The last time Rodrigo Y Gabriela played in Toronto, they played the Phoenix. It was a pretty exciting show with a raucous energy. They returned last Monday, and this time the venue was Massey Hall. Their jump to MH is a pretty good indicator of how popular their energetic brand of flamenco-rock has become. This time, they were backed by a capable and talented Cuban band; a bigger sound to accompany a bigger venue.
The Cuban band, subtly named C.U.B.A. added a new dimension to Rod & Gab’s music. Their latest effort is Area 52, which rearranges some older material to fit within a Cuban orchestra. The album is fun, it’s very listenable, and adds an energetic Latin feel. The live show by contrast was a much rockier affair. That being said, it also provided an opportunity for the individual members of C.U.B.A. to show off their chops, and chops they had. The bassist and keys were particularly exceptional, but the whole band just oozed talent.
As much as I love Massey Hall, I’m not entirely sure this was the right venue for the band. Rodrigo Y Gabriela is very much a band that wants its audience on its feet, jumping around, and participating. That energy is something that they feed on and re-direct at the crowd, and it’s difficult to conjure up at a sit down venue. It wasn’t until about two thirds through the set that people got to their feet and and stormed to the front of the stage. That was then the show truly kicked into high gear and they played right up until the last possible minute of the MH curfew. The sustained energy at the end was just amazing.
Toronto – Portland-based Pink Martini played Massey Hall last Friday. It was a classy night of eclectic world music that had the crowd on their feet by the end of the show. The self-described “United Nations house band of the 60’s” certainly lived up to their name. Lead songstress China Forbes sang in English, French, Italian, Japanese, and Turkish. I probably missed a few languages there. Pink Martini is on a mini North American tour to hype up their latest holiday album Joy To The World (our review here).
Although the night did include a few of the better songs from their recent seasonal album, they spent most of their time digging into their discography to play old favourites like Dunde Estas, Yolanda, Amado Mio, and Brazil. The band was tight and the instrumentals were spot on. China Forbes was every bit as charismatic as I imagined she would be. Ringleader and pianist Thomas Lauderdale kept the crowd entertained in between songs with the inside track on their music.
“All the Turks, please come to the front of the stage” – Thomas Lauderdale
Easily the highlight of the night was when the band announced they were going to play a traditional Turkish folk song; all Turks in the audience were invited up to sing along. Enter Emre, a young Turkish man who got to the stage out of breath after having run down from the 2nd level balcony. It’s spontaneous things like this that make live music such a worthwhile pursuit. Thankfully for the band, our man Emre really could sing, he really did know the song, and he was immediately under the spell of the magical China Forbes. Who could blame him?
Emre did such a good job with the Turkish song that they kept him on stage for the remainder of the set and the encore. He was given maracas and played with the percussion section, occasionally dancing his way to China at the front. I’ll have to admit that his mix of bravado and uncertainty at being onstage at Massey Hall was both hilarious and endearing. At the end of Amado Mio, the entire band fell silent to allow China the opportunity to bring the song to a close; but there was Emre’s maracas in the back shaking away. It was as amazing as it was ridiculous.
Pink Martini live was every bit as fun as I hoped they would be. The spontaneity definitely made the show a memorable one, as China signed off with “Thank you for this crazy show!”
Toronto – Sufjan Stevens played Massey Hall last Wednesday night. It was an epic night of music, interspersed with some quiet acoustic moments that gave the crowd some breaks. Well-deserved breaks, because Sufjan and his 10-piece band were conjuring up some crazy madness. It was a sensory overload smorgasbord. While some of his new material was a little taxing, like the 25 minute long Impossible Love, it was still a rewarding night for live music.
The set list was dominated by Sufjan’s most recent album, The Age of Adz, released earlier this week. The album is based on the art of Royal Robertson, a deeply troubled schizophrenic that was consumed by his art. His themes mostly revolved around the apocalypse, but also about love; and maybe just a teeny bit about a love for the apocalypse. The album is more electronic sounding than we’re used to, but the digital artefacts are balanced against lush strings and brass sections; so it still very much feels like a Sufjan Stevens original.
“Oh no! Sufjan is going to play another one his sad acoustic songs.” – Sufjan Stevens
This Massey Hall concert was decidedly different from his last visit to Toronto just over a year ago (review here). That was an informal affair at Lee’s Palace, with Sufjan wearing some kind of toque and working out some kind of kinks with his new material. He was playing with a pared down band and was about to enter a musical hibernation of sorts. Fast forward one year and the band is bigger, tight like a toiger, and playing with both confidence and purpose.
There was a lot of sheer musicianship emanating from that stage. Most of the ensemble were playing from scores, but you wouldn’t have guessed it had you closed your eyes. There were two drummers playing in perfect lockstep; they were communicating with each other using only the force. It made for some seriously stellar propulsion; like an unstoppable rhythm avalanche. A rythmalanche, if you will. Add to that roster two trombone players, a bassist, a piano player, two female vocalists, a guitarist, opener DM Stith providing more vocals, and you’ve got yourself one big sound smacking you right square in the teeth.
“Thanks for putting up with me, while I cover my own songs.” – Sufjan Stevens explaining all the music sheets scattered about the stage
This show was a production. That was an understatement. This sentence is filler. The female vocalists started the evening wearing amazing space costumes. Thankfully, we knew they were spacewomen thanks to the pink detailing on the shoulders. That was a nice touch. They also had wicked choreographed dance moves. As this was happening, some impressive stoner-friendly apocalyptic animations were epilepting on screen. Off to the right we had a hippie version of General Zod blasting on the trombone. I spent most of my night trying to figure out what to concentrate on. It was like eating a big Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, while also trying to polish off an entire watermelon.
Some of it was a little much, but it was still delicious. I regret nothing.
Toronto – Joel Plaskett and his band The Emergency played Massey Hall last Saturday night. It was a great show shock full of feelgood east-coast rock. The unassuming Mr. Plaskett is on tour promoting his latest album Three. He was joined on guitar by his father Bill Plaskett, as well as fellow singer/songwriters Ana Ege and Rose Cousins.
“Rock and roll’s wrapped ‘round me as tight as a noose.” – Joel Plaskett
The show started just after 8 pm and was broken up into two sets. The first was an accoustic set with Bill, Ana and Rose and prominently featured songs from Three. After a little a break, he was joined by his band The Emergency and rocked all the way to the 11 pm curfew imposed on Massey Hall. That’s nearly a solid 3 hours of music! The length of the set was as ambitious as his album, which consists of three CD’s (hence the title). It’s a good thing his music is so fun and easy to listen to.
Joel Plaskett puts on great live shows. He’s a consumate musician who knows how to play guitar and knows how to sing. In addition to his vocal prowess, Joel is a fantastic guitarist that plays with a straight-ahead blues-infused vibe that can really cook. I remember seeing him at Lee’s Palace a few years ago and was awestruck by the simple and powerful way he could rock out. This show featured a lot more of Joel the accoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter than Joel the rock guitarist. But this is consistent with his album Three which is a lot less rocky than his previous offering: aptly named Ashtray Rock.
Joel gives off such a clean-cut friendly vibe that I’m alway a little taken aback when he swears in some of his tunes.
One highlight from all this great accoustic stuff was the addition of Ana Ege and Rose Cousins. Both are talented singer/songwriters in their own right. Adding them to the mix made the harmonies that much sweeter. Their voices really added a lot of padding to the mix and generally bumped up the atmosphere of the show in general. Pairing Joel’s strong voice with these ladies’ harmonies was a smart move.
If there’s one thing that was a little out-of-sorts, it was the ticket price. Once the surchages are added, my tickets ended up being $50 a piece, which is a little on the pricey side. It certainly brings it home that I’m not seeing Joel in some quaint bar in Halifax, or even at Lee’s, but at Massey Hall in downtown Toronto. Lucky for us that seeing Joel Plaskett live is such good clean fun. Joel gives off such a clean-cut friendly vibe that I’m alway a little taken aback when he swears in some of his tunes. If anything, it makes the experience that much more sincere.
