June 24, 2007
Frog Eyes, CBC Studio 2, Vancouver, 7 Jun 2004
Listening to the CBC Radio 3‘s session with Frog Eyes, I envision Carey Mercer onstage as a seducer one moment and demon the next as he moves from whispering to cooing before letting loose with the shrieking vocals he is best known for. Wildly emotional and esoteric, Frog Eyes has a reputation as one of the most intense live bands out there. Having not had the opportunity to see them perform myself I can only imagine. You, however, could experience it for yourself if you are in the National Capital Region as they are playing at the first ever Capital Idea! Festival in Ottawa organized by Mocking Music. It looks like I won’t be able to catch any of the festival (I was hoping to get back to Ottawa to catch a few shows – this one in particular), which sucks, but since there is a full week of super rad music I highly encourage you to go if you can. Feel free to lord it over me if you do go because you know I’ll be jealous.
Frog Eyes, CBC Studio 2, Vancouver, 7 June 2004
1. The Fox Speaks To His Wife Who Is Not Quite Sure
2. Our Lordship Has Devised A New Billing System
7. New Soft Motherhood Alliance
You can get “Tears of the Valedictorian” – one of the best records of 2007 so far – from Absolutely Kosher, along with earlier Frog Eyes stuff (the first few albums can also be found at Global Symphonic).
June 17, 2007
Sarah Harmer, Salvation Army Winter Relief Benefit, Grad Club, Kingston, 20 December 2006
photo of Sarah Harmer and Bruce Cockburn by jenniedo taken at Edmonton Folk Music Festival. August 12, 2006.
It’s sorta-kinda-not really a secret that Sarah Harmer is playing a show at the Grad Club on Tuesday so don’t tell anyone I told you about it. Actually, if you are just hearing about it from me you’re probably too late to get into this ultra-intimate gig, ’cause word on the street is that it sold out last week. I am really looking forward to this show because, as loyal b(oot)log readers will know, I’m a bigbigbig Sarah Harmer fan.
I’ve gone on at length previously about how wonderful I think Harmer is so I’ll just get on with the music. The recording you will find below to get you in the mood for Tuesday’s show (or as a bit of a consolation) was recorded at the Salvation Army Winter Relief Benefit – and folks, just because it isn’t Christmas time doesn’t mean that you can’t give to the Salvation Army, so give generously. Harmer was joined by special guests including the fantastic Bruce Cockburn. The great, if all too short, set which featured “Trouble in the Fields,” the first time I heard the song played live. I hope you enjoy this set as much as I did. A quick note about the recording – my levels were set a shade too high so the songs get a bit rumbly when it gets loud. It isn’t too bad but just thought I’d warn you. Sorry about that. Anyway, enjoy.
Sarah Harmer, Salvation Army Winter Relief Benefit, Grad Club, Kingston, 20 December 2006
1. I am Aglow
2. action packed line up (talk)
3. Christmas in Prison (John Prine cover)
4. embracing spontaneity (talk)
5. Goin’ Out
6. one of the only things out of 1982 that is a classic (talk)
7. Trouble in the Fields
8. a song of hope and expectation (talk)
9. Bruce Cockburn with Sarah Harmer – Waiting for a Miracle
10. I feel a little like Steven Tyler (talk)
11. Dandelions In Bullet Holes
You can get all Sarah Harmer’s fantastic records through her website (click the ‘online store’ tab)
June 10, 2007
Apostle of Hustle & Tanya Tagaq, Fuse, CBC Radio, 27 May 2007 rebroadcast
The most successful instances of Fuse, one of the best shows currently produced the Mother Corp, are, in my mind, are the ones which pair one of my favourite bands with something strange and wonderful (see Ohbijou and Kids on TV). Another case in point is the session below: the amazing Apostle of Hustle paired with the throat singer Tanya Tagaq. The sound of throat singing is utterly unique. It is haunting, evocative, and amazingly it complements the Cuban-inspired sound employed by Andrew Whiteman. Tagaq’s vocal contributions are subtle (but quite beautiful) at first, but at 5:45 into the first song, you know that there is something special afoot. What unfolds over the three songs, in which the artists freely improvise, moves from lovely to haunting to terrifying to beautiful and back again. The songs are epic, magnificent, and probably unlike anything else in your music collection. Strange? Yes, this is certainly not your average indie rock fare. Wondeful? Most definitely so.
Apostle of Hustle & Tanya Tagaq, Fuse, CBC Radio, 27 May 2007 (rebroadcast)
1. nudie suits and a caribou thong (talk)
3. we can call them shady (talk)
5. thrusting of all kinds (talk)
6. Untitled
8. My Sword Hand’s Anger (reprised; outro)
You can and should pick up Tagaq’s record Sinaa here and Apostle of Hustle’s records here.
PS – I somehow forgot to mention that Apostle of Hustle will be playing the Wolfe Island Music Festival on August 11th, a grievious oversight. Get your tickets online through Maple Music. They will also be available at a number of spots around Kingston soon (check the website for details). They are gonna be snapped up pretty quick so make sure you get them soon.
June 2, 2007
Entire Cities, Kingston, Grad Club, 29 April 2007
photos courtesy of Bramptonboi, taken at Wavelength 349, Sneaky Dee’s Toronto, 4 Feb. 2007
I worry for Entire Cities, I really do. They stopped by Kingston’s greatest venue at the end of a small tour, and the stresses of the road were taking their toll. Given that they are going to be in high demand all over the place since their ep “Centralia” is fantastic, they may just come apart at the seams under the pressures of touring. But, even if that’s the case, it’s going to be a helluva party while it lasts.
Naturally, I am kidding (kinda) but they were a bit wacky when they blew threw town at the end of April – “unhinged” was the word that I used at the time. “Great” was another word that I freely threw around. Frontman Simon Borer said after the show that they were incredibly professional for the previous three shows and then all hell broke loose as they rolled into the Limestone City and I think Ottawa got stiffed in the deal, because as much of a complete trainwreck the performance could have been (with the drummer leaving the stage at one point to use the facilities, bandmates harassing each other onstage midsong, and random interjections of, i kid you not, Rage Against the Machine) it turned out to be a wonderful, funny, raucous set. Certainly way more fun than I expected from my Sunday night.
Entire Cities alternate between loud and rough and sweet and melodic; tender and charming and powerful and potty-mouthed. They make extremely beautiful songs which sit cheek-by-jowl with rockers that practically force you to stomp your feet and shout along with them. I imagine that the ten-person strong line-up can’t help but fuel their sound – both in its lushness and in its unbridled passion bordering on chaos (wait! their weren’t 10 people on the Grad Club stage [heh. for those of you who have seen the GC stage you would know that 10 people couldn’t have fit on the stage anyway], and wtf, you have a saw-player and you didn’t bring her along?! Now I feel ripped off. Sorry, I digress). How many bands do you know that can pull of flute solos? Not many and Entire Cities pull it off with skill and style. I am really digging their ep as much as their live set and if you have any sense or taste you will too.
They are coming back into town twice in the near future, playing the Grad Club on June 7th and again on June 23rd as part of the Skeleton Park Music Fest. For a bunch of kids from Toronto they sure seem to like Eastern Ontario – they are playing both Kingston and Ottawa twice along with a couple dates Out East. For the Ottawa shows, I refer you to my man in the NCR, Matthew of I{Heart} Music fame, who is bringing you the goods in form of an all-ages show at The Gallery at Ecclesiaux on the 8th featuring EC along with Nich Worby (Kingston, represent!), Eastbrough and Woodpidgeon. Full dates, from their myspace, look like this:
7 June, The Grad Club, Kingston
8 June, Cafe Dekcuf, [The Gallery at Ecclesiaux???], Ottawa
9 June, The Dakota Tavern NXNE Showcase, Toronto
12 June, Gus’ Pub, Halifax
14 June, Brennan’s Pub Charlottetown
23 June, Skeleton Park Festival, Kingston
28 June, The Tiger Bar, Toronto
23 August, I Heart Music Festival – Black Sheep Tavern, Ottawa
20 September, KAZOO @ The E-Bar, Guelph
Be sure to check them out if you have the chance. For the Kingston show they are playing with Nich Worby, The Dukes of the Archipelago, There Were Valleys. Judging on my previous experience I have no doubt its going to be another wonderful, drunken spectacle featuring some extraordinarily talented, and highly raucous, musicians. Not something you want to miss.
Entire Cities, Kingston, Grad Club, 29 April 2007
1. Turbines
2. Sunshine
3. no uncertain terms (talk)
4. Marshall’s Five Lost Years
5. I saw your mom giving the devil’s horns (talk)
6. Dancing With My Brother
7. even my tuner’s rebelling (talk)
8. track 8 (title?) [update: this song is called “Hat on the Bed”]
9. is that a John Cougar Mellencamp song (talk)
10. track 10 (title)
11. can we play a nice one for these nice people? (talk)
12. Coffee
13. assuming we’re allowed back in the city (talk)
14. Waiting (2000 Years)
15. sorry, i’m a little edgy tonight, I can’t imagine why (talk)
16. track 16 (title?)
17. i can’t see what they’re doing back there (talk)
18. track 18 (title?)
19. this is a dirty song (talk)
20. In Spite of Ourselves (John Prine cover)
You can get your hands on Entire Cities’ ep “Centralia” at their shows and I can only imagine that they would be more than happy to sell you one if you contact them through their myspace page.
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