The National

So according to a sign I passed the other day at the nearby Metro, apparently Monday was Family Day. Who knew? I certainly didn’t, but it seems like kind of a bogus holiday to me anyways. Wasn’t Valentine’s Day on Friday enough for people? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the day with your families, having dinner and whatever else good families do together. I personally have no idea what my family did three provinces away in Nova Scotia but I hope they enjoyed themselves. It’s reading week at Ryerson and residence has turned into a ghost town, but so far I’ve been keeping busy with my new job at Standard Pizza & Pasta Bar (check it out if you’re on College Street and you need a bite before checking out a show at Sneaky Dee’s or The Whippersnapper Gallery), sleeping (not quite as much as I’d like), drinking (but of course) and listening to some great new music.

I have a lengthy list of upcoming shows that I want to attend, but I’m not entirely sure if I will be in Toronto after second semester. First and foremost would be The National appearing at the Kool Haus on May 21st. Normally I would recommend that you go out and buy tickets, but I’m going to do the opposite and say you don’t want to go see this amazing band. Not at least until I get mine anyway (I’m kidding by the way – get them fast, because they’ll be gone soon). For those of you hungry for some new material from the Brooklyn band, they contributed a track called “So Far Around the Bend” to the compilation Dark Was The Night, which is in stores now. Produced by members Aaron and Bruce Dressner, and featuring songs from the likes of The Decemberists, Grizzly Bear, Feist, Arcade Fire, TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek, Andrew Bird and others, the double cd/triple vinyl/download will benefit the Red Hot Organization. Red Hot is an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture, and the list of artists involved is an indie rock fan’s wet dream, so support a good cause and pick it up. Apparently Barack’s down with The National as well, as he used the band’s songs at several campaign events and during his inauguration.

Does anybody else other than me find the pairing of British wannabe-goths The Horrors opening for garage rockers The Kills on their upcoming tour, a little strange? I mean, not to hate on The Horrors – the music video for “Sheena Is A Parasite” is awesome in a completely creepy way, but I think they are trying too hard and completely ripping off The Damned, The Cure, and several other bands before them. However if you want to check out both bands (plus Nashville’s Magic Wands, they’ll be playing at the Phoenix on May 7th. The Kills were one of my favourite discoveries of last year and Midnight Boom was one of my favourite albums of 2008, so I’m going to do everything in my power to get into this 19+ show. I also may or may not have a crush on raven-haired frontwoman Allison “VV” Mosshart.

On the other hand, a double bill of Ladytron and The Faint playing at the Phoenix on April 6th? Fantastic! I picked up my ticket the other day, and I think that both bands complement each other perfectly. Both bands are promoting new relatively albums - Ladytron’s Velocifero and The Faint’s Fascination came out recently – but I think that I am most excited to see the latter. I even made a list of reasons why you should check out The Faint, in case you haven’t already.
1. They hail from Omaha, Nebraska of all places.
2. They’re friends with Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), who was once a member of the band.
3. They write and perform ridiculously, catchy dance-punk songs like “Cars Pass In Cold Blood” and “The Geeks Were Alright”, which was remixed by Brits Does It Offend You, Yeah?.

Can a Yeah Yeah Yeahs tour date in Toronto be that far off? The first single “Zero” from their upcoming third album It’s Blitz! is finally online, and it sounds pretty damn good – if you liked their Is Is EP, than you will definitely like this track. As mentioned in a recent post, the album is scheduled to drop on April 14th – start getting psyched.

On a closing note, let me leave you with The Mae Shi’s tribute to Christian Bale’s life and his recent freakout, the aptly titled “R U Professional”. Hopefully it’ll put on a smile on your face – I know it did for me.

Cheers,
Max

Coachella

I usually love living in Toronto but every year there are a few events that just made me wish I was elsewhere – Lollapalooza, South By Southwest, any European festival…and Coachella.

As you may all know by now (by the various news reports from Stereogum and Pitchfork) that Coachella has officially announced their line-up for the 3-day festival held in Indio, California. I’m not even going to bother naming them all, so here’s the list! Damn you, California! It’s bad enough that you have unlimited sunny weather, but now this?!

Pitchfork also reports that Edmonton rapper/ex-Pitchfork writer, Cadence Weapon (a.k.a. Rollie Pemberton) has released his new album Separation Anxiety on his website as a pay-what-you-can deal, a la Radiohead. The album is basically comprised of remixes of other bands’ songs and a live cover of Chad Vangaalen’s “Mini TV’s” with the help of Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy (fantastic track; was originally released/played on a CBC Radio performance a while back). To download it either for free or for a charge, go here!

Speaking of Final Fantasy, Owen Pallett has a new video out for the fantastical track, “Horsetail Feathers” from his latest release, Plays to Please. Watch the official video here! And for an unofficial, but awesome live performance of it, click here!!

The Arcade Fire has a new song out called “Lenin” that will be part of the already amazing compilation, Dark Was The Knight. Stream the song here and read more about the compilation here.

Lenka and Meghan Hamilton will be at the Drake Hotel on Monday February 2nd. I knew about this show for a while now but had failed to mention it because I hadn’t listened to Lenka till last night…I love her now. Sorry for the late announcement! To listen to the Australian songstress yourself, check out her MySpace!

Andrew Bird was on Letterman recently. If you missed it, watch the clip here! His new album, Noble Beast is out now and he’ll be in town at the Elizabeth Theatre on April 3rd. Tickets are still on sale!

DJ extraordinaire, Steve Aoki will be stopping by as part of his tour, but not necessarily in Toronto. His two Ontario stops will include Richmond Hill on March 4th (Nava) and London on March 5th (Club Mansion).

Jon Rae Fletcher will be playing an in-store at Criminal Records on March 14th during CMW. Time is TBA though. I’ll keep you posted!

The Ting Tings’ show, as part of CMW, will be at the Mod Club on March 14th as well.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will be at The Air Canada Centre on May 7th. Prices are yet to be announced but it won’t be cheap.

Just a reminder that Neko Case tickets for her pair of April shows in Toronto are gradually selling out, so hurry up if you want to go! Opening for Case on both nights will be Crooked Fingers.

That’s it for now!

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody