The Jesus And Mary Chain- Live at the Phoenix

When The Jesus and Mary Chain announced a new tour back in April after playing fairly successful shows at SXSW, I knew I could not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity and rushed to buy a ticket before it sold out. I had never seen these guys play before, even though they are one of my all time favourite bands. I also knew the The Phoenix is a relatively small venue and sure enough it did not take long to sell out.

The concert started with Toronto based dance band Nightbox, who were an odd choice to open for the more sullen shoegaze main attraction. Nightbox mixes synth pop with party disco and reminded me a lot of Friendly Fires. The crowd seemed appreciative of their music but there was a also a lot of people ignoring the band or mocking them. One tweet from a well known Toronto indie rocker (who shall remain nameless) stated "Worst opener ever". You can't please everyone.

In the time space between the opening band and the main attraction, the concert theatre started to fill up. This usually brings out the idiots (you can read more about this on favourite blog indie kid vs dance kid) who need to make a final beer run or want to get a better position in close the stage. I was pushed aside numerous times with not even an "excuse me" as douchebags who arrived late selfishly shoved their way up closer to the stage. You think that an older crowd would be more behaved, but I was proved wrong.

The Jesus and Mary Chain arrived on stage at 10:45 PM, and the notorious bickering Reid brothers looked pretty good for guys who are noted for their past drug and alcohol abuse. Guitarist William Reid still has hair that looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket.

The band quickly proved they are still king when it comes to shoegaze right from the get go with the Sound of Speed classic Snakedriver. The aural assault of punk , post punk and Spector wall of sound 60's pop ladened with William Reid's terrorizing guitar licks and deafening feedback sounded fantastic throughout their 14 song opening set. The music was so loud that singer Jim Reid had to cover his ears for most of the set (the poor guy is probably legally deaf by now) to try and hear himself sing.

The first surprise of the night came whenFrench Canadian actress and Mad Men star Jessica Pare-aka Megan Draper- came on stage to help out with the backing of Just Like Honey (It just so happens that Jessica's boyfriend John Kastner is former lead singer of the punk band The Asexuals and now JAMC's guitar technician). She did a fairly admirable job of singing the few lines near the end of the song-unlike Scarlett Johansson who butchered it at Coachella a few years ago. However, there was a second surprise, as Jessica did not leave the stage, and singer Jim Reid announced "they were going to play a song they have not played in a while." Jessica stayed to sing the Hope Sandoval part of the duet with Jim Reid for the song Sometime Always. They screwed up a few bars in and had to start the song again, but after all was said and done the rendition was nearly perfect. Glad Jessica didn't break into the song Zou Bisou from that infamous Mad Men episode.

The only other mis-step on the night was when the band started playing All Things Must Pass. About a quarter of the way through the song, guitarist William Reid botched a cord and Jim decided to stop the song. The short tempered Jim Reid then berated his brother on stage, and if I understood his Scottish burr correctly, he basically told him he was a fuck up. They were able the finish the song and the rest of the concert without any major incidents. The only other criticism I had of the show was that the light show seemed to be lacking and the dry ice seemed to dissipate too fast in the hot summer night.

The set ended with a very Stooges-like punk rock version of Reverence. That was the highlight of my night.
Download: The Jesus And Mary Chain- Reverence

The band played two encores, the first made up of three songs (see set list below) and the second one song. The second encore was kind of funny, as many of the people in the crowd headed for the exits, the band re-appeared and announced that they had forgot to play one song. They then launched into a raucous version of their classic song Sidewalking, much to the chagrin to the people who had already made their way out of the concert hall. Lesson learned-it's never over until it's over.

Set list:
Snakedriver
Head On
Far Gone and Out
Between Planets
Blues From a Gun
Teenage Lust
Cracking Up
All Things Must Pass
Some Candy Talking
Happy When It Rains
Halfway To Crazy
Just Like Honey (featuring Jessica Pare)
Sometimes Always (featuring Jessica Pare)
Reverence
Encore:
The Hardest Walk
Taste of Cindy
Never Understand
2nd Encore
Sidewalking


Watch: The Jesus And Mary Chain- Sometimes Always (featuring Jessica Pare) live at The Phoenix



Watch: The Jesus and Mary Chain- Sidewalking (Live)

Favourite Songs: The Style Council- Long Hot Summer

To start...... a small rant

It is already the August long weekend, and the older I get it seems like summers are passing by quicker than when I was younger, even though the summers in Toronto seem to be getting longer. In fact this year Toronto barely had a winter with hardly any snow and the warm weather started in the last week of March when the city received record temperatures in mid 20's Celsius. Normally in early March Toronto would still be under a blanket of snow and people would travel to the ski hills for their recreational activity. The freaky weather this year is probably all due to global warming and climate change.

There is an article in yesterday's Huffington Post about NASA, and leading global warming scientist James Hansen releasing statistics giving more proof of the existence of climate change. The simple facts of global warming aside, the statistical information shows that climate change is happening right before our eyes.

Climate change, which was a huge issue a few years ago, is largely being ignored by politicians around the world today, while our own Prime Minister seems to be oblivious to the fact that he and his government are a major contributor to global warming with his aggressive national energy policy which includes the piping of oil from the Alberta tar sands to the British Columbia coast to ship to crude hungry China. Politicians need to wake up and stop worrying about padding the profits of giant oil companies while using the same old bullshit that they are creating jobs. As usual, conservatives feel that ignorance is bliss and that everything will be okay in the end.


Segue to the song.....

The early eighties in England had a soul resurgence with the emergence of artists like The Blow Monkeys, Paul Young, Sade, Simply Red and The Style Council (Paul Weller would probably shoot me for grouping him in with some those artists). After the break up of The Jam, Paul Weller and Mick Talbot went in a more soulful direction and formed The Style Council in 1983. The song Long Hot Summer was their third single and was released on 7 inch, on a 12 inch EP called A Paris and on the LP Introducing The Style Council.

The laid back soulful single is a nice reminder of when Curtis Mayfield ruled the charts. Although, the single is far from being a cheery summer song with lyrics about a troubled relationship. Download the extended mix of the song and watch the amusing music video below:

Download: The Style Council- Long Hot Summer (Extended Mix)

New Music: Crystal Castles- Plague

Quick post today... I have beer and barbecue awaiting me on the other side of town.

Loving Plague, the new single from hometown 8 bit stars Crystal Castles. The sound of the single is not much different than the music on their previous two albums. It is still the same skittish euphoric electronica they have become known for.

No word of a new album yet, but in the meantime they are teasing us with their new song which you can download below via Soundcloud.

New Band: The Cast Of Cheers

No I am not writing about Ted Danson, Shelly Long, Woody Harrelson or George Wendt, I am writing about a new Irish indie rock band called The Cast of Cheers. According to NME , the band got their name because they all worked at the same pub together.  NME is already doing a pretty good job of hyping this band, and have included them on their RADAR tour (Next Generation Tour), which is a tour around England that focuses on up and coming artists and groups.

These guys will predictably be compared to fellow countrymen Two Door Cinema Club, but have different music styles including dance punk like Bloc Party and dance math rock like Foals.

The band just released their debut sophomore album, Family, in the U.K and is available at Rough Trade.

Download: The Cast Of Cheers- Family




Stream: The Cast of Cheers- Animals

New Band: Tashaki Miyaki

Almost everything I've read about Tashaki Miyaki either compare them to The Jesus & Mary Chain or flat out state that they are the new Jesus & Mary Chain....and here they are in Toronto opening for Florence & The Machine tonight and playing their own show at The Garrison on Saturday, while Jesus & Mary Chain play tomorrow night and they are not on the bill. That's a shame!!!

Tashaki Miyaki seem to be getting grouped in with the girl group indie all-stars like Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls, but I'd say their sound is more shoegaze than the lo-fi garage rock of those bands. Their sound is more akin to J&MC best buddies Mazzy Star.

Tashaki Miyaki have already released a self titled EP on Halloween of last year via The Sounds of Sweet Nothing and now they have just released a new song called Tonight.

Listen to Tonight, watch videos for Best Friend, Something is Better Than Nothin', and Get it Right plus hear a bonus cover of The Everly Brothers All I Have to Do Is Dream.






Tashaki Miyaki - Best Friend (Official Video) from Juan Iglesias on Vimeo.



Tashaki Miyaki - Somethin' Is Better Than Nothin' from The Sounds Of Sweet Nothing on Vimeo.




Tashaki Miyaki - Get It Right from The Sounds Of Sweet Nothing on Vimeo.

New Music: The Luyas- Fifty Fifty

Montreal band The Luyas have released a new song called Fifty Fifty, which is the first single off of their upcoming new album Animator. Featuring lead singer Jessie Stein's sugar sweet voice, it sounds like the band have evolved from experimental pop to a more accessible dream pop sound.

The follow up to last year's Polaris long listed record Too Beautiful To Work, Animator features production from Pietro Amato, Jase Lasek of Besnard Lakes and horn and string arrangements from Arcade Fire's Sara Neufeld.

Animator will be released October 16th via Paper Bag and on Dead Oceans outside of Canada.

Download the new song Fifty Fifty below via Soundcloud.

New Music: Bloc Party- Day Four

Bloc Party are back with the second single from their forthcoming new album Four. The song is called Day Four and I like this better then their debut single that was released a couple of weeks ago. The music is more focused on Kele Okereke's soft voice and is backed by gentle synths with a hint of lush angular guitar. Stream the new song below.

Bloc Party's new album Four is out on August 21st via Arts & Crafts