Media Party

Real Estate, Woods and... Real Woods

Woodsist buds Real Estate and Woods joined forces last night -- first on the bill then on the stage -- for a memorable show at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern. Real Estate played a mix of their acclaimed debut, their solid followup EP (Reality) and a few odds-and-ends. Having caught them in November on the eve of their album's release, I'm happy to report that they haven't lost any of their mellow enthusiasm or airtight guitar interplay. In fact, they're sounding better than ever.

This was my third time seeing Woods in less than a year (having caught them at Soundscapes in May and Sneaky Dee's in August) and all three shows were surprisingly different. Last night's set was noticeably more abrasive than usual -- complete with a long, Sonic Youth-inspired horror jam -- but the band also delivered several of their most accessible, feel-good hits.

Best of all, the evening culminated with all eight members of Real Estate and Woods joining forces onstage (calling themselves "Real Woods") to perform a lively rendition of Blind Melon's maddening, yet memorable, "No Rain." Though Real Estate bass player Alex Bleeker made no effort to approximate the original's peculiar vocal stylings, Real Woods nailed everything else perfectly. Who knew Sundays could be this much fun? -- JD

Joanna Newsom at The Phoenix

Conditions at The Phoenix weren't ideal for recording video this evening -- as Joanna Newsom mentions in this clip, we were crowded-in pretty tight -- but they were perfect for just about everything else. I did manage to record a few minutes of Have One on Me's "In California," as well as some amusing pre-song banter. As you briefly see in this clip, drummer Neal Morgan proved himself a lively presence onstage, earning several hearty laughs throughout the night. I briefly chatted with Morgan at the the merch table about opener Kevin Barker and Morgan's own solo album, To the Breathing World. Later in the show, while Newsom was tuning her harp (a visually striking instrument if ever there was one), Morgan fielded questions from the audience. He was particularly pleased when Media Party's Ken Stuebing enquired about To the Breathing World. You can sample this unusual marriage of drums and vocals on Morgan's myspace page, ideally through headphones, the way he intended. -- JD

Box of Moonlight

One of the most accomplished and enthralling albums so far this year is also one of the most elaborate vinyl releases. No, it isn't the twentieth anniversary of Joanna Newsom's Have One on Me -- though I'm sure we'll still be talking about it then -- nor is this a massive live release or career-spanning greatest hits collection, but that's the impression you might get from this 3-LP box set, complete with a booklet of Newsom's characteristically enigmatic lyrics. There's nothing modest about this release, but Newsom has the skill to deliver on unwieldy ambitions. She's performing at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre tonight and we'll be there to admire this one-of-a-kind, generation-defining talent. -- JD

Separated at Birth

While Vivian Girls lack the irreverent feminist spirit of The Fabulous Stains -- and this Stains clip doesn't capture the more rocking, Vivian Girls-like sound they develop later in Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains -- these bands have a lovable tunelessness in common. It should also be noted that The White Stripes were kind of named after the Stains' hairstyles... I think. Watch the trailer and you'll see what I mean. -- JD

Stephin Merritt Documentary

New Panda Bear

Waiting For Something

Waiting For Something - a short documentary about Jay Reatard

Tarpon

This bizarre-looking movie is pretty hard-to-see -- as far as I can tell, it's not even listed on imdb -- but it's definitely out there somewhere. Thanks to DiscLand contributor Jason Woloski for bringing this Jimmy Buffett-scored oddity to my attention. He's seen Tarpon... and he totally vouches for it. -- JD

The Dutchess and the Duke at Sneaky Dee's

The Dutchess and the Duke were in Toronto last night, performing as a two-piece and playing a pretty good balance of album one and album two. Random observation: rarely have I ever seen a band make so many requests for volume adjustments, which is odd given their relatively straightforward double singer-guitarist set-up. For a solid twenty minutes before their set began, both Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz repeatedly asked to have their vocals/guitars turned up and/or down. During this period, they even managed to play lengthy portions of a few songs -- and the (polite) requests didn't stop there. In any case, it turned out to be a pretty solid show, poor sightlines and bizarrely noisy crowd notwithstanding. Watch the following clip and you'll see/hear what I mean. -- JD

Top 30 Albums of 2009: Part Three (10-1)

by Jonathan Doyle, Neil Karassik and Ken Stuebing

10. Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
Black Mountain chief Stephen McBean rocks no less feedback in this side-project, but Outside Love's an accomplished, decidedly feel-good album, a reprieve from Black Mountain's usual assault. Some of the tunes could even work as wedding songs. McBean's in fine voice, offering a hip drawl similar in style to Beck, but it's his Lee-and-Nancy-style duets with Jesse Sykes and kick-ass singer Amber Webber that truly elevate this record. Ms. Webber continues to be this troupe's secret weapon and, if you like Black Mountain/Pink Mountaintops, don't forget to check out Lightning Dust. Incidentally, I tend to snicker a little since someone tipped me off that the band's name is code for nipples. -- KS

Top 30 Albums of 2009: Part Two (20-11)

by Jonathan Doyle, Neil Karassik and Ken Stuebing

20. Ganglians – Monster Head Room
It was a big year for Woodsist (see number 14 and 12 on this list), the mom-and-pop record label run by Woods front-man Jeremy Earl. But for reasons that remain somewhat unclear, Ganglians didn’t break through to quite the same extent as other current or former Woodsist artists like Woods, Wavves, Kurt Vile or Real Estate. With its peculiar mix of hippy affectations, Beach Boys melodies and low-fi production methods, Monster Head Room is an infectiously schizophrenic record that suggests Ganglians is willing to try just about anything -- and succeed. The best part? Even after releasing a solid EP and this terrific full-length in the same calendar year, Ganglians upped-the-ante with a 7” featuring their two best tracks to date (“Blood on the Sand,” “Make it Up”). Stay tuned. -- JD

Top 30 Albums of 2009: Part One (30-21)

by Jonathan Doyle, Neil Karassik and Ken Stuebing

In these early days of Media Party, all music contributions have come from myself, Neil Karassik and Ken Stuebing. Since we're all bored with personal best-of lists -- which journalists tend to exploit for reasons of personal branding and street-cred -- we're with-holding our personal lists and instead posting a list that says more about our collective (and therefore the site's) taste. Our personal lists all included wild cards that are nowhere to-be-found on this popularity contest of a group list, but if it cracked one of our top 10s, chances are it also found a place on the group list. So yes, there are all kinds of oversights (sorry, female musicians), but this is a pretty accurate list of the albums that generated the most interest around Media Party headquarters in 2009. -- JD

Beatles 3000

Here's a big YouTube find from occasional Media Party contributor Ken Stuebing:

Anvil: The Story of Anvil

(VH1 Films, 10.6.2009)

Opening night films at festivals can be a dicey proposition. More often than not, classy, inoffensive, sponsor-friendly films are dragged out to make a good impression -- and then they're promptly forgotten by everyone in the room. Thankfully, the 2008 Hot Docs documentary film festival got underway with precisely the opposite breed of film: Anvil: The Story of Anvil, a skillfully-crafted and unexpectedly affecting doc that may be the most crowd-pleasing non-fiction film of the decade (take that, March of the Penguins). It also turned out to be one of the highlights of the festival and, with the exception of Man on Wire, the entry that reached the widest post-festival audience. Good work, Hot Docs.

Continue reading at DiscLand...

Papercuts and Camera Obscura at The Phoenix

Devo at The Phoenix

Vaguely Terrifying... in a Good Way

CONCERT REVIEW: Islands

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.

Dirty Projectors at The Opera House

Friday Video Party

War Zone

I knew Fucked Up borrowed heavily from The Jesus Lizard playbook, but having now seen both bands at the Phoenix on Thursday nights in the last four months, it's shocking just how similar their shows really are. The key difference is the temperament -- and physical condition -- of their respective front men. Whereas FU's Damian Abraham (aka Pink Eyes) is large and friendly, Jesus Lizard vocalist David Yow is unpredictably strange/drunk, wily and physically fit enough to send himself flying through the air at any time.

Girls and Real Estate at El Mocambo

Dan Auerbach at The Phoenix

Wednesday Night at Lee's Palace

Bradford Cox vs. Inflexible Security Guard