Unsurprisingly, the music between sets at The Horseshoe Tavern on January 12 was David Bowie. It was, after all, only two days after we lost one of the most significant musical geniuses of the modern musical age. Some of the songs were newer, some older, but they were all David Bowie. It was nice to be in a place that's been dedicated to music for only one year less than David Bowie lived; a venue that recognizes musical art in established and up-and-coming forms.
This past Tuesday night marked my third time seeing Torres deliver her beautiful and emotive music. The first time was at The Horseshoe as the solo opening set before Strand of Oaks. Next time, she was headlining with her band at The Garrison. Now she was headlining The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. Sadly, I missed her opening for Garbage show at The Phoenix last fall.
I find that as I look back on the words I wrote for those previous Torres shows, I can't find better ones. I first wrote, "Her music is raw emotion; songs and stories that are stripped bare and told in the first person. Her voice is an instrument of her emotion. It's all deeply personal with vivid stories." Describing the band at the second show I wrote, "The music poured out of them with all the whisper to a scream dynamics and flowing intensity that Torres' music demands. It all came together wonderfully." If anything, this third time, the whole show was tighter with varied intensity that was uninterrupted. Torres and the band keep getting better and better.
Regular readers of this site will know that people treating the band as background music while they chat incessantly drives me nuts. It's one of the reasons I like being up front, where this is less likely to happen. For this show, the crowd was remarkably attentive and well behaved. At least from what I noticed during the quiet moments in some songs and in that time between when the song is ending but the applause hasn't started yet. Mackenzie herself even commented on our attentiveness. Perhaps it's a testament to Torres' powerful music that keeps the crowd rapt. No matter what the reason, the good vibes from the crowd and the band were key ingredients in a very enjoyable show.
Torres and the band played an efficient set with no encore. She played all of my favourites and she and the band did an excellent job of keeping the dynamics flowing in a way that kept the audience's focus throughout the show. I know for myself, every time I hear Torres' songs, I like them more and more.
As I mentioned in my favourite songs of 2015 post, I somehow feel like I missed a lot of music in 2015. In spite of that, I was still able to pull together a pretty solid top 20 list for my favourite albums of the year.
All the best for 2016!
20. Northcote Hope is Made of Steel
19. Smallpools Lovetap!
18. El Vy Return to the Moon
17. Ivan & Alyosha It's All Just Pretend
16. Drenge Undertow
15. Screaming Females Rose Mountain
14. Wombats Glitterbug
13. Torres Sprinter
12. Grimes Art Angels
11. Dawes All Your Favourite Bands
10. Waxahatchee Ivy Tripp
9. The Maccabees Marks to Prove It
8. Surfer Blood 1000 Palms
7. Ron Hawkins and The Do Good Assassins Garden Songs
6. Wavves V
5. The Districts A Flourish and a Spoil
4. Speedy Ortiz Foil Deer
3. Frank Turner Positive Songs for Negative People
Torres brought an emotional roller coaster to The Garrison last Saturday night.
I witnessed Torres, Mackenzie Scott from Macon, GA and now a resident of Brooklyn, bare her soul when she performed solo at The Horseshoe Tavern opening for Strand of Oaks. In that post, I described her music as, "...raw emotion; songs and stories that are stripped bare and told in the first person. Her voice is an instrument of her emotion. It's all deeply personal with vivid stories."
When I heard Torres' latest album Sprinter I knew that experiencing their full-band show would be amazing. Fortunately, I was right. Mackenzie was as magnetic and powerful as expected. The band sounded spot on as well. Guitarist Cameron Kapoor used effects and feedback in a barely contained counterpoint to Mackenzie's vocals. Drums and keys kept things rhythmically and melodically together, as did Mackenzie's unique guitar playing. The music poured out of them with all the whisper to a scream dynamics and flowing intensity that Torres' music demands. It all came together wonderfully. The set was relatively short, with a one song encore, but I don't think anyone left disappointed. It was a great show and I look forward to the next one.
Although she's an intense performer - cleansing the stage with incense as the show began and ended, remarking after one particular song that there were no smoke and mirrors at work, and making some of the most impassioned guitar and vocalist faces - between songs she was open and friendly, thanking us genuinely for spending our Saturday night with her on the occasion of her first headlining show in Toronto. We'd spend any night of the week with you that we can, Torres.
Torres is an emotive singer-songwriter from Macon, GA, currently based in Brooklyn. Check out a post I did after seeing her live at The Horseshoe opening for Strand of Oaks for some pics and many tunes.
She's got a new album called Sprinter coming out on May 5. I featured the tune "Strange Hellos" a while back and now I'm happy to share two new tunes. Give them a spin:
"Sprinter"
"Cowboy Guilt"
And here's the official video for the powerfully incredible "Strange Hellos"
She's got lots of live dates upcoming, including a May 23 stop in Toronto at The Garrison.
I caught Torres opening for Strand of Oaks at The Horseshoe Tavern here in Toronto. I even took some pics. I was impressed with her solo performance and described her music as, "...raw emotion; songs and stories that are stripped bare and told in the first person."
She recently shared a new track called "Strange Hellos" that features a full band and with it, a heavy take on that personal, emotive music. In short, it sounds great and I'd love to catch the full-band version of Torres on stage. Her new album Sprinter comes out in May.
Mackenzie Scott is Torres. She's from Macon, Georgia and doesn't seem too fond of winter. She took to the stage on December 1 at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern to get the crowd warmed up for Strand of Oaks. She may have borrowed Timothy Showalter's guitar, but her songs were all her own.
Her music is raw emotion; songs and stories that are stripped bare and told in the first person. Her voice is an instrument of her emotion. It's all deeply personal with vivid stories. I was transfixed by her solo performance and I look forward to her songs becoming more a part of my life. Torres' début album is available now.
