CONTEST - The Tom Fun Orchestra @ The Horseshoe on August 6, 2009

"I’ve got my rum & I’ve got my tequila, I’ve got somewhere to be"

If your last name is Fun, you better live up to it. And if you're fronting an eight-piece gang of musicians from Cape Breton, you best know how to get the feet movin' boy. A couple tracks into their debut album You Will Land With A Thud and I knew I wanted to be in any live venue where The Tom Fun Orchestra was holding court.

The Tom Fun Orchestra hail from Canada's east coast, and you can hear the Celtic-Maritimer heart pounding a beat through every song, a mix of camaraderie, pride, and joy. The TFO seems on the brink of a musical riot, with this banjo, trumpet, violin, accordion and guitars. But it just lends itself to this feeling like being at a kitchen party where everyone's brought an instrument. Everything seem nice and civil at first. There's the slow exhale of an accordion, the harmonic pairing of a violin and trumpet. Banjos and guitar join in, picking up locomotive speed, things get more boisterous, and by the time singer Tom Fun's whiskey and sandpaper voice leads the charge, the party's in full swing, you're spinning a dance with your new best friends, and barely notice nor care that your dining room set ended up in the street.

The TFO has developed a bit of a rep for a raucous live show, and you can hear that joyous din on You Will Land With A Thud. The opening track is a slow lament, “When You Were Mine”, but by the second track “Rum & Tequila”, you've turned your back on your troubles and found music to drive the feet and choruses that will have you singing back at the band. It's an album of bold music that's best heard loudly, and in good company. The song lyrics read like poetry scrawled in a yellowed note book, sometimes a rallying shout, sometimes warm comfort against cold regrets.

Mp3 LAST OF THE CURIOUS THIEVES - The Tom Fun Orchestra

The Tom Fun Orchestra is closing out their summer tour with a number of dates in Southern Ontario and Montreal:

31 Jul 2009 - Montreal House - Peterborough, Ontario
1 Aug 2009 - Phog Lounge - Windsor, Ontario
3 Aug 2009 - The Casbah - Hamilton, Ontario
4 Aug 2009 - Vinyl - Guelph, Ontario
6 Aug 2009 - The Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, Ontario
7 Aug 2009 - Merritt Park - Welland, Ontario
8 Aug 2009 - Divan Orange - Montreal, Quebec

Contest: I have a 2 tickets to The Tom Fun Orchestra at The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto on Thursday August 6th, plus a CD copy of You Will Land With A Thud.

To enter, email me at the2scoops.contests AT gmail.com with the subject line: “I want some Tom Fun”, along with your full name and email in the body. Deadline is 11:59 pm on Monday, August 3rd. Please be sure you're able to be in Toronto that night. It promises to be a great night of music with Toronto band The Coast opening – I'm always glad for a chance to hear those guys play live.

If you're a fan of kitchen parties, The Pogues, Spirit of The West or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, or ever wondered what would have happened if Tom Waits grew up as an East Coast Canadian, check out The Tom Fun Orchestra.

Official Website: The Tom Fun Orchestra (check it out, it's pretty snazzy)

MySpace: The Tom Fun Orchestra

Mp3: Last of the Curious Thieves - The Tom Fun Orchestra

Mp3: Highway Siren Song Breakdown - The Tom Fun Orchestra

Official Website: The Coast

MySpace: The Coast