Thursday, October 30, 2008

New blog.

Right here. All the past entries have been forwarded.

http://www.lonelyvagabond.exclaim.ca/

Flotilla - The Tranzac

This is a splash of rainbow french-pop exuberance, embellished by a harp, inspired guitar-playing, and steady drumming. Veronica straddles the vocal-prowess of Joni Mitchell and bohemian playfulness of a young Marianne Faithful. This is a soundscape that ebbs and flows with Brian Wilson's soul, Flaming Lips lushness, and French lounge-jazz. Like an aural abstract-painting, a highly imaginative package of sparkling musical gems.

Friday, October 24, 2008

The Misfits - The Phoenix

The debaucherous legends of punk have returned, leather-clad, skull and crossbones in tow. Brutal power, sheer urgency, a punishing and frenetic assault that left the near capacity venue in awe. Then there's the stage set-up, looking like a dank, dark, dungeon from hell. Not one for the faint hearted. The sound of a teenage riot, fire in the belly punk, played by bastard children of Dracula.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Dank - Rancho Relaxo

Bursting through the speakers like a missile, turbo-charged rock that combines attitude with a little temptation. High-energy sounds, a little Pavement, Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr. The underground of the early 90's. Revived.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Grass - Rancho Relaxo

Behold that 60's retro garage-rock fire, a jaunty, catchy, ode to The Nuggets series, infusing such swing and grooves, this is band that defies father-time, reviving the earthly, decadent electrical jams of the past. The marvelous journey continues.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Quest For Fire - The Horseshoe

Grinding, gargantuan riffs, tripped-out vocals, in a swirling head-spinning haze, a sonic excursion of the raw essence of rock, alone in the clouds, in interstellar overdrive

Friday, October 17, 2008

Still Life Still - The Drake

A colourful palette of richly textured songs, that can go from delicately warm moods, ball-breaking noise bursts, to crushing rock-outs, in a Torontopian minute. With these close-knit band members, it's all about the live-performance as well as the musicianship. A fantastic, creative celebration, igniting a fire in the music scene.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Purrr - The Reverb

Purrr is a tripwire apocalyptic sex-machine that never lets up. Techno, rock, punk, all at once--with amazing potency. Add visual grenades/screens, this is a turbo-charged orgasm that blends celebration with revolution.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Lioness - Sonic Boom

Live-off-the-floor, a trio of musicians channeling steamy electro-soul energy, pulverizing drumming, whipcrack synths, killer bass, and a swaying vocalist shrieking every ounce of karma out of her system. This is a sleek, propulsive-fueled escapade, pushing a fusion of rock-meets-house music to it's sizzling, and most unholy moments.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Howlin Rain - The Horseshoe

Lord have mercy on my soul. Glorious anthems evoking that towering and freewheeling spirit, overdriven blasts of The Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, and Cream. A sprawling rock-jam hurtling forward, hypnotic organs, hammering drumming, pyrotechnic soloing. Adding to the urgency is Ethan Miller's raspy spleen-venting vocals. The music rekindles the torch of late 60's San Francisco, and iconic rock-blues bombast, plugging-in on pure adrenaline, working on mighty and breathtaking magic.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Fred - The Hideout

Very rarely do we get the creme-de-la-creme of Irish bands on these shores, so it was a pleasure. Roddy Frame-Moz-like vocals, dancey rhythms, jubilant chants/melodies, uplifting Housemartins-type joviality with wonderfully sweet keyboards, taking it's cues from the 80's.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Christina Maria - Holy Joes

Vocals of longing bliss, warm charisma, personal lyrics, with a flirtatious bossa-nova-type intimacy evoking images of romantic moonlit serenades. A magnetic presence, and if you use your imagination, for one transcendental moment, the joyous yet fragile beauty of Karen Carpenter comes to life.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

First Person Shooter - Tattoo

Welcome to the high-flying sci-fi circus. This is a band that displays their many facets, a sprawling combination of techno, industrial, binded together with a dynamic rock-assault. It's all about the live-show experience, convincing non-believers that these night-time warriors are nothing short of fist-pumping, ready to blast you to the outer-limits of the cosmos.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Brasstronaut - The Drake

A gentle mix of slowburn orchestral-jazz, Ben Folds magnetism, Miles Davis-trumpet-bursts, baroque-music, evoking starry-eyed neo-psychedelic soundscapes. This is a lush pastiche of sound straddling the intimacy of a Greenwich Village coffee-house, warm spirit of mid-60's Miles Davis, to UK inflected ambient rock. Soulful hymns from the depth of despair to euphoria. Introspective. Exhilarating

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Foxfire - Sneaky Dee's

A bright groove-driven explosion of funk, glam, New Wave, soul, and a Broadway musical. All at once. Grounded in 70's glitz, vinyl funk beats and dazzling virtuosity, Foxfire is a spectacle of sound with enough momentum to electrify the neighbourhood, where for a glorious moment, everyone feels the spirit.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The Priddle Concern - El Mocambo

There is a familiarity to this music. That singer-songwriter spirit evoking vivid images that flows naturally. The band is a cohesive force, sweeping roots-tinged rock, uplifting, high-energy, demonstrating the ability to keep songs sounding fresh and classic at the same time. Perfect in it's execution. In the heartland we call Toronto.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Let It Be/Songs Of Lennon & McCartney - Roy Thompson Hall

The Beatles are still a reliable floor-filler, even in a classical music venue. It’s always easy to scoff at those who reduce The Fab Fours' tunes to thumbnail cliches, but when you have Rik Emmett, Damhnait Doyle, Andrew Craig, and Fergus Hambleton--entertaining, in a refined, commercialized kind of way. It wasn’t a radical parody, but more a back-to-the basics extravagance. Most of the audience knew the songs by heart, recreating the nostalgia people still continue to appreciate. Next up. Paul McCartney covering Triumph songs.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Adam Faux & The Exploding Band - The Drake

A tight energetic sound that flows, poised musicianship, steady percussion, vintage lyrical approach. An upbeat rock-inspired sound that takes it's cues from all things dynamic, bluesy, with a spirited rough-edge.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Radius & Helena - Centuries Lounge/Massey Hall

Welcome to a prog'd-out cabaret of beauty and fury. That was a great set at Centuries Lounge. An innovative, fearless musical path of the natural order in our own backyard. A juxtoposition of influences and pulling it off with dynamic flair. Brit-inflected hypnotic art-rock, pyrotechnic-drumming, and a supercharged frontman weaving a spell. Genre-bending music as an art-form underscored by a fluency to push the rock idiom to it's limits. RAH are bohemoth of a band guaranteed to whip you into a positive frenzy.

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Shenanigans - El Mocambo

Get out the 50's vinyl, get out that 70's post-punk decadence, The Shenanigans captures that rock and roll urgency, a crude garage-rock tornado fused with that rockabilly snarl. This isn't exactly uncharted territory, but a delirious guitar-driven workout shows that going up there and bashing it out continues to reign supreme, like a roadster cruising and whipping-up a trail of dust.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Dr DFunkt - The Annex Wreckroom

Hustling funk grooves fused with a rock spirit, Kamran's Jamiroquai vocals is soulfully smooth, elements of RnB, guitar-driven rhythms, an energetic performance demonstrating that the flame continues to burn brightly.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Rural Alberta Advantage - Silver Dollar

A rootsy, catchy, mix of wonderous textures that clutch your heart and make you move your body at the sametime. Along with supercharged percussion, The RAA is a kaleidoscope of melody and raw-energy like being caught in neo-psych bubbles of champagne.