LIFE IS SWEET, EVEN IN FEBRUARY – Ashley Gibson honours her mother's memory, and shines a light on mental health with her solo show

The prospect of February always seems daunting – the coldest, greyest of months, it seems predisposed to being an emotional minefield. For Ashley Gibson, you add in the anniversary of your mother’s death and it seems like the bleakest of months. But out of something bleak, Ashley has created something inspiring and beautiful, with her first solo cabaret show, LIFE IS SWEET, EVEN IN FEBRUARY, both honouring her mother’s memory, and benefiting the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

LIFE IS SWEET, EVEN IN FEBRUARY is a solo cabaret show on February 22^nd at 9:30pm, with Ashley singing a number of songs that her mom enjoyed, and sharing stories from her own life, about the impact of mental illness and her journey back after her mom’s suicide.  Ashley’s been open about her mother’s suicide, and how it’s affected her. It’s inspiring that someone has made an effort to share that part of themselves, fighting the stigma of mental illness and letting everyone dealing with mental illness, loss, depression, anxiety, to let all of them know:  “You are not alone”.

Mental health is something which affects us all – when 1 in 5 Canadians will experience mental illness in their lifetime, the odds are you or someone in your life is dealing with mental illness. We don’t always talk about it, we don’t necessarily know how to recognize, or know how to help. But, through the work of people like Ashley, we can have these conversations and end the stigma of mental health. We can move forward, together.

In addition to the show, Gibson will be featuring a number of guest writers on her blog who will write about their experiences with mental illness, depression, and loss – www.dancingthroughlifeblog.com. 

“Over the month of February I will be hosting blog posts from friends, family and bloggers who will be sharing their personal accounts of experience with mental illness, depression, anxiety and loss. I am so proud of all of these people for sharing their stories, and believe that in the act of sharing we will truly confirm that no one is alone. I've utilized my network to also include posts from practitioners on strategies for dealing with mental illness, as well as posts on working through challenges in life and finding the light and love in all of it. “

I’ve been lucky enough to meet Ashley through my Loser Karaoke group, and she always lights up the room when she sings. Her outlook is infectious, moving, and I’m proud to know her. Buy a ticket, take part in something special, and you’ll be lucky too.

In the greyest of days, Ashley shares an outlook I admire: life can be sweet. Yes, even in February.

~

Learn more about Ashley's #lifeissweet month on her blog - dancingthroughlifeblog.com or by following her on Twitter -@ashleydtl

Life is Sweet, Even in February

Produced and performed by Ashley Gibson, Music Direction by Tara Litvack

February 22, 2013 – 9:30PM

The Flying Beaver Pubaret

488 Parliament Street – Toronto, ON

Tickets: $15 in advance / $20 at the door

Tickets are available at the Flying Beaver Pubaret or online at

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/325738

 Facebook event page - Life Is Sweet, Even in February

RADIOHEAD announce new album THE KING OF LIMBS in less than a week

Nice news to wake up to after watching Arcade Fire win the Best Album at the Grammys: Radiohead are gunning for the 2012 award and have sprung their new album upon us. Titled "THE KING OF LIMBS", you can pre-order either digital or special album packages with a download date of Saturday February 19th. The album hits stores March 28th.

Radiohead have been successful with this quick turnaround before with "IN RAINBOWS", by getting the album out as quickly as possible after completion and limiting the window where it may leak online before the street date.

Links:

RADIOHEAD: THE KING OF LIMBS pre-order website

RADIOHEAD: Official Site DEAD AIR SPACE

Stars at Massey Hall: Introduced by a friend of a friend

Whooo! Seeing Stars tonight at Massey Hall! It's been a pleasure seeing them play many times in all types of venues, but playing Massey Hall is kind of special.

Settimes.ca:
Saturday, October 23
Massey Hall, Toronto
Doors: 7pm
Young Galaxy: 8pm
Stars: 9:15pm

I tend to get a little photo-happy at Stars shows. I can't help it, they put on a great live show with a deep songbook of emotional, joyous pop. And it's hard to find a better, more charming duo than Torquil Campbell and Amy Milan.

the2scoops: Flickr - Stars photos

Here's a little taste of Stars, with a video I shot back in May at the Mod Club

YouTube: Stars - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" live at Mod Club

No trick, just treat: get theTimber Timbre album free

Wow! Canadian record label Arts & Crafts is handing out a treat. Until Halloween, you can download Timber Timbre's ridiculously good self-titled album Timber Timbre for free.

From now until midnight on Saturday October 31, 2009, you can download the entire breakthrough, critically acclaimed, self-titled album Timber Timbre for FREE.

We encourage you to listen to the album that KCRW (where you can hear them live this Wednesday October 28) raves, "Timber Timbre takes on the topic of love but presents it in a cloak of macabre beauty that is perfect for the Halloween season. Songs full of eerie sounds, dark imagery and ghoulish lyrics will make for a spellbinding session on Morning Becomes Eclectic."

A long-list nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, Timber Timbre was heralded by the Canadian press since its release this summer on Arts & Crafts. Playing CMJ last week, Time Out New York wrote that Timber Timbre was "the standout act" describing their set as "powerfully dark, even eerie folk tracks (which) managed to keep the crowd positively awed.” The Village Voice called them a "uniquely creepy beauty".

Click the link above to discover (for free!!) the album Toronto's Eye Weekly has already called, "The Album Of the Year".

Just in time for fall, and definitely an album that serves as a ideal soundtrack for this time of year.

When the Polaris Prize shortlist was announced, one of the most glaring omissions, at least from the folks I talk to, was Timber Timbre's album. Just follow this link to the Timber Timbre's site and download one of the most acclaimed Canadian albums of the past year: FREE Timber Timbre album

Timber Timbre's touring around a bit right now. The next Toronto date is part of the up and coming "Make Some Noise" festival at the North York Central Library, part of a terrific movement to place more Canadian music into public libraries. Timber Timbre and Bruce Peninsula play at North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge St. (North York Centre subway) on Saturday, November 7, at 8 p.m.

The rest of the tour dates are here, with stops in Los Angeles, New York and the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield QC.

Timber Timbre @ MySpace

Tom Fun tonight

The Tom Fun Orchestra hit Toronto on Thursday night for a show at the Horseshoe Tavern. Get into the mood for their raucous live show with this charming animated video for "Throw Me To The Rats". If you need more of a Tom Fun fix (or can't manage to part with the $8 cover), you can also see the Tom Fun Orchestra play a game of "how many musicians can we fit on a stage" tomorrow as the band perform at a free in-store gig at Criminal Records on Queen Street West at 6pm.

Tom Fun Orchestra - Throw Me To The Rats from Alasdair Brotherston on Vimeo.

Director - Alasdair Brotherston

Art Director - Jock Mooney

Producer - Shot On Site Media

Compositer - Dylan White

Puppeteers - Jenni Nylander, Natalie Ryde

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

This Music Is Broken - Broken Social Scene at Harbourfront

Broken Social Scene has always been my Toronto soundtrack. Their music intersects with a lot of positive memories and stories of my life in Toronto. And the band has always shown a little extra love for the place many of them call home. When Broken Social Scene canceled their Toronto Island gig for various logistical reasons, they immediately offered up a free show as compensation. A pretty sweet treat, and the location threw me back to the last time I saw them at Harbourfront in 2004. As covered in The Book Is Broken, that show was rumoured that it was going to be their final gig, even announced as such by the band. Fortunately it was just the moment they needed to take a time-out and, though the future wasn't clear for the band at the end of that 2004 summer show, it's come back into focus in recent years.

Created with flickr slideshow.

The day of the gig, word got out that director, Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo, The Tracey Fragments), in collaboration with Arts & Crafts, would be filming the show for a new feature film called THIS MOVIE IS BROKEN starring Broken Social Scene. Written by Don McKellar (Last Night, the series Twitch City) the film looks to be that centers around a couple who attend a Broken Social Scene show, but the heart of the film would appear to be the concert at Harbourfront on Saturday night. I'm picturing the concert and love story playing out simultaneously on screen, with the multiple split screens like McDonald used in The Tracey Fragments. So okay, Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar, and Broken Social Scene are a personal trifecta of Canadian content brilliance. I can't be biased, this was going to be pretty damned good.

By the time I arrived, the venue was already full and I claimed a spot around the perimeter of the Sirius stage. Decent sightlines, and they crowds kept coming. I had found out through the band's Twitter feed that Metric was in town, so I'm thinking "all right, Jimmy Shaw and Emily Haines are likely to play tonight, going to be a good show".

The Rattlesnake Choir warmed up the show, a favourite band of Kevin's who regualrly play The Dakota Tavern. And then the show started, and it was all Broken Social Scene at their best, with the founding line-up on stage.

My first surprise came when Feist came out on the 3rd song, 7/4 Shoreline, and she was pumped to be there. I don't think she stopped the whole show, a whirling dervish of Muppety singing and energy.

Amy Millan (Stars) came out shortly after, and by the time Emily Haines (Metric) came out, we had the 3 original women of Broken Social Scene. And given each of them is in the midst of either touring or prepping a new release, it's a special night to see all 3 singing on stage together like the old days.

So even though I expected Emily Haines to appear, I was still knocked out when she led Broken Social Scene through this slowed down version of Metric's big hit “Give Me Sympathy”

YouTube: Give Me Sympathy - Metric/Broken Social Scene

Finally, Jason Collett, fresh from opening at for Steve Earle at Massey Hall earlier that evening, arrived. Here he was playing one of my favourite summer songs, 5 years after I first heard him play it at Harbourfront 2004.

YouTube: I'll Bring The Sun - Broken Social Scene,

I put the camera down long enough to take it in. This was the full damned line-up of Broken Social Scene out in full force. There was Andrew Whiteman, Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, Kevin Drew, Jimmy Shaw and Evan Cranley jamming away. Lisa Lobsinger was singing, Julie Penner on violin. Jason, Emily, Feist, Amy were all there. So many others, and brass and drums and guitars, more guitars. This was a pretty special night, and it surely was the largest collection of Broken Social Scene members in one place at one time. And I'd seen a number of Broken Social Scene concerts, but there was something extra out there Saturday night. And then they dog piled onto this classic from their album “You Forgot It In People”, effortlessly passing the ball back and forth through the song with a riotous joy.

YouTube: Almost Crimes - Broken Social Scene, Harbourfront

(I love it when Feist can't stop herself and starts air guitaring. I mean, the bands been playing this song for 7 years, and it still gets them charged up)

Speaking of classics, there is a new rule as suggested by the blog It's Not The Band I Hate, It's The Fans. No offence to any singers in Broken Social Scene, but “Anthems for A Seventeen Year Old Girl” shouldn't be performed without Emily Haines present. I can't imaging anyone but Emily singing this song.

YouTube: Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl - Broken Social Scene, Harbourfront

And just when you thought we reached the finale, the band continued into the endless encore (Kevin: “We finished 20 minutes early. I owe Brendan $20”). And man, it was moving to hear Brendan Canning dedicate an encore song to Martin Streek, the legendary Toronto DJ who took his own life earlier that week. What followed was a repeating cycle of “Meet Me In The Basement” that saw Broken Social Scene play each refrain louder and louder, celebratory and defiant.

Encore for Martin Streek - Broken Social Scene, Harbourfront

By the end, it seemed like they hit every favourite in the catalogue. Two hours of music, and what struck me was that, seeing up to 19 players on stage at once, many of whom have played together for years and some at least a decade, Broken Social Scene looked like they were having the time of their lives. And the crowd was urged to shout their lungs out and scream apologies and declarations of love into the Toronto summer night. The screams echo into the night, as Broken Social Scene said thank-you and good-night farewell, until we meet again in the streets, in the market, in the bars, in the city.

Broken Social Scene are currently recording their new album in Chicago.

This Movie Is Broken is currently in production. There's a call for submissions of footage of summertime in Toronto, with film credits and invitations to screenings as prizes. Click here to check out the details.

Pictures: the2scoops on Flickr - Broken Social Scene at Harbourfront 07/11/09

Setlist:
Kevy Key Jam/ Fire Eye'd Boy / 7/4 (Shoreline) /Love Is New/Chameleon / Amy's Song / Feist & Kev's Song Medley / Gimme Sympathy / I'll Bring the Sun / Soul Unwind /Almost Crimes / MTV Jam / New Country /Anthems For a 17 Year Old Girl / Bandwitch / Frightening Lives

Encore:
Pacific Theme/ Meet Me In The Basement / KC Accidental / Major Label Debut

Polaris Prize Shortlist picks

I'm a fan of the Polaris Music Prize. It's Canadian, it rewards musicians for artistic merit regardless of sales numbers, and it draws attention to music that isn't usually regarded as commercial. In addition to the $20,000 prize, nominated bands benefit from the exposure this national contest garners. Tuesday morning, the jury selected long-list of 40 albums will be cut to 10 albums vying for the prize.

Tune in to CBC Radio 3 online or on Sirius 86, as host Grant Lawrence broadcasts Tuesday morning from 7:00am - 9:00am PST/ 10:00am - 12:00pm EST with the shortlist announcement live from the Drake Hotel in Toronto.

This is only the 4th year, but we already have a number of artists who've been nominated previously, like Junior Boys and Metric. And anybody has a shot at this, regardless of genre. Past winners like Final Fantasy and Caribou defy any one classification as it is.

I can only base my picks on what I've heard this year, so just because it's not one of my picks doesn't mean it isn't an amazing artists you should check out. I'm annoyed I haven't gotten to check out the albums from $100 or Hey Rosetta's yet. Here's my best guess picks, based on merit and the impression these artists have made live and on record:

1. Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate (Website MySpace)
2. Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels (Website MySpace)
3. Handsome Furs - Face Control (Website MySpace)
4. K'NAAN - Troubadour (Website MySpace)
5. Metric - Fantasies (Website MySpace)
6. Joel Plaskett - Three (Website MySpace)
7. Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project (Website MySpace)
8. Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane (Website MySpace)
9. Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms (Website)
10. Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada C/W Houndstooth Europa (Website MySpace)

Honorary mention: Elliott BROOD - Mountain Meadows (Website MySpace)

This year my money's on K'Naan to win it. His new album is drumming up lots of well-deserved praise, with a stirring performance at NPR's Showcase at the SXSW festival. Feels like it's his year to be critic's choice. My own pick would be Joel Plaskett. Putting out 3 albums worth of music in one shot is an impressive feat, but putting out 3 albums worth of well written songs music is award worthy.

Updated: The list is out

The 2009 Polaris Music Prize Short List.:

Elliott BROOD - Mountain Meadows (Toronto, ON)
Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life (Toronto, ON)
Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels (Toronto, ON)
Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood) (St. John's, NF)
K'NAAN – Troubadour (Toronto, ON)
Malajube – Labyrinthes (Montréal, QC)
Metric – Fantasies (Toronto, ON)
Joel Plaskett – Three (Halifax, NS)
Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane (Calgary, AB)
Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms (Montréal, QC)

I managed to get 6 out of 10, plus my honourary mention in there. Congratulations to all the competitors. More later.

The winner will be voted on by the jury and announced at the Polaris Prize gala on September 21st.

Past winners:
2008 Caribou for "Andorra"

Links: Website MySpace

2007 Patrick Watson for "Close To Paradise"

Links: Website MySpace

2006 Final Fantasy for "Poos Clouds"

Links: MySpace

NXNE 2009 - Saturday Night

Oh Canada, what a country to have such talent in it. Gone to bed, happy and with new list of bands you should listen to more often. Like these fine folks who make such wonderful music, from the lush harmonies of Woodpigeon's to Novillero's infectious energy to the pop-bomb of awesome that is Said The Whale:


Woodpigeon (Calgary, AB)

Novillero (Winnipeg, MB)

Said The Whale (Vancouver, BC)

NXNE - Outlaws & Gunslingers Showcase

Checking in from the NXNE festival - some shots on the go from the Outlaws & Gunslingers Showcase at Lee's Palace. Full write-up and pictures after the fest ends.

Royal Wood

Jim Cuddy & Oh Susanna

Jenn Grant sharing the love

Luke Doucet and Justin Rutledge

2009 NXNE Music Festival - Find the amazing

There's a moment where your standing in some dimly lit club with no air conditioning, packed in with a crowd, wondering what you're doing there. Then the band shambles onto the stage, hit those first notes, and you know you're going to want to hear this music for the rest of your life. That moment happens again and again at NXNE.

The Coast performing at The Horseshoe NXNE 2008

NXNE is a music festival designed to get bands exposure to audiences and media, with dozens of venues all over Toronto playing host to hundreds of bands. And all you need is one $50 wristband to grant you access to the whole festival, with most venues having event liquor licenses that will keep the drinks flowing until 4am.

Created with flickr slideshow.
My pictures from NXNE 2008 (link to Flickr)

Last year I took in the festival over 3 nights in Toronto. 3 hot, sticky, at times wet nights. And it was all fantastic. I managed to only see 8 bands (I was aiming for at least a dozen), but every band I saw gave a fantastic performances that won me over: The Coast, The Wet Secrets, The Great Lake Swimmers, Laura Barrett, Royal Wood, The Two Koreas, The High Dials, The D'Ubervilles. I've bought albums from every one of these bands after I got hooked at NXNE and I look forward to the next time I get to see them play.

You have a few ways to go with the festival:

• Pick out a number of bands spread across town, dashing from venue to venue and hope to avoid any line-ups. Make some back-up choices just in case the venue hits capacity.
  

• Show up at venues without checking out the line-up and get surprised by bands getting by on talent without any expectations.
  


• Pick one of the stellar showcases, go early and plant yourself there for the entire night.

This year I'm going with option 3. Asides from planning to see some great bands, my not-so-secret goal is to work on my concert photography hobby, get some exposure, and build a portfolio for when I start applying for media passes.

Here's what my schedule looks like:

Wednesday is the kick-off, and already I'm pulled in 2 directions.

The Arts & Crafts label is hosting a night one of two night celebration at The Courthouse. The Wednesday night line-up is a launch party for the new book This Book Is Broken: A Broken Social Scene Story. The bands are all some connection to Broken Social Scene:

Apostle of Hustle /Jason Collett /Years / Charles Spearin's Happiness Project

And special guest headliner, which judging from the line-up is most likely Broken Social Scene

Across town, City Sonic is hosting the official NXNE Gala after-party at The Drake. City Sonic is producing short films about musicians and their connections to the places where they first played. They'll be screening 5 of the short films at The Drake that night, with a hot dance music line-up:

WOODHANDS | LIONESS | THE D'URBERVILLES | J.J. IPSEN

The Thursday night Arts & Crafts party is non-Broken Social Scene bands

Most Serene Republic /Still Life Still / Timber Timbre / Zeus

With a surprise guest headliner, which could be anyone from Metric (in town for Edgefest?) to Modest Mouse really. Most likely it's a band on the Arts & Crafts roster.


I'm parking myself at the outstanding Six Shooter Records/Starfish Entertainment Starfish presentations OUTLAWS & GUNSLINGERS SHOWCASE at Lee's Palace on Thursday, June 19 @ 8pm. The line-up has all the makings of a helluva good time, with a roots-rock-country flavour. And beer. And a poster suitable for framing.

8:00 pm: The Swallows
9:00 pm: Jim Cuddy, Royal Wood, Oh Susanna
10:00 pm: Kevin Hearn, Jenn Grant, Jason Plumb
11:00 pm: Luke Doucet, Justin Rutledge, NQ Arbuckle
12:00 am: Skydiggers
1:00 am: Surprise Guests

My Friday plans are loose, but I'm thinking the Paquin Entertainment showcase at The Dakota Tavern has a great line-up that suits the venue.

Couer De Pirate / The Coast / Deep Dark Woods / $100 / Hooded Fang / Mark Berube / The Beauties

Finally, Saturday is a long haul. I'm planning to hit the Six Shooter Back Lot BBQ in the afternoon. It's 2pm - 6pm in the lot behind their store at 1118 Queen Street East. These folks put on a great party every year, this time in cahoots with Steamwhistle Brewing and Damzels in Distress. Music all afternoon with hosts NQ Arbuckle, other guest spots include performances by Rose Cousins, Royal Wood, Jenn Grant, Michael Rault, Jason Plumb, Victoria Hume, Martin Tielli, Luke Doucet, Justin Rutledge, and The Beauties, plus the grand opening of Beth Hamill's photography exhibit, Rock Paper Pixels. Beth's blog and pictures have been a favourite of mine for ages and I can only aspire to be that good one day. It's a good day to celebrate

As the sun goes down, I'll duck in to the ever-popular CBC Radio 3 Showcase at The Horseshoe Tavern will be a hot and sweaty affair with:
Woodpigeon / DD/MM/YYYY / Ruby Coast / Jason Collett /Hot Panda / Lovely Feathers

Let me know some of your picks for the festival or hit me on Twitter while you're out and you have a hot tip.

Joel Plaskett - Through & Through & Through

"You're a wrecking ball, in a summer dress"

Celebrate Joel Plaskett's inclusion on the Polaris Prize long-list with this new video for Through & Through & Through, off his triple-album "Three". Great summertime music and harmony, travelling through the Nova Scotian scenery with Rose Cousins and Ana Egge. Where do I sign up for that vacation package?

Still waiting for "Guitar Hero: The Monkees"

It's the time of year when all the newest games and technology is previewed as part of the E3 Consumer Electronics Expo. One of the biggest pieces announcements today was the presentation for the game "The Beatles: Rock Band. The game was announced with Paul and Ringo in attendance (shame they didn't play the instruments, or better yet swap instruments). The game looks like a lot of fun, and many is the music fan who gets to prove whether they can, in fact, out drum Ringo. On September 9th, they'll get their chance. Check out the trailer below.

The game promises "first-of-its-kind music-based video game offers a revolutionary tour of The Beatles' music, career, and legacy." The selection of venues span from their beginnings in the Cavern Club thru Shea Stadium up to the final rooftop concert. And the instruments replicating the actual instruments The Beatles played look gorgeous.




The first 10 of the 45 -song track listing have been released:

01 "I Saw Her Standing There"
02 "I Want To Hold Your Hand"
03 "I Feel Fine"
04 "Taxman"
05 "Day Tripper"
06 "Back In The USSR"
07 "I Am The Walrus"
08 "Octopus's Garden"
09 "Here Comes The Sun"
10 "Get Back"

Future song and whole album downloads from The Beatles catalogue are a sure bet.

So what song do you think would qualify as The Boss Level tune? "Day in the Life"? "Hard Day's Night"? "Across The Universe"?

Joel Plaskett at Massey Hall: Good things come in Three's

I assure you, good things come in 3's. Joel Plaskett thinks so too. How else to explain having the confidence to put out a rare 3-disc album that contains something for everyone: a disc of rock and roll break-up songs, one of more down-tempo acoustic songs, and one of smart indie-pop? And how to explain how Joel is a deft hand at all three genres? Or that there were 3 of us going to see his show at Massey Hall on Saturday night?

Okay, that last one was pushing it.

Saturday May 23rd marked Joel Plaskett's debut at Massey Hall. This prolific singer-songwriter from Nova Scotia has been working the music scene for years, from his days in Thrush Hermit back in the 90s through to 7 albums/EPs over the past decade, either solo or fronting The Joel Plaskett Emergency. His most recent album has proven to be his most ambitious, "Three" - three discs, 27 songs of love and youth and toasting friends long gone, of leaving and coming home.

And the good things came in 3's that night. Joel played 3 sets over 3 hours. The opening set pronounced the night as Joel Plaskett and Family and Friends, as Joel opened the show with a 45-minute set with the musicians who he recorded Three with: singers Rose Cousins and Ana Egge, and his dad Bill Plaskett playing guitar.

Playing the historic Massey Hall made it a special night, and Joel shared the stage with his friends. After a couple of his songs, Joel accompanied first Ana Egge then Rose Cousins as they each sang a song from their own releases.

A short intermission (with an insane run on the basement bar and washrooms) and Joel returned, backed by The Joel Plaskett Emergency for a more rocking set of music. By the time he got into Through & Through & Through, I saw something I had seen in ages: the Massey Hall audience, up on their feet and dancing away as The Joel Plaskett Emergency rocked out.

And I got to tell you, Joel is a great performer - in person he demonstrates all the skill that's made him a mainstay in Canadian indie music all these years, jumping from celebratory rock to intimate acoustic numbers. And it's not enough he's a talented singer, songwriter, musician, but damned if he isn't genuinely charming and just a nice guy. Joel just entertains the audience so well, chatting between songs, telling stories about how he got this keyboard for $7 at Value Village, and singing about his cat. And it's not just him, but also the company he keeps: the Joel Plaskett Emergency are all pro's, not letting a busted bass drum phase them. And Rose and Ana just killed holding the long note during "Wishful Thinking" (you'll know the part).


Just before playing a Kelowna-friendly version of "Love This Town", an exuberant young fan who was pogoing like Tigger during the end of the second set kept shouting at Joel. Joel graciously walked up to chat with him:

Joel: "Mandy from Moncton? Of course I know her! She comes and rocks out at every show!"
Dude: "That's my sister!!!!"

As distracting as he was, you could see the guy was doing it out of love for Joel. Well, probably some booze too, but mainly love and boundless joy. Just like everyone else in Massey Hall that night.

The whole show was top to bottom fantastic, easily one of my favourites this year. But it comes down to a couple of moments. The way we shot out of our seats like a shot when "Through & Through & Through" started and we all started dancing. Cheering and pumping fist in the air through "Million Dollars" as Joel sang "Lonely love, gotta leave it behind" followed by Ana and Rose crooning back "Every time they look at us, we'll blow their mind" all velvet smooth.

But the moment that made me feel proud for Joel, like they way you feel for a friend, was during his third set, the encore, when he was singing all 16 verses of the epic length closing song "On & On & On", which also closes Three. It's sounds like a guy drinking to the life he's lived and he continues to live. Around verse 8 he sings:

I'm just like my father
With calloused fingertips

And he casts a look to his right and there's his father, playing with him onstage at Massey Hall. Followed by:

I'm just like my mother
When the red wine's at her lips

And there she is in the front row, best seat in the house, next to his wife.

As Joel played on the whole 12 minutes of the song, eventually leading us in a singalong about his little white cat White Fang. Yes, he really loves that cat.

Finally, after 3 hours, Joel finally took that bow with everyone, and the audience went into the night, beaming smiles of happy happy happy, through and through and through.

If you want a sample of what Joel Plaskett's music is like, head over to CBC Radio 3 where they have a session recorded with Joel Plaskett Live at The Capitol Theatre, Moncton, from 24 Apr 2009 streaming on the website or download the podcast as an MP3.

Joel Plaskett at Massey Hall - the2scoops Flickr set including a pic I snapped of the set list for the 2nd set


Updated with full set list via NXEW:

First Set
1. Happen Now - La De Da (2005)
2. Deny, Deny, Deny - Three (2009)
3. Pine, Pine, Pine - Three
4. In the Blue Moonlight - Three
5. Farmer's Daughter, Ana Egge solo - Road to My Love (2009)
6. Nothing More to Say - Ashtray Rock (2007)
7. Heartless, Heartless, Heartless - Three
8. Rewind, Rewind, Rewind - Three
9. Lost in the Valley, Rose Cousins solo- If You Were Me (2006)
10. Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' - Three

Second Set
1. Work Out Fine - Truthfully Truthfully (2003)
2. Extraordinary - Truthfully Truthfully
3. Through & Through & Through - Three
4. Gone, Gone, Gone - Three
5. Sailors Eyes - Three
6. You Let Me Down - Three
7. Precious, Precious, Precious - Three
8. Ashtray Rock - Ashtray Rock
9. Run, Run, Run - Three
10. True Patriot Love - Down at the Khyber (2001)
11. Spinning for You - website download
12. Nowhere With You - Make A Little Noise EP (2006)
13. Lazy Bones - Three
14. A Million Dollars - Make A Little Noise EP
15. Wishful Thinking - Three

Encore
16. Before You Leave, Thrush Hermit - Clayton Park (1999)
17. Love This Town - La De Da
18. Fashionable People - Ashtray Rock
19. On and On and On - Three

Joel Plaskett official site
Joel Plaskett - MySpace
Ana Egge
Ana Egge-MySpace
Rose Cousins
Rose Couins - MySpace

Neko Case, force of nature

A great Saturday night last week as some of my favourite peeps came to town to catch one of my favourite singer-songwriters Neko Case, who was playing the second of two sold out shows at Trinity St Paul's Church in Toronto.

First we had dinner at Dessert Trends Bistro on Harbord St, and I was very pleased with my first experience there. Started about 3 years ago as a dessert bakery, they've gone beyond their delicious desserts and introduced a full brunch, lunch, and dinner menu in the past year. Selecting from the $25 prix-fixe menu gave us each plenty of options to chose from. The opening salads and appetizers were brought to our table and presented very nicely. The pastry on the Baked Wild Mushroom Phyllo Tart with Goat Cheese was crisp and light. My main was the braised beef short ribs with lemongrass and preserved herb tomato served with French baguette for soaking up the lovely sauce. Everything was delicious to this point, and then came the desserts. True to expectations, absolutely delicious. Overall, great price point for food of excellent quality, variety, and freshness.


Bellies full, we walked up the street to Trinity St Paul's Church on Bloor, or as it's known by it's full name, Trinity-St. Paul's United Church and Centre for Faith, Justice and the Arts. It's a beautiful building, and a very unique venue for seeing the show. I wasn't terribly familiar with the opening band Crooked Fingers - led by Eric Bachmann, the band had some beautiful songs with Eric's voice playing into the rafters of the church. Melodic, reminding me of the Great Lake Swimmers a bit, I'm definitely making a point to pick up a few of their albums.

And then the main event. Neko Case is a force of nature - a mane of fiery red hair, a sharp wit and a voice that is bigger than her body. This singer-songwriter breaks beyond record store categories like alt-country, with songs that are a little more punk, some a little more pop. It was an extraordinairy night. It's one thing to fall in love with her voice on the albums, but to hear her live and realize that her voice is that powerful outside a studio was just stunning. Nikita and I kept looking at each other as if to say "Where the hell is all that voice coming from?"

You could tell Neko was thrilled to play such a unique venue - she even wore a dress for the occasion. Churches tend to have such fantastic acoustics and from first note to last, she killed it. Easily the best show I've seen all year, and will be hard to beat. Neko had a full company of the players she recorded her newest album Middle Cyclone - guitarist Paul Rigby and Vancouver drummer Barry Mirochnick, bassist Tom V. Ray, backing vocalist Kelly Hogan and multi-instrumentalist John Rauhouse. Kelly's pretty charming and talented in her own right, but she was a highlight as she played the role of straight-woman with Neko, entertaining us with some funny dialogue between the songs and allowing Neko to show off her personality, and take her mind off the fact she was in a church, and likely hadn't been in one since, well, probably the last time I'd been in one prior to this Easter.

The crowd greeted her enthusiastically as ever. Despite her being an American performer, most people assume she's Canadian. She may as well be given the time she spends up here as part of the Canadian music scene, either as part of the Vancouver group The New Pornographers, or frequent collaborations with The Sadies, who she credited on several of the songs that night. Fans were suggesting her 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings The Flood should have been a contender for the Polaris Prize that year, which recognizes artistic merit of a Canadian artist. Alas, no rule bending, even for the divine Neko Case.

On tour for her latest album Middle Cyclone (buy it buy it buy it), Neko hit so many bright spots in her catalog, from new songs like the urgently passionate "This Tornado Loves You" and the upbeat pop "Maneater" to older favourites like "Deep Red Bells". I know I'm gushing, but to hear Neko's weary lament on "Wish I Was The Moon" with it's refrain of "I'm so tired/I'm so tired" was just a highlight of my music-going life. And anyone who was there, don't tell me you weren't moved by her cover of "Don't Forget Me" by Harry Nilsson, with special guest Garth Hudson of The Band brought out for some accordion work. Hearing Neko sing it live, such a beautiful lyrics, means every time it comes on the headphones it gets a little lump in the throat. But I think I can live with that.

Neko is coming back to town to Massey Hall in July. Go and thank me later.

More pictures from me: the2scoops @ Neko Case flickr set
Official Site: Neko Case

Some links via Chromewaves:

Chromewave's Photos: Neko Case, Crooked Fingers @ Trinity-St. Paul’s - April 18, 2009
MP3: Neko Case - “Middle Cyclone”
MP3: Neko Case - “People Got A Lotta Nerve”
MP3: Neko Case - “Hold On, Hold On”
MP3: Neko Case - “Star Witness”
MP3: Neko Case - “If You Knew”
MP3: Crooked Fingers - “Phony Revolutions”
MP3: Crooked Fingers - “Call To Love”
MP3: Crooked Fingers - “Big Darkness”
MP3: Crooked Fingers - “Devil’s Train”
MP3: Crooked Fingers - “New Drink For The Old Drunk”
Video: Neko Case - “People Got A Lotta Nerve”
Video: Neko Case - “Maybe Sparrow”
Video: Neko Case - “Furnace Room Lullabye”
MySpace: Neko Case
MySpace: Crooked Fingers

Grammys - live blogging from the2scoops

With the use of CoverItLive, let's give this a whirl, shall we? It's going on at ALOTT5MA too.

Twitter feeds I pulled into the liveblog:

diplo DJ, collaborator with M.I.A.
stereogum online outlet for indie and alternative music
postrock - Washington Post music columnist
qoolquest Ahmir, ?uestlove, Drummer supreme for The Roots. Da' Man himself.

(Quest twitters like mad, including this from the night before:

"haaaaaaaa! thom yorke is jammin! he dancin like a muppet on acid. i love it. how he got more soul than 10 of post modern rnb artists?"

- On Saturday night, the Roots' Questo tweets about the Radiohead lead singer busting moves at an LA Grammy party.

And you can find me on Twitter at the2scoops. Now on with the show.

Boxing Day - Zunior.com 2 for 1 Albums

I'm not a big Boxing Day guy, but here's a great sale from the Zunior.com music store website:

Zunior.com Boxing Day Sale!
2-for-1 On Selected Albums
Hundreds of selected albums only $4.44

For the fifth year running, we are proud to present the Zunior Boxing Day Sale. Stop by on December 26 for a blowout 2-for-1 sale on selected albums from all of your favourite Zunior labels/artists. The sale just keeps getting bigger every year and we guarantee you will not be disappointed.
Load up that new MP3 player you got for Christmas at Zunior.com on December 26!

I've been enjoying using Zunior.com this year, where I tend to find many of my favourite Canadian bands and labels. It's well laid out, easy to use, and the downloads don't have any Digital Rights Management encoding you find on other sites that makes you feel like you don't own the music.

A number of my favourite albums from 2007 and 2008 are on sale including:

Ohbijou - Swift Feet for Troubling Times
Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows
Two Hours Traffic - Little Jabs
Royal Wood - A Good Enough Day
Wintersleep - Welcome to the Night Sky
Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara

I'm buying a few albums I've been meaning to pick up and have heard nothing but good things about:
Jenny Omnichord - Charlotte or Otis: Duets for Children, Their Parents and Other People Too
The High Dials - Moon Country
Luke Doucet and the White Falcon - Blood's Too Rich
Justin Rutledge - Man Descending
The Bicycles - Oh No, It's Love

You can pay safely by credit card or Paypal, so swing by and check out the sale.

We are Stars and so are you

The band Stars have this ability to reach beyond the limits of the stage and connect with the audience. It's almost tangible the way they seem like they're singing to each person in the room as an individual, as if to say "we know your joy, we know your sadness, we know the life that beats within you and yearns to burst from your chest". They connect with the collective emotional narrative within their audience and unite us.

One of the best bands going in Canada's indie music scene, Stars delivered a show that felt like a gift to their fans. I caught them last Thursday on the 1st of a 3 night stand. Toronto loves Stars, and Stars love us in return. It's a homecoming for this band, formed in Toronto. It seems like every time they're here they play multiple nights at mid-size venues. They could sell-out larger venues, but that would remove them farther from their audience. This is the 3rd time I've seen them this year, and Stars played their hearts out just like every other time.

Opener Gentleman Reg warmed up the crowd with his sweet soaring vocals and charming the audience with laments like "no one should be broke and alone during the holidays." Here he is covering Wicked Game, originally by Chris Isaak. Or at least, that's what I always thought until Reg informed us with tongue firmly planted in cheek that he wrote it for Chris, you know, to help him out. He may have sent an email or something. I saw Reg play this version in the Dakota Tavern days earlier, and it was just as sparse and haunting there as it was in that theater. It's like Chris Isaak by way of Massive Attack:

Stars took to the stage strewn with flowers, launching into the opening declaration The Night Starts Here, with Amy and Torq's vocals playing off each other perfectly, Chris Seligman on keyboards providing the twinkling pulse. As they tore into the rallying Take Me To The Riot Torq motioned for everyone in the seated theatre to come forward and get up close to the band.

That whole night, it seemed like every song they played was someone's favourite. My friend was dancing to Elevator Love Letter, the happiness so apparent as she sang along that the girl standing next to her asked her later "That song, the one you looked like you loved? Which album is that on?" (The answer is "Heart".) Every once in a while I'd look back into the audience watching the band, their faces captured in "beautifully frozen intensity", all of us connecting in shared experience of the love of the music.

For me it's two ends of the spectrum. I never get tired of the wild youthful abandon that comes with the anthemic guitar chords of Ageless Beauty, with Amy Millan's voice leading you through the ups and downs of the song.

And at the other end, there's the indomitable emotional resolve of Your Ex-Lover is Dead declaring softly "live through this, and you won't look back...", then the punch of last words picking up speed:

there's one thing i want to say, so i'll be brave
you were what i wanted
i gave what i gave
i'm not sorry i met you
i'm not sorry it's over
i'm not sorry there's nothing to say

...leading into the final refrain as you rise up, the music beating like your heart when you have to walk away and never look back.

Stars performing Your Ex-Lover is Dead at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto

At times, the bands gets caught up in the emotion of their songs. There was an intensity to the closing of Calendar Girl as Torquil Campbell poured everything into the ending refrain of "I'm alive!" shouting it over and over and over into the night, even after the music stopped, until Amy tapped him on the shoulder to snap him out of it so they could do the next number.

You'd think a band like Stars could take themselves too seriously with so many songs seeming to be born straight from their own hearts, but I point to this photo of Torq, Amy and Evan having a laugh:

The show ended with their heartfelt gratitude to us, as we walked into the chilled night, and it sounded like everyone was singing or humming their favourite Stars tune. Stars look to be heading back to the studio to follow-up on the critical success of their last full album In Our Bedrooms After The War, leaving us to go back to our albums and CDs, to listen to the songs we love, and to go out into the world feeling that much more alive.


Do yourself a favour and watch the band's video for Your Ex-Lover Is Dead, a favourite of mine that reminds me of the movie Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind.