Recording: S.H.I.T.

Artist: S.H.I.T.

Songs: Fuck All + Eraser II

Recorded at Galleria Shopping Centre (Long Winter: Galleria), January 30, 2016.

S.H.I.T. - Fuck All + Eraser II

An ambitious "takeover" project from the Long Winter crew saw their usual mix of music + art transferred to the near-derelict/doomed-by-gentrification Galleria Mall. It was a sonically awkward environment to hold a show (there's a lot of muddy "mall reverb" in these recordings) that attracted a rather different crowd than the regular LW events — skewing older, and perhaps towards those feeling a sense of pre-nostalgia for kitschy but less-corporate spaces like this. (Ironically, having a larger 19+ component in the crowd made for long lines for anyone wanting to get into the event's licenced areas, but that notwithstanding everything on the night seemed to run pretty smoothly.) S.H.I.T. hosted scores of shows at their now-defunct S.H.I.B.G.B.'s space which was just a block over from the Galleria. The bare-bones concrete bunker feel of that venue somehow didn't seem worlds removed from the cavernous box-like space at this show once the hardcore quintet (with three guitarists) filled the space with a mighty whitenoise roar, jet engine feedback squalls punctuated by short, shouted songbursts.

Recording: Germaphobes

Artist: Germaphobes

Song: Magic Eye

Recorded at The Silver Dollar Room (Wavelength 690 – Class of 2016 #5), January 22, 2016.

Germaphobes - Magic Eye

Presenting as part of Dan Burke's annual next-big-thing "Class of" series, this night saw Wavelength at its most Silent Shout-y, presenting projects whose sounds skewed towards various points on the electronic/dance continuum. Germaphobes (who'd dropped a tasty Pleasance EP a couple months back) were the night's most "rock band"-y outlier, but their new wave bop commotion had a reasonably body-moving effect on the crowd.

[Germaphobes will be playing Smiling Buddha on Saturday night (February 6th) with Montréal's Corridor.]

Recording: Scott Hardware

Artist: Scott Hardware

Song: New Money Walk

Recorded at The Silver Dollar Room (Wavelength 690 – Class of 2016 #5), January 22, 2016.

Scott Hardware - New Money Walk

Presenting as part of Dan Burke's annual next-big-thing "Class of" series, this night saw Wavelength at its most Silent Shout-y, presenting projects whose sounds skewed towards various points on the electronic/dance continuum. The mix at the Dollar tended to de-emphasize Chris Chami's piano sounds, but it did reinforce how dance-worthy Scott Harwood's post-Ken Park songs are, even if they are less-superficially drawing their sound from "dance music".

Recording: Josh Cole Quartet

Artist: Josh Cole Quartet

Songs: [set 1, first piece] [excerpt] + [set 1, third piece] [edit]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 20, 2016.

Josh Cole Quartet - [set 1, first piece] [excerpt]

Josh Cole Quartet - [set 1, third piece] [edit]

Excellent work from this occasional combo that brings double bassist Josh Cole together with Ryan Driver (piano), Karen Ng (alto sax) and Brandon Valdivia (drums). The first set was filled with rampaging energy (including some action shaker work from Driver as heard on the second piece here) while the second (excerpted in the video below) dipped into balladic slow-flow introspection. Truly a treat.

Recording: TUNS

Artist: TUNS

Songs: Throw It All Away + Mind Over Matter

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

TUNS - Throw It All Away

TUNS - Mind Over Matter

To those whose musical coming-of-age happened in the mid-90's in Canada, this new combo is cause for great excitement, and a case where "supergroup" is no mere boast. Combining the talents of Mike O'Neill (of The Inbreds), Matt Murphy (of Super Friendz/Flashing Lights) and Sloan's Chris Murphy, the trio rotated lead vocals, with each of their individual styles converging at a point of Beatles-esque power-pop perfection. Word is there's an album in the can, so this has the feeling of a working band more than a nostalgia trip — at Long Winter, they even managed to inspire a riled-up moshpit filled by enthusiastic youngsters who weren't even born when those bands listed above were touring Canada and making a name for themselves.

Recording: Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd

Artist: Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Smiling Buddha (Casual Drones 14), January 14, 2016.

Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd - [excerpt]

Having outgrown the small-scale confines of its former home at Milk Glass, the Casual Drones music series has landed at Smiling Buddha. Shifting to the larger venue has come with a definite sense of scaling up, with the shows taking place between two stages upstairs and down and the visuals (always a big element of the series) getting amped up even further. The main floor saw most of the stage removed to make way for a large lighting rig that resembled a sort of post-apocalyptic tanning bed and gave Romar L. Johnson a huge range of luminosity to paint with. So, to the good, there's a definite sense of ambition here — and the full house that was on hand showed there's an audience for this kind of experimentation. To the bad, however, this night did manage to live up to the series' derisive nickname of "Casual Bromes", with seven sets (and, by my count, ten musicians) but no women on stage. (And, for my money, I'm not sure why a night with that many acts needed to wait 'til almost ten to get started.)

This pairing saw Miszczyk on laptop and modular synthesis and Ladd on keyb to take a trip down the autobahn that went from the efficient glide heard here (that couldn't even be derailed by a brief loss of sound on stage) to a discordant destination with the drum machine rhythms shifting into increasingly-heavy distortion that eventually pulled the whole thing apart. Sort of like racing down the Trans-Canada only to come up to a twisted and broken bridge.

Recording: Brigitte Bardon't

Artist: Brigitte Bardon't

Song: Tightly But Briefly^*

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 1: Vlog), January 12, 2016.

Brigitte Bardon't - Tightly But Briefly

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This first night drew inspiration from the seemingly-boundless wellspring of youtube videos.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

The most elaborately-conceptualized of the evening's performances, Kristel Jax found the ideal visual counterpoint to her intimately-murmured drone-pop. Projector pointed straight down onto her performance space on the floor in the middle of the room, she was painted by a series of confessional video diaries, their emotional talkbursts creeping into the corners of her soundscapes. The operatic intensity of these private moments corresponded to the vocals, which seem to be simultaneously lay-it-all-out confessional and (via echo and other sonic manipulations) murkily opaque — our private crises laid bare for all to see, but still the incomprehensible mumblings of an existential Other.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

^* Thanks to Kristel for passing along the title to this one.

2015 Gig List

Starry Night (Skeleton Forest)
Holy Oak Café 2015-01-02 (Friday)

Feast In The East 44 (feat. Doomsquad / MATROX / Barbara / ZONES)
The Jam Factory 2015-01-03 (Saturday)

No Angels Dancing
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-01-04 (Sunday)

Money House
The Emmet Ray 2015-01-05 (Monday)

The Living Daylight Stringband
Holy Oak Café 2015-01-08 (Thursday)

Bernice (Body Help)
Holy Oak Café 2015-01-08 (Thursday)

Long Winter: Year Three, Volume Three (feat. Miracle Fortress / Bile Sister / Dilly Dally / Alden Penner / Mas Aya / VOTIIV / ZONES / Moonwood / DAS RAD / Tenderness)
The Great Hall 2015-01-09 (Friday)

Somewhere There Presents: The Second Sunday of January (feat. Paul Newman / Raphael Weinroth-Browne/Shahriyar Jamshidi)
Array Space 2015-01-11 (Sunday)

Mark Segger Sextet
Array Space 2015-01-12 (Monday)

Audiopollination #26 (feat. Michael Kaler/Jamie Thompson/Chris Wallace / Michael Kaler/Jamie Thompson/Arnd Jurgensen / Michael Kaler/Enuma Flux/Heidi Chan/Aki Takahashi)
Array Space 2015-01-13 (Tuesday)

Jeunesse Cosmique presents a night of elevation and trance spirit dance (feat. Hazy Montagne Mystique / Noordwiijk / TRANZMIT)
The Central 2015-01-14 (Wednesday)

Meandering Streams of Consciousness
Array Space 2015-01-16 (Friday)

Weyes Blood (Petra Glynt / Anamai / Schønsee)
Smiling Buddha 2015-01-19 (Monday)

Nidus (DUST / Tomasz Krakowiak/Holger Schoorl)
Ratio 2015-01-22 (Thursday)

Slim Twig (Michael Rault / Tasseomancy)
The Silver Dollar Room 2015-01-23 (Friday)

Toy Piano Composers featuring CelloPhone: GRIT
Heliconian Hall 2015-01-24 (Saturday)

Wavelength 635 (feat. Jason Sharp/Lina Allemano/Ryan Driver/Rob Clutton)
Wavelength Pop Up Gallery @ Huntclub 2015-01-25 (Sunday)

Emergents II (feat. Dan Fortin Trio / Robin Dann/Claire Harvie/Phil Malanson)
The Music Gallery 2015-01-30 (Friday)

Absolutely Free (U.S. Girls)
Geary Lane 2015-01-30 (Friday)

Owen Pallett (Foxes in Fiction)
Lee's Palace 2015-01-31 (Saturday — matinée)

The Cluttertones (Isla Craig / Brodie West)
Double Double Land 2015-01-31 (Saturday)

No Angels Dancing
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-02-01 (Sunday)

Wavelength 640: Ghostlight's The Winter Womb (Fifteen Wavelengths: An Ambient Suite)
Wavelength Pop Up Gallery @ Huntclub 2015-02-01 (Sunday)

Wavelength 641: INVOCATION T.O. presents Musique Fragile (feat. Saltland / Nick Kuepfer / Khôra)
Wavelength Pop Up Gallery @ Huntclub 2015-02-05 (Thursday)

The Music Gallery's Departures Series (feat. Peter Evans / Brian Ruryk / Germaine Liu)
Ratio 2015-02-06 (Friday)

Wavelength 643: The Holy Gasp (Hellenica / The Sulks)
Wavelength Pop Up Gallery @ Huntclub 2015-02-07 (Saturday)

Aurochs
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-02-10 (Tuesday)

bedroom
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-02-10 (Tuesday)

Wavelength 646: Wavelength 15 Festival Pre-party (feat. Speedy Ortiz / HSY / WISH)
The Garrison 2015-02-12 (Thursday)

Wavelength Music Festival 15 – Night 1 (feat. Art Bergmann / Controller.Controller + Classic Wavelength/Toronto Tribute Sets: Most People [playing Broken Social Scene] / Delta Will [playing Caribou] / Hervana [playing Constantines] / More Or Les [playing Toronto Hip-Hop Classics] / Lockbox [playing Owen Pallett] / The Skeletones Four [playing Jim Guthrie])
Sneaky Dee's 2015-02-13 (Friday)

Wavelength Music Festival 15 – Night 2 (feat. Lowell / The Acorn / Del Bel / Last Ex / Ginla)
SPK Polish Combatants Hall 2015-02-14 (Saturday)

Toronto Homicide Squad (Brian Shirk)
June Records 2015-02-15 (Sunday)

Wavelength Music Festival 15 – Night 3 (feat. Mozart's Sister / Fresh Snow / New Fries / Tenderness / BART / Cellphone / Look Vibrant)
The Garrison 2015-02-15 (Sunday)

Audiopollination #27.2 (feat. Tim Crofts with Ted Phillips/Nilan Perera / Nicole Rampersaud/Pete Johnson)
Array Space 2015-02-17 (Tuesday)

Nicolas Buligan (Lisa Conway)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-02-18 (Wednesday)

Thin Edge New Music Collective with Ensemble Paramirabo: Raging Against the Machine
The Music Gallery 2015-02-19 (Thursday)

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Marie LeBlanc-Flanagan [talk] / Transcombobulation / Riverrun / The Uplifters)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-02-20 (Friday)

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Allison Cameron [talk] / Denison/Ballyk/Davis / c_RL)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-02-21 (Saturday)

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Brodie West / Rob Clutton & Randi Helmers / The Muted Note / Brass Knuckle Sandwich / Friendly Rich & The Lollipop People)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-02-21 (Saturday)

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. Nilan Perara [workshop] / JunctQín Keyboard Collective / Tomasz Krakowiak/Michelangelo Iaffaldano / William Davison/Nilan Perera)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-02-22 (Sunday)

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival (feat. The Imperative / Imaginary Flesh / Peripheral Vision)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-02-22 (Sunday)

King Weather (Faster)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-02-22 (Sunday)

Healing Power Records presents (feat. Tax Haven / Zone Support)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-02-25 (Wednesday)

Mimico (ZONES / Bodies That Matter / Ken Park)
Smiling Buddha 2015-02-26 (Thursday)

Planet Creature (Terror Lake / Persian Rugs / Hurricane & Able)
Magpie Taproom 2015-02-27 (Friday)

Old Haunt (Babel / Beard Closet)
The Tranzac (Tiki Room) 2015-02-28 (Saturday)

Music Africa: Black History Month 2015 (feat. Afrafranto)
Gladstone Hotel (Melody Bar) 2015-02-28 (Saturday)

ANAMAI
June Records 2015-03-01 (Sunday)

Audiopollination 28.1 (feat. Bill Gilliam/Glen Hall / Michael Snow/Diane Roblin/Nobua Kubota / Michael Snow/Diane Roblin)
Array Space 2015-03-01 (Sunday)

PPOP Presents (feat. The Dories / WHIMM / Wolfcow)
Johnny Jackson 2015-03-01 (Sunday)

TorQ Percussion Quartet: Sextet (with Greg Oh and Wesley Shen)
The Music Gallery 2015-03-06 (Friday)

Batuki Music Society presents: The Sounds of Saba (feat. Fantahun Shewankochew with guest Netsanet Mellesse)
Alliance Française de Toronto 2015-03-07 (Saturday)

Continuum Contemporary Music: 30 More!
The Music Gallery 2015-03-08 (Sunday)

Audiopollination #28.2 (feat. Parmela Attariwala with Adele Armin / Branko Dzinovic/Robert Aitken / Jeff Burke/Casey Sokol / Shahriyar Jamshidi)
Array Space 2015-03-10 (Tuesday)

Long Winter: Year Three, Volume Five (feat. Elsa / Hank / Not Of / ASMR Buds / Several Futures / Dirty Frigs / Fake Palms / Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People / Pretty Boys / Vag Halen)
The Great Hall 2015-03-13 (Friday)

The Lanka Suite [feat. The Thing Is / GREX / Jane Bunnett] (Khôra)
The Music Gallery 2015-03-14 (Saturday)

Kurt Marble (Germaphobes / Digits)
Handlebar 2015-03-14 (Saturday)

Audiopollination 28.3 (feat. Aalborggroup / John Gregg/Tiina Kiik / Faster / William Davison/Maxwell Boecker)
Array Space 2015-03-16 (Monday)

38th Annual Martian Awareness Ball (feat. Mary Margaret O'Hara + Guests)
The Horseshoe Tavern 2015-03-17 (Tuesday)

Piano Party 2 (feat. Isla Craig / Ali Berkok)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-03-18 (Wednesday)

Josh Cole/Brandon Valdivia/Colin Fisher
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-03-18 (Wednesday)

Emergents III (feat. Geoff Mullen / Jonathan Adjemian)
The Music Gallery 2015-03-19 (Thursday)

Pendrith Trio
The Emmet Ray 2015-03-23 (Monday)

Queer Songbook Orchestra Play Songs of Resilience
Church of the Holy Trinity 2015-03-26 (Thursday)

Wavelength 653 (feat. Brian Borcherdt / Sean Paul / Slime / Toblerone Boys)
Ratio 2015-03-27 (Friday)

Mexican Slang (The Ukiah Drag / Moss Lime)
S.H.I.B.G.B.'s 2015-03-28 (Saturday)

Crosswires (feat. Paul-Julien Tanti / Faiyaz & the Wasted Chances / Ugly School / The Jim Storie Juniors)
Handlebar 2015-03-29 (Sunday)

Just a Shot Away: Optical Sounds Benefit Show for War Child Canada (feat. B-17 / The Auras / Prince Ness)
The Garrison 2015-04-02 (Thursday)

Feast in the East 47 (feat. Picastro / Charles Spearin's Roadside Silhouettes / Isla Craig / A. Minster)
Jam Factory 2015-04-04 (Saturday)

No Angels Dancing
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-04-05 (Sunday)

Nite Comfort 20 (feat. I Am Robot And Proud / dreamSTATE)
Handlebar 2015-04-05 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #1 (feat. Allison Cameron / Michael Keith/Michael Lynn/Bob Vespaziani / Jesse James Laderoute)
Johnny Jackson 2015-04-07 (Tuesday)

Sir Richard Bishop (Robert Millis / Colin Fisher & Mike Gennaro)
Ratio 2015-04-08 (Wednesday)

Nick Ferrio (L CON / The Lonely Parade)
Junction City Music Hall 2015-04-09 (Thursday)

Norman Blake, Joe Pernice and Guests
Dakota Tavern 2015-04-10 (Friday)

Black Spirituals (Colin Fisher & Mike Gennaro / Postcommodity)
Double Double Land 2015-04-12 (Sunday)

Moon King (Lee Paradise / Blunt Chunks)
Smiling Buddha 2015-04-14 (Tuesday)

The Mike Smith Company
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-04-15 (Wednesday)

eldritch Priest: Boring, Formless Nonsense: Experimental Music and the Aesthetics of Failure
Array Space 2015-04-16 (Thursday)

Biblical (PANIC / Overnight)
The Horseshoe Tavern 2015-04-17 (Friday)

Record Store Day 2015 (feat. Comet Control / Mimico / Anamai / Carl Didur)
Sonic Boom 2015-04-18 (Saturday)

Contact Contemporary Music: Professor Bad Trip (The Michael Eckert Large Earth Ensemble)
The Music Gallery 2015-04-18 (Saturday)

Record Store Day Afterparty (feat. Soupcans / Mmm Mmm [Sexy Merlin/Man Made Hill] / Crosss)
8-Eleven 2015-04-18 (Saturday)

Audiopollination #29.2 (feat. John Oswald/John Kamevaar/Germaine Liu / Michael Snow/Paul Dutton/Glen Hall/Mani Mazinani / CCMC)
Array Space 2015-04-19 (Sunday)

Healing Power presents (feat. Dohn Valley, Fresh Flesh, P0ST3RB0Y)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-04-22 (Wednesday)

Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston (Heather Segger/Germaine Liu)
The Music Gallery 2015-04-24 (Friday)

The Music Gallery's Departures Series (feat. Tim Berne's Snakeoil / Barnyard Drama / Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura)
Array Space 2015-04-29 (Wednesday)

Zoobombs (Surinam / Vallens)
The Silver Dollar Room 2015-05-02 (Saturday)

Track Could Bend #2 (feat. Ah! la lettre! + Kayla Milmine / Brian Abbott + William Davison / Nidus)
Johnny Jackson 2015-05-05 (Tuesday)

c_RL (The Ryan Driver Band)
Ratio 2015-05-08 (Friday)

Final Blocks Concert (feat. Nifty / Austra / The Barcelona Pavilion [2002-2004 Lineup] / Les Mouches / Bob Wiseman + Liz Hysen / The Phonemes / Hank / Matias / Ninja High School)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-05-09 (Saturday)

Wavelength 658 (feat. Marker Starling / JFM)
Lula Lounge 2015-05-10 (Sunday)

Audiopollination #30.1 (feat. Bea Labikova/Phil Albert/Adele Armin/Cassie Norton / Germaine Liu/Nilan Perera / Karen Ng/Branko Dzinovic / KGB)
Arrayspace 2015-05-12 (Tuesday)

Blonde Elvis (Twist / B-17 / Your 33 Black Angels)
Handlebar 2015-05-22 (Friday)

Toy Piano Composers and TorQ Percussion Quartet: Impulse
Array Space 2015-05-24 (Sunday)

Audiopollination #30.3 (feat. Sarah Peebles/Andrew Timar/Glen Hall / Glen Hall/Aki Takahashi/Sarah Peebles)
Array Space 2015-05-24 (Sunday)

Eucalyptus
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-05-26 (Tuesday)

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot (Nick Fraser + Doug Tielli)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-05-26 (Tuesday)

HPR presents (feat. Doc Dunn & The Cosmic Range / Not The Wind, Not The Flag)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-05-27 (Wednesday)

Continuum Contemporary Music and Subtle Technologies: Collide
The Theatre Centre 2015-05-28 (Thursday)

Mechanical Forest Sound Presents (feat. Moonwood / Manticore / Mirrors)
Ratio 2015-05-29 (Friday)

Wavelength 663: EXVEE (feat. Digits / L.atasha A.lcindor aka L.A. / Man Made Hill / Ayo Leilani / Still Boys / New Fries / Farang / MALOO / New Chance / Etiquette)
Artscape Gibraltar Point 2015-05-30 (Saturday)

Ryan Carley (Merganzer)
Holy Oak Café 2015-06-01 (Monday)

Track Could Bend #3 (feat. Someflowers Of Hell / Brigitte Bardon't / Demerised Elf Funk)
Dundas Video 2015-06-02 (Tuesday)

troubleshooting~ v2 (feat. Ted Phillips / Zach Clark / Nicolas Buligan)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-03 (Wednesday)

Crosss (Coarse Language / Carl Didur / Lizzy Boredom)
Double Double Land 2015-06-04 (Thursday)

Dany Laj and the Looks (The Almighty Rhombus / Terror Lake / Running Violet)
The Silver Dollar Room 2015-06-05 (Friday)

Dundas West Fest (feat. LIPS / The Royal Crowns / Neon Wave / Good Enough Live Karaoke / Mexican Slang / Blonde Elvis)
Lakeview Stage 2015-06-06 (Saturday)

Wavelength 666 (feat. Fresh Snow / Corpusse / Several Futures / Century Palm / Badminton Racquet)
The Silver Dollar Room 2015-06-06 (Saturday)

No Angels Dancing
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-07 (Sunday)

Nite Comfort 22 (feat. Ghostlight / Le 4e Discours)
Handlebar 2015-06-07 (Sunday)

Audiopollination #31.1 (feat. Robert Cruickshank + Heidi Chan / Neil D Retke + Dominique Banoun / Michael Kaler/Mike Daley/Arnd Jurgensen/Martin Loomer)
Array Space 2015-06-09 (Tuesday)

Surrender Heads (The Taste / Selina Martin)
Burdock Music Hall 2015-06-10 (Wednesday)

Doldrums (She-Devils)
The Drake Underground 2015-06-11 (Thursday)

Sound Séance I: Night 1 (feat. EXPO 70 with Dirty Inputs / Olivia Neutron-John / Babel/ Caro Diaro)
Geary Lane 2015-06-12 (Friday)

Sound Séance I: Day 1 (feat. M.Mucci / Silver Pools / Blunt Chunks / Zoë Alexis Abrams)
Geary Lane 2015-06-13 (Saturday)

Sound Séance I: Night 2 (feat. Suuns + Jerusalem In My Heart / Technical Kidman / Mimico / Jay Holy)
Geary Lane 2015-06-13 (Saturday)

Sound Séance I: Day 2 (feat. Knurl / Lorde Awesome / William Davison / Isles Day / Brigitte Bardon't / Sexy Merlin)
Geary Lane 2015-06-14 (Sunday)

Sound Séance I: Day 3 (feat. Wrekmeister Harmonies / Jessica Moss / Off World / Carl Didur)
Geary Lane 2015-06-14 (Sunday)

Avesta Nakhaei + friends
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-17 (Wednesday)

Ken Aldcroft & Scott Thomson (Germaine Liu & John Oswald)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-17 (Wednesday)

Lloyd Cole
The Great Hall 2015-06-18 (Thursday)

M for 159 Manning 2015 (feat. Serf Kanata / Jr. Mintz / Vallens / beauts / Heaters / Pat Jordache / Clairmont The Second / Dead Obies / BART / Sasha Chapin / The Muscadettes / Birds of Paradise / Fat As Fuck)
159 Manning 2015-06-19 (Friday)

Sonic Boom + PPOP Label Fair (feat. HUSH PUP / Old and Weird / King Creep / Surinam / Un Blonde / Vallens)
The Garrison's front room 2015-06-20 (Saturday)

C.R.E.A.M. Afternoon All Ages (feat. Tonkapuma / Ken Park / Lido Pimienta / Petra Glynt / Hooded Fang)
Double Double Land 2015-06-21 (Sunday)

Wavelength 669 (feat. The Ex / Swedish Azz / Brodie West & Fleshtone Aura)
Hard Luck 2015-06-23 (Tuesday)

Mob Job with Ted Phillips
Holy Oak Café 2015-06-24 (Wednesday)

Eric Boeren 4tet
Burdock Music Hall 2015-06-24 (Wednesday)

The Ryan Driver Quintet
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-06-26 (Friday)

troubleshooting~ v3 (feat. Tanya Goncalves / Marc Couroux / Cory Latkovich)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-01 (Wednesday)

Within (Albert James / BABEL)
Holy Oak Café 2015-07-02 (Thursday)

Hassan Hakmoun
Harbourfront Centre – W------ Stage 2015-07-04 (Saturday)

Track Could Bend #4 (feat. Dr. Dunn & The Cosmic Range / Castle If / Doom Tickler)
Dundas Video 2015-07-07 (Tuesday)

Operators (Most People / Wish)
The Garrison 2015-07-09 (Thursday)

Kith & Kin: The Hollow Square
The Music Gallery 2015-07-10 (Friday)

Mdou Moctar
Harbourfront Centre, W------ Stage 2015-07-11 (Saturday)

SoundClash Music Award: Shortlist Performances (feat. Ronley Teper's Lipliners / Digits / Above Top Secret)
Harbourfront Centre – Lakeside Terrace 2015-07-11 (Saturday)

The Highest Order (Army Girls / New Chance)
Wade Avenue studio 2015-07-11 (Saturday)

Somewhere There presents (feat. Nidus / Troubleshooting Trio)
Array Space 2015-07-12 (Sunday)

The Draperies (Rob Clutton)
Ratio 2015-07-13 (Monday)

Audiopollination #32.2: Self-curation Project (feat. Michael Lynn/Neil Wiernik/Lara Solnicki / Heidi Chan/Alec Brady/Andy Dolgin / Ben Sirois/Andy Yue/Alex Fournier / Zach Clark/Kayla Grant/Pedro Ferreira)
Array Space 2015-07-14 (Tuesday)

Hooded Fang (Darlene Shrugg / Heaters)
Mercury Social Club 2015-07-17 (Friday)

Monomyth (Nap Eyes / Joyboy)
Smiling Buddha 2015-07-18 (Saturday)

Alaniaris
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-19 (Sunday)

Somewhere There presents The Slow Burning Torch Series (feat. Brass Knuckle Sandwich / Broken Consort)
Array Space 2015-07-21 (Tuesday)

The Music Gallery's Departures Series (feat. Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang / Andrew Timar & Bill Parsons / Manticore)
Jam Factory 2015-07-22 (Wednesday)

Live on the Patio (feat. Tamikrest)
Roy Thomson Hall Patio 2015-07-23 (Thursday)

Freak Heat Waves (Fake Palms / New Fries / Vallens)
Smiling Buddha 2015-07-23 (Thursday)

Event Cloak (Jeffrey Alexander / Love Thy Will Be Done / New Chance)
Ratio 2015-07-25 (Saturday)

Crosswires (feat. More or Les / Proof of Ghosts / Childs / Doc Pickles)
Handlebar 2015-07-26 (Sunday)

HPR Presents: SUMMER BASS 2K15 (feat. Bile Sister / Dohn Valley / Petra Glynt / New Chance)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-07-29 (Wednesday)

Audiopollination #32.3: Audiopollinating the Tranzac (feat. Brian Abbott/Karen Ng/Kayla Milmine/Michael Lynn/Branko Dzinovic)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-30 (Thursday)

DUST
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-07-31 (Friday)

No Angels Dancing
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-08-02 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #5 (feat. Ghostlight / Lido Pimienta / Slime)
Dundas Video 2015-08-04 (Tuesday)

Mechanical Forest Sound presents (feat. Noordwiijk / Allison Cameron / Debashis Sinha)
Ratio 2015-08-05 (Wednesday)

Mermaids (Ways)
Ratio 2015-08-06 (Thursday)

SummerWorks Music Series: What Happens to JOOJ in 24 Hours: According to Bojana & Alex
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-07 (Friday)

SummerWorks Music Series: To Cast a Stone (feat. Animalia)
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-08 (Saturday)

Four Corners V: A Benefit for Girls Rock Camp Toronto (feat. Surinam / HSY / Cellphone / New Fries)
United Steelworkers Hall 2015-08-08 (Saturday)

SummerWorks Music Series: What Fate Awaits Them? (feat. Most People / MATROX)
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-09 (Sunday)

SummerWorks Music Series: Melancholiac: The Music of Scott Walker
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-11 (Tuesday)

LUKA (Isla Craig/Marine Dreams)
Burdock Music Hall 2015-08-11 (Tuesday)

SummerWorks Music Series: all you can hold (feat. LAL)
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-12 (Wednesday)

SummerWorks Music Series: Heat Shuts Off Overnight (feat. Germaphobes / ANAMAI)
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-13 (Thursday)

SummerWorks Music Series: 2016 Spring Collection (feat. Still Boys)
Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement 2015-08-14 (Friday)

Habari Africa (feat. Ethio Zema w/ Fantahun Shewankochew)
Harbourfront Centre, W------ Stage 2015-08-15 (Saturday)

Accumulations: a 6-hour symbiotonotopic experiment (feat. Nidus)
Ratio 2015-08-16 (Sunday)

Bernice (Devon Sproule)
Burdock Music Hall 2015-08-16 (Sunday)

Queen West Yacht Club 2015: Henri Fabergé's Feint of Hart
MOCCA 2015-08-19 (Wednesday)

The Channels (Crosss / Imaginary Flesh)
Handlebar 2015-08-22 (Saturday)

Wei Zhongle (Nick Storring / Bears & Children / Mirapolis)
The Cavern Bar 2015-08-23 (Sunday)

Picastro (Loom / Laughing Eye Weeping Eye)
Ratio 2015-08-27 (Thursday)

Camp Wavelength (feat. Holy Fuck / Doldrums / Dirty Frigs / Kurt Marble / Zoo Owl / Above Top Secret / Allegories / RAVETAPES)
Artscape Gibraltar Point 2015-08-28 (Friday)

Camp Wavelength (feat. The Wooden Sky / Moon King / Prince Rama / Doomsquad / LIDS / Blonde Elvis / Slow Down Molasses / Etiquette / Most People / Digits / Kidstreet / Mar Aberto SoundSystem)
Artscape Gibraltar Point 2015-08-29 (Saturday)

Camp Wavelength (feat. Do Make Say Think / The Weather Station / Loscil / Pierre Kwenders / Avec le soleil sortant de sa bouche / Anamai / Scattered Clouds / JOYFULTALK)
Artscape Gibraltar Point 2015-08-30 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #6 (feat. Basmyn Jurke / Alaniaris / Ken Aldcroft + Mike Gennaro)
Dundas Video 2015-09-01 (Tuesday)

troubleshooting~ v5 (feat. Jonathan Adjemian / Glen Hall and Eugene Martynec / Zach Clark)
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-09-02 (Wednesday)

Somewhere There presents (feat. Brick Quartet + Joe Sorbara / Knurl / Clutton/Grossman/Liu/o)
Ratio 2015-09-03 (Thursday)

Intersection (Day 1) (feat. The Element Choir / Flowers Of Hell / Music In The Barns with 1000 Strings / Tatsuya Nakatani / Not The Wind, Not The Flag / Taktus / Christof Migone / Cory Latkovich & Rob Grieve / Knurl)
Yonge-Dundas Square 2015-09-05 (Saturday)

The Music Gallery Departures Series/Intersection Day 2 (feat. Shalabi Effect / "Doc" Dunn & The Cosmic Range / Jason Doell's Dominions)
Jam Factory 2015-09-06 (Sunday)

Aurochs
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-09-08 (Tuesday)

bedroom superband
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-09-08 (Tuesday)

Fresh Snow (Carl Didur / Zones / Nailbiter)
Smiling Buddha 2015-09-09 (Wednesday)

John Cooper Clarke (Ronley Teper and The Lipliners)
The Garrison 2015-09-10 (Thursday)

The Sounds of Sleeping Giant (feat. Bruce Peninsula)
John St. TIFF Stage 2015-09-11 (Friday)

Robyn Hitchcock and The Sadies (Emma Swift)
The Drake Underground 2015-09-13 (Sunday)

Wavelength 679 (feat. The Nihilist Spasm Band with Joe McPhee / HSY / The Dead Are Those Who Have Died)
The Garrison 2015-09-17 (Thursday)

Bloor Ossington Folk Festival: "Exile On Bloor Street" (feat. Michael Feuerstack / Jon McKiel / Lullabye Arkestra / Soupcans / The Pucumber Sasssquash Family Band / Chris Ladd)
Menalon Restaurant + Bassline Music Bar 2015-09-18 (Friday)

The Bloor Ossington Folk Festival (feat. Cousins / The Burning Hell / Fiver / The Holy Gasp / Sandro Perri / Asiko Afrobeat Ensemble / Weird Lines / Construction & Destruction / TOKKA / Chris Ladd / The Idaho Stop)
Christie Pits Park 2015-09-19 (Saturday)

The Bloor Ossington Folk Festival (feat. Julie Doiron & Friends / Crosss / Absolutely Free / Stanley Brinks & Freschard / Blonde Elvis / Overnight / Lindy Vopnfjord / Walrus / Shi Wisdom / Nick Ferrio Sebastian Brown)
Christie Pits Park 2015-09-20 (Sunday)

Diatribes (Bespoken feat. Germaine Liu / Ido Govrin)
Ratio 2015-09-23 (Wednesday)

In The Sea feat. Tristan Honsinger (The Visit)
The Music Gallery 2015-09-25 (Friday)

Norma Beecroft: Pioneers Of Electronic Music [book launch] (feat. Canadian Electronic Ensemble)
Canadian Music Centre 2015-09-26 (Saturday)

Audiopollination #34.2 (feat. Ellwood Epps /Karen Ng/Paul Newman/Germaine Liu/Rob Clutton / Yves Charuest/Nicole Rampersaud/Joe Sorbara/Ken Aldcroft / Ellwood Epps/Yves Charuest)
Array Space 2015-09-27 (Sunday)

Wavelength 680: Your Band Sucks (feat. Jon Fine)
The Garrison 2015-09-28 (Monday)

Body Help
The Emmet Ray 2015-09-28 (Monday)

Yo La Tengo feat. Dave Schramm
Queen Elizabeth Theatre 2015-09-30 (Wednesday)

Not The Wind, Not The Flag (c_RL / Nifty)
The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2015-10-01 (Thursday)

Feast In The East 53 (feat. Jerusalem In My Heart / Jessica Moss / Rose Bolton & Music In The Barns / Khôra)
Jam Factory 2015-10-02 (Friday)

Brian Abbot + friends: Electric Vexations
Propeller 2015-10-03 (Saturday)

Track Could Bend #7 (feat. Body Help / Karen Ng & Sexy Merlin)
Dundas Video 2015-10-06 (Tuesday)

Lina Allemano/Karen Ng/Rob Clutton/Nico Dann
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-10-11 (Sunday)

Kulture II (feat. Cetacea / Hybrid Frequency / Hexzuul / Mandelbrut / Ruin)
The Steady Café and Bar 2015-10-13 (Tuesday)

X Avant X (feat. Lori Freedman / CCMC / Michael Snow & Casey Sokol)
The Music Gallery 2015-10-15 (Thursday)

X Avant X: MG Encore
The Music Gallery 2015-10-16 (Friday)

X Avant X (feat. Tyondai Braxton / New Chance / Pantayo)
The Music Gallery 2015-10-17 (Saturday)

X Avant X (feat. Absolutely Free / Keita Juma)
The Music Gallery 2015-10-18 (Sunday)

THE AMBiENT PiNG presents (feat. Snowday / Isles Day)
Ratio 2015-10-20 (Tuesday)

Slim Twig (Crosss / Drainolith)
The Horseshoe Tavern 2015-10-21 (Wednesday)

Nicole Rampersaud/Carl Didur/Colin Fisher
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-10-23 (Friday)

Not The Wind, Not The Flag (Sacred Lamp)
June Records 2015-10-25 (Sunday)

Cheka Dioubate
The Gladstone Hotel (ballroom) 2015-10-25 (Sunday)

Somewhere There presents (feat. Paul Newman with Heather Segger and Karen Ng)
Array Space 2015-10-27 (Tuesday)

Deciduous (Sweet Session / Organballoon)
Ratio 2015-10-28 (Wednesday)

DEATH TO T.O. V (feat. Sportsfan [as The Strokes] / members of Hollow Earth, Weaves and Cell Memory [as Wings]) / The Two Koreas [as Clinic] / members of Beliefs, Rolemodel and Teenanger [as Portishead] / members of Century Palm and Germaphobes [as The B-52's] / Explorer feat. Matty Dee [as Alice Cooper] / members of Sloan and Good Enough [as Descendants] / members of Ice Cream, Slim Twig Band and Vallens [as Alanis Morissette] / Sahara [as Cocteau Twins] / Only Yours [as The Police] / Blonde Elvis [as David Bowie] / Greys [as The Smashing Pumpkins] / Fake Palms [as Television] / Calvin Love [as Iggy And The Stooges] / Biblical [as The Who] / The Dirty Frigs feat. Doomsquad [as No Doubt] / B-17 [as Kiss])
Lee's Palace + The Dance Cave 2015-10-30 (Friday)

Nite Comfort 27 (feat. Pale Eyes / Ellson Graywell)
Handlebar 2015-11-01 (Sunday)

Track Could Bend #8 (feat. SlowPitchSound / APA / Vorvis + Thomson)
Dundas Video 2015-11-03 (Tuesday)

416 Toronto Creative Improvisers Festival: Spoken Word (feat. Brent Peers / John Oughton / James Owen / John Evans / O.E. [Bill Gilliam, Ambrose Pottie, Michael Lynn, Glen Hall])
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-11-04 (Wednesday)

Somewhere There's Second Sunday Series (feat. Fisher+Gennaro / N/A/D/S 4tet)
Array Space 2015-11-08 (Sunday)

Audiopollination #36: Self-Curation Series (feat. Avesta Nakhaei + Manuel Morales / Andrew Kay + Brian Abbott / Manuel Morales + Kayla Milmine / "Alexandr Nabokov" + "Buck McKenzie")
Array Space 2015-11-10 (Tuesday)

Internet Mountains: Clive Holden meets Debashis Sinha
Canadian Music Centre 2015-11-12 (Thursday)

Chandra (Petra Glynt / Bile Sister / New Chance)
Jam Factory 2015-11-12 (Thursday)

Long Winter 4.1 (feat. Sasha Chapin / Eyeballs / Practice Wife / The Muscadettes / Elaquent / C418 / Sahara / Cris Derksen / Calvin Love / Dilettantes / PONY)
The Great Hall 2015-11-13 (Friday)

Mechanical Forest Sound and Somewhere There Present (feat. Colby Nathan + Matt Robidoux / YlangYlang / Blunt Chunks / Colin Fisher)
The Imperial Pub (backroom) 2015-11-15 (Sunday)

Gravitons and Not The Wind Not The Flag (Man Made Hill)
Array Space 2015-11-16 (Monday)

Michelle McAdorey Band
Monarch Tavern 2015-11-18 (Wednesday)

Dilly Dally (The Beverleys / Vallens)
The Horseshoe Tavern 2015-11-27 (Friday)

Live in the Stacks (feat. Jennifer Castle)
Toronto Public Library – Yorkville Branch 2015-11-28 (Saturday)

The Diableros (Yardlets / Terror Lake)
The Garrison 2015-11-28 (Saturday)

Les Mouches (Foxes in Fiction / Home Alone)
Double Double Land 2015-11-30 (Monday)

Track Could Bend #9 (feat. Doomsquad / New Chance / Rub Out the Word)
Dundas Video 2015-12-01 (Tuesday)

Silent Shout Festival (feat. Lydia Ainsworth / Ben Gunning / Lockbox / Hush Pup)
Smiling Buddha 2015-12-04 (Friday)

Silent Shout Festival (feat. Phèdre / JOOJ / Scott Hardware / New Chance)
Smiling Buddha 2015-12-05 (Saturday)

No Octopus Dances
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-12-06 (Sunday)

Aurochs
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-12-08 (Tuesday)

bedroom
The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-12-08 (Tuesday)

Hoover Party and friends
Array Space 2015-12-09 (Wednesday)

Long Winter, Volume 4.2 (feat. Lydia Ainsworth / Isla Craig / New Chance / LUKA / Nailbiter / Petra Glynt / Mitchell Akiyama / Great Death / LAL / Blunt Chunks / AH MER AH SU)
The Great Hall 2015-12-12 (Saturday)

Kith & Kin's Holiday Wassail
The Music Gallery 2015-12-13 (Sunday)

Henri Fabergé Presents One Hell of a Creskins! (feat. Basmyn Jurke / Maylee Todd / Kiss From a Rose / Phèdre)
120 Church St. 2015-12-16 (Wednesday)

The Cluttertones (Germaine Liu / John Millard)
Burdock Music Hall 2015-12-17 (Thursday)

Daniel Blake (Heraclitus Akimbo)
Array Space 2015-12-21 (Monday)

Zacht Automaat
Double Double Land 2015-12-27 (Sunday)

Simply Saucer (Poppyseed & The Love Explosion / Stevy Zong & the Wait Men / Laughing Apples)
The Garrison 2015-12-30 (Wednesday)

Longform reviews of these shows are not currently likely. Recordings from many of these can be found if you dig through the tag cloud below.

Recording: Simply Saucer

Artist: Simply Saucer

Song: Illegal Bodies

Recorded at The Garrison, December 30, 2015.

Simply Saucer - Illegal Bodies

Closing out a short tour, this crew of Hamilton legends were in fine, razor-sharp form and in the mood to stretch out over songs old and new in an extended set. Before launching into "Dance The Mutation" in the set's final stretch, guitarist/vocalist Edgar Breau declared, "we're a dance band!" and this closer proceeded to prove that fact, reminding us besides whatever protopunk sonic particularities you want to attribute to the band they are also, at their core, designed to get bodies grooving.

Recording: Zacht Automaat

Artist: Zacht Automaat

Song: Facelift (Soft Machine cover)

Recorded at Double Double Land, December 27, 2015.

Zacht Automaat - Facelift

On the eve of adding a new album to their stellar discography, ZA's semi-annual live congregation saw the stage quartet (with project mainmen Michael McLean and Carl Didur joined by Louis Percival and Colin Fisher) stretching out a bit more than usual — at one point a sax solo from Fisher was left to unfurl outward in expanding concentric ripples as the rest of the band held back. As dreamy as the shimmers from Didur's sequined cape, which was now serving as a stage backdrop.

Recording: Daniel Blake

Artist: Daniel Blake

Song: [excerpt from last piece]^*

Recorded at Array Space, December 21, 2015.

Daniel Blake - [excerpt from last piece]

Somewhere There put this evening together to present a solo set from Brooklyn soprano saxophonist Dan Blake, who lead off with some developing work-in-progress before cutting (with scissors and all!) into some Steve Lacy. There was a nice mix of melodic and extended techniques and a rush of ideas being explored throughout.

^* I am assuming that this is a piece by Steve Lacy — please leave a comment if you know it!

Recording: Heraclitus Akimbo

Artist: Heraclitus Akimbo

Song: Live Variations [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space, December 21, 2015.

Heraclitus Akimbo - Live Variations [excerpt]

Well, file this under conflicts-of-interest, I suppose, as this is indeed the bandonym of this blog's very author. Pushing forward with the sounds that came out on my tape from this summer and reflecting a recent fascination with numbers stations, this set mixed some live-streamed shortwave radio with keyboard loops. It didn't quite all work as intended, but it came through okay — and as I'm fond of telling musicians who report that same thing to me, no one in the crowd actually knew how it was "supposed" to sound anyway.

Anyone who wants to hear more of these sounds can check out some recordings I made during the preparations for the gig, or this video for a more succinct/visual representation of same. I'm also amused with this "cosmic remix" of the live performance from Jakob Rehlinger:

photo by J. Doell

Concert Listings Roundup #129

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.

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Gig of the week:

Nite Comfort 29 (feat. Cares / Slocum) / Handlebar 2016-01-03 (Sunday) [FB event]

Some folks treat the start as a new year as a beacon to house-bound hibernation, but even as things slow down a bit the regular rhythm of the city's shows ticks along, including Nite Comfort, bringing dark ambience and synth-noise to Handlebar on the first Sunday of the month. This is no time to rest!

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This week's noteworthy shows:

Nick Fraser's Band (Angela Morris/Nathaniel Morgan/Josh Cole/Nick Fraser) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2015-12-29 (Tuesday – early + late slots!) [FB event]

Mazola [single release!] (wearenotwhoweare / The Walls Are Blonde / Ah! La lettre) / Penny's 2015-12-29 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Simply Saucer (Poppyseed & The Love Explosion / Laughing Apples) / The Garrison 2015-12-30 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Wavelength 685: New Year's Eve (feat. MATROX / Maylee Todd / The Holy Gasp / Delta Will / Man Made Hill) / Markham House City Building Lab 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

The Sadies (Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [more info]

Hooded Fang (Petra Glynt / Jooj) / The Silver Dollar Room 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Tranzac New Year's Eve (feat. Eucalyptus / New Chance / Run With The Kittens / Zoo Owl) / The Tranzac 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

NYE Night Owl Fest (feat. Moonwalks / Tess Parks / Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor / B-17 / The Green Rays / The Auras) / The Old Laurel 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

NYE @ 159 Manning (feat. High Jinx / Terrorista / Wolf Saga / Fill Spectre / Mad Ones / Stayce) / 159 Manning 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

The Big Sound: 2nd Annual New Year's Celebration / Mod Club Theatre 2015-12-31 (Thursday) [FB event]

Nick Fraser/Jim Sexton/Colin Fisher / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

No Octopus Dances / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-03 (Sunday – afternoon show @ 2:30!)

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Add these to your calendar:

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

A Dose of Reality Rap (feat. Marshia Celina / LAL) / Unit 2 2016-01-08 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollination #38.1 (feat. Thomaz Krakowiak/Holger Schoorl / Ken Aldcroft/Germaine Liu/Jonathan Adjemian / Phookie Nijjit/Andy Dolgin/Brian Abbott / Michael Lynn/Branko Dzinovic/Tiina Kiik) / Array Space 2016-01-09 (Saturday) [FB event]

Broken Wires & Coiled Strings (feat. Clara Engel / naw / roljui) / Ratio 2016-01-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Steven Lambke [Days of Heaven record release] (Eucalyptus) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Bandcamp corner:

• Zacht Automaat started the year with an album release and dropped their covers tape in the summer, so it's exciting to see them complete the 2015 hat trick with More Down Than Out. Hunker down for winter with one of the city's best bands!

Recording: Cluttertones

Artist: Cluttertones

Song: Bison

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, December 17, 2015.

Cluttertones - Bison

With the elusiveness and mysterious grace of an escaped buffalo herd, Cluttertones slowly pull apart at the loose fabric of Rob Clutton's songs without ever causing a rip. And then, like a blanket folded over on itself, points at the opposing ends can suddenly rest right up against one another.

[Cluttertones are playing at Ratio on Saturday January 16th, with Brodie West's Ways and Blunt Chunks.]

Recording: John Millard

Artist: John Millard

Song: Dutch Boys

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, December 17, 2015.

John Millard - Dutch Boys

In bringing his avant-chamber-folk Cluttertones ensemble to the Burdock, Rob Clutton chose a couple opening acts that reflected opposing aspects of the band's sound. Germaine Liu's solo percussion set hinted at the project's abstract and experimental aspects, while John Millard represented tuneful songcraft. I first encountered Millard this summer as one of the singers in The Melancholiac's Scott Walker tribute ensemble, but he has a long track record both as a solo performer as well in groups such as the Polka Dogs (the latter of which included Tiina Kiik and Ambrose Pottie, both also known for their work in the city's improvised music community). Millard's set mixed songs with engaging stories, giving a chance to see how the incidents he recounted were refined into the songs' sharpened edges.

Recording: Kith & Kin

Artist: Kith & Kin

Songs: Don Oíche Úd i mBeithil [traditional] + Wintergrace [composed by Jean Ritchie]

Recorded at The Music Gallery, December 13, 2015.

Kith & Kin - Don Oíche Úd i mBeithil + Wintergrace

As always, Kith & Kin's annual wassail at the Music Gallery was a warm and engaging evening of conventional and wonderfully non-traditional seasonal songs from Ivy Mairi, Martha Farquhar-McDonnell, and Kathleen McDonnell. Appalachian singer Jean Ritchie, who passed away this year, has long a favourite of the group, and this wonderfully vivid winter's song is preceded by a verse of an Irish Gaelic hymn from Martha Farquhar-McDonnell — one of most beautiful voices to be found in Toronto, city or island — who mentioned that an album of Celtic songs is forthcoming.

Recording: LAL

Artist: LAL

Song: Rules Were Meant to be Broken

Recorded at The Great Hall's basement (Long Winter 4.2), December 12, 2015.

LAL - Rules Were Meant to be Broken

With an unusual Saturday night edition and winter nowhere yet to be found, it felt a little different heading down for this one. As with the first of this year's series, the best spot for music was down in the basement, while dance and art crept closer to the night's centre from all directions. Closing out the night's live music in the basement, LAL is in an amazing place right now, with singer Rosina Kazi and sound designer Nicholas Murray delivering their new material with intense joy and pain. No B.S., no game-playing, this is fully committed music — and both of the times I saw them in 2015 were among my favourite sets of the year. There's no word yet on when their forthcoming album is coming out, but it stands to be a noteworthy release for 2016 — this is what Toronto needs right now.

[The next Long Winter will be on January 16th, 2016 — note that's on a Saturday again — with sets from Vallens, LOOM, Mystic Triangle, Michelle McAdorey, JOOJ, STÜKA, Pantayo, Khôra, Strands, Overnight and more.]

Recording: Nailbiter

Artist: Nailbiter

Song: [last segment]^*

Recorded at The Great Hall's basement (Long Winter 4.2), December 12, 2015.

Nailbiter - [last segment]

With an unusual Saturday night edition and winter nowhere yet to be found, it felt a little different heading down for this one. As with the first of this year's series, the best spot for music was down in the basement, while dance and art crept closer to the night's centre from all directions. Sharing the stage with New Chance (who each had a side on the night's free 7" single), there were some serious dance grooves down in the basement. Actually, "sharing the stage" is something of a misnomer, as Josh Korody instead set up on the floor in front of it, twisting knobs and riding the faders on his mixing panel as he hurled out some modular synth grooves. This closing segment of his short set begins with a blurting tone that sounds like a klaxon warning that a parking garage door is about to open and tears itself open after that. By the end, Korody let the tracks run for a bit as he backed away from his gear to dance in the crowd.

[Nailbiter will be playing at Wavelength's "Class of 2016" show at The Silver Dollar on Friday, January 22nd. The next Long Winter will be on January 16th, 2016 — note that's on a Saturday again — with sets from Vallens, LOOM, Mystic Triangle, Michelle McAdorey, JOOJ, STÜKA, Pantayo, Khôra, Strands, Overnight and more.]

^* I suspect this is a largely-improvised piece, but let me know if you hear of a title to this one.

Recording: Petra Glynt

Artist: Petra Glynt

Song: Fell in a Hole

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.2), December 12, 2015.

Petra Glynt - Fell in a Hole

With an unusual Saturday night edition and winter nowhere yet to be found, it felt a little different heading down for this one. As with the first of this year's series, the best spot for music was down in the basement, while dance and art crept closer to the night's centre from all directions. Moving up to the big stage from her Conversation Room appearance in LW's first year, Alex MacKenzie took advantage of the space by inviting frequent collaborator Steve Reaume to spread his projections across the width of the room's back wall. Tackling a set of newer material with confidence, MacKenzie looked as comfortable pounding on her drum and prowling the stage as she did when stepping back for a quick dance break.

[The next Long Winter will be on January 16th, 2016 — note that's on a Saturday again — with sets from Vallens, LOOM, Mystic Triangle, Michelle McAdorey, JOOJ, STÜKA, Pantayo, Khôra, Strands, Overnight and more.]

Recording: LUKA

Artist: LUKA

Song: Quick Reflex

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.2), December 12, 2015.

LUKA - Quick Reflex

With an unusual Saturday night edition and winter nowhere yet to be found, it felt a little different heading down for this one. As with the first of this year's series, the best spot for music was down in the basement, while dance and art crept closer to the night's centre from all directions. In the Main Hall, especially at the start of the night, the music seemed to be just one element competing for the patrons' attention, which lead to Luke Kuplowsky's quietly observational songs sounding like one more murmured conversation in the room. Rather than trying to compete or overpower the chatter, the band seemed content to stay in their comfort zone, forcing those who wanted to hear to lean in a little closer.

[The next Long Winter will be on January 16th, 2016 — note that's on a Saturday again — with sets from Vallens, LOOM, Mystic Triangle, Michelle McAdorey, JOOJ, STÜKA, Pantayo, Khôra, Strands, Overnight and more.]