Gig: Canaille

Canaille (Stop Time)

The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge). Friday, January 21, 2011.

With some time to kill before a gig down at The Silver Dollar, I was well-pleased to catch word on the social networks that Canaille were playing a last-minute evening gig at The Tranzac. That also made it a convenient chance to check out Stop Time, a group with a couple familiar faces, including Michael Davidson (one of the primary go-to guys for local rock groups wanting to add a vibraphone, as well as playing in a number of his own more improvisatory groups) and drummer Dan Gaucher (seen in more projects than I could count, and doing double-duty on this evening). The group was rounded out by Harley Card (guitar) and Dan Fortin (bass) and worked as more of a composers' workshop than jam session.

"Dredge", the first song, was pleasantly mellow but could be slotted in as Tortoise-y post-rock, with gentle melodic pushes from vibes and guit pushed along by the rhythm section. Perhaps unsurprisingly for any band named after a musical concept, some of the compositions gave the impression that they were little experiments, playing with texture here and rhythm there, and the music was more subtle, often on the quieter side. They focused more on the interplay than on a musical attack or out-front solos — that meant there were a couple places where this edged a little bit more towards "smooth" than I'd prefer. But on the whole, pleasingly understated stuff. The set closed with a couple from the band's Twice album (available on their bandcamp), including "Bail" and "Permanent Bad Move", the latter the more extended of the set, with a slow build that simmered nicely against Fortin's bassline.

Listen to a track from this set here.

At early-evening shows like this in the Tranzac's front room, audience-members sometimes have to get used to the idea that the musicians are often playing mostly for each other — in the early going, besides the members of both bands and a couple friends, the "crowd" was pretty much me. As as usually the way, though, during the set a few more people drifted in — some more casually than others just to hang out for a bit near the back, some grabbing a seat to take this in. So there were a few more bodies on hand as Canaille set up.

Although the most striking element of the band's lineup is the horns, with saxman/leader Jeremy Strachan joined by Jay Hay on tenor and Nick Buligan on trumpet, the biggest change since I had last seen them has been the addition of Jesse Levine on keybs. Adding both texture and mildly disruptive colours, his superb work was nimble and complementary in a way that really buoyed up the sound. His efforts definitely tied together "Angeer" — a new one that Strachan mentioned will be the lead-off to the band's forthcoming sophomore release.¹

That one moved with some straight-up swing, ending on a march beat, and after that, the band zeroed in on Canaille's stock-in-trade, a sound that sounds like a collision between ethiogroove and an old spy movie. As if the material from the yet-unreleased album wasn't fresh enough, Strachan unveiled a brand-new composition that he'd composed that afternoon, a slinky prelude that segued nicely into "Pillows". Despite working from brand-new arrangements on unfamiliar material, the band handled it well, especially Mike Smith's nimble bass guiding it along.

The set closed with Sun Ra's "Watusa" (which will also be featured on the album), and it definitely left me glad I had come down. Potential Things, the band's first album, was pretty tasty stuff, but they've clearly stepped it up a notch — do not miss them when they're playing this fall to support the new album.

Listen to a track from this set here.

After that, it was rather tough to leave the cozy confines of the Southern Cross, especially since the night's later show would be featuring Metal Kites and Gabriel Levine, but I had another show to attend to, so I regretfully moved along.

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¹ Practical Men, forthcoming from the Standard Form imprint, still doesn't have a release date, but I am told that it's done and at the plant now, so it shouldn't be too long before this phenomenal album is going to be unleashed on the world.