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

There have been some amazing acts hailing from Ireland that have passed through Toronto and knocked the Canadian talent out of the water. Well, Walter Mitty & The Realists are no exception. Having won Indie Week in Toronto in the Fall, these boys came back to showcase their talents once again during Canadian Music Week. The band consists of Niall MacTaidhg (vocals/guitar), Conor MacTaidhg (guitar), Colin Bartley (bass) and Paul O’Shaughnessy (drums). iheartthemusic caught up with them during their first show in Toronto at the Horseshoe and they explained why Canadian crowds rock.

iheartthemusic: Welcome back to Canada boys! You were here in the Fall and walked away winning Indie Week. How did you find out about that?

Niall: We knew someone who won it the previous year and so we applied and kind of got invited over and that was it. 

iheartthemusic: Did you get to explore the city at all?

Paul: We were here for five days and ended up playing six gigs so we didn’t get to see much that time.

Colin: We got up to the CN tower and that was about it.

iheartthemusic: That’s too bad that you couldn’t see more of 

Toronto!

Conor: We have a few days off this time so we are really looking forward to seeing a bit more of Toronto and Canada. Hopefully we will get to see Niagara Falls and all the tourist stuff.

iheatthemusic: Are there any bands that you are hoping to check out this week?

Niall: I want to see Holy Fuck and Bloc Party for sure.

Conor: We are looking forward to celebrating St. Patty’s day in Toronto as well. The parade is on Sunday and that should be good. I’ve already bought green skinny jeans for it!

iheartthemusic: You must have played at some amazing venues last time you were here. What was your favourite?

Niall: Probably Reverb or Rok Boutique.

Conor: We really enjoyed playing in Toronto the last time. Every single venue we played in the crowd was brilliant, which made it exciting to play and the crowds seemed to be really interested. It was very exciting to see everyone out and so we are really looking forward to playing again in Toronto.

 iheartthemusic: Is there anything that you notice about Canadian crowds that is different than back home?

Niall: They’ve got Canadian accents!

Colin: They enjoy it a lot more and it seems to be more full-on over here. You play a gig in Ireland and the crowd is sometimes tough but here everyone is really into it right away. I suppose it is a bigger city, so more people will come out and in Limerick there is only a select crowd that will come out.

iheartthemusic: How would you define your sound?

Colin: I don’t know how I would define our sound really. Some people say James Brown [laughs].

Niall: I listen to a lot of fucking rock and dance so it’s always varied.

iheartthemusic: You have an album coming out in the Spring as well, right?

Niall: When we go home we will be getting a fully mastered copy. We recorded it with Fergal Lawler from The Cranberries before we left. We got a call from them today, actually, so it will be ready when we come back. 

iheartthemusic: Have you come up with a title for it yet?

Niall: Green Light Go is what we are thinking at the moment because it’s our debut. There is going to be about 11 songs on the album.

iheartthemusic: After you release the album what’s next for you guys?

Niall: We are thinking of doing some more touring in Ireland and the UK and then we are back over here in October for Indie Week again.

Conor: We are headlining Indie Week as a part of what we did last year,  so will be happy to get back here and play for the crowds again!

If you didn’t get a chance to check these boys out while they were in Toronto, don’t worry they will be back and in the meantime check out their MySpace: www.myspace.com/waltermittyandtherealists

 Photography provided by Matt Vardy

Day two of Canadian Music Week had iheartthemusic’s team “mkay” out to Tattoo Rock Parlour for the opening night party. Set to play were Bury the Bully, Isle of Thieves, Songs From a Room and Inward Eye. We got to sit and catch up with the boys that make up Inward Eye before the show so stay tuned for that interview, but first we’ll give you a run down of the night’s happenings.

This event was advertised as by-invite-only which means we were expecting it to be full of industry professionals and a few fans so it was great to see TONS of bands out to support the acts playing and listen to some great tunes in the process. First up was a band that goes by the name of Bury the Bully. Prior to this evening we had not even heard of them, which to our surprise was a shock after they began their set. These Whitby-born boys rocked and are now on our radar as a band to watch. Lead vocalist Rich was incredible and they were a great treat to start the night off with! They ended their set by playing a new tune called “Rock My Baby” which was incredible and is a great tease for what’s to come for this young band! They return to Tattoo Rock Parlour on April 9^th so if you get a chance to check them out, do it! Trust us you won’t be disappointed!

Next up were Isle of Thieves a very young band that hails from Toronto and is composed of a mixture of varying musical backgrounds. Although they were all talented with regards to their respective instruments, the vocals were just not there. This band has so much potential if they only had a stronger lead vocalist. Let this be a warning for all other bands out there, it does not matter how talented you are, the front man has to be able to stand out on his own or else it ruins the whole performance. It was really difficult to concentrate on anything else but the lack of vocals. They had a great sound, however, and it was nice to see keys incorporated into the mix.

We got to see the boys from Songs From a Room rock the house yet again this evening and as per usual they were amazing (see review and interview with them in a previous post).

Last but CERTAINLY not least were the three brothers that make up Inward Eye. This is a band that has often been referred to as “the next big thing in Canadian rock music” and having opened already for The Who, it certainly seems that they are well on their way to living up to the title! These boys hit the stage with full force dancing about while hitting every note perfectly. A highlight for the performance had to be drummer Anders. If you have ever seen these boys perform you will know why we say that. Anders is the most talented drummer we have seen in a long time and attempted to play standing up, sitting down and everything in between making for an exciting show to watch. These boys are currently on tour with Mobile and Bend Sinister so be sure to check them out when they hit your city next!

It was a great night to kick off the week full of amazing performers, tons of drinks and great networking opportunities! Stay tuned for all the highlights (and lowlights) of the week brought to you by team MKAY!!

photography provided by Matt Vardy

Welcome to the daily diary of CMW through the lens and pens of iheartthemusic’s Double-E’s, consisting of myself, E-word (aka Emer), and E-pic (aka Eric). Each day we’ll report on our musical adventures, as will our other iheartthemusic team, Mmmkay, made up of mkay-word (aka Kimberlee) and mkay-pics (aka Matt).

The first night (Wednesday, March 11), began with the horror of seeing snow precipitating from the sky. It was 10 degrees that morning, for crying out loud! Yeesh! So, the snow coupled, with my perpetual tardiness, meant that by the time I met up with E-pic his toes were frozen and he was not in the peachiest of moods. It didn’t help matters that the first venue we ventured to gave us serious ‘tude, claiming that they weren’t accepting any passes (media or otherwise) and that they’d never heard of the band that was about to take the stage. Not the best start to the fest, but no matter, we turned around and strolled over to Rancho Relaxo…

Hearing music emanating from the upper concert area, we decided to take a gander. There we found Lonely China Day all the way from, you guessed it, China. Not being sure what time the showcase was set to begin, it took some debate before we determined that it wasn’t their set and that they were just warming up. Nonetheless, we took a seat and listened to the interesting ambient static and communication chain between band-translator-sound technician.

We ducked out to catch Joshua Radin who was playing across the street at the El Mo. The place was packed! Clearly this dude has a following of female fans who audibly swooned while he chatted before diving into his set (which, he mentioned, is the only acoustic show on his tour). He has a great voice and wonderful mellow sound, however the crowd was far from chill as E-pic soon discovered tempers were ready to boil. E-pic was trying to get up close enough to grab some good shots of Joshua when a hostile man threatened to take a swing at him. E-pic apologized and explained that he only needed to take a few pics and that he’d be out of the way before Joshua even began playing, but this did not deter the mad man who continued his unfounded aggression. I’m sorry, but there is simply no need for that type of hostility! So we decided to skedaddle…

Back at Rancho we caught Lonely China Day and were able to hear the elements we witnessed during sound check pieced together like Tetris. It was cool to hear lyrics sung in Chinese. The sound was soft electro rock, and while E-pic thought he heard some riffs similar to Pearl Jam, E-word argued Collective Soul.

Next up was Revival Dear. Yee-haw! This was pure feel good, foot stompin’ fun! Strong voices (sometimes with a twangy-edge), hootenanny-like harmonica, solid percussion, great guitar and full force energy shot out from the stage. Some of the call-and-answer parts of “Be Back Someday” had a funky Baptist-revival feel. It was a shame they had to cut their set short in order to fit all the acts in. But no matter, they made the most of the time they had and filled the entire Rancho room with their sound!

Last for us were Australia’s Captains. This alternative four-piece band had some retro-like elements reminiscent of the B-52s and even a little like XTC. They sounded fun, but the night was no longer young and with four more days ahead of us we decided to call it a night.

Photography by Eric McBain

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