In a 21st century where, as Devendra Banhart put it, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only Beatles in the world, your choices for catching a live impression of the energy and inspiration of an actual Beatle are somewhat limited. Paul was my early favorite Beatle and until recently he would be the natural choice. However, my preference began leaning towards Ringo's All-Starr Band for various reasons including Paul's somewhat alienating quest to revise certain chapters in the Beatles' history. He's Paul friggin' McCartney, you'd think he could rest on his laurels and leave well enough alone. Still, Ringo can't seem to hit the GTA proper, opting instead for casino gigs an unwieldy two-hour commute away. So, when McCartney rolled into downtown Toronto earlier this week, I decided to take in the spectacle. This proved to be a wise choice.
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
The Mod Club - Toronto, ON
As anyone who's read-up on Ariel Pink will tell you, this is not your everyday career musician. Until his acclaimed 4AD debut Before Today hit stores last month, AP had a history of scrappy, inaccessible home recordings that were compiled on scattershot, little-heard albums. Now that he's finally crossed-over, a process of reconciling the past and present of this bizarro career is necessary, particularly for anyone hoping to attend one of his live shows.
While I certainly wouldn't want to lose any of the jangle rock vitality of Robyn Hitchcock's albums, this undervalued musical genius is just as impressive without a band. While his songs were well served by The Venus 3 -- his R.E.M.-heavy backing band -- when he played The Mod Club in 2006, last night's solo show in The Drake's basement lounge offered an even more pure, focussed taste of his vivid imagination. Maybe I just feel this way because my first exposure to his music was Storefront Hitchcock, the 1998 concert film of a largely solo show that inspired the name for my (long dormant) Jonathan Demme website. But I think there's more to it than that.
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Sound Academy - Toronto, ON
It should be said right up front that both Spoon and Deerhunter -- I missed first opener The Strange Boys -- delivered rock solid performances on Monday night at Toronto's Sound Academy. Spoon's set was pleasingly eclectic and Deerhunter treated the crowd to several unreleased new tracks, most of which featured a jangly new guitar sound reminiscent of R.E.M. or even early U2. But as anyone who's ever been to Sound Academy will tell you, it's one of Toronto's most frustratingly ill-shaped venues and, as is often the case, the building's design problems almost overpowered the musicianship on display. Thankfully, Sound Academy is no match for the combined musical firepower of Spoon and Deerhunter.
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
The Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, ON
Four albums into Fruit Bats' impressive career, the big question is, "Why don't more people care about these guys?" The band has shown consistent artistic growth from their first album to their fourth and front-man Eric Johnson is highly regarded by his indie rock peers -- he's been a member of Califone, Vetiver and The Shins -- but breakthrough success has continued to elude him. If that's not bad enough, The Horseshoe Tavern (a relatively tiny venue) was only about half full when The Bats rolled-into-town on Wednesday night.
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
The Mod Club - Toronto, ON
After receiving a fair amount of flack for their maligned sophomore effort, Arm’s Way, Islands returned to synthy form with this year’s Vapours. Sporting a ridiculous rhinestone-studded white cape and looking like some seventies-rock-star-from-another-planet (Ziggy Stardust?), frontman Nick Diamonds and his equally bizarre-looking bandmates –- including his Unicorns collaborator Jamie Thompson, returning to the band after a one-album hiatus -– played a stellar show recently at Toronto’s always-decent Mod Club.
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Massey Hall - Toronto, ON
While most hardcore indie rock-philes would characterize the international mini-rivalry between Radiohead and Wilco (no, the bands don't appear to be in on this) as a hands-down victory for Radiohead, I'm not so sure. Dismiss them as "dad rock" all you want-- is Paul Thomas Anderson making "dad cinema" because he rips-off Robert Altman? -- Wilco has a musicianship that even Radiohead (with all their computers and robots and whatnot) can't always equal. The argument in Radiohead's defense is that they're more innovative and experimental. Fair enough and, for that reason, their seven studio albums have the slight edge over Wilco's. However, the doom-and-gloom that pervades Radiohead's music makes for live shows that are thrilling, yet somewhat alienating. At a Radiohead show, you bond with the rest of the crowd... over your shared sense of isolation. Wilco's appeal is simpler and more refreshingly direct. While Radiohead is the defining bummer band of its generation, Wilco may be the defining party band.
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
El Mocambo - Toronto, ON
Not even the inhumanly high temperature inside El Mocambo could spoil the Tuesday triple-header that began with decent local group The Bitters (opening for Wavves as they did last March at Sneaky Dee's) and psychedelically sublime Cali-rock show-stealers Ganglians. These lively openers were followed by the bratty noise-pop headliner, who made it semi-big this year with two impressively minimalist LPs and lotsa, lotsa touring. When Wavves first visited Toronto in March, the gig was nearly sold out and expectations were exceeded. Six months, one public meltdown and a drummer later, Nathan Williams has re-emerged with a broken wrist, an even more stupidly ironic haircut and a decidedly heavier sound.
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Massey Hall - Toronto, ON
Elvis Costello has taken a lot of heat this year for releasing a mediocre, country-ish strings album (Secret, Profane & Sugarcane), so it was natural to approach this show with some reticence. Tickets went on sale before the album hit stores -- though I've only ever seen it in Starbucks -- so ticket-buyers didn't necessarily know what they were getting themselves into. Once it became clear that Costello and his new band (the Sugarcanes) would be performing their whole set in roughly the style of Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, mild concern seemed like a suitable response. Lucky for those in attendance, these fears were unfounded, as the Sugarcanes' flavorful brand of roots rock turned out to be a perfect fit for Massey Hall. Performing without a drummer, Costello's vocals were even more prominent than usual, emphasizing his estimable skill as a singer, songwriter and interpreter of other people's songs.
Friday, August 21st, 2009
Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
It goes like this: band rise, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of another band’s early demise. Band hit it unexpectedly, impossibly huge. Band eschews the trappings of mega-stardom to sustain their life. Band ages gracefully with their codified integrity and creativity in tact. For the above reasons, Pearl Jam have been my favorite rock band for half my life. Friday at Toronto’s lovely Molson Amphitheatre was my twelfth great occasion to rock, sing and feel joy in their presence. There are two general schools of thought: Pearl Jam is a band and Pearl Jam is a vehicle for Eddie Vedder. Attending a Pearl Jam concert is like watching those two notions play ping pong.
