December 2011
2 posts
NXNE - Saturday June 18, 2011
Loopsy Dazy @ Rancho Relaxo
White Eyes @ Silver Dollar
Axis of Conversation @ Bread & Circus
Secrettes @ Rancho Relaxo
Babe @ Rancho Relaxo
Honheehonhee @ El Mocambo Downstairs
R @ El Random Band @ El Mocambo Upstairs
NXNE 2011 - Friday June 17, 2011
Once again, I am ridiculously late with my photo posts. Better late than never, here are my shots from NXNE 2011:
Grounders @ Rancho Relaxo
MBMG @ El Mocambo Upstairs
Language Arts @ El Mocambo Upstairs
Action Makes @ Silver Dollar
Volcano Playground @ Rancho Relaxo
Little City @ Bread & Circus
Dum Dum Girls @ El Mocambo Downstairs
...
March 2011
6 posts
CMF 2011 - Sunday
The final night of CMF was a bit mellower than the rest. I hopped between Rancho Relaxo and Bread & Circus for some low-key sets.
The evening started off with Smugshot. Nothing too remarkable here and the stage presence was quite limited. The drumming was competent but repetitive and there was likewise nothing particularly impressive about the guitar work. The song writing on the other...
CMF 2011 - The Indies
My expectations for spending an evening at the Canadian Room in the Royal York were rather low, after all how could there be a decent show inside a hotel? This is the prime reason why I have never attended the Indies in the past. However, I couldn’t resist catching Janelle Monae so I finally gave in.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Canadian Room is essentially a big conference room, the...
CMF 2011 - Friday
As anticipated, I stayed at Sneaky Dee’s all night on Friday—and Musebox put on a killer line-up, courtesy of Bobby Kimberley as his last act before moving on to other endeavours.
Once I got over the realization that the brilliant chicken fajitas at Sneaks cost $22 (the outrageous price had previously been hidden by my alcohol purchases), I settled in to enjoy the music.
The...
CMF 2011 - Thursday
No surprise here but the weather on Thursday was absolutely miserable—which made it all the more fortuitous that my plans for the evening involved hopping between floors at El Mocambo.
The absolute stand-out acts of the evening were Familia from Vancouver and My Little Cheap Dictaphone from Montreal. The former featured the amazing vocal talents of Tamarah Umlah, and the band’s...
CMF 2011 - Wednesday
CMF went off nicely, notwithstanding that it happened to correspond with the start of my 42 day stretch of non-drinking (absolutely NOT lent related). All I can say is that cranberry sodas and virgin Cesars have treated me well so far. And, on the bright side, despite getting only 5 hours of sleep throughout CMF, I actually felt pretty good in the mornings.
To the photographs then, here are some...
Some Suggestions for CMF 2011
Alright, I spent six hours online sampling bands to come up with my anticipated schedule for CMF. I thought I would share this effort for the benefit of many—assuming anyone trusts my judgment of course. In the alternative, if any of you want to avoid running into me this is a fantastic way of knowing where NOT to go (come on, I know there’s at least one of you out there, I have...
January 2011
2 posts
It's Official
Drunk people do all sorts of interesting things. Some people drunk-dial ex-girlfriends, others get sentimental; I apparently file trademark applications.
Yes, one drunken evening in March of last year, I decided to register “Urban Hermit” as a trademark with the Canadian Office of Intellectual Property. Believe it or not, this can be done in the comfort of your own home with nothing...
2011 Canadian Music Week Line-Up Announced
The Canadian Music Fest line-up was announced last week and I must say that I bought my tickets to the Indies on the first day they were available. Why? Two words: Janelle Monáe. More about her later.
Here are some of the highlights for me:
Mother Mother: Wednesday March 9 @ the Phoenix.
A few years ago I checked out Mother Mother when they played a late night set at the Brigantine Room. This...
October 2010
2 posts
Better Late Than Never … Highlights from NXNE 2010...
Sunday June 20, 2010
I attended a wedding on Saturday so I could not partake in the NXNE festivities that day. As such, my fourth and final night at NXNE was the Sunday. Here are my highlights from that night:
Gold Lake @ Wrong Bar
Gin Riots @ Wrong Bar
Little Girls @ Wrong Bar
Kid Sister @ Wrong Bar
Better Late Than Never … Highlights from NXNE 2010...
Friday June 18, 2010
Admittedly, this is now REALLY late. Here are some highlights from my very busy Friday at NXNE:
Love in October @ El Mocambo
Monogold @ El Mocambo
Elizabeth @ El Mocambo Upstairs
The Framework @ El Mocambo Upstairs
The Framework @ El Mocambo Upstairs
These Electric Lives @ El Mocambo Upstairs
Hot Head @ El Mocambo Upstairs
Rich...
July 2010
3 posts
Bad Fate @ Rancho Relaxo - July 30, 2010
Better Late Than Never … Highlights from NXNE 2010...
Thursday – June 17 @ Rancho Relaxo
After some careful studying of the schedule, I committed myself to Rancho Relaxo for the Thursday of NXNE. I would have to say that the predominant theme of the night, with the exception of The Cunninghams, was the delivery of solidly original tunes with prominent electronic elements.
The night began nice and early with Old World Vulture. I made a special...
Better Late Than Never ... Highlights from NXNE...
Well, this surely must be one of the latest blog entries for this year’s NXNE. In fairness, the delay is due in part to my effort to process more pictures than I usually do for festivals, and secondly to my concerted effort to acquire and digest as many albums as possible from the bands that impressed me.
In terms of my modus operandi this year, I noticed that in past festivals—notwithstanding my...
March 2010
6 posts
CMF Day Five - March 14, 2010
Astronautalis @ Sneaky Dee’s
I had originally planned to attend the Real Estate show at the Horseshoe, but I arrived at the venue only to find that despite the fact that the place was not at all packed, they were only allowing people with tickets into the venue. Fair enough, if they are expecting plenty of people with tickets to show up, it makes sense to cap the wrist band capacity even if the...
CMF - Day Four - March 13, 2010
Some pictures from day four:
Kill The Lights @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
Kill The Lights @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
Brother Kite @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
Brother Kite @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
That’s The Spirit @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
Minto @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
Minto @ Rancho Relaxo - March 13, 2010
The Speaking...
CMF Day Three - March 12, 2010
Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo
I was originally planning to head down to El Mocambo to eventually catch the Handsome Furs set, but I was turned away at the door fairly early in the night because they were only letting in ticket-bearing folks at that point. The rejection was fortuitous as I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to catch two great bands at Rancho Relaxo.
Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12,...
CMF - Day Two - March 11, 2010
I was hoping to do something more substantial today, but my computer threw a tantrum. I therefore present, CMF Day II, a Photo Essay:
Amos The Transparent @ The Horseshoe - March 11, 2010
Green Go @ The Horseshoe - March 11, 2010
Green Go @ The Horseshoe - March 11, 2010
Hollerado @ The Horseshoe - March 11, 2010
Besnard Lakes @ The Horseshoe - March 11, 2010
Besnard Lakes @ The...
CMF - Day One - March 10, 2010
HOT KID @ Rancho Relaxo
My night began with Hot Kid from Cambridge, Ontario at Rancho Relaxo. Based on what I saw and heard online, I was expecting an action packed set featuring some solo female work with serious potential but accompanied by slightly generic guitar chords.
This dynamic duo certainly delivered in terms of putting on a high-energy show. I was somewhat surprised that Shiloh...
Review: Language-Arts - Where Were You In The...
Something telling about Language-Arts is that they self-identify as being from East Vancouver, which in Toronto terms is akin to bragging about being from Scarborough. Vancouver is known for being picturesque, alas East Vancouver is anything but. That being said, you can’t throw a Birkenstock in the West End without hitting a Whole-Foods-shopping-bag-toting yuppie. East Vancouver is anything but...
November 2009
3 posts
Review - Ume @ The Horseshoe & Sunshower EP
On November 3, 2009, I received a last minute invite from Bobby Kimberly of MuseBox to go check-out Ume at the Horseshoe for a mid-week show. For those of you in the know (apparently not me), Ume was last in Toronto for North x Northeast in March where they really turned some heads.
Hailing from Austin, Ume is headed by the lovely vocalist and lead guitarist Lauren Larson who could light up...
Nurses- Apple's Acre Review →
I went to the Drake Underground on October 15 to check out Le Loup and I was pleasantly surprised by the opening band, Nurses. Hailing from Portland, Nurses were in town promoting their second album, Apple’s Acre. In my humble opinion, they stole the show away from Le Loup. And, if you’ve ever caught Le Loup live, that’s really saying something. …[Click to read more]
