Concert Listings Roundup #38

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

Swap, Don't Shop [fundraiser for Girls Rock Camp Toronto] (feat. Twist / Patti Cake / Planet Creature / Ice Cream / Beliefs) / The Garrison 2014-04-06 (Sunday – all ages! matinée!) [FB event]

The fundraisers that the Girls Rock Camp folks put on are always a good time — and they help support their annual summer camps. Help these awesome role models mentor the next wave of musicians — whether you want to take part in the clothing swap or not, you can also make it into a brunch event if you want to start your afternoon with some selections from The Garrison's taco menu. And oh, a pretty kick-ass musical lineup to boot.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Somewhere There Presents (feat. John Oswald / Heather Segger / Mark Segger and more) / Array Space 2014-04-01 (Tuesday)

Ronley Teper's Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-04-02 (Wednesday)

Sun Stone Revolvers (Bad River / Marriage) / Clinton's 2014-04-02 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Gaudeamus: Deconstructed [2 sets of improvised music, including comprovised works by Michiel van Dijk, Koen Kaptijn and Allison Cameron] / The Music Gallery 2014-04-03 (Thursday) [more info]

Whimm [debut show!] (Katie Monks) / The Magpie Taproom 2014-04-03 (Thursday) [FB event]

Blind William Blake [Michelangelo Iaffaldano + D. Alex Meeks] (QMT [Alan Bloor/James Bailey/Matthew Poulakakis]) / Musideum 2014-04-03 (Thursday)

Gaudeamus: Reconstructed (feat. Continuum's ensemble with The Array Ensemble) / The Music Gallery 2014-04-04 (Friday) [more info]

Kelly McMichael & the Gloss [video release dance party!] (Geordie Gordon / Lisa Bozikovic) / The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom 2014-04-04 (Friday) [more info]

Fat As Fuck [album release show!] (New Teeth) / The Garrison 2014-04-04 (Friday) [FB event]

Dying with Dignity #2 (feat. Comet Control) / The Press Club 2014-04-04 (Friday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 36 (feat. Ketamines / Babysitter / Gay / Omhouse) / The Jam Factory 2014-04-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Mary Margaret O'Hara/Micheal O'Hara/Arnd Jurgensen and special guests / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-04-05 (Saturday)

ENGINE [Peter Lutek/Tom Richards/Greg de Denus/Dan Fortin/Joe Sorbara] / 80 Gladstone 2014-04-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

First Base (I Smell Blood / Connoisseurs of Porn / weselldrugs) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-04-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

This Afternoon's Ambience presents: No Angels Dancing (feat. D. Alex Meeks and Allison Cameron) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-04-06 (Sunday – matinée! 1 to 3 p.m.)

White Ribs (FOAM / Baku-Eater of Dreams) / Clinton's 2014-04-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Add these to your calendar:

Ido Govrin [curating a live experimental music concert, featuring Rob Cruickshank/Christine Duncan and The Knot (Tilman Lewis and Nick Storing)] / UTAC University of Toronto Art Centre 2014-04-08 (Tuesday – free!)

Steam Whistle Unsigned #29 (feat. Jane's Party / Young Guv / Blonde Elvis) / Steam Whistle Brewing 2014-04-11 (Friday) [FB event]

See Through Four (Famous Wildlife Movies) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-04-13 (Sunday) [FB event]

Teen Tits Wild Wives [Street Hawks EP Release!] (Sexy Merlin / Rotzig) / Milk Glass Co. 2014-04-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Healing Power Residency #3 [Synth'd Out Edition] (feat. Toblerone Boys / PWM) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2013-04-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

catl [This Shakin' House LP Release Party!] (Bloodshot Bill / Mad Ones) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2014-04-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Silent Shout + Mechanical Forest Sound (feat. Lee Paradise [Dan Lee from Hooded Fang/Phèdre! Water Palace Kingdom release party!] / Secret Guest headliner [!] / Jay Holy / B-17) / The Silver Dollar Room 2014-04-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength 597 (feat. Chicago Underground Duo / Not The Wind, Not The Flag / King Weather) / The Garrison 2014-05-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

You've Changed Records 5th Anniversary Celebration! (feat. The Weather Station / Shotgun Jimmie / Baby Eagle / Marine Dreams / Richard Laviolette) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2014-05-22 (Thursday) [FB event]

Recording: Sait-Hall-Phillips

Artist: David Sait/Glen Hall/ Ted Phillips

Song: [excerpt from second piece]

Recorded at Array Space ("Audiopollination 16.2"), March 13, 2014.

Sait-Hall-Phillips - [excerpt from second piece]

Full review to follow. David Sait picked out some melodies on his clear-bodied guzheng, which served as source material for laptopists Glen Hall and Ted Phillips to add some algorithmically-correct sympathetic sounds.

As always, you can check out the entire show on Audiopollination's bandcamp page!

Recording: 6 Heads and Gil Delindro

Artist: 6 Heads and Gil Delindro

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 16.2), March 13, 2014.

6 Heads and Gil Delindro - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. Experimental sound collagists/noise crew 6 Heads was only five deep on this night (with James Bailey, William Davison, Sherri Higgins, Colin Hinz, Pete Mosher on hand) but they made quorum with the help of the evening's special guest. Plenty of knobs to be turned and more — that one recurrent screechy sound you can hear in the extract is a clear plastic CD (y'know, those ones that are always left over at the end of the spindle) being bowed and then looped.

As always, you can check out the entire show on Audiopollination's bandcamp page!

Recording: Mike Gennaro + Colin Fisher

Artist: Mike Gennaro + Colin Fisher

Song: [last piece]

Recorded at Musideum, March 12, 2014.

Mike Gennaro + Colin Fisher - [last piece]

Full review to follow. This musical pairing seems to be powerful enough to evoke extreme weather whenever they join forces, whether an ice storm the last time I saw 'em or an unseasonal visit from a polar vortex this time out. Fisher brought his alto for this set, and seemed to have a lot of notes to get out. Gennarro obliged with some rapid-fire drumming, making the bulk of the set a frenetic experience, little melodies exploding like pop rocks. This short coda to the set — still rather peppy — was as restrained as they got this time out.

Recording: Matt "Doc" Dunn

Artist: Matt "Doc" Dunn

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Musideum, March 12, 2014.

Matt "Doc" Dunn - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. One last dip into the polar vortex meant there was a rather sparse crowd out on this night at the cozy Musideum — but that meant for as casual a show as you could imagine. Slide in hand, "Doc" Dunn tapped into some truly blissful stuff here, sending things all the way from the living room-like setting to the Galactic Centre.

Recording: Young Doctors in Love

Artist: Young Doctors in Love

Song: Hey I Need Your Love Tonight^*

Recorded at Handlebar ("Crosswires"), March 9, 2014.

Young Doctors in Love - Hey I Need Your Love Tonight

Full review to follow. This poppy crew turned some heads a few years back with their 5 Golden Greats EP, and looks poised to do so again with some new songs (of which you can check out the first single). Meanwhile, this one rolls with the sassy ebullience of vintage Go-Go's, thanks to those "woah-oh-oh-oh-oh" vocals.

^* Thanks to Clay for passing along the title to this one!

Recording: Brent Randall and The Rainbow Twangers

Artist: Brent Randall and The Rainbow Twangers

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Handlebar ("Crosswires"), March 9, 2014.

Brent Randall and The Rainbow Twangers - unknown

Full review to follow. It looks like productive songsmith Brent Randall is overflowing with tunes, and some that don't find a spot in the Pinecones are getting an airing in this new side-project. For the record, "Twangers" is pronounced to rhyme with "angers", but if that sounds like they're just goofin' around, note that the songs are no joke, sounding like lost slices of AM gold.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Concert Listings Roundup #37

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

Stripmall Ballads (Flood & Pass / The Living Daylight Stringband) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

A lot of fine shows this week, but this takes the prize for its intimate and unique nature. Simone Schmidt (Fiver/The Highest Order) joins forces with American songwriter Phillips (who performs as Stripmall Ballads) to share some new collaborations that the pair are heading into the studio to record.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Loom (Hurricanes Of Love / Holiday Rambler) / June Records 2014-03-24 (Monday) [FB event]

Thom Gill (Luka / Tradition) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-25 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Casual User (Sofistifucks / Skyn Flynt) / Sneaky Dee's 2014-03-25 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Josh Cole Standards Quartet [Nicole Rampersaud/Ryan Driver/Nick Fraser/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-26 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Pink Moth [Eclipsed album release!] (The Island Years / Jenny Omnichord) / Holy Oak Café 2013-03-26 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Gennaro/Lumley/Taylor (Eschaton) / Array Space 2014-03-26 (Wednesday) [FB event]

The Animal Sessions (feat. Jesse James Laderoute / Alex Pulec / Dee Corcoran) / Charlie's Gallery 2014-03-27 (Thursday) [FB event]

EAR-CAM ["After a 10-year period of reflection and reintegration, sound artists EAR-CAM regroup." feat. Nobuo Kubota/Christine Duncan/John Oswald/Tomasz Krakowiak/Glen Hall] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-28 (Friday – early!)

Hit It (feat. Surinam / Milk Lines / Dilly Dally / Bad Channels) / The Silver Dollar Room 2014-03-28 (Friday) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Quartet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-28 (Friday)

Petra Glynt (Ice Cream / VCR / secret guest) / CineCycle 2014-03-28 (Friday) [FB event]

Little Ghost [CD release] (Shipley Hollow / Hana Lu Lu / Dan Daly) / Double Double Land 2014-03-28 (Friday) [FB event]

Make Some Noise Series (feat. PUP / Alvvays) / Toronto Public Library – Yorkville Branch 2014-03-29 (Saturday – free/all ages/early!) [FB event]

Wavelength 592 (feat. White Ribs / B-17 / New Positions / Toronto Homicide Squad) / Bike Pirates 2014-03-29 (Saturday) [FB event]

Biblical [Monsoon Season Release Party!] (Public Animal / Hollow Earth) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2014-03-29 (Saturday) [FB event]

WTCHS (Wolfcow / Huren / Slender Loris) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-03-29 (Saturday) [FB event]

Build To Suit / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-30 (Sunday – matinée: 1 to 3 p.m.)

King Weather (Ken Aldcroft) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

Carsick Cars (White+ / Jay Holy / Tess Parks / Different Skeletons) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

Crosswires (feat. Not a Total Gadjo / Walk North / Ugly School) / Handlebar 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Add these to your calendar:

Nora Mulder [Amsterdam-based pianist improvises with Ryan Driver/Nicole Rampersaud/Evan Cartwright/Doug Tielli] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-31 (Monday – early!) [FB event]

Kelly McMichael & the Gloss [video release dance party!] (Geordie Gordon / Lisa Bozikovic) / The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom 2014-04-04 (Friday) [more info]

White Ribs (FOAM / Baku-Eater of Dreams) / Clinton's 2014-04-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Carl Wilson & Sean Michaels Tandem Book Launch ["readings plus performances by Snowblink and special guest thereminists and other surprises TBA"] / Monarch Tavern 2014-04-08 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Cosmonauts (B-17 / Mean Tikes) / Sneaky Dee's 2014-04-08 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Persian Rugs (Fires of Cheektowaga / floppsy b & the sugarstarkidd [debut performance!] / Holy Oak Café 2014-04-12 (Saturday) [FB event]

Spectrum: Early Expressions / The Annex Theatre 2014-04-17 (Thursday) [more info]

The New Mendicants / The Dakota Tavern 2014-04-18 + 2014-04-19 (Friday + Saturday – early shows!) [more info]

Wavelength 595 (feat. Cellphone / Connoisseurs of Porn / Look Vibrant / Mystics) / Smiling Buddha 2014-04-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Weaves [EP Release show! (Bizzarh / HSY / New Fries) / CineCycle 2014-04-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Timber Timbre (Cold Specks) / Massey Hall 2014-05-23 (Friday) [more info]

Cœur de pirate (Bry Webb) / Massey Hall 2014-05-31 (Saturday) [more info]

Recording: Freelove Fenner

Artist: Freelove Fenner

Songs: Dr D and his Artist Friend + Eva

Recorded at Oz Studios, March 8, 2014.

Freelove Fenner - Dr D and his Artist Friend

Freelove Fenner - Eva

Full review to follow. This Montréal trio might warn against affecting a breezy manner, but there's a wonderful lightness of touch in their teasing guitar lines and subtle psychedelia, delivered in fully-realized two-minute bursts. Great stuff.

Recording: Gay

Artist: Gay

Song: Another Green Stitch

Recorded at Oz Studios, March 8, 2014.

Gay - Another Green Stitch

Full review to follow. Jesse Locke and Tom Avis wear many hats in the local music firmament, but with this show — the first promoted under their "No Visible Means" banner — they've added one more. The enterprise got off to a good start with this show, pulling together a trio of local acts alongside visiting Montréal headliners Freelove Fenner. Avis was also pulling double duty in this set as he took his place behind the drumkit for Gay, who performed their Dance Mix anthems with joyful, shambolic bravado.

Recording: JFM

Artist: JFM

Song: Unfree^*

Recorded at The Great Hall ("Long Winter" – Year 2, Volume 5), March 7, 2014.

JFM - Unfree

Full review to follow. Never have I felt such a seemingly unending, relentless winter in this town, but the monthly instalments of Long Winter were all welcome respites. This second season closed out with a somewhat heavier night — Fucked Up finally made a last-minute appearance to preview their forthcoming Glass Boys album to close things out. But there was still a lot of variety stuffed in around the edges. It seemed like the crowd at this all-ages affair got younger every month, and from what I could tell a lot of the younger cohort came with open ears, willing to take a chance on the bands besides the ones they came to see. We don't have enough of this going on, so here's hoping that next winter is once again a Long Winter. (Except, like, weather-wise. Please don't make us deal with that again!)

I wasn't really familiar with Jesse Matthews' samples'n'beats-driven project, but with an album on Divorce Records (and a new tape on Pleasence) it seemed smart to head down to the restaurant to check this out.

^* Thanks to Jesse for passing along the title to this one.

Recording: Fiver

Artist: Fiver

Song: Gone Alone

Recorded at The Great Hall ("Long Winter" – Year 2, Volume 5), March 7, 2014.

Fiver - Gone Alone

Full review to follow. Never have I felt such a seemingly unending, relentless winter in this town, but the monthly instalments of Long Winter were all welcome respites. This second season closed out with a somewhat heavier night — Fucked Up finally made a last-minute appearance to preview their forthcoming Glass Boys album to close things out. But there was still a lot of variety stuffed in around the edges. It seemed like the crowd at this all-ages affair got younger every month, and from what I could tell a lot of the younger cohort came with open ears, willing to take a chance on the bands besides the ones they came to see. We don't have enough of this going on, so here's hoping that next winter is once again a Long Winter. (Except, like, weather-wise. Please don't make us deal with that again!)

Celebrating International Women's Day, Simone Schmidt brought a whole different configuration than was seen at the band's album release show — here in a stripped-down trio with her guitar accompanied by cris derksen's cello textures and Simone T-B's percussion.

Recording: So Young

Artist: So Young

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Great Hall ("Long Winter" – Year 2, Volume 5), March 7, 2014.

So Young - unknown

Full review to follow. Never have I felt such a seemingly unending, relentless winter in this town, but the monthly instalments of Long Winter were all welcome respites. This second season closed out with a somewhat heavier night — Fucked Up finally made a last-minute appearance to preview their forthcoming Glass Boys album to close things out. But there was still a lot of variety stuffed in around the edges. It seemed like the crowd at this all-ages affair got younger every month, and from what I could tell a lot of the younger cohort came with open ears, willing to take a chance on the bands besides the ones they came to see. We don't have enough of this going on, so here's hoping that next winter is once again a Long Winter. (Except, like, weather-wise. Please don't make us deal with that again!)

This London, ON combo brought some tasty power-pop to open things up on the main stage. When Sheezer played LW last month, I was once again struck how much I'd love to hear that group come up with some of their own songs. Well, if they did, they'd probably sound like this.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: The Two Koreas

Artist: The Two Koreas

Songs: King's Lead Hat [Brian Eno cover] + Haunted Beach

Recorded at The Piston ("T2K10: The Two Koreas’ 10th-anniversary spectacular"), March 6, 2014.

The Two Koreas - King's Lead Hat

The Two Koreas - Haunted Beach

Longevity can be something of a barbed prize in rock'n'roll, so kudos to The Two Koreas for facing the Dad Rock jokes head on and taking a night to celebrate their tenth anniversary by playing three era-specific sets, starting with their brand new EP and reaching back (via a trip to Science Island) to their striped-shirt youthful altruistic days.

Recording: Pow Wows

Artist: Pow Wows

Song: You Haven't Got Me Yet^*

Recorded at The Piston ("T2K10: The Two Koreas’ 10th-anniversary spectacular"), March 6, 2014.

Pow Wows - You Haven't Got Me Yet

Full review to follow. Giving the crowd a breather as the Two Koreas celebrated their tenth anniversary by working their way backward through their catalogue, Pow Wows accelerated that to full-on rock'n'roll atavism, throwing some tasty new songs into the mix to boot.

^* Thanks to Frantic City for passing along the title to this one!

Recording: CCMC

Artist: CCMC

Song: [second improvisation]

Recorded at Supermarket ("Celebrate Paul Dutton at 70"), March 4, 2014.

CCMC - [second improvisation]

Full review to follow. More than just a birthday party, this event was planned as a tribute to Paul Dutton's "four decades of challenging the borders of literature and music". I mostly know him from his excursions in the latter realm, so it was interesting to hear the musical stuff freely mixed in among readings and reinterpretations from his poems and prose. (I did not know that Dutton had written a novel, but I left with a copy of Several Women Dancing.) Not that there's a hard boundary between those two fields, given that they're both based around the free expressiveness and infinite variability of the human voice.

The night ended with Dutton taking the stage as a member of his long-running improvising group CCMC. A brief set, but a fitting end to the night, capping off the tribute and the revisitations of the past with something brand new + invented in the moment. The celebration (and the creativity) of Paul Dutton don't end here.

Recording: Barwin-Betts-Lee

Artist: Gary Barwin / Gregory Betts / David Lee

Song: Kit Talk [composer: Paul Dutton]

Recorded at Supermarket ("Celebrate Paul Dutton at 70"), March 4, 2014.

Barwin-Betts-Lee - Kit Talk

Full review to follow. More than just a birthday party, this event was planned as a tribute to Paul Dutton's "four decades of challenging the borders of literature and music". I mostly know him from his excursions in the latter realm, so it was interesting to hear the musical stuff freely mixed in among readings and reinterpretations from his poems and prose. (I did not know that Dutton had written a novel, but I left with a copy of Several Women Dancing.) Not that there's a hard boundary between those two fields, given that they're both based around the free expressiveness and infinite variability of the human voice.

David Lee brought along his cello to support the stereophonic speech-sputtering. Never in my life have I seen so many people staring intently at sheets of paper in order to read things like "p-p-pa-pa-p-p-pa-po".

Recording: Donkey Lopez

Artist: Donkey Lopez [Ray Dillard / Steven Lederman / Stuart Ross]

Song: This and That [from "Aurealities" by Paul Dutton]

Recorded at Supermarket ("Celebrate Paul Dutton at 70"), March 4, 2014.

Donkey Lopez - This and That

Full review to follow. More than just a birthday party, this event was planned as a tribute to Paul Dutton's "four decades of challenging the borders of literature and music". I mostly know him from his excursions in the latter realm, so it was interesting to hear the musical stuff freely mixed in among readings and reinterpretations from his poems and prose. (I did not know that Dutton had written a novel, but I left with a copy of Several Women Dancing.) Not that there's a hard boundary between those two fields, given that they're both based around the free expressiveness and infinite variability of the human voice.

This performance brought together those distinctive speech rhythms with a stage full of miscellaneous percussion implements and electronics (including, I do believe, a Speak and Spell).

Concert Listings Roundup #36

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

Musica Reflecta + Love Nation: Continuous Events / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2014-03-22 (Saturday) [FB event]

One hundred minutes of continuous performance! "Oscillating between chamber music premieres and solo improvisations, the night will feature new works and performances by some of Toronto's most adventurous composers and improvisers including: Jason Doell, Nick Storring, Thomas Gill, Ryan Driver and more."

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This week's noteworthy shows:

New Music 101 (feat. The Music Gallery / Continuum Contemporary Music) / Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium – Toronto Reference Library 2014-03-17 (Monday – free!) [FB event]

MELTS (feat. THOMAS / Omhouse / Elrichman/Sexy Merlin / Richard Christian) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-19 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Flowchart [a performance series featuring artists working in different media – music + dance + more] (feat. Julia Male / Bridget Moser / Liz Peterson) / Artscape Youngplace 2014-03-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents "The Lake Ontario Jamboree" (feat. Think of a Name / Bo0t / King Weather / Fire Moss) / Array Space 2014-03-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

Valdivia/Brenders (Segger vs. Segger) / Musideum 2014-03-20 (Thursday)

DUST ["the quietest big band in the known world" – first night of a new residency on the third Friday of every month!] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-21 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

The Pump ["A short documentary about the latest dance craze"] (feat. musical sets by Ryan Driver / Chandra Bulucon) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-21 (Friday)

Aurochs (Ali Berkok) / Musideum 2014-03-21 (Friday) [FB event]

Astral Gunk [record release!] (The Beverleys / DAS RAD / Teen Tits Wild Wives) / The Imperial Pub 2014-03-21 (Friday) [FB event]

The Big Sound / Adelaide Hall 2014-03-21 (Friday) [FB event]

The Julee Cruise Ships (Marker Starling) / Handlebar 2014-03-22 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Blow / The Garrison 2013-03-23 (Sunday) [more info]

Birth of Troubling Forms [Alan Bloor/Branko Dzinovic/Ambrose Pottie/Michael Lynn] / Musideum 2014-03-23 (Sunday) [FB event]

Holiday Rambler (ANAMAI (solo) / Sasha Chapin) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-23 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Add these to your calendar:

Loom (Hurricanes Of Love / Holiday Rambler) / June Records 2014-03-24 (Monday) [FB event]

Thom Gill (Luka / Tradition) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-25 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Animal Sessions (feat. Jesse James Laderoute / Alex Pulec / Dee Corcoran) / Charlie's Gallery 2014-03-27 (Thursday) [FB event]

Hit It (feat. Surinam / Milk Lines / Dilly Dally / Bad Channels) / The Silver Dollar Room 2014-03-28 (Friday) [FB event]

WTCHS (Wolfcow / Huren / Slender Loris) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-03-29 (Saturday) [FB event]

Stripmall Ballads (Flood & Pass / The Living Daylight Stringband) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

Sun Stone Revolvers (Bad River / Marriage) / Clinton's 2014-04-02 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Whimm [debut show!] (Katie Monks) / The Magpie Taproom 2014-04-03 (Thursday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 36 (feat. Ketamines / Babysitter / Gay / Omhouse) / The Jam Factory 2014-04-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Swap, Don't Shop [fundraiser for Girls Rock Camp Toronto] (feat. Twist / Patti Cake / Planet Creature / Ice Cream / Beliefs) / The Garrison 2014-04-06 (Sunday – all ages! matinée!) [FB event]

Audiopollination #17.1 (feat. Bill Gilliam (piano) performing improvised duets and trios with Cassie Norton / Thistle Strum + Callum Mackenzie / David Shelly / Rod Campbell) / Array Space 2014-04-08 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #17.2: Value Village Special ["sets of groups/ensembles using items bought from Value Village"] (feat. Value Village Idiots [Michael Lynn, Michaelangelo Iaffaldano, Arnd Jurgensen, Tim Cuff, Brenda Joy Lem, Dominque Banoun, James Bailey] / Rob Piilonen/Germaine Liu/Mark Zurawinski / Joe Sorbara and group) / Array Space 2014-04-11 (Friday) [FB event]

The Toy Piano Composers: Tension/Resolution [new works for harp + ensemble] / Heliconian Hall 2014-04-12 (Saturday) [FB event]

ZONES (Bile Sister / Nick Persons / Doom Tickler / Fleshtone Aura) / Mây 2014-04-12 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bruce Peninsula Trio / Campbell House Museum 2014-04-13 (Sunday) [FB event]

A Grayowl Point Crosswires (feat. Christian Hansen / Blimp Rock / Elrichman) / Handlebar 2014-04-13 (Sunday) [FB event]

Téléphone Maison [Arachnidiscs Cassette Release!] (A Sacred Cloud / Zoo Owl) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-04-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Mount Eerie (Wyrd Visions) [Half–Eaten Guitar Reissue celebration!] / Soybomb 2014-04-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Phèdre (VCR / Tremayne / Creep Highway) / Double Double Land 2014-04-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

S.M. (Stüka / New Positions / Smother) / Smiling Buddha 2014-04-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Recording: Jean-Pierre Drouet

Artist: Jean-Pierre Drouet

Song: Toucher [composer: Vinko Globokar]

Recorded at Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium, Toronto Reference Library ("New Music 101"), March 3, 2014.

Jean-Pierre Drouet - Toucher

Once again, many of the city's New Music organizations are banding together for some outreach and edutainment under the banner of "New Music 101", a free series Monday nights at the Reference Library. Each instalment sees two groups take some time to give some insight into how they're making music, usually accompanied by a stripped-down performance. There's one more left on March 17th, as well as a bonus remounting of this week's interactive presentation from Soundstreams and Spectrum (on May 28th at Fort York Library Branch).

The first night in this year's series saw junctQín keyboard collective talking about taking their music beyond the piano as well as New Music Concerts presenting avant-garde percussionist and composer Jean-Pierre Drouet. A practitioner of "instrumental theatre" (mixing music with a theatrical flair that featured hints of slight-of-hand trickery) Drouet also showed how fingers playing percussion could evoke the sounds of the human voice in this piece adapted from Brecht's Life of Galileo, with different instrumental sounds slowly taking over for various phonemes.

Recording: Prince Enoki's Insect Orchestra

Artist: Prince Enoki's Insect Orchestra

Song: Dragonflies

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 1, 2014.

Prince Enoki's Insect Orchestra - Dragonflies

Full review to follow. Scott Peterson's "Afro-Tuvan-Space-Jazz ensemble" only makes occasional intersections with our plane of existence, but it remains a groovy thing to behold: an entire rainforest of musical creatures dancing together, from the bullfrog tuba to the butterfly flute. For the record, personnel at this juncture includes Scott Peterson (double bass, voice), Eric Woolston (drums), Peter Lutek (clarinet), Jay Hay (sax, flute), Tom Richards (tuba), Colin Fisher (guit), Isla Craig (voice), Jay Anderson (percussion) and Brandon Valdivia (percussion).

Recording: Mas Aya

Artist: Mas Aya

Song: Solidarity Song

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 1, 2014.

Mas Aya - Solidarity Song

Full review to follow. This new jam, based around a funky little casiotone loop is dedicated to the Elsipogtog women who led the blockade against fracking in their community in New Brunswick.

Concert Listings Roundup #35

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

Optical Sounds' Psych Pop Vol. 2 Release Party (feat. B-17 / Tess Parks / The BB Guns / The Auras / Prince Ness / Sun Stone Revolvers / Mimico / The Disraelis) / The Great Hall 2014-03-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

A musician friend I ran into the other day made the offhand comment how good this long, cold winter was for guys like him — extra time to write/rehearse/record, creative work taking place away from the stages and bars. Well, it's been a bit like that for Optical Sounds in the past while, with fewer big parties, but a lot of activity taking place behind the scenes. Proof of that can be found in the smokin' new compilation of the label's bands and fellow travellers. As the weather heats up, expect to see/hear more from a lot of these folks — and like a promise of spring's creative blooming that's just around the corner, the seeds of the OS community's flower flowers will gather at The Great Hall on Saturday night for a massive banger. Not to be missed!

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This week's noteworthy shows:

New Music 101 (feat. Soundstreams and Spectrum Music) / Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium – Toronto Reference Library 2014-03-10 (Monday – free!) [FB event]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-11 (Tuesday – early!)

Audiopollination #16.1 (feat. Nicole Rampasaud performing duets and trios with Emilio Guim and Chris Wallace / Arnd Jugensen and Alvaro Giron / Wade Whittaker and Steve Lederman / Colin Fisher) / Array Space 2014-03-11 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Jennifer Foster (Shawn William Clarke) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-12 (Wednesday – early) [FB event]

Colin Fisher & Mike Gennaro (Matthew "Doc" Dunn) / Musideum 2014-03-12 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Hands & Teeth ["Before The Light" Release Show] (Amos The Transparent / Blonde Elvis) / The Dakota Tavern 2014-03-12 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #16.2 (feat. 6 heads / Glen Hall/David Sait /Ted Phillips / Gil Delindro) / Array Space 2014-03-13 (Thursday) [FB event]

Zones [album release!] (Lido Pimienta / Mimico / Mas Aya) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-03-13 (Thursday) [FB event]

Emergents III (feat. FAWN / Michael Vincent) / The Music Gallery 2014-03-14 (Friday) [more info]

Cuff the Duke (Trish Robb / Beams) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2014-03-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Afrofest's Black History Month Concert Series (feat. Resolutionaries Marimba Band) / The Gladstone Hotel 2014-03-15 (Saturday – free!) [more info]

catl (Beams / Young Running) / 3030 2014-03-15 (Saturday – free!) [FB event]

Crosss (Soupcans / Special Noise / Ketamines) / Smiling Buddha 2014-03-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

Alaniaris / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-16 (Sunday – 3 p.m. matinée show)

Diane Roblin and Two Ninety Two [feat. Joe Sorbara, Kyle Brenders, Howard Spring and special guest Scott Thomson) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-16 (Sunday – early!)

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Add these to your calendar:

The Big Sound / Adelaide Hall 2014-03-21 (Friday) [FB event]

DUST ["the quietest big band in the known world" – first night of a new residency on the third Friday of every month!] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-21 (Friday)

Astral Gunk [record release!] (The Beverleys / DAS RAD / Teen Tits Wild Wives) / The Imperial Pub 2014-03-21 (Friday) [FB event]

Musica Reflecta + Love Nation: Continuous Events ["oscillating between chamber music premieres and solo improvisations, the night will feature new works and performances by some of Toronto's most adventurous composers and improvisers including: Jason Doell, Nick Storring, Thomas Gill, Ryan Driver and more."] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-22 (Saturday) [FB event]

Petra Glynt (Ice Cream / VCR / secret guest) / CineCycle 2014-03-28 (Friday) [FB event]

Make Some Noise Series (feat. PUP) / Toronto Public Library – Yorkville Branch 2014-03-29 (Saturday – free/all ages/early!) [FB event]

Crosswires (feat. Not a Total Gadjo / Walk North / Ugly School) / Handlebar 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

Wavelength 593 (feat. Picastro [Record Release!] / Magali Meagher [early show] / Paul Schedlich [late show]) / CineCycle 2014-04-09 (Wednesday) [FB event]

HellShovel (Mexican Slang) / The Garrison 2014-04-09 (Wednesday) [FB event]

The Glenn Gould School New Music Ensemble: Nicole Lizée's Behind the Sound of Music [world premiere!] / Conservatory Theatre 2014-04-10 (Thursday – free!) [more info]

Reel Cod Records presents Cod Bless Fest (feat. Mimico / Sexy Merlin / Moonwood) / Comfort Zone 2014-04-10 (Thursday) [FB event]

Crosswires (feat. Clara Engel ["Ashes & Tangerines" tape release!] / Totenbaum Träger / BABEL) / handlebar 2014-04-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

Recording: The Beverleys

Artist: The Beverleys

Song: Bad Company

Recorded at Sneaky Dee's, February 28, 2014.

The Beverleys - Bad Company

Full review to follow. It took a little longer than anticipated, but the wait for the Bevs' first EP was well worth it. Their set included a nice stack of as-yet-unreleased songs, too, so there's gonna be more to come beyond this three-song blast. In the meantime, now with a tape to their name the band will be taking their tunes beyond the city.

Recording: Mexican Slang

Artist: Mexican Slang

Song: Fever

Recorded at Sneaky Dee's, February 28, 2014.

Mexican Slang - Fever

Full review to follow. Running, as it does, in a counter-cyclical manner to the city's current good times for music, I don't get much cause these days to head up to Sneaky Dee's, but there's still a bit o' fondness in my heart for the joint. And on this night, a Buzz Records party to celebrate the release of The Beverleys' new EP brought quick snappy sets to go along with the still-pleasingly-cheap drinks. It'd been just a couple weeks since I saw Mexican Slang, but seeing as they're really nailing it right now I was glad to catch 'em again. Twenty minutes of sweet, noisy pop from Annabelle Lee (t-shirt slogan: "BORN A BAD SEED") and co. are a teaser for what should be a kick-ass forthcoming full-band EP.

[Mexican Slang will be opening for Hellshovel at The Garrison on April 9, 2014.]

Recording: Michelle McAdorey

Artist: Michelle McAdorey

Song: Disappearing Things

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), February 28, 2014.

Michelle McAdorey - Disappearing Things

Full review to follow. Closing out a month of Fridays at The Tranzac, McAdorey's new songs and new band were in fine form. Over the course of the month, the shows had gotten so packed that there was simply no room to mount a planned visual element with some projections adding to the mood. Look for that to be rectified, as this is definitely bound for a a bigger room soon — hopefully in conjunction with a chance to celebrate what is now a highly-anticipated album.

Recording: Mark Segger Sextet

Artist: Mark Segger Sextet

Song: My Dog Has Fleas

Recorded at The Tranzac - Main Hall ("The Second Annual Somewhere There Creative Music Festival" - Show 4), February 23, 2014.

Mark Segger Sextet - My Dog Has Fleas

Full review to follow. Interesting compositions from drummer Mark Segger ranged from stabby to jazzy to skronky, nicely fleshed-out by Rob Clutton (bass), Tania Gill (piano). Jim Lewis (trumpet). Peter Lutek (woodwinds) and Heather Segger (trombone). And a fine end to a very well-executed festival, which should be noted for its community-building, history-respecting yet still right-in-the-moment vibe.

Recording: Fleshtone Aura & Mandelbrut

Artist: Fleshtone Aura & Mandelbrut

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac - Main Hall ("The Second Annual Somewhere There Creative Music Festival" - Show 5), February 23, 2014.

Fleshtone Aura & Mandelbrut - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. Joined by Luis Hernandez (a.k.a. Mandelbrut), this set had a bit less of a performance art/theatrical edge than Andrew Zukerman brings to his Fleshtone Aura sets. In its place was a sonic clash that set two streams of tape loops, junk instruments and found-sound bricolage bouncing off each other, generating patches of noise and pools of silence. Glad to see this in the festival as a reminder that "DIY noise rock" and "creative electroacoustic improvisation" aren't so far apart.

Recording: Cluttertones

Artist: Cluttertones

Song: Webbed

Recorded at The Tranzac - Main Hall ("The Second Annual Somewhere There Creative Music Festival" - Show 5), February 23, 2014.

Cluttertones - Webbed

Full review to follow. This ensemble's name makes more sense as a testament to double bassist Rob Clutton than as a stylistic declaration. In fact, though there was a bit of artfully-distributed noodling here, the most striking element was the range of textures that the versatile band would explore. Besides Clutton and Lina Allemano on trumpet, Ryan Driver switched between analog synth and piano (and did some singing to boot) while Tim Posgate added guitar and banjo.

Recording: Simeon Abbott & Mike Gennaro

Artist: Simeon Abbott & Mike Gennaro

Song: [excerpt from an improvization]

Recorded at The Tranzac - Main Hall ("The Second Annual Somewhere There Creative Music Festival" - Show 4), February 23, 2014.

Simeon Abbott & Mike Gennaro - [excerpt]

Full review to follow. Mike Gennaro brings a strong physicality to his work behind the kit, eyes squeezed tightly shut as if he were causing the clatter around him by telekinesis. For this set, he was matched blow-for-blow by Simeon Abbott's piano work. This was aggressive stuff, sometimes sounding more like a tug-of-war than a dance, and an interesting counter to some of the festival's more genteel improvisations.

Recording: King Weather

Artist: King Weather

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac - Main Hall (The Second Annual Somewhere There Creative Music Festival - Show 4), February 23, 2014.

King Weather - [first piece]

Full review to follow. Confined to a twenty minute mini-set, percussionist D. Alex Meeks and Steve Ward gave a sort of sketchbook version of King Weather. Given time to stretch out, they prefer to let ideas build up and unpack themselves a little more fully, but this still showed off the ingenious layering that Ward can achieve with just a trombone and a basic loop pedal. You can see them at The Tranzac on the last Sunday of every month — and rumour has it there'll be some other cool opportunities to hear them otherwise.

Concert Listings Roundup #34

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

The Two Koreas [10th-anniversary spectacular!] (Desk Metal / The Pow Wows) / The Piston 2014-03-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

"The Two Koreas still exist and persist, if only to make you feel old. On Thursday, March 6, 2014 we will celebrate a decade of dissonance—and the release of a new EP. And in a valiant attempt at recapturing our rapidly dissipating youth, we will perform three discrete, era-specific sets throughout the evening."

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This week's noteworthy shows:

New Music 101 (feat. New Music Concerts / junctQín keyboard collective) / Elizabeth Beeton Auditorium – Toronto Reference Library 2014-03-03 (Monday – free!) [FB event]

Celebrate Paul Dutton at 70 (feat. many friends + collaborators / performance by CCMC) / Supermarket 2014-03-04 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Toronto Symphony Orchestra's New Creations Festival: Slonimsky's Earbox / Roy Thomson Hall 2014-03-05 (Wednesday) [more info]

Ronley Teper's Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-05 (Wednesday)

AIM Toronto presents (feat. Jim Lewis/Mark Segger / Germaine Liu/Heather Segger) / Musideum 2014-03-06 (Thursday)

In-Between Sounds 36 (feat. The Body in Question / Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2014-03-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

Long Winter: Year 2, Volume 5 (feat. Cancer Bats / Fiver / S.H.I.T. / Greys / You'll Never Get to Heaven / Ravi Naimpally / JFM / Pick A Piper / Brr / Grounders / So Young) / The Great Hall 2014-03-07 (Friday) [FB event]

Toronto Symphony Orchestra's New Creations Festival: Absolute Jest / Roy Thomson Hall 2014-03-07 (Friday) [more info]

AIMToronto INtERfaCE (feat. Workshop Performance with Mark Feldman, Joe Sorbara & U of T Student Ensemble / Feldman/Berkok/Rampersaud/Segger/Tielli / Feldman/Allemano/Liu/Adriaanse/cheryl o) / Upper Jazz Studio Performance Space 2014-03-07 (Friday) [FB event]

Sensei (Wish / Uncut / This Mess) / The Garrison 2014-03-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Afrofest's Black History Month Concert Series (feat. Adam Solomon) / The Gladstone Hotel 2014-03-08 (Saturday – free!) [more info]

Healing Power Monthly Series (feat. Drumheller / Body Help) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Freelove Fenner (Bile Sister / Gay / Dilly Dally) / Oz Studios 2014-03-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Sexy Merlin (Dark Ages / Zoo Owl / Valerie Dour) / The White House 2014-03-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

East Side Boom! (feat. Clara Engel / Deciduous) / Gerrard Art Space 2014-03-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Absolutely Free / Miles Nadal JCC Pool 2014-03-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Jay Hay & Mike Gennaro / The Imperial Pub 2014-03-08 (Saturday)

Crosswires (feat. Young Doctors in Love / Spectre Hearts / Brent Randall And The Rainbow Twangers) / Handlebar 2014-03-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

Scott Merritt (Sandro Perri) / Holy Oak Café 2014-03-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-09 (Sunday)

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Add these to your calendar:

Jennifer Foster (Shawn William Clarke) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2014-03-12 (Wednesday – early) [FB event]

Colin Fisher & Mike Gennaro (Matthew "Doc" Dunn) / Musideum 2014-03-12 (Wednesday)

Zones [album release!] (Lido Pimienta / Mimico / Mas Aya) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-03-13 (Thursday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents "The Lake Ontario Jamboree" (feat. Think of a Name / Bo0t / King Weather / Fire Moss) / Array Space 2014-03-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

Birth of Troubling Forms [Alan Bloor/Branko Dzinovic/Ambrose Pottie/Michael Lynn] / Musideum 2014-03-23 (Sunday) [FB event]

Casual User (Sofistifucks / Skyn Flynt) / Sneaky Dee's 2014-03-25 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Biblical [Monsoon Season Release Party!] (Public Animal / Hollow Earth) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2014-03-29 (Saturday) [FB event]

Carsick Cars (White+ / Jay Holy / Tess Parks / Different Skeletons) / Izakaya Sushi House 2014-03-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

Fat As Fuck [album release show!] (New Teeth) / The Garrison 2014-04-04 (Friday) [FB event]