Category Archives: ska

Sep 16 2011

Pop Montreal 2011 preview (September 21 – 25)

I am not too great at previews, Sean over at Said the Gramophone is, but I will try.

Slowly but surely as I heard more and more bands announced, this years Pop Montreal has quite a diverse lineup with plenty of well known, and lesser known acts. Apologies on the formatting, as I do not have enough text, and I wanted to get the pics in!

After reading this blog post, head on over to Pop Montreal for official times and information regarding the concerts. And for Montrealers, the latest Montreal Mirror has a handy pull out day by day schedule of music listings. Or view it online. And on the official Pop Montreal users can build their own personalised schedule.

(Bold in the next two signifies Canadian acts.)

A few of the shows I am personally really looking forward to include tUnE-yArDs, Rebekah Higgs, Ohbijou (new album, Metal Meets hits stores September 27, I might get to buy it before the official release!), Kid Sister, Laura Marling, and Q-Bert. I am also very much looking forward to local Montrealer Charlotte Cornfield (who has two sets on opening Wednesday, one opening for Philémon Chante, and later that evening as part of the Let Your Hair Down Showcase!), Kid Koala (opening for the giant free Arcade Fire show), the giant free Arcade Fire show(!), Krista Muir, Samiam (who I just saw were playing a few minutes ago!), Real McKenzies (Awesome Scottish influenced Celtic punk!), and The Planet Smashers. Oh, and in the course of writing this blog post I see in the official Pop Montreal program Maylee Todd is playing Saturday night set as L’Esco (basically a small semi-basement bar/venue). No word online, so I will not hold my breath! She rules by the way! And I got to know her from Pop Montreal last year! I also see that the Sarah Blackwood (from psychobilly act The Creepshow) set for the Stomp Records BBQ is at 4PM, before local rockabilly act The Hellbound Hepcats! And although I really do not know his solo work, Liam Finn is playing the fest too.

Also a few acts I know little to nothing about, and in many cases am just going by their pictures (press photos are indeed important!), that I would like to see include Lindi Ortega, Cherry Chapstick (another Montreal act!), Megan Bonnell, Marques Toliver, Vilify (Montreal again!), Natale (from Paris, booming pop vocals and insect-like acrobatic dancing apparently!), UN (514 represent!), D-sisive, Molly Sweeney (Montreal!), Dinah Thorpe, Emma-Lee, Caroline Keating (Montreal), Old n’ Weird, Shaydakiss (Montreal) and Azelia Banks (both opening for Kid Sister), Frankie Rose, Dominique Young Unique, Anna Rose, Yuck, Gianna Lauren, Alessi’s Ark (London, according to Pop, folk songs that make you want to cycle down an English country road!), Allie Hughes, Sheezer, and The Raincoats.

There is no way I will be able to catch them all, but I will try and catch a fair bit, all of what I really want to see, and hopefully some of the ones I would like to see barring any personal scheduling conflicts, and definitely catch some artists that are new to me.

tUnE-yArDs

So knowing what I know, a few I would recommend include tUnE-yArDs. I have only heard some of her stuff, and I saw her performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but she, Merrill Garbus et. al., definitely have an innovative sound.

Laura Marling

Laura Marling and her blend of UK folk should prove to be awesome, her third record, A Creature I Don’t Know, came out on Monday. Hopefully I can pick it up at the show!

DJ Qbert

Q-Bert is a legendary DJ, thus making him big in hip hop, since hip hop, that is to say rapping, emerged from the DJ, the disc jockey. His turntablism skills are crazy good! I see quite a fair amount of shows, but I do not get to see proper DJ/scratching shows often at all.

A few locals I can highly recommend include Charlotte Cornfield (folk/rock), Krista Muir (multi-talented, ukelele playing and then some!), Kid Koala (speaking of turntablism!), and the ever impressive some 15 plus years on, The Planet Smashers (ska extraordinaire!).

I have not heard them yet, but hope to check out Montreal’s own electro dur UN. Just by Pop Montreals description: “Toronto’s weirdo pop princess”, Allie Hughes sounds like a great bet! Frankie Rose of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and the Vivian Girls fame, enough said!

Another artists I just listened to, Dominique Young Unique, is a young female MC from Florida. Upon hearing and watching “Show My Ass“, I was reminded of Rye Rye, although no doubt they differ quite a bit, Rye Rye coming from the Baltimore scene and being a M.I.A. protégée.

Cannot say as I know them, but given their history, having formed in the U.K. in 1977, I might just have to check out The Raincoats.

Of course Pop Montreal is far from just music, it is Film Pop, Art Pop, and more! Last year Feist’s film Look at What the Light Did Now had a screening, and this year PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake will have a screening. Also there is Bloodied But Unbowed: The Birth of Vancouver Punk Rock 1977-82.

And among the symposiums, there is Voices on Voices, which, to steal Pop Montreal’s description, is “a workshop/discussion on writing and arrangement with Merrill Garbus, aka tUnE-YaRds.” Very nice. And The Raincoats – Adventures, which as you may have guessed, is about The Raincoats!

Allie Hughes

Charlotte Cornfield

Dominique Young Unique

Bookmark this page, and come back, as I will continue adding links to the artists’ official websites while I check them out.

Who or what are you looking forward to at Pop Montreal? Do not be shy, comment, and plug your blog (if you have one), it may just end up on my blogroll! It might also influence me to go see a certain show! Les commentaires en français sont également les bienvenus. Heck, since this is the digital age, any language will do, even binary or hex code (okay, perhaps a tad too geeky).

Jul 17 2011

Warped Tour Montreal 2011 (Two thousand and one, and one) review

Okay, I will admit it, I am a Warped Tour veteran. I could go on, but there is nothing to brag about, I was into punk rock in the mid to late 90s (and I am to this day, but that was when I first started listening). Now I only know approximately a half-dozen bands attending! And it is safe to say who they are knowing that I am into late 90s punk rock sound. They would be Unwritten Law, Less Than Jake, The Planet Smashers, and although they have not been around as long, Street Dogs (Boston Street Punk), and The Aggrolites (Los Angeles Dirty Reggae).

One of the underlying principles of punk rock is unity. Both among punk rockers, and the world. I cannot say what the majority of the new acts that play the Warped Tour are like, message wise, lyrics wise, etc. Heck, I cannot even nail down the genre as a whole! Regardless, my point is that Warped Tour remains a positive place, in that it does not matter who you are, misfit, outcast, nerd, little person, and so on, we are all equal. At least that is the way I still feel, and the vibe I still get from the tour. That is, the vibe while in attendance at the Warped Tour.

And, best not to get me started on corporate sponsorship (I intentionally left out the ‘Vans’ from my post title, although they apparently are made in a well ventilated facility, so I hear, hopefully true, and well paid workers, regardless, there are no doubt companies that do not adhere to such standards.), however, I can see both sides, in that it does get money to the bands that deserve it (and keeps ticket prices to a reasonable price given the sheer number of bands, 65+!). Many of them down the road will likely go back to leading everyday lives, if they do not already, save for the Warped Tour. Plus, there are many good causes to be found at Warped Tour. PETA for one. Klean Kanteen had a set-up next to the water refilling area with their own water refilling area (the water came from the same source it seemed, but presumably is filtered to some extent). They were sold out of water bottles when I found them, however I already have one of their water bottles, as plastic water bottles suck, bar none!

I digress. My overall feeling about the Warped Tour remains very much positive! I love checking out the bands I know, and I love discovering new acts! The Warped Tour remains very diverse, bands, and performers from way more than punk rock, and whatever the majority of bands are today that the young ‘uns enjoy! Maybe not going back to the very start, although it is possible (I do not feel like researching right now), there have been many different acts to be seen. Eminem played in 1999! I was disappointed, as Alien Ant Farm were supposed to have played, but did not make it. I think I may know why, but I also may be confusing another band, so no use going into it.

To add to the bands I was looking forward to, were Sick of Sarah, an all-girl band, ya gotta give it up to them! Paramore as well. River City Extension, DC Fallout, MC Lars, and Yelawolf were some acts I thought about checking out only after looking into them on YouTube the night before Warped Tour. I only did get to see the former two, both seemed quite nice (see two pics below, actual punk rock!)! Word of mouth had me interested in Lucero, and Foxy Shazam (who I have heard of prior, but I do not believe I have ever heard). Also, if I am not mistaken, the lead singer of Street Dogs gave a shout out to Larry And His Flask, so he/they sound interesting (something to look into in the not too distant future). I also heard that Juliet Simms, the singer from Automatic Loveletter, was doing an acoustic set. I did check out some of Juliet Simms, and it was enjoyable, just her and an acoustic guitar. (Writing this sentence, turns out I did see Lucero, going through my photos, and comparing the photographs time stamp with the schedule… Welcome change I said to my good friend with me! Obviously not knowing who they were at the time! So, pic follows!)

Lucero performing at Warped. L to R: pedal steel guitar + guitar + drums + guitar + bass + keyboards = nice!

DC Fallout merch tent, actual punk rock, almost a rarity nowadays!

I basically saw every band I just mentioned, save for the word of mouth ones. I watched the entire Paramore set, a little disappointed they did not play “Brick by Boring Brick”, but they did lead-off with “That’s What You Get”, which I played in Rock Band around 24 hours earlier! I drummed by the way (no way I can sing like Hayley!).

Scott Russo, lead singer/guitarist for Unwritten Law, one of two original members alongside guitarist Steve Morris

I also saw the entire Unwritten Law set, most of the songs I did not know, as I need to listen to their post 1998 output. I do not believe I ever heard Elva. My favourite album being Oz Factor. They just released a new record, Swan, in March. Their first since 2005s Here’s to the Mourning. They invited fans to meet and greet them (not Scott Russo’s words) after the show. I meant to say hi, and ask if they still kept track of their number of shows played, but I forgot! I saw them on Warped Tour a few years back, at that point, if my memory serves me (which it is possible it does not!), that show was somewhere in the 800s. Not too shabby I say.

I heard the entire Less Than Jake set. I watched most of it. They still deliver! Great to hear one of my favourites, “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads.” Hard to believe the album that is from, Hello Rockview (1998) is only their third! Less Than Jake is another band I have to listen to more of their musical catalogue!

I saw most of Street Dogs, I got there when lead singer Mike McColgan was donning a Boston Bruins jersey! Off topic, the Vancouver riots made the win easier to take, in the end it is just “a kid’s game” (Propagandhi, “Dear Coach’s Corner“. Caught most of The Aggrolites set as well, hats off to dirty reggae! They have a new record out as well, Rugged Road.

Sick of Sarah rocking out!

Sick of Sarah was the first band I saw from the list of bands I wanted to see. They play fairly straight forward pop, with some nice melodies, making it very easy to enjoy. I even thought the lead singer, Abisha sounded a little like Tegan and/or Sara, and lo and behold, they (Tegan and Sara) are listed in the second sentence of their Wikipedia article! I met a few of the girls afterwords at their merch tent (it’s always nice when bands hang out at their merch tent post show!), and picked up their latest offering, 2205. Shout out to them (Abisha, Jessie, and Brooke most notably!) if they read this, as I plugged my blog/Twitter with them! They were really cool, again, very nice to see in bands!

The Planet Smashers closed the day on the main stage. As Matt stated, it is the first time they have played the main stage, and first time playing Warped Tour in a few years (Montreal was their only Warped date, hence Montreal being the best crowd on the entire tour, Matt said jokingly!). These guys have quietly become a staple in the world of third wave ska. I do not know how well-known they are outside Canada — but similar to Sloan — they deserve to be known, globally! No surprise, these guys just cannot disappoint! And they literally released a new record, Descent Into The Valley Of The Planet Smashers, this past Tuesday. Their first since Unstoppable from 2005. Hats off to whoever decided to put them on last.

I eagerly, yet patiently (living in the present tense is very important) await Warped Tour 2012.

More pictures after the break.

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Jul 8 2011

All Saints – Studio 1 (LP of the Week)

Following last week’s LP of the Week (Alien Ant Farm’s truANT), another great record for summer, albeit a different genre!

At this point in time, although it is pretty much impossible to know, Studio 1 stands as the last All Saints album. Of course I’d like to hear a new album from them, but at the same time, it is good to go out on a high note. From start to finish, Studio 1 is a solid release, possibly their best of three releases.

The album starts of with the first single, “Rock Steady”, which is highly influenced from Jamaican music, including, but not limited to ska, rocksteady (as the song title may imply), 2 Tone and reggae. Could the album title be an homage to the influential Jamaican record label Studio One? I would not be surprised. “Rock Steady” is not the only track that has elements of the influential genres listed above. “Scar” has somewhat of a dub feel to it, while “Not Eazy” also has a dub feel, after staring off with a bit of ska/reggae.

The album flows surprisingly well, going from a somewhat darker R&B track about being cheated on (“Hell No” penned by Shaznay Lewis and Karl “K-Gee” Gordon) to an up-tempo summery song, about being happy in a relationship (“One Me & U”) on one instance to “Chick Fit” (up-tempo club leaning track) going to “On & On” (more ballad-esque leaning).

A few tracks may be close to being called filler, but even then, it is more solid than the weaker tracks from their debut 9 years earlier.

The album closes with the terrific “Fundamental”, easily one of the strongest tracks on the album. The song crescendo’s pretty much most of the song, and peaks with vocal harmonies, including layered vocals, and piano.

This album was of course a result of the Saints reuniting after having split, and as it stands they are not officially disbanded, however there is no music release scheduled anytime soon. With that in mind, no better time to check out what could be their last album.

May 26 2011

Music Video of the Day week 26 recap

Another recap post. New theme week tomorrow on the Twitter, duos!

Apr 7 2011

Music Video of the Day week 24 recap (January 28 – February 3) – Ska Week

Tomorrow is the last video in girl singers you probably have not heard of theme week! Then another week of normal videos. And I have another theme week in the works, as always, stay tuned!

So I was in Toronto this past weekend, if you did not gather from my Tweets! With that said, I am a little behind in proper blog posts, I will put a new one up tomorrow or Friday. And hopefully another on the weekend too.

For the time being, here is the week 24 recap (I do not actually keep track in weeks, just video number. When I do recaps, I take the last video of the week, and divide by seven…) which was Ska Week!

Back when I was listening to college radio a lot, I won a Buck-O-Nine t-shirt with a tape sampler containing four songs (I believe) from their album Twenty-Eight Teeth. It was a great ska track then, and remains!

A Ska-punk classic! No doubt! Great tune! This one is from their self titled 1996 debut.

Another great ska band, and with a girl singer to boot! One that was very easy on the eyes (as I mentioned in the Tweet!)! She being Monique Powell!

Voodoo Glow Skulls, one of my favourite ska punk bands for sure! Not my favourite song from them, but not bad nonetheless.

No Doubt have a new album on the way. Hopefully it will be good. No way it will be in the style of their classic stuff, even if they do manage to get som ska or punk in there. Tragic Kingdombeing essential. “Spiderwebs” of many great songs from the album. It was released 15 years ago and counting!

Likely the most well-known Bosstones song for those who have been following them since their hey day. Still a good one.

I had a little trouble choosing a Less Than Jake video, so I chose “Does the Lion City Still Roar?” from GNV FLA. I have not really listened to them since Borders & Boundaries (2000). I think I will have to try to catch up, as they will be playing this years Warped Tour!

Next recap will be of Country Week!

Feb 1 2011

Music Video of the Day recap week 18

Week 18, a non themed week. And the week ending on Christmas Eve, so before a couple of Xmas videos. I have embedded three videos. Of course they are all worth checking out, but ones specifically I thought I would highlight.

Ska week is going on right now on my Twitter, three more videos to go!

Blog news, tomorrow I hope to post a proper music review!

#120 Wynter Gordon – Dirty Talk

Quite a good dance/pop track. Maybe not quite as underground as Juliet from a few years back, but possibly a sleeper hit. Time will tell, her debut album, With the Music I Die, is set to be released in March.

#121, I Blame Coco – Caesar feat. Robyn

A very nice find. First I have heard of I Blame Coco, and I have yet to hear any more from her, but definitely will. And Robyn’s vocal harmonies work quite well!

#122 Kathleen Edwards – I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory

Second time I have featured Kathleen Edwards as a Music Video of the Day, and for the record, all her material is definitely worthy, be it music video, or song when there is not a music video! AND, she is working on a new album!!

#123 Hannah Georgas – Thick Skin

As with Kathleen Edwards, more excellent Canadian Content (Cancon as we say in the Great White North). She is definitely an up and comer!

#124 The Urge – Jump Right In featuring Nick Hexum

This is the song that got me into The Urge. Actually, I have not really heard much of their stuff released before Master of Styles, which “Jump Right In” is on (going back to 1998!). More music I have to go back and listen to!

#125 311 – Down

As with The Urge, this was the first 311 song I got to know well. And of course, Nick Hexum’s band, as he was featured on the above The Urge video.

#126 Sia – I’m In Here

The video made is for the piano vocal version. Along with the original version, one of the mellow tracks from We Are Born.

Sep 29 2010

Pop Montreal 2010 preview

Pop Montreal 2010 begins today, and lasts till Sunday!

I’ll be checking out numerous shows. What follows is who I am looking to check out, and what I recommend. What I attend I will look to post a review up here. And no doubt I am missing some good stuff, as I still have to listen to some artists I have never heard of to see if they are worth checking out.

I am just listing the artist. For the definitive list (venue, times, etc.) head on over to the official Pop Montreal site. And they have a PDF file last updated September 24, so it must be current. Also Said the Gramophone has a better guide to the festival than mine!

This year they really only have a couple big acts, Macy Gray, and The XX. Solange unfortunately cancelled, as she is working on her new album. Shows I am definitely looking to check out are in bold.

Wednesday September 29

Planet Smashers (acoustic set)
Sarah Blackwood
Hellbound Hepcats
–
The Dears with Imaginary Cities
–
We Are Wolves

Thursday September 30

Bonjay
–
Silly Kissers with Grimes, Pop Winds, and Blue Hawaii
–
Holy Fuck
–
Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flame with The Watson Twins and Led to Sea
–
Rebekah Higgs
–
The Dears with Imaginary Cities

Friday October 1

Molly Rankin
–
The Dears with Imaginary Cities
–
Macy Gray with Random Recipe
–
The XX with Warpaint, and Zola Jesus
–
Random Recipe (free show!)
–
The Toasters
–
No Joy

Saturday October 2

Atari Teenage Riot
–
Isis (of Thunderheist)
–
Xiu Xiu with Braids, and Valleys
–
Marnie Stern with Parlovr, and Special Noise.

Sunday October 3

Fred Penner

Feb 5 2010

Shiloh – Picture Imperfect (LP of the Week)

A surprisingly very good album from the 16 year old Canadian. I say surprisingly for the fact she is 16 years old.

As a whole this album is very solid, something I don’t think a one Ms. Lavigne could say about her debut (okay, I am a little biased, but I think she improved over time), and she was 17/18 when it was recorded and released. From the semi-serious third single, “Alright”, and “You’re Not Alone”, to the serious “I Remember” to the playful and catchy “Goodbye, You Suck”, Shiloh does a very honourable job performing all the styles and emotions.

“Strong Enough to Cry” is a slow paced almost ballad like song, yet executed well.

Like Shiloh said in a Youtube video, the album really isn’t one genre. Well it is for the most part a pop album, however “Operator (A Girl Like Me)” is heavily tinged in ska. “Get to You” has a fair amount of pop punk in it.

“Raise a Little Hell Now” is a good track that is a fun track as it sounds. I could not see it being a single for her, as it does not quite have the catchiness of her other two catchy ones (the singles), and has hell in the title. That does not mean it is not as good though. Also,
“Fight” is a positive kind of fight song.

With a quality debut under her belt, I’m looking forward to seeing what her future holds.