I Heart the Music: Your Online Source for Live Music Reviews and Interviews in Toronto!

We are offering one lucky winner:

-a CD from each of the bands playing

-a mini screen printed poster

-an Exclaim! t-shirt courtesy of Third Estate

-TWO tickets to the show

In order to enter the contest please email: contest[at]iheartthemusic[dot]com with your first and last name.

The winner will be notified on Thursday, December 10th by 5pm. Good luck!

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ABOUT THE BANDS:

OH NO FOREST FIRES
You say you like rock and roll? You say you like sugar coated pop? Say no more. -If you go to rock shows in Toronto then you will likely come face to face with the raucous guitar pandemonium and explosive sing-a-longs that is Oh No Forest Fires. And when it happens, be warned. You may be transformed into a very sweaty young child that substitutes a sugar binge for a forgotten Ritalin dosage. Amidst juicy and dynamic pop songs, Oh No Forest Fires find a home for epic post rock guitar frenzies. With too-catchy-too-be-true choruses tying the beautifully messy songs together, anything can happen while the four piece is on stage. This year the band nearly topped the CBC Radio 3 and campus charts with their debut EP, The War on Geometry. They were also featured at this year’s NXNE, Over the Top Fest, Pop Montreal and Halifax Pop Explosion festivals!
MYSPACE http://www.myspace.com/ohnoforestfires

MAKE YOUR EXIT
You could try to describe the sound of the five eclectic musical backgrounds melding together to become what is Make Your Exit with fancy words and hyperbole… but the overbearing fact of their music is that it’s simply honest. And honest music isn’t always easy to come by. It’s stripped down, yet amped up, it’s noisy and abrasive, yet quiet and modest. It’s the sounds of five extremely talented twenty somethings just letting it all out. Lucky for us, their post-rock release lands somewhere between familiar and completely unfamiliar. Four part vocal harmonies akin to Fleet Foxes, with the addition of jazzy saxophone parts, and just the right tasteful amount of Canadiana twang – Make Your Exit is unlike anything you’ve heard before, yet it won’t be hard to wrap your head around. This year the band released their second EP,Remind Me the Reason I Came to a sold out Sneaky Dees. Often referred to as the best EP released this year, expect to hear much more from these young and restless musicians.
MYSPACE http://www.myspace.com/makeyourexit

CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN
Clothes Make the Man is like a group of loud mouthed kids yelling into microphones alongside cranked up amplifiers and pounding drums… except with beards and deeper voices. The band manages to maintain the same level of wide eyed enthusiasm with every set they play. CMTM are masterful songwriters, almost unbeknownst to themselves. In dark bars, parties, or bright festival stages CMTM transform into raucous punk rock and rollers, yelling about the economy and its endless digression, schizophrenia, alcohol and of course, girls. Fist pumping in the form of group sing-a-longs so huge and juicy it could make you sick. And yet, in the midst of all this aggression and rage, emerges some of the biggest hearted songs this culturally confused city of Toronto could bear to emit. In between the dripping sweat and guitar heavy choruses, the band opens their collective 8 arms and hugs the audience with their vicious wall of sound. And whether you like it or not, you’re getting a big wet one! Their raging rock anthems on their debut self titled release brought them to venues across the country, sharing stages with Cancer Bats, Moneen, The Dears, Malajube, Attack in Black. 2009 saw them holed up in the studio with producer Julius “Juice” Butty (Alexisonfire) working on their second LP, Distance, to be released in 2009 with a bang!
MYSPACE http://www.myspace.com/clothesmaketheman

THE BALCONIES
The Balconies are not your normal Canadian indie-rock band. They are a family collective, a super group, and the most infectious three some out of Ontario right now all at once. Co-vocalists Jacquie Neville and Stephen Neville are siblings! And drummer Liam Jaegar is dating Jacquie! They are made up of members from Ottawa bands Jetplanes of Abraham and For the Mathematics, and formed in Ottawa while studying music at Ottawa U. Their debut album, released this year, has been raising quite the commotion. The songs are well-written pop masterpieces, highlighted by the girl/boy vocal trade-off. All with extensive music backgrounds, the Balconies have a knack for writing songs that are timeless and memorable instantaneously. Having played alongside Mother Mother, Dog Day, and at this year’s NXNE, Pop Montreal, and Ottawa Bluesfest, keep your eyes peeled for what’s next from this truly unique outfit.
MYSPACE http://www.myspace.com/thebalconies

ABOUT AUDIO BLOOD INC.:

Audio Blood is a full service artist development company based in Toronto, Ontario. Audio Blood has been existing in some sort of medium since 2006. What started out as an online magazine that later turned in to a small circuited print zine, and a production company (putting on shows in Barrie and Toronto) soon grew in to a marketing and publicity company. Now Audio Blood Inc. includes Audio Blood Booking, Audio Blood Media (public relations, marketing, and radio promotion), and Audio Blood MGMT. Audio Blood has built longstanding relationships with labels including (Nevado Records, Wax Records, and Wind-Up Records)  and has helped jump start careers for some of Canada’s favourites (Still Life Still, Green Go, Fox Jaws). Audio Blood’s current roster includes: Dinosaur Bones, Elias, Modernboys Moderngirls, The Junction, and more.
http://www.audioblood.com

ABOUT THIRD ESTATE INC.:

Third Estate is a full-service music merchandising company based in Toronto, Ontario. Our services include Product Development & Design, in-house production, and online store fronts; all designed to make sure our clients have the right products at the right price, on time, every time. So whether it’s a matter of getting the right product, a lightning-fast turnaround, or a globally accessible online storefront, we’ll be there so that the last thing you have to worry about is your merch.

http://www.third-estate.com

The Polaris Music Prize wrapped up its fourth year of doshing out cash to one lucky recipient last week. This prize awards the winner not only $20,000 in cash, but also gives them bragging rights for producing the best album of the year (according to Canadian music “experts”). This year’s award gala was held at the legendary Concert Hall at The Masonic Temple. Media, celebrities and fans were all in attendance to check out both the night’s unexpected (Patrick Watson) and expected (Fucked Up) performances and also to see who would be crowned with the big cheque. Here are some shots from the night:

Elliott Brood Mountain Meadows

Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life

Great Lake Swimmers Lost Channels

Hey Rosetta! Into Your Lungs (And Around In Your Heart and On Through Your Blood)

K’NAAN Troubadour

Malajube Labyrinthes

Metric Fantasies

Joel Plaskett Three

Chad VanGaalen Soft Airplane

Patrick Watson Wooden Arms

As you are all aware by now the Polaris Music Prize was awarded to Fucked Up. This was a surprise to everyone in attendance that evening- but very well deserved! Stay tuned for our interviews with a few of the nominees!

photography provided by Sara Collaton

On August 14th Toronto was rocked by the second annual Sausage Fest, presented by 102.1 The Edge and hosted by resident shock-jock Dean Blundell.  Fans of the radio station vied for weeks for coveted tickets to this listener appreciation event held at the Sound Academy.  The Edge provided food for the ears, mind and mouth, in the form of awesome music, a live interview with the legendary Kevin Smith and of course, the event’s palatable namesake: sausages!  The very impressive lineup of The Salads, Moneen, USS and a surprise SUPER SECRET guest made this event one of the most memorable shows of the summer.

Sausage Fest started up in the early evening with sausages served up hot off the grill, and a live edition of the popular edge morning show from the picturesque Sound Academy patio.  Radio personalities Dean, Jason and Todd, kept listeners entertained as they chowed down on the classic BBQ treat. 

Music for the night began at 8pm with Newmarket natives The Salads performing in disguise as “The Sausages”.  The band even dressed the part; resplendent in mustard and hot dog costumes.  If that weren’t enough, the bulky outfits appeared to not hold them back from putting on a rowdy set, getting the crowd ready and moshing for the next band!

Moneen took to the stage next and although we failed to catch their set, we are told that they were awesome.

Electro-rock duo Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) were next.  While sci-fi nerd love ballad “Pornostartrek” was not on the set list (much to this writer’s dismay), USS truly BROUGHT IT.  The duo, that consists of singer/guitarist Ash Bucholz and turntabalist/hypeman the Human Kebab, put on a dynamic and at times acrobatic set, with HK hoisting Ash up on his shoulders during a particularly exhilarating guitar solo.  The set was defined by pulsating rhythms, wrenching vocals and melodic guitar.  Fans bopped to the beat of “Laces out”, and swayed to the strains of “2:15:16″.  Lovestruck female fans could be heard saying “a tack in a paper clip factory?  THIS SONG IS SO ABOUT ME!” (alright fine, I said that, what of it?).  There’s a reason why the Edge is pumping these guys as they are definitely the next act to watch. 

The night ended with an appearance by SUPER SECRET SPECIAL GUEST…THORNLEY!  Surprised fans jumped, thrashed and danced as the former Big Wreck frontman launched into his set.  Looking every inch the rock star, Thornley’s powerhouse vocals and heart thumping guitar riffs mesmerized and energized the crowd, who rocked out to old standby tracks such as “So Far So Good” off their first record Come Again, and new tracks such as “Conscious Consequence” off Tiny Pictures which was released this year. The night of many revelers was made even more apparent when Thornley busted out a classic Canadian hit, namely Big Wreck’s “The Oaf (My Luck is Wasted)”  off the now defunct band’s 1997 record In Loving Memory of… Thornley’s live performance was amazing, and more than made up for the hype and suspense.

All in all, Sausage Fest’s sophomore year was a rousing success, and has definitely raised the bar for the future of this carnivorous musical celebration.  

Written by Nadia Elkharadly

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