Justin Hawkins performing with The Darkness at The Phoenix – photo Brian Banks

The Gig: The Darkness
Where: The Phoenix
When: 1 February 2012
In One Word: Headstands

The Darkness kicked off their 13-date North American Tour selling out The Phoenix last night in Toronto. After taking a break in 2006, they are making quite a comeback. The band drew in a very diverse crowd, from young hipsters to middle-aged rockers eager to see them together again.

Foxy Shazam opened, an aggressive glittery rock band produced by the lead singer of The Darkness: Justin Hawkins. The crowd didn’t seem enthusiastic about the opening act, despite a warm reception for The Barenaked Ladies cover “This Is Where We Used To Live”.  However, they did an acceptable job of displaying character and perseverance in a concert hall filled with semi-drunk fans anticipating the main act.

The crowd’s anticipation for The Darkness started to grow after Foxy Shazam ended. Justin Hawkins electrified the audience, emerging in a green tartan 3-piece suit (minus the dress shirt).  Justin and the band sounded rejuvenated after their long hiatus; maybe that is exactly what they needed.

The audience exploded when the band led off the show with some of their classic early material.  However, they have not released an album since 2005’s One Way Ticket to Hell… and Back and it was evident that they were eager to share new material as well.  In between songs, Justin revealed that fans could download a new digital track and watch a new video for “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us” for free on their website.  It was also revealed that the band had completed a new album and that it would be released ‘soon’.

Personally, I felt skeptical and apprehensive before the show regarding the performance quality due to constant band member feuding during their hiatus. Justin left the band in 2006 and entered a rehabilitation program for drug and alcohol abuse. I was as curious as anyone to see the reformed Darkness, who have been back together recording and touring since last year. I was pleasantly surprised with the bands incredible enthusiasm and stage presence. All members displayed genuine passion and enjoyment and were clearly glad to be back. Fear not: tired washed out has-beens, they are not.  Highlights included Justin’s acrobatic behind-the-head guitar solo and a HEADSTAND against the drum kit.

They ended the show with their catchy smash hit from 2003, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” which is a song I think most long-time Darkness fans can remember singing along to at one time in their life. As the band returned for the encore Justin had changed into a Toronto’s Bovine Sex Club shirt, which the crowd enjoyed.  As cliché as it sounds, I think the band has somewhat of a soft spot for Toronto and Justin was pretty open with the audience revealing the last time he was here he had his penis pierced. The connection between the audience and Justin was genuine and you could feel it throughout the entire concert hall.  The bands encore, “Love on the Rocks With No Ice”, solidified a memorable comeback, with Justin playing guitar while riding on someone’s shoulders into the middle of the crowd.

Although I had never seen The Darkness mark I, I doubt this will be my last time seeing Justin Hawkins parading around on stage. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and look forward to hearing their highly anticipated new album. The Darkness are back! Nothing is gonna stop them now.

© Alex Last, Music Vice

Pictures of The Darkness at The Phoenix – (click each photo to enlarge on second page):

The Darkness – “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us”:

Internet links:
The Darkness
Brian Banks photography

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The Maccabees – photo Andrew Hughes for Music Vice

The Gig: The Maccabees
Where: HMV Institute, Birmingham, UK
When: 27 January 2012
In One Word: Grandiose

The Maccabees: A new year, a new album!

The Maccabees tour continued tonight in one of Birmingham’s finest venues, the HMV Institute; and Music Vice was there to catch the boys in action. The stunning venue was an acclaimed step up for the group, with tiered balconies and a bustling crowd that the band has gathered over three albums worth of blood, sweat, and mosh pit tears! The HMV was thus a perfect setting for what turned out to be an encapsulating performance and a rowdy, enthusiastic crowd of ever devoted fans.

The London based five-piece recently released their third album entitled Given to the Wild which has seen the band take on a new more “mature” sound to high reviews from the UK press, ourselves included. Given To The Wild is an album which has brought them significant success so far, but it is only early days; and with initial success and media buzz comes the pressure to replicate this new sound live. Could they pull it off? We waited to see…

The Maccabees have always been earmarked as a “cult” band; much like The Cribs or The Rifles. Bands with extremely loyal followings, but bands which often miss the larger commercial successes of their louder, brasher, musical cousins; Kasabian, Oasis, The Libertines, etc.

Current fanbase aside, this new album has definitely seen the band embark upon new social and musical territory; and there is a strong likelihood that The Maccabees will gain new listeners and fans for their already sizeable pack following this tour. At the Birmingham show there was an  murmur  travelling through the crowd; a Chinese whisper of tension, excitement and anticipation, even before the lads made their way onto the stage. The room was dark, and the fans faces were moody and surly; something that only added to the atmosphere! The only light in the venue was from a lowly projector; it set the ambience for the opening song, “Child”, the first song off their new album.

“Feel To Follow” followed after, before the lads launched into “Lego”; then there was a significant surge forward by the crowd as the  band picked up the tempo  with “William Powers”. Leading man, Orlando Weeks took a few seconds after these three to welcome the crowd to the show and to ask if everyone was having a good night. It was a quick quip though, and the band fell back into another new track, “Went Away”.

Two of the bands most well known songs “Precious Time” & “X-ray” picked up the crowd’s slightly dwindling enthusiasm for the new music and for the rest of the set the band was careful to balance the old with the new material. After all, every successful band knows how important it is to give the crowd some tunes they are familiar with, when premiering a new album. This predominantly “laddish” crowd demanded songs they could sing along to like a football anthem. In this sense, “X Ray” delivered; it was a great example of such a sing-along track that goes down well for the band. “X Ray” well instantly received by the crowd and acted almost like a call to arms for the more inebriated members of the throng. The mosh pit was now on and continued to grow from that point on!

Other musical highlights were: “Can You Give It”. The general pace of the night was upbeat; the room was littered with strobe lights; and grandiose endings made many of the new songs sound like finale numbers that just kept on coming.

Halfway through the show, and everyone was pretty warm and sweaty; we were given a  bit of a breather in “No Kind Words”; however even this more chilled out tune picked up the at the end and got people moving again. Maccabees have always crafted their songs ‘on purpose’ and this intelligence and comprehension of their crowd control, has only improved with age.

“Pelican” showcased the bands new, increasingly mature approach to life with lyrics that hinted that they are long past the days of their uncertain youth: “To have it all and still want more, One things for sure we’re all getting older”. This was another moment that made us think of The Rifles and the similarity between the two bands musical characters.

The official closing track of the  night was “Love you Better”; their biggest and most popular song to date. The crowd were jumping throughout the majority of the track and on their feet as the band left the stage. An inevitable and predictable encore followed with “Unknown” – one of the most upbeat songs the new album has to offer; “First Love” [a staple in the lads set lists], and they ended the show with “Grew Up at Midnight”.

Beer was thrown across the crowd, the odd shoe came flying past our noses; but everyone was there to have a good time and that is exactly what we all had! These lads have grown up a lot over the past few years; their fans are on pace with them. Don’t be surprised if this album works it way up the charts over the course of the 2012. Its a silent, steady creeper. Enjoy your success lads, you have worked hard for it.

© Andrew Hughes with Ngawara Madison, Music Vice

Photos of The Maccabees at HMV Institute, Birmingham:

Internet links: The Maccabees

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Britpep… Los Campesinos at Lee’s Palace

The Gig: Los Campesinos
Where: Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 22 January 2012
In One Word: Britpep

Sunday night in Toronto and Los Campesinos are playing the second night of their double-header at Lee’s Palace. The scene tonight at Lee’s reminds me a bit of a high school gym hall at the end-of-term disco. The geeks are sitting on the benches around the perimeter with back their backs to the walls, while on the dance-floor the cool kids boogie and fumble around a bit in the dark.

Except, Los Campesinos are no high school band.

Since originally forming at Cardiff University, Los Campesinos have gone on to get their Masters at the School of Indie Rock and they by all reports they seem to be making the grade: A growing fanbase on both sides of the atlantic, an appearance on Letterman last Friday, and Ellen Campesinos is pleasantly surprised when I inform her during our interview earlier in the evening that Los Campesinos are on the back page of the latest issue of Rolling Stone, on the chart run-down page, with the band in the top 10 of the College Radio chart.

The turnout for Los Campesinos is healthy if a bit thin; I’ll guesstimate 60-70%, with the first night being sold close to capacity. Either way, not bad for a second-nighter on a Sunday night in the middle of January.

The music of Los Campesinos is scatty, eclectic, jaggy, twinkly, shouty and bouncing with high spirits. I call it Britpep.

Brit |brit| informal, noun: a British person.
pep |pep| informal, noun:  energy and high spirits; liveliness : he was an enthusiastic player, full of pep.

And there are guitars, of course. The lyrics are pretty random too but songs about girls, angst and football are delivered with an upbeat, hyper pace. That’s what you get with a seven piece, eclectic indie-pop band.

But how does it all translate live? I’m happy to be with the geeks, as I sit back to survey the scene.

Up on a tightly packed stage, the seven members of Los Campesinos get animated and start coaxing the crowd to do the same. Singer Gareth Paisey does some gentle goading to his punters by making a joke about it being the ‘sabbath’. By the time Gareth is beating his chest to “Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)” a chilled crowd is a bit more livelier, and there are a few more people jumping and clapping along on the dance floor.

Gareth Paisey is the real dynamo on stage, as he shouts and beats out his lyrics, but the real harmony is created in what might otherwise be cacophony as Gareth’s sister Kim provides light, female vocals to the mix. Those vocal contrasts between the shouting boys and softly-singing girls are a hallmark of the Los Campesinos sound.

By the time “You! Me! Dancing!” is played, things have picked up a bit more. That song is Los Campesinos at they’re best. Pure gold. By this point some of the beer-suppin’, hand-clappin’ geeks have emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room and are now cautiously obeying as they get their boogie on too.

Los Campesinos: fantastic on record, but a bit of an awkward high school disco vibe when they do it live. I think that’s what I’m getting at. Or at least on a Sunday night at Lee’s Palace when half the crowd seem to have SAD. Regardless, the geeks and cool kids both leave the show happy enough. Sweet dreams, sweet cheeks.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Set-list:
By Your Hand
Romance Is Boring
Death To Los Campesinos!
Miserabilia
A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State; or, Letters from Me to Charlotte
Every Defeat a Divorce (Three Lions)
Songs About Your Girlfriend
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
There Are Listed Buildings
Straight In at 101
To Tundra
You! Me! Dancing!
The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future
Hello Sadness
Baby I Got The Death Rattle
————————
Ways To Make It Through The Wall
Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks

Pictures of Los Campesinos at Lee’s Palace:

Internet links: Los Campesinos

Los Campesinos interview with Ellen coming soon on Music Vice.

Special mention to cool cats Parenthitical Girls who I missed but spoke to at their merch table. They have some cool pop tunes, check ‘em out.

Sarah Blackwood of Walk Off The Earth Youtube viral fame, on stage with The Brains

The Gig: The Creepshow, The Dreadnoughts and The Brains
Where: The Opera House, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 7 January 2012
In One Word: Stupendous

Talk about an “I was there” concert…

48 hours after the video featuring The Creepshow’s Sarah Blackwood went viral as a member of her other project Walk Off The Earth [who we interviewed just last month... talk about finger on the pulse, eh?], The Creepshow played one of the wildest concerts Toronto will see this year. Together with Vancouver’s The Dreadnoughts and Montreal boys The Brains, this was one show that all in attendance will not be forgetting in a hurry.

My photographs below capture some of the electric atmosphere at this show – I hope you enjoy them.

Photos of The Creepshow, The Dreadnoughts and The Brains (featuring Sarah Blackwood for one song) at:

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Internet links:
The Creepshow
The Dreadnoughts
The Brains
Brian Banks – photographer

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Title: Given To The Wild
Artist: The Maccabees
Label: Fiction Records/Universal Music
Released: 10 January 2012
In one word: Progress

It comes as no surprise to me that after almost three year gap after releasing their second album Wall of Arms, that The Maccabees would come back with a more mature, confident and experimental sound with Given To The Wild. While listening to this album, its quite hard to believe that this is the same band who, on their debut album Colour It In that was released in 2007, were singing about the wave machine at the Latchmere Leisure Centre in London. Given To The Wild represents a significant development in the band’s sound as it focuses on layers of complex horn segments.

The first track, “Child”, kicks in after a two minute long instrumental. I first heard this track back in 2010 while the band were testing out new material and warming up for the Reading and Leeds festivals at the Concorde 2 in Brighton. It rolls in gently, and singer Orlando Weeks is atop in a dreamy and more relaxed vocal, but then all of a sudden the said horn segments kick in towards the end of the song, making it a song that was designed to please even the biggest of Maccabees fans.

Future single “Feel To Follow” is one of the record’s highlights in the way that “Love You Better” and “Can You Give It” demonstrated before whereas “Ayla” is carried along by a scintillating piano.

With its underlying programmed beats, “Go” is yet another highlight as its radio-friendly chorus and piercing guitar solo making it one of the stand-out tracks on the album. “Pelican” was the first release from Given To The Wild and is my favourite track on the album. It’s something that you would expect to hear on a Maccabees album, with the fast-paced guitars and infectious melody. It is set to be a staple track in the band’s live set and will be igniting pits up and down the country on their impending UK tour.

Given To The Wild makes for some uneasy listening in places, but is sterling in others. Instead of resting on their laurels or taking the easy option, The Maccabees have made an album that was a risk but it pays off. This is the sound of progress. A record that gives current fans something new and fresh, and that will undoubtedly find them many new fans too. The Maccabees enter 2012 waving the flag high for British indie, and have set the bar for other bands to shoot for. And yes, it’s only January but I expect to see this in many top 10 albums of the year lists, come December.

© Lauren Towner, Music Vice

Given To The Wild is out today in the UK and tomorrow, Tuesday 10 January in Canada and the US

Internet links: The Maccabees

The Maccabees – “Pelican”

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The Gig: Slyde
Where: Hard Luck, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 6 January 2012
In One Word: Windmills

How apt that Canadian metal veterans Anvil should be standing at the back of the room at Hard Luck Bar, while on stage a big-dreaming young metal band called Slyde were entertaining the crowd, playing a show that could be seen as the next step of their own Anvil-like journey towards that eternal quest of all musicians: To make it.

Steve ‘Lips’ Kudlow and Robb Reiner’s lifetime struggle to pursue their own rockstar dreams was captured wonderfully in the documentary Anvil: The Story Of Anvil. The success of that film, that had metalheads more watery eyed than Metallica & Lou Reed’s Lulu (but for altogether different reasons), has led to Anvil being forever immortalised in Canadian music folklore, while the band has toured extensively since and recorded their last album This Is Thirteen at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606. A poster story for determination, if ever there was one.

Anvil’s story drew lots of comparisons to the infamous metal mockumentary Spinal Tap, and the fun side to Anvil’s character added to the charm. Slyde have a comparable charm factor; a burly, Pantera-mold of metal band, they are not. They play a metal show that is actually enjoyable to watch, and in the moment it’s hard not to nudge the cute blonde nearby and inquire, “Are Slyde not the greatest band ever?!” With big hair windmills, deft keyboard arpeggios, a six-string bass, guitar tapping, face-twisting passion… it’s all ridiculous. Frontman Nathan Da Silva’s guitar case for his Flying V is even cut to the shape of the Flying V itself. Brilliant. Throw some socially and environmentally conscious lyrics into the mix, and you have an unusual – and more than just a tad geeky – metal band. Slyde are a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Yet while they are fun, none of what they do is a joke – being fun and resembling something of a caricature of a metal band is just part of what Slyde are about. With their presentation and performance, the band make a real effort to entertain their crowd. And with half the group already having moved recently to Toronto from Ottawa, they are serious with their ambitions. What really matters is the music…

At Hard Luck, the level of musicianship of this band was damn impressive. Slyde are so articulate. The classically trained Sarah Westbrook is frequently the extra dimension as she links and sets-up the guitar and bass players for all their fluctuations as the music goes from melodic metal to high-octane metal, with a distinctly European feel. The reception in Toronto was warm but if a little standoffish. If this was a rock club in Scandinavia it may easily have been a different story.  The fun, cheesy factor of their driving upbeat metal has a distinct Euro tang to it that would export well… Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, are you reading?

Without getting too carried away with poetic license, there is a bit of a sad irony seeing a band pack up their gear to the stage backdrop emblazoned with the giant letters ‘Hard Luck’. It’s still early days for this group, with just one full-length recording under their belts. At the moment they lack the one or two A songs they need to really pull a following. Yet 48 hours after seeing this show, I was still enthusiastically regaling to friends about Slyde: With some bigger hooks, Slyde could have their fans singing their tunes after the show too.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Watch out for an interview with Slyde, coming soon to Music Vice.

Video footage of Slyde performing new song “Take Us Away” at Hard Luck Bar

Internet links: Slyde

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Title: Morbidly Obtuse
Artist: Death O’Connor
Label: Elgin Rock City (Independent)
Released: 1 January 2012
In one word: Jizz

2012. It’s officially the future. And what does the future sound like? Well, judging by this, the first record we received in 2012, the future is: Scary, annoying, backed by drum machines and loops, and a re-hash of everything that has come before. What’s new, eh? Talk about a shitty future. From the hot-mic recorded roll-call introduction by Death O’Connor band members in “x”,  to the muddy, barely audible sludge-blues in the final track “Blues Botherers”, Morbidly Obtuse is a speckled turd of many flavours, most of them crap. The only difference between this and the crap that you’ll find topping the charts this month is that Death O’Connor’s record is a DIY album: a home production that was finalized using a 14-day demo of Fruity Loops.  But alas, a turd is still a turd, no matter if it’s been polished in a studio or made at home.

But wait…

Plot twist.

Hiding among all the disturbing electropop spasms and jizz on Morbidly Obtuse are at least a couple of tracks that we can safely describe as music. Not bad music either. If you like your minimal, new wave pop then “Boy’s Gonna Cry” and “Unthink It!” should raise a smile. These moments ring the similarity bell to the tune of Devo and The Network. The real gem however, is the penultimate track “We Are The Kids”.  A couple of drum loops, some keys and a cool wee vocal ditty. This little anthem is better than anything Mike Skinner attempted on the final Streets album.

Tracks like “Circus Mullet” might fry your brain and can barely be considered music, but the harshest spaz-outs can be forgiven for the nicer moments. Definitely worth a free download, for “We Are The Kids” at least.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Free download link: Morbidy Obtuse via Elgin Rock City records

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The Gig: Puscifer with Carina Round opening
Where: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 18 November 2011
In One Word: Transitional

Having only briefly heard the talents of opening act Carina Round during Puscifer’s show last year, Friday night’s proper introduction was a long-overdue one. Her set was brief – she is still performing as a member of the main act, after all – and she’d had to borrow Matt McJunkins (on bass) and Jeff Freidl (drums) after Canada’s ever-vigilant border guards prevented a few of her bandmates from laying waste our fair land, what with all their music playin’ and bus tourin’… a whole mess of trouble no doubt avoided, thanks guys! Good work.  I’ll remember this next time war criminals cross the border unmolested.

No, I jest – it was really nothing more nefarious than merely falling afoul of our infamous CanCon laws, which not only dictate the American-to-Canadian content ratio on TV and radio, but also how many American performers are allowed into the country at once – much like how you and your friends might have to wait outside a packed club until enough people leave.  Unfortunately for her band, Nickelback were out of the country, thus lowering our ratios, so they had to pull straws.  True Fact™.

But I digress. Carina Round has a powerful full-throated singing voice that’s a welcome change to the talentless auto-tuned divas currently dominating the airwaves – so please, someone give this girl more attention than whatever media she’s gotten so far. Dynamic rock arrangements complementing her vocal range’s tumultuous switching between twangy warble to emotive holler, there’s little held back in her performance. The slow oceanic buildup of “The Last Time” crashes into a tempest for the chorus, contrasted with when Round later takes over the vocals on “Rev 22:20” halfway through Puscifer’s set, adding another layer of seduction to the sultry number.  Here’s hoping for a tour back this way in the future.

Meanwhile, eagerly anticipating the sequel to last year’s show, I was stuck outside with the other photogs so I missed Maynard James Keenan’s opening monologue – and stepping into the theatre I hope I never have to shoot another show here.  Wallflowering photographers behind the stage corner in a pitch black auditorium and at an angle where half the band is blocking any clear shots of the other half is no way to get any kind of decent pictures, but thankfully “Green Valley” and “Tiny Monsters,” off their sophomore album Conditions of My Parole, are sufficiently soothing that I can refrain from too much self-righteous entitled bitching.

While last year’s Vaudevillian show followed a set theme – or rather, a rotation of six different ones – this year they produced a toned-down affair, with a campfire setup complete with folding seats, a fake fire in a Hibachi, a mini Airstream trailer, and a video screen playing random clips featuring a backwoods man-child as well as Hildy and Billy Dee Berger (who were both otherwise noticeably absent, with Keenan dressed in villain-black from hat to boot.)  Some of the video animations I could have done without, like the noodley woven background during “The Weaver” which was cringingly overly literal – unless there was some Magic Eye hidden image I was too sober to notice…?

The song list reflected a more somber mood, with the absence of lighthearted slapstick
making room for emotive bloodletting and the occasional political commentary.  “The Rapture” voiced an exhausted patience with the self-appointed cultural saviours over sluggish, chest-thudding bass lines accompanied by images of politicos and televangelists being tossed down a fiery hole.  With the trio of “Oceans,” “Monsoons” and “Horizons,” the set slowed to a near crawl in the middle, only to jar the audience out of their torpor with “Conditions of my Parole” and “The Undertaker,” with Round wailing about delightfully/drunkenly.

Round and Keenan prove to be a stunning duet, both crooning soulfully at the show closer, the banjo-tinged “Tumbleweed.” On the whole it was a more conventional performance than last year, a bit underwhelming considering the expectations laid – riffing off last year’s gags without fully incorporating or building on them felt at times like there was one foot on last year’s stage and another on this one, and would leave someone who had missed them last year in the dark as to the references being made; better to either evolve something completely different or carry on where you left off.  But if it’s an awkward transitional stage, their fervently devoted fan base are more than likely to see them through it.

© Liz Keith, Music Vice

Pictures of Puscifer at Sony Centre: (Photography access was restricted, which is fair enough: the band is the most important thing, and generally speaking concert photographers should work within the guidelines set by the band and promoter. We also agree with Puscifer 100% on the ‘no flash photography’ rule.):

Internet links:
Carina Round
Puscifer

The Mercy Now – MV file photo, March 2011

The Gig: The Mercy Now
Where: The Silver Dollar, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 19 November 2011
In One Word: Unity

Having +1 on the guest list to a concert is cool, but +7? Now that’s rock and roll.

Saturday night at the The Mercy Now at The Silver Dollar was always going to be a dead cert for a real rock ‘n roll party. The venue, while not being rundown, definitely still fits into the dive bar category and it took a bit of coaxing to get a couple of my friends to step inside. “Are you sure this place is safe?”, one asked with genuine concern, to which I gave the assurance that that there is no safer place I’d rather be than at a rock show with friends.

Dive bars are my ultimate home. The less pretentious a concert venue, the better. The vibe and atmosphere will always be better in raw venues like Silver Dollar, because the place is alive. It has a pulse. The Mercy Now came on at 12.30 and for the hour or so that they played, it was an absolute blast. Everybody in the place had a good time. We danced, we stumbled and we sung. Audience participation? This was unity. Gritty, euphoric, swaying-together, stumbling-out-the-door rock and roll unity.

/Rant… This was a stark contrast to the concert I’d found myself at the previous night. Puscifer at the Sony Centre was pretty damn tedious. I was probably the only one who stayed sitting down. Sitting or standing in one place in a big fancy concert hall full of chairs is not fun. The sound might be great but it’s definitely not rock and roll. All the security and ushers walking around making sure nobody steps into the aisle or does anything spontaneous? Boring. And the gigantic projected videos? Sure, a couple of funny clips but rock concerts are not supposed to be spectator sports. If I want to go to see a film and sit in a cramped chair, I’ll go to the movie theatre. This is the reason I miss Toronto venues like The Big Bop and Planet Kensington: total shit-holes but at least they had soul. I’m digressing horribly, but the point is I’d rather see a legit band like The Mercy Now play in some shitty dive than see some droll A/V sit-down show. …end rant./

Songs like “Cold Feet”, “Hard Times”, “The Full Story” and “Mercy” have become set staples and have established The Mercy Now as one of the best upcoming rock bands in the city. And the more I see The Mercy Now, the more I believe that this band can reach another level. There are tons of bands in Toronto, a lot of good bands, but the majority of bands begin to sound the same, as they struggle to stand out and in the end get stuck in the big listless middling void. But some bands rise above. The Mercy Now know how to kick it, and I think they are legit: a band definitely “Capable” of taking things one step further, and reaching that sacred place known as ‘somewhere’.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Internet link: The Mercy Now

The Gig: Zoë Keating
Where: Cabaret du Mile-End, Montréal, QC
When: 8 November 2011
In One Word: Captivating

Walking into Zoë Keating’s show at Cabaret du Mile-End at first brought back anxious memories of the first gig I ever shot, which was also a sit-down, classical affair.  A total greenhorn, I broke every rule in the concert photographer’s book: I used flash. I stood in front of (seated!) people, for far longer than I needed to. I shot beyond the first three songs – for the entire show, in fact. I made a right nuisance of myself, and I would’ve punched me given the chance (and time machine); so – don’t do what I done, kids. But I’ve come a long way since then: I’m far better mannered this time around, being overly conscious of the noise of the shutter clicking, so at least I’ve learned something.  Also, this being the age of affordable DSLRs, there’s at least two audience members with cameras in the front, so if I’m annoying anyone, it’s more likely because I’m in their shot… which is slightly more forgivable, I guess?

Having been first turned on to Keating’s music by a tweet from Neil Gaiman, her music is easy to fall in love with. Using a MIDI foot pad and a laptop to record and play back music as she goes, she’s essentially an orchestra unto herself, if that orchestra were playing the score to a hallucinatory Hiyao Miyazaki epic (instead of the usual saccharine Japanese pop that gets piped in to the trailers/credits.. ugh) or maybe any of the Qatsi series.  Many of her pieces certainly have that intense strain of symphonic urgency that you find on soundtracks – and she has scored or contributed to a few – with layered breathless spaces that evoke woodland fairy tale chase scenes in some kind of otherworld. Her lush soundscapes pull the audience in through the story, with both timid pluckings and eerie sawing evoking a delicate mystery, making for a mesmerizing experience; it’s hard to believe so much music can be created by only one person, technical realities notwithstanding. I was mightily impressed the first time I heard her, but to hear it live it’s quite captivating.

Despite a professed bout of stage fright early in her career, Keating is shyly chatty and doesn’t hesitate to crowd-source some jokes to be told while she tunes up between songs, or to occasionally explain what narratives played a part in the making of some of her songs. Especially touching was “Optimist”, played towards the end of the evening, which she wrote for her son just before he was born; the song is so named because “Having a kid is the ultimate statement of optimism… so, here’s to the future.” And what then follows is part blessing, part lullaby, a whispered dream guided by a simple heartbeat striking of the bow on the strings. Her music soars from vibrant lucidity through shadier terrain, like a heroine’s trip through fairyland, her deft handling of the symmetry between technology and talent making the journey unforgettable.

© Liz Keith, Music Vice

Pictures of Zoë Keating in Montreal by Liz Keith:

Internet links:
Zoe Keating

The Gig: Coeur De Pirate
Where: The Mod Club, Toronto
When: 11 November 2011
In One Word: Radiant

Last Friday night Coeur De Pirate played to a sold-out audience at the Mod Club at the release party for the band’s second studio album Blonde. Montrealaise singer Beatrice was radiant as she performed songs from the new album as well as tracks from the first album which she referred to as the band’s “classics”.

The French-Canadian band has seen an enormous spike in popularity in the months leading up to release of the new album. A Facebook account for the band which sat at 2,500 fans has swollen to 600,000 practically over night. On-stage chanteuse Beatrice admitted she was pleased and a little overwhelmed by the audience response. It was the band’s first ticketed performance in Toronto in 3 years – [the band did play a free open air performance for St. Jean Baptiste day earlier in the year] and they seemed a little surprised to be playing to such a large and loving English-language audience. (To compare, Karkwa, the first French language band to win the Polaris Prize, played to a smaller, tamer audience at Lee’s last month and the performance garnered significantly less notice from the weekly magazines).

On Blonde we see the band step back a little from the raw emotionality of the first – but if the second album has more pop sensibilities, which is to the band’s advantage. The band’s expanded sound draws on pop from the 1960s for its acoustics as well as aesthetics – Beatrice looks sultry in a throwback black number which is reticent of a lounge singer from that era.

After about an hour of play, the band gets off stage. (In a moment that is a bit embarrassing, the crowd starts calling for an encore before the songstress finishes her set). There is a generous five song encore which follows- and Beatrice invites her beau Jay Malinoski (Bedoin Soundclash) to the stage to join her for an English language song for one of the lower points in the show. (A cover off of the Weeknd’s recent album comes off as another cheap ploy for attention). But Beatrice’s enormous stage presence stays strong throughout, and she positively beams as her audience sings the words of her closing song back to her in perfect French.

It was an overwhelmingly successful record release party for the band, and the new release is bound to garner attention from the Polaris community next year.

© Natascha Malta, Music Vice

Pictures of Coeur De Pirate at the Mod Club by Brian Banks:

Internet links:
Coeur De Pirate

The Gig: Ludovico Einaudi
Where: St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 9 November 2011
In One Word: Tense

For the second time in less than a week I found myself attending a concert which was entirely instrumental: tonight, however, was a very different experience to seeing the rock band Dub Trio. A different kind of heavy. Ludovico Einaudi’s solo piano concerto saw the award-winning Italian composer and pianist make his Toronto debut. Some of his most famous work can be heard in the scores to films including Black Swan and the new Di Caprio flick J. Edgar. This concert at the intimate Jane Mallett Theatre at St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts was Einaudi’s Toronto debut, and I felt privileged to be invited to see it. It would be a new experience for me.

The formal mood and vibe of the evening was predictable, with a theatre full of smartly dressed people sitting attentively in their chairs for the 1 hour 50 minute duration of the concert. Adding to the tense mood was Ludovico Einaudi, who is an introverted and modest character – his approach to the piano is that of a dedicated maestro, with the music being delivered with a terseness that is reflected in the music. Everything was tense: Einaudi, his music and the audience, sitting stiff in their seats. The tension of the occasion is not a negative, but instead a compliment to the intense level of expression and emotion that Einaudi channels through his piano keys. The music is so physical, that you cannot fail to feel it as it tugs at your shoulders with heavy hands. I felt my back and neck tightening at the beginning of a piece, as Einaudi would weave the mood of the music and build to climaxes that brought temporary relief, lighter moments, before once again getting heavier. Each piece would provide further seconds of respite as Einaudi paused for applause, responding with a tight smile and a modest bow of the head.

In a couple of moments, Einaudia used some digital effects to add ambience to this music. I found these pieces the most interesting and enjoyable; as a fan of electronic and experimental music, I couldn’t help but wonder about the possibilities of further experimentation of piano music by utilizing effects to a greater extent.

My observation of Einaudi is that he is clearly a master of his instrument but also a man who works in his own distinct and defined range. I was hearing and seeing this music for the first time but everything Einaudi did was stamped with his unique trademark and contained within the same zone. The passion is fierce but controlled. I could almost visualize a cage around the man and his music: a cage that contains some of the heaviest, deltoid-straining and brain-prodding piano music you could hope to feel.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

A fan immersed in Dub Trio’s set at The Garrison

The Gig: Dub Trio
Where: The Garrison, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 4 November 2011
In One Word: Absorbing

“Imagine if Queens Of The Stone Age made a dub record…”

That is the quickest way I could think about beginning to attempt to describe Dub Trio to a friend the morning after seeing the Brooklyn, New York band play an intense gig on Friday night in Toronto. Despite being based in NYC, this was something of a local show for Dub Trio as two of the band members come from nearby Toronto, with guitarist Dave “DP” Holmes from Welland, near St. Catherines, Ontario and bass player Stu Brooks from Oakville.

It’s a great feeling when you see discover a band that you NEED to tell your friends about. With all the shows that I’ve been to, and all the new music I hear every week, I become increasingly harder to please and moments like this become rarer. Overexposure to anything will leave you desensitized. A hardened critic.

Coming into this show, I had no idea what to expect. After listening to a few tracks from Dub Trio IV, Dub Trio’s latest album, I found them interesting enough to make them the banner pick for November’s concert guide. I’ll pat myself on the back for that one but on paper this always pointed to be a safe bet: the band have just come off from another stint touring with Matisyahu as his backing band and have worked with Mike Patton.

With one man on bass and keyboard, one on guitar and one on drums, and with a veritable arsenal of effects pedals and patches tying them altogether, Dub Trio delivered an absorbing set of instrumental, heavy rock which seamlessly mixes brooding metal and punk riffing with reggae dub. Everything is held down by the heavy bass riffs. The end product is a hard rock dub fusion which gets mega heavy while managing to remain as cool as a fool in a pool. Rock music? More like a bloody iceberg. Seriously chill. But deadly.

The vibe be generated by the music of Dub Trio and their audience was ultimate; everyone seemed ‘into it’,  to varying degrees, with a room full of people quietly absorbed and losing themselves to the music.  I was hearing most of these songs for the first time, but one highlight from the set that I picked out was “Bay Vs. Leonard”, a song that sees the band merge Rasta dub with chill electronic, heavier metal guitar hooks and hard drums. The absence of vocals and lyrics is a fact to mention, but it matters not – the music has it’s own life, performed with a symbiotic energy between the band members.

I was impressed by the level of musicianship by Dub Trio and the level of articulation employed by each band member using their delays, loops and effects to switch tempo and shift mood: this isn’t just dumb noise by boys with stomp boxes, these guys are true mad scientists who are masters of creating mood with their instruments.  The most interesting rock/dub marriage I’ve heard since The Clash’s forays with dub and reggae.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Photos of Dub Trio at The Garrison:

Internet links:
Dub Trio
Brian Banks on Tumblr

Title: Consider This Severance (2011)/ Times Are Changing (2010)
Artist: CB6 (Carried By 6)
Label: Independent
Released: 1 June 2011
In one word: Snarling

A few months ago I received a very impressive looking promotional package from Southend-on-Sea, UK band Carried By 6. Tucked inside a red plastic folder was the band’s four CD discography, a nicely printed bio and a letter. The funny thing about this package was that it was sent in an envelope with a Hi-Tec sportswear company stamp on it; major DIY kudos and punk-rock points for whichever band member was using their work’s office stationary to mail out their promos.

Pretty packaging aside, the contents are what matters and CB6 are definitely worth hearing. What I find interesting is the devolepment of this band which can really be heard throughout the four years of their recordings. CB6′s 2007 debut EP The Beginning is modern heavy metal; it’s fast, pummeling metal, and technically strong but while it’s rich on licks it’s short on lyrics. Really it’s nothing to get excited about and by the time the fourth and final track plays out, I’ve gotten bored of the metal drone. Now, compare this 2007 debut to CB6′s 2011 single CD Consider This Severance and the contrast and progress is remarkable. In four years, CB6 refined more than just their haircuts; buzz-cut band picture in the 2011 artwork sound harder and more musically mature than the floppy haired metal kids in their 2007 guises. Consider This Severance” is an urgent, multidimensional track which infuses influences of hardcore punk, metal and even some R’n'B-esque spat spoken word breakdown/build-up verses for a 3 minute 40 seconds throwdown. It’s a snarling, multi-limbed beast of a song, and by heck, does it ever rock. Whereas The Beginning had me reaching for the stop button, Consider This Severance left me hungry to hear more – but it’s a true single and 3.40 minutes is the entire length of the CD.

A look back in the nearer future of CB6′s releases found some other good material on their January 2010 4-track EP Times Are Changing (artwork). “Before I Touch The Sky” and “Show Your Skin” are two further examples in the same vein of “Consider This Severance” that see these pissed-off Essex boys create something fresh and interesting to the metal genre. With their self-promoting on social media and with press packages, together with a few indie-shot band videos, it’s clear that CB6 are putting in the some serious elbow grease in to try to get themselves heard. ‘Potential’ can seem like a patronising and overused descriptor for bands, but if CB6 continue working hard and making new music in the same or better calibre as “Consider This Severance” then this could become a band to recognise. With the departure of Frank Carter from Gallows, Britain could sure use a good new angry, young and pissed-off band to step up and deliver.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Carried By 6 – “Consider This Severance”: Consider This Severance by CB6

Internet links: Carried By 6 homepage, CB6 Facebook

Slyde, our favourite band from Indie Week 2011… bloody incredible. Party on, Wayne!

The Gig: Indie Week
Where: The Peacok and Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 14 October 2011
In One Word: Mega

Indie Week 2011 came and went with a blur for me. I saw a couple of dozen bands during the five nights, while also attending Foodstock, Volcano Playground’s gig and my own photography exhibit debut. Busy week. Of all the bands that I saw at Indie Week 2011, there are only two I really want to talk about – I’ll get to them in a moment. First, I’ll stretch it to three bands if I include Courage My Love, who deserve a mention. CML were one of the breakthrough bands from last year and a group who played a storming set to a a packed out crowd at Cherry Cola’s on Saturday night. These teenagers, who are in the Paramore vein of alternative rock, impressed and held a +19 crowd. They gave a very strong showing of themselves; CC’s was rocking. Special note to Mercedes Arn-Horn who melted some faces with a nice bit of tapping which was recognised by judges as she went on to win a guitar for being named best guitarist of the festival.

The first of my two favourite bands of Indie Week 2011 are Pree: a four-piece from the home of hardcore, Washington, DC. They play a vibrant sound of pop rock with tons of variety in direction and tempo, while utilizing a veritable arsenal of eclectic instruments on top of the standard rock gear including a saw, a washboard and a Melodica (you know, one of those funky mini keyboards with a mouth piece.) It was a great set though sadly a lot of their sound was drowned out by a less than attentive crowd of King Street revellers who talked and drank over the band. Pree battled on, with the drumming really thrashing his kit for the last song, perhaps in frustration at the crowd noise. Pree were really fun. I hope they return to play Toronto next time at a venue more suited for a folky-pop rock band with all their subtle nuances – really hard to hear someone play a saw or a uke while there’s a venue full of dickheads talking.

Even more fun were Slyde, a hard rock band from Ottawa, ON who pack a punch with ’80s synthesizer power. I saw them come on close to 2am in the morning at Hard Luck. Justus – another average metal pub band, nothing to write about – had left the stage as I saw the members of Slyde shifting their gear over. Something told me it was going to be worth sticking around to see this band: I saw a long haired metal looking dude with a 5-string bass, an Asian girl with some big keyboards and a dude who looked a bit like Garth from Wayne’s World with some rather nerdy glasses. As soon as Garth took off his glasses and pulled out a Flying V to set-up, I new some cool shit was going to go down. You don’t play a Flying V if you suck. My instincts proved correct. Slyde were absolutely brilliant. So much fun. The mix of chugging hard rock from the rhythm section was countered perfectly with some oh-so-fun upbeat synthesizer with a sound that was reminiscent of Van Halen and video game music. Completing the Slyde package is the front man who was a joy to watch, having so much fun on the stage while singing about the environment and politics with song titles including “Feed The Machine” and “Global Empires Fall”. Awesomely fun, hugely entertaining AND with some meaningful, poltical lyrics? That’s SLYDE! Mega. The atmosphere among the sparse crowd of about a dozen was giddy, and when Slyde finished their set the warmth shown to the band was incredible, as everyone, myself included, stepped up to shake hands and slap shoulders.

Slyde will be the band I remember from Indie Week 2011. Thanks for making it worthwhile guys. Incredible set. Best band of the week by a mile.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

I missed the final of Indie Week 2011 because I was at Foodstock, but the winners were Tiny Danza. Congrats.

Photos of Slyde and Pree:

Internet links:
Slyde
Pree
Brian Banks photography (Tumblr)

The Gig: Indie Week hip hop showcase
Where: The Annex Wreckroom, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 13 October 2011
In One Word: Hopping

Photo gallery featuring Meeko, Killa Gens and The Royal Society:

© Nathan Luke Blagdon, Music Vice

Internet links:
Killa Gens
Nathan Luke Blagdon

Christine Owman plays the saw during her showcase at Nocturne

The Gig: Indie Week 2011
Where: Nocturne, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 13 October 2011
In One Word: Sincere

The best thing about festivals is that they give you the chance to check out things and people you might not normally get the opportunity to see, particularly from other countries. This is why I decided to see Sweden’s Christine Owman and Taiwan’s Kou Chou Ching at the Thursday Indie Week showcase at Nocturne.

I have to admit, when I first saw Christine Owman set up, I thought to myself ‘oh man, not another precious, pretentious experimental artist’. But I soon found myself sucked into her performance.  Her eclectic mix of the 80’s inspired outfit (headband, lace cut-off gloves and stockings etc.), multimedia (provocative, retro video footage) and unconventional instruments (singing saw, ukulele, and a twirly hose thing), all seemed to work. Her influences come from different eras and are fused with present technology and a voice that ranges from haunting ghost to a hint o’ wailing banshee. She put her whole self into the set and it enthralled enough to win her the night’s showcase.

While Owman certainly deserved the win, my personal favourite of the night was hip hop band,   Kou Chou Ching.  I didn’t understand a thing they were rhyming, but it didn’t matter.  They had great energy and the way they combined hip hop with elements of traditional Taiwanese music was inspired.  I love the fact that rather than trying to be Western, this band embraces their culture.  Several titles include references to Taiwan and they often rap about a variety of Taiwanese social concerns. Their Taiwanese identity also seems to be a running theme in their music and halfway through their set, they clarified to mistaken audience members that they were not Chinese. Kou Chou Ching are proud of where they are from and they want people to know it.

Both Christine Owman and Kou Chou Ching proved that they are the real deal: hardworking, creative, intense and sincere. The one shame is that not many people came out to experience either performance; glad I was one of the lucky few who did.

© Renee Saviour, Music Vice

Photos of Christine Owman and Kou Chou Ching:

Internet links:
Christine Owman
Kou Chou Ching

Members of the Barenaked Ladies perform in the rain at Foodstock

The Gig: Foodstock
Where: Honeywood, Ontario, Canada
When: 16 October 2011
In One Word: Inspiring

On a chilly autumn Sunday afternoon in Ontario, Canada while thousands of people continued their peaceful protests at the Occupy Bay Street rallies in downtown Toronto, an altogether different kind of rally was being held on farmland two hours north of the city. Foodstock saw 28,000 people, 100 chefs and musicians including Ron Sexsmith, Hayden, Sarah Harmer and Cuff The Duke unite for the day in a unique event to show solidarity for four farms in Honeywood, Ontario who are refusing to be uprooted from their land and livelihood to make way for a proposed mega quarry. Most of the chefs came from Toronto restaurants, with participants including renowned chef Jamie Kennedy and trendy Queen West eateries Poutini’s and Parts & Labour, with each restaurant setting up shop in tables inside the woodland to provide free food to the journeying protestors.

There was a tremendous sense of community and solidarity at Foodstock. Thousands of people in attendance walked around with camp cutlery as they enjoyed the delicacies on offer before moving on to the stage at the field where the musicians and speakers served up the music and sound bites of the day. Some family members from the four farms of Honeywood made emotional statements as they stressed just how important it was that their land be left untouched. Meanwhile, Faisal Moola, a scientist from the David Suzuki Foundation, explained just how devastating the proposed mega quarry would be to the local environment and ecology. “Go home tonight and stick your head inside your fridge and pull out a third of the food from inside it. That’s how much damage to the ecology this quarry can cause,” said Moola. “We depend on insects like the humble bumble bee to pollenate our crops, the crops that create the food we live on, and if we let some of the best and most fertile farmland in Canada go to waste then you will see the detrimental consequences to the eco-system, the crops and the food you end up seeing in your fridge.”

Foodstock was one of the most inspiring moments I have ever experience in my life. The warmth, energy and sense of community was just incredible. Massive respect to the Foodstock organisers, volunteers and participants but most importantly to the farmers who have stood firm. Canada is one of the most beautiful countries in the world – let’s keep it that way.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Foodstock photo gallery:

Internet links:
Stop The Quarry

Special note: Before I moved to Canada, I spent a few years during and after my time at University planting trees in Scotland. I found it incredibly rewarding work. I have now recently been appointed the leader of a Forest Restoration project to be run by the not-for-profit group Regenesis. I’m really excited about this project. Currently I am looking for volunteers in Toronto to help me with this project, especially anybody with grant writing experience who can help us generate the funding we need to get started with restoring and creating forests next spring. The first official project is at Glendon at York University. If you have any interest in being involved with this project in any way, please get in touch here or by e-mail to me at: forestry [@] theregenesisproject.com. Cheers, Brian

Ostrich Tuning provided a sublime 10 minutes of music that made another night running around to shows seem worthwhile

The Gig: Volcano Playground, Ostrich Tuning, Mausoleum (presented by The New Noise Live)
Where: The Garrison, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 13 October 2011
In One Word: Trenchcoats

On a Thursday night in October in Toronto I spent about 7 hours out on the town, hopping around bars and venues seeing a bunch of different bands. Of all that, two bands and about thirty minutes of music were actually worth talking about and made the evening worthwhile. After stopping off at Shanghai Cowgirl, Bovine Sex Club and Cherry Cola’s for various degrees of shoulder-shrugging at Indie Week 2011 showcases, I arrived at the Garrison on Dundas West. I came to see one of my local faves, Volcano Playground, but arrived in time to see Ostrich Tuning finishing their set. Fellow Music Vice writer Natascha Malta was among a crowd who all seemed to be absorbed in various degrees by OT’s set; a lone girl dancing at the front being the most into it. I was pulled in straight-away by their music which is deep, pensive and with a smoky grittiness. Stare-at-the-floor cool sounds with a real vibe. The guitar was reminiscent of Black Rebel Motorcycle, while the drummer battering his toms added to the immediacy of the music. It was only a ten minute experience but that was enough to elicit some happy buzzes in my brain.

I’ll be looking out for future gigs by they Ostrich Tuning. They are a Toronto based four piece, except Ami (drums/bass/vocals) who is from Austin TX, but is living here for the time being. Band member Ian McPhedran says they are currently finishing their second album which will come out in the near future on the Optical Sounds label.

Continuing the vibe inside The Garrison, Toronto four-piece Volcano Playground delivered the shoe-gazing and ceiling-staring grooves that I’m so fond of. Post-punk influences are rich, but the music is not all black and white, monotone drone – if you let your social guard down for a moment, you may even find yourself dancing to it. The only problem was it was all over far too soon. It was a really short set; that’s a compliment as much as a criticism. I just really wanted to hear more new songs and just more in general. “Waiting”, with that fantastic, driving keyboard melody, is a true underground anthem; but this is old material and it was played early on during their set. By the end of their eight songs, I was left wanting.

The final band at the Garrison were buzz-kill merchants of the first degree. Mausoleum played awful new-wave rip-offs while two of the four band members stood on stage sweating in trenchcoats. I mean seriously, trenchcoats? The singer looked like a bloody trout as he sweated and wriggled inside his big jacket. Everything about this band came across as phoney. After a few songs there was one with a heavier intro which I attempted to force myself to like and get into, but it was no use. This was a farce, so a prompt exit was made. You may want to avoid these endorphin killers.

© Brian Banks, Editor, Music Vice

Internet links:
Volcano Playground
Ostrich Tuning
Mausoleum

Indie Week, Toronto’s last proper music festival of the year, kicked off last night. MV contributor Nathan Luke braved the rain to catch the action from a couple of the opening acts. Things really get going from tonight until Sunday with indie showcases across the downtown core – check the full schedule at IndieWeek.com and look out for coverage here on Music Vice.

The Gig: Indie Week 2011 launch night
Where: The Hideout, Toronto, ON, Canada
When: 12 October 2011
In One Word: Cozy

Launch night photos featuring Austin, TX’s Jarrod Dickenson and The Netherland’s I Saw The Deep:

© Nathan Luke Blagdon, Music Vice

Internet links:
Jarrod Dickenson
I Saw The Deep
Nathan Luke Blagdon