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

New Music Night at The Horseshoe is always guaranteed to be a good time, no matter who is playing. This past Tuesday (March 10^th) was no exception. iheartthemusic ventured in the rain to check out the all-star lineup set to play and open up Canadian Music Week. The night began with Vancouver’s own Bend Sinister. Having not played in Toronto for more than two years, these guys proved to be a great kickstart to Canadian Music Week. They captivated the crowd with their jazz-inspired rhythm and lead singer Dan’s voice was hard to miss. They began their set with “The News,” the first song off their album Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers. Having listened to this album many times, I felt as though I was somewhat of an expert on their music, and I have to say, their live performance is better than anything I’ve listened to on my iPod. So many bands just don’t cut it live, but the boys from Bend Sinister show that real talent is still alive and kicking! Lead guitarist Joseph was incredible and his solos were unmatched by anyone else the rest of the night (not to mention the splits that he managed to pull off on stage!). It was a great change to not have to write much as the performance was THAT good.

Next on the lineup was the female foursome Machetes, who were up for a challenge after Bend Sinister’s performance. I had heard good things about these ladies, so I was excited to see what they had in store for us. After listening to their MySpace page, I got the impression that their sound was an acquired taste, which isn’t good for a picky eater like myself. They started with a song that contained the lines “why don’t you go fuck yourself” many times.  It was an odd choice to start off with, but it related well to their tough-girl persona. After about the fourth song I felt as though I had pressed repeat on my stereo with each song sounding like the next. Despite this, I have to admit that they were clearly talented, especially Alana Devee, the lead guitarist. She is a musician that will give the boys a run for their money and at one point attempted to play the guitar on her back (and managed to successfully!).

The band that I was quite excited to see perform goes by the name of Walter Mitty and The Realists and they hail from Limerick, Ireland. The name may sound familiar, for they were here in the fall for Indie Week and ended up walking away winning the whole thing! Well, they are back and eager to showcase their talent and show Canadians the reason why they won. These guys proved that there is amazing musical talent coming from overseas. Lead singer Niall MacTaidng (don’t ask me how to pronounce that one) started the show by painting football-like stripes under his eyes – I am assuming to suggest that they were ready for battle and battle they did blowing everyone away with their high-energy performance and, of course, incomprehensible accents. Niall proved he was a force to reckon with as he danced spastically about the stage and even joined the crowd below at one point. They used an array of different musical instruments during their set including a cowbell and, my personal favourite, bongos! At one point a drunken bystander got on stage and started to preach some incoherent gibberish, however this did not faze the boys at all, which makes me assume that this is probably a common occurrence in Ireland. They ended their set with a song called “Lie in the Summer” which is my new favourite song and was a combination of fast and slow syncs that flowed seamlessly together. Call it the luck of the Irish or whatever you want, these boys proved that they deserve to be here and with the 500 plus bands playing this week, this is one that you won’t want to miss. They are playing a plethora of dates starting tonight (Thursday, March 12) at The Hideout at 7:30pm. For more tour dates or to have a listen check out their MySpace.

Happy CMW!

photography provided by Kristin McCormack