Thursday, July 28, 2022

Recording: Michael Lynn

Artist: Michael Lynn

Song: Canberra

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ornate Presents: Dark Matter Tapes double release celebration), July 22, 2022.

Michael Lynn - Canberra

A night of solo performances to celebrate a pair of solo releases on the Dark Matter label. Community organizer and genial collaborator Mike Lynn closed out the night, celebrating the release of a tape of solo explorations on double bass. The pieces (on tape and live) employ a whole range of extended techniques — including the human voice.

Recording: Kayla Milmine

Artist: Kayla Milmine

Songs: Lonely Woman [composer: Ornette Coleman] + unknown*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ornate Presents: Dark Matter Tapes double release celebration), July 22, 2022.

Kayla Milmine - Lonely Woman

Kayla Milmine - [last section]

A night of solo performances to celebrate a pair of solo releases on the Dark Matter label. There's no tape for Kayla Milnine's Moods of Yellow, but there were postcards and paintings on sale to celebrate the release, which documents Milmine's continuing explorations on soprano saxophone. In performance, there were new depths being explored, including a multiphonic low roar that's definitely not what's commonly associated with the instrument.

* Does anyone know the title to this one (or any of its parts)? Please leave a comment!

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Recording: A Josh Cole Quartet

Artist: A Josh Cole Quartet

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 20, 2022.

A Josh Cole Quartet - [set 1 excerpt]

A Josh Cole Quartet - [set 2 edited excerpt]

Another of those ad hoc indefinite article groupings from bassist Josh Cole, this time joined by Brodie West (saxophone/clarinet), Phil Melanson (percussion) and Andrew Zukerman (buchla easel). Although the latter has had a longstanding duo with Brodie West, it's rarer to see him in full-group improvisation like this, though he really left an imprint on the proceedings — acting as something of a texture-trickster whooshing around the edges in the first set, but really setting the table in the second where he provided a bowed-note-like dronewave that underpinned the whole thing.

You can check out some footage from the first set over on youtube:

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Recording: Wenderly Park

Artist: Wenderly Park

Song: Breathing Dub [edit]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Allison Cameron Presents), July 20, 2022.

Wenderly Park - Breathing Dub [edit]

A return to action for this duo of Fuzzy Nibesh and Joe Strutt, sitting in as guests in Allison Cameron's monthly Tranzac timeslot. After spending some time in the sonic laboratory, the pair have been subtracting notes and adding timbres to advance their invenstivations into electroacoustic vibrational possibilities.

[Wenderly Park will be back in action at The Tranzac on Tuesday, August 23rd, which will include a special gues set from Naomi McCarroll Butler.]

Monday, July 25, 2022

Monday Roundup #80


Concert announcements:

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot (BLOOP) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-02 (Tuesday). $PWYC.

Lina Allemano Four / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-03 (Wednesday). $PWYC.

Batuki Music Society presents: Habari Africa Festival (feat. Gloria Nankunda & Emanzi Dance Troupe / Ethio Azmari / Okavango / Dobet Gnahoré) / Harbourfront Centre 2022-08-05 (Friday). $free, family-friendly, most events outdoors. [more info]

Batuki Music Society presents: Habari Africa Festival (feat. IZimba Arts / Adam Solomon / La Kora des Griots / Dicko Fils / Songs of My Mother [feat. Lorraine Klaasen/Djely Tapa/Mis Blandine/Ruth Mathiang]) / Harbourfront Centre 2022-08-06 (Saturday). $free, family-friendly, most events outdoors. [more info]

Birthday Bash! (feat. Greydini / Man Made Hill / Bbomit / Sourpussy / Banananananana) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-08-06 (Saturday). $12. [FB event]

Batuki Music Society presents: Habari Africa Festival (feat. Mambo Chivero / Sadaka / Butterfly Band) / Harbourfront Centre 2022-08-07 (Sunday). $free, family-friendly, most events outdoors. [more info]

SynCirSundays (feat. Josh Cole / Patrick O'Reilly's Chalk Repairer) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-08-14 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Jane Inc. (Huxlii / Koza) / Monarch Tavern 2022-08-19 (Friday). $13.50 advance, 19+. [FB event]

TONE presents (feat. Ashley Paul / Andre Ethier / Nick Storring) / Array Space 2022-08-21 (Sunday). $17.52 advance, all ages/licensed. [FB event]


Shows this week:

Joyful Joyful [record release!] (Joni Void / Hsien) / 918 Bathurst 2022-07-26 (Tuesday). $22.23 advance. [FB event]

Dan Pitt Trio [Dan Pitt/Alex Fournier/Nick Fraser] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Harry Vetro/Andrew Furlong/David Hodgson / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-27 (Wednesday). $PWYC. [FB event]

Karen Ng presents (feat. Nick Fraser/Blake Howard/Karen Ng/Brodie West) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-28 (Thursday) [FB event]

Tallies [Patina record release show!] (Twist / Matt MacNeil) / The Garrison 2022-07-29 (Friday). $20.05 advance, 19+. [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-29 (Friday). $pay-what-you-wish. [FB event]

Cosmic Homeostasis XVI / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-31 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). $PWYC. [FB event]

Solo-ish Guitar Night (feat. Brian Abbott / Kurt Newman / Ryan Kinney / Patrick O'Reilly) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-31 (Sunday – late!) [FB event]


It happened this week...

  • ...on July 26, 2014 at Geary Lane (Summer Sesh @ Geary Lane)

Bile Sister - Track Your Transit

  • ...on July 27, 2014 at Tibet Kitchen (Backyard Afternoon)

HVYWTR - [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.]

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Recording: Allemano/Sundland/Melanson

Artist: Lina Allemano/Dan Peter Sundland/Phil Melanson

Songs: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 19, 2022.

Lina Allemano/Dan Peter Sundland/Phil Melanson - [excerpt, part 1]

Lina Allemano/Dan Peter Sundland/Phil Melanson - [excerpt, part 2]

Originally this was to be a set from Ohrenschmaus, Lina Allemano's Berlin-based trio who have been on a rare Canadian jaunt, but with sickness sidelining drummer Michael Griener some last-minute improvisations were required. Phil Melanson more than ably sat in, and the group just improvised in the place of trying any of Allemano's Ohrenschmaus charts, but it was a worthy encounter regardless. Also a chance to witness the work of bassist Dan Peter Sundland, who was a joy to discover. A "full body" player, both in terms of using his full frame as well as seemingly every square inch of his long-scale Gretsch, exploring purcussive possibilities as well as plenty excellent bow work.

Friday, July 22, 2022

Recording: orchestre tout puissant marcel duchamp

Artist: orchestre tout puissant marcel duchamp

Songs: Empty Skies + unknown*

Recorded at The Music Gallery (Departures Series), July 15, 2022.

orchestre tout puissant marcel duchamp - Empty Skies

orchestre tout puissant marcel duchamp - unknown

This Geneva-based group, a dozen strong on stage, was making their first appearance on this side of the Atlantic. A unique sort of "big band" (dual marimbas, dual percussionists, dual guitars, strings and horns) there were some familiar elements here (the postpunk tension/repeat/release of The Ex, the meticulous rhythmic drive of Stereolab, the joyful singalongs of The Raincoats, and maybe just a soupçon of LiLiPUT's musical DNA) but this was a fully unique (and groovin') experience. Luckily, the band was well-served by the space they were playing in, with amazing clarity for such a large group, with all the players clear in their own space, rather than the muddle it could be if not done with such great care.

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

Recording: Sam Shalabi

Artist: Sam Shalabi

Song: Ghosts [composer: Albert Ayler]*

Recorded at The Music Gallery (Departures Series), July 15, 2022.

Sam Shalabi - Ghosts

Before the groovestorm of the dozen-strong orchestre tout puissant marcel duchamp, Montréal-based oud maestro Sam Shalabi took to the crowded stage on his own, and unleashed something like a flowing river of music, filled with flourishes that never seemed so much like showy displays of technique as suggestive elaborations of a story he was delighted to be sharing.

* Thanks to Sam for passing along the title to this one.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Recording: Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher

Artist: Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher

Songs: [excerpt, in two parts]

Recorded July 12, 2022 at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Most Popular Mic Touching Sounds).

Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher - [excerpt, part 1]

Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher - [excerpt, part 2]

Something a little different here with an ambitious duo effort from sound-sculptor Matt Smith and multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher, who both brought some extra gear along. Smith had a full-sized monitor and a stack of sound interfaces to wrangle and manipulate sounds, while there was a rare appearance of Fisher's guzheng — and he played piano (!) and tenor sax as well. That meant there was some extra troubleshooting that lead to this encounter being one slightly-extended set instead of two in their timeslot, but that was enough space to explore bow-scrapes, reverb sizzles, hazy vox and spaces beyond.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Monday Roundup #79


Concert announcements:

Joyful Joyful [record release!] (Joni Void / Hsien) / 918 Bathurst 2022-07-26 (Tuesday). $22.23 advance. [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-29 (Friday). $pay-what-you-wish. [FB event]

Cosmic Homeostasis XVI / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-31 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.). $PWYC. [FB event]

Solo-ish Guitar Night (feat. Brian Abbott / Kurt Newman / Ryan Kinney / Patrick O'Reilly) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-31 (Sunday – late!) [FB event]

Audiopollination presents Sandy Ewen (feat. Wenderly Park / Sandy Ewen/Kurt Newman/Kieran Maraj / Sandy Ewen/Allison Cameron) / Array Space 2022-08-14 (Sunday). $15. [FB event]


Shows this week:

Lina Allemano's Ohrenschmaus [Lina Allemano/Dan Peter Sundland/Michael Griener] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-19 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Cate Le Bon / The Great Hall 2022-07-19 (Tuesday). $33.99 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Not Dead Yet Presents (feat. Claire Rousay / Matchess / Erin Corbett) / The Baby G 2022-07-19 (Tuesday). $21.76 Advance, 19+. [FB event]

A Josh Cole Quartet [Brodie West/Andrew Zukerman/Phil Melanson/Josh Cole] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-20 (Wednesday)

Dan Pitt/Mike DeiCont/Robert Diack / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-22 (Friday – early!)

Ornate Presents: Dark Matter Tapes double release celebration (feat. Michael Lynn / Kayla Milmine / Brian Abbott) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-22 (Friday). [FB event]

Cots (Ways Lain) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-24 (Sunday). $10/pwyc. [FB event]


It happened this week...

  • ...on July 21, 2013 at Franklin Children's Garden (Poor Pilgrim 6).

Nick Ferrio - Half the Time

  • ...on July 24, 2013 at Holy Oak Café.

Mystic Triangle - unknown

[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.]

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Recording: Brittany Pitt & Dan Pitt

Artist: Brittany Pitt & Dan Pitt

Song: Moment [composer: Paul Motian]*

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

Brittany Pitt & Dan Pitt - Moment

Noting that sometimes it's hardest to find time to play with the musicians you live with, Brittany and Dan Pitt relished a chance to explore some tunes together in this set. Mixing a couple originals alongside a standard or two and a pop song to boot, Dan offered a range of guitars tones, from spacious reverb to melt-y loops while Brittany not only contributed sax but some vocals as well.

* Did I get this right? This is what I wrote down, but I don't immediately see it in the author's canon looking online. Please leave a comment if you can confirm!

Recording: Madeleine Ertel & Abbey Ertel

Artist: Madeleine Ertel & Abbey Ertel

Songs: Hole in My Chest + I See You

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

Madeleine Ertel & Abbey Ertel - Hole in My Chest

Madeleine Ertel & Abbey Ertel - I See You

It's always a delight to discover musicians you know playing in a totally different context. I've seen listings promoting Madeleine Ertel in song-singing mode, but hitherto had only seen her on trumpet, playing in Never Was and alongside various friends. This voice + piano set also brought along another discovery in the form of her sister Abbey, an excellent vocalist in her own right, and the pair offered up some sibling chemistry in a selection of originals and covers. Hints of The Roches singing from the Elliott Smith songbook, especially in the first (Madeleine-penned) selection here. There was also some pleasing variety in the set as well, such as the switcheroo for the second pick here (written by Abbey and with her on piano) as well as a guitar excursion from Madeleine and some special guest performances.

Friday, July 15, 2022

Recording: Bea Labikova & Vennie Tu

Artist: Bea Labikova & Vennie Tu

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #69), July 5, 2022.

Bea Labikova & Vennie Tu - [excerpt 1]

Bea Labikova & Vennie Tu - [excerpt 2]

With musicians and audience gathering together in Wenona's basement for the first time since March 2020, this was not precisely like old times, mostly because as a safety precauution we kept the room from getting too crowded and not all the peeps that could have been there were sitting in the room. But it's a start, and a reminder that there's something magical about being in a cozy space and hearing people trying out new sounds.

The last time I'd invited Bea Labikova to TCB she leaped at the chance to use it to explore new techniques, bringing an electronic rig to expand the sounds of her sax and voice. Pushing further in that direction this time around, she also brought along guitarist Vennie Tu, who added both shimmery textures and Pocket Operator-generated beats to add structure, moving from etherial drift to some sort of free jazz disco explorations.

To try and make up for the limited realtime access, I'm going to keep documenting TCB's performances on video, so you can check out the vibe on youtube:

Recording: evelyn charlotte-joe + Friends

Artist: evelyn charlotte-joe + Friends

Song: Rock Paper Scissors

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #69), July 5, 2022.

evelyn charlotte-joe + Friends - Rock Paper Scissors

With musicians and audience gathering together in Wenona's basement for the first time since March 2020, this was not precisely like old times, mostly because as a safety precauution we kept the room from getting too crowded and not all the peeps that could have been there were sitting in the room. But it's a start, and a reminder that there's something magical about being in a cozy space and hearing people trying out new sounds.

So what do you do when you have a bunch a friends that you know, but who don't know each other? While passing through town, evelyn charlotte-joe (formerly of Hamilton, currently Montréal-based) decided to decompartmentalize by gathering folks from different musical silos into one improvising group. To get folks on the same page, crowdsourced decisions were solicited and games were played to provide structure (this one decided the starting players through a round of RPS, for example) and quickly the players found new connections with each other. The players here were evelyn charlotte-joe on piano and suggestive direction, Cliff Rutherford the 4th on drums, Shanika Maria and Patrice Rose on vocals, and Naomi McCaroll-Butler on woodwinds.

To try and make up for the limited realtime access, I'm going to keep documenting TCB's performances on video, so you can check out the vibe on youtube:

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Recording: FIRE!

Artist: FIRE!

Songs: two unknown pieces*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival), July 3, 2022.

FIRE! - [track 3]

FIRE! - [track 7]

Heavy reed-shredding grooves from saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, joined here by Johan Berthling (bass) and Andreas Werlin (drums), all trying to earn the exclamation point in the band's name. Berthling is the key ingredient here, offering lockgroove repetition in the tradition of "dumb" spatterpunks like Flipper as the key structural element allowing Gustafsson to spray notes (occasionally switching over to electronic noise for relief).

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

Recording: Völur

Artist: Völur

Song: Fremdheit, Fremdheit

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival), July 3, 2022.

Völur - Fremdheit, Fremdheit

If you think of Völur as folk band, instead of getting caught up in dissecting metal subgenres, their willingness to engage in a wide variety of musical practices falls right into place. Part of a recent-ish collaborative EP, this piece sees bassist Lucas Gadke show off his developing tanbur skills (and also sees John D. Williams joining in on clarinet).

Recording: Brian Ruryk

Artist: Brian Ruryk

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival), July 3, 2022.

Brian Ruryk - [second piece]

Some things just have to be experienced live, and Brian Ruryk's full body/full commitment guitar noise/performance art is probably one of 'em. The junk-flinging spectacle remains a joy to behold, but so is the method behind the chaos — you might not notice right away, for example, that Ruryk is deftly skilled with his mixer, and as a sonic collagist he's doing something really unique. Just make sure you're out of the splash zone when considering these more subtle qualities.

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Recording: Naomi McCarroll-Butler

Artist: Naomi McCarroll-Butler

Songs: Chrysalis [two sections]*

Recorded at Toronto Jazz Festival, [corporate brand name] Main Stage – [corporate brand name] Grove, July 2, 2022.

Naomi McCarroll-Butler - Chrysalis [section 4]

Naomi McCarroll-Butler - Chrysalis [section 10]

The local jazz festival doesn't tend to get a tonne of favourable glances from this direction, but they should be praised when they do something cool and ambitious. Named as the inaugural "Jazz Festival Immersive Artist-in-Residence", Naomi McCarroll-Butler was given some resources to put together a programme of new work to present at the festival, which emerged as Chrysalis, "a project born out of my first years of transitioning: songs of hope for holding on, cries of joy and grief for the love of a suffering community, trance tapestries of woven sound accompanying the alignment of the physical body with the luminant body."

This live presentation (played in the pleasant Festival zone in the Victoria College quad) saw McCarroll-Butler backed by a dozen musicians, segueing from spiritual jazz blastoffs to modern compositional latticeworks — and including some sounds on DIY microtonal pipes along the way, as well as plenty individual spotlights for the members of the group. The band sounded lush and lively (despite playing with a fairly minimal soundcheck) and one can hope that this music gets a chance to live on beyond this performance.

The ensemble at this show was:

  • Anh Phung: flutes
  • Kae Murphy: trumpet, sousaphone
  • Nebyu Yohannes: trombone
  • Colin Fisher: tenor saxophone, drums
  • Naomi McCarroll-Butler: alto saxophone, bass clarinet
  • Aysel Taghi-Zada: violin
  • Aline Homzy: violin
  • Amahl Arulanandam: cello
  • Adrian Russouw: double bass
  • Roa Lee: gayageum
  • Yang Chen: percussion, tubulum
  • Racha Moukalled: piano
  • Stefan Hegerat: drums, percussion

* I'm not sure if the individual pieces within the suite have separate titles or noy; please leave a comment if you have info!

Monday, July 11, 2022

Monday Roundup #78


Video hits:

  • Pretty cool to see Maylee Todd (in human and avatar form) playing a Tiny Desk concert. Try not to get hypnotized watching the tenori-on!

Concert announcements:

Ornate Presents: Dark Matter Tapes double release celebration (feat. Michael Lynn / Kayla Milmine / Brian Abbott) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-22 (Friday). [FB event]

Alpha Strategy (So Tired / Dermabrasion / Shallow Waves) / The Baby G 2022-08-03 (Wednesday). $16.93 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Rapport [EP Release!] (Pink Blob / Sap) / Monarch Tavern 2022-08-12 (Friday). $14.50 advance, 19+. [FB event]


Shows this week:

Brittany Pitt & Dan Pitt (Madelein Ertel & Abbey Ertel) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-12 (Tuesday – early!). $10/PWYC

Most Popular Mic Touching Sounds (feat. Prince Nifty with Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-12 (Tuesday)

Ben Gunning Group (Chiquita Magic) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-13 (Wednesday – early!)

Never Was / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-13 (Wednesday)

CMC Presents (feat. BLOOP / Overleaf [Heidi Chan/Mira Martin-Gray/Kayla Milmine]) / Canadian Music Centre 2022-07-14 (Thursday). $15 Advance / $20 at the door (Arts Workers: $12 Advance / $15 at the door; Students. $10), livestream available [FB event]

Long Branch (Fortunato Durutti Marinetti / Michelle McAdorey) / Monarch Tavern 2022-07-14 (Thursday). $11.62 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Jennifer Castle / The Garrison 2022-07-14 (Thursday). $34.72 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Cosmic Country for Communists (feat. Harry Bartlett/Andrew Furlong/Kurt Newman / Janet Macpherson/Andrew Furlong/Kurt Newman) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-14 (Thursday). $PWYC.

Apollo Ghosts (No Frills / Dorothea Paas) / Monarch Tavern 2022-07-15 (Friday). $14.50 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Departures Series (feat. Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp / Sam Shalabi) / The Music Gallery 2022-07-15 (Friday). $17.03 advance, all ages. [FB event]

Sounding For Keepers (feat. Nidus) / The Tollkeeper's Park 2022-07-16 (Saturday – 6 to 9 p.m.).

Solo, duo, and trio improvisations (feat. Sara Constant/Brian Abbott/Michael Palumbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Diane Roblin Presents (feat. Portage [George Koller/Jeff LaRochelle/Bruce Cassidy/Diane Roblin) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-17 (Sunday – early!)

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Recording: Mary Halvorson's Code Girl

Artist: Mary Halvorson's Code Girl

Song: Muzzling Unwashed

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival), June 26, 2022.

Mary Halvorson's Code Girl - Muzzling Unwashed

A full house came out for this TONE Fest show that saw a smartly-combined lineup of two groups approaching the intersection of pop forms and sonic questing from different directions. This sextet, anchored by guitarist Mary Halvorson's compositions, hinted at sophisticated jazz-pop (especially in Amirtha Kidambi's vocal work) but wasn't beholden to the pop form, with the pieces stretching out and finding different spaces and combinations to explore within the band, giving Adam O’Farrill (trumpet), Brian Settles (tenor saxophone), Michael Formanek (double bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums) all room to shine. The very setup of the group on stage, an inverted V with Halvorson at the centre and furthest back (where the drummer would usually be) spoke to the anti-frontperson vibes — this is a deninitely meant to be considered as a group effort, and a chance for some Serious Listening.

Recording: Bernice

Artist: Bernice

Songs: Underneath My Toe + Big Mato

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (TONE Festival), June 26, 2022.

Bernice - Underneath My Toe

Bernice - Big Mato

A full house came out for this TONE Fest show that saw a smartly-combined lineup of two groups approaching the intersection of pop forms and sonic questing from different directions. This local institution, playing thwir first full-on quintet gig since The Beforetimes, centres the "pop song" but engages in a lot of play in doing so. The stretch/squish of Time and Events means that there's a whole album of tunes that haven't been engaged with on stage so much by band or audience, and those songs are already being gently nudged aside by the next batch (including the first selection here).

Monday, July 4, 2022

Monday Roundup #77


Concert announcements:

VC2 / Toronto Music Garden 2022-08-11 (Thursday). $free, outdoors. [more info]

Taktus Marimba Duo / Toronto Music Garden 2022-08-25 (Thursday). $free, outdoors. [more info]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Kali Malone / Thomas Mellan / Kara-Lis Coverdale) / Cathedral of St James 2021-09-29 (Thursday). $32.84 – $145.29. [more info]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Raven Chacon / Sarah Svendsen / Rashaan Allwood / Amina Claudine Myers) / Roy Thomson Hall 2021-09-30 (Friday). $50.25. [more info]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Fuji|||||||||ta / Sandra Boss) / Roy Thomson Hall (lobby) 2021-10-01 (Saturday – 1 p.m.). $36.75. [more info]

FutureStops Festival (feat. Charlemagne Palestine / Matthew Larkin / Sarah Davachi) / Metropolitan United Church 2021-10-01 (Saturday). $32.84. [more info]


Shows this week:

Mad's Happy Music (feat. Madeleine Ertel / Aline Homzy / Michael Davidson / Dan Fortin / Aidan McConnell) / The Emmet Ray 2022-07-06 (Wednesday) [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Anteloper [Jaimie Branch/Jason Nazary] + SurrealSurreal [Jeremy Dennis/Cyril Penney]) / The Baby G 2022-07-06 (Wednesday). $15.79 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Holy Oak Family Trio [Luke Kuplowsky/Thom Gill/Phil Melanson] (D. Alex Meeks) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-06 (Wednesday – early!)

The Titillators / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-06 (Wednesday). $pay-what-you-wish. [FB event]

The Spire Choir ["a sound performance involving a human performer and a bio-sensing voicing apparatus"] (feat. Xuan Ye) / Array Space 2022-07-08 (Friday – 6 + 8 p.m. performances!). $25 or pay what you want, livestream available. [more info]

Mixto Festival 2022 (feat. Ghetto Kumbé / Tush / Sofia Fly / Mosamba / New Chance) / Lynx Music 2022-07-08 (Friday). $25.12 advance. [FB event]

small, like the wren [world premiere performance, written by Anna Höstman] (feat. Cheryl Duvall) / Canadian Music Centre 2022-07-08 (Friday). $20 regular/$15 Arts Worker, Senior and Student, livestream available. [FB event]

Alex "Bad Baby" Lukashevsky / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-08 (Friday – early!)

Musica Universalis (feat. Bryan Bray/Colin Fisher / eternalrealworld) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-08 (Friday) [FB event]

D U S T (The Quietest Big Band in the Known World) / Oculus Pavilion 2022-07-09 (Saturday – 2 p.m.). outdoor event

Bob Vespaziani/Victor O/Eric Kinsella (Yvolga [Ilyse Krivel/Dora Daria] / Maeve Clark) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-09 (Saturday). $5 or PWYC. [FB event]

Ayal Senior's Monthly: Az Yashir LP Release Show (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / David Sait / Saturn City / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-10 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]

SynCirSundays (feat. Nilan Perera [solo] / Nilan Perera/Robin Buckley/TBC) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-07-10 (Sunday – early!). $10, or whatever you have in your pockets. [FB event]


It happened this week...

  • ...on July 7, 2012 at Woodbine Park (Afrofest 2012).

African Guitar Summit - Sadebake

  • ...on July 8, 2012 at Ward's Island Ferry Docks (Poor Pilgrim 5).

OG Melody (feat. Peet Moss) - We Can Do It

[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.]

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Recording: Imaginary Percussion Ensemble & The Element Choir

Artist: Imaginary Percussion Ensemble & The Element Choir

Songs: And With: as dreamed up by Germaine Liu [soundwalk montage, in two parts]

Recorded at The Bentway, June 25, 2022.

Imaginary Percussion Ensemble & The Element Choir - [soundwalk montage, part 1]

Imaginary Percussion Ensemble & The Element Choir - [soundwalk montage, part 2]

Goodness gracious! How nice it is to get outside, and to be somewhere a little unfamiliar, and to see folks from your community doing cool things! This soundwalk was conceptualized by Germaine Liu to use percussion and voices to reflect and enhance the sounds in a stretch moving from Canoe Landing Park and running along The Bentway, under The Gardiner Expressway. Accompanied by the whirr of traffic and backbeat of underpass construction, the groups' sounds fit in like ghostly counterparts to the sonic landscape. Truly delightful. (And for the record, the participants in the piece were: Bea Labikova, Aki Takahashi, Bee Pallomina, Brenda Joy Lem, Fahmid Nibesh, Joe Sorbara, Lieke van der Voort, Michelangelo Iaffaldano, Mingjia, Stephanie Chua, Raphael Roter, Heather Saumer, and Christine Duncan.)

In addition to the audio clips above, here's a slightly more expansive visual record. (Do be warned, this was taken with a handheld camera, so there are some shaky spots here):