Toronto – Cuff The Duke has been around for a few years now, but one question still nags at the brain of many a fan (or me at least) – what exactly does it mean to “cuff the duke?” Legend has it that the band found a t-shirt in some Oshawa thrift store with that very phrase written on it, but the exact meaning remains mysterious. We’ll probably never know. What we do know is that Cuff The Duke is a solid alt country band and that they just played two packed nights at the Horseshoe promoting their new Greg Keelor produced album, Morning Comes.
Opening the show was The Pinecones, who really impressed with their ’60s style power pop. Formerly known as Brent Randall and his Pinecones and formerly based out of Halifax, the now-Toronto based band still retains a bit of an East coast vibe with a touch of that city’s early ’90s sound (ie. Sloan, Inbreds, Super Friendz) evident in their sound as well. There was certainly a fair bit of great musicianship as well as great songwriting on display. Guitarist Paul Linklater is a real powerhouse as well, adding lots of flair to each song. In some ways, I thought they may have even overshadowed Cuff The Duke.
Not that Cuff the Duke were lacking in any way. They also put on a solid show and certainly had the packed crowd on their side, inspiring a mass singalong early on in their set for “Follow Me.” Perhaps inspired by working with Keelor, there were extended guitar workouts aplenty throughout their set. The band also played a couple of cover songs, which they’ve been known to do in the past, although I was a bit surprised at the first choice. When Wayne Patti announced that they were playing a cover, I expected maybe some Springsteen or Lightfoot, something I’d seen them do before. But no, they busted out a version of The Dum Dum Girls’ “Always Looking,” and damned if it didn’t sound pretty good. They also started off their encore by inviting openers The Pinecones and Louise Burns to join them in covering John Lennon’s “Instant Karma.” Cover songs are often a good way for bands to show off their chops and Cuff The Duke proved on this night that they certainly have got the goods.
From http://aidinvaziri.blogspot.com/2011/07/peter-murphy-so-im-goth.html
I often feel there are two halves to my concert life: the first period was from 1997 – 1999 and the second from 2007 – present. The first time I saw Peter Murphy perform was in 1998, well after he had moved to Turkey, converted to Islam with his wife and two children, and become a musical legend of gargantuan proportions by today’s standards. In some ways that Bauhaus tour in ’98 was a harbinger of things to come in recent years, with everyone’s bass player and their dog reuniting for some easy tour money. But as we have often noted here at the Panic Manual, music is cyclical, and everyone is in a nostalgic mood again more than willing to follow their beloved acts of youth to the opposite side of the globe.
Let me just say that I’m happy that this wasn’t a Bauhaus reunion tour. I’m happy Peter Murphy is still making new music. I’m happy he’s still the showman he always was. I’m happy he’s plodding forward in middle-age instead of reliving the past. Just as with Japan’s David Sylvian, Peter Murphy’s solo efforts have long since surpassed the sophistication of the band that first launched him to fame. Ninth is Murphy’s first album in seven years, and it is intensely listenable.
The album was rattled off in just over a week, was financed by a Liechtenstein-ian fan, and I can absolutely confirm after last night’s sold-out performance at Lee’s Palace, plays well live. Murphy seems to have found a new energy here that seems to have more aesthetically in common with acts like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (The Prince & Old Lady Shade, especially) than his “goth” roots. Bottom line, he is not doing the same thing over and over again, which is something that may have alienated many of his fans in the early 90’s (some may mark 1995’s Cascade as the last palatable album), but which is a fantastic artistic achievement and liberation. Good for him, I say. His approach through non-meddling fan-based album-investment is intriguing to me and is maybe just another nail in the coffin of the old artist-label model.
Now I know what you’re all thinking. It’s all fine and good that he’s still making and performing good new music, but at age 54, what does he look like these days? I’ve explained before how I find it puzzling that everyone expects performers and celebrities to live in hermetically age-defiant-sealed bubbles (I’m very guilty of this myself)–when you go to see an act whose heyday was 20 years ago, there are waves of gasps at different levels throughout the audience. I have to admit, a part of me whinged when I realized there was a classic back male baldness pattern thing happening and that his dance moves (for some unsettling and irrational reason) reminded me of the Hitachi Maxwell cassette tapes ad campaign set to old-man ballet. After about five minutes though, all of that had melted away. It helped that his band is tremendous, with a guitar player resembling Trent Reznor in his bulkier days and a violinist/bassist that almost stole the entire show. What’s more, Murphy seems to have tremendous regard for them, further demonstrating that a lead singer’s gradual introduction of the band, member-by-member, is a good thing to incorporate into a show.
Peter Murphy still has more sex in his pinky finger nail than most anyone has throughout their entire constitution. When he stares at you, there’s no one else, and his deep seductive siren song can lure even the most macho guy into fits of exclamation…”PETER…YOU ARE GORRR-GEOUS!” Hands attempting to stroke his legs onstage prompted an impromptu “Do You Want to Touch Me” ditty, and it was all confirmed. This guy would probably impregnate someone just by *looking* at them. The proof is in the stage-jumping….Ziggy Stardust saw one ardent female fan leap onstage until the bitter end of the set. The result was a second long ass encore.
This setlist was taken from the Philadelphia show so there may be some inaccuracies. It more or less looks right to me though.
All Night Long
Velocity Bird
Peace to Each
Memory Go A Strange Kind of Love
I’ll Fall With Your Knife
Too Much 21st Century
I Spit Roses
Subway Gaslit Deep Ocean Vast Sea The Prince & Old Lady Shade
Uneven & Brittle
In the Flat Field
First Encore:
The Three Shadows, Part I
(Bauhaus song)
Marlene Dietrich’s Favourite Poem Cuts You Up <–Highlight of the night Ziggy Stardust
I do not understand why Matthew Barber is not a bigger deal. An incredibly talented musician, Barber wrote, recorded, produced and played every instrument on his 6th self-titled release. For the less disconcerting audience, he has a stunning voice, sings mostly about love, and is frankly a more attractive version of Ryan Gosling. How little boys with bad hair become famous, and Matt Barber does not, I will never understand. However, selfishly, that does mean he still does relatively small and intimate gigs, like the one I had the pleasure of enjoying at The Music Gallery on Friday night.
Playing a variety of songs from the scope of his work, Matt alternated between guitar and piano throughout the set, often highlighting his lyrics with some harmonica that was just right. Usually a solo performer, Matt brought along a band of old friends that added just the right amount of rock to the heavier songs, and the perfect accompaniment to the slower romantic tunes. I particularly enjoyed some of the songs from his newest album – such as Patch In Your Jeans and I Miss You When You’re Gone, delving into the depth, greatness and tribulations of long term relationships, as well as Man in the Movie which was absolutely breathtaking on piano. The only bad thing about the night was the 10pm curfew which limited the amount of charismatic chatting between songs, and forced the show to wrap up before I was ready for it to be done.
Toronto – Reviews can be a bit of a tricky thing. It’s pretty hard to be completely objective when reviewing anything – the reviewer’s biases are bound to come in to play, as are their moods. And as far as Friday’s M83 show at Lee’s Palace, goes, I was not in the best of moods. In fact, I was downright grumpy – I had just awoken from an unplanned nap on the couch, had missed a few crucial moments of that week’s episode of Fringe, was still tired, and felt a bit sick. Obviously this would colour my opinion of the show to an extent.
Active Child was up first and certainly sounded great, but not as good as the first time I saw them. This may have had less to do with my mood and more to do with not being able to discover them live for the first time as I did when they played The Garrison back in September. Pat Grossi’s voice still impresses though, and the band’s mix of harp playing with electro RnB style jams works well. Is it weird that I kind of want them to do a Terence Trent D’arby cover though?
As the time approached for M83 to take the stage, you could sense the anticipation amongst many in the young crowd. Starting the show off with the band’s weird mascot thingy walking onstage amid a haze of smoke, the band emerged shortly thereafter and proceeded to deliver a high energy set, which was good since it countered my generally low level of energy, and got me up to a slightly higher level. They sounded impressive in the way that all of the best live versions of electronic music can be – a full band always brings a lot more to the table than just one guy with a bunch of electronics. Full of heavy guitars and catchy keyboard hooks, it lived up to the full on rock ‘n roll moves of frontman Anthony Gonzalez. By the point near the end of the set where Gonzalez started shouting “Toronto! TORONTO!!” I was totally grinning and even almost kind of dancing. The guy definitely knows how to put on a show.
So I’m sorry M83, you probably deserve better than my tired, grumpy old ass complaining about how tired and grumpy I was during your set, but it’s all I have to give. Hopefully I can catch the band some other time when I’m more well rested.
