Concert Photos and Review: A Primitive Evolution @ The Reverb - 12.03.2009

I had a chance to check out A Primitive Evolution (A.P.E.) at the Reverb for their self titled CD release party. I had seen them once before opening for Toronto's The Birthday Massacre back in May at the Mod Club. Quite simply they rocked my face off. Since then I've been eagerly awaiting a chance to see them live once again.

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.

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.

Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club 07.24.2009

Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

I've seen a lot of Arkells over the last few weeks. It is quite something to see a band play in different venues and types of shows. A festival at Wiarton, headlining a show at The Sound Academy and now playing at a packed small sweaty club show.


Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Originally I had not planned on making it to this show having just seen the band at The Sound Academy and having plans to see/review the Hey Rosetta! show at Harboufront Centre. However, when I found out HR! would be playing early I made a last minute decision to boot it back up to Barrie to see them again. Hey what could I do... they were playing a club show in what I guess I'm now considering to be my hometown. Secondly, with the rate of popularity that Arkells have been seeing I thought perhaps it may be rare to see them playing a small club like this in the Toronto area.


Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

It was definitely the right decision. Arkells stepped up to the stage and proceeded to give the Barrie audience what at this moment I can call the club show of the year. The band played played songs off of "Jackson Square" the new "Country Boy" and two covers Smokey's "Tears of Clown" and the Boss' "Dancing in the Dark".


Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Frontman Max Kerman shared a funny story about being seranted in the washroom a few minutes before taking the stage. Seems somebody was singing the lyrics to "John Lennon". If you don't know the song by now check it out on their myspace page: Arkells @ Myspace and you'll get the joke.


Arkells @ The Mansion Night Club
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

The club was packed, hot and sweaty. Seriously one of the warmest shows I've been to ever. The music was great and crowd was loud and energetic. One of the best shows in Barrie in a long long time.

Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre 07.24.2009

Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

I was really glad to see that Hey Rosetta! made it onto he short list for the Polaris Prize this year. So it was quite a treat to be able to catch them at a free show at Harbourfront Centre. I admit before the show started I was worried there weren't too many people at the Sirius Stage for the show. Not too fear by the time the band got started into "There's An Arc" there was already a good size crowd on their feet enjoying the show.


Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Hey Rosetta! went on to play some of my favourite tracks off the album including, "I've Been Asleep for a long, long time", "Red Heart" on which I felt the strings really sounded great this night, "Holy S**t What A Relief", and "New Goodbye"


Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

As a big fan of the band it would have been nicer to hear more from them perhaps a lengthier show like the one they played at Lee's Palace a few months ago. In any case they are always fun to watch.

The show was recorded by the CBC and can be found and heard on the CBC radio 3 website so go check it out!
Band Website: www.heyrosetta.com


Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Hey Rosetta! @ Harbourfront Centre
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

The Dead Weather @ Kool Haus 07.22.2009

The Dead Weather @ Kool Haus
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


The Dead Weather @ Kool Haus
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

So what do you do when you are Jack White have had great success with both your bands The White Stripes & The Raconteurs and have the need for a little something extra... hey start up a new super-group. Jack White's latest offering The Dead Weather which includes Alison Mosshart of the Kills, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age and fellow Raconteur Jack Lawrence strolled in to Toronto for the second time in just over a month much to the delight of their adoring fans at the Kool Haus.

The Dead Weather played songs of of their newly released (July 14) album "Horehound" a set of dirty punchy blues inspired rock that was more than well received by the Kool Haus crowd. Jack White has taken a step back in his latest venture content to mainly play drums allowing Fertita's guitar to hypnotize the crowd while Alison Mosshart's vocals literally picked us all up and dragged us to the devil.


The Dead Weather @ Kool Haus
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

There was a distinctive crowd roar when Jack stepped out from behind the drums to play guitar and vocals on a duet with Mosshart. It is surprising to think that The Dead Weather came about in just a few short weeks. I guess This speaks to the immense talent brought together in a super-group.

The band played in a wash of blue light with flashing white strobes and hardly any front lighting. Although it did make the photography more difficult than usual it did have a very cool effect often leaving Jack in silhoutte which emphasized his approach to his latest venture. Letting the rest of the band shine.


The Dead Weather @ Kool Haus
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Opening up for The Dead Weather was New Jersey band Screaming Females. Unfortunately I missed most of this set, but what little I did see of this band blew me away. I will most definitely be keeping an eye out for the next time they roll into town.

Arkells, Still LIfe Still, Ruby Coast @ Sound Academy July 17,2009

Arkells @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

I've been listening to "Jackson Square" quite a bit lately. A mishap with my ipod connection has restricted me to listening to CDs in the car once again and I can't seem to get this one out of my CD player. I've also had the opportunity of watching Arkells play live a couple times in the last couple of weeks. Once in Wiarton and now this show at Sound Academy for Bookie's Big Blast. I can't seem to get enough of them. They get better every time I see them.


Arkells @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

Ok seriously enough gushing... I was glad to see Arkells play a full set including every song on "Jackson Square". This allowed them to play some of the songs they didn't play at the Wiarton show "I'm Not The Sun" and "The Choir" along with a well rocked out cover of Smokey Robinson's "Tears Of A Clown".

Arkells have had a great year making the long list for the Polaris Prize and their live show has matured greatly since the first time I saw them play at last years Virgin Festival. Many of their songs are so well suited for live shows with lots of opportunity to sing or clap along. Audience participation is almost mandatory as front man Max Kerman challenges the crowd during "Oh The Boss Is Coming" asking if they've ever really worked a day in their lives. Great show, can't wait to see more.

Check out Arkells at their new site. Have a listen they've got some really cool acoustic and live versions of their songs. Oh and if you are from Barrie they are playing this Friday @ The Mansion Night Club!


Arkells @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Arkells @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Arkells @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

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Still Life Still:

Still Life Still @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Still Life Still @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

This is the third time I've seen Still Life Still play live and it was by far my favourite. The band sounded great and seemed to be very well received by the Sound Academy audience. I'm a big fan of their "Pastel" EP and I expect a big year from them after their full length release on the "Arts & Crafts" Label. According to their schedule on myspace they're off to do a few shows out west and are back in September for a couple of gigs @ Lee's. Still Life Still on myspace.


Still Life Still @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

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Ruby Coast:

Ruby Coast @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr

I was really glad to see Ruby Coast on the bill for this show. I've been wanting to see them for a while now. They've got a sound that reminds me of a fun blend of Los Campesinos, Tokyo Police Club and Born Ruffians. They were very impressive and I'll be glad to see them again soon. Ruby Coast will be playing a few shows in mid August including one @ Phoenix Concert Theatre on Aug 11. Ruby Coast on myspace.


Ruby Coast @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr


Ruby Coast @ Sound Academy
Originally uploaded by vasquezr