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.

1.  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.
2. 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.
3. Zeus (The Pike Room at The Crofoot, Pontiac). FINALLY. So good, it just made us regret all the times we missed them even more.
4. 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.
5. Doomsquad, (NXNE, Toronto). We saw them in their hometown of Montreal too, but this is the show that made our hearts Kalaboogie.
6. How Sad (NXNE, Toronto). Exactly the way we like our pop: Effervescent, a little frenetic, organic and not too sweet.
7. Shred Kelly (NXNE, Toronto). Just when we think a Shred Kelly show can't get any better, they prove us wrong.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.

Show Review: Zeus bring thunder to Pontiac

News: They have a new album "in the can," as Neil Quin put it, to go with Say Us and Busting Visions.

2 things that surprised us: (1) How outstanding the band's vocals were. Beautiful, pitch-perfect harmonies. "We do rehearse," Quin confided. (2) There were several obvious fans in the audience at the Pike Room, belting out lyrics and even wearing jackets with the band's name hand-stenciled on them. 

Details: In Greek mythology one of Zeus' symbol is the thunderbolt. Zeus the band from Toronto came with the first thunderstorm of the year.

Songs we loved: (1) The really promising new material we got to hear FIRST because Pontiac was the first stop on this tour. (2) "Are You Gonna Waste My Time?" and "Love/Pain."

2 things we liked: (1) How easily and democratically Carlin Nicholson, Mike O'Brien and Quin shared vocal and instrument duties while Rob Drake anchored it all on the drums. (2) Once Zeus realized the audience really knew their music, they added extra favourites to the set list.

What we didn't like: Nothing. This will be one of our top shows of the year for sure.

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

SHOW ALERT: Finally We See ZEUS

Yeah. We know. After seeing 1.3 songs at St. Andrews (and some nice chattering)  and saying hello at NXNE (car being towed incident) we FINALLY get to experience an actual Zeus show. 

Nobody will waste your time, these guys are here to stay. As the songs are marching through 

your head, you will realize that this is how you feel and that's all. 

Show Alert: Zeus @ Majestic Theatre

Thurs., Aug. 25

How does it feel to see the Toronto-based band Zeus? We wouldn't know. We keep missing them. We heard about a song and a half when they opened for Sam Roberts in June (what show starts at 7:30 p.m.??), had to bail before their set at NXNE during the XM/Verge Skybar rooftop party, and will be at the Great Lake Swimmers show when they play the Majestic Theatre in Detroit. Sigh. Will someone please go hear this great band and their insanely likeable, catchy alt-pop/rock and tell us how it was? Oh: they're opening for some band called Bright Eyes.

Zeus' 2010 release, Say Us, is available at www.themusicofzeus.com

Show Review: Sam Roberts Band heat up Detroit

Oh, the extremes we go to for a show. Last December, four of us-- and we mean an audience of four-- shivered inside the Vernors Room of the Crofoot to watch Rah Rah. Last month, we sweated inside a sold-out St. Andrews Hall, full of fans-- both human and inexplicably, motionless mechanical ones-- where the temperature easily topped 100F (40C).













The Sam Roberts Band (Montreal) didn't need any help heating up Detroit. They do a pretty good job on their own. Roberts' affection for the city, warts and all, is obvious and the fans (the human ones) return it, more than comparable well-attended shows we've seen in the Detroit area (Hot Hot Heat, Destroyer, New Pornographers).

Why? Roberts' catchy, straight-up rock 'n' roll definitely appeals to Motor City musical sensibilities and to Canadian fans and Juno voters as well; both his 2004 release, We Were Born In A Flame, and 2009's Love At The End Of The World won Rock Album of the Year. Live, the band delivers a performance full of crowd-pleasing hits as strong and sincere as Roberts' handshake. Although in our opinion the band's latest release, Collider, is not quite on par with those Juno winners, there is still plenty to like.

Dear Zeus: We think there's plenty to like about your music too (so reminscent of a certain famous 60s band from Liverpool), and apologize for missing all but one and a half songs of your opening set. We hope our failure to pay attention to show start times doesn't leave a Permanent Scar. Love, N2DS2W.

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

NXNE 2011: Day 1, part 1-- we land on free parking

In an effort to improve upon last year's misguided scheduling, we kicked off NXNE 2011 with beer: a tour of Steam Whistle Brewing, where we had our first meet-and-greet with fellow Radio 3 bloggers Thursday afternoon. What could go wrong?

Three big events converging on Toronto-- NXNE, Illuminato and the Toronto Tattoo Convention (we just thought TO was really into ink) is what could go wrong, in the form of what one cab driver told us later was the worst traffic he'd ever seen. It put us in scramble mode for the rest of the afternoon, and all because of the R3 Mobile. Thanks to Matt Weed from Steam Whistle for the assist and making the tour happen.

The R3 Mobile

After Steam Whistle-- $10 gets you a great half hour tour, lots of free samples and a pilsner glass or bottle opener-- we hoofed it over to the XM Verge Skybar Lounge Rooftop Party. The lineup for this late addition to our carefully-crafted schedule (we were supposed to be at Trinity Bellwoods for their Live in Bellwood series) was too good to pass up: Hollerado, one of our top 10 for 2010 and our favorite NXNE performance last year, and Zeus, to make up for missing almost their entire set in Detroit.

Washington

With a postcard view of Toronto Harbour as a backdrop, we heard a solid set of robust pop from Washington (Australian Megan Washington on keyboard and vox) and alt-rock/pop group Dinosaur Bones (Toronto), warming up for their date with the CBC Radio 3 Showcase on Saturday. In between we chatted with Glen Erickson from the Wheat Pool, who recently launched a music video company; Pete Nema of Sticky Magazine; and the two Michaels from Library Voices (on our schedule for the following evening at the Mod Club).

Dinosaur Bones & Pete Nema of Sticky Magazine (at right)

After a few words with Carlin Nicholson from Zeus, we wish we could say we heard his voice on stage. Instead we heard the voice of reason: we had to go rescue the R3 Mobile from the Steam Whistle lot and pick up our passes if we wanted to hear any shows that night. It's a given at a music festival like NXNE that you miss as many great bands as you see; it wouldn't be the first time that weekend.



We landed on free parking again near NXNE headquarters (the Hyatt Regency on King), when an attendant at a $12 lot let us skate on the promise we were just running in (who said Toronto doesn't have a heart?). We didn't even make it to the door before running into D-Sisive, Muneshine and Ghettosocks, presenters for the SOCAN panel on “Digital Beats & Tweets: How Technology is Changing the Face of Hip-Hop." We've vowed to schedule in some interactive sessions next year; even though we missed their panel, it was great to have another chance to tell D-Sisive and Muneshine how much we enjoyed their show at the Phog in April, and to meet Ghettosocks.

D-Sisive & Muneshine

We had hoped to catch Ruth Minnikin at the Dakota, but by the time we'd picked up our passes, crawled through traffic and checked in at the Grange Hotel, we were lucky to make the Luyas at the Horseshoe Tavern. We'd like to give a shout-out to the Grange; it's not the Hyatt, but in addition to being budget friendly ($95 a night for NXNE), it's clean, centrally located (north of Queen, west of Spadina) and the room has a stove, refrigerator, microwave and even dishes/cooking utensils.

Next post: NXNE 2011 Day 1, part 2-- the Luyas, Allie Hughes, Les Jupes and another schedule fail.

Show Alert: Sam Roberts Band w/ Zeus @ St. Andrews Hall

One of us has been anticipating this show for a long time. That would be Yort, who's always considered Sam Roberts her "gateway drug" to Canadian indie music, and whose very first Canadian indie show was the Sam Roberts Band with Mother Mother back in February 2009 at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit.

The Juno award winner returns this Wednesday to the same venue, with a new album-- Collider-- and another great opening band, Zeus, whose album Say Us made the Polaris Music Prize long list in 2010.

Listen:
Sam Roberts Band, "Fixed to Ruin," from Love at the End of the World
Zeus, "Kindergarten," from Say Us