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The Sadies Last Waltz

Published at February 4, 2006 in artist, concerts and music. Closed

The 2006 concert season was officially kicked off last night at Lee’s Palace when The Sadies and their relentless barrage of guest artists set fire to the hollowed walls, and blew the roof clean off. We arrived around 10pm, just as the show was beginning. Having just seen The Sadies on New Years Eve I had an idea of what to expect: Alt-country with guest appearances by their parents and some dude from Blue Rodeo, as well as the co-billed Neko Case. What I wasn’t expecting was a show that could easily have been billed as a 2006 iteration of The Bands Last Waltz. “Come see The Sadies play their best songs as well as play back-up to other very talented, and potentially more famous, artists singing Sadies songs.”

The list of friends was exceptional. What started with, “We’d like to welcome to the stage some of our friends from Blue Rodeo,” ended with ALL the members of Blue Rodeo performing on stage (not just the aforementioned ‘dude’ Greg Keelor).The surprise highlight — amongst a flow of surprises — was when The Bands Garth Hudson joined The Sadies on stage to set fire to the keys. Neko Case didn’t seem to contribute as much to the show as her co-billing would have suggested, but none the less she added fantastic female vocals to many Sadies tracks.

I had to leave town for a little while / said you’d be good while I’m gone / But that look in your eyes, told me you told a lie / I know there’s been some carrying on.

The show (as well as the encore performance tonight) was being recorded for a live album they have in the works. The 2006 concert season continues this coming week with confirmed tickets for The Trews and Matt Pond PA, and plans to check out Controller.Controller.

(for another take on this show, read a review and see tons of photos here)

The Constantines, Joel Plaskett And Kathleen Edwards — Music To The Ears

Published at November 12, 2005 in artist, concerts and music. Closed

So the concert streak continues, while my lack of commenting diminishes. I find it hard at time to collect my thoughts on these shows in a timely manner. So I’ve decided to go with short and sweet.

Saw The Constantines last week. Great show. It was a toss up between checking out Super Furry Animals, and The Constantines. I felt the need to rock out, so The Constantines won. What a show. Any show that begins with 6 drummers and 4 guys on guitar, and ends with a member of the band bleeding from a head wound as got to be a great rock show. Intermix an opening band with a keyboardist drinking from a bottle of Baby Duck, 3 hardcore fans, as well as a tambourine section in the audience, and you may begin to fathom the experience. Great concert, great music. A definite band to check out live if you ever have the chance. Continue reading ‘The Constantines, Joel Plaskett And Kathleen Edwards — Music To The Ears’

Mountain Goat Goodness

Published at October 21, 2005 in artist, concerts and music. 1 Comment

The Mountain Goats put on a great show. Two guys, one acoustic guitar, one electric bass, and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears. It oozes from every note and soaks every lyric, leaving them drenched with truth and sincerity. If you stand in the first 3 rows you better bring a raincoat.

Got to Lee’s Palace in time to grab a beer and see the opening band The Prayers And Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers. Someone told me it’s taken from the movie The Big Lebowski, which I haven’t seen in a while, so I took their word for it. Short story for them is great band, but lead singer has no stage presence, no banter, and doesn’t really power vocals. I can see them being better on the album than live. As we will see later though, a few beers loosened the lead singer right up. Continue reading ‘Mountain Goat Goodness’

Music, Thy Name Is The Decemberists

Published at October 15, 2005 in artist, concerts and music. Closed

You wanna talk live music? Let’s talk live music. The Decemberists rock. I don’t know if it is the Phoenix Concert Theater, or the the tech guys, or the band, but, jeebes, the show was ridiculously good. Best sounding show I have ever seen, hands down. A strong claim I know, but I believe in the words I type.

The opening act was less than stellar. Maybe it’s because I was in a rock out mood, or maybe they really were that transparent. It was a guy with a guitar, a guy on a bass, and a girl playing those hand drums.They were so quiet, and left nothing to the imagination. I enjoy single guitar singer/songwriter stuff, but this guy was lame; almost monotonous. They tried to jazz it up by pulling out a trombone, but even that sounded sad. I felt like Homer Simpson when Lisa was playing her saxamaphone when Homer was dying — play something a little more lively please. Continue reading ‘Music, Thy Name Is The Decemberists’

We Believe In Rock And Roll

Published at October 12, 2005 in artist, concerts and music. Closed

Rock show after rock show, they just keep coming. Up this time, Sam Roberts. All he asks is that you give your soul to rock and roll. Are you okay with that?

I like to think that performers like Sam Roberts relish in the opportunity to play unique venues, and none is more unique than Rocktoberfest at Queensmount arena. Oktoberfest meets rock and roll here, and it is a friendship forged in beer and catchy guitar riffs, layered with lyrics destined to drive teenage rebellion. Where Have All The Good People Gone? provides an audience favourite “Traffic jam but I’m on the shoulder / took 10 cops to pull me over / Bangkok to Babylon / Where have all the good people gone?” The band loves what they do, and that is obviously rockin’ out. Stand out tracks were: Dead End, Taj Mahal, Where Have All The Good People Gone? and the encore Don’t Walk Away Eileen. Continue reading ‘We Believe In Rock And Roll’

Warning! The Trews will renew your faith in Rock and Roll

Published at September 29, 2005 in artist, concerts and music. 1 Comment

I’m just getting down now.

The Trews. These guys kick my ass, each and every time I see them. I’m rocked full force by their albums, and ceremoniously knocked to the floor by their live show. Wow. Is it possible that The Trews get better and better with every passing moment? If you get the chance, go see the guys play. Trust me. I don’t care if you have started down the path of new rock with the likes of Shins, Super Furry Animals, Stars and Jason Collett; you can’t deny the past. We all love good ol’ fashioned Rock N’ Roll, and The Trews do both. When they took that stage at Fed Hall the crowd erupted in a furry of screams and applause. From the first notes to the last harmony I was locked in complete musical bliss. Don’t ask me what songs they played, because I would not be able to tell you. I took the show as one; experienced it as a single entity. It started at 10:30pm and never stopped. It was one prolonged euphoric experience that vibrated through my entire being; erupting through my fierce air guitar, and escaping in the breath that sang every lyric and hook . The venue was packed, and the entire crowd was into the show, rocking and rolling with every song and every cover (most notably the Queen medley). The Trews were on, and enjoying the show almost as much as the crowd — feeding off the raw energy being focused toward the stage.

Having just released a new album, The Trews are sure to be embarking on a true tour (this being a one off show for Molson Canadian Rocks Concert Series). Do yourself a favour, buy their first album, then buy their second album. Queue up the tracks and crank the speakers, being sure to leave some money by the front door to pay the by-law officer when they inevitably come by. They’ll love the music too, but will still have to write you a ticket, mostly out of spite for your superior taste.

The Trews. Get on board.

K-OS brings music to the Opera House

Published at September 26, 2005 in artist, concerts and music. Closed

Last night K-OS played an Edge free show at the Opera House. I was lucky enough to score some tickets through the Inside Edge. I’ve won tickets from them before, but it has always been for some no name band that wasn’t very good. What a treat to have the opportunity to see K-OS — and for free to boot.

I believe I’ve seen K-OS on 3 previous occasions. The first time was when he was touring his first album. He played the Bombshelter Pub, and a bunch of us stumbled into the Friday night show after a keg party. He was on stage with an acoustic guitar. The 2nd time was at an Olympic Island show with Sam Roberts and Sloan. K-OS was hanging around and came out to play with Sam. They did Brother down, and K-OS frestyled. The 3rd time was at a United Way charity show over the Christmas holidays. I’m pretty sure Sam and K-OS performed Dirty Water.

What impresses me about K-OS is that all his music can be played live. He uses real instruments. He uses a real band. And they can wail. The drummer was a star of playing the un-beat beat. It didn’t follow a pattern, but some how it was still cool. The live show isn’t quite as polished as the album, but that is what makes his show great. It’s raw. He freestyles. It could have used with a little more vocal heavy mix, but overall a phenomenal show.

The Parkas

Published at August 29, 2005 in album, artist, concerts and music. Closed

It’s interesting how things come around. In discussing a band I have rediscovered I will recall a concert I saw them give 2 years ago, and how they didn’t really impress me.

I came to rediscover The Parkas after hearing them on episode 14 of the CBC radio 3 podcast. But this story starts well before today. I first saw and heard The Parkas play in the fall of 2003 at the El Mocambo, because a friend had gone to school with them in Thunder Bay and recommended they be checked out. Rarely one to turn down a suggested night out, a few people met up to check out the show. Arriving at the show, a singer/songwriter by the name of Teitur was just about to take the stage; but that would be another story. As I recall it The Parkas were the 2nd last band, followed by a horribly loud and incoherent band. Now that I try and think about it, I can’t say I remember to many specifics about their set, other then I was left less then impressed, and the guys looked like a bunch of stereotypical computer science nerds trying to wear flannel and tight jeans. They weren’t a very tight as a group, and I had no desire to see them again.

Now it is 2005 and my musical tastes have slightly changed, matured, and morphed. I know this because I listened to the same 2 songs posted on The Parkas website from 2003 and thought, “These guys are pretty good. It’s a little bit pop, with great hooks, driving guitars, and lyrics that are simple and effective.” The 3 tracks I’ve been able to listen to are the first 3 tracks on the album (which is available at MapleMusic, amazon.ca, and iTunes). Continue reading ‘The Parkas’

How much for that van in the window?

Published at August 9, 2005 in concerts and music. Closed

I like to consider myself a consumer of new or indie music, but when you get down to it, all I’m really consuming is bands that have already made it into some obscure review on some indie website or podcast. These are bands that tons of people know about. I guess they’re indie in the sense they don’t have a record label (which is the definition of indie, derived from the term independent), but than what do we call a band that has no album or label? Don’t matter really, was just wondering. Continue reading ‘How much for that van in the window?’

The Mountain Goats

Published at May 12, 2005 in concerts and music. 2 Comments

Shearwater joins The Mountain Goats

It’s spring in Toronto when I can dawn a pair of sandals and slide into a seedy club to take in some spectacular live music. It’s been a while since I last wrote, and I attribute this to my new job. It has me working some long days, and by days I mean afternoons into the wee morning hours. It’s loads of fun, and I’m happy. But I digress. My new job also makes it tough to take in shows, so I was stoked to learn The Mountain Goats were in town on my night off. So off to Lee’s Palace I went, with my $13 admission fee in hand.

The last time I was at Lee’s was for Mike Doughty a year or so earlier, and it was a pretty empty show. Coincidently Mike played the previous night, but I had to work and was unable to make it out. I hear it was a great show. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Lee’s quite full for The Mountain Goats show. I like to arrive early to catch the opening bands, cause you never know what hidden treasure you might find. I arrived just as Jeff Hanson was playing his last few songs. I gotta say I wasn’t impressed. It took me a moment to clue into the fact that he was a male, because he sounded an awful lot like a girl. Your typical slow singer/songwriter ballad songs. I was in a mood to rock a bit, so I grabbed a Blue and waited for my buddy to show up.

Can you spot the roadie?

The 2nd band was miles above the opening guy. They are a band called Shearwater (no, not Stillwater), a band from Austin Texas. They were tight. Drums, keyboards, bass, guitar/banjo and a violin. Robin(?) the bassist typically plays a standup bass, but it broke before the show, so she borrowed a electric bass. They said this was her first time ever playing an electric bass, so I’d say she did well. It can’t be to big a difference, so correct me if I’m wrong. They lost me for a bit when they did some noise making, jam session, but it all came back when an audience member slow-clapped the rest of us into a round of applause. The drummer of Shearwater’s name was Thor, and he is the gentlemen with the long flowing blond locks in the photo above. The kicker is that he also was wearing a fanny pack. I would have bet money he was a roadie if I didn’t see him play the set.

John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats

Having never seen The Mountain Goats before, and having just discovered them a month or so back while on the East Coast or Bust road trip, I have no clue what they look like, how many their were, or the size of their shoes. Having mostly listened to the new album I was expecting a large band, because the album is rich in drums, piano, violin, bass and guitar. So when two guys climbed on stage with an acoustic guitar and an electric bass I was disappointed. Granted this disappointment did not last long. They proceeded to make those instruments scream, and blew my socks off. The vocal range and style of John Darnielle are unique, and satisfying. About 3/4 of the way though the set the guys from Shearwater came out and played a number of songs, adding that extra kick I was looking for.

Eugene O’Neill sports the creepy mustache

My only complaints would be that I think they only played for 1h, though it felt longer, and they did not play some of the hottest tracks off the new album: This Year, Dilaudid, Up The Wolves and Magpie. Heck, they could have played the entire album and I would have been happy. I imagine they didn’t play these tracks because they have not yet discovered how to play them at a live show (Dilaidid is basically violins).

In the end it was a completely satisfying concert, and a great break from the hectic and long days of Labatt Blue Chip Poker. I couldn’t have asked for better timing.

this year.