5 BANDS. 5 NIGHTS. 5 BUCKS.

Starting yesterday (apologies for the delay – the onslaught of holiday turkey, stuffing and apple pies kept me weighed town), The Drake Hotel is holding their 4th annual What’s In the Box event, showcasing electronic/DJs the week before the new year.  Given that most artists are taking some time off before kicking off their 2010 tour, or spending time hibernating to record, it’s a great place to head for some great beats and company.

There are some great bands doing sets this year, with highlights that include Holy Fuck, Air France and OPOPO.  At $5 per night, how can you go wrong?

SATURDAY DECEMBER 26 / NIGHT ONE
myspace.com/thecarps
myspace.com/styrofoamones
myspace.com/the8485
myspace.com/youngflux
myspace.com/youngempires
skratchbastid.com

SUNDAY DECEMBER 27 / NIGHT TWO
holyfuckmusic.com/
handdrawndracula.com/hdd-bishopmorocco
handdrawndracula.com/hdd-bydivineright
myspace.com/holycobras
myspace.com/dougieboom

MONDAY DECEMBER 28 / NIGHT THREE
myspace.com/theairfrance
myspace.com/thedurbervilles
myspace.com/greatbloomers
myspace.com/spookeyruben
todor.ca

TUESDAY DECEMBER 29 / NIGHT FOUR
myspace.com/nosajthing
myspace.com/mymanhenri
myspace.com/opopotunes
myspace.com/organmood
myspace.com/pickapiper
todor.ca
jaime-sin.com

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 30 / NIGHT FIVE
myspace.com/alexsmoke1
pheek.com
myspace.com/djstefny
noahpred.com
todor.ca/site
johnnyhockin.com

The 5th Annual Bob Marley Birthday Bash is here, raising vital funds for charity.  This year’s charity if choice is Yonge St. Mission and its food bank.  The legendary reggae icon’s birthday is officially Feb. 6th, the night of the event.   If you’ve ever been to Jamaica, you’ll know how colossal an event Marley’s birthday is.

Indie Reggae bands will be entertaining everyone throughout the evening, with raffles for prizes.  One other reason will be seeing some b/w photos of Bob Marley in the 70s, from the Analogue Gallery.

Bob Marley Birthday
The Great Hall (1087 Queen St. West)
Saturday, Feb 6th
Doors 9pm
Saturday, February 6th
$15 at the door w/non-perishable food item

Thunderheist w/Everything All the Time
Mod Club
12.03.09

It’s been quite an electric 3 years for Thunderheist’s power duo, Isus and DJ/producer Grahm Zilla.  This was their final show before they take some time to pursue their own solo projects.  It comes at a good time for them, riding the heels of their wildly successful self titled release in March 2009.

Up-and-coming electro-pop band Everything All the Time began the night.  They’re quite a peculiar bunch, with some members looking more like they were heading straight from the set of the O.C. to a rock show.

Lead singer Alanna Stuart sported a sharp business casual look as she sauntered onto the stage, looking a little reserved in her mannerisms; perhaps it was the nerves, or perhaps it was the fact that she could be roasting in her multi-layered “you aint seeing any of my skin” look.

Wardrobes aside, Everything All The Time executed their job well: getting the crowd moving and warmed up.  Stuart has a sharp soulful voice with some attitude, surprising us with her vocal range and use of dynamics.  I can see her voice only getting stronger as they grow.  Stuart executed her job was lead vocalist onstage  to promote the band, by naturally slipping their name into banter between songs.  No one in the crowd would leave without thinking “that opener was great.  What was their name again?”

Standout winners in their set were “Getting Higher,” a warm and uplifting indie-pop tune, and “Start. Stop,” an explosive closer that showcased Stuart’s vocal range and the bands’ ability to drive a solid beat.  Their losing song turned the crowd into Thundergear – the barely 19 year-olds at the front of the stage were ready party, with or without the band.

Isus rocked onthe stage with an incredible outfit made from seat belts, with her tiny body all wrapped in a corset.  As their final performance as Thunderheist before pursuing solo projects, it was clear the band was ready to go out with a bang.

Boy, did they deliver.  They played a great blend of old and new tracks, and worked the crowd like no other.  Isus even had the crowd waving to her parents, watching safely in the balcony.  The show felt more like a farewell party for friends, rather than a performance.  A few times during the show Isus would stop midway and yell cheekily, “ah fuck it.  I fucked up.  We need to do it RIGHT so let’s do THAT one again!”

They played all the crowd favourites including “Bubblegum,” “Suenos Dulces,” and the infamous “Jerk it”.  Mom was proud.

Although they were having a great time, there was a sense of passing for this project that started as an exchange of .mp3’s over myspace.  Rather than riding the wave to a faded wash on the beach, this band has decided to take a bow while the wave is crashing into the shore.  As much as I do appreciate their explosive electro-rap get your ass moving deal, this was a limited wave couldn’t sustain its tsunami dance level for too much longer.  Look out for what Isus and Zilla come out with in their own projects in the near future.

-REVIEWED BY: ROBB ENG

DJ Champion w/Madrid
Mod Club
11.27.09
Doors @7pm | $15

DJ Champion and his G-strings (guitar strings) from Montreal are making a triumphant return to the Mod Club on Friday.  Their highly entertaining blend of electro-beats and guitars, all orchestrated by master DJ Maxine Morin.  They hit the electronic dance scene when they released Chill ‘Em All in 2004, and a follow up remix in 2006.

So it’s really been 5 years since Morin has come up with a sophmore album – and you can definitely hear the evolution, most discernibly recruiting the talents of montreal raw-power singer Pilou Côté,  in replace of the signature soulful female vocals Betty Bonifassi that electrified their live show.  Let’s see how they do!

The Rural Alberta Advantage have exploded into the indie music scene after garnering some big thumbs up from CbcRadio 3, Exclaim! and X3 a few months ago.  I was lucky to see them at the Hillside Festival on July, instantly recognizing the insane drumming styling of Paul Banwatt from Woodhands.  They sing about (suprise) the life, love and laments of Alberta:  summers in the Rockies, oil boom, mine workers to name a few, in an indie-rock style that isn’t anything near Nickelback.

They have a completely SOLD OUT show at Lee’s Palace on Friday Nov 20, but here’s your chance to see them.  The band will be performing at Soundscapes (College and Manning) playing a FREE SHOW at 7pm tonight. Go early since the place is the size of your (Toronto) living room.

Check out J. Tillman (from the critically acclaimed Seattle band Fleet Foxes, self described as “Baroque harmonic pop jams”).  He’s currently on tour promoting some of his solo folk work, performing at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern tomorrow.

I’ve yet to hear much of his work, but from what I’ve heard he has taken a very delicate, melodic and lyrical direction.  Check out some of his work:

http://www.myspace.com/jtillman

J.Tillman w/Pearly Gates Music
Horseshoe Tavern
$15 at the door
SETS: J.Tillman @10:30p, PGM @9:30p

Junior Boys w/Woodhands
Lee’s Palace
11.06.09

Since catching Woodhands at Hillside, I’ve been yearning to see them again.  I was wondering how they would fare, opening for an 90s-inspired down-tempo synth pop duo.  Although the Jr. Boys crowd weren’t actually prepared for their high octane brand of skat, intense beats and frequencies, they were going to get it full on.

I was in awe over drummer Paul Banwatt’s intense drumming style, relentlessly attacking the snare and cymbals with robotic precision.  Rather than keeping up with the electro-funk beats and heavy bass drummed up by Dan Web (vocals/synths/key-tar), Banwatt drove the rhythm locomotive, thus showing that you DON’T need to replace the drummer with a cold beat box. 

Dan Web was also fantastic in keeping the crowd pumped.  His tourette skats fused with his key-tar were memorizing and showing the hesitant crowd that Vancouver nerds can rock.  By the end of their set, when they performed ‘Dance” they just started to wake the crowd, leaving them wanting more.  It was a perfect set up for the headliner.   The duo are poised to release a new album in the new year, spending the winter to lock themselves up to finish it.  It should be a killer album, based on the tracks they were testing in the crowd tonight.

Junior Boys returned to the stage from a long Euro-tour.  “It’s been ages since we’ve been back home,” announced vocalist/keyboards/guitarist, Jeremy Greenspan. “It’s so nice to be back.”  It was an eclectic crowd who had clearly been following the band for a number of years now – they seemed to know most of their music.  The band quickly broke into their groove and tranced the crowd with their contagiously ambient electro-pop music.

It was a nice touch adding some visual interest through green lazers and an overzealous use of a smoke machine.  They played a solid set of tunes  stemming across many of their albums, including hits “In the Morning”, “Like a Child” and “So This is Goodbye”.

Many times through their set, it felt like the music simmered  just before boiling point – it needed just one more ‘umph’ to push them over the proveribal stovetop.  I take this as more akin to the late 80s/early 90s synth music they were pushing out, vs. their live performance… but compared to the explosive opening Woodhands set, the contrast was all the more poignant.

What didn’t help was their choice of a ballad to close their set, slowing it down to a close flatline.  “So we’re gonna leave you with a slow one.. we’ll just wimper away.”  Wimper?  Not exactly the best way to leave the crowd, and some decided to call it a night though the song – But most of the crowd didn’t look like they seemed to mind.  It still begs the question, why leave the crowd on such a downer?

Their one-song encore, however, did pick up the pace and resulted in a few people crowd even crowd surfing, making the song more upbeat than it honestly suggested.  It was clear they were ready to finish off in a party, regardless of what the Boys put out (many walked straight upstairs to the Dance Cave to let out the rest of their pent up energy after the show).  All in all it was still good show, playing in one of the best concert venues in the city.

REVIEWED BY: ROBB ENG

Junior Boys w/Woodhands
Friday Nov 6
Lee’s Palace
Tickets $20 adv. (tm-Rt-Ss), $25 at door
Set times:  JUNIOR BOYS @ 11:45p, WOODHANDS @ 10:30p

Reid Jamieson w/Jessie Bell Smith
Rivoli
10.28.09

Ever since coming across Reid Jamieson about 5 years ago, floored from his acoustic EP “Noise in my Chest,” I’ve been meaning to see him live.  Ever since he moved to Vancouver, it has been tougher and tougher to catch him.  I was lucky enough to hear about his return to Toronto last Wednesday.

Walking into the Rivoli, I was taken aback by the revamp of it’s typically drab (yet intimate) backspace.  The space was transformed into a classic 1940s-inspired jazz bar, complete with tables w/white table cloths and candle lights. Not bad for a quick turnaround; enough so you didn’t care much about the plastic patio chairs and sticky floors from the previous weekend’s shenanigans.

Guelph folk darling Jessie Bell Smith kicked off the night with a solo set of gutteral roosty songs about old age homes, dead mice and drunken jagermeister.  Bell has a commanding raspy twang with the potential of great dames Etta James, Janis and Emma Lou Harris,powerful enough to fill the room without a mic. I wished she opened our eyes more as she was belted out those raw alto notes to strengthen her already powerful connection to the audience during her set.  She has a ton of potential – look out for her as she grows and returns backed by full band.

Coming straight off the heels of a successful tour with CBC’s Vinyl Cafe with Stewart McLean, Reid Jamieson came onto the stage to a warm and comforting crowd of close friends and family, including a few folks the Skydiggers.  His elation and emotion came through very strongly, as if he was putting on a special show in his own living room.  Jamieson was very professional and polite in his demenour, playing songs from his albums The Unavoidable Truth, The Presley Sessions, and his new EP, Courting Juniper, coming out this month.

Jessie Bell Smith came onstage to sing Paperback Fantasy, one the highlights of the night. Unfortunately he did not play any of his evocative and intimately private songs from his Noise in My Chest release, but it had been over 5 years since its release.

Although he started polite and professional off the gates, Jamieson loosened up to become his alter-elvis ego for his set of Elvis songs, and closing with a fun cover of Natural Woman.  Looking forward to hearing his next album of (presumably) knee-shaking heartbreak tunes and sweet love songs – something for which I can never seem to get enough.

-ROBB ENG