28 posts tagged “music”
Pretty sure I became an honourary lesbian last night.
Yup, I went to see The Gossip’s Toronto gig at the Opera House.
Surrounded by a crowd of music industry types, hawt plaid lesbians you would at first glance think were hawt hipster boys, actual hawt hipster boys and hot girls who could easily swing both ways with overprotective boyfriends who were also there to make sure THAT didn’t happen, I watched every.single.person. swoon in awe when singer Beth Ditto came out, looking like a hot and sassy red-haired Medusa, opening up the show with Dimestore Diamond.
From that moment on, it was near impossible not to be completely captivated with Beth’s larger-than-life stage presence and energy; that pipes on that girl! With a falsetto that could rival that of Mariah’s! and those utterly charming, ridiculously cute dance moves! I swooned along with my 700 other friends, just fascinated. When she wasn’t giving us all a show worth every penny, she was gushing about the city of Toronto, even at one point quipping up and comparing the crowd’s enthusiasm to that of the crowd she was in when Obama won. Hee hee. So cute!
And Tina Turner better watch it, because The Gossip’s cover of What’s Love Got To Do With It, was one of the best covers I have ever heard a band do! And trust, I’ve seen a lot in my time. As if the whole show wasn’t memorable enough, I couldn’t help but fall.in.love when during the band’s performance of Four Letter Word, all you could see was a sea of people mimicking Beth’s dosey doish dance moves exactly in unison. Effin’ adorable! Finishing off the set with Heavy Crosses, The Gossip (with Bruce Paine on guitar and Hannah Billie on durms) knew exactly what the crowd wanted and delivered an encore out of this world with the aforementioned Tina Turner cover.
And before the show was actually, fully and completely over, Beth, a gay rights advocate made a little spiel about reclaiming queer art and lead the crowd in a sing along of Queen’s ‘We Are the Champions’. Again. So cute! Le sigh.
Needless to say, Beth Ditto, has just joined the ranks of Emily Haines and Scarlett Johansson on my totally girl-crushing worthy list.
xo xo
Ang
OMG you guys!
HUGE NEWS! I got the following email the other day:
"AGAINST THE GRAIN and RMS Concerts are starting a new company in
2010 and we want your help with choosing our new business name!
Think MUSIC, art, alternative, indie, new wave, cool but not retro, etc
If your name inspires us or is chosen you will win ONE YEAR OF FREE
CONCERT TICKETS (+ 1) to all ATG, RMS, H-Shoe Tavern, & Lees Palace
shows (non-transferable).
Please send your submissions to shows@atgconcerts.com with "BUSINESS NAME" in the subject line.
Thanks and Good Luck!
http://www.atgconcerts.com
http://www.rootmeansquare.ca "
um..hello, is this not the best contest ever or what?! getting into only the BEST SHOWS EVER in the city for a whole bloody year! My brain has been working overtime, but the only thing I'm coming up with, because I'm totally stuck on relating it back to Against the Grain is Harvest Moon....
bad, right?! Unless, of course, I can somehow become besties with Neil Young, send him on down to the ATG crew...maybe convince him to play a gig or ten at the Shoe, 'inspire' the gang, and ta da!..free shows for me for life!
umm...right. back to the drawing board it is for me, then!
if you think this contest is just as ridiculously amazing as I, then please DON'T send in your ideas. what are the odds of YOU winning?! seriously.
HOWEVER, if you're the most brilliant idea comer-upper ever and hate live music with a passion, please feel free to send in your suggestions to ME. I'll know exactly what to do with them :)
xoxo
Ang
It’s no secret (to my friends, family, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses that no longer come to my door) that I like to clean my apartment in the nude. The combination of my bare ass and Mr. Clean fumes really starts my engine, you know? And as it turns out, the Bella Clava EP – Cold Spell – has become the soundtrack to my nude dusting and vacuuming. I would hope that the band would consider this a complement, given that I’ve always reminded myself of Gisele Bündchen {snort}.
I saw Bella Clava live for the first time last Friday at The Horseshoe tavern, and their set truly lived up to the quality of the EP. Also, I would totally make out with sultry singer Caitlin Dacey (Yeah, I do that now. There was this chick in Chicago and we met in line for the bathroom and she liked my dress and….yeah…that’s all it took…but I digress). Caitlin’s fucking hot.
Bella Clava is:
Caitlin Dacey: vocals, piano, organ, bass
Steve Suttie: vocals, guitar, drums, bass
Luis Figueroa: drums
So here’s my take on the EP. Buckle up.
Track #1 - Didn't Come Here to Love You
Sounds like: Black skinny jeans and red lipstick. And a similar vibe to The Kills. Sexy, slinky, seductive fun. My dim memories of high school would indicate that I just used alliteration. Ugh, now I’m exhausted. I want a nap and some pancakes.
Rating: 3.5/5
Track #2 - Disgusting
Sounds like: When I was in high school I was obsessed with a movie called Mad Love, starring Drew Barrymore and Chris O’Donnell (yeah, remember him?). It was a boy meets girl, girl has may-jah mental problems, boy runs away with girl to Mexico, boy wakes up to find girl gluing creepy pictures of eyes all over their rented Mexi-hovel, girl goes to psychiatric ward type of thing. You know, the usual. Anyhoo, Mad Love had a killer soundtrack including 7 Year Bitch and Elastica. ‘Disgusting’ would’ve fit like a glove in this soundtrack.
Rating: 4/5
Track #3 – Blu Blockers
Sounds like: A little 7 Year Bitch and a couple of shots of tequila. Moody and addictive. My fave. The next time I mud wrestle for subway tokens, this will be my song. Also, I’ve been taking pole dancing classes again and I may do a routine to this. Don’t freak out.
Rating: 5/5
Track #4- Wine Dine ‘N Dash
Sounds like: Down and dirty fun. On repeat on my iPod for days. My new pre-party anthem. Every day I steal a piece of individually wrapped Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese from the cafeteria in my building. It used to embarrass my co-worker but now she does it too. It makes me feel alive. I don’t know why. I like to cheese ‘n dash.
Rating: 5/5
Track #5- Square Dance
Sounds like: The perfect pre-drinking sing-along song for a booze-infused night out that will no doubt end up being described as a total ‘shit show’. Probability of the night ending with a missing show and a mug shot = high.
Rating: 5/5
Track #6 - Bug
Sounds like: Meh. Love the lyrics, but something falls flat for me on this one. That said, do the music supervisors at True Blood know about this song? I think it would work. Someone make it happen. And fetch me a latte.
Rating: 3/5
This buzz-worthy band is just getting started. Trust. Go see them now before they become too famous and important to talk to you after a set.
Upcoming shows”
August 17 – 9 pm – The Drake Underground
Check ‘em out on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bellaclavaband
XOXO
Blair
The debut EP from Darlings of Chelsea – The Mimico Sessions – has become my ‘it’s 4:35 p.m. and I want to get the fuck out of this office so I’ll blast some good music and dance around for the next 25 minutes singing along at the top of my lungs and maybe sip at the flask of vodka that I had forgotten was in my purse’ CD. I’m very popular with my office mate, in case you were wondering. She especially enjoys my air guitar. She says it’s ‘seizure-esque’ which I think is French for ‘awesomely good’.
I saw Darlings of Chelsea perform at their Velvet Underground CD Release at the end of June and was completely blown away. This may have had a little to do with the fact that they went on at 9:30ish and I was still sober. But mostly it was because they’re just.that.fucking.good.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
Track 1: I Want Your Love
Sounds like: Billy Talent meshed with the Foo Fighters, only better.
Rating: 5/5
My 2 cents: My favourite. Been humming this tune for days. Pretty sure I’ve got my intern humming it as well. She’s great at picking up dry cleaning. And humming, apparently.
Track 2: New Addiction
Sounds like: A song your younger sister would have played on repeat for days before you banged on her bedroom door to tell her to shut the fuck up then stormed in, listened closely for a minute, then asked her to borrow the CD. Scratch that – yanked the CD from her player and never gave it back. Then threw her computer out her window because, you know, you’re just so rock ‘n’ roll hot stuff.
Rating: 4.5/5
My 2 cents: I feel like this song would be perfect in some angst-ridden teen coming-of -age movie in a scene involving some sort of after-prom house party craziness. Ever notice how 80s teen movies all had live bands playing at their house parties? Let’s bring that back, people. You know what I’m talking about.
Track 3: Helsinki
Sounds like: Robin Black minus some snark.
Rating: 3.5/5
My 2 cents: Meh. Don’t love it, don’t hate it. Captain Ambivalent.
Track 4: Riot
Sounds like: Fun. A great song to listen to while drinking beer in the park at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday. True story.
Rating: 5/5
My 2 cents: Makes me want to Riot. I could rock to this all night long, like AC/DC, baby.
Track 5: Sleazy Rock ‘n’ Roller
Sounds like: Queens of the Stone Age meets White Cowbell Oklahoma
Rating: 4/5
My 2 cents: Sleazy is one of my favourite words, like, ever. Whenever I listen to this song I have to have a cigarette. This pisses off people at the gym. What? You’ve never seen a girl smoking while listening to her iPod and running on the treadmill? Squares.
Track 6: Devil Is a Woman
Sounds like: Every concert I went to in the late 90s.
Rating: 3.5/5
My 2 cents: Devil Is a Woman is also the name of a movie made in 1935 starring people who died a long time ago. Would also make a good band name.
Meet the band:
Sean Robertson – Vocals
Paul Thompson aka ‘YPT’ - Guitar
Robby Ruckus - Bass
Jay Millette – Guitar
Chris Nova - Drums
I’m competitive. So when I read that Mass Movement Magazine said Darlings of Chelsea were the “Best New Band of 2009” and rated The Mimico Sessions as one of the "Top 5 Albums of the Year," and that CHARTattack said "...subtle lovers, raw rock'n'rollers, sugary pop rock fiends and sordid, guttural demons... twisted yet beautifully entrancing... a stunning debut..." I decided I had to come up with my own clever quote. So here goes:
“Based on the quality of this EP, I would have sex with Darlings of Chelsea.”
XOXO
Blair
Wait…there’s more.
Upcoming Shows:
Fri 31 July • @ Horseshoe Tavern
Fri 21 Aug • @ Silver Dollar
Links:
Official website: http://www.darlingsofchelsea.net/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/darlingsofchelsea
Is Darlings of Chelsea
ChartAttack agrees with me.
Check out the article here http://www.chartattack.com/news/71162/darlings-of-chelsea-honour-classic-rawk
Much love to the Darlings and any of y’all that make it out to one of their TWO showcases this weekend.
Friday - 2 AM Elmo Upstairs
Saturday - 1 AM Bovine
XO
M
Right on the heels of the upcoming NXNE fest us ladies are so stoked about, the Polaris Music Prize long list has also been unveiled.
The albums are judged by a panel of over 180 members, consisting of music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers. Seriously...why haven’t I been invited to judge?
Below are the ‘nominees’, which will be short-listed to ten in July.
Bolded are ones I may enjoy more than others or ones I may be more familiar with than others. This is kinda my favourite Canadian music prize/award. Again, why am I not judging? …hee!
Arkells - Jackson Square
Jill Barber - Chances
Beast - Beast
Bell Orchestre - As Seen Through Windows
Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain Is A Mouth
Cœur De Pirate - Cœur De Pirate
Leonard Cohen - Live In London
D-Sisive - Let The Children Die
Elephant Stone - The Seven Seas
Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows
Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life
Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
Handsome Furs - Face Control
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs
Japandroids - Post-Nothing
Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
K'NAAN - Troubadour
K-OS - YES!
La patère rose - La patère rose
Land Of Talk - Some Are Lakes
Lhasa - Lhasa
Malajube - Labyrinthes
Metric - Fantasies
One Hundred Dollars - Forest Of Tears
Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love
Joel Plaskett - Three
Snailhouse - Lies On The Prize
Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project
Rae Spoon - superioryouareinferior
The Stills - Oceans Will Rise
Think About Life - Family
Timber Timbre - Timber Timbre
Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane
Martha Wainwright - I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Women - Women
Woodpigeon - Treasury Library Canada C/W Houndstooth Europa
totes looking forward to going through ALL the albums and finding a few new favourite gems, I’m sure.
Xo xo
Ang
Because shit like this happens: http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/44838
Billionaire Sentenced to Death for Murdering Pop Star
Egyptian billionaire and former political figure Hisham Talaat Moustafa has been sentenced to death for the 2008 murder of Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim. Yesterday (May 21) a Cairo court found Moustafa guilty of paying ex-policeman Muhsin Sukkari $2 million (£1.2 million) to murder Tamim in 2008. As the verdict was read out, several people in the courtroom burst into tears and one fainted, reports BBC News. Tamim was stabbed to death in Dubai last July shortly after she ended her relationship with Moustafa. The court heard that Sukkari gained entry to Tamim's flat by saying he was working for the building's owner. He killed her as she opened her front door. Suzanne Tamim originally gained fame in the Middle East after winning a 'Pop Idol'-style contest in Lebanon in 1996.
Alternately, this blog could have been titled 'Reason #4 Why I'll Never Pursue My Dreams of Becoming a Lebanese Pop Star. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a sudden hankering for kabob.
XOXO
Blair
Keeps You Up When You’re Down
Fall 2008
Hugtight Records
www.theperms.com
I love mail.
Last week’s mail brought me the Perms CD.
I’m the kind of person that needs to be impressed with a CD on first listen; I
need to be interested in a track in the first 7 seconds or I’m skipping
forward. I gave this album as much consideration as I gave the Saves the Day
album In Reverie. I was not a fan of the album. I love love loved Through Being
Cool, I was just unimpressed with In Reverie. My friend Johnny D was also a fan of Saves the Day, so I gave him the CD and he loved it. So I say, to each their own –
not sure who said it first, but I’m saying it now.
Stand out tracks from Keeps You Up When You’re Down, are Running Away, Night Shift and Things Left Unsaid. I’m fully recommending a MySpace listen to the 2008 release. The band has been together and releasing music for over 10 years so I’m willing to bet their live show is tight even if their latest recording wasn’t my cuppa vodka.
Happy listening!
M
So I think Ang. and I are the only two people on the planet who haven't heard of the wicked ass Swedish indie alternative new wave band The Sounds until last week when we became besties with them at our local watering hole on Ossington Aves. Here's how the story goes....
We went out for one drink. No really it was just suppose to be one drink and then it turned into three and then yeah. So this awesome promoter from Live Nation (who is 80 and from the 80's and is pure awesome) walks in the bar huffing and puffing that The Sounds are coming in and hurries the bartender (our good friend) to get a whole bunch of Stellas, because The Sounds were on their way in. Ang. and I were like whaaaaa? OK whateves.
So they walk in all cute and Swedish like and eventually start talking to us. Turns out they played the The Mod Club that night and were out for last call looking for some fun in Tarana. We all totally hit it off. Fell in heart with one of their GF's actually. She was soooo adorable and before we knew it we were invited back to their tour bus? Whaaaa? Ummm yes this was a Tuesday. And yes I had to wake up at 7 in the morning for work. BUT hi! When someone says "want to come hang on our tour bus?" The answer is always always yes. No matter what. Period. So off we went. And loads of fun we had. Eating, drinking and chatting and nothing felt strange about it. They're just really good folks. Yes they did log on to Ang's facebook and messaged her Swede she's in heart with, but come on she was asking for it. Turns out they said something along the lines of "I want to kiss your penis..." in Swedish. Hahah amazing.
The next morning when we told folks who we hung out with we got this response. "The Sounds! I've loved them for x amount of years!!! Yeah. We suck. We're usually on top of these things too. Meh. Better this way. Anywho everyone please check out our new favourite people in Sweden. The Sounds. Look out to see if they're hitting up your town, cause they're currently on tour and we'll be starting a North American tour on May 19th with No Doubt! What! What!
Check their Myspace for tour dates -- http://www.myspace.com/thesounds
Website -- http://www.the-sounds.com/
Till next time. Keep fit and have fun!
Kelly.
