Monday, June 30, 2008

Entire Cities - Sneaky Dee's

Psychedelic country, electric folk music in it's truest sense. Eclectic as it is symphonic, a sound that combines the vivid soul of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, and lush musical excursions of Broken Social Scene. A haze of multi-layered emotions built on many traditional musical aspects. A heartfelt barn-burning flight. The power of the collective is felt.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Uncut - The Silver Dollar

A crashing guitar-driven assault, a relentless lock-and-load style, a rush of rock-adrenaline, a pounding high-octane demonstration of what rock bands should feel and sound like.

Cyanotic - The Reverb

A sensory overload of industrial-synth power, a fusion of KMFDM and Nine Inch Nails, dizzying noise, drum & bass thunder, menacing yet high-energy at the same, leaning towards the dark metal-arsenal as opposed to an impending invasion of futuristic cyborgs. High-voltage machine-driven rock.

Friday, June 27, 2008

The Black Angels - Lee's Palace

Droning psych-rock tripping the light fantastic, cosmic feedback combining The Velvets, Spacemen 3, and 13th Floor Elevators. Pulverizing drumming colliding with a chugging guitar-driven sonic-collage. Mystical phantasms awash in film-generated images, The Black Angels are a shamanic alchemy of ethereal beauty, sizzling kinetic rock, and psychedelic ecstasy. Turn on, tune in, drop out--to the lunar prophets of the everlasting Summer Of Love.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Sadie May Crash - The Kathedral

Potent mix of retro-garage-rock, new-wavish hooks, and catchy well-crafted tunes. Paige is a stellar presence up there. A natural frontwoman. And the music merges pounding rhythms, winding keyboards and and driving guitars. Spastic power that gives a nod to the 60's, 80's, with a rockin' and modern Torontopian twist. Fun times. Great band.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Re-Mains - The Boat

Heartland rock and roll straight from Australia, a foot-stomping stew of alt-country, bluegrass, and rock, swirly grooves that fearlessly captures that desperado spirit, like a wind whipping across the grassy plains. Entertaining.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Guest Bedroom - The Gladstone

A breakneck thrill-ride of avant-garde post-punk. Sandi's venomous wails, razor-sharp riffs, and keyboards that weave through this thrash-driven pyrotechnic workout. Boundless attitude, fiery virtuosity, and raw energy. A band that delivers the goods on time. Every time. The revolution starts here.

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Green Hour Band - The Gladstone

Psych-garage-rock grooves with that snarling 60's attitude. A sound that captures the essence of The Stones, The Sonics, bands found on The Nuggets series. Raw guitar-driven combustion that pounds, that roars, that keeps that dangerous flame burning brightly. This is real rock and roll in all it's wicked glory.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Star Trek: The Music Performance/TSO - Roy Thomson Hall

From the original series and The Next Generation, to Voyager and the Star Trek movies, one can appreciate the full emotion, sweeping power and orchestration of the compositions. Hearing these scores executed by a world-class orchestra is spine-chilling and hauntingly beautiful. Nevermind Trekkie fans, a performance that any TV/film-score buff would enjoy. Music that continues to live long and prosper.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Blood Ceremony - Silver Dollar

Minstrels. Castles. Fairies. A modernday rock monolith comes to life. That was a great set at The Silver Dollar. Prog-meets-Sabbath bombast colliding with Jethro Tull, a rock powerhouse that captures the spirit of early Midlands prog-rock with grinding unbridled riffs, a dynamic offering of brutal strength and enchanting beauty. Music that's like celestial lightning on a mystic mountain.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Drunkula - El Mocambo

Loud, fast high-voltage beer-swilling rock and roll, a savage assault like a thousand machine-guns being shot. Watching you guys is like rekindling that flame of leather-jackets, Judas Priest, Ozzy, Zeppelin. Great to see rough roadhouse rock alive and well. And set to auto-destruct.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Laura Barrett - The Reverb

Delicate vocals, a pixie-princess navigating the windswept seas of indie-folk eclecticsm. A dreamy carousel-ride driven by a symphonic-collective, playfully clattering instruments, strings, and percussion. An inspired musical gem--like twinkling stars in the limitless night sky.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Spiral Beach - The Horseshoe

Hard-driving electro-pop making for sweaty dance-floor fun, blazing uptempo guitar-riffs, synth-grooves, and a bouncy stage-presence that makes you feel like the band is having a blast up there. For all your musical thrills--Spiral Beach is a technicolour carnival ride coming to an amusement-park near you.

Slim Twig - Silver Dollar

Spellbound Skinny Jim comes alive, the awestruck power of blues-rock-riffage, aggressive, powerful, spiritual. Earth-shattering distortion, drumming assaults combined with string/Farfisa elements. The mythical be-quiffed figure of the golden-age of rock and roll has returned in all it's rapturous glory.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Foxfire - The Reverb

The theme for tonight. Gold. The band. Priceless. A striking delivery of disco-glam-funk, theatrical bombast, impeccable dance-grooves, solid musicianship, and a dazzling onstage presence. Foxfire is a sonic experience of danceable pop tinged party-hits. Delivered with dramatic flair. Always exciting.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Golden Hands Before God - Savannah Room

The BJM comparisons are admirable--almost like a scene out of DiG coming to life. Bluesy neo-psychedelia, infectious folk-rhythms, with a colourful retro-energy that can make any venue come alive. The maestro, conducting magic, in full effect.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Monotonix - The Reverb

I have no idea what's in the water in Israel, but what this rock-trio consumes might be along the lines of Jack Daniels as opposed to anything holy. A pyrotechnic blues-rock explosion of balls-out debauchery. An axe-wielding outlaw that blends the MC5 with Jimmy Page, drum-pounding-fury set to auto-destruct--and a wildman lead singer that romps around like a young Iggy Pop--climbing poles, jumping on the bar, rolling on the ground, and dumping a garbage can on his drummers head. You get the picture. Rock and rolls rumbling menace was felt.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Gravity Wave - The Boat

Think beautiful. On a Sunday morning. A slice of neo-psychedelia, avant-garde, electro-pop, Brian Wilson experimentalism, percussive assaults, all with the groove-heavy energy of Sly Stone. Led by a cosmic maestro, a compelling foot-stomping collective that's infectious and fun. An aural Jackson Pollock painting come to life.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Chris Miller - The Horseshoe

A folk-rock sound bursting with colour, in keeping with that traditional singer-songwriter spirit. A haunting winding road of melancholy and passion, ultimately realizing that light and optimism will always shine through.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Best - The Drake

Just think The Monks meets 60's inspired garage-rock, packaged in a youthful hip-urban quartet. Kickin' it into high-gear, The Best captures that steady-rhythmic groove released as catchy sparkplug-driven guitar-riffs. Tai is almost like another Slim Twig, wailing vocals and a gunslinging axe-wielding style, as the band bounces around and bobs onstage. Rough around the edges. But that's rock and roll.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Spookey Ruben - The Boat

A dazzling display of symphonic-laced rock, entering a world where we're hit by wide-eyed charm and jubilation, dynamic lush gems that delivering kaleidoscopic splashes of aural colour. Merriment led by a one-man cosmic-hero, the band unleashing captivating energy, complete with a dancing character, who I'm willing to bet--is named Shauna.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Vintage Hollywood: The Naughty Revue - The Bloor Cinema

Lights, cameras, action! The art of the tease, burlesque queens, and vintage Hollywood comes to life. Beautiful glittery costumes, erotic routines that were both artistic and entertaining. Host Frankie The Fox made an ideal host, John Waters-meets-Rodney Dangerfield. Glitzy characters out of some 50's movie-set, a nostalgic trip exploring the glamorous side. This show will capture your heart.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

The Northwest Division - The Silver Dollar

A whirlwind of guitars, sinfully brash roots-rock sound, spine-shivering riffs taking you to another place, a universe where the musical brew just breathes of working-class grit and a tingling, high-energy classic-rock spirit.

Friday, June 6, 2008

The B-52's - The Molson Amphitheatre

Intergalactic retro-space boogie. Fun loving magnificent hooks, flamboyant New Wave kitsch, and relentless spastic power that got the crowd moving their feet and swaying their arms like one wacky 60's beach-party. Cindy and Kate's fabulous harmonies, Fred Schneider acting like some b-movie czar, and as soon as surf-guitar riff of Rock Lobster kicked-in--welcome to 1979--and The B-52's Planet.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Hey Rosetta! - The Horseshoe

Powerful music that's nothing short of exhilarating, brash bluesy-riffs, heartfelt vocals, a brew of sweeping feel-good rock, biting rustic-country, laced with traces of trumpet and violin. The energy of the collective is felt, harnessing an East Coast working-class genuineness. Lush. Liberating. Rocking.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

No Gold - Sneaky Dee's

A piece of indie-rock sunshine from Vancouver. Jangling guitars with a carefree approach, all glossed-over with a rock crunch--biting post-punk swagger bubbling underneath the breezy guitar-licks. And if the flaming-grooves don't immediately grab you, the hilarious banter will leave you in stitches. Entertaining, slightly irreverent, and fun.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Put The Rifle Down - The Neutral

Electro-shock-rock therapy, a rhythmic-whiplash sound, brisk and supercharged, a rapid fire attack that soars above the transonic dance-punk barrier. These rock mercenaries are always ready to lock and load.