If you want to start your weekend in a dreamy haze (and what better way to mark Friday the 13th really?), the El Mocambo is where you want to be tonight. Three great local bands will be performing. Memoryhouse headlines, supported by Volcano Playground and Paradise Animals . Tickets are $13. VP have been holed-up recording over the past month or so it will be interesting to hear what they've come up with. Get a taste of what you're in for here: <p><a [...]
Frank Yang It's quite possible that people headed out to the Horseshoe on Wednesday night because both halves of the touring bill consisted of New York-based bands with a good head of steam and impressive record label behind them - Caveman , having just signed to Fat Possum and Hospitality preparing to release their debut record very shortly on Merge . Either or both could reasonably emerge as one of the year's rookie success stories, and who wouldn't want the bragging rights to say they saw them early on at a [...]
Frank Yang Much of Dan Mangan's appeal comes from his everyman-ness - and his beard, if you ask certain friends of mine - so when he was playing the back rooms of bars, as at The Rivoli in October 2009 or The Horseshoe in April 2010 , it felt perfectly natural. Those shows also felt utterly jam-packed - because they were - making it unlikely that the club circuit would be able to serve his ever-growing audience for very long. And so when he played Trinity-St. Paul's in his last proper [...]
If you want to get a taste of Toronto's vibrant music scene, you would be well served to pop on over to The Garrison tomorrow night to catch local post-punks Volcano Playground. Volcano Playground, who will be debuting their revamped line-up, share the headline with another local act, Mausoleum. Ostrich Tuning round out the bill. The show is part of Live Nation's New Noise Live series. Doors
Frank Yang They don't call it Rocktober for nothing. Only March, with its legions of bands crossing the continent en route to SXSW offers nearly as many live music options as October and with such a plethora of shows to choose from, conflicts are inevitable. October 11, in particular, offers a tough choice for Toronto concert-goers: on one hand, you've got Sleater-Kinney/Helium/Minders supergroup Wild Flag making their Toronto debut at Lee's Palace on the back of their excellent self-titled debut , and on the other you've got hometown hardcore heroes Fucked [...]
Volcano Playground - Waiting
Frank Yang One crucial way that NXNE has become more like its bigger, cooler acronym-a-like cousin SXSW is the increase of day shows to go along with the official evening showcases. Of course, I didn't actually go to any of these new daytime events - the only afternoon party I hit up was one that had been happening for the last few years, the Kelp Records BBQ at the Global Village hostel, this year co-presented by the Brits at The Line Of Best Fit . After all - they [...]
So, here's the deal. A few days ago I was informed that my squad will be leaving the relief effort on the 22nd (This upcoming Wednesday). This is good for you because: A) The Indie Sabbath will be back in full force sooner than planned, bringing you that same material that has been described as "Cooler than a polar bear's toe nail" and "So fresh it'll turn your chest into a pair of class cutters." B) [There is no B. Actually there are practically no Bees anymore either . [...]
Michelle Ford Another year, another NXNE , another NXNE preview post. I'll apologize in advance if this one's a little less thorough or exploratory than previews past, as travels and general business has taken up time that would usually be spent cruising band websites and Myspaces Facebooks, Bandcamps and Soundclouds. But I can offer one unconditional endorsement for the coming week, and I'd like to think it's not a wholly obvious one: Vancouver's Louise Burns . Her debut Mellow Drama came out a couple [...]
In two weeks I will have the pleasure of attending and covering Toronto's NxNE festival with the tympanogram team, and I'm deep into preparations for the event. I have located my passport, progressively I am adjusting my body to a diet comprised solely of Labatt Blue and poutine, and (most importantly) I am researching dozens of...
First off, I really am not in the mood to write that much about this awesome show we had last night because i'm still shaken up by the unreal time i had... Second, i gotta tell you all that this show happened to be on Nab's birthday, which made the night even more legen-waitforit-dairy. Third, Ish, i'm kinda disappointed, but next time i'm in i'll come find you. ALSO, met Killabits, look forward to a piece on them soon with a potential interview! Starting up, got to the venue pretty early, gobbled down a [...]
Frank Yang That I'm a fan of the once-celebreated, then-maligned, now-celebrated-again genre of indie rock called "shoegaze" is no secret (if this is news, then welcome - you're new around here). But if you think that gives me a soft spot for bands who invest more than is reasonable in effects pedals, you'd be right but also wrong. Sonic architecture was only part of what those British bands in the early '90s incredible - they also wrote fantastic songs and that's something that some of their followers either forget or unable to replicate. Far [...]
Myspace Who: Memoryhouse What: The Wintergaze Festival is a year-end celebration featuring some of the city's (and outlying regions') finest sneaker contemplaters and drone merchants. Why: For the breakout Guelph dream-pop duo, they're celebrating the release of their new "Caregiver" 73. For everyone else, why not? When: Thursday, December 16, 2010 Where: The Twist Gallery in Toronto (19+) Who else: The rest of the lineup features Foxes In Fiction , Volcano Playground [...]
Toronto shoegazer band Volcano Playground have announced plans to release a new 7". The record, out in February, will see the tracks "Anywhere" and "Waiting" from the group's recent EP, remixed and tweaked by producers Eric Broucek (LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack) and Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene). It should be interesting to see how the songs, more or less self-recorded basement tapes
Memoryhouse Lots of Shoegaze bands coming out of Ontario right now and if you're from Toronto, then don't miss the Wintergaze Festival - a celebration of shoegaze - featuring Foxes in Fiction , Heartbeat Hotel , Volcano Playground , Ostrich Tuning and Memoryhouse on December 16th at Twist Gallery . Check out Memoryhouse's vivid video for "Heirloom" below. Some Good Reading : Read The Native Trees of Canada , where Leanne Shapton [...]
Frank Yang Thursday night's bill at The Horseshoe was both a repeat and an inversion of a show at The Garrison last October - that show was an introduction of sorts for the newly-buzzy Toronto folk outfit The Wilderness Of Manitoba and a final show for a while from London, Ontario's Olenka & The Autumn Lovers , who were coming off an extended tour and were turning their attention towards a new album. Thirteen months later, The Wilderness had converted their buzz into some genuine success on the back of their debut [...]
Check out The Neighbourhood Mixtape for this week on blogTO . The new mixtape features tracks by Tokyo Police Club, Volcano Playground, The Wilderness of Manitoba, Dinosaur Bones and Young Empires.
Here are three more acts to listen to while you do yard work this weekend: Volcano Playground For those who like: Mates of State, Metric A Toronto quartet, Volcano Playground are making their EP available for free download. They also play a gig at Toronto's Bread & Circus tomorrow night (May 1). Volcano Playground's Myspace Cady Finlayson For those who like: Loreena McKennitt This
While listening to the song 'Waiting' by Toronto's Volcano Playground , I not only couldn't help drifting into that dreamy place where Beach House normally takes me, but wondering why the song sounded so familiar? Turns out today was my 2nd overdue notice to check out this 4-piece. Perhaps everything I really did some damage to my brain while drinking beer out of my wellington boot this past weekend in Ottawa. Really hope there's no lasting effects. Care of Groovetastic Entertainment , Volcano Playground will be headlining a show this thurs with [...]
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