I'm at the point where I've really had just about all that I can stand of winter, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit to really wanting to stay home on that freezing Friday night last week. But I had invested so much time and energy into promoting this show at The Silver Dollar that I knew I had to go. Add to that the extra motivation of the fact that a friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen for a couple of months, had just returned from Mexico itching to go to a show, and you've [...]
Reviews of Said The Whale, Jenn Grant & Shotgun Jimmie Due to the fact that I've received an insanely unmanageable amount of CD's to listen to and possibly review over the last few months, I figured that it was about time that I let you know a bit about some of the music that has entered my tympanic membrane over the last little while. Said The Whale : Howe Sounds / Taking Abalonia Although I've never claimed [...]
!['Sup In March [Canadian Music Fest and Beyond]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/posts/1562145_lg.jpg)
Well, this post is going to be a bit of a lengthy post since the month of March is looking pretty dang busy as far as I can tell. It's that time of the year when Canadian Music Fest (or Canadian Music Week for all you traditionalists out there) rears its crazy head from March 11 to March 14th , and although I'm not going to be able to share with you all of the goings on, I can at least give you a taste of what to expect. The week prior to the big [...]
My feature in this week's issue of Crawdaddy! magazine!! Crawdaddy! Magazine is a rock magazine that was established by Paul Williams in 1966, preceding both Rolling Stone and Creem . It was the first U.S. magazine to focus solely on intelligent and literate rock journalism, and has featured contributions from Richard Meltzer , Cameron Crowe , John Lennon , William S Burroughs and Jon Landau , to name a few. After changing its name [...]
Last Wednesday night was another winter filled evening of freezing rain and dirty snow, yet the girls and guys of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers made the trek from London, Ontario to our slushy city anyways for The Tranzac's Wombat Wednesdays , and boy, am I glad that they did! The last time that I saw this band, I was completely taken in by their uplifting sound, as well as Olenka Krakus' captivating vocal charms. They've been back a few times, but until now, I had been unable to catch their live show again. In the interim, [...]
STILL LIFE STILL Everybody needs a support group, and from what I've seen, no Toronto band has a greater one than Still Life Still . In a recent interview on the Zygiella podcast with local sensations Dinosaur Bones , the members of that band could not stop singing their praises. The notorious Lonely Vagabond has described them as a "sonic-stew of epic rock with rhythmic theatrics rivaling that of a frat celebration." And James L. Burling of Boxes and Bags has declared [...]
It's becoming more and more obvious that Nevado Records and I are entirely on the same wavelength when it comes to music. Besides being headed by former members of my crush of 2007, the now defunct Reily , their label now boasts an impressive roster that includes Bass Lions , Elephant , Yukon Blonde and Fox Jaws . These are all bands that I feel quite strongly about. In fact, they are some of the best bands I know. So when they contacted me about their latest signing, a band from Mississauga [...]
Over the last year or so, the in-store performance has become much more frequent than I remember it being in years past, and I loves me a good in-store show for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's usually quite brief, which caters nicely to my personal attention span. Secondly, it's generally early, which caters nicely to my love of sleep. And thirdly, they are always free, which caters nicely to my being broke. After thoroughly enjoying The Hylozoists performance at Soundscapes earlier this week , I figured that I may as well go down to [...]
I received a pretty decent little EP from a local band called Fleece Elves . Although the band has been playing together for a couple of years now, The Dreams EP is the first time that they've made product available to the public and they've got a sound that is warm and easy to absorb. Their style could best be described as easily accessible folk tinged pop music with the emphasis placed on the Americana side of things. The EP opens with the most upbeat song of the four, entitled Full Of Empty . It's [...]
In my early twenties I went through a faze where I only listened to instrumental music for about eight months or so. I grew up listening to prog and so the natural progression from there seemed to be to turn myself on to a lyric-less universe, which included minor forays into electronica, classical, ambient and a whole lot of jazz. All of those genres still hold a special place in my heart, but a latter day love of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan has set me on a course that is much more lyrically based. This [...]
When I reviewed the debut release by New York's The Key Party , I referred to it as a slice of Tom Waits -ian lo-fi gutter rock. Using such a singular description for the sophomore release by the newly renamed Darren Gaines and the Key Party, is not going to be as easy a task since the band has stepped up the variety this time and allowed this project to be more of a collaborative affair. Recruiting the vocal and vibraslap talents of Sara Syms was a sweet move, as she adds a sultry layer of [...]
The backlog of CD's that I have to listen to and review is reaching the point of unmanageable, but I don't anticipate that I'll be heading out to a great wealth of shows over the next few days so maybe I'll get the chance to finally post a CD review or two. I finally gave a listen to a few of them over the past week, and the one that stood out the most to me was the Iron Ponies EP by Provincial Parks . Will, Rich, Scotty and Pete all live together in the [...]
By Thursday night, I had been working and moving non-stop since 4:30am and under normal circumstances, I would not be venturing out at 10pm to do anything. But Emperor X 's first Toronto appearance does not fall under the category of "normal circumstances." So, although I was not able to fulfill my intended desire to stick around and see the incredible The Robot Ate Me close off the night, I did get to thoroughly enjoy Chad Matheny's altar ego. I am of the opinion that Florida's Emperor X is [...]
Over the last few years, I've witnessed the hyperactive passion that emanates forth from some of the younger up and coming bands in the GTA. Youthful enthusiasm, energetic showmanship and cocky teenage angst all have their place in the world of rock 'n roll, but nothing can compare to the refined confidence and the nothing-to-prove comfortableness that accompanies the performance of a seasoned professional. And when two of such legendary stature as The Jayhawks ' principle founding members Gary Louris and Mark Olson take the stage - theatrics, rock 'n roll cliches and a desperate [...]
Last week I had been listening to both A Mountain Is A Mouth and You Will Land With A Thud rather extensively, so my enthusiasm for Saturday night's show was sitting at a comfortable level of antsy. I almost always have fun when I go to a live show (wouldn't be doing this if I didn't) but I have to say that it's been quite a while since I've had THIS much fun at a concert! The audience was receptive, the bands were tight and there was a certain level of uplift in the air. [...]
Usually the winter months result in a bit of a live show drought here in the city, but February is actually looking pretty jam packed as far as I can tell. I'm not sure how many of these I'm going to be able to attend, but the possibilities are certainly enough to make me drool. Wednesday February 4th is the first show that I'll be attending for sure, with my tickets sitting comfortably atop the shelf. Gary Louris and Mark Olson (pictured above) have finally settled their differences and will be [...]
IN-FLIGHT SAFETY - WE ARE AN EMPIRE, MY DEAR Despite the success of In-Flight Safety 's debut album The Coast Is Clear , it did not take a genius to figure out that the sophomore release was going to be a difficult hurdle for this Halifax band to jump over. The reason for this, is the fact that it has become quite common for Coldplay to be mentioned in an In-Flight Safety review almost as much as the band themselves are. The similarities [...]
Pretty much right up until Friday, I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to head out into the cold to check out the show at Sneaky Dee's. The original thought of seeing Golden Hands ... (look, I'm so lazy I shorten their name even more than most people do) play with a bunch of my favourite semi-locals was too good to pass up. But once they had to cancel, the whole dynamic of the evening turned this into a much less necessary affair for me. Still, as the week wore on I realized that what I was [...]
Remember a couple of posts ago when I said that I used to really dig power pop but now I don't listen to it that much anymore? Well that post has given me the renewed hunger for a simple hook and a catchy melody that I once had on a regular basis. Sadly, Jason Falkner has obviously been ignoring my requests to release a new album every three months, so it's rather timely that I received a CD in the mail directly from Sweden by a man named Gustav Spetz . Saying that Gustav is [...]
THE TOM FUN ORCHESTRA - YOU WILL LAND WITH A THUD The press release I received for Cape Breton's Tom Fun Orchestra described them as Tom Waits singing lead for The Arcade Fire . In my experience, I've learned that press releases need to be taken with a grain of salt since they usually drop big names in order to grab a person's attention, even though, more often than not, the artist sounds nothing like what the big name comparisons would suggest. (BTW: [...]
It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans
Princesse - Tell Me | MP3
Beck - 'I Just Started Hating Some People Today' [Listen]
[LISTEN] Gotye (Passion Pit Remix)
New Remix: Jonquil - Run (RxGibbs Remix)
