Torontoist » Kate Robertson

March to a New(ish) Beat

Kate Robertson — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:46:26 +0000

Toronto-based band We’re Marching On (or WAMO if you prefer) are back from hiatus as guitar player Tim has returned from China. The band is celebrating by kicking off a short Ontario tour and promoting their EP Argh! Umph! Ahhh! at the Horseshoe tomorrow night.
Despite a questionable title choice for the EP, Argh! Umph! Ahhh! is a consistently solid collection of folk influenced, upbeat pop songs. Dance beats accompany high-pitched but soulful vocals reminiscent of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Alec Ounsworth. Sometimes epic (see “Anthem”), each track is earnest but not overly sentimental. Catchy and optimistic, the EP is rife with fist-clencher sing-alongs, tight hooks and the occasional hand clap jams.
Most striking is how tapped in the band is without being annoyingly trendy, perhaps because they don’t appear to take themselves too seriously. Torontoist predicts this could be the buzz-band of the year, so tomorrow is a good chance to decide for yourself.
Tomorrow night (March 22) with Born Ruffians at the Horseshoe Tavern, 10:30 p.m., $8.
Photo courtesy of Stage Fright Publicity.

Zoobombs Finally Retreat, Head to Brantford

Kate Robertson — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 20:41:25 +0000

Tokyo’s Zoobombs played their final show last night at the Silver Dollar after playing five shows in Toronto in the last week. Organized by the infamous Dan Burke, the shows were an effort to attract industry interest in the Japanese band without any help from the industry at all. In a direct offensive against last week’s CMW festival, Burke’s aim seemed to be to have a successful slew of shows with the same band “without any label-financing or government-funding.”
It remains to be seen how much valuable interest was generated through the shows, but the lesson learned here is that with enough hype, you can get anyone excited about anything. The Zoobombs have amazing stage presence and are a high-energy psych-garage rock band, but they lack substance and memorability. They aren’t terrible, but it seemed the audience’s over-the-top response last night was fueled more by hype than great songs.
If anything, the greatest thing about the shows is that they forced people to see deserving local acts that supported the headliners. The I Spies, The Surplus Sons and The Mark Inside all played solid rock sets to an eager and receptive audience that otherwise wouldn’t have attended.
The Zoobombs started strong, and everyone was captivated before a note was played. It seemed a lot of people had already seen the band last weekend and come back for more. But it became apparent that the band had been built up more than they deserved, and the show descended into a pitiful spiral of ridiculousness and self-indulgence about five songs in. Long, wandering, poorly-executed bouts of psychedelic guitar solos were accompanied by meaningless lyrics and silly cock-rock guitar tricks.
Again, the audience went wild, a mosh pit erupted at the foot of the stage, and long-haired dudes in leather jackets held their beers high in the air. Everyone was convinced they were witnessing something important.
Maybe they were, but when the band was joined on stage by a wild-eyed Dan Burke who proclaimed he was “the best dancer in Toronto,” and demanded that the supporting band-members grab maracas and join in on a clumsy cover of “Sympathy for the Devil,” it was clear that something was amiss. This was a fun karaoke/dance party, not history in the making. The Zoobombs are skilled performers with great showmanship, but remain unremarkable songwriters.
Not convinced? Catch Zoobombs tonight at The Ford Plant in Brantford, or leave a disagreeable comment below.
Photo by Spengu from Flickr.

I Hear the Pitter Patter of Awesome Shows

Kate Robertson — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 01:00:39 +0000

In case you’re not into any CMW bands playing this year like these guys, or you want to avoid the boozing and schmoozing music industry folks (who are desperately clinging to their jobs), you might consider checking out the Pitter Patter Festival running concurrent to CMW. Featuring more than 80 local and non-local bands playing in Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa, this year’s line-up is a competitive, if not superior alternative to Canadian Music Week.
Organizer Keith Hamilton is no stranger to playing music, which may be why he’s so good at organizing shows. As a member of The Postage Stamps and Henri Fabergé and the Adorables, he also co-ordinates the Pitter Patter Nights music series, an irregular but frequent event that’s a lot like Wavelength. At the end of each month, volunteers and organizers put together a compilation of bands that played that month, which is available for a short period of time at various record stores.
The downloadable schedule is here, but here are a few highlights to look forward to:
Tonight: The Sourkeys, Deep Dark United, VKNGS @ Tiger Bar
VKNGS are experienced Haligonian musicians with former members of North of America and Sharp Like Knives who play dark, mathy hardcore. Deep Dark United play noisy, psychedelic, playful and sinister tunes. The Sourkeys also dabble in math-rock, but are poppier, catchier, and lighter than VKNGS. 141 College St., 9 p.m., $5.
Thursday, March 8: Jewish Legend, The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Rest @ Supermarket
Jewish Legend are a psychedelic-country-rock band featuring the best drummer in the city and former-Tangiers frontman Josh Reichmann. The RAA are a lo-fi Cuff the Duke, and play songs about the country-side. Hamilton’s the Rest call to mind Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and their forthcoming debut record Atlantis, Oh Our Saviour! should get a lot of attention (and let’s hope for more than their lengthy, exhausting, song titles). 268 Augusta, 9 p.m., $5.

Friday, March 9: Paul Devro, Apache Beat, The Diableros, Put the Rifle Down, Sailboats Are White @ The Boat
This will be a great show, particularly because of the upbeat and eclectic mix of bands on the bill: Vancouver’s Paul Devro is Canada’s Girl Talk, and mixes and mashes pop songs with a baile funk beat. New York’s Apache Beat is best known for producing ‘Tropics’, which was remixed by TTC’s Tacteel, but will probably be better known for their own tracks soon. If you haven’t seen the Diableros yet, with their Beat Happening meets Arcade Fire meets British Sea Power sound, now is probably the time. Put the Rifle Down are a local dance four-piece who sound like a laptop DJ. Finally, Sailboats Are White are a thrashy band with the occasional dance beat from Hammertown and St. Catharine’s. 158 Augusta, 9 p.m., $8.
Saturday, March 10: Hexes and Ohs, The Department of Foreign Affairs, Friday Morning’s Regret @ The Central
Hexes and Ohs are an adorable Montreal couple who play quieter, catchy dance-pop tracks with synths and feeling. Ottawa’s appropriately named The Department of Foreign Affairs play indie-piano-rock are sort of sound like the Beatles, which might be a ridiculous comparison. Friday Morning’s Regret are a local band with 90s indie sensibilities, and are the band most likely to hear on the radio very soon perhaps because of their Matthew Good-like vocals. 603 Markham St., 9 p.m., $5.
Sunday, March 11: The Patients, Action Makes, Another Blue Door, The Zoobombs @ The Velvet Elvis
This show’s line-up is great, but it’s the combination of the line-up at a great venue in the ‘burbs that will really make this one special. The Patients have a Sam Roberts-ness about them, but without that Montreal snobbiness. Just kidding. Toronto’s Another Blue Door are a lot like Archers of Loaf, who we all miss and are glad have been reincarnated as this band. Lastly, Tokyo, Japan’s Zoobombs are a rowdy, raucous, fast-paced rock band that will tear it up. There is more to come on them soon. 221 King St. E., *Oshawa*, 7 p.m., $9.
Flyer by Tim Okura.

Not That TTC

Kate Robertson — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:42:00 +0000

French rap group TTC makes one thing clear on their MySpace page: “We don’t make rap for people who don’t like rap. We make rap for people who love rap more than anything else in the world, and who fucking love many other things too.” They’re a passionate bunch.
The problem with these irony-obsessed goofballs is that based on appearances, they’re easy to dismiss as fashionable in an American Apparel, Euro-Trash, gold chains ‘n’ grills kind of way, and therefore one may assume that they are probably bad. Locate your sense of humour, turn it on, listen to a few tracks, and you might change your mind. With catchy dance hooks combined with basic techno and well-produced beats, this group is worth checking out tomorrow night as they promote their newest record, 3615.
TTC are Teki Latex, Tido Berman, Cuizinier (or “Young Cueezy”, who performed at the Drake last summer), DJ Orgasmic, Para One and Tacteel, all with various producing and rapping responsibilities. And, like any self-respecting rap super-group, they all have solo projects and collaborations worth checking out.
Sampling everything from the Hokey Pokey to Dem Franchize Boyz to The Platters, TTC are creatively diverse. Sometimes they sound like Toronto’s Junior Boys, but most of the time they come across as a curious, one of a kind group with irresistable poppiness.
See TTC with ThunderHeist and Toronto’s Nasty Nav Wednesday, February 28 at The Social, 1100 Queen St. West, $10.
Photo by Akroe.

Drake Audience Keeps it Down

Kate Robertson — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:00:00 +0000

The most unusual aspect of Monday night’s quiet jam at the Drake Underground was the absence of annoying chatter during three folk-rock solo sets. Everyone knows Toronto keeps it real by keeping still, but normally a quieter show means restless drinkers hoping to catch up with friends while they absently watch a show as if it’s background music. Astoundingly, the audience remained almost completely and respectfully silent throughout Baby Eagle, again through Woolly Leaves, and again for Sackville, New Brunswick’s Julie Doiron.
And no, the place wasn’t dead. In fact, the Drake Underground was tightly packed with almost no standing room. Conversation wasn’t lost on Doiron, who carried on a lengthy discussion with one audience member encouraging him that it was never too late to learn French. A bit of a chatterbox in the most endearing way possible, Doiron probably spoke more than anyone else in the room. It wasn’t boring; just eerie in the best way possible.
Toronto’s Baby Eagle (a.k.a. Steve Lambke), also a member of the Constantines, seems in direct opposition to his other, more aggressive, rock ‘n’ roll band. He’s less anthemic, more personal, less rock, and more folk. While at times he sings just above a whisper. He threw down some catchier country hooks that call for obvious comparisons to Bob Dylan.
Woolly Leaves (a.k.a. Will Kidman, pictured above), is another Constantines member who followed suit, playing a heartfelt selection of songs with a strong sense of place. Slightly less catchy than his bandmate, Kidman was part bleeding-heart, part goofball, and like the other artists performing, entirely engaging.
And then there was Julie Doiron, formerly of Canadian indie-rock legends Eric’s Trip and now of Shotgun & Jaybird. Somewhat embarrassed and horrified, Doiron reminded her audience that she’s been playing music for seventeen years. Playing songs from her own repertoire and Shotgun’s, Doiron used self-deprecating humour to charm the audience, refusing to take a sip from her beer until she admitted that in contrary to what she claimed in a recent NOW magazine article, she has fallen off the wagon. “It’s not these that get me,” she said, gesturing toward her beer, “It’s the tequila. So I can have this.” After about six songs or so, she opened the room to requests, which fans did not hesitate to make.
Maybe a little long, maybe a little slow, but you couldn’t ask for more from a Monday night. Well, you probably could: how about re-thinking a $15-$17 cover charge at one of the biggest rip-off bars in town?
Photo courtesy of Carrie Musgrave.

Karaoke at its Realest

Kate Robertson — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:44:41 +0000

This Thursday marks the premiere of Toronto’s Hip-Hop Karaoke night. Brought to you by Never Forgive Action and Earwaks, and hosted by local rapper More or Les (who was interviewed by Torontoist last spring) and local DJs Dalia, Numeric and Ted Dancin’, this party promises to be more than your basic karaoke night. First of all, it’s hip-hop, so you may want to practice ahead of time or do the track you’ve known since you were in Grade 6. Secondly, the DJs will be spinning live instrumentals under your rhymes, so there will be no cheesy MIDI track playing or words that highlight as you go (This means you have to know your song really well!). Thirdly, it’s all rap all night long, so no one will be singing Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.”
The organizers had the idea independently, but other Hip-Hop Karaoke nights run successfully all over the world. More or Les says DJ Dalia and the others hammered down the logistics of the night with advice from event organizers in other cities. It must run smoothly, because Big Daddy Kane showed up at Hip-Hop Karaoke New York. If we cross our fingers, maybe Maestro Fresh Wes will make an appearance and do “Let Your Backbone Slide.”
With a choice of more than 200 songs, participants sign up for the song they want on a first-come first-serve basis. You get a print-out with the words to your song, and when you’re called up on stage, you blow the audience away. So easy. And in case you’re wondering, the n-word has been edited out of lyrics sheets, and will be replaced with ‘brother,’ while some recommend using ‘ninja’ or ‘neighbour’ to eliminate racial discomfort at the night.
Sound intimidating? More or Les (a.k.a. Les Seaforth) emphasizes that the party is first and foremost for a good time, not to show off. “We just want everybody to feel relaxed, and we want this to be fun. It’s not a talent show, it’s a party.” If things go well, More or Les says the night will run once a month.
The folks at Hip-Hop Karaoke Toronto remind you to sign up at 9:00 pm, and the show starts at 10:00 pm. $5 at The Boat this Thursday, Februrary 15.

Grizzly Bear Get Psyched

Kate Robertson — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 18:10:07 +0000

Part Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, part Animal Collective, part something else completely, Grizzly Bear have a unique sound that’s tricky to categorize. This is not music you will necessarily dance to, but you will be moved. The Brooklyn-based band hits Toronto on Tuesday at Lee’s Palace with Dirty Projectors to promote their newest (and critically acclaimed) record Yellow House.
Despite ranking their last show in Toronto in support of TV on the Radio their worst of the tour, Ed Droste, original member and frontman (sporting the white thermal), insists that they love Toronto. “The Opera House just has bad sound, and it wasn’t a great venue [Droste explains on his blog that it smelled of poop backstage]. This drunk guy was yelling at us the whole time that we were playing. He was like, ‘Get off the stage! YOU SUUUUCK!’ He was like, some drunk, saggy dude that was there for TV on the Radio and didn’t give a shit about us.” He adds, “I’ve heard great things about Lee’s Palace though, so we’re really psyched about coming back.”
Droste’s insistence that they love Toronto sounds superficial, but it isn’t. The band became good friends with Torontoist crush Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy, who they met when he remixed “Don’t Ask” off the band’s first record Horn of Plenty. “Then he saw us at CMJ, and then he invited me to his live show with the Arcade Fire when they played in Central Park like a year and a half ago. We hit it off, and we became friendly, and then he invited us to come open for him for a string of Canadian dates last spring. We always try to overlap tour dates every time we can.”
Unfortunately for fans and lovers of mash-ups and fun, Grizzly Bear won’t be releasing another remix record as they did for their last release. “The first remix project was sort of something that I did on a whim, but when I look back on it it seems self-indulgent and silly.” Luckily, mash-up master Girl Talk recently finished a remix of “Knife”, and mixes the album’s catchiest track with Clipse‘s “Wamp Wamp”. The result is probably the most danceable form of Grizzly Bear anyone will ever hear. “I find it to be simultaneously brilliant and catchy and I never really imagined us being put together with Clipse, but he made it work. He’s amazing. I was so psyched with the results.”
Along with the rest of the world (or those who listen to experimental psych-folk), the band is also ‘psyched’ about their latest record. “The first record was the clichéd, boy-in-a-bedroom kind of bullshit, but the new record was a total début for us as a band and it features everybody. Dan [blue shirt] joined the band and is a chief song-writer, everyone sang, and Chris Bear [flannel plaid shirt] did all the production and engineering on the album. It’s a lot clearer, it’s a lot more dynamic, and the song-writing is stronger. There are four people collaborating together.”
Despite a difficult European tour with TV on the Radio on which all of their gear was stolen from their van in Brussels, Droste sounds excited for the new tour. “We’re in Philly, and two of us are getting over colds, but we’re all pumped full of steroids and ready to go.”
Photo courtesy of grizzly-bear.net. Listen to some tracks here.

Does Toronto Really Love Britpop?

Kate Robertson — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago Kensington Market’s Neu+ral Lounge announced on Stillepost that they were looking for djs and party organizers to take over their Saturday night slot. Organizers of Eat Your Greens, a Britpop, Mod and Soul night, have decided to leave the venue for the El Mocambo, and will be doing so starting February 10.
Last weekend Neu+ral announced that the new Saturday night will be called Kensington Station, and will be hosted by DJ Lawrence, who you may have seen spinning at Queen West’s Lot 16. Strangely, Lawrence and Neu+ral are promoting the event as an Indie, Britpop and ‘Trash’ night (whatever that means), and promise to play bands like Joy Division, Blur, Ride and the Bluetones among others. Another Britpop night?
To put it lightly, the organizers at Eat Your Greens are unhappy with the decision, and vocalized these complaints on the messageboard. As apologies are made and the dust settles, a few important questions remain: Are there enough people in Toronto who listen to 80s and 90s British Pop music to sustain both nights? When DJ Lawrence promises to play “cutting edge Britpop,” what exactly does that mean? Why doesn’t Neu+ral try something new?
While many local music fans will shrug in disbelief, none of this should be too shocking. After grunge and alternative music lost momentum in the 90s, some music fans turned to the cheeky and fashionable sounds produced in the UK. Nights like Blow Up (which only ended last year) and Mod Club started at the Lion and Lava. Eventually the Mod Club Theatre was established and the Vespa store emerged.
Apparently, Toronto hearts this Britpop and Mod stuff like crazy. The real test comes on February 10 when Eat Your Greens and Kensington Station go head to head: Will Toronto embrace two British themed nights on the same night, or will one prevail? Or, will both nights self-destruct out of poor attendance? And finally, does anyone care?
Photo courtesy of tantek of Flickr.

The Gallerist (January 20th – 30th)

Kate Robertson — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 20:01:05 +0000

The Gallerist is Torontoist’s new bi-weekly arts listings. Starting January 31st, check back every other Wednesday for a new batch of events.
Last Thursday local painter Colin Druhan hosted a busy and boozy reception at Katharine Mulherin’s secondary space on Queen West. His work (see ‘Hail Satan’ at right) features mainly portraits of fashionable men and sinister women, but there are a few friendly looking dog portraits scattered within the small space. Sharing the gallery is a small collection of work from several artists including Drue Langlois and Tyler Clark Burke. (1080 Queen St. West, open today, and from the 24th to the 27th.)
On Monday the NFB and the Young Parents, No Fixed Address Network presents a touring exhibit entitled ‘I Was Here’. The show features seven young parents or parents-to-be who have also had experiences with homelessness. The women were given digital cameras and access to blogs in order to document their lives, and excerpts and prints will be shown at the exhibit. (Runs Jan. 22 – Feb. 2 at Toronto Free Gallery, 660 Queen St. East; Feb. 5 – 9 at St. Michael’s Hospital, 1 Bond St.; and Feb. 12 – 16 at NFB Mediatheque, 150 John St. Opening reception from 7-9 pm on Thursday at Toronto Free Gallery.)
Don’t go skating on Wednesday at Nathan Phillips Square as the rink will be CLOSED for art-making. Ice painter Gordon Halloran will be preparing his Paintings Below Zero on the rink as part of this year’s WinterCity. Skating (on top of Halloran’s work) will continue on Thursday the 25th.
Le Gallery presents “Shangri-Lost” on Thursday. The show includes surreal, weird and wonderful drawings by Montreal’s Shawn Kuruneru, photographs of coffins and dead people by Toronto’s Jimmy Limit and typography/signage-oriented work by Toronto newcomer Jesse Harris. (1187 Dundas St. West., open from the 26th into February.)
Photo courtesy of Colin Druhan.

The Holidays are Over, But Toronto Keeps on Givin’ ‘Er

Kate Robertson — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:00:00 +0000

If you think the holiday season’s message of giving and charity and love is temporary, think again. Local bands have come together to produce the Friends of Bellwoods Compilation, which will raise funds for the Daily Bread Food Bank. Ex-Death From Above 1979‘s Sebastien Grainger, The Paramedics (starring Bry Webb of the Constantines), Ohbijou and The D’Urbervilles will be playing the CD release party this Friday at Tranzac, where you can also pick up a copy of the CD.
Casey Mecija, a member of Ohbijou, is a resident of the Bellwoods house where the original idea for the compilation started to form. “We decided to create a collection of songs from the people that have passed through my house in some way or another, whether it be through one of our basement shows, recording in the house or hanging on the front lawn. All of the musicians on the compilation have made an impact on the peple who reside at the Bellwoods house. We then decided what better way to give back to the community than making it for the Daily Bread Food Bank.” Awww!
Residents of the Bellwoods house include Mecija, fellow bandmate-artist-sister Jenn, artist-friend Kim England, pooch Appleby and turtle Georgia. Mecija emphasizes the way her house functions as part of Toronto’s music community, and how important the community is to her own creative efforts. “We occasionally have parties and shows at the house and our friends usually pass by for some dinner or just to hang out. Everyone is so supportive of each other’s artistic and musical endeavours. I’m in constant awe of the people I encounter through playing music in Toronto. Everyone is so spirited and it makes living here so exciting.”
Apart from the bands playing the party on Friday, the Friends in Bellwoods Compilation includes tracks from Germans, Snailhouse, The Meligrove Band and about twenty other artists.
Mecija says the bands chose the Food Bank as the recipient of the funds raised because of the vast numbers of people in need in the city, and that they aim to raise $10,000. “The Daily Bread Food Bank serves upwards of 75,000 people a month with their services. Their vision is to have “a Canada where hunger does not exist,” and if there is a way any of us can contribute to achieving that vision then we should all feel obliged to.”
Get tickets at Soundscapes for $10, or pay at the door. Non-perishable food items are welcome at Soundscapes or the night of the party.
Poster (also on sale at the show) by Nicholas Kennedy and Liisa Graham of Trip Print Press. Photo of Trinity Bellwoods Park celebrity the Albino Squirrel courtesy of melsky from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

How to Cut a Rug: The Better Way

Kate Robertson — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 18:20:01 +0000

Not to be confused with Nicole Richie’s ex-boyfriend, Toronto’s A.M. has created an ambient and beatsy fusion of electronic, gospel and folk music with the sounds of our beloved public transit system on his newest release Underground.
An elementary school teacher also known as Andrew Moore, A.M. samples the familiar sounds of the TTC: door chimes, the rumbling, hissing and screeching of a train’s arrival in the station, footsteps on tile, announcements on the P.A. system, and a busker’s guitar. These familiar sounds are combined with his own music and beats, and he manages to move beyond the novelty of his idea. Put simply, these tracks are pretty good.
Make love to Toronto and sample A.M.’s tracks here. Recommended tracks include “Gospel Jam” and “Boom Snap Clap”.
Photo by Dennis Marciniak from the Torontoist Flickr Pool