Quick Blurbs about Friendly Rich, The Hoa-Hoa's & KrupkeFriendly Rich & The Lollipop People - Pictures At An ExhibitionTo describe Friendly Rich Presents: Modest Mussgorsky's Pictures At An Exhibition as an eclectic piece of music is an incredible understatement. His personal reworking of the Russian composer's 1874 suite is as bizarre as it gets, sounding a little bit like the unique instrumen...
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If you're at all familiar with the sordid past of psych-rock pioneer Roky Erickson, than you know that it was only a few years ago that the possibility of ever seeing him perform live seemed about as likely as a warm winter in Toronto. His heavily permissive lifestyle back in the 60's while he was the leader of seminal psychsters the 13th Floor Elevators led to his being diagnosed with paranoid...
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Shotgun Jimmie's latest release Still Jimmie (which I reviewed here) is not an album that I would say I pull out on a regular basis, but whenever I do, it instantly brings a smile to my face. It really is a solid album through and through, and I really don't know why I never think about it other than the fact that I listen to a lot of music and it's hard to remember everything. When I heard tha...
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I went to a lot of shows in October (including a Shotgun Jimmie instore and an historical Roky Erickson show with The Sadies that I still have yet to tell you about) which means that I think I'm going to chill out a bit for the month of November. I'll still be catching a few, but I'll likely be limiting it to a few of the smaller ones. Still, there's a lot to do, and here are my picks.For more ...
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Well, it's that time of the year that every Canadian music blogger loves the most: I (Heart) Music's carefully calculated compiling of The Hottest Bands in Canada. Matthew is the head maestro of that high quality music blog from Ottawa and what he does is he asks several of the country's finest music aficionados (and me) for their personal picks of the 10 hottest bands in Canada. He then takes...
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Brothers Joel and Ryan Beerman have been playing music together as Elvyn for just over 11 years now, and their professionalism and abilities have only increased during that time. Elvyn's mix of pure pop and alt-country is as catchy and accessible as it gets, filled with soaring harmonies and heartbreaking lyricism. If you've ever listened to either their 2002 release Ten Car Stereo or their 200...
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Jeff Tweedy's recent attraction to the mellower side of making music in the vein of mid-70's AM pop made me a little bit unprepared for last Wednesday's Wilco show at Massey Hall. Of course I was still excited (this is Wilco after all) but one could understandably be forgiven for assuming that the show was going to be more of a "sit back and relax" type of affair. While it's true that the last ...
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When I went to see Loney Dear at Lee's Palace a couple of years ago, the experience was far and away a much more thrilling one than I ever could have anticipated. I walked away from that show converted from casual fan to rabid fan, and I couldn't wait to see singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emil Svanängen again. Sadly, my wait had to be postponed a tad when his bus broke down back in..
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I have become convinced that the staff of Nevado Records sneak into my apartment when I'm not home and peruse my personal CD collection for inspiration. For now I'm afraid that I don't have any physical evidence to support this theory, and they haven't stolen anything yet so I guess that it's no big deal. But I can't think of any other way to explain the way that they consistently sign acts tha...
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CD Review: The Schomberg Fair - GospelFor many, the phrases "gospel" and "punk rock" should never be lumped together unless one is having a discussion about opposites. But one listen to the latest release by The Schomberg Fair, and you come to realize that there really isn't any other more fitting description than to classify these roots rockers as an unusual amalgam of dirty punk and speed gos...
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This is the 4th year in a row that I've roamed the streets of Toronto all night to ask myself over and over again that invaluable unanswerable question: "What Is Art?" Toronto's Nuit Blanche is an event that I've consistently looked forward to every year since its inauguration, although I have to admit that my enthusiasm is as much about the urban experience itself, the thrill of watching a cit...
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Penciling myself in for a show on the night of Toronto's annual city wide art festival may not be the greatest example of "thinking ahead" but if you're going to do it, then it may as well be with the likes of Andre Ethier and Dan Bejar, who are currently a couple of the most interesting songwriters around, in my opinion.Despite the rabid amounts of praise I've hurled in the direction of the fo...
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It was incredibly difficult to narrow my gig picks for October down to only ten. There are literally a ton of great shows going on this month, and the thought of setting aside all other responsibilities and just taking in a different live show every night of the week has never been more appealing. Well, almost. I mean, call me crazy, but I actually enjoy being a semi-responsible guy, most of th...
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I've been a fan of Joe Pernice for quite a little while now, but I'd be the first to admit that my knowledge of him is not as extensive as it could be. For example, I only found out recently that, not only has he been living here in Toronto for several years now, but he's actually been living only a few blocks away from me. A 'few blocks away from me' is also the location of The Dakota Tavern, ...
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featuring Green Go, Ruby Coast, Pick A Piper and The Skeletones FourIt was with grand enthusiasm that I was looking forward to this particular landmark on the local indie music scene. Whether she knows it or not, Lauren Schreiber has been personally responsible for a healthy percentage of my local musical knowledge, having introduced me to some excellent bands by means of her No Shame Concert S...
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On a Friday night just over a week ago, the Juliette Lewis / Band of Skulls show ended early enough that I had plenty of time to grab a late night veggie burger and head on back to the west side of town to catch an old favourite at The Horseshoe. As far as local(ish), under the radar indie bands go, there probably is no band that I've been following longer than Burlington's Beautiful Nothing. I...
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I'll be the first to admit that I was more than a little embarrassed about telling fellow music snobs that I was going to see Juliette Lewis at the Opera House last week. The credibility factor of an artist decreases significantly amongst the musical elitist community when said artist is in the much maligned and mocked 'actor turned rock star' category. That is, of course, unless the artist's f...
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It's interesting that no matter how long a band has been around, whether it's been a few months or several decades, the blissed-out fuzz of shoegaze always makes me a feel a little bit nostalgic. This is why there was no doubt in my mind that the show last Monday night was going to be right up my alley. The fact that the three bands performing have really only emerged onto the scene over the la...
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CD Review: Modernboys Moderngirls - I Might As Well Break ItBands will often rely on certain tactics to get a music lover on his or her feet. One of the most popular methods is to make your head bob with a catchy melody and an infectious hook. Another tried and true technique is to blast you in the face with some high octane rock 'n roll! Oftentimes a band will go with one or the other. Modernb...
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Although there are many great music series, festivals and events in the city of Toronto, very few compare with the excellent No Shame Music Series that has been taking place for a few years now. This a music series that prides itself in not simply giving in to popular opinion, or the fickle musical tastes of the average Toronto-based indie music snob. On the contrary, this is a series that beli...
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