan.

Kathryn Calder talks the touring life with CBC Radio 3 and also to The Riverfront Times.

Diamond Rings talks about brushes with fame in the form of Beastie Boys and Katy Perry with Spinner.

Woodpigeon ends an extended – for them, at least – hiatus with the release of the For Paolo digital EP due out on January 16, presumably in advance of a full-length later next year.

The Line Of Best Fit has released their holiday edition of the Oh! Canada mix series. Download it and blast it from your car over the next two weeks.

Frank Yang

Okay, let’s get this over with. More than any year in recent memory, 2011 was tough to distill down to a top ten – not because there was a dearth of notable releases, but because there was a glut of them. Plenty of records this year were good to great – from those you’d expect as much from, those who surprised by upping their game and/or those who you’d simply never heard of before – but head-and-shoulders standouts? More of a chore than I expected.

But here are ten records which, as of this midway point of the final month of 2011, do a pretty good job of representing what I listened to and enjoyed the most in the past twelve. I like the mix of geography, genres, and genders and also of veterans and up-and-comers – I think most who’d know would agree this is a pretty, “me” list and consistent with past years. And if you can be bothered to read the past prefaces, you’ll see that those, too, are pretty consistent. Which is to say repetitive. So no more talking, yeah?

Yeah. And you like the philatelic angle for this year’s art? I do.

(more…)

fanfarlo.comWhen it was announced earlier this Summer that Canadian Musicfest/Canadian Music Week was moving from it’s traditional slot in the second week of March – right before SXSW – to the fourth week of March – right after SXSW – I was confused and concerned. Confused because, well, I dislike change, and concerned because whereas doing back-to-back festivals is exhausting no matter which way you order it, I liked that I could get into game shape with CMW, go hard through SXSW and then collapse immediately afterwards and savour my annual post-Austin cold. But that’s just me – and I think most other Toronto-based music writers – so I can only assume/hope that change in schedule was calculated to grab more high-profile acts touring their way out of Austin and maybe get some slightly less awful weather for the club-hopping.

The latter point remains to be seen but after trickling a number of confirmed smaller/local acts on their website over the past couple months, CMF released the first proper update of showcasing acts for next year’s festival, happening March 22 to March 25 around Toronto. And while it wasn’t a lot, it was still something to sink one’s teeth into just a bit. Of the most interest hereabouts was the return to Toronto of Anglo-Swedish pop orchestra Fanfarlo; I missed their last show here in favour of seeing Titus Andronicus and while it was an amazing show, the fact that Titus have been back like four or five times since and Fanfarlo zero makes me wonder if maybe I bet on the wrong horse for that particular evening. In any case, with their second album Rooms Filled With Light due out on February 28, it’s a no-brainer that they’re coming back for both SXSW and CMF – they’re at The Mod club on the Saturday night, March 24, and advance tickets are $16.00 if you don’t want to do the festival wristband or want to be guaranteed entry.

The other notable big name – and these are relative terms – is Childish Gambino, the hip-hop alter-ego of Community star Donald Glover. I saw him at SXSW this year and it was an uneven performance at best as they were largely trying to work out the technical kinks in the multimedia aspects of the show prior to his first major tour. I am assuming that he’ll spend more time rapping and less time hunched over a laptop when he, his new album Camp and his roadshow hit the Sound Academy on March 24 for what will be one of the festival’s marquee events. Advance tickets for that one will be $25 and again, an undetermined number of CMF wristbands will be admitted.

It’s also worth mentioning that Weakerthans frontman John K Samson will present his new solo record Provincial, out January 24, at the Great Hall on March 22 and poet/hip-hop artist Saul Williams is at The Great Hall the following night, March 23. Beyond those, the interestingness of the additions fall off a cliff pretty quickly – some more acts are supposed to be announced in the next couple days and the next major update comes January 16. Let’s hope they’ve got something else up their sleeves, or else they’ve messed up my March festival routine for naught.

Video: Fanfarlo – “Replicate”
Video: Fanfarlo – “De.Con.Struc.Tion”
Video: Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”
Stream: Childish Gambino / Camp

Memoryhouse will be part of a bill including Dark Mean and headlined by The Rest on December 16 at The Tranzac, tickets $10 in advance. Their debut full-length The Slideshow Effect is set for a February 28 release next year.

MP3: Memoryhouse – “Quiet America”

Not that you should have needed any more incentive, but when Fucked Up announced their two nights of benefit shows at The Great Hall – that would be with their performing David Comes To Life in its entirety and PS I Love You and Quest For Fire rounding out the bill on December 20 and Sloan, Ohbijou and Bonjay performing on December 21 – but the, “but wait! There’s more!” dropped yesterday and yes indeed, there is more. The Sadies have been added to night one while The Rural Alberta Advantage will be performing on night two, and if you don’t think that’s worth your $20 a night, well God, Jed, I don’t even wanna know you. Tickets are available here and here, respectively. And if that’s not Fucked Up enough for you, Exclaim has details on the next installment in their Chinese Zodiac single series – “Year Of The Tiger” will be out on February 7 of next year.

MP3: The Sadies – “Another Year Again”
MP3: The Rural Alberta Advantage – “North Star”

And while on the topic of worthy causes, Arcade Fire have announced that for the holiday season, they will match, dollar for dollar, any donations made to Haiti reconstruction charity Kanpe. They’ve capped the drive at $300,000 but if they have to invoke that limit, then everyone has won anyways. And over at CBC Radio 3, they’ve dug up an old 2004-vintage session with the band for your listening and reminiscing.

Royal City Scene interviews Ohbijou. As mentioned, they’re at The Great Hall on December 21.

Kathleen Edwards has released the first video from her forthcoming album Voyageur, out January 17.

Video: Kathleen Edwards – “Change The Sheets”

Handsome Furs have rolled out a new video from Sound Kapital.

Video: Handsome Furs – “Serve The People”

The Darcys have premiered the first video from their self-titled album over at NME wherein they get all apocalyptic and stuff.

Video: The Darcys – “Don’t Bleed Me”

aux.tv talks to Beatrice Martin of Coeur de Pirate, whom they’ve declared their artist of the month.

Southern Souls has posted a video session with Kathryn Calder.

The first single from Islands’ new album A Sleep & A Forgetting – out February 14 – is available in MP3 and video form at Pitchfork and Stereogum, respectively.

MP3: Islands – “This Is Not A Song”
Video: Islands – “This Is Not A Song”

NPR has a World Cafes session with Feist.

Dan Mangan tries on the journalism hat, penning pieces about the magic of live performance for The Guardian and his favourite books and authors for Clash.

Beatroute talks to Vancouver’s Chains Of Love.

And Toronto concertgoers should bookmark new site Just Shows, who are doing a pretty great job of aggregating concert listings and salient information for the 416 and presenting it in a clean, easy-to-use format.

Frank YangThere’s many great things about the long-running Toronto institution of Nu Music Nites at the Horseshoe – not least of all the fact that they’re free – but the fact that they often feature such random assemblages of acts that each set can feel like its own standalone show and not part of a larger bill is certainly a big part of the fun. Such was the case on Tuesday night when rather than one headline-calibre act, as you’d normally be fortunate to have, they had two – and quite markedly different ones at that.

First you had Kathryn Calder, whom you may remember from her old band Immaculate Machine or know from her current band The New Pornographers but whom you should know for her solo work. Her 2010 debut Are You My Mother? was an unexpected gem displaying a pop acumen that was astonishing, even if she had been apprenticing with some of the country’s finest songwriters for the past half decade and this year’s follow-up Bright & Vivid proved not only that Mother was no fluke, but that Calder was still growing as a songwriter and had even better works in her. Which is to say that it’s as good, if not better, than the first record – and that’s saying quite a lot.

While Calder’s strengths as a singer, songwriter and arranger are self-evident from her records, having missed her solo debut here back in the Summer I still couldn’t comment on her skills as a frontwoman. After all, it’s one thing to do your thing with all eyes on Carl Newman, Neko Case and/or Dan Bejar, quite another to be front and centre yourself. And while she seemed perfectly comfortable in the role, switching off between electric and acoustic guitar and keyboards and offering plenty of low-key charm, you wouldn’t say she’s a riveting performer, at least not yet. But that’s a minor complaint against what she and her band brought to the table.

First off there were the songs, with selections split about evenly between the two albums and well showcasing the range and complexity of her work. It’s no mean feat to fill so many songs with both indelible melodies and emotional depth, but delivering them with her crystalline and dexterous voice – she didn’t miss a move or a note – Calder made it look easy. Points must also go to her band, who were fully equipped with both the tools and talent to recreate the many sonic nuances of the record. They could have easily made it sound good while stripping the arrangements down, but the care they took to make sure all the bits and pieces were there was appreciated.

This show kicked off a three-week North American tour for Calder and company but I almost wish that this was coming at the tail end if just because I’ve no doubt the road-testing would make them sound even better. Make no mistake, they sounded terrific already but if there’s one thing her records have shown, it’s that as good as you think Calder is or can be, she can and will be better.

But wait! There’s more!

It’s probably not fair to expect any kind of funk-soul-rock band to show up and impress when one has just seen Prince a few nights earlier, but for their first visit to Toronto, Chicagoans JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound were sure as spit going to try. Besuited and with Brooks sporting an impressinve Little Richer coif, the five-piece – accompanied by a camera crew – put on a barn-burner of a show. Having just released their second album Want More, they showed off their prowess at classically-styled yet modern-feeling soul – mostly Chicago-flavoured but with forays to Philly to show off Brooks’ ability to slow burn and kill the high notes.

They were at their best when in high gear, though, with the rest of the band being dapper, animated and showing off their impressive chops when called on, all without drawing attention away from their frontman – not that that would have really been possible. Brooks has mastered the fine art of great showmanship without going over the top, engaging the audience without pandering and just basically setting the tone for a wholly impressive show. And while their covers of “Tainted Love” and “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” were set highlights, their original compositions stood tall alongside them – not something you can always say in a genre that’s often more concerned with style and delivery than creation. It’s a shame the audience numbers had thinned from their peak during Calder’s set, but the few dozen that remained got a hell of a show.

Chart and The Calgary Herald have interviews with Kathryn Calder while The Lantern and The Phoenix New Times has features on Brooks.

Photos: JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Kathryn Calder @ The Horseshoe – November 29, 2011
MP3: Kathryn Calder – “Who Are You”
MP3: Kathryn Calder – “Arrow”
MP3: Kathryn Calder – “Slip Away”
MP3: JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – “Everything Will Be Fine”
Video: Kathryn Calder – “Who Are You”
Video: Kathryn Calder – “Arrow”
Video: Kathryn Calder – “Slip Away”
Video: JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – “Everything Will Be Fine”
Video: JC Brooks Uptown Sound – “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”

Paste talks with Kathleen Edwards about making her latest album Voyageur, out January 17. She plays The Phoenix on February 11.

The Diamond Rings b-side which saw the electro-glammer unexpectedly covering power-pop gods Teenage Fanclub is now available to download courtesy of Spinner.

MP3: Diamond Rings – “Mellow Doubt”

NOW marks Feist’s show at Massey Hall tonight by putting her on this week’s cover; Today Online also has an interview. Meanwhile, Under The Radar reports that she and Mastadon will pair up for a split-7″ single wherein each covers one of the others’ songs as a Record Store Day 2012 release.

Exclaim talks to Bry Webb, who is opening up the aforementioned Feist show tonight.

The Toronto Star, Star-Observer and X-Tra have features on Austra, playing tonight at The Phoenix and have announced that a deluxe edition of Feel It Break, featuring a second CD of covers, remixes and whatnot, will be available in mid-December. One of the new tracks, a cover of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” which has been kicking around since Katie Stelmanis was still playing as Katie Stelmanis, is available to stream below and the third and final instalment of the unplugged Paper Bag Sessions has gone up at Disco Naivete.

Stream: Austra – “Crying”
Video: Austra – “Believe Me” (Paper Bag Sessions)

Young Galaxy, who are playing with Austra tonight, are also capping their very good year with a deluxe edition of Shapeshifting, though it’ll be an iTunes-only release and feature early versions of four songs before they were sent to producer Dan Lissvik for reinventing. That’ll be available on December 13 but as of right now, a remix album called Versus is available for free.

ZIP: Young Galaxy / Versus

Bruce Peninsula have released a new video from Open Flames.

Video: Bruce Peninsula – “Pull Me Under”

The videos for some studio sessions that Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers performed for Exclaim are now available to download as well as watch.

MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Keep The Kids Inside” (Rainy Day Version, live at Exclaim)
MP3: Forest City Lovers – “Tell Me, Cancer” (live at Exclaim)
Video: Forest City Lovers – “Keep The Kids Inside” (Rainy Day Version, live at Exclaim)
Video: Forest City Lovers – “Tell Me, Cancer” (live at Exclaim)

Weakerthans frontman John K Samson will release his first solo album in Provincial on January 24; details at Anti, who are releasing the record.

Exclaim interviews Beatrice Martin of Coeur de Pirate.

There’s a new Fucked Up song available to download courtesy of Stereogum. They play a charity gig at The Great Hall on December 20.

MP3: Fucked Up – “I Hate Summer”

Toronto psych-poppers Heartbeat Hotel are streaming the whole of their new record Intae Woe, while Mechanical Forest Sound has a recording from their record release show for said record last week available to download.

Stream: Heartbeat Hotel / Inate Woe

Memoryhouse have announced a February 28 release date for their debut full-length, to be entitled The Slideshow Effect. Mechanical Forest Sound also has a recording of a show last week.

The Drake Hotel has announced most of the lineup for this year’s What’s In The Box holiday season music series, wherein they line up five acts for each of the five nights following Christmas with a five dollar cover. Still a few “special guest” spots to be filled but there’s at least a couple nights with some acts that I’ve been meaning to check out (Doldrums, Donlands & Mortimer) so I expect I’ll be there at least once that week. You may as well too – don’t pretend you’ve got better things to do.

And another end-of-year institution – New Year’s Eve at The Tranzac – has announced their live music lineup via Facebook and it features The Elwins, Maylee Todd and more. I went to last year’s, it was fun. Tickets are $13 in advance and believe them when they say it sells out every year.