Archive for April, 2009

Run, Pig, Pig

April 29th, 2009 | By: Guest Contributor

Josh Homme

Josh Homme

Ah, my last Singing Lamb post written while residing at Pitman Hall. Here’s some news for you – the next time I write, I’ll be coming to you from North York. Enjoy!

The lineup for the 2009 edition of Ottawa’s Bluesfest was recently announced, and chances are that at least one of your favourite bands is on the list. The festival takes place from July 8th – 18th, and features scheduled performances from artists and bands including CAKE, Femi Kuti, Girl Talk, Holy Fuck, Joe Cocker, The National, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and Toots & the Mayals. But ultimately, there are only two words that you need to know about this year’s Bluesfest: KISS reunion. That’s what I thought. All the details can be found here.

Speaking of music festivals, you should ignore the recent reports of swine flu paranoia, and plan a trip to beautiful Antigonish, Nova Scotia this summer for the Evolve Music and Awareness Festival which takes place July 17-19. Celebrating its tenth year, the outdoor, eco-friendly festival has drawn some big headlining names this year, including Australian singer-songwriter Xavier Rudd, Edmonton’s Shout Out Out Out Out, Montreal comedian Jon “Show Me Your Genitals” Lajoie, iconic Newfoundland folk singer Sherman Downey, and garage-rockers King Khan & BBQ Show. Sure weekend pass prices aren’t exactly recession-friendly (on sale now for $125, $140 at the gate), but they do include parking and camping, plus there may or may not be copious amounts of illicit drugs easily available. Musical events of this calibre are incredibly rare in Atlantic Canada, so I might be returning to my home province come July to cover the festivities for the Lamb. If you are interested about finding more about Evolve, they have a very colourful, aesthetically-pleasing website that you can check out here.

What do you get when you cross a former member of Rage Against The Machine, and one of the best guitarists in the world, with a socially and politically conscious Oakland rapper? Why, Street Sweeper Social Club of course, the new side-project of RATM’s Tom Morello and The Coup’s Boots Riley. For those of you, myself included, that caught Boots opening for Morello on his Nightwatchmen tour, this new don’t-call-it a super group is a hybrid of the former’s funky rhymes and the latter’s tight riffs. You can read more about the Street Sweeper Social Club over at EXCLAIM! here and check out the songs they’ve posted on their MySpacehere.

I’m beginning to suspect that Justice’s Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay may be strapped for cash. How else would you explain the Parisian duo’s recent questionable song choices for remixes? First there was the high-profile U2 remix of their godawful new single, “Get On Your Boots”, and now this. Not to hate on Lenny, but if Justice starts covering “American Woman”, I may revoke my withstanding invitation the duo have to any parties I may throw in the future.

Can I get some love for Doves and their new album? These guys, who had a minor hit in 2000 with “Catch The Sun”, may be one of the most criminally underrated British rock bands. Their fourth album is entitled Kingdom of Rust and the band will be at the Sound Academy on June 1st.

Yesterday we announced that Eagles of Death Metal will be at the Kool Haus on August 2nd, and now we can also confirm via Queens of the Stone Age’s website, that Josh Homme’s “other” band will also be on the bill. Let the sexy times ensue.

Have you heard the new Green Day single? You haven’t? Good, it sucks. This whole “90s revival” thing is starting to get slightly out of hand

My good friend and fellow j-school classmate, Jeremy Singer, recently got the chance to speak to Metric’s Emily Haines and James Shaw for arts and entertainment website andPOP. Check out the interview here. In other Metric-related news, the lovely Ms. Haines will contributing guest vocals to a song by The Crystal Method for the American electronic duo’s upcoming fourth studio album, Divided by Night. The song is entitled“Come Back Clean”, and the album is scheduled to be in stores on May 12th and the duo will be at Guvernment on May 8th.

For Fucked Up fans, the Toronto band will be playing an all-ages show at the Phoenix on July 16th, along with Women and more acts to be announced. Tickets are $16.00 and are on sale now!

That’s all I have for today, have a great rest of the week!

Cheers,
Max

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Let’s Chat: Great Bloomers

April 28th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Great Bloomers

Great Bloomers

The Singing Lamb: How was Record Store Day for you guys?

Andrew Kekewich: It was lots of fun; just cool to actually sell some CDs of the full length for the first time. The Criminal Records people were really nice and it was a good show!

I heard you sold out of CDs that day! Congrats!

Lowell Sostomi: Yeah! We only brought 15 or something but it’s nice to sell all of them!

Did you actually celebrate Record Store Day in any way?

Andrew: Yeah I bought a bunch of stuff; I guess that’s how you celebrate it, yeah?

I guess!

Lowell: We played a show, so that counts as celebrating in some way.

What did you buy?

Andrew: I got the new Bill Callahan; it’s amazing.

Lowell: I didn’t buy anything. I got a free poster though!

Free stuff is always good!

Lowell: Yeah!

Are you excited for your CD release (at the Horseshoe)?

Andrew: Yes, we are! It’s exciting because we’ve sat on the record for a couple of months now so it’ll be nice to celebrate with family and friends and get in the spirit of the record again. It’ll be a great and fun night!

How would you describe your new album, Speak of Trouble?

Andrew: Our first EP, well our only EP, was recorded when we weren’t fully a band, at that point. We were just writing and recording those songs simultaneously and all the members weren’t in the band yet. With this record it’s really showcasing a unit and we recorded the songs together as a unit. We’ve been playing live together for so long too so it’s really more of a band record. (turns to Lowell) Do you want talk about the songs themselves?

Lowell: Not so much. All the songs, lyrically, are really personal; really kind of relevant in my life, still. Most of them are from the past few or so years so yeah, most of them are just about stories like that.

Tell me about your upcoming tour.

Andrew: This record has sort of given us the motivation to go out and go on the road to support it. We’ve been mostly playing in and out of Toronto for the past two years or so and now we’re going to go out east and out west and make a go for it around Canada which is going to be nice.

Do you have a favourite place to play in Toronto?

Lowell: I find it’s not so much the place. You can always find a place that has nice sound and everything but it’s the crowd that makes it.

Andrew: The Boat is a good one though.

Lowell: Yeah, the Boat has become like a second home to us. They throw a dance party there, monthly and we’re really good friends with the guy who organizes and promotes the Boat. So when we play the Boat, all of our friends come out. So I feel like if we have to pick a venue, the Boat is the most fun because of the people that come.

Is this going to be your first time around Canada?

Andrew: Yeah, it’s going to be our first time!

Oh, that’ll be really nice! I’ve haven’t been outside Ontario and Quebec.

Andrew: Same! I’ve only been to Winnipeg once, when I was ten or something; I don’t really remember it though.

Lowell: Yeah it’s exciting since Andrew and I just literally finished university; we both did four years at Ryerson.

Awesome, Ryerson student right here!

Lowell: Really? What are you taking?

Journalism!

Andrew: We’re in RTA (Radio and Television Arts).

Oh, we’re not supposed to get along!

Andrew: Oh, okay then – bye! (Stands up and pretends to walk away) Yeah, we’re done.

How was it?

Andrew: It was good…

Lowell: University was just not for me.

Andrew: I was ready to leave at this point. So we’re done now and we’re ready to go.

Lowell: Nothing is holding us back!

What have you learned or taken from your experience in university?

Lowell: I met Andrew from the program and I met Gavin who recorded our album and is a great friend of ours. Those are probably the most noteworthy things that happened to me.

Andrew: Those things are all about the people you meet and the connections you make while there. More than what you can learn from classes.

I agree. Final question – if you were a singing animal, what would you be?

Lowell: I’ve been told I look like an otter. That might be the logical choice. I feel like I want to resemble the animal of my choice.

Andrew: What do I look like?

Lowell: You kind of look like a small bear…

A little!

Andrew: Okay, that’s works! A small bear!

For more Great Bloomers, check out
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/greatbloomers

Also, make sure to check out Great Bloomers at the Horseshoe this Saturday at the Horseshoe for their CD release, along with Sports: The Band, Modernboys Moderngirls, Gavin Gardiner. Tickets are still available for $8.00; this show is 19+.

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News Update!

April 28th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Lioness

Lioness

Hectic doesn’t even begin to describe this week, especially this Thursday. April 30th is shaping up to be one of the most heart-wrenching nights of the month, due to the multitude of great shows in town. The following is a list of the shows going down that night:

John Doe & The Sadies @ Sonic Boom (FREE, 7:00 pm)
Green Go (CD release), The Magic, Everything All The Time, OPOPO DJs @ Wrongbar ($5.00, 9:00 pm)
The Dears, Lioness @ Mod Club ($20.00, 7:00 pm)
Immaculate Machine, Will Currie & The Country French, The Elwins, DJ Shit La Merde @ The Drake ($10.00, 8:00 pm)
The Weather Station (CD release), Isla Craig & Muskox, Snowblink, Weird Weather, Lisa Bozikovic @ Tranzac – Main Hall ($8.00, 8:00 pm)
Megan Hamilton, Eric Welton @ Tranzac – Southern Cross Lounge (PWYC, 10:00 pm)
Flowers of Hell, Beta Cloud, General Chaos Visuals @ The Renaissance Cafe ($6.00, 8:00 pm)
B’MO Crazy, The Lovely Killbots, and La Casa Muerte @ The Boat ($5.00, 9:00 pm)

See? We’re screwed. Personally, I’m going for three shows – John Doe & The Sadies, The Dears and Green Go. This is going to take some intense commuting skills/luck and impeccable timing. I’ll report back on Friday with the results. All of these shows are incredible and if given the chance, I say you definitely go and check out whoever you missed when they return to town.

Flowers of Hell, for example, will be back at the Horseshoe on May 19th. Green Go will also return shortly, as part of the Over the Top Fest, taking place from May 21-24. We’ll keep you updated on a date/location.

Other Show Announcements:
VNV Nation, War Tapes, Sam @ The Phoenix (July 14th, $29.50, 19+)
Francis and the Lights @ The Drake (May 13th – 15th, $10.00, 19+, please note: the May 13th show is free)
Lightning Dust (opening for Bonnie Prince Billy) @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre (May 14th, $25.00, ALL AGES)
Isis, Tombs @ The Phoenix (June 7th, $17.50, ALL AGES)
Passion Pit, Harlem Shakes @ Lee’s (June 16th, $12.00, 19+)
Obits @ Lee’s (July 23rd, $12.00, 19+)
Mt St Helens Vietnam Band @ The Horseshoe (June 2nd, FREE, 19+ – as part of Free Tuesday New Music Night)
Telekenesis, An Horse @ Horseshoe (June 10th, $10.50, 19+)
Alejandro Escovedo, Joseph Arthur @ Trinity St. Pauls (June 16th, $27.00, ALL AGES)
Dog Day @ Lee’s (May 28th, 19+)
Malajube @ Lee’s (June 12th, 19+)
Eagles of Death Metal @ Kool Haus (August 2nd, $27.50)

In festival update news, it is confirmed that The Rural Alberta Advantage and The So So Glos will also be part of this year’s NXNE festivities; not on the same bill necessarily though.

Arts & Crafts have officially announced their NXNE Showcases at Courthouse. Here is their schedule:

Wednesday, June 17th
(Broken Social Scene Book Launch)
Apostle of Hustle
Jason Collett
The Happiness Project
Years

Thursday, June 18th
The Most Serene Republic
Still Life Still
Timbre Timbre
Zeus

In addition to the book launch at Courthouse, it is said that there is a “special in-store performance at the Fred Perry retail location at 964 Queen St. W.” Fred Perry will be sponsoring the NXNE showcases.

French band, Radio Radio will be playing a free show at Harbourfront this summer as part of the Franco-Fete 2009 Fest (June 19-21).

Similarly, Jenn Grant will be playing a free show at Habourfront as well, as part of the Canadian Voices Fest (July 17-26).

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody

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Great Bloomers (Exclusive Photo Shoot)

April 28th, 2009 | By: Guest Contributor

Photos By Kathy Grant

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All-Ages Shows On the Rise?

April 27th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Tonka & Puma/Daps Duo

Tonka & Puma/Daps Duo

This article was originally written for April 6th, 2009.

***

“I want to see if the 19 and under crowd can rock harder than the 19 plus crowd,” said Alanna Stuart, vocalist of Toronto reggae/soul duo Bonjay. It’s Bonjay’s first all-ages performance at Toronto’s Rolly’s Garage on a windy Saturday afternoon and people varying from young girls accompanied by delighted parents to hung-over university students were dancing and cheering them on.

The venue, approximately the size of a high-school classroom, is neatly decorated with whimsical lights and hanging pieces of recycled paper, indicating prices of snacks as the bands that day played one after the other under a garage door ceiling. Headliners Bonjay, made up of Stuart and DJ Pho blast song after song at the eager crowd, even catching the attention of the odd passerby outside on the streets. “I’ve never seen Pho this excited about a show ever!”

Headliners Bonjay, along with bands, The Pixelators, The Whitsundays, Boxes & Bags, and Kat Burns (of Forest City Lovers) made up the line-up for the second installment of the Daps All-Ages Concert Series. Created by Daniel Lee and April Aliermo (of Toronto indie-pop band, Hooded Fang), who call themselves Daps Duo, the pair began this series in January 2009 and hold bi-monthly all-ages shows at Rolly’s Garage.

Frantically running around the tiny space, running the merchandise, doing DJ sets between bands, talking to the sound man and even making grilled cheese sandwiches and serving freshly-made lemonade to the attendees were Lee and Aliermo. It may sound hectic, but they ran the whole show with a smile on their face and bundled in jackets and scarves to keep warm.

“I missed it when Lee’s Palace would put on all-ages shows for $5.00 and/or a can of food, and you’d get a bunch of great bands,” said Lee. “You’d be able to catch Treble Charger or someone like that in the afternoon; and I just think there’s a lack of all-ages shows now in Toronto.”

Music venues in Toronto such as Lee’s Palace, the Drake Hotel, El Mocambo, and the Legendary Horseshoe rarely hold all-ages shows today as many under-aged teens refer to them as the “19+ venues.” And with approximately 61% of the show listings on Rotate This’ website listed as 19+ and 43% of those being held at said venues, it’s slim pickings for those “who can’t shop at the LCBO,” as Stuart told the crowd.

For those who organize afternoon spectacles of music for people of all ages, it comes at a cost and a hardworking DIY-ethic.

“We pay for everything ourselves,” said Lee. “We’re fortunate to get such great bands too because we don’t pay them much; we propose to split the door money and if they agree, it’s great.”

It is also kept in mind that the bands playing at Rolly’s that afternoon were fairly voluntary and kind to the idea of splitting the door profits. “Bigger” bands normally don’t do this as managers require a set fee; yet another hurdle in the financial track.

“We just hope to break even,” said Lee. “We just broke even last time and had enough money to pay for all the bands. Making a profit is the thing; these shows just need to get out to more people.”

Attendance is a crucial element to the equation as it determines the profit. As mentioned by Lee, press and “getting the word out there” is vital to the success of events. Thanks to technology such as Facebook event postings though, and event listings in local papers such as NOW and Eye Weekly play largely into grabbing attention. As the pair stated in a recent Facebook status, “Daps All-Ages at Rolly’s Garage, tomorrow 12:30 gets an arrow in the NOW!” And as we draw the curve back around, we arrive at finances again.

“It’s all about the financial liability,” said event promoter/record label owner, Eric Warner. “There are so many variables to putting together an all-ages show.”

At the age of 25, Eric Warner, in addition to being an event promoter, owner of his own record label (We Are Busy Bodies) and actively a part of the Toronto independent music scene since the age of 15, is also the creator of the Over the Top Festival in Toronto. Over the Top is an annual all-ages music and arts festival, entering its eighth year this May and this year will hold 15 concerts, among other events such as film and theatre productions and workshops for kids.

“I do feel like Over the Top is a nice alternative to NXNE and Canadian Music Fest, which are both heavily based on 19+ shows in bars. I appreciate what they do, but I just wanted to do my own thing,” said Warner. “This year, we’re even planning a show on a bus; I like alternative venues like that. I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I really wanted to do a show on a boat but that was too costly.”

“With all-ages shows, we’ll always run into issues like extra security and extra barriers like that,” said Warner. “It’s unfortunate that the Horseshoe and Lee’s don’t do as many all-ages shows anymore but again, it’s the financial aspect. It’s a gamble sometimes but you just have to hope for the best.”

With the Over the Top Festival, Warner’s aim is to “open up opportunities for people of all ages” and “give them the chance of discovery.”

“I know how it feels to be frustrated that your favourite band comes in town and it’s 19+,” explains Warner. “You’re faced with either getting a fake-ID or stay hopeful and just wait till they come back and hope that you’re of age by then.”

As Warner said, “There’s always all-ages show in Toronto of a wide range of genres. Could there be more? Certainly.”

Announcements for this year’s Over the Top line-up (taking place May 21st – 24th) will be made this week. As for Daps Duo’s all-ages series, the next installment is slated for June 20th, at Rolly’s Garage as per usual. Many other all-ages listings can be found at local independent record stores. But with the recent economic turmoil, will this affect all-ages shows?

“Regardless of what’s going on in the economy, we’d be putting on these shows,” said Lee. “We love doing this and the decline of all-ages shows began way before economic problems. We just need to continue doing what we do and getting the word out.”

***

The line up for the Over the Top Festival has been announced and you can read more about it on their website here.

For more about the Daps All Ages Series, check out their Facebook group.

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Let’s Chat: Bell Orchestre

April 25th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Bell Orchestre

Bell Orchestre

(Sitting in the Courthouse (57 Adelaide Street East))

The Singing Lamb: This is a really nice venue; have you been here before?

Pietro Amato: No! It’s a crazy club place; it reminds me of one of those places that would be in lower St. Laurent (in Montreal).

Kaveh Nabatian: It’s the first place I’ve ever played that had glowing tables.

Stefan Schneider: It’s kind of a cross between a beautiful, fancy hall and a dance club; it’s gorgeous.

Yeah, rarely do you see a disco ball hanging right beneath a chandelier.

Kaveh: There should be more of it.

Pietro: Have you been to the bathrooms? There are these lions and it’s fucking amazing! We should’ve done this interview in the bathrooms!

Kaveh: Too bad there’s no visual.

Do you guys like playing alternative venues like this?

Stefan: I definitely do; I love changing it up. Like, we played a series of six shows and in Ottawa we played a really nice church. We always like playing churches.

Kaveh: A beautiful old art deco hall in Montreal; we played a rock club last night. A couple of months ago we played a symphony orchestra hall.

Pietro: Quebec City, we played in a theatre company house. That was also really cool. It’s more fun for this band to play in places that are kind of conducive to getting people to listen to the music rather than being in a bar where they’re making a lot of noise and people are just there to drink and talk. So this kind of venue is nice where people kind of settle in. As long as it’s not the crowd that normally comes here…to dance.

Stefan: It looks like a venue that’s conducive to just sitting on the couch and talking loud. Yeah, it’s cool but I hope we have an attentive audience.

There’s a lot of couches on the floor…

Pietro: Yeah, there’s a lot but it’s a lounge.

Kaveh: I think the new record of music we’ve put out is like a listening experience. There are a couple of songs you can definitely dance to but in general, it’s more of a listening experience so I think it’s okay if there are couches. If you want to sit down, you can sit down and relax; close your eyes and listen to music if they want. Or lie down.

Just don’t fall asleep!

Pietro: I love falling asleep at classical music concerts; it’s my favourite thing. I go to see the fucking symphony orchestra and I fall asleep. And at the end I go, “Did I just waste thirty bucks?” and then I’m like, “No, I had a great time. Made me have some really good dreams!”

Stefan: Yeah, I don’t really fall asleep in those chairs. If there were pillows and mattresses at the symphony orchestra, I would go all the time.

Do you like it when people sleep at your shows?

Pietro: Well yeah!

Kaveh: Generally, it’s just people who are tripping out to the music and lying down. Standing up can get tiring for an hour and a half. It’s definitely visual; there’s lots going on onstage but you can shut your eyes and it’s very evocative.

Stefan: Yeah, one of my favourite things to do is to fall asleep to really loud music, blasting out of my stereo systems. It’s kind of like an experience at one of our shows. That’s a dream.

Is there anywhere you dream of playing one day?

Pietro: Yeah, many. Especially tall ships; I think a tour on a tall ship would be really fun.

Kaveh: Spaceships.

Pietro: Yeah, if we could tour on a spaceship and tour around different planets that would be really fun.

Stefan: I was thinking of an underwater tour of the ocean. We’ll be playing music for the schools of fish.

Kaveh: You should jam with the dolphins! But on a more concrete level, for me, just to play in places where people don’t often play. Like, we played the Baltic’s last year and that was really amazing and not a lot of bands play there so we got to go to an anarchist squat and beautiful theatres and all sorts of different stuff. I’d like to do similar like that in Latin America.

Pietro: Dawson City would be fun.

Kaveh: Yeah, or Mexico! I think we’d like to play in small towns in Mexico. Yeah, just to get away from the whole hipster rock and roll kind of thing.

Stefan: And prisons; we’d seriously like to play in them. We’re actually working on doing that in the near future.

Many people describe your music as “cinematic”. Do you feel like your music would make for good soundtrack music? Would you ever score a film?

Kaveh: I think we’d love to do it but the thing is the music as it is right now moves a lot, really quickly and the reality is that movies don’t move as quickly as our music. So I think movies have tried to put our stuff on it and it just doesn’t work because moods change. Like, Sigur Ros does really good movie music because it’s really, really slow-moving but I think if we were given a movie we would do a good job scoring, we’d just have to change the way we perform.

Stefan: That said, I think when people listen to our music, they get a lot of images and I think that’s why people say it’s cinematic.

Pietro: There’s no singer to tell you what the song is about so it lets your imagination run a bit more and you can get into the bubble of the music.

If you could describe your new album as a movie, how would you describe it?

Kaveh: I think it’ll work well with cinema that has layers. Movies where they don’t tell you what to think, kind of like our music – it doesn’t have a singer to tell you what to think. Movies are more of a poetic, metaphoric imagery that I think our music shows so I think, I don’t know, the Mirror by Tchaikovsky or a movie about the end of the world or the beginning of the world.

Stefan: Not a narrative or anything like that.

Kaveh: Yeah, it wouldn’t work well with a Juno-type of movie. Like, American-hipster, indie…

Stefan: Hey, it could. It could be called American Hipster!

Let’s talk about the new album. Do you feel like it’s a continuation of the first album or a completely different chapter?

Pietro: I think it’s a continuation but also an evolution. The music has evolved and we’ve all evolved. Well, since the first record came out, it’s been five years? We recorded the first record in ’03, so definitely the music has changed but it still the same people that are involved in creating it so in that sense its a continuation and an evolution.

Stefan: We’ve all evolved musically since then, we’re all doing various things so as time passes, it will have naturally evolved.

Kaveh: It’s also a little more of a subtler record. It’s not as bombastic as the first record. The louder, more bombastic moments are chosen more carefully and there are these subtle build ups and subtleties everywhere.

And finally, if you were a singing animal, what would you be?

Kaveh: (at Pietro) He would be a lone moose.

Pietro: I would.

Stefan: With no one else.

Kaveh: (at Stefan) What would you be? An octopus?

Stefan: Let me finish that DVD, Planet Earth and I’ll probably have a few animals to be. Because every time I watch it, there are these new amazing animals. There’s this one climate where all the animals are just mini, like the deer are just 30 cm high…

Kaveh: Does this really exist?

Stefan: Yeah, dude it’s amazing! And the deer’s calves are the size of kittens and they’re little baby dear and all the trees are little! I feel like I’m one of those.

Kaveh: I don’t believe you.

Stefan: No! When we get back to Montreal, I’ll show you. I’d be a baby dear. I’d be one of the calves; I’ll be, like 7 cm tall.

Kaveh: What would I be?

Stefan: Some sort of orang-utan.

Pietro: Generally, we’re all monkeys in Bell Orchestre, but we’re all different kinds.

Stefan: You’d be a jungle animal of some sort. So yeah, an orang-utan.

For more Bell Orchestre
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bellorchestre
Website: http://www.bellorchestre.com/

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Festival Update!

April 24th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

It’s summer time. And of course, with wonderful weather comes the wonderful music festivals. Toronto doesn’t host Lollapalooza or anything (hell, we’re apparently not even hosting the Virgin Festival anymore), but we do have Summerworks and NXNE. Here’s a quick update.

Although the full NXNE lineup won’t be announced until mid-May, a brief teaser was recently released. The following have been confirmed so far by the organizers:

Aids Wolf
Angela Desveaux
Arizona
Awkward I
Benny Crespo’s Gang
Black Lips
Burning Brides
Experimental Dental School
Fake Blood
Film Noir
Health
Kill Krinkle Klub
King Khan & BBQ Show
Little Girls
Little Teeth
Matt and Kim
Midnight Peacocks
Mika Miko
Ninjasonik
No Age
Pink Noise
Svjata Vatra
The Coathangers
The Homosexuals
These are Powers
United Steelworkers of Montreal
Woodpigeon

NOW also reports that NXNE and Luminato will co-present Do Make Say Think, Final Fantasy, and Berlin’sRobert Lippok at Yonge-Dundas Square, performing a collaboration of a soundtrack to the 1919 silent film, “Tales of The Uncanny” on June 11. This event is free and all-ages.

Though no specific venues and dates are confirmed by NXNE, I was able to dig up that Fake Blood will be at Wrongbar on June 20th (via The Windish Agency).

Also, thanks to ‘For the Records’ for pointing out that The Black Lips, Burning Brides and Melissa Auf Der Maur will be playing a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 18th; brought to you by MySpace Canada.

IHeartMusic will be holding a showcase at the Drake Hotel on June 18th, featuring Amos the Transparent, The Balconies, Black Hat Brigade, and Oh No Forest Fires.

Dan Burke’s NeXT-at-NXNE showcase will include Red Mass, The Zoobombs, Catl, The Golden Triangle, The Two Koreas, The Sedatives, “Pizza Party” DJs, Teen Anger, Hexes & Ohs, Revolvers, and the Mark Inside.

Other acts confirmed through various sources are: Ruby Jean and the Thoghtful Bees, Bass Lions, Dinosaur Bones, Megan Hamilton and Volunteer Canola, The Paint Movement, Alphabot! and Parlour Steps.

That is all I can rummage up for now. We’ll keep you posted!

Summerworks is also back this year and via Gracing the Stage, there will be a launch party on May 3rd at the Theatre Centre featuring Bob Wiseman, Nils Edenloff (of The Rural Alberta Advantage), and Foxfire. For more information, click here!

And last but not least, as mentioned at the beginning of my post, this year’s Virgin Festival appears to have moved to Orillia, Ontario. Someone tell me this is a joke. It’s also rumoured to be taking place on August 29-30, but with other festivals such as the Outside Lands Fest and Reading Festival, who the hell is left for V-Fest? Again…this has to be a joke, right? Let’s hope so. Read more about this mystery here.

Musically,
Melody

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Music Venue Report Cards: The Opera House

April 23rd, 2009 | By: Guest Contributor

The Opera House

The Opera House

Where were you when Barack Obama won the presidency? If my children or grandchildren ever ask me that question one day, I’ll be able to tell them – I was at a metal show. On the night of November 4th, I was crushed up against a stage barricade, amidst a mass of sweat-drenched, moshing strangers chanting at the top of their lungs. As the votes poured in by the thousands for the man who has now been saddled with the unenviable task of correcting and moving on from the mistakes of the past two administrations, I was kicked in the head several times by bodies flying past me, while the four bands (one from Orange County, one from LA, one from Buffalo, and one from Toronto) provided election updates in-between songs. And when it was all over, as my friend and I headed back into the dark night – lit up by the passing cars under the Don Valley Parkway overpass and the red neon glow of the not-so-distant CN Tower, past 24-hour convenience stores with the owners huddled around their 12 inch black and white TVs as this historic event completely unfolded, I decided that there was nowhere I would have rather been that night than at the Opera House.

Let’s get one thing straight – it may be called “The Opera House”, but there sure as hell aren’t any operas going on there. In fact, you are far more likely to catch a shredding, balls-to-the-wall punk show at the venue located at 735 Queen Street East, than you are of catching a performance of Rossini’s La gazza ladra(Wikipedia that if you don’t know what it is).

The Opera House opened in 1909 as a vaudeville stage; seating almost 700, it was the main entertainment venue in the primarily working class Leslieville neighbourhood. As films eclipsed vaudeville in popularity, the theatre was turned into a cinema, operating as the La Plaza Theatre for many decades and later under a series of other names. In the early 1990s, as multiplexes made large single screen venues no longer viable as a cinema, it became the Opera House music venue. Sure, it might not be the most conveniently located venue to get to from downtown (compared to say, the Phoenix, which is about a ten minute walk away from Ryerson for me) – but hey, a little exercise never hurt anyone, and it certainly hasn’t deterred everyone from Tokyo Police Club to Rage Against The Machine to Eminem from playing there in the past.

Starting from the outside, the Opera House doesn’t appear to be anything spectacular. Of course I have to add that I am being highly subjective here; as all the shows that I have previously attended took place early to late evening, so I have yet to view the venue in perfect daylight. The same goes for the neighbourhood – the venue is surrounded by 24 hour convenience stores, several pubs and at least one strip club, and there’s a certain degree of “sketch” once the sun goes down.

The first thing you’ll notice while waiting in line to get into the Opera House is that it refreshingly lacks all the pretentiousness of the bigger venues (Kool Haus and Sound Academy, I’m looking in your direction). The security won’t try to feel you up like Michael Jackson at an elementary school, and the bouncers inside won’tshoot you nasty glares, while trying to confiscate your camera just because you wanted to take a few lousy snaps for your Facebook album (or this website, for further example). In fact, these bouncers seem like they legitimately enjoy their jobs – what a novel concept.

Walking into the venue you get a feeling of old-fashion grandiose; with the building’s high ceilings and gilded archways above the decently-sized stage, a certain authenticity that some of the newer Toronto venues lack. The Opera House consists of a large main floor, which usually parts in the middle during the sold-out shows to allow the kids to mosh to their hearts’ content, and a balcony. Another one of the Opera House’s major selling points is that you can buy a drink from a bar on the ground, several feet from the stage, that won’t cost you an arm, leg, or any of your vital organs. What’s not to like about a place that sells cheap booze? I’m no audiophile either, but the sound system seems pretty crisp to me and if you are fortunate to attend a metal show there (who doesn’t love bands like Cannibal Corpse and Mindless Self Indulgence? – on second thought, don’t answer that question), you’re guaranteed to leave with your ears ringing. As for the scuzzy bathrooms…it’s called character people, deal with it.

While ultimately the Opera House’s not-so-downtown location helps maintain its status as one of the more underrated music venues, for my money, it’s also one of the city’s best. It scores on its regal, yet down-to-earth interior, the lack of theatrics from those that work there, and the owner and managers’ ability to draw marquee artists and bands in, without having to charge marquee prices for the public to see them (a typical ticket to a show at the Opera House will usually set you back about $25-$30). And whether it was dancing till their legs gave out to the twee pop of Wales’ Los Campesinos!, banging their head to a thunderous grindcore show, or for me, laughing as the crowd heckled Tom Morello (performing as The Nightwatchmen) to play“Killing In The Name Of”, I’ve yet to hear a story about a bad concert-going experience there. And perhaps that more than anything, including this review, is the most telling evidence that seeing a show at the Opera House is almost always a guaranteed good time.

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News Update!

April 23rd, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Rah Rah

Rah Rah

As Max already said recently, we’re finally done with school (for now), so we have finally reached a school-free season of music, festivals and sunshine! That last one is still pending; Mother Nature, it’s up to you. Here’s what I’ve missed out on in the past few days.

Saskatchewan natives, Library Voices have a new track from their upcoming LP now streaming on their MySpace. Click here to listen. Also look out for a potential Toronto show from these guys in July; we’ll keep you posted.

Speaking of Saskatchewan indie-pop darlings, Rah Rah have recently announced two date in Toronto. They will be at the Boat on May 11th and El Mocambo on May 12th. Definitely go and check them out.

King Khan & The Shrines have a new video out for “Land of the Freak”. For a download of the track and the video, click here. Make sure to catch them at the Phoenix on May 12th. Tickets are still available for $15.00, and this show is 19+. In case you miss out though, King Khan & BBQ Show will be part of this year’s NXNE. More details of that TBA.

Camera Obscura also have a new video for “French Navy”, from their new album, My Maudlin Career.Watch here. Catch them live at Lee’s on June 27th; tickets are still available for $23.50.

Islands recently covered BeckClick here to stream their take on “Cyanide Breath Mint”.

Holy Fuck are offering a free download of a previously unreleased track entitled “Jungles” on their website right now. Go here to download!

Also offering a free, unreleased track are The DearsClick here to go to Natalia Yanchak’s blog and download“Halfmast”!

Great Bloomers are featured on i(heart)musicRead more here and watch out for an interview here on the Lamb early next week!

Other Show Announcements:
Au Revoir Simone @ Lee’s (May 21st, $12.00, 19+)
Friendly Fires @ Lee’s (August 10th, 19+)
Kid Koala @ Lee’s (May 7th)
The Juan Maclean, The Field @ Tattoo Rock Parlour (June 18, 19+)
Cracker @ Lee’s (June 23rd, $23.50, 19+)
Slim Twig (CD Release for Comtempt!) @ Horseshoe (May 29th, $10.00, 19+)
Blind Pilot @ El Mocambo (June 12th, $10.50, 19+)
Adam Freeland, Alex Metric @ Wrongbar (May 5, 19+)
M83 @ Phoenix (July 17th)
Phoenix, Amazing Baby @ Phoenix (June 15th, $22.50, 19+)
Miike Snow @ Drake Hotel (May 20th, 19+)
Sunset Rubdown @ Lee’s (July 10th, 19+)
Emma-Lee @ Drake Hotel (April 25th, 19+)
Telepathe, Teengirl Fantasy @ El Mocambo (June 4th, 19+)
The Paper Chase @ Drake Hotel (June 29, $11.00, 19+)

Also, according to ‘For the Records’Neko Case will return to Toronto for a show at Massey Hall this summer, so no worries to those who missed out last weekend!

That’s all for now. Hope you all enjoy a fantastic weekend!

Musically,
Melody

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Now That Its Over, This Weight Is Off My Shoulder

April 23rd, 2009 | By: Guest Contributor

Gentleman Reg @ Sonic Boom for Record Store Day

Gentleman Reg @ Sonic Boom for Record Store Day

“I feel like I’m dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what? I’m a pretty sound sleeper – that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face.”

I didn’t say that. Heck, the guy who did say that – one Stephen Colbert – was talking about getting the chance to speak at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, but I think this statement captures my feelings the last few days as I wrap up my first year of university. I finished my last exam yesterday afternoon, and now I’m beginning to say my goodbyes and getting ready to make the move from downtown TO to the strange wilderness that is North York. Now that school’s done, I’m hoping to be posting twice as often on here and covering even more shows and interviewing even more artists and bands.

International Record Store Day was this past Saturday and I got the chance to check out the festivities at Sonic Boom, which included solid performances from the likes of Gentleman RegGreen Go and Hooded Fang. But we all know this day was about the free shit, and there was plenty of that; including vinyls from Josh Reichmann and Controller.Controller., a Paper Bag Records sampler and some pretty cool posters and pins. And just because the event has passed, doesn’t mean that you still shouldn’t be out there supporting your local record stores.

Twitter and Pitchfork. If there are any two cultural trends that I shouldn’t be following, it would be the latest social networking craze and the holier-than-thou tastemaking music website. But damn was their staff’s Twitter coverage of last week’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival pretty darn funny (sample Tweets included “there’s a guy next to me with a 4-year old with no earplugs. parental epic fail” and “killers open with “human” and “somebody told me.” they know they’ve still got another hour plus up there, right?”), and the next best thing to actually being in the middle of the Californian desert, dancing and sweating with thousands of complete strangers to everyone from Leonard Cohen to My Bloody Valentine to Paul McCartney. To read more about what you missed and to follow PItchfork on Twitter, click here.

Fleet Foxes are coming to Massey Hall in August! The date has yet to be finalized, but according to Chromewaves, event promoters recently confirmed this announcement.

How can hip-hop be dead when Kanye West and Clipse are still here? Their shit-hot collaboration, “Kinda Like A Big Deal” (which you can listen over at Kanye’s blog here), features some “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”-style boasting, honest-to-goodness rapping from South Park’s most recent target and bodes well for the Virginia duo’s upcoming third album.

While everyone and their mothers have been turning out remixes of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Zero” recently (including MSTRKRFTAnimal Collective and N.A.S.A.), I thought I’d share with you a remix of a song from a band a little closer to home. Rio party-starter’s The Twelves turned out this remix of Metric’s “Help, I’m Alive”, which takes the original and turns it into a slab of French disco.

Hope y’all enjoyed, and celebrated accordingly, everyone’s favourite non-statuatory holiday on Monday. I’ll leave you with a few 4/20-related gems; here is Alexisonfire covering Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf”, a videofeaturing everyone’s favourite cuddly, family-friendly rapper (and avid cannabis supporter) Snoop Dogg, and some guy named Bob Marley talking about…well, you know where I’m going with this.

Cheers,
Max

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