To celebrate 10 years as a band, the Constantines put together a mini-tour, including 3 official shows and 1 secret one in Toronto. They brought along some of their favourite bands to play with them: John K. Sampson (from the Weakerthans), Attack in Black, Metz, Oneida, Tropics, and the ones I saw on Saturday, 19 December, at Lee's Palace , Julie Doiron and Ladyhawk. That was the last show of the tour, and it felt like an extra-special celebration. Julie Doiron was first up. I'd last seen her sell out [...]
So, obviously you were on the edge of your seat wondering what 5 releases could possibly top the quality we hit you with yesterday. Well, fear not my friends. Here's the cream of the Hali crop for you to enjoy. As a special treat, while you digest these gems you can think about some of the fantastic stuff due out next year and start saving cash for new records from DUZHEKNEW, Jon Mckiel, Old Man Luedecke and many more. Band:: The Sorrys Album:: Neanderthal Cell Phone [...]
Yes, you read that right. It's not a Best-of list because if herohill has proved anything in our six or seven years of existence, it's that we don't often sync up with the masses and despite our great efforts, not many people really gravitate towards Canadian content, especially the acts we seem to love. So when you look at the list and start to disagree, to quote Rob Base, "you don't like it, so what, I don't care." Obviously, we want to turn you on to a few new bands, but we can't hit the mark with everyone. [...]
Yes, you read that right. It's not a Best-of list because if herohill has proved anything in our six or seven years of existence, it's that we don't often sync up with the masses and despite our great efforts, not many people really gravitate towards Canadian content, especially the acts we seem to love. So when you look at the list and start to disagree, to quote Rob Base, "you don't like it, so what, I don't care." Obviously, we want to turn you on to a few new bands, but we can't hit the mark with everyone. [...]
Its a fine Friday here in Halifax, and if you are here, you are no doubt busy working out your weekend plans in order to take advantage of the lovely weather we seem to have on tap. Well let's see if we can assist with a quick rundown of some events of interest. I say some events, but really, we all know there's only one can't miss show this weekend: Rob Base at The Palace. I keed, but only slightly. If you know the Ack and I at all, you know very well that [...]
Shotgun Jimmie 's latest release Still Jimmie (which I reviewed here ) is not an album that I would say I pull out on a regular basis, but whenever I do, it instantly brings a smile to my face. It really is a solid album through and through, and I really don't know why I never think about it other than the fact that I listen to a lot of music and it's hard to remember everything. When I heard that he was coming to town and including an in-store at Soundscapes on his stay, [...]
Julie Doiron is one of the country's musical national treasures. Her unassuming demeanor, loveable cuteness, gorgeous voice, and ability to really rock out when called for are standouts of her live shows. Even more so is the fact that she makes each one feel unique in ways other performers are unable to match. Last Tuesday night's Toronto concert at Lee's Palace was no different. It was, to my mind, also one of the concerts of the year. The show opened with Doiron's friend, Shotgun Jimmie , but his 8:30pm slot was under-advertised, and [...]
I went to a lot of shows in October (including a Shotgun Jimmie instore and an historical Roky Erickson show with The Sadies that I still have yet to tell you about) which means that I think I'm going to chill out a bit for the month of November. I'll still be catching a few, but I'll likely be limiting it to a few of the smaller ones. Still, there's a lot to do, and here are my picks. For more detailed listings, as usual, go check out Stillepost , [...]
Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group to get my weekly Toronto indie music listings. Subscribe to my weekly podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . Or just listen to the latest [...]
Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group to get my weekly Toronto indie music listings. Subscribe to my weekly podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . Or just listen to the latest [...]
You can listen to Sweet Static, every Thursday from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm on 99.1 FM in Windsor/Detroit. Or you can tune in on the internet at - http://cjam.ca , under listen or -opening a url on whatever player you use and put in http://137.207.3.11:8050/ New and improved broadband stream from the station, as well as the original lo-fi stream. The show's podcast is archived for a month at the station. Here's the link for the show's page on the official site . This show isn't archived. [...]
Over the last few years, I've developed quite a fondness for the Port Greville duo, Construction & Destruction . Colleen and David came out swinging with a very DIY, home recorded LP that was littered with potential. Since that debut, the band has fine tuned their skills – their songwriting has blossomed, especially now that the duo writes songs that mesh both Colleen's quirky keys and falsetto vocals and David's penchant for meatier, fuzzed out chords instead of handing the honor back and forth – and started to build a fan base, especially with other artists. They've [...]
I'm sure everyone really loves hearing tremendously un-qualified ramblers such as myself discuss the artistic blood, sweat & tears of others at length, but in my opinion it's always far better to get insight on something direct from the artist. That's why we're pleased to bring you Share's breezy live performance video of KC from their new album, Slumping in Your Murals , along with an explanation of the clip from Share frontman Andrew Sisk. So without further ado: I went to Shotgun Jimmies Farm in Sackville, NB for [...]
Due to my family-packed summer, and the arrival of the Ack's new baby boy, it's been a while since we've been out to show. But that certainly doesn't mean there haven't been quality shows happening on the regular this summer in Halifax, and this weekend is a prime example. Tonight alone provides you with enough entertainment to last you the whole weekend. The Extremities are doing their hip hop vs jazz thing at the Paragon, with DJ's, MC's and a live band - I pretty much loved The Extremities album , so I imagine [...]
Sappyfest , July 31st - Aug. 2nd in Sackville, New Brunswick. Sappyfest is a yearly music festival taking place in Sackville, NB. A small college town with a population of just over 5000, it's a scenic and intimate setting for this collection of renowned and acclaimed musical acts to gather and perform. Now in its fourth year, the festival is produced collaboratively alongside the Ok.Quoi?! Arts Festival and Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts Centre. The festival's main stage is a large street tent in downtown Sackville with an old movie theatre, church, tavern and decrepit music hall [...]
Today we recieved a preliminary lineup announcement for HPX '09 (full post on that coming soon, but suffice to say that with names like Japandroids, Ohbijou & The Acorn, things are shaping up well already), and this reminded me that we had yet to post anything on what might be the best summer music festival for indie music fans in this part of the world: Sappyfest . Now in its fourth iteration, Sappyfest is put on by the fine folks of Sappy Records (Julie Doiron, Jon Claytor and Paul Henderson), and takes place in the lovely town [...]
The Superfantastics Genre: Indie-Pop Halifax, Nova Scotia Sample Track: Rites of Spring The Superfantastics are comprised of two members, Steph d'Entremont on drums and vocals, and Matt MacDonald on guitar and vocals. The Halifax Nova Scotian indie-pop duo have had great success in sharing the stage with fellow Canadian artists such as Julie Doiron, Shotgun Jimmie, Two Hours Traffic [...]
The Superfantastics Genre: Indie-Pop Halifax, Nova Scotia Sample Track: Rites of Spring The Superfantastics are comprised of two members, Steph d'Entremont on drums and vocals, and Matt MacDonald on guitar and vocals. The Halifax Nova Scotian indie-pop duo have had great success in sharing the stage with fellow Canadian artists such as Julie Doiron, Shotgun Jimmie, Two Hours Traffic [...]
Passion Pit (photo credit: Chrissy Piper) Pretty solid bunch of shows this week. Last week I made it out for BLK JKS. Very, very good stuff. Monday 5/25/09 [Pick of the Night] Gangi / Warpaint / Local Natives / Alexandra Hope @ Spaceland (Free) - Very solid local lineup for the last night of Gangi's residency. Golden Animals / Lower Heaven / Mississippi Man [...]
So, round 4 with Dog is Blue, or, Paul Watson, if you prefer. Paul has recently released an album called ... Makes Ghost Noises , which is a really neat folk album. It's an album that I haven't reviewed fully, and may not for a little while, but its like Matt Damon in Rounders , 'hanging around'. And while its not an album that is going to blow you away (I'm not sure "ghost-folk" albums are capable of doing that), but its an album that is kind of like comfort food. It makes [...]
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Reuse Recycle Remix - February 8
