Pop Montreal 2011 review + pictures!

Pop Montreal 2011 began two weeks ago tonight, so it is about time I am finally writing my review!

Part of the reason I am so slow in writing my review is that it was very hectic, being out to shows late every night, and working a day job, so I took some time to recover if you will. Okay, and there was procrastination in there too.

Rebekah Higgs at Pop Montreal 2011

This year marked the tenth anniversary of Pop Montreal, what started as a few friends putting on some shows. And it really culminated with the free Arcade Fire show where the free festival shows are held annually (recent years saw Stevie Wonder, Ben Harper, and just this past summer, The B-52s. Somewhere between 80 000 and 100 000 showed up for the Arcade Fire show. Of course many had to watch from surrounding screens, myself included, although I watched Kid Koala from the side of the giant stage. I did not pay too much attention to Karkwa, as I really do not know them, and only watched about 20 minutes of Arcade Fire on the screens, as I took off to see Rebekah Higgs, along with openers Dinah Thorpe and Mussaver at Cagibi.

Presently I am listening to Grass Widow‘s latest album, Past Time. Grass Widow being a great example of a pleasant discovery. I did not know them before the night before the show. They were the final opening band for The Raincoats. And the highlight of that show for me. The Raincoats were good, but I am not too into them, and not to be age-ist, but they are showing their age a bit. I of course do like a lot of aging musicians!

Ben Caplan at Pop Montreal 2011

My festival really started off with Charlotte Cornfield, a local indie/folk singer who I knew by name, but had never seen her perform. She played at the Ukranian Federation, a sit-down venue, kind of as it sounds, a theatre, but not a really old one with nice architecture, but instead kind of a dull church feel/meets hall space. Not bad for a mellow show though, although, seeing tUnE-yArDs there was not the best. Charlotte put on a nice set, she was happy to play there, as she said she saw Arcade Fire there a few years earlier at Pop Montreal! Next was Lindi Ortega, a bit more country/bluegrass, although a bit more of a commercial feel (oh, and not at all bad looking!) Not bad though!

After Charlotte and Lindi, I ended up at an industrial loft space, that someone actually lives in! Ah, Pop Montreal! Good spot for the particular show! In this case it seems like it was Charlotte Cornfield who organised it with a few of her favourite bands, including Ben Caplan, and Donlands and Mortimer.

Dinah Thorpe at Pop Montreal 2011

The aforementioned Rebekah Higgs show was very nice, save for the curfew, which had Rebekah only doing a few songs lasting 20 minutes at the most! Dinah Thorpe from Toronto who played prior was very good, and another nice Pop find. As per her MySpace, she is “acoustic / alternative / electro.” Indeed a nice mix, and one song, from her latest album, 12, called “Song for Dolly.” Of course for Dolly Parton. Her album is called 12, as she created a song every month for 12 months, a 12 song cycle as she puts it. Montreal’s own Mussaver opened the show, think Joanna Newsom, however with an accordion!

What I liked about this year’s Pop was how there was no huge acts (aside from Arcade Fire, they have proved themselves musically, but they are more big in the underground circles), for example, last year Macy Gray played Pop Montreal. Although, that was a co-presentation with the big concert promoters here. Many small acts I knew, and many I did not. I saw many I knew, and many I did not, yet I still missed some I knew, and some I did not. For example, I missed Emma-Lee, who I knew somewhat, but had never seen her perform, and I missed Dominique Young Unique, who I read about checking out artists playing Pop. Think Lil Mama meets Nicki Minaj for a not so accurate comparison!

Kid Sister at Pop Montreal 2011!

Friday night I saw Kid Sister, it was a club set, so way too short, and she played at least a couple mixtape tracks, which were good, but I did not know too well. After a few songs she disappeared, leaving her DJ to entertain the crowd. She returned with the very crowd pleasing “Right Hand Hi!” I was happy to catch that one live. The club it was at was apparently voted #1 in Montreal in several categories by readers of the free weekly entertainment publication the Mirror. I also vote it well in not starting on time! Kid Sister started well over an hour late (as Pop publishes the set times for benefit of those Pop hopping from show to show). Before she went on I was able to catch about 20 minutes of Ohbijou, and missed Azealia Banks in the process.

Allie Hughes played O Patro Vys Saturday night as the last openers for the all-girl Weezer cover band Sheezer! She is presently working on her debut album. And I say it is one to look forward to, as she has a nice vocal range, hitting some high operatic like notes!

Before seeing Allie Hughes, and catching most of By Divine Right, I saw Laura Marling. I am not a huge fan, but she definitely impressed! Her voice definitely had the audience getting their socks blown off (as opener Alessi’s Ark put it!), despite her mellow folk!

The closing party was nice, with Think About Life playing their last show ever, a very energetic party-like show!

Merrill Garbus, tUnE-yArDs symposium at Pop Montreal 2011

The tUnE-yArDs set was of course nice, especially after having seen Merrill Garbus doing a symposium that afternoon, talking about her influences, that include being obsessed with singing styles from around the world (Korean Pansori for one), and applying them to her music. And looking to the future how she would like to evolve away from the looping pedal.

Follow me on Twitter for Pop Montreal updates!

I hope to write a blog entry tonight, regardless, follow me on Twitter, for Pop Montreal updates and insights!

@tmmblog

So far I have seen Charlotte Cornfield twice, Lindi Ortega, Ben Caplan, Kid Koala, Rebekah Higgs, Dinah Thorpe, and Arcade Fire to name a few! Many more to come, including some pics and perhaps video!

Shortest blog post ever (for me anyway).

The Tower of Song Tour preview, featuring Alysha Brillinger and Kristen Bussandri

Since I will not be able to catch this show (unless I can make it towards the end (I am volunteering at Pop Montreal, and have to get my ‘training’ — I volunteered last year, so I should be able to get the hang of it! By the way, it is not too late to volunteer!)), I am giving it some publicity over here in order to generate some additional buzz!

I am only familiar with both singer-songwriters from hearing their audio online, and sounds like it would make for a good show. So to steal from their bios, as I do not know too much about them, “Alysha Brillinger’s blues and reggae influenced songs combine her funky guitar playing and unique voice to create a fresh new organic vibe of music.” I find she has a bit of a jazzy delivery as well. Check out her song “Better Soon” below (I actually hear a bit of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” in the melody. She is presently signed to Lava/Universal Republic, and is a native of Kitchener it would seem. Hence the tour (see below) doing their respective hometowns, and Toronto in between!

The first time I heard Kristen Bussandri, a local (Montrealer), who has split her time between New York City and here in Montreal, I thought sultry, and lo and behold, in her bio: “Kristen Bussandri is a long-legged sultry brunette who will stop you in your tracks with her timeless pop songwriting and heartbreaking vocals that transcend genres, embracing everything from intimate acoustic ballads to gritty R&B to rock with uncompromising sophistication and depth.” In July, she just released her debut EP, Diamonds to Dust. It can be heard and purchased online, just head on over to her official website, kristenbussandri.com. Embedded below, a live rendition of her song “If You Don’t Love Me You’re Wrong.”

The three city micro-tour starts in Montreal Wednesday night (September 14), and the next two nights are Toronto and Kitchener, Ontario, respectively. Head on over to Dukits.com, which seems to be a crowdsourcing (as they say) meets a deal of the day site, for advance ticket, and show information. As of this writing there is only a couple of hours left to get Toronto and Kitchener tickets at a reduced rate, so hurry!

And individually they will be doing shows in the future (I reckon!), so check out their official websites: AlyshaBrillinger.com and KristenBussandri.com.

Osheaga Saturday (day 2) review (July 30, 2011)

I started off my Warped Tour review saying how I am a Warped Tour veteran, well, I can start this off saying I am an Osheaga newbie. This was my first time going.

Osheaga 2011 early on with The 222s starting the day on one of the main stages.

Similar to Warped Tour, there are always bands/artists to see at any given time, although not nearly as many as at Warped Tour. That is okay in this case, where quality over quantity rings true.

My friend and I entered a little late, but not late, as we were able to catch a fair amount of The 222s, veteran Montreal glam punks. I cannot say as I know them well, at all! However they sounded good, perhaps not as good as their heyday (since I do not know them that well).

Quite a number of people do enter late, since the schedule is made before hand. At Warped Tour one has to enter the grounds to see when bands are playing (the schedule is made early the day of the event). Toronto’s The Midway State played next to a decent crowd, many of whom were from Toronto!

The Midway State at Osheaga July 30, 2011

[Edit: It would seem I Forgot to hit update (had a duplicate of the first pic for a little shy of a day!)]

Next was Oh Land, the Danish chanteuse, now on her second release (Oh Land), also her North American breakthrough. We watched her entire set. She provided quite the stage presence with what she was wearing!

Oh Land at Osheaga July 30, 2011

And for the most part the show was quite enjoyable, although it felt lacking a little. I noticed during her rendition of “Son of a Gun”, it did not quite feel like it had the zest of the recorded version. I did like how it started, with the percussionist playing the electronic drum, slowly raising either the volume or pitch, till it was obvious as to the song about to be performed! Do not get me wrong, I still very much enjoyed her, as I have listened to her debut a few times, and it makes for a good listen. I think her career can certainly be a promising one. “White Nights” and “Voodoo” were a couple of other songs that were very enjoyable live! On a sidenote, prior to the set starting, as they were still finishing soundcheck (there is only so much time between acts on each stage), they really tested the woofers, we were close by, and it literally shaked our insides! Luckily they were not on full during the set, as more than earplugs would have been necessary!

The day could not have been any nicer, sunny, with the sun hiding behind the clouds briefly now and then providing some well needed respite from the excess heat. And for those not familiar with Osheaga, one of the side stages is the “Tree Stage”, so literally it is among the trees, which provided a nice shaded venue to see performances!

Three Canadian acts were playing at almost the exact time slot, Montreal’s Braids, Newmarket’s Tokyo Police Club, and Vancouver’s Mother Mother. We saw a decent chunk of Braids, and then moved over to the Tree Stage to see Mother Mother.

Montreal's Braids at Osheaga July 30, 2011

Braids’ performance was very good, knowing them beforehand helps, otherwise their style is quite a switch from typical rock band music. They are labelled as art rock, or experimental rock on Wikipedia for the primary two genres. They seemed to be having a little technical difficulties with a monitor, and kept playing, or extending the song. At that moment we headed to see Mother Mother. They performed their big hit “O My Heart”, and ended with a nice song primarily featuring the two girl singers (Molly Guldemond and Jasmin Parkin) harmonising most of the song, with Ryan Guldemond jumping in here and there, quite nice!

Aside from hanging out, which I am sure many people do for most of the day, we saw the John Butler Trio before watching the entire Sia set, which was very impressive in every way! Musically very great, playing numerous songs from her latest, We Are Born, and other good ones, including “Breathe Me”, and “Soon We’ll Be Found”. The latter even had Sia doing hand mimicking similarly to the excellent music video (see picture below). Sia took the time to allow the crowd time to heckle her, of course it was good-natured, but very entertaining!

The awesome Sia at Osheaga July 30, 2011

Shirtless Lupe Fiasco way in the distance at Osheaga July 30, 2011!

On the main stage a nice long set (just shy of an hour) from Lupe Fiasco made way for Death From Above 1979. One of DFA1979′s reunion shows this year, and it did not disappoint! I did leave before the set was over to go see UK up and comer Anna Calvi.

Anna Calvi’s set started late due to a late running sound check, and a technical issue. The crowd was a bit sparse for her set. It was on the tree stage, and likely not too many people know her around here yet. And she ended her set a little early. Being that it was the first time I saw her, I cannot draw comparisons, yet I enjoyed what I heard. She plays fairly dark indie rock. She did not seem too thrilled, maybe because of the smaller crowd.

Anna Calvi and her band at Osheaga July 30, 2011

Yet, for acts like her, Osheaga is a good venue to introduce lesser known acts. On the other hand, I think Janelle Monae, who played Friday should have played a proper headlining show, as she does have a big cult fanbase. I cannot say as I know the numbers around here, but likely they are up there (when I first tried to purchase her debut disc it was sold out!).

My (Osheaga) day came to a close checking out Ratatat, Bright Eyes, and then Elvis Costello and the Imposters. Ratatat of course have collaborated with Kid Cudi, most notably on “Pursuit of Happiness”. Kid Cudi having cancelled his Friday Osheaga set with illness, apparently due to overworking. What I saw of Elvis Costello impressed. I was fairly tired by that point, but did enjoy him, despite now knowing his work too well.

I then headed over to La Ronde, Montreal’s amusement park, to see the last day of the fireworks, which were a Beatles tribute. It was a good display, featuring audio montages from each member’s song book, and a nice brief grand finale!

And for the first ever Too Much Music top tip (Top Gear ripoff), avoid the metro on a Saturday night post Osheaga! Likely true any day after Osheaga, however Saturday La Ronde and Osheaga leaving at the same time, equalled masses of people trying to leave the island on the metro! I took the shuttle bus back to La Ronde and took the pedestrian path on the Jacque Cartier bridge to get back to the city!

Caitlin Rose/Johnny Flynn Montreal May 27, 2011 show review

Caitlin Rose was opening for Johnny Flynn, who I did not know prior to the show. I went to see Caitlin Rose. I did stick around for Johnny Flynn though. Turns out he is English, and alongside his group play a blend of folk/indie folk and (as Wikipedia says) bluegrass. It kind of reminded me of folk from around the 1970s, which I am far from an expert at. It was pretty good, although not what I would regularly listen to.

The show took place at Il Motore, a venue I had not been to before, and as I Tweeted, it seemed like it was made out of a converted space, such as an old store, or mini warehouse, as it is really in an area that is unassuming as far as music venues are concerned. On a main street that in its immediate surroundings is somewhat more industrial than business orientated.

Opening was of course Caitlin Rose. I am not sure how many people were there for her specifically, however there was a good number of people watching her, and that seemed interested in her set, even if they did not know her songs. Even I did not know them all, as I have not listened to her music extensively, yet.

Caitlin Rose is of course American, having been born in Nashville. Her band members (including Caitlin herself) are fairly young, but play their respective instruments quite well.

Her set was short, probably just around 40 minutes. She played “Own Side”, “New York”, “For the Rabbits”, and “Shanghai Cigarettes” from her debut album Own Side Now. The latter was a very good live version that was quite up-tempo. Likely she also played more from Own Side Now as well. Her set closed with a couple of covers, the second to last being Fleetwood Mac’s “That’s Alright”. She seemed a little shy in front of the french speaking Montreal crowd, yet still seemed to express herself here and there. For instance, that she did not know how to speak french, and she could not perform the Fleetwood Mac song in french! Much of the set was very mellow, but very nice live nonetheless.

Somthing I noticed was the range of her voice is quite good, and is very well suited for her genre. That being proper country, more like Patsy Cline, who she has covered (“Three Cigarettes (In An Ashtray)”).

All in all a very nice set for an opener! Hopefully she will headline on a future tour and play Montreal again.

Sarah McLachlan March 24, 2011 Montreal concert review

I was looking forward to seeing Sarah McLachlan for the first time ever. Little did I know what I was in for.

I understood that Melissa McClelland was the opening act. So I was very surprised when “Awakenings” started to play, and Sarah took to the stage. I do know Melissa McClelland a little, however not enough to recognise her right away. As it turned out, it was Sarah McLachlan featuring Melissa McClelland (I did recognise her after a few minutes). Also featured was Butterfly Boucher and Luke Doucet among the band. It made for quite the spectacle!

The venue was Théâtre Saint-Denis, it was built in 1915. The setting felt very theatrical, in the musical sense, and right from get go, with Sarah and friends performing, the style of show with no opening act made sense.

Sarah, who cancelled a show in London March 18, still has some lingering laryngitis. I did not notice it in her voice until she brought it to our attention. And although I like a lot of commercial music, even with laryngitis Sarah can outsing many of them! She also mentioned because of the laryngitis, her register is a little shortened, so if she makes a funny face, as she said, she would be struggling to get around some notes. I did notice after she said, some higher notes were a little difficult for her, as with some sustained notes likely.

Given the format of the show, it gave Sarah plenty of time to talk with the audience, who was showing her plenty of love! That included a couple of question and answer sessions. Sarah would pull questions at random out of a top hat that were written by audience members, and answer them on the spot. Also, with all the accomplished band members, they were able to do a few of their own songs. Butterfly Boucher started with a couple after only three songs from Sarah, I am sure she would have been doing this format all tour long, but especially good at this time to let Sarah rest her voice! Even still, Sarah would sing backup for Butterfly, and Melissa when she did a few songs.

Following the opening of “Awakenings”, Sarah and her band played “Building a Mystery”. And throughout the entire set list, practically all her hits were played, a veritable greatest hits without a doubt, and then some!

Instrumentation was fairly standard, going from very rich full songs, often with three guitars, to acoustic ones. Sarah playing guitar as well numerous times. And of course piano! Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland’s husband was another guitarist, and Butterfly Boucher was on bass.

A couple notable highlights for me, first of all when Sarah played “World on Fire”, after a very nice introduction to the song. The song being about how we are so fortunate living the way we do, we have so so much, when there are huge amounts of people with nothing, or next to nothing (see the vide below). We take so much for granted. Although the song is performed as a full band, I feel it would be great acoustic, Sarah alone, to focus as much attention as possible on the song. Also “Adia”, very impressive, I can only imagine had Sarah’s voice been 100 percent.

It seemed as the show progressed late into the second set (there was an approximate 20 minute intermission to give the band a chance to rest) that Sarah’s voice was getting worse. She even hinted at it herself in a positive, playful manner: “you may have gotten the best of me!” I was actually kind of feeling like the show should end soon so she does not strain her voice too much. Following “Possession”, to close the show (pre-encore), Sarah and the performers received a standing ovation. They came back out for a two song encore (“Angel” and “Ice Cream”), and received another standing ovation after that! Very well deserved.

KT Tunstall Montreal show review November 25, 2010

This was my first time seeing KT Tunstall live, and beforehand, I knew it was going to be a good show. I have seen her do television performances, and am familiar with her and her music. To steal from a Veruca Salt song of the same name, KT’s a born entertainer!

KT’s set started right on time. And it started with Glamour Puss from her new LP Tiger Suit. She did no less than 8 songs from Tiger Suit. Including the terrific “Madame Trudeaux”, for which she was very excited to perform here! Of course, also tracks from her first two albums, Eye to the Telescope and Drastic Fantastic.

She and her band also performed “Uummannaq Song”, which was inspired by her trip to Greenland, and the town of Uummannaq, as a part of the Disko Bay Cape Farewell Project in order to witness the impact of global warming on the Arctic. Visit the Disko Bay section of the Cape Farewell website to see her and all the other artists that were involved (Feist, Vanessa Carlton, Martha Wainwright and more), and read her diary of the trip. Plenty of interesting reading, as global warming affects us all. I’d love to visit the glaciers while they still exist!

She interacted well with the crowd, and introduced numerous songs, and of course introduced her band members. “The Entertainer” being about musicians that are dicks (not the word she used) in real life despite making great music. She also told the story of doing some bookstore shows, and having people dressed like Olivia Newton-John in her workout video at her set, they ended up being jazzercisers, as they like “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” for jazzercising!

Doing “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”, it started with just her and her guitarist, and then ended with the entire band. During the show she of course went through many guitar changes from electric to acoustic of course, as she is a very good guitarist, and incorporates it well into her music. She also used a loop pedal on a couple of songs.

I cannot say there was any single highlight, as I like all of her songs, and they were all performed very well, and true to the album versions. She did a three song encore for the very enthusiastic crowd (myself included!) including an Erasure cover of “A Little Respect”, and ending with “Suddenly I See”. The whole show, encore included was just over an hour and a half! Oh, and KT is even better looking in person than pictures and the like!

She definitely does not need the extra promotion, however I am adding the remaining tour dates, and future ones, to do you the reader a favour, so you know when to catch a great show! As KT said (about her Toronto gig on Twitter), ace gig!

Get the most up to date concert listings at her official website, kttunstall.com.

26 Nov Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
27 Nov Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
29 Nov Boston, MA @ House of Blues
1 Dec New York, NY @ Terminal 5
19 Feb Galway, Ireland @ Radisson Hotel Galway
20 Feb Cork, Ireland Cork @ Opera House
21 Feb Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
23 Feb Dunfermline, United Kingdom @ Alhambra
24 Feb Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom @ O2 Academy
25 Feb Manchester, United Kingdom @ Academy
27 Feb Leeds, United Kingdom O2 Academy
28 Feb Leamington Spa, United Kingdom @ The Assembly Rooms
1 Mar Bristol, United Kingdom @ Colston Hall
3 Mar Birmingham, United Kingdom @ O2 Academy
4 Mar Bournemouth, United Kingdom @ O2 Academy

Gardening, Not Architecture show review (Montreal October 15)

Sarah Saturday of Gardening, Not Architecture

The show was at Crobar, a small bar/venue on Crescent below Ste. Catherine. A few other local bands were playing.

I had caught Gardening, Not Architecture by just happening to walk by while she was playing, at the Montreal stop of the Warped Tour. That is also how I discovered the sweet U.K. punkers, TAT!

I got there a little late, but in time for the entire Gardening, Not Architecture set. The band playing when I arrived were finishing up their set as the Montreal Canadiens hockey game was finishing up. Although I was paying attention to the band and the hockey game (the tv was directly above and to the right if the stage), I did not notice what the rest of the people were doing. Whether you know or not, we like hockey a little (read: a LOT) in this town, so no doubt some people were checking out the hockey.

I was glad the game was over for Gardening, Not Architecture, so people would focus on her set.
Gardening, Not Architecture by the way, to steal borrow from her website is

an “electronic-tinged ethereal powerpop” collaboration between singer/songwriter Sarah Saturday and engineer/producer Beau Sorenson.

However at Warped Tour, and on this stop/tour she is solo with a backing track. Think of Canadian singer Lights, but less synth, more pop.

For her set, she had the lights turned down, and also had the baseball game on another television turned off, although I am a baseball fan, I thought that was good too, as I wanted to pay attention to her.

Presently, touring with her first LP (aptly titled, First LP), she plays with an interactive LED ‘light wall’ that she built herself! Thus making her performance an audio-visual feast!

Her set was very good, I actually recognised a few songs, thanks to seeing her at Warped Tour, and a couple of music videos. “Electronic-tinged ethereal powerpop” nails the genre! The sound was quite good despite the small venue. My only quibble with her set was it was way too short! It was probably 30 minutes tops. She only brought so many backing tracks with her, so understandable.

It is worth adding, Sarah aka Gardening, Not Architecture is unsigned now, and touring thanks to donations and merch sales. I linked it on Twitter a little while ago, here again, a little piece she wrote about being unsigned.

Here’s a couple of Gardening, Not Architecture music videos to check out, followed by the remaining tour dates. If you have the chance, definitely check her out! (Check her official site for the most up to date tour schedule)

Gardening, Not Architecture links:

Official site
Youtube
Tumblr
and of course,
Twitter and Twitter!

Remaining tour dates:

10/23/2010 Halifax Pop Explosion (Presenter/Performer)
10/24/2010 [[[ OFF - FLY - SLEEP - DRIVE ]]]
10/25/2010 Reading, PA @ Albright College
10/26/2010 [[[ OFF ]]]
10/27/2010 [[[ OFF ]]]
10/28/2010 Philadelphia, PA @ 8th n’ Berks
10/29/2010 Pittsburgh, PA @ Hard Rock Cafe
10/30/2010 TBA
10/31/2010 Columbia, SC @ The House
11/01/2010 [[[ OFF ]]]
11/02/2010 TBA
11/03/2010 TBA
11/04/2010 Tampa, FL @ Fly Bar
11/05/2010 Gainesville, FL @ Civic Media Center
11/06/2010 Valdosta, GA – HOUSE SHOW
11/07/2010 Lake City, TN – HOUSE SHOW
11/08/2010 Lexington vs. Columbus
11/09/2010 Chicago, IL @ Ronny’s Bar
11/10/2010 Milwaukee, WI @ TBA
11/11/2010 Madison, WI @ The Frequency
11/12/2010 La Crosse, WI @ The Warehouse
11/13/2010 Des Moines, IA @ Beechwood Lounge
11/14/2010 [[[ OFF - SLEEP - DRIVE ]]]
11/15/2010 Englewood, CO @ Moe’s Original
11/16/2010 SLC, UT @ Facade Clothing Store
11/17/2010 Nampa, ID @ Flying M Coffeegarage
11/18/2010 Pendleton, OR @ Great Pacific
11/19/2010 Everett, WA @ TBA
11/20/2010 Seattle, WA @ Monkey Pub (2 of 2)
11/20/2010 Olympia, WA @ Record Swap (1 of 2)
11/21/2010 Portland, OR @ TBA
11/22/2010 Redding, CA @ The Bohemian Art Loft
11/23/2010 TBA
11/24/2010 Stockton, CA @ Plea For Peace Center
11/25/2010 Elk Grove (Sac-to), CA @ House Show!
11/26/2010 Bay Area, CA @ TBA
11/27/2010 West Hollywood @ On The Rox

Isis (of Thunderheist) Pop Montreal show review (October 2, 2010 Club Soda)

Isis was actually the second opener. She was supposed to be the only opener, according to the Pop Montreal program, but another act played too. Can’t say as I know who they were, as I was looking forward to Isis, so was not too receptive. They were okay, although not really my cup of tea. No point in really describing, as I do not even know who they are! The headliners were Radio Radio.

Isis, of course, as mentioned in the blog title, is of the group Thunderheist, and with the release of their self titled debut in March of 2009, they received quite a fair amount of attention. However solo, Isis is not as well known.

Her solo work is similar to Thunderheist, but probably more hip hop, R&B, soul, and indie. Performing along with her, was a turntablist and a drummer.

All in all, quite a good set. She performed Thunderheist’s “Little Booty Girl”, with somewhat different beats. Just as she was about to end her set, I believe she was told she had time for another song. She did a somewhat impromptu version of Cee Lo’s new track, “Fuck You”, well done too considering the track was still fairly new, even though it had been all over the internets.

So I look forward to her solo work. Check her out on MySpace.

Macy Gray Pop Montreal show review (Club Soda October 1)

Opening this show was locals Random Recipe. I believe I only heard of them through Pop Montreal, and only heard a couple of tracks through their MySpace page. They are composed of vocalist and guitarist Frannie Holder, rapper and singer Fab, guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist Vincent Legault, and percussionist Liu-Kong Ha.

As a whole they are hip hop and orientated with live drumming, and MCing and singing. Frannie seems to have a good voice, perhaps even classically trained, as it sounded almost operatic at times. As a whole, they play well together, and was fairly agreeable, they seem to need to work a little on songwriting, and putting a song together, as I enjoyed them, and their style, but I did not feel it too much. “Shipwreck” (on their MySpace page) is quite a catchy hip hoppy/folky song. Given time, and persistence they could definitely get quite good.

They recently released their debut LP, Fold it! Mold it!

Macy Gray of course was what everyone was waiting for. She attracted quite a diverse crowd, from youngsters to middle agers.

She had one backup singer, and all the musicians one would expect from a fairly high-profile R&B artist. Love and sexy people (the crowd of course) seemed to be a major theme, not really a surprise given her lyrical content! She had quite a stage presence, getting the crowd really into the show. She gave her band their full credit with introductions to each member, and their own brief solo on their respective instruments. Her backup singer was even given the chance to sing a couple of numbers all on her own. One being Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”. After this, Macy returned from a wardrobe change to perform Radiohead’s “Creep”.

Along with her stage presence, she told a few stories that segued into the start of the next song nicely. A two song encore was played, beginning with Queen’s “We Are the Champions”. It stated with just the guitarist playing only and eventually everyone was involved, including the audience.

I am not a huge Macy Gray fan, however I left knowing it was a good show, and those that are fans definitely enjoyed themselves.