Artist: THIGHS
Song: Deeds + A Literal Cliff
Recorded at The Tranzac – Main Hall ("NXNE 2013"), June 15, 2013.
THIGHS - Deeds + A Literal CliffFull review to follow — but you can read my quick notes for this set here.
Artist: THIGHS
Song: Deeds + A Literal Cliff
Recorded at The Tranzac – Main Hall ("NXNE 2013"), June 15, 2013.
THIGHS - Deeds + A Literal CliffFull review to follow — but you can read my quick notes for this set here.

NXNE 2013 (Saturday, June 15, 2013)
While these shows are fresh in my mind I want to get some quick notes down. In the fullness of time there will be a more complete accounting of the night that'll include even more details and recordings.
8 p.m.: Andrea Parkins @ The Tranzac (Main Hall)
After some daytime excursions, I made my back to The Tranzac for what would definitely be my main stop of the night. I would have been going to this even if this show had been going on outside of NXNE, so the fact that it was integrated into the festival was even better. For all that, the crowd looked more like something you'd see at a Burn Down the Capital gig than your typical venue-hopping festival-goer.
That sense of "outsiderness" was enhanced when the night began with a set from New Yorker Andrea Parkins that would be anything but standard NXNE fare. Featuring extended technique for accordion and electroacoustic improvization, Parkins has been recording and developing her style (inspired by Fluxus and John Cage) since the 90's, and here unleashed a variety of sounds (from accordion, laptop, electronics, bells, and a roll of packing tape) with a sense of calm stewardship. Elements of noise and distortion were balanced with ethereal waves of sound, a lot of with with a frisson of sheer unexpectedness — this is not your typical accordion set. This one was totally an unexpected delight.
Listen to an excerpt from this set here.
9 p.m.: THIGHS @ The Tranzac (Main Hall)
After that, the night shifted to a different kind of noise as THIGHS began building their wall of amps on the dancefloor in front of the stage. I was amused to note the band setting up in such a manner that they'd be face-to-face with the sit-down crowd — and I was guessing that most in the front row might not have seen frontman/howler Mark Colborne in action before.
One the band let that wall of amps loose, a few of those first-row patrons moved back to protect their ears, but they were probably still within Colborne's range as he, as always, wandered off as far as his extended mic cord would allow, channelling his inner genteel psychopath — or, possibly, an alien sent to earth in human form who isn't quite sure of which things he should acknowledge/ignore/bump into/rub up against, sputtering half-intelligible bursts like "I LOSE HOPE!" all the while. The band's tightly-controlled cacophony, with its razor-sharp stops and starts, ground out behind him — a little slower and less frenetic than in the past in the first of what would turn out to be several numbers that were new to me. From the sounds of it, the band has turned over their setlist a fair amount from a year ago, with fewer of the songs from their album peppered throughout. I've been a fan of this band since I first encountered them, but this was the best-executed set I'd seen from 'em — truly a cut above.
Listen to a couple tracks from this set here.
10 p.m.: Lean Left @ The Tranzac (Main Hall)
I've already talked about this amazing set here. You can also listen to an excerpt from this set here.
Midnite: Tangiers @ The Garrison
After that, I headed into the sweatbox of The Garrison's back room for another highly-anticipated set. Tangiers released three very fine albums before packing it in, but coming out at a time when I was just starting to go to more gigs, I missed out on seeing them. Now, celebrating the ten-year anniversary of their debut Hot New Spirits, co-leaders Josh Reichmann and James Sayce had reassembled the lineup that recorded that album. Headlining a night-long showcase put together by local label Hand Drawn Dracula, there was a tightly-packed crowd that looked like they'd been waiting (all night/several years) to see this set.
When they emerged to the darkened stage, the band pulled it off with tightly-coiled, fuss-free intensity that gave them the appearance of a well-oiled touring machine more than guys who casually picked it up after such a long gap. Switching back and forth on lead vocals, the songs sounded a bit like variations on "Pirate Love", but I totally mean that as high praise. The band were focused enough on executing that there wasn't much in the way of stagecraft, but the audience was so buzzed at the start of each song that the set never lacked for palpable excitement.
It's perhaps a sober realization of age and experience over youth's dazzling energy that it seems clear that these guys could stick together and make a totally credible go of it, but that (from all reports) they don't feel the need to extend this reunion past one show — one burst of rock'n'roll glory instead of a return to the spirit-breaking slog.
Listen to a couple songs from this set here.
Artist: THIGHS
Song: Tunnelr
Recorded at The Great Hall: BLK BOX ("Wavelength THIRTEEN – Night 2"), February 15, 2013.
THIGHS - TunnelrMy quick notes for this set can be found here.
THIRTEEN: The Wavelength 13th Anniversary Festival
While it's all fresh in my mind, a few notes from this year's WL Fest. Longer, more comprehensive reviews will follow down the road a piece.
So — what is Wavelength at thirteen? Easy cracks about the venerable concert series entering its awkward teenage years notwithstanding, the main theme that was evident from this year's anniversary celebrations was of an organization with a mature self-confidence. In its post-weekly-series incarnation, the collective has definitely found certainty in a new organizational principle that is based around the tentpoles of the February festival and summer ALL CAPS excursion. With the assurance that they know the ins and outs of running a multi-night festival, there was a general feeling that everything was running smoothly, meaning that instead of behind-the-scenes drama and worry, the element of chance and risk was left to the artists on stage.
Another thing that really sets the festival apart is its ability to not only showcase bands that are still new and unheralded, but reach back to some of the previously-unheralded success stories that played WL in their formative years and are willing to keep coming back. That meant that veteran bands (like, say, Do Make Say Think, who recently played The Opera House) could serve as a drawing card to get a new audience in front of the emerging groups — and both could radiate a palpable sense of joy at being part of the WL experience. Given how this was a success in terms of programming, execution, affordability and accessibility, this WL festival was also a challenge for other music presenters in the city to raise their game.
Night 1 — Thursday, February 14, 2013
The Shop under Parts + Labour — feat. Slow-Pitch / This Mess / Fresh Snow / Ell V Gore / Lullabye Arkestra
The Venue: Parkdale's Parts + Labour is about the furthest afield that many regular show-goers can be cajoled to get out to — and some avoid it for reasons beyond its location at the western fringes of coolness. The low-ceilinged basement space can set off feelings of claustrophobia, especially when it gets packed. It also has a rep for less-than-high-fidelity sound, and indeed, it's at its best when playing host to rough-and-ready DIY'ers with a naturally scrappy sort of sound. Last fall's renovations to the room (flipping the bar to the opposite long wall) have actually done a lot to improve the flow of the space, but you'll never mistake being there with the feeling of, say, wandering through an open meadow. But sometimes you want to experience the opposite of wandering through an open meadow.
The show: Festival regulars (or astute observers) will notice that the WL formula isn't quite that "there is no formula", as once again a punk-ish night at the basement bomb-shelter of Parts + Labour began with a stylistic curveball. Slow-Pitch is a new nom de guerre for Cheldon Paterson, known for his work with production unit iNSiDEaMiND. He is also known as Professor Fingers, but the separate musical identity is a clear signal to expect something different on stage than the hammed-up fun ProF brought to the Wavelength festival three years ago. Here, the vibe was noir-ish, almost austere, and the sounds were all live and improvised. That meant for a set of atmospheric, ambient-leaning tracks, with as many surface crackles as beats being looped as Paterson flipped records on and off the turntable.
The sounds were generally compelling, but as with many kinds of music being built up in front of your eyes, there were a few static stretches where I was ready for the next layer to propel things forward. That itch was scratched with a couple turns near set's end from local improv sax master Colin Fisher (of Not the Wind, Not the Flag, Elfin Choirs, etc, etc, etc) who used the beatscapes' structures to launch a couple inquiries of his own. As with any improvisation, there were a couple spots where the two sonic modes didn't quite jibe, but there were more parts (a slowly roiling fog here, a skittering scuff to match the needle's scratch there) that intrigued. And, as something that many in the crowd weren't expecting, a nice way to lead off the festival.
Listen to a song from this set here.
SST-inspired hardcore-ish trio This Mess were a bit closer to what one might hear coming down the stairs to P+L on any given night. Celebrating the release of their first full-length States (available on tape or for download), the trio jumped right into their quickly-growing catalogue of songs — usually coming in hundred-second bursts. That works best when the band can careen right from one song to the next, but here the band had some trouble attaining escape velocity — guitarist Matt N-L regretting his decision to change his strings right before the show as he stopped to tune a couple times. Once Matt and John swapped off on guitar and bass, things began to settle in and they charged through the remainder of the set with their usual momentum. By the end, drummer Adham Ghanem was leaning forward over his kit like a sprinter approaching the finish line — before he hopped off at the conclusion to switch back into his role as WL's production manager, keeping things running admirably on time in a whole other capacity.
Listen to a song from this set here.
The pre-festival word from Fresh Snow hinted that a broken-handed bass player would necessitate some sonic shuffling. The promised "synth apocalypse" manifested in the form of a V of keyboards at the front of the stage area, but the players would be visually upstaged by an old-fashioned tube TV1 at their apex which was playing an analogue-fuzzy live visualization, rippling away in time to the music. The stage was otherwise pitch black as the band set into a slow-building piece based around a sampled autohypnosis recording for use in lucid dreaming. The fantastic track, which dominated the set, certainly contained some oscillating, mind-altering properties.
There would only be one other offering in the shortened set before the lights went back up and the band offered the TV to anyone in the crowd willing to drag it home with them. This was a more minimalist presentation than their previous forays into band-obscuring projections and the like, but it was intriguing to see them go with something different. Musically, this was potent stuff, so I imagine that the band at full-strength would be even more of a force.
Listen to a track from this set here.
In contrast to Fresh Snow's blackout, Ell V Gore frontman Elliott Jones was soon fiddling with the lights above the stage to speed up their cycling colours to near-seizure-inducing velocity, which would make for an appropriate pairing with the band's no-wave speedswamp style. The band's rotating drum chair is now occupied by Jay Anderson, which hasn't lead to any major changes in the rhythmic approach, but does give a firm platform for Jones' aggressive knife-slash guitar work. There's a fierce underpinning to the music, whether Jones is leaning back, legs wide to play, or craning forward to engulf the microphone in his mouth. The strobelit flash in the neocortex lingers afterward more in the subconsciousness than in memory — akin to the experience of waking up on an unfamiliar mattress in an alley, sore in unusual places, and with a creeping suspicion you were up to something wrong.
Listen to a song from this set here.
Lullabye Arkestra, who closed out the first night, have famously played nearly all of Wavelength's anniversaries: The actually met at the first festival in 2001, and their absence from last year's fest was necessitated by their daughter's birth.2 Even if drummer Justin Small would characterize Valentine's Day being to real lovers what St. Patrick's Day is to real drinkers (completely missing the point to those that practice it every day), the timing of this post-parental-leave return to action was still a reminder that Small's romance with bassist/vocalist Kat Taylor-Small is at the heart of their churning rock'n'roll. Showing few signs of rust, the pair knocked out a fairly ferocious set.
Starting with "We Fuck the Night", they'd be joined by Nick Taylor on guitar for a few songs, giving shades of the LAST time the band played the festival. Just as they were storming into "Ass Worship", the power cut out on the PA, but with pounding drums and shout-along spirit, they seemed hardly derailed. Maybe because the very idea of the band is so compelling — oh, and the knock-you-down rock-storm of their live shows — I've come to rather appreciate Lullabye Arkestra, and it was a good feeling to have them back among us.Listen to a song from this set here.
Night 2 — Friday, February 15, 2013
The Great Hall: BLK BOX — feat. THIGHS / Blonde Elvis / Blue Hawaii / Cadence Weapon / Doldrums
The Venue: Formerly known as the Theatre Centre (which has decamped down the street), the lower level of The Great Hall has been re-branded with an unfortunately abbrviatd name. To the good, however, there has been a bit of work put into the space. Somewhat disorientingly, the layout of the floor (the room is a sort of analogue of the Great Hall above, with a circular balcony running all the way around the room above the main level) had been flipped one-hundred-eighty degrees, with the seating risers removed and a new stage in their place.
That does serve to open up the room and improves the flow with the main stairway (that was formerly behind the stage) now the main access between levels. Sadly, the benefits of that are currently somewhat minimized as the entry doors that go right out to street level on Dovercourt aren't being used — to stay in the neighbours' good graces, I hear — meaning it's a bit of a up-one-stairway-and-down-another winding trip to attain ingress.
But most importantly, there is a brand-new powerful PA in place. The sound crew were just getting used to it at this show (there were a few spots in the room with mushy sound, indicating they haven't figured out all the nuances yet) but there were moments that hinted this could be a worthy space to hear a gig in. My understanding is that the room will be marketed mostly to the DJ/electronic music crowd, so we'll see how many chances there will be to hear bands there.
Most noteworthy at this show were the visuals: a cut-out Toronto skyline animated by pulsating projections supplied by Live Action Fezz. Definitely a visual representation of the living, vibrating city animated in part by Wavelength.
The Show: At the start of the night, I wasn't sure if that new PA was going to get put to the test by THIGHS. When I've seen 'em before, they were noteworthy for their wall of amplifiers which acted as their own sound system. That wall was indeed in place in front of the stage as they got the night started — its an arrangement that's pretty effective at putting the band right up against the crowd. That's especially true for vocalist Mark Colborne (also of Pants + Tie) who will generally range as far as his mic cord will allow.
The floor was loosely filled this early in the night, and looking down from the balcony above, there was no clear demarcation between the band and the crowd — as if it just happened that these four guys had wandered up first and grabbed the instruments. Such casualness would be belied by their locked-in focus, and if the spectacle of what the band does is reduced a bit after seeing them a couple times, it's made up for the by the force of the blow the music lands with.3
Listen to a song from this set here.
Things moved up to the stage proper after that for Blonde Elvis. Fronted by Jesse James Laderoute (in a dapper turtleneck/gold chain/white pants combo), the band serves as the let's-have-a-good-time id to the consider-the-consequences superego of his main project Young Mother. Having only played a handful of gigs, this is a band that's still finding its sound — there was more tasty guitar work than when I'd seen them previously, for example — but the underlying message is generally along the lines of "it's Saturday night, let's have a drink!" Even if they come off as a group that you might find passing around a flask in a stylish back alley, that doesn't conceal that they're building up a repertoire of well-crafted pop songs.
Listen to a song from this set here.
After that, it felt all at once like there was suddenly a whole different crowd in place in the suddenly-packed room. In terms of anticipation and the level of excitement in the room, Blue Hawaii were the night's de facto headliners. Raphalle Preston-Standell is known for her work in Braids, and surely some of that band's buzz was rubbing off on this project. Here, providing vox and manipulations, she's in a duo with Alexander Cowan, who was manning a big table of electronics. The songs were beat-driven but not particularly pop-structured, and sounding positively great in the room — this was definitely a proof-of-concept for what that new PA system could do.
That said, I must confess it wasn't doing much for me, and by the end I was mostly reduced to an indifferent shrug. The impression that the live set gave was that Preston-Standell was drawing from the least-interesting elements in Braids' music, delivering repurposed Björk-isms over generic beatscapes. But I shouldn't quite let that be my last word on this act, and would offer two caveats: first, this was proclaimed by almost everyone I talked with to be one of the highlights of the festival; and second, I have heard that the pair's recorded output relies more on textured nuances that might win me over a little more. We shall see.
Listen to a song from this set here.
Just as Rollie Pemberton (who records as Cadence Weapon) is now oft-mentioned as being from "Montréal-via-Calgary", his music has always thrived on keeping his feet in different camps — a rapper who travels in indie rock circles. It means that he has a wider range of pop culture references to draw on (I have no data, but I can't imagine a lot of other rappers can be so blasé as they slip in a Richard Hell reference) and a wider range of scene politics that he can riff on. But most importantly, in a live setting he can bring it as an MC, relying on stage presence and verbal dexterity to keep a show moving without getting caught up in the indulgences that weigh down a lot of hip-hop music. The set drew from last year's Hope in Dirt City but wasn't limited to profiling it, reaching back for a few older cuts ("Real Estate" was sounding pretty good) as well as debuting a new one. Pemberton took care to talk about his links to Wavelength, sending a shout-out to Spiral Beach while recalling playing to eight (or so) people at his first time through T.O. — this is how WL brings things full circle.
Listen to a song from this set here.
The real legacy of Spiral Beach is only now starting to be felt, with all of its members currently involved in noteworthy bands. I've been seeing Airick Woodhead developing as Doldrums for almost three years now, so it's been interesting to see the project continually metastasizing and mutating to the point of congealing into the brand-new Lesser Evil album. Playing with a rotating cast of musicians (though his brother Daniel "Moon King" Woodhead and Steven Foster — both on stage here — are often in the mix), in a live setting his music has always sailed on the choppy waters of indeterminacy, the performance buoyed by the fact that things could get weird or go wrong at any moment.
So, a few technical hiccups here (with one song being stopped and patchcords being puzzled over before it got a do-over) seemed downright professional from an artist who, as a relatively-unknown bottom-of-the-bill performer at the WL festival two years ago pressed play on a Madonna track and jumped off the stage to go grab a mid-set beer. In any case, given how Woodhead's amorphous pop sensibility had been slowly sublimated into actual songs — and damn good ones — it was amusing to see that ol' randomness intruding back on them once again.
Listen to a song from this set here.
1 Do you have ANY IDEA how old it makes me feel to have to distinguish what I always thought of as a "regular TV" in that way? Sigh.
2 Sometime while Burning Love were playing, by Justin Small's calculation.
3 THIGHS will be celebrating the vinyl reissue of last year's cassette (alongside DAS RAD, also celebrating a new album) at The White House on Friday, March 1, 2013.
Artist: THIGHS
Song: Russ*
Recorded at The Garrison (NXNE 2012/Wavelength 544), June 13, 2012.
THIGHS - RussFull review to follow — my quick notes for this set can be found here.
* Thanks to the band for passing along the title to this one.

NXNE 2012 (Wednesday, June 13, 2012)
While these shows are fresh in my mind I want to get some quick notes down. I'm a nerd for not wanting to throw my full reviews out of sequence, so there'll be a fuller accounting of the night by and by that'll include even more details and recordings.
8 p.m.: Indian Wars @ Of A Kind
Like rock'n'roll — or like capitalism itself — NXNE has managed to keep itself fresh by constantly bringing bright-eyed, DIY would-be usurpers into its circle. And thus, while a year ago Static Zine was piggybacking on the festival crowds to get attention for their old-school cut/paste/photocopied publication, this year sees them with an official daytime show, celebrating the launch of their second (still awesomely old-school) NXNE-themed issue with an afternoon's worth of bands at vinyl'n'vintage emporium Of A Kind. Kudos to Team Static for their hands-on self-publishing as well as their talent for bringing events to life.
I only made it down in time to catch the last act, but there was a nice crowd on hand to see Vancouver's Indian Wars. Rootsy with a bit of blues-honkin' mouth harp, bassist/vocalist Brad Felotick has a bit of a Dylan-y bleat, but the band behind him kept things pleasingly scuffed up. There was dual-guitar interplay and some mild feedback courtesy of keyboardist Craig Pettman waving his harmonica mic in front of his amps. Ramshackle and catchy in agreeable proportions.1
Listen to a track from this set here. Indian Wars will be playing two NXNE showcases on Saturday: Sneaky Dee's @ 11PM and The Dakota Tavern @ 2AM.
9 p.m.: THIGHS @ The Garrison
After that, headed down to The Garrison and settled myself in there for the night, as a nice way to ease into the festival. My decision to stay put was helped by the fact that the night was being co-presented by Wavelength2, and with General Chaos providing the visuals and Doc Pickles MC'ing the night, it had the WL feel. That also came from the fact that there were four pretty distinct acts on hand, all unified by a boundary-pushing ethos.
I knew nothing about first band THIGHS, but given the impressive heap of gear set up on the floor in front of the stage, I figured they'd be noisy. And then I was pleasantly surprised when several familiar faces in the crowd turned out to be on hand not just to take in the show, but to play. I recognized Jarod Gibson (also of Odonis Odonis) on drums and vocalist Mark Colborne (also of Pants + Tie) and it took me a little longer to connect guitar and bass to other bands like Danger Bay. That lineage gives a bit of a hint at what's hand here, but the band delivered more of a clunking roar than might have been expected — think Big Black/Jesus Lizard sonic architecture as a delivery system for Colborne's anxiety transmissions.
His delivery here was a bit less howl'n'sputter than with Pants + Tie, and he was dressed-down a bit from his usual stage attire with that band. That gave him the air less of a bureaucrat in the middle of a crisis than a weekend-warrior in full-on panic attack mode, suddenly wondering how everything went wrong in his life. He was still full of slightly-discomforting stagecraft, slowly inching forward to sing right in the faces of the front rank of spectators, before walking away from his mic and through the crowd to the back of the room, licking his fingers all the while, like he was trying to recover the flavour of something special that had been stolen from him. Toward the end of the set, he clutched at his chest, dropping to the floor on hands and knees while the band churned on behind him.
It was a quick jolt of a set — I don't think the band has been playing together for too long as of yet, but it was rather exciting. The DAPS Records crew was in attendance, so I reckon we'll be seeing the band at some more of their affiliated events.
Listen to a track from this set here.
10 p.m.: WE R DYING 2 KILL U @ The Garrison
Although billed solely to Montréal avant-punk unit WE R DYING 2 KILL U, the real draw here was the presence of Penny Rimbaud, drummer for first-wave UK anarcho-punks Crass. As such, no one in attendance seemed to really know what to expect, and as I saw the musicians setting up with a pair of basses and a pair of guitars, plus flute, sax and banjo I was even more confused. This could be anything, but I was still surprised when Rimbaud led off with a few lines pinched from "Heartbeat Hotel".
It turned out to be, on balance, a sort of free-jazz meets spoken-word explosion. And let there be no doubt: if you ever think it's about a certain haircut or a certain sound, you're wrong — in context, there's nothing more punk than seeing an old man reading poetry, accompanied only by a trilling flute. The instrumentation varied between songs, and at a couple points Rimbaud simply slipped to the back of the stage and crouched between the drummer and an amp while the rest of the band would do a song without him.
Regardless of who was singing, however, most of the lyrics were about radical politics, ranging from systemic racism to cassaroles and carrés rouges.
The quality of the poetry varied a bit, and after the initial burst of conceptual surprise at the whole thing it made less of an impact. It might not all have been "good", but it was pretty entertaining, and there was no doubting that the musicians were as nimble as hell. And anyways, with so many sanitized, play-it-safe bands filling up the bars during NXNE, I'm glad to see something that was a little erratic, wobbly, anarchistic and confusing.
11 p.m.: Silkken Laumann @ The Garrison
It seems like a lot of musicians have an electro-dance side-project these days. It makes a certain sort of sense: on the one hand, an artist can explore songwriting in different ways, taking advantage of new technology that reduces reliance on other musicians while on the other it's an easy-to-transport live gig that pays off with body-movin' satisfaction. Going in, all I knew here was that this project was Rolf Klausener (of earnest Ottawa rockers The Acorn) throwing his hat in the ring.
Silkken Laumann has evidently progressed past the "bedroom project" phase, with its live incarnation now a trio with Klausener backed by fellow Acorn-er Pat Johnson on drums and Adam Saikaley on keybs. Unsurprisingly, the music was throbby arpeggiated pop with a lot of bass. Though there seemed to be a contingent on hand out to see the band, it took a couple songs before a few people gave in to the dance imperative, which quickly got a bit of body movement in front of the stage.
As for the music, I can't say it made very much of an impact on me. Although there were a few places with interesting dynamics, it was mostly faintly-generic beatz. That would have been fine if they were wedded to interesting songs, but there wasn't much here that registered. Praise is due to Klausener for exploring in a new artistic direction, but perhaps having now mastered the elements of the style, he might yet find some more-distinguished sonic nuances, and remember to write some choruses.
Midnite: Teenanger @ The Garrison
Closing out the night was the one band on the bill that I was well familiar with. I was glad to have another chance to hear the newer stylings from garage-punk miscreants Teenanger, as the last time I saw them, back in March at their album release show, I found the band to be a little flat. Perhaps I was in a less receptive mood on that night (or a more receptive mood on this one) as from the get-go of opener "S.L.W." I was more engaged. I think it helped that the band was roaringly loud in The Garrison's PA, and I could feel the music pushing me around a little.
Always seasoned, the longest spate of touring in their existence certainly added a cutting sharpness to their sound. Vocalist Chris Swimmings sounded raw and nasty as the band powered straight from song to song, and there was an extra bottom-end throb from Melissa Ball's bass.
This was a bit of a restrained crowd for a Teenanger show until Wavelength co-founder Jonny Dovercourt waded in and started his own pit alongside WL programmer Adam Bradley. But still, even if I wasn't bounching off someone else's body, as the band closed out a too-quick set with their new-ish self-titled song, I felt re-energized.
Listen to a track from this set here.
1 Do note that Of A Kind will be having a second, all-day in-store on Saturday, with some really fab bands, including the ace closing quartet of Teen Tits Wild Wives, Chang-a-Lang, Planet Creature and Das Rad at 5/6/7/8 p.m.
2 The show was labelled WL544 for the didactic/historically minded.
Founded as a blog about one curmudgeon's love affair with the em dash, Mechanical Forest Sound has grown to become a community-based archive of local musical culture. Assuming that "independent music" isn't just boys with guitars and "culture" isn't just some sort of pageant, MFS is an investigation of a wide range of artists, reflecting on concerts as shared experiences, acts of citizenship and a chance to get down — fuzzy photographs and clear-sounding original live recordings a specialty.
Current manifestations of this project include Track Could Bend, a monthly concert series featuring "improvised music and weird rock offshoots", presented in a casual environment.
At one point I wrote full-on concert reviews, and for longer I thought I would catch up and write about shows in the past. But these days, because of, y'know, life, do not expect much in the way of full show reviews — but live recordings with blurbs will be posted as quickly after the fact as is feasible.
Check out my original live recordings from many of the gigs discussed here.
You can also check out full sets uploaded to the Live Music Archive. [not currently active]
N.B.: All recordings should be available & playable. If you come across any broken links, invisible or non-functioning players, etc, please leave a comment and I will tend to it ASAP.
ALSO N.B.: I'm perpetually on the lookout for a new place to stash my MP3's online. If you know of any place that allows a couple gigs of stuff to be openly linked to for streaming, drop me a line!
All comments are welcome, or you can reach me at mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.
All MP3's on this blog are audience recordings shared as a reminder of the excitement of seeing live music. If you are an artist who doesn't want their music shared in this way, please contact me and I shall remove it forthwith.
If you're so inclined, you can also follow me on Bluesky @mfs-toronto.bsky.social
Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Alex Fournier/Dan Pitt/Aaron Blewett) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-04 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
Chris Banks presents (feat. Chris Banks/Dafydd Hughes/Rob Cruickshank) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-04 (Monday)
Track Could Bend #116 (feat. the rest [Joe Sorbara & Jonathan Kay] / Wobbly + John Oswald / Red Trillium [Andrew Finlay Stewart/Matt Nguyen/Justin Caporuscio]) / Wenona Lodge 2026-05-05 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Holy Oak Family Singers presents: Our Parents' Tapes (feat. Luka Kuplowsky/Tiffany Wu/Isla Craig/Justin Orok/Edwin De Goeij/Fan Wu/Aiden McConnell/Ivy Mairi/Carlyn Bezic/Robin Dann//Ben Gunning/Bram Gielen) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-06 (Wednesday – early) [more info]
Potions & Strings (Dun-Dun Man) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-06 (Wednesday). [more info]
What Is: noncompliance: The inputted value is unusual [workshop & performance] (feat. Rrose / Auto Feeder / Parkdale Pirate Radio) / Sandbox 2025-05-07 (Thursday). $20/$25/$30 PWYCA. [more info]
Longing and Belonging: Music for Piano by Armenian Composers (feat. Eve Egoyan) / University of Toronto (Walter Hall) 2026-05-07 (Thursday). $free. [more info]
More Noise Please! presents: Cacophonyous Cataclysm (feat. V. Vecker / Unfeeling / THRTDSPLY / Jania K / Dept of Loss / Emergency Euphoria / Humbucker Music [Nick Storring/Jason Doell/Mira Martin-Gray/Colin Cudmore] / Del Stephen's Glib Trot Gleaning) / BSMT 254 2026-05-07 (Thursday). $15/PWYC. [FB event]
Mayme Joach [Alex Lukashevsky & co.] / Grossman's Tavern 2026-05-08 (Friday – 6:30)
What Is: noncompliance: No memories available (feat. Qiujiang Levi Lu / Aliyah Aziz / Husna Farooqui) / Sandbox 2025-05-08 (Friday). $20/$25/$30 PWYCA. [more info]
Hooper (No Frills) / Dina's Tavern 2025-05-08 (Friday). $17.31. [more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. C'est la fête Large Ensemble [William Hunt/Adrian Rossouw/Mateos Labbes-Phelan/Maxwell Stover/Colin Fisher with special guests Karen Ng & Mark Hundevad) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-08 (Friday) [more info]
What Is: noncompliance: Confirm humanity [workshop & performance] (feat. Shara Lunon / Nidus / Christina Dovolis) / Sandbox 2025-05-09 (Saturday). $20/$25/$30 PWYCA. [more info]
Liquid Architecture (feat. Tomasz Krakowiak / Eric Paglia) / St. Matthew’s Clubhouse 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $10 (cash or e-transfer). [FB event]
Labyrinth Ontario with Efrén López / Aga Khan Museum 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $50 (regular)/$45 (friends of the museum)/$37.50 (students and seniors)/$20 (limited rush tickets). [FB event]
O Sacrum Convivium, Music for Corpus Christi (feat. The Tallis Choir) / St. Patrick's Church 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $35 (general), $30 (seniors), $15 (students). [FB event]
Girma Woldemichael [Nafqoté CD release concert] / The Redwood Theatre 2026-05-09 (Saturday). $20, all-ages. [FB event]
catl. (Kewpie Dolls / Thee Terrible Threes) / Dina's Tavern 2025-05-09 (Saturday). $17.31. [more info]
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-10 (Sunday – noon)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / JOYSHAPE / Ryan Dugre / Nick Flanagan) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-10 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]
Wolf Eyes (Knurl / Ayal Senior) / The Baby G 2026-05-10 (Sunday). $33.18, 19+. [FB event]
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Nancy Walker/Eric West/Mark Godfrey) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-11 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
New Works for Improvising Musicians (feat. Nick Fraser's Special Topics [Nick Fraser/Josh Cole/Max Stover/Kae Murphy]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-11 (Monday)
Brodie West presents (feat. Drumheller [Nick Fraser/Rob Clutton/Brodie West/Eric Chenaux/Doug Tielli]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-13 (Wednesday – early)
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. One Leg One Eye / Efrim Menuck) / St. Stephen-In-The-Fields 2025-05-13 (Wednesday). $26.67, all-ages. [FB event]
Never Was [Brandon Davis/Bea Labikova/Patrick O’Reilly/Joe Sorbara] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-05-13 (Wednesday)
TONE Presents (feat. Eric Chenaux & Ryan Driver / Rafael Toral / Masahiro Takahashi & Brodie West) / Standard Time 2025-05-14 (Thursday). $33.64 advance/$35 door, all-ages. [FB event]
Night Owls (feat. Bob Wiseman / Lily Frost) / Hugh's Room 2026-05-14 (Thursday). $42.85 (General Admission), $27.27 (Student / Arts Worker / Underemployed). [FB event]
AMRITA [debut album release!] [Anita Katakkar & Kayla Milmine with special guests: Jonathan Kay & Zaynab Wilson] (Zaynab Wilson) / Array Space 2025-05-14 (Thursday). $30 [includes a copy of the new CD and a drink]. [FB event]
Pedro Oliveira (Ariel Orah / Earth Punks) / Terrarium 2025-05-14 (Thursday). $15/pwyc. [more info]
Today Versions presents (feat. Ghost Variables [Gary Barwin/Chris Palmer/David Lee/Mike Hansen/Connor Bennett] / Del Stephen's Furtherances [Owen Kurtz/Paul Newman/Jeff Sinibaldi/Jamie Eriksen/Del Stephen] / Woolworm, Ontario) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2026-05-15 (Friday). $10-$15 sliding scale
Animatist [Shapeshifter Album Release Party] (Miserable Weekend / Paper Hats) / The Baby G 2025-05-16 (Saturday). $20.01, 19+. [FB event]
Garden of Forking Paths VIII (feat. Triio) / Allan Gardens 2026-05-16 (Saturday). $30. [more info]
Cosmic Homeostasis XXXII / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2026-05-17 (Sunday – noon). $pwyc. [FB event]
The Dan Pitt Trio [Dan Pitt/Alex Fournier/Nick Fraser] / Sellers & Newel 2026-05-17 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Rebecca Hennessy/Max Simpson/Trevor Falls) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-18 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
Playscape Emporium: Paint, Play ["The audience will witness the creation of various painted works, following the story of a painting as told by the brush."] (feat. Duo Cichorium / Constant Yen / Rowan Campbell / Charli/Fahmid/Joe/Mira) / Array Space 2026-05-21 (Thursday). $25.00 (or Pay What You Want); livestream: $12.00 (or Pay What You Want). [more info]
By Divine Right (Casper Skulls / The Will Powers) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-22 (Friday)
Picastro (Lives Like Skyscrapers / Jordaan Mason) / Annette Studios 2026-05-22 (Friday). $28.25. [more info]
Burn Down The Capital presents (feat. Cole Pulice / SpeariNg [Karen Ng & Charles Spearin] / Grace Scheele) / Collective Arts 2026-05-23 (Saturday). $22.89, 19+. [FB event]
Doug Tielli/Aline Homzy/Michael Davidson/Brandon Davis / Sellers & Newel 2026-05-23 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Parade [Stefan Hegerat/Chris Pruden/Patrick O’Reilly/Laura Swankey] (Joyshape) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-05-23 (Saturday). $16.95. [more info]
Jazz Rat Monday (feat. Patrick Smith/Nancy Walker/Eric West/Mark Godfrey) / Dina's Tavern 2026-05-25 (Monday). $pwyc. [more info]
Geordie Gordon [River Round release celebration, full band with horn section!] (José Contreras) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-05-27 (Wednesday). $20.34. [more info]
Sook-Yin Lee with Dylan Gamble [72RHR release celebration] / Sonic Boom 2026-05-29 (Friday). $free, all ages
Battute e Pizzicato: Celebrating the 17th-Century Guitar (feat, Musicians of the Egg) / Church of the Redeemer 2026-05-31 (Sunday). $30 (general admission), $20 (students/arts workers). [FB event]
TONE presents: Double LP Release (feat. Glissandro 70 / Khôra & Mas Aya / Sweet Lips) / Standard Time 2025-06-04 (Thursday). $28.27, all ages. [FB event]
The Mike DeiCont Trio [Mike DeiCont/Leland Whitty/Eric West] / Sellers & Newel 2026-06-07 (Sunday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. Fuji||||||||||ta / Evicshen) / The Garrison 2025-06-10 (Wednesday). $30.14, 19+. [FB event]
TONE & Not Dead Yet present (feat. Afrorack / Phèdre / Arc & Texture) / BSMT 254 2025-06-16 (Tuesday). $34.49, 19+. [FB event]
Titanium Riot / Sellers & Newel 2026-06-16 (Tuesday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray / CONTXT by Trane 2026-06-19&20 (Friday & Saturday). $42.38 (earlybird)/$77.41 (both shows). [FB event]
TONE & More Noise Please present (feat. Lucas 'Granpa' Abela / Death Kneel / Nimmie Amee / Triptych [Colin Cudmore/Kristina Guison/Colby Richardson]) / The Jama 2025-06-21 (Sunday). $17.52 (early bird), $22.89 (general admission), 19+. [FB event]
TONE presents (feat. Setting / High Alpine Hut Network / Shabason/Gunning) / The Jama 2025-06-24 (Wednesday). $22.89, 19+. [FB event]
TONE presents (feat. The Ex / not a band / Andy Moor & Yannis Kyriakides) / Cafeteria Upstairs 2025-06-25 (Thursday). $39.02, all ages. [FB event]
Lavventura [debut live performance and That Particular Charm release celebration! ] / The Piston 2026-07-03 (Friday)
Styrofoam Winos (Eliza Niemi / Roy) / The Baby G 2026-07-19 (Sunday). $20.01, 19+. [tickets + more info]
2026 Gigs
Tania Gill presents (feat. Victor Bateman/Brodie West/Nico Dann) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-02 (Friday)
The Silt / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-02 (Friday)
Track Could Bend #112 (feat. Duo BEAK / Vividness Trio) / Wenona Lodge 2026-01-06 (Tuesday)
Toronto Improvisors Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-11 (Sunday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Senior & Newman / Nick Flanagan / Aaron Knight / Azaria / Charter of the Forest) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-11 (Sunday)
ur audio visual presents (feat. Heraclitus Akimbo / Charter of the Forest) / The Sun Room @ 918 Bathurst 2026-01-18 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #113 (feat. OH GEE / Ryan Kinney) / Wenona Lodge 2026-02-03 (Tuesday)
Toronto Improvisers Orchestra / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-08 (Sunday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman / Destroya / Nick Flanagan / Roya/Marilyn/Ayal / Ayal Senior) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-08 (Sunday)
Bad Baby and Mayme Joach (Fan Wu / Colleen Coco Collins) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-02-08 (Sunday)
Music Hosted by Karen Ng (feat. Max Stover/Mateos Labbé-Phelan/Andrew Furlong/Karen Ng) / Wenona Lodge 2026-02-17 (Tuesday)
Rapallo (Marker Starling) / Dina's Tavern 2025-02-21 (Saturday)
Earlobe fundraiser (feat. Many People) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-26 (Thursday)
coexisDance #113 (feat. New Chance / Rachana Joshi / Sid Eillers / Brandon Davis / Kayla Milmine / Brendan Swanson / Rowan-Muriel / Joel Lawrence) / Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre 2026-02-28 (Saturday)
Eliza Niemi (Shep. Treasure / Westelaken) / Dina's Tavern 2026-03-01 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #114 (feat. Bill Gilliam / Scallions / Tap slap wind and light) / Wenona Lodge 2026-03-03 (Tuesday)
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Senior & Newman / Lostworldsounds / Nick Flanagan / Nocturnes / Ayal Senior) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-03-08 (Sunday)
International Women's Day (feat. Tania Gill/Aline Homzy/Karen Ng/Brittany Pitt/Mira Riselli) / Sellers & Newel 2026-03-08 (Sunday)
Ben Mike & The Beatles (Down Town) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-03-14 (Saturday)
Cosmic Homeostasis XXXI / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-03-29 (Sunday)
Track Could Bend #115 (feat. Brian Abbott & Paul Newman / Ben Mike & Owen Kurtz) / Wenona Lodge 2025-04-07 (Tuesday)
Kurt Newman presents Post-Bluegrass Bluegrass (feat. Isla & The Sorry Brothers) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-04-09 (Thursday)
Sonomadic Improv presents (feat. the clearing / Happy Apple) / Annette Studios 2025-04-12 (Sunday)
Josh Cole: new works for improvising musicians (feat. Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Owen Kurtz/Josh Cole) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-04-13 (Monday)
Sympathetic String Band & Friends (feat. Sympathetic String Band / Gayle Young) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-04-26 (Sunday)
Not Dead Yet presents (feat. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis / Yr Knives) / 918 Bathurst 2026-05-02 (Saturday)