Recording: Persian Rugs

Artist: Persian Rugs

Song: Always All

Recorded at The Piston, September 17, 2010.

Persian Rugs - Always All

My notes for this set can be found here.

Gig: Planet Creature

Planet Creature (The Two Koreas / Terror Lake / Persian Rugs)

The Piston. Friday, September 17, 2010.

In an epic burst of bad streetcar luck, the night got off to a lousy start. By the time I straggled my way over to Ossington for my pre-gig pho, I was a good chunk late on my dinner plans. So once I got there, I decided I just wasn't going to be in a hurry for the rest of the night. Though I have a certain rigourous dedication to getting to places to catch the bands at the bottom of the bill, sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and relax and count on the fact that you'll have another chance to see 'em again. Having good company and tasty, tasty pho made it easy to recalibrate and accept that for the gig I'd get there when I got there.

And anyways, you can usually count on a gig to start late, so despite thinking I'd miss 'em entirely, I still managed to catch the last few songs from Persian Rugs. Which was lucky as I was definitely interested in checking this new-ish combo out. In the big family tree chart that we will someday make of beloved local bands, Persian Rugs would be one generation down in the lineage from The Airfields and The Diableros — who will be colour-coded in the chart in such a way to designate beloved-and-missed groups now gone. The face I most recognized was guitarist Ian Jackson, although I have seen Ali Sunderji playing before as well.

The winning surprise here was keyboardist Kaye Hamilton, whose textures tied the music together. Plus, in a band employing a bit of a pass-the-mic approach to vocals, she provided the top contenders here, including the lovely "Always All".¹ With a textured, slightly dreamy vibe informing the best of their material, the band exhibited a very argyle sort of sound, just like Jackson's sweater. I assume he was wearing it to reinforce just this sort of association, as it was damnably hot in the room. That said, they could rock out a bit too, throwing in a cover of Television Personalities' "Part Time Punks". I was definitely glad to have gotten a quick taste of the band, and looking forward to more.²

Listen to a track from this set here.

Between sets, I had a chance to properly take a gander at the venue. On Bloor beside the big Long & McQuade store in the spot formerly occupied by the Concord Café, The Piston is a comfortable space, split into two parts with the bar (giving the feeling of a reasonably cosy local) up front and the venue in the back, all in a fairly long, narrow alignment. That layout means that, similar to, perhaps, The Rivoli, there can be a bit of a bottleneck when passing into the back space, especially if there's a crowd intent on hanging around at the back of the room, but it opens into a roomier zone in front of the low stage, with a few seats along the walls. All told, a decent space for a show like this.

It hadn't been so long since I'd seen Terror Lake, so I was curious to see if I'd be getting a "more of the same"-type show. But as "Junebug"'s count-in³ led to the driving surf beat, the pleasing rush of the band's sound pushed any worries out of my mind. And there's enough live electricity give-and-take in the two-guitar attack that the songs don't get to sounding too rote or predictable. As it was, the setlist was also mixed up a bit, though there was the same buildup to the more deliberate "Redskin Panic" toward the end. The sound (with Pete Carmichael behind the board) was mostly sharp throughout the night, but especially during this set, with both guitars crisp and distinct in the mix, filling the room nicely without being too loud.⁴ Meanwhile, the band was as eager as the rest of the crowd to hear Planet Creature, so they kept their set to a succinct six songs.

Listen to a track from this set here.

The Piston's stage looked a little crowded with the five bodies of The Two Koreas, who played a set scattered with material from their forthcoming third full-length, Science Island.⁵ Although the sound was a little mushy for them at first, the band mostly keept things bouncing along with their avant-new-wave-boogie-insecurity anthems. As always, vocalist/critic Stuart Berman was out to entertain his bandmates and the crowd, his antics, as always, exploring the tension between planned showmanship and improvised goofing. Here, for example, after falling to the stage at the end of the first part of "Retarded Architect", he took care to dramatically twitch a bit before springing to his feet to resume the song.

As I think I've suggested before, I'm never sure if these well-read theoreticians are trying to deconstruct rock'n'roll as they make it or if they live in a realm of particularly rich in-jokes that they constantly deploy to amuse each other. Or even if they just like to leave weird traces in their wake to see if anyone will pick up on them — here, for whatever reason, the band's setlist was written on Manolo Blahnik stationary: is this some sort of jape about rockstar conspicuous consumption? Do they just like wearing Manolos? Well, anyways, a few years ago, I wouldn't have really said that The Two Koreas were a band you could go and dance to and have a fun time — but now they are, and we're better for it. Any metatextural flourishes you happen to pick up on are just a bonus.

Listen to a track from this set here.

And after that, a long-coming moment in the spotlight for Planet Creature, celebrating the release of their first EP. The well-recorded Pigeon is a nice demonstration of where the band's at, showing their different musical sides and including a couple real aces. Their set pulled from that, but also the rest of the stock of songs they're building up.

Besides having a recording to boast about, the band has become increasingly solid on stage, with their vocal arrangements starting to become a real strength. There was good energy in the galloping guitar line of "Ramona", and it didn't take long for a dance party vibe to prevail on the floor, with Optical Sounds compadre Lee Brochu (of The Hoa Hoa's) leading the way. There's an interesting range in their sound, from the tougher-tinged garage stuff ("Loaded") to the glorious C-86ish harmonies of "Das Pirates", a cracker of a song that brings The Shop Assistants to mind. Playing that one, the band got a bit unstuck and out of sync — it looked like that was one spot where the bandmembers couldn't hear each other very well, but there was enough self-assurance and danceparty forward momentum to keep things going.

There were some other signs of the band's increased proficiency, too — they've got their instrument switcharounds down to a much smoother process than they used to be, and the whole set had a streamlined, steady pace. Closing out with the snappy "Tetris", where Kristina Koski's squiggly keybs sounded not unlike videogame background music, the efficient set went out with leave-'em-wanting-more good vibes.

Listen to a track from this set here.

---

¹ The band is giving a demo of this song away at their bandcamp.

² I have subsequently managed to catch a full set from the band, and will have more to say when I get caught up to that show, though you can check out a track from it here. Suffice it to say, this is a band worth checking out.

³ It's one of those small things, but drummer/vocalist Wendy Fowler might grace the band with some of the best count-ins in the the city, always delivered with an excited cheerful eagerness.

⁴ Although the room seems to have a decent sound system, its Achilles heel on this night was the stage sound — I'd later overhear a member of one of the bands commenting that there wasn't great sound on stage, and later I got the impression that the night's headliners were having some trouble hearing each other.

⁵ This is now slated for a March 1, 2011 release on Last Gang, so keep your eyes out for it. One can assume there'll be an album release party to go with that, as well.

Recording: Land of Talk

Artist: Land of Talk

Songs: Goaltime Exposure + Summer Special

Recorded at Lee's Palace, September 16, 2010.

Land of Talk - Goaltime Exposure

Land of Talk - Summer Special

My notes for this set can be sound here.

Recording: Suuns

Artist: Suuns

Song: Sweet Nothing

Recorded at Lee's Palace, September 16, 2010.

Suuns - Sweet Nothing

My notes for this set can be sound here.

Gig: Land of Talk

Land of Talk (Suuns)

Lee's Palace. Thursday, September 16, 2010.

Another one of of those nights where I was out to see if a band whose records hadn't done much for me could win me over live. Though from general chatter it seemed like I was one of the few who wasn't on board with Land of Talk, I was still surprised this was a sold out gig — as usual, I had no idea how relatively popular the headliners were. There was even a fairly robust crowd on hand for opener Suuns, a Montréal quartet with some buzz.¹

The music lead off with a rumble of guitar and a couple analogue-y synth lines in an unrushed intro before the beat came in — and then another minute of build before the song got to the vocals. This wasn't a band in a rush to get to the chorus — actually, I'm not if the song even had one. The next tune eased back on the sonic velocity, and was filled with whispery vocals — more atmospheric than something you'd find yourself humming along to. My first impression was that this was a band aiming for a one chord, unsexy version of Franz Ferdinand.

Having gone in without doing any research, I felt there was something familiar about them, but it was only after the show that I realized had, in fact, seen them before — more than a year back when they were called Zeroes. I don't recall so much about that set, but my notes show that I managed to get basically the same impression twice — that this was a sound that I found interesting without being captivated by. When they brought out a guest sax player for a song, that added something interesting, and from there, music took a Clinic-al edge. But the band was bringing some different flavours, ranging from rattling bursts of freneticism to minimal slowburners. In the latter camp was one song whose only lyrics were the repeated digits "two-one-two". That and the final song brought to mind Snakedrill-era Wire, who I think we could count as a clear forerunner of what the band is working on. Despite all of that being kinda in my sweet spot, and although music like this can sometimes really hypnotize me, I found the set merely likeable. I will keep an eye on further developments, though.

Listen to a song from this set here.

Meanwhile, as the floor got to be pretty packed while things were getting set up for Land of Talk, it looked like they would be getting an assist from Suuns, who left their keybs and sundry other gear on stage while a small second drumkit was being set up in the back corner. In fact, Suuns — who amusingly re-emerged dressed up in shirts and ties that they'd not worn for their own set — would be fully integrated as a central element in the reproduction of the songs from the just-released Cloak and Cipher. As the set lead off with the title track, it was a larger-than-expected seven-member combo on stage.

I suppose that it shouldn't be too much of a surprise as the band has always featured a revolving cast around singer/guitarist Liz Powell — although she normally works with the more compact trio format. For the first half-hour here, players would come and go, meaning each song could be served with as much embellishment as required, whether extra backing vocals or percussion.

For a band that has some exceedingly dedicated fans, I've never been fully won over by Land of Talk's recorded material. It uniformly features some fully engaging moments, but never seems to cohere into songs that really grab me. And I was having more or less that same reaction at this show — some stuff, like "Some Are Lakes" (the title track to their 2008 full-length) registered, as did the downcast "Goaltime Exposure" from the new one. But overall I wasn't pulled into it.

I actually got a bit more of a charge when, mid-set, the band stripped down to their original trio format to look back to some older material like "Magnetic Hill" from debut Applause Cheer Boo Hiss. It was amusing to then see the rest of the extra hands re-materialize², sort of like the punchline to a joke about Canadian indie-rock "collectives" — they're a trio, but look away for a second and suddenly there's seven of 'em. The lashing "Yuppie Flu" that the trio had delivered was then contrasted with stuff like the textured "Color Me Badd".

Powell was effusively thankful to have a supportive and "really safe crowd" for the expanded group's first show. Around me, there was a pretty positive reaction from both "I know all the words" devotees and drunken "I heard they were cool" casuals that were rubbing shoulders in the crowd. They all joined in for a clapalong to the extended intro of "Sixteen Asterisk" and clearly wanted the band to keep playing past closer "The Hate I Won't Commit".

That extended a seventy minute main set as the band returned for what looked to be planned as a one-song-and-out encore with "It's Okay", which had a few people singing along in that way where you get the idea that this song really matters to them. That led to prolonged applause before the band came back on stage. If the previous song had been the rote, typical encore, the return felt like the real thing, with Powell acknowledging that crowd wasn't going to let it go at that.

Going back to the trio, the band had another chance to dig back to some of the older material that they couldn't squeeze in to the main set, like the winning "Summer Special". Playing songs out of the current rotation and not relying on recent rehearsal, the second encore was probably the the most vital part of the whole night, where even a few mistakes didn't subtract from the spontaneous energy of it all.

But still, I left feeling more or less like I did when I came in. I can tell this band is good, but whatever that spark is — that one that gives you that vivid sense of connection to a certain singer or their songs — I'm just not getting it here.

A couple selections from this set — you can compare a trio song to one with the expanded lineup here.

---

¹ Those interested in the musical overlaps of the Montreal scene would be intrigued to know that keyboardist/bassist Max Henry used to split time with this band and Young Galaxy, though he has now departed from the YG fold to focus full time on Suuns. The band's forthcoming full-length was also produced with Montréal mainstay Jace Lacek of The Besnard Lakes, a sign that, if nothing else, it will be a well-recorded artifact.

² Actually, the start and end of the trio segment was accompanied by some extended tuning breaks. They echoed the rather anticlimactic way that the band took to the stage originally, leading off with a couple minutes of audience-ignoring tuning. I've heard that this is actually less of a problem now than it used to be for Powell, who jokingly solicited the audience for a volunteer guitar tech to join them on tour at one point.

Sunday Playlist #3

Sunday Playlist #3: Something Else!!!!

Feuermusik - Doppelspiel

Buildings - unknown

Apostle of Hustle - Dark is What I Want

Alpha Yaya Diallo - Unknown

The Woodchoppers Association et Jah Youssouf - unknown

---

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

Recording: Dr. Ew

Artist: Dr. Ew

Song: Dance All Over My Grave

Recorded at !059, January 15, 2011.

Dr. Ew - Dance All Over My Grave

My notes from this set can be found here.

Recording: Lullabye Arkestra

Artist: Lullabye Arkestra

Song: new song^*

Recorded at Four Corners II, Steelworkers Hall, January 14, 2011.

Lullabye Arkestra - new song

Full review to follow My notes for this set can now be found here. Four Corners II had the same number of corners as its predecessor, and about 100% more metal.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? The obvious guess would be "Set It On Fire". Please leave a comment if you have heard anything!

Recording: Doldrums

Artist: Doldrums

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at Against Life III ("Dream in High Park" Stage), September 10, 2010.

Doldrums - unknown

My notes for this set can be found here.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Tonka & Puma

Artist: Tonka & Puma

Song: Break Up Song + Fred

Recorded at Against Life III ("Dream in High Park" Stage), September 10, 2010.

Tonka & Puma - Break Up Song + Fred

"Fred" features vox & manipulations by Doldrums. My notes for this set can be found here.

Recording: Fresh Flesh

Artist: Fresh Flesh

Song: Space Diamonds

Recorded at Against Life III ("Dream in High Park" Stage), September 10, 2010.

Fresh Flesh - Space Diamonds

My notes for this set can be found here.

Gig: Against Life III

Against Life III (feat. Fresh Flesh / Tonka & Puma / Doldrums)

"Dream in High Park" Stage. Friday, September 9, 2010.

Going to this was a last-minute decision. But given that the listed started time was at midnight, even the last-minute didn't come early. After the end of my night's more regular gig, I had some time to kill and consider my options. Not only was it cooling off outside, but I could feel the first vestiges of a cold coming on. Standing outside in the crisp September dead of night in my short pants was probably inadvisable. Plus, I did have some mixed feelings about the last event like this I'd gone to. But still I'd gone to that one, and as the hour grew late here I was heading out to this.

As is usual for these things, the location was revealed only on the day of the show. Showing their flair for finding "off the grid" spots in the city, the organizers this time came up with a familiar landmark — the amphitheatre in High Park most usually populated by summertime Shakespeareans. And so I found myself taking the Queen streetcar out past all of my usual landmarks and treading uphill into the dark, quiet park. I crossed paths with a couple joggers, but I otherwise was feeling the Omega Man vibe, peering suspiciously at the smudges off in the distance here and there.

Despite knowing that punctuality is not a virtue at shows like this, it wasn't long past midnight that I found myself looking for the path down from the road. I remembered it vaguely from previous trips, but it's always another matter entirely when it's pitch dark out. It actually wasn't that hard to find and I headed down to find the entrance gate blocked off with a metal gate and a WORK ZONE sign. Someone had invitingly moved the gate open by a few feet and I headed in. As I came to the top ridge of the tiered amphitheatre, I could see people moving about on stage, getting the generator going and providing a little bit of light.

I found myself a spot and started waiting for things to begin as the cool damp of night started to descend. The steep arcing rows of seats above the stage encouraged people to settle in and spread out, and soon, people were tricking in, calling out for friends and hanging out. The dark stairs leading down toward the stage were soon illuminated by tiki torches.

Things got started right at one, when it was announced to the crowd, "the vibe will be a lot better for everyone if you come on the stage". And right like that, I remembered why I like things like this. Although the sound system and artists were set up right against the far back of the stage, everyone had internalized that that was the place for the musicians and the seats were the place with the crowd. But with the announcement that membrane evaporated and the bulk of the people on hand got up and clamoured onto the stage. It's actually a pretty big space up there, so it didn't feel all that crowded.

And getting closer to the lone light illuminating the PA meant we could now see Toronto-via-Halifax rapper Fresh Flesh (government name: Zoë Solomon), who was leading things off. Her ultra lo-fi beats were on cassettes that were switched in and out of a walkman hooked up to the sound system, an apt backdrop for her rhymes, which featured a flow somewhere between Peaches and Tom Green and a propensity for whimsical subject matter ("mystic crystal power", ham, puke and the assertion that "space diamonds are real"). Some of it rocked the bells pretty well, and the minimal casio/drum machine beats were rather likable.

On the second song, the generator konked out temporarily, underscoring the patched-together nature of the sound system, and adding to the vaguely post-apocalyptic vibe of the whole night. As the air grew colder and it felt like this was one group of survivors — or outcasts — dancing together to keep warm in some remote sanctuary, the closing song with its "can't wait to celebrate nuclear war" refrain fit perfectly.

Listen to a song from this set here.

Between sets, a guy shuffled up beside me, leaned in and asked, "D'you want any MDMA?" I shook my head no and felt vaguely disappointed that I'd wasted all that time memorizing the street names of drugs in an attempt to appear "with it". It looked like the dude might have had some takers, however, as there was an element of the crowd that looked to be out for a Burning Man sort of pagan celebration, complete with hippie twirling dance moves.

And getting ready to play, it looked like a big bottle of wine was the mood-altering substance of choice for Tonka & Puma. Another facet of the always-busy Daps Duo, T&P is a pairing of Hooded Fang's April Aliermo (bass/shouts) and Daniel Lee (drums/vocals) featuring hardcore velocity, extra-sloppy style, all in a whir of April's extra-fuzzy bass and Daniel's howling. As their anthem says: "we're two cool cats with nothin' to do / so give us some booze and we'll kick it for you".

From where I was standing, the vocals were sometimes inaudible and there was an amusingly trainwreckish quality to the minute-long songs — perfect party music for something like this. And helping to shake up the formula a bit, Airick Woodhead of Doldrums joined in to manipulate the sounds and add some messed-up vocals and the sloppy fun of it all actually came into focus for a few minutes. Much more of a soak in the madness-type of set than a hi-fi experience — but you're almost certainly not coming to something like this for the latter.

Check out a couple quick blasts from this set here.

Between sets, the music was mostly weird-rock and out-there mutant sounds from around the world — psychedelic Bollywood, disco drone and stuff like that. The stage was filled with people trying to keep warm with drunken dancing or drunken drinking. There was a lurching quality to people in general, just as there would be to the music as Doldrums got underway.

This would be the third time I saw Airick Woodhead's pop project — and it was rather different from either of my previous tastes. Woodhead, here in one-man-band mode, brought to life a crazy cut-and-paste world, starting with a snatch of sampled movie dialogue, adding all sorts of looped and sliced and treated vocals, all with glitchy beats being manipulated on the fly. One could have an "emperor got no clothes" reaction to this and call it gussied-up noise, but there is an underlying pop sensibility. And if it's a rather fragmented sort of pop sensibility, one gets the idea that comes from the fact that Woodhead's vision is at a slightly divergent angle to ours.

All of that would come across as even more messed-up in this environment, including some random weirdness with the sound cutting out every so often mid-song, all while Woodhead bounced around, including into the crowd, offering the mic around for any yalps the audience would like to throw into the mix.

And then, about quarter after two, less than fifteen minutes into the set, the real game changer of the night as the police dropped by to pause the show in the least-invasive manner imaginable. The two officers came up on stage and walked through the crowd to Woodhead, who kept the music going while carrying on his half of the conversation into his microphone, a woozy slo-jam beat still playing in the background.

"What's the officer, problem? "You're not into it? Whaddya think of this?" The cop actually made a sort of semi-apologetic ambivalent gesture but obviously got his point across that the music had to stop. Weirdly, there was no sense of confrontation ("Does it have to be us and them all the time?" Woodhead asked) as once the music stopped the police just turned around and left. Whether this was post-G20 goodwill or wanting to avoid an incident I wasn't sure — or whether they'd said something to the effect of "just make yourselves scarce".

With the music stopped, everyone stood around for a few minutes, unsure if the show was done or what. I lingered, but with that break my body suddenly remembered that this had started as a work day and I'd been going for quite a while. As some people started straggling out, the organizers weren't making any moves to shut things down, but thinking about the hike yet ahead of me I realized I was done for the night. As I made my way back to the road and was about to make my way toward the Bloor night bus, I heard the sound system come back to life and the music starting up again.¹

Listen to a track from this set here.

If you're a fan of music/drug analogies, Doldrums might be something like acid-laced cough syrup. And in a way, that kinda applies to the vibe of the whole night, which might be one thing imposing a limit on how much I felt I got out of this show. Maybe because I was mildly underdressed for the weather and had a cold coming on I felt less into it, but it felt like a less-successful happening than the last one.

There were definitely some positives here — this felt like the last fling of the summer and I would have felt a little sad to have missed it. And once again, I love the place-making (or "place-taking") element of this, giving a location a new, personal meaning. The next time I'm there, I'll be thinking, "yeah, I stood on that stage". But I also have the lingering feeling that I'm coming at things like this from the wrong way to be able to get into them fully. Is a show like this meant to be more than a debauch? Or is that the thing that each participant is supposed to bring with them? After all, this isn't pre-fab culture, presented to you in a microwave-ready pouch.

Anyway, once the weather warms up again, there will be more events like this. And I suppose I'm not saying that I won't be there.

---

¹ In fact, I heard after the fact that the rest of the night went off without a hitch or further interference.

Recording: Chicago Underground Duo

Artist: Chicago Underground Duo

Songs: two excerpts^*

Recorded at The Music Gallery, September 10, 2010.

Chicago Underground Duo - first set excerpt

Chicago Underground Duo - second set excerpt

My notes for this show can be found here.

^* I don't know if these are actual "songs" by the duo or purely improvised pieces. If anyone know titles for these, please leave a comment.

Gig: Chicago Underground Duo

Chicago Underground Duo

The Music Gallery. Friday, September 10, 2010.

First night of the concert season at the Music Gallery, and early on a few MG types could be seen milling around in the kitchen, toasting new beginnings to the slightly incongruous strains of "Carry On Wayward Son". Don't let it be said that this is as stuffy an institution as might be imagined from simply flipping through its avant-leaning listings. First and foremost it's one of the best places in the city to go and listen to a show, with respectful audiences paying attention to the lovely acoustics inside St. George the Martyr Church.

Certainly a good space to listen to the Chicago Underground Duo, whose name is adequately descriptive. Consisting of cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer/percussionist Chad Taylor, the pair are longstanding members of Chicago's avant/improvisational scene, having played and recorded with this project in some different configurations (including the Chicago Underground Trio and Quartet).

Mazurek was wearing a suit, his collar turned halfway up and shirt partially untucked. Under his bearded visage he looked a little like a Scandinavian politician on a bender. Besides playing his horn and working with some electronics, he'd make use of the Music Gallery's piano. Taylor was more dressed-down and looked to be fighting a bit of a cough throughout the night.

The night's first set was comprised of several different "pieces" that segued from one to another in a continuous suite. Not knowing their music very well, I don't know how much of this was based on "songs" in their repertoire, but the night flowed with the spirit of profound improvisation. The first set opened with an introductory segment, a couple minutes of minor-key clusters of notes on the piano and rolling drums before that was overtaken by a synth loop that would drone away, eventually joined by little horn figures. There would be quite a range in the tone of the music — from that blissful ambiance to a raucous drum solo to dramatic piano, but it all hung together very nicely. The whole first segment lasted about thirty-five minutes before a burst of applause and then the band started another one, again with quiet floating trumpet and watery percussion — very In a Silent Way — that melded into a gentle kalimba rhythm from Taylor that Mazurek picked up on and accompanied. Beautiful stuff.

The second set had a very different vibe — starting off more "electronic", with an oscillating squiggling sinewave providing a steady background for several minutes for the pair to groove to. At this point there was a convergence with a certain kind of "Chicago" post-rock sound — that's no coincidence, seeing as the band has been putting out albums on the Thrill Jockey label for years, putting them in the company of bands that are categorized as "rock", but who are converging toward a similar sound.

But the intriguing element is how that was only one element of a set that ranged widely from there, as that beginning gave way to after another piano interlude that became more tunelike and almost "cool", in the jazz sense, as Mazurek picked out a theme that then transformed into harder-edged abstract chords. Then more shifting as Taylor moved from behind the kit to a cajón (I think) and Mazurek pitched in to create a percussion duo.

The next selection returned to ambiance, but came from a different musical direction with Mazurek's processed wordless vocalisations and Taylor's kalimba, in a sweep that ranged from lullaby to roar. Getting loud again, the final movement included a cascading six-note synth figure, sounding like the opening bars of an early 80's newscast theme looped over and over giving a backbone for the drums and cornet before the whole thing ended in another celebratory surge of percussion.

An intense and fully satisfying show. Once again, this is the sort of music that's at the amorphous edge of several strands of things I like, and I'm glad that when I want to take the plunge into something like this that the Music Gallery is there to provide.¹

Listen to a couple selections from this show here.

---

¹ The Music Gallery is special cultural institution, and one of those things that make it worth living in a city like this. For anyone who would like to support forward-thinking music of all kinds, the best first step is to become a member. As luck would have it, the Music Gallery has a limited-time special offer right now, that includes a discounted membership plus a one-year subscription to MusicWorks magazine. And to make it all the sweeter, members always get five bucks off the price of shows. This is a super-sweet deal, and you can learn more here.

Sunday Playlist #2

Sunday Playlist #2: Out of This Spark

Community-minded local label Out of this Spark celebrated their 4th anniversary this weekend with a show that set the bar for this year's concerts, so let's celebrate with some live selections from their roster.

Snowblink - Rut and Nuzzle

OOTS will be re-releasing Snowblink's lovely Long Live album on February 15, 2011.

Timber Timbre - Trouble Comes Knockin'

Forest City Lovers - Song For Morrie

Evening Hymns - Broken Rifle

The D'Urbervilles - Get In or Get Out

---

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