Monday Roundup #63

Someday this space might be mostly concert listings again, but for now Monday roundups might include a romp through the MFS archives, 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!).

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Livestream nation:

• Exit Points is back Wednesday (March 30th) for two sets of livestreamed electroacoustic improvisations from Magfoto/Joyce To/Nnja Riot and Donovan Locke/Glen Hall/Thispatcher, as well as the usual "open mic" Switchemups afterwards. Head over here for all the links and information.

• Batuki Music Society's Karibuni Africa Virtual Series continues on Friday (April 1st) with a set from Adam Solomon, the Professor of Dazzling Guitar Techniques. Catch it on their youtube channel.

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Concert announcements:

Audiopollination (feat. David Sait/ Diyonisos/Tiina Kiik / Ambrose Pottie/Del Stephen/HF / Ryan Kinney/Chibuzor Igwilo/Suzanne Farkas / The Killer Quartet [Emjay Wright/Kye Garant/Erin Corbett/Mickle32]) / Array Space 2022-04-08 (Friday). $10 or PWYC + live-stream. [FB event]

Hot Garbage (Gloin) / Monarch Tavern 2022-04-08 (Friday). $12 adv / $15 door, 19+, Proof of vaccine required. [FB event]

Brian Abbott/Paul Newman ["posthumous record release"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-09 (Saturday – early!) [FB event]

Hot Garbage (Population II) / The Baby G 2022-04-09 (Saturday). $12 adv / $15 door, 19+, Proof of vaccine required. [FB event]

Ayal Senior's Monthly (feat. Ayal Senior / Kurt Newman / Nick Flanagan / Living Water Assembly) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-10 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m. show!) [FB event]

SynCirSundays (feat. Mira Martin-Gray/William Davison/Mike Hansen / Rob Clutton) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-10 (Sunday – early!). $10/PWYMust! [FB event]

Madeleine Ertel Quartet [Madeleine Ertel/Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin/Nick Fraser] / The Emmet Ray 2022-04-10 (Sunday) [FB event]

ALIVE (feat. Lee Paradise / Myst Milano) / The Garrison 2022-04-15 (Friday). $5.00 Advance, 19+. [FB event]

No Frills [LP Release!] (Louie Short / Nutrients) / The Monarch 2022-04-16 (Saturday). $11.50 advance tickets. [FB event]

ALIVE (feat. Vallens / Praises / Kali Horse) / The Garrison 2022-04-21 (Thursday). $5.00 Advance, 19+. [FB event]

Class of 2022 (feat. Breeze / PONY / Bliss Fields / Only God Forgives) / The Horseshoe 2022-04-23 (Saturday). $13 advance, 19+. [FB event]

HAPPY SUNDAYS (feat. Omhouse / Robin Hatch / Lydia Persaud) / The Baby G 2022-04-24 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Nick Fraser Presents (feat. Nick Fraser/Erwan Noblet/Cathy Nosaty/Sophie Brown) ["A quartet of students in the Critical Studies in Improvisation Program at the University of Guelph"] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-29 (Tuesday)

Del Stephen & Friends: "a song, a sound, a birthday" / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-30 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Tania Gill Presents (feat. Victor Bateman Trio [Victor Bateman/Reg Schwager/Nick Fraser]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-04-01 (Friday – early!)

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It happened this week...

• ...on March 29, 2018 at Array Space.

The Silt - No Twig

[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.]

Recording: Small Chaos

Artist: Small Chaos

Song: [set 1, second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 24, 2022.

Small Chaos - [set 1, second piece]

This quartet brought some low-end intensity to the Southern Cross, with percussionist Curtis Whittaker knitting together Tyson Headon's bass, Alex Sales' baritone saxophone and Birol Edrogan's didgeridoo. (Modular synthesist Michael Palumbo was absent from this show, but one could get a sense of how he could find a lot of space to twist wires in the higher frequencies.) Groove exploration was the main point of departure over two sets — often jet-propelled, but my fave was this more restrained foray, which found nice pockets for all the instruments to settle into.

Recording: Furlong/Pruden/Chen

Artist: Andrew Furlong/Chris Pruden/Yang Chen

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music by Harry and Furlong), March 23, 2022.

Andrew Furlong/Chris Pruden/Yang Chen - [excerpt 1]

Andrew Furlong/Chris Pruden/Yang Chen - [excerpt 2]

The revival of this co-hosted series went ahead without Harry Vetro, but bassist Andrew Furlong admirably held down the fort in an exploratory trio alongside Chris Pruden (Prophet 6) and Yang Chen (percussion). The latter (spotted recently among some Labyrinth Ensembles) had a table of small percussive objects to tap and rattle, embroidering Pruden's synthsounds ranging from sci-fi soundscapes to the receding dreamzone that closes out the second selection here.

Recording: Fahmid Nibesh

Artist: Fahmid Nibesh

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music by Harry and Furlong), March 23, 2022.

Fahmid Nibesh - [second piece]

Fahmid Nibesh brought two distinct flavours to this mini-set, first playing a meditation for dronebox and pedals, then shifting to this improvised acoustic guitar exploration.

[Details are as yet "fuzzy", but expect Nibesh to be hosting a night of improvised sounds alongside Jonathan Adjemian at The Trazac in the early slot on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.]

Recording: Colin Fisher

Artist: Colin Fisher

Song: [last section]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Music by Harry and Furlong), March 23, 2022.

Colin Fisher - [last section]

'Twas a miserable night outside, with a cold rain pelting down, but as it pattered against the windowpanes it added some pleasingly percussive background taps to Colin Fisher's solo sax mini-set. There's not much of that on the recording, nor much of the ghostly room reverberances that he was incorporating — that's why you wanna get down to the Tranzac and hear this stuff in person.

Monday Roundup #62

Someday this space might be mostly concert listings again, but for now Monday roundups might include a romp through the MFS archives, 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!).

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Concert announcements:

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Nicole Rampersaud / Paramorph Collective / Racha Moukalled/Elizabeth Brown/Aline Homzy/Ilyse Krivel / Susanna Hood/Tania Gill/Kayla Milmine) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-04-28 (Thursday). Early bird tickets $12 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced tickets $15/Early bird festival passes $40 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced festival passes $50. [FB event]

Scott Hardware (Whimm) / Sneaky Dee's 2022-04-28 (Thursday). $15, 19+. [tickets + info]

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Lisa Conway/Emma Ongman / Kristine White/Bee Pallomina/Germaine Liu / Neema Bickersteth/Jessica McMann/Dot Starkey / Sara Constant / Lori Freedman/Scott Thomson) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-04-29 (Friday). Early bird tickets $12 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced tickets $15/Early bird festival passes $40 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced festival passes $50. [FB event]

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Aisha Sasha John/Brenda Joy Lem / Kayla Milmine/Geordie Haley/Peter Morin / Ronley Teper & The Lipliners / TUSH) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-04-30 (Saturday). Early bird tickets $12 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced tickets $15/Early bird festival passes $40 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced festival passes $50. [FB event]

Women From Space Festival 2022 (feat. Kathryn Merriam/Isabelle Clermont/Grace Scheele/Elysha Vorstenbosch / Marilyn Lerner / PIQSIQ / Sook-Yin Lee) / 918 Bathurst 2022-05-01 (Sunday). Early bird tickets $12 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced tickets $15/Early bird festival passes $40 (before April 1st)/Regular-priced festival passes $50. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Don't Worry Darlin [Chris Banks/Nick Fraser/Tim Posgate/Don Scott/Victor Bateman] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-22 (Tuesday). [FB event]

Music by Harry and Furlong [feat. Andrew Furlong/Robert Grieve/Yang Chen / Colin Fisher / Fahmid Nibesh] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-23 (Wednesday)

Continuum presents: Du Nord (feat. Quatuor Bozzini) [pieces by Nicole Lizée, Michael Oesterle, Tanya Tagaq, and Alissa Cheung] / The Music Gallery 2022-03-24 (Thursday). $20 Advance/door, $15 Students/Music Gallery Members. [more info]

Small Chaos [Curtis Whittaker/Michael Palumbo/Alex Sales/Tyson Headon/Birol Edrogan] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-24 (Thursday) [FB event]

Brush Line (feat. Continuum Contemporary Music) [pieces by Jimmie LeBlanc, Carolyn Chen, Tyshawn Sorey, Linda Smith, and Britney Dawn Do] / The Music Gallery 2022-03-25 (Friday). $20 Advance/door, $15 Students/Music Gallery Members. [more info]

CCMC with special guest Charity Chan / Array Space 2022-03-25 (Friday). $pwyc.

Stranger Still [Laura Swankey/Randi Helmers/Rob Clutton/Pete Johnston] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-25 (Friday – early!). $pwyc.

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-25 (Friday). [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents: Tribute to Jewel Ackah, King of Highlife (feat. The Butterfly Band) / Supermarket 2022-03-25 (Friday). $15 advance. [FB event]

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Picastro / Fortunato Durutti Marinetti) [double album release!] / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-03-26 (Saturday). $15 +fees, 19+. [FB event]

Lipliners & Friends Mini Music & Art Festival ["puppets, projections, art exhibitions, and live performances will be running throughout the day"] (feat. Ronley Teper & The Lipliners / Willow Rutherford / Tim Posgate & Andrew Downing / Gordon Hylands’s Living Fossil / Chris Pruden / Jaron Freeman-Fox / Vivienne Wilder) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-03-27 (Sunday). all ages event from 2-6, adults only 6:30-11pm. [FB event]

HAPPY SUNDAYS (feat. Seulement / Luge / LAL) / The Baby G 2022-03-27 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• On the third anniversary of Justin Haynes' passing, Felicity Williams has released an EP of "a handful of half-finished mixes" from their joint project Biodad. That description is overly modest, as there's plenty to chew on both in Williams' vocalisations and Haynes' guitar work. It comes together most beautifully on a woozy, spindly cover of Gerry Rafferty's "Right Down the Line". (The Bandcamp release is also a fundraiser for the Tranzac.)

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It happened this week...

• ...on March 24, 2016 at Burdock Music Hall.

Os Tropies - Seu Heka

• ... on March 27, 2016 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

King Weather - [fourth piece]

[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.]

Recording: Kind Mind

Artist: Kind Mind

Song: Daughters [Part 2]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 16, 2022.

Kind Mind - Daughters [Part 2]

Pandemic downtime, though keeping musicians apart, has given composer/bassist/father Josh Cole time to dig deep into his performance practices, play around with gear, and come up with a new set of compositions for his trio with Karen Ng (saxophone) and Michael Davidson (vibraphone). This return to The Tranzac saw Cole with more pedals — but more crucially, also with a set of live-triggered field recordings complementing the musicians. (Davidson was also leaning deeper into the sound-layering he was dabbling in in pre-pandemic perfomances, adding pads and textures under his playing.) Those atmospheres, wedded to the uncluttered music, made these new pieces feel more like locations rather than tunes. Good places to hang out in.

[Whether with Kind Mind or other groups, Josh Cole will be presenting music monthly on the third Wednesday at the Tranzac, so mark April 20th down in your calendar.]

Recording: Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin

Artist: Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin

Songs: [three pieces]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), March 12, 2022.

Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin - [1st set, end of 1st piece]

Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin - [1st set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin - [2nd set, 1st section]

A night of avant-Eurovision sounds, assembled to interface visiting Montréal vocalist Sarah Albu (a.k.a. Bauble) with Toronto peer Christine Duncan (Noggin), guitarist Patrick O'Reilly (Vest) and bassist Mike Lynn (Sweater). Over two sets, the music moved from agitated walkie-talkie singalong squelch to psychedelic reverse haze to the #1 disco anthem of 1978.

Monday Roundup #61

Someday this space might be mostly concert listings again, but for now Monday roundups might include a romp through the MFS archives, 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!).

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Concert announcements:

Stranger Still [Laura Swankey/Randi Helmers/Rob Clutton/Pete Johnston] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-25 (Friday – early!). $pwyc.

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Shows this week:

Dan Pitt Trio [Dan Pitt/Alex Fournier/Stefan Hegerat] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-15 (Tuesday). $10/pwyc. [FB event]

Heather Saumer and the Imaginary Brass Band / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-16 (Wednesday – early!)

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It happened this week...

• ...on March 14, 2015 at Handlebar.

Germaphobes - Everybody Else

• ....on March 18, 2015 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

Cole/Fisher/Valdivia - [set 1, first piece, part III]

[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.]

Recording: Newman-Albu-Lima

Artist: Paul Newman/Sarah Albu/Elizabeth Lima

Song: 2nd piece [edit]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination), March 11, 2022.

Paul Newman/Sarah Albu/Elizabeth Lima - 2nd piece [edit]

Audiopollination's livestreams were a welcome chance to check in with the community throughout the pandemic, but this return to live events was even moreso, an opportunity to run into some familiar faces while seeing "self-curated" musicians encountering unfamiliar ones on stage. Thanks to Array's support and resources, the livestream element is being maintained, extending the series' reach. Montréal guest Sarah Albu was joined here by by Liz Lima (a collaborator in the vocal collective Phth) as well as saxophonist Paul Newman. Albu brought along her collection of walkie-talkies, creating opportunities for small-scale transmissions, blips and other chaos, which Lima augmented with some clarinet and synth whurrbulations. Static-y soundscapes shared space here with some spontaneous song fragments, and, in this piece, a fully-satisfactory shared stop.

You can check out the full set on the event's archived livestream:

Recording: Thispatcher & Michael Lynn

Artist: Thispatcher & Michael Lynn

Song: [edited excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination), March 11, 2022.

Thispatcher & Michael Lynn - [edited excerpt]

Audiopollination's livestreams were a welcome chance to check in with the community throughout the pandemic, but this return to live events was even moreso, an opportunity to run into some familiar faces while seeing "self-curated" musicians encountering unfamiliar ones on stage. Thanks to Array's support and resources, the livestream element is being maintained, extending the series' reach. This night started with an electronic-meets-acoustic duo of Thispatcher (a.k.a. Michael Palumbo) & Michael Lynn, mixing stereophonic skitterings from the former's modular rig with plunks and rustles from the latter's double bass.

You can check out the full set (minus the first few minutes where the sound wasn't working) on the event's archived livestream:

Recording: Country Phasers

Artist: Country Phasers

Song: #50 (Part 1)

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Cosmic Country for Communists), March 10, 2022.

Country Phasers - #50 (Part 1)

So, first of all: how strange to be back here. Back in the Southern Cross, the best place in the city to listen to music. Looking towards the "stage", you could almost imagine nothing had changed, until you look back at the new bar, or over at the new doors. The vibe felt familiar too, with a more robust crowd trickling out after the earlier set, leaving a smaller group hanging out for the late slot's exploratory vibes.

One of the patrons of the early-slot bluegrass jam, pondering whether to stick around, accosted Kurt Newman as he was setting up, asking what sort of music his group would be playing. Clad in a Johnny Paycheck tour t-shirt, he averred it would be not entirely unlike the early set, and reaching for a description, said it would be "odd, but gentle." Pause to think. "Or odd in a gentle way." The bluegrass aficionado did not stick around.

I didn't come right out and ask how this group, the Country Phasers, differs from Newman's pre-pandemic Nashville Minimalism Unit. There are some conceptual similarities, such as the melding of the country and the odd, and a similar modularity – like the NMU, this project could be Newman solo (as on a new Rat-Drifting album) or is could swell to any number of rotating guests. (On this night, the band was Newman on pedal steel with Andrew Furlong on bass, Patrick O'Reilly on guitar, and Pete Johnston on bass VI.) There are a few musical tweaks here (as Nick Flanagan noted during his comedy set, "I think I heard a hint of maximalism in there") with the pieces spiralling outward from a series of phase-y, warbly pedal steel loops that the musicians used as a baseline.

How nice and cool to see musicians listening and reacting to each other in real time! A wry grin or a sidelong glance waiting for Newman to nod his head to indicate a chord change, it's all the stuff you don't get just listening to a recording. Plus: other humans in the room to hang out with between sets! It all feels a little weird, but kinda good, hey? This is theoretically what we've been waiting to do for the past twenty-four months.

Monday Roundup #60

Someday this space might be mostly concert listings again, but for now Monday roundups might include a romp through the MFS archives, 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!).

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Video hits:

• A new album — and a new video — from Scott Hardware! One gets the sense that in Ballad of a Tryhard's more intense guitar moments that Scott Harwood was aiming for, say, Smashing Pumpkins, but his soulful softness tinges that with some accidental Adult Contemporary vibes, torquing this towards, say, a showtunes-free version of Rufus Wainwright. Lovely stuff.

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Concert announcements:

Kind Mind [Karen Ng/Michael Davidson/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-16 (Wednesday). $10/pwyc.

Witch Prophet (Obuxum) / Drake Underground 2022-03-26 (Saturday). $20 advance. [more info]

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Shows this week:

Alex Lukashevsky/Luka Kuplowsky / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-08 (Tuesday – early!). $pwyc.

Carl Didur / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-08 (Tuesday). $pwyc.

Luan Phung/Chris Pruden/Caleb Klager / The Emmet Ray 2022-03-08 (Tuesday). [FB event]

Brodie West Quartet feat. Reg Schwager / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-09 (Wednesday – early!)

Madeleine Ertel Group [Madeleine Ertel/Patrick O'Reilly/Steven Noronha/Julian Anderson-Bowes/Eric West] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-09 (Wednesday).

Audiopollination (feat. Mickle32/ Thispatcher / Paul Newman/ Sarah Alba/Allison Cameron/ Elizabeth Lima / KARLA [Yunjin Claire Lee/Roni Newman]) / Array Space 2022-03-11 (Friday). $10 or PWYC [will also be livestreamed!]. [FB event]

Musica Universalis (feat. Ted Crosby/Kyle Hutchins/Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-11 (Friday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Moon King (Lee Paradise) / The Monarch 2022-03-12 (Saturday). $13.50, 19+. [FB event]

Sweater Vest Bauble Noggin [Sarah Albu/Christine Duncan/Michael Lynn/Patrick O'Reilley] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-12 (Saturday). $pwyc. [FB event]

HAPPY SUNDAYS (feat. Blonde Elvis / Rapport / PONY) / The Baby G 2022-03-13 (Sunday). $free, 19+. [FB event]

SynCirSundays (feat. Naomi McCarrol-Butler / Plastic Babies [Christine Duncan/Laura Swankey/Patrick O'Reilly]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-13 (Sunday – early!).

Karen Ng Presents (feat. The Rob Clutton Trio [Rob Clutton/Karen Ng/Nick Fraser]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-03-13 (Sunday).

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It happened this week...

• ...on March 8, 2014 at Oz Studios.

Freelove Fenner - Dr D and his Artist Friend

• ...on March 13, 2014 at Array Space (Audiopollination 16.2).

6 Heads and Gil Delindro - [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.]