Wed, Mar 10
VIVIAN GIRLS at Wrongbar Rating: NNN
Criticizing the Vivian Girls for sloppy musicianship and naive lyrics misses the point. They’re a garage band! The music is dumb, sure, but it’s dumb fun. Keeping things fast and loose, the trio ripped through most of their discography in the 45-minute set, breaking only to incite the crowd and swig from a shared bottle of Jameson whiskey. Though far from profound, it was lively and engaging. From a band like Vivian Girls, that’s the most you can expect.
RICHARD TRAPUNSKi
Thu, Mar 11
RJD2 at Mod Club Rating: NNNN
RJD2 isn’t kidding when he says his intent is always “to cram as much information as possible into the shortest time frame.” Granted a longer slot than most other CMF performers, he filled it with a surplus of styles and techniques. Alternating between a five-sampler set-up and a four-piece band, he shifted between record-scratching turntablist, guitar-wielding funk instrumentalist, navel-gazing acoustic balladeer and robotic alter-ego Commissioner Crotchbuttons. Then, in a final proof of his versatility, he combined them all into one masterful performance of Ghostwriter.
RT
SPEECH DEBELLE at Lee’s Palace Rating: NN
With an acoustic band for support, London rapper Speech Debelle whipped through about half the cuts on her Mercury Prize-winning debut, Speech Therapy, then bolted like the stage was on fire. It wasn’t. In fact, she made a pretty cold impression, delivering verbatim versions of her tunes and engaging the audience only to berate us for not running up to the stage upon her arrival.
JASON KELLER
NEON INDIAN at Lee’s Palace Rating: NNNN
Down south, Alan Palomo has one of the most hyped-up bands going, but little fanfare preceded his first Toronto appearance, judging by the modest turnout at Lee’s. Palomo and his Neon Indian band wasted no time getting into their electro-based psych-pop groove, both bouncy and laid-back on joints like Terminally Chill. With their warm, summery vibe and Palomo’s breezy voice, Neon Indian could be just a few swaying palm trees away from next-level stardom.
JK
DONNIS at Wrongbar Rating: NNN
Atlanta’s Donnis should have had Wrongbar going berserk, but the crowd, save for a few enthusiastic rap types in the front row, was extremely unreceptive. It is hard to say for sure, but he probably truncated his set because of the lack of appreciation – a shame, since Southern rappers seldom pass through Toronto. Clocking in at about 15 minutes, Donnis’s performance included his Internet burners Gone and Over Do It, which he delivered with bravado.
Hopefully, his return will evoke a better response.
ANDREW RENNIE
FIELDS OF FUR at the Garrison Rating: NNN
Brian Borcherdt’s Fields of Fur strike a balance between his solo work’s hushed emotion and Holy Fuck’s boldness. At an almost full Garrison, the trio played un-angry rock full of amorphous, well-sung oohs and aahs, reverb-drenched guitars and garage rock drums. There was a tentative quality to the set, and the songs sometimes lacked definition, but Borcherdt reminded us that FOF are only three shows old. Good things to come.
CARLA GILLIS
TIMBER TIMBRE at the Great Hall Rating: NNNNN
As Timber Timbre transitioned out of their ambient intro and started their first song, a chorus of audience voices loudly shushed the talkative music industry types in the back of the hall. Their hauntingly beautiful blues ballads mesmerized, proving that the band’s growing hype is well deserved. They sound great in the studio but are even more intense live.
BENJAMIN BOLES
Fri, Mar 12
IAN BLURTON’S HAPPY ENDINGS at the Comfort Zone Rating: NNNN
Ian Blurton is the living embodiment of a money-back-guarantee on rock. If he’s playing guitar onstage, you know rock music will be made, and made with the highest quality assurance. Blurton’s latest project, like many of his others, delivers high-octane hard rock blasts, though the Happy Endings add a Southern quality, meaning they can drop gears and chug as good as they can rev it and blow.
JK
Zach Slootsky
THE LAWN at the Comfort Zone Rating: NNN
Can’t say we’d ever heard of these unsung 80s Toronto new wavers until former NOW critic Tim Perlich convinced the band to reform for the first time in over 20 years. Initially, they looked freaked to be onstage together again, but soon those expressions turned to relief and then pleasure as they ripped through songs from their completely impossible to find 1986 album, Peace In The Valley. Who knew Canada had an answer to REM? Nice pick, Perlich.
JK
Zach Slootsky
BAPTIZED IN BLOOD at the Hideout Rating: NNNN
Relegated to the relatively early 10 pm slot, London, Ontario, thrash-punk bandits Baptized in Blood played one of the hardest-charging sets of the Roadrunner showcase. Mathematically precise guitar work and Johl Fendley’s impressive vocal chops were the main attractions, but BIB’s auxiliary charm is their ability to channel metal pioneers like Megadeth without becoming a caricature. The band’s genuine thrash sound has serious crossover potential.
AR
METZ at the Garrison Rating: NNNN
Performing in complete darkness, Metz let their music do the talking. Or rather, shouting. Combining the confrontational spirit of Jesus Lizard with the noisy experimentation of In Utero, the local trio did their best to destroy the eardrums of anyone gutsy enough to stand in the vicinity of their amplifiers. (That may explain why so many lingered near the back.) If Metz isn’t Toronto’s best band, they’re certainly the loudest.
RT
HANDSOME FURS at the El Mocambo Rating: NNNNN
Blissfully betrothed and freshly Juno-nominated electro-punk duo Handsome Furs put on a rip-roaring, heart-soaring show for those lucky enough to get inside the El Mo. Dan Boeckner, channelling Joe Strummer and the Boss, proved he has the best voice (those epic choruses!) and the most thunderous Tele in rock, and euphoric Alexei Perry pumped drum-machine snaps and macabre synth splashes while practically cartwheeling over her equipment. It’s rare to see passion like this.
CG
HANNAH GEORGAS at the Drake Underground Rating: NNN
Bands get courted and signed at music fests. That’s sort of the point, yet I’d forgotten. Friday at the Drake saw industry sharks circle as Vancouver’s Hannah Georgas and her unnervingly flawless four-piece band whisked through commercially viable indie pop that blends Emily Haines confidence with Feistastic quirk. Georgas’s vibrato-smoothed voice is sturdy, her melodies fervoured. She seems ready for her close-up, and her set probably convinced someone to give her one.
CG
Sat, Mar 13
THE BALCONIES at the Horseshoe Rating: NNNN
At their Horseshoe showcase, Balconies’ singer Jacquie Neville wasted no time getting everyone’s attention by feeding the large crowd’s energy into her powerful vocals, Gang of Four-style guitar stabs and rocked-out stage moves. The Ottawa trio’s best songs – Serious Bedtime and Elephant Lamp – showed loads of promise in the Bloc-Party-meets-Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs department, and benefited from the solid skills of Jacquie’s bassist brother Stephen Neville. Keep an eye on these kids.
JORDAN BIMM
Mark Coatsworth
THE HOA HOA’S at the Comfort Zone Rating: NNNN
Toronto’s best psych-rock specialists proved once again that their swirling guitars and walls of fuzz can turn any room into a crazy, hazy party. While psych bands’ spaciness sometimes loses audiences, the Hoa Hoa’s hooked the large crowd with a spooky edge created by Richard Gibson’s and Lee Brochu’s paranoid guitar lines, Femke Berkhout’s sinister bass work and Calvin Brown’s Madchester-influenced beats. Highlight Grew Up On The Seeds took this show to cosmic levels.
JB
BLACK FEELINGS at the Comfort Zone Rating: NN
I headed to the Comfort Zone hoping that Black Feelings’ live show would further sell me on the post-rock-meets-shoegazer songs I’d enjoyed on their record. But singer/drummer Owain Lawson, positioned at the front of the stage, stared straight at us and sang into a too-echoey boy-band-style radio mic. While he was lively to the point of obnoxiousness, his two bandmates barely moved. The set was uninspired, lethargic and left out their best material.
JB
SIMON COLLINS at the Hard Rock Café Rating: NN
It took a while to stop gawking at the physical likeness Simon Collins bears to his famous father, Phil, and actually listen to his music. After tuning in for a few stadium-sized rock songs, we returned to gawking. (Even the receding hairline is identical.) He doesn’t play radio-friendly pop like his dad, but rather radio-friendly hard rock that doesn’t translate well in a small-capacity club. After a Genesis cover, Collins, who is mainly a vocalist, jumped behind the kit for a thunderous finale.
JK
THE BEAUTIES at the Horseshoe Rating: NNN
It’s clear that the Beauties have spent time honing their raucous country rock onstage. Nearly every song has a crowd-pleasing routine built into it, and the band’s skilled at revving up the audience. On the downside, the songs tend to get lost in all the singalongs and breakdowns. We came away drenched in sweat but unable to remember any choruses.
BB
Zach Slootsky
AZARI & III at Wrongbar Rating: NNNN
Toronto house duo Azari & III has made major waves in the last year thanks to a strong run of singles that mix classic 80s Chicago vibes with futuristic tripped-out techno textures. For their sizzling after-hours set at Wrongbar, they brought along frequent collaborator SYF to sing over top of their DJ set, giving the proceedings the intensity of a full live performance. Watch out for these guys.
BB
Sun, Mar 14
MILLION YOUNG at Wrongbar Rating: NNN
Many trend-watchers are saying that chillwave (also known as glo-fi and chillgaze) is the next big thing, which could mean that the next time Florida’s Million Young swing through town they’ll be playing to more than the smattering of fans who showed up at Wrongbar. Main dude Mike Diaz brought surprising intensity to what was mostly a laptop performance of fairly mellow music. Next time he should leave the percussionist at home and go completely solo.
BB
