Monday, April 27, 2020

Concert Listings Roundup #351

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.


Special note:

For the past six-and-a-half years, I've faithfully been cranking out these listings every Monday. Because of the unprecedented situation we now find ourselves in, this week's listings remain blank. Stay safe and sheltered.


Livestream nation:

  • The Music Gallery at Home series continues tonight at 7 p.m. with history (featuring Dr. Trichy Sankaran, in conversation with Suba Sankaran), and on Friday with music (Suzanne Kite interpreting Xuan Ye's "Even a Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut Once in a While" and other pieces).
  • Michael Palumbo's Exit Points electroacoustic improvisation series is heading online. Wednesday night sees two group collaborations with Gayle Young, Patrick O'Reilly, Michael Lynn and Michael Palumbo in the first and Paul Stillwell, Diane Roblin and Pouya Hamidi in the second. Details at the facebook event or on Palumbo's site.

Bandcamp corner:

  • Don't forget that Bandcamp is once more waiting their revenue share on purchases made on Friday! It'll be a great time to support the artists you dig!

Friday, April 24, 2020

Pause and Reconsider: {AN} Eel

While live music is on pause, I've asked some friends of MFS to dig through the archives and put together a playlist of some things I've posted that have registered with them in one way or another — contextualizing blurbs preferred but not required. Expect to see a variety of different takes and approaches as the playlists get posted — and hopefully we'll all be reminded of some cool things that have happened in the past.

The first playlist is from Neal D Retke, who records as {AN} Eel. He is a performer of spontaneous sound explosions — and also an inveterate community builder, bringing the tape art ethos into the digital age while bringing together musicians from across the world to commuicate together.


Well, I had to stop and catch my breath for a moment before writing these words - I had a lot to say about something else, but as the wags in the industry said - I've “ Pulled Focus “ to change subjects quite a bit -

First, some context & background. My name is Neal but I perform & create art & events under the moniker of {AN} Eel, which obviously you are clever enough to grasp the deep & profound meaning of. I've been a fan of experimental music for decades now, but in 2011 I started to perform & play music live, something I'd not done since the 1900s ( Remember them ? ) and in the time that I've been back doing this, I've gotten deeper into organizing live shows & events as both a practical matter and a way of creating or deepening a sense of community - I've been very fortunate in having been in a wide range of areas with very different views & approaches to the whole of live music ( Not just the little experimental cubby-hole that I live in ) - The apogee of this could arguably be said to have been my organizing & performing in the ECLEC-TIC -TOC festival, in July of 2017 - James Bailey was the first performer in this festival, so let's start out with him -

James Bailey - Repent, Harlequin [excerpt]

One of the weird things about arranging live music is the relationship to the audience - This becomes a lot more complicated in terms of experimental music - I feel like the audience must go over halfway in meeting the performer, as the sounds themselves are often of a challenging nature - Sometimes very quiet ( Or total silence ) - Sometimes quite abrasive. This is actually one of the things that draws me most to it - Very little junk food here, no “ Ditties “ or pre-fabricated selling points - Of course, all music has it's weaknesses and its strong points, but I feel like the active nature of listening to this stuff ( Live or recorded ) adds a little extra sauce to the affair, a bit of spice

Knurl - [excerpt]

For me, music is never self contained - It is very rare for me not to have some sort of reaction to music, positive or negative - I feel sorry for the sounds when it does happen. But I think that's because music connects deeply in me, and I feel in many of us - True, in a lot of cases, there's people who just think of music at “ Appropriate “ times, special events ( Dunno - Elevators, Supermarkets - Editorial bias here ) but with few exceptions, I think it's a big neural connector to something that can and often does transcend the mundane, the day to day -

Mkl32 - [excerpt]

Spiritual malarky aside, I also think of what a great social organizing tool it is - How many of us have a lot of our personal identity tied into whatever music / genre / band etc. we hold dear - I think the deeper one gets into this, the more this becomes true - When one crosses the bridge to performing, this becomes even more pronounced, more distinct - It becomes vital and perhaps blown out of context - But that's a very human reaction, and socializing & identity are such human constraints - Think of how many pivotal moments in your life have a song, a soundtrack - It's impact is depend when those sounds come from collaborators, or event friends - It's a profound thing.

Moth Ash - [excerpt]

And here we go. - I was going to write a bit about the changing landscape of performances, but recent current events have blown all of that out of the water. In my view, there has been a eradication of D.I.Y. culture & the type of venues that cater to these sorts of things - There has been economic pressure as well as shifts in political & social attitudes around this - A Number of years ago, the Ghost Ship fire in CA. added to a tone of these places being undesirable, an eyesore or worse public menace. I also feel like we're in an era where curiosity & acceptance have been replaced to a large extent with suspicion & paranoia - There's a lot of changes, to be sure -

Ben Grossman/cheryl o/Barry Prophet - [excerpt]

One thing, however, that I think will never change - We are social animals. We love communicating, interacting with each other - History has shown us that music ( Especially in a context of movement & socializing ) can lead to a deepening of the shared experience, how many of us wouldn't like to have entrance music ? How many of us haven't been stopped in our tracks by a sound or a song triggering a particularly emotional memory ? I'm not a scientist, but from what I've seen and from what I feel, it's hard wired into us - So let me close on this -

No One Receiving Duo - [excerpt]

I've never been in a position to think of this as “ Work “ or any sort of profit - Even the handful of professional musicians I know of ( Some of whom Are by most standards quite successful ) have passion as a primary influence. Sure, the life of a gigging musician can be monotonous & droll, but when it comes to the music, it always starts from a place of passion. Whatever pragmatic or Capital based concerns seem to fall a couple of rungs down the latter in view of such passion - It's the prime mover so to speak - The main motivator -

Valerie Kuehne - Nootropics

I want to tell you a story - To me, it's a funny one - Years ago, I was driving cross country with a friend - I'd received a horrible Xmas gift, it was a small cardinal statue which created an obnoxious 8-bit twittering whenever it moved. At the onset of the trip, we'd joked a bit about how if we were in accident the little bird would be the last left standing and chirping away in our funeral silence - You see where I'm going with this right ? Sure enough, we'd lost to a mid-western winter and ended up sliding on a median & belly up in a ditch - In the immediate aftermaths ( After a quick check list to dissipate the shock & ensure no serious injury ) sure enough the damned bird was warbling away - I can't speak for my friend but I know in my case, it was a comfort - I think I even laughed out loud -

I feel like that's where we are now - Whatever happens, no matter how bad it gets, People will keep making music. People will keep enjoying music - maybe we can't socialize around live shows - maybe we never will again ! If that happens, we'll bond over shared interests, argue about silly and trivial details concerning our music and of course, every once and a while dance like nobody's watching. Because maybe now that will be true - maybe there will be nobody to watch. I believe music has the power to heal, and without going to deep into it, I think a lot of that power comes from our interconnectedness with music - Our shared ear, so to speak.

So Rock Out, Dance on. Shake your Tail-Feather, Tickle those Ivories - We are here, I hear you & we're all in this together.

Be good to each other & stay safe.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Flexion / Reflection

So, a few days ago I posted the last recordings I had in my queue. At long last, I'm caught up!

The issue now, of course, is if and when there will be more recordings to post. It doesn't feel like it's going to be any time soon, especially as I think about the possibilities of having safe spaces (in a different sense than we usually mean) in the sort of venues I frequent. Are shows possible — never mind desirable — under the conditions that might be possible as things are eased off? How many people could you actually put in the Southern Cross or Wenona Lodge's basement if people were separated six feet in each direction? Would you actually want to go to a bar and — what — stand in a rigid grid two meters away from everyone else?

Anyway, it's all to say it's unclear how things are going to be in the months ahead. And unclear what I'll feel like doing. With a nice break to putter around in life's other avenues, maybe I won't feel the need to head out to so many shows in the future. Which isn't to say things here are going to end, but maybe they won't be as they were — I feel less like I'm at a cliff than at a height of land, looking at different terrain in front of me.

And in the meantime, without new material to post, there will be some opportunities to dip into the archives. Starting tomorrow, some friends of MFS will be sharing playlists of tracks from the blog that have mattered to them in one way or another, so at least we can remember the ways that we have been connected and affected.

Monday, April 20, 2020

Concert Listings Roundup #350

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.


Special note:

For the past six-and-a-half years, I've faithfully been cranking out these listings every Monday. Because of the unprecedented situation we now find ourselves in, this week's listings remain blank. Stay safe and sheltered.


Livestream nation:

  • The Music Gallery at Home series continues tonight at 7 p.m. with history (featuring Juliet Palmer in conversation with Laura Stanley), and on Friday with music (Naomi McCarroll-Butler interpreting Xuan Ye's "Even a Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut Once in a While" and other pieces).
  • On Sunday (April 26th) Cheryl Duvall will be live-streaming an hour of water-inspired piano solos by Emilie LeBel, Kotoka Suzuki and Anna Hostman as part of the #CanadaPerforms concert series. (It'll be going down on the National Arts Centre's page.)

Bandcamp corner:

  • Guelph's hurdy-gurdy master Ben Grossman is soundtracking our strange times with an album of Isolation Etudes, a "series of improvisations hastily recorded, un-edited, one take, trying to capture some of the various states during the spring of 2020".
  • Jeff Sinibaldi (most often seen in live performance in these parts adding sounds to Del Stephen's performances) has a new collection from his Sick Days project, a low-key bricolage mixing field recordings, reverse delay, percussion and contact mic experiments into some pleasing rumbles.
  • Released just before the Change In Things, Lina Allemano's solo Glimmer Glammer album offers an inventive mix of "trumpet, mutes & materials" in a series of joyful, spontaneous sound celebrations.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Recording: Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrock

Artist: Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrock

Song: unknown*

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (Women From Space Festival – Night 4), March 8, 2020.

Kris Davis & Ingrid Laubrock - unknown

After spending three nights at the cozier Burdock, Women From Space wrapped up its second festival on International Women's Day, moving to the more expansive surroundings at 918 Bathurst — and it packed the place out for a triumphant conclusion. In retrospect, this was for many of us "the last big night out", the last night when hugs and handshakes were exchanged without reserve. The words "social distancing" had been uttered, but they were still an abstraction, compared to say, sharing a piece of cake or lingering with a group of friends. It is possible that these things might be thinkable again when International Women's Day rolls around again next year — one can only hope that Kayla Milmine and Bea Labikova get a chance to build upon the success of this year's festival.

The festival closed out with some big-name internationally touring headliners, although pianist Kris Davis and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock have plenty of local Toronto connections. Their duo pieces moved from dense clusters to slowly-building harmonies, but I was most mesmerized by the beguiling drone, featuring some e-bowed piano string work from Davis.

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

Recording: Labikova/Parker/Liu

Artist: Bea Labikova/William Parker/Germaine Liu

Song: [first section]

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (Women From Space Festival – Night 4), March 8, 2020.

Bea Labikova/William Parker/Germaine Liu - [first section]

After spending three nights at the cozier Burdock, Women From Space wrapped up its second festival on International Women's Day, moving to the more expansive surroundings at 918 Bathurst — and it packed the place out for a triumphant conclusion. In retrospect, this was for many of us "the last big night out", the last night when hugs and handshakes were exchanged without reserve. The words "social distancing" had been uttered, but they were still an abstraction, compared to say, sharing a piece of cake or lingering with a group of friends. It is possible that these things might be thinkable again when International Women's Day rolls around again next year — one can only hope that Kayla Milmine and Bea Labikova get a chance to build upon the success of this year's festival.

Leveraging the festival's timing, co-founder Bea Labikova combined her appearance with esteemed NYC bassist William Parker with a recording session — the fact that these musicians (including percussionist Germaine Liu) has been intensely playing together was apparent from the way they tore right into it when this set began, roaring through a non-stop set of free explorations that skipped right past the tentative getting-to-know-you stages that these encounters often feature.

Recording: Heather Saumer + Co.

Artist: Heather Saumer feat. Felicity Williams/Alex Samaras/Thom Gill/Robin Dann

Song: unknown*

Recorded at 918 Bathurst (Women From Space Festival – Night 4), March 8, 2020.

Heather Saumer feat. Felicity Williams/Alex Samaras/Thom Gill/Robin Dann - unknown

After spending three nights at the cozier Burdock, Women From Space wrapped up its second festival on International Women's Day, moving to the more expansive surroundings at 918 Bathurst — and it packed the place out for a triumphant conclusion. In retrospect, this was for many of us "the last big night out", the last night when hugs and handshakes were exchanged without reserve. The words "social distancing" had been uttered, but they were still an abstraction, compared to say, sharing a piece of cake or lingering with a group of friends. It is possible that these things might be thinkable again when International Women's Day rolls around again next year — one can only hope that Kayla Milmine and Bea Labikova get a chance to build upon the success of this year's festival.

Trumpeter Heather Saumer has been sharing her voice for awhile now, though often hewing more in a folk vein. This set saw her pivoting towards pop — albeit an airy, abstracted form of pop, which made her choice of collaborators (serving in and around the orbit of Bernice, "Toronto's ever-evolving backing band") entirely fitting.

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

Monday, April 13, 2020

Concert Listings Roundup #349

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.


Special note:

For the past six-and-a-half years, I've faithfully been cranking out these listings every Monday. Because of the unprecedented situation we now find ourselves in, this week's listings remain blank. Stay safe and sheltered.


Community corner:

  • After being forced to cancel the remaining events in its season, the Music Gallery has pivoted to find new ways to support artists and engage with its community. The Music Gallery at Home series begins tonight with David Dacks in conversation with Nilan Perera, the first of several interviews taking the ethos of their History Series. The music events are built around Xuan Ye's score-app "Even a Blind Squirrel Finds a Nut Once in a While", which will be interpreted by a series of musicians, leading off this week with Germaine Liu. [customary disclosure: I am a member of the MG's Artistic Advisory Council.]

Bandcamp corner:

  • M. Joakim's Saturn City continues her series of synth EP's based on single-take recordings with no multi-tracking or editing. This time out she explores Pan, Saturn's innermost moon, with a quartet of typically tasty probes.
  • After a series of demo-ish duo sketches that laid out some song ideas, The Archives of Eternity have presented an ensemble album that lives up to their incendiary live shows. Formed in the model of a classic jazz combo, the multi-generational band features percussive titans Mark Hundevad (vibes) and Mike Gennaro (percussion) alongside Patrick Smith (tenor sax) and Andrew Furlong (double bass) playing with plenty belly-fire.

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Recording: Pantayo

Artist: Pantayo

Song: Eclipse

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 3), March 7, 2020.

Pantayo - Eclipse

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. The night was headlined by a confident set from electro-kulintang groovers Pantayo. The work they've done in developing their songs and sonics is paying off next month with the release of their debut album. Unclear as it is at the moment how we'll be celebrating album releases in the months ahead, it was a real treat to get to hear these songs on stage.

[After bookmarking Telephone Explosion's bandcamp to be ready for the album when it drops, you can pass some time by dancing along to the band's video for "Heto Na".]

Recording: Sam Newsome & Kayla Milmine

Artist: Sam Newsome & Kayla Milmine

Songs: [two excerpts from second piece]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 3), March 7, 2020.

Sam Newsome & Kayla Milmine - [excerpt 1 from second piece]

Sam Newsome & Kayla Milmine - [excerpt 2 from second piece]

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. Festival co-founder Kayla Milmine took the opportunity to bring her teacher and mentor Sam Newsome to the festival, offering a rare duo set of avant-approaches to soprano saxophone. Two stacks of preparations on the stage saw both players put aside their reeds for tubes and duck calls, but Milmine didn't attempt to outdo Newsome on that score as he deployed a vacuum hose, balloons, windchimes, etc. etc.

Recording: Mira Martin-Gray

Artist: Mira Martin-Gray

Song: Ornithoctopus-in-Boots [excerpt]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 3), March 7, 2020.

Mira Martin-Gray - Ornithoctopus-in-Boots [excerpt]

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. This solo set from Mira Martin-Gray demonstrated how her work as a no-input noise mixist is subject to a steady stream of innovation and switching things up. As has been seen a few times recently, Martin-Gray has been literally finding her voice on stage — here more than ever in a text piece entitled "Just Intonation" that moved from whispers to a voice being absorbed into feedback lurches. (And with the wordplay-friendly lateral thinking of a published crossword puzzle maker, the title isn't about the musical concept as much as a broader concept of "justice".) The second piece, as heard here, concentrated on feedback sonics, moving through several deftly-manipulated zones.

[Mira Martin-Gray has posted this full set over on her bandcamp, so you can check it out there.]

Recording: Anne Bourne & tUkU

Artist: Anne Bourne & tUkU

Song: Fragment 147 [text by Sappho, as translated by Anne Carson]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 3), March 7, 2020.

Anne Bourne & tUkU - Fragment 147

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. This night opened with a collaboration between jazz/soul vocalist (and theatrical sound designer) tUkU with cellist (and Deep Listener) Anne Bourne. Their set was based around exploring and animating the words of the lyric poet Sappho — searching for the soul of these disconnected fragments through passion, repetition, breath. How can we know someone of whom we have only these scattered bits, tossed through time, translated? How could we be known in the fragmentary and incomplete ways we manage to express ourselves? In the end, the breath and the sound bring out bits of humanity, if not personality — deep needs and desires. "Someone will remember us / I say / even in another time."

Friday, April 10, 2020

Recording: Tara Kannangara

Artist: Tara Kannangara

Songs: Cinematic Beauty + Zero Seconds Pause [Deerhoof cover]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 2), March 6, 2020.

Tara Kannangara - Cinematic Beauty

Tara Kannangara - Zero Seconds Pause

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. Joined by a nimble backing band (Matthew Fong on guit, Julian Anderson-Bowes on bass and Mackenzie Longpre on drums), Tara Kannangara showed off her pop side to close out this night — but her pop sensibility is expansive enough to encompass quite a lot of terrain, including her love of Sondheim showtunes, funky jazz-prog jams and even a shout out to "Saved By The Bell"'s Lisa Turtle.

Recording: Alaska B

Artist: Alaska B

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 2), March 6, 2020.

Alaska B - [excerpt]

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. A rare solo outing from Yamantaka//Sonic Titan's Alaska B saw her working in a similar vein to Avrha's explorations — and, in fact, Brendan Swanson (her partner is that project) joined in to close out this set. But aside from the thunder wrought from her fully appointed drumkit (with gongs and roto-toms, the only thing missing was a double kick drum), there was also this excellent, fully laser harp worthy, planetarium prog synth intro.

Recording: Teiya Kasahara

Artist: Teiya Kasahara

Song: [excerpt]*

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 2), March 6, 2020.

Teiya Kasahara - [excerpt]

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. Teiya Kasahara added some opera to the Festival's mix with their reimagining of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, deconstructing the racial and gender politics in the source material while re-appropriating sonic backdrops ranging from orchestral recordings to Crazy Town's "Butterfly" — but still finding space in a dense, compact set to luxuriate in some beautiful sounds.

[Teiya Kasahara is responding to our current situation with a series of balcony performances entitled "19 Videos for COVID-19" — you can catch up (and keep an eye out for more) at their website.]

* Does anyone know the proper title for this project? Please leave a comment!

Recording: McCarroll-Butler/Shortt/Falls

Artist: Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Olivia Shortt/Lauren Falls

Song: Is this a tomb or am I in love? [excerpt] [composer: Lieke Van Der Voort]

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall (Women From Space Festival – Night 2), March 6, 2020.

Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Olivia Shortt/Lauren Falls - Is this a tomb or am I in love? [excerpt]

It's generally acknowledged that the key to a successful sequel is in making things bigger and more explosive while staying true whatever it was that made the original feel special and unique. The second annual Women From Space Festival applied that maxim to great effect, cosmically expanding in all directions while nourishing its core ideal of creating Space for a diverse range of women-centred creative expressions. This set was one manifestation of the increased ambition of primary organizers Bea Labikova and Kayla Milmine, assembling this trio and commissioning a pair of compositions for them to perform. One piece was from ensemble member Naomi McCarroll-Butler, but there was also this new work from Lieke Van Der Voort, which included her electronics adding drones and disembodied voices.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Recording: Les Trois Lynx Roux

Artist: Les Trois Lynx Roux

Songs: [excerpts from two pieces]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #60), March 3, 2020.

Les Trois Lynx Roux - [excerpt from 1st piece]

Les Trois Lynx Roux - [excerpt from 2nd piece]

Montréal-based trumpeter Émilie Fortin had a few extra days in town after her Bakarlari collective played the Music Gallery, so cellist Cory Harper-Latkovich assembled this grouping. He showed an obvious sense of delight in having a chance to introduce Fortin and percussionist Germaine Liu to each other — two deeply inventive players who also approach their work with a lot of playful joy and laughter. The resultant ruckus indeed had some excited whistles and swells, but also plenty quiet drone'n'squeak.

[Track Could Bend's previously-planned fifth anniversary celebration will obviously not be happening. Keep an eye out at the series' FB page for news of things re-emerging when the gathering-together status has changed.]

Recording: JP Carter & Friends

Artist: JP Carter & Friends

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #60), March 3, 2020.

JP Carter & Friends - [excerpt]

With a night off from Destroyer's tour (where he was once more a part of Dan Bejar's backing band), Vancouver's JP Carter was looking for a local improvised music gig. He got in touch with drummer Joe Sorbara (himself still relatively recently-returned from the West Coast) who put together this group, which also included Aline Homzy (violin) and Ashley Urquhart (piano). Although Carter is often heard extending his trumpet sounds with electronics, this was an all-acoustic session, working up to some pleasing scrape/skronk — and, briefly, towards the end, even some double trumpet action from Carter.

[Track Could Bend's previously-planned fifth anniversary celebration will obviously not be happening. Keep an eye out at the series' FB page for news of things re-emerging when the gathering-together status has changed.]

Recording: Suit World

Artist: Suit World

Song: [first piece]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #60), March 3, 2020.

Suit World - [first piece]

This group, consisting of Alex Hamlyn (tenor sax), Alex McLaren (trumpet/percussion), and Vannessa Barnier (bass/vox), brewed up some spacious groove-jazz and adjacent textured vibes. This piece includes some words from Barnier and a nifty trumpet loop from McLaren that keeps popping up in the background like a slightly-anxious, half-remembered thought.

[Track Could Bend's previously-planned fifth anniversary celebration will obviously not be happening. Keep an eye out at the series' FB page for news of things re-emerging when the gathering-together status has changed.]

Monday, April 6, 2020

Concert Listings Roundup #348

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.


Special note:

For the past six-and-a-half years, I've faithfully been cranking out these listings every Monday. Because of the unprecedented situation we now find ourselves in, this week's listings remain blank. Stay safe and sheltered.


Community corner:

  • Pamenar Café, a steadfastly comforting retreat in Kensington Market — and host to some wonderful back patio concerts in the summertime — suffered an electrical fire in their basement last week, sustaining a great amount of property damage. A heavy blow on top of the revenue lost during the present state of closure, a gofundme has been established to help them through this.
  • A gofundme has also been set up to support Likely General and the artistic community it has been nurturing on Roncesvalles under Brooke Manning's guidance. Open-hearted, inclusive spaces have been having a tough go of it in this city for awhile now, and the current situation is squeezing things even tighter.

Bandcamp corner:

  • "The Feelings We're Feeling", a new piece from beard closet, bristles with a sense of the anxiety that's prevalent in these times right now — but also faces it with measured restraint instead of unbridles noisy panic.
  • A new collection of "pleasant by-products", Doomsquad's Spandrels Volume 2 has some lushly-ambient explorations as well as a tasty groover to close.
  • The collection of achingly lush beautiful ballads that Scott Hardware has been working on for quite a while now has finally been issued on Telephone Explosion.
  • Allison Cameron has put her AC Band's bandcamp account to Name-Your-Price for the month of April, making it a prime opportunity to grab her 2010 Rat-Drifting release, surely an under-acknowleged classic album from T.O.'s creative music community. Flanking Cameron's musical bricolage (banjo, keyboards, tapes, harmonicas, electronics), this is also a slyly-amazing guitar album, thanks to Stephen Parkinson and Eric Chenaux.

Friday, April 3, 2020

Recording: Bakarlari

Artist: Bakarlari

Song: remembrancer [composer: Christina Volpini]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (Emergents II), March 1, 2020.

Bakarlari - remembrancer

The second instalment of the season's Emergents series brought Montréal's Bakarlari to town. This three-member group is a collective of soloists, dedicated to pushing the boundaries and extending the solo repertoire for their instruments. Extended techniques (and several bursts of whimsy) were common features in the pieces they presented. After each essaying a couple solo pieces, Émilie Fortin (trumpet), Michael Mansourati (tuba), Charlotte Layec (clarinet) joined together for this new piece from Christina Volpini, incorporating some visually-striking DIY electronics, with glass cylinders acting as mutes over open speaker cones, releasing and entrapping sound-fragments from disembodied voices.

[Owing to the pandemic, the Music Gallery has cancelled or postponed the remaining events in its season. In the interim, keep an eye out for some new methods of art-sharing, plus some glimpses into the MG's audiovisual archives.]

Recording: Michael Mansourati

Artist: Michael Mansourati

Piece: Solo Tuba Music [composer: Cort Lippe]

Recorded at The Music Gallery (Emergents II), March 1, 2020.

Michael Mansourati - Solo Tuba Music

The second instalment of the season's Emergents series brought Montréal's Bakarlari to town. This three-member group is a collective of soloists, dedicated to pushing the boundaries and extending the solo repertoire for their instruments. Extended techniques (and several bursts of whimsy) were common features in the pieces they presented. Tubist Michael Mansourati incorporated some palm smacks on his mouthpiece and tinfoil stomping pads underfoot into this selection.

[Owing to the pandemic, the Music Gallery has cancelled or postponed the remaining events in its season. In the interim, keep an eye out for some new methods of art-sharing, plus some glimpses into the MG's audiovisual archives.]