Concerts

Concert review: Neon Indian w/ Class Actress [Lee’s Palace, October 12, 2010]

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Gary in Concerts, Everything, Reviews | Leave a comment

Toronto – Disclaimer: I am going to quote the chat between me and Ricky just prior to this show. The purpose of this is to make fun of ourselves… and highlight the trend of band names these days:

me: You told me to see Active Child… so which is it?
Ricky: oh, haha its Child Actress.
me: This is semi-hilarious, if not for the fact that i just wrote the freaking wrong preview…
Ricky: Its like watchmen/walkmen… my mistake.
me: Man I was excited too… I want to see Active Child live.
Ricky: Well time to check out Class Actress.
me: CHILD ACTRESS; OK i give you 3 options
a. active child;   b. child actress;   c. class actress… which IS it?
Ricky: Hahaha; its Class Actress; S**t! Is there even a Child Actress band?
me: No. I just did a search… but that would have been freaking funny.

This is the time when you realize that calling the band Veckatimest, Horchata, or some other portmanteau word might not be such a bad idea. I don’t suppose that randomizing the English alphabets and coming up with something barely pronounceable will become a trend in the near future and I don’t promote it. It’s just an observation: with the number of bands out there today, using common words and ideas will lead someone (yes mostly us clueless media types) to blunders one of these days.

Prefuse 73 was also supposed to play this night. But apparently the Canadian immigration officers gave them some insurmountable problems (I am fighting so very hard against the word “refuse”). So the crowd was made to wait until 10:05pm for a show with doors at 8:30pm. Luckily for all, Class Actress and Neon Indian were let go. Perhaps because of the delay, Lee’s camera/flash rules seemed to have been relaxed. There were flash tests going on behind me like fireflies on a summer night. Toronto’s music-lovers displayed their timid side again – even while they were annoying everyone with flashes, there was still a huge void where the mosh pit should have been. Class Actress must have been a little disappointed, having pulled through the customs earlier. The music is a little like Feist’s, but replace the backdrop with a synthesizer. I think they only played one song on guitar and the rest on synth. Elizabeth Harper’s voice is true to the recordings, but the nature of the melody always made her sound melancholy. They managed to play most of their good tunes on myspace like Careful What You Say and Broken Adolescent Heart. Being the long-awaited opener, they were effective – Harper didn’t talk to the audience. But then again she didn’t need to – there were legions of bald men snapping pictures with flash…

Class Actress:

Class Actress – Someone Real by bean0 goxxxpeel

I’ve mentioned before how it’s weird that I have managed to dodge all of the Neon Indian shows at SXSW. I finally saw why they are popular – because by this time there WAS a mosh pit. Not only is Neon Indian the up-beat version of Grizzly Bear, they seem to collect similar polygonal album covers, and enjoy swapping personnel and tunes. I know they both have some Brooklyn connections, but case in point – Neon Indian has at least two remixes of Cheerleader – both of which I liked better than the original. While Grizzly Bear is strung together by well-paced but lonesome bass and piano notes, Neon Indian is made of a single vocal and double synthesizers. It ensures that the latter always has a sense of urgency attached. They often introduced their songs with a ear-drum popping discord buzz, and polished with Alan Palomo’s singing. The synthesizer beats has to be the main draw, though. Deadbeat Summer and Terminally Chill, for instance, has some very catchy opening sequences (sure it repeats, but it’s good regardless). I always felt like I’m listening to a fast-tracked version of electronic music – you don’t have to wait 80 bars for the new development to come through. That condensed satisfaction is the best part. They also played Local Joke and the title track Psychic Chasms – both of which had very grainy vocals, but did not sound as expansive this night at Lee’s. But I doubt that most people noticed as they were shaped into a flowing TO pulp by Neon Indian. Overall, aside from the border-crossing issues, both Class Actress and Neon Indian put on very solid performances.

Neon Indian:

Deadbeat Summer by Neon Indian

Concert Review: The Drums, October 16, Mod Club

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Ricky in Concerts, Everything | 4 Comments

Toronto – Brooklyn’s The Drums were in town on Saturday to play to a kind of packed house in promotion of their hit debut album Summertime!. Allison was the first one of on our blog to profess their love for the 80s dreampop revival band, but the rest of us eventually warmed up to them. Dressed in what I can only imagine was vintage jacket of some sort, lead singer Jonathan Pierce dazzled the crowd for an hour with some expressive singing, out of the world dancing and interesting deliveries of the word “thank you”. Having seen him before at the tiny British Embassy Bar in Austin, I was only briefly introduced to Pierce’s dancing, which I can only describe as Ian Curtis meets Tim Booth meets Stuart Murdoch meets gravity. It’s like no other leading singer dance, but u can’t take your eyes off it. Moving from one side of the stage to another, Pierce delivered each of Summertimes! tunes with a punch of intensity.

The sound at the Mod Club was a bit underwhelming for this show, which is a surprise given that the club tends to have excellent sound. The vocals seem a bit distorted, the guitars a bit off. Maybe it’s what the band wanted. It gave us a more raw sounding experience which was a nice contrast to the polish sounds of the album. What is quite clear is that the Drums can write really good pop music, as songs such as Best Friend (“this is about my best friend, who is dead” which drew an awkward response), Submarine(could be a Cure song) and hit single Let’s Go Surfing are all extremely catchy.

All in all, a good way to start off a Saturday night.

The Drums – Best Friend by racshade

Concert Review: Sufjan Stevens, Oct 13, Massey Hall

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Mark in Concerts | Leave a comment

Toronto – Sufjan Stevens played Massey Hall last Wednesday night. It was an epic night of music, interspersed with some quiet acoustic moments that gave the crowd some breaks. Well-deserved breaks, because Sufjan and his 10-piece band were conjuring up some crazy madness. It was a sensory overload smorgasbord. While some of his new material was a little taxing, like the 25 minute long Impossible Love, it was still a rewarding night for live music.

The set list was dominated by Sufjan’s most recent album, The Age of Adz, released earlier this week. The album is based on the art of Royal Robertson, a deeply troubled schizophrenic that was consumed by his art. His themes mostly revolved around the apocalypse, but also about love; and maybe just a teeny bit about a love for the apocalypse. The album is more electronic sounding than we’re used to, but the digital artefacts are balanced against lush strings and brass sections; so it still very much feels like a Sufjan Stevens original.

“Oh no! Sufjan is going to play another one his sad acoustic songs.” – Sufjan Stevens

This Massey Hall concert was decidedly different from his last visit to Toronto just over a year ago (review here). That was an informal affair at Lee’s Palace, with Sufjan wearing some kind of toque and  working out some kind of kinks with his new material. He was playing with a pared down band and was about to enter a musical hibernation of sorts. Fast forward one year and the band is bigger, tight like a toiger, and playing with both confidence and purpose.

There was a lot of sheer musicianship emanating from that stage. Most of the ensemble were playing from scores, but you wouldn’t have guessed it had you closed your eyes. There were two drummers playing in perfect lockstep; they were communicating with each other using only the force. It made for some seriously stellar propulsion; like an unstoppable rhythm avalanche. A rythmalanche, if you will. Add to that roster two trombone players, a bassist, a piano player, two female vocalists, a guitarist, opener DM Stith providing more vocals, and you’ve got yourself one big sound smacking you right square in the teeth.

“Thanks for putting up with me, while I cover my own songs.” – Sufjan Stevens explaining all the music sheets scattered about the stage

This show was a production. That was an understatement. This sentence is filler. The female vocalists started the evening wearing amazing space costumes. Thankfully, we knew they were spacewomen thanks to the pink detailing on the shoulders. That was a nice touch. They also had wicked choreographed dance moves. As this was happening, some impressive stoner-friendly apocalyptic animations were epilepting on screen. Off to the right we had a hippie version of General Zod blasting on the trombone. I spent most of my night trying to figure out what to concentrate on. It was like eating a big Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, while also trying to polish off an entire watermelon.

Some of it was a little much, but it was still delicious. I regret nothing.

Here is the set list:

  1. Heavy song
  2. Quiet song
  3. Heavy song
  4. Quiet song
  5. Heavy song
  6. Quiet song

OK, OK, here is the real set list:

  1. All Delighted People
  2. Heirloom
  3. Too Much
  4. Futile Devices
  5. Age of Adz
  6. I Walked
  7. Now That I’m Older
  8. Vesuvius
  9. Get Real Get Right
  10. Enchanting Ghost
  11. The Owl and the Tanager
  12. Impossible Soul
  13. Chicago
Encore:
  1. Concerning the UFO Sighting
  2. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

Sufjan Stevens – Too Much by strikegently

Concert Review: Lightning Bolt, Dan Deacon, October 12, The Great Hall

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Paul in Concerts | 2 Comments

Toronto – I would not hesitate to call this an epic show.  I don’t mean that in the sense that people do nowadays when they overuse that term, as in “I had an epic hamburger for lunch” or something like that.  I mean that each song performed by both Dan Deacon and Lightning Bolt actually felt like an epic being performed before my eyes. 

The same could not be said for openers John Milner You’re So Boss, whose entire set was probably only 10 – 15 minutes long and seemed to feature about as many songs within those minutes.  The Toronto foursome played a brand of artsy, grindcore influenced noise rock with electronic elements.  I’ve seen this sort of thing before (they reminded me a bit of AIDS Wolf or The Sick Lipstick) and while I used to be a big fan of stuff like this (and still do enjoy it from time to time), I’ve got to say I wasn’t that into it.  That said, I did like what they were doing and the band was obviously having a lot of fun playing.  Also, kudos to them for having only cassettes available at the merch table.

Next up was Dan Deacon.  I was operating under the mistaken assumption that he would be closing the show, but I guess he deferred to Lightning Bolt.  After The Dan Deacon Ensemble took the stage, it took a few minutes before they were all set to go, but when they did, they really got going.  Featuring three drummers, a couple of electronic xylophone type things and a few other players (I think there were about 8 or 9 members onstage), they had a big sound and a relentless energy level.  Before they began their set, he thought that he and the band should attempt an a capella version of their opening number just because the acoustics in The Great Hall would allow that.  When that didn’t work, they started over again, this time with instruments.  This is when I realized that Dan Deacon is all about the fun.  Acting as a sort of ringmaster, he led his ensemble through several tunes, all the while operating some lights from onstage, gesticulating toward the crowd and basically encouraging everyone there to have a good time (Not that we needed much encouragement).  After a couple songs, he ordered the crowd to clear a space on the dance floor so that a dance contest could take place.  He then chose some people with weird masks on to start it off.  (Did they bring their own costumes to the concert or were they part of Deacon’s crew?  I’m assuming the latter as bringing your own costumes to a show seems like a bit too much work)  Shortly after that, the idea of this being a dance contest sort of disappeared as more people took to the dance floor again.  I guess they weren’t feeling terribly competitive.  Dan Deacon dedicated “Wham City,” the last song of his set,  to tour-mates Lightning Bolt, mentioning their influence over a lot of underground music from the last several years. 

His kind words were not quite reciprocated by Lightning Bolt.  After another long set up between bands, drummer Brian Chippendale (who insisted that all his drums needed mics … yup, these guys were loud.  Why do I always forget to bring earplugs?) said, “Dan Deacon is not a nice man.  I know him better than you.  You may think he’s giving you energy, but he’s actually stealing your energy.  He puts it in his pocket, then runs it through a computer program and makes music with it.”  They had the same relentless energy as Dan Deacon before them and despite being only two guys, they easily made as much noise as The Dan Deacon Ensemble, if not more.  They’re part of a long history of incredibly loud two piece bands including Lullabye Arkestra, Japandroids, and the mighty godheadSilo.  godheadSilo is probably the band they resemble the most, with their sludgy riffs, manic vocals and persistent drums.  I’m not overly familiar with their songs, but from the way they were playing (and based on the fact that Chippendale said to bassist Brian Gibson, “That sounded like Black Sabbath” at the end of one song, indicating surprise), I’d imagine that the songs are partially improvised.  If they hadn’t already impressed me, they definitely would have won me over at the end of their set when Chippendale announced that the next day was new comic book day.  He wondered aloud if there were any Canadian superheroes, then answered his own question by naming all the members of Alpha Flight.  His knowledge of comic book trivia was commendable, but perhaps to be expected from a guy who wears a mask onstage.  Nevertheless, this was definitely a memorable show.

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