Mechanical Forest Sound: February 2019

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Recording: John Orpheus

Artist: John Orpheus

Song: Lady Boss

Recorded at The Gladstone Hotel's Ballroom (Long Winter, Vol. 7.3), January 4, 2019.

Easing into the late-night dance zone, John Orpheus' "Pan-African, intersectional feminist dance party" managed to get the crowd moving, whether they already knew how to palance or not. Requiring nothing more than drummer Sarah Jane Riegler's beats to get things going, Orpheus and singer/dancer Chaenel Mattise brought dancehall vibes and a bottomless well of energy to keep things moving.

[Long Winter Vol. 7.5 will be at Workman Arts on Friday, March 29th. Lineup Announcement Coming Soon!]

Recording: Sauna

Artist: Sauna

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Gladstone Hotel's Ballroom (Long Winter, Vol. 7.3), January 4, 2019.

Sauna - unknown

Though they only have one released song to their name so far, there's a bit more of a track record to go on for this trio, which sees familiar faces Zach Bines (of Weaves, bass) and Braeden Craig (of Greys, drums) backing Fake Palms' Michael le Riche. Well-known as a multi-instrumentalist in his many supporting roles with countless local bands, it's no surprise to see le Riche behind a bank of synths. Though those of a certain age might be surprised to see death disco/dance-punk getting a revival, it's probably long enough gone now to be a fondly-remembered formative influence for a whole new cadre of musicians.

[Long Winter Vol. 7.5 will be at Workman Arts on Friday, March 29th. Lineup Announcement Coming Soon!]

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

Recording: Katie Sketch

Artist: Katie Sketch

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Gladstone Hotel's Ballroom (Long Winter, Vol. 7.3), January 4, 2019.

Katie Sketch - unknown

Though she's popped up playing in Vag Halen, it'd been over a decade since I last saw Katie Sketch playing her own material. After a debut at the Basement Revue late last year, this was the second outing for this new five-piece band, sharing a short but elegantly-constructed set of ace stuff. The presence of a new website and instagram account add some momentum to the claims that some long-awaited solo material will officially surface this year.

[Long Winter Vol. 7.5 will be at Workman Arts on Friday, March 29th. Lineup Announcement Coming Soon!]

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

Recording: Joyful Joyful

Artist: Joyful Joyful

Song: At the Bit

Recorded at The Gladstone Hotel's Ballroom (Long Winter, Vol. 7.3), January 4, 2019.

Joyful Joyful - At the Bit

This night at Long Winter started with a fab discovery. Cormac Culkeen and Dave Grenon's mix of ancient and contemporary drones — folk structures floating atop pedal-enabled electronic soundbeds — is haunting and more than a little church-y, in the sense that you could well imagine these sounds swirling upward into some distant, darkened arched ceiling.

[I dug this band so much I booked them to play Track Could Bend (Tuesday, March 5th), where they'll loosen their song structures with some improvised explorations. Meanwhile, Long Winter Vol. 7.5 will be at Workman Arts on Friday, March 29th. Lineup Announcement Coming Soon!]

Monday, February 25, 2019

Concert Listings Roundup #291

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:

Mechanical Forest Sound's 10th Anniversary Celebration: A Night of Rock Music! (feat. Hooded Fang / Man Made Hill / Matthew "Doc" Dunn + Friends / Triples) / The Baby G 2019-03-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Here's the reason for the season! This blog never had an agenda or end goal — it just became what it became over time. But somehow, this has been a part of my life for ten years. To celebrate, I've asked a few peeps that I've met along the way (like Hooded Fang, who I saw for the first time at the second show I ever wrote up) to join me for a little ol' party. It's been a joy to watch artists like Doc Dunn and Man Made Hill experiment and branch out in different directions, and while everyone here is still creating fab new work (this ain't a nostalgia trip) I'm also thrilled to have Triples, who I saw for the first time at Long Winter just a couple weeks back, as a reminder that there's always another discovery possible at the next gig.

DJ's LordAUK (from Doomsquad) & ZONES will push the party outward for those staying up late and there will be a chance to grip a limited preview edition of the first of a pair of MFS 10th anniversary compilation tapes. It would mean a bunch to me if you could join me for this!

This week's noteworthy shows:

Titanium Riot / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Furniture Music (feat. Laura Swankey [solo] / Triio [Bea Labikova/Tom Fleming/Ashley Urquhart/Mark0/Alex Fournier) / Wenona Lodge 2019-02-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Lipliners' Wednesdays in February Residency (feat. Ronley Teper and The Lipliners) / The Cameron House 2019-02-27 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Music by Harry and Furlong S1E5 (feat. Andrew Furlong/Glen Hall / The Search For Eternal Happiness Pt. 4 [Harry Vetro/Kristian Fourier/Nelson Moneo/Cheryl O]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-27 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 72 (feat. Fet.Nat / Absolutely Free / Badge Époque) / Jam Factory 2019-02-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

MIMICO (Zoo Owl / In Spades) / Monarch Tavern 2019-02-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Nilan Perera/Blake Howard/Josh Cole (Kurt Newman/Josh Cole) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Context, NA (Blunt Chunks / Holton Heights) / Wenona Lodge 2019-02-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Prince Ness (Rogue Tenant / Mecha Maiko) / Handlebar 2019-02-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Marc Ribot / Kee Avil) / Jam Factory 2019-03-01 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Mildew Mildew [tape release!] (Teenage Green Bean / Pour Toi) / The Dupe Shop 2019-03-01 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Tough Age (Vanity Phase / Hugh Man) / Handlebar 2019-03-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Omhouse (Luge / Slurry) / Monarch Tavern 2019-03-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Audiopollination 69 (feat. VV/ Benjamin McCarthy/Cale Weir / [HF]/styrofoamNosebleedPrincess / Dimitar Pentchev / Michael Lynn/Alex Fournier) / Array Space 2019-03-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Jazz United Jam [jazz + tap dancing] / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2019-03-03 (Sunday – PWYC!)

Nite Comfort 65 (feat. World News / Gabe Knox) / Handlebar 2019-03-03 (Sunday – 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!

Tony Malaby/Jim Lewis/Alex Fournier/Nick Fraser / The Rex Hotel 2019-03-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Rasmus Sørensen/Patrick Smith/David Huber/Carl Hagvall / The Emmet Ray 2019-03-11 (Monday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Jazz and Otherwise Improvised Musics: Peter Brotzmann's Machine Gun (And Others) (feat. Nerve Gas [Patrick Smith/Alex Manoukas/Karen Ng/Mark Hundevad/Mike Gennaro/Max Donaldson/Andrew Furlong/Mike DeiCont]) / Wenona Lodge 2019-03-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Yale Russian Chorus (Darbazi) / St. David's Anglican Church 2019-03-12 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Blue Light [digital download release party!] (Hot Garbage) / The White House 2019-03-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Diane Roblin Presents (feat. Quartet Kali [Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine/Diane Roblin/Cheryl O]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-03-17 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Riparian Acoustics/CMC Presents (feat. R. Andrew Lee) / Canadian Music Centre 2019-03-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

High Strangeness (feat. Ryan Kinney / Brian Abbott/Paul Newman / Kayla Milmine/Kristen Moss Theriault/Laura Swankey/Bea Labikova) / Gerrard Art Space 2019-03-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Furniture Music: Duo Night (feat. Kaelin Murphy/Madeline Ertel / Stephanie Urquhart/Joel Jeschke / Xiodjiha [Edwin Huet/Alex Fournier]) / Wenona Lodge 2019-03-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Teenanger (WLMRT / Perfect Blue) / The Boat 2019-04-04 (Thursday) [FB event]

Moon King (Nyssa / Praises) / Monarch Tavern 2019-04-11 (Thursday) [FB event]

Monday, February 18, 2019

Concert Listings Roundup #290

Gig of the week:

Doit! [Andrew Furlong/Emily Denison] [cassette release!] / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Well, here's a whole bunch of things I dig coming together. This duo of Andrew Furlong and Emily Denison are celebrating the release of their first tape, which also happens to be the first release on Patrick O'Reilly's W/DRWN label. The celebration will be going down in the Tiki Room on Saturday, where, we are told, "cassettes and buttons will be plentiful." (Plus: a chance to nip over to the Southern Cross after to catch some of the Franche-Nolan/Ballyk + Joyful Joyful jam!)

This week's noteworthy shows:

A Night of Mischief (feat. King For a Day [Heidi Chan/ManMan Mui/Amy Naylor/Lee Stone] / BLISK / Parmida) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-18 (Monday – early!) [FB event]

Patrick Smith Standards Band [Terry Clarke/Malcolm Connor/Patrick Smith] / The Rex Hotel 2019-02-19 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Music Hosted by Karen Ng (feat. Myk Freedman Trio [Myk Freedman/Rob Clutton/Jake Oelrichs] / Tania Gill Quartet [Tania Gill/Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Nico Dann]) / Wenona Lodge 2019-02-19 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Heraclitus Akimbo [album release celebration!] (Kayla Milmine + Paul Newman) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-20 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Josh Cole Trio [Lina Allemano/Michael Davidson/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Lipliners' Wednesdays in February Residency (feat. Ronley Teper and The Lipliners) / The Cameron House 2019-02-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Sea Moya (Most People / Miles Francis / Motëm) / The Boat 2019-02-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-22 (Friday – early!)

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-22 (Friday)

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]

Dirtywood [Myk Freedman/Rebecca Hennessy/Michael Herring/Dave Clark] / The Emmet Ray 2019-02-22 (Friday – PWYC!) [FB event]

CCMC / Array Space 2019-02-22 (Friday) [more info]

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]

Radiant Baby (Hush Pup / LOLAA) / The Baby G 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Wolf Eyes with Mark Morgan / Retired / Processor) / The Garrison 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Silent Shout (feat. ZA / p0st3rb0y / Leucrocuta / Coarse Language) / Handlebar 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Maddy's 30th Birthday Bash! (feat. Omhouse / ZOË / Nice Going) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2019-02-23 (Saturday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Franche-Nolan/Ballyk [Noah Franche-Nolan/Mark Ballyk/Laura Swankey/Dan Pitt] (Joyful Joyful) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Jazz United Jam [jazz + tap dancing] / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2019-02-24 (Sunday – PWYC!)

SynapticCircusSundays (feat. Paul Dutton/Christine Duncan/Liz Lima/Laura Swankey / Paul Newman/Heather Saumer) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

TIO Celebrates Bruce Cassidy (feat. Toronto Improvisors Orchestra with special guest Bruce Cassidy) / Array Space 2019-02-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

Dustiny [Thom Gill/Josh Cole/Phil Melanson/Matt Newton/Aline Homzy/B McCarroll-Butler] (Dorothea Paas) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Standards Quartet [Lina Allemano/Michael Davidson/Andrew Downing/Nick Fraser] / The Emmet Ray 2019-02-24 (Sunday – PWYC) [more info]

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!

Furniture Music (feat. Laura Swankey [solo] / Triio [Bea Labikova/Tom Fleming/Ashley Urquhart/Mark0/Alex Fournier) / Wenona Lodge 2019-02-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #48 (feat. DoVira3 / Rob Clutton / Joyful Joyful) / Wenona Lodge 2019-03-05 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Habib Koité and Bassekou Kouyate / Toronto Centre for the Arts 2019-03-05 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Somewhere There and Mechanical Forest Sound present (Horseman, Pass By [LP release celebration!] / Mira Martin-Gray/Mark Zurawinski) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2019-03-06 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Din of Shadows III ["adventurous new creations... that extend music theatre into the worlds of rock, metal, and hip-hop. Raunchy guitar feedback, imaginary percussion, sci-fi turntablism."] (feat. Émilie Fortin/Quinn Jacobs/Lybido/Andrew Noseworthy/Cheldon Paterson/Olivia Shortt/Jonny Smith) / Array Space 2019-03-08 (Friday – early and late shows!) [FB event]

SynapticCircusSundays (feat. William Davison/Ambrose Pottie/Mark Gane / Paul Newman/Heather Saumer) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-03-10 (Sunday – early! series moves to 2nd Sunday's early slot!) [FB event]

Selina Martin Trio (Paul Linklater) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-03-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents (feat. Carine Au Micro) / Alliance Française de Toronto 2019-03-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Baker-Hess Duo with Olivia Shortt / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-03-24 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Freesound Series 01 [works by Pauline Oliveros, Lise Morrison, and Anna Thorvaldsdóttir] (feat. Tristan Durie/Olivia Shortt/Kevin Harris/Rachel Côté/Brayden Friesen/Todd Yaniw/Aysel Taghi-Zada/Adrian Irvine/Matt Antal/Evan Lamberton/Dave Riedstra) / Array Space 2019-03-27 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Emergents III (feat. Happenstance / Jana Luksts) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2019-03-29 (Friday) [FB event]

PIVOT ["premieres from six early-career composers from the acoustic and electro-acoustic worlds following their six-month mentorship with some of Canada’s most prominent composers."] [works by Amy Brandon, Nathan Friedman, Émilie Girard-Charest, Solomiya Moroz, Luke Nickel, and Lieke van der Voort] (feat. Continuum Contemporary Music) / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2019-03-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Of Glitches and Machines [contemporary works for solo piano, electronics and multimedia by Nico Muhly, Mason Bates and Nicole Lizée] (feat. Stephanie Chua / Adam Sherkin) / Lula Lounge 2019-04-03 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Eliza Niemi [of Mauno] (Le Ren / LUKA) / Monarch Tavern 2019-04-03 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Fatoumata Diawara / Toronto Centre for the Arts 2019-04-04 (Thursday) [FB event]

Odonis Odonis (Black Dresses) / The Garrison 2019-04-04 (Thursday) [FB event]

Remember Sports (Pony / Haybaby) / The Rec Room 2019-04-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Mulatu Astatke / The Great Hall 2019-05-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Tim Hecker / Mod Club Theatre 2019-05-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Community corner:

Speaking of Andrew Furlong and tapes, local heads are rejoicing with the announcement of his new label Dark Matter, "which will highlight and support experimental and creative music that deserves a larger audience." Local listener-turned-organizer Peter Gough is the other operating mind here, while all graphic design will be handled by Toronto newcomer Dylan McConnell. Keep an eye on their facebook page for now for further announcements

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Recording: Nightmare Alley

Artist: Nightmare Alley

Song: Of Being Numerous [excerpt] [from the poem by George Oppen]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynapticCircusSundays), December 30, 2018.

Nightmare Alley - Of Being Numerous [excerpt]

For my final gig of the year, I had the honour of guest-hosting Nilan Perera's Synaptic Circus monthly, so I asked some friends to play. Given a slot to do whatever he wanted, guitarist Kurt Newman took a risk, eschewing his ususal projects to experiment with uneasy listening textures and user-unfriendly spiky dynamics — call it Haino-eque spoken word theatre. Enlisting Picastro's Liz Hysen to sing some excerpts from George Oppen's "Of Being Numerous", Newman controlled the effects on both guitar and voice for a holiday downer session lurching like an undead thespian hastily reanimated from jury-rigged leftover body parts.

Recording: mkl32 and Mira Martin-Gray

Artist: mkl32 and Mira Martin-Gray

Song: [excerpt from first piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynapticCircusSundays), December 30, 2018.

mkl32 and Mira Martin-Gray - [excerpt from first piece]

For my final gig of the year, I had the honour of guest-hosting Nilan Perera's Synaptic Circus monthly, so I asked some friends to play. This set mixed Mike Lynn's prepared double bass with Mira Martin-Gray no-input mixer and monotron for some interactive soundbursts, static, scrapes and skronks.

[Synaptic Circus will be back at The Tranzac on Sunday, February 24th, featuring a vocal set from Paul Dutton, Christine Duncan, Liz Lima and Laura Swankey as well as a duo set from Paul Newman and Heather Saumer. Mike Lynn will be performing in a double bass duo at the next Audiopollination on Saturday, March 2nd, while Mira Martin-Gray will be performing with drummer Mark Zurawinski to welcome Horseman, Pass By to the Tiki Room on Wednesday, March 6th.]

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Recording: The Titillators

Artist: The Titillators

Songs: Pennies From Heaven [composer: Arthur Johnston] + If I Were a Bell [composer: Frank Loesser]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 30, 2018.

The Titillators - Pennies From Heaven

The Titillators - If I Were a Bell

This holiday special from Ryan Driver's Titillators saw special guest Alex Samaras sitting in for Thom Gill as designated whistler — a task he pulled off with aplomb, buoyed by regulars Tania Gill (keyb) and percussionists Germaine Liu and D. Alex Meeks. It was to no-one's surprise that even in an all-whistling ensemble that the irrepressible Samaras could not be stopped from belting out a verse — especially when there were tunes from Guys and Dolls on offer!

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis IX

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis IX

Songs: Where No Bird Has Gone Before [excerpt] + Dammit, Jim, I'm a Doctor! [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 30, 2018.

Cosmic Homeostasis IX - Where No Bird Has Gone Before [excerpt]

Cosmic Homeostasis IX - Dammit, Jim, I'm a Doctor! [excerpt]

One last drone session to close out the year, Cosmic Homeostasis convened to celebrate Voyager 2 exiting the heliosphere as well as the Ultima Thule flyby – distant encounters that feel close to home to the whispers-from-space crowd. The crew this time comprised of Del Stephen, Trevor Turple, Mike Lynn, Liz Lima, Patrick O'Reilly, Ron Blake, Paul Newman and Heraclitus Akimbo. The whole session is available over bandcamp:

[Cosmic Homeostasis X will be taking place in the Southern Cross on the afternoon of Sunday, March 31st.]

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Recording: MOOONS

Artist: MOOONS

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Invocation presents Ur Audiovisual's Year End Release Extravaganza), December 29, 2018.

MOOONS - [excerpt]

This night celebrated not only the year's passing but also some recent releases on Ur Audiovisual (including Melissa Boraski's Eiyn Sof side-project The Hologlyph, who shared a new video and some projections on the night). Casual hangs, a pot-luck and four sets of music made for a satisfying night.

The night closed with a rare opportunity to see long-distance collaborators Roan Bateman (who had played a Dark Bird set earlier in the night) and Soren Brothers (who had just performed as Man Meets Bear) working together in the same room. There are some more smoothly-assembled sounds on their recent Strange Currents EP (which comes complete with some excellent 70's sci-fi novel-esque cover art) but there was a nice sense of interaction between the pair as they brought the night to its drifting conclusion.

Recording: Man Meets Bear

Artist: Man Meets Bear

Song: two unknown songs^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Invocation presents Ur Audiovisual's Year End Release Extravaganza), December 29, 2018.

Man Meets Bear - unknown #1

Man Meets Bear - unknown #2

Expatriated Ur Audiovisual co-founder Soren Brothers took advantage of being in town to play a couple sets at this show, starting with some solo songs as Man Meets Bear. In his recordings, his folk-y rambles are given various atmospheric adornments, and there were some scaled-down takes on that here, with a contact mic adding some ghost vocalizations and piano sounds.

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

Recording: Dark Bird

Artist: Dark Bird

Song: Out Of My Mind

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Invocation presents Ur Audiovisual's Year End Release Extravaganza), December 29, 2018.

Dark Bird - Out Of My Mind

Roan Bateman started things off with a set of Dark Bird songs. Besides an excellent EP of atmospheric instrumentals, his year also included October's Lay Low, out on Ur, and he drew some tunes from that. But also reflecting back on a long-gone time when he lived in the city and was a regular performer at The Tranzac, he also brought out some older songs like this one.

Monday, February 11, 2019

Concert Listings Roundup #289

Gig of the week:

Tranzac Sound For Silence II: Valentine's Day Edition (feat. Polka Dogs / Unclassic Classics / Hex / Jazz United Band) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2019-02-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

A fundraiser for my favourite venue sees musical worlds collide Thursday night, with all-stars from the Tiki's Sunday night jazz-and-tap jam being joined by the Polka Dogs' storytelling and Hex's raw rrrock. Speaking of all-stars, the secret weapon here might be the Unclassic Classics set, with "members of The Weather Station and US Girls, along with special guest Felicity Williams" shining up some dusty gems. There's some Silent Auction action as well.

This week's noteworthy shows:

Franche-Nolan/Ballyk Project [Noah Franche-Nolan/Mark Ballyk/Dan Pitt/Kaelin Murphy/Brooklyn Bohach/Victor Vrankulj] / The Emmet Ray 2019-02-11 (Monday) [FB event]

Public Rehearsals: To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe (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/Heather Saumer/Brian Solomon/Anni Spadafora/Evan Webber/Christopher Willes and others) / Daniels Spectrum 2019-02-12 (Tuesday – free! open rehearsal @ 3 p.m.!) [FB event]

Ornate Presents (feat. Madeleine Ertel [solo] / TVT [Madeleine Ertel/Brooklyn Bohach/Kaelin Murphy] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-12 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Three Piece Outfit [Aline Homzy/Michael Davidson/Alex Samaras] / Quick D [Ted Crosby/Ben Dwyer/Jacob Wiens]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

MAW 4: A Community Celebration of the Vocal Arts (feat. Richard Marsella / Clamaglamza / Isla Craig / Anny Fyreagle / Laura Swankey / Tidal Mouth / Blunt Chunks / Melanie Leishman) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Jazz and Otherwise Improvised Musics (feat. Eden Prairie [Justin Haynes/Andrew Downing/Kevin Turcotte] / Laura Swankey/Kristen Theriault/Bea Labikova/Kayla Milmine) / Wenona Lodge 2019-02-12 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Public Rehearsals: To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe (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/Heather Saumer/Brian Solomon/Anni Spadafora/Evan Webber/Christopher Willes and others) / Walter Hall 2019-02-13 (Wednesday – free! open rehearsal @ 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

Lipliners' Wednesdays in February Residency (feat. Ronley Teper and The Lipliners) / The Cameron House 2019-02-13 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Music By & For Ken Aldcroft XXVI (feat. Lina Allemano/Mike Smith / Pete Johnston & Friends [Rebecca Hennessey/Pete Johnston/Jake Oelrichs/Mike Smith]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-13 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Invocation presents (feat. Saltland / Syzygy [Colin Fisher/Ilyse Krivel]) / ~~Array Space 2019-02-13 (Wednesday)~~ – CANCELLED [FB event]

Public Rehearsals: To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe (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/Heather Saumer/Brian Solomon/Anni Spadafora/Evan Webber/Christopher Willes and others) / OCAD University (The Great Hall) 2019-02-14 (Thursday – free! open rehearsal @ noon!) [FB event]

LeBarons (Hamilton Trading Co. / Christopher James Culgin / Flight Risk) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2019-02-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Not My Song 2019 [Curated by Mingjia, some of Toronto's most creative singer-songwriters will each interpret the song of another randomly paired performer secret-santa style] (feat. Monica Selene/Tara Kannangara/Robin Dann/Angel Apricot/Cass Beau/Katie McBride/Jonathan Wu/Emily Rose/Dorothea Paas/Lauren Dillen/Sabine Ndalamba/Kristin Fung/Mingjia) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Owls Club Opry - Double Feature! [Upstairs: Love Hurts: Legends of Country / Basement: Bands & Drag!] (feat. Love Hurts: Legends Of Country / Persons / Slash Need) / Owl's Club 2019-02-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

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

Völur (Muffler Crunch / Greber / Cares / Jack Moves) / Coalition 2019-02-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Chastity (Greys / Casper Skulls) / The Rec Room 2019-02-15 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Wavelength Winter Festival 19 (feat. Mélissa Laveaux / Lex Leosis / Myst Milano) / The Garrison 2019-02-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble / La Maquette 2019-02-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Wavelength Winter Festival 19 (feat. Anemone / Twist / Future Peers / Isla Den) / The Garrison 2019-02-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Marker Starling [Trust an Amateur album release!] (Sing Leaf) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Canadian Arabic Quartet / The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst 2019-02-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Urkimsher / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

SpaceTime: An Evening with Narcy ["multimedia hip-hop show"] (feat. Narcy with guest appearances from Lido Pimienta / Ian Kamau / Merna) / Aga Khan Museum 2019-02-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Many 2 Many: a night of experimental electronics (feat. Ben McCarthy / Tax Haven / Dohn Valley) / Handlebar 2019-02-16 (Saturday – PWYC) [FB event]

Saint Dirt Elementary School / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-17 (Sunday – afternoon show @ 3 p.m.!) [FB event]

Glen Hall's Ossingtone [Glen Hall/Bruce Cassidy/Diane Roblin/Harry Vetro/Phil Albert] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-17 (Sunday – early set @ 5 p.m.!) [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]

Somewhere There presents (feat. Dan Fortin Quartet [Ethan Ardelli/Ted Crosby/Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin]) / The Emmet Ray 2019-02-17 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Wavelength Winter Festival 19 (feat. Elisapie / Beams / Luna Li) / The Garrison 2019-02-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

The Databats (Subterranea / Miserable Weekend / Iderdown) / Handlebar 2019-02-17 (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!

Sea Moya (Most People / Miles Francis / Motëm) / The Boat 2019-02-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

Silent Shout (feat. ZA / p0st3rb0y / Leucrocuta / Coarse Language) / Handlebar 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Franche-Nolan/Ballyk [Noah Franche-Nolan/Mark Ballyk/Laura Swankey/Dan Pitt] (Joyful Joyful) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Titanium Riot / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Dustiny [Thom Gill/Josh Cole/Phil Melanson/Matt Newton/Aline Homzy/B McCarroll-Butler] (Dorothea Paas) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-27 (Sunday) [FB event]

MIMICO (Zoo Owl / In Spades) / Monarch Tavern 2019-02-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Mildew Mildew [tape release!] (Teenage Green Bean / Pour Toi) / The Dupe Shop 2019-03-01 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Audiopollination 69 (feat. VV/ Benjamin McCarthy/Cale Weir / [HF]/styrofoamNosebleedPrincess / Dimitar Pentchev / Michael Lynn/Alex Fournier) / Array Space 2019-03-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Women From Space Festival (feat. Kayla Milmine/Bea Labikova / Cheryl O/Meghan Cheng/Irene Harrett / Brian Abbott/Tomasz Krakowiak / Mingjia Jessica Chen/Claire Yunjin Lee) / Wenona Lodge 2019-03-08 (Friday) [FB event]

Women From Space Festival (feat. Tova Kardonne / Diane Roblin/Heather Saumer / Zoë Alexis-Abrams/Neal Retke/William Davison / Ashley Urquhart's Colour and Noise) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-03-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents: Women From Space Festival (feat. Overleaf [Mira Martin-Gray/Heidi Chan/Kayla Milmine] / Bea Labikova/Germaine Liu / Dawne Carleton/Rob Clutton / Tania Gill/Rebecca Hennessy) / Array Space 2019-03-09 (Sunday) [FB event]

Women From Space Festival (feat. Happy Apple [Heraclitus Akimbo/Allison Cameron] / Laura Swankey / Prices Easy [Aisha Sasha John] / Plastic Babies [Christine Duncan/Laura Swankey/Patrick O'Reilly]) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-03-11 (Monday) [FB event]

Robin Hatch [album release celebration!] (Bram Gielen / Simeon Abbott / Dan Werb) / Array Space 2019-03-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Venus Fest presents: an evening with Alok Vaid-Menon (feat. Ziibiwan / Kiley May / Manghoe Lassi) / The Garrison 2019-03-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Elastic Recordings presents (feat. Clock Radio [Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin] [CD release!] / Chris Pruden) / Canadian Music Centre 2019-03-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Telephone Explosion, Morning Trip & Burn Down The Capital Present (feat. Laraaji / Joseph Shabason) / Toronto Spiritualist Temple 2019-04-12 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Chris Cohen [ex-Deerhoof] (Ice Cream / No Frills) / The Horseshoe 2019-04-15 (Monday) [FB event]

Community corner:

Posi Vibes — whose mandate is embedded in their name — is looking for some volunteers to "help make cool shit happen" in their efforts to "to create a positive equitable space that includes and honours the voices of women, people of colour, indigenous people and the LGBTQ community." Get in touch with them if you think that's something you'd want to be involved with, and at the very least you should be liking/following for updates on their work/fun activities.

Monday, February 4, 2019

Concert Listings Roundup #288

Gig of the week:

Somewhere There Presents: Mechanical Forest Sound's 10th Anniversary Celebration (feat. The Allison Cameron Band [Allison Cameron / Thom Gill / Kurt Newman] / Lender [Christine Duncan / Laura Swankey (music) / Nilan Perera / D. Alex Meeks] / The Knot [Tilman Lewis / Nick Storring]) / Array Space 2019-02-10 (Sunday) [FB event]

This blog became a thing on Friday, February 13th, 2009 (though there was a certain amount of pre-planning before that) so it would seem amiss to not mark the occasion somehow. The first set of celebrations (with more to come!) celebrates the city's creative music scenes, with three sets from some seriously heavy hitters. I'm pleased to have wrangled a too-rare appearance from the "new" AC band (with Thom Gill + Kurt Newman) as well as a return-to-action from the recently-quiet cello duo The Knot. And then, in improvised music tradition, I made up the rest, mixing together four great players into one unpredictable band. It should be a night of great music, and there will also be snacks. (Did I mention the snacks?)

This week's noteworthy shows:

Michael Eckert/Christine Bougie/Joshua Van Tassel/Hugh Marsh / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-04 (Monday – early show @ 6 p.m.!) [FB event]

Red Arm Band [Mingjia Chen/Chris Pruden/Julian Anderson Bowes/Mark Ballyk] / The Emmet Ray 2019-02-04 (Monday – early! PWYC) [FB event]

DUST (the quietest big band in the known world) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-05 (Tuesday – early!)

Track Could Bend #47 (feat. Meg Remy's Last Tape / Freaky Boos [Jackson Darby/Aaron Hutchinson/Becky Katz] / William Davison & Bob Vespaziani) / Wenona Lodge 2019-02-05 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Hainbach (Menial Rips / Munition Passion Altar / Mykhaylo) / Unit 2 2019-02-05 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Lipliners' Wednesdays in February Residency (feat. Ronley Teper and The Lipliners) / The Cameron House 2019-02-06 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Kurt Newman Presents: Cosmic Country for Communists (feat. Janet Macpherson/Kyle Kirkpatrick / Nick Flanagan [comedy] / The Nashville Minimalism Unit) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-06 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Pugs & Crows (Sam Tudor) / Burdock Music Hall 2019-02-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Somewhere There presents: After-concert Jam with Locals (feat. Pugs & Crows / Ted Crosby / Colin Fisher / Bea Labikova) / Array Space 2019-02-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

In Between Sounds #94 (feat. Lorde Awesome) / The Only Café 2019-02-07 (Thursday – free!) [FB event]

Daniel Barnes/Girma Woldemichael Ethio-Jazz Band / Hirut Café 2019-02-07 (Thursday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Array Ensemble [four new works by Marielle Groven, Christopher Mayo, Francis Ubertelli and Christina Volpini] / Array Space 2019-02-08 (Friday) [FB event]

Jeff Luciani/Colin Fisher / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-08 (Friday) [FB event]

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

Art of the Uncarved Block presents: An evening of spoken word w/ music [spoken word by Fool, Evan Moore, and Jordan Lee-Tung] (feat. Tang / Chris) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2019-02-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Long Winter 7.4 (feat. James Baley / Graham Van Pelt / Triples / Rapport / KOZA / Westelaken / Jo Snyder / Mindful MC's / Donna Linklater / Mortimer. / Lost is Found) / Workman Arts 2019-02-09 (Saturday – PWYC! all ages!) [FB event]

Sture Ericson and Friends [Sture Ericsson/Nick Fraser/Lina Allemano/Alex Fournier/Kurt Newman] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Ayal Senior (Nilan Perera / Nick Flanagan [comedy] / Jonny Friedman) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-10 (Sunday – afternoon show, 3 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

BLOOP! [Lina Allemano/Mike Smith/Germaine Liu/Nick Fraser] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2019-02-10 (Sunday) [FB event]