Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Recording: Anastasia Tchernikova

Artist: Anastasia Tchernikova

Song: Trois Gnossiennes [composer: Erik Satie]

Recorded at Ratio (Piano Party 4), January 21, 2016.

Anastasia Tchernikova - Trois Gnossiennes

Jonathan Adjemian's occasional Piano Party series, which presents pairs of players in contrasting styles in a casual environment, found a new home at Ratio, and the environment was just right for a relaxed salon-like environment. Anastasia Tchernikova, who stays busy as artistic director of Musica Reflecta as well as running the collaborative compositional workshop Opus:Testing, has become unaccustomed to solo piano performance. So, in "learning how to be comfortable with nothing" she presented a set of Erik Satie's proto-ambient "furniture music" (along with a couple contemporary responses).

Recording: Jesse Levine

Artist: Jesse Levine

Song: [excerpt from third piece, in two parts]

Recorded at Ratio (Piano Party 4), January 21, 2016.

Jesse Levine - [third piece] [excerpt, part 1]

Jesse Levine - [third piece] [excerpt, part 2]

Jonathan Adjemian's occasional Piano Party series, which presents pairs of players in contrasting styles in a casual environment, found a new home at Ratio, and the environment was just right for a relaxed salon-like environment. It also offered a too-rare chance to catch keyboard wizard Jesse Levine in action, improvising a set of collaged pop fragments — sort of a Brill Building mashup as filtered through Levine's Donuts-informed sensibility, where hints of, say, "I Cover The Waterfront" and "It's Too Late" might bump up against a fragment of a sonata before side-stepping into a disco riff.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Concert Listings Roundup #133

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.


Gig of the week:

Smiling Buddha's 1.5 Year Anniversary (feat. Odonis Odonis / New Fries / MIMICO) / Smiling Buddha 2016-01-29 (Friday – all ages!) [FB event]

Since its rebirth a year-and-a-half ago, The Smiling Buddha has become a key destination for rock'n'roll in the city, thanks to savvy booking, good sound and a comfortable environment. With what-the-hell brio they skipped past their anniversary for this two-night, all-ages sesquiannual celebration, which includes a Saturday night date with Greys, chastity, and PONY.


This week's noteworthy shows:

Dorian's birthday Elvis Monday takeover (feat. The Hidden Cameras [solo set] / JindaLee Lehmann / Katie McBride / Hush Pup) / The Drake Underground 2016-01-25 (Monday – free!) [FB event]

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot (Lina Allemano Four) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-26 (Tuesday) [FB event]

BOBAN [Raphael Foisy-Couture/Logan Mills] (GrieviNg [Rob Grieve/Karen Ng]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-27 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Ford Pier (Cris Derksen / David MacKinnon) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-27 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Endless City: Invocation/1 Year Anniversary show ["Music Futures" discussion + performances] (feat. Jay Holy [solo] / Man Made Hill) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-28 (Thursday – free!) [FB event]

Sad Boys Glee Club (The Fern Tips / Paint / Geary Street Groove Band) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-01-28 (Thursday) [more info]

DUST, the quietest big band in the known world / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-29 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

The Ryan Driver Sextet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-29 (Friday)

PlunderphoniCinema [John Oswald speaks + presents a selection of his video works] / Array Space 2016-01-29 (Friday)

Endless City: Invoking the Mind/Psychic Lobotomies (feat. Bodies That Matter / Brigitte Bardon't / Babel / Khôra) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-29 (Friday) [FB event]

Long Winter: Galleria (feat. New Fries / VCR / The Highest Order / S.H.I.T. / Teenanger) / Galleria Mall 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Smiling Buddha's 1.5 Year Anniversary (feat. Greys / chastity / PONY) / Smiling Buddha 2016-01-30 (Saturday – all ages!) [FB event]

Yardlets [EP release!] (BART / Moonwood / Severed Feathers) / The Old Laurel 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Tails [EP release!] (Canyun / Human Bodies / Tree Museum) / Handlebar 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bloor Ossington Folk Festival Presents (feat. Elaquent / WEARENOTWHOWEARE / Emay) / Monarch Tavern 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Endless City: Invoking the Body/Rhythmic Exorcisms (feat. Ceramic TL / Khobra / Hexzuul + Mandlebrut / Mystic Triangle) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

By Divine Right (Patti Cake / Nick Ferrio & His Feelings) / Junction City Music Hall 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Endless City: Invoking the Spirit/Vibrational Healing (feat. Cetacea / Cares / Fog Spirits / Blunt Chunks / Cyclopean Wall) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-31 (Sunday – afternoon show! 12 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Ensemble Polaris: Santa's Gone Home! / Heliconian Club 2016-01-31 (Sunday – matinee!) [FB event]

IMBOLC, A Celebration of the Midpoint (feat. Kith & Kin / Andrea Gerhart & Michael Franklin / Wende Bartley / Monica Bodirsky / Alia O'Brien / Amy Bowles & The Glorious Dawn / Leah Finkel / Bernice / Eucalyptus) / Algonquin Island Association Clubhouse 2016-01-31 (Saturday) [FB event]

Theory of Space (feat. Keita Juma) / The Piston 2016-01-31 (Sunday) [FB event]

Sandro Perri (LUKA / Nick Ferrio [solo]) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-31 (Sunday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Presents (feat. Yakir Arbib + Roberto Giaquinto / Amy Brandon) / Array Space 2016-01-31 (Sunday) [FB event]

Lone Bone / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-31 (Sunday) [FB event]


Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Track Could Bend #11 (feat. David Jones/Cares/Deenzi) / Dundas Video 2016-02-02 (Tuesday – PWYC!) [FB event]

The Sound Before (Clara Engel / Animal Vegetable Mineral) / D-Beatstro 2016-02-05 (Friday) [FB event]

Spectrum Music: Literary Landscapes / Alliance Française de Toronto 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

Marker Starling / Holy Oak Café 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

c_RL / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-02-07 (Sunday – matinee! 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.!)

Nite Comfort 30 (feat. Pursuit Grooves / Bears & Children) / Handlebar 2016-02-07 (Sunday) [FB event]

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble (Trouble) / Paintbox 2016-02-11 (Thursday) [more info]

Thin Edge New Music Collective: Premieres V / Array Space 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Nennen (Dorothea Paas / Manticore) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-02-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Idée Fixe Records 5th Anniversary (feat. Jennifer Castle / Fiver / Alex Lukashevsky / Bry Webb ["all performing round-robin with the Idée Fixe house band"]) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-02-25 (Thursday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. Joe Strutt [talk] / The Nick Storring Band / SlowPitchSound / Ronley Teper & The Lipliners) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Idée Fixe Records 5th Anniversary (feat. The Highest Order / Bart / Doc Dunn & Co. / Mauno) / The Garrison 2016-02-26 (Friday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. Solo Improvisation Roundtable plus solo sets from Peter Lutek / Germaine Liu / Paul Newman / Kyle Brenders / Ken Aldcroft / Nicole Rampersaud) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-27 (Saturday – matinee!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. Interstellar Tentet / Ugly Beauties / Kyle Brenders Ensemble / The Polka Dogs) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Dirty Nil [Higher Power LP release!] (Solids / Century Palm / Casper Skulls) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. The Humber Composer's Collective / Swankey, Duncan, and Oore) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-28 (Sunday – matinee!) [FB event]

Somewhere There Creative Music Festival 2016 (feat. FOG / Ways / THREADS (Quintet)) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2016-02-28 (Sunday) [FB event]

Planet Creature (Bueller / Yeomans / Trim Hogs) / Handlebar 2016-03-05 (Saturday) [FB event]

Juan Wauters (Tall Juan / Sunshine & Blue Moon / Strands) / Smiling Buddha 2016-03-07 (Monday) [FB event]

Bombino / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-03-22 (Tuesday) [more info]

Esmerine (Fog Lake / Marine Dreams) / Adelaide Hall 2016-04-10 (Saturday) [FB event]

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet (The Sadies) / Lee's Palace 2016-04-15 + 2016-04-16 (Friday + Saturday) [FB event]


Bandcamp corner:

  • Though I mentioned it while posting my live recording from Long Winter a couple days ago, it bears pointing out once more that Pantayo has posted their entire set from last year's X Avant festival on their bandcamp. Kulintang gong grooves with a modern twist, this is a soundtrack of the modern diasporic Toronto that is "out there" on the streetcars and in the suburbs, but still too often too far away from our siloed music scenes.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Recording: Josh Cole Quartet

Artist: Josh Cole Quartet

Songs: [set 1, first piece] [excerpt] + [set 1, third piece] [edit]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 20, 2016.

Josh Cole Quartet - [set 1, first piece] [excerpt]

Josh Cole Quartet - [set 1, third piece] [edit]

Excellent work from this occasional combo that brings double bassist Josh Cole together with Ryan Driver (piano), Karen Ng (alto sax) and Brandon Valdivia (drums). The first set was filled with rampaging energy (including some action shaker work from Driver as heard on the second piece here) while the second (excerpted in the video below) dipped into balladic slow-flow introspection. Truly a treat.

Recording: This is Awesome

Artist: This is Awesome

Song: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times [The Beach Boys cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 20, 2016.

This is Awesome - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times

Headed by master guitarist Christine Bougie, this quartet (including Dafydd Hughes, wurlitzer; Julia Hambleton, clarinet; and Andrew Downing, cello) brought an absolutely packed crowd to the Southern Cross Lounge to hear their front-to-back instrumental re-interpretation of The Beach Boy's seminal Pet Sounds album. Stripping the concept of composer Brian Wilson's "teenage symphony to God" down to a chamber quartet, these arrangements brought out the underlying yearning melancholy, especially when, such as here, Bougie switched over to lap steel. The group has essayed the album before and promises to come back to it again — given the turnout for this, expect to see the next performance in a larger room. (It was also recorded direct to tape by the band, so keep an eye out for a chance to hear this in hi-fidelity.)

[Christine Bougie and Dafydd Hughes (along with Jessie Baird) will be back at The Tranzac tomorrow (Monday, January 25th in the early slot at the Southern Cross Lounge.]

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Recording: STÜKA

Artist: STÜKA

Song: Absentee Lover*

Recorded at The Great Hall's Black Box (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

STÜKA - Absentee Lover

Closing out the night was this Guelph harsh synthpop duo of John Prichard and Brian Schirk — making their debut as a trio with Jordan Pearson (of Halcyon/L'esprit/Motoko) on bass. New enough that he was still feeling his way through a series of new songs (and also new enough that he hadn't yet adopted the band's requisite all-black style template) his Joy Division-y contributions showed the band is continuing its transformation from clamourous battlefield noises to moody postpunk.

[The band has a new song posted up on their bandcamp. You can hear the new material when the band opens for The Soft Moon at Lee's Palace on February 11th.]

* The band has mentioned that this is the title to this one.

Recording: TUNS

Artist: TUNS

Songs: Throw It All Away + Mind Over Matter

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

TUNS - Throw It All Away

TUNS - Mind Over Matter

To those whose musical coming-of-age happened in the mid-90's in Canada, this new combo is cause for great excitement, and a case where "supergroup" is no mere boast. Combining the talents of Mike O'Neill (of The Inbreds), Matt Murphy (of Super Friendz/Flashing Lights) and Sloan's Chris Murphy, the trio rotated lead vocals, with each of their individual styles converging at a point of Beatles-esque power-pop perfection. Word is there's an album in the can, so this has the feeling of a working band more than a nostalgia trip — at Long Winter, they even managed to inspire a riled-up moshpit filled by enthusiastic youngsters who weren't even born when those bands listed above were touring Canada and making a name for themselves.

Recording: Pantayo

Artist: Pantayo

Song: Binalig Bahala Na

Recorded at The Great Hall's Black Box (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

Pantayo - Binalig Bahala Na

It's important to place this local kulintang ensemble within the Filipina-Canadian diasporic context that that they want to simultaneously inhabit and problematize; but it's also important not to paint them into an "identity" corner and overlook the fact they're becoming one of the coolest groups in the city.

[Pantayo have posted their entire performance from last year's X Avant Festival up on their bandcamp. They'll also be playing at Night 3 of Wavelength Music Festival 16, Sunday, February 14th at The Garrison.]

Recording: Michelle McAdorey

Artist: Michelle McAdorey

Song: Wild is The Wind [Johnny Mathis cover, via Nina Simone and David Bowie]

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

Michelle McAdorey - Wild is The Wind

After presenting some of the songs from her wonderful new Into Her Future album, McAdorey closed her set with a tribute to David Bowie, interpreting one of his most-loved cover songs with a rootsy flourish, thanks to some wonderful pedal steel work by Chris Altman.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Recording: Kiwi Jr.

Artist: Kiwi Jr.

Song: Leslie

Recorded at The Great Hall's Black Box (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

Kiwi Jr. - Leslie

This young local quartet doesn't have much to say for themselves online — there's a video and a tumblr where one can work out that the "Jr." was added to to their name sometime last year. Onstage, the band offered some contemporary college rock, mixing together (in a manner similar to, say Parquet Courts) several generations of post-Velvet Underground deadpan sockhop vibes and managed to generate a dancefloor frenzy in front of the stage.

Recording: Strands

Artist: Strands

Song: Go Look Out*

Recorded at The Great Hall's Conversation Room (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

Strands - Go Look Out

With recent solo excursions now gelled into a new hair-related concept, Jasmyn Burke's side-project has emerged as a full-on DIY multimedia experience, with her onstage star power boosted by some awesome old-school overhead projector visuals from Rosalie H. Maheux.

* Thanks to Jasmyn for passing along the title to this one.

Recording: Overnight

Artist: Overnight

Song: Root Of Gone

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

Overnight - Root Of Gone

Overnight used the big space in the Main Hall to project some Big Rock sounds, including the extended outro to this one, which works its way to some heavy crunchin' terrain after the ballad-style start (which was itself reworked from the song's album version).

Recording: The Seams

Artist: The Seams

Song: two unknown songs*

Recorded at The Great Hall (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

The Seams - unknown

The Seams - unknown

This band might have only been on their third gig, but it featured a new combination of familiar faces, notably Jonathan Rogers and Kyle Connolly up front, trading off songs and lead vocals back and forth. Connolly's psych-tinged offerings worked the same terrain he explores in Wish and had a propensity to simmer along in the groove while Rogers' shorter tunes had less dreamhaze and more straighahead "rock" than he projects while fronting Elsa. Drummer Omri Gondor plays with Connolly in Milk Lines and Jesse Mirsky (whose melodic basslines were a particularly key element of the sound here) is also in Elsa, so there are was plenty of pre-existing chemistry to build on. There was a full set of new songs here, nicely crafted, though the unit's newness does show off a bit with a few tunes not yet having fully-fleshed out endings — but endings tend to take care of themselves in time.

* Does anyone know the title to these ones? Please leave a comment!

Recording: Indoor Voices

Artist: Indoor Voices

Song: What Can I

Recorded at The Great Hall's Conversation Room (Long Winter 4.3), January 16, 2016.

Indoor Voices - What Can I

Leading off the busy night of music at Long Winter (and taking up one side of the night's free 7" single) this local quartet presented from songs from their brand new Auratic tape. This is very easy-to-like stuff, especially if you happen to be a fan of MBV-style shoegaze and signifiers like smeary/noisy guitar tone, flattened and somewhat indistinct co-vocals, and drum-loop style percussion patterns.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Concert Listings Roundup #132

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.


Gig of the week:

Wavelength 686: Class of 2016 #5 (feat. Elliott Vincent Jones / Nailbiter / Germaphobes / Scott Hardware / West Nile) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-01-22 (Friday) [FB event]

With their last show before next month's sweet sixteen festival, Wavelength is celebrating some on-the-cusp local bands that hew towards the electronic. Expect beats with a bit of grit and some leavening portions of pop.


This week's noteworthy shows:

Christine Bougie/Dafydd Hughes/Julia Hambleton/Andrew Downing [performing the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds in its entirety] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-20 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Josh Cole Quartet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. Jacob Damelin / Steven Foster) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Ways to Blue: A Nick Drake Tribute (feat. Brooke Manning + Steve Sladkowski / Josh Korody / Halloway Jones / Robyn Phillips / Paul Erlichman / Lana Leprich / Stephen Prickett / Brad Casey / Christopher Shannon) / Holy Oak Café 2016-01-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Piano Party 4 (feat. Anastasia Tchernikova / Jesse Levine) / Ratio 2016-01-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

BART (The Pinecones) / The Piston 2016-01-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

Meandering Streams of Consciousness (feat. Manuel Morales/Jamie Thompson/Anoush Tabaei/Christopher Weatherstone/Rod Campbell/Jeff Burke/Avesta Nakhaei/Alinima Madani/Kousha Nakhaei/Tilman Lewis/Michael Lynn) / Array Space 2016-01-22 (Friday) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. Ryan Driver / Ghislain Aucoin / Alex Samaras) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-22 (Friday) [FB event]

Jim Sexton/Colin Fisher/Nick Fraser / Café Pamenar 2016-01-22 (Friday) [FB event]

The Britemores (Hellshovel / The Sulks) / Handlebar 2016-01-22 (Friday) [FB event]

Adam Rudolph: Go: Organic / The Music Gallery 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Alaniaris (Gennaro + Aldcroft) / Array Space 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Phèdre (Above Top Secret / Eytan Tobin / Lyl Gae) / Kapisanan Philippine Centre 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Processor (Five Eyes / Mystic Triangle) / Ratio 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Veldt (B-17 / Baby Cages / Hot Garbage) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. John Spence / Lisa Bozikovic / Rory Lavelle) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

Bedroom Projects ["side projects from celebrated Toronto Musicians"] (feat. Mother Tongues / Ed Munstay / Les Monstrès Terribles / Slime) / Handlebar 2016-01-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

LAL / Holy Oak Café 2016-01-24 (Sunday) [FB event]


Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot (Lina Allemano Four) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-26 (Tuesday)

BOBAN [Raphael Foisy-Couture/Logan Mills] (GrieviNg [Rob Grieve/Karen Ng]) / Array Space 2016-01-27 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Ford Pier (Cris Derksen / David MacKinnon) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-27 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Endless City: Invocation/1 Year Anniversary show ["Music Futures" discussion + performances] (feat. Jay Holy [solo] / Man Made Hill) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-28 (Thursday – free!) [FB event]

Endless City: Invoking The Mind/Psychic Lobotomies (feat. Bodies That Matter / Brigitte Bardon't / Babel / Khôra) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-29 (Friday) [FB event]

Endless City: Invoking the Body/Rhythmic Exorcisms (feat. Ceramic TL / Khobra / Hexzuul + Mandlebrut / Mystic Triangle) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Endless City: Invoking the Spirit/Vibrational Healing (feat. Cetacea / Cares / Fog Spirits / Blunt Chunks / Cyclopean Wall) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-01-31 (Sunday – afternoon show! 12 to 5 p.m.!) [FB event]

Chelsea Shanoff with Wesley Shen / Array Space 2016-02-03 (Thursday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Never No More! [supersized version of Alaniaris!] / Burdock Music Hall 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

Scattered Clouds (The Shyness of Strangers / Meeko Cheech / Hilotrons) / Handlebar 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

Michael Rault (Marvelous Mark / Beds / Robin Hatch [solo project debut!]) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Soft Moon (STÜKA) / Lee's Palace 2016-02-11 (Thursday) [FB event]

Disappears (Vallens) / The Garrison 2016-02-17 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Long Winter 4.4 (feat. The Wooden Sky / For Esmé / Pavilion / DATU / Pet Sun / Tokyo Air Show / Ice Cream / North Atlantic Drift / Poster Boy / Kanada70 / Doc Pickles with the Jim Storie Juniors / Kyle Brenders / Dan Fortin / Taylor Hoodlum / Stevenson / Walrus / The Nick Fraser Sextet) / The Great Hall 2016-01-19 (Friday – all ages! PWYC!) [FB event]

Endless City (feat. Fresh Snow / Andrew Roy / Blue Light) / 1161 Dundas St W. 2016-02-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Special Costello (Baby Cages / Bile Sister / XXVII) / Double Double Land 2016-02-19 (Friday) [FB event]

Nap Eyes (Cian Nugent) / The Garrison 2016-04-07 (Thursday) [FB event]

Prince Rama / The Garrison 2016-04-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Bleached / The Garrison 2016-04-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

Woods / The Garrison 2016-04-22 (Friday) [more info]

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Recording: Derek McKeon

Artist: Derek McKeon

Song: unknown*

Recorded at Smiling Buddha – basement (Casual Drones 14), January 14, 2016.

Derek McKeon - unknown

Having outgrown the small-scale confines of its former home at Milk Glass, the Casual Drones music series has landed at Smiling Buddha. Shifting to the larger venue has come with a definite sense of scaling up, with the shows taking place between two stages upstairs and down and the visuals (always a big element of the series) getting amped up even further. The main floor saw most of the stage removed to make way for a large lighting rig that resembled a sort of post-apocalyptic tanning bed and gave Romar L. Johnson a huge range of luminosity to paint with. So, to the good, there's a definite sense of ambition here — and the full house that was on hand showed there's an audience for this kind of experimentation. To the bad, however, this night did manage to live up to the series' derisive nickname of "Casual Bromes", with seven sets (and, by my count, ten musicians) but no women on stage. (And, for my money, I'm not sure why a night with that many acts needed to wait 'til almost ten to get started.)

This solo set from ZONES' Derek McKeon sounded rather like his band's material — except, perhaps, with the "song" element removed, leaving only strata of haze and dub-drift to wobble through.

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

Recording: E ADI

Artist: E ADI

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Smiling Buddha (Casual Drones 14), January 14, 2016.

E ADI - [excerpt]

Having outgrown the small-scale confines of its former home at Milk Glass, the Casual Drones music series has landed at Smiling Buddha. Shifting to the larger venue has come with a definite sense of scaling up, with the shows taking place between two stages upstairs and down and the visuals (always a big element of the series) getting amped up even further. The main floor saw most of the stage removed to make way for a large lighting rig that resembled a sort of post-apocalyptic tanning bed and gave Romar L. Johnson a huge range of luminosity to paint with. So, to the good, there's a definite sense of ambition here — and the full house that was on hand showed there's an audience for this kind of experimentation. To the bad, however, this night did manage to live up to the series' derisive nickname of "Casual Bromes", with seven sets (and, by my count, ten musicians) but no women on stage. (And, for my money, I'm not sure why a night with that many acts needed to wait 'til almost ten to get started.)

The least "drone" (and "casual"!) set of the night, this new pairing saw Elliot Jones (ex-Ell V Gore) exploring further directions in electronic music than yet seen with his recent synth-pop reinvention. Joined by drummer Rob Gordon, this started with the industrial-strength blurts heard here before pushing into straight-up dystopian dance territory — which was given a visceral push by the intense volume and near-physicality of the lighting design.

Recording: North Atlantic Drift

Artist: North Atlantic Drift

Song: North Atlantic Drift*

Recorded at Smiling Buddha — basement (Casual Drones 14), January 14, 2016.

North Atlantic Drift - North Atlantic Drift

Having outgrown the small-scale confines of its former home at Milk Glass, the Casual Drones music series has landed at Smiling Buddha. Shifting to the larger venue has come with a definite sense of scaling up, with the shows taking place between two stages upstairs and down and the visuals (always a big element of the series) getting amped up even further. The main floor saw most of the stage removed to make way for a large lighting rig that resembled a sort of post-apocalyptic tanning bed and gave Romar L. Johnson a huge range of luminosity to paint with. So, to the good, there's a definite sense of ambition here — and the full house that was on hand showed there's an audience for this kind of experimentation. To the bad, however, this night did manage to live up to the series' derisive nickname of "Casual Bromes", with seven sets (and, by my count, ten musicians) but no women on stage. (And, for my money, I'm not sure why a night with that many acts needed to wait 'til almost ten to get started.)

This local duo was my fave discovery of the night, providing an ambient, mellow vibe — the word "drift" is quite reasonably right there in their name — that commanded the attention of an oft-chatty crowd. There's also a pop sensibility at work here, with this piece sounding not-unlike a cousin to, say, "The Streets of Philadelphia". I note that they have a whole bunch of music for offer up on their bandcamp, so this warrants further investigation.

* Thanks to the band for passing the title to this one along!

Recording: Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd

Artist: Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Smiling Buddha (Casual Drones 14), January 14, 2016.

Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd - [excerpt]

Having outgrown the small-scale confines of its former home at Milk Glass, the Casual Drones music series has landed at Smiling Buddha. Shifting to the larger venue has come with a definite sense of scaling up, with the shows taking place between two stages upstairs and down and the visuals (always a big element of the series) getting amped up even further. The main floor saw most of the stage removed to make way for a large lighting rig that resembled a sort of post-apocalyptic tanning bed and gave Romar L. Johnson a huge range of luminosity to paint with. So, to the good, there's a definite sense of ambition here — and the full house that was on hand showed there's an audience for this kind of experimentation. To the bad, however, this night did manage to live up to the series' derisive nickname of "Casual Bromes", with seven sets (and, by my count, ten musicians) but no women on stage. (And, for my money, I'm not sure why a night with that many acts needed to wait 'til almost ten to get started.)

This pairing saw Miszczyk on laptop and modular synthesis and Ladd on keyb to take a trip down the autobahn that went from the efficient glide heard here (that couldn't even be derailed by a brief loss of sound on stage) to a discordant destination with the drum machine rhythms shifting into increasingly-heavy distortion that eventually pulled the whole thing apart. Sort of like racing down the Trans-Canada only to come up to a twisted and broken bridge.

Recording: Eric James Mayer

Artist: Eric James Mayer

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Smiling Buddha (Casual Drones 14), January 14, 2016.

Eric James Mayer - [excerpt]

Having outgrown the small-scale confines of its former home at Milk Glass, the Casual Drones music series has landed at Smiling Buddha. Shifting to the larger venue has come with a definite sense of scaling up, with the shows taking place between two stages upstairs and down and the visuals (always a big element of the series) getting amped up even further. The main floor saw most of the stage removed to make way for a large lighting rig that resembled a sort of post-apocalyptic tanning bed and gave Romar L. Johnson a huge range of luminosity to paint with. So, to the good, there's a definite sense of ambition here — and the full house that was on hand showed there's an audience for this kind of experimentation. To the bad, however, this night did manage to live up to the series' derisive nickname of "Casual Bromes", with seven sets (and, by my count, ten musicians) but no women on stage. (And, for my money, I'm not sure why a night with that many acts needed to wait 'til almost ten to get started.)

Mayer, of local ambient pop unit WEARENOTWHOWEARE, lead off the show with this unhurried driftburst, the hiss of the fog machines punctuating the excursion.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Recording: FIN

Artist: FIN

Song: Daughters

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 2: Reality), January 13, 2016.

FIN - Daughters

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This night drew inspiration from the morass of so-called "reality" television.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

It was a treat to hear currently-expatriated Rebecca "Fin" Simonetti's dark-edged pop songs again — and even moreso with the vibe enhanced by Bee Rieger's ace VHS-ified video work, bright colours saturating bursts of static. Simonetti had also brought a couple of her cool/menacing fabric works to hang in the gallery for the night, bad-girl leather jackets repurposed with scenes sewn in her delicate needlework.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

Recording: Hexzuul

Artist: Hexzuul

Song: [excerpt]*

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 2: Reality), January 13, 2016.

Hexzuul - [excerpt]

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This night drew inspiration from the morass of so-called "reality" television.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

This set from David Jones' solo project was less menacing and physical than the previous time I saw him in action, hums giving way to sawing buzz-zworps as Jones guided not only his musical tones but some analog visual interventions over a TV loop, with a face being mirrored and split, refractions folding into each other as visual noise curled in from the edges.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

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

Recording: Sylvermayne

Artist: Sylvermayne

Song: [excerpt]*

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 2: Reality), January 13, 2016.

Sylvermayne - [excerpt]

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This night drew inspiration from the morass of so-called "reality" television.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

This project from producer Andre E-R covered a fair amount of sonic terrain in a forty minute set. Though I'm more partial to the doom-y atmospherics that lead things off than the dancefloor bonanza that ended it, there's no doubt there was an assured hand at the controls here controlling the shift in dynamics as sublimated throbbing gave way to a sneaky slow volume burst to juice things up. This particular bit here sort of cuts the difference between those extremes at the start and end of the set.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

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

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Recording: Brigitte Bardon't

Artist: Brigitte Bardon't

Song: Tightly But Briefly*

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 1: Vlog), January 12, 2016.

Brigitte Bardon't - Tightly But Briefly

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This first night drew inspiration from the seemingly-boundless wellspring of youtube videos.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

The most elaborately-conceptualized of the evening's performances, Kristel Jax found the ideal visual counterpoint to her intimately-murmured drone-pop. Projector pointed straight down onto her performance space on the floor in the middle of the room, she was painted by a series of confessional video diaries, their emotional talkbursts creeping into the corners of her soundscapes. The operatic intensity of these private moments corresponded to the vocals, which seem to be simultaneously lay-it-all-out confessional and (via echo and other sonic manipulations) murkily opaque — our private crises laid bare for all to see, but still the incomprehensible mumblings of an existential Other.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

* Thanks to Kristel for passing along the title to this one.

Recording: Doom Tickler

Artist: Doom Tickler feat. Lana Del Satan

Song: unknown*

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 1: Vlog), January 12, 2016.

Doom Tickler feat. Lana Del Satan - unknown

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This first night drew inspiration from the seemingly-boundless wellspring of youtube videos.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

Leslie Predy, whose loop-based music is filled with animalistic grunts and howls, took things to the next level in a spontaneous interspecies collaboration with celebripug Lana Del Satan, who was hopping with excitement while adding some call-and-response barking. (Check out some video evidence here.) Predy is also noted for her visual work in trawling youtube's weirder corners, and her montage here felt like a series of Tales From Beyond The Uncanny Valley, mixing early computer animation with pseudohuman robots and other creepy visages.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

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

Recording: Burglar

Artist: Burglar

Song: Brain over mind? [excerpt]*

Recorded at Katzman Contemporary (Channel no. 1: Vlog), January 12, 2016.

Burglar - Brain over mind? [excerpt]

This five-night series, curated by Brett Despotovich, is bringing Toronto's experimental music scenes into a gallery space — both to allow some considered listening and to enable a series of large-scale visual collaborations. (This first night drew inspiration from the seemingly-boundless wellspring of youtube videos.) Besides the well-chosen music, this will also be an introduction for many to a rather lovely space — gallery culture, which tends to stay one step ahead of gentrification in the search for affordable spaces, has now seeped up to Carleton Village. So this week, hop on the Symington bus and go check out some cool collaborations.

This self-proclaimed purveyor of "spooky music" (who doesn't give away too many biographical hints in his online outlets) lead off the night with a slowly-evolving continuous track accompanying a TED-talk styled pop-science lecture.

[Channel's run at Katzman Contemporary continues through Saturday, with cool musicians using the space to collaborate with the visualisations in different ways.]

* Word is we can treat the talk's title as the name of this piece.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Concert Listings Roundup #131

You can read more about why I'm doing listings here. Long story short: This curated and decidedly non-comprehensive list contains nothin' but shows that I am going to/would go to if I had more time.


Gigs of the week:

Channel: Vlog (feat. Burglar / Doom Tickler / Brigitte Bardon't) / Katzman Contemporary 2016-01-12 (Tuesday) [FB event]

Channel: Reality (feat. Sylvermayne / Hexzuul / Fin) / Katzman Contemporary 2016-01-13 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Channel: Serial (feat. Fog Spirits / StillMonk / FRIENDS) / Katzman Contemporary 2016-01-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Channel: Motion Picture (feat. Processor / Tasman Richardson) / Katzman Contemporary 2016-01-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Channel: Art House (feat. Leucrocuta / Clara Venice) / Katzman Contemporary 2016-01-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

With its panoply of noteworthy local musicians on board, this "5 night event of live soundtracking over a succession of melodramatic forms, curated by Brett Despotovich" kinda sprawls over the whole week. Combined with unique visual elements, this is worth heading up to just over from The Junction for any of the run's nights.

Photo by Kristel Jax.


This week's noteworthy shows:

Aurochs with Marilyn Lerner / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-12 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

bedroom / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-12 (Tuesday)

Ken Aldcroft's THREADS (Quintet) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-13 (Wednesday)

Doctor Ew / Holy Oak Café 2016-01-13 (Wednesday) [more info]

Casual Drones 13 (feat. E ADI [Elliott Vincent Jones and Rob Gordon] / Fleshtone Aura / Eric James Mayer / Ando Laj / Nyles Miszczyk & Justin M Ladd / North Atlantic Drift / Derek McKeon) / Smiling Buddha 2016-01-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

catl. (Dorval) / Hart House – Arbor Room 2016-01-14 (Thursday – free! early!) [FB event]

The Beverleys (Honduras) / The Horseshoe Tavern 2016-01-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Wavelength #ICYMI Gallery Opening (feat. Most People / Animalia) / Markham House 2016-01-14 (Thursday) [FB event]

Darlene Shrugg (Comet Control / Century Palm) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-01-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Broken Wires & Coiled Strings (feat. Clara Engel / naw / roljui) / Ratio 2016-01-15 (Friday) [FB event]

New Horizzzons [EP/Art Booklet Release!] (Wolfcow / Broken Puppy) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Audiopollinating the movies ["improvised music to film"] (feat. Faster / Birth of Troubling Forms) / Array Space 2016-01-15 (Friday) [FB event]

Ronley Teper's Lipliners / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-15 (Friday)

Long Winter 4.3 (feat. TUNS / Vallens / LOOM / Mystic Triangle / Nicole Dollanganger / Michelle McAdorey / Indoor Voices / JOOJ / STÜKA / Pantayo / Khôra / STRANDS / kiwi jr. / YUNG BAMBII / THE SEAMS / Bossie / Overnight) / The Great Hall 2016-01-16 (Saturday – PWYC! all ages!) [FB event]

Cluttertones (Blunt Chunks / Ways) / Ratio 2016-01-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Class of 2016 #4 (feat. GABI / ANAMAI / Taste / Rolemodel / Wild Rivers) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-01-16 (Saturday) [FB event]

Alex Lukashevsky: The Early Years / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-16 (Saturday)

Alaniaris / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-17 (Sunday – afternoon show! 3 to 5 p.m.!)

Wavelength 688: Inside the Musician's Studio ["live Q&A and demo session"] (feat. Josh Korody) / Markham House 2016-01-17 (Sunday – afternoon session @ 3 p.m.! free!) [FB event]

Diane Roblin/Nicole Rampersaud / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-17 (Sunday – early!)

Steven Lambke [Days of Heaven record release] (Eucalyptus) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-17 (Sunday) [FB event]

Tania Gill/Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Nico Dann / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-17 (Sunday)


Add these to your calendar:

Reminder: This post only contains this week's updates — the full listings can always be found over on the right-hand sidebar!

Christine Bougie/Dafydd Hughes/Julia Hambleton/Andrew Downing [performing the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds in its entirety] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-20 (Wednesday – early!) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. Jacob Damelin / Steven Foster) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-20 (Wednesday) [FB event]

BART (The Pinecones) / The Piston 2016-01-21 (Thursday) [FB event]

Meandering Streams of Consciousness (feat. Manuel Morales/Jamie Thompson/Anoush Tabaei/Christopher Weatherstone/Rod Campbell/Jeff Burke/Avesta Nakhaei/Alinima Madani/Kousha Nakhaei/Tilman Lewis/Michael Lynn) / Array Space 2016-01-22 (Friday) [FB event]

Processor (Five Eyes / Mystic Triangle) / Ratio 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

The Veldt (B-17 / Baby Cages / Hot Garbage) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-01-23 (Saturday) [FB event]

Piano Fest (feat. John Spence / Lisa Bozikovic / Rory Lavelle) / Burdock Music Hall 2016-01-24 (Sunday) [FB event]

DUST, the quietest big band in the known world / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2016-01-29 (Friday – early!) [FB event]

Yardlets [EP release!] (BART / Moonwood / Severed Feathers) / The Old Laurel 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Tails [EP release!] (Canyun / Human Bodies / Tree Museum) / Handlebar 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Bloor Ossington Folk Festival Presents (feat. Elaquent / WEARENOTWHOWEARE / Emay) / Monarch Tavern 2016-01-30 (Saturday) [FB event]

Ensemble Polaris: Santa's Gone Home! / Heliconian Club 2016-01-31 (Sunday – matinee!) [FB event]

Theory of Space (feat. Keita Juma) / The Piston 2016-01-31 (Sunday) [FB event]

Charm of Finches: Charmed, I’m sure [local flute quintet's first performance, feat. works by Debussy, Ravel, Charke, Hétu and more] / Victoria College Chapel 2016-02-04 (Thursday – PWYC!) [FB event]

Julie Doiron & Nancy Pants (Eamon McGrath) / The Cave 2016-02-04 (Thursday) [FB event]

Julie Doiron & Nancy Pants / Sonic Boom 2016-02-05 (Friday – free! all ages!) [FB event]

Deep Wireless (feat. Gambletron) ["multi-tonal AM radio theremin"] / Trinity Square Video 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

Several Futures [Before You Forget album release!] (Kurt Marble / The SULKS / SPOILS) / CineCycle 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

Feast In The East 56 (feat. Bile Sister / Dorothea Paas / Eyeballs / Cupcake Ductape) / Anchored Social Club 2016-02-06 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 1 (feat. FOXTROTT / Calvin Love / Keita Juma / Programm / Organ Mood) / The Garrison 2016-02-12 (Friday) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Day 2 (feat. Foxes in Fiction / Merganzer / Steven Lambke) / Markham House 2016-02-13 (Saturday – afternoon show!) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 2 (feat. Duchess Says / Soupcans / Beliefs / Partner / VERSA) / The Garrison 2016-02-13 (Saturday) [FB event]

Wavelength Music Festival 16 – Night 3 (feat. Thus Owls / She-Devils / Prince Innocence / Clairmont The Second / Pantayo) / The Garrison 2016-02-14 (Sunday) [FB event]

Whimm (Blanka / Jaunt) / Smiling Buddha 2016-02-24 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Pop. 1280 (HSY / Crosss) / Smiling Buddha 2016-02-27 (Saturday) [FB event]

Not Dead Yet/Stuck in the City present: (feat. Sheer Mag / Laffing Gas / VCR / Peeling) / The Silver Dollar Room 2016-04-02 (Saturday) [FB event]

Friday, January 8, 2016

Recording: Man Made Hill

Artist: Man Made Hill

Song: [Sections 2 + 3]

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #10), January 5, 2016.

Man Made Hill - [Sections 2 + 3]

Just as with the previous time I saw him, Randy Gagne reached beyond his popsong repertoire for some sonic excursions in his set, including oscillating keyboard shimmerscapes and reel-to-reel tape twiddling — and including a live neti pot demonstration complete with poetry recital. The future of pop music has arrived, and its nasal passages are clear.

[The next Track Could Bend is February 2nd — Groundhog Day! — at Dundas Video. Stay tuned for more info.]

Recording: {AN} Eel + Ronley Teper

Artist: {AN} Eel + Ronley Teper

Song: #1 Improvised Pop Song

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #10), January 5, 2016.

{AN} Eel + Ronley Teper - #1 Improvised Pop Song

Pop songs are carefully-crafted things, so it's a tall order to ask someone to come up with one extemporaneously. An even taller order seeing as I asked two folks who had never met before to collaborate live on stage and come up with a few hit numbers. Both Neal Retke (who records as {AN} Eel) and Ronley Teper (fearless leader of The Lipliners) know their tropes and have engaging on-stage charisma to spare, so I was curious to see what would happen on this musical blind date. The backing band was Kayla Milmine and Mike Lynn (both TCB vets, from back in the series' early months) who brought the right spirit with soprano sax fills and Rappin' Ronnie drum machine beats. The song topics hit most of the key popsong concerns: gimme some lovin', T&A, saying hello, and slipping in a pile of frozen puke on New Year's Day.

[The next Track Could Bend is February 2nd — Groundhog Day! — at Dundas Video. Stay tuned for more info.]