Sat., Apr. 25
Hilotrons ~ Phog Lounge, Windsor
Odonis Odonis ~ PJ's Lager House, Detroit
Border issues: As in, which side of the border to be on this Saturday night?
It was a tough, tough call for us. We're going with Hilotrons (Ottawa) because we loved them so much at M for Montreal, and missed their show last November at Phog Lounge when one of us was sick.
If we could be in two places at once, we'd also be at Odonis Odonis (Toronto). Since we can't, we're planning on seeing them at NXNE in June.
Will you go north to Detroit, or south to Windsor? We'll let the music help you decide.
Showing posts with label hilotrons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hilotrons. Show all posts
Our top shows of 2014
We hit a new low in 2014: the fewest shows we've seen in a year since before 2011. That wasn't the only thing that made last year unique. Only four of our top shows last year took place in Windsor or Detroit; yet overall, we saw more shows north of the border in 2014. And we noticed something: more and more people are attending Canadian indie shows in Metro Detroit. We hope that means more and more bands will put Detroit on their itinerary in 2015.
Even though our chain of show wrist bands didn't grow as much, there was no shortage of shows to put on this list. So here they are, our top shows of 2014, in chronological order. Where are the photos? Well, that's why this post is so late. When our new Toshiba Canvio external hard drive failed after only two months, data recovery re-sorted thousands of photos. S2W is still trying to find them all, but it's been an arduous process.
Even though our chain of show wrist bands didn't grow as much, there was no shortage of shows to put on this list. So here they are, our top shows of 2014, in chronological order. Where are the photos? Well, that's why this post is so late. When our new Toshiba Canvio external hard drive failed after only two months, data recovery re-sorted thousands of photos. S2W is still trying to find them all, but it's been an arduous process.
- The Wet Secrets (Call the Office, London). First, they gave us a great show with music that has everything we like best. Then they made us put on a marching band hat and took our picture. We love these guys and gals so much.
- Bend Sinister (PJ's Lager House, Detroit). Lager House owner PJ meant to stay just for one song. He was so blown away by Dan Moxon and company he ended up watching the whole set. That alone made it a top show for us.
- Zeus (The Pike Room at The Crofoot, Pontiac). FINALLY. So good, it just made us regret all the times we missed them even more.
- Chad VanGaalen with Cousins (The Pike Room at The Crofoot, Pontiac). We were thrilled to at last experience Chad VanGaalen, one of Canadian indie's most creative, multitalented artists.
- Doomsquad, (NXNE, Toronto). We saw them in their hometown of Montreal too, but this is the show that made our hearts Kalaboogie.
- How Sad (NXNE, Toronto). Exactly the way we like our pop: Effervescent, a little frenetic, organic and not too sweet.
- Shred Kelly (NXNE, Toronto). Just when we think a Shred Kelly show can't get any better, they prove us wrong.
- Wintersleep (NXNE, Toronto). They've played St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, but we decided to wait until we could see them on a TTC streetcar. It was the best ending ever to one of the best NXNEs we've attended.
- Octoberman (Phog Lounge, Windsor). It was a year for seeing CBC Radio 3 legends, including Andre Ethier and Culture Reject. Add the original and contemplative Marc Morrissette to that list.
- Library Voices, Gord Downie and the Sadies (Festival of Good Things, Sarnia). When it came to music, the event should have been called the Festival of Sublime Things. The perfect end to summer.
- Canailles (M for Montreal). Their brash music might be a mash-up-- Cajun, bluegrass, country and more-- but no band we saw at M made us feel more like we were in Montreal than Canailles.
- Hilotrons (M for Montreal). Somehow we'd forgotten how irresistibly catchy Dubue's music can be. Thanks for the reminder, Hilotrons, and our last top show for 2014.
M pour Montreal est merveilleux
When it comes to music festivals, we've been selective. NXNE and London's Home County Arts & Music Festival have perfectly suited our schedules, wallets, ability to travel and the way we like to consume live music. But after meeting M pour Montreal's Mikey Bernard at NXNE, we decided it was time to dust off our high school French, venture out of our comfort zone and head to M pour Montreal.
How we got there: Porter Air from Windsor to Toronto Island to Trudeau Airport. Reasonable price, and landing on a small island is pretty amazing. We even had time between flights on our way home to grab lunch at Wvrst in Toronto. Good to know: Budget $40 for a cab to and from the airport to downtown Montreal if you don't want to take the bus.
Where we stayed: Trylon Appartements at Ste. Famille and Milton. Except for incredibly lousy Wi-Fi-- a challenge not limited to Trylon, we discovered chatting with other M for Montreal attendees-- also very reasonable. Great staff and location, highly recommended. Good to know: Everything was within walking distance, although we cabbed it a few times because of the cold (around -9 C) on Thursday and Friday.
Where we ate: Thanks to Montreal resident and fellow Radio 3 blogger Hedgehog Friend, we had the inside scoop on great iconic places to eat in the city, including Amelios (bring your own beer); Juliette & Chocolat; Schwartz's; Beautys; La Sala Rossa; and our favourite, spruce beer and tourtiere at La Binerie. We also had the best coffee (we ordered Americanos) ANYWHERE at Pikolo.
What we didn't do: We missed Betty Bonifassi's show and Py Py due to logistics; sad panda, because we love them both. We didn't have time to make our pilgrimage to Breakglass Studios or be tourists. But hey Montreal, we'll definitely be back.
(Click on a photo for the slideshow)
Who we saw:
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| Kandle Osborne of Kandle and the Krooks |
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| Jeff Innes of High Ends |
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| Le Trouble; check out their CBC Beetle Roadtrip session with Grant Lawrence at cbc.ca/beetleroadtrip. |
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| Canailles. We were sold when we saw that the drummer had a trash can lid as part of his kit. They had the whole room line dancing. |
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| Peter Dreimanis of July Talk. |
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| Leah Fay of July Talk. |
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| Banjo oh my darling Lisa LeBlanc |
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| So, our beloved Parlovr is no more. But Alex, Jeremy and Louis are still making music. We saw Alex's new band, Holy Data, at L'Escogriffe. This is Jordan. You might know him from Sunset Rubdown and Miracle Fortress. |
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| This is Alexis Dionne |
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| This is Reg Kachanoski |
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| And this is Alex Cooper. |
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| We never thought we'd get to see a Unicorn-- Alden Penner-- performing Unicorn songs. |
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| Badbadnotgood was anything but. |
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| Yup, supreme just about sums up their M for Montreal show. |
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| Michael Feuerstack |
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| Doomsquad @ Divan Orange |
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| How Sad made us happy again at La Sala Rossa |
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| Hilotrons were a hit with us. Michael Dubue sang the vocals for Animal, Master |
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| Alex Moxon / Hilotrons |
Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images
Show Alert: Hilotrons, an M for Montreal highlight, play Windsor
Fri., Nov. 28
Phog Lounge ~ Windsor
We saw a lot of great shows at M for Montreal; Ottawa's Hilotrons at Casa del Popolo was one of our favourites. That's why we'll be seeing them again a week later at Phog. We loved the music, their musicianship, and how the very Zen guitarist Alex Moxon contrasted with Hilotrons founder Michael Dubue's mad genius.
We weren't the only ones. Anyone out there remember The Gold Dollar on Cass in Detroit? (Hint: it existed 1996-2001). We met former proprietor Neil Yee at the show, who now lives in Montreal, and he shared our thumbs up for Hilotrons.
Here's their latest, a single released in October (with guest vocals by Tara Holloway). Watch for a new album in 2015). You can hear more Hilotrons on their CBC Radio 3 profile page.
Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images
Phog Lounge ~ Windsor
We saw a lot of great shows at M for Montreal; Ottawa's Hilotrons at Casa del Popolo was one of our favourites. That's why we'll be seeing them again a week later at Phog. We loved the music, their musicianship, and how the very Zen guitarist Alex Moxon contrasted with Hilotrons founder Michael Dubue's mad genius.
We weren't the only ones. Anyone out there remember The Gold Dollar on Cass in Detroit? (Hint: it existed 1996-2001). We met former proprietor Neil Yee at the show, who now lives in Montreal, and he shared our thumbs up for Hilotrons.
Here's their latest, a single released in October (with guest vocals by Tara Holloway). Watch for a new album in 2015). You can hear more Hilotrons on their CBC Radio 3 profile page.
Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images
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