Concert Listings Roundup #283

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:

Making Sounds With Stuff: Static Gestures (feat. Marla Hlady & Christof Migone / Wesley Peñalosa / Sarah Tracy & Jason Gillingham / Rob Cruickshank / Raul Altosaar) / Electric Perfume 2019-01-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

In the midst of NYE spectacles and some other large-scale events (this weekend's Long Winter looks tasty!) don't forget about the smaller shows in this post-holiday/not-quite-back-to-the-routine week. And in the zone between "music" and "art project", here's a chance to hear some cool creative minds doing just as this event's title implies.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

catl. (Duende) / The Dakota Tavern 2018-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

Tranzac New Year's Eve (feat. Luge / Moon King / Luna Li / Bizzarh / Persons / Ian Daniel Kehoe) / The Tranzac 2018-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

The Sadies / The Horseshoe Tavern 2018-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

Night Owl Festival Presents New Year's Eve 2019 (feat. Bloodshot Bill / Light Bulb Alley / James Matthew VII [f.k.a. Blind Matty] / Zorton and The Cannibals) / The Baby G 2019-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

Inbetween [Ted Crosby/Karen Ng/Josh Cole/Evan Cartwright] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-01-02 (Wednesday) [FB event]

In Between Sounds #93 (feat. Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2019-01-03 (Thursday) [FB event]

Long Winter, Volume 7.3 (feat. SAUNA / Slurry / John Orpheus / Joyful Joyful / Johnny de Courcy / Katie Sketch / Hiroki Tanaka / 1five1) / Gladstone Hotel 2019-01-04 (Friday – PWYC! all ages!) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 63 (feat. Aaron Corbett / Undulation) / Handlebar 2019-01-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Tange [Tangible EP release!] (HEX) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Add these to your calendar:

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

Quaker Parents (WLMRT / HOBBY / No Frills) / The Baby G 2019-01-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Experts (Dr Fadeaway / Mawzy) / Handlebar 2019-01-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Paul, Doug, and Matias (Bunny) / The Dakota Tavern 2019-01-25 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Video Age (Jackson Macintosh [mem. of TOPS / Crying High) / Monarch Tavern 2019-01-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Recording: Vampire Belt

Artist: Vampire Belt

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, November 11, 2018.

Vampire Belt - [excerpt 1]

Vampire Belt - [excerpt 2]

I saw guitarist Bill Nace with Twig Harper last year and I've seen master drummer Chris Corsano in a few different ensembles, so there was plenty to anticipate in this union of American Underground titans. Like a Samuel Arkoff hot rod flick, there was no time for exposition here, and no character development — just pedal-to-floor momentum. Within that vortex, though, there's a helluva lot of technique to admire from both these players finding ways to translate little gestures into big noises.

[Body/Head, Nace's duo with Kim Gordon, will be at The Great Hall on Saturday, March 9th.]

Recording: Horseman, Pass By

Artist: Horseman, Pass By

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, November 11, 2018.

Horseman, Pass By - [excerpt 1]

Horseman, Pass By - [excerpt 2]

Coming at the end of a short run of tour dates with Vampire Belt, Havelock's Bennett Bedoukian (drums/electronics) and Ottawa's Mark Molnar (cello/electronics) were right in their zone here — building up layers of sound on top of each other, then letting them fade away. As usual, the pair explored a range of textures, from ascending drones to futzing sizzles to punkish shredding.

Recording: American Standard Trio

Artist: American Standard Trio

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, November 11, 2018.

American Standard Trio - [excerpt 1]

American Standard Trio - [excerpt 2]

Excellent work here from AST, bigging up their sound to fit a more advanced PA than there was at the last time I saw 'em, and adding a touch of gravitas in creating some low-budget soundtrack-y electroacoustic jams. There was still a joi de vivre in their methodology, mind you, and watching the band in action (water-cooler jug percussion, elaborate pass-the-violin procedures and all) is like witnessing a gang of kids playing scrub on a baseball diamond — a lot of free movement that's still subject to higher principles of co-ordination.

Recording: Thin Edge New Music Collective

Artist: Thin Edge New Music Collective

Piece: Shimmer, Tree (In Memoriam Jonathan Harvey): II. I count the fleeing hours [composer: Kotoka Suzuki]

Recorded at the Canadian Music Centre (Riparian Acoustics/CMC Presents), November 8, 2018.

Thin Edge New Music Collective - Shimmer, Tree [2nd mvt]

Following on the triumph of their live soundtracking of Sarah Hennies' experimental documentary Contralto, Thin Edge headed to the Canadian Music Centre for this more modest night of intimate compositions. Consisting of solo pieces, duos and one trio (Barbara Monk Feldman's defiantly un-urgent drift of "The Northern Shore") these were mostly small-scale but deep sonic explorations from pianist Cheryl Duvall, percussionist Nathan Petitpas and violinist Aysel Taghi-Zada. As is usually the case with the works that Thin Edge chooses to explore, there were some uncanny frissons in the pieces here, whether the flowerpot clonks of Chiyoko Szlavnics' "Her Teeth Were White" or the broken furniture music of Samuel Andreyev's "Piano Pieces".

As of this posting, you can still watch the archive of the livestream here (note that the Barbara Monk Feldman piece, embedded below, is in a separate video!):

[The Riparian Acoustics/CMC Presents series continues on Thursday, January 17th with a night of vocalisations from Alex Samaras (along with Lara Dodds-Eden and Bram Gielen). There's also an excellent-looking night coming on February 22nd with Lindsay Dobbin and Kat Estacio.]

Image screencapped from CMC livestream.

Recording: Julie Reich

Artist: Julie Reich

Song: unknown [edit]^*

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #44), November 6, 2018.

Julie Reich - unknown [edit]

Taking a breather from Bile Sister and her other musical identities, Julie Reich brought some new gear and new sounds out of the house for the first time, giving a preview of some tasty new synth explorations. Finding out how temperamental analog gear acts out of its usual environment was just one goal in this set, showing off some well-constructed pieces. Hopefully these sounds (along with a burgeoning sideline in videogame soundtracks) will find some more avenues into the world in the new year.

[The first Tuesday of January is New Year's Day, so TCB is making a rare shift to the second week and joining forces with Andrew Furlong's JAOIM series. We'll be co-presenting Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot plus McEachern/West/Zurawinski on January 8th. Not to be missed!]

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

Recording: Araz Salek & Colin Fisher

Artist: Araz Salek & Colin Fisher

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #44), November 6, 2018.

Araz Salek & Colin Fisher - [excerpt from first piece]

Tar master Araz Salek is one of the more astonishing musicians in the city, so I was thrilled that he took me up on an invitation to come out for some casual playing at TCB. Often seen these days playing in a more rigourous classical style, Salek nevertheless comes from a tradition that reveres improvisation and has deep roots in the city's creative music scene. Salek and Colin Fisher used to play together regularly, but the two hadn't been on stage together for quite awhile — so this was a case of two musicians deeply intent on listening to each other, holding back and appreciating what they were hearing before darting in to mix it up a little.

[The first Tuesday of January is New Year's Day, so TCB is making a rare shift to the second week and joining forces with Andrew Furlong's JAOIM series. We'll be co-presenting Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot plus McEachern/West/Zurawinski on January 8th. Not to be missed!]

Recording: Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara

Artist: Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara

Song: Improvisation #2 + Wild Heart [Stevie Nicks]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #44), November 6, 2018.

Alex Fournier & Tara Kannangara - Improvisation #2 + Wild Heart

Rising jazz star Tara Kannangara had been on my list of people I was hoping to get out to play at TCB for a little while, so I was pleased to be informed after booking Alex Fournier for a set that he was bringing her along. The pair, who have worked together in a few different projects, had a tasty sense of interaction as they tackled improvisations and songs (including some Sondheim). Mixing trumpet and voice with Fournier's double bass, Kannangara left plenty of uncluttered space in the music, sending out some "positive basement" vibes.

[Alex Fournier will be back in Wenona's basement tomorrow night (Thursday, December 27th) alongside Mo Mitchell and Tak Arikushi in a Furniture Music show (before that series shifts to its new home on the 4th Tuesday of the month). Tara Kannangara will be performing at Burdock's Piano Fest on Sunday, January 27th. And meanwhile, the first Tuesday of January is New Year's Day, so TCB is making a rare shift to the second week and joining forces with Andrew Furlong's JAOIM series. We'll be co-presenting Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot plus McEachern/West/Zurawinski on January 8th. Not to be missed!]

Concert Listings Roundup #282

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gigs of the week:

Cosmic Homeostasis IX (feat. Paul Newman / Ronnie Blake / Del Stephen / Mkl32 / Liz Lima / Heraclitus Akimbo / more TBA) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-30 (Sunday – afternoon set, 3 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

The Titillators / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-30 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

SynapticCircusSundays (feat. Nightmare Alley [Liz Hysen/Kurt Newman] / mkl32 and Mira Martin-Gray) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

I'[m spending Sunday at The Tramzac, and I'm inviting you to join me! Full disclosure: I had a hand in organizing the first and last of these shows, but they're good stuff if you like calming daytime drones or slightly-alarming evening noises. There's also the historical fifth show by local jazz whistlers The Titillators — and word on the street is that there's still some copies of their tasty tape available! In a generally-quiet week for shows, The Tranzac is really the place to be, with hang-worthy shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well!

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Furniture Music presents (feat. Mo Mitchell/Tak Arikushi/Alex Fournier) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-27 (Thursday) [FB event]

Mike DeiCont/Ryan Driver/D. Alex Meeks/Karen Ng/Daniel Pencer / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-27 (Thursday) [FB event]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-28 (Friday – early!)

The Ryan Driver Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-28 (Friday) [FB event]

Invocation presents Ur Audiovisual's Year End Release Extravaganza (feat. Dark Bird / Man Meets Bear / Hush Pup / Mooons) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-29 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Lowell Whitty 4 [Doug Frieson/Karen Ng/Lowell Whitty/Tom Richards] / The Rex Hotel 2018-12-30 (Sunday – afternoon set at 3:30 p.m.!) [FB event]

DeiCont/Philips Trio ft. Nick Fraser / The Emmet Ray 2018-12-30 (Sunday – early!) [more info]

Teenanger (Lonely Parade / Vallens / Piper Maru) / The Drake Underground 2018-12-30 (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!

Night Owl Festival Presents New Year's Eve 2019 (feat. Bloodshot Bill / Light Bulb Alley / James Matthew VII [f.k.a. Blind Matty] / Zorton and The Cannibals) / The Baby G 2019-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

Long Winter, Volume 7.3 (feat. SAUNA / Slurry / John Orpheus / Joyful Joyful / Johnny de Courcy / Katie Sketch / Hiroki Tanaka / 1five1) / Gladstone Hotel 2019-01-04 (Friday – PWYC! all ages!) [FB event]

Tange [Tangible EP release!] (HEX) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Geordie Gordon [new band featuring Ian Daniel Kehoe & Evan Cartwright] (R. Flex) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-07 (Monday) [FB event]

Ornate Presents (feat. Amelia Thomas / Colour and Noise [Ashley Urquhart/Laura Swankey/Aidan Sibley/Patrick O'Reilly/Alex Fournier]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-01-08 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

JAOIM x Track Could Bend #46 (feat. Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot / McEachern/West/Zurawinski) / Wenona Lodge 2019-01-08 (Tuesday – PWYC! Rare 2nd Tuesday for TCB!) [FB event]

Brodie West Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-01-09 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Cluttertones [Leeways album release!] (Kayla Milmine) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Riparian Acoustics/CMC Presents (feat. Alex Samaras with Lara Dodds-Eden and Bram Gielen) / Canadian Music Centre 2019-01-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Emergents II (feat. April Aliermo / Sun Sun) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2019-01-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Piano Fest [playing Jackson Browne's "Late for the Sky"] (feat. The Holy Oak Family Singers [Ben Whiteley/Johnny Spence/Tamara Lindeman/Charlotte Cornfield/Alex Samaras/Luke Kuplowsky/Ivy Mairi/Evan Cartwright/Sam Gleason/Alex Lukashevsky]) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Art of the Uncarved Block presents (feat. Pax [ouch cassette release!] / Baby Band / Seamus Patterson) / Owl's Club 2019-01-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. Tara Kannangara / James Hill) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

SynapticCircusSundays (feat. The Nilan Perera Quintet [Colin Fisher/Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine/Wes Neal/Nilan Perera] / The Electro-Acoustic Orchestra) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-01-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. Johnny Spence / Ryland Dinneen) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-01-28 (Monday – early!) [FB event]

Venus Fest presents (feat. Torres / Charlotte Cornfield / HEX) / Jam Factory 2019-02-09 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Vypers [single release!] (Peeling / Wave of Terror) / The Baby G 2019-02-15 (Friday) [FB event]

The Music Gallery/Public Recordings present: To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation by Pauline Oliveros (feat. Anne Bourne/Allison Cameron/Prices Easy/Ishan Davé/Ellen Furey/Thom Gill/Claire Harvie/Ame Henderson/Brendan Jensen/Germaine Liu/Bee Pallomina/Liz Peterson/Brian Solomon/Anni Spadafora/Evan Webber/Christopher Willes and others) / City Council Chambers 2019-02-17 (Sunday – free!) [FB event]

Ace of Wands [Lioness album release show!] (Kate Boothman / Joan Smith & the Jane Does / When Particles Collide) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2019-02-22 (Friday) [FB event]

The Music Gallery/Fu-Gen Asian Canadian Theatre Company present: Foxconn Frequency (no.3): for three visibly Chinese performers (feat. Vicky Chow/Paul Paroczai/Matt Poon) / Factory Theatre 2019-02-22–2019-02-23 (Friday–Saturday) [FB event]

Recording: Sandro Perri

Artist: Sandro Perri

Song: In Another Life

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), November 4, 2018.

Sandro Perri - In Another Life

In celebrating the release of In Another Life, Sandro Perri spent a fair amount of the set darting around the album, presenting some older songs (like "Wolfman" and "Double Suicide", with Ryan Driver as usual coming up to add his voice on the latter) as well as some of the as-yet unreleased songs (like the wonderfully subtle funk of "Wrong About the Rain") that didn't find a place on the new album — there was even a brand new song (possibly called "California Blue") debuted at the start of the set. And yet, the new album material is so expansive in scope that it exerted a certain gravitational pull over the rest of the set. Only the first third (sans guest vocalist/songwriters) of "Everybody's Paris" was essayed, but "In Another Life" was presented in all its glory — "an ongoing experiment", as Perri explained afterwards, where the musical choices could bounce off the song at slightly different angles every time. Mike Smith, making subtle adjustments via the sampler, was key to the presentation here, while Blake Howard's percussion kept it from being too tightly locked into that determinist groove. (Josh Cole, on fretless bass, and Thomas Hammerton on keyb completed the group.) I posted a recording of Perri's solo version of this song not so long ago, but this seems like a case where the alternate arrangement gives a beneficially-different approach to its study.

Recording: Matthew "Doc" Dunn

Artist: Matthew "Doc" Dunn

Songs: Simple One + Blue Moon [Big Star cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Main Hall), November 4, 2018.

Matthew "Doc" Dunn - Simple One

Matthew "Doc" Dunn - Blue Moon

Subsequent to this set at its official release show, Matt Dunn would explode his Lightbourn album into full-on rock glory — but here he was still gazing inwards with its songs, and keeping them stripped bare. Even so, this wasn't a "solo" set in the truest sense, as Dunn (with a 12-string acoustic guitar) was joined by Jonathan Adjemian on piano and Derek "Grasshopper" Madison on percussion. Singing his heart out, the set felt rawer than the album's produced takes, and pared-down arrangements (like "Simple One"'s simple piano accompaniment) gave the songs an entirely different feel.

Recording: Booth/Smith/Hundevad

Artist: Juini Booth/Patrick Smith/Mark Hundevad

Songs: unknown^* + Love in Outer Space [composer; Sun Ra]

Recorded at Fatima in the Alley, November 2, 2018.

Juini Booth/Patrick Smith/Mark Hundevad - [unknown]

Juini Booth/Patrick Smith/Mark Hundevad - Love in Outer Space

The jazz game can involve some long-term investments. Bassist Juini Booth has recorded and toured with a lot of legends in the past forty years, including stints with the likes of McCoy Tyner and Sun Ra. Amongst his journeys was a trip up to Toronto in the early 90's to sit in as a guest on a recording session with the Free Music Ensemble, a group that included percussionists Mark Hundevad and Mike Gennaro. Fast forward a couple decades and change and Booth made his return to T.O. for this show once again facilitated by Mark Hundevad, who put together a couple nights in this back-alley rehearsal/party space.

After a set from his Archives of Eternity group (where he plays vibes alongside Gennaro on drums) he moved behind the kit (obscured by his overhead angled cymbals) to support Booth, and the pair were joined by Patrick Smith on sax, one of the younger musicians that complete the Archives lineup. (The other is Andrew Furlong, who loaned his bass to and got a lesson from Booth, showing another of the long-term investments in the jazz game.)

The set tackled some speedy hard bop with plenty of freedom of lateral movement, especially from Booth. A driving rhythm section of this calibre pushed Smith to his limits, and though he was blowing with flushed exertion rather than the others' measured calm he kept pace admirably. And now Patrick Smith has played with Juini Booth, who played with McCoy Tyner, who played with Benny Golson, who played with Diz, who played with... well, you get the idea. Long-term-investments.

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

Recording: The Archives of Eternity

Artist: The Archives of Eternity

Songs: two unknown songs^*

Recorded at Fatima in the Alley, November 2, 2018.

The Archives of Eternity - [track 1]

The Archives of Eternity - [track 3]

I'd been waiting a spell to catch a performance from this cross-generational quartet, mixing savvy vets Mark Hundevad (vibes) and Mark Gennaro (drums) with the younger Patrick Smith (baritone + soprano sax) and Andrew Furlong (double bass). Busy schedules all around have kept gigs a little thin on the ground, and a couple of the ones that've come around featured fill-in guests, so it was a treat to see the group at its full force, as this is really just a monster of a unit — the sort of thing that would be greeted with wide-eyed astonishment if they were a touring band on a bill and not merely a bunch of locals.

Watching Hundevad play in any capacity is a treat (I've seen him performing on drums, piano and synth) but especially so when he's behind the vibraphone, which he plays with literal blood-on-the-keys intensity. The set was performed mostly as a long suite, segueing between a series of pieces that rarely let up in intensity. Gennaro's bandcamp has a couple, er, archival recordings of the unit in a nascent duo form with himself and Hundevad, but hopefully a full-fledged band album will emerge soon, or at least in the more immediate part of eternity.

^* Does anyone know the titles to these? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Heidi Chan x Murr

Artist: Heidi Chan x Murr

Song: [full set, in three parts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynapicCircusSundays), October 28, 2018.

Heidi Chan x Murr - [full set - part 1]

Heidi Chan x Murr - [full set - part 2]

Heidi Chan x Murr - [full set - part 3]

A fabulous night of creative electronic music at Nilan Perera's monthly, featuring two noteworthy locals each sharing their sonic conceptions before teaming up for a collaborative set. That joint effort, driven by Nick Murray's beats and Chan's re-sampled/manipulated flute, felt fully assured and cohesive, merging together into a hazy late-night journey. This was an excellent match, and hopefully this collaboration will see a reprise.

Bonus! You can also check out this set in visual form, though the audio isn't as tasty as in the recordings here:

I will be curating and guest-hosting the next SynapticCircus night, coming up on Sunday, December 30th and featuring collaborations from Liz Hysen and Kurt Newman's Nightmare Alley [voice/pedal steel spookiness] plus electronic skronk/acoustic screech from Mira Martin-Gray and Mkl32. It's a Sunday night, but maybe you have the Monday off!

Recording: Murr

Artist: Murr

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynapicCircusSundays), October 28, 2018.

Murr - unknown

A fabulous night of creative electronic music at Nilan Perera's monthly, featuring two noteworthy locals each sharing their sonic conceptions before teaming up for a collaborative set. Nicholas Murray is probably best known for his work as half of essential local duo LAL, but he's also busy producing and creating beats on the side. His solo set contained song-length ideas, drift-marching through city dreamscapes, bathed in the flicker of abstract projections.

I will be curating and guest-hosting the next SynapticCircus night, coming up on Sunday, December 30th and featuring collaborations from Liz Hysen and Kurt Newman's Nightmare Alley [voice/pedal steel spookiness] plus electronic skronk/acoustic screech from Mira Martin-Gray and Mkl32. It's a Sunday night, but maybe you have the Monday off!

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

Recording: Heidi Chan

Artist: Heidi Chan

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynapicCircusSundays), October 28, 2018.

Heidi Chan - [excerpt]

A fabulous night of creative electronic music at Nilan Perera's monthly, featuring two noteworthy locals each sharing their sonic conceptions before teaming up for a collaborative set. Once again, modular hero Heidi Chan showed off her expert synthesis of acoustic + electronic elements, playing a sample bank of her own flute sounds which were looped and chopped up into her mutating longform improvisation.

I will be curating and guest-hosting the next SynapticCircus night, coming up on Sunday, December 30th and featuring collaborations from Liz Hysen and Kurt Newman's Nightmare Alley [voice/pedal steel spookiness] plus electronic skronk/acoustic screech from Mira Martin-Gray and Mkl32. It's a Sunday night, but maybe you have the Monday off!

Recording: Josh Cole Trio

Artist: Josh Cole Trio

Songs: [set 1, excerpt from first piece] + [set 2, second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), October 25, 2018.

Josh Cole Trio - [set 1, excerpt from first piece]

Josh Cole Trio - [set 2, second piece]

This night at The Tranzac brought a two-thirds different "Josh Cole Trio" than at the previous time this group name had popped up in the Tranzac's listings, with Cole (on double bass) joined by Evan Cartwright (percussion) and Colin Fisher (guitar/pedals, baritone sax). Jazzy ballads and deconstructed folksong fragments in the first set were stretched further apart later on, as the trio dug in deeper in a rare late-night second set (often convened semi-reluctantly after cozy hanging out has begun) that went longer than the first.

Concert Listings Roundup #281

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:

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends [Lightbourn release show!] (James Matthew VII / Dorothea Paas) / The Baby G 2018-12-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

Still plenty going on during this week before xmas, even if it's harder to leave the blanket fort on these darkest days of the year. Even so, it's a no-brainer to head out to The Baby G for the slightly-belated release party for Doc Dunn's solo Lightbourn effort. Rather than singer-songwriter spareness, the album is filled with soulful and funky vibes, like all the best bits of Bob Welch-era Fleetwood Mac compressed together.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Yves Jarvis [f.k.a. Un Blonde] (Mr. Joy) / The Baby G 2018-12-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Between The Lines [Michael Davidson/Dan McCarthy] ["debut duet performance featuring original music for vibraphone and marimba"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Karen Ng presents (feat. Dreamboat / Joe Organ) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Parts & Labour Closing Party (feat. METZ / Teenanger) / Parts & Labour 2018-12-19 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Allison Cameron Presents (feat. Octopus [Germaine Liu/Mark Zurawinksi] / Mark Zurawinski/Brodie West/Kurt Newman) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-19 (Wednesday – early!)

Jonathan Lindhorst/Karen Ng/Aline Homzy/Andrew Furlong/Eric West) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-19 (Wednesday) [FB event]

The Burning Hell (David Newberry) / The Baby G 2018-12-19 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Nyssa (John Orpheus / Ice Cream / Rapport) / Lula Lounge 2018-12-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

WLMRT (Hugh Man / Merc & the Montclairs / Alexandher Brandy / Archie Maples) ["a live music and drag show"] / Owl's Club (basement) 2018-12-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

Solstice Show (feat. Clara Engel) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-21 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Jonathan Lindhorst/Alexander Maksymiw/Michael Herring/Nick Fraser / The Emmet Ray 2018-12-21 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

All Seeing Eyes (catl. / Pat McCormack) / Monarch Tavern 2018-12-21 (Friday) [FB event]

CCMC / Array Space 2018-12-21 (Friday – free!) [more info]

Jonathan Lindhorst/Lina Allemano/Dan Fortin/Nico Dann / The Rex Hotel 2018-12-23 (Sunday) [FB event]

Ronley Teper and The Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-23 (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!

Cosmic Homeostasis IX (feat. Paul Newman / Ronnie Blake / Del Stephen / Mkl32 / Liz Lima / Heraclitus Akimbo / more TBA) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-30 (Sunday – afternoon set, 3 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Making Sounds With Stuff: Static Gestures (feat. Marla Hlady & Christof Migone / Wesley Peñalosa / Sarah Tracy & Jason Gillingham / Rob Cruickshank / Raul Altosaar) / Electric Perfume 2019-01-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 63 (feat. Aaron Corbett / Undulation) / Handlebar 2019-01-06 (Sunday) [FB event]

Audiopollination 67 (feat. Curtis Whittaker/Ashley Urquhart / Bea Labikova/Raphael Roter/Kobena Aquaa-Harrison / James Atin-Godden/Suzanne Farkas / Kayla Milmine/MJ Wright/Michael Lynn / Nilan Perera/Josh Cole) / Array Space 2019-01-12 (Saturday) [FB event]

Double Album Release (feat. Ladom Ensemble / VC2) / Lula Lounge 2019-01-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

21C: AfterHours (feat. Wesley Shen and Continuum) / Mazzoleni Concert Hall 2019-01-18 (Friday – "after hours" show @ 10:30 p.m.!) [FB event]

Body/Head (Max and Maxine Moon) / The Great Hall 2019-03-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

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Community corner:

• If you're looking to enhance your co-ordinated movements in the New Year, Amelia Ehrhardt at Dancemakers will be presenting adult classes in contemporary dance at two levels, catering to less-experienced and more-experienced body movers.

Concert Listings Roundup #280

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:

Winter Bingo (feat. Bernice / Kith & Kin) / Lula Lounge 2018-12-16 (Sunday) [FB event]

You may or may not know that I'm not that into xmas or all the seasonal "stuff", so when I do recommend something with a holiday angle, y'know it's going to be pretty good. Bernice are going to play a "once in a lifetime set", celebrating their past holiday-themed songs (an annual tradition now in its fifth year) including a new one. And Kith & Kin are taking this year off from their large-scale Wassail at the Music Gallery, so this could be your only shot to hear three of the city's most wonderful voices joining together with friends. Plus: the titular "winter bingo", hosted by Alex Samaras and also special surprise guests!

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Nick Fraser/Darren Johnston Duo / The Emmet Ray 2018-12-10 (Monday) [FB event]

Ornate Presents (feat. Dan Pitt [solo guitar]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-11 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

JAOIM (feat. Unquartet / Dr. Purgatory) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-11 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Nick Fraser/Darren Johnston/Brodie West/Josh Cole / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-11 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Brodie West Quintet -1 / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-12 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXIII (feat. Patrick O'Reilly & Heraclitus Akimbo / Andrew Kay) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-12 (Wednesday) [FB event

Playdate [single release!] (Shabason/Gunning) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-12 (Wednesday – early show @ 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

MIMICO (World News / Blue Light) / The Piston 2018-12-12 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Wavelength Monthly Music Series: Holiday Music x Comedy Fundraiser for Unison Benevolent Fund plus Invocation Presents (feat. Jeen / SlowPitchSound / Blimp Rock / Thalia Zedek Band) / The Baby G 2018-12-12 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Snow Everywhere (feat. CCMC) / Art Gallery of Ontario (Walker Court) 2018-12-12 (Wednesday – free!) [FB event]

Pravik (Coarse Language / C.R Gillespie) / Faith/Void 2018-12-13 (Thursday) [FB event]

Women from Space Presents (feat. Mira Martin-Gray / Kayla Milmine [solos + duo!]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-14 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Jessica Moss / Völur / Qarafa) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Rejuvenated Frequencies [curated by Obuxum] (feat. VHVL / Yourhomienaomi / Korea Town Acid) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2018-12-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Twist [Distancing release party!] / Northern Contemporary 2018-12-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Carl Didur (Syzygy [Ilyse Krivel/Colin Fisher]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-14 (Friday) [FB event]

Al Tuck / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-15 (Saturday – early!)

Lake Affect [Ashley Urquhart/Alex Fournier/Stefan Hegerat] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-15 (Saturday)

Jennifer Castle (Jeremy Dutcher) / The Danforth Music Hall 2018-12-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bunny (The Dill) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

2nd Annual Quiet Music Concert [new compositions by: Brian Abbott, Paul Newman, Germaine Liu, Julia Memelstein, Kayla Milmine] (feat. Julia Mermelstein/Germaine Liu/Michael Davidson/Kayla Milmine/Kat Estacio/Brian Abbott/Paul Newman) / Array Space 2018-12-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

Diane Roblin Presents: A Holiday Improv Jam (feat. Diane Roblin/Phil Albert/Mark Zurawinski/Brian Abbott/Paul Newman/Germaine Liu) / 2018-12-16 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Jonathan Lindhorst's Limerence Quartet [Jonathan Lindhorst/Josh Cole/Nico Dann/Don Scott]) / The Emmet Ray 2018-12-16 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Stefan Hegerat [album release!] (Laura Swankey / Karen Ng) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-16 (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!

Karen Ng presents (feat. Dreamboat / Joe Organ) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

WLMRT (Hugh Man / Merc & the Montclairs / Alexandher Brandy / Archie Maples) ["a live music and drag show"] / Owl's Club (basement) 2018-12-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

CCMC / Array Space 2018-12-21 (Friday – free!) [more info]

Ronley Teper and The Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-23 (Sunday) [FB event]

Teenanger (Lonely Parade / Vallens / Piper Maru) / The Drake Underground 2018-12-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

Tranzac New Year's Eve (feat. Luge / Moon King / Luna Li / Bizzarh / Persons / Ian Daniel Kehoe) / The Tranzac 2018-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

The Sadies / The Horseshoe Tavern 2018-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

Canadian Opera Company World Music Series (feat. Kamancello) / F--- S------ Centre 2019-01-08 (Tuesday – lunch hour concert! free!) [FB event]

Praises [In This Year: Ten Of Swords release party!] (Shortbloom / slash need) / The Baby G 2019-01-11 (Friday) [FB event]

Picastro [LP Release!] (Fresh Snow / Colin Fisher) / The Baby G 2019-01-12 (Saturday) [FB event]

Robert Diack Group [Brandon Davis/Patrick O'Reilly/Jacob Thompson/Robert Diack] / The Rex Hotel 2019-01-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Corpusse (Lightmares / Dent Tells Tales) / Duggan's Brewery 2019-01-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Bombino / Lee's Palace 2018-03-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Recording: Destroyer

Artist: Destroyer

Songs: Stay Lost + Helena + Cue Synthesizer + Streets of Fire

Recorded at The Great Hall, October 21, 2018.

Destroyer - Stay Lost

Destroyer - Helena

Destroyer - Cue Synthesizer

Destroyer - Streets of Fire

It'd been, oh, say five-and-a-half years since I'd seen Den Bejar in action and this excursion for a solo acoustic set actually came about as the result of a last-minute invitation. A nice chance to catch up on what I'd missed, with an hour-long set that offered a smattering of tunes from last year's Ken while ranging all the way back to "a song I wrote twenty years ago on an acoustic guitar". There were also a pair of brand-new songs, including "Cue Synthesizer", which both in its cadences and worldview ("the idea of the world is no good") leave it begging for a cover version by The Mountain Goats.

Meanwhile, while hammering his songs into coffehouse versions it was pleasing to see that time has mellowed Dan Bejar a bit — my memories of his stage persona included tightly-closed eyes and an unspeaking robe of vague discomfort which has now advanced all the way into the realm of engaging the audience with awkward banter ("here's a song I enjoy singing at all my concerts"). In these troubled times, that the sort of progress that seems like a glimmer of light and hope.

Recording: Sandro Perri

Artist: Sandro Perri

Songs: In Another Life + Everybody's Paris, Pt. 3 (feat. Dan Bejar)

Recorded at The Great Hall, October 21, 2018.

Sandro Perri - In Another Life

Sandro Perri feat. Dan Bejar - Everybody's Paris, Pt. 3

A few weeks before the official release party for his new album, Sandro Perri shared the whole thing in a stripped-down format with the audience at Dan Bejar's solo acoustic gig. One suspects that the show's lineup, with Perri and Andre Ethier opening, came about to give a chance for a full exploration of Perri's musical experiment in "Everybody's Paris", where the tune and refrain were handed over to Bejar and Ethier to sing their own versions — that triple-header was indeed replicated after the set's other song, the "infinite" bobble'n'drift of "In Another Life".¹ Unlike the subtly-shifting soundscapes in the album versions, Perri here relied mostly just on voice and guitar, though he did have a mixer at his feet to slowly adjust the background textures (and mutual shared thread Joseph Shabason also added some understated sax licks to the Bejar collaboration).

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¹ As an aside, I dunno if this has been examined elsewhere, but that style of an ambling tune, drifting and noodling along at extended length has plenty of companions and antecedents in the local "school" of composers such as Martin Arnold, Allison Cameron, John Mark Sherlock, and Eldritch Priest. I don't know if there's a direct line of influence here, but given Perri's proximity to some on that list it's tempting to find connections to these rubber wagons and mole meanders bouncing down bumpy sideroads.

Recording: CCMC

Artist: CCMC / CCMC with Charity Chan

Songs: [two improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space, October 20, 2018.

CCMC - [set 1, 2nd piece]

CCMC with Charity Chan - [set 2, 1st piece excerpt]

Launching a new, ongoing residency at Array Space, CCMC was playing sans pianist Michael Snow. That meant the first set was as a trio of John Kamevaar, Paul Dutton and John Oswald, and for the second set the piano was ably manipulated by special guest Charity Chan, taping, plucking and ebowing the strings. As usual, the banter game was on point and there was some ambiguity about who had actually stopped or started — and in-between those endpoints that particular flavour of CCMC free improvisation.

[CCMC's residency continues at Arrayspace on Friday, December 21st.]

Concert Listings Roundup #279

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

Somewhere There presents (feat. Black Givre / Kee Avil / Laura Swankey / Patrick O'Reilly) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-03 (Monday) [FB event]

A superb mix of locals and Montréal peeps playing a variety of solo styles at this show in the cozy basement at Wenona Lodge. When Vicki Mettler brought her Kee Avil project to town earlier in the year, her loop-based avant-song styles were already razor-sharp, so several more months on the road might have rendered it other-worldly — catch her close up now before her big gig opening for Marc Ribot next year. Meanwhile, on the local side, here's a rare chance to hear Patrick O'Reilly playing on his own, and another opportunity to spend time in Laura Swakney's vocal garden.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

DUST: the quietest big band in the known world [new residency!] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-04 (Tuesday – early!)

Track Could Bend #45 (feat. Saint Barbara [Michael Franklin + Michelangelo Iaffaldano] / Blank Nurse/No Light / Chris Worden + Karen Ng) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-04 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Ghostlight / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-05 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Therapy: 2nd Edition (feat. Gabi Tomé / MOVES [Joseph Organ/Zach Bines/Spencer Cole] / The Jessica Stuart Few) / The Dakota Tavern 2018-12-05 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Riparian Acoustics presents (feat. Germaine Liu & Sarah Hennies) / The Canadian Music Centre 2018-12-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

Dilly Dally (Vallens / P0st3rb0y) / Lee's Palace 2018-12-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

Ava Luna (Carmen Elle / Prince Ness) / Monarch Tavern 2018-12-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

In Between Sounds #92 (feat. Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2018-12-06 (Thursday) [FB event]

Paul Linklater (Dinner is Ruined) / The Dakota Tavern 2018-12-07 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Persamenco [Bahram Aghakhan/Pedram Khavarzamini/Araz Salek] / Small World Music Centre 2018-12-07 (Friday) [FB event]

Rat-drifting 3 (feat. Dave Riedstra) / Array Space 2018-12-07 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination 66 (feat. Paul Newman/Diane Roblin/Heraclitus Akimbo / Olivia Shortt/Amanda Lowry / Laura Swankey/Patrick O'Reilly/Autumn K / Tetsuo) / Array Space 2018-12-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Autobahn [James Hill/Jeff LaRochelle/Ian Wright] / The Sterling Studio Lofts 2018-12-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Offline Vaporwave (feat. JΛVΛ.EXE / Specialized Dandylions / Hex-A-Decimal) / The Dupe Shop 2018-12-08 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Riverrun / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

Long Winter 6.2 (feat. Myst Milano / Deux Trois / Rotten Column / Adria Kain / Blank Nurse/No Light / Greydini / Lee Reed / Piper Maru / Pineapple / Ensh) / SPK Polish Combatants' Hall 2018-12-08 (Friday – PWYC! all-ages!) [FB event]

Ayal Senior (Nick Flanagan [comedy] / Nashville Minimalism Unit) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-09 (Sunday – afternoon slot, 3 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Somewhere There's Second Sunday Series (feat. William Davison/Patrick O'Reilly/Neal Retke / David Sait) / Array Space 2018-12-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

LUKA / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

In Basements on Sundays: 1 on 1 songwriter sessions [hosted by Shawn Clarke] (feat. Jessica Stuart / Kenny Boothby) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-09 (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!

Ornate Presents (feat. Dan Pitt [solo guitar]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-11 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

JAOIM (feat. Unquartet / Dr. Purgatory) / Wenona Lodge 2018-12-11 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXIII (feat. Patrick O’Reilly & Heraclitus Akimbo / Andrew Kay) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-12 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Women from Space Presents (feat. Mira Martin-Gray / Kayla Milmine [solos + duo!]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-14 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Bunny (The Dill) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

2nd Annual Quiet Music Concert [new compositions by: Brian Abbott, Paul Newman, Germaine Liu, Julia Memelstein, Kayla Milmine] (feat. Julia Mermelstein/Germaine Liu/Michael Davidson/Kayla Milmine/Kat Estacio/Brian Abbott/Paul Newman) / Array Space 2018-12-15 (Saturday) [FB event]

Diane Roblin Presents: A Holiday Improv Jam (feat. Diane Roblin/Phil Albert/Mark Zurawinski/Brian Abbott/Paul Newman/Germaine Liu) / 2018-12-16 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Jonathan Lindhorst's Limerence Quartet [Jonathan Lindhorst/Josh Cole/Nico Dann/Don Scott]) / The Emmet Ray 2018-12-16 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Stefan Hegerat [album release!] (Laura Swankey / Karen Ng) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-12-16 (Sunday) [FB event]

Un Blonde (Mr. Joy) / The Baby G 2018-12-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Between The Lines [Michael Davidson/Dan McCarthy] ["debut duet performance featuring original music for vibraphone and marimba"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-18 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Matthew "Doc" Dunn & Friends [Lightbourn release show!] (James Matthew VII / Dorothea Paas) / The Baby G 2018-12-20 (Thursday) [FB event]

All Seeing Eyes (catl. / Pat McCormack) / Monarch Tavern 2018-12-21 (Friday) [FB event]

SynapticCircusSundays (feat. Kurt Newman's Nashville Minimalism Unit / mkl32 and Mira Martin-Gray) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-12-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

catl. (Duende) / The Dakota Tavern 2018-12-31 (Monday) [FB event]

Invocation presents (feat. Joseph Shabason [Anne album release!] (Sandro Perri) / Array Space 2019-01-10 (Thursday) [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents (feat. Les Frères Cissoko Bannaya Family) / Alliance Française de Toronto 2018-12-02 (Saturday) [FB event]