"We are very proud to announce that Rock Plaza Central will be releasing their long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Are We Not Horses” this Spring on Paper Bag Records!! “...at the Moment of our Most Needing or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren't Alone,” will be out in Canada on May 28th and in the US on June 16th. Full North American tour dates are coming soon, but if you just can’t wait to hear more then head over to their MYSPACE now to check out the track ‘Handsome Men’ off the new album! And stay tuned to Paper Bag Records for all the latest news."
I'm really glad, personally, that the signing didn't delay the release of the new album (as happens sometimes). Keep an eye on Rock Plaza Central via Facebook!
Rock Plaza Central - I Am an Excellent Steel Horse
The Water, a 15 minute film by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew will premiere this Friday, April 10th on Pitchfork TV. The film short features Irish actor Cillian Murphy, Canadian actor David Fox, and Canadian musician Leslie Feist as well as Feist's song 'The Water'. The Water is a visual poem which questions love, life, and death representing the song of the same name.
Aurora-based indie outfit Ruby Coast has been turning heads and ears lately with its shimmery pop sound, which reminds me of a combination of Wolf Parade and Arcade Fire without the sense of doom. Add a touch of Los Campesino's cacophonous sounds, and a whole lot of great, energetic songwriting, and you've got a success story in the making.
Ruby Coast report via their facebook and myspace pages that their song "Neighbourhood" has been named a "song you must hear" by longstanding alternative music magazine, Spin (see page 42 of the April 2009 edition - there's that big band from Ireland on the cover... ummmm....odd name....X...no - U - that's it: U2).
Fresh off a US tour, which included a stint at mega music event SXSW, the band must be feeling great about its future. No surprise - check out their music online when you can. Congrats to Ruby Coast!
You may remember the Raccoons as a classic Canadian cartoon portraying the adventures of Bert Raccoon and his friends in Evergreen Forest. However, I predict that within a few months, the top Google result for "The Raccoons music" will be not "The UnOfficial Raccoons Homepage" (as good as this page is), but instead the website of Victorian up-and-comers the Raccoons.
The first I heard of these guys was when they opened for Mother, Mother, I quickly grabbed a copy of their EP and set about praising them (show review here, EP review here). It seems I was only slightly ahead of the curve, as they have now won the Monday Magazine award for "Most Promising Band" and been touted by none other than Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 as the heirs-apparent to Hot Hot Heat, Wolf Parade, and Black Mountain.
Well, as it much as it pleases me to be able to say "I saw them when," I am a little disappointed I won't have the chance to check them out live again until June, when they return to British Columbia for the release of their first full-length album. The reason for this long absence is what seems to be a North American tour, starting in Hollywood, California on April 20, and then winding its way all across this great country of ours. If they're coming to your neighbourhood, I strongly, strongly recommend you check them out (tunes below the tour dates).
Tour Dates
20 Apr 2009 20:00 The Knitting Factory Hollywood, California
27 May 2009 20:00 TBA Montreal, Quebec
28 May 2009 20:00 The Casbah Hamilton, Ontario
29 May 2009 20:00 Lee’s Palace Toronto, Ontario
30 May 2009 20:00 Zaphods Ottawa, Ontario
2 Jun 2009 20:00 Royal Albert Arms Winnipeg, Manitoba
3 Jun 2009 20:00 Amigos Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
4 Jun 2009 20:00 Liberty Lounge Calgary, Alberta
5 Jun 2009 20:00 Pawn Shop Edmonton, Alberta
8 Jun 2009 20:00 TBA Vancouver, British Columbia
9 Jun 2009 20:00 Official CD Release - TBA Victoria, British Columbia
I'd won some tickets from CFUV to see Chad Vangaalen Saturday night in Victoria. With Church of the Very Bright Lights and Women opening for him I can say I was looking forward to this concert. Women has received some hype on this blog recently and Chad is going to be playing at the Dawson City Music Fest this year, so I considered it a sort of preview for that.
I must say that at the start I was disappointed. Church of the Very Bright Lights started the show off with some rockin tunes. They played hard but I felt their vocals needed some work. Next up was Women. I was rubbing my hands in anticipation when I was deafened by an unintelligible wall of noise. Wincing at the loudness I regretted not asking my friend to grab me an extra pair of ear plugs. This was Women? The opening cords of Black Rice were strung out and I thought this should redeem them, but nay the wall of noise once again hit me and nary a lyric was intelligible.
Now let me just say I'm not hatin on Women, I've do enjoy their tunes, no I'mma blame this one on the wonderful venue that is Sugar Nightclub. I've been to many a show before where the sound was just garbage. Rampaging noise drowning out melodious lyrics. Half the dance floor is practically unusable unless you want to stand in front of an amp. There were songs where it was as if the singer's mic wasn't even on. The rest of the audience still seemed to enjoy it though, perhaps I'm just being to picky.
All this changed when Chad stepped on, it was as if the sound guy realized that it helped to face the board while he worked it. When he played Willow Tree and my friend tapped me on the shoulder and told me he liked this, I felt vindicated. Mr. Vangaalen was wonderful, his voice ringing out clear and soulful over his music. Every song was ambrosia for my ears. The music business must be going well for him as he dropped 50 bucks for a fan's dreadlock (to add to the one he'd gotten at his last Victoria show; tied to the end of his homemade guitar). I managed to snap a picture of the event.
Iwas really disappointed the opening bands didn't live up to expectations but Chad definitely was everything and more I'd hoped for. I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing him play in Dawson this summer.
Hello world! : Reaching across the musical expanse
Greetings reader! My name is Brenda. I would shake your hand if the chance of me reaching it wasn't so improbable. Welcome to my first post on nxew.
When I was a kid, I always had grandeur dreams of reaching out to a wide audience and impacting as much of the world as I possibly could. Well, blogging on a semi-legit Canadian indie music blog on the internet(s) will certainly reach a larger audience on my path to world domination!
So, tying that back to music, some artists have certainly achieved that stage of dreaming grandly and reaching an even grander audience. My Metallica-obsessed friend and I watched their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame streamed online this weekend. The amount of people worldwide that they have touched with their music is evident in the immensely large stadium in which the ceremony was held. In fact, one of their most memorable performances was in 1991 at Tushino Air Field in Moscow after the Iron Curtain came down. If you have the army trying to control the crowd at your concert, you're a pretty big deal.
On another note, I have the ungodly task of attempting to snatch up U2 tickets for a group of friends tomorrow morning at 10am. I've been told that this is an impossible task, so good luck to me. Looking on the Ticketmaster website, it appears that individual U2.com members have individualized presale codes. What. That's just insane. Once again, if you have to give your fan club members individualized presale codes, you're a pretty big deal.
To wrap that all up, what Canadian artists/bands do you think have the potential to become a pretty big deal? Metallica mentioned Rush during their induction speech. Loverboy recently got honoured at the Junos for their musical career. Who else do you think has the enduring relevance and popularity in the music scene up North... perhaps even in the independent scene?
Ok this is a Canadian music blog and the project is for an American show but what the hell, the Choir Practice is Canada's premiere thrash metal band and the show Moral Orel features songs like "I Hate You Jesus" and "Burn in Heaven" so it's only sort of American.
Anyway, anything to help the C.P. they are looking for a few more tracks to complete their soundtrack Head & Heart by Tom Bell and Interrogated by Regan, High Priestess so if you can help them out with these, or other tracks from the show that are not on their list get in touch. You can see the full list and download what's been collected so far from their Myspace Blog.
Ok, I'm guessing that you already know Hot Panda, but they are on tour so I thought I'd remind you (and fill in the few of you who don't already know the Pandas). I could stick in a few quotes here with people telling you how good they are, but just read for yourself Chartattack, Herohill, MusicOMH, We Like it Indie, Altsounds, etc., etc., etc.,
Hot Panda is a rare thing. Nearly every indie music critic in the English speaking world of any credibility (and who is plugged in enough to know about them) loves them. So, this may be the last tour where you can still catch them at small venues with a cover charge (instead of a ticket master surcharge.)
When I went to the Burning Hell CD Release the other night the Camera I took was sadly not up to the job. So most of the video I shot will never see the light of day, but I had to get at least a little bit in here.
In the first song in this clip Mathias Kom will explain to you why you need to come out and represent when touring musicians come through your town. Don't let your city become the one he's describing.
The big news out of the second Daps Duo show yesterday was a new project from Kat Burns (of Forest City Lovers) which she says she is calling 'A Brace of Bucks' (sorry, nothing to link to yet.) Yesterday Burns and Emily Bennett debuted some of the material for the first time in front of an audience.
I'll definitely keep an ear to the ground and let you know when there is more info on the project.
Beyond that the Daps Duo show featured the Pixilators who I missed (sorry), Boxes and Bags who I didn't miss but the video I had sucked, Bonjay (video isn't great but it's here).
And all the way from Edmonton the super secret mystery guest turned out to be the Whitsundays!
Daps Duo all ages Saturday afternoons happen bi-mothlyish. So far they have been at Rolly's Garage on Ossington Street in Toronto. Unlike most shows they bring together people from across age lines and cultural lines for an eclectic mix of music in an alcohol free environment (though there is food and drink for cheap). To keep up on when and where you can catch the next one join the Facebook.
I've talked to many musicians and managers of musicians about which social media sites they should be on: Twitter? Facebook? Myspace? YouTube? etc.
The answer of course is all of them. Each of these sites have millions of users and, when you are promoting yourself, anytime you can reach millions of people for free you really should do your best to do it.
Now there is a tool that makes it all much, much easier. Artistdata is a new site (still in beta mode) that lets you update all of your sites at once - so you send a update to artistdata and it updates Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, LastFM and a dozen or so other sites for you. So instead of going to all of these sites to update your info you do one simple update on artistdata and artistdata updates everything for you. (Thanks to Artists House Music for the heads up on this!)
Also, in case you don't already know about it there is another site you should check out that does the same for video. Tubemogul takes your video and puts it on YouTube, Myspace, Yahoo Video, Vimeo, Blip.tv, and about 20 other video sites.
So, now you can be everywhere while investing the same time it would take you to only be on Myspace!
Junior Boys: "Parallel Lines" from Begone Dull Care
For your Sunday listening, here's the opening track from the new Junior Boys release "Begone Dull Care." It moves their sound forward without being too much of a departure, and is just a fantastic cleanser after a night or two of concerts. The album is already out in Canada, with April 7 and May 11 being the release dates in the US and the UK, respectively.
Fast forward a few months and the usual cacophony that is being a newish parent of a two year old, and the week of the show had jettisoned itself into my lap and I still hadn't remembered to get a ticket – I blame the London promoters, as its better than thinking it was my usual lazy complacent self missing a show and not realizing it till a week later.
Thankfully CBC Radio3 and a friend came to my rescue on the day of the show and rather than griping about missing the show, I was answering a text from said friend who was alerting me that someone had mentioned having a spare ticket to the London show. Two and a half hours later I am on my way to nab free tickets…
Sadly I got to The Music Hall on the late side and missed entirely the $100 set. I know I am total knob for doing that, but remember that 2 year old daughter I have? I do not - as much as I can - ever miss bath, bottle and bed time with her. Plus who starts a rock show on a Friday night at 8:00pm?? Seriously! So I can't tell you how it was except the one person I got the tickets from who I ran into inside the show, said, "her voice is incredible". I get the impression she got the evening started just right. Albeit early.
Now I am going to put this out there right now. When it comes to The Constantines I wasn't really sure I knew where I stood with them: I mean I had heard enough of their music, and had enough friends recommend them, but I never really had gotten much further.
That was until their live show.
They came right out and kicked my posterior! And while they hammered through their set, I realized I knew and recognized a lot more of their song work than I had anticipated. And what's more to the point, is there was an energy in the songs that I don't think can ever be encapsulated in the context of a studio recording. And I realized that was the secret to this band that had so many of my friends calling themselves fans. That anyone who has seen this quintet from Guelph live knows just what I am talking about. They played through an hour or so long set and left me thoroughly impressed, highlights of course being Hard Feelings and Trans Canada. They even had John K Samson of The Weakerthans come out and sing a ditty with them much to the delight of the jam packed club.
And to close out the night, was of course, The Weakerthans. I have such a hard time picturing John K. Samson manning a bass for the punk/ska outfit Propagandhi and yet it sort of makes sense in his music, him coming from those roots. There's no doubt that this group from Winnipeg has a strong, and devoted following in London as I'd hazard a guess that a good chunk of the first 6 rows at stage's edge knew the words to literally every song. And it wasn't gender specific either – it seems his lyrics have a broad appeal that runs deep. Especially considering the dude behind me which proclaimed every song was "his total favourite" as he sang the lyrics over the my left shoulder. They cobbled a set list from a good cross section of their current album as well as pleasers from albums gone by. The highlight of their set had to be when they pulled a guy who was front row centre, and all night was air jamming and singing along the words to ever single song, up on stage. As Samson had him put his air strumming to real life he played the chords and that kid was beaming ear to ear by the time the song finished. But also I was a fan of the encore of "One Great City" solo by Samson or the all Casio keyboard version of Anchorless.
In the end I left a renewed fan of one band and a new fan of another. A great show, a great night, and me on my way home happy to have not missed it.
If you've never been to the Alix Goolden Hall in Victoria, British Columbia, then consider yourself among those who have not experienced one of the better concert venues around. And if you've never seen Jill Barber in concert, then consider yourself among those who have not experienced one of Canada's better live performances. And so, if you were among those who saw Ms. Barber at the Alix Goolden last night, you may consider yourself lucky.
The show was opened by a game David Myles, who entertained the crowd with the story behind the song he wrote to convince his wife to marry him ("I wrote it five years ago, and we got married last fall, so it didn't work as well as I wanted it, too") and how despite being an East Coaster, failed to visit Cape Breton for years because he had it so built up in his mind. An old friend of Barber's, he was a good fit for the opening act.
Barber, for her part, took to the stage with a four piece band that included a stand-up bass and multi-instrumentalist (violin, clarinet, saxophone) and a glittery backdrop that was, apparently, the first thing she ever bought online. I was curious as to how she was going to mix the fifties soul sound of her most recent disc, "Chances" with the singer-songwriter-country-folk fare of her earlier releases, but she pulled it off ably. She started with a couple of "Chances" songs, before donning a guitar and delving into her back catalogue. She switched back and forth throughout, sometimes losing band members for the more intimate numbers. What gave it all continuity was her gift for putting fresh legs on old themes (love found, love lost, love never had), and her formidable pipes. Powerful but never overdone, she can lay claim to being a female chanteuse in the tradition of Patsy Cline.
The highlight of the night came with the last song before the inevitable encore, this is when she pulled out "Chances" first single, the propulsive, call-and-response blues of "Oh My My." With the audience joining in, the band going all out, and the church setting, you could easily picture a similar sound coming out of a southern gospel church circa 1923. Alas, that's the only song she has in that style, I'm sure if she wrote a few more, there would have been dancing in the aisles. As it was, there was simply a rush to the merchandise table. Definitely a show to check out.
Jill Barber plays Vancouver tonight at The Rio Theatre and in Penticton, BC, on April 5 at the Dream Cafe.
An art gallery might not seem like the ideal venue for a concert, but the experimental musicians that played Museum London on Thursday night were definitely in their element. The walls were adorned with paintings, the bar was opened, and the stage was set for three jazz influenced acts who all took very different approaches to making music.
Muskox, the brainchild of Michael Smith, isn't your typical headliner. The ensemble has its roots in jazz, but embraces alternative country, Americana, and folk music. Muskox took a minimalist approach to the performance, focusing on the music above all else. That approach paid dividends as the tonal qualities of their songs were complex and entertaining in their own right.
Each song was intricately layered with distinct instruments that all stood out without overpowering one another; an impressive feat considering Muskox experiments with the banjo, xylophone, and at times, a wooden box. Their musical expertise should some as no surprise since all of the band members are formally trained musicians.
The opening duo, Not the Wind, Not the Flag did not shy from experimentation either, and they incorporated diverse sounds from Iran, China and North Africa. They played the most astonishing set of the night that lasted almost a full hour without stoppages. Instead of playing individual songs, Not the Wind, Not the Flag improvised their continuous performance and were constantly transitioning from instrument to instrument, occasionally even playing two at the same time.
Canaille achieved a sound more commonly associated with the golden age of jazz through the liberal use of saxophone, trumpet, and traditional bass. Although less experimental, Canaille proved the most accessible of the bunch. They had the most upbeat, visual sound of the night that provided a welcome contrast to the other performers.
The venue was adequately filled with a wide range of people in attendance, including; an uber-hip dread locked girl who sat sewing a shirt on the floor, UWO music students, and CHRW representatives among many others. All were very receptive of the Toronto-based musicians who appreciated the fair turnout.
The $12 ticket was worth the money, and not only for the great live music. There was plenty of complimentary nachos, cashews, desserts, and the jazzy art-crowd favourite, strong coffee. With an abundance of tasty treats and tasteful music, Museum London provided a great Thursday night for everyone in attendance.
The LOLA concert series continues April 22 with a show by Windy & Carl and Benoit Pioulard at the London Convention Centre Theatre.
I am normally not terribly effusive in my praise of bands. There was a day when people read about new bands in magazines and 'experts' would use phrases like 'reminiscent of ...' and compare them with other bands and rate their latest effort according to some scale or other. The thing is, it's music and this is the internet. When I tell you about a band I can just play a bit and you can decide for yourself whether you like it or not. No amount of big words and lofty comparisons is going to make you like something that you don't like (at least I hope not.) You can be a music 'expert' all you like but what a person likes to listen to has nothing to do with expertise.
Having said all of that I have to try now to convince you to go see the Burning Hell. Mathias Kom is a brilliant songwriter, on a level with John K. Sampson but Mathias is funnier.
Just listen to the song It Happens in Florida and sing along (lyrics below)
Love, it’s like a hurricane: it happens in Florida, it gets into everything. Love, it’s like a monster truck: it fills up whole stadiums, but it crushes smaller trucks Love, it’s like a marmoset: it may be small and cute, but sometimes it eats its young Love, it’s like a trailer park: ugly but functional, the rent is cheap enough Love, it’s like a garbage man: it collects waste and filth, it smells like rotting flesh Love, it’s like an interstate: it gets you from place to place, but it’s littered with dead raccoons Love, it’s like a newborn child: seems interesting when it’s young, gets pedestrian after a while Love, it’s like a hurricane: it happens in Florida, it destroys everything.
So, he writes brilliant, funny songs but nothing I've heard recorded captures the pure fun of the Burning Hell live. Take Mathias and his ukulele and then add an omnichord, accordian, drums, bass, glockenspiel, guitar, banjo, horns, violins, and whatever else they can squeeze on stage and you get a sound that is more like the Tom Fun Orchestra. So, not only do they have the big, big sound but they are all obviously friends, they all obviously really enjoy playing together, and they are all obviously having tremendous amounts of fun. It's all incredibly infectious and just keeps building until the end. (Make them do an encore, you won't be sorry.)
There are some bands that simply cannot capture in an audio recording what they do live. In Canada these bands include the Sunparlour Players, the Pack A.D. and most definitely, the Burning Hell.
Take, for example, this studio recording of Grave Situation Part 1
and compare it with this live recording of the same song
(cred. to Bootlog for the live one). Even the live recording doesn't really capture it but it gives you an idea of the difference.
The Burning Hell's albums are great (go buy them all on Zunior) but to really, fully appreciate it you have to get the live experience. I can't claim to have seen every band in this country, but the Burning Hell may just be the most fun live band in Canada.
Oh! One more thing before I get to the tour dates as long as Jenny Omnichord is on tour with them, so is Otis Omnichord-Mitchell a 6 month old prodigy who has already been called the Glen Gould of the bassoon (ok now he's been called that). So, if you have any little golden books lying around, or just things that are child safe and good for chewing on bring them!
Tour dates (which I know I've given you before) are below.
April 3 The Black Sheep Inn w/ FemBots & Gertrudes Wakefield, Quebec
April 4 Bar None w/ FemBots & Gertrudes Kingston, Ontario
This blog is a fantastic resource for Canadian music. Of course, writers and readers tend to focus on what's new and happening now. It's great to check in here to found out what's going on across the country at this very moment.
Canadian pop music has a rich history. Many of the greatest artists have made it into our collective consciousness through sheer popularity, Canadian content requirements, Juno awards, plain ol' patriotism and, of course, immense talent (a short list: think Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Guess Who, BTO, Rush, Anne Murray, April Wine, D.O.A....). However, there are many unsung Canadian musicians out there who have been forgotten, whose legacy is left on cassettes, 8-tracks, and vinyl records stored in musty basements, thrift shops, or garage sales.
Vinyl Hunters Kevin McGowan and Beau Levitt know this, and they have started a unique website dedicated to finding, researching and archiving the obscure Canadian music they collect on vinyl. Their website, It Came From Canada, is a treasury trove of information about rare Canadian artists, rare recordings, and interesting tidbits. As they put it:
Much of Canada's musical heritage lies waiting to be rediscovered in attics, crawlspaces, mouldy boxes at flea markets and endless racks of LPs at thrift stores. It Came From Canada is our attempt to dust off some of the music we've been lucky enough to find and help it reach new audiences.
Check it out when you can. The entries range from relatively known Doug and the Slugs or Hagood Hardy to complete unknowns like Northern Haze (heavy metal from the Arctic) or Gerry Joly (bluesy folk, live in Ottawa). What's really cool is the interactive feature, where readers can post their own comments. In some cases, family members have been delighted to find information on these relatively unknown musicians. Imagine if these artists had been around in these modern internet times: I am sure their music would have flourished.
I've been thinking that maybe NxEW should do it's own awards, not now but nearly a year from now - with the winners being announced on the same day as the Junos. Now, operating on no budget (for the time being anyway) I don't know that we could do a 'ceremony' or even if we can hand out much of anything in terms of 'awards' but at the very least we can make a statement about who deserves recognition for 2009.
So for now I'm just kinda throwing it out there. What categories should there be, how should nominations be done? How should awards be decided? Comment here or on the Facebook Group!
Congratulations to CBC Radio 3 on the 200th episode of the CBC Radio 3 podcast which has been delivering fresh Canadian indie to you and the world for nearly 4 years. Episode 200 includes, among others, Metric, Patrick Watson, Pink Mountaintops, Abdominal, MSTRKRFT, Joel Plaskett, Coeur de Pirate, Handsome Furs, Sloan, Arcade Fire and guest appearances by George Stromboulopoulos, Julie Doiron, Chad VanGaalen, AC Newman, Hawksley Workman and a bunch of other stuff.
Saturday night, Junofest @ Railway Club, Vancouver
I was fortunate to have gotten into the Railway Club last Saturday to see the line-up playing for Junofest. It was the first time I thanked myself for paying the ridiculous Ticketmaster service charge, because it was having a Junofest bracelet that got me in.
First up was Vancouver's always great Eldorado, check them out!
They were followed by a Montreal-based band Ladies of the Canyon, comprised of 4 women who all share the singing duties. The Joni Mitchell reference in their band name is understandable when you hear them. They entertained the crowd between songs with horror stories from the road, check out the blog posts on their myspace.
LOTC were followed by Saskatoon's Deep Dark Woods. They were recently featured in Exclaim, and will be touring Canada this spring so go see them when they come to your town!
Batting clean-up for the night was Juno-nominated Plants and Animals who soldiered through a tough set riddled with technical difficulties. Even when things do not go their way, P&A still put on a pretty entertaining show.
Marc Charron is a workhorse of a singer/songwriter/musician. In a recent facebook posting, Marc noted that, since July 2004, he has performed over 1000 shows, on 6 Canadian tours, 3 Western tours, one Australian tour (with Seismic), and one Eastern Canadian tour (with Lure). But then, in what is either a lament or a challenge, Charron notes "YOU still haven't seen me play..."
I've seen Marc Charron play. I've been most fortunate to have him perform, too early in the morning for most musicians, on my radio show, the Thursday Morning Special Blend on Ottawa's CKCU. His performances are always spirited, well crafted and fun. He's a great performer.
Charron's new record is entitled Coming & Going. It's been generally available at some of his shows in a pre-release form, and I am fortunate to have a copy. Coming & Going showcases the classic Canadian musician: child of the road enjoying the trip, experiencing love and heartbreak on the way, with a longing for home. In contrast to most of his solo shows, this record features a full band, with guests including Eric Grosvenor, Chris Bartos and Stuart Watkins. This is Charrons's first full studio record, and it shines.
"Snowy Frost"'s light acoustic strumming beat, and sing-a-long "doooo do do do do do do" chorus, perfectly captures the cool light inherent in the title, while evoking the loneliness of the road - whether you're on it or not. While "Canaday I Oh" features fine instrumentation with lovely strings, the beat and the strains of the violin also turn your mind to the vastness and difficulties of this land, especially for a DIY solo musician, with a chorus of sounds that seems as primitive as the wind. "Sun Breaks" maintains the outdoor theme, with references to simple Ottawa Valley life, this time using a standard, mid-tempo rock beat. But the acoustic melody breathes pleasant sunlight into the song, and we know exactly what it means when the sun breaks.
The standout track is "Just Like That". Listeners to my show, and Ottawa fans, have probably heard the original, stripped down version of this song (from the Collector's Item EP), which featured simple acoustic guitar melodies and a belting beat from Charron himself. But on Coming & Going, Charron takes full advantage of the band, which perfectly wraps the simplicity of the original track in a much grander setting. The strings here provide wonderful support to the tune, but Charron throws a curve ball mid way through, shifting into a funky reggae beat and back. Themes of the road, the outdoors, and perseverance are there as well - with stunning results.
Go see Marc Charron perform. Bring a friend. Buy his new CD. Of course, Charron is further evidence of the great live music scene we have in and around Ottawa. He has a lot of gigs in various places over the next number of weeks. These are 'cover' shows, but be sure to ask Marc to play some originals - you'll thank me. Check his myspace page for dates and locations.
Just to let everyone know @NxEW is now on Twitter it is there with the help of TwitterFeed which means that everything posted on the blog will automatically (within an hour or so) show be tweeted. Sweet!
LIFE SUPPORT Leukemia Fundraiser Brings Montreal Musicians Together
Hey Guys,
I wanted to spread the word about a great event we are helping out with this weekend. It is a Leukemia Fundraiser at Foufs. Hexes & Ohs, Barton Fink, First You Get the Sugar and Straight to Memphis are playing.
If you're interested, check out the details. Should be a lot of fun!
After an unexpectedly eventful SXSW the re-guitared Sebastian Granger & the Mountains are returning to friendlier climes and will be moving between Victoria, B.C. and Quebec City, QC in April and May.
3 APRIL 2009, LUCKY BAR, VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA 4 APRIL 2009, THE SPICE LOUNGE, NANAIMO, BRITISH COLUMBIA 5 APRIL 2009, RICHARDS ON RICHARDS, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA 7 APRIL 2009, THE PAWN SHOP, EDMONTON, ALBERTA 8 APRIL 2009, MARQUEE CLUB, CALGARY, ALBERTA 9 APRIL 2009, AMIGOS, SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN 10 APRIL 2009, PYRAMID CABARET, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA 18 APRIL 2009, KITCHENER CHILDREN’S MUSEUM / GO! FESTIVAL, KITCHENER, ONTARIO 19 APRIL 2009, CASBAH, HAMILTON, ONTARIO 1 MAY 2009, THE FORD PLANT, BRANTFORD, ONTARIO 2 MAY 2009, MONTREAL HOUSE, PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO 6 MAY 2009, ZAPHODS BEEBLEBROX, OTTAWA, ONTARIO 7 MAY 2009, IL MOTORE, MONTREAL, QUEBEC 8 MAY 2009, LA CASBAH, QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC
Sebastian Granger & the Mountains - Who Do We Care For?
Boost: Canadian Music is a Facebook Group where once a week(ish) I send out a music video and ask people to watch it, rate it and share it if they like it. I also try to provide a link or two for people who want more information on the artist. The hope is to introduce people to music they may like but also to create a sudden flurry of activity and give the video a temporary boost up YouTube's popularity/activity charts so even more people will see it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but every time the video has more views than it did before and the artists facebook fan page or group has more members. In addition to Boost: Canadian Music there are Boost groups for Canadian TV & Film, Art, Literature, Comedy and New Media all of which operate under similar principles (if you go to the music group you'll find links for the rest).
I believe I mentioned yesterday that Cera is some sort of post-hardcorey (I don't do genres well) that manages to stand outside of most of the heavy-but-not type of music that I generally don't like. They are also kind of a Prince George supergroup, taking players from old scenemaking bands in the Prince George arena. Perhaps one day I should do a post on them. But right now I'll just let you know that in anticipation of their show tomorrow, they are appearing on CFUR radio, the campus station of UNBC, on what I think could well be the station's longest-running show, Fur Gone Wild (hey, it's in the Thursday sweet spot, if CFUR was NBC and this was the late 90s, it would be Friends and Seinfeld).
Anyways, the band will be performing an acoustic set at 7:00 pm Pacific Time. If you're in Prince George, that's 88.7 fm, and for the rest of the world, you can check it streaming at cfur.ca.
Oh, and we just passed 100 posts here. Congrats everyone.
It started with a little bar from Windsor called Phog. This year is a big year for Phog Lounge. Not only did they win “Best Canadian Music Venue” award from CBC. But they have started a new fad of streaming live music. Now we are seeing bands touring and broadcasting their live shows! How clever is that! All you need is an Internet connection which most major locations have free or paid WiFi. A computer with a camera (Macbooks come equipped). And a program called USTREAM.TV. This is a webpage that you can go to and in a matter of minutes be streaming live video and audio.
There are some drawbacks as with most things technological. Feed maybe a bit choppy if your Internet connection is not strong or the source is being saturated with viewers. As well as the locations where most bands play the lighting is limited.
However, this is a great way to get your independent band heard as long as you market it properly. It’s all about networking. Using the tools at your fingertips, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. After all record sales are down so time to look to the alternative.
A member of the incestuous Guelph music scene, the music is entirely suitable for roller disco, the band is a cousin of the Barmitzvah Brothers. According to their New Music Canada profile the band is a solo project of Geordie Gordon (who is also a member of the Barmitzvah Brothers, the Salt Lick Kids and sometimes Human Highway and the Burning Hell.) Solo project or not it also features Sylvie Smith (also of the Barmitzvah Brothers and Habitat - along with the D'urbervilles front man John O'Reagan.) The rest of the band is made up of Evan Gordon, Aaron Curtis, Tim Bruton and sometimes pinch hitters Andrew Collins, Jordan Howard (I'd list related bands but really how much time do you have?)
The Magic are opening for Green Go at their CD release party, Wrongbar 1279 Queen Street West in Toronto on April 30. Remembering the address is important, Wrongbar has no signage, just a black door. Follow the crowds.
April 5: Women tour finishes in Vancouver with NuSensae, Kidnapping and Church of the Very Bright Lights
****Full disclosure/nepotism awareness note: One of the WOMEN is my brother *** Which might make me the most qualified person to write about Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar recording artists Women; after all, these four guys, in a different iteration, were wailing out a particularly masturbatory prog-rock fantasy in my parents’ basement eight years ago as I attempted to finish a fouth-year English paper in the next room, gritting my teeth and damning them all to hell in my mind. I’d like to say we came to a grudging understanding during that period of time, me stumbling from my bedroom to the shower at 3 in the afternoon, hung-over and smelly, as they set up their gear and plugged in their amps in the practice room that happened to be immediately outside of my bathroom, but I think it was just grudging.
That original project broke up and the members spent time in other Calgary-related bands (Matt Flegel played bass for The Cape May and Pale Air Singers; Matt Wallace and Chris Reimer played in Beneath These Idles Tides and then in Azeda Booth, Pat Flegel played in Pressure Kill Common Style) before re-forming in late 2007 with one of the most enigmatically un-Googleable names in indie rock history. Which may have been the point. Damn them again!
This time around, the varied personalities and musical influences of the four seem to have congealed into a perfectly tasty, post-indie jello salad, the kind Andy Warhol’s momma used to serve up to wash down a meat-heavy Sunday dinner after church is the kind of music blogger wank statement Women attempt to refute at every turn. Their interviews almost read like performance art, not that you should ever suggest that to them. They have indeed been compared to Velvet Underground, but they’d rather drink a beer with you than talk conceptualism.
Not only that, but their music is damn catchy. I’m particularly fond of Woodbine, reminiscent in its own way of the leafy, sinister, Lynchian suburb of our shared youth. You know the one I mean. There’s a Woodbine in your town, too.
Check out the tasty tour photoblog created by Women's friend Robert Starrat. Women will finish up their tour in Victoria April 4 and Vancouver April 5, before heading home again to Calgary, and will return to the UK in late May.
Catch Women in Vancouver at WISE Hall on April 5 with Nu Sensae (“voodoo punk”!), Calgary's Church of the Very Bright Lights (putting the classic back in classic rock) and Kidnapping (pretty electronica). Fine upstanding young people, all.
In researching my previous post, I found myself in the forum boredinpg where some commentators were debating the merits of adding a fourth band to a show, and whether this was one band too many-- after all, people have to sleep sometime, right?
This got me to thinking-- ever since I started going to more shows, I've found myself less willing to be there for the entirety of every act. Sometimes this means skipping the openers, other times it means checking out before the encore. More than once, I'm sorry to say, I've found myself wishing a performance would just go ahead and end already so we could all go home without worrying about missing some sort of amazing finale. Usually two bands is fine, especially if the first act keeps it short and sweet, but I have to agree that four is kind of pushing it unless your limiting everyone to a five-song set, in which case you wind up getting less of the act you actually want to see.
So I'm putting it out to the (apparently rather large) NXEW community: when it comes to live music, is less sometimes more? Do you like having lots of openers, or do you find yourself arriving late (or leaving early)? Am I terrible person for skipping parts of a show? How many bands is too many?
April 3: Greater Than Giants, Cera, and Dangercat @ St. Michael's
The esteem I hold my hometown of Prince George, British Columbia in is a surprise to many people. For the most part all anyone has to say about is the smell, the cold, and the elitist snob position that it's nothing but a mill town. Well, yes, parts of it smell (although not all of it, and it's not as if other cities are devoid of offensive exhaust fumes or sewage plants), yes, it gets a real winter, and yes, people work in the forest industry. But it also has a thriving music scene (scenes, actually, with metal, blues, country, hip-hop, classical, jazz, rock, and punk components that don't always overlap), complete with its own, semi-secret venues.
One such venue is St. Michael's Church downtown. I assume that by day it is a normal, functioning church. But by night, it is often converted into a concert space for everyone from Canadian punk pioneers SNFU to the Prince George Symphony Orchestra to alt-country rockers the Sadies. And you know what? It's little more than a big room, sometimes set up with chairs, sometimes with space for a mosh pit, but it works-- and as anyone not from a metropolis can tell you, that's all that really matters.
The point of all this lead-up is to direct your attention to an event taking place there this Friday, April 3. If you find yourself out west and up north, you may want to step into St. Mike's for a show featuring new(ish) PG bands Somewhere in Silence and Dangercat as they lead up to what seems to be the hardest working Prince George band at the moment, Cera. These guys are made up bits and pieces of the old punk, rock, and ska scenes, but are exploring a more post-rock thingy, a genre I don't normally give much sway too, but in the case of Cera I actually enjoy, especially live. The headliners are Edmontonians Greater Than Giants, who have a cover of "Love in This Club" (Usher) on their myspace, and who therefore get my instant approval. The Beatles and the Stones always covered Motown, why don't more rock groups look to the R&B world for inspiration these days?
Anyways, the doors are at 7 with music scheduled for 7:30. Tickets are a mere $7, which comes to under two bucks a band.
We Canadians have known for a while how significant Leonard Cohen is as an artist, being an amazing poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter. After being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cohen embarked on a huge world-wide tour. Canadians' love of Cohen was most evident when tickets for his latest tour - expensive though they were - sold like crazy.
If you were lucky enough to snag one of those tickets, and you want to get a taste of what you may experience, check out Cohen's latest release (out yesterday on Columbia): Live in London, which features the July 17, 2008 concert at London's 02 Arena. His first new recording since 2004's Dear Heather, Live in London is no live record filler album. Available in DVD and 2CDs formats, it captures what Cohen's website describes as "the extraordinary show that earned Cohen more than 80 five-star reviews" for his fall 2008 UK tour. The tracklist is stunning:
1. Dance Me To The End Of Love 2. Boogie Street 3. The Future 4. Hallelujah 5. Ain't No Cure For Love 6. Democracy 7. Bird On The Wire 8. I'm Your Man 9. Everybody Knows 10. Recitation w/ N.L. 11. In My Secret Life 12. Take This Waltz 13. Who By Fire 14. So Long, Marianne 15. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye 16. First We Take Manhattan 17. Anthem 18. Sisters Of Mercy 19. Introduction 20. If It Be Your Will 21. Tower Of Song 22. Closing Time 23. Suzanne 24. I Tried To Leave You 25. The Gypsy's Wife 26. Whither Thou Goest.
But Cohen's art is capable of being transformed into wonderfully new territories in the hands of other artists. We're all familiar with some Cohen covers (especially the majestic Hallelujah). This is where Conspiracy of Beards come in to the scene: this San Francisco based, 30-member a capella male choir only performs Cohen songs in gritty, uplifting renditions. From their website:
Transforming Cohen's simple melodies into complex 4 to 5 part harmonies, their sound ranges from tender to robust. One can hear influences of contemporary, jazz, gospel, barbershop, classical and even doo-wop styles in the unique arrangements by chorus members. Using the genius of Cohen's words, the Beards inspire the audience to ponder personal, political and spiritual life throughout the show, amid laughter and cheers. The songs have real and relatable meaning which affects listeners in an intimate manner. And when sung by a group of sincere gentlemen, it is a rare phenomenon which touches audience members on many levels.
You may want to check out Conspiracy of Beards if you're anywhere near them, to see another stunning example of how influential Canadian music is. They're performing this weekend at the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan's trendy Meat-Packing district. And not too far from that legendary unmade bed....
Conspiracy of Beards perform First We Take Manhattan:
History Jen who contributes to this blog and has her own at historyjen.blogspot.com and Tyler Wade who doesn't contribute to this blog but does contribute to Two Way Monologies and runs Zygiella do a weeklyish podcast together which is hosted at the Zygiella site, but you might just want to bookmark the RSS feed.
I'll try to post it here from time to time unless Jen wants to do it herself.
"Video number one. It's time. With three in the can and yet another shoot tomorrow beginning at 8am...it's time to put some of the beautiful visuals meshed with music out into the world.
This one was conceived of, shot, directed, and stars, Anthony Schrag and Alice Finbow. Our first collaboration together, but not theirs. Collaboration through emails. Me in toronto, them in Glasgow and London. I wish i'd been there with them, but i wasn't.
This is their baby. The credit and silliness goes to them. I love it. I wanna be physical too.
Great Lake Swimmer W/ Kate Maki, St. James Hall, Vancouver, Sun Mar 29
This past weekend Vancouver was full of music, every where you looked there was a show going on. The reason for all of these shows as you well know by now was due to the Juno’s being in town. I was fortunate to gain entry (which wasn’t easy sometimes) to three great shows put on by Junofest, but I will save comment on those for a separate post. Instead I will share my experience at a totally non-Juno related event, although it did occur while the televised Juno ceremonies were underway. This event of course was the Great Lake Swimmers (GLS) supported by Kate Maki at St. James Hall Sunday night.
Compared to the Junofest events, the atmosphere outside St. James Hall (an old church, pews and all) before the sold out show was very calm and orderly. This kind of made me feel as though I was attending Sunday mass instead of a concert. Like most concerts the average age of the crowd were in their 20’s. But also entering the hall were toddlers were using the assistance of their parent’s hand as well as elderly using the assistance of canes and walkers. Just goes to show that great music attracts people of all ages.
Entering the hall every pew was packed and every spare chair was taken as the crowd sat very quietly, attentive to Sudbury’s Kate Maki who had just started her set. I felt like I was back in catholic school and was late for mass, so my friend and I quickly hurried up the balcony where the only available seating was a small pew made for two back when people were a lot smaller.
Kate Maki’s performance immediately dissolved the discomfort created by the tiny pew. It is easy to say her performance was excellent, but I was equally impressed with her stage-banter capability. She kept the crowd entertained between songs by describing her life as a substitute teacher, asking if anyone was in need of a travel-nanny (she wasn’t kidding), asked how she would go about getting deconsecrated (like the hall) and answering questions about her guitar tuning with scientific accuracy. Her new album Oh High is now available and I would suggest you go and pick it up.
After Ms. Maki – as she is probably known by her temporary students – vacated the stage we did the same to the tiny pew in favor of a spot on the floor in front of the stage for GLS. Tony Dekker and company came onto the stage with great humility thanking the crowd for coming out and expressing their fondness for Vancouver. As Dekker introduced the band I recognized the keyboard player Julie Fader whom I had the pleasure of seeing perform before in Kingston, Ont. I would highly suggest checking her stuff out.
The calm blue that GLS was light in appropriately matched the tone of their set. This being my first time seeing GLS live I was most struck by Tony Dekker’s voice, surreal is the only word I can find in my limited vocabulary to describe it. It looked as though he was only talking softly into the microphone, but his voice filled every inch of the hall. Friends of mine who had seen him live before warned me about this, but its something you have to see for yourself to understand. Switching between a full band and a solo Dekker at various points of the night, GLS played a lot of tracks off their great new album Lost Channels (I am listening to it now). After a couple of songs into the set the vibe in the Hall changed somehow, it was as though it stopped being a concert but rather you were in a friend’s living room and they were playing some songs for you (another one of those “you had to be there…”).
My highlights from the set included a stomp-a-long version of ‘Your Rocky Spine’, solo Dekker’s ‘Still’, and ‘Concrete Heart’ a song that makes light of the C.N. Towers record for the tallest, self-supporting tower (for a little while anyway). At the end of their set a standing ovation brought GLS back for a 3 song encore, ended by a solo Dekker playing ‘Imaginary Bars’. Everyone left the hall relaxed and ready to take on another Monday. If actual church was anything like the experience of seeing a Kate Maki/GLS show, I would definitely go to church every Sunday.
The concert offered the perfect denouement to a very hectic, music-packed weekend in Vancouver. No one at the concert seemed to mind missing the Juno’s either, but then again no one in the crowd looked like really big Nickelback fans. Anyways that’s my Kate Maki and GLS experience, hoped you liked it/learned something new. Or maybe you didn’t read it because it was too long, which means I’m talking to myself right now…
Big gulps eh?... Well.. see ya later.
- Aidan
p.s. GLS and Kate Maki now head down south to take on the U S of A and then its off to Europe after that. So this was their 2nd last Canadian date for a while, but not to worry I’m sure they will be crossing this giant country of ours again soon.
Since I'm apparently still the only one doing this for Victoria, I should perhaps take a moment to give a run-down of the somewhat under-the-radar Canadian bands coming here soon. I spent Saturday night watching Bend Sinister at Lucky Bar, and it was a very worthwhile show. I was also won over by Inward Eye. Mobile? Not so much, but that's just my cup of tea versus yours.
Anyways, here's the breakdown for the next month and a bit. I'm basing this solely on what I'm interested in, if you're looking for complete lists, I would suggest livevictoria.com and atomique productions, for a start.
Tonight (March 31st): We get the folk-rock stomp of Elliot Brood
April 3: It's a tough choice between the rock of former DFA 1979 member Sebastien Grainger at Lucky Bar or the lush sounds of Jill Barber at the Alix Goolden Hall (the acoustics at the former, by the way, are great).
April 4: Mr. Chad VanGaalen, with opening act WOMEN at the Sugar Nightclub. Among Canadian indie fans this is like, I don't know, the Velvet Underground opening for Neil Young.
April 22: Shotgun Jimmie and Attack in Black at Lucky. Both worthwhile acts in their own right-- Shotgun Jimmie currently is among my ringtones.
April 26: Old school hip-hop meets new school beats when Thunderheist come to Lucky Bar. Pop rockers Winter Gloves support.
April 27: East coast hip-hopper Classified rocks the mic at Element.
And to top it all of, on April 30 the royalties of CanCon come to town, as the Rolling Tundra Revue featuring the Weakerthans and the Constantines bring the show to Element.
Oh, and if you're going into May, we've got the Racoons on the 2nd the Stills on the 9th, Joel Plaskett on the 10th, and the Dears on the 29th.
All in all, it looks like I'm going to be awfully poor this month.
According to Chartattack a new B-sides and rarities collection from Guelph's legendary Royal City will be out on June 23rd.
"Royal City formed in Guelph in 2000 and included singer/songwriter Aaron Riches, Jim Guthrie, Simon Osborne and now FemBots drummer Nathan Lawr. Their At Rush Hour The Cars debut came out the same year through Guelph's esteemed Three Gut Records and was followed by the acclaimed Alone At The Microphone a year later. Lawr left the band in 2002 and was replaced by former Super Friendz drummer Lonnie James.
The band's lineup was a loose one, and also briefly included Feist, Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett and former Blue Rodeo keyboardist Bobby Wiseman. Royal City disbanded in 2004 following the release of Little Heart's Ease."
(Big day for Guelph round here, really have to get someone there to contribute).
NxEW doesn't, as far as I know, have anyone in Guelph, Ontario yet. But the Family Thrift Store in Guelph is closing down. The store is owned by Ray Mitchell father of Jenny (Omnichord) Mitchell and is being forced to close by the city of Guelph (along with the stores around it) so that a new library, parking lot and green space can be built. Libraries and green space are obviously good (parking lots suck) but you would think a city as culturally rich as Guelph might have taken into account the impact that their actions would have on the community before making such a decision.
You can read all about it in the Guelph Mercury or the Ontarian. The photo top left is from the Ontarion and photographer Katie Malo.
Fortunately Colin Medley was there to grab some video. You can read Colin's comments on the closing on his blog.
Those of you who listened to Canadian rock in the 90's may recall an amazing band by the name of the Inbreds. Consisting of Dave Ullrich on drums/vocals and Mike O'Neill on bass/vocals, this band made big waves in the indie music scene with their unique sound, clever lyrics and sweet harmonies. Parting ways after their last album in 1998, Dave founded zunior.com, and Mike released 2 solo albums: What Happens Now? in 2000, and The Owl in 2004. Both albums are available on the zunior label.
In 2006, Mike O'Neill was in a band called the Self Conscious with Trailer Park Boys producer, Mike Clattenburg, as well as appeared in several episodes of the TV show as 'Thomas Collins'. Singing/songwriting being Mike O'Neill's forte, Laura Peek and Charles Austin were added to the Mike duo forming The Beginners.
Mike O'Neill's most recent band is called the Lodge. Members include: Charles Austin, Cliff Gibb, and Andrew Glencross. They've just released an album entitled, Take That, Devil! (available from Zunior).
I caught their show this past weekend at Gus' Pub in Halifax, and unlike his past performances where his was either on bass or guitar, Mike is all vocals in the Lodge, and his performance was free and amazing. We always knew he could sing, but it was fantastic to see him let loose and just not give a damn. Mike's been in the business long enough to know he's got terrific talent. Can't wait to hear more from these guys.
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isn't being covered here it's not our fault, it's yours. We are looking
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