Recording: Simcoe is Lord

Artist: Simcoe is Lord

Song: Second

Recorded at The Tranzac – Southern Cross Lounge ("Mike Smith August Residency, Week 1"), August 4, 2014.

Simcoe is Lord - Second

Full review to follow. It's forever a struggle to get crowds out for an early show, but I'm a big fan of the night's first timeslot down at The Tranzac. Start 'round 7:30, wrap up before ten, get home and in bed at a reasonable hour. So I was well-pleased to see that Mike Smith was taking over the early slot for four Mondays in August, each with different musical collaborators.

This first week found him playing guitar and overseeing some background loops while being joined by Karen Ng (sax) and D. Alex Meeks (percussion). With a Civic Holiday-inspired band name, the trio tackled a few of Smith's new compositions along the brooding/funky continuum. Very tasty stuff, even if it seemed to cause some mild concern in the early-arrivers for the following open mic jam. This is week one — more to follow! (Plus you can check out another taste from this night over at Smith's soundcloud.)