Show Alert: Cadence Weapon, Whitehorse, Yukon Blonde

Mon., Oct. 15

Cadence Weapon
Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit
w/ Deastro (Detroit)

Whitehorse (Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland
The Ark, Ann Arbor

Yukon Blonde (opening for The Jezabels)
The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor

If we could clone ourselves, we would, because we hate to miss any one of these shows. We were set to see Whitehorse (and Doucet's White Falcon) earlier this year The Ark, when they canceled to go to SXSW (hard to blame them). Listen: "Achilles' Desire" from The Fate of the World Depends on This Kiss

And we love Vancouver's Yukon Blonde so much we've seen them four times, and would have happily done so again, as they continue to tour in support of the great Tiger Talk. Listen: "Stairway," from Tiger Talk

But there's no way we were going to miss Cadence Weapon, a three-time Polaris nominee and former poet laureate of Edmonton. Rollie Pemberton is simply one of the best hip-hop artists in Canada. He's touring in support of Hope in Dirt City, which landed on the 2012 Polaris short list, and is described as "a unique hybrid of psychedelic soul, old school rap, IDM and mutant disco... a groundbreaking achievement in hip-hop."


Listen: "Conditioning " from Hope in Dirt City

NXNE 2012 Day 4, part 2: the finale, finally

Like the picnic, this year's final night at NXNE lacked some of the surreality (is that a word?) of 2011-- there was no drunken dallying the alley in the wee hours of the morning while Jian Ghomeshi tried to figure out how to jump start a car. But the evening's slate of music, a solid lineup of great Canadian indie rock, blues and pop, surely needed no jump to get started.

Our home base for the evening was the Sirius XM / CBC Radio 3 Showcase at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, beginning with Special Guest. That band gets around a lot, almost as much as the mysterious TBD. In this case, Special Guest sounded a lot like Kelowna's Yukon Blonde. They also sounded a lot like they were still riding high on Tiger Talk landing on the 2012 Polaris Prize long list. We've seen this band five times now, and they never fail to deliver on their harmony-laden pop rock with a 60s vibe. Recent addition Matt Kelly from Treelines (on pedal steel and guitar) fits the band to a T.











We slipped out of the Shoe to put our Little Foot Long Foot in the door down at the Bovine Sex Club. This venue (and its website, for that matter) looks like a garage sale exploded, but Little Foot Long Foot attacked their set of bluesy rock with single-minded intent. Once the Toronto trio-- Joan Smith on vocals and guitar, Caitlin Dacey on keys and Isaac Klein at the kit-- turned on the energy they didn't turn it off, from start to finish.

Then it was back to the Shoe to close out NXNE the way we started last year's Saturday night: with catl. Despite the departure their drummer/manager last year, the title of their latest album, Soon This Will All Be Gone, has been anything but prophetic. catl. (Jamie Fleming), Sarah Kirkpatrick and Andrew Mosynski (of the Deadly Snakes) put on one heck of a show, proving juke joint rhythm and blues never go out of style. Take a swim in the Mississippi Delta with catl. this Thurs., Sep. 13 in Detroit at PJ's Lager House.

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

The 'Keet Tweets for the week of Apr. 9

Wondering what Bob the Budgie has been tweeting to lately? Molly Rankin's "Way Home" remains a favourite, but here are some other songs on CBC Radio 3 he's been enjoying. By the way, Bob now has his own press kit.

"Narcisse"-- Duchess Says

"Hallways"-- Islands

"Replace Me"-- Chad VanGaalen

"Stairway"-- Yukon Blonde

"I Won't Try To Break Your Heart"-- Crissi Cochrane

Yukon Blonde set to release Fire//Water EP, announce North American Tour dates

Written partially while on the road, and partially while at a cottage in the Comox Valley (BC), Yukon Blonde recorded a total of 15 songs over the course of the summer. With four tracks completed, they will soon be putting the finishing touches on the remaining 11 tracks that will make their way on to their sophomore long player in early 2012.


http://www.killbeatmusic.com/yukonblonde/yukon_blonde-fire.mp3

Photo: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Yukon Blonde Fire//Water Tour Dates

28 Sept - Nelson, BC @ Hume Hotel             
29 Sept - Calgary, AB @  Gateway @ SAIT    
30 Sept -  Lethbridge, AB @ The Slice            
01 Oct - Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's     
02 Oct - Winnipeg, MB @ WECC      

03 Oct - Minneapolis, MN @ Nomad Pub *      
04 Oct - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen *   

06 Oct - Sarnia, ON @ Paddy Flaherty's        
07 Oct - London, ON @ Fanshawe College   
08 Oct -Windsor, ON @ Capital Theatre       
10 Oct - Hamilton, ON @ Casbah      
11 Oct - St Catharines, ON @ Mansion House         
13 Oct - Guelph, ON @ eBar              
14 Oct - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace             
15 Oct - Kingston, ON @ Grad Club             
19 Oct - Corner Brook, NL @ Bar Room        
21 Oct - St. John's, NL @ The Ship     
25 Oct - Sackville, NB @ George's Roadhouse          
26 Oct - Halifax, NS @ Seahorse Tavern       
27 Oct -Charlottetown, PE @ Hunters Ale House    
28-Oct - Fredericton, NB @ The Capitol        
29 Oct - Quebec City, QC @ Le Scanner       

31 Oct - Brooklyn, NY @ Rock Shop *    

01 Nov - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo              
02 Nov - Ottawa, ON @ Ritual          
03 Nov – Sudbury, ON @ Townehouse Tavern        
04 Nov - Sault Ste. Marie, ON @ Lop Lops              
05 Nov - Thunder Bay, ON @ Crocks           
07 Nov - Edmonton, AB @ Starlite     
10 Nov - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore              
11 Nov - Victoria, BC @  Sugar          

15 Nov -Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *        
16 Nov - Nashvile, TN @ 3rd & Lindly *          
17 Nov -St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway *       
18 Nov - Louisville, KY @ Zanza Bar *            
19 Nov - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café *       
21 Nov - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café *           
22 Nov -Cleveland, OH @ Beachland  *       
23 Nov - East Lansing, MI @ Mac's Bar *        
25 Nov - Chicago, IL @ Panchos  *      
26 Nov -Milwaukee, WI  @ Cactus Club *        
28 Nov -Minneapolis, MN @  7th Ave Entry *             
30 Nov - Rockisland, IL @ Huckleberry Pizza *          
01 Dec - Ames, IA @ The Maintenance Shop *           
02 Dec - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Jr *            
03 Dec - Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room *        
04 Dec - Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom - 2nd Stage *    
06 Dec -  Little Rock, AR @ Juanita's Cantina *           
07 Dec - Dallas, TX @ Double Wide *   
08 Dec - Houston, TX @ Fitz Downstairs *       
09 Dec - Austin, TX @ Emo's Inside *    
11 Dec -  Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *       
13 Dec -  Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *    
14 Dec -Boise, ID @ Neurolox *             
16 Dec - Spokane, WA @ A Club *       
17 Dec - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile  *     
18 Dec - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir  *    
21 Dec - San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar *           
22 Dec - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar *           
23 Dec - Los Angeles, CA @ Echo *      

* All US shows co-headline w/ The Fling

Show Alert: the Paint Movement w/ Alex Carruthers & the Rhythm Brothers

Fri., Apr. 22 ~ Windsor's Phog Lounge

We last saw the Paint Movement and Alex Carruthers & the Rhythm Brothers when they opened for Yukon Blonde last month. Now they own the evening tonight, Fri., Apr. 22. Like our friend Jon Janes from the Mountains & The Trees, Carruthers recently came out from behind the drum kit to take the lead mic, backed by musicians from Windsor's indie scene, and the result is bluesy, energetic indie rock.

The Paint Movement

Toronto's six-piece the Paint Movement approaches alternative rock a bit more leisurely and with experimental, jazzy inflections. The Paint Movement shares a label (Nevado) with tour mates Yukon Blonde, plus Library Voices, the Meligrove Band and Bahamas; if the company they keep is any indication, the Paint Movement is just beginning to show their true colors. Watch for their full-length album this fall.

Yukon Blonde w/ The Paint Movement @Phog Lounge

Yukon Blonde sell out Phog Lounge again.  Not a huge surprise.

It's always a great show with this VAN via Kelowna, BC band whose dedication to rocking hard while delivering their trademark harmonies is becoming known across Canada and throughout the world.  The core threesome, Jeff Innes, Graham Jones and Brandon Scott have toured, toured, toured, taken time off to write new songs and are back on tour to warm up for the tour to promote the forthcoming album.  They never stop.

Yes, there's another new bass player.  Longtime bassist Andy Bishop is working on his band Red Cedar.  The most recent bass player, Jason Haberman, was a welcome tour partner and great addition and has his own band (see below).  Now we welcome John Jefferey, another stellar addition to the band, whose swaggering hair-in-the-face playing and outright talent make him a good fit.

Toronto's The Paint Movement opened the show and opened some eyes with a super-tight set and a lineup of musicians that will soon move from the Who's That? list to the Who's Who list.  Touring with friends Yukon Blonde for just over a month, The Paint Movement joined Yukon Blonde for a few songs and a rousing jam session.

A year in the making, The Paint Movement's upcoming full length album was finished in early 2011. Throughout this entire time the band decided not to play any shows and just focus entirely on writing the music.  The band returned to live music in January 2011; the first two songs were released on March 1st as a digital 45 and a tour-only white vinyl 7" which were available at the shows.  The full length album will be released in the fall of 2011.

The Paint Movement are:

Jason Haberman - Guitar, vocals

Kevin Kralik - Guitar, vocals

Diana Planche - Keys, vocals

Wes McClintock - Bass

Jason Loftman - Sax

Glenn Candy - Drums

Thanks to Nevado Records  Killbeat Music

Photos:  Russ Gordon

Show Alert: Yukon Blonde & The Paint Movement

Sat., March 12
Phog Lounge

Thanks to www.andpop.com

Show review: Yukon Blonde at Phog Lounge

We've seen more than a few shows since the beginning of the year at Windsor's award-winning Phog Lounge (voted Canada's Best Live Music Venue by CBC Radio 3 listeners in 2009), and out of those shows, no one has packed them in like Yukon Blonde. ("Pack" being a somewhat relative term given Phog's 60-person capacity.)

There was already a "Sold Out" sign taped to the door when we arrived in time to catch the last few songs by Windsor favorites Magic Hall of Mirrors. No surprise there; but Yukon Blonde had a surprise for us. Bassist Andy Bishop had departed to devote more time to his own band, Red Cedar. His replacement: Jason Haberman of up-and-coming the paint movement (Nevado Records label mates include Bahamas, the Meligrove Band, Fox Jaws and Yukon Blonde).

Although we missed Bishop's voice in the band's layered harmonies, Haberman ably fit into Yukon Blonde's no-frills rock and roll. If you haven't seen them yet, they're still on tour through early November. See their complete tour schedule on their MySpace page and stay tuned here for more exciting tour news.

Photos: Russ Gordon

Yukon Ho!

When we first saw Yukon Blonde in February at Windsor's Phog Lounge, the buzz was just starting to build for this Kelowna, B.C.-based band and their 60s-inspired sound. Since then, they've been touring almost non-stop--we saw them a second time in May at Detroit's Magic Stick--and their star has continued to rise, all the way to a spot on the Polaris long list.

All good reasons why we'll be back at the Phog this Thursday to see and support them again, but not the only ones. We'll be back because in addition to putting on a solid vintage-style rock and roll show full of great guitar licks, sing-along lyrics and ear-pleasing harmonies, they're just plain really nice guys. Hope to see you there!

Photos: Russ Gordon