Concerts

TO Jazz Review: Martha Wainwright, June 25, The Great Hall

Posted on by Mark in Concerts, Everything, Toronto Jazz Festival | Leave a comment

Toronto – The Toronto Jazz Festival kicked off last night with a stellar performance by Martha Wainwright at The Great Hall. It was an amazingly intimate affair powered by some truly stunning vocals. Martha blew the roof of the hall as she sparrowed her way through songs by French singer Edith Piaf. I was completely unprepared for how consummate a musician she is. It’s too bad that much of the audience missed the first half of the set.

I was really looking forward to checking out The Great Hall; it was my first time at this venue. I arrived as per the website billing at 9 pm sharp, hoping that I’d have time to grab a drink before the show. To my dismay, the show was in full swing and had been for nearly 40 minutes. Apparently the actual show time was 8 pm. The lady at the door explained that they tried to delay as much as possible. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Factual error on the internet? Yeah right. Give me a break!” I know! I didn’t think it was possible either.

Martha, with a voice like that, I could never stay mad at you. Let`s never fight again.

Nevertheless, the management at The Great Hall isn’t so Great after all.  The fact of the matter is that The Great Hall doesn’t post event timing on their website, so the only resource we can go by is the main TO jazz site. If that website says 9 and the plan was to play at 8, then change the plan. Beg and plead with the artist and audience to start later. If someone asked Martha to come out and explain the situation and ask the audience if it was OK to start at 9 to accommodate the mixup, who would object? All I’m saying is $30 + ticketmaster surcharges is a lot to pay to miss half a set.

It’s a good thing that Martha’s performance was so captivating. Her stage banter was endearing and her voice has both nuance and power. Near the end of the set she was bobbing from side to side. Her antics painted a childish grin on my face. Martha, with a voice like that, I could never stay mad at you. Let`s never fight again. Many audience members sat down on the floor in the wings of The Great Hall to soak in the experience. If I had heard the entire set, this could very well have been my first 5 star review. C’etait vraiment incroyable.

Concert Review: Bishop Morocco, Handsome Furs, June 23, Lee’s Palace

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TorontoBishop Morocco opened for the Handsome Furs last Wednesday at Lee’s Palace. Their music sounds a little like Joy Division; and by a little, I mean a lot. They had the droning bass, the droning vocals, and the general format down pat. What really hamstrung their performance was the robotic fourth member of the band: the dreaded drum machine and programmable sound creating doohickey.

Drum machines are weird. It’s understandable that musicians use them to keep things together when laying down tracks. However, in a live setting, it’s like listening to a musician playing with an earlier recorded version of himself. It’s predeterminism at its worst. Every little tidbit of the song has been pre-routed and planned. There’s no opportunity to stray from the path, improvisation is cramped, and the interplay between the musicians and the crowd is restrained at best.

At the end of this show, I made myself a promise. I’m going to build a robot. A robot with one simple directive: to roam the earth in order to seek out and destroy all drum machines. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Mark, don’t you know that a drum machine is itself basically a robot? And a robot will never kill a fellow robot?” Of course I thought of that! For frack’s sake! Give me some credit here. This is why I will *remove* my robots’ ethics chip before instructing him to fulfill this nefarious deed. (See the tooltip on the robot picture for how this might unfold)

In any case, Bishop Morocco does have potential. If they can branch out from the Joy Division umbrella and get a living and breathing drummer, I’d be curious to see what they could accomplish.

The biggest compliment that I can give to Montreal-based Handsome Furs is the fact that I signed up to review their show. With my mind still reeling from NXNE, and the Toronto Jazz Festival already upon us, I had but a few precious days of break time at my disposal. When I saw that the Handsome Furs were playing during my stare-at-a-blank-wall-in-silence time, I barely hesitated to sign up. I had caught the last 20 minutes of their CMW set last March and jumped at the opportunity to see them on their own terms. Despite my bleary eyes and general sense of exhaustion, I’m glad I went.

The Handsome Furs consist of husband-wife duo Dan Coeckner and Alexei Perry. Before I get into the details of their show, it’s worth mentioning that the couple spent much of the opening set out on the floor. They were listening, dancing, and occasionally making out. Not only was that a pretty classy and supportive move, but it was also as cute as fuck. Dan does the lions share of the singing and guitar-playing, while Alexei covers the keyboard beat machines and the cartwheels. Anyway you cut it, the Handsome Furs is one adrenalin rush of a live show.

With only two people on stage, it can be difficult to maintain such intense energy throughout an entire set, but somehow they’ve figured out the formula. Alexei is like a heart beat on heroine. She kicks her legs out with abandon, jumps up and down, and mouths the words to all the songs. Their brand of electronic rock is infectious. They admitted to using the Toronto crowd as guinea pigs to test out some brand-new songs, and we certainly won’t fault them for it. Alexei’s trepidation and slightly panicked approach to this new material was positively endearing.

NXNE Review: My Apology For Being A Concert Douchebag

Posted on by Mark in Concerts, North By Northeast | 2 Comments

Toronto – After pioneering some pretty innovative technology on how not to be a concert douchebag (picture link above), it’s with a humble apology that I admit to being just such a douchebag during one show at NXNE this year.

Apparently some types of scotch will turn even the biggest music nerds into concert douchebags

The scene of the crime was C’est What and I was busy chatting with some remarkable people from Malta and New York. One was a successful millionaire who owned a penthouse in the Upper East Side. The other owned and operated her own business training and selling Maltese Falcons. I may have just made that stuff up, but the important thing to note was that the scotch was flowing.

As this was happening, two low-key extremely chill female singer-songwriters in the form of Ghost Bees came on at 12 am. While I was at the back of the room, I had no idea that my voice was projecting up to the front like the clarion call of the beautiful Vuvuzela. At some point mid-set, a young lady approached my guest and I, “Excuse me, did you know that we can hear you way up at the front?” Even scotched up, I was pretty horrified at my behaviour. I mumbled some apology and retreated to the bar area to continue rhapsodizing without disturbing the rest of the show.

Here is an executive summary of the lessons learned:

  • Apparently some types of scotch will turn even the biggest music nerds into concert douchebags
  • A concert douchebag situation may be diffused if dealt with tactfully and in a non-confrontational way
  • My douchebag technology needs updating to reflect loud drunken talking at quiet shows

So to all those Ghost Bees’ fans who wanted to punch me in the nads but refrained, I thank you for staying your fisticuffs. To that tactful young lady that got me to simmer down, I thank you for being tactful and getting me to simmer down. And to everyone else: sorry for being such a douchebag. I promise to stay away from that particular brand of scotch. Scout’s honour!

And here is the rating for my behaviour:

NXNE Review: Elise LeGrow, Erin Hunt, June 18, Harlem Restaurant

Posted on by Mark in Concerts, North By Northeast | 1 Comment


Toronto
– There have been times at NXNE where I’ve run from one venue to the next in a desperate attempt to see and hear everything that could possibly be seen and heard. This year I decided that my new rule of thumb is no more than two venues per evening. The new plan is to minimize the hopping and get friendly with the locals and the locales. The night began at the Harlem restaurant with some sultry jazz in the form of sultry sultry Elise LeGrow.

Some people are surprised to hear that, although I am huge jazz fan, I’m not typically into the vocalists. While I do have a soft spot for the old greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, much of today’s fare strikes me as more adult contemporary. It’s perfectly innocuous music that features prominently on many a jazz radio station. Listening to a snippet of it can be like having a popsicle on a nice summer day. Too much and it’s more like cotton candy laced with bubblegum and sprinkles all melting together on an uncomfortable humid day with a smog warning in effect. That’s not to say that there aren’t legitimate contemporary jazz vocalists out there; as was evident by the first show of the evening.

Elise LeGrow is a Toronto-based songstress that has both the voice and charisma that evokes the great jazz women of yesterday. She sang a mix of both contemporary songs and classics for a small and appreciative audience at the Harlem. I have to admit her stage presence was so captivating that it was a trying affair to concentrate on the music. While making her way through the set, she bobbed up and down and playfully ran her hands through her hair at all the right times. It was so incredibly distracting that I spent the better part of the hour looking around my environment for some kind of materials that I could use to a fashion a makeshift engagement ring. Did I mention her sultriness?

If there was one thing that I was a little lacking in the performance, it had nothing to do with Miss LeGrow herself. While her band provided some solid backing, I could imagine that the addition of some musical reinforcements would really kick things up a notch. Hers is a stylish and elegant music that is perfectly suited to a classy little downtown restaurant like the Harlem. I wonder what she would sound like if we added the authentic woody thump of real double-bass, and swapped out the electronic keyboard with a baby grand? With that kind of setup, a snifter of brandy, and some arts & craft type ring making materials, I’d be as happy as a kid with cotton candy.

The next set at the Harlem was Toronto-based Erin Hunt and her groove-based funk and R&B band. She started things off with a rendition of Crosstown Traffic. I could tell during from the noodling by the guitarist during the band setup that we were in store for some really groovy stuff. Easily the highlight of this set was the work of guitarist Ricky Tillo who showcased both amazing chops and an excellent sense of rhythm. I wish he could have had more freedom to stretch his legs.

In the previous set, the backing band needed some shoring up to match the talent up front. In this set, it was the opposite dilemma. Erin didn’t have the vocals or stage presence that could captivate the audience. What she did have was a kick-ass band that I would not hesitate to go see in a purely instrumental incarnation. Unfortunately she made a few gaffs that weren’t terribly endearing. She forgot the name of her drummer when introducing the band. Then when encouraging people to stay for the next set, she admitted that she didn’t know what band was following her, but was “sure they were good”. Not the classiest move of the evening.

I’d definitely go see that guitarist again in any other setting though.