Photo of David Longstreth of Dirty Projectors by David Topping.

Perhaps it’s old news that Brooklyn’s Dirty Projectors are playing Toronto again. The band was attached to Grizzly Bear's leg like a dryer sheet for a few years, opening most of their Toronto gigs, and they recently played Sneaky Dee’s last August to precede the release of their third full-length, Rise Above (an ode to Black Flag’s Damaged). But with said album bolted to local record stores' lists of top album sales and most accredited year-end best-of lists, it’s no secret that this band means a lot to this city, and with good reason.

Dirty Projectors is mostly the workings of Yale drop-out David Longstreth, but his accompaniment seems to change with the seasons. Currently contributing to the live performances are Brian Mcomber (drums), Amber Coffman (guitar), and Angel Deradoorian (bass), which is a huge change considering that Dirty Projectors once had a heavy reliance on orchestral accompaniment. Their use of ostinado keeps their sound focused, while their intricate guitar arrangements move otherwise all over the place (the type of patchwork that warrants the label nu-jazz). And the weaving, bull's-eyed female vocal harmonies of Coffman and Deradoorian provide a warmth and optimism to Dirty Projectors’ music, a nice balance to the serious lyrical subject matter of death and political resistance.

Dirty Projectors play with Blocks Recording’s Nif-D (Matt Smith of Les Mouches—Owen Pallet’s pre-Final Fantasy project) at Sneaky Dee’s on Tuesday, April 1 for the wee price of $13.50. With Dirty Projector's intense North American and European tour to follow this date (and a career that keeps on rising—Pitchfork Music Festival this summer, for example), Musicologist can only guarantee that their next Toronto show be less intimate and more expensive.

Full listings after the jump.

This Week

Monday, March 31
Shelby Lynne @ Mod Club, $20
The Salads, Obsidian, Sons and Lovers @ Tattoo Rock Parlor, $10
Anna Linda Sidall, Colin Fisher, Katherine Sheng Morrison @ Tranzac

Tuesday, April 1
Shannon Butcher @ Rex
Dirty Projectors @ Sneaky Dee's, $13.50
Minus the Bear @ Opera House, $17.50
Tift Merritt @ El Mocambo, $15
Wolf Eyes @ Lee's Palace, $12
Isla Craig and Maria Kasstan @ Tranzac
Joe Jackson @ Music Hall, $40-$49.50

Wednesday, April 2
Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z @ Air Canada Centre, $59.75-$150.75
Tusks, The Metal Kites, and Steve McKay @ Tranzac
Blitzen Trapper @ El Moacambo, $8.50
Carbon/Silcon @ Lee's, $20
Dimmu Borgir @ Sound Academy, $31
Groove Armada @ Social, $16.50
Roger Clyne @ Horseshoe, $12.50
Leela Gilday, Samba Squad, Aengus Finnian and others @ Lula Lounge, $30
Teenage Bottlerocket @ Sneaky Dee's, $8
Kevin Hearn @ Czehoski, FREE

Thursday, April 3
Ray Davies @ Music Hall, $67.50
Between The Buried and Me @ Kathedral, $16.50
Dragonette @ Phoenix, $12.50
VHS or BETA @ El Mocambo, $10
The Micronite Filters, Cam Clark, and Recroom @ The Boat, $5
Soul Jazz Orchestra feat. Chris Bottomley's Brainfudge and Dionne Robert @ Lula Lounge, $18
Woodhands @ Wrongbar, $5
William the Conquerer, Wednesday Finest, and M of Giviro @ Horseshoe, $5
Monotonix, Anagram, and Metz @ Sneaky Dee's, $7

Friday, April 4
Postcards, Great Bloomers, and Howl @ Drake, $5
The Eels @ Mod Club, SOLD OUT
Sandro Perri and Nat Baldwin @ Tranzac
Haale and Cache @ Lula Lounge, $20
Wildlife, Hamilton Trading Company, and Dregs of Society @ Lee's Palace, $5
Megan Hamilton and The Volunteer Canola, Deromantic, and Northwest Division @ Rancho Relaxo, $5
Hello Beautiful, A Fourth World, and The Hollows @ Horseshoe, $8
Throw Me The Statue @ El Mocambo, $10

Saturday, April 5
Rocket Summer and All Time Low @ Phoenix, SOLD OUT
Owl Eyes and Ghost Bees @ Tranzac, $5
Spiral Beach @ The Boat, $5
Akroid and Gunnar Rapido @ Lee's Palace, $5
The Matches @ Criminal Records (4:00 p.m.), FREE
Lou Pride @ Silver Dollar, $18

Sunday, April 6
Beautiful Girls @ El Mocambo, $14.50
Hamilton Trading Company @ The Boat, PWYC

Just Announced

April 25: Buck 65 and Cadence Weapon @ Music Hall, $25
April 11: Madlib @ Wrongbar, $15
May 10: Jah Cutta @ Rivoli, $12.50
May 12: Mars Volta @ Sound Academy, $42.50
May 21: Snowden @ Lee's Palace, $10.50
May 24: The Submarines @ Drake, $12
May 28: Firewater @ Horseshoe, $10
June 2: M.I.A @ Sound Academy, $33.50
Sept 6: Virgin Festival: Foo Fighters, Bloc Party, Spiritualized, Wintersleep, and Constantines @ Toronto Island Park, $87 (or 2-Day pass for $159)
Sept 7: Virgin Festival: Oasis, Paul Weller, Stereophonics, The Weakerthans, Pigeon Detectives @ Toronto Island Park, $87 (or 2-Day pass for $159)