Show review: Running with The Pack (a.d.)

Last Thursday night at the Phog Lounge found us in the company of Vancouver garage rockers The Pack a.d..  Having had the opportunity to listen to the track-by-track preview of their latest album we kill computers on CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence Live, we knew we were in for a loud, make-my-ears-bleed -until-I-beg-for-more type of evening.

Maya  made it perfectly clear from the beginning that we would hear most of we kill computers and much, much more.  We were not disappointed.  Becky howled, wailed on her guitars, yowled and cooed flawlessly, every note perfect.  Maya beat, banged and pounded out every song with the mastery of a blacksmith creating the King's finest.

Fifteen songs later, it was over.  We wanted more, but there will be another time.  After a short break, the gals were at their merch table, signing CDs and shirts and chattering with the long line of adoring fans.  Selfless, appreciative and honestly humble is what makes The Pack a.d. such an experience.  They are a true ambassador for Canadian Indie music.

Bands give us great performances.  What do we give them?  We buy the CDs and tees and buttons, but what do we really give them?  Thank-yous are a nice touch.  Dinner is great if you can coordinate it.  Carry an equipment case?  The offer is appreciated and sometimes rewarded, right, Lee Hower?  Did the band ask for stickers for their van?  It's the thought and effort that count.  Here's proof.  Thanks Becky and Maya, you rock!   Come back soon, please.

Photos: Russ Gordon

Review review: our code of conduct

Since we mentioned our "code of conduct" for this site when reviewing shows and/or albums, it seemed like a good idea to let you know what it is and where we believe it positions N2DS2W: somewhere between Pitchfork and Ripfork.

1. We will not write reviews that compare bands to other bands or otherwise include analogies, similes or metaphors ad nauseum.
2. We will remember that music is a very personal topic and our views are our own. Meaning: it's subjective, stupid.
3. We will not write a show review that bashes a band for having an off night. They might be awesome the next night, so why discourage others from attending? This is different from noting an obvious weakness or lack of talent.
4. If we come off sounding snarky, we most likely mean it.

Bottom line is, we are passionate about Canadian indie music, and writing about it.

Show Review: The Zolas, Will Currie & the Country French and Bend Sinister

Three bands. Three solid examples of vocal-and-keyboard driven alt-rock. As last week's show at Windsor's Phog Lounge proved, the formula works, over and over, because talent and the infinite variations of human creativity keep it from being too formulaic.
     In the case of Vancouver-
based the Zolas, it was Zachary Gray's earnest and agile delivery of  accessible lyrics, accompanied by Tom Dobrzanski's  I've-got-your-back robust piano and supporting vocals that won our admiration-- and money from our budget for their latest CD, Tic Toc Tic.

They might not take kindly to strangers in Ontario, but we sure took kindly to Will Currie and his band, the Country French. Currie comes off as somewhat shy on stage, which makes you feel privileged that he's sharing his inner life through his songs. His vocals are just as earnest as Gray's but earthier, his keyboard playing focused and energetic. We knew Will from his guest host stints on Radio 3 and were glad to get better acquainted with his music and newest release, Awake! You Sleepers.


Country French guitarist Dan Beacock (left) and bassist Daniel MacPherson.


Last, but certainly not least: Bend Sinister. We watched lead singer Dan Moxon as he waited through the opening acts, quiet, unassuming, helping the other bands with their sound. We were so amazed when Moxon took the stage we made up a new word: flummoxoned.



Bend Sinister nails the power-pop-rock anthem perfectly and it's great to be along for the ride with Moxon's incredible rollercoaster of a voice and superb keyboard work. Although it's our review policy to not compare bands/artists to other bands, it's hard where Bend Sinister is concerned. Is it cheating to note that one of their encores was Supertramp's "Logical Song" and it's a natural? If you haven't seen or heard them before, check out the video below. Their latest release is Spring Romance.


Photos: Russ Gordon

Hey Band Agents!

Sometimes the decision making process that results in a tour lineup seems inscrutable to fans. Just days before the Hot Hot Heat/Hey Rosetta! Show last Saturday in the Crofoot’s Pike Room, we discovered that the 22-20s had been added to the bill. What? Who?

Waiting to see Hey Rosetta! for the very first time was like walking into a classroom in the fall knowing that a professor you admire will be teaching it. Every step closer to the door in the long line and every step up the stairs brought us closer to the realization.

Then, as we were getting IDed and banded, the first notes hit us. “Hey Rosetta! are the opener? How can this be?”

Luckily there were a few spots at the front side of the stage waiting for us, as the Pike Room was packed. It seemed like we’d been there for only minutes when we heard Tim announce “This is our last song.” Once again, disbelief: “How can this be?” Only six songs by one of the best indie bands in Canada?

This is not a 22-20s review nor a Hot Hot Heat review. Both these bands were outstanding and rocked their asses off. It is a review of the agent who, in our eyes, had the opening acts in the wrong order.

Tim waxed poetic on the HR! tour blog the following day.

The fields are beautiful and on a day that finally feels like September should (warm and cool all at once) it’s a perfect sight. Much like the packed Pike Room at the Crofoot in Pontiac last night. What a time. Maybe it’s the proximity to the border, but it felt kinda like home; full and friendly, drunk, unafraid, brimming and lit. We made all sorts of friends and played all sorts of excellent rooms. I told people we’d be back soon and I don’t know if that’s true but I hope it is. We shall let you know.

We sure would love you to be the headlining act next time, because in our world, you are.

Based in St. John's, NL, the six-piece group is comprised of Tim Baker (vocals/piano/guitar), Adam Hogan (guitar), Josh Ward (bass), Phil Maloney (drums), Romesh Thavanathan (cello) and Erin Aurich (violin).

http://www.heyrosetta.com/

http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/Hey-Rosetta

@HeyRosetta on Twitter

Triple Play!

With a trip to LOLA scheduled for Saturday (Benn Gunning! Minotaurs! Land of Talk! Caribou!), plus the Pack A.D. and Young Rival at Windsor's Phog Lounge on Sept. 23 followed by Holy Fuck at the Magic Stick in Detroit three days later, we tried to talk ourselves out of Bend Sinister with Will Currie and The Country French at Phog this Thurs., Sept. 16. Heck, we're still working on getting a post up about last Saturday's Hot Hot Heat/Hey Rosetta! show.

Until we saw that The Zolas had been added. So much for resisting the allure of Canadian indie music. See you there.

Meet us in the middle

Hey Rosetta! hails from St. John's, Newfoundland, the most easterly point of Canada. Hot Hot Heat are based in Vancouver, British Columbia-- the opposite end of the country. Beyond geography, there is a lot that separates these two bands, but this Saturday they meet in the middle of North America to play the Pike Room of the Crofoot in Pontiac.

The scene is somewhat reminiscent of the Dan Mangan/The Wooden Birds bill last month: darlings of the Canadian indie scene gaining exposure in the U.S. thanks to vets with an established American audience. Formed in 2005, Hey Rosetta! released their first album, Plan Your Escape, in 2007 to much acclaim, followed by the stunningly beautiful, award-winning and 2009 Polaris Music Prize short-listed Into Your Lungs. Like Mangan, they deserve to be discovered here.

Hot Hot Heat has paid their dues and won a few awards themselves over 11 years of recording and touring. Hits from 2002's Make Up the Breakdown ("Bandages"), 2005's Elevator ("Middle of Nowhere," "Goodnight Goodnight") and Happiness Ltd.-- which will have been released exactly two years from Saturday's concert date-- have received regular airplay on Detroit/Windsor radio stations like 89X and 93.9 The River. Lead singer Steve Bays might describe the inspiration for their latest album, Future Breeds, as “Basically, if it sounded like something we’d done before, then it was like we were cheating," but their brash sound is as popular as ever. (Photo by Darren Ankeman)

Venue Spotlight: the Crofoot

Where: 1 South Saginaw, Pontiac, Mich.

What: four different venues for shows--the Crofoot Ballroom and Balcony, (capacity 1100); the Eagle Theater (capacity 600); the second floor Pike Room (capacity 250); and the Vernors Room (capacity 75).

We've seen: You Say Party! We Say Die! (now known as You Say Party!) in the Pike Room (two weeks before the untimely death of drummer Devon Clifford); the New Pornographers (Crofoot Ballroom); Dan Mangan (Pike Room).

The Crofoot's talent buyer Greg Baise was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule for a short Q&A with N2DS2W. We wanted to know:

N2DS2W: How long has the Crofoot been bringing independent Canadian bands to Pontiac?

Baise: Since we opened almost three years ago.

N2DS2W: List some of the bands you first brought in. How were they received?

Baise: Some highlights have been our two New Pornographers shows, Neko Case solo, Destroyer, AC Newman, and Stars. Stars was one of our biggest shows when we first opened up. I think this show was huge for a variety of reasons. First of all, right away we earned the reputation for being the best club in the area, for both bands and fans. Our sound system is unmatchable, and the amenities that bands get here are comparable to what one would find in the top European clubs. Another factor is definitely proximity to Canada and Windsor in particular, as well as the commercial alternative stations that originate in Windsor and actually play most of these artists.

N2DS2W: Who are some of your favorite Canadian indie artists?

Baise: I'm a huge fan of the Sadies, Toronto's cosmic country kings, which played here the other night.

N2DS2W: Do you have a “dream” Canadian indie band/performer you’d like to book?

Baise: A surprise Leonard Cohen show would be pretty cool.

Many thanks to the Crofoot for supporting Canadian indie artists. Our next show at the Crofoot is Hey Rosetta!/Hot Hot Heat on Sat., Sept. 11 in the Pike Room.

Show Review: Dan's the Man

With all due respect to The Wooden Birds, the billing was backwards last Thursday at the Crofoot in Pontiac.

Andrew Kenny's thoughtful musical arrangements and lyrics reminded us of driving across the open farmland and prairies of middle America: steady rhythm, soft undulations and a clear view of where you're headed. The Austin, Texas-based band (pictured below) and their mellow, southern-inflected brand of ambling country rock was no doubt well-received in Louisville, Ken. where they played the night before.

But based on heads alone Dan Mangan was the headliner in the Pike Room that evening, and it was obvious that audience appreciation-- which included our fellow CBC Radio 3 bloggers Wapuche and jojodillon-- went far beyond body count. A confessed introduction to Kentucky bourbon in Louisville appeared to have no affect on Mangan and his band: guitarist Gord Grdina, bassist John Walsh and drummer Kenton Loewen.

They enthusiastically delivered the majority of Nice, Nice, Very Nice, a few selections from Postcards And Dreaming plus a new song composed while on tour, concluding with a rousing "Robots" sing along. Mangan seemed genuinely surprised everyone knew the words. So were we. Ring the bells that still can ring and sing your stupid head off to the ones who are not listening... We're listening, Dan. We're listening.














Photos: Yort Images

Nice, nice, very nice!

We have it from a pretty reliable source that Dan Mangan is in fact opening for Wooden Birds at the Crofoot this Thursday:

Go_N2Det_S2Win
@danmanganmusic Will Wooden Birds be with you in Detroit next week?

danmanganmusic
@Go_N2Det_S2Win in Pontiac? I believe so!

Because we are devoted listeners to CBC Radio 3, we already know that Dan Mangan's album Nice, Nice, Very Nice is on the short list for this year's Polaris Prize and he's one of Canadian indie's most popular artists, and deservedly so. For a guy who's "spent half his life in the customer service line," (or maybe because of it?) he sure knows how to write catchy, philosophical and witty lyrics set to catchy, lyrical and pretty melodies. So it boggles our minds that he will be largely unknown to the audience. (Photo credit: Jonathan Taggart)

On the other hand, Wooden Birds will be largely unknown to us. Somehow American Analog Set is off our radar, although we can certainly appreciate Andrew Kenny's association with Broken Social Scene. We like what we hear on their MySpace page and are looking forward to getting to know them better.

Dinner and a Show

While we're waiting for Dan Mangan on Thurs., Aug. 26 at the Crofoot's Vernors Room (Dan may or may not be opening for Wooden Birds; we heard they'd canceled but now it appears they're on again), we thought we'd wax poetic about poutine.

If you're Stateside, you may not be familiar with poutine (poo-teen, or check out the French pronunciation on the poutine Wiki page). It's not a Canadian indie band, but it does go with one very well, before or after a show. Poutine is a Canadian culinary treat that originated in Quebec: French fried potatoes topped with cheese curds and gravy. It doesn't have a particularly long tradition. My friend's mom, a Quebec native who left in the 1950s, had never heard of it. But it is gaining in popularity and definitely has a lot of passionate consumers.

Purists demand only freshly prepared potatoes (not frozen crinkle-cut fries), fresh cheese curds (also known as squeaky cheese; if the curds were finished correctly and aged, they would result in cheddar cheese) and a light gravy (poultry- or veal-based; vegetarian gravy is used as well).

We think poutine is a culinary trend waiting to happen in the Detroit area. After all, Detroit loves its chili-cheese fries. For now, the best place we know of locally to enjoy poutine along with a side of Canadian indie music is Windsor's Phog Lounge (be sure to scroll all the way down for the menu and prices).

Or you could open up a Smoke's franchise...

Photos: Russ Gordon

CBC Radio3 bloggers invade Phog!

How much do Radio 3 bloggers love Canadian Indie bands? How about 450-plus miles (725 kilometers) worth? That's how far bloggers dawn.h, ATrain and moniski drove round-trip to see The Mountains & The Trees and the Wilderness of Manitoba on Aug. 11 at Windsor's Phog Lounge. They saw a lot more of The Mountains & The Trees, as they were chauffeured by none other than Jon Janes, the man behind TM&TT.

Janes might cringe at the singer-songwriter label (see Russ's spotlight on Janes at NxEW.ca), but troubadours have been around since the Middle Ages-- and longer. There are a few things that make this deceptively simple model successful, but one in particular: the ability to connect intimately with the audience, via melody, words and charisma. Whether it's a room of 200+ (like the NxEW showcase at NXNE in June) or 40 at the Phog, listeners can relate to Janes and the music on his EP (A Hop, Skip & a Jump) and just released, aptly-named, full-length album, I Made This For You.

If Janes is grounded in life's poignant everyday moments, the Wilderness of Manitoba soars in an atmosphere of ethereal sound, mythology and Tibetan singing bowls. As a multiphonic instrument, the singing bowl is both complement to and beautiful metaphor for the Wilderness of Manitoba's incredible vocal harmonies, courtesy of Stefan Banjevic, Scott Bouwmeester, Melissa Dalton, Sean Lancaric and Will Whitwham and their various instrumental talents. We were especially impressed with Lancaric's unique approach to drums/percussion. Their talents aren't limited to music; Dalton created the art and cover design of their full-length album released in June, When You Left the Fire.

Meet the R3 bloggers: left to right, back row, CDNz1 (Russ Gordon), themountainsandthetrees (Jon Janes) and Wapuche (Patrick Parker). Front row, left to right, ATrain (Alysson Tighe), moniski (Monica Skorupski), dawn.h (Dawn Hill) and jojodillon (Yort is behind the camera).

More photos to follow as the wayward backpack/camera bag returns home. Thanks again!

Phantastic Phog Phest

Oh, the phun you can have with Phog spelling puns. But that's nothing compared to the fun you'll have and great music you'll hear at Phog Phest 2 this coming Saturday, August 14 at Windsor's Phog Lounge. Ten bands for $10! There's been a slight change to the line-up-- Raised by Swans out, Red Rows in-- still culminating in Grand Analog, Magic Hall of Mirrors and Young Rival. Phabulous! See you there.

Our next indie fix

We're having show withdrawal! It's been almost three weeks since Yukon Blonde on July 22 so we are ready for The Mountains & The Trees and the Wilderness of Manitoba (plus opener G.V. Manury) this Wednesday, Aug. 11, at Windsor's Phog Lounge.

The Mountains & The Trees' (otherwise known as Jon Janes) new-- and first-- full-length album, I Made This For You, will be officially released Aug. 10. The hype machine is in full swing for Jon's sweet, poignant singer-songwriter take on life's universal moments (can you say "Next Dan Mangan?" No pressure, Jon, no pressure). Paired with the Wilderness of Manitoba's hauntingly beautiful folk-experimental-French pop (from their MySpace page description), it will be an ear-pleasing evening.

Holy Fuck: keeping up with the calendar

Since we'll wager you haven't taken the time to click on our blog profile and read our mission statement for N2DS2W, allow us to enlighten you:

To promote independent Canadian artists and music in the Windsor/ Detroit area and beyond; to serve as a social networking site for CBC Radio 3 bloggers in the Windsor/Detroit area and beyond; and to foster awareness of and goodwill towards independent Canadian artists and musicians between the cities of Detroit and Windsor.

One way we hope to accomplish this is through our calendar. We're trying hard to make it a go-to place for Canadian indie shows coming to the Windsor/Detroit area. So if you know of a venue and/or show we're not covering/have listed, please bring it to our attention! For example, we missed a Sarah Harmer/Daniel Romano show at Ferndale's Magic Bag last week. But we'll do our best to keep it up, and updated.

One show we definitely won't be missing, just added to the Magic Stick's roster: Holy Fuck on Sun., Sept. 26. Yeah, we know. A Sunday. There's something delightfully ironic about that.

Read Russ's spotlight on Holy Fuck, featuring his interview with Brian Borcherdt, at www.nxew.ca.

Photos: Russ Gordon

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