SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9TH @ The Baby G (1608 Dundas St. West) - 8pm, $15/$20
EXTRA LIFE (bandcamp)
Long running NYC avant rock quartet led by the ever inquisitive composer / guitarist Charlie Looker returns to Toronto, and the live arena, after a 10 year hiatus. The band oscillates between brooding cinematic soundscapes and progressive flourishes laden with heaviness, featuring members of Kayo Dot and Secret Chiefs 3 among its crew of seasoned rippers. They land on the road behind their newest album "The Sacred Vowel"
OIL GIANT (bandcamp)
Crushing Toronto noise rock quartet moves from ripping angular punk shredding to prodding heavy sludge-y riffage. Guitar feedback swells as repetitive chords grind into your mind. An assault of trebled notes cut through pummeling bass lines only to be buried in layers of dissonance. James Kearns' vocal malaise washes over these gnarled structures like a languid proclamation. Oil Giant are on a methodical rampage against a mundane world.
OUTPUT 1:1:1 (bandcamp)
Haunting avant-gothic songwriter Daniel Janvier’s trio featuring Gene Converse and Vic O (Not A Band) take tortured song structures imbibing them with industrial noise textures and clattering metal that mix with Janvier’s foreboding guitar work and ghostly vocals. Murky emotional music that feels akin to Nick Cave or even the more subdued late period Scott Walker outings. Vocals call out from beneath a pile of improvised noise scraps and discarded distortion.
TICKETS
FACEBOOK EVENT
Long running NYC avant rock quartet led by the ever inquisitive composer / guitarist Charlie Looker returns to Toronto, and the live arena, after a 10 year hiatus. The band oscillates between brooding cinematic soundscapes and progressive flourishes laden with heaviness, featuring members of Kayo Dot and Secret Chiefs 3 among its crew of seasoned rippers. They land on the road behind their newest album "The Sacred Vowel"
OIL GIANT (bandcamp)
Crushing Toronto noise rock quartet moves from ripping angular punk shredding to prodding heavy sludge-y riffage. Guitar feedback swells as repetitive chords grind into your mind. An assault of trebled notes cut through pummeling bass lines only to be buried in layers of dissonance. James Kearns' vocal malaise washes over these gnarled structures like a languid proclamation. Oil Giant are on a methodical rampage against a mundane world.
OUTPUT 1:1:1 (bandcamp)
Haunting avant-gothic songwriter Daniel Janvier’s trio featuring Gene Converse and Vic O (Not A Band) take tortured song structures imbibing them with industrial noise textures and clattering metal that mix with Janvier’s foreboding guitar work and ghostly vocals. Murky emotional music that feels akin to Nick Cave or even the more subdued late period Scott Walker outings. Vocals call out from beneath a pile of improvised noise scraps and discarded distortion.
TICKETS
FACEBOOK EVENT
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH @ Standard Time (165 Geary Ave. Unit A) - 8pm, $20/$25, All Ages
HALEY FOHR (CIRCUIT DES YEUX) & BILL NACE (CDY bandcamp / Bill Nace bandcamp)
"I wish I could take credit for bringing Bill Nace and Haley Fohr together, but the idea was their own. I just figured out a way to make it happen; Covid delayed the inaugural performance a year, until February of 2022, when they played the opening night concert of Frequency Festival at Constellation in Chicago, but the wait was worth it. I was and remain a huge admirer of both artists, musicians driven by gut instinct and for whom nothing is outside the realm of possibilities. Although Nace’s playing might initially hit with gale-force intensity, beneath the lacerating surface is a detail-rich poetry, as one needling phrase or another whipsaw gesture opens up a rich tapestry to slowly-morphing patterns and internal networks of sound. Nace might play guitar or he might choose tashigoto, but it doesn’t matter in the end, because he utterly transforms whatever he touches into something new.
I first heard Fohr in her Circuit des Yeux guise, where she unbound voice throbs at the heart of mini-symphonies, blending primal howls and elegant arias into a devastatingly rich art-pop. I also had the pleasure of presenting a concert where she improvised using wordless voice and electronics that opened up radically different pathways. Their work seemed miles apart but their shared fearlessness seemed to guarantee a creative supernova. There’s no point in trying to pin down or describe what happens when they collaborate, because such encounters are deliriously unpredictable, apart from the promise that what they make together will leave you confused, transformed, and reeling. What more could a listener ask for?" - Peter Margasak
TICKETS
"I wish I could take credit for bringing Bill Nace and Haley Fohr together, but the idea was their own. I just figured out a way to make it happen; Covid delayed the inaugural performance a year, until February of 2022, when they played the opening night concert of Frequency Festival at Constellation in Chicago, but the wait was worth it. I was and remain a huge admirer of both artists, musicians driven by gut instinct and for whom nothing is outside the realm of possibilities. Although Nace’s playing might initially hit with gale-force intensity, beneath the lacerating surface is a detail-rich poetry, as one needling phrase or another whipsaw gesture opens up a rich tapestry to slowly-morphing patterns and internal networks of sound. Nace might play guitar or he might choose tashigoto, but it doesn’t matter in the end, because he utterly transforms whatever he touches into something new.
I first heard Fohr in her Circuit des Yeux guise, where she unbound voice throbs at the heart of mini-symphonies, blending primal howls and elegant arias into a devastatingly rich art-pop. I also had the pleasure of presenting a concert where she improvised using wordless voice and electronics that opened up radically different pathways. Their work seemed miles apart but their shared fearlessness seemed to guarantee a creative supernova. There’s no point in trying to pin down or describe what happens when they collaborate, because such encounters are deliriously unpredictable, apart from the promise that what they make together will leave you confused, transformed, and reeling. What more could a listener ask for?" - Peter Margasak
TICKETS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH @ Collective Arts (777 Dundas St. West) - 8pm, $20/$25
WENDY EISENBERG'S VIEWFINDER (bandcamp)
NYC guitarist, singer / songwriter Wendy Eisenberg returns to Toronto behind their newest record Viewfinder, a collection of songs about wanted & unwanted clarity, one of their strongest to date! Wendy will be joined by Zekkereya el-Magharbel on trombone and electronics, Mari Rubio (More Eaze) on violin and electronics, and Ryan Sawyer on drums. The quartet weaves in and out of Wendy's song structures with improvised flourishes, playful meanderings and a careful ear. Wendy's vocals & lyricism feel like one body moving slowly and weighted with emotion before errant guitar notes finally provide a release. The frenetic energy of angular guitar jabs and swinging drums move the band from thoughtful avant jazz moments to noise rock inspired rips that feel like the hallmark of Wendy's versatility, balancing & marrying these sonic worlds. Jazz rippers feature bleating trombone calls like some spirit trying to escape the rhythmically charged chaos that Viewfinder evolves into. One of the voices to watch in avant garde music. Don't sleep on this!
BERNICE (bandcamp)
Toronto avant soul power trio of Robin Dann, Thom Gill, and Phil Melanson create off kilter songs that find themselves encapsulating the beautiful smoothness of R&B without any of the traditional trappings. They dance somewhere between the airy syrup of ambient jazz fusion, sparse jabs of musique concrete, and Yoshi's sonic palette. This career jokers pull out the electronic beats that pop, slurp, slide & sizzle as Robin's vocals hover over top is a mystic cloud of angelic synth tones. An elegantly sparse cacophony of glitched samples and side line whispers notate their musical world. All of this boiled down into your favourite avant pop jams.
PETE JOHNSTON'S STRANGER STILL (bandcamp)
Composer & guitarist & banjo player Pete Johnston's Stranger Still ensemble taps into deep east coast celtic traditions, as they set the poem of Alden Nowlan to music, building a surreal world of sound around these evocative texts. Obviously folk influence mingles with minimalism and improvised jazz elements. Dual vocalists Mim Adams & Randi Helmers create glowing harmonies that sit in perfect contrast to the string propelled rhythms that drive the songs. Toronto stalwart Rob Clutton fills out the band with his methodical bass lines. Gearing up for a new recording, come check their new tunes!
TICKETS
FACEBOOK EVENT
NYC guitarist, singer / songwriter Wendy Eisenberg returns to Toronto behind their newest record Viewfinder, a collection of songs about wanted & unwanted clarity, one of their strongest to date! Wendy will be joined by Zekkereya el-Magharbel on trombone and electronics, Mari Rubio (More Eaze) on violin and electronics, and Ryan Sawyer on drums. The quartet weaves in and out of Wendy's song structures with improvised flourishes, playful meanderings and a careful ear. Wendy's vocals & lyricism feel like one body moving slowly and weighted with emotion before errant guitar notes finally provide a release. The frenetic energy of angular guitar jabs and swinging drums move the band from thoughtful avant jazz moments to noise rock inspired rips that feel like the hallmark of Wendy's versatility, balancing & marrying these sonic worlds. Jazz rippers feature bleating trombone calls like some spirit trying to escape the rhythmically charged chaos that Viewfinder evolves into. One of the voices to watch in avant garde music. Don't sleep on this!
BERNICE (bandcamp)
Toronto avant soul power trio of Robin Dann, Thom Gill, and Phil Melanson create off kilter songs that find themselves encapsulating the beautiful smoothness of R&B without any of the traditional trappings. They dance somewhere between the airy syrup of ambient jazz fusion, sparse jabs of musique concrete, and Yoshi's sonic palette. This career jokers pull out the electronic beats that pop, slurp, slide & sizzle as Robin's vocals hover over top is a mystic cloud of angelic synth tones. An elegantly sparse cacophony of glitched samples and side line whispers notate their musical world. All of this boiled down into your favourite avant pop jams.
PETE JOHNSTON'S STRANGER STILL (bandcamp)
Composer & guitarist & banjo player Pete Johnston's Stranger Still ensemble taps into deep east coast celtic traditions, as they set the poem of Alden Nowlan to music, building a surreal world of sound around these evocative texts. Obviously folk influence mingles with minimalism and improvised jazz elements. Dual vocalists Mim Adams & Randi Helmers create glowing harmonies that sit in perfect contrast to the string propelled rhythms that drive the songs. Toronto stalwart Rob Clutton fills out the band with his methodical bass lines. Gearing up for a new recording, come check their new tunes!
TICKETS
FACEBOOK EVENT
Upcoming Shows:
NOV 3RD: Ava Mendoza
NOV 29TH: V. Vecker
NOV 29TH: V. Vecker
