Preview/contest: TONE Festival

TONE 2018

June 3rd–22nd, 2018

This Ain't No Jazz Festival.

For the second year, some of the city's most adventurous bookers are combining forces to find local shows for some equally adventurous musical acts. Eight shows spread out through June, all with some of the best local creative music forces complementing the visitors. All of these are worth checking out:

• Manas / Clarinet Panic Redux / Kurt Newman's Nashville Minimalism Unit Sunday, June 3rd @ Baby G [co-presented with Mechanical Forest Sound] N.B.: due to a scheduling conflict, Manas will not be able to perform in Toronto! The show is still happening with the remaining two acts.
• Waclaw Zimpel & Kuba Ziolek / Joseph Shabason / Nick Storring Tuesday, June 5th @ Baby G
• Anthony Coleman / c_RL Friday, June 8th @ Array Space
• Jessica Moss / Tryal / Manticore Saturday, June 9th @ Burdock
• Efrim Manuel Menuck / Fet.Nat / Fresh Snow / Scattered Clouds Friday, June 15th @ The Jam Factory [co-presented with Wavelength & Boiler Room Records]
• The Revival Ensemble / Sick Boss Löve Sunday, June 17th @ Tranzac
• Oren Ambarchi & Will Guthrie / Jazz Bras Dot Com / Retired Tuesday, June 19th @ The Jam Factory [co-presented with The Music Gallery's Departures Series]
• Charles Gayle / Ways Friday, June 22nd @ Array Space

Bonus! Karen Ng + I will be talkin' TONE (and playing some music from these artists) on The Night Shift, Wednesday night 9 to 11 p.m. on CJRU 1280AM. Tune in for the grooves, shout-outs and food jokes!

TICKETS + MORE INFO

Artist info and everything else you need is all on TONE's website. TONE shows are $10-$15 in advance, $12-$18 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Rotate This, Soundscapes, and Circus Books and Music. Four-show and full festival passes are available as well!

CONTEST

I'm proud to be co-presenting the festival opener with MANAS + more at The Baby G on Sunday so I'm going to share the joy by giving away a pair of tickets to the show!

To enter, shoot me an email to mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com, with "contest" in the title and your name in the body. I'll randomly draw a winner on Friday, June 1st at noon.

Concert Listings Roundup #252

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:

TONE Festival and Mechanical Forest Sound present (feat. Manas [Tashi Dorji/Thom Nguyen/Wes McCoy] / Clarinet Panic Redux / Kurt Newman's Nashville Minimalism Unit) / The Baby G 2018-06-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

This could have as easily gone to Friday's amazing Venus fest show (launching L CON's new album) or to Saturday's quiet vs. loud Feast in the East, but seeing as I'm rather proud of this show (which I had a hand in helping to pull together) I'll single it out here. Asheville N.C. avant skronk/shred master Tashi Dorji has brought a few different projects to town, but this is the first time for MANAS. Formerly a duo with drummer Thom Nguyen, this tour is coming in trio mode with addition percussion from Wes McCoy. (Hopefully there will be some copies of this new tape at the merch table!) Meanwhile, as with all shows in the TONE Festival, travelling headliners will be greeted by top-notch local openers, with this show featuring the return of chamber-prog unit Clarinet Panic as well as a trio manifestation of Kurt Newman's Nashville Minimalism Unit — regarding which reliable sources whisper you might expect a funhouse-mirror version of a Dukes of Hazzard chase scene score.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Bonjay (Too Attached) / The Drake Underground 2018-05-28 (Monday) [FB event]

Lung (Dog Drives Mantis / Experts [Ben Oginz/Mike Duffield]) / Nocturne 2018-05-29 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-29 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Tania Gill Quartet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-30 (Wednesday – early!)

The Mean (Aus!Funkt / Stargoon) / The Piston 2018-05-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Burn Down the Capital presents (feat. Colin Fisher [LP Release!] / ACT! / Xuan Ye / Rev. Marco D'Andrea) / D D L 2018-05-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Venus Fest presents (feat. L CON [album release!] / LAL / Pantayo) / Jam Factory 2018-06-01 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Jennifer Castle / The Drake Underground 2018-06-01 (Friday – early show!) [more info]

The Sadies (Blind Matty Band) / The Great Hall 2018-06-01 (Friday) [FB event]

Dundas West Fest (feat. The Teeny Tiny Music Show / Hot Garbage / Vypers / Possum / Absolutely Free) / The Garrison Stage [Beer Store parking lot] 2018-06-01 (Friday – free! all ages! outside!) [FB event]

Labyrinth Musical Workshop Ontario (feat. Tzvetanka Varimezova / Bassam Bishara) / Eastminster United Church 2018-06-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Archives of Eternity [Jay Hay/Mark Hundevad/Andrew Furlong/Mike Gennaro] / Burdock Music Hall 2018-06-02 (Saturday – early show, 6 to 8 p.m.!) [FB event]

Polka Dogs [The Bee album release] / Burdock Music Hall 2018-06-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 68 (feat. Eugene Chadbourne / Protruders / Holiday Rambler / Mermaids) / Matt Durant Studio 2018-06-02 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Spectrum Music presents: No Place Like Home [new Canadian repertoire for traditional Chinese instruments] (feat. Patty Chan / Di Zhang / Ziwen Qin) / Alliance Française 2018-06-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nilan Perera Quintet [Nilan Perera/Kayla Milmine/Bea Labikova/Wes Neal/Rick Sacks] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-06-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Special Interest / Que Lastima / Sigil / Piper Maru) / Faith/Void 2018-06-03 (Sunday – all ages!) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 57 (feat. Tendencyitis / Bachelard) / Handlebar 2018-06-03 (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!

The Mike Smith Company [D. Alex Meeks/Karen Ng/Mike Smith] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-06-05 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Overleaf [Heidi Chan/Mira Martin-Gray/Kayla Milmine] (Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine/Kristen Moss Theriault/Laura Swankey/ Brian Abbott) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-06-09 (Saturday – early!) [FB event]

Somewhere There's Second Sunday Series (feat. Victoria Gibson [Sound Seed: Tribute to Pauline Oliveros DVD release!] / Laura Swankey / Play The Moment Collective [Victoria Gibson/Heather Saumer/Bob Vespaziani]) / Array Space 2018-06-10 (Sunday) [FB event]

Ornate Presents (feat Triio w/ Manabu Kitada) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-06-12 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

No Mean City Collective presents (feat. Stones / Bookchop / Tange / Craig Currie / HEX) / The Hideout 2018-06-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Gentle Reminder No. 3 (feat. Aviary / Bachelard / Baanya [Stefan Banjevic]) / June Records 2018-06-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

R.E Thomas (Beams / Chloe's World) / Monarch Tavern 2018-07-06 (Friday) [FB event]

Venus Fest (feat. Moor Mother / OSHUN / Elle Barbara's Black Space / LOOM) / Mod Club 2018-09-20 (Thursday – all ages!) [FB event]

Venus Fest (feat. Zola Jesus / Allie / TIKA) / The Opera House 2018-09-21 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Venus Fest (feat. Bully / Vallens / Isla Craig) / The Opera House 2018-09-22 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Shannon & The Clams / Lee's Palace 2018-11-02 (Friday) [more info]

Recording: Eve Egoyan

Artist: Eve Egoyan

Song: De Puro Amor [excerpt] [composer: Maria de Alvear]

Recorded at St. George the Martyr Church (The Music Gallery Presents), April 14, 2018.

Eve Egoyan - De Puro Amor [excerpt]

Celebrating a new double disc recording of Maria de Alvear's large-scale works for solo piano, Eve Egoyan brought the Music Gallery back to its old home at St. George the Martyr for one last farewell. The music created a suitable environment for considered reflection, as it stretched out and seeped into the highest corners beyond the rafters. Not so much a path you follow as a pool you float in, these two pieces are composed with certain choices left open to the performer, making it as much of a journey of discovery for them as for the audience.

[Eve Egoyan will be bringing a multi-media programme of "works for augmented piano and images" to the Luminato Festival on June 19th and 20th.]

Recording: Collateral

Artist: Collateral

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space, April 12, 2018.

Collateral - [excerpt]

Given the geographical realities of our country and the economics of making creative music, it can be a too-rare occasion to see far-flung peers playing locally. This group, bringing together Halifax mainstays Tim Crofts and Norman Adams with Montréal's Sam Shalabi (Shalabi Effect, Land of Kush, etc.) has geographical separation hardwired into its makeup, so it was a noteworthy to see them making their way across Canada, celebrating the release of a recording (which was, itself, a document of the trio's first on-stage encounter).

Melding elements from each of their practices (including prepared piano plucks, contemporary classical cello chewing and post-punk guitar/Egyptian oud shredding) there was a tasty arc here, torquing parallel conversations into perpendicular pushing apart before falling back into a shared space.

Recording: Nicole Rampersaud

Artist: Nicole Rampersaud

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at Array Space, April 12, 2018.

Nicole Rampersaud - [excerpt from first piece]

In solo mode, trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud continued the deconstruction of her instrument's physicality, whether sing-grunting into the mouthpiece or clattering away with a tin mute.

[Nicole Rampersaud will be performing a solo set at Track Could Bend #39 (Tuesday, June 5th at The Baby G), providing an acoustic counterpoint to electronic explorations from Barry Prophet and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Alaniaris with Alexei Orechin

Artist: Alaniaris with Alexei Orechin

Song: No Sengah

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XVI), April 11, 2018.

Alaniaris with Alexei Orechin - No Sengah

Alaniaris, which had been one of Ken Aldcroft's longstanding bands, made its return to this memorial series with guitarist Alexei Orechin sitting in alongside bassist Michael Kaler and drummer Mark Zurawinski. Orechin handled the tricky rebetiko rhythms with aplomb, managing to inject a bit of his own nimble style into the process.

[Alaniaris and Alaniaris-adjacent music can be heard at The Tranzac on the afternoon of the third Sunday of the month.]

Recording: Liu/Swankey/Van der Voort

Artist: Germaine Liu, Laura Swankey & Lieke Van der Voort

Songs: [two excerpts from second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XVI), April 11, 2018.

Germaine Liu, Laura Swankey & Lieke Van der Voort - [second piece, excerpt 1]

Germaine Liu, Laura Swankey & Lieke Van der Voort - [second piece, excerpt 2]

This evening started with music "for" Ken Aldcroft, with some eyes-closed improvisations from percussionist Germaine Liu and vocalists Laura Swankey and Lieke Van der Voort. Ranging from hymnlike calm to bottle-crushing creaks, the trio seemed to follow an open-ended prescription intoned by Swankey at the end of one piece: "always / leave a / window open".

[Laura Swankey will be performing with improvising trio Jazz Bras Dot Com at a TONE festival show at the Jam Factory on Tuesday, June 19th alongside Oren Ambarchi & Will Guthrie and Retired. Germaine Liu will also be bringing an improvising trio to TONE, as c_RL opens for Anthony Coleman at Array Space on Friday, June 8th.]

Recording: Brodie West + Kurt Newman

Artist: Brodie West + Kurt Newman

Songs: [excerpts from two pieces]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), April 11, 2018.

Brodie West + Kurt Newman - [excerpt from set 1, first piece]

Brodie West + Kurt Newman - [excerpt from set 1, second piece]

This intriguing pairing of sax and guitar pushed in several different directions, with plenty skrtch and chorp. In several points of the first set, it seemed as if the best background material to give context to Kurt Newman's choices would be his recent experimental metal excursions, although there were some different tone-zones essayed further along in the evening.

[Kurt Newman will be leading a trio version of his Nashville Minimalism Unit at the TONE Festival opener (alongside Tashi Dorji's Manas and Clarinet Panic Redux) at The Baby G on Sunday, June 3rd. Brodie West will also be playing at TONE as half of Ways, opening for Charles Gayle at Array Space on Friday, June 22nd.]

Concert Listings Roundup #251

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:

Tatsuya Nakatani Gong Orchestra (feat. Brenda Joy Lem, Katie Jensen, Debashis Sinha, Charlotte Cornfield, Rupert Ojiji Harvey, Kristyn Gelfand, HanHan, Alex Punzalan, W.A. Davison, Treson, Jenn Kitagawa, Bryan W. Bray, Laura C. Bates) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2018-05-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Tatsuya Nakatani's recent visits to these parts have all been deep musical experiences, so scaling things up for the first local appearance of his Gong Orchestra should raise that to an even higher level. In Nakatani's conception, the ensemble is an ephemeral thing, consisting of different, locally-based participants (here including several MFS faves) at each location the concept appears. The players spend the day with Nakatani, learning his system and attuning themselves to the beautiful vibration of his bowed gongs. By coincidence, that show takes place on International Drone Day, and I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather be to vibe out for the occasion. (And for those looking to get in the mindset even deeper, Anne Bourne will be leading another Deep Listening Intensive workshop earlier that afternoon at 918 Bathurst.)

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This week's noteworthy shows:

magiceyeimage [Simon Labbé/Gabriel Drolet/Philippe Melanson] / The Emmet Ray 2018-05-21 (Monday – early! PWYC!) [more info]

In Between [Ted Crosby/Karen Ng/Josh Cole/Philippe Melanson] / The Emmet Ray 2018-05-21 (Monday – PWYC!) [more info]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-05-22 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Ace of Wands (Ron Hawkins) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-05-23 (Wednesday) [more info]

Jim Lewis/Andrew Downing/Victor Vrankulj/Andrew Miller [live recording!] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-23 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Leather Jacuzzi (Cellphone / Prom Nite / Hugh Man) / The Baby G 2018-05-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Cole Blouin (Decoration Day) / Davenport & Bathurst-ish 2018-05-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Carlo [record release!] (Aline Morales) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-05-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Rob Clutton Trio [Rob Clutton/Karen Ng/Nick Fraser] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-24 (Thursday)

Anagram [special reunion show!] (Comet Control / Group Hug) / Owl's Club 2018-05-25 (Friday) [FB event]

SIANspheric (Tijuana Taxi / Yi / The Spiracles) / Rivoli 2018-05-25 (Friday) [FB event]

New Chance [It Says New Chance Bedroomer EP release party!] (Tenderness) / Unit 2 2018-05-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Burn Down the Capital presents (feat. Toshimaru Nakamura & Martin Taxt / Joyfultalk / Sound Of The Mountain / Cares) / D D L 2018-05-25 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Sweet Pea [CD release celebration!] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-25 (Friday) [FB event]

Trapdoor Fest: Night 1 ["new, entirely independent and entirely all ages music festival"] (feat. Bad Waitress / Luna Li / Cliff Cardinal / Hot Garbage / Fade Awaays) / CineCycle 2018-05-25 (Friday – dry event! all ages!) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-25 (Friday) [FB event]

YuzuMeuzu: Music and Art Show (feat. Phèdre / Jazz Money / Salami Rose Joe Louis / Cheflee / Anzola / Jasmine Atienza and Jeremy Bautista) / 214 Augusta Ave. 2018-05-25 (Friday – all ages! outdoor/garage show!) [FB event]

Anagram [special reunion show!] (Deliluh / Ice Cream) / Owl's Club 2018-05-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Labyrinth Musical Workshop Ontario presents (feat. Quraishi / Ahmet Ihvani) / Eastminster United Church 2018-05-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength 756 (feat. Lonely Parade / Just John / Formerly Known as Pardons / Joncro) / Bike Pirates 2018-05-26 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents Griot Traditions of Mali (feat. Djely Tapa Diarra) / Alliance Française de Toronto 2018-05-26 (Saturday – all ages! under 18 free!) [FB event]

Rogue Tenant [EP release!] (Blonde Elvis / Nice Going / Slime) / Bovine Sex Club 2018-05-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

National Drone Day: Evening Drones (feat. dreamSTATE / Kalte) / Roland Inspiration Centre 2018-05-26 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength 757: Doors Open Toronto (feat. Twist / Kira May / SlowPitchSound / Merival / Away Forward) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2018-05-27 (Sunday – free! all ages! afternoon show, noon to 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

8th annual residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Café 2018-05-27 (Sunday – early show @ 7 p.m.! All ages + family-friendly! Good eats available!) [FB event]

Jonas Bonnetta [All This Here ambient album release! Ensemble including Mika Posen, Edwin Huizinga and Adam Saikely] / The Drake Underground 2018-05-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

Furniture Music V (feat. "mystery guest" / Edwin Sheard & Patrick O'Reilly) / Red Eye Espresso 2018-05-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

Secret Wars (Strange Shakes / OHMNO) / Handlebar 2018-05-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

Synaptic Circus Sundays (feat. Jonathan Adjemian / Nic Murray) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-27 (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!

Lung (Dog Drives Mantis / Experts [Ben Oginz/Mike Duffield]) / Nocturne 2018-05-29 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Spectrum Music presents: No Place Like Home [new Canadian repertoire for traditional Chinese instruments] (feat. Patty Chan / Di Zhang / Ziwen Qin) / Alliance Française 2018-06-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 57 (feat. Tendencyitis / Bachelard) / Handlebar 2018-06-03 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Phèdre (Ice Cream / Sydanie / Millenial) / The Baby G 2018-06-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

J Blissette (Several Futures / Don't Bother / Vanity Phase [first show from solo electronic project of Century Palm/Zebrassieres frontman Andrew Payne]) / Monarch Taven 2018-06-13 (Wednesday) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Charles Gayle / WAYS) / Array Space 2018-06-22 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Invisible Out (New Tendencies / Mitchell Akiyama) / Handlebar 2018-06-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

Invocation presents (feat. Marisa Anderson / Sarah Louise / Eiyn Sof) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-06-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Gordon Grdina’s Haram / Hugh's Room 2018-07-04 (Wednesday) [more info]

Dreadnought (Gates / Brigitte Bardon't / Experiment Specimen) / Coalition 2018-07-28 (Saturday) [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• Huge release this week as Witch Prophet's long-awaited The Golden Octave finally hits the streets. The 88 Days of Fortune/Above Top Secret co-founder beings an ambitions and visionary mix (with guest turns from local heroes Lido Pimienta and Rosina Kazi!) that can't be contained in a narrow hip-hop/soul box.

Recording: Ken Aldcroft Emergents Ensembles

Artist: Ensembles containing Karen Ng/Emily Denison/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski/Daniel Kruger

Songs: East of Baghdad + A Country Mile + Threads III [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst (Emergents III:The Music of Ken Aldcroft), April 6, 2018.

Karen Ng/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski - East of Baghdad

Daniel Kruger + Emily Denison - A Country Mile

Karen Ng/Emily Denison/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski/Daniel Kruger - Threads III

This evening in the MG's Emergents series was dedicated to the music of the much-missed Ken Aldcroft, presented by a group of musicians who were Aldcroft's bandmates and students. The first half split the group into two smaller sub-units before bringing everyone on stage to tackle music from several sections of Ken's diverse songbook, all of which explore different ways to combine an improvisatory spark with structured composition. So, here we have a piece written for rebetiko rockers Alaniaris, as well an acoustic re-interpretation from his Threadgill-inspired Threads unit. There was also some Convergence-style sign-flashing as well as a new composition offered in remembrance by saxophonist Karen Ng.

Recording: Keith/Rehlinger/Renaud

Artist: Michael Keith/Jakob Rehlinger/Craig Renaud

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

Michael Keith/Jakob Rehlinger/Craig Renaud - [excerpt 1]

Michael Keith/Jakob Rehlinger/Craig Renaud - [excerpt 2]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. To close the night, the hat provided this trio, each member of which has been known to create some rigourous drones in their own ways. No surprise, then, that they fell right together into a deep drift zone; but the twist here came from Michael Keith, whose deadpan comedic sensibility provided a slightly-surreal narrative throughline.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Kardonne/Estacio/Jensen/Nish-Lapidus

Artist: Tova Kardonne/Kat Estacio/Katie Jensen/Matt Nish-Lapidus

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

Tova Kardonne/Kat Estacio/Katie Jensen/Matt Nish-Lapidus - [excerpt]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. With drifting/buzzing electronics and keyboards sharing space with voice and gongs, this quartet discovered a sort of nonlinear dream-drift, mapping topographical subconscious terrains — intriguing but not necessarily calm landscapes.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Chan/Mazinani/Kuplowsky

Artist: Heidi Chan/Mani Mazinani/Luke Kuplowsky

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

Heidi Chan/Mani Mazinani/Luke Kuplowsky - [excerpt]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. A trio that might never be attempted through logical means of organization, this alchemical combination of acoustic guitar, modular synth, harmonica and cracklebox unexpectedly melded into a beautifully-genteel sort of electroacoustic folk. In an alternate universe where Eric Chenaux and Martin Arnold are co-headlining arena shows, this could be the opening act.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Davison/Trotter/Labikova

Artist: William Davison/Chris Trotter/Bea Labikova

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

William Davison/Chris Trotter/Bea Labikova - [excerpt]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. The hat once again obliged with this excellent mix of organic and electronic sounds, giving space for a nice contrast between Chris Trotter's electronic textures, William Davison's concrète clonks, and Bea Labikova's sax explorations.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Martin-Gray/Roblin/Ford

Artist: Mira Martin-Gray/Diane Roblin/Justin Huang Ford

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Track Could Bend #37), April 3, 2018.

Mira Martin-Gray/Diane Roblin/Justin Huang Ford - [edited excerpt]

Continuing a series tradition, Track Could Bend marked its third anniversary by inviting back all of the previous year's performers for a celebration. That's enough of a crowd to warrant a larger stage, so for one rainy night, the action shifted over to Array Space. There ended up being sixteen players, all of whom put their names in a hat to be drawn to create spontaneous ensembles for a series of quick sets. Things got started with this atmospheric combination that saw Diane Roblin's piano provide some structure for the drift and squeal of electronics and feedback.

[TCB will be having a special extra-early show at The Baby G on Tuesday, June 5th, with sets from Barry Prophet, Nicole Rampersaud and Lisbon's Sal Grosso.]

Recording: Away Forward

Artist: Away Forward

Song: Junk Science

Recorded at Duggan's Brewery, March 30, 2018.

Away Forward - Junk Science

There's heaps of veteran savvy in this new unit that amalgamates Lisa Nighswander and Greg Chambers of Mean Red Spiders with Andrew McAllister and Paul Boddum of Christiana/Neck, so it's unsurprising that they made their hazy dreampop sound so effortless. Celebrating their debut album, they made the stage into a homey nest, decorated with lamps and a backsheet. Similarly, the songs are like cozy rooms that you can relax and recline in — a place to lean back and look at the skylight (or drift into the skylight within).

[Away Forward will be performing at Wavelength's free/family-friendly Doors Open event, performing alongside Twist, Kira May, SlowPitchSound, and Merival at The Horseshoe all afternoon long on Sunday, May 27th.]

Recording: Stargoon

Artist: Stargoon

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Duggan's Brewery, March 30, 2018.

Stargoon - [excerpt]

The Stargoon crew returned with feedback and mildly-melodic zworping to warm up the crowd in this Parkdale basement.

[Stargoon will also be warming up the crowd for The Mean and Aus!Funkt at The Piston on Thursday, May 31st.]

Recording: The Silt

Artist: The Silt

Songs: No Twig + One Day Will Come + No One Can Say Too Well

Recorded at Array Space, March 29, 2018.

The Silt - No Twig

The Silt - One Day Will Come

The Silt - No One Can Say Too Well

This typical spring day (in the sense that spring is often cold and rainy) saw the reactivation of this Rat-Drifting era unit (that had only a single one-off show last year since their dissolution in 2010) playing "all the hits" over two sets. There was multi-tasking all around here — most notably from Marcus Quin, who spent most of the set playing drums and bass simultaneously, but Ryan Driver and Doug Tielli each swapped off on several instruments as well.

Mostly favouring a sort of bent-roots crunch (though with several diversions, such as to the prog crooning heard in the second song here) and plenty three-part falsetto harmonies, the group's unstable wobble puts them at the most "out" in a constellation of contemporaries like Royal City and Rock Plaza Central. I only saw this band play once, toward the end of their run, and I was somewhat ambiguous about them then, clearly lacking the context to totally "get" what they were doing. Now, this strikes me as excellent stuff — and this performance, feeling rough-around-the-edges in the best ways, didn't feel like the work of a band that had hardly played in seven years. They've already gotten one more show under their belt, so it looks like this might be back in the "active projects" docket.

Concert Listings Roundup #250

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:

Pink Noise (Man Made Hill / Bile Sister / Wolfcow) / D D L 2018-05-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Naomi Floods [tape release!] (Bad Passion / Lavender Bruisers / Trevor Turple) / Owl's Club 2018-05-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Like springtime weeds bursting out through cracks in the sidewalk, local DIY musicians are finding ways to thrive/survive in a hostile environment. I could imagine having an excellent time at either of these shows with plenty fave musicians between them, which makes a hard choice inevitable — it'll come down to a gametime decision on Thursday evening.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Team Building ["New friends and old share new songs, works in progress, thoughts in sound. Hosted by Luke Kuplowsky, featuring a rotating cast of songwriters.] (feat. Dana Sipos / Luke Kuplowsky / Graeme Moffat / Sam Allen / Ghislain Aucoin / Abigal Lapell / Alanna Stuart / Adrian Underhill) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-05-14 (Monday) [FB event]

Peggy Lee/Lina Allemano/Nelson Moneo/Kristian Podlacha / Art Square Gallery & Café 2018-05-14 (Monday) [FB event]

Soundstreams' Ear Candy: Beat It! (feat. Ryan Scott/Leslie Newman/James O'Callaghan/Andrew Staniland) / Buddies in Bad Times Cabaret 2018-05-15 (Tuesday) [more info]

Octopus Curls / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-16 (Wednesday – early!)

Josh Cole Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-16 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Jessica Stuart presents! Ep. 4 (feat. Hairbrain [Anh Phung/Berty Lancaster] / Jessica Stuart) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-17 (Thursday – evening set @ 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Digital Spectrum: Music for Horns and Electronics ["premieres by Toronto based composers Quinn Jacobs and Patrick McGraw and... works by Larry Lake and Hildegard Westerkamp"] (feat. Micajah Sturgess & Will Callaghan) / Canadian Music Centre 2018-05-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Negative Gemini (Ice Cream / Nyssa) / The Baby G 2018-05-17 (Thursday) [FB event]

Arma Agharta (Manticore / Bonnie Trash / Greydini) / Owl's Club (basement) 2018-05-18 (Friday) [FB event]

Light Years/Dark Matter [an original multi-movement work composed collectively by all four TorQ members taking the science and imagery of space as inspiration for a new immersive concert presentation] (feat. TorQ Percussion Quartet) / 918 Bathurst 2018-05-18 (Friday) [more info]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2018-05-18 (Friday)

Labyrinth Musical Workshop Ontario presents (feat. Ali Akbar Moradi / Imamyar Hasanov) / Eastminster United Church 2018-05-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Regina Gently (boyBITCH with Precious Jewel / Loji / AIDA) / Handlebar 2018-05-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Rat-drifting 6 (feat. MagicEyeImage [Simon Labbé/Gabriel Drolet/Philippe Melanson]) / Array Space 2018-05-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

On the Spot and No Thing Composers Joint Concert (feat. Brian Abbott/Paul Newman/Kayla Milmine/Manuel Morales/Amy Brandon/Amy Gordon/Priya Shah/Ivana Jokic/Julia Mermelstein/Melodie Laton/Amanda Lowry) / Canadian Music Centre 2018-05-19 (Saturday) [FB event]

Gentle Reminder No.2 (feat. Highgrove / Nathan Ivanco / Humanoid Incognito) / June Records 2018-05-20 (Sunday – PWYC! all ages! early show @ 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

8th annual residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Café 2018-05-20 (Sunday – early show @ 7 p.m.! All ages + family-friendly! Good eats available!) [FB event]

No Seas (Karen Ng) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2018-05-20 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

FACS [ex-Disappears] (Vanishing Hand / The Brain) / Monarch Tavern 2018-05-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Slip, Slop, Slap: Experiment! (feat. Lora Bidner / Zoë Alexis-Abrams / KASHKA [solo]) / Handlebar 2018-05-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

QB8: QueerNOISE (*shhh) pre-Drone Day (feat. Xiao Xuan / tendencyitis / Esther Splett / Twin Masks / Harper Bizarre) / The Arcade 2018-05-20 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Big City Cough [Sean Beresford/Michael Eckert/Lee Rose]) / The Emmet Ray 2018-06-20 (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!

magiceyeimage [Simon Labbé/Gabriel Drolet/Philippe Melanson] / The Emmet Ray 2018-05-21 (Monday – early! PWYC!) [more info]

In Between [Ted Crosby/Karen Ng/Josh Cole/Philippe Melanson] / The Emmet Ray 2018-05-21 (Monday – PWYC!) [more info]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-05-22 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Cole Blouin (Decoration Day) / Davenport & Bathurst-ish 2018-05-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Trapdoor Fest: Night 1 ["new, entirely independent and entirely all ages music festival"] (feat. Bad Waitress / Luna Li /Cliff Cardinal / Hot Garbage / Fade Awaays) / CineCycle 2018-05-25 (Friday – dry event! all ages!) [FB event]

The Mean (Aus!Funkt / Stargoon) / The Piston 2018-05-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Polka Dogs [The Bee album release] / Burdock Music Hall 2018-06-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 68 (feat. Eugene Chadbourne / Protruders / Holiday Rambler / Mermaids) / Matt Durant Studio 2018-06-02 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

TONE Festival and Mechanical Forest Sound present (feat. Manas [Tashi Dorji/Thom Nguyen/Wes McCoy] / Clarinet Panic Redux / Kurt Newman's Nashville Minimalism Unit) / The Baby G 2018-06-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Special Interest / Que Lastima / Sigil / Piper Maru) / Faith/Void 2018-06-03 (Sunday – all ages!) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #39 (feat. Barry Prophet / Nicole Rampersaud / Sal Grosso) / The Baby G 2018-06-05 (Tuesday – PWYC! extra-early show @ 7 p.m.!) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Waclaw Zimpel & Kuba Ziolek / Joseph Shabason / Nick Storring) / The Baby G 2018-06-05 (Tuesday) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Anthony Coleman / c_RL) / Arraymusic 2018-06-08 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Jessica Moss / Tryal / Manticore) / Burdock Music Hall 2018-06-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

ContaQt: Many Faces - We Are All Marilyns [music by Eve Beglarian, Amnon Wolman and John Oswald, and choreography by Laurence Lemieux] (feat. Contact Contemporary Music) / Buddies In Bad Times 2018-06-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. The Revival Ensemble / Sick Boss Löve) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2018-06-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

Anthems & Icons (feat. The Queer Songbook Orchestra) / Buddies In Bad Times 2018-06-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

Simply Saucer [7" release!] (Blonde Elvis) / The Baby G 2018-06-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Iceage / Mary Lattimore / Cares) / Lee's Palace 2018-06-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Baby Cages [Bitter Melon album release!] (Pantayo / "secret guest") / Owl's Club 2018-06-29 (Friday) [FB event]

Darlene Shrugg (Biblical / NOBRO) / Lee's Palace 2018-07-27 (Friday) [FB event]

Recording: Germaine Liu

Artist: Germaine Liu + co.

Songs: Keyschain + Playground + Walking on Water [composer: Germaine Liu]

Recorded at the Canadian Music Centre (Composers' Toolbox: The Joy of Play), March 27, 2018.

Germaine Liu/Heather Saumer/Bea Labikova - Keyschain

Germaine Liu/Heather Saumer/Bea Labikova - Playground

Germaine Liu + Ensemble - Walking on Water

One of the city's most beloved musicians got a chance to explain and demonstrate her artistic process in an instalment of this excellent series curated by Jonathan Adjemian. Known for her boundless curiosity and beginner's mind approach to wringing sound out of pretty much anything, Germaine Liu started by describing her method of "honouring the objects you're playing with... being as honest as possible, without feedback or looking for approval." Some of her game-like pieces were then demonstrated (along with the assistance of Heather Saumer and Bea Labikova) before drafting in the audience to try the materials and compositions for themselves, using keys, stones, pans of water, ceramics and more. As the event's subtitle implied, there was a playful spirit throughout, but that revealed the depths that can be obtained from listening to a pulse and joining in.

[As of the posting of this entry, the livestream of the whole event is still available to be watched online, which is very much worth your time:]

Recording: Kat Estacio

Artist: Kat Estacio

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Synaptic Circus Sundays), March 25, 2018.

Kat Estacio - [excerpt]

Kat Estacio was exploring some fresh dronefields in a wide-ranging set. The opening section featured some investigations of all the possible sounds that could be generated from rubbing bells against gongs (a Germaine Liu-esque fascination with one single musical element) before building into the electroacoustic rumbles and buzzings heard here.

[The next Synaptic Circus Sunday will be on May 27th and will feature sets from Jonathan Adjemian and LAL's Nic Murray.]

Recording: Chalk Repairer

Artist: Chalk Repairer

Song: [last piece]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Synaptic Circus Sundays), March 25, 2018.

Chalk Repairer - [last piece]

More nimble drift'n'drag from Patrick O'Reilly's compositions, this time in an ensemble with Andrew Furlong (double bass), Laura Swankey (vox), Derek Gray (Tibetan bowls) and Edwin Sheard (alto sax). The whole set segued nicely from piece to piece, so you can hear a bit of O'Reilly's looped/processed music box at the start here before the group picks up the tune.

[Edwin Sheard and Patrick O'Reilly will be playing some "furniture music" alongside Anh Fung at Red Eye Espresso on Sunday, May 27th. The next Synaptic Circus Sunday will also be on May 27th and will feature sets from Jonathan Adjemian and LAL's Nic Murray.]

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

Recording: The Highest Order

Artist: The Highest Order

Song: Thirsty in the Rain [Peter Rowan cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Long Winter 6.5), March 23, 2018.

The Highest Order - Thirsty in the Rain

For its season-closer, Long Winter returned to The Tranzac, filling the building with music and art. The night's headliners, The Highest Order brought some mellow jams to stretch out to, including some new songs as well as this cover, whose musings upon the preponderance of want and suffering in a land of plenty fit right in with their oeuvre.

Recording: Moul D.

Artist: Moul D.

Songs: Problems at Work/Lovely Pup/Voicemail

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Long Winter 6.5), March 23, 2018.

Moul D. - Problems at Work/Lovely Pup/Voicemail

For its season-closer, Long Winter returned to The Tranzac, filling the building with music and art. Bringing the night's dose of punk'n'shouty, this quartet managed to cram half of their recent EP into a single song-sized burst.