Concert Photos: Toronto Plays for Haiti - 02.02.2010

Toronto Plays For Haiti was held at the Sound Academy on Tuesday February 2nd, 2010. The artists involved were The Trews, Moneen, Die Mannequin, Maestro Fresh Wes, The Junction, Ill Scarlett, The Salads f. Choclair and Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker. Many athletes also attended the event which raised over forty thousand dollars which the government matched. As a result over eighty thousand dollars was raised for the people of Haiti. The Sound Acadmey was packed and all had a good time. As for the entertainment… I have to say this is one of the best events I have ever attended. The Trews started it off with a great acoustic set. Everyone else just blew the crowd away with amazing energetic performances. Many thanks to all involved, to the Sound Academy and to Darrin Pfeiffer of The Edge and James Cybulski of TSN who started the ball rolling with the event.
Check out the video Toronto Plays For Haiti on YouTube.

Concert Photos and Review: Tegan and Sara @ Kool Haus - 01.20.2010

Time, good writing and great melodies have made all the difference for Tegan and Sara. The twins played the Kool Haus for their second sold out show in Toronto in as many nights. Twelve years and a much greater fan base than Tegan herself recalled explaining to the crowd that when they first played in Toronto it was at Holy Joe's to about eight people. The girls started off the night playing "Arrow","Don't Rush", and "The Ocean" from their latest release.

Concert Photos and Review: Die Mannequin @ Sound Academy - 12.12.2009

Die Mannequin stopped through the Sound Academy to play the final show on their Canadian tour. I can only imagine its been a wild ride for the band releasing the eagerly anticipated album "Fino+Bleed" and playing opening dates for Marilyn Manson across the country. I had the chance to see Die Mannequin live once before as part of the FU Awards where unfortunately they were only up for a couple of songs. Being a fan of intimate shows I was glad to see them on the Sound Academy's small stage.

Concert Photos and Review: Phoenix, Holy Fuck @ Sound Academy - 12.05.2009

It would appear Phoenix has been trying to put the french back into freedom fries. The quartet out of Versailles consisting of Thomas Mars (vocals), Deck D'Arcy (bass),Laurent Brancowitz(guitar) and Christian Mazzalai have finally taken North America by storm with the help of their fourth album release "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix". The band has been busy making appearances on late night television performing on SNL, Letterman, Kimmel and having their songs appear on television shows and commercials.

Concert Photos and Review : Wolfmother @ Kool Haus - 11.11.2009

When I first heard about the original Wolfmother split I was pretty disappointed. Being a fan of the trio's first album the self titled "Wolfmother" it seemed quite the bitter pill at the time. Still Andrew Stockdale vowed to keep Wolfmother going strong and this time bringing along guitarist Aidan Nemeth, Ian Peres bass/keys, and drummer Dave Atkins the new lineup stayed true to form.

Juliette Lewis , Band of Skulls @ The Opera House - 09.11.2009

Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Juliette Lewis was in town on double duty this weekend promoting her upcoming film "Whip It!" and of course playing a gig at the Opera House with her band The New Romantiques. Juliette has been providing us with her musical contributions for years. Her earliest being on the soundtracks of her films "Natural Born Killers" and "Strange Days". To be honest I wasn't quite listening back then. However having heard some of her new album "Terra Incognita" I was compelled to see what Juliette could bring to a live audience.


Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Having watched her performance of "Fantasy Bar" on Craig Ferguson's Late Late show I had an idea that she might be fun to watch. There's no doubt that she brings everything she's got to a performance. Everything from the screeching vocals, to the feathered outfit, to the knee pads its obvious Juliette is there to rock. Though I was not blown away I found the performance to be very energetic and entertaining. Juliette Lewis seems to have surpassed the efforts of some of her fellow Hollywood actors/musicians winning over a loyal fan base who helped her sing along to one of my favourite tracks on the new album "Suicide Dive Bombers".


Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Juliette Lewis @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

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Band of Skulls

Band of Skulls @ The Opera House
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Band of Skulls opened the show at the Opera House. I missed out on NXNE this year and Band of Skulls was one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing. To say I was happy to see them back so soon is an understatement. This British trio was formed in 2008 and have put out a very impressive debut album "Baby Darling Doll Face Honey" with great tracks "I Know What I Am", "Impossible", "Fires", "Blood". Yeah I can go on and on I really like this album. I enjoyed their live performance just as much. The vocal combination of Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson works very well together. Their bluesy rock will be compared to Jack White and the White Stripes or Dead Weather but that can only be viewed as a compliment. There is much more to Band of Skulls. I'll be glad to see them again next time they make it to town.

The Trews, Inward Eye, Flash Lightnin' @ The Wasaga Dome - 09.05.2009

The Trews @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

I guess its a sign of the times, a symptom of the recession. It's been a dreadful summer for live music this year. From poor attendance at festivals like Wakestock and Virgin Festival to a slow night on the beach at Wasaga. I thought this place would be crazy busy. What would be better than a day at the beach a drink as the sun sets and then walk in to watch a few great bands rock on the Saturday night of your long weekend. When I heard The Trews were playing a show at Wasaga Dome it was enough to get me back to the beach after several years. When I found out Winnepeg's Inward Eye and Toronto's Flash Lightnin' were supporting acts it just made the idea all the more enticing.


The Trews @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Trews @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

The Trews are one of my favourite Canadian bands to see and shoot live. The Juno nominated band always come out to rock and are never short of classic guitar faces and poses which makes them really fun to shoot. Unfortunately the place was not as packed as I thought it would be, however that made no difference to either the bands performance or to the loyal fans that did make it out this night. The Trews have released three solid albums "House Of Ill Fame", "Den Of Thieves" and their latest "No Time For Later" from which the band played a good mix. By the time they played hits "Not Ready To Go", "Paranoid Freak", "I Can't Say", "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me", and "Tired Of Waiting" they came back for their encore which included "Man Of Two Minds" and a cover of The Who's "Baba O'Riley" for which they invited openers Inward Eye to share the stage. As always a solid performance.


The Trews @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Trews @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Trews @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

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Inward Eye:


Inward Eye @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Energy, Fun, Punk... Just looking for words to describe Winnipeg's Inward Eye. These guys are just a lot of fun. I haven't had the opportunity to listen to their debut cd "Throwing Bricks Instead of Knives" but I'm totally loving their self titled EP which is available as a free download from their website. I can't get over how much I like these three brothers. Their music is so full of energy and their live show if possible goes beyond that. The only somewhat static member is Anders and the only reason for that is because he's behind the drums. Dave and Kyle are pretty much all over the stage and half the time a few feet above it. If you haven't yet seen these guys make a point to do so. They have a busy September full of dates with other Canadian bands Thornley, Mariana's Trench, Bedouin Sound Clash, OLP, some more dates with the Trews before their tour with Flogging Molly.


Inward Eye @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Inward Eye @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Inward Eye @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Inward Eye @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Inward Eye @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

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Flash Lightnin':

Flash Lightnin' @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr
Toronto's blues based southern rock band Flash Lightnin' opened the evening at the Wasaga Dome. Unfortunately due to an error in scheduling/promotion they played to a group of about ten people me included. The first time I saw them was at the 2008 Virgin Festival. Since then they've released an EP called "Destello" and their myspace page says they are working on an album with the likes of Ron Sexmith, Serena Ryder, Kevin Drew, and Jimmy Shaw. Interesting No ? Looking forward to seeing and hearing more.


Flash Lightnin' @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Flash Lightnin' @ Wasaga Dome
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Hot Hot Heat, The Stills @ Chill On The Hill -- 08.22.2009

Hot Hot Heat at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

A few years ago I spent some time in California. Now one of the nice things about Cali is that you can ski and in my case sail in a t-shirt all in the same day. Well maybe it wasn't a beautiful sunset at the Santa Monica Pier but the good people of Nestea brought a little bit of winter fun in August to Milton. Chill on the Hill promised to bring some summer and winter sports together with a couple of bands playing a free show. Closing at the Glen Eden ski club the show were British Columbia's Hot Hot Heat. The quartet composed of Steve Bays (vocals and keyboards), Paul Hawley (drums), Parker Bossley (bass) and Luke Paquin (guitar) put on a very energetic and entertaining set that was unfortunately cut short by the threat of an incoming storm.


Hot Hot Heat at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

The band played favourites "Talk to me Dance with me","Goodnight, Goodnight", "My Best Friend", and a short version of their big hit "Bandages". At one point Steve Bays gave a shout out to his grandmother who happened to be at the event and remarked how when he is ninety two he hopes to be at a rock concert. My sentiments exactly!

Update:
I wasn't quite sure what happened at the end of the show but it seems guitarist Luke Paquin was shocked by his microphone at the end of the performance. I have read he is recovering and wish him well.


Hot Hot Heat at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Hot Hot Heat at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Hot Hot Heat at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Hot Hot Heat at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

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The Stills:


The Stills at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

The Stills opened up the musical festivities. The Juno award winning band from Montreal entertained the crowd mainly with songs from their latest release "Oceans Will Rise". The band seemed to get off to a bit of a slow start but the set picked up some steam towards the end and they ended off with a bang playing their big single "Being Here".


The Stills at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Stills at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Stills at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Stills at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Snowboarder at Chill On The Hill
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Tokyo Police Club @ The White Rabbit -- 08.15.2009

Tokyo Police Club at The White Rabbit
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

If I haven't stated it yet on this site I happen to love the small club show. Nothing like seeing a really good band in the middle a sticky, sweaty, crazy, wild crowd in an up close and intimate setting. Tokyo Police Club played a couple of benefit shows in their home town of Newmarket, Ontario in support of Doane House Hospice. I happened to make it to the all ages show because of a prior commitment on the night of the 19+ show and yes it was wild and sweaty. Now I've been to some hardcore shows where you expect to be pushed around a bit but I didn't expect this so much at a Tokyo Police Club show. It made for a difficult but fun bit of photography.


Tokyo Police Club at The White Rabbit
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

It didn't take much for the White Rabbit crowd to go nuts. They'd been warmed up well by locals Ruby Coast and The Elwins and were very eager to see the hometown band. Tokyo Police Club played a good mix of songs from both their debut "Elephant Shell" as well as both "Smith" and "A Lesson In Crime" EPs. They had the crowd hooked from the time the bassline for "Nature of the Experiment" started to the chants of Tokyo Police Club of "Cheer It On" the encore. The band has been at numerous festivals Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Leeds and made appearances on Letterman and even Desperate Housewives so it was a special treat to see them in a small club with such crazed fans! Good cause, great show, good guys and loads of fun. I believe they are working on a new album now which is quite exciting after the very excellently fun "Elephant Shell". Tokyo Police Club is playing with Winter Gloves @ the CNE bandshell on Saturday August 29.


Tokyo Police Club at The White Rabbit
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Tokyo Police Club at The White Rabbit
Originally uploaded by vasquezr




Tokyo Police Club at The White Rabbit
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Ruby Coast:

Ruby Coast at The White Rabbit
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

As mentioned earlier one of the openers were Ruby Coast. This is the second time I've seen Ruby Coast play live. Having been impressed at the Sound Academy show when they opened for Arkells I was really glad to see them on the bill this night playing another solid set. Can't wait to see and hear more.