"With a horn section behind the already several-member group, Broken Social Scene began with 'World Sick' off their new album Forgiveness Rock Record and then 'Stars And Sons,' the latter with fans clapping repeatedly on cue as six guitarists jammed out the conclusion.

However, from there things got bigger and better, with Metric's James Shaw and Pavement's Scott Kannberg helping out on the danceable 'Texico Bitches.' Then Feist made her way onstage for '7/4 (Shoreline),' dancing around the stage when not sharing vocal duties with Drew.

The only problem perhaps with the set - aside from Drew irked that his guitar pedals weren't working - was how it seemed to peak halfway through. Following the plodding, precious ballad 'Sweetest Kill,' both Feist and Metric's Emily Haines appeared for 'Sentimental X's,' which had the crowd onside from the start." [Toronto Sun]

Sebastien Grainger (DFA1979) and John McEntire (Tortoise/Sea and Cake) also joined BSS on stage on Saturday, June 19th, on Toronto's Olympic Island. The full lineup for the 2010 edition of the annual Toronto Island Concert, which wasn't officially part of NXNE (but which did let in 250 badges) looked like this:

1:15 PM Toronto Revue (The Beauties, Flash Lightnin', Zeus)
2:45PM Timber Timbre
4:00PM Beach House
5:15PM Band of Horses
6:45PM Broken Social Scene
9:00PM Pavement

I left my downtown hotel in a cab at 3pm, and though the ferry station was only a ten minute drive away, I didn't actually get to the stage area until around around 4:45. I heard Beach House as I walked up, but I never actually saw them. I wasn't worried about catching Timber Timbre because I saw them the night before in a club (more on that later), and I knew I wasn't getting there by 1:00 (after being out till 4am at NXNE shows the night before) so I didn't even try.

The weather on Saturday in Toronto was hot and beautiful and Band of Horses (who played Grand Central Station in NYC one night earlier) (and the Williamsburg Waterfront in NYC one night later) sounded great as they played out to the thousands of people who were either watching them... or waiting on line for something. Lines were definitely a problem on the island. You usually had to wait a long time for food, bathrooms and most frustratingly to many, beer.

Then came Broken Social Scene and they were in top form - it was my favorite time ever seeing them. In fact, though I've seen the band more times than I can remember over the past six years, I was never 100% comfortable with their live show before. That changed on the island. Maybe it was because they were in their hometown of Toronto with all their friends (though sadly no Jason Collett or Amy Milan who are both on tour). Feist and Emily Haines together on stage contributed strongly to the specialness (par for the course for Toronto), and Lisa Lobsinger no longer feels like the new girl.

Full setlist (and lots more pictures and some videos) below.

As painful as it was to leave while BSS was playing their last song (aka I didn't stay for Pavement), I made the decision that I was going to catch The Stooges who played a competing show at Young Dundas Square at 9:30. My trip off the island was much quicker than my trip on. I got a ferry immediately and then a cab immediately and I was 40 minutes early for Iggy. I even caught the last ten minutes of The Raveonettes who played before the Stooges on the outdoor stage which was in the middle of a Times Square-like area of town. It was a complete madhouse (a free show in the middle of town open to anyone... with Iggy Pop), but more on that later.

Andrew Frisicano was with me on the island. He missed Band of Horses but stayed for Pavement. His post on the headliner is coming later. More about BSS and Band of Horses, with a ton of pictures and some videos and both setlists, below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene (w/ Feist & Emily Haines) & Band of Horses opened for Pavement @ Toronto's Olympic Island - pics, video, setlists"

SXSWeek 2010: March 12-21
Interactive: March 12-16
Film: March 12-20
Music: March 17-21

The intial lineup of bands playing the music portion, below...

Continue reading "SXSW 2010 - dates & initial band lineup "

Mutek banner in Montreal - May 27, 2009 (bneely)

Mutek, the electronic music festival celebrating its tenth year, is currently underway in Montreal. The five-day fest runs to Sunday, May 31st, and it's streaming online. Moderat, the Modeselektor & Apparat supergroup, performed at Mutek on Thursday, May 28th; the group plays NYC's Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, May 30th (the show was originally planned for Webster Hall). Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of parties up North this summer... three other biggies are Ottawa Bluesfest (July 8th-19th), Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 17-19th) and Calgary Folk Music Festival (July 23rd-26th). Each of those suitably transcend the "blues" and "folk" labels, hosting bands like The Dead Weather and Yeah Yeah Yeahs (in Ottawa), The Weakerthans and Rock Plaza Central (in Vancouver), and The Decemberists, Apostle of Hustle, Kid Koala and Akron/Family (in Calgary). Full lineup for the Calgary Fest (Ottawa in particular is much too massive to post) and ticket info below.

And don't forget about the previously reported Breeders-headlined Sled Island Fest in Calgary on June 24th-27th, Montreal's Osheaga, NXNE, and Toronto's Olympic Island Fest on July 11th, which will host Broken Social Scene and its Arts & Crafts cohorts.

Across the pond, UK's Glastonbury Festival, which runs from June 24th to 28th, has been sold out since February even though the full lineup wasn't announced until this week. Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Blur will be joined by The Specials, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Spinal Tap, Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Madness, Tom Jones, Animal Collective and many others.

And finally in the States, Monolith Festival, which runs from September 12th to 13th at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado, has announced its intial lineup, Girl Talk, Passion Pit, and The Walkmen included. The whole thing is posted below.

The weekend before Monolith, Bumbershoot will take place in Seattle (September 5th-7th). That fest's lineup has been updated too. New additions include Vivian Girls, Akron/Family, and Elvis Perkins. All new additions, with previously announced acts, are below. Tickets are still on sale.

In Michigan, the Rothbury Festival over July 4th weekend will feature the only summer fest performance by The Dead, as well as sets by Bob Dylan, String Cheese Incident, Broken Social Scene and more. A few more jam-friendly acts were also just added to the bill. Full lineup below. Tickets are on sale.

Info on all the above fests, with ticket info, below...

Continue reading "Mutek underway, Monolith & Glastonbury lineups, Rothbury, Bumbershoot, Calgary Folk & other festival updates"

Forro in the Dark...

Most of the members of Forro in the Dark hail from Brazil, home of the forro music from which the group derives its name. Though they are purveyors of the Northern Brazilian country rhythms, these days the group has a decidedly New York sound.

According to [percussionist Mauro] Refosco, Forro is a happy, danceable music based on four elements: simple melodies, basic harmonies, driving rhythms and funny lyrics. Those elements are traditionally performed by three instruments: a triangle, an accordion, and a zabumba, a drum pitched somewhere between a low snare and a small bass.

Forro in the Dark differs somewhat from that formula. Instead of the accordion, Jorge Continentos plays the wooden flute called the pifanos, among other wind instruments. They also add various guitars, percussion, and vocals; on their [2006 album Bonfires of Sao Joao], the group brought in the talents of Bebel Gilberto, Miho Hatori and David Byrne. [All Things Considered]

As previously reported, Forro in the Dark is touring with Apostle of Hustle this June. That includes a Bowery Ballroom show on Wednesday, June 10th. Tickets for that are still on sale.

Apostle of Hustle have added more dates to that tour since we posted. Among those is a Saturday, June 13th show at Maxwell's, again with Forro in the Dark co-headlining. Tickets go on sale Thursday, April 30th at noon.

Forro's other upcoming shows include a May "Wednesdays" residency at their NYC homebase (and record label), Nublu (62 Ave C b/w 4th & 5th Sts).

Apostle of Hustle will be at Toronto's Olympic Island Festival on Saturday, July 11th with Broken Social Scene, Explosions in the Sky, Beach House and others. Tickets for that are still on sale. AoH's new record, Eats Darkness, comes out May 19th on Arts & Crafts.

All updated tour dates with videos of Forro in the Dark performing with David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto live at Joe's Pub, below...

Continue reading "Forro in the Dark - updated Apostle of Hustle Tour Dates (Maxwell's) & May residency @ Nublu"

Apostle Of Hustle, a.k.a. Andrew Whiteman of Broken Social Scene with bassist Julian Brown (Feist) and drummer Dean Stone (Sarah Harmer, Amy Millan), will play the Bowery Ballroom in NYC on Wednesday, June 10th with Forro in the Dark. Tickets go on AmEx presale today at noon, and general sale Friday at noon.

Before then, Apostle of Hustle has a short late-May tour around his homebase of Toronto, Ontario. That's right around the release of AoH's new album, Eats Darkness, out May 19th on Arts & Crafts.

"Recorded in Toronto, and working once again with renowned producer and sound technician, Martin Davis Kinack (Sarah Harmer, Broken Social Scene, Hayden), Eats Darkness is based on the notion that the greatest art is often drawn from the darkest of experiences - consuming darkness to expel light."

Apostle of Hustle is also on the bill for the Olympic Island Festival on July 11th. Also playing is Broken Social Scene, Explosions in the Sky, Beach House and more. The annual fest takes place on the island of the same name, which is near Toronto. Tickets (which include a ferry ride from downtown Toronto) are on sale. More details below.

The Constantines, whose new album Too Slow For Love was released by Arts & Crafts on March 17th, are opening for Explosions in the Sky at Central Park Summerstage.

All AoH tour dates with Eats Darkness art and track list, and Olympic Island info, below...

Continue reading "Apostle of Hustle releasing new album, playing Bowery Ballroom & Olympic Island Festival with BSS & EITS "

words & photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Arguably one of the biggest CMJ shows this year was Friday night's Broken Social Scene gig at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (10/24). Ironically, they probably allowed the least amount of badges in (I heard 45, to be exact). Moreover it was pretty much the only CMJ show to have only two artists on the bill - not your typical 40 minute sets. That's because really it was just the NYC stop on a much larger tour that happened to be in Brooklyn at the time of CMJ. For that I am thankful.

The show was amazing. After a fantastic opening set by Liz Powell and Land of Talk, Kevin Drew & co. took the stage. The band varied between 3 and 11 members, and featured a more retrospective setlist than expected. With the release of two so-so solo-ish albums in the past year and a half, it was good to hear the band head back to their roots. Liz joined the band numerous times (as did Metric's Josh Winstead) as they played nearly all of "You Forgot It In People." The 2 hour, 45 minute set was highlighted by "Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)" and the finale of "Lover's Spit." The show did lose momentum from time to time - during Charles Spearin's "Happiness Project," for instance (which was beautiful, by the way) - but overall it built perfectly and really hit the spot.

Throughout the night Kevin kept commenting that this was the last time they'd play these songs in New York for a long time - they've played here numerous times in the past year - though next summer he promised a big 3 hour show where they play all their stuff with special guests. Should be epic.

More pictures and the setlist below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene & Land of Talk played Masonic Temple (pics & setlist), will play "3 hour show in 2009"??"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Real Talk: The show was a warm-up, a place to work out the kinks before they rock the big crowds of the Siren Festival on Saturday. At points it showed. The band had a few false starts and were definitely a little rusty, except for the "classics".

More Real Talk: It wasn't just just Brendan Canning, it was Broken Social Scene! At MERCURY LOUNGE. Clocking in at two hours. Seven band members plus a four piece horn section. 18 gazillion guitars (OK, at least 3 at any given time). Who can really complain about that?

The band was definitely loose, definitely working out the kinks, but definitely fun and HAVING fun as they cruised through five tracks from Brendan Canning's new record (due July 22nd), a Kevin Drew song, a handful of Broken Social Scene tracks, a few odds & sods, and one awesome Apostle Of Hustle track. The new Brendan Canning tracks come off much better in person, although I gotta say that Brendan's voice probably could have done with a hefty dose of effects that he used on Something For All of Us. All in all though, these are minor quibbles compared to how unbelievable it was to hear songs like KC Accidental (an audience choice) in Mercury Lounge.

Since you never can tell, this was BSS on July 17, 2008: Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, Andrew Whiteman (Apostle Of Hustle), Sam Goldberg, Gentelman Reg, Charles Spearin (Do Make Say Think), "newest member" Leon Kingstone, "Philadelphia's Finest" horn section, feturing 3 horns.

The highlight for me was Andrew Whiteman and the VERY impromptu performance of Apostle Of Hustle's "National Anthem of Nowhere". So impromptu that his accompaniment, Brendan Canning on bass and Justin Peroff on drums, were obviously learning the song ON THE SPOT, and it worked like magic. I managed to catch Apostle Of Hustle during their residency at Mercury last year and last night's performance of it definitely felt more special. To me, Andrew Whiteman is the unsung hero of BSS; his effortless GQ-smooth solos elevated all the songs, ESPECIALLY "Cause = Time" with it's soaring solos.

Fellow Arts & Crafts (BSS's label) artist Gentleman Reg opened the show, as well as played in the BSS backing band. This was my virgin Gentleman Reg experience and his songs seemed simple and with potential, although kind of lost in the dull roar of the talky backs-to-the-artist crowd, especially considering his sparse guitar and drums arrangement. Gentleman Reg may require further investigation.

Kyle adds:

charles spearin (do make say think) is playing with the guys and debuted a part of a new project called "happiness," in which he interviews people about what makes them happy and then takes the pitches of their voices and turns them into music. very interesting and avant-guarde. they also had a horn section with them. i believe the most i counted on stage was 11 people, but for mercury that's ridiculous. they joked around and improvised a few bits of songs (one of which was a promise not to play madison square garden). the finale was chosen via audience vote (kc accidental) to which kevin responded, "you guys are living in the past!" the room was also about 120 degrees.

BSS Setlist and more photos below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene ("Brendan Canning") & Gentleman Reg @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics"

photos by Rae Holtsabum

Broken Social Scene were also scheduled to play for an hour, but everything was running late and they had to cut their set to 40 minutes because of Calgary's noise bylaw [June 27, 2008].

The band came out to insane hoots and hollers and kicked it off with "KC Accidental" from 2002's You Forgot It In People. This version of the group consisted of Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Sam Goldberg and Evan Cranley. Sporting a black baseball cap and leather jacket, Drew led the band through vigorous renditions of "Farewell To The Pressure Kids" and "Fucked Up Kid" from his Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew Spirit If... record. The band also played "Churches Under The Stairs" from the new Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning Something For All Of Us... disc.
[Chart Attack]

Watch videos of BSS playing Bonnaroo. Check them out for free in Coney Island on July 19th. Check out Andrew Whiteman solo in NYC on July 29th. More Sled Island pics below....

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene @ Sled Island 2008, Calgary - pics"

INDIE-O FEST 08 * MEXICO CITY (BenedicteDesrus)

INDIE-O FEST en el Vive Cuervo Salon * Mexico City * 29 de marzo 2008 con: Broken Social Scene, The National, Apostle of Huste, Chikita Violenta, San Pascualito Rey, Estereox. (BenedicteDesrus)

PREVIOUSLY: emo kids are being attacked & beaten in Mexico

Continue reading "Kevin Drew promotes emo & punk 'peace' in Mexico "

Apostle of Hustle play Canada Day @ Summerstage, NYC - June 24, 2007 (CRED)

* Paris Hilton Released From L.A. Jail
* Led Zeppelin rumored to reunite again
* Morrissey mulling Warner Brothers Deal
* LES SAVY FAV to headline FREE Citysol show
* (BrooklynVegan presents) BRITTA PERSSON in NYC - 2 shows
* Smashing Pumpkins played their first show in Asheville
* Pitchfork interviewed the White Stripes
* Smashing Pumpkins, RATM & Wilco playing Voodoo
* San Diego Street Scene initial lineup announced
* Modest Mouse, Built to Spill Set for New SF Festival

DOWNLOAD: Kevin Drew - Tbtf (MP3)

"Fans can now goto arts-crafts.ca/kevindrew where you can download for free the song, "Tbtf". This is one of fourteen songs that comprise Kevin Drew's September 18th Arts&Crafts released album, 'Spirit If...'"

And the show is still being billed as "Broken Social Scene will join Feist to perform Kevin Drew's 'Spirit If...'"

How was Apostle of Hustle at Mercury Lounge last night?

Broken Social Scene guitarist Andrew Whiteman's other band Apostle of Hustle have a ton of shows coming up in, and out, of NYC...

AOH in NYC
Jun 11 - The Mercury Lounge (tix)
Jun 17 - Union Hall Brooklyn
Jun 18 - The Mercury Lounge (tix)
Jun 24 - Central Park SummerStage w/ The Duhks & ?
Jun 25 - The Mercury Lounge (tix)

Their new album National Anthem of Nowhere is out now. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Apostle of Hustle - NYC residency, Summerstage & other 2007 Tour Dates"