Recording: Charlemagne Palestine

Artist: Charlemagne Palestine

Song: The Organ is the Greatest Synthesizer [excerpt]

Recorded at Metropolitan United Church (FutureStops Festival), October 1, 2022.

Charlemagne Palestine - The Organ is the Greatest Synthesizer [excerpt]

The FutureStops Festival was undoubtedly an ambitious undertaking, bringing a series of high-profile international guests to town to celebrate new directions in pipe organ music. And if, in practice, that fairly niche mandate made it tough to connect with a wider audience, the programming was generally well spoken of. This final show was the only one I was able to make it out to, but featured two names I was most eager to see. Having experienced the music and presence of Charlemagne Palestine nearly a decade ago I had a notion of what to expect, but with access to the larger scale of the pipe organ, thie was an altogther more immense experience. Although this had some sonic similarities to Sarah Davachi's earlier set, the organizing principle here was much more intuitive, with Palestine feeling his way along — albeit joyfully, if his accompanying organ seat wiggle-dancing was anything to go by.

Recording: Sarah Davachi

Artist: Sarah Davachi

Song: unknown^* [excerpt]

Recorded at Metropolitan United Church (FutureStops Festival), October 1, 2022.

Sarah Davachi - unknown [excerpt]

The FutureStops Festival was undoubtedly an ambitious undertaking, bringing a series of high-profile international guests to town to celebrate new directions in pipe organ music. And if, in practice, that fairly niche mandate made it difficult to connect with a wider audience, the programming was generally well spoken of. This final show was the only one I was able to make it out to, but featured two names I was most eager to see.

Under the pulpit's imposing arch, it was a treat to see Sarah Davachi in more impressive surroundings than I had caught her in previously. Clearly working to a plan (with some scored material at hand), I'm not sure if this was "new work" or treatments of some previously-recorded material, but it was most impressive both in its stately build and in the manner that the overlapping sound-waves and phase-cancellations recreated all of the effects that one might attribute to the electronic manipulation of sound.

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

Recording: L CON

Artist: L CON

Song: big pile of nothing^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng presents), September 22, 2022.

L CON - big pile of nothing

A perfect night out on the equinox, Karen Ng turned her Tranzac residency slot over to a pair of singer-songwriters who were both exploring some autumnal renewal. Lisa Conway returned to her L CON pop project (which just happens to be celebrating its tenth anniversary) to present some new sad songs in a stripped-down duo format with Andrew Collins. Last spotted this spring with some abstract synthesis, there's definitely a wiggly line that can be traced between these two sets.

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

Recording: Isla Craig

Artist: Isla Craig

Song: Song for Boots

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Karen Ng presents), September 22, 2022.

Isla Craig - Song for Boots

A perfect night out on the equinox, Karen Ng turned her Tranzac residency slot over to a pair of singer-songwriters who were both exploring some autumnal renewal. Playing her first band show since the beforetimes, Isla Craig brought some of the players who back her on the forthcoming Echo's Reach, including continental drifter Mike Smith on bass and Ted Crosby on sax as well as Ian Daniel Kehoe on drums. Given that gap in presenting new music, it was no surpise to even hear a couple newer-than-the-album songs in the set, which closed with this piano meditation for a lost companion.

Recording: Dun-Dun Band

Artist: Dun-Dun Band

Song: Triplet C

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Josh Cole presents), September 21, 2022

Dun-Dun Band - Triplet C

There are visible signs of forward progress with Craig Dunsmuir's beloved precision groove bigglyup band — rumours of intense rehearsal schedules, plus whispers of recording and mixing sessions — all of which has culminated in a three-month takeover of Josh Cole's Tranzac residency. This night saw a possibly-unprecedented turonout (on stage) with ten musicians on hand. (There's a certain flexibility in the lineup given that any of these busy musicians could be unavailable on any given day.) There's also a sense that the jams are being formalized into "songs" — where once they were identified by strings of numbered fragments, now titles are taking their place (even if some are perhaps still just placeholders, often taking a name from the venue where the piece was first performed).

The full lineup for this night was:

• Craig Dunsmuir
• Mike Smith
• Blake Howard
• Jay Anderson
• Josh Cole
• Kurt Newman
• Ted Crosby
• Karen Ng
• Colin Fisher
• Brodie West

[The Dun-Dun Band will be completing their three-month stay at The Tranzac next Wednesday (October 19th) in the late slot.]

Monday Roundup #91

Contest reminder:

• There's still time to enter my X Avant festival contest and win a pair of tickets to Saturday night's Big Family House Party at the Music Gallery! The draw is tomorrow (Tuesday, October 11th) at noon. Click here for more details on the contest + info on the festival!

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Concert announcements:

Jonathan Lindhorst/Karen Ng/Ben Dwyer/Nico Dann / The Emmet Ray 2022-10-20 (Thursday). $10 with a reservation, $15 at the door. [FB event]

"No Music on a Dead Planet": Music Climate Summit evening panel and concert (feat. Veronica Johnny / Tragedy Ann / The Weather Station / Shakura S'Aida / Ruby Singh / Logan Staats / Leah & Peter of July Talk / Housewife / George Sawa / Donna Grantis) / 918 Bathurst 2021-10-21 (Friday). $35 General Admission, $15 Student/Unwaged. [FB event]

Freesound: Music for Piano Quartet [new commissions by Georgia Denham and James Lowrie] (feat. Aysel Taghi-Zada/Matthew Antal/Amahl Arulananda/Wesley Shen) / Annette Studios 2022-10-22 (Saturday). $15 regular/$10 Arts Workers/Seniors/Students. [FB event]

TONE presents (feat. Marc Ribot [solo]) / Glen Rhodes United Church 2022-11-04 (Friday). $28.27, all ages. [FB event]

Queermunity 2 (feat. Witch Prophet / cutsleeve / Gay Jesus / Joce Reyome) / The Tranzac (Main Hall) 2022-11-04 (Friday). $15 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Kelly McMichael (Geordie Gordon) / The Dakota Tavern 2022-11-10 (Thursday – early show, doors 6:30). $19.68, 19+. [FB event]

Andre Ethier & Drew Smith (& friends) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-11-19 (Saturday)

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Shows this week:

Nathan Shubert (KARLA / Caleb Klager) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-11 (Tuesday – early!) [FB event]

Brodie West/Ryan Driver/Andrew Zukerman (Khôra) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-11 (Tuesday)

Brodie West Presents (feat. The Donna Lee Quartet [Brodie West/Reg Schwager/Mike Milligan/Nick Fraser]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-12 (Wednesday – early!)

Never Was / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-12 (Wednesday)

X Avant XVII: Rebetika (feat. Andy Moor/Yannis Kyriakides / Quatuor Bozzini / M.I. Blue) / The Music Gallery 2022-10-12 (Wednesday). $17.03 [students, music gallery members, arts workers] / $22.20, all ages. [FB event]

X Avant XVII: namamahay (to dwell) [curated by kat estacio] (feat. installations, art and music by April Aliermo / Patrick Cruz / Kristina Guison / Victoria Fard-Young / Krēme Inakuchi / Megan Arnold / Standpartners) / The Music Gallery 2022-10-13 (Thursday). $11.35 [students, music gallery members, arts workers] / $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

Joyshape [Zoë Alexis-Abrams’ avant-pop project! What's Already Here album release!] (Bile Sister) / BSMT254 2022-10-13 (Thursday). $10. [more info]

X Avant XVII: Bijuriya (feat. Gabriel Dharmoo) / The Music Gallery 2022-10-14 (Friday). $11.35 [students, music gallery members, arts workers] / $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

X Avant XVII: Big Family House Party ["a family house party with multiple levels and rooms, free food, music at every corner, and art installations"] (feat. JER / NPNP Trio / Labyrinth Ontario / Rick Sacks) / The Music Gallery 2022-10-15 (Saturday). $11.35 [students, music gallery members, arts workers] / $17.03, all ages. [FB event]

Imarhan / Revival 2022-10-15 (Saturday). $25. [FB event]

Portage [George Koller/ Bruce Cassidy/Diane Roblin] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-16 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Musica Universalis (feat. chik white & Colin Fisher [solos, duo]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-16 (Sunday). $10 suggested donation. [FB event]

Venus Fest (feat. Austra / PIQSIQ / R. Flex) / 72 Perth Ave. 2022-10-16 (Sunday). $18 advance / $22 door (+ fees and taxes), 19+. [FB event]

Recording: Icterus

Artist: Icterus

Song: Three Wars

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 11, 2022.

Icterus - Three Wars

This was, apparantly, the first show for this unit since 2019 — a possibly-tricky situation when involving some certainly-tricky music for nimble fingers. But given that the nimble fingers (and minds) involved here were those of Stefan Hegerat (drumkit), Rob Grieve (guitar), Patrick O'Reilly (guitar), and Mark Godfrey (bass) things were generally handled with aplomb. This long-ish piece — almost a suite — shows off several of the terrains they were capable of traversing.

Preview/Contest: X Avant XVII

X Avant XVII: LifeWorld

October 12-15, 2022

A sure sign of fall's full arrival, The Music Gallery's X Avant festival is back next week. Last year's edition was a cautious (but most welcome) return to live events, and this year's is a scaled-up party to release some of the pent-up desire for community and spectacles. Artistic Director Sanjeet Takhar has used the concept of the remix as a central motif in assembling four nights exploring the tensions and affinities between global and local cultures and between traditional approaches — "dreams of a world where we can hold the past, present, and future at the same time."

Here's what to expect in the festival's four nights:

• Night 1 – Rebetika (Wednesday, October 12): Andy Moor (of The Ex, and someone you should never miss seeing when you have a chance) and Netherlands-based, Cyprus-born composer Yannis Kyriakides join together to add a post-punk edge to classic Rebetiko songs with explorative tendencies. Quatuor Bozzini join them for a collaborative piece, and neo-soul producer M.I.Blue opens things up.
• Night 2 – Namamahay (To Dwell) (Thursday, October 13): local hero kat estacio curates this "multi-room unpacking of diasporic Filipin* art-making through sound, visuals, performance and food that explores where, when and with whom do we consider home" with works by works by April Aliermo, Patrick Cruz, Kristina Guison, Victoria Fard-Young, Krēme Inakuchi, Megan Arnold, and Standpartners.
• Night 3 – Bijuriya (Friday, October 14): A much-anticipated Ontario premiere from Montréal’s Gabriel Dharmoo, Bijuriya (Dharmoo's drag alter ego) "explores her cultural roots by representing the diversity of South Asian female identities. Code-switching between drag performance, vocal improvisation, original songs, experimental sound design and the porosity between singing and lip-syncing".
• Night 4 – Big Family House Party (Saturday, October 15): Bringing everything together for one big blow-out, this closing night (co-presented with Lula Lounge and Labyrinth Ontario) is set "to transform the entire 918 Bathurst venue into a family house party with multiple levels and rooms, a kitchen full of free food, music at every corner, and art installations." The floor-to-ceiling action includes live sets from NPNP Trio [Jackson Darby, Evelyn Charlotte Joe, James Goddard], JER, Labyrinth Ensemble and Rick Sacks.

TICKETS + MORE INFO

You can fine all the information you need over at the MG's website, and ticket info is here. Nightly tickets are $10 to $20, and there's a Festival Pass available as well. All of the events are all ages.

CONTEST

Courtesy of the Music Gallery, I am giving away a pair of tickets to the Big Family House Party on Saturday, October 15th!

To enter, shoot me an email to mechanicalforestsound@gmail.com, with "contest" in the title and your name in the body. I'll randomly draw a winner on Tuesday, October 11th at noon.

Recording: Buckley/Hay/Fournier/Perera

Artist: Robin Buckley/Jay Hay/Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera

Song:

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynCirSundays), September 11, 2022.

Robin Buckley/Jay Hay/Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera - [1st section]

Switching over to baritone guitar, Nilan Perera was joined for this set by Robin Buckley (percussion) and Jay Hay (sax) who pushed things into some hard funk territory.

You can check out a bigger chunk of this set (and some others in the SynCirSundays playlist!) over on youtube:

[SynCirSundays is back this Sunday (October 9th) with Mike Hansen and Gary Barwin celebrating the release of where the angels once were: live sessions, plus Rob Clutton and Nilan Perera playing the Music of Jimmy Page.]

Recording: Fournier/Perera/Sacks

Artist: Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera/Rick Sacks

Songs: [excerpts from two improvisations]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (SynCirSundays), September 11, 2022.

Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera/Rick Sacks - [excerpt from 1st piece]

Alex Fournier/Nilan Perera/Rick Sacks - [excerpt from 3rd piece]

Nilan Perera only brought along his Boomerang looper, but also had the skills of a couple reliable collaborators in Alex Fournier (double bass) and Rick Sacks (drumkit) to create some additional textures in a propulsive set.

You can check out a bigger chunk of this set (and some others in the SynCirSundays playlist!) over on youtube:

[SynCirSundays is back this Sunday (October 9th) with Mike Hansen and Gary Barwin celebrating the release of where the angels once were: live sessions, plus Rob Clutton and Nilan Perera playing the Music of Jimmy Page.]

Recording: Richard Laviolette

Artist: Richard Laviolette

Songs: Florence and Delilah + Saved By Rock'n'Roll

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 11, 2022.

Richard Laviolette - Florence and Delilah

Richard Laviolette - Saved By Rock'n'Roll

Showing off a full set of new songs, Richard Laviolette surrounded himself (as is his wont) with the happy chaos of a sprawling band — "a little destruction will make you whole," as he'd comment in "Saved By Rock'n'Roll". It was most pleasing to see the group (including old fave Jordan Howard on guitar) bringing some real rock power — wearing a Sappy Fest hat, "Sappy Fest hat" might be the most accurate genre tag for this music. But if you wanted something a bit more concrete to hang on it, you could do worse than to pick up on the hints of Uncle Neil's ragged glory — though not so much Crazy Horse as Stray Gators was the vibe here as Laviolette rocked back and forth and let the sounds flow around his elegantly dark visions.

Recording: Rich Burnett

Artist: Rich Burnett

Song: Crippled Station Blues

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), September 11, 2022.

Rich Burnett - Crippled Station Blues

Fergus, Ontario's Rich Burnett was on hand to drum in Richard Laviolette's band, which also gave him an opportunity to start the afternoon off with an acoustic set of his own songs. The set drew from some recent tunes, as well as from The Fog (released on the cusp of the pandemic), including this real-life grey-period tale of working in a car rental depot at Union Station.

Monday Roundup #90

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Concert announcements:

Portage [George Koller/ Bruce Cassidy/Diane Roblin] / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-16 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Soundstreams: Surface Tension (feat. TorQ Percussion Quartet) / Universal Music 2022-10-22 (Saturday – two performances at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.) [FB event]

Death to T.O #10 [members of Breeze, Rapport, Nyssa, Praises, Dilettante, C.J Wiley, Shitbats, Theo Vandenhoff, Witchrot, Secret Sign, Blanks, Nutrients, World news performing as Abba, Depeche Mode, Roxy Music, Dolly Parton, The Doors, Nancy Sinatra, Orchestral Manouveres in the Dark, The Cramps, Kate Bush, The Cure, The Kinks, The Pixies, Flight of the Conchords] / Lee's Palace + The Cave 2021-10-29 (Saturday). $20 advance, 19+. [FB event]

Aline's étoile magique [Aline Homzy/Thom Gill/Daniel Fortin/Michael Davidson/Marito Marques] / The Rex 2021-10-30 (Sunday) [FB event]

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Shows this week:

Victor Bateman & Reg Schwager / The Rex 2022-10-04 (Tuesday – 5:30-7:30) [FB event]

Track Could Bend #72 (feat. Kayla Milmine/Mike Gennaro / Stranger Still [Mim Adams/Randi Helmers/Rob Clutton/Pete Johnston] / Jonas Olesen) / Wenona Lodge 2022-10-04 (Tuesday). $PWYC. [FB event]

Partner (Rapport / CJ Wiley) / Horseshoe Tavern 2022-10-06 (Thursday). $17.00, 19+ [FB event]

Tania Gill Presents (feat. Jasper Stadhouders/Brodie West/Karen Ng/Blake Howard/Rob Clutton / Tania Gill/Rob Clutton/Nico Dann) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-07 (Friday – early!)

Audiopollination (feat. Jessica Houghton/Kathryn Merriam / Patrick O’Reilly/Curtis Whittaker/Saba Saneinejad / Ryan Kinney/Mira Riselli / Bill Gilliam/Eugene Martynec/Bill McBirnie) / Array Space 2022-10-07 (Friday). $10 (cash or card) or PWYC. [FB event]

Status/Non Status / Horseshoe Tavern 2022-10-08 (Saturday). $22.66, 19+. [FB event]

Ayal Senior's monthly (feat. Country Phasers / Nick Flanagan / Electroacoustic Autumn Ensemble [Kieran Miraj/Fuzzy Nibesh/William Davison + special guests!]) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday – afternoon show @ 2:30 p.m.!). $PWYC, family-friendly. [FB event]

SynCirSundays (feat. Mike Hansen & Gary Barwin [where the angels once were: live sessions album release!] / Rob Clutton & Nilan Perera) / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday – early!) [FB event]

Holy Oak Family Singers / The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge) 2022-10-09 (Sunday)

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Bandcamp corner:

• Reminder that Bandcap Friday happens again this week (October 7th), so get your lists ready! Me, I like to pre-order stuff, while more of the money goes right to the artists — and then you get a delightful surprise in your inbox when the albums drop. Here's a couple things I have my eyes on:

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It happened this week...

• ...on October 4, 2018 at Burdock Music Hall. [and speaking of Bandcamp Friday pre-orders, why not grab Joy Shape, a newer name for Zoë Alexis-Abrams' solo songcraft. It looks like this track will be on there, so it'll be cool to see how it has developed!]

ZOË - The Rock

• ...on October 7, 2018 at Handlebar (Nite Comfort 60).

Memorex - Self-Discipline

[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: Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman

Artist: Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman

Song: India Ink

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior presents), September 11, 2022.

Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman - India Ink

Ayal Senior's compositions are malleable enough that there's plenty room for variation and improvisation within their structures. For this set, with a standard six-string instead of the pedal steel, Kurt Newman added a different set of shadiings to the pieces, here hovering behind more like J Mascis hiding in the shadows.

[I will be guest-hosting Ayal Senior's Tranzac monthly once more next Sunday (October 9th, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.), which'll feature regulars Nick Flanagan and Kurt Newman along with a special appearance by the Electroacoustic Autumn Ensemble (Kieran Miraj, Fuzzy Nibesh, William Davison + special guests!).]

Recording: The Sympathetic String Band

Artist: The Sympathetic String Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior presents), September 11, 2022.

The Sympathetic String Band - unknown

This pair of spiritual psych explorers — a sort of pastoral adjunct to some more rockin' sounds you might hear from Roy as well as one Hieronymus Harry (also of Mr. Joy) — fit in quite perfectly next to Ayal Senior's music (and, in fact, the three would close out the show playing a quick set together as Flotation Device). Bearing some sitar-y, lute-y, and dulcimer-y things as well as their guitars, their pieces were somewhere on the pathway from "jams" to "songs" — here situated in some middle ground of "agreed upon zones".

[I will be guest-hosting Ayal Senior's Tranzac monthly once more next Sunday (October 9th, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.), which'll feature regulars Nick Flanagan and Kurt Newman along with a special appearance by the Electroacoustic Autumn Ensemble (Kieran Miraj, Fuzzy Nibesh, William Davison + special guests!).]

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