Artist: Bitchin Bajas
Song: Keiji Dreams
Recorded at Monarch Tavern, December 7, 2025.
This Chicago trio returned to town promoting the recent Inland See album, and indeed tackled all four of its pieces in their set. With the stage heaped with gear like a mad scientist's analog synth laboratory, the group let the music do the talking, eschewing banter (and, by and large, stage lighting) as they moved from more meditative soundscapes to some Switched On groovers.
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!
The Cluttertones [Rob Clutton/Lina Allemano/Tim Posgate/Ryan Driver] / Sellers & Newel 2025-01-06 (Tuesday). $20 minimum donation. [FB event]
Track Could Bend #112 (feat. Duo BEAK [Bea Labikova & Kayla Milmine] / Vividness Trio / Wenona Lodge 2026-01-06 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Peripheral Vision (Patrick O'Reilly/Brodie West) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-01-06 (Tuesday) [more info]
The Next Set (feat. Ruby Roussain/Aidan McConnell/Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin) / The Emmet Ray 2026-01-07 (Wednesday – 6:30 p.m.). $12. [FB event]
Titanium Riot [Lina Allemano/Ryan Driver/Rob Clutton/Nick Fraser] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-07 (Wednesday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Southern Balkans co-labs on Saxophone Concert #4: Greek Music Trio (feat. Dimitra Kahrimanidis/Ariane Morin/Naghmeh Farahmand) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-01-08 (Thursday) [more info]
Marcus Celia & Band (Justin Orok) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-09 (Friday – early). $pwyc. [more info]
Audiopollination (feat. Matt Collins / Julie Lassonde / Blake Howard / the not michael lynns) / Array Space 2026-01-09 (Friday). $notaflof. [more info]
Musica Universalis (feat. C'est la fête) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-09 (Friday) [more info]
Fuses (Roy / Fortunato Durutti Marinetti) / Monarch Tavern 2026-01-10 (Saturday). $17.50, 19+. [tickets + more info]
Cool New Instruments Night! #7 (feat. Brian Su / Naomi Sky / Brian Abbott / Benjamin Lappalainen / Dann Toliver / Michael Palumbo) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-10 (Saturday). $pwyc. [FB event]
Ayal Senior & Friends (feat. Senior & Newman / Aaron Knight / Charter of the Forest / Nick Flanagan / OOP) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-11 (Sunday – 2:30 p.m.) [FB event]
Mike DeiCont Trio [Mike DeiCont/Eric West/Leland Whitty] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-01-12 (Monday) [more info]
mdbm [Michael White/Maggie Keogh/Don Rooke/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-14 (Wednesday) [more info]
Long Winter 14.3 (feat. liz uninvited [album release] / Kai Samuels / bridge of sand. / 999ADJ) / It's OK* Studios 2026-01-16 (Friday). $PWYC ($20 advance tickets skip the line). [more info]
Ministry of Phonic Services presents BPM (Big Percussion Meeting) (feat. Aiyun Huang / David Schotzko / Germaine Liu / Joe Sorbara / Mark Zurawinski / Mira Martin-Gray) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-01-16 (Friday). $pwyc
A Soulful Wintry Evening With Kurdish Kamāncha (feat. Shahriyar Jamshidi) / Burdock Music Hall 2026-01-17 (Saturday). $22.60 advance/$30 door. [FB event]
ur audio visual presents (feat. Heraclitus Akimbo [concert and lecture celebrating the release of I know what I have experienced and I know what it has meant to me, an album of music for solo lap steel guitar] / Charter of the Forest [Isla Craig/Karsten Stryker/Kurt Newman/Pete Johnston/Blake Howard]) / The Sun Room @ 918 Bathurst 2026-01-18 (Sunday – 4 p.m.). $pwyc. [FB event]
Sonomadic Improv Presents: Singing with Freedom (Ayelet Rose Gottlieb [workshop] / K2 [Jonathan Kay & Kayla Milmine] / "Open Jam") / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2026-01-18 (Sunday). $PWYC, snacks included. [FB event]
Soundstreams Encounters: Transoceanic ["works from diasporic composers Corie Rose Soumah, Kotoka Suzuki, and Anthony Tan reimagine sound and light through science-fiction visions that decenter Eurocentric narratives of progress"] (feat. Soundstreams) / Hugh's Room 2026-01-19 (Monday). $free with reservation. [more info]
CMC Presents: Imagined Spaces (feat. Dame Cook / Sergei Kofman) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-01-22 (Thursday). $15 Advance / $20 at the door (General Admission), $12 Advance / $15 at the door (CMC Members and Arts Workers), $10 (students). [more info]
Diane Roblin's Life Force [Diane Roblin/George Koller/Tim Shia/Colleen Allen/John Johnson/Kevin Turcotte] / The Rex 2026-01-24 (Saturday – 5 p.m). $pwyc. [more info]
Winter's Delight: Musical Merriment with Good Company (feat. The Musicians of the Egg) / St. Thomas's Anglican Church 2026-01-24 (Saturday). $30 (General Admission), $20 (Students, Arts Worker), $10 Children. [FB event]
The Action Committee Orchestra [Maggie Keogh/Sara May/Maxwell Stover/Ben Rositsan/Keon Narinesingh/Max Donaldson/Regan Mowery] / Sellers & Newel 2025-01-24 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [FB event]
Liquid Architecture presents Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [live silent movie score] (feat. ARRC [Ambrose Pottie/Rod Campbell/Ryan Kinney/Colin James Gibson]) / St. Matthew’s Clubhouse 2026-01-24 (Saturday). $10 (cash or e-transfer). [FB event]
University of Toronto New Music Festival: Simple Beginnings (feat. minMAX Electroacoustic Orchestra) / Walter Hall 2025-01-25 (Sunday). $free. [more info]
Lipliners Residency (feat. Ronley Teper & The Lipliners) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-27 (Tuesday – early) [FB event]
Josh Cole + Strings [featuring the premiere of "Concerto for Bass Drum"] [Josh Cole/Aline Homzy/Nick Storring/John Oswald/Blake Howard] / Sellers & Newel 2025-01-30 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [FB event]
University of Toronto New Music Festival (feat. DOG Ensemble and Jazz Faculty) / Walter Hall 2025-02-01 (Sunday – 2:00 p.m.). $free. [more info]
University of Toronto New Music Festival: Vis a Vis [music of Vivian Fung and Morton Feldman] (feat. U of T Percussion Ensemble) / Walter Hall 2025-02-02 (Monday). $free. [more info]
The Eric West Quintet [Eric West/Kae Murphy/Leland Whitty/Julian Anderson-Bowes/Chris Pruden] / Sellers & Newel 2025-02-06 (Friday). $25 minimum donation. [FB event]
Soundstreams Encounters: Arvo Pärt at 90 (feat. Erika Raum/Oskar Daniel-Raum/Xin Wang) / Hugh's Room 2026-02-09 (Monday). $free with reservation. [more info]
Max Donaldson [solo piano record launch] / Sellers & Newel 2025-02-13 (Friday). $15 minimum donation. [FB event]
Soundstreams presents: Arvo Pärt at 90 (feat. Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir) / Yorkminster Park Baptist Chuch 2026-02-14 (Saturday). $33.25 to $89.75. [more info]
Ellwood Epps/Nick Fraser/Rob Clutton/Jonny Luke / Sellers & Newel 2025-02-18 (Wednesday). $25 minimum donation. [more info]
Behaviours:Data (feat. Anando Gabo / Marelena Pellegrino / Technology of Creative Consciousness) / Array Space 2026-02-19 (Thursday). $25 (or Pay What You Want), livestream: $12.00 (or Pay What You Want). [more info]
CMC Presents: Solo Works (feat. Wesley Shen / Roan Ma) / Canadian Music Centre 2026-02-19 (Thursday). $15 Advance / $20 at the door (General Admission), $12 Advance / $15 at the door (CMC Members and Arts Workers), $10 (students). [more info]
Lipliners Residency (feat. Ronley Teper & The Lipliners) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-02-24 (Tuesday – early) [FB event]
Aline Homzy's Manouche Trio [Aline Homzy/Jonathan Meyer/Julien Bradley-Combs] / Sellers & Newel 2025-02-27 (Friday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Caylie Staples & Matt Brubeck / Sellers & Newel 2025-03-10 (Tuesday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Thursdays at Noon (feat. Eve Egoyan) / Walter Hall 2026-03-12 (Thursday – noon). $free. [more info]
Ladyfinger [Diane Roblin & Kayla Milmine] / Sellers & Newel 2025-03-14 (Saturday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Rob Clutton & Josh Cole / Sellers & Newel 2025-03-25 (Wednesday). $20 minimum donation. [more info]
Lipliners Residency (feat. Ronley Teper & The Lipliners) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-03-31 (Tuesday – early) [FB event]
Playscape Emporium: Paint, Play (feat. Duo Cichorium / Constant Yen / Rowan Campbell / Charli/Fahmid/Joe/Mira) / Array Space 2026-05-21 (Thursday). $25 (or Pay What You Want), livestream: $12.00 (or Pay What You Want). [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)
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