Posts Tagged ‘concert reviews’
Mumford & Sons @ The Sound Academy
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
This past weekend English folk rockers Mumford & Sons ripped the roof off The Sound Academy with a stellar show. From the opening strings of Sigh No More to the massive sing-along of The Cave the energy of the crowd did not die out once and the guys in Mumford seemed to feed off the energy. No matter if what they were playing was a single or a new track the crowd ate it up with everyone jumping, dancing or bopping their heads.
Heading into the show I knew that Mumford & Sons had a good size fan base but didn’t think they have the fan base they have. The Sound Academy was packed from the front of the floor right to the back where the merch stand was and was nearly impossible to move once the show started. I believe the show was sold out but I have a feeling that they may have oversold the show, but that didn’t matter because the lads from London, England put on one hell of a show.
It all started with the lead track off the album Sigh No More. Although it is not a single the crowd showed that it didn’t matter because they sang along just as if it were on the radio three times a day. After playing a few more tracks they slowly started to play Little Lion Man at which point the crowd kicked it into a higher gear. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen a crowd over power the band during the chorus singing but it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line, I really f**ked it up this time, didn’t I, my dear? didn’t I, my…. It was amazing to see how involved everyone was and I couldn’t get enough of this. However that was nothing compared to how they ended the show.
After performing for over an hour and starting the encore with members of the opening acts Cadillac Sky & King Charles, Mumford & Sons started The Cave. At this point the crowd went nuts! Throughout the whole song everyone was singing along while jumping with their hands in the air! What a way to end an amazing show. This was definitely one of the best shows I’ve been to this year and for once The Sound Academy sounded good!!
If you haven’t checked them out yet please do and you’ll see why these guys are good.
Links:
Official Site: Mumford & Sons
MySpace: Mumford & Sons
Facebook: Mumford & Sons
Tags: cadillac sky, Concert Review, concert reviews, king charles, little lion man, Mumford and Sons, sigh no more, sound academy, the cave
Posted in Concerts, Reviews | 3 Comments »
Von Bondies @ Lee’s Palace
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009Last Friday night Detroit indie-punk heroes The Von Bondies rolled into Lee’s Palace like a truck full of fireworks in the middle of a thunderstorm. Yes, their 60 minute show was pretty much that intense. And yes, you missed it again. Damnit, Charlie, you gotta start coming out to these things!
Tags: concert reviews, von bondies
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The Vaselines @ Lee’s Palace
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009by Liem Vu
While many of us were fetal positioning in the late 80s (myself included), Glasgow duo, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, were positioning themselves in a less uterine way as the world’s best songwriters. Indeed, that title was bestowed onto the group by Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain.
Although they disbanded shortly after the release of their first and only full-length, Dum-Dum, The Vaselines slid over the Atlantic and gained notoriety through Nirvana’s covers of “Molly’s Lips” and “Jesus Want Me for a Sunbeam” on their album, Incesticide.
Touring for the first time in 20 years, Kelly and McKee stopped by Lee’s Palace for an impressive and almost comprehensive 19-song setlist that saw them performing the now-famous “Molly’s Lips,” the contemptuous “Monsterpussy,” and the rhyme-happy ditty “Dum-Dum.”
While their pop melodies, psychedlic harmonies and Glasgowian wit were in abudance, The Vaselines’ status as a musical artifact showed signs of age as their opening couple of songs had them readjusting their instruments and sound levels. But it was Frances McKee’s bouts of playful banter with the audience that truly roused (or should I say, aroused?) the gentlemen as she unraveled her flirtatious leer and suggestive words.
“I hear the men in Toronto are sensitive,” said McKee after the first song, “fuck that, we want to play rough.” A collective cheer ensued as McKee launched into the appropriately titled track, “Monsterpussy.”
In the end, the moderately crowded venue offered an intimate and nostalgic evening where fans were able to relive their musical memories live especially after the recent release of Enter The Vaselines, a 2-disc compilation album of remastered tracks and different live/demo tracks.
With Rick of the Skins opening up with their very own offering of pop music, The Vaselines may have very well stepped out of the Cobain shadow and cast a new one for themselves and for future musical artistes. Yes, you heard it. Artistes.
Tags: concert reviews
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Drake @ Sound Academy - Photos
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
Drake. Drizzy. Young Lion. Aubrey. Call him what you like, but don’t call him an up-and-comer - the dude is already a star. How else do you explain a sold-out show at Sound Academy for an unsigned artist? How else do you explain 2300 people spending $40 A POP, clamoring to see an artist who has yet to drop an album? Up-and-coming, please. Drake is already here.
To be purposely corny, you could feel electricity in the air before the show kicked off. Drake calls Toronto home and this was his hometown crowd, chanting his name 45 minutes before he appeared. The tiny backstage was sardined with supporters including Kardinal Offishall, everyone anxious to see what could one day be spoken of as a legendary event.
Tags: concert reviews, drake
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Attack In Black @ Horseshoe Tavern
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
By Liem Vu
So while last Saturday saw Rihanna officially become the latest inductee into The Hall of (Nudie) Fame, a different kind of non-nekkid buzz was building at the Horseshoe Tavern as music connoisseurs gathered for a flannel-filled evening of musky, folk-rock tunes and classic rock guitar riffs courtesy of Attack in Black.
(more…)
Tags: concert reviews
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Lady Sovereign @ Lee’s Palace
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
By Liem Vu
Love her or hate her, it’s still my obsession that Lady Sovereign has an uncanny resemblance to Mel C and by the looks of her ensemble last Friday, Dan Levy as well.
Ch-check it out:
What do you guys think?
*Ahem*
Now that I got my daily non-sequitur fix out of the way, let’s get down and dirty with the 5”1 expletive-prone North London MC who has been dubbed as the female Eminem by The New Yorker. While the Tetris-themed music video for “Love Me or Hate Me” saw the fruition of this comparison with Lady Sov sporting a variety of ridiculous costumes, her sharp wit has never been reduced to Slim Shady’s blatant parodies or melancholic melodramas.
Demonstrating that she is just as much a rapper as she is an entertainer, Lady Sovereign hit up Lee’s Palace in support of her sophomore album, Jigsaw, where she cranked out a few oldies (“Love Me Or Hate Me,” “Public Warning”), a bunch of newbies (“So Human,” “Bang Bang,” “Pennies”), as well as a cover of Metro Station’s “Shake It”.
However, the highlight of the night was when Sov would take “breaks” during her set where she would interact with the audience, making it an evening of memorable sound bites and crazy shenanigans.
Here are the highlights:
1.) Brushing her hair with a toothbrush
2.) Quenching the audience’s thirst by drenching them in beer
3.) Throwing out some cash money into the crowd during “Pennies”
4.) Touching herself in the nether-regions
5.) Flashing her female-bosom support apparatus
6.) Letting her fans drink her vodka only to realize, “Oh great, I got the pig’s flu”
7.) Stealing a green tie from a concertgoer and saying it looked like a green lizard’s [lady business].
For a 23-year old artist, Lady Sov carried herself like a veteran without ever coming off like a pompous or pretentious musician. Thank you, Sovereign, for giving Toronto an evening of cheekiness, wittiness and sneakiness.
First, the Adele gig at Massey Hall, then the leaked Susan Boyle rendition of “Killing Me Softly,” and now, Sovereign. Thanks Britain, you sure have been generous this past week.
Tags: concert reviews, lady sovereign
Posted in Concerts | 6 Comments »
Green Go @ Wrongbar
Monday, May 4th, 2009By Liem Vu
After a six-month love affair with Thunderheist’s “Jerk It,” I found myself at a sudden crossroads of having to find an equally danceable track with a perfect mélange of melodic hooks and frenetic electro-rhythms. Guelph synth-rockers, Green Go, were the answer to my woes as they burst onto the small stage a few weeks ago at Sonic Boom Records with their anthemic tune, “You Know You Want It,” in celebration of Record Store Day.
Holding their own against other Toronto indie-heavyweights like Slim Twig and Hooded Fang, frontman Ferenc “Fezz” Stenton and frontwoman Jessica Tollefsen’s co-ed stage presence were nothing short of a perfect marriage of Chris Martin-esque humility and Emily Haines-like ferocity; traits that seemed ever more potent at their CD release party last Thursday at Wrongbar.
Like the colourful orgy of confetti-like Chiclets on the cover of their first full-length, Borders, the Guelph quintet hit the stage in celebratory fashion (and often, in technicolour) as they ushered in the album’s release with a sonic sampling of tracks that included the spirited (“Brains for Breakfast”) and the sassy (“Cash for Gremlins”).
The large crowd of fedora-rocking and skinny jean-sporting hipsters went from subdued sways to voracious head bobbing offering us a glimpse of what Electric Circus (ah, the nostalgia) may have been like today if it were still around.
In a warm and fuzzy moment that rivaled any episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 (ah, the cuteness), Tollefsen’s dad gave a gleeful grin when the red-panted frontwoman screamed out, “That’s my dad!”
While the under sixty-minute set omitted some of the stronger tracks from Borders, it was nevertheless a success as even the photographers abandoned their stoic professionalism for periods of psychedelic thrashing.
So if you haven’t done it yet, Go Green…er…Green Go! You know you want it. *Cue strobe light, disco ball, sweaty-ness and most importantly, indie-ness*
Tags: concert reviews, green go
Posted in Concerts | 5 Comments »
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