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The always charming Jaymz Bee didn’t disappoint when putting together his talent for the Royal Jelly Orchestra’s performance of “A Really Good Year.” With a perfectly eclectic and inspired mix of musicians, the show took you on a journey through different styles and genres of jazz, although much of the evening seemed to be blues inspired. The evening started with a surprising opening act. The young and superbly versatile Robert Scott on piano went seamlessly from a beautifully crafted original “Winter Song” to the ragtime styling of Jelly Roll Morton, displaying an impeccable sense of time. Scott was soon joined for an impromptu audience request session by the deliciously animated Great Bob Scott who takes the concept of melodic drumming to a whole other level. The singers ranged from the sophisticated Julie Michaels - a talent who could write the book on placement and use of space - to the surprisingly young Stephanie Welton, who’s clarity and grasp on lyrics transcend far beyond her years. Add the unhindered, in-your- face growl of the always entertaining Big Rude Jake to the mix and you have an earful of diversity. One could not talk about this show without giving mention to the amazing instrumentalists, who set the ground work for some heavy duty swing. The always spot-on Richard Underhill weaved around the melody and changes effortlessly on tenor sax while Howard Moore found the perfect mix between bright and blue on the trumpet. Music director and pianist Walyen Miki kept the energy up with his driving comping and Artie Roth was unwavering on the bass, despite some comedic heckling from his peers. Highlights of the evening were June Garber’s flirtatious yet gutsy version of “Birth of the Blues” and Heather Bambrick’s show stopping rendition of “Too Darn Hot.” Bambrick once again manages to display virtuosic pipes while maintaining a sweet and personable stage persona. The highest point was when Christopher Plock, accompanied by Eric St. Laurent on guitar, delivered a captivating version of Stardust in a tribute to Jeff Healey that left tear-stained cheeks in the audience. - Melissa Pisarzowski
Sondre Lerche’s charismatic personality, good looks and amazing stage presence made him the dude that all the guys want to be and all the girls (and some boys) want to be with. The opener for the night was Sylvie Lewis. Her sweet songs about love, life and old flames put the crowd in a romantic mood, which may have been a good/bad thing for the Norwegian heartthrob. Lerche started by apologizing for canceling his last Toronto show and he had come to make amends. He started a singalong with “The Tape,” which was played in a more upbeat acoustic fashion. “I don’t think your ready for this jelly because this next song is bootylicious,” Lerche said before playing the sugary sweet “She’s Fantastic,” which did not help matters as all the girls continued to scream his praises, along with a few sexual propositions. Lewis then returned and joined Lerche on stage for a duet of some of his older work from his band days in Faces Down and a duet for the song “Modern Nature.” Lerche continued to poke fun at himself and Lewis, which only made their on stage chemistry much cuter. He ended the night with the very catchy “Phantom Punch” and “Two Way Monologue.” Lerche exchanged his more boyish tenor vocals for a more upbeat falsetto and ended each song by hitting a very impressive high note. With Lerche’s new record dropping sometime in 2009, it’ll be interesting to see how many more screaming girls Lerche can attract for his next gig. -Max Mohenu Photo by Erin Pehlivan
To the shock and awe of their booking agent (according to lead singer/guitarist Luke Lalonde), the Born Ruffians played a sold out show and the ninety minute set was definitely full of little surprises. As a hometown show and the last gig of their latest leg of touring, the crowd’s support was absolutely pungent. The band had support in mind too, except on a different level; with Mitch DeRosier (bassist) supporting old-school Rod Stewart and Steve Hamelin (drummer) paying homage to Nirvana with their t-shirts, whereas Luke was sporting a plaid shirt to represent all of those lumberjack dreaming indie kids. Not only did they play most of their repertoire, but they also showcased two new songs; both of which received a warm reception. Mitch even took a break to wish his mom and his friend early happy birthdays in between songs. The songs themselves had a lot of give and take motion to them between the guitar and bass parts; however, the drumming remained consistent. Luke’s sharp yelpings of a lost beagle puppy at centre-stage were contrasted with Mitch’s overtly charismatic stage presence and string plucking. Before strumming away, Luke tended to tiptoe his fingertips on the neck of his guitar, is if it were a human spine he would only neglect to make sing-a-long gesticulations. Near the end of the set during “Hummingbird,” cathartic crowd surfing ensued, followed by a two minute on-stage dance party by said surfers. Moshing with the kiddies was not an isolated incident, as even seemingly inappropriate tunes to mosh to, such as “Little Garçon” were deemed bruise-worthy; unprecedented by the looks of the band members’ faces. The encore was of one of labelmates Grizzly Bear’s songs, but the guise could not last. Born Ruffians left everyone yearning to rough it again with the Toronto’s indie darlings as they are; a fine homecoming indeed. - Melissa Kim
On September 26th tons of people were heading up to the Casino Rama Entertainment Centre to see a sold out show with the unique and talented B52s. It was an entertaining show to say the least. Everyone was ushered to their seats, but as soon as the lights went down and the first song came on, many fans rushed the stage to get even closer to The B52s. They opened up with the track “Pump” and got the crowd started for the evening. Everyone was dancing up a storm and singing along to every song. The band continued to play a mixture of old and new tracks .Everyone went wild when they played, what we all thought was their last track of the evening, “Love Shack”. The crowd was just about as loud as the band. They said their thanks and walked off stage, but just minutes later, returned and started playing “Planet Claire”. The last song of the evening was, of course, “Rock Lobster”. Everyone knew it was coming, yet freaked out when they started playing it. As soon as the show ended everyone was in high spirits and still singing along to what was a stellar show. They are still rocking it out as hard as they did years ago and all look amazing.
About twenty years into their career, the Supersuckers show zero signs of fatigue. They’ve still got the same rollicking showmanship that has helped them remain one of the more reputable live punk rock bands. Many have argued that much of punk music is rooted in rockabilly and country, and it was clear from lead singer Eddie Spaghetti’s opening set that these are styles he takes pretty seriously. As seriously as a punk can take anything that is. Spaghetti was accompanied by Supersuckers roadie Jordan Shapiro for a set of old country tracks mixed in with some of the more country-tinged Supersuckers songs. Most of the standards he chose had to do with substance abuse (“Gotta Get Drunk”, “Cocaine Blues”) which is kind of an easy way to get punks on your side. This became quite explicit when the entire joint sang along to his song “Killer Weed”. No matter how sincere he seemed at times during the set, he ended each song with a “CHA-CHA-CHA” as if to suggest it was all a façade. This kind of defines the Supersuckers and their attitude towards genre in general. They aren’t quite country, and they certainly aren’t straight ahead punk music. When they took the stage as a group it became immediately clear that they were quite simply, a force to be reckoned with.
- Daniel Demois
My Bloody Valentine put on ninety minutes of relentless guitar drones, deafening drums, an overactive blinding strobe, twenty minutes of white noise that should have shattered all unsuspecting eardrums and the ghostly, melancholic yet strangely beautiful vocals of Bilinda Butcher and Kevin Shields. An ominous atmosphere hung over the venue when upon entering, ear plugs were handed out with a stern warning to wear them for the show was going to be loud. You were first dazed by the wall of noise rushing at you while your senses were further confounded by the strobes that lasted for much of the night. And that was the point for it was all part of the experience to close your eyes and let yourself be whisked away to another space for you didn’t come to see the band, but rather, feel the music. During the few lulls when ones senses were regained momentarily, one could see the intriguing visuals projected on stage and Shields and Co. persisting in the long held tradition of shoegazing as they gloriously maintained an ambient feeling throughout the night, effortlessly merging one song after another in perfect harmony. While MBV pounded us into submission and forced us to mutedly accept their experience, there was a brief moment of rebellion where the crowd overcame their oppression and did more then just be absorbed in their headspace. The launch of “Soon” led to a cheer and to the crowd dancing for a few moments. But this subsided quickly and back we went, our external senses quickly numbed again. This Orwellian like experience would reach its apex during their performance of “You Made Me Realise” when the band engaged in a twenty minute white noise session that dropped the pressure inside the venue causing difficulty in breathing, all in creating that precise and intense moment of atmospheric-dreaminess. There was no encore set. There was no need. It took another few days of recollection to realize that we had just witnessed one of the greatest performances ever, for they didn’t just put on a show, they gave us an ethereal experience. - Belal Khallad
The Dandy Warhols have always been one of the more dependable bands in indie rock. While they aren’t always producing great albums, they at least consistently have great singles on each record. Now, having released their sixth album, …Earth to the Dandy’s…, (another unfortunately weak offering) one would think that a live performance would at least produce a dazzling song lineup, considering the extensive discography they have available to mine, on top of the fact that they are uber-cool and the arguably the demi-gods of the indie scene. Yet… it didn’t work out that way. Frankly, it was one hell of a dull show. The song lineup was odd, with a number of their much weaker offerings being performed in front of a less-than-sold out Kool Haus. The crowd was loaded with revelers who showed signs of restlessness and weariness as the band indulged in questionable picks such as “Horse Pills” and “Minnesoter”. On top of that, the band didn’t seem very engaged in the actual performance itself as they put on a half-assed show. It was so boring, that throughout the night, the performance onstage often took second billing to the “disturbances” and odd characters that populated the venue: the “engagement” proposal on stage, the “go fuck yourself” some girl yelled out at the band that Zia McCabe reacted to, the dedicated air-guitarist, and the really-odd short mustached fellow that staggered and wandered aimlessly about the whole night and who most likely found himself in a gutter the next morning. When they did play their sensations, “We Used to be Friends”, “Bohemian Like You” and “Boys Better”, one did see the inklings of the “once-great” Dandy’s and the crowd showed their appreciation. Alas, those moments were brief. The show wasn’t captivating, interesting or fun, thereby rendering it a long-drawn out performance which precluded an encore set, which was fine by most everyone there. The dullness had already been prolonged too long. After such a letdown, this reviewer began to wonder if maybe the Dandy Warhols just aren’t that great to begin with. After all, they only have one really outstanding album, Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. While they might still have it in them to be great, these days they seem to relish in their recent mediocrity as a kind of inside joke which none of us get. Perhaps they’ve worn their indie crown for too long and a coup d’etat is in order. Perhaps. Or maybe they just suck live.
- Belal Khallad
On August 15th, Radiohead played live at the Molson Amphitheatre. It was an awe-provoking performance that was terrifyingly beautiful. After the fresh opening act delivered by Grizzly Bear, the crowd turned around and looked up into the sky to see a perfectly-formed rainbow appear right over the venue. Was this just a clever light show to promote their In Rainbows album or proof that God is a fan? No one knows, but it did well to symbolize the divine craft of Radiohead.
The show however may have disappointed some more of their casual fans, as a few of their classic singles were not played like “Paranoid Android” or “Karma Police”. Still, everyone from the front of the pit to the folks all the way at the back of the lawn (even though they were soaked in rain) had a phenomenal time.
Photos by Sean Chin
The Black Crowes managed to entertain fans for two hours straight with all new material and the crowd didn’t seem to mind. Massey Hall was full of die hard fans that loved anything and everything the Crowes did and seemed familiar with most songs off of their new album Warpaint, the band’s first studio album in seven years. The fans were on their feet screaming with arms in the air before the band even got to their instruments. The first song “Wounded Bird” with its superior musicianship and dramatic light show instantly satisfied. “Evergreen” “Oh Josephine” “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” and “Movin On Down The Line” were all crowd pleasers cheered on as if they were classic hits. Chris Robinson is looking more like a hippie than ever if that is possible, dressed in black with long hair and beard he could have passed for Jesus or John Lennon, but his moves were neither, classic Robinson crow-like dancing/grooving with every note the band played. It’s rare to have a front man that is just as entertaining to watch during long instrumentals as when he is singing. Not to mention the huge blinding rhinestone in the middle of his forehead… Brother Rich Robinson looked like he was in a different band circa early 90s grunge with jeans and plaid shirt complete with the grunge attitude. The other four band members and two background singers contributed equally to the perfection that was the two hour musical journey. The stage set up was more like a rehearsal space as it seemed most of their gear trunks were on stage with them with 70s rugs at their feet. Over an hour and 20 minutes went by before anything resembling a Black Crowes hit was played. Overall, however the fans seemed ok with not hearing all the classic Black Crowes material that made them famous. - Diane Foy |
Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra
Sondre Lerche w/ Sylvie Lewis
The Supersuckers
Thom Yorke, Colin and Jonny Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, and Phil Selway led the way with the opening song from their latest album, “15 Step”. From then on in, every beat, guitar riff, electro-whatever-you-call-it was dead-on and better live than on record. Concert-goers were delighted with treats such as “Talk Show Host”, “Wolf at the Door” and all-time favorites like “There There”, “Planet Telex”, “No Surprises” and “Street Spirit”. Radiohead managed to play a wealth of tracks from most of their albums to create a very diverse set-list.
Sean Chin
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