In-store: Actual Water / Young Governor

Actual Water / Young Governor

Kops Records. Friday, June 17, 2011.

In-stores — official or otherwise — are always a most welcome fixture of North by Northeast, enhancing the musical overkill with chances to cram in even more bands during the earlier part of the day. The crowd-tantalizin' hook for this late afternoon affair on Queen Street was a headlining appearance by then-buzz-band Cults, who were attempting a SXSE-esque cavalcade of appearances. I didn't know any of their stuff and I wasn't too sad when I arrived to find a sign on the door noting that their appearance was cancelled due to "stress". As I settled in, an anonymous singer/songwriter type strumming his guitar was finishing up. I was just in time for the bands I was here to see.

After the switchover, as Actual Water were just about ready to play, Ben Cook (taking it in from right up front) catcalled, "you better play with soul!" — a comment presumably spurred on by the "SOUL" sign dangling from the ceiling above them, indicating which records would normally found at the back end of the store where the band were now set up. Once the sound was sorted out as the band led off with The Paisley Orchard's "The Situation", Cook could also be seen singing along as the band played both sides of their "Latoya"/"She's A Priest" 7", which he'd produced and co-written.

Rickenbacker-powered paisley punk was the band's stock in trade at this point, though there was room for some other sounds in their quick set, like the harder-edged "Caroline Ave." and the college rock/power-pop of "Vari Baby". Given that their sensibility seems to be to scuff the edges of their pop tendencies, the slightly rough sound in the store suited this just fine.

Listen to a track from this set here.

That mix of pop perfection and scrappy roughness was also in effect for Young Governor. Long a working alias for Ben Cook's solo efforts (when not working in his many other projects or playing guitar in Fucked Up), he was backed here by The Scuzz. The keyboards were absent (they probably couldn't fit 'em in the tiny area the bands had to play in), but Dennis P's all-important saxophone was present to add a classic rock'n'roll edge to the songs.

The raw sound in the room added a pleasing rough edge to the power-pop tunefulness of "Cindy's Gonna Save Me" and roared with the more punk-ish "Virginia Creeper". Passing time while everyone tuned up, Cook tossed some condoms from the shop next door into the crowd, enjoining everyone to "be safe, y'hear?"

There was a specific sort of layering of influences in the tunes — the catchy simplicity of early rock'n'roll filtered through an '80's pop sheen — Don Dixon's solo work comes to mind here, but with an added punk intensity — and I could almost visualize hearing these songs playing over the credits of a teen comedy playing on a battered old VHS tape.

I liked the fact that all of these reference points were touched upon without an ironic wink. In fact, Cook's fondness for his influences was really brought home when he paid tribute to locals The Stiffs (who'd later become Dead Letter Dept.), inviting the band's Rob Moir up to song along with a cover of the catchy "Rumors".

And for a guy who has pumped out plenty of concise two minute punk nuggets, Cook's songs here often started with mini-overtures, instrumental intros that would last almost a couple minutes apiece as lean-ins to the songs proper. But the music would never get too staid — "Summer Girls" accelerated giddily as the song unfolded and "Call Me When the Cat Dies" closed out the set with a punk sneer. This was definitely material that I'd want to hear again — and it would turn out that I wouldn't have long to wait.

Listen to a track from this set here.

In-store: Doug Paisley

Doug Paisley

Soundscapes. Tuesday, May 31, 2011.

Though Constant Companion, the second album from local troubadour Doug Paisley had originally come out near the end of 2010 on Brooklyn-based imprint No Quarter, it had been picked up for a domestic re-issue by MapleMusic, leading to a charm offensive and PR blitz (about which, more anon). Although part of that was trying to break through to the broader public — the band looked mildly discombobulated, as their long day's promo work had started at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for a TV breakfast show appearance — it also made sense to celebrate the album at Soundscapes, who had been championing it for months.

Which isn't to say that Paisley wasn't a bit skeptical coming in: "I gotta say, I've only done one in-store in my life, and it was in Chicago at this apparently well-known record store. And it was the first time I ever toured in the States, so I was pretty excited to go to this big-deal in-store. And I went down there, and it was just me and the guy that set up my mic and this guy that was shopping for electronica records... and I was kinda in the way."

Happily, Paisley was buoyed up with the robust turnout on hand, and lead off, like the album, with "No One But You". And, like the album, Jen Castle was on hand to sing harmony. Besides her, Paisley was playing with a three-piece backing band, keyb/bass/drums.¹ This was a bit less of a hony-tonk rockin' alignment than the last time I'd seen him play, but being a bit more stripped-down was a chance to really hear the fabulous timbre of Paisley's voice. He also revealed himself to be a nimble picker on his semi-acoustic.

His technical gifts, however, are just means to deliver his songs. The country/folk tunes are expertly-constructed, but never just feel like technical exercises when delivered with Paisley's soulful conviction. His personality was also quite present in his winning banter. Like the proverbial back-porch balladeer, Paisley isn't one to rush through things, taking a moment for random small-talk as he tuned — at one point taking comfort in the small dog that one attendee had brought to the store.

The setlist mostly stuck to the "new" album at hand, though he did dip back to his earlier, self-titled effort for "Broken in Two" and "What About Us?" and threw in the unrecorded "Song My Love Can Sing" — nine songs, all told, with Castle returning for a couple more before set's end.

"I'd like to say you guys have redeemed in-stores for me," he said before launching into the last song. "I'm one for two now." Finishing with the apropos "Always Say Goodbye", Paisley closed with a reminder for the accompanying "release party" full gig a few days ahead — about which, also more anon.²

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ The latter was filled out by the always-flexible Dan Gaucher, currently out on tour with Sandro Perri.

² It should be noted that Paisley has already had another new release in the interim, with the Golden Embers EP arriving last month.

In-store: Jennifer Castle

Jennifer Castle

Soundscapes. Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

There was the evening's honest sunlight and poetry in the air as I tromped down Grace to head to Soundscapes, lightness in my heart and broken lightbulbs on the sidewalk. Altogether perfect for an acoustic mini-set from Jennifer Castle, whose music also mixes sweet spirit and dark soul-murmurs.

In the flesh, mind you, she always seems bright and cheery, until she lays her hands on her guitar, closes her eyes and starts channelling something. Before she could get down to it, however, while a friend brought up a bouquet of lilacs to set at the foot of her chair she went over to the cash register to borrow a copy of her own album to have something to use as a setlist.

This would be a solo set on electric guitar, used to pick out a spare backdrop for her songs. Castle's playing can be very minimal, but an occasional flourish would occasionally remind that the paring down is a deliberate choice, and never a result of ability's limitations. As I've seen her do before, Castle moved through the set in mini-suites, leading with "Way of the Crow" seguing through four more titles before stopping to let the crowd respond with applause.

And then another burst of songs. Eyes closed, Castle manages to give the impression of disciplined restraint and instinctive sensuousness at the same time, and maybe in the murky flow from song to song there's an undertone that all these dualities — cheerful singer/grim troubadour; technique/improvised drift; the joy of love/a hurting heart — are cheap perceptual constructions. She's looked at clouds from both sides now.

Most of the songs would be from the excellent Castlemusic album that this set was celebrating, including "Misguided" — which I don't think I'd heard live before. "For My Friends", a high point from the older You Can't Take Anyone also found its way in there. And then a pause to slip on her capo and chat for a moment before diving back in a new key with the evocative "Powers", and then playing the unreleased "Sailing Away" (and its instrumental counterpart) she'd played at her Horseshoe gig.

Dank bar or cheery store, porch or leafy park, Castle brings an earthy sense of intimacy. The songs evoke both loneliness and self-reliance alongside the ease given by small comforts: a bouquet of flowers, a quick laugh or a bottle of wine ("lord send me laughter / and honey don't be long with my drink"). And of course, the comfort brought by sharing a song with a bunch of friends.

Listen to a song from this set here.

In-store: Sloan

Sloan

Sonic Boom Records. Saturday, May 14, 2011.

I had never seen Sloan play before. Which is a statement at odds with how much they once meant to me — through the mid/late 90's and their first three albums they were hands-down one of my favourite bands. But back in those days I lived far away from the centre of action and certainly didn't go to many shows.¹ And by the time I lived in Toronto, the band had shifted a bit just as my tastes had, and from Navy Blues and on for quite a spell I wasn't paying such close attention to them. They were always sorta there in the background, but I never went out of my way. But with the band playing a special show at Sonic Boom to celebrate the release of The Double Cross and generally making a big point to celebrate twenty years of being a band, I belatedly took the plunge.

You could tell right away that the basement was set up for a bigger-than-usual event than the usual in-store. The area along the wall o' cassettes was closed off to accommodate a big rack of guitars and the speakers were set up to be able to reach the back of the room. Even with a half-hour to go, the space up front was filled up and there was a buzz of anticipation in the crowd.

This would turn out to be more of a mini-concert than quick in-store performance, but unlike their previous trip to Sonic Boom (when the band played a retrospective all b-sides set) the band was pretty focused on the here-and-now of their new album, following its opening one-two punch of "Follow The Leader" and "The Answer Was You", the pair seamlessly linked by a bridging coda.² Admitting that this was the first public airing in a live setting for a lot of these, the band continued with the album's next couple songs, Patrick Pentland's ripping "Unkind"³ and "Shadow of Love".

It was only then that they threw a bit of a curveball, using the minute-long burst of "Something's Wrong" (from 2006's Never Hear The End Of It) as the lead-in to "Traces". "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal" received a full-band arrangement that was bulked up from Jay Ferguson's spare (and rather lovely) album arrangement. Despite wrangling all this new material — and working out the choreography of their frequent instrument swaps — the band were having a fun time on stage.

And with that, the band reached back into their "classic" songbook for "Coax Me", which earned a load cheer from the large contingent that would have been around in 1994: commenting on the crowd, Pentland joked, "you might have noticed a whole bunch of kids here tonight — it's because they always do a sort of 'average age' at the show, and we want to bring that down — you guys are old."

After tearing through "It's Plain To See" they left the stage, but no one was really fooled, but the band gave the crowd a couple minutes to cheer and stomp and do that "SLOOOO-OWN!" chant before coming back for one last new one ("Your Daddy Will Do", which has a pleasing classic AM sort of sound) before closing out with the One Chord To Another two-fer of "The Lines You Amend" and "The Good in Everyone".

A pretty satisfying time. As the band went through a year's worth of events celebrating their twentieth anniversary, it's been widely-noted that this is a band that we have, perhaps, taken a bit too much for granted. Of course, it gets easier to say that when they can tear off an album as satisfying as The Double Cross and make a compelling for being a vital force in the here-and-now. That was almost — nearly — enough to keep me from wandering up from the basement wondering where my youth went. Twenty christin' years! Gee.

I'd originally posted a song from this set here, but now I've added a couple more here.

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¹ Though I really wonder just what the hell I was up to in those days — I have no good excuse as to why I wasn't at this show that the band recently sprung from the vaults as an "official bootleg".

² If the band were tiny-sizing their songs as they did on fragment-suite Never Hear the End of It, that bridge might well have been a separate song.

³ Amongst Sloan aficionados, there's a lot of time spent dissecting the qualities of the songs penned and voiced by each of the four members — I'm not quite so devoted these days to delve too much into that here. And speaking of those carefully counting things, it should be noted that the band was complemented on stage by longstanding touring keyboard player Gregory Macdonald.

In-store: Yuck

Yuck

Sonic Boom. Sunday, May 1, 2011.

It's not nostalgia — or at least that most corrosive kind of nostalgia — if you're too young to remember the first go 'round of the thing you're venerating. It's that narrow door that makes Yuck — young British revivalists of 90's North American "alternative" guitar rock — seem charming (if not bracing) rather than depressing. Of course, the fact that these sounds from my own salad days are nearly as old as the crew playing them is a little blow that I'll just deal with myself, muttering over in the corner.

In town to open for Tame Impala at The Phoenix, the band also graciously dropped in to the basement at Sonic Boom for what would be their first local appearance. It would not be a stripped-down sort of affair, thankfully, as revealed by the blasts of guitar noise as the band set up and Daniel Blumberg's revealing inquiry as to the store's sound system: "Izzat the loudest?"

And indeed, the band played with pleasing volume — sporting, right from the outset, that delicious mix of crunchiness and gooey tunefulness on display throughout their self-titled debut full-length. The album would provide all of the set's songs, leading with "Holing Out" and "The Wall".

The basic four-piece (two guits/bass/drums) were unassuming on stage — not super-animated, but charming in their low-key British way. They also managed to endear me further with the fact that they'd taken the trouble to tack up their DIY banner behind the stage. They offered a half-dozen songs, easing down with the mellower "Suicide Policeman" before closing it out with the fabulous "Get Away", which features Mariko Doi's audaciously Doolittle-esque bassline.

The robust crowd — many of them about the band's age — didn't seem unduly concerned about pinning down the reference points. And though this is indeed such good stuff — I really enjoy the album a lot — I wasn't quite able to stop the racing part of my mind drawing lines back to bands gone by. You'll hear names like Dino Jr. invoked a lot for comparisons to the band, but I think they mostly bring to mind bands with a more tuneful mix of fuzz and melody — there's a direct line from Teenage Fanclub (circa A Catholic Education) to this band, and I left with this scrawled in my notepad: "This really makes me want to dig out that copy of nc17." What a drag it is gettin' old, but rock'n'roll revivals can spread their own little pixiedust bursts of rejuvenation if y'let 'em.

Listen to a track from this set here.

In-store: Ron Sexsmith

Ron Sexsmith

Sonic Boom Records. Thursday, April 21, 2011.

I've listened to some Ron Sexsmith in my time. "My time", in this case, ending somewhere in the middle part of the last decade when I was increasingly finding it difficult to distinguish one album from the next. Being a plainspoken singer-songwriter type can be tricky in that way. From the outset Sexsmith has been widely praised as a songsmith, successful because pretty much every one of his songs is about something, and says what it's about — an earnest straightforwardness with a clear thesis statement, like an idealized undergraduate essay. But that's never translated into anything much more than niche success, which has frequently and publicly itched at Sexsmith.

Such are the depths of his struggles with his own success-level and relevance that for his new album Long Player Late Bloomer Sexsmith put himself in the hands of über-mersh producer Bob Rock. Listening to the album gives the impression that was a very bad move, as Rock's over-busy production kinda leaves a goopy layer of commercially-ambitious schlock over some nice songs. Ron Sexsmith should never be autotuned — his voice on the album sounds plasticky, like an aging thespian after too many facelifts.¹

Anyway, before heading across the street to play the album release show at Lee's Palace with the full band, Sexsmith dropped into Sonic Boom's basement for a classic in-store with a stripped-down solo acoustic set. This was about the right level of commitment for me at this stage of the game, and there was a nice crowd on hand that must have felt the same. "Wow, I didn't know anyone was coming. This is great," commented the frequently self-depreciating singer, dropping hints about past in-stores that weren't so successful.

The set lead off with "Get In Line" and "The Reason Why", the first couple songs from the new album. Those both came off well, and "No Help at All" was especially nice in its stripped-down setting. "I wanted to write something like Bill Withers would write," Sexsmith explained. Keeping that in mind might help to explain why Rock's schmaltzy arrangement actually serves the song fairly well on the album, coming off like a prime piece of AM gold. Thirty years back, songs like this would have made Sexsmith a CanCon prince, like another Terry Jacks.

The quick set finished with "Love Shines", which would also lend its title to a documentary about the recording of his album. One could get the sense that Sexsmith was drawing from his own frustrations here: "In every nowhere town / There are somewhere dreams / Patiently holding out / To grab the brass ring". As an artistic underdog story, it's really hard not to be on Sexsmith's side, and I can't begrudge him if the sort of gloss that alienates me gets him some security. But for me, the bare essence of the songs from just the man and his guitar was far more convincing than Rock's over-busy production.² In the end, I was wholly glad I came out, even if Sexsmith's trajectory might limit me to being more of a sympathizer than a fan.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ This album would go on to make it to the Polaris Prize shortlist, but quite honestly it deserved no such honour. One was left with the impression that the jury was either celebrating mediocrity in a stereotypically Canadian way or giving Sexsmith a sort of lifetime achievement nod.

² In the final analysis, this album must have had some sort of positive impact for Sexsmith, as his just-announced local show (May 17, 2012) will be in the spacious digs at Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

In-store: Sonic Boom Record Store Day

Sonic Boom Record Store Day (feat. Teenanger / Bidiniband / Rouge / Ben Gunning / Sister / Light Fires)

Sonic Boom Records. Saturday, April 16, 2011.

Once again, the good people at Sonic Boom went all-out for their annual celebration of Record Store Day, crafting an event that really made the store feel like a special destination on a soggy spring day. Besides offering many of the exclusive RSD releases for sale, there was free pizza for the customers and special guest DJ's spinning their favourite songs. And, all day long on the hour there were live sets on the basement stage.

2 p.m.: Teenanger

I missed Modern Superstitions, who were first up on the day, coming down the stairs with Teenanger just getting started, and quickly bringing a considerable racket to the low-ceilinged basement. Bristling with infectious energy, the band spoke punkrock truth to power: "This song's for Stephen Harper — it's called 'Evil Man'." With a few minute-long bursts, like "Tired of You" ("This one's a little bit of a mosher — so keep your children safe, I guess.") this quick set put a lot of climb-on-the-amps energy into the room, ending with the looming menace of "Frights".¹

Listen to a track from this set here.

3 p.m.: Bidiniband

It's not rock'n'roll until someone falls over, regardless of your age. So even if it might seem that one-time Rheostatic Dave Bidini has been spending most of his time transitioning himself to a CBC-approved author, there's evidently still some hunger for rock'n'roll chaos. Bidiniband are not a dramatic reinvention from what he used to do — and in fact the set opened with "Fat", one of Bidini's Rheos songs, and the nimble guitar line and those specific cadences ("I'm sorry / if I said / you were fat") clearly had the same DNA as the newer stuff, its shifting musical and narrative structures being a recurring implement in Bidini's toolbox.

Bidini was backed by a veteran band, including fellow Rheostatic Don Kerr on drums, bassist Doug Friesen and guitarist Paul Linklater. The latter (also a member of The Pinecones) brought plenty nifty guitar moves and swapped Record Store Day stories when Bidini chatted about working at the Albion Mall Music World — and why he got fired.

Meanwhile, there was a mix of songs from the group's first album The Land Is Wild alongside a few from the then-in-progress In The Rock Hall², including the album's title track, which would be the set's dramatic peak. Working up from a slow start ("it starts like every Neil Young song, but don't worry," Bidini joked) to a big guitar showcase with Linklater stepping down from the stage to the floor to solo, Bidini joined him and the stood shoulder to shoulder in a wide stance before doing a back-to-back power move, Bidini leaning over to serve as a table for Linklater to lean back on while he soloed.

Whether it was will-to-rock enthusiasm or just a declaration of seniority, the band played the longest set of the ones I saw on the day, going past fifty minutes, and would have been willing to keep going if allowed. The set closed out with "Last of the Dead Wrong Things", with another build-up-to-guitarpalypse where Linklater managed to unsettle himself and fall over before Bidini slipped in a few lines from XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel".

Listen to a track from this set here.

4 p.m.: Rouge

Rouge was a band I'd been wanting to see for a while, based solely on the members' other strong work. Founded by Kelly McMichael (also of Gentleman Reg's band) and Jessica Tollefsen (known for her work in Green Go) as a sexy disco dance party spectacular, they were now rounded out by Jess' sister Emma on drums. The set started off slowly, fighting against some technical gremlins, but once they started "Modern Lovers I" and the beat picked up, there was no looking back — this had get-you-moving appeal aplenty.

Electro-pop sexual revolutionaries with runs in their pantyhose, the musical imperative was universal enough to generate an extra awww factor when some small fry up front dancing were invited up on stage for the next song. ("I hope no one's paying attention to our lyrics," McMichael mused afterward a little sheepishly.)

With everything "live", this is an exciting rock unit to boot, capable of mixing in a bit of a menacing groove, as witnessed on the final track "Destruction". You can hear a couple songs on their bandcamp, but given that they play around regularly, you should definitely see 'em — all the better if it's late at night in a dark room.

Listen to a track from this set here.

5 p.m.: Ben Gunning

A change of musical gears after that, with Ben Gunning bringing the same expansive lushness I'd experienced last time I'd caught him and his combo. There's more than a touch of Steely Dan and bands of that ilk in Gunning's (quite literal) yacht rock stylings.³ This time 'round the band was without the next-level smoothness of Joseph Shabison's saxophone, but it was still pretty lush, thanks to Michael Davidson's smooth work on vibes.

For me, the real delight was the presence of Allie Hughes, Alana Stuart and Felicity Williams on backing vocals — that's an enormous amount of talent on stage right there. Gunning's slightly adenoidal yelp is sometimes the least elegant part of his songs, so it's to his credit that he's canny enough to use the backing vocals to provide a sweet countertexture. Songs like "Reverence" brought all this into focus, with Gunning's gift for hooks on display in equal measures with a slightly strained vocal. But by no means is his singing the sort of thing to induce seasickness — you should more think of it as the most workmanlike crewmember on a luxury yacht, for there'd be no trip without it.

Listen to a track from this set here.

6 p.m.: Sister

Sister, a "tender, heavy indie pop" unit, is led by guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Carla Gillis (here rocking a Black Mountain t-shirt) and her sister Lynette (drums/vox), both formerly of Plumtree. Along with bassist Pete Johnston, the trio play with a savvy spareness, the fizzy blur of Plumtree's songs supplanted by a penchant for beefed-up arrangements that are self-confident enough to linger and rock out a bit. That was certainly evident on a tasty guitar outro to "Wishbone" early on. They also eke out a fair amount of variation, from the implied twang of "Off Ramp Up Ahead" to the piano-rock of "Imaginary Love Notes".

Frequent collaborator Geoff Miller joined the group on keyboards for "Orion", broadening the sound a bit. At the more rockin' end of their spectrum, the as-yet unreleased "Showed Up on the Beach" is constructed to be easily expandable for as much guitar soloing as the occasion requires, while the set-closing "Feather on the Ocean Floor" came with a bouncy, dance-y vibe — plus an awesome fake ending and reprise that feels incomplete without a disco ball spinning overhead.

Although the music is somewhat unassuming it's good stuff. After a relative abundence of shows following the release of their EP, the band has been quieter of late, but hopefully this augers a return with some new songs in tow.

Listen to a track from this set here.

7 p.m.: Light Fires

With James Bunton busy recording with Ohbijou in Montreal, it looked like this might be a solo set from Light Fires. But vocalist Regina Gentlelady (who sounds something like this guy) managed to find some company on stage by enlisting a couple mannequins from the depths of Sonic Boom's storage area. The set started with an a capella number, employing an autotuned vocal effect (which I didn't recall from when I'd seen Regina before) before hitting play on the laptop to kick in the beats. Still working out the solo kinks⁴ it didn't quite take, and the song had to be restarted.

Some of the songs, like "The Better", had stuck with me from that last time, but it was really with the big beat of "10 Feet Tall" that things really got moving, and I was pleased to see that Regina was getting cheers from the crowd starting to build up for Zeus.

There was also lots of new material, including a "political" song (about a "new revolution") as well as one that borrowed Maggie MacDonald's "I like to work / I like to fuck" chorus from a Republic of Safety song. And the set closed with the kick-ass anthem "If You're Bored", Regina telling the crowd there would be a video forthcoming with no shortage of sass: "The video starts me. [beat] Obviously. [whispered:] Who else would it star?"

Listen to a track from this set here.

There was still more to come, with the biggest crowds of the night assembling to see Zeus and Wooden Sky. I surely would have enjoyed that as well, but I had to head out and duck on to the subway for another show.⁵

Bonus content! I lent a hand to Graeme, who was capturing the day's events for NOW, so my audio is used on the videos for all the bands above.

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¹ This is the title track of Teenanger's new album, which will be seeing the light of day at a release show with Young Mother and Strange Attractor at Sneaky Dee's on March 1, 2012.

² In the Rock Hall has, in fact, just now been released, and came with an album release show just a couple weeks back. Perhaps appropriately for a writer with such a fondness for hockey, Bidini + band will be playing a free (and kid-friendly!) show at Harbourfront Centre's skating-themed weekend right next to the rink in the Lakeside Terrace — February 19, 2012, 2 p.m.

³ As Gunning packed up after his set, celebrity DJ Norman Blake (from Teenage Fanclub) started to play. He was my favourite of the day, playing stuff like The Diodes and Liliput, and seguing from Swell Maps to Steely Dan. It felt befitting, somehow, that I saw Gunning singing along under his breath to the latter as he gathered up his gear.

⁴ Um — not in that way. So far as I know.

⁵ Record Store Day 2012 is coming up on Saturday, April 21. No word yet on what sort of celebration Sonic Boom'll be putting on this year, but I do note that after a bit of a quieter stretch after moving to their new location, it does look like their in-store shows are starting to pick up again, with Boys Who Say No playing on Saturday, February 18, 2012.

In-store: Weekend

Weekend

Sonic Boom Records. Friday, April 1, 2011.

San Francisco haze-rockers Weekend¹ were dropping into Sonic Boom's basement before they'd be heading across the street to open for postpunk O.G.'s Wire. I was glad to have a chance to see the band, who'd not made it to town yet for their own show, though I knew them from their Sports² album. It might be somewhat revealing to mention that that album came out on Slumberland, but it should be noted that Weekend hew far closer to the murky haze of, say, Crystal Stilts than the clean tweeness of Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

Or to put it another way, it was rather telling during the quick soundcheck when bassist/vocalist Shaun Durkan commented, "I don't need a ton of vocals." The extra-quick set-up came after some unspecified border delays, and although the band was a bit late rolling into the store, they were generous with their time once things got going.

The set lead off with "Untitled", the album's forceful closer. Like the album version, the song started with an instrumental overture, but once it got going, while the vox were indeed buried, they weren't swathed in layers of murk and reverb, giving the live sound a more direct feeling. The vocals got hazier after that — at first I thought Durkan had a pretty large effects rack for his bass, but it was actually for his microphone. But even with all that, the trio's sound was relatively cleaner in this setting.

There were some interesting effects of this de-hazing: "Veil" was especially cleaned up, rendering the plaintive lyric much more comprehensible and letting the words carry the song's sadness. "End Times", meanwhile, had a more overt new wave/new order kind of feel.

There were also a couple looks ahead to songs that would show up on the Red EP. In fact, at the start of "Hazel", Durkan mentioned that the band were playing this for the first time ever. "This might end in flames," he added, but it actually came off without undue problems, though it wasn't yet entirely honed to fine popsong it would become in its recorded incarnation. Closer "Coma Summer" — also with a catchy heart buried under many garbled layers — brought some more murky sonic complications along with guitarist Kevin Johnson's brisk strumming to cap things off.

The band played a seven-song set, going more more than thirty-five minutes — probably almost as much as they'd be allotted later on in the night opening for Wire. After they finished, I spotted Josh McIntyre (from local rockers Little Girls) in conversation with the band. Which makes sense, as there's definitely some close points of comparison with his own music. Weekend haven't made it back yet for their own headlining show, but there would certainly be some like-minded locals for them to play with.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ Not to be confused with Weekend, Alison Statton's post-Young Marble Giants project or Toronto's Drake-affiliated crypto-R&B group The Weeknd.

² Not to be confused with Sports, the 1983 chart-topper from Huey Lewis and The News. In case you're getting it mixed up with the album at hand, do note that the Weekend's most assuredly isn't the one where "the whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost."

In-store: CMW 2011/Sonic Boom (Friday)

(Bombay Bicycle Club / J Mascis / Bravestation)

Sonic Boom Records. Friday, March 11, 2011.

Started off a full day of CMW with some more in-store action downstairs at Sonic Boom. There was a decent smattering of folks on hand as I caught the end of a set by local alt-bro yalpers Pkew Pkew Pkew. Looking around, there was an unusual number of highschoolers on hand, many of them sitting down on the floor and lounging like it was a proper basement party.

I was sorta feeling warm-heated towards them for supporting local music when suddenly the casual sprawl turned into a mass of kids up against the stage, jockeying for position as the next band started to set up. That would turn out to be Bombay Bicycle Club, a British band with some buzz-appeal. Once stools and a banjo were brought out, it looked like this was going be an unplugged-style appearance. And as vocalist Jack Steadman casually sang the old bluegrass/gospel standard "I'll Fly Away" as his compadres soundchecked around him, I figured they were going to be one of that new wave of British roots-inspired bands that I'd heard vaguely about. The band's music was more "rock" than that, though, but how much this stripped-down set departed from their usual I can't say — "if this is too quiet for anyone, we're going to be playing at Lee's Palace tonight with some real instruments," was the rocknowledgement from the stage.

The set started with "Evening/Morning", that banjo playing against Steadman's quavery vocals. Otherwise, besides the pleasant-enough lope of "Rinse Me Down", none of the other handful of originals made much of an impression on me, but the young crowd in front of them was suitably impressed. "This is the first audience we've ever played to on this side of the Atlantic," Steadman informed them, whipping them up a little more.

I had the band pegged as earnest, clean-cut types, but perhaps they weren't not so blandly innocent after all: it might be kinda audaciously skeezy to cover Loudon Wainwright III's "Motel Blues", with its baldly-stated ambitions ("come up to my motel room and treat me right") to a crowd full of highschool-aged girls. Well, to the boys, too — I don't want to make groundless assumptions about what kind of groupies they were courting. And, somewhat confounding my notions of who this band might be getting marketed to, it was a dude-heavy crowd, full of enthusiastic lads. Just as I was jotting down "mostly harmless" as a concluding thought about the set in my notepad, I overheard two of them as they were putting on their coats:

Dude #1: That was very legit.

Dude #2: That one? That was the sickest song.

Listen to a track from this set here.

And then there was a weird sort of transference in the room as the large bulk of that young crowd booked it out of there and their spots up front were quickly filled in by members of the older cohort that had been been building up for the last half of Bombay Bicycle Club's set. The net outcome was a slightly smaller crowd, albeit a much taller one, patiently awaiting J Mascis. Mascis, who dared to be an alt-rock guitar hero in a time when such a thing was frowned upon, was playing songs from his newly-released Several Shades of Why. That album is, in some technical sense, his first proper "solo" album — so long as you don't count his albums backed by The Fog or the several of Dinosaur Jr.'s albums where he was essentially a one-man band.

But here, most decidedly playing on his own, Mascis treated the crowd to some hints of wry humour, like leading off set-starting "Listen to Me" with a "this is the first song on the new album" crack. That was pretty audience-engaging for the oft-laconic guitarist — it felt more directly within the bounds of his public persona when the next song (the new album's title track) screeched to a quick halt for an extended bout of tuning with the room holding an awkward silence. Interestingly, Mascis employed a loop pedal for that one to add a static part to hold things steady while he moved off on one of the nimble excursions that are recognized as his most articulate expressions.

Less expected was "Circle of Friends", a cover introduced with what seemed at first some especially random banter: "how many people remember Paul Simon's wife? Edie Brickell? Any fans out there?" Of course, all the randomness is tempered by the moments (like during "Ammaring") when he just plays, and suddenly you're all like, "oh yeah, guitar god. Right."

After that, he asked if there was anything anyone wanted to hear, and "Severed Lips" was the first thing shouted, so he graciously tore that one off and chased it with another (and less obvious) Dino Jr. cut, Green Mind's "Flying Cloud". A really enjoyable set — and it didn't leave my ears ringing afterward, like that time I saw Dinosaur Jr.

Listen to a track from this set here.

Although a lot of the crowd departed, I stuck around to check out local quartet Bravestation. With guitar, bass, drums and electronics/laptop, they presented a pop-forward electro-textured version of rock, the synth-y sounds and click-track percussion rendered vital with plenty of extra percussion.

Starting with "Clocks & Spears", they showcased the five songs from their 2010 EP. Though everything in the short set was well-performed — guitarist Derek Wilson especially showed a nimble touch — none of the tunes really stuck with me. But there were encouraging signs, like closer "White Wolves" which played that frisky rhythm/cold synths duality well. Not a band that I'd rush out to see again right away, but I won't regret having a chance for a progress report a little further down the road.

Listen to a track from this set here.

In-store: The Balconies

The Balconies

Sonic Boom Records. Thursday, March 10, 2011.

As a lead-in to the night's CMW-ing, dropped in to the basement at Sonic Boom. The store did an admirable job in putting together their own parallel mini-festival, with three full days of in-store concerts — a cozy environment to hang out and run into friends and familiar faces.

On this Thursday evening, I managed to catch the end of The Paint Movement — it's been awhile, and I need to catch a full set from 'em at some point — but was there for The Balconies. Since the '09 release of their debut album, they've been building up new material, and they were showcasing it here, leading off with one of their new ones before bringing out the older "Battle Royale". Besides that, there'd only be one more song from the album.

For whatever reason, I think every time I see the band I'm mildly shocked that they're as rock as they are — perhaps in my head I always remember their poppy side that's a bit more prominent on the album. It's also interesting to note that sibling Jacquie Neville — always a dynamic focus on stage — seems to be emerging as a frontwoman for the band even more, singing lead on the first three songs here before brother Stephen took a turn — although, of course, in most of them there's a certain amount of back-and forth. Still, this is a shift that plays to their greatest strengths.

The new songs included "Kill Count" and "Tiger", both sides of what would subsequently end up on a 7".¹ With nine songs in thirty-five minutes, this was nearly a full set from the band, and they weren't stinting on the effort, having to pause to catch their breath after a few songs. "We've been hibernating for the winter," Jacquie said, noting they'd been doing more behind-the-scenes work on new material than playing around town. Interestingly, after all the new material, the older "Serious Bedtime" came out less sharp in comparison, the harmonies falling a little flat — although when a band is playing in a record shop, you can never be sure if they can all hear each other as well as they'd like. Still, the newer stuff was delivered with a sharp focus, so that augers well as the band gears things up for their second album.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ This single has now been expanded to an EP that includes three beefed-up re-recordings of songs from the debut. And underlying the increased role of Jacquie Neville mentioned above, it must be noted that she is indeed the "lead vocalist" on all five songs of the Kill Count EP.

In-store: The Dears

The Dears

Sonic Boom Records. Thursday, February 17, 2011.

In-stores can serve as a chance to get a revitalizing quick hit from a beloved band, but they can also serve as an appetizer-sized portion for something where you're unsure about how much you enjoy the taste. Case in point: I've never felt too strongly either way about The Dears from Montréal, so I found myself in Sonic Boom's basement mostly to see how things were sounding on what was being praised in some quarters as a "return to form" album. There was a healthy crowd of people who seemed like much stronger enthusiasts than me — no surprise, as this town's love of anthemic Brit bands extends as well to domestic purveyors of the same vibe. Perhaps one reason for my vague antipathy for the band was that they seemed to pitch themselves as a product ripped from the pages of the NME, with inter-band drama and self-proclaimed grandiosity as important as stadium-sized propulsion.

I'm not sure if it was that rockstarness or just run-of-the-mill technical problems that had the band starting an unimpressive half-hour late, but from the outset singer/guitarist Murray Lightburn comported himself as if he were on stage at Wembley Stadium, greeting the crowd with a vigourous shout of "wake up, Toronto!" With a drum machine failing just before starting the first song, Lightburn was ready to plunge in for better or worse, saying, "this could be a total balls... or it could be fucking amazing."

Celebrating their their new Degeneration Street album, the band started off with "Omega Dog", its opening track — and would, in fact proceed to play the next three songs in album order. Going in cold, "Omega Dog" was sorta what I expected — two-and-a-half minutes of song serving as the setup for four minutes of coda, complete with guitar solos and, y'know, general bigness. The return of Patrick Krief to the fold was one of the new album's selling points, and he took his job as prototypical lead guitarist seriously with full-on guitarface and give'r body language. This went over well with the crowd, including the guy beside me who tossed up the devil horns as Krief soloed.

The overall effect was all right — "Blood" worked for me, "Thrones" a bit less so — which might sound less underwhelming if considered with the notion that this sort of emotively-charged arena-ready rock isn't particularly my thing. Still, there's no doubt that Lightburn takes his job as "frontman" seriously, even when playing keytar. There's a very self-conscious "proper rock band" vibe, which I was amused by in a secondhand sort of way, though I couldn't quite delineate how much they were playing the "role", and how much they just felt like they had the bona fides to strut their stuff. For example, Lightburn (who preceded several songs with a shout from Kardinal Offishall's "The Anthem") was occasionally self-depreciating, but it came off as the effort of someone who had read about self-depreciation but who doesn't quite get it. Still, trying to unwrangle personas and personalities is generally a mug's game — most of the time we're merely going to impute whatever meaning to a gesture that would justify our own predispositions.

After those first first four songs from the new album ("c'mon, you all know it's kick-ass," Lightburn informed the crowd) the band closed with "Hate Then Love" from 2006's Gang of Losers. I was entertained, and it was a solid half-hour that probably felt me feeling more well-disposed toward the band, but not to the extent that I reckon I'd be rushing to see them for a ticketed show.

Listen to a song from this set here.

In-store: Bonjay

Bonjay

Soundscapes. Saturday, February 12, 2011.

A chance to warm up on a Saturday night with Bonjay bringing their forward-thinking pop-inflected electro-dancehall to Soundscapes. Vocalist Alanna Stuart was well pleased to be playing an all-ages show, surveying the crowd for any minors who'd be unable to see them in their usual latenight haunts. They still brought the dancefloor energy, starting with "Stumble" and "Shotta" from their excellent Broughtupsy EP.

Stuart's vox simmered on their mashed-up combo cover of Feist's "How My Heart Behaves" and "Honey Honey", and that set up a quieter middle of the set — "Creepin" worked really well in this sort of attentive environment where people were more watching the band than waiting to dance anyway.

"It's weird to be able to see all your faces, and you're sober and paying such close attention," Stuart opined. And as unusually bright as it was for them, it was also a chance for curious onlookers to watch them at work — especially to observe beat-provider Pho on the mixer and MPD's. For tools like that it's less instinctive to know what the musicians are doing — as opposed to, say, watching someone play a guitar — so I was fascinated to see just how busy he was, including keeping up with a lot of real-time percussion.

One of the rockist complaints of bands playing to backing tracks — certainly I've brought it up a time or two — is that it doesn't allow for contingency, that it smacks too much of a grim determinism where the contour of the musical experience is preordained. But it's entirely inadequate to just blankly assume that every band like this is "just pressing play" — something I saw proven in front of my eyes. At the start of their cover of Caribou's "Jamelia", something went askew, and Pho was improvising, trying to keep things rolling along, just as much as any other musician would, the two bandmates keenly watching each other to work out on the fly where the song was going.

It was a satisfying and generous full half-hour, the set ending with "Frawdulent" and "Gimmee Gimmee", a pair of more aggro bass-heavy rockers. The latter ended with Pho bringing the siren-like riddim up to the set's loudest levels, giving everyone present a jolt of energy to send them back out into the cold Saturday night.¹

Listen to a track from this set here. And as is usually the case at Soundscapes in-stores, Colin Medley was on hand with his camera, so if you want some video action you can watch the band perform Shotta here.

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¹ After spending some time in Berlin crafting material for their pending debut full-length, Bonjay have apparently been bringing it even harder to the stage, adding a live drummer to the lineup. The band is going to be headed west in September and east in October, but keep your eyes open for a hometown show.

In-store: Do Make Say Think

Do Make Say Think

Sonic Boom Records. Thursday, February 3, 2011.

With local instrumental titans Do Make Say Think at a bit of a between-albums lull, there was a stir of excitement when the band surfaced during the Drake Hotel's Boxing Week series of shows. The hook, if you will, was that the band was doing it "stripped down", inasmuch as they were playing in their original five-man incarnation — no violin, no horn section. Of course, stripped down is pretty relative here, as this is still a two-drummer, two-guitar rock machine, capable of some pretty heavy hitting.

I'd missed that boxing week show, so I was glad to have another crack at it when this in-store appearance was announced. And I certainly wasn't alone, with a healthy crowd filling up Sonic Boom's basement. I'm pretty bad at titles, but one of the band's strengths is how instantly recognizable their songs are — so when the opening guitar lick of "Auberge Le Mouton Noir" was struck up, it was intensely satisfying, garnering a general cheer of recognition. Plus, the song itself is a big chunk o' massive triumphalism — even without the horn parts that I was hearing in my head.

Playing with this lineup might have been a sort of "Get Back" exercise, but it didn't prevent the band from visiting their current material, with "Do" (from 2009's Other Truths) the next up. That had a few complicated shifting parts near the end, including one bit of interplay between drummers David Mitchell and James Payment, where a snare was passed from one drumkit to the other midsong. After, with Charlie Spearin needing a moment to get a wayward amp working, the banter fell (as it often does) to Justin Small, who soliloquized on the difference between downloading music and buying it¹ — perhaps a fitting lead-in to the beautifully languid groove of "End of Music".

There was a long, continuous stretch of music after that, with "Fredericia" seguing into "Goodbye Enemy Airship". In the latter's final section, the band held one chord for an extended length, the members watching each other and laughing, like it was a dare-you sort of game to avoid making the change. That led to the open-hearted joy of "The Universe!" to close it out.

All told, the band played for almost an hour — you truly can't beat that for a freebie. Shows like this happen enough that sometimes it's hard to remember what a privilege it is to have bands like this in our midst — and places like Sonic Boom to see them play.²

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ "So a lot of people ask me whether or not I think downloading our music is hurting our band or whether I'm bothered by it. Truth is, I'm not. It's an honour to make music, and anybody... how they choose to listen to it is fine by me. That said, buying a record, coming into a place like Sonic, or any of the other finer record stores in this town, and, like, finding that find, buying that record, feeds the soul. Really, it does. For a music lover, it's like love. So, if you download our music, thank you, we appreciate it. And if you buy our records, you and I — we're in love."

² As has been widely reported, Sonic Boom will soon be relocating down the street to take over some of the vacant space in the sprawling Honest Ed's emporium. They'll no longer have the basement, which has been a perfect space for hosting bands, but they've reassured the community that they'll still be holding in-stores. Keep an eye out in the September or so for word on what should be a joyful Grand Reopening celebration.

In-store: Revolvers

Revolvers

Sonic Boom Records. Friday, November 26, 2010.

In-stores at Sonic Boom can be a malleable thing. Sometimes they're just a quick taster before a band heads to their main gig of the night. In this case, though, Revolvers' set counted pretty much as a gig in its own right, celebrating the re-release of their debut album Apocalypse Surfin' on the local Optical Sounds imprint, with the label helping the band get out a handsome vinyl version. So with no other show to get to, the band could not only stay a little longer, but also get going a little later, with a scheduled eight o'clock start time.

Things were still a little thin on the ground as the hour rolled by, but as more friends and curiosity-seekers came down the stairs there was a respectable crowd on hand as the band got started fashionably late, in true rock'n'roll style. And speaking of rock'n'roll style, the band was also looking the part — especially guitarist/vocalist Sebastian Molaro sporting some oversized sunglasses and a bit of Jagger-ish frontman swagger.

Over the course of their set, the band featured several tracks from the album, starting with the ace opening cut "Break it Loose". Tasty stuff, and I got the impression the band is feeling more settled in their music and confident enough to sit in a groove a bit more than previously. The rhythms were hitting a little heavier, and not just metaphorically: I note that drummer Lavien Lee, who did a lot of work with brushes when I first saw the band, is now on sticks almost full-time.

And though the band was celebrating the wider availability of their album, it has to be noted it's also a snapshot from a while back. It's good to note that there's several songs newer than the album that show that the band's style is still evolving. On some of the more recent songs the sound is more psych/less blues, which works pretty well — not that there still isn't some boogie in their beat, such as on the choogle-ized "Cadillac 21". And showing one more tool at their disposal the did a "brand new one" called "I Love You", which slowed sown the tempo without sacrificing the groove — even if it demonstrated that the band are still not all the way there as imaginative lyricists.

A good set, showing the solid base from which the band is presumably going to keep expanding. The album is worth hearing, but the band's greatest strength remains its live show, so check them out when you get a chance.¹

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ You can catch the band playing the Drake Underground on Friday, April 29, 2011 with Trap Tiger plus Snake and Crane.

In-store: Dr. Ew / Steven McKay

Dr. Ew (Steven McKay)

Soundscapes. Tuesday, November 23, 2010.

Down to Soundscapes for a double-header album release celebration with two overlapping bands sharing a tour. First up was Steven McKay, playing with a different lineup than when I'd seen him before, here backed with a rhythm section of Spencer Cole (drums) and Mike Le Riche (of The Darcys, bass) plus a pair of backing vocalists (Allie Hughes and Alex Samaras). Probably best known for his work as the drummer in the rollicking Bruce Peninsula, on stepping up with his own songs, McKay is more of a smooth-voiced singer-songwriter.

Crooning "Ignite" to start things off, McKay presented a set of songs drawn from his recently-released self-titled effort. He was clearly excited to be playing at Soundscapes: "this is totally the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said, before pausing to add, "except for getting married. [beat] And having cats." And if that sounds like hyperbole (even with the qualifications), he followed it up with a story about randomly meeting Leslie Feist at the previous time he'd played an in-store here with Bruce Peninsula.

Top marks, then, for his engaging banter and slightly off-beat stage presence. Perhaps reining it in a bit in the more intimate surroundings of the record store, he did have a slightly more serious deportment than that last time I saw him — so even though he was still starting songs with Springsteen-esque count-ins, here he was just whispering them to himself like little mantras instead of belting them out. His unassuming manner goes well with the songs, which are earnest little creations. Handled wrongly, they could have a fatal lack of pretense — songs about the quotidian pleasures of doing the dishes can easily be as dull as, well, doing the dishes — but the arrangements and musical collaboration are what makes this memorable.

That's especially true with the backing vocals, which substantially elevate this material. On "Restore Me", Allie Hughes' vocals give the song the tinge of an old country number, and the utterly sweet, heart-on-sleeve madrigal "Emma Comes Home" shows how something ridiculous and common (love, say, or fa-la-las) can suddenly burst out with vividness.

After keeping the mood chill with "Slow Down" (McKay acknowledging the song's new video), the band went out on an upbeat note with "Of All the Places" — and here, McKay finally allowed himself to belt out his Springsteen-esque count-in.

Listen to a song from this set here.

The other half of the in-store featured Dr. Ew, the nom de guerre of Drew Smith, fondly remembered as a member of beloved local combo The Bicycles. And this set would surely elicit a surge of excitement from any Bicycles fan, as Smith's backing band for this show included his old bandmates Andrew Scott (guitar) and Dana Snell (drums). The group was rounded out by Mike Le Riche, remaining from the previous set.¹

Celebrating the release of his rather fab Gadzooks album, the set started off with album opener "The House of Many Mansions" and bounced along from there. Just as The Bicycles' songs were quick bursts of sugar-coated goodness, Smith's new material zips past in a hurry — this set was quicker than McKay's before it, but packed in more songs owing to Smith's characteristic brevity. Having Steven McKay on hand meant that the two vocalists could recreate their duet "If You're Happy", with McKay's rich, deep tones contrasting to Smith's higher register. On a couple more ("I'm Getting Fat" and "No More Space") the performance was agreeably loose and rangy before Smith closed this out with the quieter ballad "Let's Make It Legitimate".

Because so much of Smith's métier is, frankly, a little goofy (from his stage name to that album title down to some of his subject matter) it's easy to write this all off as trite bubblegum piffle. But that would miss the best parts of what's going here. First and foremost, this is really well-crafted material. And there's a general tendency to discount music that is cloaked in signifiers of giddy goofiness (instead of, say, impassioned anguish) as though that were somehow less meaningful. Well, cheer up Sleepy Jean — this is the good stuff here.

Listen to a song from this set here.

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¹ This might have been a bit of a one-off lineup — in a couple subsequent times I've seen Smith perform since this hasn't been reprised.