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