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.