Wavelength XIII - Evening Hymns, Do Make Say Think, Sarah Neufeld - Great Hall (Feb 16/13)

Evening Hymns

Evening Hymns are achingly gorgeous and especially so as just Jonas and Sylvie opened to 'sing these hymns' from Arrow. Soon their ranks swelled to six with Sylvie taking bass duties and Jonas on electric guitar plus a female violinist, multi-instrumentalist on keys/horn/accordion, guitarist and drummer. They brought the phenomenal Spectral Dusk back to life with Family Tree and the haunting projections of the moon in the background fittingly for Moon River. Apparently the plan was to debut 'like 9 new songs' but instead the couple have been holed up in a cabin making beer and restoring a canoe, so they played Cabin in the Burn instead. It is fulfilling to see the live show live up to the great heights of the recorded material, including an impassioned Dead Deer and the up-tempo acoustic of Broken Rifle from 2009's Spirit Guides. Not sure that there's ever enough Evening Hymns it was bittersweet as they announced their last song, the sing-it-out Mtn. Song and only then did my attention break.

Do Make Say Think

A much heralded return to the stage after a lengthy absence Do Make Say Think in their five player configuration were well received. Double drums and a couple swapping between keys and guitars plus Charles Spearin on 6 string bass made up the 2013 iteration. Opening funnily enough with the End of Music they delighted with their fully instrumental music. Obviously skilled musicians they were entertaining enough but with the hour, lack of familiarity or outgoing stage presence it only took a few songs to satiate before calling it a night.

Sarah Neufeld

There has been some significant hype surrounding Sarah Nuefeld's set and forthcoming release, and not solely based on her ties to the Arcade Fire. By the time she launched into her second song however it had become apparent that it was just instrumental violin (not Final Fantasy). Sure, it was emphatic and interesting violin but that was all it was - not exactly the groundbreaking, hype-raising new music that it had been billed as. The highlight, for both the variation and the caliber of performers, was when Colin Stetson and Geordie Gordon (The Magic) joined her on sax and keys respectively. Apparently the hype extends to fellow musicians - let's see what spending some time with the record does for her.

Doom Squad

Rushing to the venue to see what Wavelength had in store as an opener I realized I needn't have hurried. Primarily pre-recorded, the two females and barefoot male of Doom Squad essentially just danced and sang mostly non-words. It was loud and a few people shuffled along with them but it missed my mark - even the reimagining of Riders on the Storm that closed things out.

Weather Station duets - Dakota Tavern (Feb 15/13)

Tamara Lindeman was the brainchild behind this intimate night of duets from a group of familiar faces from the Toronto indie music scene. Tamara plays a key role in Bruce Peninsula but takes center stage as a solo artist under the moniker The Weather Station. However on this evening she was more than willing to share the limelight with deserving artists that run within the circle. For as she mentioned off the top during her introduction, music is something often written from a very personal, and even lonely, space yet it then becomes an integral part of a musician's identity and the conversations that they then have. She looked at this duet project as a way to open up that conversation from the beginning. This evening was the display of the fruits of this attempt.

It began in an understated manner as Tamara simply went from soundchecking to picking her small acoustic guitar lightly until the crowd, diners and drinkers alike, realized and cut conversation completely. She played two lovely solo songs to set the mood before inviting her first guest of the early evening show - Simone Schmidt (who plays in One Hundred Dollars and Fiver). Coupling this country twang voice with Tamara's excellent, but delicate, sound worked amazingly well as they both picked away. Things were off to a sweet start and they did a second number together before passing the baton to Misha Bower.

Misha and Tamara must be used to singing together from their roles in Bruce Peninsula so it wasn't surprising to hear the great harmonies they could produce with just the two of them. After a tune accompanied by guitar they put away all instruments for a gutsy a capella number which wowed us all.

Continuing with the BP band members the second bearded man in command from that band, Matt Cully, accompanied for a nice song called Brothers and Sisters (which he admitted to giving to writing for this purpose and then retaking it for his forthcoming solo project). Misha chimed in on the following as the three of them sang Chair on Fire.

The man going by Marine Dreams joined next. The first song was fraught with confusion as things sounded amiss but it wasn't until partway through the song that they realized his guitar was tuned differently. Once that was rectified they carried forward, completing the song and playing two more.

To return from the intermission we once again had to notice the soft strumming coming from the stage and silence soon fell. Steve Lambke aka Baby Eagle (aka Constantines member) was up next and their duet was quite engaging as well.

As Steve left a duo of females took his place - one named Felicity, though I didn't recognize either. They sang a poem converted to song as a threesome before Tamara stepped aside to allow them to sing an old standard that Tamara herself admitted stole the show to that point. These three petite females then sang a song backed by the towering Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas) on guitar. The juxtaposition between Afie's deep voice and the much higher Tamara's actually worked extremely well.

To close out the evening Tamara gushed about Ryan Driver's songwriting as she introduced him to play piano and sing, as well as a man named Charles to play the stand-up bass and sing as well. They then displayed this songwriting ability on the first song of the evening to feature any instruments beyond the acoustic guitar. It worked. To conclude the evening they played a song "we all wished we'd written" and wrapped the night up with a quick-stop ending that brought a rousing round of applause.

As was pointed out it is not that easy to get all of these talented people into a room together at the same time. It was a real treat to see the depth of the talent in even this small sampling of the Toronto pool of artists. We should all feel the bump of civic pride.

Mo Kenney, Molly Thomason - Canadian Songbook - Rivoli (Feb 13/13)

A rapt audience watched as Mo Kenney won over everyone in the room with a quiet ease. A likable confidence exuded from not only her banter but her music as well. Introducing songs with simple but engaging back stories she would then carry on with her simple but engaging songs on her acoustic guitar. Her voice is pleasant and her songwriting top-notch. With just the one self-titled album under her belt she played a good selection from it, beginning with The Happy Song and it's whistling and finger-picking. She also did Eden, new single, Sucker, and the Great Escape - all with just the acoustic and none of the drumming or electric guitar heard on record. In addition to her material she covered a song by her producer Joel Plaskett - Somewhere Else - which he claims (and she reiterated) that he prefers coming from her. One of my favourite moments on the album was when I realized the transition to Deja Vu was coming out of In My Lungs after loving Deja Vu on the radio for the past several months. Hence my excitement when she closed with these two together - maintaining the segue. Another moment of excitement was when she returned to the stage in an encore of the cover she recorded for the album, being David Bowie's Five Years which was excellent - especially in its abrupt finish.

I found Molly Thomason already playing to the seated Rivoli crowd, strumming away on her acoustic guitar. Simply dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt her mess of hair did not hide her songwriting skills. Although her appearance wasn't overtly feminine she included definite flashes of a female vocal range during the enjoyable set. Mo apparently met her at a songwriting workshop and noted the talent from the start - I can completely understand.

Long Winter III - Light Fires, Buck 65, Vag Halen - Great Hall (Jan 11/13)

Light Fires was an unexpected romp as Regina had a fire lit under herself. She was all over the conversation room, singing like a diva, dancing like a madwoman and even scaling the walls and windowsills - all in massive heels. The energy was infectious and it didn't matter that the beats were coming solely from backing tracks played off an iPod it moved ya and got people moving. An impressive display of energy as she simply went for it!

A band called Vag Halen, a female 80s cover band who did Van Halen and GnR, played and they were wild. The singer was wearing panties and a completely see-through cover-all which covered nothing. Anyhow the crowd loved it and they were quite fun and ended up being much better than I ever could have expected.

Closing out the night Rich Terfry took to the main stage to the stragglers who stuck around and hadn't headed downstairs to the dance party. With his laptop center stage he'd boot up a Buck 65 beat and then spit over-top of it, all the while shimmying around the stage. A solid number of the tracks I stuck around for were new songs from an upcoming project leaving me with a somewhat unfulfilled feeling.

Long Winter IV with Holy Fuck, Fucked Up +- Great Hall (Feb 8/13)

Holy Fuck were playing their first show in over two years to close out the fourth edition of Long Winter. Perhaps out of practice setting up their truckload of gear they started a little late but it's worth it as they pride themselves on being 'analog' rather than laptop-based and that definitely makes for a stronger show. With a live drummer, bassist and two keyboardists/effect pedals and boards they resuscitated a few old favourites to get the crowd grooving. Brian Borcherdt admitted that they were super nervous to play after such a long hiatus and even more so because they were playing brand new tunes for the first time live. (At least I think that's what he said through his strong effect mic.) A couple of these new songs are sure to be hits while others may take a bit of time to gain affection. Despite playing past 2 am they commanded a relatively large crowd to the end to watch them under the blazing lights that they couldn't seem to get turned off. Good to see the boys back and start getting excited for the real return of HF as their next step is back into the studio.

Finally Fucked Up! The buzz around this hometown band has been humming for years, especially pertaining to their live show, and after repeated failures I finally got to see them - at their own curated concert. What I'd heard came true as the energy was high from the crowd and perhaps even higher from the six band members on stage, led first and foremost by their larger-than-life lead screamer Damian Abraham. First the music - they carry off their melodic hardcore punk rock, balancing Damian's growl with some excellent singing vocals, both male and female on some Chemistry of Common Life and David Comes to Life. Outside of the entertainment provided by the rambunctious crowd, including ill-advised stage dives (into nobody, diving board style, running start), the awful singing into Damian's seemingly ever-present mic and their love for the big man, hugs and kisses to that sweaty head, it was Damian who provided the real entertainment. While still wearing a sweater he crushed a beer can on his forehead which showed as a contusion by the time he was down to a t-shirt. It wasn't long though before his shirt was off for that signature Fucked Up image that is burned ingrained into their public image. All the while the band rocked out the tunes like Queen of Hearts and The Other Shoe (during which Damian somehow ended up with a lady's boot in his hand) and he screamed along when he could, blurring the line between band and audience and making for an energetic set with a sustaining buzz.

My critique was going to be that Kids on TV need to either commit to the act fully or drop it, and then they said they've been at it for ten years and I realized I guess I don't know what I'm talking about. In various states of dress, and undress, the female sported spandex while the little guy was topless and had some makeup on his face, but nothing compared to the full head of makeup on the third member. They sang along to prerecorded songs and generally tried to lead a party but as mentioned it didn't seem to meet levels expected of a novelty band like this (when compared to Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party or any band at the last Lee's Rich Aucoin show). Even when I recognized a couple tracks it didn't put it over the top. The finale was entertaining though as they invited another couple musicians to join them as well as the majority of the dancing audience members for an onstage jamboree which was entertaining to watch.

Maylee Todd played a set of perky music that had a dance party going in the conversation room. I missed most of it but did see her crouch by into the crowd to the bewilderment of a few conversations in the back of the room, only to be fireman carried back to the 'stage'. Energy!

Over in the conversation room Tasseomancy were doing their best despite (to spite) the conversation happening in the room. They are a quiet band with their mandolin and dual female vocals and managed to command attention at the beginning as some sat to watch the steel drum. However as time passed and attention waned the din increased considerably and it was a feedback loop that diminished the set's effectiveness. It wasn't bad to begin with when the hushed music could be appreciated but perhaps there was a reason it fell off.

The discussion earlier in the evening regarding love and couples vs singledom was quite enjoyable and provocative. Also the full-length film being shown downstairs seemed quite quirky, awkward and funny and may just be something I'll watch on my own time. I couldn't see much of the choreographed dance but Yacht Club's music played live that it was set to seemed decent. Not being one to critique visual arts all I can say is nothing grabbed my attention much, though the wooden plumbing was interesting and the translucent upper body molds were cool (except they were in sight lines of the balcony). A mixed bag at this Long Winter, as there probably is at most, but there's a bonus fifth edition scheduled for March so we'll see what's in store.

Elliott Brood - Dakota Tavern (Jan 30/13)

The first of a couple of sold out nights at the Dakota Tavern offered to make up for a last minute postponement of their New Year's Eve gig - with good reason as Casey's wife gave birth to Toronto first baby of 2013 at the stroke of midnight. Despite the friendly, intimate confines it still took til nearer the end of the opening set for things to really hit their stride. The three-piece have a definite sound and while there is a coherent theme throughout some songs hit a bit harder, and in the first set these were notably newer - If I Get Old and Northern Air, though Second Son was also a winner. As they'd played while opening for Wintersleep last autumn they whizzed through the kazoo-laden Old Man Tucker, that is until the final verse that had more than a couple false starts before they finally nailed it.

Being a Wednesday night you can't blame people for taking off during (or even before) the second set but you can blame them as this is where EB hit their stride. There were extended jams and shots and laughs. How's this for a string of shout 'em out, clapalong tunes - Oh Alberta!, into the dual ukes on The Valley Town, Write It All Down For You, then a banjo-driven song before finally rounding out the night with the go-to Miss You Now. Sure I may not have been planning to go to the New Year's eve show anyhow but I'm glad I reaped the benefit of this make-up show.

Hannah Georgas - Mod Club (Feb 1/13)

Hannah Georgas took the stage for a headlining Toronto show flanked by three gentleman playing her music on guitar, bass and drums. The leading lady herself primarily played the keyboard, or at least pressed play on pre-recorded beats. It all seemed a little too polished without much room for unpredictability. Perhaps she's following in the footsteps of Mother Mother and Tegan and Sara who are all smoothing things right out for a radio-friendly sound, which doesn't seem to come without sacrifice. She did swap over to guitar for a few songs and even picked up a uke for another. The one constant was her vocal delivery, her signature, and she sounded great throughout. Dancefloor brought some pep to the set and they closed out with The Deep End. The encore had a couple odd choices - yes, The Beat Stuff had a deserved place being her breakout however I wouldn't have had her play it solo, and the final song was Ode to Mother, a downbeat way to wrap up.

Aidan Knight's big Toronto reveal of Small Reveal - Mod Club (Feb 1/13)

It was a surprisingly, and amazingly, attentive audience for Aidan Knight's early opening set at the Mod Club in Toronto on Friday night. Yes, he was acting in a supporting role for Hannah Georgas but [spoiler alert] he stole the show with his orchestral arrangements of hauntingly beautiful songs and revealing lyrics sung in earnest. The five-piece played the A-side of the most excellent, late-2012 release, Small Reveal, by opening with the quiet intro to Dream Team. Here the violin was accentuated and even the soft female backing vocals made their subtle inclusion known before the percussionist finally swapped in his guitar for sticks, and the violin for bass. As the set progressed I could see likenesses to fellow Vancouverite, Dan Mangan, though the hooks aren't quite as emphasized (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). While we're doing comparisons, the well-documented act of building from soft to crashing loud was performed just as well as anyone - akin to Patrick Watson but with a guitar instead of Patrick's primary piano. Mesmerizing from the beginning it only continued to engage through the faithful rendition of A Mirror. The female on keys also brought out brass to flesh out the sound and another lady joined in with her trombone on You Will See the Good in Everyone. 

Aidan has a likable confidence that won over the aforementioned well-behaved crowd and he joked that he didn't even need to curse at us to quiet down before playing Margaret Downe solo with just his guitar to a warm response. Promising to close with two songs from his back-catalogue the band returned for Versicolour's closer, Jasper, and a perhaps ill-advised singalong attempt. On the final song all hands were on deck as the trombonist was once again smiling as they crashed the set to a close. Too bad they couldn't have continued but as I mentioned to Aidan after the show - he needs to return to Toronto soon for a set of his own. Hell, if that CMW showcase at a place like the 'Shoe that we mused about were to happen we could probably get that singalong to work. Come back and we'll give it a shot.