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.