COURTNEY WING at Clinton’s (693 Bloor West, 416-535-9541), Saturday (June 14), 9 pm. $10, free w/ NXNE wristband (see page 62). Rating: NNNNN
Courtney Wing’s 2005 album, Starlight Shuffle, was a critically well-?received collection of understated folk pop, but in the years since then, the Montreal-?based musician has been cooking up something a little more ambitious.
Inspired by overhearing an opera singer practising through a window, he’s enlisted the 10-???piece Liederwolfe choir to bring some more grandiose symphonic textures to his upcoming album, Bouquet Of Might And Fury.
The five-???piece band accompanying him includes musicians from Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Belle Orchestre, which gives an indication of the kind of vibe he’s pursuing these days. These classical, folk and experimental influences are dressed up with jazz references and elements of Turkish Gypsy music, making his music far more ambitious than your typical Canadian roots rock.
This is Wing’s debut Toronto performance with his new 15-???member crew, but if you’re looking for a preview of what to expect, he recently recorded an hour-?long performance for CBC Radio that should be up on its website shortly.
