Concert Review: Eels, Aug 2, Lee’s Palace

Posted on by Paul in Concerts | 1 Comment

Toronto – The thing about seeing an Eels concert is you’re never quite sure what version of the band you’re going to get.  It could be a string augmented, acoustic-based band or it could be a stripped down rock trio.  It could even feature one member simply standing onstage without an instrument, dancing wildly and shouting non-sequiturs into the mic, as I witnessed at a previous Eels show a few years back.  But on this occasion, Eels took the form of what would probably best be described as their version of a rock n’ soul revue.  The entire band, including a horn section, were clad in suits and sunglasses.  And beards!  Eels are one of the most impressively bearded bands I have ever seen.  They delivered an upbeat, fun set of tunes from throughout their career, many of them rearranged to fit the band’s current live sound.

Frontman E was in pretty good spirits, shouting out things like “Refreshing!” and “That was very positive!” after songs and joking about how he thought he was in New Mexico in February rather than Toronto in the summer before the band launched into a proper summer song, a solid version of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Hot Fun In The Summertime.”  Another highlight was a punky version of “I Like Birds,” which I didn’t even recognize at first, but it sounded just as good as the original recorded version.  Maybe better.

On a side note, I’d like to point out that before entering, I noticed not one but two huge tour buses parked outside of the venue.  Granted, there are currently seven members of Eels, but it still doesn’t seem like they would require that much space.  I’m not sure why I’m pointing this out, but I thought it was interesting.  Nice to see Eels doing their part to support the tour bus industry. 

Concert Review: Ellie Goulding, August 1st, Kool Haus

Posted on by Ricky in Concerts | Leave a comment

ellie goulding kool haus

Toronto – Ellie Goulding‘s stock has been on a slow but steady climb over the past year. The electro-acoustic siren first captured some hearts last year with her dance floor track Starry Eyed. A few average singles (The Writer, Guns and Horses) later, She seemed destined for a comfortable Marina/Little Boots level of success before releasing her cover of Elton John’s Your Song last fall. The cover was pretty much perfect – take an entirely famous song, somehow completely make it your own and then release a video highlighting how cute and adorable you are. Suddenly Ellie Goulding was everywhere. One sxsw trip, royal wedding performance and SNL appearance later and it would seem Ellie Goulding is on the doorsteps of mega stardom. Which brings us to Monday night at the Kool Haus.

A packed all ages crowd anxiously awaited the blonde starlet after the Bag Raiders set. Armed with a three piece band, Ellie Goulding took the stage shortly after nine and played an eighty minute set that spanned her entire discography. The show could be broken up into three acts with the first being an energetic beginning (featuring Under the Sheets) to get the crowd in the proper mood. One of the things i love about pop crowds is that they are just ready to rock. The audience started dancing from the first notes of the first song and rarely let up. The beginning was followed up by the acoustic / intimate middle portion which saw Ellie strum a few acoustic tunes, tell a few anecdotes and delivering her hit single Your Song. I wonder how many people knows it was a cover. It didn’t matter, people loved it. It’s a powerful track and one of those cool lighter in the air moments, only it’s 2011, so instead of lighters, you have a bunch of iphones trying to record the track (to poor effect). The band took the stage shortly after and the show went into the triumphant hits filled (Lights, Starry Eyed) third act. Needless to say, the crowd ate it up.

As a performer, Ellie is pretty content on letting her voice and music do the talking. She’ll frequently play on her guitar, and help with the drums and on a few tracks, show a few dance moves. Her anecdotes are charming and she plays the show with a certain “wow, I’m actually doing this!” enthusiasm that makes it hard not to like. Going forward it will be interesting to see if she goes full pop or continue to straddle the electric/acoustic folk line she has drawn for herself. Either way, if she keeps on writing catchy tracks, no one’s going to care.

Guns and Horses by Ellie Goulding

Concert Review: Bag Raiders, August 1st, Kool Haus

Posted on by Ricky in Concerts | 1 Comment

Toronto – Ten months after releasing one of my favorite electro pop albums of 2010, Sydney’s Bag Raiders finally made their Toronto debut in front of a semi packed Kool Haus on Monday. The duo, consisting of DJs Chris Stracey and Jack Glass were there to open for UK darling Ellie Goulding. I had waited anxiously for the duo to make their live appearance in our city since listening to their single Castles in the Air, a nintendo meets synthesizer mashup that set off the imaginary dance floor in my head. Their self titled album would spawn a few tracks that have been my rotation since including Sunlight, Snake Charmer and Shooting Stars.

With a less than favorable starting time of 8 pm, the duo took the stage and delivered an energetic thirty minute set that had the crowd dancing by the halfway point. The two shared vocal duties while manning the many electrical devices it required to produced their eighties-video-game-dance-club-on-the-shores-of-a-beach sound. Most of their tracks have a lovely build up to a pulsating chorus, which is a perfect tonic for the pop happy, completely willing to lose it Ellie Goulding crowd. Despite Dan Black’s absence, the track Sunlight was the highlight for me. It’s got a great beat and is just ridiculously catchy, also the music video of the song features a monkey.

Bag Raiders – Sunlight (feat. Dan Black) by modularpeople

It came to me as a surprise that the set closing track Shooting Stars is apparently their most famous song, since I prefer some of the other tracks on the album. There were more than a few hands in the air when the first notes dropped for that tune, which in it’s favor, has probably the biggest build up/pay off moment of any song in their repertoire. I felt however, some of that build up was dampened by the fact that the duo was playing at the cavernous Kool Haus. Some music is just made for a club (or a beach), I think Bag Raiders is one of them.

While playing at 8 pm at the end of a long weekend in a large warehouse before a budding pop starlet isn’t the most ideal situation for a band such as Bag Raiders to make their debut, the duo made the most of it and help feed the crowd’s enthusiasm by providing them with a relentless set of upbeat dance tracks for rapid consumption. More than a few people asked me who the band was afterwards, which is always a great sign. Here’s hoping they return soon with their own headlining tour.

Bag Raiders is opening for Ellie Goulding at these venues.

Tuesday August 2nd || Royal Oak Music Theatre || Royal Oak, MI *
Monday August 8th || Ogden Theatre || Denver, CO *
Thursday August 11th || The Wiltern || Los Angeles, CA *
Saturday August 13th || Anaheim Convention Center || Anaheim, CA

Bag Raiders – Snake Charmer by modularpeople

Song of the Day: Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Heart in Your Heartbreak

Posted on by Ricky in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

Toronto – The last time I saw Pains of Being Pure at Heart, their monitor went on fire and they had to cut their show short. However, they have been making amends ever since. The band released an excellent sophomore effort – Belong – and have been touring the world since. They played the last official in-house show at Sonic Boom yesterday, and they are playing Opera House tonight for those who want to financially contribute to the band’s success.

I’ve always been fascinated by their live show. On album, their melodies and light vocal deliveries shine, whereas their live shows resemble a lighter less expensive version of a My Bloody Valentine show. Regardless of delivery, this song is one of the standout tracks from this album. Catchy in all the right places, Heart in Your Heartbreak is a perfect example of all the tools that this Brooklyn band is blessed with.

They are at Opera House tonight

Paint Movement 8:30PM
Craft Spells 9:30PM
Pains of Being Pure at Heart 10:45PM


Other Canadian dates
09/28 – Winnipeg, MB @ Royal Albert
09/30 – Calgary, AB @ Dickens
10/01 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
10/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret