by Bill Pearis

Forest Fire

Thursday, we're in the thick of it now and maybe some of us are already frazzled. Which might explain why this picks post is shorter than yesterday's. Also, we're starting to see a lot of the same bands, so see this as a reminder as to what's happening where. This isn't comprehensive, just what I personally recommend. I've tried to include set times at the bottom of this post for all parties mentioned.

Hopefully you're going to stop by the BV Day Party at Kniting Factory which has Yellow Ostrich, Still Corners, Hundred Visions, Forest Fire, BOBBY, Main Attrakionz and the just added We Were Promised Jetpacks. Yellow Ostrich kicks things off at 12:30, hope you can make it down. There's free PBR & HobNob Wine too for those over 21.

Miracle Fortress

You can make a day of it in Williamsburg, and we wouldn't grudge you for venue hopping. Public Assembly's got the Pop Montreal party today, with Miracle Fortress, Pat Jordache, Teen Daze, Tops, Tonstartssbandht, and Touchy Mob... plus food courtesy Mile End. Maybe some Montreal-style bagels?

Radical Dads

Over at Bruar Falls it's the Camper's Rule Records party, with Radical Dads (if you're from out of town, one of my favorite new local bands), plus Fort Lean, Backords, Beat People, Easter Vomit, Yanqui, and Moonmen On the Moon, Man. Plus, you're running out of chances to hang out at Bruar Falls... it closes at the end of the month.

The Suzan

And at The Woods, there's a cool afternoon/early-evening party being thrown by the folks at all-girl-drummer zine Tom Tom, with a great line-up of bands that, yes, all feature ladies behind the kit. There's Baybee Teeth, Coasting, TEEN, The Suzan, Pearl & the Beard, Brute Heart and Satellite Sky. $5 cover for this one. Let's hope the sound has improved from last year's CMJ-week shows, which was a joke.

Of course it's hard to deny the allure of the Lower East Side, what with five or so clubs all within a block or two of each other, making for very easy show-hopping. The two best are on the same Ludlow Block. At Cake Shop, NYC Taper has indie rawkers Mr. Dream, the widescreen pop of Savoir Adore, the dreamy/dusty sounds of Widowspeak, superior psych group White Fence, the dark anthemecism of Hoop Dreams, plus Prussia and Teletextile.

And at Pianos,I Guess I'm Floating and Tell All Your Friends PR have two floors of fun, with a few Canadians (Grimes, Parlovr, Doldrums), one Australian (Little Red), dance music (Beat Connection, Body Language) and lots more. Full schedule is below.

Okay, those are my daytime choices of choice. Flyers and set times, some for shows not mentioned above, are below.

Continue reading "CMJ 2011 - Bill's Thursday daytime picks (BV day party, Miracle Fortress & other Canadians, Radical Dads, The Suzan & more)"

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Patrick Watson's Sacred Sunday

The afternoon of day 5, the final day, at Pop Montreal 2010 (catch up with day 1, day 2, day 3, and day 4) was a toss up between children's entertainer, Fred Penner and friends, or Patrick Watson's Sacred Sunday. With promises of pieces by Arvo Pärt and Bach and artists like Socalled and Brad Barr (from the Slip) along with Patrick Watson in a venue like Ukrainian Federation, it was an easy sell.

I walked into Pärt's "Fratres for String Quartet" and stayed until the end. In between it was an eclectic mix of religious and not-quite-religious songs with a rotating cast of performers. Watson's piano arrangement of "The Lord's Prayer" was beautiful as was Barr leading a re-worked version of Bach's "St. Matthew's Passion". Josh Dolgin of Socalled remembered Lhasa with a Kurt Weill cover. (Mary Margaret O'Hara mentioned Lhasa on Saturday night and it's clear not just by the tributes but in conversations over the course of the festival she is deeply missed by those she touched in the city she called home.) The event closed with everyone involved joining Watson for a rousing, uplifting version of "Old Time Religion." For even the most nonreligious it was hard not to be moved as people clapped, and Watson encouraged the audience with his megaphone. Early on, Socalled's Katie Moore said at the start or her version of "Satisfied Mind" something to the effect that all good religious songs should make you feel good about yourself. Well, the Ukrainian Federation was packed and as the "congregation" filed out there was no shortage of people, even a full 30 minutes after the event, walking - some even skipping - away singing the chorus to "Old Time Religion" and feeling very good about themselves.

I'd like to say that the festival ended on a high note, and maybe if I wasn't airport bound at 3:30am, it would have. Then I would have made it to the closing party headlined by Big Freedia at Espace Reunion. But the logistics were too great to overcome so my festival would come to an end at Casa del Popolo for Film School, Depreciation Guild and if I could swing it, Scout Niblett across the boulevard at Sala Rossa. Not entirely excited about what I had heard from Montreal's Receivers, I arrived an hour late, just in time for... Receivers. The entire show was pushed back as Film School were delayed at the border. So, Receivers were on and the venue was full but even live they failed to impress. It was uninspired shoegaze and the most underwhelming set of the festival. Depreciation Guild were next and when one of the band members said to the in-over-his-head sound guy, "We've lost all power on stage," things looked to get even worse. The power was eventually recovered, but clearly things were not right as band members continued to ask for more vocals. The Brooklyn band soldiered on and were tight and energetic but on a Sunday night, and late at that, the crowd had thinned and gave little back.

I skipped over to Sala Rossa, presented to me as the 'Bowery Ballroom of Montreal', to catch some of Scout Niblett. She was already into her set and had the crowd fully cast. Her hushed, sparse vocals gave way to vicious guitar and heavy metal-drumming on "Hot To Death" and everything felt more sinister with the velvet red background and decor. The evening looked to be turning.

However, by the time I got back to Casa del Popolo I imagined Film School would already be on, but they were still pulling everything together and apparently having more sound issues. By the time they started it was well over an hour from their original start time and the crowd had thinned a bit more. They started strong and sounded good until Greg Bertens' mic went out during the second song. A verbal back and forth with the sound guy, who looked shattered at this point, culminated in Bretens, no doubt frustrated from the delays at the border and scurrying to get to the venue, telling him he should just "leave the board." They played the song over with the mic working this time and carried on but the vocals were still way down and it marred what had the potential to be a great set. And what should have been a positive end to a very enjoyable festival.

Until next year. More pictures from Sunday, and a video from the Patrick Watson church show, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 - Day 5 in pics & review (Patrick Watson's Sacred Sunday, Film School & more)"

words by Rachel Kowal, photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Scout Niblett in Montreal

When Emil Amos, the man behind Holy Sons, walked on stage at the Mercury Lounge in NYC on October 6th, the room was still sparsely populated. It was early - just 7:00, but there was little time to waste. The venue had booked back to back shows.

Amos began his show accompanied by just his electric guitar. After playing his first song, he surveyed the crowd. "I don't know if I've actually been to an early show," he admitted in between sips of whiskey and tea. "So if you feel weird, that's totally fine."

Holy Sons falls mostly under the classification of lo-fi/folk. At times, Amos' voice is reminiscent of Will Oldham's (whom both he and Scout have collaborated with). But his music also features moody and aggressive instrumental pushes, as if Amos didn't quite shake his interest in the hardcore scene of the early 90s.

After a few songs, Amos scanned the room. Upon seeing his band mates, he casually offered them an invitation to join him on stage, bringing the number of performers up to four. Throughout their performance, people slowly filtered in and lurked in the shadows in the back of the room.

When Holy Sons had concluded their short set, Scout (Emma) Niblett left her post in the audience and walked over to affectionately greet Emil with a kiss before continuing with her set up process. In everything from her music to her very appearance, Niblett embodies a compelling mix of casual innocence and I-could-kick-your-ass-if-I-wanted-to confidence. This night, she wore an over-sized army surplus jacket of sorts, offset by touches of femininity - a bright red flower tucked behind her ear and rings on nearly every finger.

After carefully positioning the mic and laying out a notebook containing a hand-written set list, Scout Niblett took a seat behind the drum kit with her guitar hanging around her neck, which allowed her the freedom of moving between the two instruments whenever the mood struck. Like Holy Sons, she played the first few songs of her set solo.

In a characteristically bold and candid move, she turned to the audience. "Any questions?" She waited a few beats for a response. "I always ask if anyone has any just in case." Upon hearing nothing, she played one more song solo (this time at the front mic) before signaling wildly to Dan Wilson to join her on drums.

Scout Niblett's music is marked by furious highs and delicate lows, and she navigates between the two like a restless, overenthusiastic child choosing between new toys on Christmas. There aren't many people who could get away with singing the line, "We're all gonna die" with such a perfect balance of sweet and sinister.

With Wilson's support on drums, Niblett turned up the distortion and things got gritty. Though there is definitely a special intensity to her solo performance, Niblett and Wilson make quite a team on stage. At the conclusion of each song, Wilson watched the singer intently, trying to time the last drum beat with the moment her foot tapped the pedal.

Midway through the set, she paused to take in requests. This time instead of being met with silence, the audience responded by shouting out a number of conflicting song titles. "OK. We'll try to fit some in," she said, reflecting on her options. She settled with one of the first requests made, "Wolfie."

Then, as if remembering she was on a tight schedule, she addressed the sound guy after a few songs. "How much time do we have?" "You've got time for a couple more." She reflected on her set list. "Did I do that Beloved song? No? Shit! That ruined everything," she exclaimed, stomping her foot in mock outrage. To the delight of the modestly sized but clearly dedicated audience (a couple of people apparently drove down from Canada), she launched into "Nevada" with such fervor that she was nearly shrieking the lyrics. Of course, she still managed to smirk through the strain.

"OK, so this is the last one," she said, prompting disappointment and denial from the crowd. Immediately upon wrapping her last song ("Do You Want to Be Burried with My People"), Niblett only had time to offer a brief word of thanks before the house lights and music came back on and severed any hope for an encore.

--

Emma and Emil also played a show one night earlier at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn (videos below), and a show two nights before that in Montreal for Pop Montreal (pictures in this post) (hopefully those Canadian fans were able to catch that show too). All mentioned gigs were part of a short tour for the couple that has now concluded, though Scout is still on tour.

Holy Sons' new album Survivalist Tales is out via Partisan Records today (10/12). Grab that.

All upcoming dates, a couple more pictures of Scout from the Montreal show, videos from Knitting Factory and Scout's Mercury Lounge setlist, below...

Continue reading "Scout Niblett & Holy Sons played 2 NYC shows, Pop Montreal (pics, video, review, setlist) "

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Deerhoof

No rain, a bit of sun (if only briefly) and finally a day party outside to start Day Four (Saturday) of Pop Montreal (catch up with day 1, day 2 and day 3).

The Notman House had the grill up and running and the speakers loud enough I could clearly hear the first band of the day, Edmonton's The Whitsundays, in my room at the Opus Hotel across the street. People lined up for free pulled pork and/or lentil sandwiches, sipped beer, listened to the Edmonton quartet's opening set (a solid, catchy blend of garage rock/pop) or milled about the house. It was an eclectic mix of people with little kids running around with their faces painted and even greeting people as they made their way up the Notman House front steps. It felt like a party which the weather managed to kill off on Thursday and Friday.

Stuck around for a really entertaining set by another Edmonton band, Hot Panda, before catching the bus (free bus pass was a godsend) to catch Think About Life and Diamond Rings at Divan Orange. I walked up to see people hanging out and then caught a glimpse of the sheet of paper stuck to the door. "Sold Out," it read. Or, since it was a free day party 'at capacity' was more apt. So, I hung around in hopes of getting in, not nearly as disappointed as some of those around me who were clearly crushed by that white sheet of paper.

Think About Life played before Diamond Rings, and it cleared out a bit after their set. Diamond Rings is the solo project of John O'Regan of the D'Urbervilles, and he shows a lot of promise. Synths, guitar and processed beats via laptop made for some simple, yet agreeable, dance numbers. Though his own dance moves were cringe-inducing.

The evening part of the program looked to be a long one with Deerhoof announced via Twitter as the 2am Loft Party headliner at Espace Reunion. It started off at Cabaret Mile End and the news that Doveman, who was slotted in between Mary Margaret O'Hara and Little Scream, was unable to make it out of New York and canceled. Instead, Little Scream's short but enchanting opening set complete with string accompaniment gave way to replacement act Becky Foon + Howl which was Little Scream, Becky Foon on cello Jess Robertson on violin and other members. But I opted to dash up Parc to another Cabaret, Playhouse, to see what was happening there. The official Pop Schedule said I was supposed to be catching Secretary City, but instead I found a seven-piece collective, Olenka and The Autumn Lovers, who were supposed to play Thursday but their van broke down on the way in from London, Ontario. The pleasant surprises to this point were few and far between but Olenka and Co. were the biggest. A solid dose of folk, chamber pop and Americana (can you call it that if they're Canadian?) wrapped in Eastern European themes (there's certainly a bit of Beirut in their sound) through Olenka Krakus's memories of Communist Poland.

Mary Margaret O'Hara

Then it was back to Mile End for Mary Margaret O'Hara. In the past 10 years you could probably count her number of public performances on two hands, with fingers left over. Whirling in with her band 20 minutes before they took the stage, everything was left to chance; even the setlist, which was drawn from a hat by O'Hara and audience members. Clearly uncomfortable on stage, O'Hara flittered about, cracked jokes, forgot lyrics and made others up as she went. Her voice was clear and powerful, and despite only releasing one proper record in the late eighties (Miss America), she is still roundly adored. Hers was one of the highlights of the festival, including a beautiful remembrance of Vic Chesnutt that led into "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." (vid below) It was emotional stuff and when Little Scream came out right after to do a free improv piece, she was wiping away tears. "I don't think I can sing," she said, "I'm crying too much."

Reluctantly, I left to make my way up to Espace Reunion and caught the last couple of songs by Buke & Gass and worked my way to the front for Deerhoof who despite going on at 2am were up for it and so was the audience. During the rowdier numbers, and between drummer Greg Saunier's awkward attempts to banter in French, the crowd surfed and repeatedly tumbled on to the stage with even a few people deciding to just sit on the stage in front of the band. When I left at 3am (after devouring some incredibly good tacos) they were still going, but with one day remaining the only thing I could think about was my hotel bed.

More pictures from the whole day, and a few videos, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 - Day 4 in pics & review (Mary Margaret O'Hara, Deerhoof, Diamind Rings, Little Scream & more)"

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Swans

Day three/Friday of Pop Montreal (check out days one and two) was colder and, thankfully, dryer than Thursday. But a canceled day party at the Notman House and some overlap at the other day party at Divan Orange made for a quiet afternoon.

The night started in earnest at Place des Arts to catch Zola Jesus. It was a really spacious concert hall and Nika Roza Danilova paced from one side of the stage to the other, dramatically swaying back and forth. She owned the stage and her backing band sounded good in a space where it would seem easy for the sound to get lost.

Then a walk along Rue Ste-Catherine back to the National to catch Baby Dee and Swans. Baby Dee's Baroque pop consisted of her on harp and an accompanying violinist and cellist. Between hushed songs and awkward "hee, hees" at the audience applause, Baby Dee led the audience in some purposeful artist bashing. She mentioned how you never hear crowds show their out and out dislike for someone's music. So, the entire crowd was led in a chant of "You stink and your music stinks." It was reprised at the end of the set as well. "Just don't do that with (Swans') Michael Gira," she warned the crowd. "You need to do that to someone with lower self-esteem."

For Swans, ten minutes of loud, deep strings on tape gave way to each musician taking the stage, first Shearwater's Thor Harris on percussion and finally the rest of the band and lastly, Gira. He stood stoically and surveyed the crowd and as the noise began to swell he donned his guitar and rocked back and forth before the band broke into blaring instrumental, face-melting, rock mode. Even with earplugs it was deafening. It was mesmerizing and devastating and sounded great in such a cozy, old theater like the National. "Holy shit, I still can't hear!" said one kid as he bounded out of the venue before the set was over. He was certainly not alone and any questions about the reboot of the band were settled.

From there it was up Boul. St-Laurent to the packed, hot and sweaty Barfly to catch Montreal's No Joy. I arrived early to find Toronto's Little Girls rocking away. Their set of self-described minimalist post-punk culminated with lead singer Josh McIntyre knocking his keyboard onto the ground and then standing on it as his bandmates thrashed around him. Shoegazy with indecipherable lyrics that bled into hazy guitars and bass, No Joy was a solid set though one gets the feeling that dark, sweaty clubs is where these songs sound best. The same would go for Little Girls.

More pictures from the whole day below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 - Day 3 in pics & review (Swans, Baby Dee, Zola Jesus, No Joy & more)"

words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

La pluie. It just wont stop. From sun up to sundown and well into the night here in Montreal the rain continued, making the second day of Pop Montreal (Thursday, September 30th) , and everyone attending, a soggy mess. Buses were crowded, Bixi (the public bike racks that blanket the city) were not an option. It was taxis or hoofing it.

The rain forced the "Pop BBQ" indoors and up Boulevard St. Laurent to the Barfly where Lost In The Trees were first up. The set times were moved up an hour and upon arriving there were maybe 20 people in the bar. Nestled back in the corner the seven-member ensemble performed, without microphones. It had the feeling of a Take Away show with people carrying on quiet conversations, watching the band or sitting at the bar nursing a beer. After playing a raucous sold-out show the night before it had to be just a bit disappointing for the band. But you wouldn't know it by how they sounded.

After hiding out in the Notman House where registration and the hospitality area are, it was back up the boulevard and a fun, hip-hop set by Montreal's Socalled. "Does anybody want to play bass with Socalled tonight?" asked bandleader Josh Dolgin to the rapidly filling up space. (One of the curious things about some of these shows in Montreal is the way a venue will be nearly empty 10 minutes before a set and by the time a band takes the stage nearly packed.) Two songs in a guy came walking up with a bass and joined right in.
While waiting for Greenland's Nive Nielsen to begin at boutique clothing store next to the Barfly, I popped in to see who was on and was surprised to catch Brooklyn's She Keeps Bees killing it to what appeared to be the same 20 people from a few hours earlier.

Then if was off to see the see Polaris Prize-winners Karkwa. I arrived early and caught most of Montreal's Leif Vollebekk. Sounding a bit like the Bowerbirds with a voice that sounded equal parts Ryan Adams and Andrew Bird, his set was the more impressive of the two bands. And their sounds couldn't have been more differennt. If you stripped away the blistering light show, Karkwa's songs come away a bit less impressive. But from a spectacle standpoint it was worthy and the Montreal crowd was very much in love with them.

A dash through the rain and into The National to close out the evening. I arrived early and caught the last bit of the Black Feelings. Women followed and might have been the highlight of the night. Liars capped the evening and were loud, loud and more loud.

Read about the first day of the festival. HERE. More pictures from the second day below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 - Day 2 in pics & review (Liars, Women, Karkwa, She Keeps Bees, Socalled & more) "

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Pop Montreal kicked off Wednesday (9/29) with a relatively small lineup of shows. But those lineups included bands like Menomena, The Dears, Murder By Death and Lost In The Trees among others. All these being ticketed shows, there's a lot of hedging and hoping that goes into planning; it's not unlike CMJ where badgeholders are given so many slots and the rest are for ticketholders.

Opting to start out close to the hotel and work my way up Rue St. Laurent, I popped in to see Murder By Death and caught the opening act, Buddy McNeil and the Magic Mirrors. Their set of rockabilly got stronger as it went on and set closer "Help Me Mama" was inspired. The venue had filled up and was nearly full by the time Murder By Death came on. Darker and more deliberate, their set was impassioned and the crowd was into it from the off. Leaving early was tough but Menomena were playing up Rue St. Laurent but despite my best laid plans arrived to find the show was sold out. No badges, no nothing.

So I quickly ran across the street to Lost in the Trees only to find out it, too, sold out with Villagers coming on afterward. Finding the learning curve for my first Pop Montreal swift and slightly unforgiving I managed to talk my way in but the venue. Casa del Popolo, slightly smaller than the Mercury Lounge, was packed. So packed that you could barely open the door into the space. Luckily the venue cleared out a bit for the headlining solo set by Conor O'Brien of Villagers. "The plural doesn't really apply tonight," he said. His set was perfection, the crowd was respectful and versions of his two more popular songs "Jackals" and "Home" (video below) were intense and the highlights.

Much like CMJ and SXSW bands are looking to get signed and raise their profile. Overheard at breakfast this morning at the Opus Hotel was a primer in how not to market yourself at an industry festival:

Label Guy: "Oh you're a musician? Are you playing the festival?
Musician: "Yes, my band is playing."
Label Guy: "Umm, are you playing tonight?"
Musician, after a thoughtful pause: "Yes, we are actually."
Label Guy, growing a bit impatient: "Well, are you going to plug your show? 'Cause, you know, maybe I'd like to attend."

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 - Day 1 in pics & review "

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Ireland's Villagers completed a North American tour in Montreal on Wednesday night, but will head back over to the US again to play a string of select dates that will include a pair in NYC. Tickets are on sale for Villagers at Knitting Factory on 11/2, as well as Mercury Lounge on 11/3 where Conor J. O'Brien will be supported by Erland & The Carnival.

The Montreal show was part of Pop Montreal and pictures from that show adorn this post. A review is HERE, but as you can see from the pictures and the video below, it was actually a solo show by Conor O'Brien.

Villagers released their Mercury Prize nominated debut Becoming The Jackal via Domino earlier this year and recently dropped the Ship of Promises 7" digital single.

A video for the song "That Day" with more Montreal pics and the video from the show, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Villagers played Pop Montreal (pics & video), touring (dates) "

The Luyas @ Webster Hall in April (more by Sarahana)

The 2010 edition of the Pop Montreal music festival (Montreal's answer to CMJ and SXSW) kicks off today. Highlights on the schedule include, in the legends department, Swans (who are also touring through NYC), Van Dyke Parks (who is also touring through NYC), and a performance by Mary Margaret Ohara (with an opening set by Doveman). I also discovered a new collaboration on the schedule: Light Fires is the "joint venture of musicians Gentlemen Reg Vermue and Ohbijou's James Bunton." Karkwa just won the Polaris Prize and they'll be playing a showcase too.

In the "our favorite Montreal bands" department, there will be also be sets by hometown favorites Think About Life and The Luyas (not to mention Radio Radio, Parlovr, Braids, etc, etc...).

Speaking of The Luyas, congrats to them!

"We recently fell head over heels for the space-age experimental pop sound of the Luyas, and after a long courtship, some late night long distance phone calls, and at least one senior prom dance, we can now welcome them to the Dead Oceans' family. Hailing from Montreal, the Luyas are Pietro Amato, Mathieu Charbonneau, Stefan Schneider, and Jessie Stein.

It is easy to get lost in the Luyas' musical world-their retro-futurist songs are drenched in echo, and built from guitars, French horn, piles of keyboards, drums and percussion. Singer/guitarist Jessie Stein expands the band's already wide musical vocabulary when she plays the Moodswinger-a 12-string electric zither designed by the Dutch experimental luthier Yuri Landman.

The Luyas are currently working on their forthcoming first album with Dead Oceans, slated for release in early 2011. Working with engineer Jeff McMurrich (Tindersticks, Constantines), The Luyas have also teamed up with friend and colleague Owen Pallett who is lending his arranging skills and violin playing to a number of tracks." [Dead Oceans]

And speaking of Swans, they kicked off their reunion tour last night at the Troc in Philly. A single video was posted to YouTube. Check it out below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal kicks off, Luyas got signed, Swans on tour"

Abe Vigoda @ the Whitney in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

Abe Vigoda arrive back in NYC tonight, Friday, August 20th, for a special show at Cake Shop. It's a "Nacho Party" presented by Pop Montreal and will also feature sets by fellow Californian Hawnay Troof, Hollerado and Uncle Bad Touch (members of Priestess).

Abe Vigoda will also play Brooklyn while they're here. You can catch them Saturday night, August 21st, at Death by Audio again with Canadian band Hollerado, and also with Portland's purple rhinestone eagle (who play the Charleston Friday night) and Brooklyn's passive aggressor.

From there Abe Vigoda go back home to play some shows with Cap'n Jazz and then Cold Cave leading up to FYF Fest in LA on September 4th. In October they head overseas where they then tour with No Age. All dates and Hollerado's new video for "Fake Drugs", below...

Continue reading "Abe Vigoda playing 2 NYC shows, dates w/ Capn Jazz, FYF Fest, Europe w/ No Age & more (Cake Shop tonight)"

The xx @ Webster Hall in March (more by Bao Nguyen)

"Marry me, Oliver!" was the cry from a desperate girl in the crowd when the trio finally took the stage under low light to begin systematically breaking hearts, including mine. (Mr. Blue Sky, don't fail me now!!) For those who missed Joy Division the first time, I am so happy you have your own version now -- as Oliver Sim and Romy Croft whispered the first words of a delicately slowed-down "Crystalised," they were joined by hundreds of quiet, worshipful voices in the crowd, and I found myself mesmerized by their totally depressing stage presence. (Croft's sadness alone could make a dorm at Sarah Lawrence crumble into dust.) Their strength comes in stillness, in the ability to distill all the dance grooves of their contemporaries into a single note plucked over and over from a single string. At close distance, they are a stunning live band.

In the back of a muddy tent? Maybe not so stunning -- I crawled out from the mobbed sidestage and wrapped around to the center of gen pop, where the crowd was already starting to wander away, engaged in conversation or spastic dancing or the eating of brown foods. Some dude walked past me and muttered something to his buddy about what would happen if "the dude from Depeche Mode who killed himself" could see this band. I started to notice that from afar, the stoic plucking of a single string with whispered lyrics layered on top doesn't really hold anyone's attention. But there wasn't much I could do short of find a border collie and try to herd people deeper into the tent, so I hung for a while, heard "Basic Space" (my patented I Can Leave If I Hear This Song™ system having gone into effect at midnight), and headed for the car. I may have shuffled my feet despondently a bit on the way there.
[Entertainment Weekly on the xx at Bonnaroo]

As previously mentioned, The xx will be in NYC for a free show at the Central Park SummerStage on Sunday, August 8th with Jack Penate and Chairlift. That's the day after the band plays Lollapalooza, and right before the band heads to Europe for a trip that includes an appearance at Oslo, Norway's Oya Festival. The full Oya lineup is below

The xx will be back in New York this fall for an October 2nd show at United Palace Theatre. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 18th at 11am. That date is part of a fall tour that includes stops at Pop Montreal and Austin City Limits.

All dates, a video from Bonnaroo, the Oya lineup, and the German Melt Festival lineup (they play that too), below...

Continue reading "The xx played Bonnaroo, playing United Palace, Summerstage, Lollapalooza, ACL, Oya, Melt!, Pop Montreal & other dates"

Pop Montreal 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

POP Montreal, sort of like the CMJ of Montreal, but less industry-like, returns for the 9th time from September 29th to October 3rd. Check out the sneak peak of their intial lineup below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2010 dates & initial lineup - includes SWANS"

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Shapes & Sizes

Check out all the pictures Ryan took at Pop Montreal in October by browsing the archive. Check out everything that wasn't already posted, below...

Continue reading "Pop Montreal 2009 - the rest of the pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Diamanda Galas played Pop Montreal this year. More pictures from her set, below...

Continue reading "Diamanda Galas @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Destroyer played Pop Montreal this year. More pictures from his set, below...

Continue reading "Destroyer @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Then, rising Montreal outfit Clues gave a packed house of industry insiders a glimmer of this city's future sound. Fronted by the confident falsetto of Alden Penner (formerly of eccentric indie act Unicorns) and also led by Brendan Reed, who used to drum in Arcade Fire and Think About Life, these five indie kids channeled Led Zeppelin's guitar grooves, Vampire Weekend's poppy song structure and Sunset Rubdown's angular vocals and unpredictable soundscapes.

Just two years after their very first live show, which actually took place at Pop Montreal 2007, Clues have honed their chemistry and sharpened their sound. Those who missed the band live should consider, ahem, searching around for their self-titled debut which their hip hometown imprint Constellation Records released earlier this year. [Spinner]

Continue reading "Clues @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics & Take Away Show videos "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

"Opening band Micachu and the Shapes, on legendary UK label Rough Trade, warmed the crowd up with their experimental indie pop tunes and jolly demeanour. Grinning and thanking the audience, baby-faced 22-year-old frontwoman Mica Levi -- who used to DJ and MC throughout London's garage scene -- showed us what all the hype surrounding her Matthew Herbert-produced album is about." [Spinner]

Continue reading "Micachu & the Shapes @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Canadian music writer and rapper Canadian Weapon played Pop Montreal this year. More pictures from his set, below...

Continue reading "Cadence Weapon @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Jerry Fuchs (RIP)

One month ago [as of December 8th], our drummer Gerhardt "Jerry" Fuchs passed away in a tragic accident near his home in Brooklyn, NY. While we are overwhelmingly saddened by his loss, we appreciate the outpouring of support and kind words from so many of you. Jerry's memory will always live through the hundreds of recordings he played on, thousands of shows he played and countless people from all over the world whose lives he touched.

As recently as this past July, we had been recording a new Maserati record with Jerry. While the future of our band seems unclear at this point, we will be hard at work in 2010 finishing the record as a testament to our dearest friend. Stay tuned for more updates... - [Maserati]

Continue reading "Maserati (w/ Jerry Fuchs) @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

"The Luyas are really unlike anything else going right now. They almost defy easy description. The closest I came up with was "Joanna Newsom fronting Mercury Rev" which at least gets you near the right ballpark. Singer (and member of Miracle Fortress when Graham isn't playing solo) Jessie Stein's voice has a child-like quality to it, and the band can go from intimate to epic and joyous within a song." [Bill Pearis/BrooklynVegan]

Continue reading "The Luyas @ Pop Montreal 2009 - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Johanna (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Think About Life - Havin My Baby (MP3)

Some things' strengths rest in the laurels of relative secrecy, allowing them to develop without the burden of public scrutiny or following. The opposite of the former statement applies to Think About Life, who Saturday night - or should I say, Sunday morning [at Pop Montreal] - proved yet again that they have the sharpest, most energetic, intensely electrifying, incredibly infectious live show this side of Parc Avenue during their late night spectacle at Pop Montreal's Espace Reunion. Toss in the fact that it was Martin Cesar's birthday, some unexpected (albeit extremely low-budget) pyrotechnics, and a strange character with his hand up a plastic owl's behind into the grand scheme of things, and you've got yourself an indomitable, impenetrable, unadulterated party on hand. Ripping through a raucous set that included old standbys such as "Cyanide," "Paul Cries," and "What The Future Might Be," as well as new fan favourites "Sofa-bed," "Havin' My Baby," and "Sweet Sixteen," alongside some exceptional samples courtesy of the likes of Lil Wayne and Biz Markie, the band (who were flanked by all its former members) stirred the crowd into an impassioned frenzy. Knocking knees, rubbing elbows, the mass below danced, bounced, even crowdsurfed through the impelling set, all the while glazed in a thick layer of perspiration. I could numerically gauge my enjoyment of Think About Life's performance by counting all of the bruises on my ankles and then dividing them over ten, but that would just be gratuitous." [the neighbours]

TAL will be in NYC for CMJ, but as usual their scheduled visit was short and random, and very easy to miss. To attempt to remedy that situation, I asked them to join the bill of the BrooklynVegan CMJ showcase at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Tuesday night. They accepted! They go on at 7pm sharp, before the Walter Schreifels set which is before the Wheel which is before Laura Marling which is before The Antlers which is before Fanfarlo (who SPIN says you should hear). Tickets are still on sale. Get there early!

Music Hall of Williamsburg is also where Think About Life played last time they came to town (with Ponytail and Real Estate).

Think About Life's only other, and previously scheduled, 2009 CMJ show is Wednesday, October 21st at Arlene's Grocery. That's the awesome M for Montreal showcase (flyer below) with fellow Canucks Duchess Says, Malajube, We are Wolves and Beast. More about this lineup later, along with a more-official announcement about Duchess Says being added to the free BrooklynVegan party happening at Pianos on Thursday (10/22) (not to be confused with the Dutchess and the Duke who are playing a BV CMJ show too).

And that's actually the second Canadian showcase at Arlene's in two days. The next night (10/22) the LES venue hosts "Canadian Blast!" with Priestess, Jets Overhead, Classified, Grand Analog and Spiral Beach.

After CMJ, Think About Life has a November Canadian tour with You Say Party We Say Die, but not until after TAL member Graham Van Pelt's band Miracle Fortress goes on a short tour with Liam Finn That trip includes a Bell House show on November 4th. Tickets are still on sale.

Think About Life played more than one show at Pop Montreal. In addition to the above-described showcase, they did a private taping for Canadian TV (to be broadcast Nov 4). Like he was for Tune Yards' La Blogoteque Take Away Show session, Ryan Muir was in attendance. Those pictures also below.

All of those pictures from Pop Montreal, more new album details, some videos, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Think About Life released album (MP3), played Pop Montreal (pics), playing CMJ (dates), added to BV CMJ show @ MHOW"

photos by Ryan Muir

"Daptone Gold is a collection of hits and obscurities, album favorites and unheard exclusives from the Daptone Records catalog. Since first rearing it's head in 2001, Daptone has upheld it's reputation as both a premier source for new raw soulful music and a model for the possibilities of independent music today. With a library of albums and 45's spanning from rhythm and blues to afrobeat, gospel to funk, Daptone has established a sound that is consistently sincere, heavy, and soulful.

As Gabriel Roth (Daptone Records co-owner, engineer and bass player for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings) sees it, "Over the past decade, a lot of blood and sweat was shed in this little house in Bushwick, and when people experience all these recordings together in a package like this, they are really going to feel what the "Daptone Sound" is all about."

Roth continues, "I'm very proud of this record. It's hard evidence of what the Daptone family has accomplished. I'm also excited to finally have so many of my favorite Daptone cuts, many of which were previously only available on vinyl seven inches, included on a proper album. People should really hear this."

After much heated debate, Daptone has selected and sequenced the tracks that were chosen to represent both the depth and breadth of the Daptone sound. It features some of the most popular songs such as Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' "Tell Me" and the Budos Band's "Up From the South", alongside some deeper selections such as Lee Fields' "Could Have Been" and Charles Bradley's "The World (Is Going Up In Flames)" which have previously only been released as 45 rpm singles. With the inclusion of unreleased tracks such as Binky Griptite's "A Lover Like Me" and Sharon Jones' version of Gladys Knights' "Giving Up", Daptone Gold promises to be a special addition to the collection of Daptone die-hard fans, as well as a perfect introduction to the label for those who have not yet been experienced. As always, Daptone has made sure that the entire presentation is of a quality and design consistent with the music it contains: decadent gold foil packaging with the Daptone logo prominently embossed across the front, incentives for the vinyl fans, and extensive liner notes." [Daptone Records]

Continue reading "Lee Fields played Pop Montreal (pics), Daptone Records doing CMJ (lineup), releasing Daptone Gold (tracklist)"

DOWNLOAD: Valleys - Silent Woods (MP3)

words by Bill Pearis, photos by Ryan Muir

"What seemed like an improvisational, spontaneous unfolding of creative ideas, sounds and unconventional methods of playing standard musical instruments was in fact Montreal's Valleys performance on Wednesday evening at Sala Rossa.

Vocals reminiscent of A Silver Mount Zion, on the fly instrument switching, a blend of acoustic guitars, casio keyboards, flugalhorn, samples & looping, noise, electric guitars drumming and wonderful harmonies. All good things coming from this local 4 peice." [Indyish]

Also at Bruar tonight are L'Altra from Chicago, who've been around for a decade, making moody, electronic-tinged folk (or is that folk-tinged electronics?). They haven't had a record since 2005's Different Days and promise that tonight's show will lean heavy on new material from a new album that is due imminently.

All dates and more pictures from Pop Montreal below...

Continue reading "Valleys (MP3) played Pop Montreal (pics), are on tour (dates), in NYC tonight with L'Altra, Friday with Blue Jungle"

photos by Ryan Muir

"The band on everyone's lips [at Pop Montreal] was local solo artist tUnE-YaRdS, a.k.a. Merill Garbus, whose looped ukulele electronica captured many people's attention at the festival. (Her track "Sunlight" was also the de facto Plateau coffee shop jam.) Though attendees planned to give it up for Faust, and sang the praises of local heroes like The Luyas, you couldn't escape the giddy enthusiasm they had for Think About Life. Dancing in a packed room with everyone I'd met that week, I finally understood just how small the Anglo music scene really was. And I kinda liked it that way." [Eye Weekly]

"Tune-Yards blew me away this time when she played at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.
This time she had a backing band and sounded alot better than her being just one musician.
There was also visuals during the show.
Totally packed the small theatre." [MW Music Review Blog]

Last night (10/6), tUnE-YaRdS shared a bill with Dragons of Zynth at Union Hall in Brooklyn. In November she's touring with Dirty Projectors (with four more NYC shows on that schedule). Ryan Muir, who spent a bunch of time with Vincent at Pop Montreal, was at all three of Merill's performances. More more pictures of both of the tUnE-YaRdS ones, below...

Continue reading "tUnE-YaRdS played Union Hall, a museum for Pop Montreal (pics), another Take-Away show (pics & video) "

photos by Ryan Muir

"I headed back to St-Laurent too late to return to Cabaret Juste Pour Rire and catch Clues, so I poked my head in at a couple places along the way and made it up to Club Balattou a bit past 1 AM. I've been following Montreal-Toronto band Sister Suvi online for a couple years and picked up their new album in the spring; they've never played Halifax and I'd never seen them live elsewhere. Drummer Nico Dann and I took art classes together in high school, and he was doing weird noise-art performance stuff that was pretty cool back then, so it was no surprise that he was in a cool band eight years later.

The guitarist and bassist Patrick Gregoire [used to be in] Islands, and rounding out the drums and bass is ukuleleist Merrill Garbus. And yes, a drum kit, a bass and a ukulele is more than enough. They are offbeat, catchy, mystic and charming, which was why I was unhappy to hear via audience members' shouts that this was their last show. They're one of those bands that just seem really happy to be playing with each other, and were debuting some lovely new songs even though they're breaking up. By 2:30 in the morning with a stuffed venue full of band friends getting emotional, I felt like a bit of a party crasher, so I headed out for the leisurely 40-minute walk to my sister's couch. You can still buy their album online, though, and I suggest you do." [The Coast]

Sister Suvi's 2nd to last show was two days before Montreal, at Sycamore in Brooklyn. tUnE yArDs's next show is TONIGHT (10/6) at Union Hall in Brooklyn. More pictures from Sister Suvi's final performance, below...

Continue reading "Sister Suvi played their LAST show @ Pop Montreal - pics "