David Barrett Trio at The Phoenix

The David Barrett Trio was the second opener for Saga at The Phoenix Concert Theatre on February 7. They're an instrumental power trio, which on the surface may not sound that exciting. However, their musicianship, the songcraft that obviously goes into their tunes, and their energetic stage presence made them a cool live act and a great warm-up for Saga. I'd call it "progressive dad rock" - in the best possible way.

The band consist of David Barrett on guitar, Jason Farrar on bass, and Alexander Sascha Tukatsch on drums. They've been in the power trio format since 2010 and released their eponymous début in 2013. The album was produced by Rush's Alex Lifeson, Alan Parsons and Richard Chycki.

David showed off his chops on some unique instruments, including the second double-neck SG that I'd seen in a week and he managed to do something that neither he nor I had ever seen before - he broke a guitar strap.

Check out some of their music:

"Sonar" (Alex Lifeson Produced)

"Great Eastern Sun"

"Dive"

New Wolf Alice

I'll be posting about Wolf Alice soon enough because I'll be attending their March 3 show at Toronto's Drake Underground, but since they've just released a new song for us to hear, I've got to post now.

This tune is "Giant Peach" and it's the first single from the new Wolf Alice album My Love Is Cool which doesn't come out until June 22. It's an upbeat rocker with cool riffs and full-of-attitude vocals. According to NME, they feel this tune is "one of the best things we've recorded".



Pic from Facebook.

Classic Canadian Alternative: Rough Trade

As I mentioned in a previous post where I wrote a sentence about Rough Trade, they were breaking down walls of prejudice 30 years ago. Quite cutting edge for the time, and even a little risqué now.

Wikipedia states, "Rough Trade was a Canadian new wave rock band in the 1970s and 1980s, centred on singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples. The band was noted for their provocative lyrics and stage antics; singer Pope often performed in bondage attire, and their 1981 hit 'High School Confidential' was one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed Top 40 hits in the world."

Take a listen to some songs:

"High School Confidential" from 1980's Avoid Freud

"All Touch" from 1981's For Those Who Think Young

"Crimes of Passion" from 1982's Shaking the Foundations

The title track from 1983's Weapons

And local rock gods Goddo wrote a song for Rough Trade's singer called "Oh Carole (Kiss My Whip)"

Pic from last.fm.

The Cool Hands at The Horseshoe

When I headed out to see Catl at The Horseshoe, I was late. I missed The Cool Hands, who were opening up the night. As fate would have it, they were also on the bill with Pine Barons opening for The Districts at The Horseshoe on February 18.

They rock out in a rough-around-the-edges garage style with some hip-hop added in for good measure.

Check out some tunes:

"I Did the Iggy", "Passerby" and "Watusi Blues"

"Birds"

"Marijuana Cigarette"

"Devil's Collector"

New Blur!

Blur have a new album called The Magic Whip coming out April 27. If you think that it's been a while since we've had a new Blur album, you're right. It's been 12 years. Give a listen to "Go Out". It's a noisy one that's sure to get everyone missing Britpop excited.

Pic from Facebook.