Concert Review: Josh Ritter, Oct 26, Phoenix

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Mark in Concerts | Leave a comment

Toronto – Josh Ritter is a magical leprechaun that grew up tall and made good on his dreams of becoming a musician. That’s not what I would have said at the starting of last Tuesday’s show at the Phoenix, but it’s certainly what I was thinking by the end. For the record, I’m not saying that this thought entered my mind forcefully with my friend declaring “Josh Ritter is a magical leprechaun” at the end of the set. I’m just saying that it’s probably true, and you would agree with me if you had been there.

It’s not very often that a show starts kinda sorta OK and then ends really well. Typically if there are technical problems, they will plague the entire set.  Josh Ritter’s set started OK, with a nice quiet acoustic number, accompanied by some tasteful double-bass. It was a little sedate, but it was a reasonable start.

The second song featured the band jumping into the fray right proper. Being just next to the stage, it got a little missy very quickly. All I could hear was the boomy boom of the kick drum. It was shaking my camera and my chest. Before long, I moved to the very back of the venue, to the balcony. Still, the most prominent feature was the doof doof doof of the drums. After the 5th song, I was about ready to call it quits.

“I’d like to dedicate this next song to Zach’s moustache. It’s a murder ballad” – Josh Ritter

Then something amazing happened. The sound fixed itself! The sound guy turned down the drums. That, or the drummer’s foot got tired. Either way, I could hear the entire band come into mix, and things got really interesting. The lid was clearly off when bassist Vince Guaraldi (actually Zach Hickman, channelling Vince Guaraldi’s moustache) was hammering out the beat in front using two drum sticks.

Then came the real treat, Josh played some quieter numbers on his acoustic guitar sans band. This is where his skills as a musician, songwriter, and storyteller became clear. His stories about love and loss, angels and knights, and heaven and hell, drew us in. Before we knew it, we were caught up in Josh Ritter’s spinning web and impish grin. He’s got a magic about him that’s hard to describe; but it certainly justifies his devoted following.

Now, I know we sometimes cynically poke at the “I’m going to play a song now without amplification to force everyone to stop stalking” schtick, but I’ve never seen it done like this. Josh got the crew to turn off every light in the Phoenix. I’ve never heard the Phoenix so quiet. In silence and darkness, we listened to Josh play his guitar and sing. He urged us to hum along and we did; it was nice little slice of what live music is all about.

It’s a rare and pleasant surprise to start off a show thinking “meh”, and end thinking you just experienced something special.

Josh Ritter – Paths Will Cross by blaavinyl

Concert Review: Basia Bulat, Oct 26, Phoenix

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Mark in Concerts | Leave a comment

Toronto – The connection between a musician and her crowd is an interesting one. As an artist, you’re putting yourself on the line as a crowd examines your every move and sound. The pressure to deliver on the spot is enough to make anyone quiver. Thankfully, if the crowd is sending positive vibes towards the artist, then magic happens. The musician is emboldened to give it her all. She gets energized by the crowd, and can take things to the next level. It’s a positive feedback loop; kind of like those televised cheerleading competitions where you have cheerleaders in the crowd cheering on other cheerleaders who are cheerleading on stage. This was certainly the case last Tuesday at the Phoenix.

Basia Bulat opened for Josh Ritter on the 2nd date of a Canadian cross country tour. The set began with a quiet ukulele song that showcased her musicality and sensuous voice. From there she moved into some more upbeat songs, and after about three tunes we hit that magical inflection point. The crowd’s raucous applause and familiarity with her material inspired Basia to throw herself into her music headfirst. She sang a little more loudly, plucked her autoharp a little more forcefully, and smiled a little more happily. This in turn caused the crowd to clap a little more loudly, tap our toes a little more quickly, and enjoy ourselves immensely. Basia plays heartfelt singer-songwriter fare with energy and poise. Songs were featured from both her breakout album Oh My Darling and her latest effort, Heart Of My Own.  Her music was a well-paired wine for the sound that was to follow in Josh Ritter.

Toronto looks forward to when she’s back in her hometown.

Basia Bulat – Gold Rush by gillybeann

Concert Review: Phoenix, October 22, Ricoh Coliseum

Posted on October 27, 2010 by sarahw in Concerts | Leave a comment

Toronto – Remember when you were 17 and your favourite boy band was making a stop in Toronto at the ACC. You took the GO train into Toronto for the big night and probably went to Jack Astors for dinner before the big show. Then you found your way eagerly to your severely overpriced seats among the other 20,000 rabid fans. You sat there through the opening band because doors opened at 7PM and you didn’t want to miss anything. When the band finally appeared your ears were assaulted with shrill screams and you spend the next hour singing at the top of your lungs to a well-rehearsed pop band highlighted by an even more well-timed light show.

Now, reduce the venue size and replace rabid fans for indifferent kids, more interested in standing in beer lines than seeing the band play. This was Phoenix at Ricoh coliseum.

Phoenix has rocketed to stardom and managed to score a Grammy for their Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album largely due to their anthemic pop sound. I would describe them as a hybrid of Coldplay and U2. The French band has been touring for 18 months, limiting their ability to create new material, so their set list has remained pretty static. Shockingly, they opened with Lisztomania, their first single.

About halfway through the performance the lights dimmed and a large white curtain fell down in front of the band. Silhouetted, they played Love like a Sunset, one of their only instrumental songs. The curtain was finally drawn at the song’s climax, adding a dramatic element to the song’s long build-up.

In the latter half of the show all of a sudden half of the band disappeared from the stage. We thought this was the end of their show but after recovering from the menacing strobe lights, noticed people on the floor flocking to the soundboard where 3 members of the band were standing. Here they played acoustic versions of Big Sun, Love For Granted and a French folk song (because they’re in Canada, non?). The band was shrouded in darkness save for one spotlight highlighting their location. Despite this pleasant surprise, the crowd (outside of the floor) was barely paying attention at this point.

As always Phoenix closed with 1901 and the band kept playing while the lead singer hopped into the crowd and surfed among fans, brave man.

Lizstomania (Classixx Version)- Phoenix by Classixx (Official)

Concert Review: Anagram, Deloro, Bruised Knees, October 22, The Shop (Parts & Labour)

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Paul in Concerts | Leave a comment

Toronto – I sometimes enjoy catching little snippets of other people’s conversation in passing without getting any of the context.  As I left my apartment to make my way to the Anagram show, I overheard the following: “Some of them are interns, some are doctor, and some are other doctors.”  I have no idea what he was talking about (a plot synopsis of Scrubs, perhaps?) nor do I know why he felt the need to differentiate between “doctors” and “other doctors” – aren’t they all doctors?  And I certainly don’t know what any of this has to do with Anagram.  Maybe I can tie it all together by quoting the sage wisdom of late ’80s Doobie Brothers – “Music is the doctor, makes you feel like you want to.”  Also, one anagram of the word “doctor” is “cod rot,” which sounds kind of disgusting. 

Opening the show were Bruised Knees (something a doctor might treat – see, I can totally shoehorn this pointless doctor concept into this review), a local band who I’m pretty sure are relatively new.  They had a pretty good sound that reminded me at times of Sonic Youth and the sort of tribal sounding drums were a strong element.  However, I think that they might still need a little work.  Maybe I’ll check them out again sometime in the future.

Based on the sound of both the openers and headliners Anagram, I figured Deloro would have a similar sort of sound.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did not.  Made up of members of other Toronto bands including One Hundred Dollars, The Constantines, and Castlemusic, they demonstrated a flair for heavy, feedback-laced dark country that was reminiscent of Neil Young or Jon Rae and the River (not surprising since drummer David Clarke and guitarist Paul Mortimer once played in that band).   They had a great sound and really impressed me.  I’ve been looking for a new Toronto band to root for and I think I’ve found it.  In fact, you might say they were just what the doctor ordered.

Finally, it was time for Anagram.  These guys put on an intense show and the audience pretty much reciprocated that intensity despite the fact that it was getting pretty late in the evening (I’m not sure, but I think they didn’t go on ’til after 1:00).  This being a CD release show combined with the fact that they haven’t played any shows in awhile meant that the crowd was good and stoked.  If you haven’t been to The Shop before, it’s kind of a small space.  There is no stage – the bands just set up in the back corner.  Combine this sort of intimacy with a seriously packed room, Jeff Peers’ propulsive, repetitive basslines, and singer Matt Mason’s manic stage presence and things can get a bit out of hand.  Dudes were all pounding on the ceiling at one point, and there was a serious mosh pit going on – Matt Mason had to stop things at one point.  “This is fun and all, ” he said, “But it’s not a therapy session.  Seriously, you don’t have to shove people as hard as you can.  I’m not your therapist.”  His attempt to calm the crowd down didn’t entirely work, but one thing is certain: they were enjoying themselves.  If The Doobie Brothers are correct and music is the doctor, it definitely made the people feel like they wanted to.

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