My Top Records of 2014

Howdy Folks!

Thought I'd pop in for a quick hello and provide my definitive and inarguable list of the top ten records of 2014.

That Kate Tempest record is something else. Check it out if you haven't heard it yet. 

1. St Vincent - St Vincent

2. Alvvays - Alvvays

3. A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent

4. Spoon - They Want My Soul

5. Caribou - Our Love

6. Lykke Li - I Never Learn

7. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down

8. TV on the Radio - Seeds

9. Future Islands - Singles

10. Jenny Lewis - The Voyageur

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Indefinite Hiatus

So...

....most of you have deduced by now that this blog is on an indefinite hiatus.

Painting over Silence has wildly exceeded all expectations. It started as a fun medium for me to keep track of upcoming concerts, conduct interviews with bands, review some albums, etc and quickly spiraled out of control. The inquiries from publicists, artists, and local venues was impossible to keep up with and I was spending 20-25 hours a week blogging during the peak of this site on top of working a full-time job and attending school part-time.

I never expected this site to lead to some employment with CBC. Or to place in the top 30 "best music blogs in Canada" contest. Or even secure me a spot on the Polaris Music Prize jury. For the better part of five years, my inbox was a daily source of  awe and wonderment.

Unfortunately, this exhausting pace has caught up with me over the past few years, and I found myself having less and less free time for blogging. And presently that spare time is almost nil.

So, for now, this site is on an indefinite hiatus.

If you want to hear about upcoming concerts in real time (at least as quickly as I can manage), please check my Twitter feed.

Thank you for reading over the years.

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Beach House to play the Pyramid

Howdy folks. Long time, no post. Been busy getting married and taking care of my new lab puppy (see Twitter for a pic) and building a fence and what not, so my blog's been a tad neglected.

Anyway, hello again, Everyone. Here's an exciting concert announcement:

Beach House is playing the Pyramid on Tuesday, September 30th! Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I'm pretty excited. Caught them in Reykjavik a few years back, and the band was utterly fantastic.

See ya there.

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Afternoon Headlines: Buck 65 returns to town; GMac short-listed for Polaris Prize

Buck 65 returns to town for a date at the Pyramid on Saturday, November 15th.

Hamilton-based duo Ash & Bloom is at West Broadway Community Ministry on Friday, August 15th.

Dave Quanbury & His Band play ACU Hall at the WECC on Tuesday, August 5th.

The Mowgli's drop by the Pyramid on Wednesday, August 27th.

Joey Cape (of Lagwagon), Chris Cresswell (of The Flatliners), and Brian Wahlstrom (of Scorpios) will be at the WECC on Wednesday, October 1st.

Ottawa-based singer-songwriter Pat Maloney will be at the Park Theatre on Sunday, July 6th.

Secret Chiefs 3 (lead by an ex-member of Faith No More) materialized on stage at the WECC on Sunday, October 5th.

Local act autumn still just released its debut EP, and it's available for download here.

Add Reuben and the Dark to the Boy & Bear show going down at the Garrick on Thursday, October 23rd.

Add Dan Deacon and Tune-Yards to the Arcade Fire MTS Centre extravaganza happening on Thursday, August 14th.

Serena Ryder is at the Burt on Wednesday, August 6th.

And finally, after a voting error was discovered, Greg MacPherson's Fireball has been longlisted for the Polaris Prize! Congrats to the local talent.

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Afternoon Headlines: Canada Day at the Forks lineup ; Hearing Trees EP release at the Park

Del Barber plays a set with the WSO on Canada Day

The lineup for Canada Day has dropped and, as always, it features a wide swath of local talent and is going down at the Forks. I'll likely see ya there.

Here's the schedule:

Scotiabank Stage
4:00 PM Yes We Mystic
4:40 PM Dignitaries/ O Canada
5:00 PM The Perms
6:00 PM Indicator Indicator
7:00 PM Oh My Darling
8:00 PM Federal Lights
9:00 PM Del Barber
10:00 PM Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
10:40 PM WSO and Del Barber
11:00 PM Fireworks
...plus Mama Cutsworth spinning between acts


Under The Canopy
1:30 PM Pierre Freynet
2:20 PM Street Circus
3:30 PM Drum Cafe
5:30 PM Kasm
6:30 PM Marco Castillo
7:30 PM Hana Lu Lu
8:30 PM Les Jupes
9:30 PM BB-Gun

Railbridge Stage
1:00 PM Renée Lamoureux
2:00 PM Sc Mira
3:00 PM Kevin Roy
4:00 PM Eagle Lake Owls
5:00 PM Jess Reimer

In other concert news...

Friends-of-the-blog Hearing Trees is releasing its debut EP at the Park Theatre on Saturday, June 28th w/ Solhounds, Joey Penner, Matt Moskal, and Mona Faith Mousa.

Boy & Bear will be at the Garrick on Thursday, October 23rd.

The Devin Cuddy Band will be at Times Changed on Saturday, July 26th.

And finally, The Slackers drop by the WECC on Friday, September 19th w/ The Noble Thiefs.

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Modest Mouse to play the Burt w/ Kevin Drew

Modest Mouse returns to the Burton Cummings Theatre on Monday, July 28th w/ Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew and Mimicking Birds.

Ticket sales kick off Friday morning at 10 with ticket prices ranging from $52.25 (second balcony) to $58.50 (floor / first balcony). Yup, $6.25 price difference from floor to second balcony. That's a new one. 

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Evening Headlines: BADBADNOTGOOD @ Union Sound Hall ; Real Love Summer Festival

First up, BADBADNOTGOOD (above) is rockin' Union Sound Hall on Wednesday, August 6th.

Bombay Bicycle Club will materialize at the Garrick on Sunday, October 12th w/ Milo Greene.

Gay Nineties and The Wet Secrets co-headline a show going down at the Pyramid on Sunday, June 8th.

And finally, for a good time, try the Real Love Summer Festival going down in Gimli Motorsports Park (off Highway 8, just North of Gimli) this weekend from June 6th to 8th featuring over 25 bands. Artists include:  ZRADA, Ingrid Gatin, Slow Leaves, Animal Teeth, Surprise Party, Micah Erenberg, Kieran West, Palm Trees and many more.

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