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Musicologist: March 3–9
Photo of Forest City Lovers by Joe Fuda
Torontoist is gearing up for the annual Canadian Music Week this week. CMWist’s complete coverage of show listings and a constant outpour of recommendations and reviews throughout the week will keep you all focused with that overwhelming 500+ band schedule.
But CMW aside, Soundscapes will be hosting a handful of free (yes, free) in-store performances throughout the week running parallel to CMW, and supporting the new releases (and re-releases) of the selected artists. Bon Iver will be playing a solo acoustic set on Wednesday, March 5 at 4 p.m., which will save Justin Vernon just enough time to sprint to his sold-out Lee’s Palace show with Black Mountain and Quest for Fire. Thursday, March 6 will have Victoria’s Immaculate Machine (5 p.m.), local love Laura Barrett will play on Saturday, March 8 (4 p.m.), and the week will close with Forest City Lovers on Sunday, March 9 (4 p.m.).
Forest City Lovers’ in-store performance precedes a full week of important dates for the local 3-piece. Starting on Tuesday, March 11, the band will see the release of their sophomore album, Haunting Moon Sinking, on Out of this Spark. Forest City Lovers’ first full-length The Sun and the Wind,, was released in the fall of 2006 much to the success of singer/guitarist Kat Burns, who at the time was accompanied by Ohbijou’s Andrew Kinoshita and James Bunton. Almost two years later, Forest City Lovers now consists of Kyle Donnelly (D’Urbervilles) on bass and Mika Posen (Ken Reaume and Kaeru) on violin. Change is a term easily associated with this ever-growing band, but slight changes to the bodies onstage have never distracted audiences from the quality of music they produce.
As it stands, Kat Burns and Mika Posen are a match made in melodic heaven—Kat’s finger-picked melodies on guitar are penetrated by full, woven violin that adds weight to already strong arrangements. Kat’s voice is soulful before sweet—when teetering off to her lower vocal register with force (“Monsters” or “On the Basis”), she makes songs feel most confident and gorgeously eerie.
A celebration for the release of The Haunting Moon Sinking will take place at the Tranzac on Friday, March 14 alongside tour/label buddies The D’Urbervilles, who will also be celebrating the release of their new full-length (We Are The Hunters). Forest City Lovers are set to travel to the east coast of Canada shortly after the Tranzac event, so go show your support before their local shows become few and far between.
Full listings after the jump.
This Week
Monday, March 3
Andy Swan and Stacy Burke @ Tranzac, $5
Tuesday, March 4
Major Maker, Great Bloomers, and Lightspeed Champion @ Horseshoe, FREE
Josh Ritter and Emm Gryner @ Phoenix, $18
Sally Shapiro, Johan Agebjorn, Will Munroe, and Woodhands @ Wrongbar, $12
Liz Hysen (Picastro), Slowly Slowly, and Anna Linda Siddall @ Tranzac, $5
Cheveu, Bush League, and Slim Twig @ The Boat, $5
Kingdom of Sorrow, Dead to Fall, Thy Will Be Done, and Electric Magma @ El Mocambo, $16
Clare Love, The Humbles, Paul Kolinski, and The People of Canada @ Cameron House, $6
Wednesday, March 5
Bon Iver (Solo acoustic set) @ Soundscapes (4 p.m.), FREE
Black Mountain, Bon Iver, and Quest for Fire @ Lee’s Palace, SOLD OUT
Ann Vriend @ Gladstone, $10
Andre Ethier @ Czehoski, FREE
Bobby Selvaggio and Ashley Summers @ Rex
Thursday, March 6
Immaculate Machine @ Soundscapes (5 p.m.), FREE
Dan Mangan, Samir Khan, and Sandro Perri @ Tranzac, $5
Friday, March 7
Dinosaur Bones, Mariposa, and Itchy Watery Eyes @ Mitzi’s Sister, FREE
Diapason perform “The Slow Monument of Sound” @ Music Gallery, $10-$15
Two Minute Miracles @ Tranzac, $5
Allistair Elliott, Alfie Zappacosta, Kristian Alexandrov @ Living Arts Centre, $60-$90
Saturday, March 8
Fraser Gielen, Nich Worby, Owl Eyes, Key Witness, and others @ Tranzac (7 p.m.), $5
Nina Nielson and Woolly Leaves @ Tranzac (10 p.m.), $5
Laura Barrett @ Soundscapes (4 p.m.), FREE
Candy Coated Killaz and Cross the Trax @ Harlem Bar, $8-$10
Demon’s Claws, The Nymphets, Ugly Stick, and DJ Mark Pesci @ Wrongbar, FREE
Happy Fingers: Tribute to Piano: Norman Amadio, David Braid, Ron Davis, Tania Gill, Bill King, Marilyn Lerner @ Diesel Playhouse (2 p.m.), $20
Sunday, March 9
Forest City Lovers @ Soundscapes (4 p.m.), FREE
Hamilton Trading Company @ The Boat, PWYC
The Slow Six and Naw @ Sneaky Dee’s, PWYC
Mandy Lagan @ Rex
Just Announced
March 23: Riot in Belgium @ Wrongbar, $15
April 11: Thunderheist @ Lee’s Palace, $10
April 19: Lucero @ Horseshoe, $12.50
April 24: Damien Dempsey @ Horseshoe, $17.50
April 28: Stars of the Lid, Christopher Willits, and Ken Reaume @ Music Gallery, $15-$20
April 28: Kate Nash @ Phoenix, $17.50
May 14: As I Lay Dying @ Phoenix, $22
May 21: Kanye West, Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D. @ Molson Amphitheatre, $39.50-$84.50
May 24: Opeth @ Sound Academy, $33
May 30: M83 @ Mod Club, $15
May 31: The Presets @ Anti, $16.50
May 31: KD Lang and Dustin O’Halloran @ Massey Hall, $69.50-$74.50