Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Live At The Danforth Music Hall

First off, I had no plans to see this gig last Thursday. I had checked the Ticketmaster website a couple of weeks ago and it seemed that they did not have any tickets left. After hearing Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark sounding really good on the CBC Radio show Q earlier in the day - and after having a couple of drinks - I changed my mind and decided that I would try to get tickets through scalpers. Luckily, I checked the box office first and much to my surprise they had tickets.

Note: I was late and missed the opening set by the always excellent Diamond Rings.

Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys and band came out at 9:30 PM sharp to the pre recorded sound of "Please Remain Seated," the introductory track off their latest album English Electric. Once the guys were settled they launched into another English Electric song, Metroland, their Kraftwerk-like ode to bad suburban planning. McCluskey seemed happy and energetic while giving high fives to the fans in front of the stage. He announced that “There will be old ones and there will be new ones,” referring to the song selection and sure enough OMD provided a good mix of their classics along with plenty of new songs.

Unlike other bands who regroup after a long hiatus, OMD made the decision that the reunion of their original group would not be a cash grab and that they would record new material. Since they got back together in 2010 they have put out two excellent LPs, History of Modern and the aforementioned English Electric. Most of the older crowd seemed to like the new material but I  did notice some fans who were disinterested. Those people got what they wanted though, and most of the set list was comprised of oldies including my personal favourites "Tesla Girls", "So in Love" and "Enola Gay". The band even played "If You Leave,"the mega hit from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. OMD don't particularly care for this song but it did make them a lot of money and McCluskey jokingly acknowledged that fact.

Another funny moment happened near the end of the first set when McCluskey stated that he was tired. He had good reason to be exhausted because the band were stuck on an airplane for 20 hours due to Toronto's shitty weather earlier in the week. McCluskey did get his second wind, finished the last two songs and with the crowd shouting O.M.D. over and over again the guys seemed reenergized and ended with a three song encore that included two more classics, "Secret" and "Electricity".

If you are in Toronto and you missed them, OMD will be back at the same venue on Friday July 19th. Go see them.

Set List:


Please Remain Seated 
Metroland 
Messages 
Tesla Girls 
Dresden 
History of Modern (Part 1) 
(Forever) Live and Die 
If You Leave 
Night Café 
Souvenir 
Joan of Arc 
Maid of Orleans 
Our System 
Kissing the Machine 
So In Love 
Sister Marie Says 
Locomotion 
Sailing on the Seven Seas 
Enola Gay 

Encore:

Walking on the Milky Way 
Secret 
Electricity 

New Music: OMD- Metroland + Night Café

I am really looking forward to the new Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark record after hearing these two songs. In fact I might like "Night Café" and "Metroland" better than any of the new Depeche Mode songs that have recently come out and that is saying something because I am a huge DM fan.

"Metroland" comes with an accompanying animated video that features a train ride from the sunny suburbs to the congested, grimy, rainy city. The song sounds like it might be a love letter to Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express."

"Night Café" is another brilliant synth pop track and will be the third song off the band's new album, English Electric, which will be available April 9th. Listen below:

OMD will start a world tour in April and they will be in Toronto on both July 11th and July 19th for two sold out shows. For the rest of the tour line up check here.

MBV Release New Album (Finally) + Other New Music Releases and News

If you haven't heard the news yet (you might be living on the moon), 90's shoegaze genius Kevin Shields and his band My Bloody Valentine have finally, after 22 years, put the finishing touches on their new album m.b.v. The album was released on midnight Saturday (UK time) on their website and after initial problems due to their website crashing, I was finally able to download and listen the LP before midnight (EST). The album is absolutely spectacular and should be deemed mandatory listening for all shoegaze fans.. You can purchase the the album here or listen to the entire record on youtube.

My Bloody Valentine- She Found Now

And speaking of My Bloody Valentine, up and coming Canadian/British artist Rachel Zeffira has recorded a  beautiful acoustic cover of MBV's To Here Knows When for her debut album The Deserters which will be released on March 12th. See the studio recorded video for the track below:

Rachel Zeffira- To Here Knows When

Suede share a new track and video: Watch It Starts and End With You is from their upcoming album, Bloodsports, which is out in March. Watch below:

Suede- It Starts and Ends With You

80's synth pop legends Depeche Mode share a new track and video: Heaven is from the band's forthcoming LP, Delta Machine, out March 26th

Depeche Mode- Heaven

Another great 80's synth pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark share a new track, and music video plus announce a world tour that includes a stop in Toronto on July 11th. Atomic Ranch is taken from the LP English Electric which comes out April 9th.

OMD- Atomic Ranch

Former goth king Nick Cave shares a new video for the track Jubilee Street. The video is directed by Cave's friend John Hillcoat and features English bad ass actor Ray Winstone. The track appears on The Bad Seeds new album Push The Sky Away which is out February 19th.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- Jubilee Street

British indie rock band Coves share a great new song and video:

Coves- Last Desire

Tame Impala psychedelic side project POND share a new track: The band have a new album coming out this spring titled Hobo Rocket.



New York indie rock band Caveman share a new track from sophomore LP. In The City will appear on the band's new s/t album, out April 2nd via Fat Possum.


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Finally. so sorry to here about the death of Troggs lead singer Reg Presley. The frontman died today at the age of 71 after suffering from lung cancer. This song is awesome:

The Troggs- I Can't Control Myself

Five Star Songs- Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark- Telegraph

Quietly last week, veteran synth pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) announced they were releasing a new album in April. The news seemed to be lost in all of the hype over  other artists, old and new (Bowie, Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Depeche Mode, Black Sabbath etc....), who will be coming out  with LPs later this year. The album will be titled English Electric and has a release date of April 9th.

On top of that, the original 4 piece band featuring Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper will be reuniting for a 35th anniversary tour of the UK and Europe (No word on any North American dates yet)

OMD's popularity peaked in the mid-eighties, but their second best album, Dazzle Ships, was released in 1983, and is notorious for being the band's biggest flop. The album was chalk full of sound collages and shortwave radio recordings that turned off many listeners and critics alike. However, mixed in with the mess of foghorns and robot voices, were a few brilliant pop songs including the singles Genetic Engineering and Telegraph.

Telegraph was the best track on the album, but only made it to number 42 on the British charts. The song honours obsolete electronics at a time when technology was rapidly changing....as it still is today. The song is a stand out on Dazzle Ships compared to all of the other experimental din on the avant-garde LP. Listen to the track below:

After Dazzle Ships tanked, OMD went into a poppier direction and had their biggest U.S. hit with If You Leave from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. By the mid-nineties the synth pop sound was dead and was overtaken by the rave scene, In 1996, OMD lead singer Andy McCluskey disbanded the band and went on to form all girl pop group Atomic Kitten.

Synth pop has regained a renaissance in recent years and the original lineup of OMD decided to re-form in 2006. The band have been releasing new material, touring and reissuing their older material ever since.

Dazzle Ships was rereleased plus remastered with added bonus tracks in 2008, and gained critical acclaim from many music critics. You can find the reissue CD and the original vinyl at Amazon or check your local record store.