Photos: Said The Whale @ Majestic Theatre 3/22/2013

Said The Whale return to Detroit.

 

 

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Show Alert: Elliott BROOD

Thurs., Feb. 23
Magic Stick Lounge, Detroit
With Patrick Davy and the Ghosts

Bringing a little Northern Air to the winter that wasn't in Michigan, death country trio Elliott BROOD (Hamilton/Toronto) return to Detroit for the first time since 2009. We saw them three times last year (New Year's Eve at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Windsor's Capitol Theatre and Phog Phest III), and already braved one of the season's only snowstorms last month to catch them in Sarnia; they never bring anything but their all to a show. Celebrating 10 years as a band in 2012, their latest album, Days Into Years, chips away at the gritty death country label with a mellower vibe, but you can be sure of a foot-stomping, pan-clanging close to the show.

Show Review: Detroit-- Fucked Up again

Stay clear of the mosh pit at a Fucked Up show and you can avoid blood or broken eyeglasses. But there's no escaping Canadian indie's version of "Reach Out and Touch Someone." No matter where you stand, lead singer Damian Abraham will bring his microphone and sweaty charisma to you. The rest of the band-- Jonah Falco, Mike Haliechuk, Sandy Miranda, Josh Zucker and Ben Cook-- hold down the fort and turn up the volume on poetry and philosophy, opera and opining, set to a score of some of the best punk rock around.

Fucked Up (Toronto)
Fri., Sep. 30 at the Magic Stick in Detroit. 

Wavves (San Diego) and Mexican Knives (Detroit) opened.

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

Our Detroit area venue guide for bands

We are NOT booking agents. But, because we've had the distinct pleasure of chatting with and getting to know so many bands, more and more we're being asked: "Where can I play in the Detroit area?" So we decided to get all official and post something we hope will be helpful. Just click on the link above for our new page listing venues and information about them around Metro Detroit that book Canadian indie bands. If we've missed anything-- venues, details we should know about-- just drop us a line at n2ds2w@gmail.com and we'll update our list.

City spotlight: Go north to Detroit

This gorgeous photo of Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit was
taken by our talented friend Tim Kendra. Drop N2DS2W
an e-mail if you're interested in hiring Tim as a photographer.

A lot of things have surprised us since we launched this blog, and one of the most surprising is that according to Blogger stats, the majority of our visitors are from the States. Blogger doesn't tell us where in the U.S. you're reading this, so if you're from Detroit we're (we hope)  preaching to the choir. But if not, to paraphrase a vintage catchphrase, we'd like to say a few nice things about Detroit. As longtime and lifelong residents of the metro area, while we think a Canadian indie show in Detroit is a great reason to come to the city, it doesn't have to be the only thing on your agenda.

If you're a visiting band with time to kill and or you're coming for a show and want to make a day of your visit downtown, a great place to start is strolling Detroit's riverfront. Although it still has a way to go to rival Windsor's greenbelt across the river, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has now completed three miles of walkway along the river. A detailed map is available here.

Man-made sights in Detroit are just as interesting as the natural. Detroit is renowned for its historic buildings and their beautiful architecture so just walk around and appreciate the work of great architects like Albert Kahn and Louis Kamper. Or drop by Inside Detroit and sign up for one of their tours, available for as little as $10. Inside Detroit co-founder Jeanette Pierce is passionate about the city and knows more fascinating facts than you've forgotten, guaranteed.

You didn't hear it from us, but for the intrepid, Detroit's lost souls abandoned to the ravages of time and neglect offer some prime urban spelunking opportunities. The most infamous is the looming hulk of the Michigan Central Station, which can be seen in the Transformers movies. Don't go in there. Stay away.  Blah blah blah.

Not into architecture, whether dramatic or decrepit? When English Words, who hail from Charlottetown, PEI,  played the Phog Lounge this past April, the die-hard Red Wings fans took time out to tour Joe Louis Arena.

Although much of Detroit's retail shopping core is gone, you won't go hungry. Cheap and iconic eats are plentiful; start with Greektown (where several restaurants are open until 3:00 a.m-- Opa!) or Lafayette Coney Island. The barbeque scene in Detroit is also burgeoning; as are microbreweries. For a detailed list of more than 100 restaurants and bars in Detroit, click here.

Another great resource for getting to know Detroit and getting around it is the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. Tell them Go NORTH to Detroit, SOUTH to Windsor sent you. They won't know what the hell you're talking about, but they'll help you anyway. And above all, enjoy the Canadian indie show that brought you here in the first place.

Show Review: Holy Fuck

We've seen a lot of Canadian indie bands and artists this year, and happily, no one has let us down yet. Capping off an incredible month of shows for us here at N2D, Holy Fuck were no exception, turning the Magic Stick into a house of worship on a September Sunday night as they continue touring in support of their latest full-length album, Latin (read Russ's interview with Brian Borcherdt from earlier this year).

Electronica can be just that, electronic. And by that we're referring not to what is used to produce the music, but the emotional and psychological appeal of the end result. While using their signature 35mm film synchronizer, "garage sale" keyboards, guitar effect pedals and other electronic gadgets, Holy Fuck deliver wonderful melodies and tension-and-release climaxes that unites the best of electronic dance music and lyrical composition. The result is heavenly, as was "Lovely Allen."



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

The Magic Majestic

We're pretty fortunate here in the metro Detroit/Windsor area to have not one, but three venues that book Canadian indie bands on a regular basis: the Phog Lounge in Windsor, the Crofoot in Pontiac and the Majestic Theatre complex in Detroit, which includes the Magic Stick. We're heading to the Stick for the Gregory Pepper/Islands show tomorrow tonight (watch for a show review posting); on July 2 we rocked out to a hearing-loss-inducing performance by Black Mountain and before that, caught Yukon Blonde there.

While I'm eagerly anticipating Dan Mangan on Aug. 26 and positively giddy about Hot Hot Heat/Hey Rosetta! on Sept. 11, both at the Crofoot's Pike Room, I just browsed through the Majestic's schedule and found more shows to swoon over:

8/07 @ the Magic Stick: Young Galaxy
9/21 @ the Magic Stick: Tokyo Police Club/Arkells
10/09 @ the Majestic Theatre: STARS
10/30 @ the Majestic Cafe: Born Ruffians

Know of a show? Tell us!-- Yort