Sunday Playlist #15

Sunday Playlist #15

Gowns - Marked

Erika M. Andersen has re-recorded this song for the just-released album by her EMA project.

Murder Ford Monument - Black Moon Lake

Pony Da Look - Wishstick

Baby Dee - The Song of Self Acceptance

The Homosexuals - Bruno Speaks / Unknown

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You can always click the tags below to see what I originally wrote about the shows these songs came from.

Recording: Murder Ford Monument

Artist: Murder Ford Monument

Song: Black Moon Lake

Recorded at Wavelength 494, The Garrison, December 20, 2009.

Murder Ford Monument - Black Moon Lake

My notes for this set can be found here.

Gig: Wavelength 494

Wavelength 494 (feat. Murder Ford Monument / P.S. I Love You / Germans)

The Garrison. Sunday, December 20, 2009.

Ah, Wavelength. Although I do love it so, and try to take in their special events, I pretty much never make it to the Sunday night show. Truth be told, most weekends, by the time that first band hits the stage, I'm usually already in bed, trying to charge my batteries up as much as possible for the week ahead. So, the imminent ending of the weekly series doesn't directly affect me so much. But I guess I do feel about Wavelength like some people feel about churches when they drive by — y'might not be going there on Sunday, but it's a solid institution and it means something that it's there, like its very existence brings a vague sort of comfort.¹

Well, with a nicely-aligned xmas holiday lining things up so's that I didn't have to be up early on Monday, I figured I could make my first trip out for a "regular" Wavelength at The Garrison, and it didn't hurt that there was a fairly appealing lineup. When I stepped in, I got that sense of comfort seeing General Chaos Visuals' smeary crawling lava lamp projections, and witnessing Doc Pickles work his emcee-as-performance-art mojo on stage in between the acts. Yeah, even if I'm rarely here, I'm glad this has been going on every Sunday.²

In the first slot on this night was Murder Ford Monument, a band I saw at Pitter Patter this spring when they were still operating under their previous moniker, Archipelagos. An interesting chance, I suppose, to reflect on the power of names to shape our perspective of a band, this lot shifting from something connoting cartographic abstraction to something that would wear well on an Americana act. Or, a shift from the tinny to the woody, if you will. Which is an inneresting act of positioning, as the band's music remains as tinny as all get out. With their National covering Joy Division sound, vocalist Jesse LeGallais' man-on-the-verge-of-panic vocals suggest not so much the idea of an emotional crisis as Apollonian terror of an existential void. In fact, perhaps as a worthy epigram for the band, we might pass along A.C.'s observation: "We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes and our ravages. But our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to fight them in ourselves and in others." LeGallais certainly manages to act the part of a man fighting off demons, and the band's sound — not just musically tight, which they are — feels rigourously screwed down in a well-befitting manner. Appropriate, then, that this is a band that I can appreciate on a rational level, even if they haven't yet touched my heart with their icy fingers. But sometimes a handshake matters more than a hug.

Listen to a track from this set here.

After some excitement for the somewhat protracted announcement of the Wavelength 500 line-up by Doc Pickles³, the two-piece P.S. I Love You took the stage. Out of Kingston, the duo feature Benjamin Nelson on drums backing singer/guitarist Paul Saulnier.⁴ Based on the sight of the band and the initial couple songs, I thought we were in for shred-y flannel rock with an upbeat edge — like listening to TAD on ecstasy, perhaps. Maybe that came to mind as Saulnier presented like a lumberjack caught in a transmogrifier with Ziggy Stardust, wearing a torn plaid shirt and made up with a thundercloud on his forehead and lightning bolts below his eyes. But in the manner of a sneak attack unit, the band used its hard rock accoutrements as a backdrop to slip in all sorts of ideas while staying shrouded in the riffs. Saulnier's vocals also worked against the grain of the sound, something of a decentered quiver from a frame that might have suggested macho gruffness. John O'Regan, in his Diamond Rings guise⁵, joined him on single "Facelove", which happens to be one-half the pair's split 7". Fun without being frothy, there's a unique mix of elements on display here and it was pleasing to experience while leaving something to ponder over after the fact.

Listen to a track from this set here.

Last up on the night was Germans, a crew that I reserved judgment on when I saw them play a short set a few months ago. This time, they burst out of the gate with the catchy, dance-y "Same Old Things" which had me tapping my toes in appreciation. The next number was more guitar-rock-oriented and engaged me a bit less, which'd basically establish a pattern for the set — I enjoyed the bits that sounded like they might turn into a Platinum Blonde cover more than the bits that sounded like they might turn into an Archers of Loaf cover. To their credit, the band seemed to be trying to find their own fusion of 90's-vintage alt.rock and 80's synth pop, and I liked the cross-cutting vocal styles, but some of the songs sort of just went by in a sort of pleasant/generic haze. Given their connections to the local scene, I'm sure I'll plenty chances to see 'em again — esp. with an album due out by the Spring — so I think for now they're in that category of bands that I'll neither go out of my way to see nor out of my way to avoid.

Listen to a track from this set here.

In a, um, Wavelength-y ending to the night, Doc Pickles tried to call Germans back out for an encore, but the band didn't have any more material prepared, so they vamped away while D.P. improvised a musical version of the Wavelength Festival lineup — a bit of goofy fun that was amusing for its sheer unplannedness.

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¹ This sentence shouldn't be taken as any sort of advocacy for religion or cars.

² I dunno exactly what Wavelength is going to do after the wrap-up of the weekly series, but maybe they should follow in the Master's footsteps and present WVLNT (Subtitle: "Wavelength for those who don't have the time").

³ The weekly series is going out in style in February with a five-night celebration including a few forward-looking selections as well as some much-anticipated reunion shows.

⁴ Saulnier also thickened up his sound his a foot-pedal bass unit.

⁵ On this occasion wearing zebra-striped tights and a parka.

Gig: The Diableros / Sports: The Band / Terror Lake / Archipelagos

The Diableros / Sports: The Band / Terror Lake / Archipelagos

Pitter Patter Festival. Sneaky Dee's. Saturday, May 30, 2009.

In an unusual confluence of gig-goin' events, this turned out to be my third Saturday night in a row at Sneaky Dee's.¹ Paid-what-I-could for entry to a Pitter Patter powered night and was on hand with the early crowd to see the lead-off band, Montreal's Archipelagos, the quickest summary of whom might be "Sounds Like: The National". By which I kinda mean rather a lot. Which isn't the worst thing in the world, by any means. Vocalist Jesse LeGallais even had a version that grip-your-own-forearm-and-twitch thing that Matt Berninger is remembered for.² This is not to sound snarky or dismissive, as the band were quite entertaining in their own right. With dramatic, carefully sculpted guitar parts and a smart sense for dynamics, the band's songs built up into some crafty little maelstroms. Suffering from the aftermath of van-related traumas which forced the band to stay overnight in Belleville while en route down the 401, the band played pretty intensely for a sparse crowd. Certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Terror Lake were a complete unknown to me, but left a very positive impression. A three piece, with two guitarists playing interlocking parts, drums and no bass. With that line-up and Wendy Fowler's vibrato, the words "Sleater" and "Kinney" might come to mind. But the band's approach is more akin to surf music, which gives them their own sound. Stripped-down and lean sounding, the band got great mileage from a rigourously lean aesthetic. Their half-hour set punched my buttons and are now on my list for another taste.

Listen to a song from this set here.

A bit of a change of pace after that as Sports: The Band took over. Smart pop, with boy-girl vox and a bit of a new wave sensibility. But also, as the set moved along and the band found their groove, increasingly dance friendly. Keyboardist/vocalist Robin Hatch, celebrating a birthday, came equipped with an elegant hat — we're talking hat-box-worthy — and took lead vox for some of the band's better material, including a peppy number presumably titled "Postcard". Sports had an eager crowd on hand which responded warmly for the whole forty-five minute set. Reasonably good stuff — a few of the songs didn't totally gel, but the band seems to be working towards a more interesting cohesion.³

The capper was the real treat of the night. The Diableros always put on a good show, and it'd been a decent stretch since seeing them last. With the prospect of new material in the offing, this was something I'd been looking forward to. The band lead off with a series of tracks from their soon-to-be-recorded EP that are a logical extension of their signature sound — like all of us, growing less fuzzed-out and sound-saturated with age.⁴ Of the new stuff, "Heavy Hands" had the best showing out-of-the gate.

The current lineup (containing only Pete Carmichael and guitarist Ian Jackson as long-time holdovers) seemed at ease with both new material and old. That Pitter Patter maven Keith Hamilton found time from what was presumably a busy weekend to play bass was pretty impressive. As the hour grew later, the crowd thinned out a bit, which left more room for the random intrusion of a gang of possibly drunk people intent on wrapping each other in police tape.⁵ It was a highly satisfying set, and I'm looking forward to hearing the new songs in their finished forms.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ Although it might have a bit to do with the fact that, at the end of my kid-with-a-new-toy binge with my recording gear, I've found that my mics seem to work particularly well at Sneaks. Undoubtedly partially because I picked 'em to work well in small, loud spaces, but some credit is also due to Steve the Sound Guy, one of the city's best, who does a pretty amazing job, especially when you consider the sheer number of set-ups and changeovers on stage on a night like this.

² But the panicked, thousand-yard stare, his eyes bugging out and looking like they were about to roll backwards into his skull as he fell into a seizure is his own thing.

³ Although I think I'm going to quietly align myself here with the side that's advocating against vocoder use.

⁴ In fact, one of the new songs, rolling out at a sedate pace for The Diableros, talks about that fear of getting old, but holds out for the hope that "we'll still have rock and roll".

⁵ One of whom shouted, between songs, to one of her friends, "What's the name of this band? Chart Attack?" Guessing from the banner on the stage, she proceeded to chant, "Chart Attack! Chart Attack!"