Posts Tagged ‘malajube’

M for Montréal is here!

November 18th, 2009 | By: Guest Contributor

M for Montreal

M for Montreal

M for Montreal’s fourth edition showcases some of Montréal’s finest acts and still mix brilliantly the anglo and franco music scenes from all around Canada. That’s the beauty of this event, it brings everyone together! The other good thing about M is that you can actually attend all the shows. It’s made for you to see all these bands (unlike Pop Montreal, for instance). Even if on some nights the showcases are at different places, there’s enough time to bike or walk from the Cabaret Juste Pour Rire on Saint-Laurent down to the Metropolis on Sainte-Catherine or the Café Campus. You even have time to grab some Schwartz on the way or enjoy the greatest vegetarian food at Paradis Végétarien on Saint-Denis and Mont-Royal (or, you know, get some poutine at la banquise on Rachel). So I planned your weekend for you:

Tomorrow November 19th catch Final Flash, The Luyas, Miracle Fortress, The Rural Alberta Advantage, You Say Party! We Say Die! and Think About Life at Cabaret Juste Pour Rire, tickets are 17,75$ at the door. It all starts at 8 :30 and you can dance through the night with the Think About Life DJ set and « surprise guests » after the show. I can’t hide how freakin excited I am for this show. If you can only attend one showcase during M for Montréal, that’s the one.

On Friday November 20th, start the day right (if you have the three day pass, that is) with the M pour Martini cocktail with Mark Berube and The Few and Elisapie Isaac. The cocktail doubles as The Dears’ Valérie Jodoin Keaton’s Backstage book launch. Then head to the Cabaret for Two Hours Traffic, Silly Kissers, DD/MM/YYYY, Parlovr, Silver Starling and Le Matos. The M for Mystery afterparty will be a DJ set by Cadence Weapon and « very very special guests ».

On Saturday November 21st, it’s time to put these high school french classes to good use. The sélection franco showcase starts at 3 with Caracol followed by Québec’s Feist, Marie-Pierre Arthur. You can also catch Automelodi, latest hyped band and telus ad singers La Patère Rose, Géraldine (Don’t miss her! You won’t regret it. She’s the next Duchess Says of stage chaos, I swear) and pop duo Orange Orange. Later that night catch the M pour Metropolis show at the Metropolis (duh…) with Malajube, Melissa Auf der Maur, Champion and this year’s Polaris Music Prize winners Fucked Up. If you’re not tired from dancing around yet, there’s the M for Midnight afterparty at the SAT (don’t forget to RSVP to nightlife magazine beforehand).

The three day pass is insanely cheap (60$) and it gives you access to all the showcases, the M pour Martini cocktail, the panels, the afterparties AND M pour Metropolis. Careful though, there are only 150 available. Train and cheap bus tickets are still available for you Toronto people! I checked that for you because The Lamb always has your back. More information about ticket prices and schedules at http://mpourmontreal.com/EN/index.php.

Have a good weekend now!

Zut Alors,

Christine

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News Update!

May 7th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Malajube

Malajube

Again, I apologize for the delay this month! But alas, the Lamb is up and running and here’s some news from the past week!

Malajube will be back in town for a free show at Lee’s on June 12th, with openers Hollerado. According to Rootsmeansquare, tickets are available now at Rotate This and Soundscapes, so grab one now! If not, tickets will also be at the door. This is a 19+ show. As to why it’s free, I don’t know but I’m not one to refuse a free show.

Other show announcements:
Maps & Atlases @ El Mocambo (June 7th, $10.50, 19+)
Sonic Youth @ Massey Hall (June 30th, $36.50-48.50, ALL AGES *On sale Saturday; presale on now)
Torche, Harvey Milk @ Lee’s (July 23rd, $13.50, 19+)
Fleet Foxes, Dungen @ Massey Hall (August 4th, $32.50-38.50, ALL AGES * On sale Friday, presale on now)
Casiokids @ El Mocambo (August 5th, 19+)
John Vanderslice, Cotton Jones @ Horseshoe (July 10th, 19+)
Deer Tick, Dawes @ Horseshoe (July 17th, 19+)
Elvis Costello @ Massey Hall (August 28th, ALL AGES)
Maximo Park @ Lee’s (September 18th, 19+)
Kylie Minogue @ Air Canada Centre (October 9th, ALL AGES)
Place Hands, The Guest Bedroom, The Rescue, Fall of Heroes @ the Matty Eckler CRC (June 12th, $5.00, ALL AGES)
Apostle of Hustle, CCMC @ The Music Gallery (May 28th, $33.33, ALL AGES, *as part of The Music Gallery’s 33 1/3rd Birthday Fundraiser)
Evening Hymns, The Youngest @ Tranzac Front Room (June 5th, PWYC, 19+)

This year’s Pride Week is shaping up quite well, musically-speaking. Artists, including Islands, Gentlemam Reg, Esthero, OPOPO, Mansion and more will be performing free sets during the festivities at various stages in the city. For full listings and schedules, click here.

Regina Spektor’s new album Far is set to be released on June 22nd.

The Beastie Boys have a new song out called “Lee Majors Come Again” Listen to it here.

Bat For Lashes recently performed “Daniel” from her latest release Two Suns on Letterman. Watch it here.

Kids on TV, Gentleman Reg and Katie Stelmanis will all be playing short sets at the Inside Out Film Fest: Local Heroes Party on May 20th. This will be taking place at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

For those dying to pick up The Dirty Projectors’ new album Bitte Orca on June 9th, your fantastic choices of formats are CD, LP, MP3 and now cassette! Both cassettes and LPs will include codes for mp3s downloads.

Also, stream Deradoorian’s Mind Raft EP on Muxtape now!

And to cap things off, Gonzales will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for playing the longest concert ever; 27 hours on May 18th. You’ll be able to stream the whole show on his website here. Good luck, Gonzo!

Happy Listening!

Musically,
Melody

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Canadian Music Week Review: March 12th, 2009

March 17th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees

Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees

I never make new years resolutions because they never work out. This is why making Canadian Music Week/Fest (come one people, just stick to Week – sounds better) plans was a big mistake to begin with.

Not only did I not begin my CMW adventure on Wednesday like I had planned (I skipped out on Lioness at the last minute), but Thursday night’s schedule did not go according to plan at all – which may sound disastrous but actually ended up being a pretty good thing.

Instead of heading to the Horseshoe for Chartattack’s showcase (featuring The Lovely Feathers, $100, Women, etc); I started my night off at the Gladstone Hotel at Eye Weekly’s showcase for Castlemusic andAngela Desveaux and the Mighty Ship. Logically, it was just a more convenient stop because I had planned on attending Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees at 11:00 pm at the Drake Underground; not to mention other complications that night.

Surprisingly enough, I had never been to the Gladstone and was quite impressed by the venue. Its spacious room made for great views regardless of where you’re standing in the crowd and the darkly lit atmosphere casted quite the relaxing mood. Definitely a place that I’ll be visiting more frequently in the future for shows.

I hadn’t heard much from Castlemusic (a.k.a. Toronto’s Jennifer Castle) but had heard enough raving reviews of her latest release, You Can’t Take Anyone that made me excited to see her. Hidden underneath a baseball cap, it was hard to see Jennifer Castle throughout her set, but her voice more than made up for that. Her beautifully delicate vocals (at times, reminiscent of a more toned down and bluesy Julie Doiron) accompanied by her simplistic and dark guitar was captivating to say the least. Castlemusic is something that gradually grows on you as the music progresses, as reflected by the growing crowd as she played. At times, it was too melancholic for my liking and I found my mind veering off but overall, I quite enjoyed the set. Personally, I see myself enjoying Castle’s music more when I’m in bed with my headphones on but I do suggest fans and curious listeners to catch her live at least once to experience the striking presence of the tunes.

Official Website: http://www.jennifercastlemusic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/jennifercastlemusic

Angela Desveaux and the Mighty Ship was a band I was fairly more familiar with, as I had been lurking their MySpace for quite some time now (I believe I had originally stumbled across her music on Chromewaves). The Montreal native’s country-tinged pop was sweet, endearing and although I bet this set was not their finest (they can do better), they did a solid job worth commending. There appeared to be a lack of energy throughout their set, but that could’ve just been a misunderstanding towards their laid-back attitude and demeanour. Desveaux’s strong vocals and her cute attempts to create banter were entertaining and often put a smile on my face. Instead of leaving disappointed though, I left wanting more. Angela Desveaux and the Mighty Ship, mission accomplished; I am hooked.

Official Website: http://angeladesveaux.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/angeladesveaux

Unfortunately after that, I had to head down the street to the Drake Hotel for Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees. I would’ve loved to have returned for The Week That Was, Slim Twig, and The Rural Alberta Advantage but alas, that didn’t happen.

I think Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees were among one of the week’s most anticipated bands, in my opinion, as it was their first performance in Toronto and they had just released their debut album not long ago. You may not be used to seeing lead singer, Rebekah Higgs as the front woman of an electro-dance outfit (as her solo material is much calmer and sweet), but she masters the role with ease, energy and confidence. With an electric sense of energy, the band tore through their set with power and force. The band’s dark and danceable tracks translate to live performances smoothly and emotes a Death From Above 1979-meets-MSTRKRFT vibe, especially thanks to their talented guitarist, Jason Vautour and drummer, Sean MacGillivray. Higgs’ stage presence is undeniable, especially when she would jump into the crowd and attempt to make others around her move and dance. Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees is definitely a band to watch out for in the next couple of months as they are truly forces to be reckoned with. And as an exciting bit of news, they are apparently already slated to play this year’s NXNE so better prepare for a kick-ass show in June!

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/rubyjeanandthethoughtfulbees

I was able to catch a bit of Malajube’s set at El Mocambo at midnight but definitely not enough to write a proper review. From the viewpoint of someone who’s already seen them play before though, they are a solid band live but nothing too spectacular. Worth seeing once for sure, but for the most part, just sticking to the albums is not a bad alternative. Hopefully I’ll catch them again sometime soon and they’ll prove me wrong. Prove me wrong, Malajube.

Please feel free to let me know how your CMW experiences went! I’d love to know! Watch for more reviews as the week progresses!

No photos were taken from these shows.

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Back It Up, Boys

January 5th, 2009 | By: Melody Lau

The Arcade Fire

The Arcade Fire

Welcome (back) to the Singing Lamb, everyone!

I’ve missed you all dearly! I know it’s been a month or two since I’ve written a blog, so I may be a little rusty at the moment. Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday though and partied on New Year’s Eve.

In light of the new sight and all its new organizations, I’ve decided to reorganize my posts this year into two types of posts – features and news! Maybe it’s just my own paranoia, but I always felt that the news snippets I throw in at the end of my blogs were weird, so yes, this is just some distinction from when I babble on about miscellaneous news and when I babble on about one particular band I’d like to talk about.

I know that all the Pitchfork’s and all the Stereogum’s of the blogosphere are still whizzing with year-end this and upcoming that, so I’m going to merely sift through all of that and report any actual news that’s been reported throughout the jolly weeks of December…

First off, congrats to She & Him’s Zooey Dechanel and Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard for getting engaged. I think I can speak for everyone I know that this came as a surprise as I didn’t even know they were dating to begin with, but good for them. Was anyone else just hoping that Zooey was really engaged toM.Ward? These rumours are actually yet to be confirmed by either Dechanel or Gibbard’s publicist, so for all we know, this could be an indie episode of Punk’d or something.

For those who are anxiously awaiting something from The Arcade Fire, good news is that they have a live documentary entitled Miroir Noir, bad news is that it won’t be out till March. On the bright side, if you’re the online shopping type, you can pre-order it now on their site and even order a fancy limited edition version, with bonus material and nicer packaging for an extra $15. This was on my Christmas list but alas, I didn’t get it. Guess I’ll just buy it when it comes out. Also, the band has released an unreleased track from 2007′s Neon Bible“Burning Bridges, Breaking Hearts”.

Speaking of new tracks from Montreal bands, 2006 Polaris Prize nominees Malajube has released a new song as well, entitled “Ursuline” from their upcoming album, Labyrinthe (due out February 19, Dare to Care).

You can catch them, along with plenty more at this year’s Canadian Music Week (March 12-14). I must say, the line-up for this festival is getting me really excited – and it’s not even March yet! Highlights to look out for includes (but not limit to) the following: 6 Day Riot, Basia Bulat, Chad Vangaalen, Cuff the Duke, Gentlemen Reg, Ghost Bees, Hexes & Ohs, Hooded Fang, Hey Rosetta!, Human Highway, Jon-Rae Fletcher, Laura Peek & The Winning Hearts, Library Voices, Rebekah Higgs, Spiral Beach, The Acorn, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Ting Tings, The Weather Station, Vancougar, Women, We Are Wolves, and Young Galaxy(who played a quick set at CMW’s award show, The Indies last year). Just thinking about this makes me crazy; I don’t know about you! I’ll keep you posted on any additions in the upcoming months. Last year, I was the queen of CMW in-store performances (Plants and Animals, Winter Gloves, Laura Barrett, Forest City Lovers, and Immaculate Machine – all in three days), so I’ll also be sure to inform you all when these wonderful in-stores will take place.

No known venues and dates have been announced (with the exception of the Bloc Party show at the Kool Haus on the last day of the festival), but according to ‘For the Records’, Hooded Fang, The RAA, The Magic Boys Who Say No, and Green Go will be playing on March 13th at the Silver Dollar. E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G!

Also mentioned on ‘For the Records’, Bruce Peninsula will be doing an in-store at Soundscapes on February 4 (times TBA?) and the Rural Alberta Advantage will be playing another show on February 22 at Sneaky Dee’s.

Hooded Fang, who will tour briefly with the RAA, will also open for Bishop Allen on January 17 at El Mocambo; tickets are still available at Soundscapes and Rotate This ($10). If not, you can also catch them on Valentine’s Day as part of Wavelength’s 9th Anniversary fest (Feb. 12-15). They will play alongside $100, Brides, The Luyas, and the Element Choir at the Polish Combatant Hall (206 Beverley St.). Tickets to the anniversary shows are only at the door and are either $10 or pay what you can – sweet!

Night one of the Wavelength Anniversary Fest includes Timbre Timbre, Ghost Bees, and Dorit Chrystler at the Music Gallery, with the Diableros and Loitering Heroes later on that night at the Cameron House. Night two features Slim Twig, Bonjay, Child Bite and The Magic at Wrongbar. The fest will close off on the 15th with Foxfire, I Am Robot and Proud, Thank You, and Mi Ami at Sneaky Dee’s. Again, all shows are $10 or pay what you can. Oh, February’s looking good.

Hope that’s enough to swallow in one sitting! More to come – new year, new site, more news! 09′s looking bright and hopeful!

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody

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