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The Infomonkey Music Blog
In this space: artist interviews, album and concert reviews.
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HPX: Zoooooboooombs. |
 OCTOBER 19, 2007
By all accounts (AkA, people I've talked to) things have been going really well for the 15th anniversary of the Pop Explosion. Festival pass holders seem to be happily mapping out their nightly destinations and for those with the extra cash, the Cunard Centre and St. Matthew’s Church shows have yet to disappoint. Things continue tonight with a bunch of really good shows, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
Top of the Pop for Friday, Oct. 19
The Seahorse
Featuring: The Moist Towelettes, Windom Earle, The Zoobombs
$8
With so much good music going on tonight, I had to make a choice based on a bunch of outside factors and while it’s something of a treat to see bands coming in from M...
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Brother Ali @ The Attic (Wed Oct 17) |
 OCTOBER 18, 2007
By Adam Miller
(Staff Writer)
Brother Ali exploded at the Attic last night with a wild group of DJs and MCs that produced some of the best hip hop to hit Halifax in a long time.
Toki Wright was the first of 2 opening acts, he is a tactical lyricist who at times seemed more like a comedian than an MC, and who managed to get a bar full of people who don’t know shit about his music to go nuts for this talented up-and-comer. The main DJ of the night was DJ BK One, and he complimented the
high energy of Toki by laying down thick and intricate beats that damaged my hearing beyond repair. One of the best lines of the night was when Toki turned to the crowd and said “You hang with more deadb...
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HPX: Now with caveats! |
 OCTOBER 17, 2007
I was able to pick up my Pop Explosion Pass today, which is pretty key given what I want to try and see for Thursday. It’s definitely a good night for music, so check the schedule and scour Myspace for bands that sound interesting. Chances are, you’ll find something new you like.
Of course, if all that internet searching is too taxing for you, feel free to just listen to me.
Top of the Pop for Thursday, October 18 (with caveat!)
The Attic – Drake Hotel Showcase
$5
Featuring: Their Majesties, The Ghost Is Dancing, The Dudes, Two Hours Traffic
Their Majesties feature really solid powerpop of the finest kind, with intelligent songwriting and listed influences including The Cla...
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HPX: Decisions, decisions... |
 OCTOBER 17, 2007
Last night I took in the Pigeon Row showcase at The Attic and man, let me tell you, it was a good night.
I love Blue Heeler so much more as a result of that show and I strongly suggest that you check them out. The Dick Morello/Julie Doiron Blue Heeler though, there’re a couple BH’s out there and I’m pretty sure I only love this one. The Bicycles were awesome, pulling out an encore set of nothing but covers. Good ones. I count myself among the lucky few who got to see The Bicycles covering Tiffany. Yes, Tiffany. It was also a night for especially good stage banter, something I take to heart. Also, as the Bikes’ Dana Snell pointed out, every drummer that evening was a woman (Julie Doiron, ...
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HPX: The Attic vs The Seahorse |
 OCTOBER 15, 2007
The Pop Explosion is upon us.
Keep checking back for regular updates, previews and reviews of Pop Explosion shows because over the next several days the Infomonkey music crew is going to completely cover the city. We’re going to give you the low down on what to try and see during the festival and coverage of all those bands you really shouldn’t have missed. Of course, we can be wrong, so if you’re out at the same show as us and disagree with what we said, let us have it. We can take it. We’re tough.
Tomorrow evening is a rather quiet start to the festival, but with the varied start times it’ll be possible to check out both showcases for pass-holders (or people with more money than me)....
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Pop Montreal (day 3) |
 OCTOBER 7, 2007
I'm sad to say that I got really, really lost.
I meant to make my way to the artists' lounge to do a posting for "day 3" on Saturday, but the map given out by Pop Montreal is a lot like that Krusty Burgers Across America map from the Simpsons, read: really shitty. Besides which, one would think that a street with a name as glamorous as "The Esplanade" would be this fantastic, cobblestoned majesty, complete with requisite gas lamp lighting and rows of charming shops with bells over their doors. Maybe a horse or two.
Mais non.
The Esplanade, it turns out, is this tiny little one way street that most of the other major Rues don't even intersect with, so by the time I made it to The Ar...
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Pop Montreal (day 2) |
 OCTOBER 5, 2007
Just try and blame me.
I went out last night (after several high class cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon) with every intention of checking out the East Coast revue at Barfly here in Montreal, but it simply wasn't meant to be.
Seems like Dance Hall Free For All, a Guelph ska inspired group that has yet to graduate from high school, had taken up all the free "reserved for artists" spots allocated for each event. This meant that my nifty green wristband was rendered null and void when I confidently flashed it at the door.
Share was on stage and was sounding really good so after a few moments of indecision I coughed up the eight dollar entrance fee just in time to see them wrap up their set. ...
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Pop Montreal (day 1) |
OCTOBER 4, 2007
I arrived in Montreal late last night.
After my excessive postings on various rideshare sites resulted in success, I arranged to meet a man I knew only as "Carl" at five in the morning. Carl turned out to be a wonderful human being; he had been trained by the same zen buddhist monk that taught Leonard Cohen and you really can't get much better than that for a random five a.m. drive. Carl also drive stick, which I don't, so he became the sole driver by proxy. He also shared a melon with me. Carl = rules.
Though I later learned Magnolia Electric Co was playing that night, I groggily made contact with my cousin upon arrival and stumbled back to his place for some much needed sleep.
T...
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The Tragically Hip Live at the Metro Centre, September 13, 2007 |
 SEPTEMBER 13, 2007
(PHOTO: The Hip onstage at The Metro Centre... from quite far away)
BY CARSTEN KNOX When The Tragically Hip came out for their encore, there was no predicting what they were going to play. That’s what’s great about our journeyman rockers from Kingston, ON, they’ve been so consistent with their radio-ready hits over the years, it’s hard to know what’s going to pepper their set. Me, I’ve been a fan so long I almost enjoy the rarities more than the popular songs.
I knew they wouldn’t play “Little Bones,” “New Orleans Is Sinking” or “At The Hundredth Meridian” because the band had already tickled the crowd with those favourites. But no, instead, they brought out, of all things, a cover: ...
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CD Reviews August 2007 |
AUGUST 22, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX
Thom Swift • into the dirt (Festival)
It’s probably only a coincidence, but a telling one, that the artwork on the disc of Swift’s album is very similar to Dire Straits Brothers in Arms CD art, evoking the National Steel guitar. Like Mark Knopfler or Warren Zevon towards the end of his career, Swift has a deep, friendly baritone, and a journeyman’s technical skill with a guitar, clear in the slide mastery on the instrumental “My Dog”. He also enjoys the ambient darkness and the trailer-park gothic similar to that plumbed by Tom Wilson and his old band, Junkhouse, in songs such as “Healer Man” and “Mother’s Arms”, though without the grit and desperation. Swift’s day job ...
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CD Reviews July 2007 |
 JULY 28, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX
Queens of the Stone Age • Era Vulgaris (Interscope)
I was a latecomer to the mad metal of the QOTSA appeal. Oh, sure, they always had chops that impressed, and lead Queen, the California man-mountain Josh Homme struck a blow for unorthodox rock music with his collaborative spirit, the regular guest players and vocalists he invited to join the party. Queens of the Stone Age being an always-evolving project seems a more apt a descriptor than just “band”. But, it took until Lullabies To Paralyze for me to really come aboard, an album that many critics dissed in comparison with the wild, riff-driven earlier releases, Rated R and Songs For The Deaf. Going back, there’s a lot...
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The Police: Concert Review, Air Canada Centre Toronto, July 22 2007 |
JULY 23, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Strolling through the ACC turnstiles with my small band of diehard Police-ophiles, I tried to reconcile 25 years of being a fan of the band with all that has happened since their original dissolution and the recent reformation. Unlike most of their contemporaries in the late 70s early 80s, most of their music doesn't sound dated, due to its odd fusion of punk/ska/reggae/rock and the bizarre chemistry in a trinity of talented and ambitious musicians who didn't always get along.
On the elevator ride up to the gondola suites high in the ACC rafters where we'd scored an overlord view of the show, I also rewound in my head footage of the reunited Police, Sting on bass and lea...
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Jazz Fest Round Up |
JULY 19, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX As the second and last weekend of the 2007 Atlantic Jazz Festival nears, all evidence tends to suggest it has been a serious success. A varied program of international musicians have made for a delightful time to be in Halifax, and of that success, well, even your humble reporter was barred access from the Ellen McIlwaine show last Saturday night. Oh, it was my own fault for showing up after show time, but a sold out room is a sold out room, even to the press.
I did find a great deal to enjoy at the Main Tent show of Mike Cowie the following afternoon. Three trumpeters playing in unison was something to see (and hear), and I stuck around to check out The Hylozoists, who,...
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Music Obsessive: Divest of the Fest |
 JULY 19, 2007
(IMAGE: Ron Sexsmith)
BY CARSTEN KNOX The Jazz Fest has been on the mind of most distinguished music connoisseurs this week, but there’ve been other things going on around town. It’s frustrating some nights, as it’s tough to choose what to go and see. Oh, what problems we have.
Before we get to the live music heads-up, I should mention word came down in the past week that local singer songwriter Catherine MacLellan has been signed to True North Records, the legendary Canuck indie that has released albums by Canadian artists Bruce Cockburn, Stephen Fearing and the Rheostatics. They will be re-releasing MacLellan’s second disc, Church Bell Blues in the near future.
MacLellan, who i...
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The Interpreters |
 JULY 15, 2007
(IMAGE: Andy Milne)
BY CARSTEN KNOX In rock music they call it "covering", but in jazz, it is a tradition much deeper and more respected. It’s interpreting, whether standards within jazz or looking further out to other forms of music, folk, pop and rock.
Jon Ballantyne and Andy Milne have much in common, besides sharing the Atlantic Jazz Festival Monday night bill at The Commons Room of the Holiday Inn Select. They both have Canadian connections, both Toronto educated, with Ballantyne having spent much of his childhood in Saskatoon, and both are headquartered in New York City but live in Pennsylvania.
Both are pianists, having collaborated with giants in the jazz world, and have c...
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Concert Review: The White Stripes, The Cunard Centre July 13, 2007 |
 JULY 14, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Friday the 13th came on strong, the fog of past days gone, with bright sunlight and a cool breeze.
Halifax was pumpin’, what with the jazz fest, tall ships and the White Stripes. Rumours were flying as to where they might play a secret gig, something they’d done in every town they’d visited across Canada. Would it be the Skate Park? The Citadel? Jack and Meg showed up at the fortress to fire the cannon and pose for a photoshoot, but no gig. The show did take place, at the Locas bar at about 4:30pm, and the not-so-secret 30 minute show was taken in by a 100 or so lucky fans, while the disappointed crowds out on Salter Street were large enough to block the street altogethe...
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Our Jazz Fest Isn't Just Jazz |
 JULY 13, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX It’s a decidedly healthy thing when a jazz festival plays a lot of music not traditionally thought of as jazz. Wynton Marsalis and his purist lot may take offense, but for jazz to appeal to an audience broader than the bohos, beatnicks and hipsters, it sometimes needs to be many things outside the box.
This year’s jazz festival is all about being outside tradition. Yes, Bill Frisell and Jerry Granelli’s V16, launching the festival this evening at 8pm at the Festival Tent located at Queen and Spring Garden (tickets still available, I hear), fits comfortably under the jazz umbrella, but what of slide guitar virtuoso Ellen McIlwaine, playing the Commons Room at The Holiday ...
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Review: Icky Thump (2007) |
 JULY 12, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Here’s the one people are talking about. The White Stripes, for the first time, go into a high tech studio in Nashville, recording for one of the big labels, Warner Brothers, also for the first time.
And how has it changed them?
It’s hard to say whether being on a major has made any difference. The pro studio has made for a very full-sounding record, but I think Jack and Meg were well on their way to rock glory and weird craziness before they intersected with the folks at Warner’s.
Icky Thump is encouraging in that it rocks a whole lot harder than Get Behind Me Satan, and it shows that Jack’s imagination and creativity is no longer satisfied with the template so ...
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Review: CBC East Coast Sessions |
 JULY 12, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX First off, mighty props must go to Geoff D’Eon, the producer of the CBC East Coast Sessions, a great idea well executed. The show has been shooting for the past week, two or three musicians per evening on a gorgeous CBC TV studio stage, playing and recorded for broadcast at some point in 2008. I hope it gets a national slot, which would be great for these performers, some of the best in Atlantic Canada.
The nights began last week with Gordie Sampson and Jenn Grant, then followed with Amelia Curran and Hey Rosetta. This week has been Old Man Luedecke, David Myles and Meaghan Smith, Rose Cousins and Fall Horsie were paired, and Jill Barber and Nathan Wiley yesterday evenin...
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Review: Get Behind Me Satan (2005) |
 JULY 11, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Easily the most different-sounding of the The White Stripes’ six full-length releases, Get Behind Me Satan is almost as a result the most frustrating. It was released in June 2005, on V2 Records.
Jack and Meg expand the band’s sonic palette far beyond the template as had been established, and with the artificial obstacles they’d set up no longer in effect, something was lost. There’s pushing the envelope and there’s throwing it away, and on some songs they were almost unrecognizable. The marimba on “The Nurse” almost seems like a reaction to the electric nastiness on Elephant, and the soft piano ballad “White Moon” wanders in from some other band, but for a comment about...
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Review: Elephant (2003) |
 JULY 9, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Elephant was the album that solidified the band’s hold on the popular imagination. When it came out on V2 Records in April 2003, with the rampaging “Seven Nation Army” as its first single, the critics were doing cartwheels. Even hip hop artists were heaping praise on the album, specifically that seven note bassline in “Seven Nation Army”, maybe the most insidiously catchy riff of the new millennium, next to Kylie Minogue’s “I Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.” It was everywhere,
covered by Audioslave and The Flaming Lips, among others.
The White Stripes fourth release was recorded in east London, a typically quick and dirty job, the way Jack likes it. The UK was where the ...
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Building a History |
 JULY 9, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Jeff Parker is ordering t-shirts in bulk. This isn’t an unusual activity for the guy in an indie band who manages the business side of things, and it’s a necessary evil if you want to make a little extra money on merch. That the t-shirts, designed by Paul Hammond at Yo Rodeo, need to be ready for Thursday, when his band A History Of goes on its first tour (that Parker booked) to points west with The Medium Mood, labelmates on Noyes Records. It doesn’t appear to be causing him much stress.
“It’s been very last minute, but we’re getting everything together,” he says evenly.
A History Of is a fourpiece Halifax band, consisting of Parker, who is singer and lead guitari...
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Review: White Blood Cells (2001) |
 JULY 9, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX This is The White Stripes’ third album, the one that made them big across the planet, and the third installment of my look at the band’s recordings.
For newcomers to the Detroit duo, this is where you should start. It’s where 95 percent of the band’s following first heard them, thanks to a video directed by Michael Gondry for the album’s first single, “Fell In Love With A Girl,” which was largely animated Lego blocks.
The song fell snuggly into the new garage rock sound that was popular that year, but looking back at the album, it's the first four tracks that pretty much tell the story of who The White Stripes are:
“Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground” speaks to the Zepp...
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Random Thoughts While Watching Live Earth |
 JULY 8, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX What strikes me about this show is how made for TV it is. It’s not so much about the event that TV viewers are lucky to be looking in on, it’s a show made for television that the live audiences paid big bucks to attend in order to provide a backdrop for the home viewers' experience. Maybe this has always been the case, since Live Aid in 1985, and I have been a fool to think otherwise, but the point was driven home with CTV having purchased CHUM. The fact I could flip between Channels 9, 17, 19, 37 and 57 to see London, New York, Hamburg, Washington DC and Rio made for a surreal look at the global scale of this show.
The idea of watching rock and roll in aid of climate ch...
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Review: De Stijl (2000) |
 JULY 6, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX This is my on-going series of reviews of The White Stripes recorded output. This is the second album from the band, released in
June 2000 on Sympathy for the Record Industry.
A term often bandied about by music critics is the “difficult second album syndrome.” It’s the idea that bands say and do everything they can in an initial recording, and are crushed by their own or their fans’ expectations on their second, unable to achieve a similar level of brilliance.
The fact of it is, De Stijl, named for an early 20th century Dutch art and architecture movement, seems less meaty than The White Stripes' first album, and though may not quite reach the same peaks and troug...
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This Weekend in Singer-Songwriters |
 JULY 6, 2007
(IMAGE: Meaghan Smith)
BY CARSTEN KNOX For many who go out to see live music on a regular basis, this weekend may be the last chance to take a break from it for awhile.
Next Friday is the beginning of over a week of stellar jazz music as
the Atlantic Jazz Festival begins. For those with a broad
interest in music, it's a little disappointing
that the same night is The White Stripes. Weeks can go
back with barely a blip on the international-acts-in-town
front, and then two big deals on the same night?
At any rate, there are other things going on if you do
want to see a band or two in the next few days:
The East Coast Sessions have begun. It's a series of
concerts celebrating...
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Review: The White Stripes (1999) |
 JULY 5, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX As promised, here’s a look at the first of six full-length White Stripes albums, the eponymously titled The White Stripes.
Before we get to that, here’s something to get you in the mood: The dynamic duo performing on public transit recently in Winnipeg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOl1e5FRA..
“The future is electric because gasoline’s not measured in metric,” is a line from “The Big Three Killed My Baby,” the third song on the White Stripes’ first album, released in June 1999 on Sympathy for the Record Industry Records, almost two years to the day from the band’s first gig in its Detroit hometown.
The album remains the rawest of The White Stripes’ output, a...
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The Just Friends Revue Review: Live at The North Street Church, July 4 |
JULY 4, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX This evening was a bit of a surgical strike for your humble scenester, arriving late and leaving early, due to circumstances beyond my control. But what I saw I enjoyed: a large, friendly and social crowd, a DVD trailer, and two relaxed sets from members of the Just Friends collective of like-minded musicians.
I was disappointed to have missed Laura Peek and The Winning Hearts, but a veggie dog and a slice of apple pie with neopolitan ice cream helped matters greatly, as did Stephen Kelly and Eleanor King of The Just Barelys. Kelly has a fragile, surprising falsetto that made me think a little of Brian Molko of Placebo, the dour British alt-rockers, though The Just Barely...
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Just Barely, Good Friends |
 JULY 2, 2007
(IMAGE: Stephen Kelly and Eleanor King of The Just Barelys)
BY CARSTEN KNOX If you are American, and that would be OK (no yank bashers here), you might be looking forward to getting all this Canadian nationalism out of the way, and enjoying your country’s 231st birthday on July 4th.
Now you have an extra reason to celebrate: local music collective Just Friends are having a big revue concert at The North Street Church. I know, I know, “collective” sounds vaguely communist, but don’t worry, these bands are nothing if not red-blooded. There’ll be a barbeque, apple pie, the whole thing, plus, it’s all-ages. The musical acts include Their Majesties, Laura Peek and the Winning Hearts, The ...
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Ladies and Gentlemen, The White Stripes |
 JUNE 30, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX In just under two weeks, The White Stripes play Halifax. This is no small deal, as The White Stripes are the most revolutionary band in rock and roll to appear in the mainstream in the last ten years.
In the late 90s, bubblegum pop rules the radio stations, and grunge was a dead horse being flayed by bands such as Creed and Staind (yes, in Halifax this weekend). Nerd rock, mainstream riot grrls, and California mallpunk had rushed in, and though some of it was good (Alanis, Hole, Weezer, Cake, Green Day intermittently, The Offspring), the powerful strides hip hop had made into the hearts and minds of North American youth earned it the mantle of music rebellion. Rock radio...
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Music Obsessive: Canada Day Weekend |
 JUNE 28, 2007
(IMAGE: Brent Randall)
BY CARSTEN KNOX I’ve often found myself out of town on the Canada Day long weekend, but I’d be suffering some serious FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) if I went camping or took up the cottage invite this year.
For starters, CKDU is working overtime to promote not only the station but also great music in town. I should know, as, in the interests of full disclosure, I have a radio show on said station. Friday night is their ongoing Final Friday music showcase at The Khyber, and this time features up-and-coming acts from the all-ages scene Attack Mode, A History Of... and Gamma Gamma Rays. CKDU is sponsoring the Concert on the (other) Hill at Fort Needham in the north e...
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I Want My Nickelback |
 JUNE 27, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Though it’s only just begun to feel like summer, the Canada Day long weekend is upon us. Traditionally, there is a big show on the 1st, and this year is no different: Nickelback plays the Citadel, or, at least the corner of it that faces Sackville and the CBC Radio building.
It was only a few summers ago Nickelback played the same date here in Halifax, with Default on the bill (they’re back) along with other modern rock acts, such as Crush. This year it’s American Idol also-ran-turned-alt- rocker Daughtry, as well as Finger Eleven, Hedley and post-grunge despairoids, Staind.
Flashback to Canada Day 2003: I knew the band for its monster hits “How You Remind Me” and “N...
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Festival Season |
 JUNE 25, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX For many music lovers, summer is synonymous with festivals. Getting out, digging your toes into the soft earth and grass of a country field, opening your ears and head to some new sounds. Of course, there’s always the chance of rain, of mud, of bugs, of sunstroke and alcohol poisoning, but this is what makes it an experience, and a communal one.
We in Atlantic Canada have a few festivals we can look forward to: The Stan Rogers Folk Festival taking place next weekend, June 29, 30 and July 1, in Canso, NS. This year it features artists such as Nanci Griffiths, JP Cormier, Gordie Sampson, Catherine MacLellan, Carmen Townsend, and Jill Barber.
There’s Evolve, up in Antigo...
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Fall Horsie, Jenn Grant and The Tom Fun Orchestra, Live at The Seahorse, June 23 |
 JUNE 22, 2007
(IMAGE: The Tom Fun Family Orchestra)
BY CARSTEN KNOX A fundraiser for a surf school draws an interesting crowd. Especially for One Life, a surf school exclusively for women. I expected more hippie girls, but this gathering was hirsute, punky, a nice gender mix. Strolling into the show at 10:15, I think I just beat the rush. They’d been showing surf movies before the first act, Fall Horsie. By the time they came on, 10:30-ish, the room was at peak bar din, where you needed to shout to hear the person next to you.
This atmosphere, increasingly lubricated, didn’t serve the band well. The buzz about the four-piece has been promising: young, unorthodox pop led by Justin Karas on keyboards...
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Halifax Image Smith |
 JUNE 22, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX In the four years that Chris Smith has lived in Halifax, the guy has made a lasting and distinct mark in the music business, makin’, as his website says, “dirty, hairy musicians look good.” He’s even rebranded his name; you may have seen it spelled “CHR!S SM!TH”. Originally a designer with an interest in photography, the Newfoundland-native is a multi-award winner (ECMA Designer of the Year Award, Music Nova Scotia Visual Artist of the Year, The Coast Music Photographer of the Year) who has helped mold the careers of many Atlantic acts with his in-concert and promo photography and creative album design, including Patrick Boyle, Brothers In Stereo, Joel Plaskett, Matt Mays an...
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Music Obsessive: Live this Weekend and Beyond |
 JUNE 21, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Something happened to the Quin sisters between their third and fourth albums, If It Was You and So Jealous. Tegan & Sara found unerring hooks in their songwriting, providing a pop deliciousness to what was a very post-Ani Difranco folk act. Late July sees full-length #5 from the Calgary-native twins, called The Con, and we'll see them return to Halifax on October 16, playing St. Matthew's Church on Barrington. Tickets go on sale on Friday, June 22, $25 in advance, $30 on the day of the show.
Speaking of Ms DiFranco, she has expressed her fondness for Xavier Rudd, antipodean surfer and singer-songwriter who'll be gigging at The Marquee July 14. The Australian multi-instru...
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Random Thoughts While Watching the Much Music Video Awards 2007 |
JUNE 17, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Sprawling on my living room couch Sunday night, I had a rough idea what I was in for: an awards show that would make me feel like an alien. A night celebrating music videos on a channel that rarely plays them, with the music video directors rarely appearing to receive the awards bestowed upon their work. At least many of the artists are savvy enough to thank the creative minds behind the cameras.
But, yes, alien.
Sure, it’s partly that the demographic for what gets played on Much Music is twenty years my junior, but moreover it’s how music is served up and really, what it is: pop, a distinct kind of punk rock and rap. The mainstream has become so narrow there are gre...
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Danny Michel Live at Ginger's June 15 |
 JUNE 16, 2007
(IMAGE: Danny Michel by Barry Roden)
BY CARSTEN KNOX Danny Michel was a little nervous just before his show on Friday night. He had brought his effects pedals from Ontario, but did not have a guitar. It was lost in a boating accident, or so the witty songsmith claimed. Fortunately, at 10:29pm, a minute before his set was about to begin, a friend came through with a newly-strung axe for the slightly high-strung performer. Michel was happy, especially with how the guitar made him sound like Dire Straits.
The backstory and the between-song banter are an essential part of a Danny Michel show. If all you know of him are his well-crafted radio hits (for instance, “Perfect” from Tales Fro...
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Insomniacs United |
 JUNE 14, 2007
(Image: The Sleepless Nights)
BY CARSTEN KNOX It’s ironic that The Sleepless Nights’ new EP—which is in fact a self-titled reissue of their earlier release Hang Up—leads off with a song called “Godspeed You Deathwolf”, a tongue-in-cheek commentary on all those musicians who felt they had to go to Toronto or Montreal to make it big.
It’s ironic because core band member, drummer Mary Cobham, also of The Maughams and Songs In The Key Of Jay fame, has just left Halifax. For Toronto.
“We’re still trying to figure out what to do,” says Trevor Murphy, who plays bass. “We’re in a position right now where we’re touring a lot more frequently and our tours are based out of Ontario a lot. ...
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Music Obsessive: More Summer Concerts |
JUNE 12, 2007
BY CARSTEN KNOX Man, as more and more shows are announced, 2007 is looking pretty damn good in terms of quality musical acts making it out to the Atlantic region.
Add to the list: Alexisonfire, the screamy, Juno-winning
modern rock act from Southern Ontario, will play the Civic Centre (all ages with a licensed area) on July 20th. They're joined by Attack in Black and Cancer Bats. They come at an interesting time in their career. Still a little too raw for across-the-board mainstream success, they have a pretty hardcore cult following. None the less, Alexisonfire's side project, Dallas Green's City and Colour, has found a broad new audience with it's soft grunge sincerity. It meant the...
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