Recording: Cosmic Homeostasis XIII

Artist: Cosmic Homeostasis XIII

Song: I Can't Find My Phone [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 29, 2019.

Cosmic Homeostasis XIII - I Can't Find My Phone [excerpt]

To my surprise and delight, in the midst of that muddled and busy holiday week after xmas we managed to muster a baker's dozen soundmakers to mindmeld into some electroacoustic drift. Maybe folks just needed a calm zone away from the holiday hurlyburly. In any case, an excellent bit of preparation for the collective's first formal recording session — of which, more news soon!

The group on this day consisted of:

• Scott M2 (Animoog Borderlands)
• Paul Newman (tenor saxophone)
• Matt Wells (cymbal)
• Dame Cook (electronics)
• Patrick O'Reilly (Bliptronic 5000 and guitar)
• strofoamNosebleedPrincess (bass guitar and objects)
• Michael Lynn (bass guitar and things, namer-of-things)
• Maggie Keogh (Omnichord)
• Del Stephen (synth, piano, tape, fx)
• NilanX (prepared guitar and fx)
• Mira Martin-Grey (prepared/broken autoharp)
• Stefan Powell (duochord with magnetic wheels)
• Victor O (shakers + noisemakers)
• Heraclitus Akimbo (tapes and electronics)

You can also listen to the full set over on Bandcamp:

Recording: The Ryan Driver Sextet

Artist: The Ryan Driver Sextet

Song: Two Sleepy People [composer: Hoagy Carmichael/Frank Loesser]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 27, 2019.

The Ryan Driver Sextet - Two Sleepy People

The full sextet was present and in action for this holiday special, as always stretching out through a selection of standards from Ryan Driver's vast songbook. What a treasure, really, to have a longstanding group like this that knows itself so deeply and is utterly sui generis.

[You can see these local treasures for yourself tomorrow night (Friday, January 31st) at The Tranzac.]

Recording: Aurochs

Artist: Aurochs

Song: [set 1, 3rd piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 27, 2019.

Aurochs - [set 1, 3rd piece]

Classic four-piece Aurochs jams to close out the year, these two sets saw the members pushing apart a bit and exploring some branching paths before falling back into some mindmeld grooves.

[Aurochs promise to play very quietly tomorrow night (Friday, January 31st) at The Tranzac.]

Recording: Maraj/Vespaziani/O

Artist: Kieran Maraj/Bob Vespaziani/Victor O

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng Presents: The Boxing Day Special), December 26, 2019.

Kieran Maraj/Bob Vespaziani/Victor O - [excerpt]

Karen Ng (away for her regular night at The Tranzac) left things to guest curator Victor O, who assembled a fine night of electroacoustic sounds. He also joined in with this trio, with a tableful of percussive implements being processed by Kieran Maraj's granular manipulations alongside Bob Vespaziani's wavedrum and pedals. This lead to some complicated clattering, relieved by Victor O's piano meditations.

Recording: Wiernik/Corbett/Cook

Artist: Neil Wiernik/Erin Corbett/Dame Cook

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng Presents: The Boxing Day Special), December 26, 2019.

Neil Wiernik/Erin Corbett/Dame Cook - [excerpt]

Karen Ng (away for her regular night at The Tranzac) left things to guest curator Victor O, who assembled a fine night of electroacoustic sounds. The night started with this trio offering three flavours of electronics, mashing together into 8-bit victory fanfares, bitcrushed surfscapes and touch-type chimes.

Recording: Out to Lunch

Artist: Out to Lunch

Songs: Something Sweet, Something Tender [composer: Eric Dolphy] + Out to Lunch [composer: Eric Dolphy]

Recorded at Array Space (Kurt Newman Yuletide Music Party), December 20, 2019.

Out to Lunch - Something Sweet, Something Tender

Out to Lunch - Out to Lunch

This project from percussionist Mark Zurawinski is dedicated to reinterpreting the seminal Eric Dolphy album from which it takes its name. The mandate here is definitely not to be slavish to the original arrangements, as is probably indicated by the somewhat unorthodox lineup at hand: Rob Clutton (double bass), Germaine Liu (vibraphone), Brian Abbot (guitar), Kayla Milmine (soprano saxophone) and Mira Martin-Gray (no-input mixer). (The latter tune here also sees Kurt Newman guesting on pedal steel.)

The resulting stew is capable of moments of quiet clarity (especially in the small percussive gestures from Zurawinski and Liu) but also wig-out feedback bursts. That gives new flavours to these tunes, like "Something Sweet, Something Tender", which could be issued on a single with the musical tag "ballad with screech-groans".

Concert Listings Roundup #338

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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This week's noteworthy shows:

MAW: A Community Celebration of the Vocal Arts (feat. Rebecca Bruton / Heaby Medal / Catherine Crowe / Laurel MacDonald / Anna Atkinson / Martin Julien / Shaina Asambong / Ophira Calof) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-01-27 (Monday) [FB event]

The Queer Songbook Orchestra [video shoot!] / Gladstone Hotel – Ballroom 2020-01-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Furniture Music: Duos Night #2 (feat. Patrick O'Reilly & Meghan Gillespie / Brittany Craig & Dan Pitt / Bea Labikova & Yunjin Claire Lee) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

What Now? We Wait. [debut performance, featuring "improv trashy funky dancey music"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-29 (Wednesday – early!)

Panties (bBomit / Useless Mass / Tuka Shahidi) / See-Scape 2020-01-29 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Venus Fest presents (feat. Han Han [album release!] / Charise Aragoza) / Lula Lounge 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Twist (Bernice / Moscow Apartment) / Paradise Theatre 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Scott Hardware (Lee Paradise / Soft Matter) / The Boat 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Therapy: Sessions {series relaunch!] (feat. Tara Kannangara / Merival / JESSA) / B-side Lounge 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Circadian (Max Donaldson) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Interior X Exterior Launch Party (feat. R.Flex / Slash Need / Yovska) / The Drake Underground 2020-01-30 (Thursday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Triple Album Release! (feat. Völur [featuring a 12-tone string quartet] / Raphael Weinroth-Browne / Robin Hatch) / The Garrison 2020-01-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Lunar New Year Concert (feat. Tiger Balme & Hiroki Tanaka) / Burdock Music Hall 2020-01-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Jaunt (Sorry Girls / Dan Edmonds) / Horseshoe Tavern 2020-01-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Aurochs / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-31 (Friday – early!)

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Sessa (André Ethier) / The Baby G 2020-02-01 (Saturday) [FB event]

Faster Presents: Duos Night (feat. Sarah Peebles & Jonnie Bakan / Paul Fitterer & Kayla Milmine / Brian Abbott & Tomasz Krakowiak) / Gerrard Art Space 2020-02-01 (Saturday) [FB event]

When Did Transparency Become So Opaque? [panel discussion and performance, curated by Olivia Shortt] (feat. Carly Gordon and ASL+ Opera Project) / The Music Gallery 2020-02-02 (Sunday – PWYW!) [FB event]

First Sunday Jam (feat. Maggie Keogh/Daniel Easty/Robert Chapman/Chris Banks/Mitch Milley + jam to follow!) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-02-02 (Sunday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 76 (feat. Annacetaminophen, New Tendencies) / Handlebar 2020-02-02 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Rat-drifting I (feat. Karen Ng [solo!] / Karen Ng/Phil Melanson/Chris Willes) / Array Space 2020-02-02 (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!

David Occhipinti Quartet [David Occhipinti/Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin/Terry Clarke] / The Emmet Ray 2020-02-03 (Monday) [FB event]

Freaky Boos (Joyful Joyful / Del/Liz/Joe) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-02-05 (Wednesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

The Furniture Music Composition Workshop #14 (feat. Maddy Ertel/Sabine Ndalamba/William Hunt/Andrew Furlong) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-02-09 (Sunday – 5 to 7 p.m.!) [FB event]

SynapticCircusSundays presents Kathryn Ladano's "Masked" (feat. Kathryn Ladano [solo bass clarinet] / Kathryn Ladano/Jeff Burke/Alex Fournier/Germaine Liu/Nilan Perera) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-02-09 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Most Popular Mic Touching Sounds (feat. Eucalyptus) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-02-11 (Tuesday)

Northern Danger [Mike DeiCont/Rebecca Hennessy/Mack Longpre/Chris Pruden/Leland Whitty] / Wenona Lodge 2020-02-11 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Long Winter 8.4 (feat. Mil-Spec / Korydor / Laps / Tallies / Isla Craig / Hua Li / Backxwash / Witchrot / Scorpio Rising / Lavender Bruisers / Tongue Patrol) / Workman Arts 2019-02-21 (Friday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Mark Morgan / Carl Didur / New Tendencies) / Burdock Music Hall 2020-02-22 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Sweetest Noise: A Birthday Celebration of Justin Haynes (feat. TBA) / Hugh's Room 2020-02-24 (Monday) [more info]

Art of the Uncarved Block presents (feat. Chris [record release!] / Tang / Poor You / Poolblood) / Owl's Club 2019-03-05 (Thursday) [FB event]

Sunday Playlist #47

Sunday Playlist #47: In memoriam Pete Carmichael

It was a shock this week to hear of Pete Carmichael's sudden passing. Pete was someone I knew first as a musician — The Diableros were more or less rock stars in my book, and when I started recording shows, they were the sort of local group that I thought needed to be documented. Fortunately, I had my gear by the time the group were playing around for their last EP.

I remember back in Stillepost days, Pete would often say "bootleggers welcome at our show!" when promoting his gigs, so my first contact was indeed me getting in touch to offer a recording (from the first show in this playlist) back to him. He was always gracious and thankful for that. At some point after that we met in person — we were going to the same sort of Optical Sounds psych-pop shows in that period. After Diableros ended, I was around as he built toward something new (like that rare acoustic show at St. Stephen-In-The-Fields) that ended up becoming The Whirly Birds. I saw that band several times as they built up their sound and repertoire, and I was always sad that the project seemingly fell apart in that sort of heartbreak phase where there was stuff recorded but no longer the will to put it out. To remind folks of what-might-have-been, I'm sharing a full Whirly Birds set here today. (link — in case your browser doesn't like the embed below)

There was also the relatively short-lived project The Green Ray/Green Rays which hewed to more of a Nuggets-style template, but offered some rough-and-ready fun. I have no inside info as to what happened there, but the band's existence has been mostly scrubbed (I seem to recall there were a few demos online at some point that're now long gone). Digging through the archive this week, I found a set from the group playing the Dundas West Fest in the parking lot across from The Garrison, so I'm sharing one of Pete's tunes from that set for the first time here. And closing things out, maybe it's best to end with a celebration, so I'm sharing the full set from The Diableros' 10th anniversary reunion show, where they played You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts in full. (link — in case your browser doesn't like the embed below)

Like so many people that I knew from the rock scenes, I can't say I knew Pete very closely — something that happens when the bulk of your interactions with a person come in loud bars. We would chat a bit out back at The Silver Dollar, and when I was having my back problems, I remember having a couple more substantial conversations with Pete about that, and about dealing with chronic pain (something I gathered that he knew far too much about).

Pete was generally kind and well spoken, often chatting with a bit of a sly smile. He showed up at his friends' gigs — sometimes even behind the mixing desk, as I recall seeing him at The Boat. He was a very careful craftsman in the way he constructed his songs, but he didn't let that search for perfection spoil the glorious imperfections of a band playing on stage. He had lately been working on some cool new songs, and it's a shame we won't hear the culmination of that project. It's a shame not to have him in our community. May his songs and his kindnesses be remembered.

Here's a few sounds from the archive to keep those memories alive:

The Diableros - Heavy Hands

• Recorded at Sneaky Dee's (Pitter Patter Festival), May 30, 2009.

The Diableros - Push it to Monday

• Recorded at The Boat, October 16, 2009.

Pete Carmichael - unknown

• Recorded at St. Stephen-In-The-Fields Church, November 13, 2010.

The Whirly Birds - Here to Stay

• Recorded at Handlebar (Crosswires), April 14, 2013.

Pete Carmichael and Co. - Dead Flowers

• Recorded at The Great Hall (A Night of Covers: A Celebration of Chris Levoir), July 4, 2013.

The Green Ray - He Don't Care

• Recorded at Bovine Sex Club, January 24, 2014.

Green Rays - Terror Eyes

• Recorded at Lakeview Stage (Dundas West Fest), June 7, 2014.

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Sunday Playlist is a semi-regular feature that brings back some of this blog's previously-posted original live recordings for an encore. You can always click the tags below to see what I originally wrote about the shows these songs came from.

Recording: Allemano/Clutton/Howard/West

Artist: Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Blake Howard/Brodie West

Song: [set 1 excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 18, 2019.

Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Blake Howard/Brodie West - [set 1 excerpt]

Four conscriptees thrown together to cover an absent Josh Cole's regular slot, this leaderless quartet took a bit of time to tear themselves away from The Southern Cross' convivial atmosphere and wrangle themselves on stage. Once going, there was a similar musical scuffling as the musicians found a place together. Blake Howard, who has recently been deploying a sort of picnic blanket of broken cymbals as his main percussive weapon, was a guiding force here, offering a clatterfest of knocking and banging as a context for Alemano and West's horns. Once things settled into place, there was everything from psychedelic freakouts to stereophonic drones on offer.

Recording: No Octopus Dancing Holiday Bash Orchestra

Artist: No Octopus Dancing Holiday Bash Orchestra

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (No Octopus Dancing Holiday Bash), December 18, 2019.

No Octopus Dancing Holiday Bash Orchestra - [set 1, excerpt 1]

No Octopus Dancing Holiday Bash Orchestra - [set 1, excerpt 2]

Allison Cameron, Mark Zurawinski and Germaine Liu used this holiday-adjacent instalment of their Tranzac residency to bring a big ol' band of friends and collaborators up on stage, seeing them joined by Kurt Newman (guit), Dan Pencer (toy saxophone + electronics), Mike Smith (bass), D. Alex Meeks (percussion), and Matti Pulkki (accordion). Scratchy warbles, walkman tootles and bell samples shared space with a variety of percussive ratataps — but this large agglomeration still managed to work mostly in quieter zones instead of just heaping sounds on top of sounds.

Recording: Coin Operated Duo

Artist: Coin Operated Duo

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 78), December 14, 2019.

Coin Operated Duo - [first piece]

With winter weather and bugs going around, this night of self-curated trios became a series of duos — giving the performers in each set a bit more room to stretch out. This final set of the night was actually a duo by choice, with curator Mike Lynn bringing along guitarist Ryan Kinney for more explorations from their Coin Operated Duo project. Stringed instruments as percussion instruments, ping pong balls bouncing around and lemur tails as preparations were all involved.

You can also watch visual documentation of this full set over at Audiopollination's youtube channel:

[Audiopollination will be back at Array Space on Saturday, February 8th, with some more fabulous/spontaneous sounds.]

Recording: Neil Wiernik & Cayce Fischer

Artist: Neil Wiernik & Cayce Fischer

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 78), December 14, 2019.

Neil Wiernik & Cayce Fischer - [excerpt]

With winter weather and bugs going around, this night of self-curated trios became a series of duos — giving the performers in each set a bit more room to stretch out. This pairing matched drones and modular synth sounds from Neil Wiernik (who records as naw) & Cayce Fischer (whose solo project is Autotectonic) with cameo appearances from bells and birds.

You can also watch visual documentation of this full set over at Audiopollination's youtube channel:

[Audiopollination will be back at Array Space on Saturday, February 8th, with some more fabulous/spontaneous sounds.]

Recording: Heraclitus Akimbo & Lapis Lion

Artist: Heraclitus Akimbo & Lapis Lion

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 78), December 14, 2019.

Heraclitus Akimbo & Lapis Lion - [excerpt]

With winter weather and bugs going around, this night of self-curated trios became a series of duos — giving the performers in each set a bit more room to stretch out. This pairing matched series first-timer Lapis Lion's singing bowls with some electronic manipulations and drones from Heraclitus Akimbo.

You can also watch visual documentation of this full set over at Audiopollination's youtube channel:

[Audiopollination will be back at Array Space on Saturday, February 8th, with some more fabulous/spontaneous sounds.]

photo by ideas_dept.

Recording: Mira Martin-Gray & Brian Abbott

Artist: Mira Martin-Gray & Brian Abbott

Song: [excerpt from 1st piece]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination 78), December 14, 2019.

Mira Martin-Gray & Brian Abbott - [excerpt from 1st piece]

With winter weather and bugs going around, this night of self-curated trios became a series of duos — giving the performers in each set a bit more room to stretch out. This fax machine meet-up matched Mira Martin-Gray's no-input mixer sounds with Brian Abbott's guitar — the latter also showing off his mastery of the BOSS Phase Shifter.

You can also watch visual documentation of this full set over at Audiopollination's youtube channel:

[Brian Abbott will be playing in another duo — alongside percussionist Tomasz Krakowiak — at a Faster-presented night at Gerrard Art Space on Saturday, February 1st. Audiopollination will be back at Array Space on Saturday, February 8th, with some more fabulous/spontaneous sounds.]

Recording: Fisher/Crosby/Cartwright

Artist: Colin Fisher/Ted Crosby/Evan Cartwright

Song: [set 2, first piece]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 13, 2019.

Colin Fisher/Ted Crosby/Evan Cartwright - [set 2, first piece]

This trio was testing out the space and structures within some new compositions — this one, I believe, from Colin Fisher, who was on guitar for the set.

[This group will be appearing together again at The Tranzac tonight (Wednesday, January 22nd) alongside a quartet led by bassist Ben Dwyer.]

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

Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: No. 7 (Nilan)^*

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 8, 2019.

Dun Dun Band - No. 7 (Nilan)

The Dun-Dun Band ("rapidly becoming the Dun-Dun Symphonetta," commented host Nilan Perera) was rolling nine deep on this night, with composer/caller/guitarist Craig Dunsmuir being joined by a three-piece sax section (Ted Crosby, Karen Ng, and Colin Fisher) and a back-line rhythm factory composed of Mike Smith (synth), Blake Howard (percussion), Jay Anderson (synth percussion), Josh Cole (bass), and Kurt Newman (guitar). As always, the intricate pattern-pieces created a rich stereophonic soundfield and plenty deep groovin'.

^* Title updated! Thanks to Craig!

Recording: Mira Martin-Gray & Kieran Maraj

Artist: Mira Martin-Gray & Kieran Maraj

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 8, 2019.

Mira Martin-Gray & Kieran Maraj - [excerpt]

This instalment of the Nilan Perera-curated SynapticSundays opened with a rare non no-input mixer outing from Mira Martin-Gray, deploying laptop and vocal mic to complement Kieran Maraj's computer setup. The combination turned out to be something of a mini radiophonic workshop, with slurping samples and breath-sounds sliding around in wide, bouncing stereo — at times, sounding like a Carl Stalling soundtrack to a Bergman film.

Concert Listings Roundup #337

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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This week's noteworthy shows:

Oval Window Music presents (feat. Colin Hinton/ Joe Sorbara / Florid [Bea Labikova/Edwin Sheard/Olivia Short/Naomi McCarroll-Butler]) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-01-20 (Monday – early!) [FB event]

Reset 2 [performing works by George Antheil and Steve Reich] (feat. University of Toronto Percussion Ensemble) / University of Toronto – MacMillan Theatre 2020-01-20 (Monday) [FB event]

Trio SimoVes [Simone Baron/Bob Vespaziani/Cheryl O] / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-21 (Tuesday – early set, 6 to 8 p.m.!) [FB event]

Music Hosted by Karen Ng (feat. Justin Orok / So Sue Me [Alex Lukashevsky/Evan Cartwright/Mike Overton/Ryan Driver]) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Golden Star Garden Trio [Brian Abbott/Colin Hinton/Tom Weeks] (Mute Swan Quartet [Andrew Furlong/Colin Hinton/Kayla Milmine/Chris Pruden]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Ryokan Blues Band [Luke Kuplowsky/Alex Lukashevsky/Felicity Williams/Josh Cole/Evan Cartwright/Phil Melanson] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-22 (Wednesday – early!)

Karen Ng Presents (feat. Ben Dwyer / Colin Fisher/Evan Cartwright/Ted Crosby) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-04-22 (Wednesday)

Riparian Acoustics presents (feat. Rebecca Bruton / Ways) / Canadian Music Centre 2020-01-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Hélène Barbier (Motorists / Elrichman) / The Boat 2020-01-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Music By Harry and Furlong S2E4 (feat. Patrick O'Reilly/Andrew Furlong / Harry Vetro/Emily Steinwall/Nick Arseneau) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-23 (Thursday) [FB event]

Dispersion Relation #5 (feat. Doug Van Nort with guest Michael Palumbo) / Dispersion Lab 2020-01-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Clara Engel (Chanteclair / within) / Owl's Club (basement)2019-01-24 (Friday) [FB event]

Death Instinct (feat. Processor / Esther Splett) / Houndstooth 2020-01-24 (Friday – no cover!) [FB event]

CCMC / Array Space 2020-01-24 (Friday)

Ziibiwan [Giizis album release!] (Phèdre / Melody McKiver) / The Music Gallery 2019-01-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Convergence Theory (feat. Xuan Ye / Adam Scime / Emilie LeBel) / Victory Social Club 2020-01-25 (Saturday) [FB event]

Four New Works [new works by Martin Arnold, James Lowrie, Barbara Monk Feldman, and Germaine Liu] (feat. Array Ensemble) / Array Space 2020-02-25 (Saturday) [more info]

TIO Celebrates 2, 3, 4 [duos, trios and quartets] (feat. Toronto Improvisors Orchestra) / Array Space 2020-01-26 (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!

Furniture Music: Duos Night #2 (feat. Patrick O'Reilly & Meghan Gillespie / Brittany Craig & Dan Pitt / Bea Labikova & Yunjin Claire Lee) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

The Queer Songbook Orchestra [video shoot!] / Gladstone Hotel – Ballroom 2020-01-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-28 (Tuesday) [FB event]

What Now? We Wait. [debut performance, featuring "improv trashy funky dancey music"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-29 (Wednesday – early!)

Circadian (Max Donaldson) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Lunar New Year Concert (feat. Tiger Balme & Hiroki Tanaka) / Burdock Music Hall 2020-01-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Nite Comfort 76 (feat. Annacetaminophen, New Tendencies) / Handlebar 2020-02-02 (Sunday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Rat-drifting I (feat. Karen Ng [solo!] / Karen Ng/Phil Melanson/Chris Willes) / Array Space 2020-02-02 (Sunday) [FB event]

Harry Bartlett's Sweetland [Mingjia Jessica Chen/Madeleine Ertel/Harry Bartlett/Caleb Klager/Harry Vetro] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-02-04 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #59 (feat. Claire Yunjin Lee / Tidal Pool / Pete Johnston 4 [Lina Allemano/Michael Davidson/Pete Johnston/Jake Oelrichs]) / Wenona Lodge 2020-02-04 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Audiopollination 79 (feat. Paul Newman/Dan Pitt/Maggie Keogh / Dimitar Pentchev/Michael Palumbo/Brittany Craig / Raphael Roter/Bea Labikova/Claire Yunjin Lee / MJ Wright/Sterling MacKenzie) / Array Space 2020-02-08 (Saturday) [FB event]

No Frills ($keleton Club / Condo / Raymans) / Monarch Tavern 2020-02-21 (Friday) [FB event]

Duniya Salaam (feat. Baaba Maal) / Aga Khan Museum 2020-02-21–2020-02-22 (Friday–Saturday) [FB event]

Young Guv (BLANKS / The Fact) / The Garrison 2020-02-28 (Friday) [FB event]

Michael C. Duguay (Steven Lambke) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-03-13 (Friday) [FB event]

TONE Presents (feat. CP Unit / Luge) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-03-20 (Friday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Dave Phillips / Death Kneel / Fleshtone Aura) / Burdock Music Hall 2020-03-24 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Nat Baldwin / Charles Spearin / Sandro Perri) / Burdock Music Hall 2020-03-29 (Sunday) [FB event]

Charlotte Cornfield / The Drake Underground 2020-04-04 (Friday) [FB event]

U.S. Girls / The Great Hall 2020-05-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Recording: Ghostlight

Artist: Ghostlight

Song: Memories of Time #3 [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 4, 2019.

Ghostlight - Memories of Time #3 [excerpt]

Another change-of-season gathering for psychedelic collective Ghostlight, turning a shoulder to winter's chill with another series of loosely-structured jams, poems and other observations.

Recording: Daniel Pencer

Artist: Daniel Pencer

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #57), December 3, 2019.

Daniel Pencer - [second piece]

When I invited Daniel Pencer to play TCB, I thought that might result in some electronic midi confusion; instead, Pencer went in the other direction, performing a stripped-back set for solo sax. This turned out to be a fully-satisfying idea, and, by his own confession, rather a rarity for him. Reaching back behind him to dim the lights before playing, his thoughts in sound had plenty plaintive and lyrical zones.

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday, February 4th, featuring sets from Claire Yunjin Lee, Tidal Pool and the Pete Johnston 4.]

Recording: No Angels Dancing

Artist: No Angels Dancing

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #57), December 3, 2019.

No Angels Dancing - [excerpt 1]

No Angels Dancing - [excerpt 2]

This band name might not redound through the annals of local music history, but it was important to me. Although No Angels Dancing mostly existed as a few seasons of a Sunday afternoon Tranzac residency, issued no official recordings and garnered some scattered blog coverage, watching Allison Cameron and D. Alex Meeks (later joined by Stephen Parkinson) perform taught me some things 'bout friendship and experimentalism. The project lost steam when Meeks headed out of town for school, but I was delighted when Cameron pitched this reunion when I asked her to bring something to TCB.

Always engaged with the continuous process of musical invention, it was no surprise that this set didn't look back to any sort of "core sound", offering something that was unlike any other set from the pair. Taking advantage of the venue's piano, Cameron doubled up on ukulele and also brought along a Tenori-on, while Meeks contributed his clockwork percussion as well as some cracklebox interludes. Getting the band back together was a good idea; hopefully there will be more to follow.

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday, February 4th, featuring sets from Claire Yunjin Lee, Tidal Pool and the Pete Johnston 4.]

Recording: Patrick O'Reilly

Artist: Patrick O'Reilly

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #57), December 3, 2019.

Patrick O'Reilly - [excerpt 1]

Patrick O'Reilly - [excerpt 2]

Well-known as an expert guitar-wrangler (especially with his trusty 16 Second Delay at the ready), Patrick O'Reilly took an exploratory step here, presenting to the public his experiments in modular synthesis for the first time. Starting with roar-whirs and ticking sounds, increasing density collapsed into scattered bloops and the rumbling menace of a game of Centipede.

[Next Thursday (January 23rd), Patrick O'Reilly will be playing a duo set (on guitar, not synth) with Andrew Furlong. Track Could Bend is back at Wenona on Tuesday, February 4th, featuring sets from Claire Yunjin Lee, Tidal Pool and the Pete Johnston 4.]

Recording: C.R. Gillespie

Artist: C.R. Gillespie

Songs: two unknown titles^*

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 74), December 1, 2019.

C.R. Gillespie - unknown

A bit of heaviness was in the air on this night with news freshly-circulating that Kensington's Handlebar had been sold, leaving the communities that have gathered there in limbo — even more of a shock as Nite Comfort's Aaron Dawson had just announced Leucrocuta's Laura Dickens as a new co-curator, bringing fresh energy and ideas to the series. At this writing, the future is unclear, as there have been some indications that the new owners plan to keep the venue "as is" rather than institute any wholesale changes — but nothing is written in stone. (Keep an eye out on Nite Comfort's FB group for further dispatches, and get out and support the series while you can.)

Previously best known in these parts as the bassist in local rock unit Greys, Colin Roy Gillespie has been expanding his practice as an ambient soundscapist for the past couple years. With pastoral field recordings and planetarium-worthy drift, there's a lot of spaciousness to his work, but also a firm sense of compositional shaping.

[Nite Comfort will be back at Handlebar on Sunday, February 2nd!]

^* Does anyone know the title(s) to this/these? (I think it's one piece that segues into a second.) Please leave a comment!

Recording: Colin Fisher

Artist: Colin Fisher

Song: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 74), December 1, 2019.

Colin Fisher - [excerpt, part 1]

Colin Fisher - [excerpt, part 2]

A bit of heaviness was in the air on this night with news freshly-circulating that Kensington's Handlebar had been sold, leaving the communities that have gathered there in limbo — even more of a shock as Nite Comfort's Aaron Dawson had just announced Leucrocuta's Laura Dickens as a new co-curator, bringing fresh energy and ideas to the series. At this writing, the future is unclear, as there have been some indications that the new owners plan to keep the venue "as is" rather than institute any wholesale changes — but nothing is written in stone. (Keep an eye out on Nite Comfort's FB group for further dispatches, and get out and support the series while you can.)

This had been a snowy/rainy/ice pellet-y day, but not too bad by eveningtime — and definitely not the worst I've trudged through to see Colin Fisher play. In the spirit of the series, this was Fisher at his most "electronic", using a deep knowledge of his pedalboard to create a wide range of textures and sonic manipulations, the guitar rippling and pinging and the saxophone bubbling, buzzing and speaking in multiple voices at once. Plus, the mind-expanding textures were enhanced by Ilyse Krivel's live visuals, colours and patterns melting across the screen and the musician in front of it.

[Colin Fisher will be playing tonight (Tuesday, January 14th) at Wenona Lodge, alongside Mark Zurawinksi, Mike DeiCont and Andrew Furlong. Nite Comfort will be back at Handlebar on Sunday, February 2nd!]

Concert Listings Roundup #336

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:

Remembering Arachnidiscs (Label Memorial and Album Launch) (feat. Heraclitus Akimbo & Beard Closet / Eiyn Sof & Dark Bird / M. Mucci/Khôra/Totenbaum Träger / The BABEL Ensemble [Jakob Rehlinger/Kayla Milmine/Matthew Fava/M. Mucci/Dominic Marion/Eiyn Sof/Roan Bateman]) / Array Space 2020-01-19 (Sunday – early show, doors @ 5:30! all ages + family-friendly!) [FB event]

A bittersweet occasion, but definitely one deserving a celebration, Jakob Rehlinger has wound up operations of his Arachnidiscs label after twenty years. Both a personal odyssey and a reflection of the milieux he has travelled through, the label continuously evolved while staying true to its core mission of "music by and for weirdos". To mark the occasion, several label alumni are joining together in one-off duos and trios, plus the event will also serve as a belated release celebration for the label's swan-song, the ambitious Thirteen Exquisite Corpses, which saw Rehlinger secretly create group responses to his drones from individually-solicited musical responses — creating community seemingly despite himself one more time.

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Dan Pitt Quintet [Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Patrick Smith/Dan Pitt/Alex Fournier/Stefan Hegerat] / The Emmet Ray 2020-01-13 (Monday) [FB event]

Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio [Gordon Grdina/Matt Mitchell/Jim Black] / The Rex Hotel 2020-01-13 (Monday) [FB event]

Ornate Presents (feat. Mingjia [solo] / Harry Bartlett's Sweetland [Harry Bartlett/Madeline Ertel/Mingjia Chen/Harry Vetro/Caleb Klager]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-14 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Mic Touching (feat. Bit By Bit [Evan Cartwright] / Chris Worden & Karen Ng / Chris Worden [comedy]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-14 (Tuesday)

Jazz and Otherwise Improvised Musics [final show of the series!] (feat. Diane Roblin/Kayla Milmine and Fishwinki/DeiLong [Colin Fisher/Mark Zurawinksi/Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong]) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-14 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Octopus Presents (feat. Nilan Perera / Microtonal gong sho [Sarah Peebles/Brian Abbott/Germaine Liu/Mark Zurawinski]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-15 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Lina Allemano/Karen Ng/Blake Howard/Josh Cole / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2020-01-15 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Innermost Songs [new works by Emilie LeBel, Daniel Brandes, Kotoka Suzuki, Patrick Giguère, James O'Callaghan, Monica Pearce, Anna Hostman] (feat. Cheryl Duvall) / Canadian Music Centre 2019-01-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Blessings [Robin Dann/Thom Gill/Josh Cole/Phil Melanson + special guest Ryan Driver] / The Gladstone Hotel 2020-01-16 (Thursday – two sets! no cover!) [FB event]

Matthew "Doc" Dunn (Lavender Bruisers / Mr. Joy) / The Baby G 2020-01-16 (Thursday) [FB event]

Frequencies (feat. Soft Matter / Obuxum / Bad Gateway / Jeia) / Handlebar 2020-01-16 (Thursday – PWYC!) [FB event]

21C Festival (feat. Laurie Anderson) / Koerner Hall 2020-01-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Class of 2020 (feat. Luna Li / Roach / Basement Revolver / Spirit Josh / Ducks Unlimited) / Monarch Tavern 2020-01-18 (Saturday) [FB event]

Winter Matinee Residency (feat. Ronley Teper and The Lipliners) / The Dakota Tavern 2020-04-19 (Sunday – 3 to 5 p.m.! All ages, kids are free!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Lake Affect [Ashley Urquhart/Alex Fournier]) / The Emmet Ray 2020-01-19 (Sunday)

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Add these to your calendar:

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

Music Hosted by Karen Ng (feat. Justin Orok / So Sue Me [Alex Lukashevsky/Evan Cartwright/Mike Overton/Ryan Driver]) / Wenona Lodge 2020-01-21 (Tuesday) [FB event]

MAW: A Community Celebration of the Vocal Arts (feat. Rebecca Bruton / Heaby Medal / Catherine Crowe / Laurel MacDonald / Anna Atkinson / Martin Julien / Shaina Asambong / Ophira Calof) / The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2020-01-27 (Monday) [FB event]

Twist (Bernice / Moscow Apartment) / Paradise Theatre 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Scott Hardware (Lee Paradise / Soft Matter) / The Boat 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

Therapy: Sessions {series relaunch!] (feat. Tara Kannangara / Merival / JESSA) / B-side Lounge 2020-01-30 (Thursday) [FB event]

When Did Transparency Become So Opaque? [panel discussion and performance, curated by Olivia Shortt] (feat. Carly Gordon and ASL+ Opera Project) / The Music Gallery 2020-02-02 (Sunday – PWYW!) [FB event]

WHOOP-Szo (Gloin / Sportsfan) / The Baby G 2020-03-05 (Thursday) [FB event]

Night Owl Festival presents (feat. Teke::Teke / Bonnie Trash) / The Drake Underground 2020-02-07 (Friday) [FB event]

Recording: Labikova/Merriam/Liu/Swankey

Artist: Bea Labikova/Kathryn Merriam/Germaine Liu/Laura Swankey

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), November 30, 2019.

Bea Labikova/Kathryn Merriam/Germaine Liu/Laura Swankey - [excerpt]

This evening started out with some harp-based songcraft from Kathryn Merriam before veering off into improvised realms. Re-assembling most of that group de-centered the harp, giving equal weight to Bea Labikova's sax and effects, Germaine Liu's percussive bricabrac and Laura Swankey's vocals.

Recording: Odradek

Artist: Odradek

Song: [excerpt from 1st piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), November 30, 2019.

Odradek - [excerpt from 1st piece]

This trio of Andy Yue, Michelangelo Iaffaldano, and James Bailey were regulars on the local improvised music circuit a few years back, but hadn't played a gig together for five or six years. Unsurprisingly for a grouping with some voracious sonic explorers, there was no attempt made to play what/how they used to play, so this set saw Yue on keyb, Bailey on trumpet and saxophone and Iaffaldano on a delicate construction of SK-1 and phone samples — at least until something went sideways there, forcing him to improvise with voice and whatever else could be found near at hand.

Recording: Kathryn Merriam

Artist: Kathryn Merriam

Song: Lens

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), November 30, 2019.

Kathryn Merriam - Lens

This evening started out with some harp-based songcraft from Kathryn Merriam before veering off into improvised realms. The "song" set saw her accompanied by Patrick O'Reilly on guitar/effects, and on a few numbers they were embellished by Laura Swankey's vocalizations, Bea Labikova's winds, and Germaine Liu's picnic blanket of percussive implements, embroidering additional atmospheres to Merriam's evocative songs.

Recording: Sarah Albu & Mári Mákó

Artist: Sarah Albu & Mári Mákó

Song: SHIFT [excerpt]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (Emergents I), November 24, 2019.

Sarah Albu & Mári Mákó - SHIFT [excerpt]

Emergents series curator Sara Constant got this season's first edition going with an engaging night of experimental sounds. This pairing's electroacoustic explorations mixed folksong fragments with electronic noise textures, voices rising together to the roofbeams buoyed by static waves.

[The Emergents series continues with a night of sounds from Montréal-based soloists collective Bakarlari, playing in Toronto for the first time on Sunday, March 1st.]