Where I find new music: Part 7 - inflight entertainment

In the old days of long distance commercial air flight, you often had the option of listening to various music selections across a wide variety of genres using the armrest dials and an awful pair of airline headphones. With the help of the playlists being published in the inflight magazine, I'd often find some interesting new tracks.  


With the new touchscreen personal entertainment centres and the option to use our own headphones we now have, the ease of browsing and enjoying lots of new music is wonderful.  I'm currently listening to Belle and Sebastian's latest album - Write about love.  Plus, it's worth noting that the decent choice of movies also brings up the opportunity of finding some new music on the soundtrack.

The Vaccines at The Horseshoe Tavern

(all photos by PJMixer)

The Vaccines, a new band from the UK performed at The Horseshoe Tavern last night.

I hadn't heard of The Vaccines when I first saw the concert listing. A few days later, while flipping through Q Magazine with my husband, we're reading about the 10 New Faces of 2011 where The Vaccines were mentioned. When I saw their name, I thought it might have been the concert listing I had seen. It turns out that it was. Edge 102's Nu Music Night had The Vaccines coming to Toronto before their album is released this spring.

We arrived to the venue in time to hear the last two songs by the opening band The High Dials from Montreal. I wish I had heard more because they sounded really good. I'm downloading some of their songs today. Their fourth album was just released last November. Here's their setlist as they wrote it:
The Horseshoe Tavern is one of the few venues that allow D-SLR cameras so my husband likes to get close to try to get great quality shots of the band.

Before The Vaccines went on stage, we met a guy who writes for VivoScene who flew in from Calgary for this show. He interviewed the band in the afternoon and will be posting a review on the VivoScene website later this week. That will be worth checking out.

The Vaccines are very hyped in the UK. I haven't seen a band with this much hype before their album release since Arctic Monkeys (unless I want to count Drake). Before their album is even released, they have been nominated for Critics' Choice at the Brit Awards. I was a little concerned that they wouldn't live up to the hype, especially after they cancelled a couple of shows last week because the lead singer Justin Young was recovering from throat surgery.

It seems like he has recovered well because there was no sign of it in their performance. They played a solid although short set. It was a good introduction of them to Canada and of Canada to them. Justin did mention that even their Icelandic band member had never been as cold as he was in Toronto.


I imagine they arrived on Monday because that was the really cold day. It was a balmy 2 degrees yesterday with rain and snow...but maybe it's the humidity that makes if feel even colder.

They opened the set with Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra) a very upbeat song that was released as a single in November. Even with it being shorter than a minute and a half it gave a good representation of the energy that was to come.

It starts with the very singable:

Pretty girl, wreckin' bar,
Ra ra ra ra yeah you are!
Growin' up, I'm twice the man,
Yeah yeah yeah yeah, yeah I am!

This venue isn't the greatest for video taking. I like to relive the performances even when the sound isn't up to par so I record anyway, but I don't always upload them. This one was worth uploading just for the introduction.



It has a very catchy chorus:

But if you wanna come back it's alright, it's alright!
It's alright if you wanna come back!
If you wanna come back it's alright, it's alright!
It's alright if you wanna come back to me!

I was happy to get a close-up view of their concert because I'm sure the next time they come, I won't want to be too close when it is actually a mosh pit. Most of their songs are high energy and easy to sing to.

After the concert, I grabbed the setlist from the stage. I'm not sure whether they performed European Sun or Wet Suit which are marked with a question mark on the setlist. From the times on the videos I took, it's possible that they played one of them. Since they were not the songs I knew beforehand, I can't confirm.

Time will tell whether The Vaccines will live up to the hype, but I won't be surprised if they do.

Setlist:

Where I find new music: Part 6 - concerts

Well this sounds a little backward doesn't it ? Don't we only go to concerts by musicians we already know and like ?  Sure we do, but we may not always know all their material or perhaps the constant playing by our spouse has numbed our senses and we've lost our appreciation for their art. We may also stumble on a opening band that are new to us or we've only heard a small sample of their material.

I'll start with the later as an example.  I like the bad Travis.  I was never a huge fan, but went with the gang to see them live a few years ago.  This year, their lead singer Fran Healey released a solo album which has been getting pretty constant spousal airtime around the house.  In both occasions, I loved their live performances and has made me want to listen more attentively to their music.  Actually, now I've re-listened to Fran Healy's latest album, it sounds quite different to the bare bones acoustic performance (my preference) on Friday night.  However, his beautiful lyrics haven't changed.

I saw Elbow open for Coldplay a few years ago.  They had a few UK hits, but I didn't know a lot of their older material.  They put on a fantastic show, perhaps one of the best openers I've ever seen and as soon as I got home, I downloaded a few older tracks and listened with a new ear to songs I'd passed on the first time around.

And finally, there are the total surprises.  These are often smaller bands or local talent that I see opening for old timers or hot acts from the UK or US.  Some of these finds include: Carney who opened for The Boxer Rebellion; Von Iva who opened for Glasvegas; Diane Birch who opened for Mat Kearney; and our favourite local lads, We Are The Take who opened for fellow Canadians The Waking Eyes and The Arkells.

Fran Healy @ The Mod Club

Fran Healy @ The Mod Club
Originally uploaded by PJMixer

New concert listings

I can't say I've been really excited about of lot of concert announcements of late, but looking through this week's NOW magazine, I few new ones caught my attention.

On my shortlist:

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Fri Dec 3rd, Mod Club - my brother has seen them a few times and says they're amazing live
White Lies, Sat Jan 29th, Mod Club - new album due out in January

Blasts from the past:

Gang of Four, Fri Feb 4th, The Phoenix, yes - a new album in January (after 15 years away)
Grapes of Wrath, Fri Nov 19th, Horseshoe

Maybe of interest to some of our friends:

Interpol, Tues, Feb 15th, The Sound Academy
Fran Healy, Fri Nov 26th, Mod Club - we're going to this one
Pete Yorn, Sat March 5th, Opera House
Killing Joke, Tues Dec 7th, The Phoenix
Brandon Flowers, Sat Dec 4th, Sound Academy
Einsturzende Neubauten, Sat Dec 11th, The Phoenix and Sun Dec 12th, Lee's Palace
K.T. Tunstall, Tues Nov 23rd, The Phoenix
Lowest of the Low, December 3rd and 4th Lee's Palace
Kate Nash, November 13th at The Phoenix
Mumford & Songs sold out at Sound Academy November 13th

Song I ♥: Departure by Mt. Desolation

imported from My Life Is Like A Song

Mt. Desolation's album was released yesterday in the US and Canada. I am presently listening to it in its entirety for the first time. I first wrote about Mt. Desolation last April when I read that Tim Rice-Oxley of Keane was forming a supergroup. You can read that post here.

In June, Mt. Desolation offered a free download of one of the songs, State of Our Affairs so I know this one quite well, but it was a slow building love. It didn't immediately jump out at me, but the more I heard it, the more I loved it. It's now one of my favourite songs of the year.

I first heard Departure a few weeks ago when they released the video which I LOVED. I also immediately loved the song.




I'll be trying to listen to the album as much as I can before seeing them in concert at The Drake Hotel on October 28th. For me, a concert is always better when I know the songs.

(lyrics as copied from the Mt. Desolation forum)
I can sense departure in the air
Now it's only the past that we share
Divided at a parting of the road
Where I could ride on or lighten the load

I've been dreaming of a town
Where the lost and found
And wrongway round are bound
For departure
I've been comfortably numb
But a change is gonna come
Like a storm
Driving down through the streets
From mount Desolation's peak
To make you pure
For departure
For departure

Lover, we have fought and we have laughed
At every obstacle thrown in our path
The things have gotta change before I crack
Before I get so lost I can't get back

I've been dreaming of a town
Where the lost and found
And wrongway round are bound
For departure
I woke up at the mouth
Of a river in the south
Of this land
Where the tide and the stones
Strip the troubles from your bones
And make you glad
Of departure

I'll treasure 'til I'm dead
Everything that we have said and done
For the voice in my head
Is telling me I'd best be moving on
Cause the decent folk don't want me
Everywhere my missteps haunt me
But the fears that always stalked me
Seem to fade away

When I start dreaming of a town
Where the lost and found
And wrongway round are bound
For departure
I woke up at the mouth
Of a river in the south
Of this land
Where the tide and the stones
Strip the troubles from your bones
And make you glad
Of departure
Where the tide and the stones
Strip the troubles from your bones
And make you glad
Of departure

The death of love
The death of love
It's nothing to be scared of
It's just a light switching off

Gorillaz mixing it up

Gorillaz mixing it up Originally uploaded by PJMixer

The Gorillaz concert at The Air Canada Centre was everything I expected it to be - video and groove heavy, melodic at times, performing most of their hits with a large ensemble (25+ members, including rappers and hip hoppers, back up singers, Bobby Womack, Chicago horns, guest Arabic instrumentation, two drummers and a string section).  Clash guitarists Jones and Simonon were perfect stewards of rhythm with Damon moving between piano, guitar, melodica or just being a warm singing host and enticer.


The large video screen (see other shots) was in constant use, playing full length accompanying videos at times and comic book stills and animation with a splash of culture and historic footage.  It would have been nice to get some live action close ups of the performers.  And the backdrop logo added a strikingly colourful backdrop throughout the show for the varied sets and ensembles.  


The near capacity audience (1/2 ACC format) was enthusiastic throughout.  From my vantage point, the majority  of the audience were standing for the whole (almost 2 hour) show.


Damon didn't introduce all the performers, but I think I saw a few of them on the Demon Days DVD from their Manchester show.  I'd really like to see a DVD/BD released for this tour.


If you've read this far, you're perhaps of fan of the Gorillaz too, so If you still have an opportunity to see one of their shows on the remainder of their North American tour or world wide tour, I'm sure you won't be disappointed and you'll be singing and moving along to their wonderful beats, rhythms, raps and melodies for days afterward.


8.5/10