Song of the Day: The Heavy – What Makes A Good Man?

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Ricky in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

One of my favorite acts of SXSW, UK soul-rock outfit The Heavy have been living off their breakout album The House That Dirt Built for three years now and as you might have figured, it’s about time for a follow up. That time is now. Actually it’s today. The Glorious Dead is their third full length album and from what I’ve heard so far, it is going to build on the momentum that this band has gained from their previous release.

The lead single What Makes a Good Man has been out for a few months now. I heard it at their SXSW showcase and it emphasizes some of the strongest qualities of the Heavy – anthemic choruses that makes you want to sing along, a heavy edge that elevates it from being soul music and a whole lot of swagger that you can only understand if you ever see lead vocalist Kelvin Swaby perform live. Did I mention they were fantastic live?

Check out the track, and a tour date near you. I have even kindly listed them here, thanks to my awesome pr email copying and pasting skills.

Aug. 23 – House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
Aug. 24 – The Blue Stone, Columbus, OH
Aug. 25 – Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
Aug. 30 – The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, New York, NY
Sept. 01 – Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, WA
Sept. 02 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
Sept. 04 – Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
Sept. 05 – The Blank Club, San Jose, CA
Sept. 07 – El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Sept. 08 – Casbah, San Diego, CA
Sept. 10 – Santa Fe Brewing Co., Santa Fe, NM
Sept. 11 – The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
Sept. 13 – Red 7, Austin, TX
Sept. 14 – Fitzgerald’s, Houston, TX
Sept. 17 – Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO
Sept. 18 – Majestic Theater, Madison, WI
Sept. 19 – Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis, MN
Sept. 20 – Double Door, Chicago, IL
Sept. 21 – Magic Stick- Detroit, MI
Sept. 22 – Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
Sept. 23 – Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
Sept. 25 – Le Cabaret du Mile End, Montreal, QC
Sept. 26 – Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA

Concert Review: Jimmy Cliff, August 18, Phoenix Concert Theatre

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

I don’t really like to harp on something like a performer’s age, but in the case of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, it has to be noted – at 64 years of age, this dude’s got some moves. Seriously. The amount of energy and enthusiasm he exuded onstage was pretty much at the same level from beginning to end. He’s a fairly sharp dresser too. How many out there can really pull off what basically looked like a swanky pair of pyjamas as stagewear? Jimmy Cliff can.

And of course he’s got the songs too. Classics like “The Harder They Come” shared space with covers like “Ruby Soho” and “Wild World” and were all crowd pleasers, as were songs off his latest album Rebirth like “Afghanistan,” which showed off his political side. Another highlight was his version of “I Can See Clearly Now,” one of many singalongs that happened. The biggest surprise for me though was hearing him do “Hakuna Matata.” I guess he’s a Lion King fan. During that song and a few others, Cliff was joined onstage by a young girl who danced and occasionally sang when prompted. Another kid came out onstage a few times too. Not sure who they were (maybe his grandkids?) but they certainly didn’t seem shy.

Overall, i was totally impressed by Jimmy Cliff. Everything from his dance moves to the way he sort of reenacted scenes from his clasic film, The Harder They Come before performing it’s title track to the numerous encores was endearing and entertaining. On the walk home after the show, I chatted with a longtime fan who had seen the man perform several times over the years, including a show in the ’80s where Cliff shared a stage with Peter Tosh. “You know with Jimmy Cliff you’re going to get a good show. That’s the last thing you need to worry about,” he said. He speaks the truth.

Summerworks Review: Evening Hymns, August 17, Theatre Centre

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Paul in Everything, Summerworks | Leave a comment

Anticipation was high amongst many in attendance at Friday night’s Evening Hymns show as part of Summerworks. A record release show for the band’s latest, Spectral Dust, it was also being recorded by the CBC for their Canada Live series. When frontman Jonas Bonetta mentioned this fact, some guy in the audience interjected “CBC Sucks!” Dude, who cares what you think about the CBC? I get that you want everyone to know that you’re oh so cool and beyond things like listening to the radio, but so what? Plus, if you were hoping that you’d be able to infiltrate the airwaves with your comments, they’ll probably edit you out anyways. Regardless of what anyone thinks though, it’s still pretty cool that the band’s getting their show broadcast across the nation. For the record though, I do think that CBC2 was way more interesting back when they had Brave New Waves.

Anyways, back to the show itself. Bonetta may have been a bit nervous, but it didn’t really have any bearing on the performance itself. With the band expanded to a full seven piece to better replicate the songs as recorded,it all sounded great. And in addition to the aural aspect of the show, in keeping with the artsy, theatrical nature of the Summerworks festival, artist Sean Frey provided some visuals in the form of projections on a screen behind the band. Bonetta was actually a bit bummed that he had to face the crowd and couldn’t watch. To digress a bit, I’d just like to point out that the projections at times brought to mind Horsebot 3000 from Community. I liked Horsebot 3000 …

Another aspect of the show that one couldn’t help but take in was the lyrics. Sometimes I don’t pay the closest attention to lyrics – There’s some songs I’ve loved for years that I just never learn the words to and especially live, hearing songs for the first time, I don’t necessarily focus on words. But knowing the backstory behind the songs on Spectral Dusk, the fact that the songs were inspired by the death of Bonetta’s father, I had to pay attention. That several of Bonetta’s family members were also in attendance that night probably made the songs more significant to him personally. They certainly seemed to strike a chord with the audience. With those up front sitting on the floor, the whole thing had a comfortable love-in vibe that meshed well with the band’s warm sound … even if the floors weren’t actually all that comfortable at all.

Summerworks Review: France, or The Niqab (2012, Tanja Jacobs)

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Paul in Summerworks | Leave a comment

The Summerworks blurb was all in needed to read to pique my interest in this play.  “Warning: Nudity, Language, Sexism, Put-downs, Assaulting a police officer.”  And so, just like a teenager in the ’80s reading a PMRC sticker on an album cover, I was drawn towards France, or The Niqab.  The only thing that might draw me in more would be a rumour that the play includes secret messages if played backwards. 

Of course, the idea of warning people that a fake police officer is going to get assaulted on stage is an absurd one, which makes sense as this play, while dealing with some serious issues, is a comedy.  Telling the story of a French lawyer who decides to spend a day (a business day, to be precise) wearing a niqab so as to better understand the plight of her client.  Of course, lots of farcical moments arise from this scenario and a few shots are taken at the Candian government as well as that of France.  The play basically posits the idea that a woman should be allowed to wear whatever she pleases, whether it be a niqab or a miniskirt and that it’s not the place of a government to make such a decision.  That it does so while offering up a few laughs is a good thing.

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