Upcoming Shows: Windsor, Toronto

Windsor: Myles Deck and The Fuzz (Halifax) w/ TBA Phog Lounge on Tuesday, June 30 at 10:30am.

Windsor: Arctic (Vancouver) w/ Language Arts (Vancouver) w/ A Welcome Breeze Phog Lounge June 13 at 11:00pm

Toronto: Alterna Queer Sunday, June 28 at Noon, Alexander Parkette Toronto

Toronto: Megan Hamilton and the Volunteer Canola w/ Olenka & the Autumn Lovers + Ghost Bees & More Saturday June 20 @ Bread and Circus 299 Agusta 8 pm

Toronto: Hut @ drake w/ young flux, deastro "good freaking times" June 16 Drake Underground, Tuesday, June 16 8pm

Toronto: The Craft Economy+Golden Triangle+The Ghost Is Dancing+People You Know Friday, June 19 8 pm @ the Velvet Underground

Windsor: Said the Whale w/ Will Currie and the Country French @ Phog Lounge - Tuesday, June 23 @ 9 pm.

Language Arts at NXNE, plus Windsor and Montreal

Vancouver's amazing Language Arts are headed east - for NXNE and stops in Windsor and Montreal. If you're not a fan of these folks yet, it's only a matter of time.

However, I'm more of a fan of letting you hear the music for yourself than trying to talk you into liking it. So, I'll just tempt you into listening with a few lines from their bio:

"When you fix up a trained classical guitarist who loves underground hip-hop, with a double bassist into Strauss & Mahler but obsessed with alt-rock, to a keyboardist perfecting her singer songwriter craft and join a drummer who has dabbled in everything from free-jazz to folk; what would you expect to hear?
Vancouver based Language-Arts have woven an intricate spread of sounds that have taken them from coast to coast, winning them a widespread of appeal."

Then I'll just let you listen a bit:



Download Cavity



Download White Socks in Birckenstocks

You can find out more at language-arts.net

Now Go See Them!!
June 12 - Rancho Relaxo (300 College, Toronto, ON) L-A is Headlining, guests are: Proof of Ghosts and Luke Nares and the Sleepwalkers at 9:30PM - 1:00AM
June 13 - Phog Lounge (157 University, Windsor, ON) L-A is playing with Arctic at 10:30PM
June 16 - Le Divan Orange (4234 St Laurent, Montreal QC) L-A is playing with Caledonia at 8:30PM
June 18 - El Mocambo (464 Spadina, Toronto, ON) L-A is opening for the NXNE Showcase for Musebox Music and Culture, they play at 8:00PM sharp!
+ a surprise acoustic show!

Holy Fuck: Detroit, Chrysler and Phog

Holy Fuck: They're everywhere!
"Toronto's evil super group", HOLY FUCK, Brian Borcherdt, Graham Walsh,
Matt McQuaid, Matt Schulz, are making TWO appearances in and around Detroit this summer.
As one who has never seen them, I am thrilled beyond belief and hope for an interview.
Holy Fuck is at The Magic Stick in Detroit May 29
8 PM *ALL AGES* WSG * CROCODILES * PLAIN DEALERS *
313.833.9700 ext.203
4120 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI

Holy Fuck and the Chrysler commercial.
Imagine my surprise, as I'm walking into the house with freshly grilled
chicken and I hear Holy Fuck on TV. I almost dropped the plate
as I ran to the TV to witness a Chrysler commercial that I believe was
:60 long. I have since found and seen two different :30 versions of what
I saw. I think YouTube might have these in a few hours.
Great spots, GREAT music...I thought to myself; Holy Fuck, Holy Fuck in a commercial?
My link is as follows:
www.autoblog.com/2009/05/08/chrysler-reveals-more-facets-of-we-build-campaign
I would have embedded it, but was unable.
 
Holy Fuck: Phog Lounge Sat July 11
As reported on this site and www.thephogblog.blogspot.com
Holy Fuck will headline a day-long event at the Phog Lounge, CBC Radio 3's
Searchlight "Best Live Venue In Canada" winner. Two more bands are TBA.
Two stages and non-stop music is the theme of the day; sun, fun & MUSIC!
The street will be closed and I expect Tom & Frank to blow the bricks off the buildings
with the music and food and hospitality. Windsor Endowment For The Arts,
Common Ground Gallery, Art Gallery of Windsor, Lebel Art School at the University of Windsor, and Artspeak Gallery will benefit from the exposure as the Phog has a Penske/Ilitch-like

love for their city and it's artists. This is beyond love, this is commitment.

Small venues have big impact.

More details will follow...

Go NORTH to Detroit, SOUTH to Windsor.

A short list of Canadian Indie artists playing the Windsor/Detroit area.








The Dears

The Majestic 5/11 9PM

4140 Woodward

Detroit, MI

313.833.9700

http://www.majesticdetroit.com/

John Doe & The Sadies

Pike Room @ The Crofoot 5/11 8PM

1 S. Saginaw

Pontiac, MI

248.858.9333
http://www.thecrofoot.com/

Meatdraw

Phog Lounge 5/11

571 University West

Windsor, ON

519.253.1605

http://www.phoglounge.com/

Holy F*ck

Magic Stick 5/29 8PM

4140 Woodward

Detroit, MI

313.833.9700

www.majesticdetroit.com

Julie Doiron

Phog Lounge 5/31

157 University West

Windsor, ON

519.253.1605

http://www.phoglounge.com/

Anvil! The Story of Anvil Coming to Detroit!

At 14, Toronto school friends Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock forever. They meant it.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a timeless tale of survival, and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year. The story follows Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner and their heavy metal band, Anvil, which released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982’s Metal on Metal. The album influenced an entire musical generation of rock bands, including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, who went on to sell millions of records. Anvil, on the other hand, took a different path—straight to obscurity. A wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil’s last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune, the film and tour visit seven US cities, one of them being mine.

Welcome to Detroit, Anvil! So glad to have you!

Lisa Christiansen, CBC Radio 3 host, interviewed director Sasha Gervasi about the film and upcoming tour on her program "Appetite For Distraction." I hope to have a chatter session with Lisa in the near future about the interview and the film.

I will be attending this event, if you're in the Windsor/Detroit area and this interests you, drop me an e-mail.

The Crofoot

1 South Saginaw

Pontiac MI 48342

Tuesday, April 21

6:30 PM

Go NORTH to Detroit, SOUTH to Windsor.

A short list of Canadian Indie artists playing the Windsor/Detroit area.

4/4

Slow down, Molasses

Valery Gore

Wax Mannequin

Phog Lounge

157 University W.

Windsor, ON

www.phoglounge.com

4/6

F*cked Up

Magic Stick  8PM  $12

4120 Woodward

Detroit, MI

www.majesticdetroit.com/stick.asp

4/16

Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains

Pike Room @ The Crofoot  8PM  $8

1 S. Saginaw

Pontiac, MI

www.thecrofoot.com

4/22

Beast

Phog Lounge

157 University W.

Windsor, ON

www.phoglounge.com

4/30

Elliott BROOD 

The Blind Dog   8PM  $10

671 Ouellette Avenue

Windsor, ON

www.theblinddog.ca

CD REVIEW: Tara Watts "About Love"

Tara Watts
"About Love" (2009, Independent)
Recorded and Mixed by Eric Welton
Mastered by Dwayne Iler

To say this is one of Windsor's most anticipated releases is almost over-stated at this point. For years, Tara Watts has been turning heads with her songs and performances and the lack of recordings has kind of been part of the package. There were demos that would surface on her MySpace page here and there, but there didn't seem to be any visible ship on the horizon when it came to an actual full length release. But on Thursday March 26th, all that changed, when she released her debut album, About Love, to a packed house at The Room for her CD release.

The Windsor Star's Dalson Chen reviewed About Love recently and compared her to Sarah Harmer. While I also find this comparison somewhat true, it almost feels like a Sarah Harmer more than it actually sounds like one. It feels rustic and warm - even when she's clearly sad or wounded. When listening to the album it almost feels like she's just come in from a day in the fields, working during a rainstorm, and while she's warming up by the wood stove in the kitchen, she's just matter of factly telling you how her week went. Some things that happened were glorious, some were pretty crappy. You feel elated when she is and an uncontrollable urge to wrap an arm around her and pull the blanket on her shoulder a little snugger when the stories seem a little painful.

Tara Watts' sound has long differed from a lot of the singer/songwriters - especially the female ones - in that it's never come across as pleading. She's not pleading for men to take her seriously, she's not pleading to the women to stand and revolt, she's not pleading for world piece, she's just simply telling her stories as they are. These are her stories, her words, and she'll tell it the only way she knows how: honestly, genuinely, and articulately (even if there is a few rough edges).

Her voice is unique in that it has an almost non-sexual tone. She's definitely a woman and this is definitely a strong woman's voice, but when you listen to her songs, you're never once stricken with the notion that you're listening to a woman - unlike some female singers who seem more intensely trying to prove they're a powerful female songwriter, Tara sings like she wants to prove she's simply a powerful songwriter - the notion of having to prove her sexuality seems foreign, that her songwriting will be simply good enough. And it is. Which is a wonderful lesson many women in music should follow.

Her album is a glorious listen and it rolls like a car ride through Northern Ontario - I'll bet nationally many people will assume she's from one of the Prairie provinces or somewhere a lot more Northern than Windsor. In fact, it's almost like a Lucinda Williams record, if Williams drank a lot more Merlot than whiskey. But Watts doesn't wear her influences on her sleeve (such as Iron & Wine or Sufjan Stevens) - instead, she's carefully soaked in just enough and let it permeate into her own voice, rather than emulate or replicate.

The lead track "Overeager Heart" sounds like something Johnny Cash should have written. Perhaps not during his Sun Records days, or even his 60's era, but something he'd have done for his Rick Rubin American Recordings. From the story to the arrangement, it almost sounds like an homage to his songwriting and storytelling, but it's done in a way that never comes across as a blatant attempt to plagiarize. It's simply a story, plain and simple, and the best way to convey it is to sing it.

"Hail Outside" has been a favourite of mine for years now, since the first demo recording showed up online. The final realization is equally as haunting (perhaps more so now that an accompanying video has emerged) and it pushes the ground that singers more her ilk (like say Marianne Faithful or Nico) have walked previously. But while Faithfull's muse always seemed to be taunting her with paradise only to rip it from her track marked arms, Watts' muse seems to offer a better sunrise somewhere down the line. There's always a feeling of hope in Tara's songs, no matter how bleak the surface story seems to be.

"100 Years Old" wouldn't seem out of place on Sarah Harmer's Songs For Clem or I Am A Mountain. It's a short track, barely two minutes long, but that's the secret about songwriting. The length is irrelevant as long as the story and intention is achieved by the time it's done, whether the song is 30 seconds long or 8 minutes. A short tale of obvious lament towards an awkward ex-lover, one who isn't far from the door and who she's not sure if she wants to walk back in or not. It's done with a playful jaunt, as if she both despises the ex-lover but despises more the thought that this is something she's not yet ready to be done with.

With such an interwoven storyboard, it's tough to single out her songs individually as the best experience is simply to listen to the whole album and let its interconnectivity wash over you while you listen. But it must be said that, for me, "Camels in Canada" is the album's best offering. It could easily be Harmer or Kathleen Edwards doing a Joni Mitchell cover, but thankfully it's simply Tara Watts being herself. It's a beautiful song that I swear you can hear her smiling on. In a recent interview on CJAM 91.5 FM, Tara admitted this track was written quite recently, seemingly assembled in the studio, and perhaps its the fresh energy of tackling something so new that seems to make this track sparkle just a little more, but whatever it is, this is a perfect song for a sprint time bike ride or a hayride in the fall. It's simply timeless.

After being a solo performer for so long, Tara had to assemble a backing band for the recordings and she held back no stops in assembling a talented core of assistance from some of the local indie scene's finest players. Eric Welton not only lent his understated production, recording and mixing skills to the CD, but also lent his voice on some backing tracks. Welton has recorded some great records lately, not only his own recent efforts, but also Travis Reitsma's overlooked Bluebeard. Welton has a knack for layering and enhancing recordings with just enough flair to make the steak sizzle but without detracting from the actual "meat". Another job well done for this local producer. Dwayne Iler, more known for his own band The Original Lady Eyes, did the mastering for the album. Iler's been picking up a lot of mastering work of late and he shines once again with this offering. The music itself was done by some A-list players, including the prolific enigma known as Johnny West, who played piano, banjo and also sang back-up. The percussion and drums were laid down by Sally Zori, perhaps one of the scene's most respected percussionists.

About Love is like a collection of short stories. Individually, they are little snippets into the autobiography of Tara Watts - her shortcomings, her tragedies, her loves and her triumphs - and collectively they form a story that is bigger than the sum of the parts. It courses through the air of your room, touching each ornament on the wall, looking at every photograph you barely remember taking, dancing around the aroma of coffee in the air, and sitting down nicely right beside you, wiping at the tear you'd hadn't even noticed shedding.

Jamie Greer

Brick Tattoos: Phog Needs Artists

Windsors Phog Lounge is calling for artists and designers to help them come up with new murals to decorate the building:

"Kagan McLeod and his brother Sean McLeod (director of Steph Copeland's new music video) are responsible for the amazing original mural on the side of Phog...the one with the dogs, birds, and woman holding a martini glass...

We have been trying to convince Kagan to come back to his hometown, from Toronto, to design and paint the FRONT of Phog Lounge. He is VERY BUSY, illustrating for almost every major magazine in Canada, and The National Post. He's a BEAST.

We want our logo and....something...on the front to tell people what we do/are...and we're stuck.

I think one of the things keeping him back was our inability to supply a design.

So jump in and lend them a hand if your mind works in that direction.

Coming Up at the Phog in Windsor

Because it was recently voted the best live venue in Canada by Radio 3 listeners and because I found their posting and because no one from Windsor has drunk the Kool Aid .. singed up to rep their city yet. These are the shows coming up in April at the Phog Lounge in Winsor:

2 - WAMM Magazine - One Year Anniversary Party - Music Video Contest Screenings
3 - The New Kings (Toronto) w/ High Mother
4 - Slow Down, Molasses (Saskatoon) w/ Valery Gore (Toronto)
5 - Brasstronaut (Vancouver) w/ TBA
7 - University of Windsor Grad Reading & 2nd Installment of Tech Tuesday (6:30pm)
8 - Azeda Booth (Calgary)
10 - The Perpetrators (Winnipeg) w/ Mr. Chill & TBA
11 - Elecroluminescent (Hamilton) w/ What Seas, What Shores
12 - Book Launch - Experiments at 3 Billion A.M. by Alexander Zelenyj (8pm)
14 - The Pack A.D. (Vancouver) 2nd link w/ Another Saturday Knight
17 - Black Diamond Bay with Patrick Krief of The Dears (Toronto) w/ Helsinki Go & The Mustard Branches
18 - The Mindframes w/ Metro4 (London)
19 - Spooky Reuben (Toronto) w/ The Love Machine (Ottawa) & The Tyres
21 - Brzowski & Shane Blakemore & 3rd Installment of Tech Tuesday (6:30pm)
22 - Beast (Montreal) w/ The Peace Leeches (Chatham) & (WH)Y.M.E(??)
23 - Ron Leary Band w/ Gianna Lauren (Halifax)
24 - Alun Piggins (Toronto) w/ The Heels
25 - Barzin (Toronto) w/ Nick Zubeck (Toronto) & Music Minus You
26 - SAC Songwriters Group
27 - Open Mic Surgery with Tara Watts
28 - Shiv and The Shams (8pm)
29 - ???? Immaculate Machine (Vancouver) w/ TBA ????

the Pack A.D. - April 14