Recording: Bad Baby and Mayme Joach

Artist: Bad Baby and Mayme Joach

Songs: That Musician That's Dead + The Highway Only Stretched its Violent Arm

Recorded at Burdock Music Hall, February 8, 2026.

Bad Baby and Mayme Joach - That Musician That's Dead

Bad Baby and Mayme Joach - The Highway Only Stretched its Violent Arm

Sometimes an alligator and sometimes a bad baby, the last time I saw Alex Lukashevsky playing his own songs, he was testing out some of the promising new material that ended up on last year's excellent OOOOH!, which saw his balladry take a jagged turn into the sort of forceful rock (or, "rock") that he hadn't surveyed as much since his Deep Dark United days.

Anyone expecting that sort of Beefheartian scatter at this show would be fully satisfied... but that didn't mean that there wasn't also room for some smoother textures, like the Joni Mitchell/Larry Klien vibes of the latter selection here. Both of those angles were tremendously supported by Charliecello Lukashevsky's bass work, flipping from postpunk jaggedness to faux-fretless languidity as required. (Aidan McConnell on the drumkit rounded out the trio, which sometimes appears in a more expansive lineup, as heard on the album.)

[Alex Lukashevsky and Mayme Joach are playing tonight (Wednesday, March 11th) at Drom.]

Monday Roundup #258

Concert announcements:

Colin Fisher/George Koller/Jeff Luciani/Diane Roblin / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-12-29 (Monday) [more info]

Boxing Week Special (feat. Lavender Town / High Alpine Hut Network / Colin Fisher) / The Garrison 2025-12-30 (Tuesday). $9.99, 19+. [tickets + more info]

Ministry of Phonic Services presents (feat. NF Gang [Colin Cudmore & Mark Ballyk] & Friends) / Wenona Lodge 2026-01-04 (Sunday). $pwyc/notaflof

The Next Set (feat. Ruby Roussain/Aidan McConnell/Michael Davidson/Dan Fortin) / The Emmet Ray 2026-01-07 (Wednesday – 6:30 p.m.). $12. [more info]

Titanium Riot [Lina Allemano/Ryan Driver/Rob Clutton/Nick Fraser] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-01-07 (Wednesday). $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]

Is your show missing from this list? Submit it via this form!

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Shows this week:

Mifune Moods with Yoshi Maclear Wall [Yoshi Maclear Wall/Keon Narinesingh/Ezra Schell/Annie Elgie/Sarah Laur/Lee Rosensweet/Jake Burke-Kleinman/Luke Nickel/Ali Rashid/Ben Rositsan/Mika Maclear Wall/Arie Verheul van de Ven] / The Emmet Ray 2025-12-22 (Monday – 6:30 p.m.). $12. [FB event]

Karen Ng presents (feat. Mark Ballyk/Brandon Davis/Kayla Elrod/Will Hunt/Karen Ng) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-12-23 (Tuesday – early). [more info]

The Ryan Driver Quintet [Ryan Driver/Brodie West/Thom Gill/Rob Clutton/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2026-12-23 (Tuesday). $pwyw. [more info]

Not Dead Yet presents: S.H.I.T.mas 2025 (feat. S.H.I.T. / Slash Need / Faze / Friction / Terminator / Pest / Charade) / East End United Church 2025-12-27 (Saturday). $22.49, all ages. [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. Biblical / Scooter Jay / Flake) / The Baby G 2025-12-27 (Saturday). $9.99, 19+. [tickets + more info]

people | places | records presents (feat. Yang Chen / David Zucchi) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2025-12-27 (Saturday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. Blunt Chunks / Poolblood / Eliza Niemi) / The Garrison 2025-12-28 (Sunday). $9.99, 19+. [tickets + more info]

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It happened this week...

• ...on December 22, 2009 at the Dakota Tavern (Jason Collett's Basement Revue).

Alex Lukashevsky - Downhill is Downtown

• ...on December 25, 2009 at Lithuanian Hall.

Mahmoud Ahmed - unknown

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Recording: Isla Craig

Artist: Isla Craig

Songs: For My Friends [Jennifer Castle cover] + Marbles

Recorded in The Sun Room at 918 Bathurst, February 2, 2025.

Isla Craig - For My Friends

Isla Craig - Marbles

Isla Craig has presented her music in a variety of configurations and with a revolving cast of collaborators, but by her own account, this was her first proper acoustic set, playing a guitar built by her luthier father. Playing in a trio format, she was joined here by Alex Lukashevsky (acoustic guit) and Matthew Coldwell (double bass) and dipped her toe in several eras of her songbook. The setlist zoomed outward from from her first album (one can compare the acoustic approach to the malleable, loping grooves of "Marbles" to a slightly more rockin' arrangement) to a more recent tribute to collaborator Jen Castle — all presented with a pleasing rolling gentleness, like a stroll through rural hillsides. Perfect sounds for a room full of adults, kids and babies on a winter afternoon.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

Recording: Alex Lukashevsky

Artist: Alex Lukashevsky

Song: That Musician That's Dead

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 19, 2024.

Alex Lukashevsky - That Musician That's Dead

Opening things up for Sandro Perri and band, Alex Lukashevsky brought a solo set filled with new material, filled with off-kilter wit and wisdom and simultaneously seemingly tossed off and filled with the most meticulous craft.

Recording: Holy Oak Family Singers

Artist: Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Ryan Driver / Alex Lukashevsky / Dorothea Paas / Luka Kuplowsky

Songs: Picture a World / Bein' Green / The First Time It Happens / Everybody Eats [all composed by Joe Raposo]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Tribute to Joe Raposo), July 3, 2024.

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Ryan Driver - Picture a World

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Alex Lukashevsky - Bein' Green

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Dorothea Paas - The First Time It Happens

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Luka Kuplowsky - Everybody Eats

The name Joe Raposo might not ring a bell, but chances are good you've got some of his songs lodged in your brain. One of the key writers in the classic Sesame Street/Muppets era, he not only composed the Sesame Street theme, but piles of instantly-familiar tunes, including "C is for Cookie", "Doin' the Pigeon", "Would You Like to Buy an O?", and "Sing" — as well as a fair few other TV themes. That meant there was plenty of material for the usual mix'n'match insta-ensembles at H.O.F.S.' regular night of musical tribute. The best results came when the singers mined the vein of bummed-out melancholy that's just below the surface of many of these songs — but the bursts of pure ebullience worked pretty swell too (Alex Lukashevsky tackling the Three's Company theme was everything you could hope for).

[Do note that H.O.F.S. are taking August off! You'll find them back in the Southern Cross on the first Wednesday in September.]

Recording: Isla Craig + band

Artist: Isla Craig + band

Song: Moon

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Joe's 50th Birthday), April 25, 2024.

Isla Craig + band - Moon

Sometimes, when a Big Event beckons, you just have to seize the initiative and throw the party that you want to be a part of. Hence this little shindig, with a pretty fabulous lineup of local luminaries and a room full of well-wishers — what more could you ask for?

Isla Craig started off the night with a group of frequent collaborators (Mike Smith, bass; Phil Melanson, drums; Ted Crosby, sax; Vic Cheong, backing vox) that moved quickly from simmering grooves to full-on rocking out — the secret ingredient here was Alex Lukashevsky on guitar, and what a treat it was to see him in rock action mode. (The Jennifer Castle cover was also a treat!)

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

Recording: The Holy Oak Family Singers

Artist: The Holy Oak Family Singers

Songs: I Believe [Loretta Lynn cover] + Wrecking Ball [Emmylou Harris cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), October 9, 2022.

The Holy Oak Family Singers - I Believe

The Holy Oak Family Singers - Wrecking Ball

This time out, the HOFS was essentially a songwiters' circle convened by Luke Kuplowsky, Thom Gill and Alex Lukashevsky — plus a few friends called up to sing some tunes, natch. The hosts completed the first round robin, where Kuplowsky paid tribute to the memory of Loretta Lynn with a rendition of a song that she covered. A bit later on Ivy Mairi also contributed a cover-of-a-cover, with a sweet rendition of Neil Young's "Wrecking Ball". Showing the back-porch spirit of the night, I left the full lead-in here, where you can feel their musicians feeling the way into it, and Mairi a bit unsure of the key at the start before falling right into place.

Monday Roundup #34

In the absence of concert listings, my regular Monday dispatches have fallen off. After bringing some life to the blog with the "bumping into" series, I figure I should get back in the groove. I'm guessing that this will be a bit like what used to get shoved into the end of the post when I was doing listings — some bandcamp suggestions, nods to a few livestreams, and sundry community notes (email me if you have anything that needs broadcast in the latter category!). Plus maybe a look back through the MFS archives.

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Video Hits:

• Here's little taste from Hot Garbage's upcoming debut full-length (out October 29th) — if I label this as a "sleazy, murky throb", do understand I mean that in the most complementary way.

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Livestream nation:

• This Native North America/@2RiversRemix Virtual Feast is going down tonight (Monday, September 6th), and has some heavy hitters, including Duke Redbird, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Leland Bell, Vern Cheechoo, Willie Thrasher & Linda Saddleback, Willy Mitchell and The Try Umphs.

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Concert listings:

• NIDUS: the gauzy meshwork of an invisible thought / Cedarvale Park 2021-09-11 (Saturday, 7-9 p.m.). $free. [FB event]

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It happened this week...

• A formative event for me as a show-goer and show-documenter, let's check out a few samples from Owen Pallett's 30th Birthday Party, held on the 2009 Labour Day weekend at Lula Lounge. A remarkable gesture from an artist who had "made it", this day-long event was a celebration of local micro-histories, bringing together artists that had inspired and shared stages with him. As a time capsule of a then-just-passed moment, it's the sort of thing we definitely need more of. (You can read my — literally — exhaustive notes from the day in three parts here, here and here.)

Electric Canaille Trio - Vincent Massey

Alex Lukashevsky - Horsetail Feather

Diamond Rings - Something Else

[Do remember that you can click on the tags below to go back and find the original posts (and often, more stuff) from these artists.]

Recording: The Holy Oak Family Singers

Artist: The Holy Oak Family Singers

Songs: That's What Makes You Strong [Jesse Winchester cover; Thom Gill vox] + Dear Darling [Mary Margaret O'Hara cover; Ivy Mairi vox] + I Don't Know [Kate and Anna McGarrigle cover; Alex Samaras vox] + Thirty [The Weather Station cover; Thom Gill vox] + Runs in the Family [The Roches cover; Robin Dann, Felicity Williams, Alex Samaras vox]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), February 20, 2020.

The Holy Oak Family Singers - That's What Makes You Strong

The Holy Oak Family Singers - Dear Darling

The Holy Oak Family Singers - I Don't Know

The Holy Oak Family Singers - Thirty

The Holy Oak Family Singers - Runs in the Family

A really wonderful night, once more bringing together this loose aggregation of immensely-talented musicians that once congregated at the much-missed Holy Oak. The special occasion this time was a milestone birthday for Luke Kuplowsky, who got to pick the setlist, populating it with some of his mournful/joyful favourites. As always, the crew ranged through the songbooks of the artists they'd paid tribute to in the past (Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Arthur Russell in addition to the ones posted above) and a few special one-offs, like the especially-relevant Weather Station tune. And as always, there were a series of friends rotating in and out of the backing band and vocalists' chairs. Truly a really special time, and worth remembering these days as to why we used to gather together (and hope to someday again).

Recording: Ryōkan Blues Band

Artist: Ryōkan Blues Band

Songs: To Pi Ssu Yao [from a poem by Du Fu] + If Your Heart Remains Unchanged + Formal Meditation + I Found a Coin in My Bag [from poems by Ryōkan]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 22, 2020.

Ryōkan Blues Band - To Pi Ssu Yao

Ryōkan Blues Band - If Your Heart Remains Unchanged

Ryōkan Blues Band - Formal Meditation

Ryōkan Blues Band - I Found a Coin in My Bag

It's quite exciting to see that this endeavour, started as a side project to Luke "Luka" Kuplowsky's "name band", has branched off to claim its own identity. Essentially a vehicle for the musical setting of poetry, the heart of the thing remains in the Ryōkan and Rumi texts that the project started off with — but things are growing (enough that the band could play two short sets at this show!) to include a wider range of poets as well. Regardless of the source, there's an admirable dedication to serving the text here — if a poem is four terse lines, it doesn't need to be given a bridge and a second verse and what have you, it can just occupy the space of those original distilled thoughts.

[There probably won't be any be any Ryōkan, but Luke Kuplowsky will be celebrating a birthday at a special Holy Oak Family Singers Revue in the Southern Cross on Thursday (February 27th).]

Recording: So Sue Me

Artist: So Sue Me

Song: One Zero^*

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Music Hosted by Karen Ng), January 21, 2020.

So Sue Me - One Zero

I'm not sure if the band name of this group fronted by guitarist Alex Lukashevsky is meant to stick or just to be a whimsical placeholder (he also has an upcoming solo show where he's being billed as Alex "Bad Baby" Lukashevsky, which raises similar questions) but there is definitely something fascinatingly cool going on here. Joined by Evan Cartwright (percussion, steel drum), Mike Overton (bass) and Ryan Driver (synth), Lukashevsky lead the crew through three longer songs, pop tunes at their heart, but tackled with no wave yelps and howls in a series of weird, throbbing grooves. A bit like a genially-lobotomized Deep Dark United, these two-chord vamps staggered and tripped around the room in a pretty awesome way.

^* Thanks to Alex for passing along this (possibly temporary) title!

Recording: Puh-Lease

Artist: Puh-Lease

Song: [track 2]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Track Could Bend #58), January 7, 2020.

Puh-Lease - [track 2]

This project was Thom Gill's no wave day-dream/fever-dream, an avant-garage excursion that saw him joined by Alex Lukashevsky on guitar, Claire Yunjin Lee on synth, and Germaine Liu on percussion. Wobbly and trebly throughout, sometimes it sounded like Discipline-era King Crimson being run through three or four high pass filters, and at others like one of those projects salvaging the sounds and lost to mp3 compression.

[Track Could Bend is back at Wenona tonight (February 4th), with sets from the Pete Johnston 4, Claire Yunjin Lee, and Tidal Pool.]

Recording: Alex Lukashevsky

Artist: Alex Lukashevsky

Songs: Sarcastic Blues + Zut!

Recorded at The Baby G (TONE Festival and Mechanical Forest Sound present), June 3, 2018.

Alex Lukashevsky - Sarcastic Blues

Alex Lukashevsky - Zut!

It was a real honour to have a chance to co-present a show leading off the second incarnation of the wonderful TONE Festival. Even if there can be unexpected shifts in a lineup from planning to execution, I was very excited with the night that came together. Karen Ng deserves full credit for bringing revered songsmith Alex Lukashevsky on board to close out the show. Most recently playing a support role in Eucalyptus and other ensembles, it's been a good spell since I'd seen Lukashevsky wander through his songbook. I wasn't the only one who was entranced — after he was pulled out from the crowd to add some impromptu percussion for a reading of Deep Dark United's "Zut!", Nick Fraser started calling out requests to extend the set. [And this is probably as good a place as any to remind you that DDL's albums as well as Lukashecky's essential solo Connexions album are all available at his bandcamp.]

Recording: LUKA

Artist: LUKA

Songs: For My Visitor [from a poem by Ryōkan] + Fugitive Song (a response to Rainer Maria Rilke)

Recorded at Belljar Café (Track Could Bend #34), January 2, 2018.

LUKA - For My Visitor

LUKA - Fugitive Song (a response to Rainer Maria Rilke)

Setting aside his own observations, Luke Kuplowsky took a different songwriting tack in presenting a beautiful set of songs with the words mostly drawn from the poetic fragments left behind by the 18th century hermit-monk Ryōkan. He was backed by an incredible band that included Alex Lukashevsky, Evan Cartwright, Josh Cole and Felicity Williams (who has followed up this appearance with some more prestigious gigs). The songs ranged from quiet meditations like the first song here to more rambunctious takes like the second, which had me staring at the Belljar's front door as I had this strange sense that a horn section could have burst in from the street at any second to join in. These songs had only been aired in public once before, and it's inconceivable that they won't be heard again.

[LUKA will be playing the Burdock with Trace Mountains and Rachael Cardiello on Wednesday, April 11th. Track Could Bend returns to the Belljar Café on Tuesday (February 6th) with sets from Bim Prongs & {AN} EeL, N A V I and Love Children of the Apocalypse.]

Recording: DUST

Artist: DUST

Songs: [two pieces]

Recorded at The Music Gallery, April 29, 2016.

DUST - [excerpt from first piece]

DUST - [third piece]

Moving from the Southern Cross' carpeted living-room zone to the more acoustically delicate sanctuary at the Music Gallery gave this the air of something of a special occasion for DUST. They were also a bit more of a "big band" than the last couple times I'd seen 'em, with eleven players on hand, all endeavouring to make as little sound as possible. The approach was a bit more "musical" than some of the rustlings I caught last time out, but there were still plenty of hushed abstractions here, including the return of Alex Lukashevsky's turntable. This set's MVP might have been Ryan Driver, who added not only some balloon membrane murmurings, but also brought a wooden spool that he rolled quietly along the wooden floor.

Recording: Eucalyptus

Artist: Eucalyptus

Song: Narcalypso

Recorded at Sonic Boom (Record Store Day), April 16, 2016.

Eucalyptus - Narcalypso

In the midst of their every-Saturday-in-April residency and sporting a new tape with two new long tunes, Brodie West's recent preoccupation with percussion was on display here with the band now sporting three percussionists (Blake Howard, Evan Cartwright and Nick Fraser). Trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud was unavailable for this one, so it gave the back line all the more space for rhythmic interplay in a mix of older tunes with new stuff, like the infectiously singalong stop-and-go rhythms of "Stop and Go".

[Eucalyptus' residency continues with shows tonight (April 23) and next Saturday at Hirut Restaurant, just steps from Woodbine subway station.]

Recording: Ways+

Artist: Ways+

Song: Jammers

Recorded at Dundas Video (Track Could Bend #12), March 1, 2016.

Ways+ - Jammers

Just a few days after seeing Evan Cartwright and Brodie West paring things down as a duo, it was quite fascinating to see West's compositions pushed in the opposite direction in this big-band version of the group. With Nick Fraser as a second percussionist, there lots of space to explore a series of quietly off-kilter rhythms (such as "Scraping, Boiling", which opened with a lengthy, slightly-hesitant drum-groove) and a boosted front line with West's sax joined by David French's bass clarinet and Ryan Driver's flute. And as always the case, Alex Lukashevsky's sly guitar work found its own spaces in between everything else.

[Track Could Bend returns to Dundas Video on Tuesday, April 5th for its First Anniversary Spectacular, which will feature an all-star assortment of players from the series' first year both in some new recombinations as well in instant "bands-from-a-hat" improvised sets.]

Recording: DUST

Artist: DUST

Songs: [various excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), July 31, 2015.

DUST - [set 1, edited fragments]

DUST - [set 1, fragment 1]

DUST - [set 1, fragment 2]

DUST - [set 2, edited fragments]

Abraham Dust and his band of experimenters will always frustrate my efforts. The most successful his "quietest big band in the known world" is at executing his vision, the quieter the resultant rustling — and the less able I am to capture it. The seven musicians¹ here were doing particularly well at their task, and as such, after boosting things up even to the edge of the audible range, my recording contains as much hiss as music. Take these as what they are, then, recognizing this is not at all like the experience of sitting in a room, listening to musicians play in a manner such that the door to the room being opened is as loud as any "music", and both would be easily overpowered by a voice at a normal speaking volume. (And note, as well, how far this grouping has become in stripping away the volume and musicality that they started out with!)

[Before the participants head off to apply what they have learned to the new DUST Regional Chapters, there will be another assemblage at The Tranzac on Wednesday, August 26th.]

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¹ The players on this night were: Avesta Nakhaei (piano), Rob Clutton (double bass), Alex Lukashevsky (guitar + prepared turntable), Matthew Ramolo (synthesizer), D. Alex Meeks (percussion), Brian Abbott (guitar), and Karen Ng (clarinet).

Recording: Eucalyptus

Artist: Eucalyptus

Song: Triller

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 26, 2015.

Eucalyptus - Triller

Old tunes are getting re-arranged ("Windmill Will" got a bit noisier than it used to be) and there were plenty of new tunes over two sets from Brodie West's avant-calypso collective. And although there's a range of jazz visions and musical textures on offer, the original mission is not being forsaken, as evidenced by a new one that was titled "Lunar Ecalypso".

^* Thanks to a commenter for passing along the title to this one!

Six years/Six pack: Anni Spadafora

MFS has turned six! My introductory thoughts on this landmark can be found here, but long story short: I asked some folks to pick some of their favourites to help me celebrate.

Today's list is from artist/DJ/musician Anni Spadafora, who plays no wave-esque rock in one of the city's best new bands, but who also has the name PAULINE OLIVEROS emblazoned on her guitar.

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It was really difficult choosing only 6 recordings. So grateful for this archive, this wild attempt at throwing a net at this mess of a city. These are songs from shows I was at or wished I had been at. And a hint at some of the core people whose music urges me to listen deeper around these parts.

Nif-D - Centre of Gravity excerpt

Muskox - Buff Stop

AND THIS (sorry, I'm a cheat and a glutton)

Anagram - What a Mess

THOMAS - unknown

Alex Lukashevsky - Back to the River

Jesse Laderoute - Cassette Store Day [excerpt]

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You can always click on the tags below to look for more stuff from these artists. Has there been a half-dozen songs posted here that made an impact on you? If you'd like to get in on the action and make a list, feel free to send me an email: mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com.