Carlie ArmstrongNot much stays fresh after 30 years, particularly something as fleeting as creativity, and not even a band that’s as stylistically rangy as Yo La Tengo is immune to the of feeling of repeating themselves. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as their last release – 2009’s Popular Songs – was an enjoyable summation of everything Yo La Tengo has done well over the past three decades or so, from concise poppers to sprawling rockers on the x-axis and quiet to loud on the y, but didn’t really offer much as a jumping-off point for where they’d could go next.

As it turned out, the “where” would be Chicago, to work with John McEntire of Tortoise, rather than Nashville and Roger Moutenot, who had been behind the boards for every one of their records since 1993’s Painful – that’s their last seven releases. And while it’s not necessarily clear that a change in producer would have that drastic an effect on a band that’s as assured in what they do and how they do it as Yo La Tengo, if they were looking to come away with something different, it’s reasonable to say that the fruits of those sessions – Fade, out tomorrow – accomplished that.

The songs still follow the familiar Yo La Tengo templates, but the presentation feels compressed. Not in the technical studio sense of being less dynamic, but it’s not hard to imagine bookend tracks “Ohm” and “Before We Run” stretching past the 10-minute mark on other records instead of being constrained to their relatively concise six-and-change running times here. And those are the longest tracks on the album – almost everything else clocks in at under five minutes. Not to get too hung up on matters of time – what’s more remarkable than the fact that the whole thing could be dubbed onto a single side of a 90-minute cassette is that it seems to have been done without compromising any of the band’s trademark atmospheric indulgences or rushing their gentler, languid tempos.

On the quiet side, “Two Trains” exists in a sumptuous, phase-shifted dream-state, and “I’ll Be Around” hums along, carried by whirring organs and Ira Kaplan’s fingerpicked guitarwork, yet maintain enough presence to avoid becoming pretty aural wallpaper, and at the other end of the spectrum, “Well You Better” and “Paddle Forward” are welcome additions to the crunchy pop nugget section of their songbook. Fade may not necessarily break any new ground for the band – that may well be mathematically impossible for them at this point – but it does offer a fresh perspective on much of what they do best.

Spin and DIY have interviews with Ira Kaplan. They’re at The Phoenix on February 9.

MP3: Yo La Tengo – “Stupid Things”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “Ohm”
Video: Yo La Tengo – “Before We Run”
Stream: Yo La Tengo / Fade

It’s not as good as, say, her own tour in support of a new album, but it’s worth noting that Nicole Atkins will be in town on February 25 opening up for Eels at The Phoenix.

MP3: Nicole Atkins – “Vultures”

And if you missed the post addendum last week, Low have announced a local date in support of their new record The Invisible Way. The album is out March 19 but they’ll be here a few days earlier, on March 16, at The Great Hall. Tickets for that are $18.50 and on sale now.

MP3: Low – “Just Make It Stop”

Chelsea Light Moving – aka Thurston Moore’s new post-Sonic Youth band – will be at Lee’s Palace on March 31 in support of their self-titled debut, out March 5. Tickets are $19.50, details on the release available at Matablog and there’s quite a bit of the new record available to preview; spoilers – it sounds like Thurston Moore.

MP3: Chelsea Light Moving – “Burroughs”
MP3: Chelsea Light Moving – “Frank O’Hara Hit”
MP3: Chelsea Light Moving – “Empire Of Time”
MP3: Chelsea Light Moving – “Groovy & Linda”

Los Angeles electro-pop outfit Fol Chen will be at The Drake Underground on April 7 in support of their new album The False Alarms, due out March 19.

MP3: Fol Chen – “Cable TV”
Stream: Fol Chen – “200 Words”

Good news for those anticipating/dreading the auction later this week for the new Replacements benefit EP, Songs For Slim; while that limited edition of 250 will still be auctioned off to raise money for former ‘Mats guitarist Slim Dunlap’s medical bills, a regular edition of the recordings will be made available for sale to the general public. Details on that at Consequence Of Sound.

NPR interviews Christopher Owens, whose solo debut Lysandre is out tomorrow and who hits The Mod Club this Friday night.

NPR has got the whole of the new Widowspeak album Almanac available to stream ahead of its January 22 release.

MP3: Widowspeak – “Ballad Of The Golden Hour”
Stream: Widowspeak / Almanac

Hit up Consequence Of Sound to hear a stream of a track from the new Guided By Voices EP Down By The Racetrack, due out January 22. Their next full-length English Little League will follow on April 30.

Stream: Guided By Voices – “Copy Zero”

The Line Of Best Fit talks to Caitlin Rose, whose second album The Stand-In is out February 25 and who plays The Garrison on April 5.

Charles Bradley has given his second album Victim Of Love an April 2 release date. Details over at Exclaim.

The Flaming Lips have announced plans to release their 1997 mind-fuck opus Zaireeka as a vinyl reissue for Record Store Day this year, which is to say April 20. Which sounds great but when you factor in the fact that you’d not only need four turntables instead of the original issue’s quad-CD player setup, but you’d need to swap sides and records for each disc… yeah. No.

Memory Tapes have released a new video from last year’s Grace/Confusion.

Video: Memory Tapes – “Sheila”

The Alternate Side has a studio session with Dinosaur Jr.

Glasswerk have a video session with Crooked Fingers.

Elle Canada has an interview with Janelle Monáe.

Popmatters talks to Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum.

Frank YangJune 16 had been circled on many calendars of Toronto music-goers for months, thanks to the intersection of Radiohead, The Flaming Lips’ free headlining set at NXNE, and LuminaTO events. So, of course, I ended up doing none of the above and even only hit three NXNE-related shows… but at least they were good ones?

And I got started early; Vancouver’s Brasstronaut were on early at Yonge-Dundas Square, auspiciously following a 14-year old cover band. That was just a circumstance of scheduling, though, as there was little in common between the tweens reinterpreting Guns’N’Roses and the sophisticated six-piece jazz-pop ensemble. It’s no small thing to make an argument for the clarinet as a rock instrument, but they managed to do just that with a set drawn from 2010’s Mount Chimaera and their just-released Mean Sun that sounded simultaneously driving and mellow, a good match for the prevailing festival-goer’s mood of being both exhausted and excited. Or maybe just mine.

The Vancouver Sun, The Ottawa Citizen, The Georgia Straight, Pique, and Uptown have features on the band while Exclaim talks to frontman Edo Van Breeman about his upcoming Swiss prison sentence. No, that’s not a metaphor.

Photos: Brasstronaut @ Yonge-Dundas Square – June 16, 2012
MP3: Brasstronaut – “Hollow Trees”
Video: Brasstronaut – “Requiem For A Scene”
Video: Brasstronaut – “Old World Lies”

After an afternoon of record shopping, sweaty bike rides and general hangs, it was back to Yonge-Dundas for the start of the evening’s main programme and Of Montreal. When the original NXNE lineup was announced, it seemed like a no-brainer that Of Montreal would lead into The Flaming Lips and the combined psych-rock impact would result in Guinness record for spontaneous simultaneous lobotomies. No such luck – Portugal. The Man were inserted in between to mitigate the effects – but Kevin Barnes and company certainly set the tone for what the headliners would be offering.

This was actually my first time properly seeing Of Montreal since SXSW 2006; technically I saw them at Primavera Sound last year – where they were also on several hours before The Flaming Lips – but only sort-of paid attention on account of the “holy shit I’m in Spain” thing. There had been opportunities since then but I just hadn’t taken them, what with the band’s albums over that time becoming increasingly strange and patchy and despite the promise of over the top visuals, not enticing me to check it out. As such it was interesting to see them again up close and note that rather than the ringleader of the shenanigans, Barnes now looked a bit nonplussed about it all – as though he’d accepted that his lot was to be the epicentre of it all, and that he was mostly okay with it. I certainly remember him seeming more engaged before.

And there was plenty to be engaged in, what with the band’s performance being augmented with technicolour dancers in outrageous costumes, but all of it also a good reminder that with the likes of the giant breasts hidden under the glittery capes of the dancers’ first costume change, they really weren’t so family friendly but more subversive – like a musical Ralph Bakshi cartoon, but so ridiculous that it was unlikely that anyone would legitimately take offense. And for as difficult as some of their recent albums have gotten, they were able to cherry pick enough perfect disco-pop to make up a set that was nigh-impossible to not dance to. And if someone’s kid got an eyeful of some giant, shiny fake breasts, what of it?

Spinner, The National Post, and Paste have feature pieces on Of Montreal.

Photos: Of Montreal @ Yonge-Dundas Square – June 16, 2012
MP3: Of Montreal – “Wintered Debts”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Dour Percentage”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Coquet Coquette”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Famine Affair”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Id Engager”
MP3: Of Montreal – “An Eluardian Instance”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse”
MP3: Of Montreal – “The Party’s Crashing Us”
MP3: Of Montreal – “So Begins Our Alabee”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Rapture Rapes The Muses”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Disconnect The Dots”
MP3: Of Montreal – “A Question For Emily Foreman”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Pancakes For One”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Penelope”
MP3: Of Montreal – “One Of A Very Few Of A Kind”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Dustin Hoffman Gets A Bath”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Dustin Hoffman Thinks About Eating The Soap”
MP3: Of Montreal – “Spoonful Of Sugar”
Video: Of Montreal – “Spiteful Intervention”
Video: Of Montreal – “L’age D’or”
Video: Of Montreal – “Famine Affair”
Video: Of Montreal – “Coquet Coquette”
Video: Of Montreal – “Mingusings”
Video: Of Montreal – “An Eluardian Instance”
Video: Of Montreal – “Id Engager”
Video: Of Montreal – “Gronlandic Edit”
Video: Of Montreal – “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse”
Video: Of Montreal – “Suffer For Fashion”
Video: Of Montreal – “Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games”
Video: Of Montreal – “So Begins Our Alabee”
Video: Of Montreal – “Requiem For OMM2”
Video: Of Montreal – “Disconnect The Dots”

For many festival-goers, if you weren’t at Yonge-Dundas Square for The Flaming Lips on Saturday night then you were doing it wrong. Perfectly fair, but as I’d said since my festival preview, my one must-see band for the weekend was Sweden’s Deer Tracks and if it came down to a conflict with Wayne Coyne bubblewalking over the gathered throngs, then Wayne was going to lose out. And it did and he did.

The decision was certainly helped along by reports from earlier dates on the tour that confirmed that their live show was great; if there was a question, it was whether there’d be many people there to see it. They were clearly the odd band out in the lineup at The Rivoli, amidst singer-songwriters and following a blues trio to say nothing of being on at the same time as The Lips, so I expected that it would be lightly attended and whomever was there probably wouldn’t be their audience. And who was? Well, anyone who liked gorgeous electro-pop that was simultaneously dancey, demure, and dramatic and unabashedly arty without any of the attendant aloofness. With two-thirds of their Archer Trilogy released – the third instalment is due this Fall – David Lehnberg and Elin Lindfors (and their keyboardist and drummer) crammed what seemed like an epic tale into just over 30 minutes, rendered with synths, guitars, bowed saw, glockenspiels, clarinet (again!) and both Lehnberg and Lindfors’ soaring, emotive voices.

It was a more than welcome set of otherworldly beauty in a festival too easily described by adjectives like “garage”, and when the show was over and I turned around to hightail it to my next stop, it was more than gratifying to see that a good-sized crowd had gathered and looked to have enjoyed the show as much as I had. It deserved an audience.

NOW talked to The Deer Tracks ahead of their festival appearance.

Photos: The Deer Tracks @ The Rivoli – June 16, 2012
MP3: The Deer Tracks – “W”
MP3: The Deer Tracks – “Dark Passenger”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “Meant To Be”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “Tiger”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “Fall With Me”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “Fra Ro Raa / Ro Ra Fraa”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “Ram Ram”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “Slow Collision”
Video: The Deer Tracks – “12sxfrya”

That wasn’t the final stop of the night – more on that tomorrow – but it was the last NXNE 2012 showcase; a great end to another great fest, though despite being as exhausted or moreso than I normally am, I didn’t actually see as many showcases as I typically do. Not sure how that happened, exactly. But as we wrap things up, for more festival-y things check out this oral history of NXNE as told to aux.tv and this conversation with festival found Andy McLean at Billboard.

Since Spinner footed the bill for the big Flaming Lips show, they get the big interview with Wayne Coyne. Them’s the rules.

The Toronto Star and Toronto Sun chat with Janelle Monáe, who kicks off the Toronto Jazz Festival at Nathan Philips Square tomorrow night.

Clash talks to Kristian Mattson about what it’s like being The Tallest Man On Earth.

PopMatters asks 20 questions of We Are Serenades.

First Aid Kit have released a new video from The Lion’s Roar. They’re at The Danforth Music Hall on September 26.

Video: First Aid Kit – “Blue”

Swedish punk rock newcomers Holograms have made a date at The Shop Under Parts & Labour for September 11, tickets $10.50 in advance. Their self-titled debut is out July 10. Tupac does not make an appearance.

MP3: Holograms – “Chasing My Mind”
MP3: Holograms – “ABC City”
Stream: Holograms – “Monolith”

The Line Of Best Fit has premiered the new single from El Perro Del Mar, which is also available to download. It comes from her new album Pale Fire, due out later this year.

M4A: El Perro Del Mar – “Innocence Is Sense”
Video: El Perro Del Mar – “Innocence Is Sense”

Sigur Rós has rolled out another video from Valtari, though this one comes with a warning that it may not be suitable for people with good taste as it contains Shia Labeouf. No, it really doesn’t matter that he’s naked – that he’s in it is bad enough.

Video: Sigur Rós – “Fjögur píanó”

NPR has a World Cafe session with Of Monsters & Men.

Annie BeedyI’d like to, if I could, refer you back to my writeup of The Shins on the occasion of their visit to Toronto last September. In it, I mused about how this band had a Forrest Gump-like knack for getting pulled into conversations bigger than themselves and how all of that seemed out of scale with James Mercer’s desire to simply write pop songs. That hasn’t necessarily subsided as some of the pieces I’ve read surrounding last month’s release of Port Of Morrow were built around the very questionable thesis that The Shins are already a reunion or nostalgia act (four albums over eleven years is hardly a snail’s pace these days, people).

Having already gotten that end of things out of my system with the aforementioned live review, I’m going to try and just talk about Port Of Morrow in the context of being a new Shins record, and nothing else. And it’s actually not too difficult to do because even with all that’s happened between this record and 2007’s Wincing The Night Away – namely the sacking of the band and shelving the whole thing in favour of Broken Bells – Port makes it feel like nothing has transpired and no time has elapsed.

The sonic aesthetic seems a bit shinier than before, more distinctly in line with ’70s studio pop but still following the path laid out by the albums that came before. Mercer’s distinctive, reedy voice manages to keep up – sometimes barely – with the looping melodies he writes for his cryptically evocative lyrics, accompanied by some ratio of jangly guitars to moody synths. The songwriting is also as solid as before, peaking with lead single “Simple Song” – it easily belongs on any post-career best-of compilation – and while it doesn’t again reach those heights, there’s an admirable lack of filler across the other nine tracks. It seems that it really doesn’t matter who’s along for the ride with James Mercer, The Shins remain as The Shins ever were. It’s funny that a band that was sold to so many as being life-changing should find their greatest strength in their constancy.

The Shins premiered their new video for “The Rifle’s Spiral” on the Nintendo DS platform last week, because they’re cool/annoying like that – it should be available for those of us without portable video game systems this week. They open up for The Black Keys at The Molson Amphitheatre on August 4.

Also, courtesy of With A Bullet, I have several copies of Port Of Morrow to give away – one on LP and three on CD. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want The Shins” in the subject line and your full name and mailing address in the body, and indicate if you’d like to be eligible for the vinyl, digital or both. Contest is only open to residents of Canada – sorry, rest of the world – and closes at midnight, April 29. Update: The prizing has been upgraded to four LPs; if you’re CD-only, sorry, can no longer oblige. Maybe buy a turntable?

Video: The Shins – “Simple Song”
Video: The Shins – “Bait & Switch”

I still have fond memories of seeing The Shins for the first time back in Summer 2002 – just before this blog came into existence – at The Rivoli in Toronto, opening up for Los Angeles’ psychedelic-country outfit Beachwood Sparks. The Shins would eventually go on to great things while the Sparks went on hiatus shortly afterwards… a hiatus that is now over. Pitchfork reports the reconvened band will return with their third album The Tarnished Gold on June 26. One of the new tracks and a couple of old ones are posted below.

MP3: Beachwood Sparks – “Forget The Song”
MP3: Beachwood Sparks – “Confusion Is Nothing New”
MP3: Beachwood Sparks – “Drinkswater”

The Fly talks to Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast. Her new record The Only Place is out on May 15 and they’re at The Phoenix on July 21.

Wears The Trousers has an interview with Dee Dee of Dum Dum Girls.

School Of Seven Bells have a new video from Ghostory. They’re at The Hoxton on May 2 and are the subject of interviews at The Star-Telegram, The Citizen-Times, The Pitch, and The National.

Video: School Of Seven Bells – “Reappear”

tUnE-yArDs has released a new video from WHOKILL, featuring some face that may be familiar if you’ve seen the old videos from WHOKILL. There’s also interviews with Merril Garbus at OC Weekly and The Santa Barbara Independent; she plays The Phoenix on August 1.

Video: tUnE-yArDs – “My Country”

Lambchop have squeezed a new video out of Mr. M. Indy Week, Magnet, and The Washington Post have chats with Kurt Wagner.

Video: Lambchop – “2B2”

M. Ward is the subject of feature pieces at Spinner, Paste, The Vancouver Sun, Clash, American Songwriter, Ventura County Star, and Flagstaff Live.

NPR welcomes Perfume Genius to WFUV for a radio session featuring a new song. There’s also features at The Georgia Straight and Dazed, and the second part of the interview between Michael Stipe and Mike Hadreas is now up at East Village Boys.

NPR has made The Magnetic Fields’ day show at SXSW available to stream, and also have a radio interview with Stephin Merritt available. There’s also pieces at The Guelph Mercury and Creative Loafing.

Rolling Stone caught up with Annie Clark of St. Vincent to talk about her next album – a collaboration with David Byrne that should be out in the Fall. Pitchfork also points out that her entire Coachella set is available to watch online and a new song which appears on her Record Store Day 7″ makes its live premiere and scorches.

Video: St. Vincent @ Coachella 2012

QRO talks to Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater.

Greg Dulli talks to DIY about the Afghan Whigs reunion.

New York electro-rock/soul/funk acts Penguin Prison and Class Actress are teaming up for a co-headline tour which brings them to Wrongbar on June 7;

Video: Penguin Prison – “Don’t Fuck With My Money”
Video: Class Actress – “Weekend”

You have the Toronto Jazz Festival to thank for bringing Janelle Monáe back to Toronto for the first time since CMW 2011; she’ll be playing the outdoor stage at Nathan Phillips Square on June 22, and hopefully you can find a spot to watch from the unticketed area because admission is a rather dear $62.50.

Video: Janelle Monáe – “Tightrope”

Also in town for the Jazz Festival is Nellie McKay, whose boycott of Canada in protest of the seal hunts is apparently over. She’ll be at The Horseshoe on June 30, tickets $20 in advance.

Video: Nellie McKay – “Real Life”

San Francisco electronic artist Tycho is back in town on July 10 for a date at The Hoxton.

MP3: Tycho – “Hours”
MP3: Tycho – “Coastal Brake”

And Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – perhaps you’ve heard of them – have finally added a Toronto date for their Wrecking Ball tour. They’ll be at The Rogers Centre on August 24 with tickets going on sale April 20; no pricing as yet but you can bet it won’t be cheap and that it’ll still be worth it. They’ve also released a new video from Wrecking Ball recorded at the Moody Theater show at SXSW in March. If you look really closely, you can see me in the stands! Okay, no you can’t. Update: Tickets are $35 and $115. Nicely done, Bruce.

Video: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – “Death To My Hometown”

Frank YangI’m not really sure how to frame this show. Arena-sized, indie rock summit featuring acts from three of the finest independent labels going? Victory lap capping an incredible 18-month run for one of the best bands, anywhere? Early Christmas gift? Yeah, I may go with that last one. And a surprise gift at that, because even though there’s little arguing about the strength of a bill featuring The National, Neko Case and Wye Oak, placing it in an arena – even one configured to one-third of its full size for a more intimate theatre setting – would give most people pause. After all, both The National and Case had just recently reached the echelon of acts who could play the rarified setting of Massey Hall and prove they belonged; even if they could draw more people, would the presumed trade-off in atmosphere and sound quality be worth it?

Of all of them, it was Baltimore duo Wye Oak who’d had the most experience punching above their weight class as far as venues were concerned. This would be their fourth Toronto show in the calendar year and the third as support for a much bigger act – that’d have been The Decemberists back in February and then Explosions In The Sky in October, both at the Sound Academy and both proving the band had no fear in playing to large audiences that were not necessarily their own. That wasn’t actually the case this time around, as the early set time meant that while the crowd was decidedly sparse, those who were there had made the effort to be there in time to see them play. And, as they’d done each time out, they wholly impressed with their confidence, dynamics, and songcraft – I’ve only listened to Civilian a moderate amount this year, but seeing them live three times this year have really made me appreciate how talented they are.

I’d actually forgotten that Neko’s last headlining show in Summer 2009 was at Massey Hall; I’d caught her decidedly more cozy show a few months earlier at Trinity-St. Paul’s and that evening of magic was enough to keep me going for some time. Quite some time, as it’d turn out, since Neko hadn’t released anything since 2009’s Middle Cyclone, keeping busy with The New Pornographers’ touring schedule and this set of shows being at the invitation of The National rather than having anything new to promote. And while she didn’t exactly dress up for the occasion – jeans and a hoodie, thanks – she still brought her full band (with Calexico’s inimitable John Covertino on drums) and her A-game. Despite an erratic mix that often put Paul Rigby’s guitar ahead of Neko’s vocals, she was still able to make use of the expansive space to soar and remind those who needed reminding of just how powerful a performer she was. Amidst the set laden with old favourites, Case previewed a couple of new songs which will presumably be going onto a album – both continuing on in the country-pop hybrid vein in which she’s found her stride – as well as a gorgeous cover of The Awkward Stage’s “We Dreamt Of Houses” that I genuinely hope makes it onto the record. And, of course, there was plenty of joking around with longtime foil Kelly Hogan, frequently at Rigby’s expense. It doesn’t seem quite accurate to be welcoming Neko back when she hasn’t really been away and she hasn’t got a new record yet, but still. Welcome back.

When The National played two nights at Massey Hall last June, it felt like a pinnacle of achievement for the Cincinnati by way of Brooklyn five-piece; a room to match the stately sophistication of their sound and presumably their new home in Toronto for years to come. But those shows came at the very start of the cycle for High Violet and even long-time fans such as myself couldn’t predict how much bigger the band would get over the next year and a half. And while it’s true that the Air Canada Centre wasn’t nearly sold out, even in the theatre setup, there were still considerably more people in attendance than Massey could have contained so the upgrade in venue wasn’t so much hubris as necessity.

For anyone who was at those Massey shows, it may be hard to imagine a better National performance than those. They may have just scored a #3 album but as one of the first performances in support of High Violet, they still carried an enormous weight of expectation on their shoulders. But rather than buckling under the pressure, they used it as fuel and turned in the best show of theirs I’d seen to date (and I had seen them lots). As it turned out, the key phrase there was “to date”.

Their set began not onstage but backstage, as handheld camera footage from the green room was projected onto the backdrop and showed the band and entourage clowning and lounging around for a few minutes – hardly the gloomy crew that some might infer from their music. And after a few minutes of that, they rallied the troops and began navigating the labyrinths of the ACC, eventually striding off the screen and onto the stage. I’m sure other bands have done similar entrances before, but to do something so overtly anti-mystique to open their biggest show in the city seemed a bold move.

As they did that first night at Massey Hall they opened with a slow burn in “Runaway”, perhaps seeking to establish a more intimate vibe in the arena which, while well-filled in the stands, had room to spare on the floor. The set followed a similar trajectory through their catalog as last year’s show, favouring the last three albums but reaching right back to their self-titled debut for “Son”, sonically renovated just enough to fit well alongside its more recent brethren. And really, the broad strokes of what constitutes The National live experience haven’t changed too much since those first shows at The Horseshoe; there’s obviously better stage production, lighting, and Matt Berninger isn’t likely to give up his suits for Cincinnati Bengals t-shirts anytime soon. But ultimately it’s about Berninger alternately meditating at the mic or roaming the stage while the Dessner twins flank him interweaving guitar parts and the Devendorf rhythm section hangs back and keeps things together. Even Berninger’s random bursts of violence – typically against mic stands – have always had a certain zen serene-ness at their core.

So what made this show so exceptional? Despite the scale of the room, it still felt surprisingly personal thanks to the exceptional sound – yes, the ACC sounded loud and clear and great, believe it – and a band that were clearly feeling loose, confident and chatty, not to mention honed to razor-sharpness from near-constant touring through shows and festivals even bigger than this over the past 18 months or so. Augmented as is now the norm by a couple of horn players, they turned out more powerful and dynamic versions of “Squalor Victoria”, “Slow Show” and “Conversation 16” (dedicated to the cannibals of Cincinnati and not zombies, as I’d always assumed) than I’ve ever heard before deciding the space in the general admission needed to be addressed. After an energized “Abel”, Berninger strode into the stands at house left and invited everyone down into the floors; the other sections of the ACC needed no such personal invitation and as the band tore into “Sorrow”, every aisle was overflowing with fans upgrading their seats. Eventually the floor filled up and Berninger was forced to ask those left behind to return their seats to keep the aisles clear (in direct contradiction to his earlier, “Fuck safety! Health is lame!” pronouncements). But the task of getting the previously over-respectful crowd worked up and extra-energized was done.

Which made it the perfect time to invite out hometown hero Owen Pallett to guest on one of two new songs premiered earlier in the day for CBC Radio, “I Need My Girl”, and then assist on perhaps the most epic version of “England” heard in this city to date. No word of lie, save for the club-level intensity of those first Horseshoe shows, this was the best I’d ever seen them. So why did I skip out on the encore, leaving as set closer “Fake Empire” echoed off the arena walls? Tell you tomorrow. But about today, all I can say that as The National head back to New York for a series of shows that close the books on High Violet, they do so as not only one of the best bands going, but still seemingly with unlimited potential… but if, on their next return to town, they’re again at the ACC rather than two nights at Massey, don’t let the venue put you off. Just be sure it’s the theatre and not the full arena – everything has its limits.

NOW, The Toronto Star, Examiner.com, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Sun, and BlogTO also have reviews of the show. The National Post has an interview with Matt Berninger while Scott Devendorf takes The Grid through the anatomy of their set list. And to hear those new songs the band unveiled on CBC that morning, head over to Q for streams.

Photos: The National, Neko Case, Wye Oak @ The Air Canada Centre – December 8, 2011
MP3: The National – “Twenty Miles To NH (Part 2)”
MP3: The National – “Exile Vilify”
MP3: The National – “Think You Can Wait”
MP3: The National – “Afraid Of Everyone”
MP3: The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
MP3: The National – “So Far Around The Bend”
MP3: The National – “Fake Empire”
MP3: The National – “Son”
MP3: The National – “Beautiful Head”
MP3: Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”
MP3: Neko Case – “People Got A Lotta Nerve”
MP3: Neko Case – “Hold On, Hold On”
MP3: Neko Case – “Star Witness”
MP3: Neko Case – “If You Knew”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Civilian”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Take It In”
MP3: Wye Oak – “Warning”
Video: The National – “Exile Vilify” (1st Place)
Video: The National – “Exile Vilify” (1.00000000001th Place)
Video: The National – “Think You Can Wait”
Video: The National – “Conversation 16”
Video: The National – “Terrible Love”
Video: The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
Video: The National – “So Far Around The Bend” (live)
Video: The National – “Mistaken For Strangers”
Video: The National – “Apartment Story”
Video: The National – “Abel”
Video: The National – “Lit Up”
Video: The National – “Daughters Of The Soho Riots”
Video: The National – “Sugar Wife”
Video: The National – “Son”
Video: Neko Case – “People Got A Lotta Nerve”
Video: Neko Case – “Maybe Sparrow”
Video: Neko Case – “Furnace Room Lullabye”
Video: Wye Oak – “Holy, Holy”
Video: Wye Oak – “Fish”
Video: Wye Oak – “Please Concrete”

The Antlers step into The Guardian‘s studio to describe and demonstrate how they wrote their song, “Parentheses”. They also chat with DIY and NYC Taper has a recording of their show at Webster Hall on Saturday available to download.

Austinist talks solo works and baseball with Craig Finn, whose solo debut Clear Hearts Full Eyes is due out on January 24.

Benjamin Curtis takes Spin behind the themes of the new School Of Seven Bells record Ghoststory, due out February 28.

Filter gets to know Real Estate, who’re playing Lee’s Palace on January 20 of the new year.

Janelle Monae tells Back To Rockville that she has a big 2012 planned, with two completed albums in the can and ready for release next year and grandiose touring plans to go with them.

Frank YangNot that he’s looking to abdicate the title of one of the most multi-talented – if, er, a bit eccentric – artists of our time, but if you were to nominate heirs apparent for Prince, then Janelle Monáe would have to be right at the top of the list. I don’t know how her guitar chops are, but as far as being a singer/songwriter/visionary who effortlessly blends soul, funk and rock and outrageous showmanship at a ridiculously young age – she’s just 25 – Monáe has got the goods.

Said goods were fully on display at the 2010 BET Awards, which featured a tribute to the Purple One and had Monáe tapped to perform “Let’s Go Crazy”, from 1984’s Purple Rain, and in performing it she does just that. The audio is a rip of the video, which is unsurprisingly hard to find online given Prince’s negative feelings about -in no particular order – the internet, images of himself online and covers of his songs. But vids still remain online and it’s worth watching as much as seeing both for Monáe’s performance as the audience of footage of Prince himself at first watching impassively, then getting into it and finally applauding Monáe’s rendition. That’s some high praise, right there.

Prince will be on the receiving end of the applause this weekend when his Welcome 2 Canada tour kicks off at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Friday and Saturday nights. His last release was last year’s 20Ten, but who’s kidding who – we want to hear the old stuff. And from past Welcome 2 America set lists, he’s in an obliging mood. As for Monáe, she’s getting to work on her follow-up to last year’s debut The ArchAndroid and also turns 26 next week on December 1.

MP3: Janelle Monáe – “Let’s Go Crazy” (live at BET Awards)
Video: Janelle Monáe – “Let’s Go Crazy” (live at BET Awards)
Video: Prince – “Let’s Go Crazy”