I've said several times that one of my favourite things about music festivals is the new discoveries that I make. I first caught Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears live show at TURF - The Toronto Urban Roots Festival back in 2014. I shot some photos at the show. Check them out here.
This time I caught the band's great, sweaty, rockin', bluesy good time at Lee's Palace. It was everything I loved from last time - "Those horns! That voice! That groove!" - along with a bunch of tunes from their latest album, the fantastic Backlash.
I just love the funky, slinky, guitar riffs; I'm a sucker for great horns, and the rest of the band lays down such a great groove. I had a great time at the show and wholeheartedly recommend you give this band a listen and go see their live show. It'll make your body and soul feel good!
Their latest album Backlash came out February 10 and it sounds awesome.
Dams of the West is Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson's side project. They appeared at Toronto's Lee's Palace opening for Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears. Chris and the band put on a fun show, presenting their indie rock tunes with enthusiasm and dry humour.
Check out some tunes from their debut album Youngish American.
Field Trip has just announced their summer 2017 line-up and it's very, very good.
Headlining will be none other than Broken Social Scene - a complete freaking religious experience of a live show and one of the most transcendent experiences of my life - along with Phoenix, A Tribe Called Red and Feist.
It's taking place at Fort York on June 3 and 4.
Portugal. The Man, Badbadnotgood, The Pharcyde, Cloud Nothings, Thundercat James Vincent McMorrow, Joseph, Tei Shi, Timber Timbre, LP, Royal Canoe, Harrison, Hannah Georgas, Overcoats, Bernice, Walrus, Nefe and Jaunt are also on the bill.
Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 10 with all the details on the Field Trip site.
Field Trip is easily one of the best festivals in the Toronto summer festival calendar and one that I look forward to every year. This line-up makes it extra special.
Here are some tunes from some of the artists I'm most looking forward to seeing.
Broken Social Scene
Phoenix
Feist
A Tribe Called Red
Portugal. The Man
Badbadnotgood
The Pharcyde
Cloud Nothings
Thundercat
Joseph
Tei Shi
LP
Royal Canoe
Hannah Georgas
Overcoats
Walrus
Nefe
Jaunt
And here are some of my pics of the artists from other shows:
It was Celebration Rock that first got me into the powerful music of Japandroids. The Vancouver band produced a sound that was immense and aggressive, especially considering that there are only two of them. Their songs extend beyond punk and post-punk music to reveal layers of melody, dense sounds, dynamic shifts and an overarching uplifting spirit.
I caught their live show at The Phoenix Concert Theatre back in late 2012. It was before I got seriously into the concert photography thing but I still think I captured the spirit of being there. Back then, I predicted they'd be in a much bigger room next time they played Toronto and while they didn't play Rebel, the two nights at The Danforth definitely demonstrate their growing popularity.
Since I wasn't able to make it to their recent intimate show at The Horseshoe Tavern, I was determined to catch this show at The Danforth Music Hall. They spent two nights at the venerable venue making the crowds go wild. Whether you were up front in the pit partaking in the stage diving mayhem or whether you hung a little further back to rock out in less physically intense surroundings or whether you were in the plush comfort of the balcony seating, I'm willing to bet you had a great time. The band's ability to reach out to everyone and make them forget about the everyday with their music and performance is remarkable.
Before the show started, I thought I was going to get killed up front and questioned my judgement in being there. I wanted some great pics, but I'm not exactly a pit guy. It ended up totally fine. The crowd was great and thanks to a new concert buddy who let me in his spot for a few minutes, I got some cool shots and escaped unscathed.
The songs from the new album Near To The Wild Heart Of Life fit right in alongside the more familiar tunes from Celebration Rock and Post Nothing. New album cuts that made the set included the title track that opened the show, plus "No Known Drink Or Drug", "North East South West", "In A Body Like A Grave" and "Midnight To Morning". Set highlights for me included the new album title track, "Adrenaline Nightshift", "Fire's Highway", Evil's Sway", "Younger Us", "Arc of Bar", which features a cool sequenced hook and an awesome build to barely restrained mayhem, "The Nights of Wine and Roses", "Continuous Thunder", "Young Hearts Spark Fire", and "The House That Heaven Built". The set closed with Japandroids bringing Craig Finn back to the stage to perform "(I'm) Stranded" by The Saints with them. No encore, of course. The extended set that they played to mark their last Canadian show for a while was more than enough.
In a time when the political seems more foreboding, frightening and impossible than at any point in our lifetimes, it can be tempting to let it drag you down to the politicians' level. When Brian King mentioned that Japandroids were going to be spending a lot of time in the U.S. on their continuing tour, there was a bit of a groan from the crowd. He was quick to stop that and he noted that the people who were going to come to their U.S. shows, their American fans, are just like us. It's a good reminder that a country's leadership is not representative of the whole population and that we can't give in to the easy generalizations that plague our world. We're better than that.
Enjoy some of the awesome tunes that Japandroids crammed into their February 18 set.
I'm a big fan of The Hold Steady. I've seen them live and photographed them a few times now. But I never saw Craig Finn performing without his Hold Steady bandmates until last week. Craig Finn and The Uptown Controllers are opening for Japandroids on their current tour and I caught their February 18 gig; their second night at The Danforth Music Hall.
Many of the folks who showed up early and gathered up front at the stage were there to see Craig. They were big fans of his solo work and The Hold Steady. Some of them weren't really too familiar with Japandroids.
Craig and the band took to the stage to enthusiastic applause and not only entertained his fans, but certainly won over many of the folks who were filling the hall who really weren't too familiar with his music. The songs featured the same vivid imagery and characters that permeate Hold Steady and LFTR PLLR tunes. Craig talked to us about his new album, which would be coming out after this tour. It's going to be called We All Want The Same Things and even though in the current political climate it doesn't seem that way, deep down inside he's probably right. At least I hope so.
Give a listen to some of Craig's music, from his setlist.
