Monday Roundup #101

Concert announcements:

Exit Points #33 ["this performance includes a 5-channel speaker array for surround sound"] (feat. Marilyn Yogarajah/Sara Constant/Alexander Vincent/Michael Palumbo / Zoma/Behnoosh Behnamnia/Kousha Nakhaei/Donovan Locke) / Array Space 2022-12-28 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Nomad [Simon Millerd/Mike Bjella/Ted Crosby/Ben Dwyer/Jake Wiens/Kai Basanta] (Nomad Chamber Trio [Ted Crosby/Mike Bjella/Jake Wiens]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-28 (Wednesday) [FB event]

Boxing Week Special (feat. OMBIIGIZI / Scarlett Rose / Una Rose) / The Garrison 2022-12-28 (Wednesday). $13.85, 19+. [FB event]

Ancient Egypt [Holger Schoorl/Scott Thomson/Pete Johnston] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-29 (Thursday). $pwyc.

Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-30 (Friday – early!). $pwyc.

Hollowfest NYE Party ["an immersive art + music experience in collaboration with "Psychedelics: The Experiential Exhibition""] (feat. Possum / Nyssa / ZONES [full band!]) / Lithuanian Banquet Halls 2022-12-31 (Saturday). $35. [FB event]

Track Could Bend #75 (feat. Chapped Lips [Annie Elgie/Patrick O'Reilly/PT Sandberg] / SOUP [Sara Constant/Yang Chen/Andrew Noseworthy]) / Wenona Lodge 2023-01-03 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Life Force [Diane Roblin/Bruce Cassidy/George Koller/Kevin Turcotte/Jeff LaRochelle/Tim Shia] / La Rev 2023-01-07 (Saturday)

Kiwi Jr. (Charlotte Cornfield) / Lula Lounge 2023-02-19 (Sunday). $20.28, 19+. [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Amrita [Kayla Milmine/Anita Katakkar] / Drom Taberna 2022-12-19 (Monday – 5:30 p.m.) [FB event]

Nidus (Wenderly Park) / The Tranzac (Living Room) 2022-12-20 (Tuesday). $pwyc. [FB event]

Jennifer Castle [winter solstice celebration!] (Eucalyptus) / The Great Hall 2022-12-21 (Wednesday). $33.99, 19+. [FB event]

A Josh Cole Quartet [Lina Allemano/Rob Clutton/Josh Cole/Blake Howard] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-21 (Wednesday). $10/PWYC.

Kingdom of Birds (Essie Watts / Joy Shape) / Monarch Tavern 2022-12-22 (Thursday). $15, 19+. [FB event]

Amber [Lori Freedman & Scott Thomson] (Rob Clutton [solo double bass]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-12-23 (Friday). $pwyw

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It happened this week...

• ...on December 21, 2011 at The Great Hall.

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

[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.]

Monday Roundup #69

Someday this space might be mostly concert listings again, but for now Monday roundups might include a romp through the MFS archives, 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!).

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Community notes:

• The big news this week is obviously the return of the TONE festival, bringin to town audacious and experimental artists that somehow keep getting overlooked by the city's bigger festivals and institutions. Have a look through the listings below and refresh your bookmark here to keep up to date on further announcements.

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Concert announcements:

Kind Mind / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-18 (Wednesday)

bBomit (He77ion / Greydini / Banananananana) / The Cat on Q 2022-05-29 (Sunday). $12 advance or suggested $15/PWYC at the door. [FB event]

Mas Aya (Korea Town Acid) / The Garrison 2022-06-02 (Thursday). $19.85 advance, 19+. [FB event]

This Tale of Ours / Aga Khan Museum 2022-06-03 (Friday). $40 regular/$30 students and seniors. [FB event]

Elrichman [Demolition Derby release!] (Eliza Niemi / Heaven for Real) / The Baby G 2022-06-04 (Saturday). $12.83. [FB event]

TONE Festival (feat. Kee Avil / KARLA / Output 1:1:1) / Cinecycle 2022-06-10 (Friday) [more info]

TONE Festival (feat. JOYFULTALK / Charles Spearin / Nick Durado) / BSMT 254 2022-06-12 (Sunday) [more info]

TONE Festival (feat. Sick Boss with Peggy Lee, JP Carter and Josh Zubot / members of Sick Boss with Tania Gill/Cheldon Patterson/Samuel Hall) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-06-16 (Thursday) [more info]

TONE Festival (feat. Amirtha Kidambi/Matt Evans / Doom Tickler / Mira Martin-Gray/Kieran Maraj) / Array Space 2022-06-23 (Thursday) [more info]

TONE Festival (feat. Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio / Bloop / The Brodie West Quintet) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-06-24 (Friday) [more info]

TONE Festival/The Music Gallery’s Departures Series (feat. Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl / Bernice) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-06-26 (Sunday) [more info]

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Shows this week:

Destroyer (Rosali) / The Phoenix Concert Theatre 2022-05-10 (Tuesday). $37.08 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Brodie West Quintet / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-11 (Wednesday – early!)

Corpusse (Myke Adaptiv) / Sellers & Newel 2022-05-12 (Thursday)

Audiopollination 97 (feat. Diane Roblin/Curtis Whittaker/Kayla Milmine / David Story/Dan Pitt/Brittany Pit / Bill Gilliam/Bill McBirnie/Laura Gillis / Robbie Ahmed/Teneshia Samuel / Apollo Architect) / Array Space 2022-05-13 (Friday). $10 or PWYC, will also be livestreamed. [FB event]

TONE Presents (feat. CLCJ [Chris Pitsiokos/Luke Stewart/Chris Williams/Jason Nazary] / LUGE / Colin Fisher Trio [Colin Fisher/Andrew Furlong/Nick Fraser]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-13 (Friday – 8:30 p.m.!). $10 Adv / $12 Door. [FB event]

Ustad Irshad Khan / Aga Khan Museum 2022-05-14 (Saturday). $40 orchestra, $30 balcony advance. [FB event]

Colin Fisher/Jeff Luciani/ Diane Roblin / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-05-15 (Sunday – early!). $PWYC.

Mystic Music of Pakistan (feat. Abdullah Muhammad Manzoor Niazi) / Aga Khan Museum 2022-05-15 (Sunday). advance tickets $50 ($37.50 seniors and students). [FB event]

Eucalyptus [Sundays in May residency!] / Hirut 2022-05-15 (Sunday)

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It happened this week...

• ...on May 13, 2011 at The Great Hall.

One Hundred Dollars - Waiting on Another

• ...on May 14, 2011 at Sonic Boom.

Sloan - Unkind

[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: 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: Sloan

Artist: Sloan

Songs: Green Gardens, Cold Montreal + Coax Me

Recorded at Sonic Boom Records, May 14, 2011.

Sloan - Green Gardens, Cold Montreal

Sloan - Coax Me

My notes for this set can be found here.

In-store: Sloan

Sloan

Sonic Boom Records. Saturday, May 14, 2011.

I had never seen Sloan play before. Which is a statement at odds with how much they once meant to me — through the mid/late 90's and their first three albums they were hands-down one of my favourite bands. But back in those days I lived far away from the centre of action and certainly didn't go to many shows.¹ And by the time I lived in Toronto, the band had shifted a bit just as my tastes had, and from Navy Blues and on for quite a spell I wasn't paying such close attention to them. They were always sorta there in the background, but I never went out of my way. But with the band playing a special show at Sonic Boom to celebrate the release of The Double Cross and generally making a big point to celebrate twenty years of being a band, I belatedly took the plunge.

You could tell right away that the basement was set up for a bigger-than-usual event than the usual in-store. The area along the wall o' cassettes was closed off to accommodate a big rack of guitars and the speakers were set up to be able to reach the back of the room. Even with a half-hour to go, the space up front was filled up and there was a buzz of anticipation in the crowd.

This would turn out to be more of a mini-concert than quick in-store performance, but unlike their previous trip to Sonic Boom (when the band played a retrospective all b-sides set) the band was pretty focused on the here-and-now of their new album, following its opening one-two punch of "Follow The Leader" and "The Answer Was You", the pair seamlessly linked by a bridging coda.² Admitting that this was the first public airing in a live setting for a lot of these, the band continued with the album's next couple songs, Patrick Pentland's ripping "Unkind"³ and "Shadow of Love".

It was only then that they threw a bit of a curveball, using the minute-long burst of "Something's Wrong" (from 2006's Never Hear The End Of It) as the lead-in to "Traces". "Green Gardens, Cold Montreal" received a full-band arrangement that was bulked up from Jay Ferguson's spare (and rather lovely) album arrangement. Despite wrangling all this new material — and working out the choreography of their frequent instrument swaps — the band were having a fun time on stage.

And with that, the band reached back into their "classic" songbook for "Coax Me", which earned a load cheer from the large contingent that would have been around in 1994: commenting on the crowd, Pentland joked, "you might have noticed a whole bunch of kids here tonight — it's because they always do a sort of 'average age' at the show, and we want to bring that down — you guys are old."

After tearing through "It's Plain To See" they left the stage, but no one was really fooled, but the band gave the crowd a couple minutes to cheer and stomp and do that "SLOOOO-OWN!" chant before coming back for one last new one ("Your Daddy Will Do", which has a pleasing classic AM sort of sound) before closing out with the One Chord To Another two-fer of "The Lines You Amend" and "The Good in Everyone".

A pretty satisfying time. As the band went through a year's worth of events celebrating their twentieth anniversary, it's been widely-noted that this is a band that we have, perhaps, taken a bit too much for granted. Of course, it gets easier to say that when they can tear off an album as satisfying as The Double Cross and make a compelling for being a vital force in the here-and-now. That was almost — nearly — enough to keep me from wandering up from the basement wondering where my youth went. Twenty christin' years! Gee.

I'd originally posted a song from this set here, but now I've added a couple more here.

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¹ Though I really wonder just what the hell I was up to in those days — I have no good excuse as to why I wasn't at this show that the band recently sprung from the vaults as an "official bootleg".

² If the band were tiny-sizing their songs as they did on fragment-suite Never Hear the End of It, that bridge might well have been a separate song.

³ Amongst Sloan aficionados, there's a lot of time spent dissecting the qualities of the songs penned and voiced by each of the four members — I'm not quite so devoted these days to delve too much into that here. And speaking of those carefully counting things, it should be noted that the band was complemented on stage by longstanding touring keyboard player Gregory Macdonald.

1000 Songs: Jen Polk

1000 Songs: Jen Polk

I have now posted one thousand songs from my live recordings to this blog. My introductory thoughts on that 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 Jennifer Polk, formerly @historyjenTO, and now exploring her options in the grown-up world. She is available for life-coaching at reasonable rates.

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Many congratulations on having posted 1,000 live show recordings, Joe!
Here are some highlights for me, a few of them from shows I was also at. (Memories! Regrets!) There's no rhyme or reason for what follows; I just like them and think they're worth hearing again.

Woodhands - Can't See Straight/Under Attack

Best live band! What better way to start things off then a live recording of my favourite band to see (and dance to). I love how their songs, so distinct on their studio albums, get turned into these massive dance party medleys/jam outs in the live setting. Unfortunately for me, Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt are busy guys and they haven't performed much lately. (I myself am not that busy, so thankfully there are Joe's recordings.)

Diamond Rings - You & Me

More electronica, this time care of John O'Regan AKA Diamond Rings. I first started hearing John's solo material done acoustically — just guitar and voice. And it was so lovely that it brought tears to my eyes on occasion. (I am mostly heartless, so this is saying something.) When Diamond Rings went electro, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it but I was excited about the possibilities. I think the result is definitely worth cheering. What a great talent.

Evening Hymns - Spectral Dusk

Speaking of talent, next up is Evening Hymns, the project of Jonas Bonnetta with (on this night and now regularly) the beautiful Sylvie Smith. This is one of those bands that I have sometimes taken from granted — a band that is just good, that you know you can rely on — but every time I've seen Jonas (solo or accompanied) I've been so moved. I missed this performance, but it really must have been special. Also, cellphone users: whatever you do that makes this noise happen, stop it. You (almost) ruin everything.

Julie Doiron - Some Blues

Julie! Love her when she's quiet and spare; love her when she's rocking out. Here, it's mostly the former but there's a bit of the latter. Double love. Check out Joe's other recordings of Julie (including his most recent ones) for a very different sound that still sounds perfect.

Maylee Todd - I Tried

Well, this is excellent. This style really suits her, and she sounds fantastic. That, plus the incredible energy Maylee brings to every performance... well, it must have made for a wonderful set.

The Magic - Call Me Up

Every New Year's Eve party should feature the Magic. Sadly, the band never released an album. I don't know the details, but certainly the band members were and are busy with other projects. These days you can see the Gordon brothers in Islands and Sylvie Smith in Evening Hymns.

Minotaurs - Windchymz

I, probably like most people, never thought Nathan Lawr would embrace Afrobeat. But I like it! And that vibraphone — Paul Aucoin, I love you. And all those horns! This band, which brings together a number of excellent local (and not-so-local) players hasn't performed in Toronto that much, but if they ever do again, I'll be there.

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

Here's more horns, but in a less-than-expected place: a Sloan concert! This set put a huge grin on my face that didn't leave it until after I'd gone to sleep hours later. Oh, and now it's back. Sloan! These guys really are good at this. What fun.

Woodhands - unknown

And, well, of course: more Woodhands! The first two and a half minutes of this recording (plus the last bit) is of an as-yet unreleased song that features Paul's simply stupendous drumming and an exciting, unexpected synth line... I'm busy dancing, thanks for reading and listening, kthxbai.

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You can always click on the tags below to read more about the shows these songs came from. Have there been four or five 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.

Recording: Sloan

Artist: Sloan

Song: Everything You've Done Wrong

Recorded at The Great Hall, December 21, 2011.

Sloan - Everything You've Done Wrong

Full review to follow. A fundraiser organized by Fucked Up to benefit Barriere Lake Legal Defense Fund & COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Services featured excellent sets throughout, but headliners Sloan — playing One Chord to Another in its entirety — also packed an unexpected emotional punch.

I think it'd be fair to say that I listened to that album as much as I listened to anything in 1996, and even if it's been a decade since I've heard it, so much of it was branded into me. '96 was a transitional year, and I have vivid memories of listening to that album on a dubbed cassette in a battery-powered boombox in the cab of the U-Haul that was taking me to Toronto. Hearing the songs brought back those days with an unexpected sharpness, and evoked a weird, ebullient sadness as it also dredged up with heavy immediacy Some Troubles I Had.

But still, the best of the music's uplift is also part of the psychic residue and as I looked around at friends and acquaintances — Anyone Who's Anyone was there — it was hard to feel more bothered with queasy nostalgia than lifted up a bit in the moment.

Collaborations #1: Video Round-up

With the frightening immediacy of NXNE out of the way for now, I'll soon enough be returning to my more usual place in the gig/time continuum. (Coming next week — reviews from 2011). While I get caught up on sleep and put the finishing touches on the next couple posts, how about some filler?

Despite my natural inclination to want to retreat to my wilderness cabin, remote from humanity, and peck away at my manual typewriter to craft my manifestos, keeping this thing running tends to put me in contact with folks. And as it turns out, one of the most satisfying parts of the whole operation comes when I can pass a recording back to a band:

And sometimes they show up in interesting ways:

I have a lot of respect for the people who faithfully document the music scene on video — they have a lot more stuff to worry about when they're at a show than I do. I've considered it a badge of honour to be able to help out with a couple of the city's best, including published author Colin Medley:

And I've also pitched in with Graeme Phillips and his army of camera operators:

These guys work in the present tense — a lot of this stuff I haven't even caught up to yet. Hopefully there'll be more to come!

Recording: Sloan

Artist: Sloan

Song: Unkind

Recorded at Sonic Boom, May 14, 2011.

Sloan - Unkind

Review to follow — My notes for this set can now be found here.