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Canadian Music Week – Saturday Preview
Hooray! You’ve made it to the last day of CMW. Or have you? Too exhausted to head out? We feel your pain. Nevertheless, here we are with previews for the last night of the festival if you’re still living the rock lifestyle for the weekend, or even if you’re stuck schmoozing with industry peeps. There’s one thing for certain about Saturday night, and it’s that all three of us previewing agree that the Horseshoe is the place to be. That said, there are plenty of other worthy shows highlighted below.
Tickets can be purchased in limited numbers for each showcase, or you can pick up a festival wristband for $35 on TicketBreak or Ticketmaster, which will allow you access to (almost) all shows throughout the week.
See Saturday’s preview after the jump.
Recommendations for Saturday, March 10
Birds of Wales
The Birds of Wales must be doing something right, as this will be one of their last Toronto shows before heading off to Europe in support of their EP being released in the U.K., Sweden, Spain and elsewhere across the pond. These Travis sound-a-likes just might hit it big and never come back, so try and get them really drunk so you have pictures to sell NME once they do. — Mike Warner
9 p.m. @ Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St. W.), w/ Pat Robitaille, The Ryde, We Are The Take, Jeremy Fisher, Tomi Swick, $10 adv/ $12 door
The Coast
It’s rare to find a band from Toronto who claim U2 as an influence and whose music actually does the stadium gods any justice, but The Coast act as the exception that proves the rule. They have all they need to make epic sounding music, mainly soaring vocals and guitar, and you should expect them to deliver on their promise with wonderful results. — Mike Warner
12 a.m. @ Clinton’s (693 Bloor St. W.), w/ Donkeypunch, Loudlove, Santa Dog, Reily, $8
The Golden Dogs
If you’re starting to feel the exhaustion from the past few days of checking out shows, The Golden Dogs are the perfect remedy. High energy, great stage presence and catchy lyrics will wake you up and give you that second wind to carry you through the rest of the night. This is an up-and-coming band who we’re sure are going places fast, or we’ll eat yellow snow. Have a listen to their stuff on Myspace and judge for yourself…then run as fast as you can to the show, because along with their roster-mates for tonight, this showcase is so good you’re going to have a helluva time getting into it. — Carrie Musgrave
12 a.m. @ The Horseshoe (370 Queen St. W.) w/ Wil, Yoko Casionos, Two Hours Traffic, In-Flight Safety and Jenn Grant, $8
The Hot Springs
This Montreal band has it all: strong songs with sudden changes in dynamics and an engaging front-woman whose voice can be sweet or an odd mix of Bjork and Karen O. They’ve been tucked away in the studio for a while recording their debut full-length, so expect them to be itching to unleash hell on your unsuspecting ass. You can go to the show for Uncut and The Acorn, but you’ll be leaving talking about The Hot Springs. — Mike Warner
Time unknown @ Whippersnapper Gallery (587a College St.), w/The Acorn, Uncut and a special guest band, $8
In-Flight Safety
Though recent winners of the ECMA’s Rising Star Award, Haligonians In-Flight Safety don’t actually sound as though they’re an east coast band (ie. Sloan, Joel Plaskett). Unlike the rawness of their fellow east coasters, IFS come across much more polished on their album. If there was a Canadian version of Coldplay, this band would probably be it, with singer John Mullane’s voice sounding remarkably similar to Chris Martin’s, except slightly more gruff. Their songs are catchy and melodic, which make for a very pleasant listen. — Carrie Musgrave
11 p.m. @ The Horseshoe (370 Queen St. W.) w/ Wil, Yoko Casionos, Two Hours Traffic, Jenn Grant and the Golden Dogs, $8
Jenn Grant
Originally from P.E.I. and now based out of Halifax, Jenn Grant‘s made quite an impact on the Canadian music scene with her jazz, folk, and sometimes country-inspired singer-songwriter-style melodies. Soft and breathy, but intensely and tightly wound, her voice sounds similar to Leslie Feist’s, and the music is just as diverse. Meandering yet precisely so, she’s a promising up-and-comer for sure. — Kate Robertson
1 a.m. @ The Horseshoe (370 Queen St. W.) w/ Wil, Yoko Casionos, Two Hours Traffic, In-Flight Safety and the Golden Dogs, $8
Johnny Truant
This Brighton, UK metal band seems to really like Canada. So much so, that they’ve taken up residence here and play a pretty steady stream of shows, much of the time alongside The Cancer Bats. They’re loud — extremely loud — and in your face, and the one time we saw them live, the place was so packed that you could barely get your head bang on. If you need to totally let loose or if you feel it’s been too long since your last broken nose, Johnny Truant is the show for you. — Carrie Musgrave
9:30 p.m. @ The Rivoli (651 Queen St. W.) w/ The Gorgeous, The End, The Cancer Bats, $16 adv./ $20 door
The Parkas
From the outside, The Parkas seem like the quintessential indie-rock band. They possess a small core group of fans but can never keep momentum rolling for long enough to get anything to develop. Critical popularity and skilled musicianship pass by the average listener, leaving the band no choice but to eventually call it quits. Hopefully this won’t happen to The Parkas, so do your part and support them so they can keep making great music. — Mike Warner
11:30 p.m. @ Global Village Backpackers (460 King St. W.), w/Bloody Miracles, The Cracker Cats, Jeff Button, $5
The Pipettes
This band is a pretty big deal, particularly to the people at Pitchfork, so you probably already know a little bit about them. Nevertheless, let’s review: The Pipettes are built on a 60s girl-band paradigm, they come from England, and they wear matching mini-dresses and play songs about scary girls from school, dance parties and cute boys. We recommend you buy tickets ahead of time, and good luck to all of you who want to see this show.
12:30 a.m. @ The Rivoli (334 Queen St. W.) w/ Harmonica, the Nymphets and United Steel Workers of Montreal, $10 adv/$12 door
Yoko Casionos
Getting hand-picked to open for Sloan’s cross-Canada tour has it good and bad sides: it’s validation that you’re doing something right, but you have to be wary of becoming “That Band That Opened For Sloan” from thereafter. The Yoko Casionos come in tow with a bag of could-be rock hits, so the only thing left is to see them live and see if their three-part harmonies pass muster. — Mike Warner
9 p.m. @ The Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen St. W.), w/ Wil, Two Hours Traffic, In-Flight Safety, The Golden Dogs, Jenn Grant, $8
With so many bands, we’re sure we missed others worthy of a preview. Know of any? Let us know in the comments.
Photos: Carrie Musgrave