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CKY + Early Man + Hail The Villain + Fall From Grace @ Le National
By Brian Hastie - Drive Home: Countdown To Armageddon - 06/15/2009
News that the latest Montreal appearance from CKY had been upgraded from Les Saints to Le National was good news to my ears. The band's brand of octave-pedal-abusing guitar heroics seemed at odds with the too-cool-for-school vibe that Saints often gives off, due to the venue's usual musical guests. Le National felt like a more appropriate venue to witness a band whose devoted fanbase are the very definition of hardcore and who would be sure to bring the venue to life via various mosh and dance moves, as they had in 2005 when they came to town touring behind An Answer Can Be Found. As I entered the venue right before any of the bands took the stage, I noted the fact that the venue was already 3/4ths full, which was a good sign of things to come.
Fall From Grace performed a set peppered with by-the-numbers alternative rock that would probably do well on the radio if signed by a major, nestled in-between Nickelback and Buckcherry. The crowd seemed indifferent as the band lacked the balls-to-the-wall mentality that the rest of the bands on the bill had, showing musical restraint where a straight-up hard-rocking approach would've been better suited.
Hail The Villain, on the other hand, managed to kick things into gear; picking up the slack and playing a set of fast-paced, up-tempo numbers with huge choruses and breakneck-speed solos. The crowd seemed more into the band as they joined in on the various audience participation bits singer Bryan Crouch initiated.
Early Man performed their role of direct support admirably, playing fast and loose rock-and-roll mixed in with bits reminiscent of the Bay Area thrash scene circa 1983. Vocalist/guitarist Mike Conte's warbling voice definitely had people comparing him to a young Ozzy Osbourne, slightly nasal and high-pitched, his phrasing and cadence similar to the Ozzman's. The crowd, obviously enthused by the fact that the headliners were soon to take the stage, cheered gleefully at every opportunity given. Thankfully the band did not overstay their welcome and managed to play a hearty 30 minute set that sufficiently warmed the crowd up for CKY.
Kicking things off with single "Escape From Hellview", the band stuck to familiar territory, building a large portion of their set from songs off of 2002's Infiltrate/Destroy Rebuild. They managed to play 7/10ths of the record throughout the band's 15-song set, bookending it with I/D/R stand-out "Sporatic Movement".
That point brings me to the biggest gripe of the evening: CKY's rather odd setlist choices. Their decision to spend half of their show playing tracks from a 7 year-old album (as well as none from its equally well-received successor) is one that left many fans surprised. Sure, CKY's known as a group of ragtag individuals that rarely play by the conventional rules, but giving the crowd 4 songs (that have been played to death on prior tours) from their debut Volume 1 ("Rio Bravo", "Disengage The Simulator", "Promiscuous Daughter" and "96 Quite Bitter Things") and 2 ("Hellions On Parade" and "Imaginary Threats") from their newest album is an odd choice. Carver City rivals any of the band's prior output and a chance to see how the more experimental approach that Chad Ginsberg and company took on the record translated into a live setting would've been great to see. The complete omission of An Answer Can Be Found is also a mystery, one the band did not even bring up.
A large portion of the audience did not care, naturally, as they enjoyed the band’s entire catalogue equally, but having seen the band perform these songs before felt like a bit of a missed opportunity to showcase new material. Don't get me wrong, it was a great evening filled with many fine moments, marred only by that one tiny gripe I listed above.
The band themselves were in fine form, engaging in their usual in-between song banter and baiting the audience with potential song choices before launching into other ones. The band's ability to rock harder live than on record is uncontested and they kept things fluid, only stopping to quickly change guitars before launching into another song. CKY managed to once again put on a great rock show that was appreciated by all, but the evening also managed to display a band that was perhaps too scared to venture into new, uncharged territory.
Tune into Countdown to Armageddon with Brian every Thursday from 4PM - 6PM
RISE AGAINST/RANCID + The Riverboat Gamblers @ Parc Jean Drapeau
By Brian Hastie - Drive Home: Countdown To Armageddon - 06/18/2009
The constant, hours-long rain spell that befell Montreal did little to dampen the spirits of those who showed up for the Riverboat Gamblers/Rancid/Rise Against show at Parc Jean Drapeau, on Ile St. Helene. The crowd appeared to be predominantly youthful and seemed eager for the proceedings to start and jockeyed for position in front of the stage well before the start of the show.
The Riverboat Gamblers had the tough task of waking up a largely fed-up crowd with their brand of punk rock, pulling out multiple cuts from the newly-released Underneath The Owl. Tracks such as "Victory Lap" and "A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology" woke much of the crowd up as singer Mike Wiebe's version of a punk rock croon went to work, slowly turning a largely unanimated crowd into a slowly-swaying mass of partially-pleased concert-goers.
Rancid divided up their setlist between songs from their latest record, Let The Dominoes Fall, and songs from their extensive catalogue. Kicking things off with "Radio", off of 1993's Let's Go, the band's mixture of ska and street punk kept the crowd going through their 50 minute set. The midset trio of "Olympia, WA", "Salvation" and "Bloodclot" very clearly demonstrated why Rancid reached the level of popularity they've continued to maintain through the last decade-and-a-half. The band has the ability to craft songs that hint at pop sensibilities, covering them up with a healthy dose of punk rock chord progressions and gravel-throated singer Tim Armstrong's near-conversational delivery. These elements manage to win over fans by stepping over genres and grab equal doses of pop sheen and punk rock sensibility.
The band continued to roll out the hits ("Fall Back Down" from 2003's Indestructible, "Time Bomb" and "Maxwell Murder" from 1995's And Out Come The Wolves) as the crowd ate it up, enthused to hear something familiar. They capped things off with their biggest hit, "Ruby Soho", which had several rows of excited teenagers singing along, shrugging off the newest torrent of rain that fell from the skies.
The headliners took the stage a little after dark, kicking things off with "Ignition", from 2006's The Sufferer And The Witness. Following that, Rise Against's set was largely a carbon copy of their December 2008 CEPSUM performance, only transposed to an outdoor venue. The band played almost all of the hits (ignoring "Swing Life Away" while playing "Give It All", “Prayer of the Refuge" and all of the singles from the band's newest record, Appeal to Reason) and a selection of older songs from their four prior full-lengths. The band went through largely the same set, beat by beat, as the December show, playing the same songs in the same manner (moving into the acoustic portion of the show at about the same mark as well as closing with the same songs) and left little to surprise. The upside is that they were consistent; the downside is that it felt like they were consistently going through the motions.
As the show progressed and I realized that perhaps I was reliving the exact same show I had been witness to months ago, my mind began to wander and concern itself more with the context in which the music was presented and less with the concert before me.
Is the band's message being lost in the static of the pop-punk music that envelopes these songs? Can Rise Against truly consider themselves to be efficient messengers of the causes they support when they've progressively stream-lined their musical approach to the point where they receive extensive radio play and major backing from a large record company? It is a question with many tangents and variables, and is also the same problem that befalls many politically-active bands who outgrow their humble roots and branch off into something bigger, signing with a major record company and claiming to be fighting the machine from within.
This is also a question that also concerns itself with the integrity of a band which decides to, in the eyes of some, co-opt their very vision into something that can be sold as a mere commodity, to be enjoyed and used and tossed without a second glance at the actual lyrical content
Issues like this are of special concern to those involved in the discourse of punk rock (both consumers and producers), a discourse which concerns itself partially with the very notion of "selling out", that is to say going corporate and becoming a vessel for the society that punk rock bands largely fight to change through social action. This feeling of going with the flow is largely detrimental to the spirit of a lot of the work Rise Against has done in the past. Handing out plastic Rise Against-adorned bags to Warped Tour attendees (which occurred in 2006) gave me pause for thought and planted the seed of this very struggle in my head.
Watching the sea of kids (with the occasional older person popping out) sing along to every word singer Tim McIlrath put out there made me wonder if anyone was truly listening to the content of the words and not merely the melodies by which these words came out. It is a question that troubled me, and as the strains of closer "Ready to Fall" gave way to the usual post-concert lull, I felt like it would be one only time could answer.
Tune into Countdown to Armageddon with Brian every Thursday from 4PM - 6PM
PROPAGANDHI + Strike Anywhere + Humanifesto @ Club Soda
By Josh Mocle - The Kids are So-So - 06/22/2009
Now let me just start this review by saying I was slightly worried while going in to the latest Montreal appearance from Manitoba’s Propagandhi (and that worry had nothing to do with the overzealous bouncer at Club Soda taking the batteries out of my portable recorder for fear that I would bootleg the show…although I was then half inclined to go buy new batteries and bootleg it on principle…but that’s neither here nor there.) Rather, in the months leading up to the show I experienced the following interaction more times than I can count with dudes who were wearing polo shirts: “you like punk rock?! Dude have you heard the new Propagandhi (pronounced “propaGANDI” as most French Canadians are wont to do) record?!?!” Now, don’t get me wrong: I love Propagandhi…I love what they stand for, I love the way they go about getting their message across (living entirely within the harder void of melodic-hardcore) and I cannot deny the impact they have had on the North American punk and hardcore scene throughout the course of their over 20 year history (specifically in Canada.)
However, (again, specifically in Canada) they are in every sense of the term “that band.” The band that every poseur who likes to fancy themselves a rebel gravitates to because, if I had to guess, they are loud and swear a lot (this is what Rage Against the Machine was in the 90s and Anti-Flag is in the U.S. now.) Therefore, I was expecting the usual Montreal almost-but-kinda mainstream punk show audience: guys in polo shirts who understand zero English, swilling Heineken with their buddies and frequently forgetting they aren’t at a hockey game and their loud and equally francophone girlfriends. Generally, shows like this make me want to commit poseur genocide. Were it not for CJLOs own Brian Hastie and his manservant Alexander keeping me distracted and the promise of what was sure to be an excellent opening set from Richmond, Virginia’s Strike Anywhere, I very well might have.
Speaking of distractions, while checking out the mass amount of activist propaganda the band brought on tour with them, I heard a charging drum beat coming from the main room and remembered there were actually TWO openers on the bill. After making our way inside to gawk at Montreal’s own Humanifesto, we found ourselves back outside in search of pizza five minutes later. Overly nasal and lyrically contrived, I’m fairly certain the only reason these mooks were allowed to open the show was because of their name. Thumbs down.
Following some delicious pizza from our friends at “that-place-across-the-street-from-foufs” we made our way back inside for the band I was unquestionably the most excited to see: Strike Anywhere. Having been a fan of their politically charged street punk stylings for many years but not having seen them for over a year, I was jonesing for some sweet sweet almost southern-fried punk rock. In this regard, I was not disappointed: their slightly more than 30 minute set hit all the right marks with tracks from all three of their full lengths and their upcoming record out this October and all the requisite intensity and sincerity one would expect from one of the most earnest bands out there today. My problem was the fact that while the room was more than packed, only about ten or fifteen people (including Hastie and myself) really seemed to be into it, which only hammered home the disconnect between the material being put forward by the bands and the audience that had rolled up because they like it when people swear. Simply put: if you like Propagandhi for the right reasons (well crafted hardcore with a message sharp enough to cut through concrete) then you should like Strike Anywhere and if you don’t you are wrong.
Which I guess brings us to Propagandhi themselves. After a relatively earnest presentation by volunteers from the Rainforest Action Network (good kids…I felt for them slightly given that NO ONE gave a shit about what they had to say), the band took to the stage and the room exploded as a lot of now very drunk French Canadians finally got to punch something. I know the band opened with the title track of their latest release, Supporting Caste but I can honestly say I tuned out after that. While it’s probably the number one crime all music snobs commit, I finally let my disgust with the audience take over. Even though I should be used to it by now, it still boggles my mind how so many people can be so absent minded. Here are some of the smartest, well versed punks the nation of Canada has to offer and I’d say only about 6% of those in attendance knew and appreciated what they had to say. Of the other 94%, I’d say give or take 50% didn’t understand the lyrics AT ALL (thanks language laws), and the other 50 just didn’t care and were there because the band was loud and swore a lot. I’ve often called the band the Canadian Anti-Flag and I’m gonna stick to my guns on that one. However, the comparison stems not from anything the band does themselves, but how people react to them. Now, the jury is still out on how I feel about the whole “throw political jargon at a bunch of blockheads and eventually one or two will get it” line of logic, but I will say that I see little point in laying this good shit out for a bunch of drunken assholes who will wake up the next morning and make zero changes to their lifestyle.
Or maybe I’m just an overly sentimental pseudo-activist with an axe to grind. Either way I just got you to read 960 words chock full of slanted ideas and musical elitism…I somehow think Chris Hannah would be proud.
Tune into the last episode of The Kids Are So-So with Josh this Thursday at 6PM. If you miss it, check out the ongoing saga that is the No Division Podcast over at NationalUnderground.org
TESTAMENT + Unearth @ Metropolis
By Christine Lariviere - The Lonesome Strangers - 05/21/2009
On May 21st, seasoned metal veterans Testament played to a packed crowd at Metropolis, with openers Unearth. Watching a band with such a massive and age-diverse fan-base could only be compared to being devoured by a giant whale. In the belly of the pit, I weathered a sea of sloshing and moshing, horn-bearing metal fans. It was a rocky ride, and I was tossed about relentlessly amongst wave after wave of crowd-surfing, moshing, diving, spinning, kicking, punching, pushing, circling, and any other kind of enthused metal outburst. Yet I survived to tell the tale, like some old, half-mad sailor too sun-drunk and dry-mouthed to properly convey a story. However, I’ll try.
While waiting for the show to begin, Metropolis’ speakers began booming out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.” This song reminds me of two things. One, the season finale of The Sopranos, which I was NOT disappointed by, and two, riding in a car in a small, Italian town called Ripi. Vincenzo (of the family I stayed with) only kept a Journey tape in his car, which is what I listened to repeatedly, as he drove through lush mountainsides, and through the town’s dusty markets and cobbled stone. But I digress. While this song is obviously near and dear to me, the fans at Metropolis did not seem to take as kindly to it, flooding the venue with “Boos.”
Boston’s Unearth opened the show with an instantly intense set, yelling, “Let’s get fuckin crazy,” and releasing a flurry of double-kick drumming so thunderous it might have made the Norse god Thor jealous.
The band was promoting their fourth studio album, The March, which was released on my birthday, October 14th of last year. The album is conceptual, exploring the evil and hopeful aspects of human nature. They played several songs featured on The March, including “Crow Killer” and “We Are Not Anonymous.” Unearth also payed homage to headliners Testament by dedicating a song to them, reminding the audience of the band’s twenty plus years of experience. They closed their set with “Black Hearts Now Reign,” a hit off their celebrated 2004 album, The Oncoming Storm.
During the break, I could not help but notice a few bewildered stares coming my way. It was at that point that I looked down and realized that I, foolishly, was wearing a red and white striped t-shirt. Little had I known that for a great portion of the show, people had surely been playing ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with me, as I was surrounded only by black shirts, and maybe a few dark grey ones. This was a tad embarassing, to say the least. Again, I digress.
Soon enough Testament’s stage backdrop was set up. It bore an image that was a sort of Romantic-style painting, depicting angels bearing swords. It’s easy to parallel images of angels and their swords with musicians and their instruments. At least, it’s easy to do at a metal show. Musicians like Testament take the stage as though it were a battle ground, and mercilessly give it everything they’ve got. This is especially impressive considering the fact they’ve been around since before I was born.
The California based band, is promoting, The Formation of Damnation, their ninth studio album, which was released April 29, 2008. They played many crowd favroites, including “Over the Wall” and “Absence of Light” as well as many songs off their new album, such as, “The Formation of Damnation,” and “More Than Meets The Eye.”
Testament’s set was solid. Chuck Billy’s vocals boomed out from under his full-head of long, curly hair, and Alex Skolnick artfully made his golden guitar wail along. It was the kind of tight set that one could only expect from a band thats been around since 1983. However, as I mentioned earlier, what surprised me was the constant level of energy and enthusiasm for their music that this band has maintained. A real testament to their character (sorry, I’ve been pun-crazy lately).
Tune into The Lonesome Strangers with Christine every Sunday from 4PM – 6PM
NOMEANSNO + The Devices + Grand Trine @ La Sala Rosa
By Simon Howell - The Lonesome Strangers - 06/26/2009
Of all the musical pairings I've seen on Montreal stages these past few years, not many have been as inspired as this one: a collision of two of Canada's most enduring punk bands, both of whom have a penchant for twisted humor and social commentary - and surprisingly labyrinthine tunes. With the unenviable task of opening up for two long-standing punk institutions, locals Grand Trine did the sensible thing: they kept it short. They couldn't have been on longer than 15 minutes, and that was about the right timeframe in which to best showcase their brand of indistinct-but-fun scuzzy punk.
Rick Trembles and his self-proclaimed "idiot cards" heralded the Devices' surprisingly meaty opening set, complete with the self-denigrating witticisms you'd expect ("I'm numb in more ways than two!") as he and Rob LaBelle went back and forth assuming vocal duties. The Devices have an appealingly slippery sound, less reliant on blitzkrieg distortion than on unpredictable songwriting and twin-guitar dynamics. I'll admit to being more partial to Trembles material, but LaBelle's songs were solid. I find it a little odd that the 'Devices seem to be utter unknowns outside of the province, and aren't terribly high-profile even here, considering their long history and Trembles' local profile as the Motion Picture Purgatory guy. If you've got any interest in Montreal's punk scene and you haven't checked them out yet, there's something wrong with you.
Of course, the main event was NoMeansNo themselves. I'll confess that the moment Rob and John Wright and Tom Holliston came onstage, all I could think was, "damn, they're old." (Jonathan Cummins notes in his weekly column that they appeared like elder statesman even in the mid-80s). Sure enough, John sat down at his kit, set up on stage right, and bellowed, "we're...oooold," before launching into a massive, lurching new tune called, you guessed it, "Old", which was reminiscent of Wrong's epic closing track "I Am Wrong", all bass hooks and slow crunch. It wasn't the only new material to be played (we also got a memorable airing of a catchy new tune entitled "Liberation"), but it was the tone-setter, establishing their dark sense of humor and devotion to cranking out challenging, bracing material. Most corners of their discography were covered, from their mid-80s origins all the way to 2006's heavily represented All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt. Highlights included an incredible rendition of "Everyday I Start to Ooze," which had the pit swerving and skanking with great fury, the hardcore blast of "Oh No! Bruno!" (expertly placed immediately following the noisy crawl of "Old" for maximum impact), a solid rendition of "Humans" (which kicks off my favorite NMN release, The Worldhood of the World, which was otherwise absent) and a predictably awesome version of an old staple, the hard funk workout of "Rags and Bones".
It wasn't exactly an ideal setlist in my book - a little too much reliance on early, abstract material as well as a few too many of Ausfahrt's lesser tunes (never been a huge fan of "Heaven is the Dust..."), but with a back catalog so vast it's difficult to complain. Regardless, these old-timers wiped the floor with whatever young upstarts you spent your money on instead.
Tune into Sound on Sight with Simon every Monday from 9PM – 11PM
SANTIGOLD + Trouble Andrew + Amanda Blank @ Metropolis
By DJ Solespin - Eclectricity - 06/04/2009
Even though I'm a born and raised Montrealer, I have always had a special place in my heart for Brooklyn, New York. Memories of travelling to get there for shopping and visiting family are as vivid to me as if they happened yesterday. That said, I identify vicariously with any hip hop song or artist that makes reference to Brooklyn.
I have missed Santigold's previous Montreal performances and did not want to miss the June 4 show at Metropolis. In retrospect, I really must not have wanted to miss it because I was at the venue nearly an hour before show time. The goal was to be there early enough to catch the show and to buy a copy of either Santogold or opening act Amanda Blank's music in the lobby. To my disappointment and possibly others, the only music available for purchase was other opening act Trouble Andrew.
I have seen Amanda Blank's name on blogs for months but finally got to hear her music. Her lyrics were not very audible, but the sexual inneundo and gyrations were loud and clear. I can well imagine just how graphic the lyrics are when I get around to hearing her recorded material.
Trouble Andrew performed next with an original and unusual set. I had not heard of them before, but discovered Santigold recorded a song with them when I visited the booth where their merchandise was sold. I was hoping they would perform the song live for us, but it did not happen. The crowd enjoyed Trouble Andrew as did I, in anticipation of Santigold.
After Trouble Andrew's set, I ran into a former classmate who I had run into previously at another concert. He said what most have said about Santigold. He said that her debut was one of the best releases of 2008 and named individual tracks he was anticipating to hear live.
My former classmate and I were not the only ones eagerly awaiting Santigold's appearance on stage. The crowd nearly went into a frenzy upon seeing her. Her attire was reminiscent of late 1980s Golden Era Hip Hop. It was as if she were bringing the essence of Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte and Roxanne Shante to the present day or at least paying tribute to them.
On the subject of songs waiting for to be performed, “Anne” was on the short list of what I burned and yearned to hear. Amazingly, the live performance was as chilling as the recorded version. That made me realize how and why she packed Metropolis that night. “Say Aha” made everyone go wild! “L.E.S. Artistes” was my introduction to her music and was nice to experience live.
The song I waited for the most, that made my 2008 Best-Of list, that starts with the four magic words "Brooklyn, We Go Hard" that Jay-Z used to help make more of an anthem is “Shove It”. When I heard the song for the first time, it solidified my interest and respect for Santigold for many reasons. The production of the song is incredible and the vocal delivery is spellbinding. Lastly, the first four words of the song have become etched into hip hop history by a not necessarily a hip-hopartist from Brooklyn.
Tune into Eclectricity with DJ Solespin every Saturday from 6PM to 8PM
K-OS + Lioness @ L'Olympia
By DJ Solespin - Eclectricity - 05/14/2009
Leave it to K-os to come up with the idea of a “pay what you want” concert. I learned about it days ago and saw him playing video games with an E-Talk correspondent on the eve of the concert. I was thrilled when I found out I was one of the lucky CJLO staff that would see him at L’Olympia.
The last time I saw K-os perform was during the 2007 Concordia Orientation with Metric as the opening act. It was a short but sweet show. I felt that any K-os live, no matter how brief, was worth the time. At L’Olympia, he had a lot more time and four albums worth of material to explore. This May 2009 date is in conjunction with his newest album Yes!, but the audience got tracks as early as “Superstarr, Pt. Zero” to the current “4,3,2,1”.
The pay what you want concept went beyond a clever promotional tool. The proceeds went towards the David Suzuki Foundation. After you placed your donation in the basket, you were given a copy of the “Yes!” remix CD, made up of remixes by aspiring Canadian producers. Lioness, the opening act, was performing as I arrived to an energetic crowd.
The transition from Lioness to K-os’ set seemed extremely lengthy. There were soothing reggae sounds of Yellowman and Burning Spear as the crew set up K-os’ equipment, but it felt like an intolerably long time. I would not be surprised if we waited for thirty minutes for K-os to take the stage. The crowd started to get impatient until the moment we realized the wait was over. The crowd had been chanting his name by that point.
Behind K-os and band were two interesting pieces of décor. One was a sign with the word “Yes!” as one can see on his latest release and the other was a four colored stop light. Anyone knowledgeable about K-os knows that each of his albums from Exit to Yes! is colored green, yellow, blue and red. As a song was beginning, the light corresponding to the album cover would shine. That made me understand how much K-os has accomplished during this past decade.
The hits were performed along with the newer material. In some cases, he would apply the melodies of famous songs like “Stairway to Heaven” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to his songs and the crowd responses were raucous. Those re-interpretations definitely put a smile on my face. Another special treat was when K-os called for Toronto hip hop legend Saukrates to join him on stage for an energetic performance of “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”. One of the most unforgettable moments of the show was when a crowd member body-surfed his way from the stage to the back of the venue.
I noticed during the set that “Man I Used To Be” had not been performed. All anxieties were resolved at the encore when he and a dancer returned to the stage. I realized “Man I Used To Be” is my favorite K-os song because of how happy I was to hear it. I was not alone with those sentiments. The crowd singing the falsetto parts of the song in unison was probably the definitive moment of the show and of K-os’ impact on Canadian pop culture.
This show was by far a more thrilling concert experience than the last one I experienced from him. He was charged and in control. At any given moment, he reached for a guitar or drum machine to add to the performance and display his talent. If anyone asked me if I would want to see K-os live again, the answer is…Yes!
Tune into Eclectricity with DJ Solespin every Saturday from 6PM to 8PM
ANDREW BIRD + A Hawk and A Hacksaw @ Metropolis
By Simon Howell - Sound On Sight - 04/04/2009
Some people have a way of making you feel like an asshole - people who seem to use every ounce of their energy radiating good vibes and generally make every effort to be singularly awesome. Andrew Bird is one of those people. While his idiosyncratic brand of string-laden, densely layered indie-pop surely isn't to everyone's liking, his instrumental prowess, boundless energy and lyrical dexterity are, at the very least, noteworthy. By comparison, even impressive performers can seem ordinary.
Take openers A Hawk And A Hacksaw, for instance. Now we're talking about a duo led by one Jeremy Barnes, who used to be in Neutral Milk Hotel, here doing the triple duty of lead vocalist, accordion player and percussionist (using a pedal-operated drum.) He's accompanied by a prodigiously talented violinist, Heather Trost. Their songs, which lean heavily on Balkan folk melodies and are evenly divided between instrumental and vocal works, display remarkable dexterity and passion - but after a 45-minute set of their material, their relative lack of range became obvious.
Not too long after Barnes and Trost left the stage, Bird, along with percussionist/programmer Martin Dosh (who put out a solo record as Dosh last year) and several other crack players, arrived to kick off what would wind up being an incredibly diverse set drawn principally (though not entirely) from his last two LPs, Noble Beast and Armchair Apocrypha. Bird showed off his trademark instrument-swapping skills early - most tracks would feature a violin part (or several) which he'd play live, then loop back only to set the instrument aside, swing his hips to bring his guitar forward and then play a set of chords, without missing a beat. Oh, and he's usually whistling or singing at the same time, if he's not throwing in some keyboard or glockenspiel work. Even more impressive was the fact that these well-worn moves were in support of the Noble Beast material, songs so labyrinthine you'd assume Bird must have hashed out simpler arrangements - instead, every minute pluck and shift in songs like "Not a Robot, But a Ghost" and "Masterswarm" present and accounted for, albeit with a bit more vigor. All of this, even more remarkably, was pulled off with an off-the-cuff feel, with Bird often throwing unexpected curveballs in his vocal approach. By night's end, he was performing alone with a sprightly rendition of Weather Systems highlight "Why?" not having lost an iota of momentum or interest. That, my friends, is what separates the men from the boys.
Tune into Sound on Sight with Simon every Monday from 9PM to 11PM
NOMO + Turtleboy @ Green Room
By Simon Howell - Sound On Sight - 04/01/2009
So I'm thirteen years old, chilling out to Dark Side of the Moon in my parents' basement and generally being a weird little creep. Oddly, I don't gravitate towards the 7/4 cockrockery of "Money" or even the Oz-bait wail of "The Great Gig in the Sky" nearly as much as I do the eight-minute centerpiece "Us and Them", largely due to its soaring chorus, languorous pacing, odd spoken asides and lush arrangement. The key to that arrangement, of course, is Dick Parry's mournful sax wailing throughout. At that age, I'd never heard a jazz instrument used on a rock song in quite that way (as an emotional rather than propulsive/percussive tool) and my underdeveloped brain was thoroughly blown. Journeys through my parents' record collection, including Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, didn't yield similar reactions…too jazz-leaning, which I simply did not have the patience for.
Flash forward about eight years - I'm a music student, and I discover that I hate jazz students. They seem to universally hold their particular art form to be the apex of all musical expression, with its complex polyrhythms and modal progressions and general inaccessibility to the average joe. This only serves to reinforce my willful ignorance of the whole discipline of jazz - despite my lingering fondness for jazz instrumentation. It's around this time that the sax starts to creep back into pop music here and there, like in its 1980s form but with crisper production values - I'm thinking of stuff like Mystery Jets' "Two Doors Down" and The Killers' "I Can't Stay." I also stumble upon an odd (and undeniably half-baked) Decemberists b-side called "The Day I Knew You'd Not Come Back," which featured a moody, eight-minute sax-led segment. Not jazz, therefore acceptable. (Again, we're talking bias here, not fact.)
So it was with trepidation that I approached this double-header of jazz-leaning projects - Montreal's Turtleboy and Michigan's Nomo. Turtleboy are an odd trio - just sax, guitar, and drums, no bass. They leap right to my pleasure centers all at once - their sound is deeply melodic, structured and disciplined - no extended jams or ponderous time-changes here. They get surprising mileage out of their sparse lineup, alternating between sprightly, rhythmically inclined pieces and mood-driven ballads. They exhibit a striking lack of pretension. Unfortunately, their set ends quickly, and I didn't spot any merch…bummer.
Nomo I was more familiar with. Touring here in support of their new record Invisible Cities, Nomo specialize in a peculiar blend of jazz, afro-pop and instrumental rock that is, as far as I know, entirely their own, and unfortunately entirely unsuited to the Green Room's seated layout. My show notes most effortlessly describe my impressions:
ridiculous groove
rhythms upon polyrhythms
trance-like
why am I sitting down?
feeling tired
maybe the beer
The seven-strong Michigan crew, mic stands adorned with assorted metallic paraphernalia, efficiently plowed through cuts principally taken from Cities as well as their 2007 breakthrough Ghost Rock. I want to be into it, I really do - their musicianship is undeniable, the grooves pop, and most of all I don't want to be so hopelessly square. Alas, the seating conspires against me and my eyes start to feel heavy. Someday the saxophones are gonna win for real, though.
Tune into Sound on Sight with Simon every Monday from 9PM - 11PM
THE PRESETS + The Golden Filter @ Le Studio
By Sophia Linhaires - Colour It Indie - 04/05/2009
This was the third time The Presets hit Montreal, after two albums and two previous shows it was nice to see how many people were lined up for the show. When I go to a concert, the first thing I always take note of is the crowd. Though it may sound strange it really does help you figure out what to expect for the rest of the night. Everyone is there for the same reason; to see a band they like perform live. For the Presets and The Golden Filter, the crowd was a mesh made up of all types of people. From scenesters to hipsters, club kids, raver kids, indie kids, the college crowd ,goth folk, even old folks. Frankly I was pretty baffled by the sight.
Openers The Golden Filter kicked off the show with an astonishing performance of “Favorite Things”. Penelope, the leading lady looked stunning in her dazzling silver mini dress. If there’s one thing to be said about her it’s that she can really rock the stage. The band played a stellar performance that even sounded better then their recently released album which was already quite impressive. Unfortunately the performance was short lived. I really would’ve liked to hear more songs. Hopefully this will be the start of a new Montreal fan base for the band.
When The Presets came on stage the crowd doubled. It was a tight squeeze in the cabaret that night; a great venue due to the small stage that makes for a more intimate show. Now before I begin to express my feelings on how The Presets did, let me say that this is coming from a fan that has adored the band for the past five years. Yet I never got the chance to really take a good listen to their new album and had just heard two or three songs prior to the show. The guys opened with their hit single “Talk Like That” which really got the crowd moving. But every song after that was a yawn. A really long yawn filled with way too many dépêche mode wannabe ballads and a really terrible remix of their once awesome song “Are You The One”. It was sad to see a band butcher their music like that. I will say that they did play well it just wasn’t at all what I was expecting after having seen them the first time they came to Montreal. It was like watching a completely different band. They didn’t even play any of the old tunes except the one they killed. It was truly a disappointment. Hell the only reason I’m glad I stayed there during that painful display was because I got to meet Penelope on the side of the stage during their last song. I will say that if you did enjoy the latest album from the presets you probably had a great time but for me, it was more entertaining to see people attempting to body surf and failing terribly. Oh that and the seeing an Australian flag in the center of the crowd was nice too.
Tune into Colour It Indie with Sophia every Monday from 12PM to 2PM
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