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By Simon Howell - A Listening Ear - 12/06/2007

It’s funny how expectations work. A couple of years ago, I went to a Libertines concert -- not to see them specifically (I thought they were over-hyped and undercooked), but instead to catch a rare stateside appearance by Wales-based post-punk band Mclusky. Most of the audience didn’t seem to agree, but I thought their taut menace and sly wit easily outpaced the more popular headliner.

So it’s perhaps understandable that I sympathized with seven-strong opening act, Los Campesinos!, even secretly expecting them to show up the national juggernaut that is Broken Social Scene with their youthful vigor and caffeinated tunes. I greatly enjoyed their sole release, the Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP, plus, well, they’re Welsh. The record is an ebullient collection of spiky, lightly-orchestrated pop with a refreshing sense of humour. Unfortunately, their relative inexperience was readily on display at Le National -- no thirty-five-minute set should feel as repetitive as theirs turned out to be. While the band’s songs feel reasonably distinctive from each other on record, their live renditions melded together into a trebly, vaguely irritating mass -- even their cover of Pavement’s “Frontwards” was seamlessly assimilated into the cheery blur. By the time they played their best song, “You! Me! Dancing!”, I found myself imagining a mash-up of every other song they’d played over the course of the evening (all of which were almost identical in arrangement and tempo). This is really too bad, because they had stage presence and charisma in spades, with all seven members contributing shouts, hand claps and even, by the set’s end, synchronized dance moves. They definitely show heaps of promise for a new band, but their songwriting needs work. Let’s hope they have some new tricks up their sleeves for their forthcoming full-length debut. (A specific note, guys: take it easy on the glockenspiel -- it gets awfully grating when you use it for nine tenths of your set.)

Unlike Los Campesinos!, Kevin Drew and his pared-down Broken Social Scene more or less conformed to expectations. While I enjoy Spirit If…, it lacks the spark of the “regular” BSS records, preferring to languish in more blessed-out, mid-paced rock songs that often overstay their welcome. Accordingly, when they surprised just about everyone by opening with Broken Social Scene standout “Ibi Dreams of Pavement” -– apparently not played by the band in over a year –- a level of excitement was reached that would not be matched again over the next two hours of the band’s set. By the end of the song, they had switched up their overwhelmingly dense four-guitar lineup (a mainstay throughout the evening) with a trio of horns for a truly show-stopping ending. The excitement generated from that stellar beginning was more than enough to propel the set’s first half, which was made up mostly of Spirit If…’s better songs, including “Lucky Ones” and “Safety Bricks”, as well as a pair of well-loved, older BSS songs, “Cause=Time” and “Stars and Sons.”

After a promising Brendan Canning-led song from his forthcoming album, there was a palpable dip in energy and excitement for a good chunk of the evening. The set’s last truly exciting moments were both derived from Broken Social Scene: Amy Millan of Stars subbed for Leslie Feist on “7/4 (Shoreline),” with the horn section once again providing a wonderfully cathartic close. This was followed by a particularly tedious near-ending segment, with an overlong take on “Farewell to the Pressure Kids” and two renditions -- one right after the other -- of “Major Label Debut (Fast).” It’s one of my favorite BSS songs, but when you’re nearing the two-hour mark and you have at least two dozen other songs to choose from, it’s a little hard to justify. Indeed, by the time they’d finally wrapped up the second version and its extended, blissed-out coda, many of the balcony-dwellers had already left. The other highlight came from the set’s last song, “It’s All Gonna Break.”

Surely knowing that it was a bit of an obvious choice for a closing number, Canning and Drew mixed it up a bit by performing the song’s first half by themselves, with their guitars harmonizing beautifully. It was a breath of fresh air, given the sheer bombast of most of the set’s arrangements. When the inevitable moment of reunion came, they had some fun with it, drawing out the moment and building anticipation as the other seven players rushed on stage. They paused, with Drew even sharing a few words with his bandmates, before picking the song up where they left off and immediately ratcheting up the energy.

While I enjoyed their set a good deal, I felt as though there was an unmistakable gap between the quality of Drew’s “solo” work and that of the group as a whole (with the exception of the lush single “Safety Bricks”), and I think that sense was palpable in the audience’s reaction. There was a feeling of anticipation after every few Kevin Drew song where we wondered: when would we hear another classic? Which would it be? I think I can safely skip out when they tour in support of Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning and, instead, wait for the undiluted form.

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

By Stephanie Ng Wan - We.Are.Canadian - 11/22/2007

Earlier this year, a small independent movie called Once, featuring Glen Hansard, frontman of Irish rock band The Frames and budding Czech singer Markéta Irglová in the lead roles, hit theatres.  Deemed the musical of our generation, Once generated quite a bit of buzz for a film shot for just $160, 000 (peanuts in comparison to the blockbusters of our day). 

Though Hansard and Irglová did know each other prior to the shoot, it was the time they spent making the John Carney-directed motion picture that allowed them to fall in love, both on-screen and off. The pair not only wrote and performed a majority of the songs in Once but the experience enabled the two to work together on an album they called The Swell Season, which was released in April 2007.  While The Swell Season is actually the name of the record, with the artist names being Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglováwith Marja Tuhkanen and Bertrand Galen, the musicians are being billed as “The Swell Season” on tour.

Last Thursday, November 22^nd, the group came to Montreal’s Le National and not only brought songs from the album of the same name to life, but also captured the audience’s attention with live renditions of songs from Once as well as part of Hansard’s discography with The Frames. 

Hansard and Irglová hit the stage at about 9:10pm, almost 40 minutes after the opening act, with a bassist and violin player in tow.  While Irglová took the lead vocals from time to time, it was evident that Hansard was the leader of this musical project.  Having been in the music business for over a decade with The Frames, he was in control and his voice rang loud and clear when it needed to be, and softly but strongly when you wanted it to be. 

Irglová looked even more her young age of 19, with her small frame sitting behind the grand piano, and her voice, though normally very subtle, seemed even more subdued when she sang alongside Hansard and his booming voice.  Despite the overwhelming experience Hansard and the rest of the crew had over her, Irglová’s timid persona was endearing and added to the mood of the pieces she sang.  Highlights were the tracks from Once that had Hansard and Irglová front and centre, such as “Falling Slowly”and “Lies”.  Irglová even held her own during her solo vocal performance of “If You Want Me,” a tune that is hauntingly romantic, both in the film and on the Le National stage. 

Hansard, for his part, was telling personal anecdotes, going off on tangents here and there and loving every moment of it.  Near the beginning of the set, when someone from the crowd requested he play the “Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy” song from Once’s opening scene, Hansard briefly hesitated but could not contain his appreciation after the audience burst into enthusiasm and cheer as he played the short but memorable number.  The fact that Hansard could laugh at himself, and at his art, was refreshing; at the end of the song, he joked that because he agreed to perform it, no one would remember the heartfelt music the band would play in the rest of their set. 

During a series of songs by The Frames including  “Lay Me Down” and “What Happens When the Heart Just Stops,” Hansard not only allowed himself to indulge in telling the drawn-out stories behind the songs, but also showed us his talent with his guitar.  In my opinion, this is where his personality really shone.

But of course, it was the songs from the movie soundtrack that got the biggest reaction as murmurs of “they’re so cute” could be heard throughout the crowd in reference to the way Hansard and Irglová interacted on stage.  The group played for more than an hour and a half and the standing ovation they got during the encore brought tears to Hansard’s eyes. Throughout the entire show, Hansard could not stop saying how much the show meant to him and by the end, from the looks of it, the fans felt the same way. 

Tune in to We.Are.Canadian. with Stephanie every Thursday from 6pm-7pm

By Jackson MacIntosh - Track Marks - 11/21/2007

“We’re an extremely important and  successful rock band” were the first words out of Tom Fun Orchestra frontman Ian MacDougall’s mouth during their set at the decidedly urine-scented Les Saints. MacDougall’s deadpan restraint in assessing their situation was admirable, as there were about 90 people in a club built to accommodate about 500. Things probably looked pretty bleak from up there. They’d drove 20 hours from Sydney, Nova Scotia the day before to play their first Montreal show, and they’d been busking in the metro all day to drum up support for their show. While they’d made a handsome sum in loonies and toonies, it clearly hadn’t been successful as a promotional effort.

Before I write too much, I think it would only be proper to admit that many members of the Tom Fun Orchestra are close friends of mine, and that I’ve seen them about 50 times in the past two or three years. I grew up playing music with them, and we’re all from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. I’ll probably be fairly partial towards them because they’re my pals -- and that’s what we do with our pals when they start making headway against the swift current of Failure River and we can see they’re not too far from the sandy beaches of Success Point. Just today I saw their new teaser EP advertised on the iTunes front page, and it warms the cockles of my cockles.

So it was especially nice to see them win over the sparse crowd, which seemed to increase continually throughout the evening. They play folk instruments, but I wouldn’t dare call them a folk group; it’s more like a hillbilly wall of sound. There are three guitars, a banjo, a fiddle, an accordion, a double bass, a trumpet, some drums, and sometimes a mandolin, and they are all being played hard at almost all times. There’s an admirable irreverence in their live shows, and Ian’s an excellent showman with a good growl.

The opening band, Mars Hill, were not quite as rewarding to see, although they are clearly technically proficient and serious about what they do. I gather that they recently moved to Montréal from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in a bid to be closer to where the action is. While I admire their take-the-bull-by-the-horns attitude, I am not so fond of their jam band sensibility and the overall sterility of their sound. They’ve built up a loyal following on the East Coast, though, and I imagine that within their particular niche they are held in high esteem. They make excellent gouda in Prince Edward Island, and I’m pleased to see that they now have other kinds of cheese to export.

Moving on. By the end of the night, the Tom Fun Orchestra had the audience riled up enough to have them demanding an encore, which they provided in the form of a song called “No Sex with Monks” which concerns some of the finer points of the Roman Catholic Church. It was met with uproarious approval and applause, and the band members showed their enthusiasm by piling on top of one another, which is very dangerous, considering they were all holding sharp-edged musical instruments; I am surprised nobody lost an eye. What a foolhardy young group. If they come to your town, I would recommend going to the show, but bring and helmet and wear some kneepads if you really want to be prudent.  

Tune in to Track Marks with Jackson every Wednesday from 10pm-12pm

By Josh Mocle - The Kids Are So-So - 10/10/2007

I’m not gonna lie -- writing this review was pretty difficult for me. The first concert review I ever wrote for CJLO was for Gogol Bordello’s last Montreal show almost two years ago, and when thinking of things to say about their most recent visit, I began to realize that I said them already. Focusing mostly on tracks from their 2007 release, Super Taranta, the band once again performed their now-trademarked brand of “Gypsy-Punk” with a level of intensity not seen by bands even half their age. The crowd was still more diverse than the average rock show and Eugene Hutz (and his crazy moustache) remains one of the most brilliant (visually and lyrically) front men I have ever witnessed. Hell, I even managed to attend this show with a family member over the age of 45. A good time was had by all and my mind was blown once again. Let’s face it though, as a band they haven’t really changed all that much in the last six years, let alone the last two; however, this show wasn’t exactly a re-run, and it certainly wasn’t boring.

The first and most notable change was the fact that last time around, the band was unable to fill even half of Le National, a noticeably smaller venue, whereas this time they completely sold out Club Soda weeks in advance. As Hutz himself declared at the beginning of their set: “there’s a few more of you here this time…I bet most of you motherfuckers just found out about us though.” Whether that is actually the case remains to be seen, but what is obvious is that the band has seen an immense surge in popularity in the past two years and I’d imagine that it’s tied directly to the surge of publicity they’ve received since signing to semi-respected independent label SideOneDummy in 2005. But hey, a decent chunk of the crowd was aged 55 or above (and clearly not there because the band is the flavour-of-the-week amongst the snotty music critic illuminati), so that certainly says something.

Another thing I noticed was the band’s increased focus on their gypsy heritage while on stage (even though, if I’m not mistaken, Hutz is the only one of Romany descent). It has been apparent in their music since day one, but this was the first time I’d seen the Romany flag painted on the bass drum head, and the closest thing I’ve seen to Hutz being outright preachy about his people, who remain largely under the radar to most of the world. Perhaps this patriotism is due to their rise in popularity, or maybe they feel they can be more opinionated on stage now that they’re better established. If the latter is true, though, it’s saddening; people shouldn’t have to stifle themselves when it comes to supporting their own people, but maybe I’m alone in thinking that.

One of the most obvious changes, however, was the introduction of bassist Thomas Gobena to the mix. Previously, I was unimpressed with the band’s rhythm section in terms of their presence on stage. While my mind hasn’t been changed in regard to guitarist Oren Kaplan and drummer Eliot Fergusen, I found Gobena’s presence to be bold, often rivaling that of Hutz himself. While musically, the bass lines are still relatively simplistic, I never would have thought that replacing their short, Israeli bassist with a rather large Ethiopian man would change the entire on-stage persona of the band as much as it did, but I apparently stand corrected.

So there you have it; not really a new review, but more of a set a footnotes for the previous review (which you should also read). Go see this band, people. I don’t care who you are, you’ll enjoy it. I promise.

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