Toronto – Last Wednesday brought Toronto a veritable soul queen in Sharon Jones. For those of you who are new to Sharon Jones, she is spear-heading a throwback to good old fashioned funk and R&B. Sharon was backed by her band the Dap-Kings, the house band from her label: Daptone Records. Seeing them live is the closest I can imagine to being in Harlem during the height of soul and funk in the 70’s.

The Dap-Kings are tight. Most notable for me was watching the bassist Bosco Mann get to work. He held everything down like nobody’s business and was clearly leading the charge. It didn’t surprise me to discover later that he is the mastermind behind large swathes of Sharon’s repertoire. In a world of synthesized music (much of which I enjoy), I must say that there’s something really clean and refreshing about listening to an old-school funk band. No crazy digitized effects, just straight up bare-bones amplification for the guitars, bass, drums, sweet brass, and of course the very impressive pipes of Mrs Jones.

But what review is complete without a comment about the venue? The answer of course is many. But I’ll talk about the Kool Haus anyway. Although I’ve never been a huge fan of the Kool Haus/Government, I do have a juicy little tidbit for all you keen concert going types. Yes, it’s hard to get to, and yes it’s a bit out of the way. Yes, you have to pay for parking, but there is parking on the street that’s free. Yes, those spots evaporate quickly. BUT, if you drive one street west and the drive north of the highway, there is a much higher chance you’ll find parking on the street and, it’s still only a 5 minute walk from the venue. Most people never think to park north of the Gardiner.

I do realize that broadcasting this little tip means that I’ll be less likely to park there myself next time. So don’t ever say I don’t do stuff for you people.

Sharon Jones 4/5

 

 Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: Play Now

Toronto - The Global Visions Film Festival is a festival that has been running for 27 years in the city of Edmonton. It is strange that the festival has gone on for so long, since I lived in Edmonton for 17 years and did not even hear about this. I was probably too busy playing street hockey, going to Boston Pizza and watching 2 for 1 movies in giant theatre complexes to notice cultural events like this. However, like a fine wine, my tastes have gotten better with age and I now recognize the power of the documentary. So if you are in Edmonton, you should probably go.

So what is it you ask? well, here is an excerpt from the festival’s main page:

“The Global Visions Film Festival (GVFF) is an annual, one of a kind, Edmonton based festival which celebrates the work of passionate, accomplished documentarians from Canada and around the world.”

So yea, if you are in Edmonton, check out the GVFF this weekend.

Here are some films that look interesting:

The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006, Ruby Yang)
November 7th, 9:00 PM - Paramount Theatres

It’s about something Chinese, so I automatically like it. It’s about an orphan with the HIV, the relatives that try to raise him and the problems that comes with it. I wonder if Ruby Yang is related to Chromewave’s Frank Yang, probably not, since there is about 200 million Yangs out there. This movie is paired with I for India, which sounds pretty interesting itself. China and India together, just like the Panic Manual.

The English Surgeon(2007,Geoffrey Smith)
November 8th, 7:00 PM, Paramount Theatre

This film was all the rage at Hot Docs this year, so I imagine a packed house to see this documentary about an English neurosurgeon who goes to Ukraine and does all kinds of crazy shit. Sounds like an episode of House…but it was a winner at Hot Docs and a few other festivals.

Football Undercover (2008, Ayat Najafi & David Assmann)
November 8th, 7:00 PM, Stanley A. Milner Library Theatre

A sports documentary about an Iranian female soccer team, and probably the only sports film that Dennis Quaid isn’t in these days. I am sure there were a lot of obstacles for this soccer team to put on a friendly, seeing how Iran isn’t the most forward thinking country on Earth. It is probably inspirational, and features soccer. Who wouldn’t want to watch that?

Schedules for film festival can be found here

Here is a song, to accompany this post

 

 Zeigeist - Humanitarism: Play Now

I usually let Wade take care of Canadian stuff but today I decided to write up a quick post about Ruby Coast, a great indie pop/rock band hailing from Ontario.

While sifting through the Panic Manual mailbag I came across an email about Ruby Coast describing them ‘a 5-piece jangly indie rock band from the suburbs of Toronto’. Well I likes me some jangle and do enjoy visiting Toronto suburbs (Brampton son, what?) so I proceeded to download promo EP and you know what? It is good fun.

Musically Ruby Coast have that distinct Canadian indie rock sound. By that I mean they sound like Tokyo Police Club complete with all members shouting at the same time during songs. What sets them apart is a more upbeat poppy sound and they ‘caw! caw!’ like a crow on the track titled ‘Brittle Bones’. The EP clocks in at a quick but fun 16 minutes and is sure to please indie pop and rock fans alike.

Their bio on the press release is pretty good. That and I’m too lazy to write one on my own:

It’s pretty certain that Aurora, Ontario’s Ruby Coast are every
guidance counsellor’s worst nightmare. On the day everyone was to
fill out their college apps in home room, Keith, Nathan, Mark and
Corey left theirs entirely blank - meanwhile, Justice’s simply read
“rock n’ roll”. Getting up every morning and getting dressed for work
was lacking appeal; days spent writing music in an old barn in
Toronto’s suburbs was a no-brainer. But the real problem from the
teacher’s perspective is that now they’re serving as an example to
their peers that life as a rock band is a legitimate option.

Ruby Coast are having their EP Release Party at Sneaky Dee’s in Toronto this Friday (Nov 7th). Be sure to check them out and instead of caw cawing along to Brittle Bones, I dare you to do this.

 

 Ruby Coast - Town to Province: Play Now

Well this album came out of nowhere, musically and otherwise. On October 27, 2008 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club announced via their Myspace blog that they were going to release their latest LP: ‘The Effects of 333′ - a completely instrumental album available via digital download independent of any record company. So being a big BRMC fan I put on my black shirt, leather jacket and jeans, paid $6 expecting a mind blowing follow up to last years Baby 81, the result however was something completely different…

With their first 2 length albums BRMC has been known as a slower paced psychedelic rock reminiscent of bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain. In 2005 with the release of ‘Howl’ they changed direction to a slightly more bluesy folk rock. I was disappointed at the time as I was anticipating another rocking romp through psychedelic pastures, but after giving Howl a few listens I embraced their bluesy ways and added it to the regular rotation. 2007’s Baby 81 felt like a culmination of all their material to date.

Before listening to BRMC I was never appreciative of bands experimenting with their sound. I’m a fan of a band because they have a specific sound so if they change it up drastically I tend to lose all interest. I’ve since learned to give musicians the benefit of the doubt as ‘Howl’ showed me that if a band is passionate enough about something the end result is usually ear pleasing (Paul Weller is another perfect example). But after listening to ‘The Effects of 333′ however, I’m almost at a loss for words. When BRMC wrote that this album would be both ambient and instrumental I thought okay, it’ll be another bluesy psych rock album with no vocals. I’m down with that. Although their description of the album is accurate, it was not what I was expecting. Out of the 10 tracks on TEO333, only 2 could be considered instrumental with just guitars strumming haunting chords, while the rest are just noise, albeit ambient…in a Halloween soundtrack you play on your front porch to scare the kids kind of way. Being experimental is one of the reasons why BRMC is one of my favorite bands, but with such a drastic change in sound on TEO333, it makes me wonder what direction they’re headed.

Here’s what the band has written about the album:

We are proud to announce our first release independent of any record company. As our first release through our Abstract Dragon label, this record is exactly that - no apologies, no lyrics, no regrets, just abstract. This has been in the works for the last 3 years at least, on and off the road, in hotel rooms, bus bunks, and back stage.

I really don’t know how to rate this album. It may be good for people who are into this kind of music and I’m sure there’s some kind of theme they’re going for here, but if you’re a fan of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, don’t consider The Effects of 333 to be a proper follow-up to Baby 81.

You can purchase The Effects of 333 here. And if you do, we’re interested (as always) in hearing your thoughts.

 

 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Or Needed: Play Now

It’s no secret that I enjoy watching Coronation Street every night at 7:00 on the CBC. Who doesn’t? In the 7:30 time slot directly after Corrie comes Jeopardy. Now I have never been a big fan of Jeopardy, but I find myslef watching about 100% more of the trivia show than I used to before CBC aquired the broadcast rights.

My favourite part of Jeopardy is Final Jeopardy. Everytime one of the smarty pants on the show goes into the final round of wagering with more than double the points than the other contestants, I am reminded of this classic and very memorable episode of Cheers. And…a mailman. Way to go Cliff. I was never really into MASH, but Cheers was the shit.

Toronto - Suedeview #6. Featuring my favorite song ever - The Asphalt World. This was not a single, but every Suede fan knows this song. It is a nine and a half minute epic. I don’t even know what it’s about. Here are some thoughts I think when listening to this song. Concrete jungle. Cloudy rainy days. Trapped. I guess it’s about feeling lost in the world you live in, trying to find your way out and fucking things up along the way. It’s about that point, you realize there is no way out, so you just accept it. Either that, or its about a drug addict girl who shares her time with two different people. That’s probably a metaphor or something. Not the best way to describe your favorite song in the world, but maaaaan, I just zone out when I listen to this song, it takes me to a place which I cannot describe.

I know a girl she walks the asphalt world
She comes to me and I supply her with Ecstasy
Sometimes we ride in a taxi to the ends of the city
Like big stars in the back seat like skeletons ever so pretty
I know a girl she walks the asphalt world

Cos that’s where I go
And that’s what I do
And that’s how it feels when the sex turns cruel
Yes both of us need her, this is the asphalt world

 

 Suede - The Asphalt World: Play Now