With a beautiful voice that I found to be reminiscent of Amanda Marshall, Billy The Kid quickly drew the crowd to the front of the stage. The songs were very well crafted and backed by a solid rhythm section. The band was remarkably tight considering that they had only managed to get a few practices in together before the show.
This is definitely an act that I am going to try to catch during Canadian Music Fest (Friday March 12, 2010 @ 10:00PM
The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West)
More pics.
Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. Some health issues, as well as the day job, have meant that I haven’t been out shooting as much as I’d like lately. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back up to speed sooner rather than later.
After missing out on most of Thursday’s events due to a prior engagement, I was back out in full force for Friday evening, Forgive the brevity of my notes, exhaustion led to much less note taking than I had intended.
Mary & the Black Lamb @ Velvet Underground
The band has a nice mix of dirty guitars and haunting keys, but as a live unit they could be a lot tighter.
Jay Sparrow @ the Cameron House
I only got to see a small portion of this set, but quite enjoyed the subdued, down-home twang that I heard in the two songs that I saw, I’ll definitely have to check out another show soon.
Stareblind @ the Bovine
Heavy as fuck with tons of energy, this band was incredibly tight. Not really my thing, but great at what they do.
Tenth Planet @ the Bovine
Great tunes, coupled with an incredible stage presence. One of my favourite Toronto acts hands down.
The Rosewoods @ the Hideout
Stellar rock and roll with great melodies. What more can you ask for??
The Cutaways @ the Hideout
Once again – Great energy behind a sound that fluctuates between dreamy and retro-pop. A highlight of the weekend for sure.
Sixteen Layers @ the Hideout
Intense, full of energy and great tunes combined to make for an awesome set that the crowd thoroughly enjoyed.
Indie Week has been a staple of my concert going experience for the last six years. It provides a great chance to see bands that may be flying just below your radar. This festival aims to help artists by sharing knowledge and teaching them what bookers/promoters are looking for, what makes a great stage show, and more. Since the festivals inception in 2004 it has grown to showcasing more than 100 artists in this years Canadian portion as well as expanding to Ireland.
The launch night included a party at the Hideout and a showcase at the Horseshoe Tavern. Here are some of my notes from last nights acts:
Black Mother Pearl (Horseshoe): Great driving grooves that their crowd loved. With a sound that veered from early I Mother Earth to dare I say it, Creed. This is a band that knows what their crowd likes.
Darlings of Chelsea(Horseshoe): Good ol’ Sleazy Rock’n'Roll, these veterans of the canadian music scene have come together to form DOC, and this might just be the act to break. Great tunes, great energy. Although visibly frustrated by a lack of vocals in the monitors, they pulled off a great set including a couple of new tracks.
Bella Clava(Hideout): Great bluesy rock topped of with sultry vocals, a solid groove topped of with hammond organ and dirty guitars. This is a band that you need to see.
Cutaways(Hideout): Great energy behind a sound that fluctuates between dreamy and retro-pop. A highlight of the weekend for sure.
Sixteen Layers(Hideout): Frantic energy and a sweet groove combine to make one helluva show. Another band that you must see while they are here.
With a great rootsy-rock vibe, Holly Andruchuk played a fun set at the Horseshoe Tavern for the Nu-Music Night. The set was packed with great tunes and included a nod of appreciation to Ron Sexsmith.
Going into this show, my thoughts were pretty much along the lines of ‘this is either going to be incredible, or a complete bomb.’ I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed with the set, but I wasn’t overly blown away either.
Crash Karma, consisting of Edwin (formerly of I Mother Earth), Mike Turner (Our Lady Peace), Jeff Burrows (The Tea Party) and Amir Epstein (Zygote) is probably about as close to a 90’s Can-Rock Supergroup as we’re likely to see. Bringing elements of each of their collective pasts, and mingling them together the band is incredibly tight. The tunes are solid, but there wasn’t a track that really jumped out to me as being a huge hit, maybe after a few more listens that will change.
The band tore through most of their upcoming album – which is scheduled to be released next month, with a great amount of energy and the crowd seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly. As a small nod to the past, they finished off the set with a version of the I Mother Earth track ‘One More Astronaut’.
Filling the stage with infectious grooves and great hooks, We Are The Take played a set packed with new songs, as well as the crowd favourites such as ‘Tenterhooks’. The opening notes of ‘it’s over’ have a way of seeping in and making you shake your ass. ‘Montreal Love Song’ with its gentle plodding piano pulls you into a groove that you won’t want to escape.
‘Wait It Out’, with its simple, yet incredibly effective ba–ba-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah–dah–dah-dah-dah-dah-dah intro had the crowd singing along instantly.
This is a band that is ready to be discovered.
This should have been posted a few days ago, but life gets in the way sometimes.
Projecting a great vibe right from the start, cranking out fun, infectious tunes. This humble band continously showed their appreciation to the packed Horseshoe crowd who were just as appreciative. With great tones that just make the body melt in a wash of awesomeness, this band won over at least one new fan tonight, and I’m sure it was many more.
Great melodic hooks and a frantic stage energy. Sunlit Ambush did their best to get the rather weak Bovine crowd into the show, unfortunately their attempts at jokes seemed to fall on deaf ears. However when they let the music speak for itself, it spoke volumes.
Tracks like “Find You Again” have radio written all over them, I’d like to see the band hone their stage show a bit, because there is great potential there.
Machetes are preparing to head to England to tour and record some new material. Their show at the Bovine was one of a few lined up as a send-off. Starting the set off with the usual closer ‘Black Leather’, the band dove right in and tore into a selection of old and new material.
This band has a stage presence which I haven’t seen elsewhere in quite some time. Mixing punk, glam-style, and great hooks to create an experience that leaves you wanting more.
Catch them if you can before they leave for Europe, the next time they come around you might not be lucky enough to see them in such a small room.
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