You can get lost in the music for hours: The Head and the Heart @ The Burton Cummings Theatre

The Head and the Heart

The Burton Cummings Theatre

Winnipeg, MB

Monday, April 7th

True story: I gave up my Jets tickets last night in favour of attending The Head and the Heart show at the Burt.

I rarely miss a Jets game on TV (I even listened to their games while in Iceland at 3 a.m.), so it's even rarer that I give up my tickets.

But in the end I unquestionably made the right decision. The Head and the Heart (whose bassist, coincidentally, is a big Jets fan and even sported a new logo t-shirt throughout the set) put on a magnificent, inspired show. Drawing from both of their mighty fine releases, the sextet was loose, spirited, and clearly passionate about the curious brand of melodic indie-folk they irresistibly purvey.

This was on the best sets I've seen in quite some time, and I eagerly look forward to once again giving up my Jets tickets should the Head and the Heart roll through town on a game night. Unless its'a playoff game. But, hey, that's highly unlikely of happening anytime soon.

-Mykael

Read more...

Concert Review: No Joy @ The Park Theatre

No Joy w/ Alex Calder & Haunter 

The Park Theatre

September 26, 2013

Ever have a record that you stumble upon, out of nowhere, and it instantly resounds with you and where you’re at in life? For me No Joy’s 2013 release Wait for Pleasure was that record, one that has been in near constant rotation for me over the last two months. Lush soundscapes, droning elements and even hints of dream-pop abound on this release, all whilst clearly making references to shoegaze. 

The Montreal-based duo reproduced the recording over a tight 35-minute set at the Park Theatre on Thursday night, while also pulling from 2009’s Ghost Blonde. Wait for Pleasure opening track ‘E’ was easily the show highlight - the track meandered into a tidal wave of swirling drone to close the show.

Local act Haunter and former Makeout Videotape/Mac Demarco member Alex Calder’s band opened up the night, both with efficient yet contrasting sets. Calder in particular was clearly influenced from his time with Demarco as they drew heavily recent release Time, as well as two covers of the King of the Hill theme.

-Will Burton

Read more...

Concert Review: Purity Ring w/ Blue Hawaii @ The WECC

Purity Ring w/ Blue Hawaii

Wednesday, May 1st

The West End Cultural Centre

Winnipeg, MB

It’s been a banner year for Canadian electro-pop band Purity Ring.  They began making waves in 2011 when a steady drip of songs were picked up and hyped online by Pitchfork, and have gone on to garner buzz at SxSW and, more recently, a high-billed slot at Coachella.  Their July 2012 debut record Shrines was hotly anticipated and did not disappoint, receiving near universal plaudits from across the blogosphere.

Blue Hawaii kicked off the evening. Despite releasing an underwhelming sophomore record, Untogether, earlier this year, its set was altogether more expansive and developed and earned a warm reception from the audience. And a highly rare encore song (from an opener!). Look for vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston to return to her other project Braids soon; the follow-up record to Native Speakers will be released later this year.

Finally, came Purity Ring. Making its second stop at the West End in less than a year, it is evident Purity Ring has cultivated an impressive live show, which revolves around a multimedia, translucent-paper-cocoon-lantern light show.  It was a long developed project in which they sought to both create a more interactive audience experience and make themselves feel more comfortable on stage.  It presented itself nicely on Wednesday night, in a well-versed and tight 45-minute set that spanned its debut plus a cover.  Throughout, Roddick conducted musical proceedings while James drifted around stage and evoked a séance medium persona amidst the shimmering cocoons and smoke.

Maybe one of the reasons that Purity Ring has achieved such success is owing to the different aural spheres that both Roddick and James are working from.  Roddick creates sounds that have a sweet otherworldly aura with elements of R n’ B and these stylings fuse brilliantly with James’ delicate and highly literate vocals.

The capacity crowd at the West End certainly agreed.

-Will Burton

Read more...

Concert Review: The Men w/ The Hoots @ The WECC

The Men w/ The Hoots

Sunday, April 14th

The West End Cultural Centre

Winnipeg, MB

The Men don’t fuck around.  Their no-nonsense style offered at the West End Cultural Centre on Sunday night showed that there is more depth to their simple name than expected.  Garage, rock, indie, alt-country songs have all been put to disc by The Men in their short-yet-prolific, four-records-in-five-years history, and their raucous garage rock show drew from this array of styles.

On Sunday evening, the Men mainly pulled from their two most recent albums -- Open Your Heart (2012) and New Moon (2013) -- but also previewed new material, which recent interviews suggest is ready for imminent release via Sacred Bones.  If listening to their sound didn’t hint enough toward the influence, guitarist Kevin Faulkner adorned a 2008 North American Tour t-shirt of Winnipeg’s Golden Boy Neil Young.  The show evoked the aggression of Young, particularly in his raw, Crazy Horse moments.

The Men blazed through the hour-long set with a professional, workman-like attitude, efficiently shared vocal responsibilities between the three guitarists and lone keyboardist. Very little banter was had. They closed with set highlight New Moon closer ‘Supermoon, and 8-minute, slow-building number that winds into a manic, yet methodical, jam.  The Men have something that other bands towing the same musical line don’t – they have big hooks, intensity, variance, and undeniable songwriting consistency.  It was a powerful, masculine-charged performance, and it’s clear that their relentless energy is not solely directed to their shows, but musical output too.  Neil Young would, no doubt, have approved.

Fortune favored the few who had arrived prior to 8:30 with local act The Hoots (off I’m Trying Records) opening.  They were great. Their shoegaze-psychedelica and sprawling, winding guitars paired muffled vocals fed nicely into the headliner’s set.

- Will Burton

Read more...

Concert Review: TRUST @ The WECC

TRUST

The West End Cultural Centre

Winnipeg, MB 

February 28, 2013

Robert Alfons of TRUST 

Photo by K. Protulipac

The 2012 debut record from TRUST, a project of Toronto’s Robert Alfons was a sleeper hit on Canadian label Arts and Crafts.  The dense, synth-driven pieces that made up TRST paralleled fellow-Torontonian’s Crystal Castles, but dropped the demonic shard sounds of Alice Glass in favor of Alfons’s deep-nasal vocals.

Local act Kindest Cuts kicked off the show with a set that evoked a shattering, dark Depeche-Mode vibe.  Second on the bill was Brooklyn-based ERAAS who served up muffled, preaching vocals overtop a foundation of deep bass guitars and sullen, emotive electronics.

Finally, came TRUST. Backed with a drummer and a synth player, leader Alfons hopped around the stage front, and it was evident the lead man was certainly immersed - if not totally present - into his tight set that rarely deviated from the actual sound on the record. And, though compelling, Alfons exhibited minimal crowd interaction other than infrequent and meek gratitude, and he often darted to the side stage between song breaks.

The main set featured almost all cuts from the debut – the peak being the post-bridge from TRST finisher ‘Sulk’  complemented by the smokes and duel-pulsating strobes on stage.  The fair-sized WECC crowd was even treated to a three-song encore that included a new tune, suggesting that TRUST has even more quality music on the way.

- Will Burton

Read more...