Monday Roundup #139

Concert announcements:

Steel Saddle (Roy / Rogue Tenant) / Monarch Tavern 2023-09-28 (Thursday). $16, 19+. [FB event]

X Avant XVIII: Neeeerrrrddddssss: so what do you think? (feat. Germaine Liu/Fahmid Nibesh/Raphael Roter/Mark Zurawinski / Christopher Willes & Akash Bansal's "Six Turntables") / The Music Gallery 2023-10-11 (Wednesday). $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

X Avant XVIII: Neeeerrrrddddssss: shoe horn (feat. Tegan Dietsch / Lina Allemano / Why Be Normal [%%30%30 & James Bailey] / Tom Richards / Annie Elgie) / Bata Shoe Museum 2023-10-12 (Thursday). $22.20, all ages. [FB event]

X Avant XVIII: Neeeerrrrddddssss: and i was like woah! (feat. Gabber Modus Operandi / Rani Jambak / J. “Mo’ong” Santoso Pribadi / Wok The Rock / Aki Onda / Natasha Tontey / Riar Rizaldi) / The Music Gallery 2023-10-13 (Friday). $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

Death to T.O #11 (feat. covers sets by members of Nyssa / Kali Horse/Roy / Dilettante / Rapport/Dilly Dally / Koza / Ducks Ltd/Breeze / Praises / C.J. Wiley / Vallens/Twist / Paste / Secret Sign / Olga / Miserable Weekend/Not A Band) / Lee's Palace + The Cave 2023-10-28 (Saturday). $22, 19+. [FB event]

Okan / The Drake Underground 2023-11-21 (Tuesday). $30.52. [FB event]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

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Shows this week:

Ladyfinger / The Emmet Ray 2023-09-12 (Tuesday – 6:30 p.m.). [FB event]

Dun-Dun Land, Night 11 (feat. Dun-Dun Man / Colin Fisher) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-12 (Tuesday – early). $pwyw.

Masahiro Takahashi [Humid Sun release show, with Blake Howard, Bram Gielen, Brodie West, Joseph Shabason, Michael Davidson, and Ryan Driver] (Omar Bongo) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-09-12 (Tuesday). $20. [FB event]

a Josh Cole trio + strings [Lina Allemano/Nick Fraser/Josh Cole/Aline Homzy/Nick Storring] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-12 (Tuesday) [more info]

The Brodie West Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-13 (Wednesday – early) [more info]

Boyscott (Heaven For Real) / The Garrison 2023-09-13 (Wednesday). $20.61, 19+. [FB event]

Music By Harry and Furlong (feat. Harry Bartlett [solo guitar] / The Search For Eternal Happiness [Chris Wiens/Pat O'Reilly/Caleb Klager/Max Stover/Harry Vetro]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-13 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [more info]

Body Help [Colin Fisher/Josh Cole/Allison Au/Ian Wright] / The Rex 2023-09-14 (Thursday – 5:30 p.m.). $10. [more info]

Mainstream 5.0 (feat. Grace Scheele / Subsume / Greydini) / Dundas Video 2023-09-14 (Thursday). [FB event]

An evening with François Houle (feat. François Houle/Marco von Orelli / François Houle/Joe Sorbara / François Houle/Jorrit Dijkstra / François Houle/Marco von Orelli/Joe Sorbara/Jorrit Dijkstra/Josh Cole) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-14 (Thursday). $pwyc. [more info]

Sandro Perri + Friends [Sandro Perri/Blake Howard/Thomas Hammerton/Josh Cole/Nick Zubeck] (Andre Ethier) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-15 (Friday – early). $pwyc, suggested $20. [more info]

Anastasia Minster (Raphael Weinroth-Browne) / Annette Studios 2023-09-15 (Friday). $22.63. [FB event]

Happy Trails [EP release!] [Kayla Milmine & Victor O] (Trail Mix [Kayla Milmine/Victor O/Elizabeth Lima/Mark Zurawinski]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-16 (Saturday – early) [FB event]

Allison Cameron/Eve Egoyan/Lori Freedman / Array Space 2023-09-16 (Saturday). $10-$15/pwyc.

Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Jessica Ackerley Trio / Adversarial Networks / Zoë Alexis-Abrams) / Tibet Street Records 2023-09-16 (Saturday). $15, all ages. [FB event]

$™ Presents: The Wrong Show (Ep. 3) (feat. Toys 'n' Dreb / Victor O / Astrolope / Everyone's Intestines) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-09-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Keelie (Caveman & The Banshee / Enchanters / Bambies) / The Dock Ellis 2023-09-16 (Saturday). $15. [FB event]

Ted Phillips Memorial [potluck, memories, and music] (feat. Liz Lima / Nilan Perera / Mira Martin-Gray / Brian Abbott / Rob Cruickshank & Sarah Peebles / Counterstasis / Mike Lynn / Mike Palumbo / Marilyn Yogarajah / Kieran Maraj) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-09-17 (Sunday – 5 p.m.) [FB event]

15 New Works for Snare Drum [15 world premieres for solo snare drum by Kati Agócs, Amy Brandon, Brian Current, Jason Doell, Emilie LeBel, Nicole Lizée, Russell Hartenberger, Vincent Ho, Anna Höstman, Michael Oesterle, Monica Pearce, Bekah Simms, Andrew Staniland, Hiroki Tsurumoto and Christina Volpini] (feat. Ryan Scott) / 918 Bathurst 2023-09-17 (Sunday). $pwyc. [FB event]

NPNP Trio [record release show!] [Jackson Darby/Evelyn Charlotte-Joe/James Goddard] (Eejungmi) / Monarch Tavern 2023-09-17 (Sunday). $15. [FB event]

Alabaster DePlume / The Rivoli 2023-09-17 (Sunday). $27.56, 19+. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• ...on September 13, 2015 at The Drake Underground.

Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies - I Wanna Destroy You

• ...on September 17, 2015 at The Garrison (Wavelength 679).

The Nihilist Spasm Band feat. Joe McPhee - The Sweetest Country This Side of Heaven

[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: Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies

Artist: Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies

Songs: You're Still on My Mind [Luke McDaniel cover, via The Byrds] + One Hundred Years from Now [Gram Parsons cover, via The Byrds] + Lucifer Sam [Pink Floyd cover] + I Wanna Destroy You [Soft Boys cover]

Recorded at The Drake Underground, September 13, 2015.

Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies - You're Still on My Mind

Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies - One Hundred Years from Now

Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies - Lucifer Sam

Robyn Hitchcock & The Sadies - I Wanna Destroy You

This was about the fifth or sixth year that Robyn Hitchcock has made an annual stop in the basement at The Drake, with the last few being multi-night mini-stands, where RH would show off his super-deep catalogue by playing for two or three nights in a row without repeating a song. This year saw a couple nights of solo balladeer action, but this Sunday-night closer was a special one-off, seeing Hitchcock being backed by specialists-in-all-styles The Sadies in a night billed as "Jewels From The Vault".

That was a hint that there'd be covers a-plenty, but all expectations were surpassed when the set turned out to be a start-to-finish recreation of The Byrds' iconic country-rock foundation-stone Sweetheart of The Rodeo. This night was a follow-up to the same pairing covering The Band's Stage Fright in full at the Winnipeg Folk Festival earlier this year, and a few selections from that were played, as well as a pair of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd tunes. Dipping into Hitchcock's own back pages to finish with rocked-up versions of The Soft Boys' "I Wanna Destroy You" and "Queen of Eyes" was just icing on the cake. And all of it was delivered with Hitchcock's signature surrealistic élan, whether musing on the poles of the karmic wheel or making an impassioned tribute (in French!) to his cup of tea with soy milk ("sans vache"). As always, an annual highlight.

[As there are just too many gems to pick from here, I've gone ahead and uploaded the entire set to the Live Music Archive, so you can stream or download the whole thing there.]

Recording: Robyn Hitchcock

Artist: Robyn Hitchcock

Songs: Raymond Chandler Evening + My Wife & My Dead Wife + Visions of Johanna [Bob Dylan cover]

Recorded at The Drake Underground, September 4, 2013.

Robyn Hitchcock - Raymond Chandler Evening

Robyn Hitchcock - My Wife & My Dead Wife

Robyn Hitchcock - Visions of Johanna

Full review to follow. For the second of his two-night stand, Hitchcock framed the evening as "a series of love songs", dipping into his vast reservoir of tunes to present love in all its forms beyond the merely romantic. That meant that sex, death and other weirdness (including an appearance by "Victorian Squid") all fit in quite nicely. This night's encore saw Hitchcock joined by Kate Boothman and her backing musicians, before ending with Hitchcock in the crowd for an unplugged singalong to some Buddy Holly and The Beatles.

Recording: Robyn Hitchcock

Artist: Robyn Hitchcock

Songs: Glass Hotel + Swirling + Record Collection Medley: Rock Your Baby [George McCrae cover] / When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman [Dr. Hook cover] / Sound and Vision [David Bowie cover]

Recorded at The Drake Underground, September 3, 2013.

Robyn Hitchcock - Glass Hotel

Robyn Hitchcock - Swirling

Robyn Hitchcock - Record Collection Medley: Rock Your Baby / When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman / Sound and Vision

Full review to follow. Singular itinerant minstrel Robyn Hitchcock (self-proclaimed as "England's answer to Robyn Hitchcock") returned to town to dig out some selections from his vast catalogue, dazzling, as always, with nimble guitar work and his sly wordplay, enhanced with his steam-of-consciousness banter. Whether riffing on Canadian geography or foreshadowing a grim dystopia where everyone ends up watching old Burt Reynolds films, it's a singular journey and always a fabulous experience. Plus, as has become his custom, the encore was an all-covers ramble through his record collection, with sombre offerings from Townes Van Zandt and Dylan bookending the jaunty mash-up reproduced here.

Hitchcock will be playing the Underground again tonight (September 4th), offering a completely different set of songs.

Recording: Robyn Hitchcock

Artist: Robyn Hitchcock

Song: The Ghost Ship / Robyn Speaks

Recorded at the Drake Underground, June 11, 2010.

Robyn Hitchcock - The Ghost Ship

Robyn Hitchcock - Robyn Speaks

My notes for this show can be found here.

Gig: Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock (Sunbear)

The Drake Underground. Friday, June 11, 2010.

I probably go to enough shows not to get too worked up about any particular one of them; or, put another way, I go to too many shows to get too excited that often. This was one that I was excited for.

Like the way I'm sure a lot of people feel about their own favoured "cult artists", I've long felt a bit of tension about Robyn Hitchcock — utter confusion that, based on his talents, he's not far more well-known than he is, tempered by a sort of possessive happiness that the result of that is that I get to see him close up and unspoilt by a mass audience.

With something like seventeen albums to his name¹ — a few classics included — Hitchcock has a body of work that might appear daunting to the uninitiated. And yet, he is something close to brilliant — his mix of classic songwriting and beautiful melodies with suggestive lyrics that carry the songs' emotional depth despite (or more likely because of) their surrealist wanderings, as if capturing life in all its squishy, confusing glory. That penchant for abstract whimsy has long blinded some people to his merits, but for my money he's one of the best, and well-worth heading out for.

Though I knew this to be an early show, on what turned out to be a rather lovely evening out, I couldn't be in a rush to get down to Queen Street, and ended walking down on a rambling, indirect route. Climbed down to the Drake's basement at about 8:45 to find the opener already on stage. This was, quite sensibly, set up as a seated show, and as I got there, the place was less than half-filled. Managed to snag a fine seat, second row centre.

That opener was Sunbear, the project of local folksinger Kate Boothman, who was playing solo on this night, though a traipse through her myspace² shows that she often is backed by some choice local musicians — her new one Moonbath³ gets by with a little help from Ian Russell ($100), Nick Taylor (Steamboat) and Melissa Boraski (Eiyn Sof).

On her own, Boothman featured mostly fingerpicked guitar, and her music was "proper folk", in that slightly stiff, vaguely formalistic way. A little austere, like a cold wind, but also with a welcoming purity to it. Between songs, mind you, Boothman was genial in chatting from the stage. Looking around as the place filled in, there was an amiable, out-with-friends kind of crowd, who listened attentively, laughing along.

Listen to a song from this set here.

It felt weird to behold such an utterly bare stage — not even an amp to be seen. And no merch to speak of, either.⁴ One imagines Robyn Hitchcock to be a streamlined touring operation — one man, arriving by streetcar, guitar in hand is my mental image. That kind of minimal set-up meant for a quick turnaround and when the soundman brought a cup of tea up to the table on the stage, one could figure that the time was near.

Taking the stage in a jaunty shirt⁵, he opened with "The Ghost Ship" (the 1988 b-side to "Balloon Man"), an unexpected choice and rather something of an obscurity, showing the depth of the catalogue that he has to draw from. Even for things that aren't obscurities, the well's so deep that songs like "Mexican God" (from '99's Jewels for Sophia) are unexpected — and a good way to be reminded of the virtues of songs like this that could easily be overlooked.

Given that there are so many songs to choose from, a musician has to come prepared. And, far from just throwing songs out there, Hitchcock was working from a neatly-lettered, carefully delineated setlist. But the idea that the course of the show was so decidedly predetermined was undermined by his verbal asides, always an essential part of his live performances, where the audience gets some real-time samples of his off-kilter worldview. That banter is truly of a piece with his songs.

Stuff like "I Often Dream Of Trains" might seem rather like folk to the casual observer, Hitchcock took pains to comment, "You can tell that is is basically rock'n'roll and not folk music — but I can't explain how". Well — discuss amongst yourselves, I guess. It was nearly a half-hour into the show before he got to something from his new album (the agreeable Propellor Time), playing "Luckiness" as well as "Ordinary Millionaire", a co-write with Johnny Marr⁶.

And then, just continuing the journey, mixing older songs with more recent ones and "hits" with deeper cuts. Before the main set's finale of "(A Man's Gotta Know His Limitations) Briggs", there was a bravado burst of banter, wherein Hitchcock gave a five-minute discourse on Magnum Force, the song's inspiration.

That made for an eighty-minute set, which was followed by "a couple songs in my record collection", a four-song, all-cover encore, visiting some kindred-spirited inspirations, touching on Syd Barrett (a slowed-down and mellow "Terrapin") and The Incredible String Band ("Nightfall") as well as The Doors and Nick Drake. The closing reading of "River Man" was a rather lovely note to go out on. A fabulous show, and done early enough for some further adventures on the night.⁷

You can check out a couple tracks from this show here and here — and because the banter is such a big part of the appeal, I've included a snippet of that along with the latter.

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¹ Not even counting his compilations of rarities, demos and out-takes, which out-number & out-perform many artists' main discographies. Or live releases, of which there are several. And that's not even mentioning his early work with his pre-solo band The Soft Boys, which is worthy and influential on its own. His discography is so deep that it's gratifying to find an online database to aid in navigating through it.

² There are several Sunbears out there, but Boothman is this one.

³ Which is getting a release party at The Horseshoe on Thursday, September 16, 2010, with Eiyn Sof — who has also just released a fantastic album — as one of the openers.

⁴ On not having merch, he later commented that there might be some available at the next afternoon's in-store performance: "I have no idea if they have it... they may have this record in stock... but there's millions of records, really — y'know, if you bought a Sister Sledge record, it's essentially the same stuff. The message is fine-tuned. Or you may listen to Local Natives... essentially it's all the same stuff — it's all a cry for help." The latter reference hints that Hitchcock probably has more of a grip on contemporary music than most of his audience.

⁵ Another sign of his awareness of how things work in today's techno-obsessed society, Hitchcock realizes that spontaneous moments on the stage tend to have an afterlife these days. At one point, pausing to adjust his hair between songs, he commented, "you see these things on YouTube and your quiff isn't together — God help Kennedy if he was assassinated these days." [long beat, looks at his fingernails] "Wouldn't've been in one take, that's for sure."

⁶ You should check out the stop-motion video for this one, which visually fits quite nicely with Hitchcock's style very well, as well as featuring Marr's lovely shimmering guitar.

⁷ And testifying further to the depth of his catalogue, he played a completely different set on the next night's show of the two-night stand. Had I not been occupied elsewhere, I'd have had no reluctance to buy a ticket for that second show as well — and there's not a lot of people that I can say that about.

Recording: Robyn Hitchcock

Artist: Robyn Hitchcock

Song: Luckiness

Recorded at The Drake Underground, June 10, 2010.

Robyn Hitchcock - Luckiness

Review to follow. Update: My review for this set can now be found here.

The other day, when I was walking down the street, listening to this song on Robyn Hitchcock's new album, a woman passed me going in the other direction, and she was carrying a plastic bag that announced, in large letters, "LUCKY". Which seemed unusually, well, something-or-other.

Album: Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 / Goodnight Oslo

Artist: Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3

Title: Goodnight Oslo

In the future, this probably won't be the first RH album I'd reach for — maybe not even the sixth — but any denigration I make has to be seen in the context of a pretty decent canon. And perhaps also weighed against fairly high expectations following on 06's exceptional Olé! Tarantula wherein RH and co. got a Soft Boys-esque rockin' groove on. This time, the mood is mellower and more restrained. If anything, it actually sounds as if the band is channelling their inner Sadies (esp. on "Hurry For The Sky"). To say that Hitchcock focuses on the usual themes is no slight, and nor is the fact that he deals with them in a slightly more down-to-earth manner than usual. The worst I can say is that this is a pleasant but slight entry in the discography, but still very listenable.

Track Picks: 3- "Saturday Groovers", 4 - "I'm Falling"