the gorgeous show poster is by Benjamin Nelson.

I don’t know how this escaped the attention of my Show Listing editor (that’s going to be one fired webmonkey, that’s all I have to say) but what is undoubtedly going to be the most raucous, amazing, bewildering, sweaty, dancey show of the year is happening this Saturday. Woodhands, joined by Magic Jordan, are going to invade The Artel on Saturday, May 10th, and if you have any sense you will get yourself there (and get there early ’cause space is limited).

I’ve been listening to Woodhands’ new album “Heart Attack” a great deal lately and it is filled top to bottom with stompers. While the lead track Dancer is an absolute stunner - with its sultry female vocals juxtaposed with the gritty shouted lead - and has been pretty much on repeat at my place for the past couple of weeks, the entire album is excellent. Dan Werb rocks the keytar like his life depended on it and Paul Banwatt proves very well might be the best drummer around. The beats are hefty, the synth riffs energizing, the vocals swing from melodic to gritty. I know we’re prone to hyperbole here on the interwebs, but I think stating that “Heart Attack” is going to be one of the albums of the year is a pretty safe bet.
This show is going to be HOTTTTTTT.

(and i’m going to be out of town. fuck.)

Here are a few tracks to so you can get your dance on tonight before you get it on tommorrow:

* Dancer
* Be Back Soon

Be sure to pick up the album through Paper Bag and/or Zunior.

And you can get a Magic Jordan track on the Friends of Skeleton Park album which is superb. Its out on Apple Crisp Records and can be bought around town.

photo of Stars at the Bronson Centre, Ottawa on April 3, 2008 by Lenny W.

When you see Stars perform you should expect the following things: dreamy eye-d songs of booze, sex, death, etc.; intimacy no matter how large the room is; some political commentary mixed with personal and often amusing stories; great harmonies & lushness all around. On their recent stop in Kingston a month ago they delivered on all fronts.

While I wasn’t immediately taken with “In the Bedroom…”, as I was with “Heart” & “Set Yourself on Fire”, I have certainly grown to appreciate it after a few listens. Their sound has evolved - becoming fuller, more dramatic, and, in many ways, more diverse - but they have kept what makes them unique firmly in place . There is romance and passion which informs their music in a way that evades being trite.

Seeing the best of their new songs performed live, they make even more sense. A little of the album’s polish is removed and the songs become even more immediate. The interplay between Campbell and Millan hasn’t dulled with time - if anything it has become more refined and more complex. Put side by side with their older material onstage, it fit right in: the all-important tone of the songs is consistent even if the variety sounds used in their construction have expanded.

Of the four (or so) time’s I’ve seen Stars perform, I think this was the best. The setlist was great, with a good selection and excellent pacing; the sound was superb; the audience interaction was fun and not overwhelming or preachy. In fact, if it weren’t for something that was entirely out of the bands control (see below) I would say that this was one of the better concerts I’ve seen so far this year. They have a few festival dates coming up and, if you have the chance, I recommend you seeing them for yourself.

Saturday June 7th, 2008 Toronto, ON - Olympic Island
Friday June 20th, 2008 Winnipeg, MB - Jazz Winnipeg Festival - Pantages Playhouse Theatre
Saturday June 21st, 2008 Vancouver, BC - The Malkin Bowl - Stanley Park

For your listening pleasure I have a few songs from this set. For the full thing keep reading. Enjoy

Stars, Stages, Kingston, 4 April 2008

1. The Beginning After the End
2. The Night Starts Here
3. Elevator Love Letter
4. election (talk)
5. Soft Revolution
6. Window Bird
7. One More Night
8. sad fact (talk)
9. Reunion
10. six stitches (talk)
11. Bitches In Tokyo
12. Set Yourself on Fire
13. seventy-five year old Ukrainian drag queen (talk)
14. Personal
15. Going, Going, Gone
16. What I’m Trying to Say
17. the best night in Kingston to get laid (talk)
18. Midnight Coward
19. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
20. how many? (talk)
21. Ageless Beauty
22. class trip (talk)
23. In Our Bedroom After The War
24. let’s play some more (talk)
25. Take Me To The Riot
26. another survey (talk)
27. My Favourite Book
28. Calendar Girl
29. The Woods

I haven’t posted the full set here, just some highlights. If you dig what you hear and are a fan I encourage you to download the entire set. I must warn you, however, that around the fourth song an extraordinarily inconsiderate individual perched her fat ass in front of the bunch of us who got their early enough to have a spot where we had amazing site lines. Indeed, we have a perfect view of the stage until she came around and then all we got was a view of the back of her big stupid head. Since, as you might expect, no one around me appreciated this, there is an understandable amount of profanity, threats of violence and schemes to encourage/force this fool down. She finally moved after about four songs later (and it was a good thing, too, as someone behind me was starting to throw things at her and i think things could only have escalated from there). Anyway, to end a long story, the recording is marred for the first while because of this nonsense. There is some chatter and a fair bit of singing along in other spots but otherwise i think it sounds pretty good. If you want the full set you can get it here:

Stars-Kingston-4April2008 (Megaupload)

Be sure to pick up Stars albums, t-shirts etc. from their online store.

Hey folks,

Its official. The line up for the 2008 Wolfe Island Music Fest has been announced. Mark your calendar, grab a hat and a blanket, and get ready to have your socks rocked off. Here it is - the lineup:

August 8th (8:30pm)

The Town Hall Hootenanny featuring Carolyn Mark, Jenny Whiteley, Joey Wright, Luther Wright and friends and The Abrams Brothers.

August 8th (10:30)

Flying V Productions showcase at The General Wolfe Hotel

The Handsome Furs with special guests Magic Jordan

August 9th (1pm start)

Featuring (in reverse order):

Wintersleep

Cadence Weapon

Land of Talk

Jason Collett

Plants and Animals

Tony Scherr

The Acorn

The D’Urbervilles

Music Maul

P.S. I love you!

Excited? of course you are. Weekend passes available May 1st at MapleMusic. I’ll be doing another ‘Count down to Wolfe Island’ starting in June so you will be hearing a great deal about this in the coming weeks.

[post updated to correct the dates: It is August 8th & 9th, not 9th & 10th. sorry about that]

photo from WM’s myspace by Stephanie Bell, 6 January 2006

Hey there b(oot)log fans. I’ve been neglecting you a bit, I know, but I haven’t forgotten about you an will still  be trying to sate your need for wonderful live music. As the students are heading out of town the frequency of shows tends to lessen a bit but that doesn’t mean that nothing is going on. No, in fact if you will direct your attention to the right of your screen you will notice that there are still things a-happenin’ in Kingston throughout the summer, albeit at a bit more of a relaxed pace.

One thing you will definitely want to mark your calendars for is triple bill of weirndess and wonderment that will be taking place at the Grad Club on May 14th. It will feature B.A Johnston, Wax Mannequin, and Vincat. I have not had the pleasure of seeing Johnston live (nor Vincat) but I have experienced Wax Mannequin in his rose-covered glory and it is something to behold. With dense, evocative, and at times bizarre lyrics which are delivered with unparallelled intensity, Wax Mannequin is equally beautiful and disquieting.

You have ample opportunity to witness the spectacle for yourself as he is playing a ton of dates across Ontario in May & early June and heading out West for June (and into Europe in September & October). Check the myspace for full dates.

9 May 2008- The Ford Plant, Brantford
10 May 2008 - Pepperjack Cafe, Hamilton
13 May 2008 - The Albion, Guelph
14 May 2008 - The Grad Club, Kingston
22 May 2008 - The Horseshoe, Toronto
24 May 2008 - The London Music Club,London, Ont
31 May 2008 - The Montreal House, Peterborough
4 Jun 2008 - The Townehouse, Sudbury
5 Jun 2008 - The Arcadia Project (former Eargazm), Sault Ste Marie, Ontario

The last time I saw Wax Mannequin play the show was plagued with problems and only two songs were actually played but it was pretty stellar until the abrupt end. I hope you enjoy what I have here and be sure to come out on the 14th.

Wax Mannequin, The Artel, Kingston, 28 June 2007

1. eat your own heart (talk)

2. Worrier’s Feast

3. number 5 on my machine (talk)

4. You and All Your Friends

Buy Orchard & Ire and other stunning recordings from your friends at Sonic Unyon and/or Zunior.

photo from The Coast’s myspace by Jess Baumung.

This Saturday (26 April) Julie Doiron is gracing the Grad Club stage. You know and love her and I’m not going to be talking about her today. What I want to do is suggest that you get to the show early to check out the opening band, The Coast. While the logic of the pairing doesn’t really make sense to me - The Coast’s Brit-poppy, post-punk inspired tunes don’t really seem like an obvious match for Doiron’s intimate songs - that is really beside the point. The Coast offer up music that is textured, melodic and hooky. The people who are supposed to know these sorts of things have tipped The Coast off as a band to watch this year, so why don’t you come out and see for yourself?

25 Apr - Alex P. Keaton, London, On
26 Apr - Grad Club (w/ Julie Doiron), Kingston
28 Apr - Casbah, Hamilton
3 May - The Opera House w/ Tokyo Police Club, Toronto
8 May - Marquee, Halifax
9 May - The Capitol, Fredricton
10 May - A Khord, Saint John
21 May - Le Divian Orange, Montreal
23 May - The Red Dog, Peterborough
24 May - Zaphod’s, Ottawa

Here are a few songs from their very tight set opening for Tokyo Police Club in January. Enjoy.

The Coast, Ale House, Kingston, 30 January 2008

* No Secret Why
* Nueva York
* Tight Rope
* The Lines Are Cut

Be sure to pick up their debut full-length album ‘Expatriate’ in cd or digital form.

You may know that Born Ruffians are making a name for themselves with their romping & rollicking songs filled with stops, starts, hairpin turns, and a general herky-jerkyness. You may know that they had an excellent ep which was bursting with ideas. And you may know, if you’ve heard their debut full-length, “Red, Yellow, & Blue”, that they delivered on the promise of their ep. This is a smashing album that takes its time getting where its going without dragging its feet. While you will get a good size dose of frenetic guitars, strong basslines, fantastic drumming and lyrics that tumble from Luke LaLonde’s lips at a dizzying speed, this album feels almost introspective at times. While keeping things catchy they don’t wear you out each and every song. Their sound has expanded from the ep, taking on a greater intricacy and complexity with out losing any of the immediacy. It is an album that is filled with hand claps, call-and-response vocals, and a ton of shimmy and shake and it should be played frequently and at loud volume. Don’t believe me? Then check them out for yourself. The Born Ruffians will be travelling around these parts through April and hitting the UK in May (full dates):

April 17th: Zaphod’s, Ottawa
April 18th: Grad Club, Kingston
April 19th: Casa, Montreal
April 24th: Vinyl, Guelph
April 25th: The Ford Plant, Brantford
April 26th: Lee’s Palace (ALBUM RELEASE PARTY), Toronto

Here are a few selections from their appearance at the wonderful Wolfe Island Music Fest this past summer. There is a fair bit of background chatter in spots but I hope you dig it nevertheless.

Born Ruffians, Wolfe Island Music Fest, 11 August 2007

* Kurt Vonnegut
* I’m One Of Those Girls
* Hummingbird
* Barnacle Goose
* I Need A Life
* This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life
* Red Elephant

Buy new album, the ep and shirts & singles.

Photo by Jalapeno, taken at South Street Seaport, New York City, 20 July 2007

Since I was impatient and already posted my Rock Plaza Central set from the last time they were in town, I thought I’d give you a bit of a taste of a bunch of different live RPC that I’ve collected from here and there in anticipation of their show at the Queen St. United Church in Kingston on Friday. As you might know if you read this site regularly, I’m a fan of RPC and I can’t recommend them highly enough. Their songs are filled with ramshakle beauty. Inventive lyrics - delivered passionately - are backed by rich instrumentation in the form of horns and violin and crashes and shakes. Live, it is nothing short of amazing. You should go see them. It will be great.

Apr 10 - Toronto, Sneaky Dee’s w/ Jetplanes of Abraham and Gusto Basketcase
Apr 11 - Kingston, Queen St. United Church w/ Jetplanes of Abraham and TBA
Apr 12 - Ottawa, Barrymore’s w/ Jetplanes of Abraham and Ghost is Dancing
Apr 17 - Montreal, Sala Rossa w/ Miracle Fortress
Apr 18 - Bennington, VT, University pig roast
Apr 19 - Albany, NY, Valentine’s w/ Sgt Dunbar and the Hobo Banned

[see here for complete dates]

CBC Radio 3, Session, Studio 211, Toronto, 25 March 2007

* Hope You Live Long

* Are We Not Horses

[full session]

Fuse with Tafelmusik, CBC Radio 2/Trinity-St Paul’s Church, Toronto, 22 November 2007

* I am an Excellent Steel Horse

[a pairing of sheer brilliance - listen to the full concert]

Live on MOKB SIRIUS Blog Radio, Left Of Center, Channel 26, 7 September 2007

* How Shall I To Heaven Aspire

[a great session from My Old Kentucky Blog]

Irene’s Pub, Ottawa, 16 Sept 2006

* When We Go, How We Go (Part II)

* 08/14/03 & Hearts Will Not Rust

[Courtesy of Mocking Music]

Lee’s Palace, Toronto, 10 August 2007

* We’ve Got A Lot to Be Glad For

[recorded by Dave, who also has a KEXP session which you should check out]

Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ottawa, 13 January 2007

* Fifteen Hands/Sexy Back

[full set; see also my recording from November 21 in Kingston]

And, finally, their Daytrotter session from last year.

Be sure to pick up Rock Plaza Central’s stunning albums.

Okay folks, I know I’m running a few days behind on this (last) week’s post but here is something that I think is pretty cool. If you want to know why I love the Ceeb (although, no more Air Farce? That’s kinda sad) and why you should too, here is just one example of the amazing programming they bring to the airwaves.

The stellar CBC program Bandwidth approached 6 of its favourite musicians (Andre Ethier, Jim Bryson, Zaki Ibrahim, Catriona Sturton, Jenny Whiteley, and this week’s feature Sandro Perri) at the end of 2006 and asked them each to write 27 words (lyrics, poetry, free associated ramblings) which were passed on to another person in the group to do a ‘first draft’ of a song based on or inspired by the 27 words. That first draft was then passed along to another member of the group who used that as the inspiration or starting point for a fully realized song to be performed at the end of 2007. Nifty, eh? The process was intriguing and the results were excellent. It was a highly sucessful - and enjoyable -  experiment in collaboration.

Below you shall find the first draft composed by Perri as well as the fantastic full song he produced. If you like what you hear there - and you can check out the Perri’s performance from the last time he swung through town - be sure to get yourself to The Artel on Saturday, April 5th, becasue Perri will be performing along with Nat Baldwin (who I know nothing about except that he was one of StG’s favourite’s for 2006, which is enough for me to get there early to see him play).  Full dates:

April 4 Toronto, Tranzac w/ Nat Baldwin, Corpusse
April 5 Kingston,  The Artel w/ Nat Baldwin
April 6 Montreal, Le Divan Orange w/ The Luyas, Nat Baldwin
April 11 Hamilton,  Art Crawl Polmo Polpo w/ Orphx
April 30 Toronto,  Tranzac w/ Snailhouse, Dan Goldman
May 9    Toronto,  Tranzac w/ Mama Lisoni, Cry Rumble
June 16 Montreal,  Suoni Per Il Popolo    w/ Michael Hurley

Sandro Perri, New Year’s Concert, Bandwidth, CBC Radio One, Ottawa, 29 December 2007 

* Sandro Perri - “Champagne Kisses” (inspired by words by Jenny Whiteley)
* Sandro Perri - This Time (inspired by words by Jim Bryson & 1st draft by Zaki Ibrahim)

And be sure to pick up Sandro Perri’s albums (in all his guises) here and here.

photo from Stars’ studio session with Gideon Coe, BBC6, 9Dec2005 which can be heard here.

I hope the Easter Bunny was kind to everyone this weekend. On this sunny, lazy Easter Monday morning, evening, I have one more treat for you which, while not chocolatey is certainly sweet. On April 4th Stars will return to Kingston to share intimate stories of desire, heartbreak, and hope delivered with glorious intertwining vocals over beautiful orchestral arrangements. They will be joined by the amazing Gentleman Reg so get your tickets (sold out online but as of yesterday there are still some available at The Grad Club, the Brass or Destinations) and be prepared to be enchanted. To get you in the mood, I have two radio sessions from the kind folks at MPR - the first is from this past November and, since I had it, one from back in 2005. I hope you enjoy.

The Current, MPR, 3 November 2007
1. intro (talk)
2. Take Me to the Riot
3. in law & order I played a victim (talk)
4. Personal
5. the record will always exist (talk)
6. My Favourite Book
7. like a bad rash (talk)
8. Midnight Coward

The Current, MPR, 14 March 2005
1. intro (talk)
2. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
3. free stuff (talk)
4. Calendar Girl
5. not related/outro (talk)

Buy Stars cds through amazon and support MPR or get albums and shirts and posters through their online store - and hey! they are having a sale. T-shirts for $5! a deal, a steal…

A while ago I posted a few songs from Basia Bulat’s wonderful performance at the Wolfe Island Music Fest. In anticipation of her return to Kingston on March 28th (with Katie Stelmanis who I talked about here) I am going to share with you the rest of the set. Everything about Bulat’s performance was excellent. She has an amazing, strong voice which, combined with lush and inventive instrumentation, make her quite unlike anything else I’ve come across. She makes soulful folk music backed with lush orchestration and it is quite frankly wonderful. Go see for yourself:

Mar 26 - Peterborough, The Montreal House
Mar 27 - Ottawa, Zaphod’s
Mar 28 - Kingston, The Grad Club
Mar 29 - Toronto, Lee’s Palace
April 3 - Hamilton, The Casbah
April 4 - London, ON, Call the Office
April 5 - Guelph, The Stage
April 12 - Montreal, Sala Rossa
April 1 - Quebec City , Le Cercle
and visit Rough Trade for US dates in April and May.

Basia Bulat, Wolfe Island Music Fest, 11 August 2007

1. Heart of My Own
2. In the Night
3. sad and lonely bear (talk)
4. La Da Da
5. December
6. I Was A Daughter
7. Oh, My Darling
8. Little Waltz
9. Pilgriming Vine
10. quite an adventure (talk)
11. Touch The Hem Of His Garment (Sam Cooke cover)
12. Before I Knew
13. see you again in the fall (talk)
14. Snakes and Ladders

Pick up the extraordinary “Oh, My Darling” through MapleMusic (also get your tix for the Kingston show there) or on Rough Trade in the US (digital or physical).

LINKSLINKSLINKS

Listen to the amazing live set from SxSW yesterday courtesy of the rad people at CBCRadio3.

As 1001 better bloggers have undoubtedly told you, you should check out the wonderful Radio K session.

And also the Daytrotter session.

And the 2005 Zeke’s Gallery show.

And do you want Bulat’s recipe for Polish Apple Cake? Of course you do. Visit Let’s Get Baked and scroll down until you see:

Mmmmmmm. Apple cake.