Wed, Jul 22
DIRTY PROJECTORS with SKELETONS at Lee’s Palace Rating: NNNN
Brooklyn groups Skeletons and Dirty Projectors share an affection for angular African-influenced guitar lines and polyrhythms mixed with droning, otherworldly indie pop. But the end results couldn’t sound more different.
Avant-garde free jazz and punk heavily influence Skeletons, making for an uncomfortably tense opening set punctuated by blasts of noise. The mumbled vocals were the weakest link in their sound, but that shortcoming perfectly set up the headliners.
Dirty Projectors’ ever-changing lineup has settled into its most solid incarnation yet. Main man Dave Longstreth increasingly lets his trio of female backup singers take the spotlight, and their intricate, supernaturally tight harmonies were the show’s highlight. Instead of overshadowing the songs, the harmonies prove what an imaginative band Dirty Projectors have become.
BENJAMIN BOLES
Thu, Jul 23
BLACK MOON and SMIF-N-WESSUN at the Opera House Rating: NNNNN
When they opened with Timz N Hood Chek, it seemed like Brooklyn’s Smif-n-Wessun would perform classics from their Dah Shinin’ 1995 debut in chronological order. (Their current tour with Black Moon is called A Tribute To The Classics.) But after a few tracks, Buckshot of Black Moon joined the duo and proceeded to throw in favourites from his own group’s debut, Enta Da Stage.
The energy exhibited by these purveyors of NYC rap was awe-inspiring and made for a concert that could only be described as epic. Buckshot freestyled, Smif-n-Wessun delivered modified raps, Evil Dee of legendary Da Beatminerz mixed records with his face, and Duck Down owner Dru Ha offered up an impromptu verse on Black Moon’s U Da Man. They brought the crowd back to 93, and we couldn’t have been more grateful.
ANDREW RENNIE
Fri Jul 24
DEPECHE MODE at the Molson Amphitheatre Rating: NNN
For a fleeting moment Friday, Depeche Mode recreated that memorable scene in D.A. Pennebaker’s 1989 doc Depeche Mode 101: house lights up, audience’s arms swaying side to side, band playing Never Let Me Down Again under a sunset sky, Dave Gahan looking like he might explode with joy.
But such moments were infrequent a well-aged Depeche also played half an album’s worth of material from 2009’s plodding Sounds Of The Universe, making for a roller coaster of highs and lows. Songs from Violator and Music For The Masses electrified the crowd, while new song Come Back caused everyone to take a sit break.
Depeche Mode are among the greatest, and fans will return to see them five, maybe 10 years from now. But clearly, it’ll never be 1989 again.
JASON KELLER
Sat, Jul 25
TIME FESTiVAL at Sound Academy Rating: NNNN
In addition to the second annual Time Festival’s international lineup – Detroit’s Jeff Mills, Chicago’s Flosstradamus, Paris’s DJ Mehdi – local acts were both the focal point and highlight. Toronto duo TMDP kicked the all-night blitz into high gear, getting the early Sound Academy crowd dancing to their smooth electro grooves accented with delay-heavy guitar stabs.
Local buzz trio Parallels followed with dark, hi-NRG disco-pop hits-in-the-making. Singer Holly Dodson killed Reservoir’s heartbreaking chorus while drummer/producer Cam Findlay nailed every propulsive snare fill.
Crystal Castles came out guns ablazin’, rocking their incendiary Klaxons remix. Despite their rep for onstage drama, Ethan Kath and Alice Glass (who swigged Jack Daniel’s throughout) were in top form, inspiring strobe-lit crowd-surfing with Alice Practice, Crimewave and 1991. New tunes were on brand and equally welcome.
JORDAN BIMM
