Hot date with Mr. Lester B. Pearson (Airport)

Stand-by travel stinks. My hopes aren’t high here, but I hope to get out of this country ASAP. France and my good pal Laura are awaiting my arrival!

Unknown Mortal Orchestra does Otis Redding “Sitting On the Dock of the Bay”

How classy is this??

Gush: THE REPLACEMENTS DO TORONTO!!!

I’m full of excitement tonight because my great friend from Michigan, Lauren, is en route to Toronto as I type. She has a great blog called Tour Death Do We Part and she is one of the most inspiring, energetic people I know. I think I need to start a feature in forthetrees of the amazing people I know and love.

But moving on to the big discovery of the evening… THE REPLACEMENTS ARE PLAYING TORONTO!!!!!

Gush: Washed Out, New album and Tour

I think the first time I laid eyes on Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, was with this Spin article published a few years back. It was certainly a slow-burn interest but I have really warmed up to the guy (and it’s not because he is the most gorgeous man in the world).

I’m stoked to hear that he’s pushing a new album soon and a Toronto tour date in September. Not knowing where my life is going to geographically take me is pretty daunting but Toronto’s feeling mighty warm due to all of the fall concert announcements.

Here’s what the new albums gonna look like… And I’m mega surprised that there isn’t a smoking hot photo of either Greene or his wife on the cover.* Either way, I’m smitten:

*

Study time with the National

A brand spanking new video straight from Bob Boilen’s desk.

So pumped for round two on Friday of the National!!

Field Trip at Fort York; Saturday June 8, 2013.

I love the innocent vision of creating an image of a Field Trip within the walls of the Toronto metropolis. I suppose they needed to overcompensate for the change of venue from their previous residency at Toronto Island; with a boat ride that made it really feel like an unconventional adventure (for those of us who don’t go there on the regular).

To me, it felt like a nod to the ’60s nostalgia like in the Wes Anderson film, Moonrise Kingdom.

The festival featured many bands I have loved and seen in the past. It was a nice reunion show that made me revisit some long lost tunes. I sadly missed the Darcys, a band that I have watched grow from the Toronto music scene. While relatively green to the “big time” record label world, the Darcys know what they are doing and it has certainly been a calculated, planned out journey for the band.

The first band I really took in was Zeus. We arrived to their set a bit late, but I’m really glad I could hear “Heavy on Me.” I found the version of “You Gotta Tell Her” to be a bit forced, vocal-wise and more aggressive than usual. The set was all too short.

Caught a bit of Timber Timbre, another act I’ve really seen rise into prominence. It was really remarkable to see how his sounds has really grown without losing his eerie-haunted house-like sound.

Stars were delightful. I’ve come to just accept their campy theatrics, although this show had no roses to throw into the crowd. Both Evan Cranley and Torquil Campbell had shaved heads. Thankfully, I wore my glasses as I probably would not have recognized these fellows. It was really lovely to hear “Elevator Love Letter,” it has been over three years since I’ve listened to that tune and I knew every word.

Feist was boring. It probably didn’t help that I was standing next to a guy who shit on her sets generally before she took the stage, but I got what he was saying. Her music is lovely and sounds phenomenal live but standing for hours and listening to her music just isn’t my ideal situation. In discussing it with a pal on the way home, we agreed that she was a bit over-indulgent with the audience participation, often asking us to do things before she had explained them fully. She did say this was her New Kids on the Block moment at the gig… I gotta give her credit for reinvented her tunes, however maybe not the best for the purist in me.

Broken Social Scene rocked. It was such a delight to hear You Forgot It In People from start to finish. This has been easily one of the most prominent album of my youth. Eight years ago, I listened to “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl” on repeat, at seventeen. The standout moment was hearing off-beat tunes like “Shampoo Suicide,” “Pacific Theme” and “Looks Just Like the Sun” live.

I kept referring back to this video that I watched on repeat many years ago. The sound is surprisingly good! I really wanted to take in Andrew Whiteman’s presence at the Field Trip gig like this set here, but it just didn’t happen.

Happy to report Mr. Jason Collett got a hair cut… Phew!

Moments like this festival makes me really treasure the Toronto music scene and geography.

Poliça with Solid Gold at the Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY; Friday June 7, 2013

Seeing Poliça for a second time in two months has been an absolute treat. After racing to, and nearly missing their Coachella week 1 set, seeing them in much less of a panic made things so much  easier and more enjoyable. It was a late gig intending to cap off the Governors Ball, a festival I was aware of but didn’t really make a great attempt to seek out. It was a beautiful, serendipitous unveiling of events because Friday was the rainiest day I’ve experienced in a while, cancelling some of the events of the Friday portion of the festival. Fortunately, Poliça, not too wet, were still ready to rock in the evening.

Something about this gig felt different from the Coachella 2013 performance. Maybe it’s because I was closer, or less sweaty, regardless, they were bang on. The venue was packed and apparently sold out. I managed to get a ticket from Ticketweb, the day before the gig. It was sold out the week prior so I was really relieved to find a ticket online. My pal, Naomi, scored one off of Stub Hub for just $10 more than me. Worth it.
We got to the venue at about half past eleven to find that no one had gone on yet! It wasn’t until about midnight that openers, Solid Gold, took the stage!! So, I took the opportunity to suck back a few Brooklyn Lagers whose plant is located next door to the Brooklyn Bowl. Yummy stuff.

I was extremely excited to try my hand at bowling, but my date was not feeling it. I’m still a bit bitter about it, I had even packed socks in excitement and preparation to bowl. Lanes were $25/half hour and shoe rentals were $5. It was cute to see people wearing their bowling shoes at the gig, I’m not sure if that was a drunken move or just a hipster effort, maybe a combination of the two. I was surprised to see that there was 0 line to bowl, perhaps it’s the high rates deterring the kids from partaking. I get it, but I was still in vacation mode and wanted to splurge!

Poliça were absolutely stunning, lead woman Channy Leneagh’s mesmerizing stage presence, was getting everyone pumped. She’s kind of an odd woman – pixie hair cut, 1920s thin eyebrows and donned a very unconventional long dress with chunky red Fluevog-like shoes. For me at least, it was certainly her rhythmic dance moves and amazing voice that got me, not her thread selection. Throughout the whole show, there was a dude verbally melting with every minute letting out “ooohs” and “oooh yeah baby.” I found it a bit funny, but not as funny as the girl behind me singing each word in my ear. It was probably more funny for someone to watch me cringe with each syllable this tequila-drunk girl sang to me.

I was most happy to hear the band open up with “Leading to Death” which they neglected play at their Coachella 2013 week 1 set. I was also super stoked to have heard “Tiff,” which was just as amazing sans Justin Vernon. They also shut her down with my absolute favourite tune “Amongster.”

Two drums is really the way to go.

Openers Solid Gold were good. I really didn’t feel anything however in sheer bliss after ending Poliça’s set, I splurged and bought Solid Gold’s album for $10. You really can’t beat that price. I listened to the album through once at work on Sunday and wasn’t really feeling it. It had a glorified ’80s sound that most of the new Bon-Iver-family-Mid-West bands mimick. The album was recorded at Justin Vernon’s studio in Wisconsin. I love the Mid-West and the Bon Iver family, but these bands have gotta find a new sound!

But maybe I’ll try again later, I have warmed up to Gayngs after almost 3 years of owning their album!

Gush: Okkervil River

I’m happy to share that Okkervil River will embark a summer/fall tour. Whipping through Toronto in the fall as per usual. They have to be one of my favourite bands to see live and I’m over-the-moon excited:

Stars ‘Heart’

Heart is ten years old. Incredible. Here a few hits to my ears from this terrific record:

Broken Social Scene to play ‘You Forgot It In People’ from start to finish

This week is going to be nuts. I am visiting some dear friends in New York and seeing the National. Friday, I am going to try and squeeze in Polica at the Brooklyn Bowl and perhaps Brit Daniels’ DJ set.

Catching a ridiculously early flight Saturday AM I have decided that I am going to go to the Broken Social Scene Field Trip after all. Can you keep up with me?