Recording: Ken Aldcroft and Scott Thomson

Artist: Ken Aldcroft and Scott Thomson / Aldcroft/Thomson/Liu/Oswald

Songs: [excerpt from duo improvisation] + [excerpt from quartet improvisation]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 17, 2015.

Ken Aldcroft and Scott Thomson - [excerpt from duo improvisation]

Ken Aldcroft/Scott Thomson/Germaine Liu/John Oswald - [excerpt from quartet improvisation]

This show celebrated the release of Red & Blue, a new duo album from Ken Aldcroft (guitar) and Scott Thomson (trombone). This format allows the pair — who have also collaborated in larger ensembles — to investigate a variety of subtle interplays, each ranging from the delicate to the more abrasive, with Thomson moving from quiet lines to tinny blasts while Aldcroft provided both knotty bursts and looped textures.

Their duo set was followed by a quartet, with Germaine Liu (percussion) and John Oswald (alto sax) joining in the fray, with quiet ruckus building up to the shreddin' groove heard at the end of the excerpt here.

[Ken Aldcroft will be bringing a different duo project to the Tranzac on Wednesday July 8th, when he'll be joined by tenor saxophonist J. Robinson.]

Recording: Avesta Nakhaei's Collective Improvisation

Artist: Avesta Nakhaei's Collective Improvisation

Songs: [two fragments from first section] + [unknown song feat. Soley]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 17, 2015.

Avesta Nakhaei's Collective Improvisation - [fragment 1 from first section]

Avesta Nakhaei's Collective Improvisation - [fragment 2 from first section]

Avesta Nakhaei's Collective Improvisation feat. Soley - [4th part, 1st piece]

As I've seen before, Avesta Nakhaei's Tranzac gigs are free-flowing affairs, with musicians coming and going throughout the night trying to keep up with Nakhaei's endlessly-inventive piano work. This session started off as a trio, with Nakhaei joined by Anoush Taba'i on clarinet and Michael Kaler on bass — you can hear a couple extracts of this grouping as they find their musical feet. Later on a good chunk of The Holy Gasp dropped by on their way to a gig, and Chris Weatherstone (sax) and Dave Oso and Benjamin Hackman (percussion) were sitting in for the night's final section, where they backed singer Soleyman Vaseghi (popularly known as just Soley).

Soley — a Persian singer of note who has made Toronto his home — sang with the sort of gravitas you can't fake. He performs with a qawwali group nowadays, has a pre-revolutionary popstar past, and released a series of what sound like fairly awesome New Age-tinged albums in the late '80's that you can hear on his website. (Someone should get on doing some re-issues of these.) At any rate, this is the sort of random discovery that can make a quiet night out at The Tranzac into something wholly astonishing.

[Avesta Nakhaei will be painting with an even broader brush at the return of his Meandering Streams of Consciousness project, which brings together improvising musicians with members of the local Persian music scene for large-ensemble improvising action. Check it out on Sunday, July 26th at Array Space.]

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

Concert Listings Roundup #103

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:

No Angels Dancing / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-05 (Sunday – afternoon show! 1 to 3 p.m.!)

I've been a frequent advocate this alternative to Sunday brunch right from the get-go. An example of the sort of thing that the Tranzac can incubate when an artist is given a regular timeslot and a chance to let things develop at their own pace, No Angels Dancing has gelled into something with its own distinct sound, merging Allison Cameron's toy factory electroacoustic bricolage, Stephen Parkinson's patiently recursive guitar scratchings and D. Alex Meeks' watchmaker drumkit ratatat. Billed as "our last trio performance together for an unknown period", there'll be new and surely pleasant recombinations on the horizon, but if you've wanted a chance to witness the "classic" No Angels Dancing, you should make a point of coming out for this.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Music Mondays Concert Series (feat. Raphael Weinroth-Browne – solo cello) / Church of the Holy Trinity 2015-06-29 (Monday – lunchtime concert! PWYC!) [FB event]

Ken Aldcroft & Mike Gennaro (Michael Herring/Rebecca Hennessy/Karen Ng/Joe Sorbara) / Musideum 2015-06-29 (Monday)

King Sunny Adé / Lee's Palace 2015-06-29 (Monday) — CANCELLED [FB event]

DUST, the quietest big band in the known world / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-30 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Nick Fraser presents Andrew Downing's Otterville / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-30 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Wavelength 671 (feat. MMM MMM / Klondike / OG Melody / Dohn Valley) / Dundas Video 2015-06-30 (Tuesday) [FB event]

By Divine Right [25th anniversary celebration!] / Harbourfront Centre – W------ Stage 2015-07-01 (Wednesday – outside! free!) [more info]

troubleshooting~ v3 (feat. Tanya Goncalves / Marc Couroux / Cory Latkovich) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-01 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

The Hollow Square ["a kith & kin production at the Toronto Fringe" — a "choral tsunami" of old-time shape-note music] / St. George the Martyr Anglican Church 2015-07-02–2015-07-11 (Thursday–Saturday) [FB event]

Albert James (Within / BABEL) / Holy Oak Café 2015-07-02 (Thursday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 50 (feat. Tenderness / Wordburglar / Fresh Flesh / Jack Topht) / Jam Factory 2015-07-03 (Friday) [FB event]

Dick Diver (Animal Parts) / The Silver Dollar Room 2015-07-03 (Friday) [FB event]

Afrofest 2015 (feat. Akwaba Cultural Exchange / Dacosta / Kateneen Cheka / Tich Maredza Band / Trinity / San Fan Thomas / Wenge Musica – Bill Clinton Kalonji) / Woodbine Park 2015-07-04 (Saturday – free! outside! festival vibes!) [more info]

Hassan Hakmoun / Harbourfront Centre – W------ Stage 2015-07-04 (Saturday – outside! free!) [more info]

Burn Down the Capital/Somewhere There Present (feat. Alex Cunningham / Josh Cole/Ryan Driver Duo / Nilan Perera) / Array Space 2015-07-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Peine Perdue (Vierance / Art Show) / Dundas Video 2015-07-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Castle If (Animalia / Blue Cougars / The Lonely Parade) / Smiling Buddha 2015-07-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Afrofest 2015 (feat. Iya Ire / Afro Brazilian Roots Precaussion / Amadou Kienou / Yinka Farinde / Zal Sissokho & Sergio Perere & Chico Antonio / Kassav) / Woodbine Park 2015-07-05 (Sunday – free! outside! festival vibes!) [more info]

Elinor Frey [works for five-string cello, including J.S. Bach's Sixth Suite for solo cello plus transcriptions of violin music by Telemann and Benda] / Toronto Music Garden 2015-07-05 (Sunday – 4 p.m.! free!) [more info]

Audiopollination #32.1 (feat. Michael Keith/Bob Vespaziani/Michael Lynn / David Sait/Michael Keith / Bob Vespaziani/John Kamevaar/Mani Mazinani) / Array Space 2015-07-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

Christie Pits Film Festival: Nosferatu (feat. original musical score performed live by Del Bel) / Christie Pits Park 2015-07-05 (Sunday – PWYC! outside!) [more info]

Nite Comfort 23 (feat. Northumbria / F A V X) / Handlebar 2015-07-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Collapsible Landscapes: The Work of Sabrina Ratté and Le Révélateur ["Pleasure Dome presents a curated selection of Sabrina Ratté’s video works followed by a live performance by Le Révélateur, a.k.a. Roger Tellier-Craig (ex-Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Fly Pan Am)"] / The Drake Underground 2015-07-06 (Monday) [FB event]

The Disraelis (Hollowphonic / KHB / Poppy Seed and The Love Explosion) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2015-07-08 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Maurice Louca / Harbourfront Centre, W------ Stage 2015-07-10 (Friday – free! outside!) [more info]

Mdou Moctar / Harbourfront Centre, W------ Stage 2015-07-11 (Saturday – afternoon, set @ 2 p.m.! free! outside!) [more info]

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan / Harbourfront Centre, W------ Stage 2015-07-11 (Saturday – free! outside!) [more info]

Somewhere There presents: The Second Sunday of July (feat. Nidus / Troubleshooting Trio) / Array Space 2015-07-12 (Sunday)

Shotgun Jimmie (Adrian Teacher & The Subs / Human Music) / Burdock Music Hall 2015-07-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

LOOM (LUKA) / Holy Oak Café 2015-07-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

The Everywheres (Persian Rugs / Beds / Municipality) / The Central 2015-07-17 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Burn Down the Capital and Somewhere There Present (feat. Drainolith / Mettler/Pedersen/Bedoukian/Molnar 4tet / Nick Storring) / Ratio 2015-07-17 (Friday) [FB event]

Kappa Chow (Century Palm / Germaphobes) / Handlebar 2015-07-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Brazilian Money (Marriage / Jaunt / Trim Hogs) / Smiling Buddha 2015-07-20 (Monday) [FB event]

Freak Heat Waves (Fake Palms / New Fries / Vallens) / Smiling Buddha 2015-07-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Event Cloak (Love Thy Will Be Done [Thom Gill & Band] / New Chance) / Ratio 2015-07-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Crosswires (feat. More or Les / Proof of Ghosts / Childs) / Handlebar 2015-07-26 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Meandering Streams of Consciousness / Array Space 2015-07-26 (Sunday) [FB event]

Mermaids (Ways [Evan Cartwright + Brodie West]) / Ratio 2015-08-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

SummerWorks Music Series: What Happens to JOOJ in 24 Hours: According to Bojana & Alex / Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-07 (Friday) [FB event]

SummerWorks Music Series: To Cast a Stone (feat. Animalia) / Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

SummerWorks Music Series: What Fate Awaits Them? (feat. Most People / MATROX) / Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

SummerWorks Music Series: all you can hold (feat. LAL) / Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-12 (Wednesday) [FB event]

SummerWorks Music Series: Heat Shuts Off Overnight (feat. Germaphobes) / Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-13 (Thursday) [FB event]

SummerWorks Music Series: 2016 Spring Collection (feat. Still Boys) / Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Recording: Wrekmeister Harmonies

Artist: Wrekmeister Harmonies

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 3), June 14, 2015.

Wrekmeister Harmonies - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. Vibe-wise, Sunday's final show of the festival came up the middle between Friday's chill drones and Saturday's Big Rock Show, with many in the crowd sitting on the floor of the stage area in front of the bands throughout. Throw in the fab afternoon events and this was a great weekend, showing off what can be done when the community has access to a space like Geary Lane. Hopefully this will indeed only be the first of a new annual local tradition.

With side-long postrock compositions, rotating membership and a general air of mystery, this Chicago-based musical collective (under the leadership of JR Robinson) looks to have evolved along similar lines to Montréal's Godspeed You! Black Emperor. That made it no surprise, then, to see this new (and temporary?) reformulation with three of GY!BE's members (Thierry Amar, Sophie Trudeau, Tim Herzog) in the fold. With Tarr-esque deliberation, in an hour-long set the quintet tackled only three songs (or, possibly, three parts of a larger suite), with long, slow swells building up to slightly-menacing mountainous slabs.

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

Recording: Jessica Moss

Artist: Jessica Moss

Song: unknown [excerpt]^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 3), June 14, 2015.

Jessica Moss - unknown [excerpt]

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. Vibe-wise, Sunday's final show of the festival came up the middle between Friday's chill drones and Saturday's Big Rock Show, with many in the crowd sitting on the floor of the stage area in front of the bands throughout. Throw in the fab afternoon events and this was a great weekend, showing off what can be done when the community has access to a space like Geary Lane. Hopefully this will indeed only be the first of a new annual local tradition.

A long-time member of the floating collective that populates the overlapping projects in the Constellation universe, violinist Jessica Moss is a member of A Silver Mt. Zion and a founder of Black Ox Orkestar. For this set, though, she was on her own, playing a work-in-progress version of a new suite inspired by the ocean. Using a loop pedal, she started with some scratchy/drone-y atmospherics before adding layers of wave-like sounds.

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

Recording: Off World

Artist: Off World

Song: unknown [excerpt]^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 3), June 14, 2015.

Off World - unknown [excerpt]

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. Vibe-wise, Sunday's final show of the festival came up the middle between Friday's chill drones and Saturday's Big Rock Show, with many in the crowd sitting on the floor of the stage area in front of the bands throughout. Throw in the fab afternoon events and this was a great weekend, showing off what can be done when the community has access to a space like Geary Lane. Hopefully this will indeed only be the first of a new annual local tradition.

With an 80's Nova soundtrack vibe, this was a nice follow-up to Carl Didur's set. My understanding is that this exploratory duo between Sandro Perri and Lorenz Peter (Processor, Corpusse) has been an intermittant parnership for quite a while now, dating back to 2008 but surfacing only infrequently for gigs. Whirrs and zworps were the musical equivalent to the Stan Brakhage footage being projected behind the band — vaguely familiar but re-assembled according to some unconventional logic.

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

Recording: Carl Didur

Artist: Carl Didur

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 3), June 14, 2015.

Carl Didur - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. Vibe-wise, Sunday's final show of the festival came up the middle between Friday's chill drones and Saturday's Big Rock Show, with many in the crowd sitting on the floor of the stage area in front of the bands throughout. Throw in the fab afternoon events and this was a great weekend, showing off what can be done when the community has access to a space like Geary Lane. Hopefully this will indeed only be the first of a new annual local tradition.

Local treasure Carl Didur opened the last night of this festival with some beautiful pieces for analog synth. Seated on the floor and crouched over his gear, many in the early crowd sat down and soaked up the lovely echoes from his keyb, which were very meditative until the rhythm machine kicked in to add some clockwork sunshine to the proceedings.

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

Recording: Sound Séance Continuous Drone Ensemble

Artist: Sound Séance Continuous Drone Ensemble

Songs: [two excerpts from an improvisation]

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Day 2), June 14, 2015.

Sound Séance Continuous Drone Ensemble - [excerpt 1]

Sound Séance Continuous Drone Ensemble - [excerpt 2]

Kudos to Invocation TO's Jay Pollard for making the Sound Séance about more than just the trio of big, nightly concerts. Afternoon events are a lot harder to get people out for, but some of the festival's best moments came in the daytimes. Rainy weather caused Sunday's plans to be scaled back (with an upstairs patio party scrapped) but the monumental dronezone in the venue's main area was more than enough.

With an ad hoc ensemble that mixed together members of projects like Knurl, Lorde Awesome, Isles Day, Sexy Merlin and Brigitte Bardon't, this was conceptualized as a five-hour continuous drone. With players deciding when to drop in and out, it actually ended up being closer to three-and-a-quarter hours when everything was said and done (said and droned?), but that was still plenty of time to lay back and zone out for a wide-ranging sonic soak. (The full lineup, which shifted throughout the duration of the piece was: Kristel Jax, Avery Strok, James Beardmore, Steve Benesko, Marcus Beiner, Alan Bloor, William Davison and Sean Dunal.)

Bonus! Here's some footage I shot when I headed outside for some fresh air:

Recording: Suuns + Jerusalem In My Heart

Artist: Suuns + Jerusalem In My Heart

Songs: Koll Lil-Mali7ati Fi Al-Khimar Al-Aswadi + Metal

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 2), June 13, 2015.

Suuns + Jerusalem In My Heart - Koll Lil-Mali7ati Fi Al-Khimar Al-Aswadi

Suuns + Jerusalem In My Heart - Metal

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. The festival's middle night was the Big Rock Show, with the room getting packed early on with a rambunctious crowd. The music was correspondingly more in-your-face than the nights around it, and though that substituted the cool clubhouse vibe for something more akin to a warehouse party, the well-organized night still went off without a hitch.

It'd been a few years since I'd checked in on Montréal's Suuns, so I was a little surprised to see that they've managed to garner quite a room-packing following. But although they were quite clearly the draw (and it's their label that's released the collaboration at hand), in performance it definitely felt that this project was being driven by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, the cosmopolitan Beirut/Montréal sonic explorer behind the Jerusalem in My Heart project. As the set's one-two punch presented here attests, it's the rhythms and textures of the Arabic pop that he explores and deconstructs that drive this, with Suuns then adding some rock'n'roll crunch that aren't foregrounded in Moumneh's solo live performances. When those two things combined, such as in the driving "Metal", this was unbeatable stuff. A couple runs later on at what I assume were Suuns' own tracks didn't quite attain the same lift-off, but on the whole, this hour-long set felt full of an exciting energy.

Recording: Mimico

Artist: Mimico

Song: Man From Japan

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 2), June 13, 2015.

Mimico - Man From Japan

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. The festival's middle night was the Big Rock Show, with the room getting packed early on with a rambunctious crowd. The music was correspondingly more in-your-face than the nights around it, and though that substituted the cool clubhouse vibe for something more akin to a warehouse party, the well-organized night still went off without a hitch.

No longer pushing the superb Incantations as a brand-new release, Mimico's set spent a bit more time reworking material from their first album, closing things out with this tune plus a giant-sized "Astroblade" with a face-melting mid-song noise breakdown.

Recording: Zoë Alexis-Abrams

Artist: Zoë Alexis-Abrams

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Day 1), June 13, 2015.

Zoë Alexis-Abrams - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Celebrating the release of Invocation Vol. I, a compilation of exclusive tracks by some of the artists that had performed at Geary Lane in its first year, this low-key afternoon show combined chill patio vibes with a couple sets inside.

My understanding is that this trio is slowly working its way toward being a band, so at some point the material they performed may have a different name attached to it. For now, however, it was fascinating to watch it being born, with Alexis-Abrams' vocalisms being driven by Kvesche Bijons-Ebacher and Kenneth Boville in a more abstractly-rhythmic direction than in the textured one that emerges in her other projects.

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

Recording: Silver Pools

Artist: Silver Pools

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Day 1), June 13, 2015.

Silver Pools - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Celebrating the release of Invocation Vol. I, a compilation of exclusive tracks by some of the artists that had performed at Geary Lane in its first year, this low-key afternoon show combined chill patio vibes with a couple sets inside.

Todd Macdonald's bedroom pop solo project (formerly known as Norvaiza) has some synth-driven dream pop elements that bring to mind, say, Foxes in Fiction, but there's some underhanded rock signifiers here (hinted at in a mellowed-out Pavement cover) including nice flourishes on mandolin.

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

Recording: M. Mucci

Artist: M. Mucci

Song: unknown [edit]^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Day 1), June 13, 2015.

M. Mucci - unknown [edit]

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Celebrating the release of Invocation Vol. I, a compilation of exclusive tracks by some of the artists that had performed at Geary Lane in its first year, this low-key afternoon show combined chill patio vibes with a couple sets inside.

Guelph's Michael Mucci led off the afternoon with a mellow set of atmospheric solo guitar under the blue sky. Running into some trouble with his pedals, he stripped his sound back but with birdsongs drifting by on the gentle breeze, it felt like just enough to complement the afternoon. [Do note that this is a slightly rough field recording, with the sounds of that breeze rumbling against my microphones a little.]

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

Recording: Expo '70

Artist: Expo '70

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 1), June 12, 2015.

Expo '70 - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. On the vibe front, this first night showcased Geary as an excellent destination for avant-mellow, with the bulk of the crowd quietly lounging around in the room's various corners and crannies.

Kansas City's Justin Wright has been crafting looming chunks of cosmic psych-drone for over a decade now. (His excitingly-crowded bandcamp documents his various paths and diversions.) This set, just under an hour, featured three extended musical ideas, each based around keyboard generated drones and loops that would then be adorned by his guitar playing. This first section tilted the balance furthest into guitar-driven territory, climaxing with Wright rising to his feet to rip off a planet-smashing solo; otherwise, he was mostly content to sit on the floor in front of his gear, concentrating more on increasing the gravitational density of the more keyboard-dominated sections.

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

Recording: Dirty Inputs

Artist: Dirty Inputs

Song: Goodbye Voyager

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 1), June 12, 2015.

Dirty Inputs - Goodbye Voyager

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. On the vibe front, this first night showcased Geary as an excellent destination for avant-mellow, with the bulk of the crowd quietly lounging around in the room's various corners and crannies.

Aaron Dawson's synthscapes rely a bit more on headphone head-nodding than body movin' dynamics — closer to planetarium prog than rave romps. But with the warehouse-like space filling with smoke machine fog as patterns were projected on the giant net he was obscured behind, some of those distinctions were collapsed into a singularity, steaming away towards the Oort cloud at thirty-five thousand miles an hour.

Recording: Olivia Neutron-John

Artist: Olivia Neutron-John

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 1), June 12, 2015.

Olivia Neutron-John - unknown

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. On the vibe front, this first night showcased Geary as an excellent destination for avant-mellow, with the bulk of the crowd quietly lounging around in the room's various corners and crannies.

This set from Washington D.C.'s Anna Nasty came the closest to getting the crowd up and moving, aiming for a dancefloor fusion of postpunk attitude and prefab keyb arpeggiation while climbing onto the table her gear was on for added effect.

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

Recording: BABEL

Artist: BABEL

Song: MAZE [excerpt]

Recorded at Geary Lane ("Sound Séance I": Night 1), June 12, 2015.

BABEL - MAZE

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. On the vibe front, this first night showcased Geary as an excellent destination for avant-mellow, with the bulk of the crowd quietly lounging around in the room's various corners and crannies.

Wearing a hood and crouched over his gear, Jakob Rehlinger (also of Moonwood/Arachnidisc Recordings, etc.) fabricated hazy loops of guitar and synth in his carefully-constructed twenty-minute set. Things built up a bit with some woozy percussive elements, but this extract focuses on the pleasingly-drifty middle of the set.

Recording: Caro Diaro

Artist: Caro Diaro

Song: Father

Recorded at Geary Lane (Sound Séance I: Night 1), June 12, 2015.

Caro Diaro - Father

The culmination of Geary Lane's year-long journey, the inaugural version of this event overcame some bureaucratic hurdles to present a weekend-long showcase of a non-corporate alternative to the city's increasingly-crowded festival calendar. Tucked away in its little pocket on the other side of the tracks, Geary Lane does feel a little off the grid but works well as an conceptual island getaway for sonic adventurers. Partnered with Suoni Per Il Popolo, the "name" draws skewed a bit toward une certaine esthétique de Montréal but each night did include cool local sounds as well. On the vibe front, this first night showcased Geary as an excellent destination for avant-mellow, with the bulk of the crowd quietly lounging around in the room's various corners and crannies.

Montréal slow-gloomers Maicamia have announced they are on the cusp of a "break", but this seems to be pointing to an imminent shift rather than a stop. Proof positive of that came with this set from Maica Armata's new solo project, which takes the same basic musical template and strips things away even further, leaving just her spare guitar and voice.

Concert Listings Roundup #102

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:

Wavelength 669 (feat. The Ex / Swedish azz feat. Mats Gustafsson / Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura) / Hard Luck 2015-06-23 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Essential, life-affirming guitar collisions are at hand with the return of Amsterdam's avant-garde, transcultural punk legends. I've never left an Ex gig without feeling a sort of spiritual contact high from the sparks raised from the intersecting lines of Terrie Ex and Andy Moor's guitars. Add to that a set from sax master Mats Gustafsson's soundclash Swedish Azz and an opening salvo from Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura and your week is set. Do not miss.

[Bonus interview action! I had a chance to chat with Andy Moor over at ye olde Wavelog.]

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Audiopollination #31.2: New York Meets Toronto (feat. Yeonathan Schacher/Nicholas Horner/Karen Ng/Jamie Thompson / Alan Bloor/Arnd Jurgensen/Sam Harmet/Nathan Blankett / Yeonathan Shacher/Sam Harmet/Nathan Blankett/Nicholas Horner/Brian Abbott) / Array Space 2015-06-22 (Monday) [FB event]

Bryn Roberts/Dan Fortin/Ethan Ardelli / The Emmet Ray 2015-06-22 (Monday) [FB event]

Mob Job (Kayla Milmine/{AN} Eel/James Bailey) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-23 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Doctor Ew and his motley crew / Holy Oak Café 2015-06-23 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Child Bite (Neon Windbreaker / Worst Gift / Lice) / Pact Bar 2015-06-23 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Mob Job with special guest Ted Phillips / Holy Oak Café 2015-06-24 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Eric Boeren 4tet / Burdock Music Hall 2015-06-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

HPR presents (feat Isla Craig & Mike Smith / Brian Schirk) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Lilith Flair (feat. Baby Cages / Blunt Chunks / Fresh Flesh / Meggie O'Neill) / The Steady Cafe & Bar 2015-06-25 (Thursday – late afternoon/early evening) [FB event]

Aerial Ruin (Clara Engel / garbageface) / The Cavern Bar 2015-06-25 (Thursday) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-26 (Friday) [FB event]

88 Days Of Fortune Presents: Return Of The Jedi - 6 Year Anniversary Party (feat. Akoko / L.A. / Bodywaves / River Spirit / Lido Pimienta) / Double Double Land 2015-06-26 (Friday) — CANCELLED [FB event]

Analog Preservation Network: Hyperlink v2.0 Screening + Launch Party (feat. Spawn / Secret Sign / New Chance / Man Made Hill / Petra Glynt) / 8-Eleven 2015-06-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #31.3 (feat. Kathryn Ladano/Lina Allemano/Tania Gill/Jake Oelrichs / Kathryn Ladano/Casey Sokol / Kathryn Ladano/Steve Ward/Tilman Lewis/Laura Swankey) / Array Space 2015-06-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Meeko Cheech [Miss Bolivia EP Release] (Lightmares / CANYUN / Bert Sugar [debut show!]) / Handlebar 2015-06-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Toronto Pride: Alterna-Queer (feat. RobRRRt / Five Good Answers / Come Back Barbara / Hex / Beaver Slap / Bone Donor / Damage Over Time / Divinesque / Jenna Syde / Helene Ducharme / No Pants Society / Judy and Igby Trash Cabaret / Andrew Harwood / Missfats / Triple X / Rags and Bitches / GASH / My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult) / Alexander Parkette 2015-06-28 (Sunday) [more info]

Crosswires (feat. CaMp CoMbO / Luau or Die / Palermo / The Jim Storie Juniors) / Handlebar 2015-06-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

MSHR (New Chance / Fleshtone Aura) / Double Double Land 2015-06-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Ken Aldcroft & Mike Gennaro (Michael Herring/Rebecca Hennessy/Karen Ng/Joe Sorbara) / Musideum 2015-06-29 (Monday)

Feast In The East 50 (feat. Tenderness / Wordburglar / Fresh Flesh / Jack Topht) / Jam Factory 2015-07-03 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #32.1 (feat. Michael Keith/Bob Vespaziani/Michael Lynn / David Sait/Michael Keith / Bob Vespaziani/John Kamevaar/Mani Mazinani) / Array Space 2015-07-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #4 (feat. Dr. Dunn & The Cosmic Range / Castle If / Doom Tickler) / Dundas Video 2015-07-07 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #32.2: Self-curation Project (feat. Michael Lynn/Neil Wiernik/Lara Solnicki / Heidi Chan/Alec Brady/Andy Dolgin / Noé Rodríguez/APA/Alex Fournier / Zach Clark/Kayla Grant/Liam Cole) / Array Space 2015-07-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

iM 6th Anniversary Show (feat. Boyhood / Bile Sister / Vulva Culture / Dorothea Paas) / Dundas Video 2015-07-17 (Friday) [FB event]

The Music Gallery's Departures Series (feat. Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang / Andrew Timar & Bill Parsons / Manticore) / Jam Factory 2015-07-22 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Jerry Paper (Lee Paradise / Sexy Merlin) / Smiling Buddha 2015-08-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Colleen Green (The Beverleys / So Young / Pony) / Smiling Buddha 2015-08-27 (Thursday) [FB event]

Recording: Doldrums

Artist: Doldrums

Song: Blow Away

Recorded at The Drake Underground, June 11, 2015.

Doldrums - Blow Away

Airick Woodhead has been based in Montréal for a little while now, but a T.O. gig will always be a hometown show, with plenty of friends in attendance. Launching The Air Conditioned Nightmare (his new album, out of esteemed label Sub Pop), Woodhead's band was back to a slimmed-down, electronic-based trio, extending the grooves with dancefloor energy.

Recording: Selina Martin

Artist: Selina Martin

Song: Galore

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, July 10, 2015.

Selina Martin - Galore

Now here's a case of someone I should have been paying closer attention to. I remember being struck by Selina Martin as a member of what might been Bob Wiseman's greatest live band, nearly twenty years ago before you could just look someone up on the internet. For one reason or another, I never followed her work as a solo artist, with three albums under her belt and a fourth just completed. This song is from that new one — and, inspired by Michael Crummey's novel, it's apparently one of a couple with literary roots. Live, Martin has a powerful stage presence and an ability to call up a precisely evocative gesture, delivering her set with a stripped-down trio that included Doug Friesen (doing double-duty on the night) on bass and synth.

Recording: Surrender Heads

Artist: Surrender Heads

Song: So In Vain^*

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, July 10, 2015.

Surrender Heads - So In Vain

Perhaps it was a propos that on my first trip to the rather-new Burdock Music Hall I was out to investigate a rather-new band. The venue, just east of Bloor and Dufferin, is a separate room attached to a restaurant, and feels fresh and tidy — my first impression was that it felt just as likely there could be a yoga class there as a rock gig. Hopefully this cozy spot will stick around for a good while.

The band, meanwhile, was fronted by Paul Linklater, a guitarist who's elevated every group I've seen him on stage with. (The Pinecones and Bidiniband are the most notable of those.) Surrender Heads gives him a chance to stretch out in a different direction, and joined by Evan Cartwright (drums), Leland Whitty (guit) and Doug Friesen (bass) there's some definite jazz chops on stage, so it's no surprise that's one of the main musical strands here. That influence still manages to emerge in several varieties, though, ranging from genteel ballads to the prog-flecked style here that nudges into Sea and Cake territory. And even then, there was still room for some left turns, like a gorgeous, set-closing instrumental version of "Pancho and Lefty". The band is on twitter and facebook, so keep an eye out for any forthcoming dispatches.

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

Recording: The Taste

Artist: The Taste

Song: Everything Changed Last Night

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, June 10, 2015.

The Taste - Everything Changed Last Night

It'd been longer than I realized since I last saw a set from The Taste, but perhaps they seemed close to my mind since I'd gotten a fair amount of mileage out of their Sea Legs EP, which contains some fabulous keyboard-driven pop tunes. On stage, the band, led by Daniel Girard (piano/vox) also includes some other familiar faces, including Jay Anderson on drums and Brent Randall on bass. Tasteful by name and temperament, the group's currency is classic songcraft, with shades of several generations of piano-driven songwriting stretching from the Brill Building to Epic Soundtracks.

Recording: Tena Palmer + Bob Vespaziani

Artist: Tena Palmer + Bob Vespaziani

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Array Space ("Audiopollination #31.1"), June 9, 2015.

Tena Palmer + Bob Vespaziani - [excerpt from first piece]

Bob Vespaziani once again proved himself a master of the abstract possibilities that can be drawn from the wavedrum, eschewing straight-ahead percussion in favour of ratcheting, thrumming electroacoustic sounds, while Tena Palmer matched every move with her vocalizations.

[Audiopollination will be busy for the next month or so, offering up a spot for some touring musicians (including New York visitors Mob Job on Monday, June 22nd and bass clarinetist Kathryn Ladano on Saturday, June 27th), a "regular" Audiopollination featuring Michael Keith, Bob Vespaziani, Michael Lynn, David Sait, John Kamavaar and Mani Mazinani on Sunday, July 5th, plus the return of the self-curation project on Tuesday, July 14th.]

Recording: Dominique Banoun + {AN} Eel

Artist: Dominique Banoun + {AN} Eel

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at Array Space ("Audiopollination #31.1"), June 9, 2015.

Dominique Banoun + {AN} Eel - [second piece]

Some joyfully unconstrained improvising here, with Dominique Banoun providing various clacking noises and vocal interventions while {AN} Eel (a.k.a. Neal D. Retke) unleashed his inner carnival barker (inner demented minister? Inner disturbed carny posing as a minister?), confidently declaiming a string of babble while adding his own noises on prepared guitar and other toys. Whisper/howl/pluck/thwok/dance/repeat.

[Audiopollination will be busy for the next month or so, offering up a spot for some touring musicians (including New York visitors Mob Job on Monday, June 22nd and bass clarinetist Kathryn Ladano on Saturday, June 27th), a "regular" Audiopollination featuring Michael Keith, Bob Vespaziani, Michael Lynn, David Sait, John Kamavaar and Mani Mazinani on Sunday, July 5th, plus the return of the self-curation project on Tuesday, July 14th.]

Recording: Robert Cruickshank + Heidi Chan

Artist: Robert Cruickshank + Heidi Chan

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space ("Audiopollination #31.1"), June 9, 2015.

Robert Cruickshank + Heidi Chan - [excerpt]

This duo set matched Robert Cruickshank's table of electronics with Heidi Chan's flutes. Her work provided most of the raw material here, which was then processed in slushy whorls and other shapes.

[Audiopollination will be busy for the next month or so, offering up a spot for some touring musicians (including New York visitors Mob Job on Monday, June 22nd and bass clarinetist Kathryn Ladano on Saturday, June 27th), a "regular" Audiopollination featuring Michael Keith, Bob Vespaziani, Michael Lynn, David Sait, John Kamavaar and Mani Mazinani on Sunday, July 5th, plus the return of the self-curation project on Tuesday, July 14th.]

Recording: Ghostlight

Artist: Ghostlight

Song: The Lost Trail

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 22), June 7, 2015.

Ghostlight - The Lost Trail

You might not have noticed, but Ghostlight are on a roll right now, revitalized and pumping out sounds'n'ideas at a commendable pace. After a period of relative quietude they have a lot to get out their system, and every show is coming with a whole new visual concept — and the past couple shows have doubled as the release party for an EP of the tunes they performed that night. This special presentation at Nite Comfort saw them bringing some Future Progress — containing sonic settings for Michael Baumgart's poetry on the musical side, while filling the bar with fog to craft a visual spectacle that can best be described, as, ah, ghost light. Wonderfully inventive, and a reminder that you don't need a huge budget to do something really creative.

[Nite Comfort is also on a roll, and their next couple shows stand to be pretty great events. Sunday, July 5th will being a night of dark ambient stylings from Northumbria and F A V X.]

Recording: No Angels Dancing

Artist: No Angels Dancing

Songs: No Angels Dancing - Ode to Johnny Jackson [first section] + [excerpt from Set 2, first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 7, 2015.

No Angels Dancing - Ode to Johnny Jackson [first section]

No Angels Dancing - [excerpt from Set 2, first piece]

Duo mode this time out, with Allison Cameron and Stephen Parkinson scraping together some sonic styles without drummer D. Alex Meeks. With its insistent ukulele and guitar plucking, the first piece sounds like soft-fleshed cyborgs trying to claw their way out of a thick cardboard box, while the second — a treat for fans of buzzing and scratching noises — sounds like the mewlings of robot kittens waiting for the robot mama cat to return. A baby (though not a robot baby) can be heard crying briefly at about the one-minute mark; it fits in quite nicely.