Loopy

Sunday night at the Tranzac, 2 performers played some interesting sets. Melissa Boraski of Eiyn Sof started with an elegiac piece, full of minor chord progressions, that sounded more like a Chopin piece than a pop number. She then followed with some lyrical folk songs and finally ended her set with a looped piece where she layered, not the typical harmonized vocals, but breaths, grunts, and whistles. All in all, quite an atmospheric set.

The indolent, slow vibe continued with Isla Craig's new album The Becoming. Back by a full band for most of the night, she ran through songs with a repeating, Ethiopian-esque, groove. This was an album probably 3 or more years in the making. Although Craig typically in the soprano range, I preferred her more honeyed timbre when she moved into her lower register. The Tranzac sound system was better tonight for conveying all the nuances of her music.

Hey, Hey, You, You

On Saturday, I was at The Horseshoe for a benefit concert. To a sold-out and predominantly female crowd, a number of Toronto bands did two sets of Avril Lavigne's songs. The whole thing started from a practice session of two members of The Beaches. For me, the first set was more cohesive. Members of the Beaches and The Elwins took turns as the house band, after doing their own covers like Boyfriend. A plethora of guests came on stage including Taylor Knox, Leah Fay (July Talk), and Nefe for their own rendition from the Lavigne songbook. The audience was ecstatic and sang and danced along deliriously.

The second set  continued to have more guests including fresh-from-a-wedding Jason Couse (The Darcys) and Brave Shores. But the mood was definitely more up and down, mostly because full bands started setting up their own equipment. No matter how fast they tried, the set-up and tear-down for a single song killed the evening's energy for me. After the third such attempt, I decided to call it a night. On a happier note, it was also a special evening for the littlest Beach, Kylie Miller turned 21 at midnight with the whole bar singing Happy Birthday to her.

A Relic

Heading home early from work, I decided to get off at the subway stop at North York Centre for lunch. I vaguely recalled from years ago that there was a cluster of Korean eateries in the area. Either it was a different stop or my memory is faulty, but there was none in sight. But most likely it's the decade-long construction boom in Toronto that has changed almost every neighbourhood, even this on-the-edge-of-suburbia location.

Confronted by towering offices, shops, and chain restaurants, I wandered around until I saw an old building nestled between the new high-rises. There were a few restaurants on the ground floor and I walked into Pho 88. The dusty exterior gave way to a more upscale looking interior. This place probably went through the same "minimal wood aesthetic" upgrade (and prettier menu presentation) a lot of the Asian spots did about a decade ago. The lunch crowd was winding down. Unlike other Vietnamese pho places, you actually have a waiter taking down your order.

I got a medium pho special ($10). You get a lot of meat in your bowl for the price. The noodles were a thinner style than other places. One negative was that the broth wasn't as fragrant and subtle. I wouldn't come here from elsewhere to eat. But with the reasonable food and prompt service, I can see why it is popular with the office workers in the area.

Having Fun Being Young

I liked Luna Li's short set at Luanda House a while back. So on Friday, I went to The Baby G to see what a headliner show would be like. If the other evening had a first time in da club feel, tonight was full-on hipster. That is to say, young people enjoying themselves with low budget DIYs.

The small venue had stations set up along the walls. You can get shots with your besties at the photo booth, write and post a haiku, or apply glitter make-up. There were 3 professional-looking (in the home-gear sense) videographers wandering around all night filming.

Amelia Made (Mum's Kitchen) started the evening with a synth-drenched Clair De Lune. Her music was a bit off kilter and the electronic arpeggios reminded me of video game music. She sounded like early Bjork with the hitch in her voice.

For the first few songs, Hannah Bussiere (Luna Li) asked people to sit down to fully enjoy the spectacle. Draped in a flowy, silver costume, she played a few of songs on the harp while two dancers did modern dance choreography in the tight space. Then we all got up for the rock part as she swapped harp for electric guitar and the full band launched into quite a rock show. There was definitely some ethereal Maylee Todd 2.0 vibe. The band even has Charise Aragoza, one of Todd's former backup dancers, on synth and guitar. But with Bussiere's facility in spinning out guitar riffs, and a muscular drum and bass combo, there was more of a rock feel to the sound.

Ice Is Nice

On Saturday, after checking out some books at Bakka Phoenix on Harbord, I noticed that there was a new restaurant across the street. It turns out that a Hong Kong franchise, Dessert Kitchen, has set up shop. Perusing several pages of glossy desserts, I decided to try the Mid-summer Festival Sundae ($7.99). Unlike a traditional sundae, though it does come with vanilla soft serve and mango ice cream, this was a very typical Asian dessert that emphasized a variety of flavour and texture. So it was I ate my way through mini rice balls, seaweed balls, yuzu kanten (a jello-like substance made from algae), and tiny bits of mangoes. It was a nice, interesting way to cool down from the noon heat.

Downtown Sound

This year, NXNE has returned to the main part of Toronto instead of out in the Portlands. So their free Main Stage was once again located right at Dundas Square. I went on Friday evening to check out a few acts.

It was a poor set-up. Dundas Square itself has a raised platform that is often used as a stage for shows and concerts. When I heard that NXNE has closed off Yonge St. instead, I was expecting the stage to be on the street itself, allowing a much larger crowd to grow along the road.  But they built it abutting Eaton Centre, and fenced off the street and sidewalk for security personnel. This made the stage too far for the performers to interact with the audience. And the latter was still limited to the Square itself. In fact, there was actually less room because NXNE had carved up the Square for a media tent and bar patio.

Formerly from Edmonton, rapper Cadence Weapon had a fast flow. He also liked applying effects to his vocal. His rap was the usual mix; some were about social issues, others about drinking and living large. Being a good Canadian boy, he had a rap about Connor McDavid which was brave of him to perform in enemy territory.

U.S. Girls was up next. It was an odd choice because tonight's line-up was dominated by R'n'B and Rap acts. They went through their well-rehearsed set/performance piece with most songs drawn from the latest album. It wasn't a great fit for the crowd who was expecting more mainstream music. There were some amusing spontaneous moments when singer Meghan Remy got a security guard to be involved with her show.

A Little Bit

As I get older, multiple late nights at a music festival don't appeal much. But I did make it out Monday night to The Dakota Tavern. NXNE has created curator series where a musician book bands that hold some significance for them. Tonight, Terra Lightfoot has chosen 4 women-fronted bands in the country/folk mold. First up was Colleen Brown with a duo set of Major Love songs. Next up was trio The O'Pears. I always enjoy their beautiful harmonies. I couldn't stay for Charlotte Cornfield or Dinah Nash. It would have been nice to hear them but the sets were running late.

Rad Rock Vs Dad Rock

On June 9th, I headed over to Roncesvalles for some shopping and also check out Roncy Rocks. It turns out this wasn't a street festival but a BIA-sponsored event. So with the various shops setting up stalls as well as a number of local artisans, the sidewalk was quite congested. After a fruitless search for a hand-made yoga bag, I was about to head home when I saw that the stage set up on a side street was hosting a few bands.

I stayed for Luna Li. I liked her solo set a few weeks ago at Luanda House. With a full set-up today, I was quite impressed with how much of a rock vibe they had going. This young band could be going places.  I might check out their release show next Friday. I was also surprised to see Jessica Stuart. This afternoon, she was here supporting Alex St. Kitts. This singer/bassist had an infectious personality and some funky songs. But his lyrics weren't quite at the level of his technical chops.

Movement In Stillness

I was at The Tranzac for a mid-week album release. Opener Alyson McNamara did a soft folk set with some interesting picking and chords. She mostly presented new material rom her upcoming sophomore album.

Then headliner Emilie Mover did a wonderful set where she played her new album Night Owl straight through. She joked that those of us in attendance now know how the album should be played. Because of a misprinting, the vinyl has no side A or B indication. A nice bonus, although you can also go on, for example, Spotify to see the correct track listing. For the encore, she played an unreleased song about New York, a tune Mover wrote after Night Owl to prove that she can still write.

Mover gave the best merch pitch ever. If you buy her album, you get to pet her dog Stevie Wonder. I didn't need that incentive to support this great artist, but I surely took advantage of the offer for some doggie scritches.

Giddy Up

Since electro-pop outfit Sidney York disbanded, 2 of them have resurfaced in an all-women country act called Nice Horse. They are mostly based out of Alberta and only play a few shows in the rest of Canada. So when I heard they were doing a show at The Cameron House on Wednesday, I skedaddled on down. The curious pay-what-you-can crowd tonight wasn't a great fit for the hootenanny set. But there was one extremely excited fan, perhaps a little too much into their music. These ladies combined fun country music (Pony Up, Jim Jack Johnnie and José) with feminist themes (Mansplaining). Nice Horse is getting more traction than Sidney York, so I hope this will be the big break for them.

Strike a Pose

On Saturday, I was at an afternoon show of The National Ballet's new recital entitled Frame By Frame. This show is based on the life and work of NFB film-maker Norman McLaren. He was well-known for shorts which experimented with novel film and animation techniques. It was a series of vignettes either from a biographical event or one of McLaren's work. My main complaint was that there too many such scenes over the course of 2 hours, leading to viewer fatigue. With such busy-ness, there were hits but misses too. For every successful bio event (an inventive use of a drafting table) or recreation (a row of dancers shot like they were a single film strip), there were duds (an interminable foray into Shanghai complete with dancing Red Army soldiers, an anemic re-enactment of Neighbours). Often times, it felt like a scene was shoe-horned in so they can demonstrate another gee-whiz interaction between dancers and multimedia technology. It was promising work but Frame by Frame needed an editor.

Catch Me

Myself, and probably thousands of fans around the world, enjoy the smooth sound and lo-fi aesthetic of Montréal band Men I Trust. This trio has millions of views and streams yet is completely under-the-radar and doesn't tour. There are videos of lead singer Emma tearing up when, at a first-time show at some remote club, the audience sings along with her. So I was excited to finally hear them live at The Horseshoe on Friday.

Montréal compatriot Anemone was the perfect opener. They had similar funky bass lines and singer Chloé Soldevilla also projected a similar 60s baby-doll vibe (see Bout de Toi). This Charlotte Gainsbourg meets electro-dance provided an up-tempo start to the evening.

The packed crowd loved Men I Trust's headliner set with cries of "I love you Emma" throughout the evening. What was more amazing than people knowing the lyrics was that many recognized the songs after only a few notes of shimmering guitar/synth chords and chill bass line had started. Numbers like Tailwhip and Lauren kept the fans happy throughout the evening.

Dance For Me

Dundas West Fest has taken over the street from Ossington to Lansdowne. I usually check out a few indie bands at the stage opposite The Garrison. But this Saturday, I decided to head to the other end to hear some World Music at the Lula Lounge stage.

Okan is comprised of two Cuban women, one on percussion and the other on violin and vocals. They have a rotating cast of performers on drums, bass, and piano. Today they were joined by Danaé Olano, a pianist I saw performed at Gallery 345. It was a high-energy performance of Afro-Cuban jazz music full of complex rhythm. There was a dash of modern jazz in some of the passages. The addition of a classical-trained violinist also introduced some interesting flavour to the arrangements and solos.