JANET JACKSON at Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNNN
Free from a major label and an over-sexed image, Janet Jackson rallied long-time Toronto fans with her intimate Up Close And Personal tour, a fun, feel-good trip through three decades of pop and R&B hits. The veteran performer also revived classic choreography moves from videos like Miss You Much and I Get Lonely, jamming nearly 30 songs into a briskly paced 90 minutes. Minus the over-produced arena extravaganza, Jackson is a relaxed pro on stage, connecting with the crowd through her emotive and upbeat performance style, those influential dance routines and cleavage that was visible from outer space.
KEVIN RITCHIE
THE BARR BROTHERS at Czehoski, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNNN
Montreal friends told me not to miss this band and despite technical difficulties – blown fuses, feedback, and a half an hour late start time – they were right. Brad and Andrew Barr (formerly of the Slip) along with harpist Sarah Page and multi-tasking Andres Vial put on a show that simply defied categorization. Too bad that Czehoski was uncomfortably packed and talky through music that ran the gamut of folk, blues and prog-rock, supported by Page’s arpeggios and Andrew Barr’s percussion.
SARAH GREENE
DIGITS at the El Mocambo, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNNN
Alt Altman’s breezy bedroom synth-pop was the perfect setup for 2+2 Management’s impressive showcase of buzzing indie dance bands. Gathering together bits of retro new wave, and eclectic electro from the 2000s, Altman’s songs benefit from strong songwriting, meticulous production and thumping beats, but it’s his catchy, chilled-out vocal melodies and thoughtful lyrics that separates him from the rest of the solo laptop set. Singing and playing two synths-and at times donning an electric bass-he impressed a large early crowd with moody gems like Rachel Marie and Lost Dream, which land somewhere in between Hot Chip and Harold Faltermeyer.
JORDAN BIMM
TY SEGALL at Wrongbar, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNNNN
The myth of cross-armed Toronto crowds doesn’t apply to Ty Segall. On record, the San Francisco garage rocker’s reverb-drenched tunes are most notable for their sun-drenched 60s hooks, but in a live setting it’s all about bratty punk swagger. There are much heavier bands out there than Ty Segall’s, but the capacity Wrongbar crowd practically treated them as if they were Black Flag. Segall even got into it himself, sacrificing his guitar to the sea of moshing, surfing, beer-spraying bodies. He had to finish the set with a guitar borrowed from openers Heavy Cream, but the set never missed a beat.
RICHARD TRAPUNSKI
Kevin Ritchie
JAY ELECTRONICA at The Phoenix, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNNN
Jay Electronica once again gave Toronto’s hip-hop heads something to talk about. His lyrics loaded with historical and contemporary poetic injustices, the charismatic New Orleans MC fired up the audience with incendiary acapellas, a not-so-eloquent rebuke for critics of his now-infamous rough sex audience poll at a gig here last fall (“suck my dick!”) and then tore a piece off security for attempting to evacuate fans he’d invited on stage. Not content to take down pretentious hip-hop culture in his righteous rhymes, he also has no time for the boundaries separating fan and performer. By the end, half the audience was on the stage and Electronica was on the floor, thrilling frenzied fans amidst a whirlpool of outstretched arms and glowing smartphones.
KEVIN RITCHIE
HANDS & TEETH at the Comfort Zone, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNN
It’s not unusual for the lead vocal role to shift between several members over the course of a single song by Toronto quintet Hands & Teeth, but the results aren’t nearly as jarring as you might think. However, the best moments are when they all sing together, as none of the vocalists can match the impressive power of their big group harmonies on their own. Some very catchy tunes and good stage presence, but they pull off the classic soul rock vibes better than their nods to contemporary indie rock.
BENJAMIN BOLES
THE MERCY NOW at the Comfort Zone, Saturday, March 12. Rating: NNNN
Toronto hard rock quartet the Mercy Now make no concessions to modern alt rock trends, and there’s something kind of refreshing about how unashamed they are about the retro tendencies of their high octane boogie riffs. And while they also look like they’d be more comfortable living in the 70s, they bring so much energy to the stage that it’s surprisingly easy to ignore the throwback aspect. It also helps that their grooves are a lot sexier than most classic metal acts can manage.
BENJAMIN BOLES
