Recording: Brodie West Quintet

Artist: Brodie West Quintet

Songs: Untitled #4 + Afro Blue [composed by Mongo Santamaría, arr. John Coltrane]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays), June 22, 2016.

Brodie West Quintet - Untitled #4

Brodie West Quintet - Afro Blue

Once again reinforcing his recent fascination with rhythm, this newly-formulated quintet saw saxophonist Brodie West flanked by a pair of percussionists: Phil Melanson (heard here on the left) and Nico Dann (on the right). A quartet of new (and yet-untitled) pieces gave them plenty of chances to explore the sonic possibilities, whether creating a languid mood in the first piece with hypnotic in-phase/out-of-phase cymbal washes or starting off the last of them (as heard here) like a chase scene in a cartoon. Tania Gill (piano) and Josh Cole (double bass) provided the musical grounding while West would sometimes close his eyes and nod to the rhythms and at others climb on top of them to play like a log roller at work. The set closed out with a nod to Coltrane at Birdland in a rollicking run through "Afro Blue".

Recording: Rob Clutton

Artist: Rob Clutton

Song: [excerpt from a solo bass improvisation]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays), June 22, 2016.

Rob Clutton - [excerpt from a solo bass improvisation]

Like finding out who cut the barber's hair, it's a useful bit of local musical knowledge that Rob Clutton is the bass player that other local bassists go out of their way to see. Leading off a double-header of great music on a Wednesday evening, there were several of his peers on hand to watch his delicately-thoughtful playing. Though unafraid to throw in some knotty clusters of knocking and plucking when required, most of his playing hewed to the softer side — in a couple moments it looked like he was merely miming bass playing, like a singer mouthing the words to a song, implying something the ear's incapable of grasping. I'd tried to capture Clutton's solo bass work before, mostly to no avail given the quietness of the music and the limits of my gear, but this time I believe I have something with reasonable fidelity to honour the musicianship here.

Recording: TCML Open Score Ensembles

Artist: Two ad hoc ensembles of participants in the 2016 Toronto Creative Music Lab

Songs: (life's rich) pageant [composer: John Mark Sherlock] + [Alex Mah graphic score]^*

Recorded at Ratio (Toronto Creative Music Lab: Open Score Performances), June 21, 2016.

Ensemble Barely There - (life's rich) pageant

<whispered sounds> - [Alex Mah graphic score]

In the midst of sessions of the Toronto Creative Music Lab ("a peer-mentored, five-day workshop for early-career musicians and composers") came this evening at Ratio, a chance for the participants to both show off their chops in an informal setting and encourage some lateral thinking in sight-reading a series of open scores. Leaping into temporary groups, the players would take a couple minutes to digest the pieces' instructions (and come up with a group name) and then have a go.

John Mark Sherlock's piece (originally intended for keyboard ensemble) had a series of nonlinear cells that required a negotiated system of deciding how to proceed, which was tackled here simply by having the players call out the number of next cell they wanted to move to. Some of the other pieces were text or graphic-based, meaning that the execution could be quite different from other renditions of the same score. Blurring the line between a public concert, private rehearsal and camp activity night, this was a loosely-structured evening where the organizers' suggestions at the outset were eventually replaced by the participants' own ideas.

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

Recording: Mehdi Rezania

Artist: Mehdi Rezania

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Ratio (Toronto Creative Music Lab: Open Score Performances), June 21, 2016.

Mehdi Rezania - unknown

At an informal night at Ratio for the participants of the Toronto Creative Music Lab, the evening began with an impromptu set of solo santur (Iranian hammered dulcimer). Mehdi Rezania shared some of his compositions in the Iranian classical mode.

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

Recording: Castor & Compagnie

Artist: Castor & Compagnie

Songs: Ah! Les Beaux Jours + Beauté

Recorded at Array Space (Somewhere There presents), June 19, 2016.

Castor & Compagnie - Ah! Les Beaux Jours

Castor & Compagnie - Beauté [part 1]

Castor & Compagnie - Beauté [part 2]

If you are a believer in the "twenty-year" theory that after a couple decades nostalgia is transformed into influence, then Montréal's Castor et Compagnie may be in their perfect moment. Arising from Québec's fertile musique actualle scene, this project saw Joane Hétu bring together several key performers to set lyrics and poems to song-like structures. Given musique actualle's penchant for "rock déstructuré, jazz fragmenté, chansons éclatées, folklore réinventé, ambiances bruitistes, improvisations, nouvelles musiques d’ensemble, métissages des lutheries acoustiques et électroacoustiques", that saw the songs fragmented into all sorts of shapes, and what might start, for example, like a folk song with a refrain passed around from member to member could veer into static-burst stasis and/or a noise freakout.

That made the sonic bricolage sound entirely current, while Hétu's feminist poetics, ranging from the familiarity of a lover's particular odours to an appreciation of beauty as an accretion of imperfections, also remained both au courant yet radical. You could trace some lines and retrospectively see this as a hidden point of departure for a lot of sonic explorers, from groups using improvisation as a tool to deconstruct song-forms to experimental lyricists layering cabaret-style intimacies within noise-bursts. (In terms of the latter, locals Jooj sounded precisely like a lineal decendant of this band's work, to pick out just one example.) Inactive for quite some time since their mid-90's heyday, my understanding is that it was Cem Zafir who got the ball rolling on this mini-tour, imploring the group to head out to Hamilton for his Something Else! festival. It was an honour to get this spin-off show in T.O., but this music resonates deeply beyond just "creative music" circles. Hopefully this will reach out past our musical and cultural solitudes to be seen as a vital and living branch of our musical tree.

Recording: Castor & Compagnie et amis

Artist: Phill Albert + Heather Saumer + Diane Labrosse / Joane Hétu + Pierre Tanguay + Paul Newman + Matt Miller / Pierre-Yves Martel + Jean Derome + Noah Sherman

Songs: [excerpts from group improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space (Somewhere There presents), June 19, 2016.

Phill Albert/Heather Saumer/Diane Labrosse - [excerpt]

Joane Hétu/Pierre Tanguay/Paul Newman/Matt Miller - [excerpt]

Pierre-Yves Martel/Jean Derome/Noah Sherman - [edited excerpt]

To start off this evening of musique actuelle with the reactivated Castor & Co., the group's members were first split up and recombined with some local players for some off-the-cuff improvisations. That lead to some interesting sonic nudges and musical conversations: Diane Labrosse conducting static-bursts with a wave of her hand in the first set to guide the drift of the acoustic elements; Matt Miller returning the electroacoustic favour in the second as Joane Hétu and Paul Newman's gliding saxophones merged in space; and Pierre-Yves Martel's bass-synth rumbulations building a floor for a free-jazz excursion.

Concert Listings Roundup #155

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.

---

Gig of the week:

Music Gallery Departures Series (feat. Endangered Blood / The Mike Smith Company / Body Help) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Tatsuya Nakatani [solo percussion] / Ken Aldcroft/Rob Clutton/Tatsuya Nakatani / Horseman, Pass By) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-29 (Wednesday) [FB event]

While a local corporate "jazz" festival mostly elicits yawns and eyerolls, there's a lot of cool creative music at hand this week. Two fab local presenters are bringing some guests to town on Tuesday and Wednesday — both in the cozy, good-listenin' environs of Burdock. Endangered Blood (headlining a Music Gallery off-site Departures night) brings together four noteworthy players who are linked to a huge range of projects from Mr. Bungle to Tim Berne's Snakeoil Quartet. Tatsuya Nakatani (headlining Somewhere There's night on Wednesday) dazzled with his presence and his sense of the space between sounds in an appearance at Yonge-Dundas Square for Intersection last September, so his percussive works should be all the more intense in close quarters. Both shows also include top-notch local openers, from the ad hoc improvising crew that'll be joining Nakatani to a new iteration of The Mike Smith Company.

---

This week's noteworthy shows:

Jerry Paper & Easy Feelings Unlimited (Jaunt / Dougie Poole / Ducks Unlimited [first show! members of Germaphobes/Blonde Elvis!]) / Smiling Buddha 2016-06-27 (Monday) [FB event]

Graeme Stephen Trio / The Emmet Ray 2016-06-27 (Monday) [FB event]

Avec Le Soleil Sortant De Sa Bouche (Several Futures) / Monarch Tavern 2016-06-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Nick Fraser Presents (feat. Nick Fraser/Emily Denison/Anthony Argotoff/Victor Vrankujl) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays (feat. Fahmid Nibesh/Matt Smith/Jonathan Adjemian [early] / Nidus [late]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-29 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Jaggery (Clara Engel) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Wavelength 704 (feat. Xiu Xiu / Ice Cream / New Fries / La timpa) / The Garrison 2016-06-30 (Thursday – $3 with RSVP) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital/Somewhere There/Rough Idea present (feat. Flat Earth Society / Pugs & Crows with Tony Wilson / Lemon Water) / Monarch Tavern 2016-06-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Silent Shout presents: No Borders Kitchen Benefit Show (feat. Sean Nicholas Savage / Cadence Weapon / Calvin Love [solo acoustic] / Petra Glynt) / The Garrison 2016-07-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Crosss (Foam / Jons / Wido) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Burn Down the Capital presents (feat. SEF III [members of Drainolith + Horse Lords] / Prince Nifty / Fake Humans / Fresh Flesh) / 8-Eleven 2016-07-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Pride Toronto: Alternaqueer (feat. Vag Halen / JD Samson) / South Stage 2016-07-01 (Friday – free! all-ages! outside! fabulous!) [FB event]

Cowboy Junkies / Harbourfront Centre – Concert Stage 2016-07-02 (Saturday – free!) [more info]

Blunt Object: More music of Carla Bley / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-07-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

FASTER Presents: Summer Sounds (feat. Bob Vespaziani/Ambrose Pottie/Brian Abbott/Kayla Milmine / Aki Takahashi + guests / Naman Cale [solo vibraphone + effects] / Brian Abbott) / Gerrard Art Space 2016-07-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Okavango African Orchestra / Harbourfront Centre – Concert Stage 2016-07-03 (Sunday – free! afternoon show @ 2:30 p.m.!) [more info]

Avesta Nakhaei's Collective Improvisation / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-07-03 (Sunday – afternoon show @ 2:30 p.m.!)

Nite Comfort 35 (feat. JFM / Let There Be Light) / Handlebar 2016-07-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Manticore (Within / Cares) / 8-Eleven 2016-07-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Night Owl Festival (feat. Moonwalks / Wine Lips / Crazy Bones) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-07-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

---

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!

Track Could Bend #16: unc_RLed (feat. Germaine Liu with Jonathan Adjemian and Matt Smith / Nicole Rampersaud with Colin Fisher / Allison Cameron with Jason Doell and Stephen Parkinson) / Dundas Video 2016-07-05 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

HAVN Records split VHS release [music + live visuals!] (feat. DF / Versa) / The White House 2016-07-08 (Friday) [FB event]

Vallens [Consent LP release party!] (Casper Skulls / Yi [Jessica Upton Crowe's new project feat. members of Rolemodel]) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Music at Tibet Kitchen (feat. Simone Schmidt / Valueblast [Josh Cole/Matt Pencer/Thom Gill] / Blunt Chunks / Karen Ng) / Tibet Kitchen & Garden 2016-07-10 (Sunday – excellent patio vibes! afternoon show @ 2 p.m.!) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Rakta / The Noids / Triage / The Brain / Inactivist) / Faith/Void 2016-07-11 (Monday) [FB event]

Prince Ness [cassette release! (The Holiday Crowd / Persian Rugs) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-07-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Melkbelly (Planet Creature / Trim Hogs) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

Vector Festival Wrap Party (feat. Castle If) / Reposado 2016-07-17 (Sunday – free!) [FB event]

Così e Così (Bears & Children / The Databats / L-Spex) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-18 (Monday) [FB event]

Cloud Becomes Your Hand (Bile Sister / Fake Humans / Mr. Joy) / Double Double Land 2016-07-19 (Tuesday – all ages!) [FB event]

The Radiation Flowers (B-17 / Vypers / Denim Skeletons) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-07-22 (Friday) [FB event]

UNITY Concert (feat. Dam Funk / Zaki Ibrahim / The Soul Motivators / Above Top Secret / Sacha Williamson / Dynesti Williams / Rise Ashen / Lex Leosis / Testment & Nilla w/ Ghettosocks) / Yonge-Dundas Square 2016-07-23 (Saturday – free! outside! all ages! all day long!) [FB event]

LUKA [Summon Up a Monkey King release show!] (Eucalyptus [early show] / Stephen Prickett [late show]) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-07-26 (Tuesday – early + late shows!) [FB event]

VATS (HSY / Retired / Rambo Tonka / The Ghoul) / Faith/Void 2016-07-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Heaven For Real [album release show!] (Ice Cream / Eggs [new project from Tim Fagan!] / Carl Didur) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-07-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Eric Chenaux (Ryan Driver) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-08-13 (Saturday) [FB event]

Weaves [record release show!] / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-08-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Eucalyptus / Island Café 2016-09-02 (Friday – early show! island vibes!) [FB event]

---

Community corner:

Two essential reads from this past week. This is what leadership looks like.

• This feature catches us up on some recent efforts to fight sexual harassment and assault at music venues, starting with a show at Double Double Land on July 10th (the same night that Swans play T.O.) and including an alliance of local DIY spaces publicly supporting a zero tolerance policy against harassment. Hopefully local venues and promoters will get behind this initiative and add their voices.
• Meanwhile, Mandi Hardy (probably best known to readers here as a member of Moonwood) has penned this excellent primer on privilege with a teacher's eye on how to move conversations from blame and defensiveness to understanding and constructive action.

Recording: The Out Louds

Artist: The Out Louds

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Array Space (The Music Gallery's Departures Series), June 18, 2016.

The Out Louds - [excerpt 1]

The Out Louds - [excerpt 2]

This Music Gallery off-site show brought together three guitar heroes in quite different contexts. Ironically, in the immediate aftermath of MTT's full-on set, one might have concluded that the night's final band was neither the most "out" nor the loudest group of the night. But this trio exchanged pure volume for some interesting new dimensions in sound-bending, many of which were thanks to Mary Halvorson's guitar work, which had a tendency to fold, twist and blip in unexpected ways. That made her an interesting foil to clarinettist Ben Goldberg as they wound their way through drummer Tomas Fujiwara's rhythms. More than the night's other sets, the improvisations here felt like explorations on more formally-prepared ideas, but from pretty ballads to reedy reels this was a rather intriguing ride.

Recording: MTT

Artist: MTT [Mette Rasmussen/Tashi Dorji/Tyler Damon]

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at Array Space (The Music Gallery's Departures Series), June 18, 2016.

MTT - [first piece]

This Music Gallery off-site show brought together three guitar heroes in quite different contexts. Tashi Dorji has done a lot of work in the acoustic, genteel American Primitive vein, but this trio pushed him straight into shredsville, alongside Norwegian saxophonist Mette Rasmussen. This set was a rocket-trip from the get-go (as heard here) power-blasting into the musical Beyond.

Recording: Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini

Artist: Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini

Songs: [second piece, in two parts]

Recorded at Array Space (The Music Gallery's Departures Series), June 18, 2016.

Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini - [second piece, part 1]

Michael Keith + Pedram Khavarzamini - [second piece, part 2]

This Music Gallery off-site show brought together three guitar heroes in quite different contexts. Leading off the night, and representing the local side, was Michael Keith with his three-stringed baritone ukulele. This was originally scheduled as a set with his occasional duo partner Saab Narayan, but unforeseen circumstances meant he wasn't available. The silver lining was that tombak master Pedram Khavarzamini was available to fill-in. The complete ease with which he added gloriously-subtle elaborations to Keith's Persian-inspired lines might have left the impression that this was a carefully-rehearsed performance — but it was, in fact, fully improvised by a pair of musicians who had never played together before. After two mid-length instrumental pieces, Keith closed out the set with an improvised "combination blues" song, combining his keen interests in two diverse traditions, and uniting them quite seamlessly.

Recording: Casper Skulls

Artist: Casper Skulls

Song: You Can Call Me Allocator^*

Recorded at The Garrison's front room (No Fest Day Party), June 18, 2016.

Casper Skulls - You Can Call Me Allocator

Filling the vacuum left by the declining footprint of a floundering (and largely unloved) corporate festival, Buzz Records took over The Garrison for the weekend with two nights of music as well as this free afternoon show in the front room. Offering plenty of local talent (and no Budweiser banners) this was an encouraging example of on-the-ground moxie replacing worn-out top-down ideas.

This was my first time checking out this young quartet, who have already been scooped up by Buzz after less than a year of activity and a single 7" in their discography. One can sense how they fit into the label's vibe even as they bolster its sonic range. They were at their best when they were a little more "textured" (and channelled, say, Sonic Youth and — dare I hope? — Felt) and a bit less interesting when they were a little more "punk" (and channelled, say, Parquet Courts). In any case, it's rather easy to project interesting things to come (and an EP is promised for this fall).

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

Recording: Pet Sun

Artist: Pet Sun

Song: It's So Sweet

Recorded at The Garrison's front room (No Fest Day Party), June 18, 2016.

Pet Sun - It's So Sweet

Filling the vacuum left by the declining footprint of a floundering (and largely unloved) corporate festival, Buzz Records took over The Garrison for the weekend with two nights of music as well as this free afternoon show in the front room. Offering plenty of local talent (and no Budweiser banners) this was an encouraging example of on-the-ground moxie replacing worn-out top-down ideas.

This Hamilton-based quartet are psychedelic in the way that, say, Screaming Trees were psychedelic — which is to say leavened with a heavy, grungy, hair-flinging crunch. That comes across more strongly on stage than what I've sampled from their recently-released debut album.

Recording: The Burning Hell

Artist: The Burning Hell

Songs: Men Without Hats + It Happens In Florida/La Bamba [Ritchie Valens cover]

Recorded at Monarch Tavern, June 15, 2016.

The Burning Hell - Men Without Hats

The Burning Hell - It Happens In Florida/La Bamba

Out on the road promoting their new Public Library album, The Burning Hell had a Friday-night sort of crowd out on a Wednesday to party with their mix of shaggy rock power and Mathias Kom's literate lyricism. The set leaned heavily on the new material, touching on themes of touring life, sporting victory and celebrations of foundational teenage music purchases. The band acceded to some requests later on, returning in the encore with "It Happens In Florida"'s sing-along meditations on the nature of love, which then veered into a full-on cover of "La Bamba" with guitarist Darren Browne handling the vocals.

Recording: Dave Bidini

Artist: Dave Bidini

Songs: Desert Island Poem + Stolen Car

Recorded at Monarch Tavern, June 15, 2016.

Dave Bidini - Desert Island Poem

Dave Bidini - Stolen Car

This self-declared "recent graduate from acoustic guitar player performance school" got the night started with a solo set of songs and stories whose shared themes of Canadiana, fandom and self-mythologizing were a good match for The Burning Hell. (In fact, Bidini even threw in a metacommentary-filled cover of their "Let Things Slip Away" for good measure.) The set mostly focused on new material, but there were a couple Rheostatics songs in the mix, plus "Desert Island Poem", written back in the the Rheos era and based on the real-life story of band diverting on tour to visit the Tyrrell Museum and getting stranded in a sudden prairie blizzard — and the cannibalistic musings upon who would be eaten first that followed from that. ("Naturally we'd eat the drummer, right? Because they have machines for that sort of thing now.")

The crowd, out for a Rock Show, started to lose focus after a while, so Bidini reclaimed their attention by unplugging his guitar and leaving the stage to play a couple songs totally unamplified standing on a bench at the edge of the room, including the ebullient "My First Rock Concert" and the closer, here reproduced in all its field-recording glory (hastily-drafted backup singers and all), beginning with the chatty shuffle of the crowd — which gets quieter as the song draws the room in.

Recording: Jooklo Duo with Colin Fisher

Artist: Jooklo Duo with Colin Fisher

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Ratio (Burn Down The Capital Presents), June 13, 2016.

Jooklo Duo with Colin Fisher - [excerpt 1]

Jooklo Duo with Colin Fisher - [excerpt 2]

Virginia Genta and David Vanzan have been playing together for more than a decade, ranging outward from their native Italy. For this local performance they were matched with Colin Fisher. He mostly stuck to sax for this outing (though there was an interesting side-excursion on the rack of piano strings that occupies the back corner of Ratio's stage area). Similarly, Vanzan held down behind the drum kit while Genta ranged from additional percussion to flutes and melodica to soprano sax. She also started and ended the set at the piano, providing a rolling tapestry for Fisher to emboss. With their sonic range and will to explore, this felt a bit like a night with some other city's version of Not The Wind, Not The Flag — so it felt quite right that in the spirit of cultural exchange they got to spend the evening with half of our city's version.

Recording: Cory Latkovich & Robert Grieve

Artist: Cory Latkovich & Robert Grieve

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Ratio (Burn Down The Capital Presents), June 13, 2016.

Cory Latkovich & Robert Grieve - [excerpt 1]

Cory Latkovich & Robert Grieve - [excerpt 2]

This pairing, whose work together has run the gamut from imaginary flesh to dreamed meat served as the pivot-point between the night's more rambunctious ensembles with their restrained tag-team work feeding Grieve's fretless guitar manipulations through Latkovich's custom Pure Data patches. There were a couple accidental noisebursts at the set's beginning and end (which I have reconfigured into the bizarro-world version of this set's proceedings) but this otherwise hit cruising altitude with a warbling glide.

Recording: CCMC

Artist: CCMC

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Ratio (Burn Down The Capital Presents), June 13, 2016.

CCMC - [excerpt from first piece]

The CCMC crew lead off this evening of freewheeling improvisation fresh off a retrospective night mixing together members of the group's various eras. Back in the more familiar form of the current quartet, the group offered joshing banter and bouts of mutual musical destabilization. John Kamevaar was in fine form here, adding momentum with skittering beats and static-y whirrings underneath John Oswald's sax and Michael Snow's piano. Paul Dutton, with just one microphone in Ratio's smaller space, commented on the walls and ceiling drawing in while tossing in a few literary one-liners.

Concert Listings Roundup #154

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.

---

Gig of the week:

Solonation (feat. Heidi Chan / Kayla Grant / Aki Takahashi / Nicole Rampersaud / Xuan Ye) / Array Space 2016-06-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

This new endeavour, curated by Audiopollination's Michael Lynn, presents a night of dynamic sets of solo improvised music. The five performers — including some perennial MFS faves — cover a range of musical practices from layered meditations to noisy invasions. And if you want to explore some experimental music in the comfort of your own home, you can still support the artists, as an advance ticket will also give you access to a live stream of the show.

---

This week's noteworthy shows:

Colleen Green (Cassie Ramone / Kurt Marble / Plasmalab) / Smiling Buddha 2016-06-20 (Monday) [FB event]

Sissy Spacek (Black Iron Prison / Child Leash / Brian Ruryk) / Coalition 2016-06-20 (Monday) [FB event]

Joanne Pollock (Witch Prophet / Castle If) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Toronto Creative Music Lab: Open Score Performances / Ratio 2016-06-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Luminato: Song of Extinction (feat. Music in the Barns) / The Hearn 2016-06-22 (Wednesday) [more info]

Brodie West Quintet & Rob Clutton / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-22 (Wednesday – early!)

Isla Craig (Jess Kussin) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-22 (Wednesday) [FB event]

100 EYES Presents (feat. HUMANITIES / Telecomo / Childs) / The 300 Club 2016-06-22 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Skating Polly (Patti Cake / Pins & Needles / Hex) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-06-22 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Live on the Patio (feat. Lemon Bucket Orkestra) / Roy Thomson Hall Patio 2016-06-23 (Thursday – free! outside! early show, sets @ 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.!) [more info]

Art Bergmann (Ron Hawkins & The Do Good Assassins / Luxury Bob) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-06-23 (Thursday) [more info]

Asiko Afrobeat Ensemble [Winners Never Quit release party!] (Orkestra Gatigo) / Lula Lounge 2016-06-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Long Winter + It's Not U It's Me @ Luminato (feat. Dinamo Azari / Casey Mecija / Ceramic TL / Marie Davidson / Nautiluss / Bulkhead) / Hearn Generating Station 2016-06-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Paul Linklater + special guest Mary Margaret O'Hara [5 song mini-set!] (Pinecones / Marine Dreams) / The Piston 2016-06-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

McEachern/Furlong/Fisher/Ng (Michael Keith) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Odonis Odonis [Post Plague release show!] (Prince Innocence / Scott Hardware) / Velvet Underground 2016-06-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Tim Darcy [member of Ought] (Baby Cages / Emma Healey) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-24 (Friday) [FB event]

TRAITRS [Rites & Ritual Pleasence Records album release!] (Poster Boy / YlangYlang / STÜKA) / Smiling Buddha 2016-06-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Maylee Todd's Virtual Womb / The Great Hall 2016-06-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Biblical (Public Animal / Gypsy Chief Goliath) / Bovine Sex Club 2016-06-24 (Friday) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-24 (Friday)

SummerWorks Fundraiser (feat. Zoo Owl and Kurt Marble) / Handlebar 2016-06-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

---

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!

Avec Le Soleil Sortant De Sa Bouche (Several Futures) / Monarch Tavern 2016-06-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Burn Down the Capital presents (feat. SEF III [members of Drainolith + Horse Lords] / Prince Nifty / Fake Humans / Fresh Flesh) / 8-Eleven 2016-07-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Pride Toronto: Alternaqueer (feat. Vag Halen / JD Samson) / South Stage 2016-07-01 (Friday – free! all-ages! outside! fabulous!) [FB event]

Blunt Object: More music of Carla Bley / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-07-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Scenics [T.O. first-wave art-punks!] (Fat as Fuck / The Two Koreas) / Rivoli 2016-07-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Tonkapuma (Worst Gift / Alpha Strategy / WLMRT) / The 300 Club 2016-07-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Molly Nilsson (Scott Hardware / Katana) / Double Double Land 2016-07-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Live on the Patio (feat. Daniel Nebiat) / Roy Thomson Hall Patio 2016-07-14 (Thursday – free! outside! early show, sets @ 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.!) [more info]

Live on the Patio (feat. Hampaté & Sahel Blues) / Roy Thomson Hall Patio 2016-07-15 (Friday – free! outside! early show, sets @ 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.!) [more info]

Weird Lines (Adrian Teacher and the Subs / Jon Mckiel) / Monarch Tavern 2016-07-19 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Evening Hymns / Adelaide Hall 2016-07-22 (Friday) [more info]

Live on the Patio (feat. Aline Morales) / Roy Thomson Hall Patio 2016-08-26 (Friday – free! outside! early show, sets @ 6:30 and 8:00 p.m.!) [more info]

---

Bandcamp corner:

• Jazz for the intellectually curious, "Mirapolis is modern classical cover band born out of playing free jazz at experimental rock shows. All compositions by members of the band with inspirations from Karaikudi Mani and Olivier Messiaen. "

Recording: Aldcroft/Lynn/Ng/Miller

Artist: Ken Aldcroft/Michael Lynn/Karen Ng/Matt Miller

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 8, 2016.

Aldcroft/Lynn/Ng/Miller - [set 1 excerpt]

Aldcroft/Lynn/Ng/Miller - [set 2 excerpt]

This night convened by guitarist Ken Aldcroft saw him joined by Michael Lynn (double bass), Karen Ng (alto sax + clarinet) and Matt Miller (laptop manipulations) — a crew and instrument mix well geared toward investigating musical textures more than melody-based jaunts. Aldcroft provided string skritchings and amp whirrings while Miller moved from quiz show buzzes to stereoscopic zworps to whummering bass rumbles, as he sampled and manipulated live sounds from the floor, helping to keep things cycling through musical interactions and sputtering electroacoustic outbursts over two sets.

Recording: Cetacea

Artist: Cetacea

Song: [last piece, edit]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #15), June 7, 2016.

Cetacea - [last piece, edit]

A set by Bryan W. Bray's solo instrumental Cetacea project can be a fairly variable thing under normal circumstances, ranging from quiet atmospherics to bone-shaking doom-drones. But Bray totally got into the spirit of TCB as a space where artists can try something that they don't normally do, and he brought not only a collaborator (Cares' James Beardmore) but also some lyrics. Beardmore provided icy textures with theremin and synth (plenty static and white noise) while the lyrics were kept relatively subdued, more suggestive of a mood than precise sentiments. This all combined into a something fairly unique, a distorted confessional akin to some unholy meeting between Jandek and Corpusse. The pair had worked out a full set worth of stuff, so this might not be a one-time airing of this material.

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on July 5th.]

Recording: KASHKA

Artist: KASHKA

Song: [untitled improvised song]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #15), June 7, 2016.

KASHKA - [untitled improvised song]

Some excellent work here from Kat Burns (formerly of beloved local combo Forest City Lovers, and recently working solo as KASHKA) who tried something for the first time on stage, applying her deep stock of popcraft and technique to build up some songs in real-time. Working with a loop pedal, there were some moments of real vulnerability on stage as she started stitching fragments together, but once the layers were assembled, it was pop sleekness all the way. "Experimental music" means many things, but one of the most fundamental ones is doing something where you're not entirely sure of the outcome — and here, the results were quite excellent.

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on July 5th.]

Recording: Swankey/O'Reilly/Furlong

Artist: Laura Swankey/Patrick O'Reilly/Andrew Furlong

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #15), June 7, 2016.

Swankey/O'Reilly/Furlong - [edited excerpt]

Having seen her do some fantastic work (with Christine Duncan and others) I was tremendously excited to have Laura Swankey at TCB, and even more so when I heard she'd be joined by two cool musicians from her cohort. Her vocalizations ranged from smooth coos to harsh cries (and ended with a heartfelt spoken segment) while Furlong's double bass ranged from background burbles to percussive knocks. O'Reilley, meanwhile, did a fantastic job adding all kinds of textures with his guitar and pedal rack, sometimes sounding like a second voice. Keep an eye out for these names.

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on July 5th.]

Recording: Martha Farquhar-McDonnell

Artist: Martha Farquhar-McDonnell

Songs: The Singing Bird (with Isla Craig) [traditional] + Black is the Colour of My True Love's Hair [trad. arr. Martha Farquhar-McDonnell]

Recorded at Church of St. Andrew by-the-lake, June 5, 2016.

Martha Farquhar-McDonnell with Isla Craig - My Singing Bird

Martha Farquhar-McDonnell - Black is the Colour of My True Love's Hair

One of the city's most beautiful voices can finally be heard on its own by a wider crowd. Martha Farquhar-McDonnell is perhaps best known as one-third of Kith & Kin, a vocal trio that she sings in alongside her mother and sister. (Their annual Christmas Wassails at the Music Gallery are always highlights of the season.) Under the guidance of vocal ace Alex Samaras (and his new High Park Records imprint), she has recorded My Singing Bird, a collection of unaccompanied vocal music in the Irish sean-nós style.

A lifelong resident of Toronto Island, the album was recorded in the beautiful cottage-like Church of St. Andrew by-the-lake, and she returned there to celebrate its release. Most of the album was tackled (including the title track, which was presented in a duet arrangement with Isla Craig) as well as a few other songs with some of her kith and kin. After dark clouds and a sudden cloudburst, this show was accompanied by the sounds of birds curling in from outside the church. Similarly, this music on My Singing Bird is a balm for the weary and a joyful ray of light.

Recording: GREX

Artist: GREX with Martha Farquhar-McDonnell + friends

Songs: Johnny's Gone to Hilo [traditional] + Holy Manna [composer: William Moore]

Recorded at Church of St. Andrew by-the-lake, June 5, 2016.

GREX with Martha Farquhar-McDonnell - Johnny's Gone to Hilo

GREX and friends - Holy Manna

Martha Farquhar-McDonnell's My Singing Bird has been issued by High Park Records, a new endeavour from Alex Samaras to spotlight recordings of unaccompanied vocal music. So on celebrating the album's release in the same Island church where it was recorded it was no surprise to see Samaras opening things up with his vocal ensemble GREX.

Performing as a trio, Samaras, Ghislain Aucoin and Ryan Brouwer tackled a couple church-appropriate numbers (including the glorious "Kviria") but the set was also structured to include not only Martha Farquhar-McDonnell (as heard on the sea-shanty "Johnny's Gone to Hilo", recorded by The McGarrigles as well as many others) but also her mother and sister and frequent singing partners Isla Craig and Robin Dann on an old shape-note number. Beautiful stuff and a totally joyful set.

Concert Listings Roundup #153

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.

---

Gig of the week:

Burn Down The Capital (feat. Jooklo Duo with Colin Fisher / CCMC / Cory Latkovich & Robert Grieve) / Ratio 2016-06-13 (Monday) [FB event]

Some prime cuts of avant-shred and free noise at this one, combining the headliners (visiting from Italy) with local fave Colin Fisher (of Not The Wind, Not The Flag, etc. etc. etc.) and mixing in lifers CCMC and selected components of Imaginary Flesh in the form of two slices of dreamed meat.

---

This week's noteworthy shows:

Eagulls (The Effens / Several Futures) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-06-13 (Monday) [FB event]

Michael Davidson/Laura Swankey/Christine Duncan [solos + trios] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Dories (Bart / Doffing / Luge) / Smiling Buddha 2016-06-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Kaleidoscope (Conman / Creep Highway / Protruders [ex Kappa Chow]) / Ozzy's Palace 2016-06-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

THE AMBiENT PiNG (feat. Seva / Dirty Inputs) / Ratio 2016-06-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Luminato: monumental (feat. The Holy Body Tattoo [contemporary dance] / Godspeed You! Black Emperor) / The Hearn 2016-06-14–2016-06-15 (Tuesday–Wendesday) [more info]

Open (Music) Reading ["in process" performance of new scores by Jonathan Adjemian] (feat. Jonathan Adjemian/Ken Aldcroft/Cheryl Duvall/Karen Ng/Heather Saumer) / Canadian Music Centre 2016-06-15 (Wednesday – early show, 5 to 7 p.m.!) [FB event]

No Octopus Dances / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-15 (Wednesday – early!)

Josh Cole Quartet [Karen Ng/Ryan Driver/Philippe Melanson/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Tuns (Only Yours / kiwi jr.) / The Garrison 2016-06-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

The Burning Hell (Dave Bidini) / Monarch Tavern 2016-06-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

S.H.I.T. (Gaucho / Pedestrian / Big School / Inactivist) / Faith/Void 2016-06-15 (Wednesday – all ages!) [FB event]

Contact Contemporary Music: A Gossamer Bit / The Music Gallery 2016-06-16 (Thursday – all ages + free for those under 18!) [FB event]

Heaven For Real (Bernice / Old and Weird / Thick Neck) / Double Double Land 2016-06-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Venetian Snares (Joanne Pollock / Bad Channels) / Velvet Underground 2016-06-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Luc Ex Assemblée [Ab Baars/Ingrid Laubrock/Luc Ex/Hamid Drake] (Heather Saumer & Doug Tielli) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Afrofest 2016 Launch (feat. Amadou Kienou / Donné Roberts / Afrafranto) / Gladstone Hotel (Melody Bar) 2016-06-16 (Thursday – free! early!) [more info]

Help Cora Kick Lyme Fundraing Concert (feat. Bob Wiseman / Marker Starling / Ronley Teper's Lipliners / The David Pepe Celia Band, Michael Holt and The Kids) / Friends House 2016-06-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Programm [record release] (Weight [members of Rituals & Rolemodel] / v serious) / Smiling Buddha 2016-06-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Thin Edge New Music Collective: Are You Ready Brother? [ showcasing the music of Russian-Canadian composer Nikolai Sergeevich Korndorf] / Array Space 2016-06-17 (Friday) [FB event]

NO FEST – Day 1 (feat. Chastity Belt / Fake Palms / Twist) / The Garrison 2016-06-17 (Friday) [FB event]

Papermaps (Beams / The Nursery) / Junction City Music Hall 2016-06-17 (Friday) [FB event]

Clara Engel (Cetacea / Moon Sunn Moon / HRRR) / My Drunk Uncle's Pub 2016-06-17 (Friday) [FB event]

Ronley Teper's Lipliners: Bye Bye Toronto [last T.O. performance until late fall!] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-17 (Friday) [FB event]

3rd Annual Rare Drugs Back-Alley BBQ (feat. Juan Wauters / Potion / The Seams / ZONES / Sunshine & The Blue Moon / Sahara / Year Of Glad / Baby Cages) / The Silver Dollar Room – back patio 2016-06-18 (Saturday – afternoon event, noon to 8 p.m.! PWYC!) [FB event]

NO FEST: Free Day Party (feat. Casper Skulls / Pet Sun / PONY) / The Garrison (front room) 2016-06-18 (Saturday – day show! free!) [FB event]

Music Gallery Departures Series (feat. The Out Louds / Mette Rasmussen/Tashi Dorji/Tyler Damon / Michael Keith/Saab Narayan) / Array Space 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Michael Feuerstack (Michelle McAdorey) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

GOMS (Pucumber Sasssquash Family Band / Prom Nite / The Evil Boys) / Faith/Void 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

NO FEST – Day 2 (feat. Speedy Ortiz / Greys / Vallens) / The Garrison 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Christof Migone (Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Polka Dogs / Relish Bar & Grill 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Elliott Vincent Jones [Arto Arto EP release!] (Doldrums / LA Timpa / Dylan III) / The Velvet Underground 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Impromptu #1: Aldcroft/Fisher/Gennaro/Hay ["a new series featuring ensembles improvising together for the first time"] / Gerrard Art Space 2016-06-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Diane Roblin with c_RL (Britta B [spoken word poet] with creative improvisation by c_RL + Diane Roblin) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-06-19 (Sunday — early) [FB event]

Toddler (James Irwin / LCON) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-06-19 (Sunday – early show! 6 to 8:30 p.m.!) [FB event]

Queer Songbook Orchestra: One For the Ages / Buddies In Bad Times Theatre 2016-06-19 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Castor & Compagnie) / Array Space 2016-06-19 (Sunday) [FB event]

---

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!

SummerWorks Fundraiser (feat. Zoo Owl and Kurt Marble) / Handlebar 2016-06-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength 704 (feat. Xiu Xiu / Ice Cream / New Fries / La timpa) / The Garrison 2016-06-30 (Thursday – $3 with RSVP) [FB event]

Crosss (Foam / Jons / Wido) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Invocation presents (Dirty Inputs [The Runcible launch party!] / Cares / Memorex) / Array Space 2016-07-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Nicole Dollanganger (Chastity / Drofnosura) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-07 (Thursday – all ages!) [FB event]

Nap Eyes (Calvin Love) / Double Double Land 2016-07-13 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Mar On Music presents (feat. BART / Jay Arner / Supermoon) / The Piston 2016-07-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Naghmeh Farahmand & Pejman Zahedian ["ancient Persian music for a new age"] / Toronto Music Garden 2016-07-21 (Thursday – free! all ages! outside!) [more info]

Nhapitapi / Island Café 2016-07-22 (Friday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Steve Adamyk Band (Needles//Pins / Sonic Avenues / First Base) / Smiling Buddha 2016-07-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Subhadra Vijaykumar/Vasudevan Govindarajan/Ramana Indrakumar ["Carnatic classical music from South India"] / Toronto Music Garden 2016-07-24 (Sunday – free! all ages! outside! afternoon show @ 4 p.m.!) [more info]

Taktus ["contemporary compositions for dual marimbas"] / Toronto Music Garden 2016-09-01 (Thursday – free! all ages! outside!) [more info]

Revue & Shadow Show (feat. Kith & Kin) / Island Café 2016-09-05 (Monday – early show @ 6:30! PWYC!) [FB event]