Concert Listings Roundup #138

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:

Somewhere There presents: All-Set! Triple Album Launch (feat. Ali Berkok / Mike Smith and Jonathan Adjemian / The See Through Five) / Array Space 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Hot on the heels of their bountiful festival, Somewhere There are back to present this triple-header, celebrating a trio of albums on the new All Set! label. All three entries here are connected through the band Aurochs (and, if you reach back, through the belovedly-extinct Muskox), but there's quite a range from Ali Berkok's solo piano work to Mike Smith and Jonathan Adjemian's Transcombobulating synth-wiggling and See Through Five's Utilitarian chamber-prog compositions.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

See Through Trio (Ali Berkok [solo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-03-01 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #12 (feat. Ways+ / Remedy Malahyde) / Dundas Video 2016-03-01 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Composer Celebration III: Rodgers & Hammerstein (feat. Alex Samaras/Felicity Williams/Robin Dann/Michelle Willis/Ghislain Aucoin/Lara Dodds-Eden/Bram Gielen/Spencer Cole) / Holy Oak Café 2016-03-01 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Bring-your-own sounds cataRT Play Session [laptop sound synthesis talk and interactive demonstration] (featuring Ted Phillips + Glen Hall) / DisPerSion Lab 2016-03-02 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Older Altar: Music by Colin Labadie and Jeffrey Roberts (feat. Jeffrey Roberts / CelloPhone / Wesley Shen) / Canadian Music Centre 2016-03-04 (Friday – early show! 5 p.m. start!) [FB event]

Fucked Up [West of Zanzibar live score and LP release!] (Absolutely Free) / Workman Arts 2016-03-04 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Your 33 Black Angels (B-17 / CANYUN / Yucca Flats) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-03-04 (Friday) [FB event]

Nancy Pants (Bueller / Yeomans / Trim Hogs) / Handlebar 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Alpha Strategy [Drink the Brine, Get Scarce album release!] (Eyeballs / Wolfcow / Badminton Racquet) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Heathers (Plasmalab / Whimm / Sportsfan) / FAITH/VOID 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Princess Century (Petra Glynt / Nyssa) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Thin Edge New Music Collective: Contrasts / Array Space 2016-03-06 (Sunday – afternoon show @ 2 p.m.!) [FB event]

Ken Aldcroft's Convergence Ensemble / The Rex 2016-03-06 (Sunday – early show @ 7 p.m.!)

Nite Comfort: Two Year Anniversary (feat. Jessica Kaera Cho with Fresh Flesh / Ambsace / Fusechild) / Handlebar 2016-03-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Jeffrey Roberts / Heidi Chan/Branko Džinovic/Shahriyar Jamshidi/Sarah Peebles) / Array Space 2016-03-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Pink Moth March Residency (feat. Pink Moth / L CON) / Saving Gigi 2016-03-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Bell Witch (Wrekmeister Harmonies / Gates) / Soybomb 2016-03-06 (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!

Judy Dunaway ["avant-garde compositions and free improvisations on amplified latex balloons played as musical instruments" / DisPerSion Lab 2016-03-07 (Monday – free!) [FB event]

Aurochs with Christine Bougie / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-03-08 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

MIMICO (Moonwood / zhang / Fake Humans) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-10 (Thursday) [FB event]

New Music Concerts: Quasar Saxophone Quartet / The Music Gallery 2016-03-13 (Sunday) [FB event]

Dirty Fences (Marvelous Mark / B-17 / Dark Trip) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Long Winter 4.5 (feat. Marvelous Mark / Triple Gangers / Brigitte Bardon't Infinite Poolside / BABY CAGES / Zoo OWL / Prince Innocence / WHOOP-Szo / Isaac Vallentin / The Queer Songbook Orchestra / Rachael Cardiello / AVANT KOOL / LA timpa / MOLLOT / "Sitaricon" by The Holy Gasp / Ken Murphy) / The Great Hall 2016-03-18 (Friday – all ages! pay what you can!) [FB event]

Reel Cod presents (feat. Processor [tape release!] / Castle If / Jay Holy) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-18 (Friday) [FB event]

TV Freaks (Century Palm / Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs / Bonnie Doon / The Lonely Parade) / Monarch Tavern 2016-03-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Long Winter 4.5 (feat. Cousins / Joyfultalk / Jooj / TRIAGE / JFM / Mystic Triangle / Shi Wisdom / Witch Prophet / Long Branch music group / Dorothea Paas / Top Forte / Spoken Symphonies / CCMC / Phrase Velocity / c_RL) / The Great Hall 2016-03-19 (Saturday – all ages! pay what you can!) [FB event]

Patti Cake (Fires of Cheektowaga / Buckets of / Hex) / Junction City Music Hall 2016-03-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Café Concret: An Experimental Puppetry Cabaret (feat. performances by Puppetmongers Theatre / Clea Minaker / Helen Yung / Hayley Lewis and Adam Cook / Erin Hill and Heather Caplap / Clare Dolan / music by special guest Lido Pimienta) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-03-19 (Saturday – "food will be served with admission!") [more info]

Caution Tape Sound Collective: "Tetrad" [new works by Patrick Arteaga / Sophie Dupuis / August Murphy-King / Bekah Simms / Tyler Versluis] / Array Space 2016-03-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Wavelength 696: Don't Speak (feat. Benoît Pioulard / North Atlantic Drift / David Jones) / Array Space 2016-03-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Pale Eyes (Petra Glynt / Ah Mer Ah Su) / Double Double Land 2016-03-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. M. Lamar / Clara Engel / Bryan Bray & Germaine Liu / Manticore) / Ratio 2016-03-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

ZONES [After Image album release!] (Ylang Ylang / Mystic Triangle / Fake Humans) / Smiling Buddha 2016-04-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Paul Linklater [solo] / Cameron House 2016-04-08 (Friday – early show! 6 to 8 p.m.!) [FB event]

Pavilion (TRAITRS [first show!] / Nailbiter) / Double Double Land 2016-04-08 (Friday) [FB event]

Toy Piano Composers present The Curiosity Festival: Metal [new works by: Fiona Ryan, Chris Thornborrow, Bekah Simms, Daniel Brophy, Ruth Guechtal, and Alex Eddington] / Heliconian Hall 2016-04-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

STÜKA [tape release!]) (Viva Non / Besatzung / Wearenotwhoweare) / Smiling Buddha 2016-04-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

Cate Le Bon / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-05-02 (Monday) [more info]

Xu Shaoyang (Not the Wind, Not the Flag) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-05-25 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Concert Listings Roundup #137

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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Gigs of the week:

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. Joe Strutt [talk] / The Nick Storring Band / SlowPitchSound / Ronley Teper & The Lipliners) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. Solo Improvisation Roundtable plus solo sets from Peter Lutek / Germaine Liu / Paul Newman / Kyle Brenders / Ken Aldcroft / Nicole Rampersaud) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-27 (Saturday – matinee!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. Interstellar Tentet / Ugly Beauties / Kyle Brenders Ensemble / The Polka Dogs) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. The Humber Composer's Collective / Swankey, Duncan, and Oore) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-28 (Sunday – matinee!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. FOG / Ways / THREADS (Quintet)) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

For the fourth year, Somewhere There is taking over The Tranzac for a full weekend that pulls together various strands of Toronto's creative/experimental/improvised music scenes. There's a pleasing dose pleasing dose of familiar names in new and evolving recombinations, including the new Nick Storring Band (with Zoë Alexis-Abrams, Germaine Liu, John Mark Sherlock, and Ilana Waniuk) and the Kyle Brenders Ensemble (with Ben Grossman, Germaine Liu, Peter Lutek, Karen Ng, Cheldon Paterson, Nicole Rampersaud, Nick Storring, Brandon Valdivia, and Doug Van Nort); familiar combos like Jay Hay's Interstellar Tentet and Ken Aldcroft's THREADS; post-show romps in the Southern Cross with Ronley Teper's Lipliners and avant-folkists The Polka Dogs; and two afternoon matinées, including a solo improvisation roundtable and showcase on Saturday. (I've also been asked to speak on Friday night to start things off, but don't let that dissuade you from seeing all the great music.)

[Radio bonus! On Wednesday night (February 24th), Karen Ng and I will be guests on Luca Capone's The Night Shift, taking and previewing some music from artists playing the festival. Tune in online to CJRU – The Scope at Ryerson in the 9 to 11 p.m. timeslot!]

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Bill Gilliam/Kayla Milmine/Ambrose Pottie / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-24 (Wednesday – early!)

Whimm (Blanka / Jaunt) / Smiling Buddha 2016-02-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Nennen (Dorothea Paas / Manticore) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-02-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Doug Tielli and Katherine Hill ["vocal recital featuring Debussy, 14th Century European music, DT originals, Old-time country songs and Swedish folk music."] / Array Space 2016-02-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Rhubarb Festival: The Feast of JAAD (feat. Still Boys) / Buddies In Bad Times 2016-02-24–2016-02-27 (Wednesday–Saturday) [FB event]

Inyrdisk Death Match [farewell party for the esteemed local label with performances, installations, and a panel discussion on DIY labels] (feat. Not The Wind, Not The Flag / Fleshtone Aura / Doom Tickler / Brothers In Milk) / 1161 Dundas St. West 2016-02-25 (Thursday) [FB event]

Off Centre Music Salon: Tea for Two (feat. Chris Donnely vs. Ryan MacEvoy McCullough / Christine Duncan vs. Alex Lukashevsky vs. Lucy Fitz Gibbon) / The Music Gallery 2016-02-25 (Thursday) [more info]

Idée Fixe Records 5th Anniversary (feat. Jennifer Castle / Fiver / Alex Lukashevsky / Bry Webb ["all performing round-robin with the Idée Fixe house band"]) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-02-25 (Thursday) [FB event]

Idée Fixe Records 5th Anniversary (feat. The Highest Order / Bart / Doc Dunn & Co. / Mauno) / The Garrison 2016-02-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Wave of Terror (Terror Lake / Gold Pony / Hex) / The Old Laurel 2016-02-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Okavango African Orchestra [album release concert!] / Daniels Spectrum – Ada Slaight Hall 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Pop. 1280 (HSY / Crosss) / Smiling Buddha 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Dirty Nil [Higher Power LP release!] (Solids / Century Palm / Casper Skulls) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bloor Ossington Folk Festival Presents (feat. The Idaho Stop [EP release!] / Beams) / Monarch Tavern 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [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!

Older Altar: Music by Colin Labadie and Jeffrey Roberts (feat. Jeffrey Roberts / CelloPhone / Wesley Shen) / Canadian Music Centre 2016-03-04 (Friday – early show! 5 p.m. start!) [FB event]

Heathers (Plasmalab / Whimm / Sportsfan) / FAITH/VOID 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort: Two Year Anniversary (feat. Jessica Kaera Cho with Fresh Flesh / Ambsace / Fusechild) / Handlebar 2016-03-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Pink Moth March Residency (feat. Pink Moth / L CON) / Saving Gigi 2016-03-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Better Person (Dylan III / Triple Gangers) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-09 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #40 (feat. David Shelly/Dimitar Pentchev/ Liam Gallagher / Diane Roblin/Maxwell McEachern/Craig Aguilera / David Jones/Andy Yue/ Chris Trotter / Neil Wiernik/Michael Lynn) / Array Space 2016-03-12 (Saturday) [FB event]

Pink Moth March Residency (feat. Pink Moth / The Two-Minute Miracles) / Saving Gigi 2016-03-13 (Sunday) [FB event]

Pink Moth March Residency (feat. Pink Moth / Dave MacKinnon) / Saving Gigi 2016-03-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Os Tropies / Burdock Music Hall 2016-03-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Made To Break / Burdock 2016-03-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Mangchi (Maylee Todd's Sweatshop Hop) / The Shop under Parts & Labour 2016-03-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Teen (The Magic / Scott Hardware) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-04-05 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Recording: c_RL

Artist: c_RL

Song: [excerpt from set 1, first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), February 7, 2016.

c_RL - [excerpt from set 1, first piece]

Holding down No Angels Dancing's first Sunday afternoon timeslot, Allison Cameron brought out Nicole Rampersaud and Germaine Liu to join her for a couple sets of improvisations from c_RL. Over five pieces, the trio explored a variety of sonic environments from electroacoustic banjo breakdowns to ambient buzzes to "Girl from Ipanema" deconstructions.

Double bonus! Here's a l'il video I took on my phone of a shred-y excursion, plus an overlap mix folding together a couple sections of a more textured excursion:

Recording: Several Futures

Artist: Several Futures

Song: Further Out

Recorded at CineCycle, February 6, 2016.

Several Futures - Further Out

Several Futures have increased the scope of their ambition with the release of Before You Forget, their first full-length. The entirety of the album's second side is filled by "Lost Dreams", a four-part "Trilogy"-styled suite. This song is the quadrilogy's closer, and served as the capper to the band's album release show.

[Several Futures are playing tonight (February 17, 2016), opening things up at the Garrison for Chicago's Disappears.]

Recording: The SULKS

Artist: The SULKS

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at CineCycle, February 6, 2016.

The SULKS - unknown

Surprised to note it was a year less a day since I saw this crew make their live début. The basics of the sound they'd established then were still in place — post-punk with a surf-y edge — but no surprise that it was delivered with a more confident hopping roar.

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

Recording: SPOILS

Artist: SPOILS

Song: What Pink Cheek^*

Recorded at CineCycle, February 6, 2016.

SPOILS - What Pink Cheek

A spirited set to open the night from this post-punk (and rather Fugazi-fied) quartet, offering up an appealing racket and contrasting back-and-forth vox.

^* Thanks to Bryan from SPOILS for passing along the title to this one!

Concert Listings Roundup #136

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:

INsulator (feat. members of Holy Fuck / Jooj with Sandro Perri / Not The Wind, Not the Flag / Lido Pimentia / Yamantaka//Sonic Titan) / Artscape Sandbox 2016-02-17 (Wednesday) [FB event]

INsulator (feat. members of Fucked Up / Egyptrixx / Mary Margaret O'Hara / Jennifer Castle / DOOMSQUAD / Soupcans) / Artscape Sandbox 2016-02-18 (Thursday) [FB event]

UPDATE: "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event is unable to happen as planned, so the event needs to be delayed to resolve the issues." All previously purchased tickets are valid for the new dates. APRIL 13 +14. I'm not entirely sure what to expect from this "giant maze and audio-visual experience" presented by Long Winter and Heretical Objects Cooperative, though it's promised to be an immersive event with the music from a wide range of cool folks playing behind fabric walls and blending together into a sonic tapestry. Expect more of an exploratory soundscape journey than a "concert" experience.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Acoustic Laptop Music (feat. Allison Cameron/Michael Herring/John Oswald/Dan Pencer/Mark Segger / Victor Bateman/Rob Grieve/Tom Richards/Joe Sorbara/Steve Ward) / Array Space 2016-02-16 (Tuesday)

Disappears (Vallens / Several Futures) / The Garrison 2016-02-17 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Matt Smith (Adjemian/Brenders/Craig/Saumer/Stancic) / Ratio 2016-02-17 (Wednesday) [FB event]

The Powers (Man Made Hill / Bile Sister / Wolfcow) / 8-Eleven 2016-02-18 (Thursday) [FB event]

Mark Segger Sextet (See Through 4) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-19 (Friday – early!)

Long Winter 4.4 (feat. The Wooden Sky / For Esmé / Pavilion / DATU / Pet Sun / Tokyo Air Show / Ice Cream / North Atlantic Drift / Poster Boy / Craig Dunsmuir and Dun-Dun Band / Doc Pickles with the Jim Storie Juniors / Kyle Brenders / Dan Fortin / Taylor Hoodlum Stevenson / Walrus / The Nick Fraser Sextet) / The Great Hall 2016-02-19 (Friday – PWYC! all ages!) [FB event]

Endless City (feat. Fresh Snow / Andrew Roy / Blue Light) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-02-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Special Costello (Baby Cages / Bile Sister / XXVII) / Double Double Land 2016-02-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Val-Inc (Witch Prophet) / The Music Gallery 2016-02-20 (Saturday) [FB event]

In Store 1: Ordinary Joy (feat. Cluttertones [Ordinary Joy vinyl edition release party, feat. music + dance]) / Quixotic Sounds Toronto 2016-02-20–2016-02-21 (Saturday + Sunday) [FB event]

Alaniaris / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-21 (Sunday – afternoon set! 3 to 5 p.m.!)

Soloing (feat. mickle32 [aka Michael Lynn] / Lone Bone / Nicholas Buligan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-21 (Sunday – early) [FB event]

Static Zine #13 Release Party (feat. Omhouse / Pins & Needles / Girl on Girl / Dott) / Handlebar 2016-02-21 (Sunday) [FB event]

Mouth Congress [1980's Queen St. queer punk underground legends reunite! feat. Scott Thompson + Paul Bellini!] / Rivoli 2016-02-21 (Sunday)

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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!

Doug Tielli and Katherine Hill ["vocal recital featuring Debussy, 14th Century European music, DT originals, Old-time country songs and Swedish folk music."] / Array Space 2016-02-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #12 (feat. Ways+ / Bob Wiseman / Remedy Malahyde) / Dundas Video 2016-03-01 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Alpha Strategy [Drink the Brine, Get Scarce album release!] (Eyeballs / Wolfcow / Badminton Racquet) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Jeffrey Roberts / Heidi Chan/Branko Džinovic/Shahriyar Jamshidi/Sarah Peebles) / Array Space 2016-03-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Soundstreams: Electric Counterpoint (feat. Prince Nifty / Dan Morphy / Brandon Valdivia / SlowPitchSound) / The Theatre Centre 2016-03-19 (Saturday) [more info]

The Shivas (Germaphobes / Spells of Vertigo / B-17) / Adelaide Hall 2016-03-28 (Monday) [FB event]

The Paul Collins Beat (Dany Laj and the Looks / Zro4) / Cadillac Lounge 2016-03-30 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Soundstreams: Steve Reich at 80 / Massey Hall 2016-04-14 (Thursday) [more info]

The AMBiENT PiNG: Afternoon Drone (feat. dreamSTATE / Northumbria) / Ratio 2016-05-28 (Saturday – free! all ages! afternoon show 2 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Recording: David Jones

Artist: David Jones

Song: [third segment]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #11), February 2, 2016.

David Jones - [third segment]

Davis Jones adds pop fragments to Bile Sister, guitar textures to Manticore and sometimes-abrasive noise with his solo project Hexzuul. I figured this set, offered under his own name, might pull from any of those skill-sets, but Jones pulled off something else entirely, using a turntable and electronics to build carefully-constructed soundscapes that emerged with a deliberative, composerly sensibility.

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on Tuesday, March 1st.]

Recording: Cares

Artist: Cares

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #11), February 2, 2016.

Cares - [excerpt]

Working in similar terrain to the drone set he'd offered the previous week, James Beardmore sounded at times like a Music For Films cover band before working up (through effects-modified theremin) into the sound of the most patient, delicate siren imaginable, the tones occasionally being overtaken by gentle clouds of hiss. [I also ran a different chunk of this through some filters to create a remix from this set which is embedded below.]

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on Tuesday, March 1st.]

Recording: Deenzi

Artist: Deenzi

Song: [excerpt from third segment]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #11), February 2, 2016.

Deenzi - [excerpt from third segment]

Heidi Chan and Andy Yue have been exploring sounds together for a few months now, but this was the first public airing from this new project. Described as "the soundtrack to a Wuxia movie set on a space station orbiting a collapsing star", they covered a range of sounds, from folktronic glide to scratchy noise textures.

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on Tuesday, March 1st.]

Concert Listings Roundup #135

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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Gigs of the week:

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1 (feat. FOXTROTT / Calvin Love / Keita Juma / Programm / Organ Mood) / The Garrison 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Day 2 (feat. Foxes in Fiction / Merganzer / Steven Lambke) / Markham House 2016-02-13 (Saturday – afternoon show!) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2 (feat. Duchess Says / Soupcans / Beliefs / Partner / VERSA) / The Garrison 2016-02-13 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 3 (feat. Thus Owls / She-Devils / Prince Innocence / Clairmont The Second / Pantayo) / The Garrison 2016-02-14 (Sunday) [FB event]

Unburdened by a lack of round numbers to celebrate, this year's Wavelength Festival is a bit more back-to-basics than we've seen in the past couple years. But what it lacks in big-name headliners it more than makes up in well-selected up-and-comers. A very good weekend who those who want to create some future memories instead of having their nostalgia catered to. (The festival is also more settled geographically as well, with three nights at The Garrison in lieu of the traditional venue-hopping, with the added bonus of an all-ages daytime show on Saturday.)

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Aurochs feat. Lina Allemano / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-09 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

bedroom / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-09 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Open Inputs (feat. Evan Cyber / Cares / Alissa Vox Raw / Hushy) / Holy Oak Café 2016-02-09 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Love Comes Back (Again): Arthur Russell Band [Luke Kuplowsky/Thom Gill/Robin Dann/Phil Melanson/Doug Tielli/Cory Laktovich/Josh Cole] / Holy Oak Café 2016-02-10 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Ken Aldcroft Trio [Ken Aldcroft/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-10 (Wednesday)

1976: Our 40th Birthday Party Fundraiser (feat. Brigitte Bardon't / Prince Nifty) / The Music Gallery 2016-02-11 (Thursday) [FB event]

The Soft Moon (STÜKA / Rolemodel) / Lee's Palace 2016-02-11 (Thursday) [FB event]

Endless City: Casual Drones 15 (feat. Michael le Riche with Josh Korody and Simone Tisshaw-Baril / Craig Renaud / Dustin Good / Trevor Blumas with Colin Fisher / Mikey Apples) / 1161 Dundas St. W. 2016-02-11 (Thursday) [FB event]

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Trouble) / Paintbox 2016-02-11 (Thursday) [more info]

Thin Edge New Music Collective: Premieres V / Array Space 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Neon Windbreaker [final show!] (The Holy Gasp) / Smiling Buddha 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

John Kameel Farah: Music for Organ and Synthesizers / Grace Toronto 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Endless City: Casual Drones 15 (feat. Kris Bowering with Anna Mayberry and Bri Salmena / Laura C. Bates / Scarlett Rose / Carlyn Bezic / Melissa J + LP Lorenz) / 1161 Dundas St. W. 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #39 (feat. HF/Yusuke Furutate /Brian Abbott / James Beardmore/Loupe/Sarah Peebles / Arnd Jurgensen/Conrad Gayle/Darlene Cuevas / Xuan Ye/David Jones) / Array Space 2016-02-13 (Saturday) [FB event]

Endless City: Casual Drones 15 (feat. Tasman Richardson / Brian Hawkeye Pierce with Sid Wolffang Tangerine / Brady Bothwell / Heiki / Brett Despotovich) / 1161 Dundas St. W. 2016-02-13 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There's Second Sunday Series (feat. The Acoustic Laptop Ensemble [Tania Gill/Pete Johnston/Karen Ng/Heather Segger/Mark Segger] / Memory Foam [Phillipe Melanson/Daniel Pencer]) / Array Space 2016-02-14 (Sunday) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Quintet / La Rev 2016-02-14 (Sunday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano/Mike Smith/Germaine Liu/Mark Segger / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-14 (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!

INsulator ["giant maze and audio-visual experience"] (feat. members of Yamantaka//Sonic Titan / Holy Fuck / Jennifer Castle / Lido Pimienta / Doomsquad / Mary Margaret O'Hara / Not the Wind, Not the Flag / JOOJ / Sandro Perri / Egyptrixx / Soupcans / Fucked Up) / Artscape Sandbox 2016-02-17–2016-02-18 (Wednesday–Thursday) [FB event]

Static Zine #13 Release Party (feat. Omhouse / Pins & Needles / Girl on Girl / Dott) / Handlebar 2016-02-21 (Sunday) [FB event]

Inyrdisk Death Match [farewell party for the esteemed local label with performances, installations, and a panel discussion on DIY labels] (feat. Not The Wind, Not The Flag / Fleshtone Aura / Doom Tickler / Brothers In Milk) / 1161 Dundas St. West 2016-02-25 (Thursday) [FB event]

Wave of Terror (Terror Lake / Gold Pony / Hex) / The Old Laurel 2016-02-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Okavango African Orchestra [album release concert!] / Daniels Spectrum – Ada Slaight Hall 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bloor Ossington Folk Festival Presents (feat. The Idaho Stop [EP release!] / Beams) / Monarch Tavern 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Your 33 Black Angels (B-17 / CANYUN / Yucca Flats) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-03-04 (Friday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents: All-Set! Triple Album Launch (feat. Ali Berkok / Mike Smith and Jonathan Adjemian / The See Through Five) / Array Space 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

RANGDA [Sir Richard Bishop/Ben Chasny/Chris Corsano] (Wyrd Visions / Sacred Lamp) / Double Double Land 2016-03-08 (Tuesday) [FB event]

New Fries (Hand Cream / Bile Sister / Plasmalab) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-03-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bedroom Projects (feat. Gambletron / Castle If / Dead Neighbourhoods / Roljui) / Handlebar 2016-03-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Suuns (Beliefs / Casper Skulls) / Adelaide Hall 2016-04-22 (Friday) [FB event]

Recording: Blunt Chunks

Artist: Blunt Chunks

Song: [two excerpts]

Recorded at 1161 Dundas St W. (Endless City: Invoking The Spirit), January 31, 2016.

Blunt Chunks - [excerpt 1]

Blunt Chunks - [excerpt 2]

Located in the former Cooper Cole Gallery at Dundas and Ossington, the Endless City pop-up had farmed out curation to a variety of local music presenters over the course of the month, leading with a weekend booked by Jay Pollard's Invocation. After two nights dedicated to invoking Mind and Body, the Sunday-afternoon chaser was dubbed "Invoking the Spirit" — a series of ambient/drone sets with one performance merging seamlessly into the next. Caitlin Woelfle O'Brien closed out the afternoon with an extended set based in ethereal vocal loops — rolling waves that would endure past focus and distraction and aim for surrender.

Recording: Fog Spirits

Artist: Fog Spirits

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at 1161 Dundas St W. (Endless City: Invoking The Spirit), January 31, 2016.

Fog Spirits - [excerpt]

Located in the former Cooper Cole Gallery at Dundas and Ossington, the Endless City pop-up had farmed out curation to a variety of local music presenters over the course of the month, leading with a weekend booked by Jay Pollard's Invocation. After two nights dedicated to invoking Mind and Body, the Sunday-afternoon chaser was dubbed "Invoking the Spirit" — a series of ambient/drone sets with one performance merging seamlessly into the next. Brian Random brings a heavy dollop of infinite echoplex to this loop/drone project, with minimalist stereo-skirtchings receding into the horizon and aggregating into a sort of hypnotic effect.

Recording: Cetacea

Artist: Cetacea

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at 1161 Dundas St W. (Endless City: Invoking The Spirit), January 31, 2016.

Cetacea - [excerpt]

Located in the former Cooper Cole Gallery at Dundas and Ossington, the Endless City pop-up had farmed out curation to a variety of local music presenters over the course of the month, leading with a weekend booked by Jay Pollard's Invocation. After two nights dedicated to invoking Mind and Body, the Sunday-afternoon chaser was dubbed "Invoking the Spirit" — a series of ambient/drone sets with one performance merging seamlessly into the next. Bryan W. Bray (also of Gates) can sometimes bring some volume with this ambient alter ego, but this set was altogether quieter and less "guitar-y", moving from some vocal loops as he created a segue from Cares' preceding set into a gentle glacial thrum.

Recording: Cares

Artist: Cares

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at 1161 Dundas St W. (Endless City: Invoking The Spirit), January 31, 2016.

Cares - [excerpt]

Located in the former Cooper Cole Gallery at Dundas and Ossington, the Endless City pop-up had farmed out curation to a variety of local music presenters over the course of the month, leading with a weekend booked by Jay Pollard's Invocation. After two nights dedicated to invoking Mind and Body, the Sunday-afternoon chaser was dubbed "Invoking the Spirit" — a series of ambient/drone sets with one performance merging seamlessly into the next. James Beardmore operates as half of Isles Day and solo as Cares, here mixing some gently-yawing synthnoises with theremin-guided zworping pillows of sound.

Recording: Cyclopean Wall

Artist: Cyclopean Wall

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at 1161 Dundas St W. (Endless City: Invoking The Spirit), January 31, 2016.

Cyclopean Wall - [excerpt]

Located in the former Cooper Cole Gallery at Dundas and Ossington, the Endless City pop-up had farmed out curation to a variety of local music presenters over the course of the month, leading with a weekend booked by Jay Pollard's Invocation. After two nights dedicated to invoking Mind and Body, the Sunday-afternoon chaser was dubbed "Invoking the Spirit" — a series of ambient/drone sets with one performance merging seamlessly into the next. I was familiar with four of the five acts on the bill, leaving Noah Gadke, whose Cyclopean Wall project opened the day, as the key moment of discovery. Armed with a six-string bass and a pedalboard he generated some very pleasing ambient rumbles. I have his bandcamp marked for exploration and am looking forward to hearing more of this.

Recording: The Highest Order

Artist: The Highest Order

Song: Somewhere Out Of The Way

Recorded at Galleria Shopping Centre (Long Winter: Galleria), January 30, 2016.

The Highest Order - Somewhere Out Of The Way

An ambitious "takeover" project from the Long Winter crew saw their usual mix of music + art transferred to the near-derelict/doomed-by-gentrification Galleria Mall. It was a sonically awkward environment to hold a show (there's a lot of muddy "mall reverb" in these recordings) that attracted a rather different crowd than the regular LW events — skewing older, and perhaps towards those feeling a sense of pre-nostalgia for kitschy but less-corporate spaces like this. (Ironically, having a larger 19+ component in the crowd made for long lines for anyone wanting to get into the event's licenced areas, but that notwithstanding everything on the night seemed to run pretty smoothly.) Highly-attuned to the inequities carved into our social system, one could readily imagine the characters in one of Simone Schmidt's songs shopping at the Dollarama beside this show's stage. Chatting about the city's unfancy malls (and the pre-set deal she scored over at the event's Bunz Trading Zone pop-up) The Highest Order looked right at home in the Galleria, even while pausing to muse on what will be lost when the mall is replaced by condos. Musically, they stretched out for some sweet cosmic-psych grooves, including this one with Paul Mortimer taking the vocals.

Recording: S.H.I.T.

Artist: S.H.I.T.

Songs: Fuck All + Eraser II

Recorded at Galleria Shopping Centre (Long Winter: Galleria), January 30, 2016.

S.H.I.T. - Fuck All + Eraser II

An ambitious "takeover" project from the Long Winter crew saw their usual mix of music + art transferred to the near-derelict/doomed-by-gentrification Galleria Mall. It was a sonically awkward environment to hold a show (there's a lot of muddy "mall reverb" in these recordings) that attracted a rather different crowd than the regular LW events — skewing older, and perhaps towards those feeling a sense of pre-nostalgia for kitschy but less-corporate spaces like this. (Ironically, having a larger 19+ component in the crowd made for long lines for anyone wanting to get into the event's licenced areas, but that notwithstanding everything on the night seemed to run pretty smoothly.) S.H.I.T. hosted scores of shows at their now-defunct S.H.I.B.G.B.'s space which was just a block over from the Galleria. The bare-bones concrete bunker feel of that venue somehow didn't seem worlds removed from the cavernous box-like space at this show once the hardcore quintet (with three guitarists) filled the space with a mighty whitenoise roar, jet engine feedback squalls punctuated by short, shouted songbursts.

Recording: VCR

Artist: VCR

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Galleria Shopping Centre (Long Winter: Galleria), January 30, 2016.

VCR - unknown

An ambitious "takeover" project from the Long Winter crew saw their usual mix of music + art transferred to the near-derelict/doomed-by-gentrification Galleria Mall. It was a sonically awkward environment to hold a show (there's a lot of muddy "mall reverb" in these recordings) that attracted a rather different crowd than the regular LW events — skewing older, and perhaps towards those feeling a sense of pre-nostalgia for kitschy but less-corporate spaces like this. (Ironically, having a larger 19+ component in the crowd made for long lines for anyone wanting to get into the event's licenced areas, but that notwithstanding everything on the night seemed to run pretty smoothly.) VCR seems to be settling down and extending their songs a bit, but that's certainly relative as by any reasonable measure their music is still pretty frenetic. Bringing a waft of punk insouciance to the stage, they gleefully made fun of the stand-in-place crowd, the show's organizers and the event's pronounced security presence. In the end, they confessed they were only in it for the money, a moshpit broke out in front of them, and they closed their set with a guest saxophone spot. Call it mall-punk, I guess.

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

Recording: New Fries

Artist: New Fries

Song: 90 Yr Old Girl

Recorded at Galleria Shopping Centre (Long Winter: Galleria), January 30, 2016.

New Fries - 90 Yr Old Girl

An ambitious "takeover" project from the Long Winter crew saw their usual mix of music + art transferred to the near-derelict/doomed-by-gentrification Galleria Mall. It was a sonically awkward environment to hold a show (there's a lot of muddy "mall reverb" in these recordings) that attracted a rather different crowd than the regular LW events — skewing older, and perhaps towards those feeling a sense of pre-nostalgia for kitschy but less-corporate spaces like this. (Ironically, having a larger 19+ component in the crowd made for long lines for anyone wanting to get into the event's licenced areas, but that notwithstanding everything on the night seemed to run pretty smoothly.) I'm not sure whether or not the dancer (dressed as a giant M+M candy) was crashing the stage or not during this set, but the band seemed to take it in stride. The band otherwise delivered a fairly straightahead set, with fewer groove-sabotaging moments than they used to generate.

Recording: Teenanger

Artist: Teenanger

Song: Pay It Forward^*

Recorded at Galleria Shopping Centre (Long Winter: Galleria), January 30, 2016.

Teenanger - Pay It Forward

An ambitious "takeover" project from the Long Winter crew saw their usual mix of music + art transferred to the near-derelict/doomed-by-gentrification Galleria Mall. It was a sonically awkward environment to hold a show (there's a lot of muddy "mall reverb" in these recordings) that attracted a rather different crowd than the regular LW events — skewing older, and perhaps towards those feeling a sense of pre-nostalgia for kitschy but less-corporate spaces like this. (Ironically, having a larger 19+ component in the crowd made for long lines for anyone wanting to get into the event's licenced areas, but that notwithstanding everything on the night seemed to run pretty smoothly.) The cover art of Teenanger's EPLP was taken at the Galleria — on the cover, the band sits at the El Amigo food stand, which would end up being adjacent to this show's stage. The prophecy fulfilled indeed.

^* This one's title was called out at the start of the song.

Recording: BOBAN GrieviNg

Artist: BOBAN GrieviNg + the BOBAN GrieviNg Supergroup

Songs: [excerpt from first piece] + Boban is Just a Word

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 27, 2016.

BOBAN GrieviNg - [excerpt from first piece]

BOBAN GrieviNg Supergroup - Boban is Just a Word

Some things look quite straightforward on paper. This Wednesday evening show from Somewhere There was billed as a night with two duos — Logan Mills (piano) with Montréal's Raphael Foisy-Couture (bass) as BOBAN and Karen Ng (sax) with Robert Grieve (guitar) as GrieviNg — but things ended up being much less straightforward. Indeed, the night began with all four playing together in a sort of scuffling/banging skritchscratch clangcrunch before adding Paige Stewart for some recited wordtextures.

But then, after a break, all hell broke loose. Mills' skill-set includes an ability to draft collaborators as conspirators in anarchic free-form play and that might explain how suddenly there were nine performers on stage, including Laura Swankey (vox) and Emily Denison (trumpet) plus duelling percussionists Robert Diack and Andrew Miller facing off against each other. In the end a t-shirt was destroyed, dice were rolled, hats were exchanged, and an impromptu fire drill was narrowly avoided as a gleeful frenzy erupted — all while various members of the ensemble shouted inquiries about the true nature of Boban.

Recording: Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot

Artist: Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot

Songs: [two selections]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 26, 2016.

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot - [excerpt from third piece]

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot - [second piece]

Trumpeter Lina Allemano's two quartets give her an opportunity to stay busy with one when the sidemen with the other are occupied with their other projects. It's rather unprecedented for everyone to be available all at once so this was, in fact, the first-ever double-bill of the Lina Allemano Four and Titanium Riot. Contrasting with the LA4's composed throughlines and "jazz" sensibility, Titanium Riot explores textures and goes on abstract journeys, powered by Ryan Driver's analogue synth work and Allemano's collection of DIY trumpet mutes. A plastic cup provides the buzzing sounds heard at the start of the second selection here — a portal into a sci-fi soundscape trip, while the first short selection shows what this band can do when it settles into a groove.

Recording: Lina Allemano Four

Artist: Lina Allemano Four

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 26, 2016.

Lina Allemano Four - unknown

Trumpeter Lina Allemano's two quartets give her an opportunity to stay busy with one when the sidemen with the other are occupied with their other projects. It's rather unprecedented for everyone to be available all at once so this was, in fact, the first-ever double-bill of the Lina Allemano Four and Titanium Riot. On a typically random Tranzac evening with Australian-themed karaoke in the Tiki Room and a rehearsal for a pantomime version of Alice in Wonderland in the Main Hall (it took me a moment to sort out where the guy in the giant bunny suit belonged), Allemano lead the LA4 through a quartet of extended workouts.

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

Recording: Fraser/Denison/Cole/Hogg

Artist: Fraser/Denison/Cole/Hogg

Song: Sketch #10

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 26, 2016.

Fraser/Denison/Cole/Hogg - Sketch #10

This unit, lead by percussionist Nick Fraser alongside Emily Denison (trumpet) and Josh Cole (double bass) has been referred to as the Nick Fraser New Quartet and the Nick Fraser Four. Originally with Danny Oore on sax, it was recently been featuring a rotating guest roster of saxophonists, which on this night included Fraser's Peripheral Vision bandmate Trevor Hogg as the quartet worked through some older pieces from Fraser's songbook.

Recording: Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra

Artist: Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Music Gallery, January 23, 2016.

Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra - [set 1, 1st piece] [excerpt]

Adam Rudolph & Go: Organic Toronto Orchestra - [set 2, 3rd piece] [excerpt]

Adam Rudolph is a master percussionist who has worked with many luminaries, including Yusef Lateef. But this visit to the Music Gallery saw him working as teacher and conductor to a large-format ensemble¹ brought together to get an intensive grounding in his musical philosophy and methods. Speaking to Nilan Perera before the show, he described the project as "a 21st century idea of what an orchestra could be", designed to create room for "mi", a word of the Dogon people of Mali that expresses how the inner voice of a musician can be brought forth in the music they play — very much the contrary of the image of the ensemble player in European "classical" music whose function is to remove themselves to express the composer's ideas. (He also spoke of African-American call-and-response as one of his foundational musical experiences, which was a revealing lens on the night's music.)

Conducting solves what's often the biggest problem of large-group improvisation: finding a shape and knowing when to stop. The most visible aspect of several days' work with the crew of local musicians was his use of elaborate hand signals and vivid body language — he was the most animated conductor I've seen leading an ensemble since Gergiev. Obviously, there was a lot more going on under the surface in terms of how his compositions created a structure but left lots of room for indeterminacy. The upshot of all of this was a group whose textures ranged widely — from the more formally-arranged sounds of the short first extract here that wouldn't sound out of place at a typical "New Music" concert to the free-spirited blaxploitaion big-band improv of the second, which showed how this large group could nimbly stop-and-start on a dime. Really quite wonderful stuff. This played to a full house at the Music Gallery, where it looked like many people were attracted by Rudolph's involvement. Here's hoping some in the crowd will be inspired to seek out some more from the local participants who can be found joyfully improvising in the city's creative music scenes.

---

¹ The ensemble was as follows:

• Vocals : Tova Kardonne, Zoe Alexis-Abrams
• Horns: Lina Allemano, Heather Segger, Jay Hay, Karen Ng
• Strings: Ilana Walniuk, Aline Homzy, Araz Salek, Rob Clutton
• Drumkit/percussion: Joe Sorbara
• Hand percussion Raphael Roter, Rakesh Tewari
• Keys: Simeon Abbott
• Turntables/Electronics: SlowPitchSound
• Guitar: Luan Phung