Recording: Ruins of Utopia

Artist: Ruins of Utopia

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Belljar Café, January 28, 2017.

Ruins of Utopia - [excerpt]

Another night of noisy sounds at the Belljar, once again a willing host to an evening of uneasy listening. The show was capped by the debut of a noise supergroup of sorts, combining the talents of David Jones (Hexzuul, Manticore), Bryan W. Bray (Gates, Cetacea) and Alan Bloor (Knurl). Anyone familiar with their various projects coming in probably knew enough to have earplugs at the ready — and indeed their sea of noise did merit it. But most intriguingly, it wasn't just undifferentiated murk, as each "voice" found its own substratum. Further excavations from this trio should find some even stranger caverns in the dark reaches below.

Recording: Fog Spirits

Artist: Fog Spirits

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Belljar Café, January 28, 2017.

Fog Spirits - [excerpt]

Excellent audio-visual work from Brian Random, mixing together visuals from a few horror-ish movies, loosely based around the the theme of "snow". Analog blizzards of fragmented colours would dissolve, reverse and loop upon themselves, leaving only ghostly remnants, while the echo-fied soundscapes reached for an identical effect. (You can hear more along these lines over at the project's somewhat difficult-to-navigate bandcamp page.)

Recording: Inchoate

Artist: Inchoate

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Belljar Café, January 28, 2017.

Inchoate - [excerpt]

More carefully-ministered sonic constructions from Brett Despotovich, tending a trio of Kaoss Pads and other sundry effects with muffled/modulated background speech drifting in and out of chrk-chrk clickscapes.

Concert Listings Roundup #189

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:

Century Palm [King Of John St. LP release party!] (Vallens / MOON EYED) / Monarch Tavern 2017-03-02 (Thursday) [FB event]

A pretty fine night to grab a cheesebag and celebrate the first full length from this stylishly-moody local new wave combo; also a great chance to catch Vallens again, who just happen to be in a really special zone right now.

---

This week's noteworthy shows:

smut (WLMRT / Elegance / Bald Britney) / Smiling Buddha 2017-02-27 (Monday) [FB event]

The Weather Station presents: Unclassic Classics Volume 4 (feat. Brad Germain / Tamara Lindeman / Ian Daniel Kehoe / Geordie Gord / Sam Gleason / Ben Whiteley) / The Cameron House 2017-02-28 (Tuesday – early show @ 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

PILL (Sahara / Luge) / The Baby G 2017-02-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

NOTA Presents: Still Standing: A Benefit for Standing Rock (feat. Poster Boy / Zoo OWL / Lizzy Boredom / Sad Sorcerer) / Smiling Buddha 2017-03-01 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Ghostlight / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-03-01 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Fog Lake (Little Kid / Molly Drag / Good Anya) / Smiling Buddha 2017-03-02 (Thursday) [FB event]

In Between Sounds #71 (feat. Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2017-03-02 (Thursday) [FB event]

WetWare (feat. Nailbiter [Waveshaper EP release!] / raw cpu / KENTRON) / Smiling Buddha (basement) 2017-03-03 (Friday – late!) [FB event]

Mystic Persian Music and Poetry (feat. Soley Ensemble) / Aga Khan Museum 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [more info]

Tales of the Unconscious (feat. Spectrum Music) / Knox Presbyterian Church 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Rooted presents: Live Recording (feat. Bellwether 4 / TVT) / Harbord & Bathurst-ish 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Weaving the World ["sacred liturgical chant of the middle ages entwines with earthy folk songs from Georgia"] (feat. Schola Magdalena / Darbazi) / Church of St. Mary Magdalene 2017-03-04 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Raging Against the Machine: Coming Together [CD release!] (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective / Ensemble Paramirabo) / The Music Gallery 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

CoexisDance 84 (feat. Bea Labikova/Raphael Roter / David Story/Rod Campbell/Jessica Houghton/Shirin Yousefi / Cheryl O/Stephanie Van Longchem/Uske Fruitarte/Andy Yue/Madison Burgess / Adriana Monti/Dominique Banoun / Cheryl O/David Story/Jessica Houghton / Andy Yue/Rob Piilonen/Shirin Yousefi/Madison Burgess / Rod Campbell/Raphael Roter/Jessica Houghton/Stephanie Van Longchem) / Array Space 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Requiem for a Renaissance King (feat. Tallis Choir) / St. Patrick’s Church 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [more info]

Protruders (Eroders / Tranz Defonze) / The Dupe Shop 2017-03-05 (Sunday – afternoon show! PWYC!) [FB event]

Wavelength 725: Music as Disruption (feat. LAL / panel discussion) / Gladstone Hotel (ballroom) 2017-03-05 (Sunday – rescheduled date! afternoon event @ 4:30 p.m.!) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Baby Dee / IC/JC/VC / Transcombobulation) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-03-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

The Radio Dept. (Germans [N.B.: not the Toronto-based band]) / Mod Club Theatre 2017-03-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #52.1 (feat. Elizabeth Lima/Jamie Thompson/Laura Swankey/Nilan Perera / Alix Hyde/Kayla Milmine/Andy Yue / Elizabeth Lima/Alix Hyde) / Array Space 2017-03-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 42 (feat. Agencies / Senior Beatbox) / Handlebar 2017-03-05 (Sunsday – PWYC!) [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!

Most People (No Frills / Hush Pup) / Monarch Tavern 2017-03-07 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Sadies [Northern Passages album release – two sets!] / The Royal Cinema 2017-03-11 (Saturday) [FB event]

Continuum Contemporary Music: PIVOT [new music from emerging composers Rebecca Bruton, Maxime Corbeil-Perron, Juro Kim Feliz, Beavan Flanagan, Evelin Ramon, Bekah Simms, Cindy Chen] / The Music Gallery 2017-03-25 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Ice Cream (Queen of Swords / Michele Nox) / The Baby G 2017-04-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Dilly Dally (Darlene Shrugg / FRIGS) / The Silver Dollar Room 2017-04-28 (Friday) [FB event]

Invocation Residency Series (feat. Wrekmeister Harmonies) / Array Space 2017-05-12 (Friday) [FB event]

National Drone Day Evening Drone (feat. dreamSTATE / community drone-improv session by DRONE:KLUB) / Roland Inspiration Centre 2017-05-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Daughters (Odonis Odonis / Dalek) / Hard Luck Bar 2017-06-01 (Thursday – all ages!) [FB event]

---

Mixcloud corner:

• Another instalment of the Drone Brunch mix series, there's some rather lovely piano music here, as well as tuneage from renowned drone artistes like Shostakovich.

Recording: Nidus

Artist: Nidus

Songs: Abductive Transduction [three excerpts]

Recorded at Ratio (Abductive Transduction), January 28, 2017.

Nidus - Abductive Transduction [edited excerpt 1]

Nidus - Abductive Transduction [excerpt 2]

Nidus - Abductive Transduction [excerpt 3]

Taking over all of Ratio's performance space, even the customary artwork was temporarily removed to showcase a series of collage works by Franco Berti. They were overlooking the venue's owls, who were guarding a table of talismanic bones and artifacts. The deconstructed piano plate and strings that normally stay in a back corner was brought out to the middle of the room and laid on its side. All around it, resonators rattled pellets and other metal objects — even the speaker connected to a reel-to-reel player was tinfoil wrapped for some extra whispered vibrational sibilance.

The installation that felt like the apotheosis of the trio's endeavours, removing the humans from the loop to create a long-form lo-fi installation with a variety of devices (in several formats) playing back recordings of Nidus' performances and rehearsals. This pushed the abstract/durational aspect of the group's work even further out than their previous six-hour live set as, in theory, this one could go on forever, so long as there was someone to flip the tapes and restart the MP3 players.

The evening would continue with some overlapping abstract projections and the recorded installation work would eventually segue into a live set. I wasn't able to stick around for that, but this recording of recordings somehow seems conceptually up to the task of representing the event.

Here's a brief video that totally fails to convey how the room as a whole was set up:

Recording: Hooded Fang

Artist: Hooded Fang

Song: Nene of The Light

Recorded at The Silver Dollar Room, January 27, 2017.

Hooded Fang - Nene of The Light

A question mark had been hanging over the Silver Dollar's future for months, but this was the night that officially marked the beginning of the end, with a firm closing date suddenly giving a sense of finality about things — and a jolt to a music community suddenly seeing an epidemic of venues closing. Marking the moment, Hooded Fang called up booker Dan Burke for a bouquet and a heartfelt thank-you. Outside of that bit of ceremony, going in I was basically expecting the same set as when I had seen the band back in December, so I was rather pleasantly surprised to hear more new songs and perhaps some hints of the band's next sonic pivot. There was talk from the stage of a new EP already being in the can, and for several tunes (including this one) Scarlett Rose (who'd recently been touring with Cindy Lee) joined the band on keyb textures. That brought a hint of early Public Image to the proceedings, but even if the new songs were slowed down a titch from the Venus On Edge material, this may also have been the moshiest Hooded Fang set I've witnessed.

Recording: Deliluh

Artist: Deliluh

Song: No I.D. Denied

Recorded at The Silver Dollar Room, January 27, 2017.

Deliluh - No I.D. Denied

A question mark had been hanging over the Silver Dollar's future for months, but this was the night that officially marked the beginning of the end, with a firm closing date suddenly giving a sense of finality about things — and a jolt to a music community suddenly seeing an epidemic of venues closing. On stage, Deliluh were in Saturday Night rock'n'roll mode — augmented with James Burling (keyb) and Alex Low (guit) there was an Academy of Sciences fam-jam vibe to this different lineup to the last time I caught 'em. The steps made toward stripping back/quieting down are either on hold or being allowed to co-evolve with a newfound heavy abandon as the band focused on stretched-out Pavement jam/drones.

Recording: Charlie Murray

Artist: Charlie Murray

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Piano Party 8), January 25, 2017.

Charlie Murray - [excerpt from first piece]

A last-minute cancellation left a gap to be filled in the Piano Party lineup, but Randy Gagne was able to bring out a fellow Still Boy to keep things rolling. Murray turned out to be a dab hand at tickling the ivories, pulling up his hood and settling into the spontaneous minimalist groove heard here. That was followed by some other blueberry-related content (all the pieces, as it turned out, were directly connected to blueberries in some obscure manner) mixing up improvised Glenn Gould riffing with some funky excursions accompanying some of the drum machine's more absurd settings — even pulling on some brightly-coloured rubber gloves while playing couldn't derail the skilled musicality here. A rather delightful surprise, all things considered.

Recording: Randy Gagne

Artist: Randy Gagne

Songs: Poor Side of Town [Johnny Rivers cover] + unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Piano Party 8), January 25, 2017.

Randy Gagne - Poor Side of Town

Randy Gagne - unknown

Anyone who's seen his endlessly-inventive stage performances will attest that Randy Gagne (a.k.a. Man Made Hill) has no shortage of bravery, but it's something else entirely to take the stage for the first time as a pianist. He still had some beats (and his hands-free microphone) but otherwise, this was a rather-intimate and vulnerable affair. We've seen some signs before of Gagne's affinity for classic rock tunes, but this set pushed further in that direction with this tender Johnny Rivers classic as well as a wade through the Sea of Love suggestive of an absurdist Epic Soundtracks. (It also provided some additional contextualization of MMH's recent Jeff Healey Band cover.) The new age-y closer, meanwhile, sounded like it was written at dawn on a canoe ride during one of Zone Support's many world tours.

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

Recording: Tasman Richardson

Artist: Tasman Richardson

Song: Hydra Ouroboros [excerpt]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (The New Flesh), January 21, 2017.

Tasman Richardson - Hydra Ouroboros [excerpt]

Though cloaked in some curator-speak that didn't do much to inform what this show would be like, the event's Cronenbergesque title gave some hint of what was going to unfold. A cybernetic concept show where the "systems" played the pieces (with humans at hand to merely assist), the half-dozen installations/mini-sets ranged from the new-fangled and buzzy (neural networks!) to the recently-retro (watching MS Paint dry) to good ol' fashioned Rube Goldberg machines. The visuals were the real stars of the night, but there were interesting sonics attached to most of the projects as well. Richardson not only brought this whole night together, he brought a cool bit of cathode ray visual feedback to present as well.

Recording: Katie Switzer & Paul Moleiro

Artist: Katie Switzer & Paul Moleiro

Song: Generate and Reflect [edited excerpt]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (The New Flesh), January 21, 2017.

Katie Switzer & Paul Moleiro - Generate and Reflect [edited excerpt]

Though cloaked in some curator-speak that didn't do much to inform what this show would be like, the event's Cronenbergesque title gave some hint of what was going to unfold. A cybernetic concept show where the "systems" played the pieces (with humans at hand to merely assist), the half-dozen installations/mini-sets ranged from the new-fangled and buzzy (neural networks!) to the recently-retro (watching MS Paint dry) to good ol' fashioned Rube Goldberg machines. The visuals were the real stars of the night, but there were interesting sonics attached to most of the projects as well. A nice icy blipdrone helped make this one of the night's most satisfying experiments, with some old-school refract/reflect techniques mixing seamlessly with digital projections.

Recording: Robin Kobrynski

Artist: Robin Kobrynski

Song: Panoptic [excerpt]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (The New Flesh), January 21, 2017.

Robin Kobrynski - Panoptic [excerpt]

Though cloaked in some curator-speak that didn't do much to inform what this show would be like, the event's Cronenbergesque title gave some hint of what was going to unfold. A cybernetic concept show where the "systems" played the pieces (with humans at hand to merely assist), the half-dozen installations/mini-sets ranged from the new-fangled and buzzy (neural networks!) to the recently-retro (watching MS Paint dry) to good ol' fashioned Rube Goldberg machines. The visuals were the real stars of the night, but there were interesting sonics attached to most of the projects as well. This opening piece played on the contemporary embrace/fear of surveillance, with a live feed of the audience warping and melting while these ominous tones played.

Recording: Bit Reduction

Artist: Bit Reduction

Song: [edited excerpt from second piece]

Recorded at Belljar Café (T.O. Noise #4), January 20, 2017.

Bit Reduction - [edited excerpt from second piece]

Amongst the stories of venues closing and DIY spaces under threat, there are slivers of good news to be found, such as this coffee-shop-by-day/bar-by-night turning into a friendly hub for loud and user-unfriendly musics. Located on Dundas Street West right opposite that nifty radial intersection with Howard Park that that sees a near-steady stream of streetcars merging in and out, the Belljar is a small-ish space, but quite adequate to the needs of several flavours of noise music. This series comes more from the punk end of the harsh-noise scene, but there are signs that there's an effort being made to book from a wider spectrum and let different sounds rub up against one another.

This project from the stylishly-turned-out Craig Renaud included inputs such as cheese grater, bass-string-sawing-block and raw-shouting-into-audio-cable, all processed through a menacing-looking pedal rack of implements. A bow was shredded, then shattered, and then the fragments used to stab at the string box, and the set ended when there were no longer enough things plugged into other things to send a signal. Yet despite the make-me-bleed harshness (dollar store cheese graters should come with an operators' caution) there was an underlying elegance hinting at carefully-plotted chaos — and possibly even restraint.

[The series returns to The Belljar on Saturday, March 11th, with a night that will include Beard Closet's noise refraction Samesex, plus sets from Marion, Excrement Binge and Corrodesion.]

Recording: Goth Girl x Lumi Kryzstal

Artist: Goth Girl x Lumi Kryzstal

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Belljar Café (T.O. Noise #4), January 20, 2017.

Goth Girl x Lumi Kryzstal - [excerpt]

Amongst the stories of venues closing and DIY spaces under threat, there are slivers of good news to be found, such as this coffee-shop-by-day/bar-by-night turning into a friendly hub for loud and user-unfriendly musics. Located on Dundas Street West right opposite that nifty radial intersection with Howard Park that that sees a near-steady stream of streetcars merging in and out, the Belljar is a small-ish space, but quite adequate to the needs of several flavours of noise music. This series comes more from the punk end of the harsh-noise scene, but there are signs that there's an effort being made to book from a wider spectrum and let different sounds rub up against one another.

This collaborative set put the night into more electroacoustic territory, with scraped instrumentation competing with pedal-noise — and everything soaring into bursts of feedback.

[The series returns to The Belljar on Saturday, March 11th, with a night that will include Beard Closet's noise refraction Samesex, plus sets from Marion, Excrement Binge and Corrodesion.]

Recording: Post Natal Drip

Artist: Post Natal Drip

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Belljar Café (T.O. Noise #4), January 20, 2017.

Post Natal Drip - unknown

Amongst the stories of venues closing and DIY spaces under threat, there are slivers of good news to be found, such as this coffee-shop-by-day/bar-by-night turning into a friendly hub for loud and user-unfriendly musics. Located on Dundas Street West right opposite that nifty radial intersection with Howard Park that that sees a near-steady stream of streetcars merging in and out, the Belljar is a small-ish space, but quite adequate to the needs of several flavours of noise music. This series comes more from the punk end of the harsh-noise scene, but there are signs that there's an effort being made to book from a wider spectrum and let different sounds rub up against one another.

Though billed as the first show for this harsh grindcore trio, in true noise-tape tradition, they already have several releases up on their bandcamp. I recognized bassist Noah Gadke from some of his more soothing outings but here things got a lot more shouty, with amped-up sluggishness and pummelling drums setting the tone for the night.

[The series returns to The Belljar on Saturday, March 11th, with a night that will include Beard Closet's noise refraction Samesex, plus sets from Marion, Excrement Binge and Corrodesion.]

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

Concert Listings Roundup #188

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.

---

Gigs of the week:

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. David Dacks [lecture] / Nick Fraser New Quartet / Craig Dunsmuir & Dun-Dun Band / Body Double [Bile Sister + New Chance]) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Amelia Ehrhardt [solo dance] / Lîla Ensemble / roundtable on movement & improvised music moderated by Dawne Carleton) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-25 (Saturday – afternoon show!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. The Thing Is / Manticore w/ James Beardmore + Xuan Ye / Future Machines / Prince Nifty) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Rhinoceros Saxophone Quartet [open rehearsal & concert featuring new compositions by Tomasz Krakowiak and Alice Ping Yee Ho]) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-26 (Sunday – afternoon show!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Heidi Chan/Sarah Peebles / Rob Clutton/Michael Lynn / Diane Roblin/Michael Snow / James Bailey/Allison Cameron / The Mike Smith Company / Bristles Trio) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-26 (Sunday) [FB event]

Now in its fifth year, the Somewhere There festival has become a true celebration of the many strands of the local creative music communities. With five shows over the weekend, there's lots of music, plus a keynote lecture and a panel discussion (on dance and improvised music) to provoke conversations. Come and witness new music, unfinished music, impossible music all presented in the spirit of spontaneous joy.

---

This week's noteworthy shows:

LUKA (Lisa/Liza / Greef / Paterson) / Monarch Tavern 2017-02-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Weather Station presents: Unclassic Classics Volume 3 (feat. Tamara Lindeman / Ian Daniel Kehoe / Geordie Gord / Sam Gleason / Ben Whiteley) / The Cameron House 2017-02-21 (Tuesday – early show @ 6 p.m.!

Ryan Driver (Tamara Lindeman) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Piano Party #9 (feat. Daria Morgacheva) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-22 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Bellwether4 / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-22 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Ancient Shapes (Uncontrollable Urge / Triples) / Smiling Buddha 2017-02-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Grey Lands (Fresh Snow) / Monarch Tavern 2017-02-24 (Friday) [FB event]

The Big Sound / The Great Hall 2017-02-24 (Friday) [FB event]

SpLit PeRsoNaLiTieZ (feat. members of Deliluh, Surinam, WHIMM and others [covering the Velvet Underground] / Scott Hardware/Errhead/L. Paradise [live electronic sets]) / Holy Oak Café 2017-02-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Corrodesion presents (feat. Doom Tickler / Blue Light / Jonny / Corrodesion) / Belljar Café 2017-02-25 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Array Session #45 (feat. Daniel Janke/Rick Sacks/Martin Arnold) / Array Space 2017-02-25 (Friday – PWYC!) [more info]

End Immigration Detention Network fundraiser (feat. The Highest Order [live album taping!]) / The Silver Dollar Room 2017-02-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Roman Pilates (The Bim Prongs / Body Of Waste) / The Dupe Shop 2017-02-25 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Goodbye for Now, Holy Oak [all star band, all-star singers, live recording] (feat. Kieran Adams/Bram Gielen/Carmen Elle/Johnny Spence/Isla Craig/Victoria Cheong /Mamalia/Mary Margaret O'Hara/Ivy Mairi/Alex Samaras/Alex Lukashevsky/Matt Smith) / Holy Oak Café 2017-02-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

A New Day: Miss America live (feat. The Holy Oak Family Singers [Johnny Spence/Luke Kuplowsky/Carmen Elle/Tamara Lindeman/Ivy Mairi/Anni Spadafora + more TBA) / Holy Oak Café 2017-02-26 (Sunday) [FB event]

Pissbowelking (Colin Roy Gillespie [mem. Greys] / Western Plates [mem. Beliefs]) / Handlebar 2017-02-26 (Sunday) [FB event]

Look Vibrant (Omhouse / Max T) / The Silver Dollar Room 2017-02-26 (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!

smut (WLMRT / Elegance / Bald Britney) / Smiling Buddha 2017-02-27 (Monday) [FB event]

NOTA Presents: Still Standing: A Benefit for Standing Rock (feat. Poster Boy / Zoo OWL / Lizzy Boredom / Sad Sorcerer) / Smiling Buddha 2017-03-01 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Raging Against the Machine: Coming Together [CD release!] (feat. Thin Edge New Music Collective / Ensemble Paramirabo) / The Music Gallery 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Protruders (Eroders / Tranz Defonze) / The Dupe Shop 2017-03-05 (Sunday – afternoon show! PWYC!) [FB event]

Audiopollination #52.1 (feat. Elizabeth Lima/Jamie Thompson/Laura Swankey/Nilan Perera / Alix Hyde/Kayla Milmine/Andy Yue / Elizabeth Lima/Alix Hyde) / Array Space 2017-03-05 (Sunday) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #24 (feat. Christine Bougie / Someone's Memory / act tbh) / The Steady Café 2017-03-07 (Tuesday – PWYC! new venue!) [FB event]

JLK & The Assassins [ex-Moss Lime] (Nyssa / Komodo / Sigil [membs. FRIGS + HSY]) / The Baby G 2017-03-10 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #52.2 (feat. Andrew Kay/Max Donaldson/David Shelly / Diane Roblin/Thomas Hainbuch/Harrison Vetro / Brian Abbott/Karen Ng/Zach Clark / Vladimir Luchansky/Rick Sacks/Glen Hall/Branko Dzinovic) / Array Space 2017-03-11 (Saturday) [FB event]

Burger Revolution V T.O. (feat. Paul Jacobs / The Knees Up / The Sulks / Seance Sisters) / The Silver Dollar Room 2017-03-11 (Saturday) [FB event]

Casual Drones 19 (feat. Sandro Perri / Justin Small / Jess Crowe & Bria Salmena / E Adi / Zephyr) / The Baby G 2017-03-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Quintile [featuring Vinko Globokar's "Limites" and world premieres by Patrick Arteaga, James Lowrie, Julia Mermelstein, August Murphy-King and Andrew Noseworthy] (feat. Caution Tape Sound Collective) / Array Space 2017-03-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Toronto Improvisors Orchestra feat. Christine Duncan and The Element Choir / Array Space 2017-03-19 (Sunday) [FB event]

Six Saxes Sing for Spring (feat. Monsoon Trio / Dialectica) / Burdock Music Hall 2017-03-19 (Sunday) [FB event]

Artificial Sounds presents (feat. Schwefelgelb / Kontravoid) / Bambi's 2017-03-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Buzz Records presents (feat. Colleen Green / The Memories / Goodbye Honolulu / Bald Britney) / Smiling Buddha 2017-03-28 (Tuesday – all ages!) [FB event]

Century Palm (Famines / Sweet Dave & The Shallow Graves / Deathsticks) / Monarch Tavern 2017-03-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Dany Laj and The Looks (Ghosted / New Enchanters) / Bovine Sex Club 2017-03-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Zoobombs (Munizo / Knifey) / The Silver Dollar Room 2017-04-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Invocation presents (feat. Michael Hurley) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-04-22 (Saturday) [FB event]

Colin Stetson / The Great Hall 2017-05-15 (Monday) [FB event]

---

Mixcloud corner:

• I had a fun time making a playlist for yesterday's drone brunch — so much so that I ended up with more than eight hours of material! So seeing as I have it all gathered together, I shuffled it up and will convert it into a series of hour-long mixes. To keep things interesting, expect about 40% drone and 60% drone-adjacent sounds from various genres. Here's the first one, expect a new one weekly for the next while.

Recording: The Cosmic Range

Artist: The Cosmic Range

Songs: Kowboy + [fourth section]

Recorded at The Great Hall, January 19, 2017.

The Cosmic Range - Kowboy

The Cosmic Range - [fourth section]

This was my first time out to The Great Hall since their long-in-the-works refurbishment was completed. Not only was it a treat to experience the new, spacious bathrooms, but the main space was also opened up with the removal of the large lighting rig that was suspended from the sides of the balconies. There was a new PA as well, and this was a good night for it, rendering the eight-piece band with clarity.

Flanking the stage there were keyboards left and right (for Matt "Doc" Dunn and Jonathan Adjemian, respectively), two percussion stations at the back (for Brandon Valdivia and Kieran Adams), Mike Smith (bass) and Isla Craig (vox) over on the right and lots of room in the middle for Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull (guit) and Andy Haas (saxophone). Alternating between funky blasts and pastoral drifts (and here's one of each for comparison's sake) the set tapped into the Sun Ra-dappled bliss that was captured so well on the New Latitudes album. The night's purpose was, in fact, a slightly-belated launch celebration for the disc. Rather wonderfully executed, it's a real celebration whenever this entire crew can get together.

Recording: Off World

Artist: Off World

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Great Hall, January 19, 2017.

Off World - unknown

A well-matched pick to open things up for The Cosmic Range, Off World filled up the refurbished Great Hall with their live-remix dubscapes. They actually performed at a fairly restrained volume, inviting the crowd to lean in (or sit on the floor) and listen as they filtered in. Sandro Perri and Lorenz Peter were joined for much of the set by Andrew Zukerman on additional synth and sounds, adding some new wobbles to the sonic stems.

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

Recording: Bellwether 4

Artist: Bellwether 4

Songs: My Epitaph [composer: Ola Belle Reed; arr. Victor Vrankulj] + GF Goodrich [composer: Andrew Miller]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 18, 2017.

Bellwether 4 - My Epitaph

Bellwether 4 - GF Goodrich

Another outgrowth of that young cadre (composed mostly of recent-ish U of T music grads) that has been making lots of great music in the local creative music scenes lately. This particular unit features Emily Denison (trumpet), Anthony Argatoff (alto saxophone), Victor Vrankulj (double bass), and Andrew Miller (drums), each kicking in some of their own compositions and tackling a couple standards. A run through Ornette Coleman's "Latin Genetics" captured their penchant for galloping playfulness that really shines on their recent HAVN-released album. They were competing with a raucous tribute band belting out the tunes of Janis Joplin in the Main Hall (a show that had been rescued from the shuttered Hugh's Room), but the quartet managed to crank things up into some tasty zones. Riffing off each other both in music and conversation, they were at their best when that playful element was at the forefront and they let the tunes breathe and wobble a bit.

[Bellwether4 will be recording a live set (alongside TVT) in performance for the new Rooted series on Saturday, March 4th.]

Recording: Marker Starling

Artist: Marker Starling

Songs: Young Love [Janet Jackson cover] + Amsterdam [John Cale cover]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, January 14, 2017.

Marker Starling - Young Love

Marker Starling - Amsterdam

Quite delightful to see a sold-out room celebrating the release of a new Marker Starling album. The follow-up to Chris Cummings' Rosy Maze was recorded with some Euro-pals in Paris (including Stereolab's Lætitia Sadier), although longtime rhythm section Matt McLaren and Jay Anderson were still holding things down on this side of the Atlantic. I'm Willing might be an album of cover songs, but not only does it avoid obvious choices, it also contains some of Cummings' most emotionally nuanced performances (just check out the title track).

As the set went on, Cummings was surrounded by an increasing number of musicians (eventually the whole of openers Bunny would be on stage), and he ended the set by moving out from behind his wurlitzer to become a full-on frontman. There were a couple new songs from the next album, and they fit right in alongside the covers, and the whole thing reminded me of when I spoke with Cummings a couple years ago, and he was already thinking about the long game — getting better as a songwriter, sounding better and being more confident to take risks. Maybe it's no accident that the Marker Starling "look" has advanced to something more like the steady and confident presence of an august and respected admiral — the Mantler uniform of the sad tuxedo'd lounge singer just doesn't fit any more.

Recording: Bunny

Artist: Bunny

Songs: If Only in a Dream + If You Wanna Be My Boy, You Gotta Be Cool

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, January 14, 2017.

Bunny - If Only in a Dream

Bunny - If You Wanna Be My Boy, You Gotta Be Cool

I hadn't caught The Bicycles' Drew Smith's solo project since its moniker shifted from the slightly-goofy Dr. Ew to the endearingly-cuddly Bunny. At the heart of things, the m.o. is the same here — Smith is a helluva pop songwriter and soulful vocalist. Even if they come in two-minute bursts, the songs are shifting a bit from cotton-candy rush to grown-up pop, in the way, maybe, that Carole King singing "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" is different than The Shirelles singing it. Excellently delivered, the band included Andrew Scott (bass), Jay Anderson (drums), Jordan Howard (guitar), Bram Gielen (keyb) and Christine Bougie (guit and lap steel). Still waiting on a follow-up to the glorious Gadzooks, for now there's not much to chew on besides a couple tracks over at Southern Souls.

^* Thanks to Drew fir passing along the title to this one!

Concert Listings Roundup #188

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:

SEVENTEEN: Wavelength Music Festival 17 (feat. TOPS / DIANA / Vallens / Chandra) / The Garrison 2017-02-17 (Friday – $3 with RSVP!) [FB event]

SEVENTEEN: Wavelength Music Festival 17 – Exclaim! & Girls Rock Camp Toronto co-present An All Ages Matinee (feat. Peeling / WLMRT / Strands / Denim Roses) / Monarch Tavern 2017-02-18 (Saturday – matinee! all ages!) [FB event]

SEVENTEEN: Wavelength Music Festival 17 (feat. Julie Doiron & The Wrong Guys / Fake Palms / FET.NAT / WHOOP-Szo / Helena Deland) / The Garrison 2017-02-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

SEVENTEEN: Wavelength Music Festival 17 – Mechanical Forest Sound co-presents "Drone Brunch" (feat. North Atlantic Drift / Kat Estacio) / Gladstone Hotel – Melody Bar 2017-02-19 (Sunday – free! all ages!) [FB event]

SEVENTEEN: Wavelength Music Festival 17 – co-presented with Silent Shout (feat. Phèdre / Han Han with HATAW / Emay / Fin / Hush Pup) / The Garrison 2017-02-19 (Sunday) [FB event]

No surprise here — Wavelength's annual anniversary festival is a February long weekend staple 'round these parts. It's simply a delight that I can say that my attendance still arises out of eagerness for its forward-thinking programming rather than out of a sense of mere habit or nostalgia. Once again, the festival is settled into The Garrison for three nights, but there are also two daytime excursions further afield, including an ace co-presentation with Girls Rock Camp on Saturday, and an ambient "drone brunch" that I had a hand in on Sunday. Don't let winter get the best of you; come out and celebrate a strong and flourishing community.

---

This week's noteworthy shows:

Happy Birthday, Canada! Celebrating the Music of Patricia Morehead (feat. The 6ix Quartet / Trio Bravo) / Canadian Music Centre 2017-02-13 (Monday) [FB event]

Ornate Ornette (feat. Tom Fleming/Morgan Gardner/Robert Diack/Phil Albert) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-14 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Digital Watch [Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin/David French] (The Emily Denison Septet [Emily Denison/Laura Swankey/Patrick O'Reilly/Victor Vrankulj/Andrew Miller/Carolyn Farnand/Beth Silver) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Cluttertones / Burdock Music Hall 2017-02-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Weather Station Presents: Unclassic Classics Volume 2 (Valentine's Day Edition) (feat. Tamara Lindeman/Ben Whiteley/Ian Kehoe/Geordie Gordon/Sam Gleason/Felicity Williams) / The Cameron House 2017-02-14 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Valentine's Concert: Medieval Music, Love, Ice Crystals (feat. Pneuma Ensemble) / Array Space 2017-02-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The AMBiENT PiNG presents: DRONE:KLUB ["community drone immersion experience"] / Roland Inspiration Centre 2017-02-15 (Wednesday – free!) [FB event]

Quadraped [Stephen Parkinson/Mark Zurawinski/Allison Cameron] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-15 (Wednesday – early!)

Josh Cole Quartet [Nicole Rampersaud/Ryan Driver/Brandon Valdivia/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Anastasia Tchernikova [solo piano] / Holy Oak Café 2017-02-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Alex Calder (Lina Tullgren / Ducks Unlimited) / The Silver Dollar Room 2017-02-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Mia Zabelka with the Electro Acoustic Orchestra / DisPerSion Lab 2017-02-16 (Thursday – early show @ 4 p.m.!) [FB event]

Nifty Trio / Holy Oak Café 2017-02-16 (Thursday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Sean Nicholas Savage (Jaunt) / The Baby G 2017-02-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Girls Rock Camp Toronto presents (feat. Jennifer Castle / Deep Waters) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-17 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Bad Channels (Yi / Mr. Joy) / Smiling Buddha 2017-02-17 (Friday) [FB event]

Super-8 DreamSTATE ["lost super-8 films from 1971 projected with live electronic music"] (feat. William A. Davison / dreamSTATE / Heiki) / LP's LPs 2017-02-18 (Saturday – PWYC! early show, starts @ 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

Mia Zabelka/Anne Bourne/Glen Hall/Doug Van Nort / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Girls Rock Camp Toronto presents (feat. Lido Pimienta / Hex) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2017-02-18 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

No Thing Composers ["brand new collective presenting an evening of adventurous new compositions by Brian Abbott, Paul Newman, Andy Dolgin and Michael Borkovic, Manuel Morales, Zach Clark"] (feat. Paul Newman/Heather Saumer / Andy Dolgin/Michael Borkovic / Michael Davidson/Paul Newman/Andy Dolgin/Manuel Morales / Manuel Morales) / Array Space 2017-02-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Hoover Party (ZOË) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Mozart's Sister (Teen Daze) / Bambi's 2017-02-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Connect [Diane Roblin/Rob Clutton/Mark Zurawinski] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-19 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Tania Gill Quartet [Tania Gill/Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Nico Dann] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2017-02-19 (Sunday)

SHHH (In Drift / Lion Detective Club / FAUNA) / Handlebar 2017-02-19 (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!

LUKA (Lisa/Liza / Greef / Paterson) / Monarch Tavern 2017-02-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Ancient Shapes (Uncontrollable Urge / Triples) / Smiling Buddha 2017-02-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

A New Day: Miss America live (feat. The Holy Oak Family Singers [Johnny Spence/Luke Kuplowsky/Carmen Elle/Tamara Lindeman/Ivy Mairi/Anni Spadafora + more TBA) / Holy Oak Café 2017-02-26 (Sunday) [FB event]

Rooted presents: Live Recording (feat. Bellwether 4 / TVT) / Harbord & Bathurst-ish 2017-03-04 (Saturday) [FB event]

Weaving the World ["sacred liturgical chant of the middle ages entwines with earthy folk songs from Georgia"] (feat. Schola Magdalena / Darbazi) / Church of St. Mary Magdalene 2017-03-04 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Tone Deaf Culture presents: T.O. NOISE #5 (feat. Samesex / Marion / Excrement Binge / Corrodesion) / Belljar Café 2017-03-11 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Retired / Gay Cum Daddies / Cutout Lover) / The Baby G 2017-03-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Crosswires [series relaunch!] (feat. Baa / Good Conduct / Dave from Ghostlight) / The Baby G 2017-03-20 (Monday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Crosswires (feat. Krosst Out / Melotika / Brock Gel) / The Baby G 2017-03-27 (Monday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Crash Vegas / Danforth Music Hall 2017-04-13 (Thursday) [FB event]

21C Music Festival (feat. Cecilia String Quartet) / Mazzoleni Concert Hall 2017-05-25 (Thursday) [more info]

21C Music Festival (feat. Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà) / Koerner Hall 2017-05-26 (Friday) [more info]

21C Music Festival (feat. Bang on a Can All-Stars) / Koerner Hall 2017-03-27 (Saturday) [more info]

Recording: My Misshapen Ear

Artist: My Misshapen Ear

Song: Tenterhooks

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 13, 2017.

My Misshapen Ear - Tenterhooks

This new combo features the joint talents of Anthony Argatoff (sax), Andrew Furlong (double bass) and Joe Sorbara (percussion), and a name cribbed from Haruki Murakami's 1Q84, which Joe Sorbara took as a marker of the presumed deformity (read: evolutionary advantage) shared by all lovers of weird sounds. It was also the name of a long-ish suite that dominated this performance's second set — the trio built up to that in the first with a series of shorter pieces from all three members poking their noses into quiet nooks and crannies in between explosive percussive outbursts.

Recording: More Or Les

Artist: More Or Les

Songs: Dis(s)incorporate + Fake Accent

Recorded at Junction City Music Hall (Pickles Aid), January 17, 2017.

More Or Les - Dis(s)incorporate

More Or Les - Fake Accent

Faced with an xmas eve layoff, Duncan "Doc Pickles" MacDonell was facing some financial and existential roadblocks — so in a "get by with a little help from my friends" gesture, Young Doctors in Love's Clay Puddester got the ball rolling for this benefit show. With the General Chaos lights swirling behind the stage, there was a strong old-school Wavelength vibe in the room. More Or Les closed the night out with a set that leaned on his recent Blow the Fuck Up But Stay Humble before veering off into stormtrooper sound effects, some improvised "raps from a hat" and a truly-impressive run through his word-dense/fact-heavy recitation of all of the Doctor's companions.

[Rolling with the psychic vibes from this show, Doc Pickles is reviving his Crosswires series, which will be moving to the Baby G with shows on Mondays once the sun crosses the vernal equinox. Information on the first couple shows is already posted on the Crosswires facebook page. More Or Les will be hosting the $5 Rap Show on Saturday February 18th at Handlebar.]

Recording: Young Doctors in Love

Artist: Young Doctors in Love

Song: Eloise and Her Sister Marta

Recorded at Junction City Music Hall (Pickles Aid), January 17, 2017.

Young Doctors in Love - Eloise and Her Sister Marta

Faced with an xmas eve layoff, Duncan "Doc Pickles" MacDonell was facing some financial and existential roadblocks — so in a "get by with a little help from my friends" gesture, Young Doctors in Love's Clay Puddester got the ball rolling for this benefit show. With the General Chaos lights swirling behind the stage, there was a strong old-school Wavelength vibe in the room. Puddester and his bandmates mixed a party-on-stage attitude with remorselessly hooky pop songs that sounded like they were products from some lab or graduate seminar where "Jesse's Girl" and "I Touch Myself" were put into a particle accelerator and carefully studied before being engraved like the ten commandments on 80's movie soundtracks.

[Rolling with the psychic vibes from this show, Doc Pickles is reviving his Crosswires series, which will be moving to the Baby G with shows on Mondays once the sun crosses the vernal equinox. Information on the first couple shows is already posted on the Crosswires facebook page.]