Jeffery Straker
Bread and Circus, Kensington Market
09.10.08
On a referral from a friend, I mosied down one cool Wednesday evening on September 10 to check out Jeffery Straker, a queer small town prairie boy come singer/songwriter in Toronto. It was a friendly songwriters circle, with two other musicians sharing the stage. It was at a small venue that I’ve walked by a million times while in Kensington Market, but never entered. The Bread and Circus is a tiny nook bar tucked between the fish, fruit and random army surplus vendors on Baldwin Street.
With mostly friends supporting their kickoff party to their West/Northern Ontario tour, the prairie boys put on a fun and intimate gig that had everyone singing, clapping and even playing harmonica. Straker was on the piano and had a bright, whimsical, cabaret sound, accompanied by a barrel of lyrics based mostly on personal experiences, childhood (trauma!) and the actions of those around him. Despite the seemingly bright and auspicious sound, many times the lyrics painted a deeper, somber picture. But when you have a bipolar friend that stole a cake from Tim Hortons and fed it to a statue of Alexander the Great right in front of you, as a songwriter how could you NOT be inspired to write about the experience? With Elton John ala Tiny Dancer inspired pianos and MIKA vocals, you can’t help but sit up and take a listen.
The other 2 musicians were also engaging and fun to listen, interacting with the audience and engaging in witty banter, which is par for the course. One especially amusing tune was “Soldier” by David Hein, a well seasoned local singer/songwriter and folk festival veteran, written as part of a workshop at the Brandon Manitoba folk festival. The tune was written in 24-hours and must include the infamous Killers lyric: “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier”.
The “3 guys from the prairies” will be touring in Hamilton, Manitoulin, SSM, and North Bay, and returning back to Toronto for Straker’s CD Release party on Nov 13 @Supermarket. Let’s hope he’ll have the full band so we can see him in full force!
Last week NXNE hit Toronto for another year of indie music and film mostly centered around Queen St. West. For $29 music fans and hipsters can parade from venue to venue, checking out anything from old time favourites, international sounds or local basement bands. From June 12-14, 2008 musicians from around the world strolled the streets of Toronto, attending the industry conference by day and playing as many clubs/bars/street corners as possible to get noticed.
Even though NXNE pails in comparison to the world famous mecca of indie music festivals, SXSW in Austin, TX, 500 bands in 40+ venues isn’t too shabby! TIP: 2 wheeled transport is king. With bands going on at the top of each hour from 8PM to 1AM (some as early as 6PM and as late as 4AM) and playing 40-45 min sets, you’ve got about 15 mins to get to your next venue. Battling traffic is a breeze by bike on Queen street since at the core, cars and streetcars are pretty much a standstill. All you need to mind are the odd schmoes swinging their door open in front of you excited they actually found a parking spot.
Thanks to my handy bike and wristband, I was able to hit up quite a number of acts. Every year I question whether it’s worth fighting with hipsters at venues just because it’s busy, watching pretentious music industry folks pass through the line only to chat with themselves through the entire set, or simply enduring overly hyped and boring shows. But it’s all worth the effort when you find at least one artist that blows you away. Some highlights this year included Hey Rosetta!, Justin Rutledge, You Say Party! We Say Die! and King Sunshine . Below are a few hot acts I caught from NXNE 2008:
Death, drugs, sex and absolute fabulousness. This ADHD glam rock band has come out of the NYC closets and grungy bars to make their Canadian debut at the Silver Dollar. Their high energy show will bring rock and sexuality back in the vein of Bowie/Iggy Pop. Bisexual frontman Justin Precious Tranter gives a commanding diva sized performance that’ll top any drag queen from Priscilla: Queen of the Desert or perhaps even Hedwig, the transrock queen from Germany. Their blend of classic rock is contemporised with a grungy NYC sound; throw in some 12-inch heels, boob bombing, and heel/toe kicks during guitar solos and you’ve got a weapon guaranteed to rock out any club! CDs won’t be available until the fall, so until then you can always pick up one of their semi-precious jewellery or an envirobag printed with a line that really summaries this killer band: "I CAN’T PAY THE RENT BUT I’M FUCKING GORGEOUS".
A great singer/songwriter from the West coast. He’s acoustic folk and pop sound is powerful when coupled with his deep raspy voice. Similar to S-PW, Dan’s music is inspiried both by the old greats like Woody Guthrie and the ambient pop artists today (A Northern Chorus, Sigur Ros). Although he was forced to cope with the cavernous Fun HAUS (poor poor venue selection by NXNE organizers), Dan was able to still capture some intimacy into his set. Let’s hope he’ll play at a better venue next time around!
OK so not really one artist, but rather an amazing pastiche of Canadian bands doing 15-min power sets at Six Shooter HQ backlot on Queen St. East, near Pape Ave. With a flurry of musicians both performing and simply enjoying the music, Six Shooter put on a great afternoon of free music, food and $4 beer from 2-6PM. It’s a hidden gem off the beaten NXNE path, but well worth the trek out East. This years artists included: NQ ArbuckleElliott BroodJason PlumbHey Rosetta!Hawksley WorkmanMelissa McClellandLuke DoucetJustin RutledgeOh SusannaChris LetcherRoyal WoodDog Bus . It was a truly relax atmosphere focused around great music, leaving fans satisfied (albeit loaded) and ready for the final Saturday night of festival going in the city.
The winter months in cold Canada can be long and arduous, especially in January when we face work and our daunting Christmas credit card bills. This season’s winter has been especially bad in Toronto; we’re having near record snow falls with more on the way.
That’s why I really love WINTERCITY. It’s the city’s way to try and get people out of hibernation. In addition to winterlicious, over the past few weekends at Nathan Phillips Square, bands like Tokyo Police Club and Weakerthans performed.
If the bands can play in the figid termperatures (WSIB violation?), I certainly have no excuse for not making the trek out to see them.
TOKYO POLICE CLUB
01.26.08
Nathan Phillips Square (Wintercity Festival)
Rating: 7.5/10
The boys from Newmarket played a quick 60 min set, which was just about enough time to run through almost all of their original material. It was a slow start, perhaps because they weren’t dressed for the weather. Sorry Dave, I don’t think a hoodie will cover you for the middle of January!
But after a few songs they started to heat up. I was impresssed by their stamina, given the cirrcumstances. The crowd started to get into it after “Cheer it on” and “Be Good”. The energy was decent; but what i was most impressed about was the sound quality. Who would have thought a free show in the city would sound so good? Given we were at a medium-sized outdoor show, the sound was amazingly crystal clear. You could hear every syth keyboard and guitar effect and vocal.
Their song, Your English Is Good (their best, in my opinion) blew me away. The timing of this party song couldn’t have been better, coming after a couple of melodic and reflective songs that subdued the crowd.
It was a good show for an open festival in the city.
Despite the frigid November wind and rapidly plummeting temperature, The Weakerthans managed to heat up the Phoenix on Nov 7. Running through a good chunk of their catalogue of tunes in about an hour and a half, The Weakerthans commanded the stage and proved to be well worth the 2+ year wait.
Jenn Grantwarmed up the crowd with a set of soft and gentle East Coast Feist-meets–Sarah-Harmer songs. Her hollow acoustic/electric guitar was filled by high falsettos, warbling ooh and ahhs and dreamy lyrics. Although a bit nervous, she was able to handle the noisy crowd (save a couple solo numbers), with the help of a solid back up band. The bassist, Chuck Teed, was more than just a backup, providing vocal harmonies, counterpoint bass melodies and effects. He added another dimension to the music to a level that was more than your average “girl on a guitar” act. “Heart of Sticks” written after her pet dog “Stanley Grant”, was one of the highlights of her set – the slide, banjo, violins and stand up bass gave us the ho-down platform we needed to get moving!
The Weakerthans stormed the stage next, blasting us with Benediction and Oh Antarctica. Fitting for how cold it was outside. Like most shows in Toronto, the crowd was a little frigid and comatose, however underneath the surface you could tell everyone was digging the music. After all, what I love most about this band are singer and songwriter John K. Samson’s insightful storytelling lyrics, written in descriptive prose vs. rhyming couplets. Jim Bryson was also supporting them for this leg of the tour with back up vocals and keyboard support.
The crowd suddenly felt their feet moving mid-way through with “Aside” and the new release of their latest record, “Tournament of Hearts”. “Night Windows” was another standout song from their new record, with a dreamy introspective sound characteristic to some of their classic ballads like “Left and Leaving” and “Slips and Tangles”. They finished their set with “A Plea from a Cat Named Virtute,” leaving the crowd wanting more.
And boy, did they deliver.
The Winnipeg lads pumped out 7 more songs over 2 encores, which included crowd favourite “One Great City!” (see video clip below), a Replacements cover, and “Virtute the Cat Explains her Departure” a sequel to the original from the last album Reconstruction Site. Do we see a theme here? Even the crowd was shocked by the 2nd encore, but ready to stay until the end. They rightfully ended with “Everything Must Go!” leaving the crowd with a warm cup of musical java after an incredible night.
Tonight yet again demonstrated that Canadians can write great music, and that inspiration can come from anywhere - even from our furried friends.
