August 31, 2008

Final Fantasy, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, 27 August 2008

Posted in bootleg, mp3 at 5:16 pm by rgsc

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of driving up to Toronto to see one of my all time favourites, Final Fantasy, who played an amazing set of mostly new material for a hometown crowd. He played an hour long set comprised of songs from the the extraordinary new ep “Spectrum, 14th Century” (released officially on Sept. 30th with another ep, “Plays to Please” – a record of Deep Dark United covers, released on October 21st by Blocks Recording Club; available now at shows) and, from, I believe his next full length, “Heartland” (slated for release in 2009), as well as a few older songs. Joined by the amazing projectionist, Stephanie Comilang, the show was mesmerizing – it was visually sumptuous and aurally intoxicating. I never cease to be amazed by Pallett who constructs his intricate songs, layer by layer, on stage.

His new songs are fantastic – I was able to pick up “Spectrum” (P2P was not available in Toronto – apparently it was on sale in Victoria – how is it?) and have been listening to it obsessively since the show. It is filled with woodwinds, steeldrums, birdsong, & crickets and in it Pallett creates a fantasy world with the songs telling stories from the perspectives of the inhabitants of that world. I highly recommend you pick up this album when you can. Final Fantasy is playing/has played today at Bumbershoot and then is off to Brazil, Iceland, and Australia. For full dates check out Pallett’s myspace. I have a few tracks from the show and may post the rest at a later date. I hope everyone is enjoying this rather glorious Labour Day weekend.

Final Fantasy, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, 27 August 2008

* This Lamb Sells Condos
* The Butcher
* Many Lives -> 49 MP
* This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine
* Hey Dad/Song Song Song

Buy the amazing Final Fantasy records from The Blue House/Tomlab/Zunior (digital)

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August 27, 2008

Vampire Weekend, Rogers Picnic, Historic Fort York, Toronto, 20 July 2008

Posted in bootleg, mp3 at 11:41 am by rgsc

photo of Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend @ The Rogers Picnic by Chromeswaves (more photos here). With extra special thanks to Frank for hooking me up with tickets to the show.

You have to hand it to the organizers of this year’s Rogers Picnic – they sure did throw together quite an ecclectic show. From Dizzee Rascal to Animal Collective to Born Ruffians to City & Colour to Cat Power to (this week’s feature) Vampire Weekend, there quite conceivably was something for just about every taste. It did lead a bit of an odd crowd make up – the reaction of some C&C fans near me when Animal Collective played were both amusing and annoying simultaneously – but from my vantage point most people were diggin’ what they were hearing, even if they weren’t familiar with the acts prior to the show. There were a few logistical hiccoughs (namely: the lineup to get in which was soooooo slooooow – i was there pretty much in time to see the first act, The Carps, but didn’t get through the gates until 3 songs into the Born Ruffians’ set) but I will commend them on two things: 1) having the live dj sets rather than some roadies’s ipod on during the breaks was excellent, even if I wasn’t sure who was spinning what when and 2) having a beer tent that ran alongside the main area and not at the back, allowing those of us who like to have a beverage or two still have great sightlines and decent (if not quite as good) sound. And the beer tents had actual tents which became very important once it started to rain very, very hard from the last song of the Born Ruffians on through the rest of the day (the organizers sadly did not have the ability to control the rain like the Chinese government…although it is quite possible that the WIMF organziers did, because really…that was gorgeous weather).

One of the best things about the crazy lineup was that it that with the exception of Born Ruffians and Tokyo Police Club, the rest of the lineup was bands that I am not very likely to see. Chances none of the American (or UK acts, in the case of Dizzee Rascal) are going to come to Kingston. One of the bands I was looking forward to seeing live was Vampire Weekend who put out quite a record that I’ve enjoyed a fair bit this summer. While they didn’t blow me away  or anything but they did put on a solid set of their hooky brand of bouncy, African-influenced pop.

Given the wonderful beertent placement I was able to see the stage and remain dry which made the day much more enjoyable than it might have been otherwise. But it meant that the conditions weren’t ideal for recording – not the clearest sound with a great deal of chatter at time on top of that. As the recording turned out to be only mediocre I’ve posted the three best songs from the Vampire Weekend set. Enjoy.

I hope every one has a fantastic Labour Day.

Vampire Weekend, Rogers Picnic, Historic Fort York, Toronto, 20 July 2008

* Mansard Roof

* Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

* White Sky

Pick up VW shirts & albums here.

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August 18, 2008

Handsome Furs, Wolfe Island Music Fest (Flying V Showcase), 8 August 2008

Posted in bootleg, mp3 at 8:27 pm by rgsc

photos by me (i have a new camera so expect all kinds of mediocre photos to go along with my mediocre writing and mediocre recordings)

Howdy folks,

For the last three months or so I told you how good the Wolfe Island Music Fest would be and I think it is safe to say that my predictions were spot on. The music was great, as was the atmosphere, hell, even the weather was amazing. So, first of all, my thanks to Virginia and all the folks who put the amazing day on – we greatly appreciate your hardwork in making WIMF the best festival around. The CBC was there recording a bunch of the acts so check out Canada Live and Bandwidth to hear what they have for you. And because they were sponsoring the event and recording it I may not be posting many of my recordings from the day (we’ll see how it goes).

The Festival got off to a great start. Lots o’ fun was had at the Hootenany but I only stayed for the first half as I wanted to be sure to get to the General Wolfe Hotel in time for Handsome Furs. Following a killer set by Magic Jordan (who literally blew shit up…well, they blew a fuse, which counts), Dan and Alexei played a relatively short but fantastic set full of new material. They played only two songs from their album, along with another that they’ve been playing for a while (‘Heaven”), and the rest of the set was all brandspanking new – and several songs were performed for an audience for the very first time. We were really lucky to have heard them played in such an intimate setting. The new songs are fantastic – not a great departure by any means from  Plague Park but perhaps a bit heavier and more intense. A few technical difficulties aside, it was a great show.

There are a few North American dates (including Toronto this coming Friday and Ottawa on Saturday – the Ottawa show is part of the 2008 I{Heart}Music Fest. Get your weekend pass for only $20 for 4 days of stellar music where you will get to see HF, Woodhands, Ghost Bees and many other b(oot)log approved acts) before a European tour so be sure to check them out when they come through your neck of the woods.

Aaaaand, here’s a few songs from the show on 08-08-08. There is some distortion in the loud bits which is unfortunate but hopefully not too distracting for you. Despite the less-than-perfect quality it is just too darn good not to share. I may not keep these songs up for long so enjoy them while you can.

Handsome Furs, Wolfe Island Music Fest (Flying V Showcase at the General Wolfe Hotel), 8 August 2008

* Legal Tender
* Snakes on the Ladder
* Evangeline
* that’s my mojo, baby (talk)
* Office of Hearts

Buy the amazing “Plague Park” and some sweet shirts.

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August 6, 2008

Town Hall Hootenanny, Wolfe Island Music Festival, 10 August 2007

Posted in bootleg, mp3 at 10:26 pm by rgsc

photo of Luther Wright and Chris Brown from Luther’s site.

I’ve gone on (at some length, you might say) about all the goodness you are in for on Saturday at the Wolfe Island Music Fest. What I’ve yet to talk about in any detail is the Hootenanny, being held again outdoors at the Marysville Town Hall. For those of you who have not experienced a Hootenanny you don’t know what you’re missing. Basically it takes a large handful of really, really talented musicians who back each other up throughout a series of short sets. There’s a bunch of bluegrassy stuff, a bunch of folky stuff, some cowpunky stuff, a great deal of humour – matched, no doubt, by an equal amount of liquor – and more toe-tapping, yee-hawing stuff than you might be able to handle. Seriously, even if you don’t think it is ‘your kind of music’ it is, trust me on this.

And this year is gonna be a great one. The incomparable Carolyn Mark is going to return after taking last year off and, although it hasn’t been advertised anywhere, I found out today that the strange, the wonderful, the awe-inspiring Hank and Lily (who’s new album “North America” I happened to be listening to yesterday – go and get it, its excellent. And it comes with a comic book! And they are astounding live) will be there, too. Joining them will be Jenny Whiteley, Joey Wright, Luther Wright and openers The Abrams Brothers (and quite likely other “friends”). And then following the Hootenanny Handsome Furs and Magic Jordan are going to destroy the General Wolfe. Gonna be a night that will be tough to top.

Last year’s Hootenanny was fantastic. Out, under the stars, we were treated to the musical stylings of Luther Wright, Chris Brown, Jenny Whiteley, Jim Bryson, Joey Wright, Sarah Harmer, and the host-extraordinaire Krista Muir.  (i urge you to visit each and every one of their sites to find out where you can buy their music). Here are a song or two from each – just a brief sampling of the nearly two hours of music – to give you a sense of what you can look forward to on Friday.

Luther Wright
* Parking Lot Song
* Northern (w/Sarah Harmer)

Jenny Whiteley
* Indoor Lightning

Krista Muir
* La Grenade

Chris Brown
* While You Sleep

Jim Bryson
* Pissing on Everything

Sarah Harmer
* Will He Be Waiting For Me?

Krista Muir & the Hootenanny All-stars
* Hootenany outro

Get your Hootenanny tickets online or around town.

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