Recording: The Mike Smith Company

Artist: The Mike Smith Company

Song: Famous Wildlife Movies

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (All-Set! Autumn Release Show), October 28, 2016.

The Mike Smith Company - Famous Wildlife Movies [part 1]

The Mike Smith Company - Famous Wildlife Movies [part 2]

This second release spectacular from All-Set! Editions added three new albums to their catalogue, and all three of the recombinant groupings played to celebrate. The highlight of the night was seeing the tunes from Mike Smith's new album presented by what was, by his own admission, "a large band".¹ That added to a history of Smith treating his compositions with a certain malleability — besides its "fixed" iteration as a recording, I've seen the album's title track take on a few different manifestations. These large group arrangements were quite lovely, going as often to smaller, quieter shadings with different subsets of instruments as veering into full-on big band wallops.

[A less-expanded version of the Mike Smith Company will be playing at the Music Gallery's Moondog 100 concert this Saturday (December 3rd), playing songs from their own book as well as some new arrangements of Moondog's pieces.]

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¹ If my notes are correct, the ensemble at this show was:

• Mike Smith – composition, conductor, flute
• Pete Johnston – bass
• Blake Howard – percussion
• Jamie Drake – percussion
• Jake Oelrichs – percussion
• Jonathan Adjemian – synth
• Ali Berkok – piano, clavinet
• Heather Saumer – trombone
• Tom Richards – trombone
• Rebecca Hennessy – trumpet
• Mika Posen – violin
• Jay Hay – Tenor sax, flute
• Karen Ng – alto sax, flute
• Jeremy Strachan – guitar, sax, flute

Recording: Aurochs with Jean Martin

Artist: Aurochs with Jean Martin

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (All-Set! Autumn Release Show), October 28, 2016.

Aurochs with Jean Martin - [excerpt]

This second release spectacular from All-Set! Editions added three new albums to their catalogue, and all three of the recombinant groupings played to celebrate. Since the release of their Rational Animals album a couple years ago, Aurochs have evolved from the original trio, seeing Mike Smith join the ranks as a sound manipulationist. Another Helpful Medicine sees a more warped'n'ziggzagged group with Ali Berkok's piano (and accordion), Pete Johnston's bass and Jake Oelrich's percussion building and burbling through a continuously-evolving improvisation, further filtered through Jean Martin's mixage. To give a taste of the process that created the album, the group invited Martin to join them at this release show, adding further layers of melting, ping-ponging swooning dub-drip interference to the musical interface.

Recording: See Through 5

Artist: See Through 5

Song: Piecing Together That Dream

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (All-Set! Autumn Release Show), October 28, 2016.

See Through 5 - Piecing Together That Dream

This second release spectacular from All-Set! Editions added three new albums to their catalogue, and all three of the recombinant groupings played to celebrate. Margins, the new album from Pete Johnston's malleable chamber-prog ensemble, is cut from the same cloth (and was recorded, so far as I can tell, at the same sessions) as least year's Utilities. That means listeners can expect further tuneful explorations with plenty of counterpoint and zigzag diversions. (All-Set! has also released Johnston's See Through Two album of bass duets with Rob Clutton with a bit less fanfare. Both albums are available on a name-your price basis over on bandcamp.)

Recording: Retired

Artist: Retired

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Baby G, October 27, 2016.

Retired - unknown

This night was a release celebration for this quartet's new Crimes Against Jazz album, a proper document of the project's current lineup. Recorded live off the floor, it captures their range fairly well, from stop-start hardcore outbursts to melting meditative drones. From their album title on down the band seems ambiguous about their relationship with jazz (song titles include "3 Day Jazz Bender" and "Fear Of Jazz") and their musical affiliations put them closer to noisy rock shows than anything in the city's "creative" music scenes, but there's really good work happening here. This was the fiercest and most wide-ranging of the live sets I've seen, with the band incorporating drummer Cyril Penney Jr.'s spoken word passages and saxophonist Alex Howard's harsh-noise EWI.

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

Recording: Pissbowelking

Artist: Pissbowelking

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Baby G, October 27, 2016.

Pissbowelking - unknown

This duo's non-user-friendly band name is a fair signpost to their menacing/abrasive music. They don't seem to have much of an online presence, so for now you'll have to keep an eye out for your chance to step into their darkness, with machinegun percussion, harshly-torquing synths and equally-effected vocals. This was a seriously relentless set at concert volume — the recording tames it a bit, so be sure to crank up your volume.

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

Recording: Fake Humans

Artist: Fake Humans

Song: [final section]

Recorded at The Baby G, October 27, 2016.

Fake Humans - [final section]

This duo between Carl Didur and Colin Fisher can sound like a full band, especially when the latter gets to multi-tasking and playing taishogoto and synthesizer simultaneously. This section, with Fisher moving from drums to sax, is a bit more spare in its execution but has some really lovely interplay.

Concert Listings Roundup #177

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:

New Fries [More 10" record release] (Private Joy / Carl Didur / Fountain) / The Garrison 2016-12-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

With a new 10" (out on Telephone Explosion), New Fries are ready to celebrate with a night of weird and adventurous sounds. Get ready for push/pull rhythms, stop/start dynamics and possibly some art-adventure flourishes. Great supporting cast, too, including the always-essential Carl Didur.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Rainy Days on Monday ["great songs of the 70's, jazz standards, originals"] (hosted by Paul Linklater with many guest stars) / The Cameron House 2016-11-28 (Monday – early! 6 to 8 p.m.!) [FB event]

My Misshapen Ear [Anthony Argatoff/Andrew Furlong/Joe Sorbara] / The Emmet Ray 2016-11-28 (Monday – early! PWYC!) [FB event]

Professor Andy Dolgin's Medicinal Show #1 (feat. Professor Andy Dolgin and The Candy Apple Jazz Band) / Grossman's Tavern 2016-11-29 (Tuesday – free!) [FB event]

Camargo (Blunt Chunks / Country Lunker) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-11-29 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Piano Party! (feat. Mike Smith / Jonathan Adjemian / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-30 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays (feat. Allison Cameron/Josh Cole/Sandro Perri/Nicole Rampersaud) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-30 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Bears & Children (Doom Tickler / David Jones) / Smiling Buddha 2016-11-30 (Wednesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Wavelength 715 (BRAIDS / Most People / Nyssa) / The Garrison 2016-11-30 (Wednesday – $3 with RSVP) [FB event]

KENTROИ (Mesonyx) / Smiling Buddha 2016-12-01 (Thursday) [FB event]

Queen Mab Trio [Marilyn Lerner/Lori Freedman/Ig Henneman] / Gallery 345 2016-12-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Emily Denison [Kindred tape release!] (Jonathan Adjemian / Emily Denison / Raphael Foisy-Couture / Brad Eaton / Karen Ng / Laura Swankey) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-12-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Long Winter 5.1 (feat. Blonde Elvis / Twist / Cupcake Ductape / Zoe Sky Jordan / Mazola / OBUXUM) / SPK/Polish Combatants' Hall – new venue! 2016-12-02 (Friday – PWYC! all ages!) [FB event]

Professor Andy Dolgin's Medicinal Show #2 (feat. Professor Andy Dolgin and The Candy Apple Jazz Band) / The Local Pub 2016-12-03 (Saturday – free!) [FB event]

Moondog 100 (feat. Nexus with Suba Sankaran / The Mike Smith Company) / The Music Gallery 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Hommage à Miriam Makeba (feat. Lorraine Klaasen) / Alliance Française 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Optical Sounds presents (feat. Magic Shoppe / B-17 / Brenda / Dong Vegan) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Persons (Guy Madonna / Man Made Hill / Coldboi) / Double Double Land 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [more info]

Daniel Pencer/Dan Fortin/Brandon Valdivia/Colin Fisher / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 40 (feat. Prone / Squelcher) / Handlebar 2016-12-04 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Ultimate Painting (EZTV / Century Palm) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-12-04 (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!

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Ig Hennemen/Marilyn Lerner/Karen Ng/Nicole Rampersaud / Sweet Session) / Array Space 2016-12-06 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Minotaurs / Burdock Music Hall 2016-12-06 (Tuesday – no cover!) [FB event]

Frictional: Making Sounds With Stuff (feat. Kristina Guison / Inchoate / Xuan Ye / Jason Doell) / Electric Perfume 2016-12-07 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Dream Date (Colin Roy Gillespie / Mills) / Handlebar 2016-12-08 (Thursday) [FB event]

Poster Boy (Cares / Greydini) / The Dupe Shop 2016-12-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Ig Henneman & co. ["short sets of improvised music featuring Toronto friends"] (feat. Marilyn Lerner / Germaine Liu / Pete Johnston / Brodie West / Heather Saumer / Ryan Driver / Rob Clutton / Nick Fraser / Daniel Pencer / Lina Allemano) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-12-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Jenny Berkel (LUKA / Will Kidman) / Monarch Tavern 2016-12-13 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #49.2 (feat. Sound of The Mountain / Craig Pederson/Brian Abbott/Cheryl O / Elizabeth Millar/Laura Swankey) / Array Space 2016-12-18 (Sunday) [FB event]

Jennifer Castle (Fiver / Damian Rogers) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-12-21 (Wednesday) [more info]

Hello Ocho (Eliza / Dohn Valley / Mr. Joy) / Double Double Land 2017-01-18 (Wednesday) [FB event]

TV Girl (Ice Cream / Scott Hardware / Poppet) / Smiling Buddha 2017-01-26 (Thursday) [FB event]

Recording: Off World

Artist: Off World

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Ratio (Off World LP 1 Release Weekend – Night 3), October 23, 2016.

Off World - unknown

Off World celebrated the release of their first album with three nights of sonic exploration at Ratio. As a recording project, Off World is quite open-ended, meant to serve as a clearinghouse of sorts for a backlog of Sandro Perri's collaborative recordings. Live, it's something of a different beast, existing as a duo with Processor's Lorenz Peter. Set up against Ratio's long side wall instead of in the "stage" zone, the m.o. here was for Perri to deploy some pre-recorded stems as grist for live remix/dub treatment, incorporating Peter's keyb interventions. Perhaps a bit more than the night before, this set felt rather true to the band's name, a trip to the planetarium to lean back and consider the cosmic symphonies of burbling basslines, space-slug slow-skank, sounds like the Sounds of the Sounds of Science and trace elements of Night Flight to Venus.

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

Recording: Fleshtone Aura

Artist: Fleshtone Aura

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Ratio (Off World LP 1 Release Weekend – Night 3), October 23, 2016.

Fleshtone Aura - [excerpt]

Off World celebrated the release of their first album with three nights of sonic exploration at Ratio, bringing friends and sonic fellow-travellers along to set the mood. The lid of Andrew Zukerman's suitcase synth flips open and can be lifted off, so you can take it as one considered element of this set that he left it attached and raised up, basically blocking the audience from seeing him as he played. Or not played, as once again the caesurae would expand, leaving the quiet scuffling sounds of the room to fill in between snatches of dialogue, stereo-panned percussive clattering and pingpong analog synthbursts.

Recording: Cell Memory

Artist: Cell Memory

Song: unknown [edited excerpt]^*

Recorded at Ratio (Off World LP 1 Release Weekend – Night 3), October 23, 2016.

Cell Memory - unknown [edited excerpt]

Off World celebrated the release of their first album with three nights of sonic exploration at Ratio, bringing friends and sonic fellow-travellers along to set the mood. Like the headliners, Adam Terejko's Cell Memory project tends to be pretty malleable, presenting a wide range of sounds in different ad hoc lineups. This time out he was accompanied by Alex Hamlyn for a duo set of heavy shimmer guitar stylings. There was some subtle clatter from Terejko's plectrum acting as a bit of rhythmic mediation, but this was otherwise firmly in gliss-roar territory.

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

Recording: Off World

Artist: Off World feat. Nicole Rampersaud

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Ratio (Off World LP 1 Release Weekend – Night 2), October 22, 2016.

Off World feat. Nicole Rampersaud - unknown

Off World celebrated the release of their first album with three nights of sonic exploration at Ratio. As a recording project, Off World is quite open-ended, meant to serve as a clearinghouse of sorts for a backlog of Sandro Perri's collaborative recordings. Live, it's something of a different beast, existing as a duo with Processor's Lorenz Peter. Set up against Ratio's long side wall instead of in the "stage" zone, the m.o. here was for Perri to deploy some pre-recorded stems as grist for live remix/dub treatment, incorporating Peter's keyb interventions. Plus, in this abstract, Nicole Rampersaud is sitting in on trumpet, adding some extra atmospheric vibes as the rhythms slowly stretch themselves out.

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

Recording: Sicke

Artist: Sicke

Song: Chopping Wood

Recorded at Ratio (Off World LP 1 Release Weekend – Night 2), October 22, 2016.

Sicke - Chopping Wood

Off World celebrated the release of their first album with three nights of sonic exploration at Ratio. I managed to make the latter two, and I was especially eager to be at the Saturday night show for the opening sets. This was the live debut for this new project from Joseph Shabason, whose sax was being run through scads of effects (some of which gave his playing a sort of EWI feel). He was backed by an all-star grouping including Thom Gill (keyb), Mike Smith (moog + bass), Dan Fortin (bass) and Nicole Rampersaud (trumpet). More zones of liquid drift than "songs", the pieces often still retained the names of the percussion patches they were originally based on for titles. With the new DIANA album just out, this will probably be bouncing around in the background for the next while, but hopefully this will be coming to a hammock district near you soon.

Recording: Kat Estacio

Artist: Kat Estacio

Song: Debris Kiss

Recorded at Ratio (Off World LP 1 Release Weekend – Night 2), October 22, 2016.

Kat Estacio - Debris Kiss

Off World celebrated the release of their first album with three nights of sonic exploration at Ratio. I managed to make the latter two, and I was especially eager to be at the Saturday night show for the opening sets. I've seen Kat Estacio as part of the excellent Pantayo collective, and was sad to have missed her playing a solo set at the Music Gallery's season opener (thankfully, that's been documented on her soundcloud). Mixing ambient laptop tracks with live gongs and percussion, this evoked a beautiful sense of drift.

Concert Listings Roundup #176

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:

Knurl (Lorde Awesome / Cares / Moth Ash) / Belljar Café 2016-11-26 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Saturday is one of those typical jaw-dropping nights where you sorta want a few clones to spread out among the all great gigs (a groovy Wavelength excursion to a bike shop, Casper Skulls' EP release, Os Tropies celebrating a new album with special guests like Bruno Capinan and Aline Morales, and on and on) but I suspect I'll find myself as this casual night of noise and drones. This'll serve as the de facto release party for Cares' new tape, plus it's a rare chance to see Lorde Awesome — who've been building their own east-end thing with their long-running monthly residency at The Only — playing west of the Don Valley. And that's saying nothing of Knurl's loud/blissful overtone harmonics. Don't give in to the urge to hibernate — there's too damn much going on in this town!

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Rainy Days on Monday ["great songs of the 70's, jazz standards, originals"] (hosted by Paul Linklater with many guest stars) / The Cameron House 2016-11-21 (Monday – early! 6 to 8 p.m.!) [FB event]

John Driscoll (Electro-Acoustic Orchestra) / Dispersion Lab 2016-11-22 (Tuesday – free! early show @ 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Orchard Mist and the Tree People [Karen Ng/Scott Peterson/Tom Richards/Brandon Valdivia] / Plant [Jim Denley/Eric Normand]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-22 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Tasseomancy (Fiver [solo set] / Jesi Jordan) / The Baby G 2016-11-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays (feat. New Civilization [Colin Fisher/Brandon Valdivia/Eric Woolston/Scott Peterson/Tom Richards/Isla Craig]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Array Session #42 (feat. Jonathan Adjemian/Nick Buligan/Karen Ng/Martin Arnold) / Array Space 2016-11-23 (Wednesday)

Invocation Residency Series (feat. Loscil / Silver Pools / Coral King) / Array Space 2016-11-24 (Thursday – all ages) [FB event]

Spencer Burton (Marine Dreams / Evan Redsky) / The Drake Underground 2016-11-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Vulva Culture (Lonely Parade / Dohn Valley / Protruders) / Smiling Buddha 2016-11-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

John Oswald/Bob Wiseman/Aidan Closs/Larry Potter / The Imperial Pub 2016-11-25 (Thursday – PWYC!)

Tanya Tagaq (Michele Nox) / Trinity-St. Paul's 2016-11-25 (Friday – all ages! early show!) [more info

Wearenotwhoweare (Zoo Owl / Dohn Valley / Body Rot) / Smiling Buddha 2016-11-25 (Friday) [FB event]

A Weird Ryan Driver Sextet [with Indira Nanavati as Ryan Driver] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Pierre Mongeon's Transharmonic / Array Space 2016-11-25 (Friday) [FB event]

HotKid (Lesbo Vrouven / Black Lava / Man Made Hill) / The Baby G 2016-11-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Charm of Finches: Take Flight [contemporary flute quintet, playing music by Saint-Saëns, Hétu + more] / The Music Gallery 2016-11-25 (Friday – PWYC! all ages + family friendly!) [FB event]

Drew Smith / Holy Oak Café 2016-12-26 (Saturday – early!) [more info]

Casey Sokol: "Duets" for Solo Piano / Gallery 345 2016-11-26 (Saturday – PWYC but reservation req'd) [FB event]

Casper Skulls [Lips and Skull EP release party!] (Bart / Little Junior) / The Baby G 2016-11-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength 714 (feat. Ice Cream / Han Han / Plazas / Bénédicte) / Bike Pirates 2016-11-26 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Os Tropies [CD Release!] (Mad Ones / special guests:
Bruno Capinan, Aline Morales + Baque De Bamba) / The Garrison 2016-11-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Dorothea Paas (Phern [album release! members of Moss Lime, Sheer Agony, Each Other, and Lantern!] / New Chance) / Smiling Buddha – basement 2016-11-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nick Ferrio (Sean Conway / Basement Revolver) / Monarch Tavern 2016-11-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Dann+Ng+Renner / Congruence [Emily Denison/Michael Davidson/Robert Grieve/Andrew Miller]) / Array Space 2016-11-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Luminous Gestures ["a night of music and dance inspired by themes of light and movement."] (feat. Cheryl O/Bill Gilliam/David Story / Cheryl O/Bill Gilliam/David Story/Alison Keery/Eugene Martynec) / Array Space 2016-11-27 (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!

Wavelength 715 (BRAIDS / Most People / Nyssa) / The Garrison 2016-11-30 (Wednesday – $3 with RSVP) [FB event]

Optical Sounds presents (feat. Magic Shoppe / B-17 / Brenda / Dong Vegan) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [FB event]

Persons (Guy Madonna / Man Made Hill / Coldboi) / Double Double Land 2016-12-03 (Saturday) [more info]

Ultimate Painting (EZTV / Century Palm) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-12-04 (Sunday) [FB event]

Soundstreams: Electric Messiah ["a stripped down, surround sound electro-improv Messiah for today's Toronto"] (feat. Christine Duncan/Carla Huhtanen/Gabriel Dharmoo/Jeremy Dutcher/John Gzowski) / Drake Underground 2016-12-05–2016-12-07 (Monday–Wednesday) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #21 (feat. No Parking / Heather Saumer / Del Stephen & The Bedroom Refuge Holiday) / Dundas Video 2016-12-06 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Beams (Old Salts) / The Dakota Tavern 2016-12-06 (Tuesday) [more info]

Frigs (HSY / Scattered Clouds / Prom Nite) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-12-07 (Wednesday) [FB event]

DIANA [Familiar Touch release show!] (Mozart's Sister) / The Great Hall 2016-12-08 (Thursday) [FB event]

Faster's 6th or 7th Annual Christmas Show (Yusuke Frtt/Michael Lynn/Gord Fynes / James Bailey / LittleManWithHairAllOver Quartet [Kayla Milmine/Gord Fynes/Ambrose Pottie/Bob Vespaziani] / Andy Dolgin / Silent Night Sextet) / Gerrard Art Space 2016-12-09 (Friday) [FB event]

The All Star Ritual Trio [David Murray/Kahil El'Zabar/Harrison Bankhead] / Remix Lounge 2016-12-09 (Friday) [more info]

Audiopollination #49.1 (feat. Del Stephen/Jeff Sinibaldi/Olivia Shortt / Diane Roblin/Adriana Monti/Darlene Cuevas / Neil Wiernik/Clara Engel / Billion-Year Contract [Chris Adriaanse/Andrew Furlong/Michael Lynn]) / Array Space 2016-12-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Secret Keeper [Mary Halvorson/Stephan Crump] (Bernice) / Ratio 2016-12-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Queer Songbook Orchestra: Roasted Chestnuts, Holiday Fundraiser / Burdock Music Hall 2016-12-13 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Yeomans (Planet Creature / The Lord Almightys) / The Piston 2016-12-15 (Thursday) [FB event]

The Holy Gasp (The Sulks) / The Baby G 2016-12-17 (Saturday) [FB event]

NO DAPL: A Benefit for Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (feat. VCR ["last show"] / The Boys / Mollot / Slurry) / Faith/Void 2016-12-17 (Saturday) [FB event]

Susan Alcorn (Peggy Lee / Doc Dunn & Co.) / Ratio 2016-12-18 (Sunday) [FB event]

The Big Sound: 3rd Annual New Year's Eve Celebration / Mod Club 2016-12-31 (Saturday) [FB event]

Luge (Bile Sister / Worst Gift / Hot Garbage) / Soybomb 2017-01-21 (Saturday) [FB event]

Recording: Abbott-Clark-Phillips-Doell

Artist: Brian Abbott/Zach Clark/Ted Phillips/Jason Doell

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Faster Presents: Odd Electronics), October 21, 2016.

Abbott-Clark-Phillips-Doell - [excerpt 1]

Abbott-Clark-Phillips-Doell - [excerpt 2]

The title of this low-key evening put together by the Faster crew summed things up pretty well. The night closed with all of the show's participants joining together in a group electroacoustic improvisation, mixing radiophonic found-sound drift and a variety of drones.

[Faster will be hosting their 6th or 7th Annual Christmas Show at Gerrard Art Space on Friday, December 9th.]

Recording: Turtles All The Way Down

Artist: Turtles All The Way Down

Song: Unbalanced Melatonin Levels [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Faster Presents: Odd Electronics), October 21, 2016.

Turtles All The Way Down - Unbalanced Melatonin Levels [excerpt]

The title of this low-key evening put together by the Faster crew summed things up pretty well. Faster's Brian Abbott had a hand in three of the night's sets, including the unveiling of his "Plunderpunk" project and this new duo with Zach Clark, on guit/pedals and laptop/keyb/effects, respectively. They played just this one extended piece, based on Abbott's explorations of just intonation. The full piece included a unison overture and conclusion; this bit comes from the middle of the excursion's drones and warbles.

[Faster will be hosting their 6th or 7th Annual Christmas Show at Gerrard Art Space on Friday, December 9th.]

Recording: Jason Doell

Artist: Jason Doell

Song: 7-channel surround sound system [excerpt]

Recorded at Gerrard Art Space (Faster Presents: Odd Electronics), October 21, 2016.

Jason Doell - 7-channel surround sound system [excerpt]

The title of this low-key evening put together by the Faster crew summed things up pretty well. Leading things off was this improvised electroacoustic set from noted local composer Jason Doell. Partly tongue-in-cheek and partly DIY statement-of-purpose, his "seven channel surround sound" diffusion system was modest in scale (clock radio, tape deck, megaphone, etc.) but did stretch along the two long walls of the rectangular gallery space. The sounds were likewise modest in scale, with little curls of feedback, a buzzing egg vibrating the strings of a snare drum, and soundbursts and plinks ping-ponging from left to right via live radio transmission.

[Faster will be hosting their 6th or 7th Annual Christmas Show at Gerrard Art Space on Friday, December 9th.]

Recording: Memorex

Artist: Memorex

Song: One Step Ahead of the Whip

Recorded at The Baby G, October 20, 2016.

Memorex - One Step Ahead of the Whip

A full set from David Lush's tapehiss/synthpop project gave an opportunity to try a few twists from the group's recent trio sound — they opened and closed with just Lush and Ben Oginz on stage playing some instrumentals. Those were less "song" oriented than the main part of the set that included Nyles Miszczyk's guit and bass work on the more "pop" material. With their stage set-up that includes a vertically-mounted mixer propped up behind the keybs, the whole thing has an admirable science-experiment feeling to it — that conjured-chaos feeling that things could go wrong if someone doesn't hit the right thing at the right time — that makes this a worthy live unit and not just a tasty bedroom-y pop project.

Recording: Bodies That Matter

Artist: Bodies That Matter feat. Scott Hardware

Song: Infernal Organ

Recorded at The Baby G, October 20, 2016.

Bodies That Matter - Infernal Organ

Ian McPhedran's solo project grew to a duo on this night with his former Ostrich Tuning bandmate Scott Harwood joining him for the full set on extra guit and keyb. That served to enhance the usual frazzled haze throughout, and allowed for a big whitenoise implosion to close out the set, but maybe the best moment was on this song (which had also featured Harwood in its recorded version).

Recording: Body Help & Daniel Pencer

Artist: Body Help & Daniel Pencer

Song: [excerpt from second piece]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, October 17, 2016.

Body Help & Daniel Pencer - [excerpt from second piece]

The addition of Daniel Pencer that I witnessed a few months back appears to have deepened with his sax now an essential part of the group's new recording, which was being released at this show. Kinesis is more of a carefully executed album than its document-the-live-show predecessor, pulling back the throttle a touch and adding subtle touches (most notably some textured vocals) from some guest performers. Live, though, they're still ripping things up, and Pencer was getting into the group's bend-your-sounds vibes with some effects of his own hooked up to his saxophone.

Recording: New Chance

Artist: New Chance

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, October 17, 2016.

New Chance - unknown

At some point it should stop surprising that Victoria Cheong's project keeps expanding in new and exciting directions. This song reminds me of the Laurie Anderson/MC 900 Ft. Jesus collaboration that I didn't know I was waiting my whole life for.

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

Recording: Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura

Artist: Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, October 17, 2016.

Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura - [excerpt]

As this occasional duo project continues on, it's quite interesting to see it accumulating its own distinct identity. Especially for Andrew Zukerman, who puts aside the performance art/audience alienation preoccupations of his "solo" Fleshtone Aura sets and moves into quite tuneful terrain.

Recording: Roscoe Mitchell and the Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra

Artist: Roscoe Mitchell and the Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra

Songs: They Rode For Them + Nonaah + [piece for solo sopranino saxophone]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (X Avant XI – Night 4), October 15, 2016.

Roscoe Mitchell and the Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra - They Rode For Them

Roscoe Mitchell and the Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra - Nonaah

Roscoe Mitchell - [solo sopranino saxophone]

The X Avant Festival concluded with this extra-special event, bringing the legendary Roscoe Mitchell to town at the head of a nineteen-piece orchestra made up of top names from the Montréal and Toronto scenes.¹ The pieces that they played were derived from Mitchell's improvisations, primarily from his Conversations I + Conversations II albums — boiling down dense and compact abstractions to their essence and then blowing them up to widescreen size for the large ensemble. After a while, getting attuned to the method you could sometimes "hear" the original gestures behind the sweeping orchestrations. This was complex stuff that pushed the musicians, but it was quite often rather beautiful as well. There were a few places that lead into full-on big band free-honking, but just as striking were the moments that pulled back, including a quartet arrangement of "Nonaah" (performed by Nicolas Caloia, Yves Charuest, Lori Freedman, and Craig Pedersen) as well as a solo segment from Mitchell that opened the second set — an intense piece that spiralled outward from a drone into pure exploration that put a full lifetime's experience and technique on display. After presenting this music live in Montréal and Toronto, the ensemble also headed into the studio on the day after this show, so we can expect some formal documentation of this grand sommet to emerge in time.

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¹ For the record, the members of the orchestra were:

• Roscoe Mitchell – woodwinds, composition, direction
• Marilyn Lerner – piano
• Lori Freedman, Yves Charuest, Kyle Brenders, Jean Derome, Peter Lutek, Jason Sharp – woodwinds
• Nicole Rampersaud, Craig Pedersen – trumpets
• Tom Richards, Scott Thomson – trombones
• Julie Houle – tuba
• Jean René, James Annett – violas
• Rob Clutton, Nicolas Caloia – double-basses
• Isaiah Ceccarelli, Nick Fraser – drums
• Michael Davidson – vibraphone
• Greg Oh - conducting

Recording: DAS RAD

Artist: DAS RAD

Songs: Hollow Pines + Heavy Flow

Recorded at The Baby G, October 15, 2016.

DAS RAD - Hollow Pines

DAS RAD - Heavy Flow

Things had been quiet from DAS RAD's direction for awhile now, so perhaps it wasn't too big a surprise to hear that the trio was packing it in. At the very least, though, they bequeathed a couple new songs and a proper farewell show. One comes to accept the great circle of life and all that, even if it was made harder by the fact that the band sounded as good as they ever have. There's a lot to appreciate in their trajectory, from their ever-inventive smashing-together of pop songs with noisy distortion to Allyn Norris's emergence as a strong co-frontperson for the band. Out of the grave and into the grave, RIP DAS RAD.

[That doesn't mean that other chapters aren't opening. Keep an eye out for things like this and this, for example.]

Recording: Surinam

Artist: Surinam

Song: Heard You Had a Problem

Recorded at The Baby G, October 15, 2016.

Surinam - Heard You Had a Problem

Called upon as pallbearers at DAS RAD's funeral, Surinam brought their typical hard-driving menacing stare (and Godstopper's Miranda Armstrong filling in on bass) to set the mood. This one is driven by Ami Spears' "I Wanna Be Your Dog"/"Something's Gone Wrong Again" one-note keyboard riff.

[Surinam are at Soybomb on Friday (November 18th) with Dark Plains, Baby Labour and Mutual.]

Recording: TRAITRS

Artist: TRAITRS

Song: Gallows Hill

Recorded at The Baby G, October 15, 2016.

TRAITRS - Gallows Hill

This was my first time catching this goth-y post-punk duo, composed of Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker. Their tasty EP out on Pleasence Records shows what to expect on stage: intense, brooding coldwave — with both members dressed in all black, natch.

Recording: Alpha Strategy

Artist: Alpha Strategy

Song: Little Shoulder

Recorded at The Baby G, October 15, 2016.

Alpha Strategy - Little Shoulder

I hadn't managed to catch Alpha Strategy since their Drink the Brine, Get Scarce album dropped earlier this year. The recording is more of a "band" album than its predecessor and closer to the intensity the group gives out on stage.

[Alpha Strategy is playing at Hard Luck on Friday (November 18th) alongside Several Futures, Champion Lover and Bonnie Trash before heading off on a European tour.]

Recording: Sarah Neufeld

Artist: Sarah Neufeld

Song: The Ridge

Recorded at The Music Gallery (X Avant XI – Night 3), October 15, 2016.

Sarah Neufeld - The Ridge

Sarah Neufeld's solo work — blown up to widescreen proportions on her second album The Ridge — reflects on aspects she's approached in other projects, including the Arcade Fire's pop aspirations and Bell Orchestre's post-rock bombast while stripping things back to her primary instruments of violin and voice. That was boosted here with percussion work from fellow Bell Orchestre member (and former Luya) Stefan Schneider, which added some drive to the bulk of the set. Echo and other effects took advantage of the MG's church setting, building up into some tasteful swells before releasing the crowd with a lullaby.

Recording: Dialectica

Artist: Dialectica

Song: The Puppet Master

Recorded at The Music Gallery (X Avant XI – Night 3), October 15, 2016.

Dialectica - The Puppet Master

A full house out to see Sarah Neufeld's negotiations of chamber music and pop got a different approach to a similar inquiry with Shannon Graham's new Dialectica project. A quartet combining jazz and classically trained saxophonists, this offered compositions from Graham (who has also been exploring these intersections in her work with Spectrum Music) and Chelsea McBride, along with some verve, bringing a little glitter to what could be contained as mere "formal" music. (There were also a couple of pieces from from Javier Vazquez who added some percussion to the closing mambo, which speaks to the group's urge to groove a little bit.)

Concert Listings Roundup #175

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:

Emergents I (feat. Völur / Wapiti) / The Music Gallery 2016-11-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Just as saplings can push out from the unlikliest cracks in the concrete, musicians can "emerge" from many points of origin. Although the Music Gallery's Emergents series used to focus more closely on those emerging into the classical/New Music firmament, the scope has slowly broadened, leading to an interesting wider view. The first instalment of this season's series sees Wapiti, a more traditional sort of Emergents duo who'll be bringing some Morton Feldman and contemporary composed works being matched with Völur, a doom-folk trio that's more often seen at metal-hewing gigs. The opportunities for cool discoveries continue, and the Emergents shows are a great deal for Music Gallery members at $8 a pop.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Rainy Days on Monday ["great songs of the 70's, jazz standards, originals"] (hosted by Paul Linklater with many guest stars) / The Cameron House 2016-11-14 (Monday – early! 6 to 8 p.m.!) [FB event]

Stuck in the City/Not Dead Yet present (feat. Uniform / HSY / Black Iron Prison / Holy Grinder) / Smiling Buddha 2016-11-14 (Monday – all ages!) [FB event]

El Perro Del Mar (Bernice) / The Drake Underground 2016-11-14 (Monday) [more info]

The AMBiENT PiNG (feat. No Seas / Shimmer Crush / l'ombre) / Handlebar 2016-11-15 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Wolf's Nacho Wednesdays (feat. c_RL) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-16 (Wednesday – 8 p.m. start!)

Dan Edmonds [LP Release!] (Nick Ferrio / Geordie Gordon) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-11-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Thee Oh Sees (Twist) / The Danforth Music Hall 2016-11-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Petra Glynt (Whoop Szo / Zones) / The Baby G 2016-11-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Demons VI (feat. Dreamboy / Blunt Chunks / Fresh Flesh / Osypa) / Smiling Buddha 2016-11-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Several Futures (Champion Lover / Alpha Strategy / Bonnie Trash) / Hard Luck Bar 2016-11-18 (Friday) [FB event]

2nd Annual Night Owl Festival (feat. Nobunny / Cosmonauts / The Cowboys / King Creep / Kurt Marble / The Hecks) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-11-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Surinam (Dark Plains / Baby Labour / Fond) / Soybomb 2016-11-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Harbourfront Theatre NextSTEPS: Balancing on the Edge ["curated partnerships between 9 different physical circus artists and contemporary composers"] (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective and A Girl in the Sky Productions) / Harbourfront Centre 2016-11-18–2016-11-19 (Friday–Saturday) [FB event]

$5 Rap Show: Double Album Release (feat. More Or Les & Swamp Thing / Peter Project & Wordburglar) / Handlebar 2016-11-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Sunshine & The Blue Moon [Welcome to the Future release show!] (Sahara / Ed Munstay) / The Baby G 2016-11-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

2nd Annual Night Owl Festival (feat. The Garden / Kim and The Created / Hot Garbage / Baby Cages / The Try Umphs) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-11-19 (Saturday – late show! doors @ 11:30 p.m.!) [FB event]

Diane Roblin/Jonathan Adjemian / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-11-20 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Music Gallery Departures Series (feat. Micro-Ritmia Ensemble / Taktus / Ben Grossman) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-11-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Ms. Lomax) / The Emmet Ray 2016-11-20 (Sunday – PWYC!) [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!

Vulva Culture (Lonely Parade / Dohn Valley / Protruders) / Smiling Buddha 2016-11-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Nick Ferrio (Sean Conway / Basement Revolver) / Monarch Tavern 2016-11-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Emily Denison [Kindred tape release!] (Jonathan Adjemian / Emily Denison / Raphael Foisy-Couture / Brad Eaton / Karen Ng / Laura Swankey) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-12-02 (Friday) [FB event]

Invocation Residency Series (feat. E [new project from Come's Thalia Zedek] / Knurl) / Array Space 2016-12-07 (Wednesday – all ages!) [FB event]

Raw Materials presents (feat. Lice / Soap / Protruders / Kapali Carsi) / Owl's Club – basement 2016-12-08 (Thursday) [FB event]

Ronley Teper & The Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-12-09 (Friday) [FB event]

Sing for a Healing Friend (feat. Norman Blake, Joe Pernice, and Friends) / The Dakota Tavern 2016-12-09–2016-12-10 (Friday–Saturday – early shows!) [more info]

Kith & Kin and Friends / Burdock Music Hall 2016-12-22 (Thursday) [FB event]

The Sadies / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-12-31 (Saturday) [more info]

Lee Ranaldo (Steve Gunn) / The Great Hall 2017-01-14 (Saturday) [more info]

Jens Lekman / The Great Hall 2017-03-13 (Monday) [more info]

The Wedding Present (Colleen Green) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2017-04-19 (Wednesday) [more info]