Monday, August 30, 2021

Monday Roundup #33

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.


Community notes:

  • It looks as if after much dithering that some manner of vaccine passports are coming to Ontario, which might give some sense of security and procedural clarity to show-goers as well as folks who put on events. Stay tuned for news for how this all unfolds in practice. Hopefully safer gatherings will be a possibility as summer starts to wind down — but there's plenty of nice weather for park hangs ahead of us yet.

Video hits:

  • Labyrinth Ontario has shared the first of this year's series of Modal Music in the Parks videos, this one featuring some North Indian Classical sounds from Pankaj Mishra (sarangi) and Tanjeer Alam (tabla) — and click the link above to dig in a little deeper, including interviews with the artists:

It happened this week...

  • ...on September 4, 2017 at Allan Gardens (Intersection – Day 4).

Castle If & Music In The Barns - Untitled (Theme For a Labyrinth)

  • ...on August 31, 2018 at The Revue Cinema (Intersection (Night 1)/The Music Gallery's Departures Series.

Suzanne Ciani - [edited excerpt]

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday, August 23, 2021

Monday Roundup #32

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.


Community notes:

  • There remains a lack of clarity on the "what's happening with concerts?" front. COVID numbers are shooting back up, and if you do the math on the numbers being posted every day you might see that something like twenty per cent of cases are in double-vaxxed people. And even if only miniscule numbers from that subset are getting sick enough to need hospitalization, it's unclear how sick people are getting. But: how sick do you want to get? It also means more unknowingly-infected people out and about in situations where they can pass it along. All of which makes gatherings (especially indoors) still feel tentative, despite all the cool shows being announced. Even with a patchwork of self-imposed regulations it seems like outbreaks are imminent. Meanwhile, musicians and venues alike are trying to navigate the landscape to find a balance between viable and fair ways of holding shows. I remain completely unclear as to how things will look, oh, say, two or four or eight weeks from now.

Concert listings:

  • Pamenar Sessions (feat. members of the Labyrinth Ensemble) / Café Pamenar [back patio] 2021-08-29 (Sunday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Livestream nation:

  • Exit Points #18 returns on Wednesday (August 25th) with sonic and visual inventions for synths and more.

It happened this week...

  • ...on August 27, 2016 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge.

Raphael Foisy/Vicky Mettler/Colin Fisher - [second piece, part 1]

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday, August 16, 2021

Monday Roundup #31

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.


Livestream nation:

  • The Understory online series continues on Thursday (August 19th) with a free-to-check-out double-header featuring sets from Arthur Bull/Germaine Liu/Louise Campbell plus Ellen Waterman/Mei Han/Mira Martin Gray.

It happened this week...

  • ...on August 18, 2013 at Parts + Labour (Mattyfest Summerslam BBQ 2013)

Jennifer Castle - Piece of Glass

  • ...on August 18, 2014 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Mike Smith August Residency, Week 3)

Mellow Motel - Domino Biscuit

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday, August 9, 2021

Monday Roundup #30

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.


Livestream nation:

  • The main event for this week (and beyond!) is definitely the Habari Africa Virtual Festival, which is presenting no less than ten nights of double-feature concerts, starting this Friday (August 13th). Mixing old hands and new faces in a pan-African party of classic and futuristic sounds, join in on their youtube channel every night at 8. Performing artists include (take a deep breath here!) Mamy Kanouté, Della Hayes & Women of Colour Band, Lorraine Klaasen, Joyce N’sana, EMDE, Mariaa Siga, Mighty Popo, Lionel Kizaba, Naxx Bitota, Kora Trio, The Black Stars, Adama Daou, Blandine, Dieufaite Charles, Donné Roberts, Alpha Rhythm Roots, Gloria Gift Nankunda, Garmi Mint Abba, Donald Dogbo and IZimba Arts — an incredible offering, so do make the effort to dip in, dance along, and make some discoveries.

It happened this week...

  • ...on August 11, 2011 at Lower Ossington Theatre (Summerworks Festival).

Bruce Peninsula - In Your Light

  • ...on August 10, 2012 at The Theatre Centre (SummerWorks Music Series)

The Magic - No Sound

P.S.: these memories of Summerworks' classic music series remind me to mention that in these uncertain times the festival is featuring "free, public-facing programming across multiple platforms throughout the month of August", which you can check out here.

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Monday, August 2, 2021

Monday Roundup #29

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.


Community notes:

  • A glimpse of where we'll be here in four to six weeks? It remains really hard to tell week-to-week what's going to feel safe and acceptable when people head back for shows and events, and that leaves a lot of uncertainty for the folks running those venues.

Concert listings:

  • Alex Samaras + Friends / Island Cafe 2021-08-06 (Friday). $pwyc. [FB event]

In the Mix:

  • A new drone mix, with sounds from John Oswald vs The Grateful Dead (but not in the way you might think), ghostly folk songs from Sarah Davachi and Shirley Collins, plus drifts from Cares, Robert Ashley, Azaleas, Jaap Vink, and Boron.

Bandcamp corner:

  • Is it Bandcamp Friday? If you are reading this on Friday (August 6th) then the answer is yes! If it's not Friday yet, you have some time to get your lists sorted out and get ready to put some money in the pockets of artists you dig. Here's a couple things on my list:

It happened this week...

  • ...on August 8, 2009 at The Horseshoe Tavern.

St. Vincent - Save Me From What I Want

  • ...on August 5, 2010 at The Drake Underground.

Powerhouse Sound - Exit-Salida

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]