I think that a few people were shocked to hear Alexisonfire's Dallas Green's solo work as City and Colour. It's pretty much a polar opposite to AOF's aggressive music. City and Colour's Sometimes came out 10 years ago today.
Check out some of my favourite tunes from this album. I always love when songs are stripped down to their core of instrument and voice, and this album does exactly that, demonstrating the strength of Dallas' songwriting.
I've only managed to catch Beliefs on stage one time, back in early 2014. Since then, I've enjoyed their music and have been looking forward to their new album Leaper. It's coming out on November 13 and we can check out a few tracks right now.
First up is the song and accompanying video for the title track. It's a thick, fuzzy mass of guitars and reverb with an easy-going melody. Then check out the more up-beat "Tidal Wave" and the cool "1992".
They're playing The Garrison on November 5 for the Leaper release party so get out there and check them out.
"Leaper"
"Tidal Wave" which I first posted back in January.
I know what you're thinking, "Dude, didn't you just put up a post on Fishbone's performance at TURF? What's up with that?" Well, yes I did. After not having seen Fishbone in more than 22 years, I saw them twice in two days. And you know what? Their second show, closing out the South Stage on Friday night of The Toronto Urban Roots Festival's outdoor show, was at least as good if not better than their Horseshoe show.
It was a more compact set, to be sure, but they packed more than two hours worth of energy into that one hour and their greatest-hits set was just what a body needs to carry you off into the night.
Of Monsters and Men headlined the first day of this year's Toronto Urban Roots Festival. The Icelandic band are riding high on the release of their most recent album Beneath The Skin. Of course, this album follows on the huge hit of their 2011 album My Head is an Animal.
They are a polished and thoroughly professional group of musicians whose harmonies sound as distinctive and perfect on stage as they do on album. For those who didn't venture over to the south stage for Fishbone's evening-closing set, Of Monsters and Men's show was a perfect way to cap of the excellent first day of TURF.
The last time I saw Telekinesis at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern was just when I was taking my concert photography up a notch. Not a very big notch, mind you, as it was a step up from taking photos with my iPod Touch to taking photos with a point-and-shoot. I was even too timid to get really close to the band. My shots of Telekinesis and opening act Deep Sea Diver are here.
This time, Telekinesis were in town promoting their latest album, Ad Infinitum, which shows a change in Michael Benjamin Lerner's song writing from guitar driven power pop to more keyboard heavy tunes.
I am amazed that more people don't know about Telekinesis. They are such a cool band and the songs are so good, they should be playing to a sold out Horseshoe Tavern. Instead, a small but enthusiastic crowd gathered close to the stage to soak up the tunes.
The set was solid but way too short, in my opinion. I could have done with another 5-10 tunes easily, but I was satisfied by what we received. We got around 45 minutes of taught power pop delivered by a solid band. The drums held everything down, the guitar sounds were cool and it all came together very well. Can't wait 'til next time!
Check out this very cool and painfully underrated band, and do yourself a favour and check them out live if you like what you hear. Here are some tunes from their setlist.
"Falling In Dreams" from Ad Infinitum
"In a Future World" from Ad Infinitum
"Please Ask For Help" from 2011's 12 Desperate Straight Lines
