Recording: By Divine Right feat. Ian Blurton + Dan Burke

Artist: By Divine Right feat. Ian Blurton amd Dan Burke

Song: Sweet Jane [Velvet Underground cover]

Recorded at The Silver Dollar Room ("Lou Reed: Live Tribute"), November 21, 2013.

By Divine Right feat. Ian Blurton + Dan Burke - Sweet Jane

Full review to follow. Lou Reed, in his work in the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, created an entirely new lineage in the great tree of rock'n'roll. Any band that embraces some combination of darkness, bad vibes, unrepentant vice, noise and art can probably trace their roots back towards Lou Reed, and in Toronto, it seemed exactly right that the Silver Dollar (home, most nights, to some combination of the above) should be the place to host a night of music in tribute. A full night saw a wide variety of Reed's heirs celebrate some good songs, ranging from quiet moments of beauty to noise freakouts.

By Diving Right closed off their mini-set by inviting up Ian Blurton (supplementing Jose Contreras' fiery guitar solos) to help them back iconic Silver Dollar booker/rock'n'roll animal Dan Burke, who delivered the goods with attitude and conviction.

Bonus! If that's not enough for you, I've made the entire tribute night available to download.

Recording: The Carnations + Ian Blurton

Artist: The Carnations + Ian Blurton

Song: How Does It Feel to Feel [The Creation (via Ride) cover]

Recorded at The Great Hall ("A Night of Covers: A Celebration of Chris Levoir"), July 4, 2013.

The Carnations + Ian Blurton - How Does It Feel to Feel

Full review to follow. A celebration and a wake. After the untimely passing of singer/guitarist Chris Levoir, his bandmates in The Mark Inside rightly decided that the proper way to launch their new album Dark Hearts Can Radiate White Light was with a big party, with covers played by friends and collaborators, and a lot of these songs came with stories of how they linked back to Chris. Reminiscent of rehearsal space jams, these were loose and occasionally imperfect, but infused with the spirit of friends playing together. In the end, the night was sad, fun and cathartic.

Playing their first show in ten years, The Carnations closed out the evening with the night's longest set, throwing in a couple of their own songs. They were also joined by Ian Blurton for a couple tunes, leading to some rocktastic action with members taking to the floor in front of the stage before finishing things off in a pile of collapsed amplifiers.