Voices Carry

On Wednesday, I went to The Lula Lounge for a significant milestone: the 20th anniversary of a cappella band Retrocity. Since I have seen numerous shows from this 80s cover band over 15 years, I thought there'd be no more surprises but I was wrong.

First, every former member except for 1 made an appearance. Kevin Fox (now with UK-based Swingle Singers) flew in for the occasion. His wonderful voice and range was a lovely addition especially on Africa as lead. Tom Lillington was also there. I vaguely remembered having heard his smooth vocals a long time ago. This was confirmed when he did She Blinded Me With Science, a number Retrocity hasn't done in years. Theresa, with a her funky faux-hawk, was a complete surprise. Turns out she was with them prior to 2003. And of course, the 7 current members contributed to an evening of complex harmonies and arrangements.

In addition to numerous songs and medleys, one running theme was that each member would pick a 80s song of significance to them. One small negative was that some older arrangements were chosen, and these numbers made clear how much Retrocity has grown musically. Skits made a re-appearance including the introduction of every member via a medley and the Family Ties theme as each singer posed behind a picture frame. New additions such as ad-libbing songs based on audience suggestion wowed us with their talent. It was a great evening of music and laughter.

Dance With Me

On Friday, The Horseshoe hosted some high-energy sets. A few years ago, I caught a few songs from For Esmé. These didn't inspire me to follow their progress. Since then, it sounds like they've pivoted to more synth-y dance music. But over the funky groove, there were some excellent feminist lyrics. This was a nice evolution in their sound.

We are monroe from Montréal played muscular rock with a funky vibe. The bass player resembled the bassist from defunct band Hands and Teeth. If that was him, it would explain why they drove to Toronto today; the lead guitarist from that band now plays with tonight's headliner.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Fast Romantics. They have a great sound but perhaps I'm just tired of that Arcade Fires vibe of sprawling orchestral pop. The core band is already large at 6 members, when they bring out a 3-member horn section on a few numbers, it felt a bit overstuffed. But over the course of the last few years, it seems to me that they're on the cusp of either exploding into a larger mainstream fan-base or calling it a day. With a packed, young crowd who sang lustily to songs like Julia and Everybody Wants To Steal Your Heart, Fast Romantics might just have enough momentum to break through.

Wreck Ya Vick

Around November, the official Taste of Iceland Festival takes place around Toronto. I've never attended but there was a Nordic vibe at The Burdock on Friday with 2 artists of Icelandic descent playing with their friends and family in attendance. First up was Gabe Kastner. His set was average with a typical sad-sack indie theme. One weakness was a penchant for odd chords that didn't work for me.

 Lindy Vopnfjörd and his cello/back-up partner brought up the energy and fun. Although there was some love songs, he also sang about the surveillance state and other topics. Sigrún Stella was similar to Vopnfjörd but leaning more to the folk side of pop. Her wordy set painted some vivid images.

The final act was Emilie Mover. She is my favourite singer/songwriter and I always attend any of her shows. So although it pained me that most of the crowd has left, it was also nice to experience her solo set without the early raucousness. Mover also painted vivid portraits but with deceptively simple rhymes. Yet they were never the usual ones you'd hear in pop songs. Similarly, her chords would suddenly transition from pop into a bridge or coda full of jazz structures. Apparently, Kastner caused her first broken heart and propelled her into songwriting. So I'm grateful to him for wonderful evenings like tonight.

Call Me Mae Be

I saw Ria Mae at a free show and Dundas Square. It was good but the anemic set-up sounded off. So on Tuesday, I decided to give her a second chance at The Mod Club. Opener RALPH got the crowd going with some dancey pop. The simple arrangements and conventional lyrics didn't particular grab me. But singer Raffaella Weyman already has plenty of fans in the audience and will likely achieve some mainstream success. (Update: Her recordings have much more intricacies and layers).

I was impressed with Ria Mae's set. Her years spent writing indie songs has honed her craft. Within the constraint of a pop song, she was able to make the lyrics interesting with different rhyme schemes, verse length and so on. It was a tight trio and long-time tour mate Chris Wong (on synth and bass) made a solid support especially on the slower numbers that hearkened back to those indie years. Mae herself seemed much more comfortable on stage than before. As a queer musician, there was large contingent in the crowd loving her non-hetero lyrics. They also loved that she has settled in Toronto from the East Coast.

Manic-less Monday

Monday night shows are rare for me, especially since I don't go to The Horseshoe for their free Monday showcases any more. But I was at The Opera House tonight for opener Men I Trust. While waiting for the first set, I heard snippets of conversation from the growing crowd. One girl was recounting some housemates-from-hell stories in her new digs. Luckily I've always had reasonable neighbours, even when I was living in a rooming house when I first moved to Toronto.

Men I Trust kept the chill vibe going with their smooth bass and shimmering chords. They played a couple of new songs from their  upcoming album. These had more of an indie pop sound and on first listen don't grab me quite as much. Wild Nothing's style was not compelling when I streamed a few tracks before the show. I would normally stay to give the live set a shot but tomorrow was a work-day.

Body Politics

On Friday I was at the Fleck Dance Theatre for proartedanza's first narrative work. Though more rooted in classical techniques than other contemporary dance companies, their previous performances were still typically conceptual. But tonight with Figaro 2.0, they added story-telling to their choreography.

It was a mixed result for me. I liked their use of silent movie titles to introduce the characters, and later, to quickly recap some of the sub-plots. Their dancing was as strong and physical as always. Of particular note was the fraught dynamics between Susanna (Victoria Mehaffey) and The Count (Daniel McArthur).

With their more abstract work, the audience does the heavy lifting in interpretation. With this narrative piece, proartedanza is the one that has to do the work. And the choreographer couldn't quite plumb the emotional depths. But for a first attempt, it was still enjoyable. Overall, this expressive interpretation of The Marriage of Figaro, gave those of us who may balk at the problematic libretto especially in the #MeToo era, an entry into the beautiful music.

Power Square

On Wednesday, I went to a sold-out show at Lee's Palace. Dorothea Paas played an acoustic solo set to an almost full-house. This was unusual that there were so many people so early and might have contributed a bit to her nerves. But they cheered encouragingly to her for a slight flub and was quietly attentive to her clear light vocals.

This was U.S. Girls' biggest night in their hometown. There was a palpable buzz in the air. From some overheard conversations, it was a first-time show for numerous people. All those positive press coverage for Meg Remy must have finally got her some mainstream attention. Just like the Horseshoe Tavern gig earlier this year, it was full of high-energy 60s and 70s disco-esque music backed by political and feminist lyrics. She went full James Brown near the end, not only with her dancing, but also in "collapsing" on stage, being helped up, and continuing to sing.

How did those first-timers reacted? They couldn't stop talking and raving about it after the concert, especially Remy's magnetic stage presence.

Against The Dying

Massey Hall presents is an odd series, as it often takes place in other venues. And a Tuesday night show at Lula Lounge for the new album from Montréal-based Kandle was an odd choice. Whether slow-burn blues-tinged numbers or straight-up power-rock songs, her music doesn't seem to fit this West-End location where guests usually sit at tables eating dinner while listening to jazz or world music.

Luckily tonight they had cleared out the middle section so people could fill up that space up to the stage. Kandle had brought a full band tonight including a synth/organist and a guest tenor sax. The sound system wasn't quite beefy enough to handle a rock show, but it still conveyed the power in numbers like Bender and When My Body Breaks. She was a charismatic performer, commanding the attention of the audience. It was in part because, yes, Osbourne is quite physically attractive, but mostly due to the emotional quality of her voice that ranged from vulnerable quiver to full-throated roar. She should be much bigger than she is and it will be interesting to see if she can break out in the next year.

Party For All

On a chilly Sunday afternoon, a huge crowd gathered on Queen St. W at the Eaton Centre for the annual unveiling of Saks' Holiday windows. But they were really here for the entertainment which included in previous years Mariah Carey.

A DJ played a bunch of tracks but few were dancing. They were either chatting, checking their phones, or shivering and waiting impatiently. Some younger teens got loud for up-and-coming teen idol Johnny Orlando. His short set was definitely mainstream pop, but I preferred the young fans excitement over the ironic snarkiness of a couple of indie snobs behind me. Finally Carly Rep Jepsen took the stage for a fun but too-short acoustic set of 4 songs. Given its length, did she really have to cover 2 Christmas songs? (Actually, Let It Snow used to be a Valentine, ie February, song). I'm still waiting for my head-lining, full synth Jepsen show.

Bananas

Lately, musicians who have a reasonably large fan base but perhaps not quite an arena-level size have taken to selling 1-2 nights at a mid-size venues and adding more shows if there's demand. So on Saturday, I found myself at The Danforth Music Hall for show 3 of 5 for Afie Jurvanen (aka Bahamas).

Judging by the cheering in the crowd, solo opener Tim Baker had a pretty good fan base as well, probably from his Hey Rosetta! days. He played a variety of instruments and on songs like 18th hole (about attending an exes' wedding) stayed on the right side of white man screaming (see Glen Hansard). As a recent transplant from the East Coast, he also previewed a number of songs about the alienation of living in a condo in downtown Toronto.

Bahamas charmed the crowd with his aw-shucks mannerism and dad jokes, but his music straddled the line between sexy bangers (All The Time) and introspective indie like Lost In The Light. A song so popular he played it twice to open and close his set, even if the second time started as a jokey stunt. He was backed by a great band especially Christine Bougie on lead guitar (though she and Jurvanen traded plenty of solos and dual guitar harmonies throughout the night) and Felicity Williams on background vocals. Her soaring soprano was the highlight of almost every number and elicited plenty of cheering from the audience.