Results tagged “greatlakeswimmers”

The landscapes of Ontario have long influenced the songs of Tony Dekker and his band, Great Lake Swimmers. Lost Channels, out today on Nettwerk, continues the Swimmers' folk-rock encapsulation of the best parts of nature's quiet contemplation, and gives us their greatest effort yet at building a real, start-to-finish album of refined instant classics that is surely emblematic of their continued growth and longevity.

Photo of Tony Dekker by Trinh Nguyen

Musicologist is not sure The Drake is a large enough venue for the arrival of Baby Dee on Wednesday, February 6. The multi-disciplined artist is a classically trained harpist, organist, legendary Cleveland street and circus performer, and collaborator with such brilliant acts as Antony and the Johnsons. The 54-year-old performer brings a wealth of musical and artistic experience to the stage, and her transgendered politics are surfaced through her healthy variation of wistful harp and piano-driven pieces (often reminiscent of 70s singer-songwriters) and (most evidently on her recent release, Safe Inside the Day) ones resembling those of a cabaret score. It is difficult to not love Baby Dee for her eccentricity and musicianship, but most critics and new listeners have qualms with her sparse, unfocused voice. Similar to Joanna Newsom or Tom Waits, one must look beyond Baby Dee's unique voice and understand where it comes from—a less-than-perfect voice with heart is better than a big one with no emotion.

Weekly indie institution Wavelength started in 1999, setting up shop at Ted's Wrecking Yard, then bouncing between venues until landing at its current home, Sneaky Dee's, in 2002. Past performers read like a who's-who of home grown indie music: Great Lake Swimmers, The Bicycles, Cadence Weapon, Julie Doiron, Peaches, Final Fantasy, Feist—and the list goes on.

After a short hiatus, Live Baby Live is back on its feet (along with it's author) with an abridged version of the listings this week. Hurrah!

We're a little late with this week's music listing--blame the election! Er, okay, maybe someone just got immersed in learning a bit of Flash and let it slip. It won't happen again.

If you're not completely burnt out from Nuit Blanche, there are plenty of quality shows to check out this week, including Joanna Newsom, Massive Attack, and Myspace darling Lily Allen. Alternatively, you Hip fans can skip out on the live music this week and save up your change for all four (yes, FOUR) of the recently announced shows at the Phoenix a few weeks from now. Can Gord Downie and pals really justify the $60 admission fee these days? Could they ever? On a similar note, Guns N' Roses are coming to the ACC in November -- should they be asking fans to shell out up to $85 to see a bloated Axl Rose trying to slither around the stage, caterwauling 'Sweet Child O' Mine'? Wouldn't that just be painful to watch? Are we asking too many questions? Okay, we'll stop.

Earlier this week in the concert listings, we briefly told you of the upcoming free shows that the Toronto Public Library were holding. Now that the full details have been released, here's the low-down.

This weekend, the Harbourfront Centre plays host to Indie Unlimited. The festival's lineup features Amy Millan, The Hidden Cameras, Bell Orchestre - and Great Lake Swimmers, who are coming off the end of their touring in support of their acclaimed 2005 album, Bodies and Minds. Frontman Tony Dekker took some time to talk with Torontoist about touring and what's next after this weekend's show.

Tsk, tsk. Late two weeks in a row. Someone needs a good spanking. Next week we'll get our act together and put Torontoist before busy schedules and get this puppy out on time. Pinky swear.

Despite the crappy weather outside Toronto's musicians seem to have come out of hibernation. If you have the stamina and money burning a hole in your pocket you could probably hit almost a dozen shows and enjoy each one.