Concert Review: The Jezabels with Eight and a Half, October 24th, Virgin Mobile Mod Club

Posted on October 29, 2012 by lauren in Concerts | Leave a comment

jezabels

Wednesday night saw a lot of Aussie action as The Jezabels swept through for a vocally powerful, however slightly flat performance at Virgin Mobile Mod Club. Can I just call it Mod Club? These sponsorships are hilariously ridiculous, however beneficial for the venue it may be.

Canada’s own Eight and a Half  kicked things off. Reinvented in the wake of The Stills, Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil have teamed with Broken Social Scene’s drummer extraordinaire Justin Peroff to create something new. The result is a more electronic, synth based indie rock sound, where, if you were a fan of the Stills (as I was, 16 times in concert, and no shame in the admittance), you can definitely hear Hamelin’s penned tunes as the sound of Oceans Will Rise resonates within them. It was a short set, but I was no doubt impressed; these are men that have been doing this professionally for years and it shows. No matter how new the formation of this collective may be, they play with the ease and confidence of veterans, skipping the awkwardness many new bands hold. It helps that the guys have been playing on and off together for years. I look forward to seeing more, as they no doubt will embark on headlining tours and larger crowds.

After Eight and a Half, the room crowded in further for the Jezabels. Seems they brought the heat with them from Australia as the room was a definite sweat box. The Jezabels were in ways both impressive and disappointing, two conflicting statements that I will elaborate upon. Lead vocalist Hayley Mary has an incredibly impressive voice. The woman could go up against some of the greats and give them a run for their money. Her powerful chords were flawless and hit every note spot on, never missing a beat, and deep into the show were showing no sign of slowing down. However, the background music was less than impressive, each song almost a carbon copy of the other, melding into one to the point where I began to lose track of the difference as it felt like one continuous song. The band played without a lot of energy. When I read that they had all met and formed in University, it was incredibly surprising; the backing band almost looked like hired touring players as she stood alone for most of it, flailing about sort of awkwardly.

All in all, it was a good show. I suggest checking Jezabels out; even if you’re not impressed with the set overall, her voice is worth seeing as its a powerful force in itself.

Concert Review: Heartless Bastards, October 24, Lee’s Palace

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

Heartless Bastards

When a band has a song entitled “Got To Have Rock and Roll,” you can get a pretty good idea of what they’re all about. After all, the song’s not called “Would Kind Of Like To Have Rock and Roll” or “Can Take Or Leave Rock and Roll.” No, they’ve got to have it. Heartless Bastards do indeed have such a song and are undoubtedly all about the rock and roll.

Bandleader Erika Wennerstrom definitely seems to have a rock and roll heart, projecting a sort of tough/cool image onstage. While she didn’t seem to have a whole lot to say, she did seem rather appreciative of the crowd, who in turn, were appreciative of the band (I saw a few dancers and revellers up front). But she and the band basically let the power of the riff speak for them.

Most tunes found them locking into a bluesy groove that brings up obvious comparisons to fellow Ohioans The Black Keys, but also at times had me thinking of Band Of Skulls. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Wennerstrom’s voice, which definitely helps to drive their songs.

Also impressing while reminding me of other bands was opener Futurebirds, whose sound seems to fall somewhere between My Morning Jacket and The Drive By Truckers. Except maybe with even more facial hair. Their sound has been described as “laid-back country-rock with an atmospheric, psychedelic twist.” Extended guitar jams and sweet harmonies abounded. I regret missing out on the first part of their set, but was glad I got to see some of it.

Overall, while each band takes obvious influence from various sources such as blues, garage rock, country rock, psychedelia, they were both definitely very good at what they do and put on entertaining sets. And if that means they weren’t always wholly unique, originality’s overrated anyways. Nobody ever claimed that rock and roll was about being original. Being good, though? That’s a good idea. And, as I said, both Heartless Bastards and Futurebirds made a good impression on me on this night.

Concert Review: Smashing Pumpkins, October 25th, Air Canada Centre

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Ricky in Concerts | 1 Comment

smashing pumpkins

Believe in me, as I’ve believed in you, tonight

That unforgettable line from the iconic track Tonight, Tonight could have been the theme of last night’s Smashing Pumpkins show last night at the Air Canada Centre.

Billy Corgan wants you to believe in him once again. The most recent incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins has been met with a wave of skepticism. Afterall, what’s a band without 3/4 of the originals? The doubts have extended from an existential stand point to a musical one as well, as recent record Oceania was released rather quietly this summer. Surprisingly enough Oceania has garnered positive reviews everywhere and has since been seen as some of Corgan’s best work since the Melon Collie days.

Still through it all, Billy and gang still believed.
Believed it to a point that the Pumpkins booked an arena sized tour through North America.

Which brings us to Thursday’s show.

While not exactly packed (the entire upper bowl was empty, and there was more then enough space for people in the pit), a reasonable crowd still greeted the band when they took the stage. Playing underneath a giant globe-esque thing that would project visuals throughout the night, the Smashing Pumpkins played an oddly paced set that featured as promised, Oceania played in it’s entirety from front to back. As someone who is completely unfamiliar with the album, I would say it sounded alright. At first, I thought Corgan sounded a bit off key for some of the tracks, but what the hell, it’s the Pumpkins, that might have been deliberate. You can’t really claim someone sounds off key if you don’t know what the correct key is, I guess.

As expected, the crowd awakened for the “Deep Cuts and Classics” portion of the show, which was kicked off with a not-sure-if-necessary cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity. A slew of hits – Disarm, the majestic Tonight Tonight, the dreamy Today and of course, everyone’s favorite apocalyptic 90s rock song – Bullet With Butterfly Wings followed. For the most part, those tracks sounded as good as you would think they would sound, and if there were any mis-steps along the way, your memory probably filled in the blanks anyway. That’s the power of nostalgia. In between those hits, there was also a lengthy Billy Corgan guitar solo as well as a even lengthier conversation with the crowd in which Corgan and the band talked about hockey, baseball and pro wrestling. It all led to very odd pacing, as the crowd would get worked up over the classic but then would simmer down as they had to wait a while for the next song. I’m pretty sure this would appeal to the mischievous side of Corgan, who despite his seemingly genuine appreciation for the crowd, also seems to love playing with them throughout the show.

Nevertheless, with an encore comprising of crowd pleasers Cherub Rock and Zero, it was quite obvious the crowd got what they want, and since everyone who wanted a good spot on the floor/didn’t know the setlist had to come early and listen to Oceania in it’s entirety, it’s not hard to figure out the Pumpkins got what they want. A chance that maybe these fans will like them for who they are now, and not who they were.

Quasar
Panopticon
The Celestials
Violet Rays
My Love Is Winter
One Diamond, One Heart
Pinwheels
Oceania
Pale Horse
The Chimera
Glissandra
Inkless
Wildflower

Space Oddity
X.Y.U.
Disarm
Tonight, Tonight
Bullet With Butterfly Wings
A Song for a Son
Today
Stand Inside Your Love
Muzzle
Ava Adore
Cherub Rock
Zero

Concert Review: Twerps, Alex Bleeker, October 22, Silver Dollar

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

twerps

The late, great Kurt Vonnegut once defined a twerp as “someone who shoves false teeth up his rear end and bites the buttons off of the back seats of taxi cabs.”  Now, I’m not sure entirely what he means by that, nor am I certain that anyone anywhere has actually ever done that, but it’s certainly an evocative piece of imagery.  Opener Alex Bleeker defined the band Twerps as one of his top 2 favourite bands (the other one being Tom Petty), which is probably how they would rather be remembered if given the choice.

The Australians offered up a set of fun, catchy, no frills jangle pop reminiscent of the Flying Nun roster and with hints of Peter Buck’s guitar tone at times. They seemed to be enjoying themselves during their brief set and definitely seem to prioritize substance over style.  Unlike many bands out there nowadays, they didn’t seem too fussed about image, which suits me just fine. 

Although Twerps were the nominal headliner, Alex Bleeker And The Freaks played a longer set and seemed to be a slightly bigger draw than Twerps.  Taking a break from his other gig with Real Estate, Bleeker shared the “music first” attitude with Twerps, leading his band through a setlist that appeared to be created on the fly with Bleeker seemingly teaching his band the chords to the various covers that were tossed in, such as opening number “Helpless,” which he dedicated to Ontario for producing Neil Young.  They also covered The Rolling Stones’ “Sweet Virginia,” at which point Twerps singer Marty Frawley was invited onstage to sing along.  The tossed off cover of “La Bamba’ seemed a little questionable since Bleeker didn’t really know all the words, but it was still fun to hear and definitely looked like it was fun to play.  As for their originals, they shared a bit of classic rock DNA with their cover songs, with some Neil Young-ish guitars, Pink Floyd-ian jams, and even a touch of yacht rock smoothness on one tune.

So in the end, Twerps didn’t seem overly twerplike and Bleeker’s Freaks didn’t appear to be all that freakish. But both put on pretty enjoyable performances. I’ve got to say though, that for a band that put on a pretty good performance, Twerps sure did a whole lot of apologizing – for the lateness of the show (it’s Toronto, we’re used to it) and for a minor technical issue that delayed their final song of the evening. It’s not too often you hear a band end their set with, “Thank you. Sorry about everything.” Relax, man. It was a good show.

« Previous   1 2 ... 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 ... 784 785   Next »