musings on linguistics and cheese

I really should have bought that album...

2009-08-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

Today, I was at SecondSpin in Saint John, New Brunswick, browsing through their vinyl collection. I found a gem. You may or may not be aware that the first east coast band I fell in love with was Sloan, back even before I'd left elementary school. I think I was in Grade 4 when I got a copy of One Chord To Another, which has mysteriously vanished in the 12 or so years since (sad!).

I remeber when Four Nights at the Palais Royale came out (before I'd seen them live, or, probably, could have even! this was my doorway to the Sloan live show) and I procured a copy of the double album not long after. I was in Grade 6 at this point, and hell, I feel young.

Anyway, as I was going through these records today, I found the vinyl version of that delightful live record. Triple LP, in good condition, and $25. I found myself thinking: I should really buy this. This is a brilliant find. I may never see it again. But I have to pay the telephone bill in a couple of days. And I have to pay the cable bill soon. And I'm due for groceries. And all the yadda yadda yadda of adulthood. Strapped for cash as I am, I declined to make the purchase.

And I'm regretting it.

And tomorrow I'm moving back to Sackville, leaving on the early afternoon bus.

This album may forever be the one that got away. That's the way life goes, I suppose.

HPX addition + correction.

2009-08-12T13:17:00.001-07:00

First, I've become aware that Bruce Peninsula will be playing at this year's Pop Explosion, at the Seahorse. Their album, A Mountain is a Mouth, is really dang good, and I hear fab things about their live show. Given their show is on the Wednesday, I may not be able to see it, but I am going to try my best. I want to see these guys live.

Also, the Final Fantasy tickets aren't available from ticketpro.com as I previously said. Rather, they are available from the Dalhouse Art Centre website, here. Sorry for the confusion.

Set up to disguise their meaning, but still light up the room.

2009-08-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

The Sackville Music Hall was built in 1914-15, after a fire destroyed the original Victorian structure a couple of years prior. It was given the name of the Imperial Theatre, a name that stuck until 2004, when it was changed to differentiate from the theatre of the same name in Saint John.

The Music Hall sits hidden away on the upper level of Bridge Street, between apartments and above various shops. The entrance is unmarked, aside from a bulletin board and a bright yellow door, and even some people who have lived in Sackville all their lives, people I spoke with, had no idea this beautiful place exists.

The ceiling is falling in and the paint is peeling, and half of the entryway staircase is blocked off because it is broken and unstable, but every now and then there will be a concert, or an artistic presentation of some sort in there. In recent memory it has showcased concerts by Jenn Grant, Shotgun Jimmie, and the CFL Sessions, all in that beautiful musty space, the side door looking out over Main Street and pouring the music out across the town.

The latest installment of these shows was, on the 24th of July, just before the OK.Quoi?! arts festival kicked off, The Got to Get Got, one of my favourite bands from around these parts. I know I've raved about them on my blog before, but let me just get a little bit more out. The Got to Get Got, at one show I saw, were jokingly described as "Making the Band with Mark Mullane". Mark, formerly of North of America, is mostly responsible for bringing these people together, some from other established bands (The Just Barelys, Tomcat Combat, etc) and other folks to flesh it out. The sound, altogether, is beautiful. Mark and Eleanor King trade off vocals, and the instrumentation... holy mackerel. It is such a beautiful experience.

In any case! The show on the 24th was half concert and half practice session. Paul Henderson, formerly drummer for Shotgun & Jaybird and one of the chief Sappyfest organisers, was skateboarding around the floor of the music hall (wooden and chairless), while things were set up, and we sat on the floor. Cookies were shared, and the band began to play.

For a practice, and not having played together as a full band for a number of weeks, the band sounded phenomenal. At times it felt as though they would bring down more of the ceiling with the guitars, but these were balanced out, as always, by the downright beautiful string arrangements and remainder of the instrumentation. With "Peyton & Perry", I think, you get the best of both worlds, both live and on the record, with both Mark and Eleanor trading off on a gentle, strings-and-keys based half of the song, before the full band opens up about halfway through, making it impossible not to smile and sing along.

A highlight of the live show, though, is "Rare Rain" and, with the skies opened up just outside the door, fitting. The drumline to the song is fleshed out, Eleanor taking one of the toms from the kit and pounding out that main line. The energy level is so high, they all look like they're having such a wonderful time, and that rubs off on the crowd. There is a pair dancing around the music hall, from one end to the other, having the time of their lives. Everyone was, really. It was such a beautiful moment in concert-going. The perfect band for the perfect space and the perfect crowd. Oh, Sackville!

CW

This entry is also available at NxEW.ca. Check it out!

More HPX news!

2009-08-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

The news broke a little while ago that more bands had been confirmed for the Halifax Pop Explosion, and I can break the news of another one that hasn't been officially released. In addition to the bands already announced (just hit the 'halifax pop explosion' button at the bottom of this post to see who they are), the following are going to be present:

By Divine Right, who have been around forever but I don't think I've ever given a fair chance to. I guess now is my opportunity.
Cadence Weapon, recently endorsed by the Governor-General in what can only be described as a WTF moment.
D-Sisive, whose latest album was one of the most hyped hip-hop albums in the country, and rightly so. Check out the myspace.
Jenn Grant, whom I adore, and who puts on a dreamy, intimate show. A jewel of the east coast.
Mates of State, a husband-and-wife duo from Kansas who I'm sure you've heard of, and I'm mighty excited for.
Two Hours Traffic, probably the biggest act to ever come out of Prince Edward Island, and Joel Plaskett's protégés.
You Say Party, We Say Die, Paper Bag dance-punks extraordinaire.

and I haven't seen this in any official announcements, but the band says that Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, who put out one of my favourite albums of 2008 and put on a magical live show, have been accepted to the bill. This excites me. This really excites me. Ms Krakus and her band fuse eastern european folk music with indie rock sensibilities and put on a show that you simply cannot miss. I mean it. Don't miss it.

Finally, MSTRKRFT, in a show to which I already have my ticket. Jesse F. Keeler, one half of DFA1979, brings the dance ruckus. The new album is one of the best electronic/hip-hop records I've heard in a while. One of my highlights. Definitely. A part of me, too, is thinking, if Sebastien Grainger played at last year's HPX, and Jesse Keeler plays at this year's, why can't we, you know, sneak them on to the same stage? Pretty please? I missed my chance to see DFA back in 2004, I wouldn't ever miss that again.

More HPX news as it becomes available. Tickets for the Final Fantasy (with Symphony Nova Scotia) show and the MSTRKRFT show, as well as early-bird festival passes, are now available from ticketpro.com.

PEI must be abuzz.

2009-08-12T09:01:00.001-07:00

I heard it through the grapevine that both New Royalty and Boxer the Horse are working on new discs. No hint of a release date, but they both are working on things. Both of these bands are from Prince Edward Island, both put on a wonderful live show, and I'm looking forward to hearing the new material.

In other news, I have oh-so-much to catch up on. The Got To Get Got playing in a crumbling old Edwardian music hall where bits of the ceiling had fallen to the ground. Day Two of SaltyJam, way back in mid-July. SAPPYFEST, that epic three-day drunk filled with the best music the country has to offer. But I also have other projects on the go, and a permanent move to Sackville on the horizon, so things are being prepared.

Playing catch-up.

2009-07-22T09:44:00.001-07:00

Sappyfest is coming right up, in just over a week. Also, I'm moving back to Sackville tomorrow, and seeing The Got to Get Got play again the day after that.

Also, I know I'm behind on that SaltyJam day two post. I'll get on that on the weekend. I have it mostly drafted, I just haven't finished it. I'm sorry! I'll give you the lineup here, though, of the bands I saw:

The Tom Fun Orchestra at the Boardwalk Stage

The Envy
16th Avenue
Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees
Tokyo Police Club at the Water Street Tent

The Shinjuku Mad
Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees at a-khord.

So! I'll get on all of that, yeah? Sorry for this!

SaltyJam! Day One

2009-07-11T23:14:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I was a little disappointed by the first day of SaltyJam (Friday the 10th!). I didn't catch much of Gisto, the first act, but what I heard... enh. I mean, I like reggae as much as the next white electro fan (probably a bit more), but he bored me.

Bomba though, they were interesting. A rhythm-based latin collective of some kind, from all across Latin America, from Mexico to Cuba to Peru to Chile and more, I'm sure. It was a really interesting combination of sounds--there was a violin added to the mix of percussive instruments and keys, and it was just altogether interesting and rather enjoyable!

Third up, and it still confuses me as to why they weren't the headlining act, was Montreal's Plants and Animals. They put on one hell of a show--though not as good as the one in Sackville back in January. This one was still fab, though, in the midst of a great blue-and-white striped tent, with the local beer flowing free and a guy who looked like Zach Galifianakis dancing along with a baby strapped to his chest. They brought the energy and the crowd--albeit a small one, regrettably--loved every minute of it. There were enough singing along to make it worthwhile for all involved, and I had a good time! I did miss the autoharp on "Bye Bye Bye", however. What gives? Where's the autoharp?

Toronto's The House of David Gang closed the show, and again I'm not entirely certain as to why they were the headliner. A reggae outfit, they sounded better than the first one but still left a little something wanting. I don't know what it is, but I just couldn't get into a reggae show on a slightly chilly Maritime night, by the harbour. Just the way I was wired I guess.

Afterwards, a couple of friends and I headed over to the a khord to take in the late night show. We managed to catch most of the Wooden Wives (which includes on guitar Sappyfest performer Adam Mowery) before they decided it was time to go. My ride being one of them, I left too, and missed Hospital Grade--regrettably. Wooden Wives though put on their usual fab rock'n'roll show, and, maybe because of the nature of the earlier show, but the floor in front of the stage was absolutely awash with people dancing free and fun--it was a sight that really made me smile.

Tomorrow I'll do a bit of a writeup on tonight's concerts--concerts which blew me away, absolutely and completely. Stay tuned!

First Look at the Halifax Pop Explosion 09

2009-07-11T09:25:00.001-07:00

In it's 17th year, the Halifax Pop Explosion is almost old enough to drink in Quebec and from the looks of the initial lineup, it's already sneaking into bars and coming home rowdy. My first HPX was in '05, and it has since then showcased some of the greatest lineups. This year looks no different.

Most exciting, I think, is seeing Vancouver's Japandroids on the bill. I have the album and the EP kicking around my various musical devices and I honestly can't get enough of this... this extreme sound. I've never seen them, I can only imagine the rock they bring to a venue. NYC's Japanther is likewise on the bill.

Final Fantasy is back, Ohbijou and The Acorn (who recently put out a joint split EP which is worth a listen) are added, and in almost a step back in time, there is set to be a set shared between Julie Doiron and Herman Düne, which, as a Sackvillite (or whatever our demonym is) who has only ever heard tell of these coordinated efforts, I am hopelessly excited for it.

I'm sure more news will come along soon. Early Bird passes are available for $90 from Ticketpro, and the last day for application to join this already fab lineup is the 20th of July.

This entry is also available at NxEW.ca. Check it out!

New Video: Julie Doiron - Consolation Prize

2009-07-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Fred Squire as a dentist, dancing zombies, and Julie being altogether adorable--what more could you want?

Courtesy of Stereogum.

Flannelcore!

2009-07-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Halifax's Bloodsport are a fairly recent addition to the Haligonian music scene, making unpretentious rock music under pretentious titles. Their debut 7" EP, "Goodbye to the Holy Mountain" was released last month on From Here To There Records.

The record has been described elsewhere as "shoegaze for punks", clocking in at twelve-and-a-half minutes of music the sort Halifax hasn't produced in a good while. With twenty seconds of feedback kicking us off, "Photos From My Last Trip To Salem" gives a grungy vibe not so much reminiscent of the Seattle scene back in the day, but could certainly draw a comparison to East Coast heroes Eric's Trip. I could create some wild and pretentious genre for them, like "melodic grunge-revival" or "flannelcore", but I won't.

"Swallowing Werewolves", on the B-side, is a great track, sounding like an unconventional, polygamous marriage between Eric's Trip, Boxer the Horse, and Thom Yorke. Go figure, right? But it works, to great effect, and it might just be my choice cut from the record.

Closing off the album is something a little more mellow, and the first time we hear bassist Tara Thorne sing backup to Matt Charlton's vocals, with "Japanese Democracy". Their voices complement each other well, in a manner very suited to the music. It's an altogether ace record, and from what I've heard and read, I can't wait to see these guys live.

CW

You can catch Bloodsport at Sappyfest in Sackville, NB, from July 31st to August 2nd.

This entry can also be found at East Coast Overture. Check it out!

Amelioration and recovery, forever.

2009-07-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

Now, I think I should admit before I go on: The Got To Get Got are one of my favourite bands at the moment. Not just out of East Coast bands, but all told. And I absolutely love this album.

Back in 2005, I was in Halifax for the Pop Explosion. Underage, I heard about this All Ages show Ted Leo was doing at the Pavillion, so of course I wanted to check it out. This was the first and last time I saw North of America. Quasi-defunct at the time, they had just played a few dates with Ted Leo and were closing off the mini-tour, going back into this state of non-existence. Little did I know that even then, Mark Mullane had the beginnings of The Got To Get Got underway and now, four years later, we hear their first full-length offering: Sahalee.

I hate to compare these guys to North of America--so I won't. There's not that much to compare, anyway, as The Got to Get Got is a different beast altogether. These guys were a bi-coastal collective (now based entirely in Halifax) complete with violin, cello, and xylophone and Sahalee is one of the most deliciously rocking records I've heard in a long while. Before I'd gotten my ears to it, my expectations were, I have to say, mighty high, but Mark & co. did not disappoint.

I've had "Rattle Off" stuck in my head since the first time I heard it, months upon months ago, and it remains one of the best tracks on the album. However! I wouldn't call it a stand-out track, just because so many more of the tunes are just as quality. "Rattle Off" uses both Mark and Eleanor's vocals to the greatest extent, with solid, well-written lyrics and the instrumentation is so beautifully layered, even live, that it makes excellent use everybody in the band.

"Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife" reminds me of something that I can't quite put my finger on. It's bouncing indie rock tune about, well, "rolling around in our graves". You can't not smile (and, according to some, can't not dance) when you're listening to this track. This one I'd heard a couple of weeks before the album, too. Straight up, an ace rock song.

And speaking of ace rock songs, "Crosses" is the kind of song that gets a crowd going, no matter if you know the song or not. It has great hooks, driving guitar and violin, and it just sucks you in and gets you moving. Gorgeous, fist-pumping, fast-dancing, sing-along rock'n'roll music is "Crosses". And, for that matter, most of the second half of the album. There is not a bad track in the bunch.

"War of Letters" especially is in the same vein as "Crosses"--oh, just listening to this album through makes me hungry for a live show, makes me hungry for a rock'n'roll dance party. That's what this whole album is, that's the only way I can describe it. A rock'n'roll dance party that'll have you smiling the whole way through. I mean, come on, there's a xylophone. Who won't smile at a xylophone?

They do slow it down a bit with "Peyton & Perry", but the tone isn't lost at all. Maybe even better use is made of the non-standard rock band instruments, at the expense of Brad's guitar, until about two-and-a-half minutes in, when one of the most singularly beautiful moments on the album occurs, until the end of the track. Fight on, fight on, fight on.

It's just struck me, while listening to "Some Loud Thunder Clap..." that TGTGG kind of make me think of what would happen if Mark Mullane had been in The Unicorns. Especially with "Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife", there's that same apparently dark subject matter treated with a smile. ("If the coffin's rockin', don't come a-knockin'!") Not all the way through, of course, but they maintain the ability to do that. There is no low point to the album. It's just absolutely gold from beginning to end.

Rating: 9.5/10
Release: 14 July 2009

This entry can also be found at East Coast Overture. Check it out!

An East Coast Extravaganza! Really!

2009-07-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Now, last night there was a free show on the Boardwalk in uptown Saint John, in a celebration of the stroke of midnight on the 1st of July. (Me, I don't buy into this whole Canada Day celebration, but! Music is music!) Most of the lineup, too, was unremarkable, but two names on those posters had me awfully excited: The Got to Get Got and Joel Plaskett Emergency. The last few times I'd seen Joel play, it had been either solo or, most recently on his tour backing "Three", a rather interesting mostly-acoustic setup--but back with the Emergency, this had me excited. TGTGG sealed the deal. Oh, and it was free.

I missed most of the first act, Laurie Jones, but what I did hear was good enough. I liked her voice, I suppose. That's what you get when you start a show at 5:30, I guess.

Greg MacPherson, out of Winnipeg, has some ties to the Maritimes but I'm not entirely sure what they are. I think his wife may be from around these parts, but I'm not sure. Don't quote me on that. His set happened to happen at the same time as I was eating dinner, but I ate on the patio by the stage--Oh!

I should mention that this was at the waterfront in Saint John, on the Market Square Boardwalk, where we have a little stage built. It was an all-ages haven growing up in Saint John, and these days I can partake in the fare of one of the many pubs across from the stage--I think there are four!--and have a beer while the band plays.

In any case, during Greg's set I was sitting on the patio with a friend, having dinner. The sky looked slightly ominous. I rather liked his voice but his music left something to be lacking. Maybe if I had paid slightly more attention to the set it would have been more enjoyable--but I didn't hate it! And, as I said, I did rather enjoy his voice.

But really, what I was waiting for was Mark Mullane and The Got to Get Got. After Greg's set I finished my beer and headed up to the stage, as they were setting up. No Brad LaHead, as he is on tour with "his other band" (presumably Tomcat Combat, though I didn't know he was still in the band) so they played a one-guitar set. It still sounded absolutely ace. These guys know how to bring the rock, and get people moving. During the previous sets, very few people were standing at the stage and no one was moving. For this set, I'd guess about forty people were standing, and they really made us feel welcome--throwing CDs and t-shirts into the audience. It was a great experience, I'd say.

TGTGG did a really interesting one-guitar rendition of their song "Gettin' Dirty in the Afterlife", which you might know as a pretty rockin' ditty. They didn't slow it down, but rather they changed up the instrumentation, relying more on the cello and violin to drive the song. Even missing a member, there were still six people up there on stage, there was still a mighty full band. They even got everybody to yell along with the build-up in "Rattle Off", and it just turned into a wild cobblestone-and-brick dance party.

I might also note that they had pre-release copies of their new album, "Sahalee" available for sale, and played most of the tracks from that album (they opened, for instance, with "Bethpage Black" and I recall "Rare Rain" being a particularly rad performance--they didn't leave us longer-term fans hanging, though: they played "Tenerife" from their EP). A friend of mine bought one--but as a poor umemployed university student I couldn't shell out the $20, and just bought the $8 7" single. Which is on white vinyl. And is fantastic. Hunt one down--I hear they're in stores in Halifax.

The David Myles Band was up next--we had gone for a walk between sets and missed the start of his, but that was surely not a problem. He played an excruciatingly long set. At first, I was really enjoying his stuff. A dozen or so songs in, when he had begun to rely on new and obscure Bob Dylan covers (such as "Things Have Changed") it became tedious. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. He played probably for about 90 minutes. I will say this: he looked like he was having a fantastic time--the grin never left his face, which was nice--and the girl playing the electric piano was some kind of talented.

By this point it was dark, and the space in front of the stage was absolutely packed. There were definitely upwards of 200 people, and even that is probably an estimate on the low end of things. There were a lot of comings and goings during David's set, and then the next band started setting up the equipment. A friend of mine said to me, 'Joel Plaskett, handpicked by Paul McCartney to open his only Canadian tour date, still sets up his own gear'. I like that in a musician, but I don't think I'd trust other people handling my gear, anyway. Along with Dave and Chris (the Emergency), Joel was joined onstage by Rose Cousins, and someone who I consider a legend, but no one I've talked to has heard of.

Peter Elkas was once a Montrealer, but has made a new home for himself in Halifax. His old band, Local Rabbits, likewise made the move. This man come from away has made a real name for himself as a musician of the Maritimes over the last fifteen-or-so years, now engaged in a solo career and, it seems, as a member of Joel Plaskett's touring band. He acted as a multi-instrumentalist, handling the keys, the second guitar, and the harmonica.

They opened the set with, interestingly enough, the first Joel Plaskett song I'd ever heard, back in '03: "Work Out Fine". The set as a whole was a neat fusion of rocking out and folking out, as one might put it, and they covered material from all across his solo career. The usual suspects--"Fashionable People", "Nowhere With You", "Love This Town"... they were all represented, but so were some songs that I haven't heard live in years. I don't think I've seen Joel play "Come On, Teacher" since 2006.

The whole thing was just such a wonderful experience. Joel is a great entertainer, he knows how to make the crowd happy, and he's just got this awfully quirky stage persona. He always seems a bit awkward, to me, which is nice. It got a bit surreal when he and Rose did a duet on "Happen Now", just the two of them and their acoustic guitars--midway through the song, the skies opened up and it started to rain. Not a heavy rain, but a steady one. A refreshing rain. This took us to midnight, Joel counting us down with a broken clock... and then the show went on!

Like I said, it was a fantastic show, and it was great to see Joel rocking out again. Between the venue, the material, the weather--just everything, it made for one of my favourite Joel Plaskett concerts, anyway. I only wish I had pictures. Oh well, someone will supply me with them, I'm sure! And then they'll appear on this blog.

But for now, farewell!

CW

This entry is also available at NxEW.ca! Check it out!

You are a very good dancer. What is your name?

2009-06-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Back in January, during CHMA's Stereophonic festival, I mentioned that the live version of Woodhands' "Dancer" was oodles better than anything on record, and that Maylee's vocals were, in fact, sung by drummer Paul Banwatt.

I've come across a really tight-sounding live release of Dancer on iTunes, with Paul doing the vocals, so I thought I'd share it with you. When I've seen them live, it was about this long, too. Enjoy!

Woodhands - Dancer (Live)

Wake up on time; there's no one around.

2009-06-20T14:01:00.001-07:00

Wow. It has come to my attention that I've never really talked about The Got To Get Got in any sort of length on this blog. I have previously on the radio show, but never on the blog. How very very strange. I must remedy this situation immediatement.

In 2005, I went to my first Halifax Pop Explosion. I had just turned 17 and was restricted to the All Ages shows. Luckily for me there was a show, at the Pavillion (which some of you may know) headlined by Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, featuring bands like Halifax's Sharp Like Knives (billed as "five wicked dance parties each with the strength of ten wicked dance parties"! how could I say no?), Toronto's Femme Generation, and a post-breakup North of America come back to showcase their wares. And, holy mackerel, this was one of the best concerts my young self had been to. And Mark Mullane and North of America were a highlight, I bought their album and have treasured it since. It's a beautiful possession.

Fastforward a few years. North of America shows are few and far between--I'm not even sure when the last one was, and the band is effectively broken up. Mark has been working this new project, The Got to Get Got since about 2006 as a cross-country venture, with chapters in Halifax and Vancouver (though I understand most of them are now based in Halifax). In 2007, they put out effectively a split EP between the two chapters of the band, which is absolutely fantastic. Contact me if you want to hear more than just what I post, but "Blood Test" is on their myspace.

Anyway, now it's 2009, and they've been touring like wild. They played in Sackville and in Saint John in April (but I missed both shows, because I was so disorganised and never in town at the right time! Boo to me) and have a number of shows coming up in Halifax, Saint John, Ontario and Quebec to both hype up and support their new album, Sahalee, being released in mid-July. Check out that myspace link and see if they'll be in your area. It's not a show you ever ever ever want to miss. I've missed them twice. I'm kicking myself for it--so hard. So, enjoy their music, and maybe I'll even do a retro review of North of America's last album, sometime.

The Got To Get Got - Rattle Off
The Got To Get Got - No One Riots in Winter

As a side-note, many of the photographs on the band's myspace [and all of the photos used in this post] are of the band in places I love. All the more reason to call them awesome.

Also, please note that Adam Kierstead (the mustachioed man in the last photo) is not a member of the band, merely something of a god to the Saint John music scene. Thank you, and good night.

Sappyfest Spotlight #3: The Luyas

2009-06-19T03:22:00.001-07:00

So, I've decided to do up a series of posts showcasing Sappyfest performers, quick little writeups of shows I'm damned excited to see. And I guess a couple of them were written by mistake a week or two ago. So, here is number three!

Jessie Stein is probably best known for her being a part of Miracle Fortress's live show, but work apart from that impresses me far more. I'm not sure if I've ever talked about SS Cardiacs on this blog, but it's effectively her solo project, and it's wonderful. Jessie's voice just has this quality to it that I can't put my finger on, but it's something I can't get out of my head for days once I've heard it. And SS Cardiacs' "Noo Noo (In A Foreign Dialect)" is almost always stuck in my head. However, this isn't about SS Cardiacs. This is about the Luyas.

For the Luyas, Jessie is accompanied by Pietro Amato (on the FRENCH HORN and other various instruments) and Stefan Schneider playing the drums. It's a beautiful sound, I wish I could do it more justice. You really just have to hear Jessie's voice, put over top of her guitars and Pietro's french horn and glockenspiel--it's one of the most beautiful combinations of sounds I've ever heard. I never like so give these things genre labels, especially with 'indie' being so broad these days. I would once have called them Montreal indie rock, but those days are done. You'll just have to hear it for yourself--so, here, give it a listen.

The Luyas - Flickering Lights (will likely fail you)
The Luyas - Quelle Horreur

I don't know much about an upcoming album, just some little references to it. Their website looks like it hasn't been updated since 2007, and their last myspace blog was from Pop Montreal in October of last year. But I did hear tell somewhere of a new album being birthed as we speak. So, keep them ears peeled.

Sappyfest happens in Sackville, NB from July 31st to August 2nd, au même temps as the OK.Quoi?! Art festival, starting on the 27th of July.

You're a wrecking ball in a summer dress.

2009-06-18T05:33:00.000-07:00

As an addendum to my last post, and if I can figure out how to embed video, I give you the single most Maritimey music video in the history of music videos!

Joel Plaskett's Through & Through & Through

Canada Day Countdown

2009-06-18T05:11:00.000-07:00

We have another concert on the horizon!

For the past few years, on the 30th of June, down at the boardwalk overlooking Saint John Harbour, there's been an all afternoon, evening, and night of music, and in the past we've seen some big names in East Coast music. In 2006, The Trews and the Tom Fun Orchestra did their things; 2007 saw Wintersleep, Two Hours Traffic, and Jimmy Swift; and in 2008 brought in In-Flight Safety and Hey Rosetta!

Well, it's that time of year again, and this time around we're seeing one of the biggest names in East Coast music, Mr Joel Plaskett himself, advertised as playing with the Emergency. He's just wrapped up a very different tour, which I caught back in April, where he played with his father, Ana Egge, and Rose Cousins. The Joel Plaskett Emergency, though, is a rock band in the truest sense, and though the show in April was the best Joel Plaskett show I've ever seen, I'm really looking forward to him bringing back the rock.

I'm almost more excited, though, about The Got To Get Got. They played in Sackville for Last Class Bash--a show that I missed due to being in Saint John to see Snailhouse. TGTGG are set to release next month my most anticipated album in a good long while. Their debut EP is absolute gold, and the new tracks I've heard are better still. TGTGG are ex-North of America (who I caught at the HPX in 2005, and loved every minute) Mark Mullane and a huge assortment of others, based both out of Halifax and Vancouver. I am beyond excited for their set.

The other acts, I know nothing about, but hopefully they don't disappoint. If you're over 19, and want to catch a great evening of music, head on down to the Boardwalk for an outdoor extravaganza in the heart of the city. There will be beer.

Who the HELL samples Paul Anka?

2009-06-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

I've honestly never been this let down by an album. Not once. Never have such high hopes based on someone's previous work been dashed so immediately.

Graham Van Pelt generally produces incredible music. The first Think About Life album was genius, and Miracle Fortress's Pink Roses was absolute gold. But this...

I'm talking about the new Think About Life record, Family. At first, I liked the cover art. This was my first introduction to the album. I thought it was cute in its simplicity and the lack of effort--a Wal-Mart family photo with the album title over top in cardboard paper. But I have to say--they put more effort into the artwork than the album itself, or so it feels. These songs feel cobbled together. The opening track, Johanna, it sounds like the Think About Life boys dug into their old funk collection and started spinning discs at random, not really worrying about how they mesh together. This is followed by a complete travesty of a song, Havin' My Baby which samples from--wait for it!--Paul Anka, while maintaining this horribly depressing attempt at mashing up their own music and production with what sounds like bargain bin vinyl.

A friend of mine described it as "they just decided to sing over unused Avalanches songs". It's almost all downhill from there. These tracks at best sound like some half-assed tribute to bad 1980s pop music--there's even a synthesized harpsichord in there. Normally, I'd be welcome to the melding of two of my favourite sounds, but instead I'm fairly certain Graham just pulled out the Value Village Casio keyboard. This is not nearly the same record as the self-titled debut--yet it's still in the Polaris Prize long list for this year. I sincerely hope it doesn't make the shortlist. That would be a problem.

There is one track, Sofa-Bed, which might make it on to a mix tape or a radio show of mine someday, but it's the equivalent of seeing a paper cup on top of a pile of styrofoam--it's only good by comparison. It would easily be the worst song on the debut album. It's one of these tunes that I can only describe as, musically, an ode to the 80s, and all that was campy and wrong. The lyrics are derivative and boring. Sigh. What more can I say?

If you're looking for the same Graham Van Pelt from Miracle Fortress, or even the first Think About Life record, don't look here. If you're willing to, as I have, stick it out and listen to it from start to finish, I wish you luck. I've honestly never been more disappointed by an album, and I had to deal with Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight.

Think About Life - Havin' My Baby
Think About Life - Sofa-Bed

Rating: 2/10
Released: 26 May 2009

My dog is repaired.

2009-06-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

He's better.

That is all.

My dog is damaged.

2009-06-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know what's wrong with him or what happened to him, but this has me really worried. He barely makes a sound, he barely moves, he won't eat. He just sits there, looking hurt, looking depressed. Sort of like Rover Hendrix in that episode of the Simpsons. You know? Just deflated and sad.

I don't know what to do.

Mail call!

2009-06-09T12:28:00.001-07:00

Today is a good day.

Update.

2009-06-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Blogging takes a back seat to job hunting and sleeping all day and watching Craig Ferguson.

But: here are some albums I'm listening to at the moment:

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire - Oh, The Grandeur!
Beirut - March of the Zapotec
The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls
Ghost Bees - Tasseomancy
Islands - Return to the Sea
Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights
Tegan & Sara - If It Was You

They're all of them gold. So, look them up or something. I don't know.

sappyfest addendum numéro deux

2009-06-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about Phil Elvrum.

He's been making music that the world's heard for about a decade, now. Let's call it lo-fi magic. and The Microphones and Mount Eerie have put out some of the best of the genre in my opinion (and in the opinion of many others, really).

Most recently, along with Sackville's Julie Doiron and Fred Squire, both ex-Shotgun & Jaybird, he put out an album called Lost Wisdom under the Mount Eerie name, which even ever-more-crotchety-old-man-esque Pitchfork named among its best new music for the year, and gave an 8.3/10 rating. Me, I'd give it a 9. Maybe I'll actually review it sometime. The album is such that in December, when I hosted a Christmas concert in my basement, a song (You Swan Go On) from this few-month-old record was covered. It's a beautiful song, and was a pretty decent cover. Maybe I'll put up that Christmas do sometime, as it's been recorded.

Anyway, Phil is coming to Sappyfest. I am very much hoping he'll take to the stage with Fred and Julie, as I imagine most are. This is just another reason why we can call Sappyfest the little festival that could--with the hype over Lost Wisdom, I'd imagine about now everybody wants Phil to show up.

Oh, this is going to be too good.

sappyfest addendum numero uno

2009-06-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'd just like to make a quick little addition here.

I am stoked, and I mean absolutely steam engine ready to burst stoked, that Saint John has a representative in the Sappyfest lineup, especially in the form of Mr Adam Mowery. It's been a while since I've seen him perform but I bumped into him last week at one show or another and we discussed the joys and wonders of Sackville.

He's a brilliant musician, and his newest record, Port City Burning, is available a few places around town. I know I saw it at Backstreet Records.

You can also check out his myspace where his featured tracks from an Eric's Trip tribute album and a Superfriendz tribute album can be heard. This kid is something else.

lovers always lose. suck it up.

2009-06-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

TODAY saw the initial announcement of the SappyFest #4 line-up, and I have to say it's made today the best day in a long time. You can find the entire lineup as it's been presented at the Sappy Records website but I'm going to go over a little bit of it here, personal favourites and the like.

As the poster says! SappyFest is happening from July 31st to August 2nd in Sackville, NB, at various venues. Last year it was George's Fabulous Roadhouse, the Vogue Theatre, the Sackville United Church, and a mainstage tent on Bridge Street, with some ancillary action going on at Struts Gallery. I can only assume we're going to see the same thing this year, which will be beyond fab. So beyond fab!

So who will you see if you spend the $50 for the early bird weekend pass, available for the next two weeks from TicketPro? Well! First of all, Julie Doiron will be kicking around as she usually is, being one of the driving forces behind the festival (along with Paul Henderson). She'll be playing solo and also with Eric's Trip, who I hope need no introduction. Me, I'm a maritimer who has never seen Eric's Trip, so I am beyond stoked for that show. For those of you who don't know them, try to hunt down their albums Love Tara or Purple Blue, two personal favourites. Sub Pop records, mid '90s; a hard-rocking flannel-wearing good time.

A second headliner of sorts (though it's all pretty communal) is the Dan Bejar vessel Destroyer. Now, I've never seen Destroyer live, but I've been listening to him for a few years now, and I'm mighty excited for that show, too. You might call what he does 'chamber pop' but I'm not really one for using genres to describe what people do. The only real way to do it is by sound. I guess I'm not really cut out to be a music blogger, I love music far too much! But, I digress. Once, I heard Bejar's voice described as sounding like that villain Professor Hinkle from the old Frosty the Snowman TV special. I'd call this description apt. Apt, and hilarious!

I'm awfully psyched about Ohbijou playing. They're an indie pop outfit with lots of strings fronted by miss Casey Mecija. They're second LP, Beacons, has just been released today. Once I get ahold of it, and if I'm feeling particularly industrious, expect a review! I'm not sure when I'll get my hands on it, though. Between the Sappyfest announcement and the new album, today is a great day for Ohbijou fans. Hopefully, though, they don't just stick to new material at the festival! One way or another, though, I'm psyched to finally see them live.

Given their newfound connection to Sackville's Shotgun Jimmie (who is also playing!) it's no surprise that Attack in Black is back for another edition of Sappyfest. It has me wondering, though, will I get to see I'm A Rock, their new duet with Julie Doiron, live on stage? I picked up a 7" at a Shotgun Jimmie show back in December with that track on it, and hell, it's more worn out than any other piece of vinyl I own. Beautiful song, absolutely beautiful.

Speaking of possible duets, $100 are back for another year at Sappy, and now their Simone Fornow has given us a duet with Shotgun Jimmie on his new record, Still Jimmie. The track is called Quicksand, and in my mind it's one of the better tracks on the record. If you look down the blog at my review of that record, I think I've got it posted. Now, I've never seen $100, but this is a regret. Their album is one of my most-played, there's something about Simone's voice that I just can't shake, can't get out of my head. She has, honestly, the perfect voice for the tearful, beerful alt-country these guys put out.

No one else I've spoken with seems as excited about Timber Timbre as I am. Mostly, they just haven't heard of this Taylor Kirk project--but trust me, they will. He's currently on tour out in the West of Canada with Ghost Bees (who I'm hoping are one of the TBA acts... fingers crossed) and I think I'd describe him as a Canadian version of M. Ward. Though his new album (his first on Arts & Crafts) is a bit less folksy and a bit more traditional lo-fi, I'd still love to see him share a bill or even share the stage with Old Man Luedecke.

Oh, did I mention? Old Man Luedecke, one of my favourite concerts from the last year, he's playing once more. The last time I saw him was at the Vogue during the CHMA Stereophonic Fundraiser, when Julie opened for him. There is something so brilliant about this man and his banjo, something about him that can get a theatre full of people clapping and stomping and singing along. An Old Man Luedecke concert is an experience you just can't miss out on, it's one of the most beautiful things you can ever experience.

There are so many more who I want to talk about, but I'm running out of time and this thing is running long. Maybe I'll write an addendum to the post tomorrow. Anyway, be prepared to see Halifax's number one dance party Windom Earle, Stereophonic headliners Wintersleep, the ethereal Laura Borealis, as well as Ladyhawk, Snailhouse, Dog Day, Shapes & Sizes, and oodles more! See, just there, that could be an entire second post. Maybe it will be.

I'll see you all in Sackville.

You can say anything that you dare

2009-05-31T18:16:00.001-07:00

photo credit to will hopkins

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: my first concert review in a dog's age! I'm sorry I've been neglecting this blog so much, but I'm still trying to get used to life in Saint John. It's not very appealing, as you might guess. If you know anything about my relationship with my hometown, anyway.

Usually shows at a khord, in my experience--even Saturday night shows!--have a pretty sparse turnout. Not necessarily a bad turnout (though when I saw Hospital Grade and some others play there a few weeks ago, you would have been hard pressed to find more than a dozen people around, but then that was a Thursday) but just a lower turnout than what I'm used to at Sackville and Halifax shows. The mindset of the people, too, is different. But that's not what I'm on about. Maybe it will be another day, but not today!

I think it was the opening act that drew out a lot of the crowd, from things I overheard and such. It was a group that I think is called Three Sheet but I don't know much about them. At least one of them originally comes from Saint John, though, and maybe more... Anyway, they bill themselves as Halifax's only Live Hip-Hop band, that is to say that every sound they make is produced by a guitar, a bass, a beatboxer, and two MCs live on stage. For what it was, it was pretty decent stuff. They put on a good set, and if I'd had a better vantage point I might have been able to enjoy it more, but it wasn't a waste. I enjoyed them as much as I could, given the circumstances -- that is to say, the crowd noise made it impossible to make out what the bloke there was saying. They were a little unsuited as an opener to the headliner, though.

So, enter Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees. Now, they had done a soundcheck a few hours earlier at about 11pm (by now it was nearly 1) but it took the gang a while to get things under control. This seems pretty standard for the venue. And I didn't really mind; I'd found a couple people to chat with by this point. The show started, though, and out poured the electro goodness from Colin's synth setup. I had been worried that once they heard what the headliner sounded like, a good deal of the crowd would bail. And, of course, a few did, from the back end of the crowd. But, up where I was, everybody just danced like mad. Now, it's here that Saint John bothers me a little. People are a lot more selfish and pushy and just plain angry 'round these parts when it comes to dancing. I think it comes from a generation that grew up on hardcore shows. Oh well.

Rebekah et al put on one hell of a show. She was a little trashed, but that didn't hurt the performance even a little bit. The quality was gold. Gold, like Jason Vautour's gold lamé pants. The last time I saw these guys, it had been in the CHMA offices back in Sackville--a completely different sort of scene. Here, in a proper venue, with an actual stage, the whole thing behaved differently. Rebekah was so into and connected with the crowd, between the crowd-surfing, the feeding us with whiskey, and everything else that went on, it's clear she knows how to interact with the crowd to give everyone what they want.

Personally, I can't really decide which show I liked better for their performance. On the whole, of course, I preferred the Sackville show, just for the sheer quality of both acts. This one, though, RJATTB put on an absolutely balls-out performance, so much more intense than I've seen them before. For just the RJATTB set, I'd call this one the better one. The sound quality may not have been as good, and it was a full 8 hours later in the day, but, well, holy shit. They made all the detriments seem like nothing. The lousy crowd mentality vanished almost instantly, everybody, I think, fell in love a little bit with the band. It was certainly the best show I've seen at a khord since the Tom Fun Orchestra in December.

In short: Ruby Jean killed. Awesome show. Abso-fucking-lutely awesome, and not one I'll forget any time soon. It was Rebekah's stage (and off-stage) presence that was the real kicker for me; she's everything a band's frontwoman should be. Right down to the wardrobe changes mid-show and a bottle of something always in her hand. By the end of the show she was barely upright most of the time, crouching or lying on the stage, else out in the crowd, but her performance didn't suffer one bit. The opposite, really: it made everything that much greater.

I only wish I could put into words the sheer awesome fantabulosity of last night's show. But, I think, it was one of those that you'd have to be there to appreciate it fully.

It's fashionable to be single in big cities but not in small towns.

2009-05-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a dream about blogging. It was a specific record review, so I'm going to do that.

I've also been to a lot of awesome shows lately, so you might see concert reviews popping up here and there. But probably not. You know. Summertime. Lazy.

So! There's this band from Regina, goes by the name of Rah Rah. They haven't always been but has as of late turned themselves into a six-piece, rotating instrumental duties both in studio and in concert. The band's undergone a significant metamorphosis from their beginnings as a three-member event, Marshall and Erin and a favourite around this blog, Kyrie Kristmanson. Now, she's since left the band to do her own thing, I don't know the details exactly, but she does appear on the album.

Anyway, I saw them on Thursday night as part of their joint-headlining East Meets West tour with Halifax's Sleepless Nights. Now, they played apparent second-fiddle in playing before Sleepless Nights, but they put on a much better live show, the most endearing thing I've seen. Six of them up there, rotating around on drums and synthesizer and bass, with the violin player and guitarists sticking to their guns. They dressed the stage so beautifully, and in the middle of the climax of their last song-- BANG! Confetti shot out all over the crowd. But I'll go into all of that in more detail in a concert review. This is about the album!

Now, I'd never heard of the band before I saw them live. I love discoveries like this. I also love $10 CDs, and am ultra-glad I had the money on hand to make the purchase, because this is really climbing my personal rotation charts. Going Steady is, to me, the sound of basement singalongs and a little bit of heartbreak. It's little things like this that I like best about the Canadian music scene. The songs that the band has created for this album are at the same time adorable and heartbreaking, recorded by a five-piece band on a sugar high with tambourines and violins and hula hoops. Maybe you're tired of this boy-girl indie pop, but I'm not, and Rah Rah stands out from the pack, to me. You know, decide for yourself. You can find them on myspace and twitter.

I want to say more about the album. Standout tracks? Betrayal Pt. 2 is my favourite on the album, I'd say, but it's close. Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel is up there, too. The whole album is fab, I say look into finding it. Duet is a real piece of work, with the vocal tradeoff and all. Erin's voice is something special, I really enjoy it maybe even too much. Kyrie makes an appearance on Winter Sun, making for another great track. This is my long-awaited return to blogging, it's not going to be perfect!

Anyway, the whole record and experience of Rah Rah is something that I don't want anybody to miss out on. More bands need their violins and keyboards to start spontaneous walking-man dance parties.

Rah Rah - Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel
Rah Rah - Winter Sun
Rah Rah - Betrayal, Pt. 2

Rating: 8/10
Released: 20 September 2008

VIC20-1583

2009-05-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Fats Waller
1942

Side A
Two Sleepy People
Piano and Vocal: Thomas "Fats" Waller

Side B
The Minor Drag
Fats Waller, Piano; Arville Harris, Clarinet and Alto Sax; Charlie Gains, Trumpet; Charlie Ervis, Trombone; Eddie Cendon, Banjo.

(click the image or here to download)

A new direction

2009-05-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

I've decided to do something new with this blog, for a little while at least.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I'm going to be posting a digitised download of something out of my record collection. I'm gleaning from my grandparents' collections, most of which came under my control upon their deaths. That is to say: I have a load of golden oldies in the realms of jazz, vocal pop, and even a few musicals. As well as my own personal collection, which I've collected by popping into a record shop at every chance I get.

So think of this as a sort of vinyl-sharing blog whose blogger has a faulty spacebar.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

My first upload is one of my favourites, it's gotten a lot of play time, and I'd been meaning to put it on the air as soon as I find an excuse. So, enjoy!

Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra
1943

Side A:
I Didn't Know About You
Vocal Refrain: Joya Sherrill

Side B:
I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues
Vocal Refrain: Al Hibbler with Kay Davis

(click the image or here to download)

2009-04-13

2009-04-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-04-13

1. Matt & Chris Time - The Town Circus
2. Mama Rosin - Le Pistolet
3. The Tom Fun Orchestra - Heart Attack in an Old Motel
4. Leonard Cohen - Dress Rehearsal Rag
5. Amelia Curran - You Won't Find Me
6. Gary Flanagan - Computer Control
7. Share - Soil
8. Snailhouse - Dollar Signs
9. Pete Samples - Written in Code
10. Po' Girl - Dig Me A Hole
11. Jill Barber - Old Flame
12. Forest City Lovers - Pirates (Can't All Sail the Indian Ocean)
13. Ketch Harbour Wolves - Leaves
14. Boxer the Horse - Rocknroll Band
15. Rich Aucoin - At War With The Cynics (An Opening)
16. Geoff Berner - Clown & Bard

I returned to a complaint over calling Leonard Cohen a poet, rather than a songwriter, as he makes it very clear that he is a songwriter. I hereby apologise both to Megan and to Mr Cohen, and the mistake shall not again be made!

While I was out...

2009-04-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

SHOWS I HAVEN'T BLOGGED ABOUT (YET)

22 March, 2009: The Weakerthans + Constantines at George's Fabulous Roadhouse, Sackville NB.

28 March, 2009: Pat LePoidevin, Jay Crocker + the Slate Pacific at Struts Gallery, Sackville NB.
(Plans fell through, didn't make it there)

3 April, 2009: Al Tuck, Ryan Cook + Grass Mountain Hobos at George's Fabulous Roadhouse, Sackville NB.
(Plans fell through, didn't make it there)

4 April 2009: Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland, Amelia Curran + Corey Isenor at George's Fabulous Roadhouse, Sackville NB.

9 April 2009: Snailhouse + Share at The Shadow Lawn Inn, Rothesay NB.

UPCOMING SHOWS

11 April 2009: Neil Young at Harbour Station, Saint John NB.
(Hopefully)

21 April 2009: B.A. Johnston + Horses at Bridgeport Falls, Sackville NB.

23 April 2009: Joel Plaskett at the Imperial Theatre, Saint John NB.

30 April 2009: Hey Rosetta! + Rich Aucoin at George's Fabulous Roadhouse
(Hopefully)

2009-04-06

2009-04-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-04-06

1. Malajube - Ursuline
2. Jenn Grant - Take A Number
3. Rick White - The Clock
4. controller.controller - Watch
5. Spiral Beach - Made of Stone
6. Barracuda Sunrise - Made of Stone
7. North of America - Keep It On The Download
8. SS Cardiacs - Noo Noo (In A Foreign Dialect)
9. The Barmitzvah Brothers - Wake Up
10. Neon Tetra - Hidden Secret
11. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Frank, AB
12. Snailhouse - (Not) Superstitious
13. The Burning Hell - Dinosaurs
14. The Got To Get Got - Rattle Off
15. Shotgun Jimmie - Deep in the Heart
16. Bry Webb - Big Smoke

Still not updating the blog, still epic essay-writing time. Sorry. Found out today that my blog is linked from the Stereophonic festival page at the chma website. Pretty awesome, I say.

2009-03-30

2009-03-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-03-30

1. Old Man Luedecke - Salute to the Gold River
2. Mother Mother - Hayloft
3. Weezer - Pink Triangle
4. The Stolen Minks - I Hate You
5. Joel Plaskett - Through & Through & Through
6. The DoneFors - In A Cornfield
7. $100 - No Great Leap
8. CFCF - Colour Dreams
9. Constantines - Young Offenders
10. Eric's Trip - My Room
11. Joel Plaskett - Sailor's Eyes
12. Christopher Durning - Louie Knocking at the Gates
13. Old Man Luedecke - In the Beginning
14. Joel Plaskett - Deny, Deny, Deny
15. The Tom Fun Orchestra - Bottom of the River
16. Krista Muir - Leave Alight

sorry for the lack of bloggage, it's that time of year again and all my words are going towards essays. i'll be back in a week or two!

2009-03-23

2009-03-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-03-23

1. Henri Fabergé & the Adorables - The Goddamn Light
2. The Balconies - Rest Up
3. Sean Nicholas Savage - She's The Sun
4. Josh Reichmann Oracle Band - Trade Names
5. Smothered in Hugs - At The Coat Check
6. Krista Muir - Letters
7. Julie Doiron - Borrowed Minivans
8. Construction & Destruction - Ring Around The Moon
9. Shotgun Jimmie - Quicksand
10. The World Provider & Feist - Valentine
11. Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
12. The Weakerthans - Tournament of Hearts
13. 1990s - I Don't Even Know What That Is
14. The Deep Dark Woods - Nancy
15. United Steel Workers of Montreal - Place St. Henri

this show was completely spur of the moment. i forgot my prepared CDs at home, and therefore had to run with what was available to me in the booth. thankfully, there was quite a bit, and i managed a pretty decent show, wouldn't you say?

Concert Etiquette.

2009-03-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm doing this apart from the actual concert review because I don't want to taint it with this bad vibe, and have to get it out. The concert itself was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

However, it made me think: there should be a mandatory high school class taught on concert etiquette. Where I was standing, fairly near the stage, there was one girl who was taking up the space of four people, all her swaying and moving around, and bumping into me incessantly even when those around her weren't moving the tiniest bit. On the other hand, and the other side of me, was the opposite: a man who would not budge, no matter what. I was trapped here, between this girl who took far too much room and bumped against me again and again and this fellow who felt it was his duty to stand completely still and not budge an inch. Ugh. Learn to be middle of the road, people.

And, as a former concert venue organiser, this is one of my biggest pet peeves: when the band is playing, you do not open your mouth unless it is to sing along or cough. Especially when you are in close proximity to the stage, and thus the performers. I was about two or three feet away from the stage, and during both headlining sets, there were these people around me on most sides, getting progressively drunker, carrying out conversations loud enough to be heard over the music, particularly during the more subdued songs. Augh, people.

That said, the concert was wonderful. This did not detract from it in the slightest. Lesser concerts, it would, but I wasn't letting anything get me down. Not when I was seeing Constantines and the Weakerthans.

Record Nostalgia.

2009-03-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Left and leaving isn't my favourite Weakerthans album, but it was my first. It was 2002, and I had just started my high school life. It was my first purchase at Backstreet Records, which has become my favourite record store, and the favourite of many. It cost me $8.99, still sealed in plastic, at that point still their latest album (Reconstruction Site being still a year on the horizon).

From the first tentative steps of Everything Must Go!, I knew I was in love. As soon as the drums kick in about half a minute into the song, the beauty overwhelms me, and it just keeps on building. John's lyrics are more than gorgeous. Their complexity, their oddity, so different than anything I'd known up to that point. (If you'll recall, until I reached high school, I was a bit of a dweeb when it came to music). But then! Then comes Aside, which has the same beauty, the same lyrical complexity, but the sound of it stays true to the band's punk roots: roaring distortion, interspersed with the... oh, it's so hard for me to analyse an album I've loved for all my music-loving life. I'm leaning on this broken fence between past and present tense. It's beautiful. It's punk! It's punk in its everything that it is except for genre.

The album just continues on the upward trajectory. Every song shows everything that the Weakerthans are, and can be. There is no low point to the album. They're all just high points, varying degrees of wonderful. I don't know what I should do with my hands when I talk to you, and you don't know where you should look, so you look at my hands. It's not all lyrical complexity. Some, like that bit from Pamphleteer, are beautiful in their simplicity, beautiful in their universal application. The album is a masterpiece, and every masterpiece has a keystone. In Left and Leaving's case, it has two.

The first one we come across is the title track, which is in my mind one of the greatest Canadian songs. I can't say anything about it that hasn't already been said. It is as much about Winnipeg and John's relationship with it as it is about any individual and his relationship with his hometown, the people there, the whole of the sentiment. I'm listening to it now, and I simply can't think straight or even see straight. The song has such a profound effect on me, and I'm sure if you've heard it you know what I mean. In the liner notes, the lyrics begin with an epigraph by Catherine Hunter, and I think this exemplifies anything you need to know, but I can't put forward for this effect it has on me:

and for a moment both of you believe
you can hear the city breathing

you are both tired, you want to be done

The other cornerstone, at the end of the record, is My Favourite Chords. This is the first Weakerthans song ever did I hear, and has stuck with me since. This is the song that sent me hunting after the album, this is the song that created my love affair with the band. It is simple, it is adorable, it is terrifying, it is beautiful. This is what music should be. I can't do any of this justice. I am so sorry for writing this, this inconsequential little nothing, because my trying to express my love for this album comes up so short. I am a faulty string of blue christmas lights [...] I'm blinking off and on and off again.

I'm seeing the Weakerthans tonight, for the first time.

Rating: 10/10
Released: 25 July 2000

Paper Bag Records strikes again.

2009-03-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

We've been hearing Mike Silver's remixes under the name CFCF for a while now, and one original track, Crystal Mines, showed up on the last Paper Bag Records Sampler. Now in 2009 comes his debut EP, Panesian Nights, which is one of the most solid instrumental electroclash records I have ever heard.

Crystal Mines had been the stand-out track for me on that sampler which I had picked up either at a Laura Barrett show or a Woodhands show (I forget which it was to be entirely honest) and the whole record lives up to expectations I'd put forward.

Throughout Mike falls on to the Atari-like sounds that might remind you of Crystal Castles (who he, of course, has remixed) but with more depth than Alice & Ethan, by which I mean it is not exclusively the 8-bit synth. Don't get me wrong, I love Crystal Castles, but the way Mike has expanded his available sounds here while staying true to the genre really makes for enjoyable listening. It's always good to know that someone with such incredible remixing talent also has this creative talent of his own--taking the work of others and making it, in most cases, better, as well as creating his own works of beauty.

The album is available on iTunes for the very reasonable price of $4.99. I suggest you make the investment.

CFCF - Sogni Rossi
CFCF - Colour Dreams

Rating: 9/10
Released: 20 January 2009

The world is twice as round, the sky is twice as blue.

2009-03-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

Malcolm Fraser, better known as the one man band The World Provider, has been making music between Toronto and Montreal for a decade, with roots in the same collective that spawned superstars Feist and Peaches. I'll admit, before picking up the record, I had never heard of him, but I'm curious now to hear more. He's been steadily releasing records over the last decade years, and this latest endeavour caught my eye from the CHMA shelf, advertising itself as a "Super-fun activity book". The album itself is titled Hard Feelings and is an altogether enjoyable listen.

It does, however, shoot itself in the foot. The music is solid synth-rock and genuinely appealing, but he's made the mistake of opening with the single greatest duet track I've heard since Shotgun Jimmie's Bedhead: a little ditty titled Valentine, featuring old pal Leslie Feist. The song is beautiful, and really makes a good example of Fraser's idiosyncratic approach to vocals. I really can't explain the effect it has on me.

The rest of the album is definitely solid, with a few stand-out tracks, namely Happy Endings and the title track, Hard Feelings, but it takes me the better part of the album just to get over the wonder and joy that is that first track. He's put together a quirky and idiosyncratic record here, and I'll call myself a fan. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of his overuse of falsetto, or quasi-falsetto, or whatever it is he's doing with his voice throughout so much of it, but one way or another he puts the sound forward that he is a wacky guy who has held the tradition of that collective (which, as I mentioned, produced Peaches). The off-kilter quality of the album is what makes it notable, and I think you ought to take a look more in-depth into this fellow's music. I know I will.

The World Provider & Feist - Valentine
The World Provider - Entertainment Law

Rating: 6.5/10
Released: 25 November 2008
his myspace is here

There has always been a light.

2009-03-18T15:24:00.001-07:00

What can I said that hasn't already been said about Jim? He's a little bit quirky, a little bit eccentric, a little bit silly... all things that I think embody Sackville, and I think Jim is one of the reasons they do. He and Fred brought so much of what I love about Sackville back with them from Dawson City (not least of which being Shotgun & Jaybird) and what was already here they helped grow. I don't think that Sackville would be the town it is with the aura it has without Shotgun & Jaybird, all of them, Jim, Fred, Paul, Julie... but I'm running away with myself. This is a post about the new record, nothing more.

So then what is the new record? It's mighty different from The Onlys, which in turn was mighty different from The 6000 True Stories of Love, so it can be said that Jim is a bit of a chameleon. (If I ever run out of new stuff to review, watch for retro reviews of these guys coming up..) Still Jimmie is a harder, more cynical record. I think this is best displayed in how these two records start out.

Duet starts: "Let me play you a song, and if you like it you can sing along, and if we make it all the way through it, we'll do it again but then we'll call it a duet." vs. Mind Crumb's "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm super-fine. I'm tired, I'm tired, tired all the time. Go back, go back, go back anytime; go back to find: did we really mess it up?" and this really sets the tone for the record. Don't get me wrong. I love the record, I'm not trying to put it down. But the guitars are so much more powerful, and the underlying theme seems like longingly looking into the rear-view mirror as you're driving away from something you loved but just couldn't bear anymore.

Last time out, we had an unforgettable and adorablue duet on The Onlys featuring Ilse Kramer. This time around, we have another duet, this time with $100's Simone Fornow, and if you know anything about $100 or Fornow's voice, you know to expect nothing close to Bedhead as far as Quicksand is concerned. That said, it is a beautiful and sad tune, and I for one think that their styles and voices complement each other fabulously. It fits with the tone of the album. I like that, the album really does function as a whole, a cohesive and beautiful whole. Good job, Jim. Good job.

The guitars come in much harder on this record, but none of Jim's quirkiness is lost. The songwriting is still the same, like the title says, he's Still Jimmie. Used Parts sounds like it could be on The Onlys, its a perfect indication of that Jim we know and love: "Good luck building buildings for bored historians, or finding used parts for your Delorean". Come on, he references both Deloreans and Bricklins in the same song, who else do we know who could do that? He's still the same fella, giving us the same thing he's always given us. The subject matter may have changed, but his delivery has remained unchanged. This is a fantastic album, and if you haven't heard of Shotgun Jimmie yet, you should look into him! Check out his myspace. You won't be disappointed.

Shotgun Jimmie - Waist Deep In The Water
Shotgun Jimmie - I Asked Cupid

Rating: 8.5/10
Released: 10 March 2009

Holy shit, that's a harpsichord.

2009-03-18T10:38:00.001-07:00

My first reaction on hearing the track Trade Names from Josh Reichmann Oracle Band's new LP, Crazy Power was "holy shit, that's a harpsichord."

I'm really not sure how to describe this record. It's one of those sounds that escapes definition, and uses every bit of instrumentation under the sun. Reichmann uses tried and true alternative/indie rock stylings that make me want to call him Canada's answer to Stephen Malkmus.

Making music since the turn of the century, Josh put out this latest endeavour last week on Paper Bag Records, home of such blog favourites as Laura Barrett and Woodhands. I actually first heard him through a sampler available at a Laura Barrett, and was at least a little bit impressed. That track was straightforward enough, especially on the compilation I found it on, filled with all sorts of oddities. The album as a whole, however, is downright bizarre. The instrumentation is as varied as I've ever heard; I can't even identify every instrument utilised. He draws from every musical tradition, I imagine, that he could get his hands on, and the selection of sounds seems to me like a far too curious 12-year-old music student at an overstocked band room. In a good way.

The track Time Chimes is perhaps the most accessible of the album's tracks, with little of the odd instrument choice present in most of the album, sticking for the most part to old standards. This, to me, just speaks to his drawing on every possible tradition. His songwriting reminds me of early Andrew Bird, but I couldn't tell you why at all. This is some of the most singularly quirky music I have heard, and I'm falling more in love with it each time I listen to the album through. You might just hear it on my show if you tune in some night.

Josh Reichmann Oracle Band - Sea At Night
Josh Reichmann Oracle Band - Aztec Hive

Rating: 8/10
Released: 10 March 2009
find them on myspace

I'm in complete control.

2009-03-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

The album closes with a track called Fighting, Fucking & Cars. That's a rock & roll song title, that is.

The Job claim to channel the 70s with their retro punk rock sound. I'll give them that. They definitely channel 70s Mancs, or South London--they sound like they could be born and bred there, come up through the estate housing with no hopes (see Killer). But no, they're out of a different London--London, Ontario.

From suburban Ontario you might expect a faux-punk sound the likes of what we've seen for the last fifteen years on MuchMusic and MTV, but this isn't that. They don't so much for me elicit a comparison to classic punk as to modern garage rock. I'm thinking of The Libertines and the off-shoot thereof, Dirty Pretty Things.

I found The Job's self-titled full-length (where else?) in the booth at CHMA. The cover of the album [pictured] screamed "punk" at me, but I still wasn't sure what to expect. You know all those bands who think they're punk rock, who claim to be punk rock, and in the end just come up short, but from the start of the first track, The Night, I knew this was what I'd been looking for. Sloppy, screaming guitars and the vocals... well, you have to hear! Now, I have no idea of these cats' attitude, but their music screams punk. Not the overtly anarcho-political punk that has defined the genre in my mind but it still has that Sid Vicious-esque sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll kick to it. I like the album a lot. I haven't heard new punkish rock this good since the first Dirty Pretty Things record.

They're on myspace. Check them out.

The Job - Ten Times
The Job - Problem

Rating: 7.5/10
Released: recently (can't find a release date anywhere)

Where are you from-- or, better yet, where are your parents from?

2009-03-17T10:39:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to write a review of this record since I heard it a week ago, but I've been a little bit preoccupied with schoolwork and the like. Alors, here we go!

I found this record, Contraries by Joanna Chapman-Smith, on the new arrivals shelf in the CHMA booth. I could swear it was almost tailor-made for me. If you know me at all, you know that my three favourite instruments are the synthesizer, the accordion, and the clarinet. Now, it's true, there's no synthesizer on Contraries, but Joanna's instruments of choice are in fact the accordion and the clarinet. The girl hails from Vancouver, educated extensively in music and with oodles of experience from all I can tell.

Her voice reminds me a little bit of Sarah Slean. You can hear the latin and jazz influences clearly, and it's an altogether beautiful find. I've mentioned my random record-listening sometimes turns up gold; this is one of those bits of gold that turns up. The highlight of the record for me I played on my show last night: Arbitrary Lines. A friend of mine said, when I played it, that it reminded her of gypsy jazz. I can hear that, especially in the guitar work. This is truly the work of someone who knows music inside and out, and I'm going to call myself a good fan.

It's very jazzy, more often than not, but not straight jazz. Think of what Regina Spektor does to jazz, and throw in some Sarah Slean. And an accordion. And a clarinet. And Vancouver--for we all know Vancouver breeds some unique musical styles. There's another remembrance that I can't quite pinpoint that this elicits in me. Tailor-made for me, though--this is my taste down to the tiniest point. This record is gorgeous, and I urge you all to check out Joanna's myspace [link above] and give it a listen.

It turns out that Contraries is her second record. She has a previous release called Eyre Corvidae which I believe is Latin for Crow's Nest. I wonder if it's kicking around the CHMA Library? I would love to take a listen to it; if it's anything like Contraries, I'll fall a little bit in love with it, too.

Give it a listen. Come on. Check the myspace if you don't want to try the tracks I've put up. Give it a whirl. You won't be disappointed.

Come on. Listen!

Joanna Chapman-Smith - A Glass of Right & Wrong

Rating: 8.5/10
Released: 17 February 2009

2009-03-16

2009-03-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-03-16

1. The Bicycles - B-B-Bicycles
2. Jenny Omnichord & Old Man Luedecke - My Baby's Pregnant
3. Joanna Chapman-Smith - Arbitrary Lines
4. Julie Doiron - When Brakes Get Wet
5. The Bicycles - I Know We Have To Be Apart
6. Gentleman Reg - You Can't Get It Back
7. Constantines - Trans Canada
8. Pants & Tie - Washing Machine
9. The Bicycles - Oh No, It's Love
10. Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
11. Snailhouse - Salvation Army
12. The Tom Fun Orchestra - Marshall Applewhite
13. The Hylozoists - Bras d'Or Lakes
14. Pine Tarts - Étoiles
15. Adam Mowery - I'm Forever Diggin' Where the Well Went Dry
16. The Bicycles - Please Don't Go
17. Sebastien Grainger - By Cover Of Night (Fire Fight)
18. The Bicycles - End Of A Good Thing

Today, as it may be apparent, I bid a farewell to The Bicycles, who played what they have called probably their last show together ever on Friday night. [Cue: tear up]

We'll let our hearts do the talking.

2009-03-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day is Julie Doiron's best work. Better even in my mind than Love Tara, that quintissential Eric's Trip record. Better than any previous solo recording, better as a whole than any Shotgun & Jaybird (but there is some overlap, will mention this). Better as a whole record than anything I've heard by her, and it'll be hard-pressed to be beaten as my best album of 2009. Very hard-pressed.

I love this album with every little bit of me. When I first heard it, I listened to it through and could not give 100% to anything else, so I just gave up and listened. And then I listened again. And then I listened a third time, the album the whole way through. It is gorgeous, it is heartfelt, it is a beautiful mix of new and old, of cute and sincere.

There are, I think, three Shotgun & Jaybird songs on here, three that I recognise as Shotgun & Jaybird anyway: Spill Yer Lungs, Lovers of the World, and Borrowed Minivans. These are old gems, old classics, and I'm mighty glad to see them being exposed to a wider audience, and we'll get to see them live again with more consistency. The re-recording of Borrowed Minivans is delightful--it's my favourite S&J song that Julie sings on, and this recording sounds more... loose, more live, more natural.

The record as a whole is solid, and it runs the gamut of everything about Julie we know and love. There are the cute tracks: Life of Dreams, opening the record; Nice to Come Home, an absolutely adorable song about sharedness and distance; Glad to Be Alive, closing the album, which is my new pick-me-up of a song. You can't help but smile to these ones, they're just those which will slap a silly smile on your face.

Heavy Snow sounds as though it could be on Broken Girl or Loneliest in the Morning, that classic Julie sound; the sad songs. It wouldn't be a Julie Doiron album without sad songs, would it? Along with Blue, these fill that requisite, and fill it oh so well. Blue sounds unlike anything else she's recorded, layered and lovely, and sad to its very core--the closest similarity I can find is her work last year with Mount Eerie.

Consolation Prize, which I imagine most of you have heard by now, sounds like it could be off of an Eric's Trip record, but it has the clear markers of a Julie solo record, the little idiosyncracies of dropping a telephone...

There are stand-out tracks. They aren't necessarily the best on the record, but they stand out above the others for one reason or another. I can't really discern why. They are in fact two of my favourite tracks on the album, but I haven't really decided on what my favourite tracks actually are... Anyway, Tailor has this beautiful sound to it, this is what Julie's voice is made for. The melody is beautiful, the lyrics are adorable, everything is wonderful. I'm just exuding joy consistently at the listening of this. In the running for my favourite track of the album, though, is When Brakes Get Wet, a short little tune that you can hear if you tune into my radio show tomorrow night. The instrumentation is beautiful, the stereo percussion and what I can only assume are kneeslaps. This is Sackville music. It's such a beautiful story, such a beautiful sentiment, such a beautiful everything.

I love this album. Thank you, Julie, for giving this to the world. Almost 20 years into your career, you're still making the most beautiful music that could possibly be made.

I'm not sharing this music on my blog, because I want you all to support her. You can purchase it from Amazon here and I imagine you can get it from iTunes, too. Like I said, listen to my radio show if you want a taste. Mondays at midnight (Atlantic) on CHMA 106.9 in Sackville, or listen to the webstream here.

Rating: 10/10
Released: 10 March 2009
all of this town seems drunk tonight and i'm looking for your hand

Boourns, blogspot.

2009-03-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

At least give me a warning before you delete my posts. I could have just broken the hotlinks to the downloadable tracks and left the review up.

Thanks a lot.

Really Bad Music I

2009-03-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

I hear so much terrible music that I think I'll make a blog feature out of it. I don't know how frequently I'll do this, but I'll do it with some frequency, I hereby swear! Anyway, let's get it started.

While I'm on the air on CHMA, I have a habit of taking CDs at random off the shelf and ripping them to my hard drive before putting them back at the end of the evening, as a way of finding new music to play. You can only glean so much from concerts and Radio 3, after all. Once in a while, I find some absolute gold (The Magician, for instance, which I played this week, was discovered in this manner). For the most part, I find relatively average or somewhat good music which sits in my library until I find it again.

However, about as often as I find gold, I find the opposite, the 1st percentile rather than the 99th in terms of awesome. Last night, I found some of that.

The band? Calgary's Pine Tarts. The album? Their EP Faux Faves. The song? A cheerful little ditty titled 16/14, whose refrain is the lyric "She told me she was 16; she was only 14." It also includes the lyric "Said she was sweet 16 and I was sweet 27". The music is pretty standard punk fare, but with the most disgusting keyboard sounds I've ever heard put in along with it. The song does nothing for me, and it's really quite awful. I can only hope its meant ironically... but the music doesn't make up for it. No, not at all. And I'm a fan of punk music; I've broken my glasses in mosh pits. This, no sir. This is awful.

In the spirit of fairness, I'll upload the file so you yourselves can take a listen aussi:

Pine Tarts - 16/14

Bugs for breakfast! Bigger bugs for lunch!

2009-03-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm just getting around to all the album reviews that I missed when I was on a slight hiatus from posting... and just rather non-blogificationing. I don't know what I mean. Well, this is a beautiful album. It's simply beautiful.

Jenny Omnichord (Jenny Mitchell) recently put out Charlotte or Otis: Duets for Children, their Parents, and Other People, Too. The album is brilliant, with duets avec Andy Swan, Old Man Luedecke, and numerous others. There are eighteen tracks, each of them a different duet, and each one of them cute and darling and adorable. I believe she recently gave birth to a son, but I can't really find any information other than that. She was here, in Sackville, in the summertime, very pregnant, so I'm going on that. Anyway, she has celebrated this new phase of her life with this record--songs about parenthood and about childhood, about dinkies and about eating bugs, and even about the discovery of mortality. It is a beautiful album, altogether.

The most touching track on the album I think is What Happens To Animals, a duet with Mathias Korn from The Burning Hell, which details a child's discovery of the truth behind his pets' disappearances, with the help of his mother. Its beautiful and sad and speaks to the end of innocence, which is a far cry from a previous track. Planet Zorn, with Kim Barlow, is for the most part about eating bugs, and the lyrics in this post's title come therefrom.

Apart from this album in particular, Jenny plays as a multi-instrumentalist for The Barmitzvah Brothers, and this solo project is herself playing an omnichord, which is a delightful little electronic instrument which I'm falling in love with more every day.

Tune in to CHMA 106.9FM in Sackville, and you'll likely hear some of Jenny, or check out her myspace, or anything of the sort. This album is a gorgeous work of art, and will make you smile no matter how down you're feeling. Especially these two last tracks I'm putting up. Both of them are so dreamy and happy. Enjoy!

Jenny Omnichord - My Baby's Pregnant (with Old Man Luedecke)
Jenny Omnichord - Charlotte or Otis (with Andy Magoffin)

2009-03-09

2009-03-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-03-09

1. Islands - Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby
2. $100 - Nothing's Alright
3. White Rabbit - Sincerity
4. The First Aid Kit - New York City
5. Joel Plaskett - True Patriot Love
6. Laura Barrett - Senior & the Blob
7. Woodhands - Be Back Soon
8. The Magician - NJ vs. NJM
9. Attack in Black & Julie Doiron - I'm A Rock
10. Slow Down, Molasses - Fucking Up
11. The Carousels - Miles Past the Ghost
12. Julie Doiron - Consolation Prize
13. Shotgun Jimmie - Used Parts
14. Pat LePoidevin - Toumba, Texas

We are the harmless sociopaths.

2009-03-09T10:31:00.001-07:00

Now, up to this point, almost all the music I've put up here, almost all the music I review has been Canadian, and has been stuff I've seen live. This is not. This is Andrew Bird.

I've finally given his new album, Noble Beast, a chance. Recently his stuff has been a bit disappointing to me. I first heard him as a sometimes-member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers and took a peek into his work with his band Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, which was the same sort of swing revival music. His last album, Armchair Apocrypha, disappointed me. I'm not entirely sure why. The Bowl of Fire stuff was excellent, aside from The Swimming Hour which bored me... and The Mysterious Production of Eggs was delightful. Maybe it's just a matter of a meh album and then good album and then a meh album and then a good album.

Noble Beast is a good album. Hell, it's a great album. Classically trained violinist doing beautiful indie music, that's what Andrew Bird is up to. Beautiful music, soothing. He has redeemed himself in my eyes. From the onset of Oh No, the first track, I knew that I was in for a treat. He is a gifted songwriter with an obvious love of words, and obscure words at that. From Tenuousness:

"'Tenuous at best' was all he had to say when pressed about the rest of it; the world that is. From proto-Sanskrit Minoans to Porto-centric Lisboans, Greek Cypriots and harbour-sorts who hang around in quotes a lot."

The play with words and sounds! It's not even a lot of nonsense, but to grasp at these relations that don't quite go together, the rhythm and the sound, holy cow, mate, holy cow. An awful lot of the tracks end on cold stops, which I like a lot. The constant wall of sound collapses almost unexpectedly without so much as a cry and the next track begins. Gorgeousness, sheer gorgeousness!

You simply must take a listen. It's unlike most things you've heard, I promise you. This album was released in late January. When you listen, really listen. Listen to those words, listen to all those sounds, those varied sounds all juxtaposed in such a way as never known. This man has a gift, and on this latest album, holy mackerel does it ever work!

Andrew Bird - Effigy
Andrew Bird - Not A Robot, But A Ghost

Words are the only currency left to trade in.

2009-03-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

Second disappointing turnout in a row to George's. That's okay, of course. The weather was a little rotten so the turnout is understandable, both times. But nonetheless! More of you cats need to turn out to these things. You're going out on a friday night for this, that, or the other, you ought to come out and for $5 see some fan-fucking-tastic music! Because tonight's music was fan-fucking-tastic. Just putting that out there.

So! When I got there, being the only person there for a while, the start of the night was pushed back slightly. 10:45? 11:00 maybe? Anyway, the night started out with The Bad Arts, a band that sounded more Halifax than Halifax itself, channelling the high-energy alt-rock of their predecessors. I knew the frontman years ago in Saint John, he really seems to have carved out a great performing style for himself. I liked them well enough. Well, who am I kidding? I liked them a lot. For a three-piece, they brought the rock.

Then, after a quick set-up break, Rich Aucoin started his set. Hardly anyone can make me (and everyone, so it appeared) as happy with music. But, it's not just music, is it? It's synthesizers and balloons and old movies projected on to a sheet. It's everything that joy is made of, wholly and entirely. His continuing use of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, even after a cease and desist order was put out, never fails to make me smile. And the music is so damned danceable! Don't believe me? See for yourself. Of course, recordings don't half do justice to the live show. If you ever have a chance to see this man perform, take it. It is an experience unlike any other. His use of the projector, playing old movie clips and How The Grinch Stole Christmas with his music synced up thereto... holy mackerel. Holy. Mackerel.

Rich Aucoin - A.L.I.V.E.
Rich Aucoin - At War With The Cynics (An Opening)

The First Aid Kit then played, again sounding very Halifax. They seemed to me a little generic at first, but through the course of the set they really did grow on me. Now and again, when a refrain would come up in a song, the synth player (I believe her name is Amy) would hold up a brightly coloured sign with the lyrics painted on it. "In Times Like These" or simply "Oh!". They put on a good show, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not as good as Rich, but still very good, and a lot of fun. They interacted well with the crowd, even though it was awfully small, and just made for an enjoyable end to the evening. All was well.

The First Aid Kit - New York City
The First Aid Kit - Rooftops

Watchmen

2009-03-05T23:44:00.000-08:00

As promised, I'm giving a review of Watchmen without giving much away.

I give it a solid 6 out of 10. As a stand-alone movie, it was good. Not the best thing in the world, but good. As an adaptation of the graphic novel, it left a lot wanting. Not so much for things it left out (which was a lot) but for things slightly changed and the presentation, especially creating the characters so fucking one-dimensionally. Uncool. Totally uncool. This is not the actors' faults. The actors were fantastic, the casting was brilliant. The little easter eggs left for fans of the book, too, little details, they were nice to see, but really, who are you kidding? My biggest qualm in terms of absenses was not as may be suspected the squid, but rather something much more small and yet so perfect to the vision of what Watchmen is: the silhouette in the alleyway of the couple embracing, as if imprinted there by a nuclear blast. Completely missing. There was also a tendency to overwork the violence and gore--I don't have to go any farther than Rorschach's first kill for that. Overuse of slow-mo, but from the man who brought us 300, this was not unexpected. Far too much foreshadowing of Veidt's villiany, which was not at all present in the book.

I will give it this: the opening credits were the best opening credits ever I have seen, and the greatest part of the film. I knew then that I would be let down by the remainder.

That is all. Now to the shower!

2009-03-02

2009-03-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-03-02

PART ONE
1. Greenbelt Collective - This Hill Used To Be A Valley
2. Jenn Grant - Heartbreaker
3. Constantines & Feist - Islands in the Stream
4. The RAA - Sleep All Day
5. The Superfantastics - Van Gogh
6. New Royalty - Midday Sun
7. Geoff Berner - Fukher
8. Olenka & the Autumn Lovers - Flash in the Pan
9. Jenny Owen Youngs - Hot in Here
10. Pete Samples - And All The Kids Smile
11. The Weakerthans - Left & Leaving

PART TWO
1. Something French - I Am A Microphone
2. United Steelworkers of Montreal - For Love And Your Mother's Sake
3. Boxer the Horse - Snowflake
4. Shotgun Jimmie - Sparkelution
5. The Tom Fun Orchestra - Behind the Fence
6. Ghost Bees - Tear Tassle Ogre Heart
7. Laura Barrett - Deception Island Optimists' Club
8. Wooden Wives - Gonna Hafta Die Blues
9. Wintersleep - Assembly Lines
10. Corey Isenor - Oh No!
11. John Connolly - Miramichi
12. Rich Aucoin - A.L.I.V.E.
13. The Craft Economy - Big Purse, Lil' Dog
14. New Order - Temptation

I flicker off and on and off again.

2009-03-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for not posting a whole lot. We've been hit by a couple of ice storms, and power has been in and out, and sometimes even when we do have power, internet services have been down. On top of this, classes haven't been cancelled, so I've been a mess of busitude. That said, the next concert I'm going to is this Friday... and tomorrow night I'm seeing Watchmen, so I might do a special film review post. This is all just me talking about nothing. So! I'll get my post count up. You just watch.

Sorry about that.

2009-03-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

So, I vanished for a week. And a little more. I like to think I was living in a cave, or something similar. I did take in a show, and I'll tell you about it some time. But for now, I have work to do, so here, have some Pete Samples to hold you over until my next post.

Pete Samples - Between Exhales
Pete Samples - And That's The Kind Of Day That Its Been

You can find his two most recent albums for free download at his website.

Let's drink to the boys that we all left behind.

2009-02-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

Last night, I made my way out to George's for a show that no one seemed to know whether it started at 9 or at 10. I got there a little bit after 9, and it was quite obvious that it wasn't starting then, but that didn't really matter. I just sat and drank. But before I knew it, it was 10, and the sound check was just getting underway. Still next to no one in the whole of the Roadhouse. It wasn't until nearly 11 that a small crowd of about 15-20 people showed up and the band got underway. The opening act, due to a storm, couldn't make it, so the United Steelworkers of Montreal played a double set.

Now I really liked these guys. There are six of them, creating a mess of acoustic guitar and mandolin and banjo and accordion and playing some simply wonderful blue-collar union country music. The personality of the live show and Gern's over-the-top shouting and banter, it's incredible. He's a big hulking tattooed man with a little travel guitar, and on the other side of the stage you have the red-haired vixen that is Felicity with her accordion and equally harsh voice. I loved the show, just loved it. I'll be seeing them again next week in Saint John, and I really can't wait.

USWM - The Ballad of Mary Gallagher
USWM - Three Hard Knocks

The dead dead children were worth it: Vancouver/Whistler Olympic Games!

2009-02-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

SUCH a fantastic concert, holy mackerel. I don't know where to start.

I'll give you this much and retire for the night: Geoff's set started off with a bottle of Jameson being passed around the audience and then back to the band. Singularly wonderful stuff, this concert was. The quote in the title is from a song about government cutbacks..

Now here I am, writing a day on, and still a little bit in awe of the whole thing. Between and amidst songs, Geoff would make little comments here and there, stop the music and get to talking. The whole thing was just so amusing, so much fun to be around. The atmosphere at Struts, with the carpets down etc, it made it feel like it was just these guys playing in somebody's basement. It was the three of them, Geoff Berner with his accordion and singing, Diona Davies on the fiddle and Wayne Adams with a djembe and cymbals. The three of them work so well together, they're all just so damned talented, and so much fun. Stories were interspersed on the subject of eastern-european tours and just, my word. Diona's fiddling was magical, it really was. I don't know how else to describe it. But I'm in love with the fiddle, and with the accordion... songs about drinking, songs about smoking, songs about living hard. Folk music, real folk music, played in a dirty klezmer tradition. He held the audience, his good-hearted stories and sarcasm and wit and alcohol. The songs have a piquancy, if I can turn a phrase, that make them so wonderful to hear.

That, and the fact that the crowd was in stitches through half the show, make this one of the best I've yet been to. I'll upload music sometime. Keep an eye peeled.

THINGS IS FABULOUS

2009-02-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Today, CBC Radio 3 has announced the Top 10 live music venues in Canada.

The list has been pared down from 100 over the last little while, per votes at their website. Finding the best club is going to be done the same way.

George's Fabulous Roadhouse, right here in Sackville, has made the Top 10.

Get to the site and vote your pretty little fingers off!

Another blast from the past.

2009-02-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hawksley Workman was my gateway drug into real music. I first heard him when I was in grade 7 or grade 8, and really got into his music in 2002 when I got to high school, and got myself a copy of The Delicious Wolves. When I saw him, I forget if this was when I did in 2004 or when I almost did in 2005 but the show was cancelled at the last minute, I picked up an album of early recordings he'd done, back in 1998, and just put out. For one who thinks The Delicious Wolves/Almost A Full Moon were the last good albums he put out, this was exciting. And the music is delicious. So now I'm going to share a couple of tracks with you. Do enjoy.

Hawksley Workman - Every Creepy Pusher
Hawksley Workman - I Can Be A Rock
Hawksley Workman - Your Naked Body

Things.

2009-02-17T16:26:00.000-08:00

Life, it's strange. I'm not a big fan of some of the things in my life, at the moment. There are enough beautiful things to make it worthwhile, but, you know, some things should just be evacuated from my world. Take them away! Off with their heads! &c.

I also wish things would clean themselves. And papers would write themselves. And midterms would un-exist. And lots of things. I wish people were in different stages of living, different stages of life.

I wish I could just live music. That would be beautiful..

2009-02-16

2009-02-16T22:31:00.001-08:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-02-16

1. The Tom Fun Orchestra - Last of the Curious Thieves
2. Adam Mowery - Dead Teenagers
3. Joel Plaskett - Down At The Khyber
4. Alicia Penney - So What Do You Think?
5. The Weakerthans - One Great City!
6. Boxer the Horse - Jackson Leftfield
7. Olenka & the Autumn Lovers - Soldier's Waltz
8. Geoff Berner - The Whiskey
9. Old Man Luedecke - Big Group Breakfast
10. Matt & Chris Time - That Someone Special
11. The Superfantastics - Lullaby Punches
12. Kyrie Kristmanson - Jump
13. Shotgun & Jaybird - Re:Tired
14. The Port City Allstars - Jenny With the High Socks
15. Hey Rosetta! - Handshake the Gangster

I've got to stay alive and drunk and unemployed.

2009-02-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday, 18 February, Geoff Berner is playing at Struts Gallery, assumedly around 8. I can't find a time for this anywhere. I've given his latest albums a few listens, and it's enthralling.

He's an accordion-player from Vancouver whose mandate is to "drag klezmer music kicking and screaming back to the bars". Really, this is all that really needs to be said. He plays jewish klezmer music in a three-piece with a violinist and a drummer, but with the mind-set of punk music. It strikes me as having a lot in common with ska, but maybe I'm just crazy. I'll write a full review after the show, but for now you'll have to settle for a couple of songs. Take a listen! Enjoy the music! Come out to Struts!

Geoff Berner - Fukher
Geoff Berner - No Tobacco

Stay Fabulous, Sackville!

2009-02-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

Surely you've read by now if you have any history following this blog of George's Fabulous Roadhouse. It's one of a few venues for music here in Sackville, and I rated it my best of 2008. Jason Collett, the Tom Fun Orchestra, Justin Rutledge, Wintersleep, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, Plants & Animals, and countless countless others!

Fact is, the CBC has picked up on the awesomeitude of George's, and in a Radio 3 contest has first named it among the 100 best venues in the country, subject to voting and then becoming one of the 50 best, and it has recently made the cut, along with only two other East Coast venues (none in Halifax!), to the TOP 20 in Canada! Voting is now on from this Top 20 list to discover the best venue in Canada, and you can vote in the poll here. Please note: you will have to sign up for a Radio 3 account, but it only took me about two minutes, so it's not that difficult!

For those of you in Sackville, this Friday night there is a concert at George's, featuring he who has been dubbed Sackville's mascot, Shotgun Jimmie, alongside Construction & Destruction and Roy Earlington. Come out and cheer on George's Roadhouse for the title of Best Live Music Venue in Canada!

Your voice is stronger than most, raised in a toast to longing

2009-02-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

This post has been a long time coming. Olenka & the Autumn Lovers have been the band to leave the biggest mark on me without hearing the album before seeing them live. The music has an eastern-european feel, hailing out of London, Ontario and Vancouver, BC.

Alexandra (or Olenka, may as well call her by her stage name, but I don't do it for Fred, so who knows..) was there at the front of the stage, wearing a knit sweater and workboots, her hair bleached blonde--she herself is such an interesting and distinctive frontpiece to the band. Her foot started stomping on that wooden stage at George's, the music began with the glockenspiel and the accordion, and her voice, oh my gosh the woman's voice! You'll hear, if you take a look at the songs I'm putting up... but it is at the same time fragile and powerful, damaged and warbling and beautiful. The band as an ensemble works perfectly, the bandmates acting as a chorus (which you just don't hear enough these days) and just everything about this act was brilliant. The songwriting, both in terms of the music and the lyrics, is phenomenal, evoking the eastern european heritage of the writer. A friend remarked to me at the time that Iron Pump is written in 7/4 time, and it creates just... oh, its one of those ethereal things. The whole song is. I could get lost in her voice, in the music, in everything. This is what we need more of.

If you'll remember, I ranked their full-length as the 9th best album of 2008. It is brilliant. Available through CD Baby and iTunes. Check it out, and their myspace! The highlight for me on the album is a track called Soldier's Waltz. Starting with that intro, the plucked strings and the accordion and the glockenspiel, and cutting into some of the most beautiful lyrics I've ever heard [See the blog title]. Do not let yourself miss out on this group. They are among my favourites about which I've blogged, and, like I said in a previous post, the reason that concert was the second best of the year was not just an exceptional Tom Fun Orchestra set, but hearing Olenka & the Autumn Lovers for the first time, and falling absolutely in love.

Oh, Canadian music, shall you never fail me?

Blast from the past III

2009-02-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Way back when vampires disintegrated in the sunlight, I went down to Halifax for a tour of Dalhousie University. The open house weekend happened to coincide with the Halifax Pop Explosion--my first Halifax Pop Explosion! This was 2005. I was 17. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, I found out, they were playing an all ages show as part of the Pop Explosion. Obviously, I convinced my compatriots to accompany me to this evening of awesomesauce and beards.

Sharp Like Knives, I've talked about before. I think. I've played them on my radio show, anyhow.
Femme Generation, I've talked about before.

North of America, however, I've overlooked.

Their last record was put out in 2003, and that was technically the end of the band, but they've come back together a few times since then, most notably for that 2005 tour with Ted Leo, ending on the HPX date. They sound like the turn of the millennium. They sound like everything you once loved, and hopefully still do. They're a gateway drug, they're a straight-up indie rock band who put on an awesome high-energy show, when I saw them. Totally fab. I hear they reunited again at last year's HPX, but I missed them. I have no regrets about my 2008 HPX experience, though. I would like to see them again, though, and see how they're holding up four years on.

The show closed with a massive clusterfuck, I don't know what else to call it. Ted Leo and his band were on stage and joined by the whole of North of America--which means two drumkits were on stage--and members from the other bands got up there, too. They played something incredible, but this old brain, he ain't what he used to be, and can't remember what that song was. All I know is Ted disappeared at the end of it. Just vanished. Pouf!

North of America - Let's Get Sick To Our Stomachs
North of America - Keep It On The Download

2009-02-09

2009-02-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-02-09

1. The Tom Fun Orchestra - Throw Me To The Rats
2. Jenocide - Powerhouse
3. Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees - Girls You Love
4. New Royalty - Buttercup
5. The Organizers - Our Expedition Goes Missing
6. Matt & Chris Time - Lucy & Disasters, Too
7. Old Man Luedecke - Ain't Goin' My Way
8. Jenn Grant - Parachutes
9. Clinton Charlton - Unamused
10. Julie Doiron - Snow Falls In November
11. Al Tuck - That's How She Goes
12. Construction & Destruction - Thresheld

Apparently we had some technical difficulties on our web stream. So: I'm sorry! Out of my control.

For those of you who did hear, my guest host was Neil Bonner, who is applying for the Tuesday/11pm slot. If he gets a show, it will be absolutely ace. So, you know, keep your ears peeled.

You said you were going to a party in St John's.

2009-02-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

I just had the chance to hear Jenn Grant's new record, Echoes. As hard as it seems to believe, I found it to be so much more wonderful than Orchestra for the Moon ever could have dreamt of being. Everything on this one, Jenn's voice, the instrumentation and arrangements, the songwriting, everything about it is so much more than the previous. It floats all through the folk and country spectrum like her previous one, but does such a wonderful job. The first time I heard Orchestra, yeah, I fell in love, but I did skip over a few tracks. With Echoes, there is none of that. Every track is solid. Every track is golden. I'm having a hard time deciding which of them to put up here, to be honest. Really, you should run out as soon as you can and pick up this record. Have your local record store order it in, if you can't find it, or order it yourself online. Check out Jenn's myspace and take in the music there. This album is such a thing of beauty. And like I said, I loved Orchestra for the Moon... but this! This takes my breath away.

Its hard for me to, like I said, pick a highlight out of the record but if I had to I think it would be I Was Your Woman, which reminds me quite a bit of Sarah Slean (whom I adore). Jenn's voice is at its best here, showing off that quality that made me fall in love with it. I can't even describe the sound she creates, it's something words just can't do justice to. And the music!

She also throws a Neil Young cover on the album in the form of Only Love Can Break Your Heart, and I think I'm going to make that a blog tag because it comes up so frequently. I would put it up here, but then I'd feel like I was sharing too much. Go buy the album!

Jenn Grant - Heartbreaker
Jenn Grant - Parachutes
Jenn Grant - (I've Got) the Two of You

I'm going to leave it there. I have things to do. I'll say that Fireflies reminds me a lot of Dreamer, from Orchestra, but Dreamer 2.0, a vast improvement on that one. But now, adios! And do tune in tonight at midnight (atlantic time) to CHMA in Sackville for my radio programme!

Absence.

2009-02-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

I've been gone from the blogosphere a while due to a death in the family. I will be on the air tomorrow. I will post daily next week, so as to balance out the manquage.

Listen in, Mondays at midnight (atlantic time!).

So this is the fate of the great north woods.

2009-02-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine happened to mention this guy, this John Connolly, during a conversation about the wonders of the music of the Maritimes, and I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a musician so quickly. This is the sound of the Maritimes, coming straight out of Charlottetown. This bloke makes roots-rock, country-blues, whatever you want to call it, you know the sound. It's beautiful. The voice, it's stunning. His myspace describes him as Springsteen-esque, and I can hear it--but not the Springsteen of the "Born" songs (to Run and in the USA), the ordinary guy & his guitar Springsteen. I'm also told he's won 2008 Album of the Year at the PEI Music Awards for his self-titled record (which is brilliant), and I hope the rest of the country becomes more aware of this man and his music. His is the sort that really could have a broad appeal, the ability to jump into that sort of Gordie Sampson quasi-mainstreamivity, without changing a thing about the music.

The album is solid as a whole, but there are a few stand-out tracks. It opens on what I think is probably the best song of the genre I've heard in a long time. For Old Time's Sake is a beautiful example of what this radio programming director's son is leaning toward calling crossover-country; the breathy (and in Morgan's words, "manly") vocals on this track and all through the record is the top selling point for me, I think. He's put on here a folk ballad about the Miramichi and its current state, its current problems, I'd even call it a protest song. "This old town's being broken down since the paper mill is closed." It gives me chills, I don't even know why. The song is just so impressive in any way, so says this New Brunswicker. I suppose you'd call a lot of the music backward-looking, focussed on the near past or the distant past, and I like this, as a history major & family historian, this is the mindset I tend to take--maybe that's part of the appeal, for me.

So Morgan, thank you for turning me on to this record, this musician. It's absolutely gorgeous and I simply cannot get enough of it.

John Connolly - Indian Summer

2009-02-02

2009-02-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-02-02

1. London Symphony Orchestra - The Final Countdown
2. The Fedoras - The Pocket Song
3. Eric's Trip - Eyes Shut
4. John Connolly - For Old Time's Sake
5. Hey Rosetta! - Yes! Yes! Yes!
6. Laura Barrett - Rien à déclarer
7. Adam Mowery - Shavin' With A Dull Razor
8. Sebastien Grainger - Love Can Be So Mean
9. Femme Generation - Semper Fi, Little Guy
10. Hilotrons - Emergency Street
11. Rebekah Higgs - My Feet
12. Port City - Just Another Dollar, Just Another Dime
13. Okkervil River - Omie Wise
14. Ghost Bees - Goldfish & Metermaids

My second show was kind of a mess, but I'm told I sounded nice. I also experimented with background music for PSA reading. Which put me on a game show. Oh, Herb Alpert!

Topics I meant to bring up but didn't:
The Groundhog Gale
More of the Halifax Pop Explosion: The Rural Alberta Advantage
The Weakerthans/Constantines at George's, tickets on sale!

I'd like to rest my head on yours with the horses right there beside us.

2009-02-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

Last night was interesting and slightly spur of the moment. I hadn't decided whether or not I was going to the concert until about an hour before I left. I'm glad I made the decision to go, though. It was an altogether beautiful night, I think, and rather a perfect start to this perfect month that will be February.

George's is a little bit of a walk from anywhere, it's well down the road, but every time I've made that walk it's been worth it. This time, the snow was coming down, but not so heavily as it could be noticed. Just heavily enough to be lovely, that snow that is beautiful and unnoticed as an inhibitor to anything. And then I arrived.

The show opened up with what might as well be CHMA's house band: Field Museum, who had recorded a little EP especially for the occasion. The band is Mark Brownlee, Matt Sarty, and now Corey Isenor. It was a pretty decent three-piece rock show, and it looked to me like they had an awful lot of fun up there. I, as I do, picked up one of their records. Production quality isn't the greatest, as is to be expected, but it's a good little recording, I think. And they put on a good show. And they're good guys. So, take a listen to their myspace or to this track here:

Field Museum - Kids in Town

Pat LePoidevin, I honestly never know what to say about this fellow. He makes some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. This time it was just him, his guitar, and his ukulele. And his looper pedal, of course. He creates such beautiful, layered sound, and his voice is to die for. The most beautiful part, I think, was when we as the crowd began singing along. His album doesn't come out until March 13th, but just about everyone there knows his music. Oh, Sackville, you fosterer of beauty, of community, of music! Even hungover Pat was too pleased by the singing of his words back to him by the crowd, his joy was apparent. The atmosphere in that place became so... perfect. I don't know how better to describe it. The communal joy...

Pat LePoidevin - Toumba, Texas

I'll be honest. Before his set started, I had never before heard the night's headliner, Justin Rutledge, but apparently he's kind of a big deal. His Neil Young-sounding folk music was interspersed with stories about inappropriate jokes, about Halifax Donairs, about Michael Ondaatje (with whom he is collaborating on a 'production'), after which he proceeded to play a song written about Cooper, a professional gambler from Ondaatje's novel Divisadero. At a later point in the night, he called Pat on stage for an impromptu cover of Neil Young's Harvest, with Pat playing his tin whistle to Justin's guitar and voice. It was quite a lovely cover, it must be said. I'm still overflowing with the joy of that night and the magic of symmetry, as you likely can tell. The night ended on a sing-along, dozens of us sat on the floor around the stage there in George's Roadhouse, and Justin sat on the edge of it, feeding us the words to Don't Be So Mean, Jellybean as we sang them out. It was a lovely moment in time, and a lovely cap to the night. I am almost too glad that I made the last-minute decision to get out to this show... simply beautiful.

Luke Surl Comics

2009-01-30T15:27:00.000-08:00

Something I stumbled upon on the interwebs. I'm finally branching out from xkcd and garfieldminusgarfield!

The website can be found here!

ON THE HIIIGHWAAAY TO THE DANGER ZONE

2009-01-29T21:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I get sad. Yes! Even me!

But when I get sad, I have a sure-fire solution. And a back-up sure-fire solution, when the sure-fire solution is unattainable.

To quit my being sad and return to my usual degree of epic awesomeitude, I do nothing more than pop my Top Gun DVD into the player and chill with Mav and Goose. However, after his breakup, I lent my Top Gun DVD to an old friend. He still hasn't gotten it back to me. If you read this blog, bro, and I hope you do, I want my Top Gun back. Soon. So nights like this don't require a back-up.

My back-up is, of course, my Get Psyched mix CD + playlist. It includes the most important part of Top Gun, that being Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone. Track 3. Other highlights: Jump (track 2), Tom Sawyer (track 8), The Final Countdown (track 10), Eye of the Tiger (track 14), Song 2 (track 17), Don't Stop Believin' (track 20), and You Give Love A Bad Name to open the whole thing up. Awesome. This is how you keep things awesome, bloggees: Arena Rock.

And scotch.

February.

2009-01-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

Something magical is going to happen. I'm convinced of it.

This February is the first month since 1998 to be a perfect rectangle on a calendar. Look at it. Every Saturday is a multiple of 7, and it consists of 28 days. Sunday to Saturday, Sunday to Saturday, Sunday to Saturday, Sunday to Saturday, done. It hasn't happened since 1998 and won't again until 2015. It's an aesthetically pleasing month and the rarity of such a thing, oh I don't know.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at your calendar. It's so beautiful and symmetrical (which gives me hope for Wednesdays, being the axis! And I love Wednesdays anyway). Maybe this is just my own version of superstition, but to hell with that. I'm convinced that February is going to be a beautiful, magical month, specifically Wednesdays and Saturdays, and if you try to tell me otherwise I just won't believe it. Okay? Okay!

2009-01-26

2009-01-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but I'm really focussing on my studies at the moment. I'll write a rant or a review of one of those albums I snatched from Sharon or something sometime soon, but not yet. Now I'll just give you a rundown of my first radio show.

THE MONDAY NIGHT SPECTACULAR
2009-01-26

1. The Port City Allstars - Pettin' Dogs
2. Sharp Like Knives - Holy Gaud
3. New Royalty - Fluorescent
4. Wintersleep - Avalanche
5. Old Man Luedecke - Just Like A River
6. Jessie Kussin - Dodging Daggers
7. Kyrie Kristmanson - Oh, Montmartre
8. Matt & Chris Time - Lucy and Disasters, too
9. Woodhands - Dancer
10. Shotgun & Jaybird - Marquee Glass
11. The Tom Fun Orchestra - You Will Land With A Thud

Any questions about any of this music, where you can find it, etc, come to me. Or just google them, an awful lot of them have myspaces. Most of them, I should imagine. All of them, likely. Stay tuned next week for another block of absolute wonder from this strange man in your noise box.

MEDIA PROLIFERATION

2009-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Starting Monday, 26th January at MIDNIGHT

I, your faithful blogger, shall be ON THE AIR playing a selection of my favourite tunes from home and away. Something like 10-15% Saint John music, too. Be excited.

Mondays at midnight, tune in to CHMA 106.9 if you're in the Sackville area or here if you are anywhere else in the world--we do a webcast!

So, check it out. Playlists will be posted here the day after a show, so check it out!

Stereophonic, Day 5

2009-01-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

all photo credit to vanessa blackier

The final day of Stereophonic 6, on Tuesday January 20th, was a nice night, a nice concert, but it definitely had its downsides. But it was wonderful and an adequate culmination of the wonderfuliciousness that was Stereophonic. Personally, I preferred Friday night's show at the Vogue, but this was another fantastic show. Two of the acts I'd seen before (though one of them not for years) and the third act has been intriguing me for some time, and I'm glad I got to see them. But oh, where do I begin?

My friend Neil, who has been to all of these shows with me, and has been a sounding board for some of my reviews, took ill last night, and as such left the concert early. This was a little bit of a bummer, but I latched on to other friends and still made the night worthwhile from a personal standpoint. And Ian's message on the Friday's Special blackboard was still there. The mind, I suppose, remains a powerful trick.

I was a little bit excited about the first band on the lineup; I saw them back at the Halloween show and enjoyed them more than I really know how to say. Maybe I'm just a sucker for a synthesizer and a pretty girl, but New Royalty are definitely more than just a synthesizer and a pretty girl! There are two pretty girls. I missed the beginning of their set at Halloween, but the earliosity with which I arrived to the show and the length of time before the show started, I caught the whole thing this time. They're a wonderful lot on stage, friendly and fun, encouraging dancing and clapping, and they're coming off a PEI Music Award win for Best Pop Recording of the Year. These kids have promise! And I hope they keep playing together in some form once they disperse--the one record is not enough! And gosh, it's a cute record. You have to get your hands on it at some point. It's a 5-song EP, home-packaged, and the liner notes are just adorable as anything. The EP is titled "Sleepover!", and what do we do at sleepovers? Do any of you remember those little paper whatsits I and at least a few others remember as cootie catchers? The liner notes are folded into one of these, with the lyrics written on the inside flaps. Adorable! And wonderfully danceable synth-driven pop-rock which you have to check out. If I haven't directed you before to their myspace, go there now! Apparently they'll be playing in Halifax on the 7th of February... so check that out, if you can! And pick up that adorable little award-winning EP of theirs! I have, and definitely am not regretting it. If you cats end up reading this, I am officially a huge fan.

But both I and that first band were eagerly anticipating the next two. First came Plants and Animals out of Montréal, who I first heard when their record came out to a whole lot of celebratory gunfire in the blogosphere. These boys put on one hell of an awesometastic set, I thought, given there were only three of them up there on the stage at any given time. But holy mackerel, the sound that the three of them could pump out! Absolutely amazing. It might have had something to do with the epic pedal setup this multi-instrumentalist of theirs' had going on at his feet. They played quite a bit from the album, and also a couple of new songs which might one day be heard on a future recording. It was lovely to see and hear so much of the crowd singing along to so many of the songs, and they knew them so much better than I did. I could belt out a couple of them but some of these guys seemed like right proper devoted fans. I like seeing that kind of crowd reaction one hell of a lot, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Near the end of the set, for Bye, Bye, Bye, one of them set down his guitar, or his bass, or whatever he had in his hands at the time and picked up an auto-harp. This made me smile more than the crowd. Autoharps > Happy people. It's just a fact of life. Autoharps, you see, they create happy people, and thus by this productive quality are greater than the things they produce. Except the sounds. Oh, don't listen to me! I'm making no sense. The crowd reaction to the band was so rad that they came out and did an encore of one of my favourite tracks from the album, Mercy. They had the whole crowd, even those who didn't know their music, shouting M-E-R! C-Y! M-E-R! C-Y! It was a beautiful moment in flu-season Sackville. But of course, the show was not yet over. There was more to come.

The last time I saw Wintersleep was in 2007, on their tour promoting the then new Welcome to the Night Sky record. The first time I saw them was in 2005, at a release show for their then new untitled 2005 record. In the years since my first Wintersleep show, the band has grown, has gained national fame, has won ECMAs and Juno awards, and has changed. I'm not sure if this change is for good or for ill, even though I'm a big fan of their first two records. I picked up a clear-vinyl pressing of their debut record that night, the record from 2003 that got me into the band. To be frank, I can't get into Welcome to the Night Sky. I've tried. I've tried dozens of times, I've listened to the album through a number of times, but it just doesn't stick like the noodles I used to throw against the wall when I was a wee one. Sadly, they relied mostly on this newest album for the material they played on Tuesday night. They played a few songs which I knew well, but Orca, which had been their most popular and successful track in the pre-Weighty Ghost era was missing entirely from the set. The main set did not disappoint me, though, as I was expecting an emphasis on new material, and they were awfully sloppy. I was awfully sloppy, myself, so I don't hold it against them. And my love for the band remains, because the encore they played felt like it could have been the show I went to in 2005. They played Sore, from their first record, which is one of my favourite cuts from that album, and they closed the show with a cover of Neil Young's Words (Between the Lines of Age). These two, feeling like old Wintersleep again, gave me hope that their upcoming record might sound at least something like their first two. My love for Wintersleep has not faded, no sir! If anything, this show has restored my faith in one of the most talented bands to come out of the Maritimes and on to national prominence in the last few years.

And with that, Stereophonic closed its pages for another year! And my focus can return to my studies. And keeping up this blog, of course. I have an announcement to make, regarding my eventual proliferation across media, but I shall wait until tomorrow.

Good day!

Stereophonic, Day 4 (Pt. 2)

2009-01-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

some photo credit to vanessa blackier (the good ones)

I think I've pinned down why I felt so off on Saturday. That afternoon it had been my friend's birthday and over the course of an hour and a half I had had about ten beer. I was mostly sober by the time the shows rolled around, but there's no denying that that would have had a startling effect on me. I don't like beer. Me, I'm a wine-drinking man, as my bottle collection will inform you. I don't know why I agreed to do a century with them. I really don't know why I was one of only two to pull through all the way. But more on that if you ask, no more here.

When I got to George's, for this penultimate show of the Stereophonic festival, PheasantCougarBear was playing something I didn't really enjoy. I like the individual members, all students here at Mt Allison, but the music left a foul taste in my mouth. When I got there, I wanted to just settle in at a table and have a drink, before the show started. I figured since I left Struts so early, nothing would be happening yet at George's and I'd have some quiet time. No such luck! But oh well. If you want to see PheasantCougarBear's set, or indeed some others from the night (including THE STANCE, who rocked my socks right off, but more on that later), check out CultureHub.ca, a Saint John based videocast site. Apparently they'll be posting more videos from the night as time goes by! Maybe you'll even get a peek at me; watch the crowd for 3D glasses!

After PheasantCougarBear there was a little break as people arrived and whatnot, came in, got settled, the rest of the crew from Struts came. The Stance played first, and I'd heard nothing of this band before a few days ago when I was doing my CHMA training and one of my co-trainees played a cut from their album. I thought to myself, well, fuck, why haven't I heard of this band? Why haven't I heard that they're playing? They were a late addition to the festival, along with New Royalty who are playing tonight, but who I reported on. Anyway, they really impressed me, and I'm snatching that record from the offices as soon as I can, since they didn't have it for sale. I described them to a buddy of mine at the time as 'the Black Keys if they wanted to play dance music'. You can catch a video of them at that website I mentioned earlier. They were a whole lot of fun, I thought. Definitely check those boys out! I wish I knew more about them, so I could say more about them, but it's been a while since I've seen a band I'd never heard before and enjoyed them so thoroughly. The last one I can remember doing that was Hey Rosetta!, and they ended up being my pick for best album of 2008.

The Stolen Minks, an all-girl punk group out of Halifax came next. I hadn't seen a punk show of any description in quite a while, unless you count that thing at the pub a few months back. Okay, I hadn't been to a real punk show in a while. I don't even know. Anyway, I liked them! A friend of mine has their record, picked it up at the show, and I intend to give it a listen some time and share that with you, faithful reader. Sharon! Get me that CD! and the Maynards, too! It was a lot of fun to dance to, having had my own indie concert baptism in Saint John's hardcore scene. It was a little bit like going home. Just a little bit, though; those Saint John bands never played like this. And the moshing was a lot more tame. I only got punched in the face twice over the course of the night! Come on, now. It was an ace show, really ace.

In between here they had Elton John playing over the sound system. This led to a group of us singing along to Tiny Dancer and Rocket Man, drunkenly around a table. I have to say, it was quite a load of fun.

What can I possibly say about Shotgun Jimmie, who came on after our little interlude? He's been described as Sackville's mascot and its ambassador to the rest of the world, and he really does embody everything wonderful about the town. He's a magical personality. The first time I saw him--well, I don't think I blogged about it! I think it was the show which inspired the blog, though. It was just him and a looper pedal in a friend's living room, and what a beautiful set that was. This time, though, he came on with a three-piece band and they played a rather wonderful assortment of his solo music. I wish I'd picked up his album at the 67 Bridge show back in November, but sadly, no dice! All I can do is direct you to his myspace and hope you enjoy yourself there. Jimmie is one of my very favourite things about Sackville. One of my other favourite things about the town, as you probably know, is Julie. As you may or may not know, the two of them, along with Fred Squire and a couple of others who have yet to be mentioned in this blog made up Shotgun & Jaybird for a few years--a band I rather miss. However, this evening, Julie bounded up to the stage from where she was next to me in the crowd and joined Jimmie onstage to close his set with a duet on Bedhead, which may well be Sackville's favourite song. You can find it on his myspace. It was just oh so much fun, and I am beyond glad to have that moment now in my memory. Oh Julie, oh Jimmie! What a beautiful night you created.

But that wasn't the end of the night.

No, we were just beginning! After Jimmie came The Maynards, who put on a high energy show that was a lot of fun. Here I was starting to drift out and drink more, not in the front of the crowd rocking my heart out as I usually would be. This is what I meant in the last post by not really being myself. It's slightly upsetting. The Maynards, though, were dorky in a hardcore way, I'm not sure how to describe it. My advice to you is, once again, head on over to CultureHub.ca and check out the video of their performance. It really is a lot of fun, and you're expecting it if they open up their set by saying 'This is a song about eating out your friends! It's called.. Friendilingus!' What I heard of it I enjoyed, and Sharon I want you to get me their CD, too, so I can hear what they sound like. I did enjoy them, from what I could tell, but I need a better indicator! And I'll be back once I've heard an album with a review, you just watch. Super-fun performance that had people making out for free beer. That's all that really needs to be said.

And! Finally! As you likely can tell from the header of this post, the night was capped off with the Tom Fun Orchestra, my very favourite band to see live. Sadly, Morgan, their fiddler, he wasn't with them because of some kind of surgery, yikes. They still put on a rad show, but there was definitely something missing. The focus on the trumpet though was neat, Bert took over some of Morgan's parts. I still really do miss Alicia, and I miss her most when I hear them do Watchmaker. Carmen really is growing on me, but I don't know. Watchmaker is where Alicia really shone. I have to stop talking about them in terms of what's missing, and have to talk about what was gained! They closed the show with the most epic version of You Will Land With A Thud. I have never seen them play the song live, probably because it is just so very long. It was a gorgeous end to the show. They did Bottom of the River, another one I've never seen live, and proceeded into You Will Land With A Thud as the encore. Absolutely beautiful stuff, and it made up for the whole missing Alicia and Morgan. Ian, too, was very Ian. He did a call-back to the last show they played at George's referring to the blackboard aside the stage, which had led the crowd that time in a chant of SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS! But this time, oh no, it was covered up! So he pulled the sheet down from the wall and wrote on the blackboard, underneath Friday's Special: THE MIND IS A POWERFUL TRICK! I'm rather hoping it's still there, though I have a feeling it's been replaced by Monday's and then Tuesday's specials. But, one can dream! Oh, Tom Fun Orchestra, you are such a delightful group. You ended the night on a beautiful note. I hope I can manage to see them again soon. Between the stage presence, and the overall awesomeitude of the music, well just, gosh, I can't think of any band I would rather see live.

And with that, Saturday night ended, and Stereophonic took a break, before the final show on Tuesday night, at George's. To which I'm going in an hour.

Stereophonic, Day 4 (Pt. 1)

2009-01-20T11:56:00.001-08:00

most photo credit to vanessa blackier

I'll be honest. Saturday felt a little weird, the whole time through. I don't know what it was, it might have been just me, but something felt off. Usually, I enjoy shows at Struts, where the first show was. And it wasn't a bad show. The middle part of it was lovely, but the beginning and the end were misses, in my thoughts, and I was outside walking for most of them. West Ave opened the show and El Ron Maltan & the Dice closed it, but I didn't see much of either of them, so I won't be talking about them.

From what I could tell, Julie and Fred arrived a little late, or at least Julie did, I didn't notice when Fred got in, so The Superfantastics played before Calm Down It's Monday, contrary to the advertisement. This led to a number of people I know missing the Superfantastics. This is why you go to the whole show, you silly people! The Superfantastics were just that. It was a lovely set, and they're just super-cute. Matt seems a little bit full of himself, but shh! Steph, for her part, is adorable, and there's something delightful and danceable about their music. I hadn't heard very much of them before the show, but coming out of that I'd call myself at least something of a fan. I picked up their 7" EP, Choose Your Destination, which came with 3D glasses! 3D glasses!! How utterly fabulous. They played a tight set, and a pretty one. The highlight for me was Lullaby Punches. Great tune. Great! Listen to it, love it, fall in love with Steph & Matt! They're just a whole lot of fun indie rock & roll, products of that delightful Halifax music scene. Thank you, Maritimes, for giving the world so much delightful music!

The Superfantastics - The Astronomer
The Superfantastics - Glitter

Calm Down It's Monday, composed of Julie Doiron and Fred Squire (under the name Dick Morello for some reason I've never quite understood, but I never know how to ask him) came on a few minutes after the Superfantastics had finished. They played a rather disorganised but nonetheless lovely set composed of a number of half-songs, one dedicated to/written for Al Tuck which never really created itself into a full and proper song, just bits and pieces. I enjoyed them quite a bit, but this wasn't the opinion of everyone. A good friend of mine said he rather disliked it just for that reason of utter disorganisation and their playing maybe 3 and a half songs over the course of their ordinary length of a set (about 30 minutes, let's say). I, on the other hand, thought it was cute, and lovely. These folks are a lot of fun, after all, and Fred is, even though he was awfully disorganised, a remarkably entertaining person. And do I really need to say how I feel about Julie? I do so adore that girl, and she really is just remarkably cute. The highlight of the show, I think, was their cover of Dearest by Buddy Holly. I wish I had an example of their music, but all I can do is direct you to their myspace and hope you like them. To close the show, Fred got out a saxophone and Julie found a broken trumpet, which they began to play. Après ça, they were finished, and I fairly promptly left to make my way up to George's Roadhouse for the show which was soon to start--a show which will be described in my next post.

Struts wasn't entirely a disappointment, and I always love seeing Julie, but like I said, there was this weird feeling hanging over my head the whole while, and I'm not at all sure what it was. I just felt off, but still managed to enjoy myself somewhat. Likewise at George's, but I always enjoy myself at George's!

Stereophonic, Day 3 (Pt. 2)

2009-01-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

most photo credit to vanessa blackier

So, from where do I continue? I think I might just start over, as the last post was kind of... ick.

The night started out, as I said, with Steven Fifield, who played a heavy-accented Cape Breton acoustic folk music. Some might call him forgettable, but I wouldn't. Not an entertainer so much as an honest songwriter, which you don't see so much these days. I liked him quite a bit, actually. But, I'm getting ahead of myself! The concert was at the Vogue Theatre down on Bridge St and, as Sandy pointed out, one of the few times you'll be able to drink at the Vogue. It was a wet/dry, technically all-ages, which contented me thoroughly. I've been an advocate of all-ages concerts for a long while, and Sackville seems to have no shortage of them. Contrast this with Saint John, and, well, I don't think I'll go there. Suffice it to say that I hope something changes sooner rather than later.

Pat Lepoidevin played next, and created the most surreal and overwhelming sound with only a guitar, a tin whistle, and a looper pedal. He has an album coming out in March, this 4th year university kid--watch out for this one! He's got promise.

Continuing the what I like to call a bit of a Sackville showcase that Pat started, Al Tuck, country-bluesman extraordinaire took to the stage. I and mes amies etaient in the front of the theatre--for a film, not so great, but for a concert, with a bag of popcorn and two glasses of Picaroon's Simeon Jones, it was wonderful. Al put on a great set, and That's How She Goes made me an instant fan. I probably shouldn't say this, but parts of the song made me chuckle, and I felt like a bit of a dick for doing so. If you give it a listen, you'll see what I mean. The feller's originally from PEI but spends his days lately in Sackville. I really don't know what to say about this guy except he had this hopelessly endearing quality about him, a storytelling quality, not just in his songs but in his rambling between them. Charming, charming, charming, and wonderful. If you ever get a chance to see him, get it done. By the end of the set, we were starting to get a little drunk (I had four or five beers in me at this point) and he broke out Brother From Another Mother, which we went out on. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

But then! Then, capping off this Sackville show (but not the whole Vogue show, it kept getting better!) was Julie Doiron, and a fairly plastered Julie at that, accompanied by Fred Squire on the drums. This is, I think, the best way to see Julie: she seems to anyway feel mighty comfortable and plays her little heart out. I stand by my judgment that she is, bar nothing, the absolute cutest thing on two legs. She was musing, at one point, between songs, 'do I want water, or do I want beer? I'm really not drunk! I'll have the water,' and proceeded to drink her beer. That woman is something of a delight, and she's absolutely beautiful in voice and in appearance and oh my word I could go on like this for hours, but I won't I'll get into the performance! Just let it be known that I adore Julie, and I do believe she is one of the most wonderful people I've ever met.
The music, too, was delightful, of course. I can't simply go on and on about Julie as a person, this is a concert review! Julie, her electric guitar; Fred, and his drums; they created such a beautiful sound and despite some mishaps along the way, false starts now and again. She opened the show, or practically opened it, it might have been the second song, but I don't remember these things and chances are she doesn't either so what harm is it? She opened it with So Fast, which she noted is more than 11 years old now. Years, oh years! I forget which song it was now, but Julie played a few bars and then began to say she couldn't do it, and then played some more, got the words wrong, and decided to quit the song. I thought it was cute, personally, the way she stumbled drunkenly into and out of that song. I wish I could recall what it was. Despite not having a capo, and mine being absent from my shirt pocket for once, Julie and her 'fucked-up wrist' stumbled through Swan Pond, barre chord style. That is something I really should have mentioned, isn't it? Her propensity for swearing. It really was a lot of fun, particularly when she realised, 'fuck, I'm really swearing a lot'. She did a delightful electric medley of The Wrong Guy and No More, the latter being one of my very favourite songs. I could go on like this forever, you know I could, so I'm just going to stop here and say that one of the last songs she played was Snow Falls In November, which is possibly the most beautiful song she's written, and my word, the quality of the show was fantastic. I wish it could happen every night, really.

But the night does not end there! Oh no, no, no. The night was just getting started, because après Julie and Fred came Old Man Luedecke, who Julie herself was showering with praise beforehand. I'd never seen him before, but a friend of mine had raved about him constantly and she had gotten me into his music. Here is the point in the show for which I was most happy to both be a bit drunk and be in the front row, because Chris and his banjo created for us a rollicking good time, the lot of us stomping and clapping and singing along. The lot of us singing songs about bacon and potatoes, about the love of life... Old Man Luedecke puts on one of the most incredible live shows that you ever will see. If you ever, ever have a chance to see this man and his banjo, you absolutely must take it up. Even if you're not such a fan of bluegrass music, he will make you a fan. He will make you fall in love with his music and his charming way. He capped off the night so well, and this was the highlight of the festival for me. Definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen, and I can't put enough emphasis on that. It was a beautiful, beautiful night, and I'll remember it always.

Old Man Luedecke - Proof of Love
Old Man Luedecke - Just Like a River
Old Man Luedecke - Joy of Cooking

And now to carry on with blogging! Saturday night, here I come.

Stereophonic, Day 3 (Pt. 1)

2009-01-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

So I'll be frank: I'm a little drunk. But I have to review these shows before I get to the nextt one, even if I can't see the screen very well. Oh well. Life.

The show was at the Vogue Cinemas, a beautiful little landmark of the town. We started out with Steven Fifield, a Cape Bretoner and a wonderful folk musician. In my current state, regrettably, I can't say much about it.

Next came Mount Allison's own Pat Lepoidevin, who used a looper pedal to create the most amazing sound I've heard! I really shouldn't write this now, fuck. I'll be back wioth more man. I promise. Fuuuuck, drjuuuunk.

Stereophonic, Day 2

2009-01-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

all photo credit to lindsay sherrard

Stereophonic continues, and just keeps growing more and more awesome. Yesterday afternoon, at 5pm, in the CHMA offices, was the most incredible dance party of an electro-pop show I've ever dreamed of. The venue was tiny, TINY, and when I first arrived everyone was sitting down. I started to worry that everyone, or most people, would be sitting down for the duration. A few of us vowed to set the tone for the epic dance party that was to ensue. Luckily, Sandy, one of the brains behind this operation, told everybody to get on their feet before the first band started up.

That first band was Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees, a Halifax band of Rebekah Higgs, Sean MacGillivray, Colin Crowell and Jason Vautour, who are on the road promoting their new (awesome) album, officially released tonight at the Marquee in Halifax. Of course, they had a few of these albums on hand at the show, handmade and individually numbered, and I got my hands on one of those. But the show! Holy mackerel. They played the album through from start to end, and I was a big fan going in. I have to admit to something of a legendary crush on Rebekah, as well. They opened the show as they open the album with You Don't Miss Me. It set the tone for the show, and holy hannah did it ever get people dancing. Jason, on the guitar, got so into the whole thing, dancing like some kind of madman and putting on one hell of a show--everything about him seemed to scream that, from the facial hair to the gold lamé "sweater-jacket" as woodhands' Dan called it. Rebekah spent any time she could dancing barefoot on top of an equipment crate, which she pulled into the middle of the crowd and continued to sing from there for The Best of All. It was a sweaty electro dance party and one of the best shows I've been to lately. I recommend to anyone, though, if you're going to be dancing up a storm, do not wear full body corduroy. Just don't. It's a bad idea.

Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees - Girls You Love

After a little break which most of us spent downstairs at the pub we came back up, with my corduroy jacket tossed aside. Woodhands put on the most high-energy performance I could possibly dream of. Paul Banwatt is, I think, the most talented and prolific drummer in Canadian music since Neil Peart. Just putting that out there. The self-described 'dirty electronic music' of Woodhands is pumped up to such a level in their live show. Their album is amazing, and if you can get your hands on it, get your hands on it as soon as possible, but this doesn't near do justice to the live show. Dan Werb puts more energy into performing than anyone I've ever seen, putting everything out so that you half expect him to just drop dead at the end of the set. That these two men can put on such an absolutely entertaining and superb show so easy to get lost in speaks volumes about their talent and the overall awesomitude of the band. Also, in what I'll remember as being in the running for best cover of the year, Dan and Paul did their own dirty electro rendition of Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl. I'll be frank, I don't know the song very well. I know the chorus and not even all of that. But I can tell that Woodhands made it their own, made it so much more than that original. Apparently they've recorded their cover, so keep tuned to their myspace, and maybe it'll make an appearance. Possibly their best known tune, Dancer, is not sung on the record by either one of them but a guest vocalist, a woman whose name escapes me. At the show, though, Paul put on his best falsetto (which was a damned good one) and they closed the show with an epic elongated version which saw Rebekah joining us in the crowd and building the most perfect close to such a radtacular show.

Woodhands - Under Attack (Live Remix)

Tonight is going to be a real change of pace, with Julie Doiron and Old Man Luedecke playing at the Vogue Cinemas downtown. I've been looking forward to seeing Old Man Luedecke since the first time I heard him, and now here it comes. Oh, Stereophonic, why can't you be every week?

Stereophonic, Day 1

2009-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Stereophonic is UNDERWAY.

The first show was last night at the Sackville United Church. I'd never seen a show there before. Now I have, and I am calling it one of the best venues I've ever been to. There are cons, though--sitting in pews for 3 and a half hours is painful. This is why I don't go to church. But the acoustics of the place so make up for it. SO make up for it! The sound quality in there is absolutely gorgeous. But more on that later.

The first band of the night was the John Wayne Cover Band, one of them Sackville student bands. They were good for what they are, sounding to me like a cross between Bob Dylan and Joel Plaskett (but I can't convince anyone of the Plaskett-sounding quality, so don't take my word for that. I'm just unique). They were good, but the rest of the night dwarfed their set. Holy mackerel.

From Ottawa, now based in Halifax, Gianna Lauren came into her own in this venue. I saw her at the pub back in October, and was impressed enough to buy her album but not thoroughly enthralled. This time, though, she was stunning, absolutely beautiful. Her voice cut through everything, echoed against the wood and through the church and just won me over completely. In what became a theme for the night, she covered a Julie Doiron tune. Regrettably, Julie wasn't there, though. Beautiful! Beautiful, with new songs about accidental cardigan fires and hitchhiking. I don't know what words to use to describe her, really, so here's a track from her album.

Gianna Lauren - Bird's Eye View (click to download)

Après Gianna came Corey Isenor & the Sackville Citizens Choir. Corey is something else. Folksy and nasal, but oh my lord incredible. The Laura Barrett show I saw in Sackville last year was held in his kitchen, for an idea, and he opened that one. He started out this show solo, playing Burning In Your Hands alone with his guitar, before being joined by his band for most of the remainder of the set. For the last two songs, he was joined on stage by a good number of people from the audience, providing voice and handclaps along to everything. It was quite beautiful. Fitting for the venue, again. A tiny chair for a tiny ukulele.. There's something about his music that puts me into a pretty dreamy state. You really do have to hear it for yourself. So, go on, hear it for yourself! One of the most promising sounds to come out of Sackville, I'd say.

Corey Isenor - In Your Arms Tonight
Corey Isenor - Why Do You Believe In Love?

Headlining the night's show was Share, out of Fredericton. The set started out with the five of them standing not on the stage, but just in front, completely acoustic, Andrew Sisk with his ukulele, the rest of the band done up acoustic, playing to a crowd absolutely enrapt for two songs. It was one of the most gorgeous moments that could be possible. At one point, I noticed something which amused me thoroughly, and had me smiling like something of a madman. On Kyle's double bass, there hung a sock. A sock used to store his bow when not using it. It could have been anything, but it was a sock. This sock made my night, this sock has quite possibly made my year. Amazing!
This was my first time seeing all of Share live, together. I've seen Andrew do his solo thing and I've seen the Olympic Symphonium, which is the band without Andrew... but Share as a whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Gorgeous music, makes me proud to be a New Brunswicker.

Share - Dance Dance Retribution
Share - Foreign Church

Tonight at the CHMA offices is a show featuring Woodhands and Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees. I am beyond pumped for this one! Beyond pumped for the epic nerditude that it entails! Wheee.

all photo credit to vanessa blackier

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2009-01-15T08:43:00.000-08:00

This is what me writing notes on top of my laptop with a Blogger window open looks like.

THIS JUST IN

2009-01-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Most of Sackville was already excited about the Wintersleep/Plants and Animals show on the 20th to close off Stereophonic 6. Me, I was excited, but no more than for the Tom Fun show, who I know put on an awesome show. I've seen Wintersleep more times than I can count, but not for a while now...

BUT!
Morgan informed me that PEI's New Royalty have been asked to open the show and have accepted (duh!). This is the icing on the cake for me to make the show from thoroughly enjoyable to AWESOMESAUCE, both for the chance to see them and for the chance for a small, young band like them to open for these nationally recognised and popular groups. So, congratulations to Morgan and the rest of New Royalty! If you weren't already going to the Wintersleep show, go now! Serious. Awesome.

I picked up my Stereophonic wristband today. There is a stuffed pheasant on the table. Go and check it out.

Lack of posting.

2009-01-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

Start of term has me posting very little. Once the Stereophonic shows start happening, I'll get a review of everything, and I'll have new CDs to glean from and share with you also! So, keep your pants on, or don't, whatever floats your boat.

And I'll be back soon.

Stereophonic 2009!

2009-01-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

Okay ladies and gents, faithful reader, et cetera, I am taking a break from Latin homework to inform you of the wonder and the joy that will be the SIXTH Stereophonic Music Festival in Sackville! To raise money for CHMA, Mt Allison's campus and community radio station. I'm going to give you a lineup of events and acts, and I hope you'll be just as awed as I am by the sheer legendaritude of everything here.

NEXT WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14th

at 7pm, at the Sackville United Church (All-Ages!!)

Sackville's John Wayne Cover Band

Ottawa's Gianna Lauren

Sackville's Corey Isenor & the Sackville Citizen's Choir

Fredericton's Share

at 10pm at the student pub (19+), all from Sackville unless otherwise indicated

Landon Braverman

Emma McMullin

Sara-Beth Harrison

Kellen Barrett & the Evening Architects

Halifax's Christina Martin

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15th

at 5pm at the CHMA offices

Toronto's WOODHANDS

Halifax's RUBY JEAN & THE THOUGHTFUL BEES

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16th

at 7pm at the Vogue Theatre (All-Ages!!)

Sackville's Pat Lepoidevin

Sackville's Al Tuck & No Action

Sackville's JULIE DOIRON

Chester, Nova Scotia's OLD MAN LUEDECKE

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17th

at 7pm at Struts Gallery (All-Ages!!)

Sackville's West Avenue

Halifax's THE SUPERFANTASTICS

Sackville's CALM DOWN IT'S MONDAY

and Sackville's own supergroup, EL RON MALTON & THE DICE

at 10pm at George's Fabulous Roadhouse (19+)

Halifax's The Maynards

Halifax's The Stolen Minks

Sackville's SHOTGUN JIMMIE

Sydney's THE TOM FUN ORCHESTRA

and as a special post-festival Tuesday night romp:

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20th

at 9pm at George's Roadhouse (19+)

Halifax's Wintersleep

Montreal's Plants & Animals

I'll have you know that all of my capsing of band names is completely arbitrary, and just indicating those shows that I'm most excited over.

Festival passes are $40 and available from several locations starting Monday. Ducky's, the CHMA offices, and the lobby of the new student centre will all have them for you on Monday. Get out there! Support campus and community radio! Have epic fun!

Best Shows of '08

2009-01-06T01:13:00.000-08:00

BEST LIVE SHOW
I'm taking this as a Top 10 countdown, because I've simply seen so many shows this year that I can't pick only one without feeling as though I'm leaving at least three dozen out. So, here we go.

10. Greenbelt Collective, Sebastien Grainger, and Islands at the Pavillion in Halifax, NS. October.
Okay, so the crowd was largely unresponsive, even to the utterly danceable Greenbelt, and two of the opening acts were pretentious crap, but this still ranks among my top 10 just because I finally got to see two of the artists who shaped my music tastes. Sebastien Grainger as part of Death From Above 1979 and Nick Thorburn as part of The Unicorns were such a defining sound of my high school years. The shows they put on here weren't bad, either. Islands' set could have been longer, but it was still incredible, and I hadn't heard Sebastien's new stuff before that show; it won me over. The overall enjoyability of the event was hammered home by my rather drunk journalist friend, and his man-crush on Mr Grainger. This also introduced me to Greenbelt, who would later produce the most epic dance party of a concert ever I have seen.

9. Share, Rebekah Higgs, and Jason Collett at George's Roadhouse in Sackville, NB. September.
This was my first show at George's, which I named my venue of the year. I have to say I was largely unimpressed by Share, but given it was just Andrew Sisk and not the whole band, I'll hold my judgment until I see the actual band. Rebekah Higgs blew me away with some of the most swimmingy and beautiful electro-folk music I've heard; I made sure she knew this. Jason Collett is Jason Collett, no more really needs to be said. And given that one of my best live tracks of the year came out of this concert, of course it'll make it to the list!

8. The Tom Fun Orchestra at a khord in Saint John, NB. December.
See my review.

7. Hey Rosetta! at the Bridge St. Stage in Sackville, NB. September.
My very first Sackville show, and an altogether lovely night. Newfoundland's Hey Rosetta! have become in the last few months one of my favourite bands I'd never heard of before coming to Sackville, and now both albums I could get my hands on are on fairly high rotation in my CD player. The concert was just that awesome. The stage was set up in the middle of the main street in Sackville, just outside the apartment to which I'm moving in June. Hay bales lined the edge of the stage, and I was there with good friends. Tim and the gang gave such an amazing and epic performance, and it was there that I for the first time felt really and truly and absolutely at home here in Sackville. Huge moment for me, personally, and a great show altogether.

6. Peter Project, The Bicycles, Young Rival, and Woodhands at the Coconut Grove, Halifax. October.
This was my last show of the Halifax Pop Explosion, and absolutely solid from start to finish. It did get a little bit odd when a lost-looking birthday pub crawl showed up and started weaving through the crowd, but this wasn't too much of a damper on the situation. Peter Project was a totally fab DJ whose album I picked up. I might put up some choice cuts from the record at a later date. The Bicycles put on such a totally rad show, coming on wearing box dinosaur outfits and shouting "WE ARE THE NEW GWAR!" You know if a set begins that way, it's bound to be radtastic. Young Rival underwhelmed me, as they would at a later date, but this didn't do a thing to damage the quality of the show.
Woodhands, oh, Woodhands! What can be said? By then the pub crawl had invaded the crowd and made it horribly thick, but I still managed my way in and enjoyed myself. A rapper from earlier, More or Les, was invited up to freestyle during the set, and fell a little flat. But oh, Woodhands! How long until I see you again?

5. Nathan Richards, Shotgun Jimmie, Construction & Destruction at 67 Bridge, Sackville, NB. November.
This was my first and so far only concert at 67 Bridge (as I missed the B.A. Johnston show in September) and the environment alone makes it worthy of a top 10 list. They put on concerts in their living room, you see.
Jimmie was as Jimmie is, that is to say absolutely radtacular, and just getting off a national tour with Ladyhawk and coming home. Enjoyed him thoroughly. Construction & Destruction I had never heard nor heard of before--I went to see Jimmie. But they won me over almost instantaneously. I probably have a review up somewhere, I seem to remember losing my words when attempting to describe what the darkened room and Colleen's voice did to me. That said, Dave is awesome, too. Also, there was a didgeridoo being played at one point. Awesome.

4. The Bicycles, Young Rival, Greenbelt Collective at the Mt. A Campus Pub, Sackville, NB. November.
These were all bands I was seeing for the second time, and Greenbelt hadn't even really been on the lineup aside for a show at 67 Bridge which fell through. It struck me about 30 minutes into sitting there that half of the crowd was the epic group of people that are Greenbelt. The crowd wasn't nearly as large as the last time I'd seen the Bicycles, and the Campus Pub leaves a lot to be desired, but the show! Oh my word, the show. Dance party extravaganza, both during the Bicycles and, though Young Rival was a bit of a bust for me, again, they seemed to be enjoyed by most, once Greenbelt came on, holy mackerel. As I said, Sarty told me they hadn't even been meant to play that night, it just sort of happened that way. Their set turned into a two-hour long dance party with members of other bands getting behind the mics (I seem to recall Dana with a tambourine) and even people from the crowd. The pub's sound guy began freestyling at one point, and Drew and I had a bit of a dance-off. It was epic, it was wonderful, it was one of the best nights of my life.

3. The RAA, Rich Aucoin, Ghost Bees, and Laura Barrett at the Coconut Grove, Halifax. October.
My first Halifax show since 2005 (I don't get to Halifax much...) and holy mackerel, what a show! We got there a bit late so only managed to catch the end of a set by Boxer the Horse, but from what I could tell they were solid. This is possibly the most consistently awesome lineup I saw all year, without a low point in the bunch over four and a bit acts. Purely beautiful, but where do I begin? I reviewed the RAA before, and that can be found here.
Rich Aucoin was like nothing I'd ever seen before, an electronic DJing adventure synced up to video clips--most notably How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The man was dressed in white from head to toe, threw balloons at the crowd (which for some reason were still there two nights later at the Woodhands show... oi! janitorial staff!) and just all around seemed to be having the time of his life, creating shadow puppets and suchlike. Beautiful, fun, incredible.
Ghost Bees had the most unique set I've ever seen. Halifax natives and twins, they had turned the stage into their own little tea party. A drum borrowed from the Rural Alberta Advantage, covered with a tablecloth and oversized doily served as a table for a tea service, porcelain masks adorned the mic stands, and the twins, Romy and Sari, were dressed in the flowy garb of yesteryear and across the seas. And the voices! Oh my word, the voices. These two, Romy with her guitar and Sari with her mandolin, play the most otherworldly folk music you ever will hear, and the voices are so integral to that. For any other band, I think, dressing themselves and the stage in that manner and going on to sing about the reading of tea leaves would seem pretentious as all hell, but they pull it off! I wish they had made it to the #1 show on my list, instead of, well, I was told they were sleeping..
And then came Laura. I don't know how to adequately do justice to describing her sets. Ghost Bees had helped to transition the bar from Rich Aucoin's dance club to the coffeehouse style setting to which Laura played. She and her kalimbas held the room enrapt so totally, and was adorable in her cute and dorky way. On a related note, CBC Radio 3 listeners have named her Sexiest Canadian Musician of 2008. I don't know if sexy is the right word, but she has definitely stolen my heart! The set was beautiful, and she was joined by Sari Lightman and then Romy for a couple of songs--never have I seen a bar so quiet save for the music being played, a public space like that so focussed on the actions of one person. I swear, she and her music are something out of a dream.

2. Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, and the Tom Fun Orchestra at George's Roadhouse, Sackville, NB. November.
See my review.
I've just heard that Olenka might be coming back to play at Stereophonic. If this is true, I am beyond psyched. If that concert had only been her, and Tom Fun was another night, it would have still made this top ten list. She's the reason it's so far above the other Tom Fun show. She and the venue, anyway. She and the venue and Tom Fun's set. Oh, hell, it was just an altogether better show in an altogether better town. But Olenka was an integral part of that.

1. Laura Barrett in the kitchen of 27 St James, Sackville, NB. October.
There was simply no debate about what my best show of the year was. It is singularly the best show I have ever seen, that I have ever been to, that I have ever experienced. The night began as a little party in the house of Sandy Mackay, but the crowd was pared down to just a dozen of us by the time the show started. Corey Isenor opened the show, representing Sackville as he does, and a fellow from Ontario followed up--all that I recall about him is a mellow acoustic cover of the Dead Boys. Someone, please refresh my memory! Then there was Laura.
As I said in the last one, my words don't do the lovely Ms Barrett any kind of justice. The environment in the room, eleven of us watching her play, her little green bag of kalimbas. I remember it was eleven because when she did Sorting Hat, there were just enough of us to make the song work. As the evening continued, at a break in the songs, sparklers were brought out, and all were lit and waved about, and Laura brought her camera out. I would love to see those photos someday! My words are so convoluted, I wish I knew why.
When she played Consumption, she brought out a new toy--a handheld midi sequencer from the age of the stylus. This little thing may well be responsible for most 90s hip-hop. This descended into laughter at an incredible midi snare line and I'm fairly certain the song never really finished, it just-- but that was the mood of the night. This was also the night when, around the same time as the sparklers, Dancing in the Dark was attempted to be covered, with failure on everyone's part except Laura's thumbs.
As I said, it is the single most beautiful and wonderful and overall fun show I've yet been to. After the performance was done, we moseyed on over to 67 Bridge for Laura to drop off her things and then a few of us, her included, went to the pub where the Meligrove Band played, and Laura did an impromptu set of a few songs. All in all, a beautiful night.

~ ~ ~

And with that, six days into 2009, 2008 finally ends. It was a very good year, full of very good beer. Pumphouse. Blueberry beer. Check it out.

Best of 2008

2009-01-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

I know I said I would post this before the new year, but I didn't get around to it. I had my lists and awards all made up and compiled, but I just didn't feel like writing the blog. Now! Now I'm back to Sackville, and feeling AWESOME once more.

So, let's get this thing going. I'll start with the general awards, and then count down the top ten concerts of the year.

BEST VENUE
George's Roadhouse, Sackville, NB

BEST DANCE MOVES
Drew from the Bicycles

BEST SING-ALONG
Laura B arrett and the rest of the dozen of us all realising that no one really knows the words to Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark. Go on. Try to sing it. Even with the tune being played on a kalimba, not one of us could get the song right, and it descended into We Didn't Start The Fire. Somehow.

BEST ALBUM TRACK
Woodhands - Be Back Soon (click to download)

MOST UNIQUE MERCH
Ghost Bees' Dreamy Tea--a custom blend loose tea pulled together by Sari and Romy, said to invoke incredibly lucid dreams. And it tastes delightful.

BEST LIVE TRACK
This one was tough. Up until the 20th of last month, it was Jason Collett and Rebekah Higgs doing Jason's Hangover Days, Rebekah singing Emily Haines' part. BUT, the Tom Fun Orchestra on the 20th of December in Saint John played The Pogues' Fairytale of New York, making my Christmas worthwhile. I'm going to chalk this up as a tie between the two of them, because I honestly just can't pick.

BEST STAGE BANTER
Sebastien Grainger at the Pavillion in Halifax: "So, where do you work? An organic food store? ...Do I come to the organic food store and slap the dick outta your mouth?"

BEST SHOW I DIDN'T SEE
The whole of Sappyfest '08. I almost came up here in August but I decided against it. Huge, huge, huge mistake and one of my biggest regrets of the year.

and actually, since I'm going to dinner with the show reviews only half done, I'll end this here for now. keep your eyes peeled! like grapes. peeled grapes.

Corrections.

2009-01-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

A correction to my blog of 20th December. In reference to a khord, I said that it had one been the police bar, the Call Box. This is incorrect. It was Nep-tunes until recently, which I hadn't actually realised had closed. Shows you how in touch with the Saint John scene I am. Merci beaucoup for letting me know, Mare!

My New Year's Resolutions:

2009-01-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Be awesome.

Be more awesome.

Be more awesome than more awesome.

Be more awesome than that and make it absolutely EPIC.

If you don't give a damn, we don't give a fuck.

2009-01-01T00:58:00.000-08:00

Happy new beard everyone.

I'm going to catch up with this blog once I get back in to Sackville on the 4th.

I'm just not at all motivated here in SJ. I'm seeing my first concert of 2009 tomorrow night. Maybe I'll be up to writing a review. I don't know. Chances are you won't see anything until the 4th.

Yeah, you know how it is.

A post in a busy season.

2008-12-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

I slept in an empty house last night. Completely empty. Just me and a linen closet.

I'll continue with my best of 2008 posts tomorrow, starting with best concert, and then on the 29th I'll do a wrap-up of all my other bests, as well as reminders about the first two. Stay tuned...

An update on the pants situation.

2008-12-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

I did wear pants today.

However, as the ankles are damp from a stroll in a foggy rainstorm, I am now taking them off.

Down with pants!

(up with skirts!)

2008-12-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, I shall wear pants.

It is decided.

Actual musings on linguistics and cheese.

2008-12-22T23:13:00.000-08:00

I would like to direct you, readers, viewers, those forced to read my blog at gunpoint, and whoever else may see this--that is, so long as you are users of iTunes--to the podcasts of Stephen Fry. His latest, released this past Sunday, is a discussion of Language, and I cannot do it any sort of justice in detailing its contents. You rather should listen to it, for one as delighted by the, as he puts it, juiciness of language as Fry spending half an hour discussing its nature and use is a matter of absolute ecstasy. Well, I doubt it shall be ecstasy for many aside from myself, for few I know take such delight in language and in words as I do, but please, do listen to and enjoy his podcast. Simply type his name into the search bar and you, mes amis, sont well on your way.

I think that this is the first time I've posted anything directly related to the title of this blog, for in his discussion of langue and parole, Fry states: "Cheese is real" as a comparison to the concretitude of utterance. Therefore this is indeed a compilation of musings on linguistics and cheese.

The fluorescent lights are humming a song.

2008-12-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, so, spotlight today on New Royalty, a young band out of Charlottetown. I saw them open the Halloween party I went to and, frankly, I don't even remember what the headliner of that show was except one of them was dressed as a box robot.

New Royalty though were a lot of fun. The lot of them were dressed as 1864, if I remember rightly. Kind of genericish indie rock, but I don't often see genericish indie rock from the Maritimes, especially done this well. They rather blew me away and were awfully memorable. Some drunk girl who I didn't actually know but liked to think she knew me introduced me to their keyboard player and we had a nice little chat about dressing as ceiling fans. Cute person, nice person, YOUNG person. The next time we spoke it was about prospective universities she was looking at. With so little age behind them, the fact that they're so absolutely memorable and lovely says a lot. Lily, one of the singers, her voice is just stunning. I don't quite know what it is about it that puts me into this awesome trance but there's just this quality, sweet and not quite haunting but the same sort of idea. I don't know. I just woke up.

I have a couple tracks up here for downloading, but be sure to check out their myspace and find out when they might be playing near you. Fall in love with them! They're absolutely delightful.

New Royalty - Fluorescent

New Royalty - Midday Sun

Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God its our last.

2008-12-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

I've just returned from a khord in Saint John, stinking of sweat and beer. I hate this city. But the show!

Well, there are definite cons. I saw the Tom Fun Orchestra at a khord tonight, which is this little bar uptown. Cute place, but I'm convinced it's not insulated. I'm told it used to be the cop bar, or something. The Call Box, it was called in those days. This is not the matter. The show was meant to start at 11, so I got there early as I usually do, at about quarter to 11, and met up with some friends. We sat. And waited. And waited. And waited. And then the band got up and did a sound check. And we waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually Carmen got on stage at about midnight, and started playing her set. Well, you know how I feel about Carmen's music from the last blog about them: it turns out that I really was just unintrigued by her music. I enjoy her voice very much, I'm not saying I don't like her. I just... her band doesn't interest me. So I drank. And caught up with people I haven't seen in months or in years. It wasn't an altogether bad time, I just didn't enjoy the music.

But! But! Once Ian and the boys got on stage and kicked in to Heart Attack in an Old Motel, my night got better. I sang my lungs out (and after Last of the Curious Thieves, can barely speak), and Ian, as usual, was the perfect showman, talking about nothing in particular and everything at once. The crowd, though it has convinced me that Saint John crowds don't know how to clap along to music, was wonderful, dancing and jumping and though they didn't seem to know all the words they got so into the music, beautifully and wonderfully. I simply had so much fun, and Carmen's vocals on the songs I'm so used to are growing on me. Even on Watchmaker, I have to say, I really enjoyed her.

It was, of course, a Christmas concert, and some of my highlights were the Christmas tunes. Carmen and her band did a cover of Sufjan Stevens' That Was The Worst Christmas Ever, but as they tend to do, failed to hold my attention. (I'm sorry if ever you read this, Carmen; I love you in Tom Fun but there's just something lacking about the other. I'll still buy your record though when it comes out.) The Tom Fun Orchestra, though, did their own Christmas tune, which is available for download below, and, in one of the most perfect concert-going moments of my life, covered The Pogues' Fairytale of New York. Now, this could be just me, as that tune is my favourite Christmas song of all time, but Ian and Carmen singing Shane and Kirsty's parts is probably the best rendition of it you'll get since Kirsty kicked it. It was a gorgeous moment in my concert-going life, up there with Sarah Harmer doing How Deep In The Valley fully acoustic in this lovely old theatre and Laura Barrett's Sackville kitchen concert with sparklers.

The Tom Fun Orchestra - Merry Christmas From Me to You

They played with the energy you'll be used to if ever you've seen them, and Ian was very much Ian. I could swear that I heard him shouting "TOM FUN!" and heading for the bathroom at about eleven o'clock. They're among my favourite bands to see live, and I'm sure one of the shows will make my top 5 of the year. Keep your eyes peeled for that post!

Anyway, have a happy Christmas. I'm going to get some sleep.

PS: I just realised I said I'd reveal what made my belt so awesome. It was an NES controller holding up my favourite cords.

His work is all wrong.

2008-12-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

I have made a sort of pre-New Year's resolution to for the remainder of 2008 listen only to Canadian music. I've done this since the 17th, and have come nowhere near running out or getting tired. Canadian music is a joy, and most of what I need is here. I mean, sure, I could really use some Decemberists or Jens Lekman or Sigur Ros, but I can wait til January when I have the Tom Fun Orchestra and Julie Doiron and Laura Barrett. I bet I could even live on East Coast music if I had to, but I'm not going to try. Not yet, anyway. Maybe that's my next project.

I have decided to tonight keep my trousers up not with a belt but with something similar thereto. I will reveal what this is in my review of the Tom Fun show I'm seeing. Just be assured: it is both epic and slightly legendary.

LEGENDARY Weekend

2008-12-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

Just saying.

You can blame us for the colonies of altruists and despots.

2008-12-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

Construction & Destruction are Dave Trenaman and Colleen Collins, hailing from Nova Scotia. A couple of weeks ago I was at a CD release party for their latest, The Volume Wars, with Shotgun Jimmie opening. The show was absolutely wonderful, a fusion of rock provided by Dave and strange ethereal electronic noises as made by Colleen, with I'm sure some interplay between the two. They trade off vocals, so why not everything else? The lyrics are beautifully literate and gorgeous to the ears. The show erupted into an all-star Sackville explosion complete with tambourine and didgeridoo, adding new layers to the literate lo-fi music found on the album. The whole of the crowd joined in on the chorus of 'and not seeing nothing at all', repeated and repeated and repeated ad infinitum and it was a moment of absolute and pure beauty, c'est tout.

Construction & Destruction - Thresheld

As you might know, I absolutely love words, and the way these two use words is such a selling point for me--it's simply beautiful, the simplicity of music and complexity of words merged. Leaning against a piano in a darkened living room, the voices and the sounds washing over you like a tide, that was a beautiful experience. The toned-down nature of the music might have some of you just half-listening, but it deserves your full attention, absolutely. Only with all one's attention directed thereto is the true beauty of Construction & Destruction realised.

The contrast between Dave's comparatively harsh voice with Colleen's dreamy and fragile vocals, in addition to the wicked juxtaposition of noises and sounds and genres all through the concert and the albums make this a worthwhile listen. It's all just so beautiful; the perfect band to see play in a friend's living room on a cold winter's night.

So, here are a few songs. The first two are from their latest record, but the third is from their 2007 release, Homebodies.

Construction & Destruction - What The Non-Human Taught Us

Construction & Destruction - The Volume Wars

Construction & Destruction - First Day