Monday Roundup #115

Concert announcements:

Track Could Bend #78 (feat. Density Creep / Flip Side [Allison Cameron/Fahmid Nibesh] / James Bailey & %%30%30) / Wenona Lodge 2023-03-04 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior/Kurt Newman/Andrew Furlong / David Sait / Nick Flanagan / Jaz Tsui) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-04-09 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]

Sundays in April Residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2023-04-09 (Sunday). Suggested $15 per person.

Labyrinth Ensemble with Evgenios Voulgaris / Aga Khan Museum 2023-04-15 (Saturday). $40 Regular, $36 Friends, $30 Students and Seniors [tickets include same-day Museum admission]. [FB event]

Sundays in April Residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2023-04-16 (Sunday). Suggested $15 per person.

Cola (Nutrients) / The Baby G 2023-04-19 (Wednesday). $24.73, 19+. [FB event]

Sundays in April Residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2023-04-23 (Sunday). Suggested $15 per person.

Sundays in April Residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2023-04-30 (Sunday). Suggested $15 per person.

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Shows this week:

Nick Fraser Presents (feat. Rob Clutton Trio [Karen Ng/Nick Fraser/Rob Clutton] with special guest Jim Lewis) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-28 (Tuesday)

A Josh Cole Trio + Strings [John Oswald/Blake Howard/Josh Cole/Aline Homzy/Nick Storring] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-29 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Madeleine Ertel presents: Reunion (feat. Alex Samaras/Naomi McCarroll-Butler/Aline Homzy/Madeleine Kay/Andrew Chung/Jill Sauerteig/Steven Noronha/Dan Fortin/Joe Sorbara/Madeleine Ertel) / 918 Bathurst 2023-03-30 (Thursday). $15 advance/$20 door. [FB event]

Séance Centre presents: You Can Can LP Release (feat. You Can Can [Felicity Williams/Andrew Zukerman with Brodie West/Thom Gill/Josh Cole/Phillipe Melanson] / Tenderness & Fahmid Nibesh) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-03-30 (Thursday). $20.

CCMC [Paul Dutton/John Oswald/Casey Sokol with special guest Rob Clutton] / Array Space 2023-03-30 (Thursday). $free admission, donations welcome.

Ace of Wands [Desiring album release!] (Mad Ones / Zinnia) / Velvet Underground 2023-03-30 (Thursday). $23 advance. [FB event]

You In Mind presents (feat. Jasmyn / Camille Léon / Shn Shn) / The Music Gallery 2023-03-31 (Friday). $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

Exit Points #36 (feat. Michelle Breslin/Tegan Dietsch/Owen Kurtz/%%30%30 / Rudy Ray/Sina “Xina” Gilani/Nilan Perera/Adrian Russuow/Michael Palumbo / “Switchemups”) / Array Space 2023-03-31 (Friday). $20. [FB event]

Queermunity 6 (feat. Regina Gently / Fern Sully / Geordie Gordon / Ms Taken) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2023-03-31 (Friday). $15 in advance, $20 at the door, 19+. [more info]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2023-03-31 (Friday) [FB event]

Ladyfinger [Diane Roblin/Kayla Milmine] / The Emmet Ray 2023-04-01 (Saturday – 6 to 8 p.m.). $10. [FB event]

Nico Paulo [album release!] (Steve Lambke) / Tibet Street Records 2023-04-01 (Saturday). $23.86. [FB event]

Bitstance [improvised semi-noisy modular computer music – live debut!] (William Brent/David Cecchetto/Colin Clark/Adam Tindale) / Array Space 2023-04-01 (Saturday). $free.

B.A. Johnston (Sons of Butcher / Marty Topps) / The Baby G 2023-04-01 (Saturday). $13.85 (early bird) / $20.05, 19+. [FB event]

Sundays in April Residency (feat. Eucalyptus) / Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2023-04-02 (Sunday). Suggested $15 per person.

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It happened this week...

• ...on March 27, 2016 at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge).

No Angels Dancing - [excerpt from second piece]

• ...on March 31, 2016 at Burdock Music Hall.

Made to Break - E(8)

[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: Made to Break

Artist: Made to Break

Song: E(8)^*

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, March 31, 2016.

Made to Break - E(8)

I saw Ken Vandermark's Made To Break a couple years back when it was a new-ish unit. With more time and more music under its belt, it has definitely developed its sound, feeling less like the Ethiopia-meets-The-Ex-meets-Cage-and-Feldman project it was originally pitched as and more like a really feral funk band driven by the rhythm section of Tim Daisy and Jasper Stadhouders. (Stadhouders had to deal with the most conceptual improvising during the show, not only dealing with a music stand that seemed designed to drop his lead sheets onto the floor, but also a failing cable that he had to play through until a replacement could be wrangled on the fly.) The sonic curveball came with Christof Kurzmann's "lloopp" electronics, spitting back chopped-up samples and distorted fragments of Vandermark's sax back into the mix. The set was structured as long, continuous suites of music with solo spots for each of the members as linking segues — groovy throughout, but never easily predictable. The first night out on their tour, it was encouraging to see a packed house for this in a good-sounding room.

^* The group's setlist consisted of a list of cues like this instead of titles, although at some point these pieces will possibly be named. Please leave a comment if you're reading this at some future point where you know the title of this!

Recording: Made to Break

Artist: Made to Break

Song: [untitled piece]^*

Recorded at The Drake Underground, April 19, 2014.

Made to Break - [untitled piece]

Full review to follow. Ken Vandermark is fond of exploring different musical ideas with different collaborators so it was no surprise to see him hit town with this new quartet. The idea was to mix "the music of Ethiopia and the Ex, alongside the New Music ideas of John Cage and Morton Feldman". There was a certain commitment to repetition that might be attributable to the latter, but in execution it sounded as much a product of some punk-funk lineage — bassist Jasper Stadhouders, who played with a postpunk edge, might be responsible for that. The other novelty here was Christof Kurzmann, who provided some realtime looped electronic textures behind Vandermark's reeds and Tim Daisy's percussion. Engaging stuff, even if the early-curfew vibe at the Drake gave the proceedings a slightly-rushed edge that didn't quite give the music a chance to live up to the project's name.

^* "None of the pieces have titles, they just have music in them." – K.V. [his notes from the field, though, imply these in-progress pieces will acquite names some day.]