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By K-Man - 03/03/2008

O.K., here's the deal. I'm going to tell you a little story right off the bat to make the rest of this review make more sense. More than a few years ago, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss got together for a tour called "The Bad Boys of Kiss" and subsequently rolled on through Montreal....to the Metropolis. I bought a ticket without hesitation, as did two of my buddies that had been huge Kiss fans all of their lives too. Thick n’ thin, that's the way it goes.

Criss played a full set of the most mind-stabbingly bad tunes I've almost ever witnessed since his first solo album. The four hundred or so fans had pretty much dwindled down to about one-fifty by the time Ace hit the stage, with his apparently loosely thrown together band. The volume at which the show started at had, by the end of the first song, driven all but yours truly and his two buddies (Lud, and good ol’ Billy Danjubic respectively) running for the back of the club. We momentarily escaped the utter onslaught to our auditory systems (fully in red alert by this time and I have seen some L O U D-assed shows in my day, boy) to the men’s room and collectively used like four rolls of toilet paper between us to stuff our ears shut. Did I mention how butt-fugly their tour shirt was? Man, I'll never get that image outta my head but the goose bumps will fade in a sec...

We then sauntered back to the front of the stage. There’s only the three of us now -- nobody else around for a hundred square feet, and we're asked personally by Ace if he was loud enough, to which we responded, and I quote, "No Ace…turn it up!" At this point, he turned around to his already almost maxed out rig and turned the f**ker up. This is when, I would say, 90% of the club literally up and left. The band was that bad. Cocain is ugly after 30 years of abuse. There were like twelve people in the place including the bar staff by the time it was over. We rocked it hard and went home a little dead inside.

So, back to present times. Last night, March 3rd, 2008 at the Metropolis, more than ten years later, full circled, I get out of a cab and I'm wondering to myself: Is Ace going to burn out or fade away or what? The wonderful Miss Caroline had a juicy pass waiting for me at the guest booth (thanks Ant, you rock) and I walked in a little apprehensive of how this show might go down. I get a Heine and low and behold, there's Lud. Like old times -- all good. We get to our spot, and Ace hits the stage.

By the second note, I'm looking at Lud and there is an equal look of complete relief. Four notes later, it's a look of pure joy as this goddamned rock legend literally got his shit together, hand picked three other guys who f**king love his music and ripped the shit out of "Rip It Out." I always loved hearing two Les Pauls at once. It's something. They were bloody loud, but just under the annoying mark. From the same first solo album he then played "Snow Blind" and a cool little medley of "Torpedo Girl" (from Kiss’ Unmasked album) and from his classic solo album, the song "Speedin' Back To My Baby." I could have easily sat through a full version of the latter (the only disappointing thing that evening) -- I freakin' love that song.

I never liked his later solo albums; they were musically weak, but would you believe he revised a bunch of those tunes, and they were s o l i d -- "Rock Soldiers," "Trouble Walking" (a song that needs no explanation whatsoever), all spruced right the hell up. His solos were note for note and his tones…oh his tones were back like the old days."Shock Me" was sick. Shock you? Shock me! I've seen Kiss with Ace Frehley five times: three back in the day, and two during the Kiss comeback tour -- in what, like '96? He was on the money tonight. Did I mention how utterly speechless we were?

From the fourth side of Kiss Alive II, he wailed on "Rocket Ride," another ingenious little medley of some of his '90s tunes and "Love Gun." Very crafty and well arranged, this band was kickin' the shit out of the venue and everyone in it (about four hundred or so). He then pulled out one of his many customs and lit the stage and his guitar up(literally) for his N.Y.C. anthem, "Back in the New York Groove" and the place went a little nuts. The New York attitude was oozing out all over the place. Someone threw up a top hat during one of the songs and in true New Yorkese, he sayed "I know Slash purrsonally, I just can't fuckin' weh that thing."

Ace left the stage only to return with a full Kiss encore set. I felt like a kid in a freakin' candy store. The sweet, sweet sound of "Deuce" rang out like the anthem of an era. '74 New York sleeze 'n' roll. The drummer sang the Stanley parts and the bassist sang the Simmons parts to a tee -- it was eerie. Kiss was playin' Daisey's and The Coventry and other nasty Jersey/Queens/Amity clubs while downtown at Max's Kansas City, The Mercer Arts Center, the Dolls were lovin' over themselves struttin' around, waiting to crash the Kiss party after their show. Frehley along with, Thunders, Ivan Kral (Patti Smith group ), Lou Reed, and a few choice New York guitarists of that time really carved a sleezy, sultry, standoffish, (nihilistic) niche in one of their city's trademark sounds/styles.

When he kicked into "Love Her All I Can" from Kiss' second release Dressed To Kill, I freakin' couldn't believe I could remember all of the lyrics. I would have wept if I wasn't such a hard c**t. He ended it all with the awesome "Cold Gin," with a craftily placed outro to "Black Diamond." F**king classy all the way down the line. What can I say? I was absolutely as shocked as I was relieved.

That sick, filthy, raunchy, (sh)city honky-punk always fit neatly under my skin. I don't know what it is, but I just got a major fix of it and all I want to do is nod off with the songs swimming in my head...which brings the answer to my earlier question: will Ace burn out, fade away, or what? Well, it's or what, if “or what” means like a true legend, he will simply rock on.

Tune in to "Beyond That Graveyard! III" with K-Man every Friday from 9pm - 12am

By Abby E. Schachter - The Kids are So-So - 03/04/2008

I will admit that I was not in the greatest mood when I walked into Les Saints for the Sia concert. The crowd was restless after waiting forty-five minutes at the door. I, like many others, was tired, cold and frustrated by how late it was. My impatience was starting to get the best of me and I started to think that the fortune cookie at the end up my meal two hours earlier was going to be the highlight of the night. Luckily that was not the case. The latter half of the night made up for all the time inconveniences, overpriced drinks, lack of seats and forced coat check.

The opening band, Har Mar Superstar, was and is indefinable. The lead singer flung onstage and paraded around topless through the crowd of stunned listeners, all who seemed taken a back at this heavyset forty-something balding man. His voice was smooth and the band emulated a Jackson Five vibe -- he danced, pranced and slid across the stage, all the while never skipping a beat. The audience was in awe at the eccentricity of this overly hyper middle-aged crooner. People laughed when he took of his shirt and announced that he would be covering a Cheetah Girls song and clapped along to the up tempo rhythm.

By the time Sia finally came on, it was ten to eleven and the crowd was displeased, checking watches and cell phones verifying the hour. All of a sudden, cheers and cries of “Sia!” reverberated through the room; I looked onstage and saw a group of people, none who looked remotely like Sia. In fact, the individuals didn’t even look human. They were all dressed up in glow in the dark gingerbread man suits, but then the music started and everyone became quiet. Sia opened with the song “Buttons,” her latest release, and I was in awe of the power of her soulful voice. She kept the mask on throughout the entire first number but it didn’t matter because the song was flawless. Her record does not do her justice and neither do words. Never in my life have I heard a vocalist like Sia. I didn’t even know it was possible that a person could have that many octaves! The crowd was under her spell, moving to the beat and smiling in satisfaction.

This is one concert well worth the wait. Sia wowed everyone with not only her music, but her easygoing, fun nature as well. She humored the audience and interacted with us as though we were old friends, asking if everyone was okay and if oeuvre d’oeufs needed to be served. After every couple of songs, she’d break into anecdotal stories, like the one about her record label dropping her for becoming “too happy.” The Australian artist also played us some “music from the future,” a sneak peak into her newest album hitting stores next year. It was great and different and echoed diffused acid jazz on a pop note. Sia mostly sang songs promoting her latest album, Some People have Real Problems -- “Death by Chocolate,” “Playground,””Little Black Sandals,” and “The Girl you lost to Cocaine” are just a few to mention. I was very disappointed when the time came to go. I didn’t want to leave. Sia’s voice had this way of transporting the listeners to this distant place. She sang with and from her soul and felt every word, beat and note, swaying to the rhythm in a trance-like dance. The audience was hypnotized by this seemingly flighty character and the jazziness of her voice which carried through the venue, smooth and full of power.

If you get the chance to see Sia in concert, go! It is an experience and you will be in awe that someone can sing as amazingly as she does.

Overall here is what my night came to:

1 - Waiting in line for forty-five minutes: Sore feet, bad mood and minor frostbite.

2 - Getting carded at the door: Bad Prom flashback.

3 - Forced coat check: 2$ too much.

4 - Small glass of coke-cola with half a slice of lemon: 4$ plus 2$ tip (overpriced, obviously).

5- Sia in concert: Priceless.

Tune in to The Kids Are So-So with Abby every Tuesday from 2pm - 4pm

By K-Man - 02/29/2008

I have to say that when I got my tickets to this show I was all like, this should be a mellow one, considering their style; I didn't expect there to even be a lot of people. Well...there were. In fact, the place was sold right the hell out. I'm so not into a super packed atmosphere, but these guys throw down a really mellow vibe. Pretty subdued crowd -- a new pattern/disease of today’s youth I guess!

Cutting a slice of life from Montreal early in there North American tour, British Columbia's Black Mountain set their gear up quickly after the opening bands. Got right down to business they did. Playing the first three songs from their latest album, In The Future -- "Stormy High," “Angels" and "Tyrants," followed by "Wucan," "Queens Will Play," and "Bright Lights." These guys have their work cut out for them. I checked out their tour schedule and these freaks are playing like thirteen shows in a row at one point. Gotta like the work ethic!

I finally caved and bought their latest album last month. You've probably heard me play it these last 3 weeks or so on BTG3. I have to say, these guys/girl bring a tight little package of juicy little nuggets of style that time is not so much forgetting...but avoiding. It's nice to see a bunch of kids groovin' on songs where moods are inspired by the likes of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd...and I mean this in a good way, 'cause we've got enough of the straight up rip-off bands out there (snap!). Black Mountain’s not particularly derivative, but have a real knack for throwing down similar vibes.

Take the first song off their new album and set last night; "Stormy High" sounded like a Fu Manchu song. "Angels" could have been a Neil Young song (it had that chillin'-on-the-porch kind of vibe, you know?). "Queens Will Play" had this eerie Pink Floyd’s Umma Gumma/Jean Michel Jarre quality to it. "Evil Ways", heavy with the keyboards (and the coolest guitar solo of the night), had a Deep Purple thing going on, predominantly because the guy on keys had his rig sounding like it was going through classic Leslie speakers -- you know, the ones that have the spinning cones at the bottom -- same as their song "Bright Lights," which also had a very Zeppelin-esque stomp to it.

They got into their less recent repertoire later on in the evening, playing a few from their 2005 s/t release. A couple of rockers, and the end of the night, the band brought on their 2004 effort, "Druganaut." Like I said -- a mellow vibe, nothing to get too excited about, but a tight set that tweaked your musical feelers in a "I'll take 'Songs That Sound Like Other Songs’ for $400, Alex " kind of way.

Bon Iver…well, let's just say that when me and my mates walked in at the end of their set, they were sitting down, presumably for the duration of their set, and any band that has to sit down to get their groove on, well...that says it all about this "band."

Tune in to "Beyond That Graveyard! III" with K-Man every Friday from 9pm - 12am

By Simon Howell - The Listening Ear - 02/04/2008

I come here to praise Hot Chip, not to bury them. You see, there's a backlash going on. Many will have us thinking that these fine gentlemen are ironic hucksters, interpreting their infectious dance-pop songs as either perversions of "blue-eyed soul" or as obnoxious pranksters (depending on who you ask). I think there's a simpler explanation for Hot Chip's tendency to indulge every possible whim within -- and, occasionally, without -- the often sonically stifling realm of indie-dance; to these ears, the UK group are the closest thing we have to a new XTC. Where that group used new wave as a starting point for their flight-of-fancy explorations of the boundaries of pop and rock -- and some of the most inventive songwriting in pop history -- Hot Chip are taking their dance-based pop to places no one else will, or perhaps even can, dare.

Made in the Dark features the most dazzling opening tracks to grace an album yet this year, from the appropriately widescreen opener "Out at the Pictures," to the vaguely sinister, Todd Rundgren-assisted stomper "Shake a Fist," to the ridiculously good-natured single, "Ready for the Floor." The problems for many listeners begin with the admittedly eccentric "Bendable Poseable." The track delights in toying with rhythm and timbre in a way I can't recall hearing in a pop group for quite some time -- from Joe Goddard's deadpan pseudo-rap filling the rhythmic gaps (or "holes", as the lyrics would have it) in the first pre-"chorus," to a late key change accompanied by head-spinning synth slides. This deranged cacophony, while too much for some, actually sets the tone quite nicely for the album's best ballad, "We're Looking for a Lot of Love," which doesn't quite reach the seductive heights of The Warning's "Look After Me," but instead succeeds more generally as an RnB ballad so straightforward and flawlessly executed that's it's easy to imagine R. Kelly making a mega-hit out of it -- with melismatic embellishment, of course.

The album's second half, following the strangely under-produced but nevertheless effective title ballad, is more problematic. "One Pure Thought" is solid enough as the group's most "rock" song yet, but there's something off-putting about the opening minutes, where its opening riff gives way to a stuttering rhythm track and an insistent vocal chant. The track finds its footing eventually, but remains a bit of a slog compared to the confidently constructed pop tunes we've already heard. In fact, only the LCD Soundsystem swagger of "Hold On" and the off-kilter pop of "Wrestlers" (which recalls departed heroes The Beta Band) match the infectious energy of that opening run. Made in the Dark turns out to be the album equivalent of Spielberg's A.I. -- if you just pretend the thing ends when Haley Joel Osment is trapped on the bottom of the ocean (here represented by "Wrestlers"), you'll have a much more satisfying time. The funny thing is, though, that even if you hated A.I. you probably still remember it reasonably well. Hot Chip, too, manage to stay stuck in the minds of even their detractors. In the music world, at least, that's an asset anyone would be happy to possess.

Tune in to A Listening Ear with Simon every Tuesday from 1pm - 2pm