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

Thursday, July 9th saw iheartthemusic at The Phoenix to catch San Francisco psychedelic-folk group The Dodos perform. This was a heavily-publicized show amongst the indie circuit, and not just because they happened to be opening for Beirut, but with an interview on Pitchfork under their belt, a new album set to be released in September and some awesome tunes pumping from their first two disks, the crowd were there early BECAUSE they were playing first.

What was interesting to note is that with the forthcoming album brings a new member to the always powerful twosome. This new member comes in the form of electric vibraphone player Keaton Snyder. Normally a duo, the addition of Keaton on this very unique instrument added not only to their overall sound on Thursday night but also to their vibe onstage. These boys came on and pretty much went right into it with no introduction or chatter to the audience for the first three songs. Finally when lead singer, Meric Long, opened his mouth, their modesty was made ever more apparent as he announced “we are honoured to be playing with our friends Beirut…going to be playing a bunch of new songs, hope that’s ok”. As if the audience even noticed as everyone was transfixed on the stage upon the first strum on their guitar or bang on their drums.

These guys play a nice mix of uptempo beats alongside softer sounds with transitions that flow seamlessly. That was probably the most notable thing for us; how well they were able to transition from one tempo to the next creating a sound that is all their own. The crowd were pleased, we were pleased and we cannot wait for this third album to drop (which we have found out will be called Time To Die).

If you missed them this time around- don’t worry! The Dodos will be back to promote the release of Time To Die on October 17th at Lee’s Palace. Be sure to grab your tickets as this is a show that you won’t want to miss!

photography provided by Sara Collaton

iheartthemusic chatted it up with band members Ian and Nate from electro/indie group Passion Pit before their higly anticipated and sold out gig at Lee’s Palace. These two young gents did not look like your “typical” electronic musicians, they reminded me a lot of Michael Cera.  Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter if they look the part or not, Nate and Ian are passionate about the music and are rediculously talented. If you missed their show this time around check em’ out when they are back in August.

iheartthemusic: How different was it making your full length album Manners than your previous EP Chunk of Change?

Ian: Completely! Chunk of Change was Mike and a laptop in his bedroom by himself. No one really came in and said “hey, you should try this and you should try that.” He just kind of did his own thing. Manners was a full studio record, everyone was in and out of the studio having different people giving you ideas. It was two different worlds.

iheartthemusic: Creative difference as well? 

Ian: I’d say so. Our songwriting improved a lot. The rest of the band and producer Chris Zain and our engineer and everyone kind of had a lot of input on the songs, it wasn’t just Mike doing what he wants.

iheartthemusic: You guys are pretty young hey?

Ian: Yeah, everyone is 23 or 22.

iheartthemusic: Holy shit eh! You guys are talented. Manners has been so successful, did you know when you released it that it was going to be a hit or were you surprised when it flew off the charts?

Nate: Only Kanye’s like that!

Ian: We were happy with the record but we didn’t think it was going to be huge or anything. We liked it and i’m happy I am involved in this record but I wasn’t like “this is going to change the world.”

iheartthemusic: Being modest about the work is the best.

Ian: It’s always surprising when you hear anything about if you’re doing well or not. Like this whole tour has been blowing me away everyday. The fact that we’re in Toronto for the first time and the show is sold out, you don’t expect that ever.

iheartthemusic: This is your first time in Toronto?? Did you just come in today?

Ian: We got in last night.

iheartthemusic: Did you guys tour the city a little bit or were you stuck in your hotel room??

Ian: We saw a little bit driving around earlier. It’s cool, it’s like 6 different cities all in one almost.

iheartthemusic: It’s cool eh??

Ian: Yeah!

iheartthemusic: There are so many different places of the city to discover, i’m still discovering it. On to the next question, I read that Michael started the band, how did the rest of the band form??

Ian: Actually I was in a couple of bands with him already before Passion Pit started and then he started writing all of these songs on his own and he did a show which was just him and a laptop which wasn’t that great. This is when he released the original “Chunk of Change.” I came up to him and said “hey, we should play again and play the Passion Pit songs but with a band,” and it kind of just went from there. So then members started joining and then we were swaping members but I think the line- up we have now have been together since August 2008.

iheartthemusic: Going strong??

Ian: Doin good!

iheartthemusic: Were you all from the get-go on the same page creatively??

Ian: Everyone has their own completely different genre that they’re into.

Nate: We’re still not on the same page but I think that’s what makes the album as eclectic as it is, that everyone has their own “oh that’s too this” or ” no I like this.” Than it comes down to an agreement or settlement.

iheartthemusic: What kind of bands were you in before? Were they all kind of the same indie/electronic??

Ian: No, that was the thing, other than Nate who is an amazing electronic DJ/musician no one else really did electronic music before. Actually like Mike, Ayad and I are all guitar players. This playing elctro-pop music was something completely new.

iheartthemusic: Are you influenced by electronic music??

Ian: The past couple of years this band has opened me up to a lot of new music but it’s not the only music I listen to.

Nate: I think for our palette and estetic, electronic music is very influential of how we sound the way we do and why we sound the way we do. But I think song form wise pop music is really the main influence and what we kind of study. That form is what we do and what we all grew up on.

iheartthemusic: Was it a dream and a passion from a young age to create music?

Nate: It’s a pipe dream and for some reason i thought it’d be okay to go to music school and it worked out somehow. I think the odds of winning the lotto are lower.

iheartthemusic: Did you take music in post-secondary or did you take music throughout your childhood?

Nate: Yeah, we’ve all been training for a long time but most of us met at music school in Boston. So when you get to that stage of “what do you want to do with your life?” and it’s not like the little kid “what do you want to do when you grow up?” It’s actually what do you want to spend all of your time on, I think we made the decision a long time ago that it would be music and we’re really lucky.

iheartthemusic: Yeah it’s super lucky! Do you have any other inspirations do you have?

Ian and Nate: Film.

iheartthemusic: What are you watching right now?? What is your favorite film that came out recently?

Nate: “Wild Zero,” well it’s not recent but it’s a Japenese B Zombie movie that’s really, really cheesy and bad but really amazing at the same time. Guitar Wolf is the main character and that’s his real name.

iheartthemusic: Yeah!

Nate: Guitar Wolf. It’s the name of a Japenese rock band, it’s kind of a throw back – they are all kind of 50’s pompedors but they all play like hard, noisy garage rock but are also movie stars.

iheartthemusic: So I should go check that out then.

Nate: Yeah.

iheartthemusic: Okay, let’s talk about your stage show…

Nate: Costumes, choreography….

iheartthemusic: What should the audience expect from it?

Nate: We sweat a lot, jumping up and down, lots of energy. Hopefully it makes people move and they get into it. It’s not like a sit down theatre type of band. We’re a little bit sloppy it’s because we’re really into it and we’re too hyper.

iheartthemusic: Do you guys think of your show as much as the effort that goes into your albums?

Ian: Yeah, definately.

Nate: I think more because this is transient, you know it’s never going to happen again. Hopefully people want to keep coming back as for the album if it sucks the first time it’s going to suck the second time and the third time.

iheartthemusic: True enough. So, when your fans leave your show what do you want them thinking or feeling??

Ian: That guitar player was so good! i don’t know…

Nate: Just happy.

Ian: Yeah, I want them to be in a good mood.

Nate: Hopefully they can’t sleep.

iheartthemusic: They can’t sleep cause they are…

Nate: so excited!

iheartthemusic: They’re going to follow you around like groupies.

Nate: No that’s terrible please don’t do that, do something with your life.

Ian: Eat pixie sticks or something.

iheartthemusic: Pixie sticks are good, I don’t know when the last time I had one was.

Nate: They should want to go skinny dipping.

iheartthemusic: Oh my!

interviewed by Kristen Tignanelli

Considering it was “technically” day three for NXNE, you may find it odd that I should call this post “day 2″. The reason is that “day 1″ was such a write-off (for me it consisted of the opening night party and watching one of the worst acts ever at The Drake, which I refuse to name, before I decided to pack it up and call it a night). Thursday, June 18th was PEACE DOT LOVE, a festival promoting and supporting local anti-violence initiatives in Toronto that consisted of a plethora of amazing Toronto acts. This festival also happened to be  sponsored in part by iheartthemusic, so it was lots of work (but we always have room for pleasure). Thus bringing me to Friday, June 19th, the official start to my NXNE experience. The night went something like this: Yonge & Dundas Square – Hard Rock Cafe – Yonge & Dundas – Lee’s Palace – home. Not that much travel, but I needed to ease into the week slowly.

I decided to start the evening with heading to Yonge and Dundas Square to catch East Coast sensation In-Flight Safety perform. After releasing their latest album, We Are An Empire, My Dear, back in January, I was stoked to be able to see them perform live in Toronto. The crowd in attendance was definitely full of fans and it was nice to see people from all walks of life and ages out to see the show.

Next it was a mad rush across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe (a venue that I was entirely not familiar with) to see Ottawa pop/rock group Benefit of a Doubt perform. These guys just recently came off a tour with Norglen and are a band that I have been personally loving for quite some time. Having not been able to catch them during CMW in March, I made sure I was in attendance for their NXNE appearance. Unfortunately for them (and the rest of NXNE attendees) the venue was a huge hindrance. It was like the Hard Rock was the uncool kid that no one wanted to go near. The only people present were clearly there for the food and not the music. This did not, however, faze the foursome on stage as they rocked out harder than most bands we saw that week who played to sold out shows. They opened the show with what I was told was a band favourite to play, “We Are The Broken”, which saw lead vocalist Chase’s voice hit notes that I wouldn’t dare attempt. The overall feel in the room shifted as they began to play. People became mesmerized by their stage presence and forgot about their plates. Chase played barefoot, the band headbanged in unison and they all looked like they were having an awesome time! This band shows no signs of slowing down and I predict they will only get better and bigger.

After their set we didn’t have to venture too far to see the next act, which was Wintersleep who was playing back at Yonge & Dundas Square. This was a show that could not be missed as they rarely venture to Toronto (since they are too busy touring the world). Although my height caused viewing difficulties, I managed to take note of their keyboardist literally balancing on one leg while he playing (impressive to say the least). Everyone was singing along to the well-known tunes and I literally have nothing else to say except that there could have been a bit more stage presence. After seeing the first two bands of the night perform, Wintersleep was a bit of a let down in that regard. However, it was still great to see them live and we managed to grab some awesome shots for your enjoyment!

The last stop of the night was Lee’s Palace to catch one of the hot ticket acts of the week – L.A. duo No Age. Before they were about to go on we managed to catch the last few songs of Seattle group The Dead Science. They are described as “creative experimental pop” and honestly, that is precisely what you get. With a drummer, a guitarist and a guy that appears to play the cello like it is a guitar, their sound is anything but conventional. The lead singer alternated from a high pitched soprano-type voice to a soft whisper (which was a little bit distracting at times) and managed to sing on his toes! The highlight was their technical skill. The drummer banged on the drums without a hitch and the cello player literally rocked out as hard as anyone could on a classical instrument. I would suggest checking them out if only to see (perhaps) where the future of music is taking us!

There was so much hype surrounding the two guys that make up No Age that I was pretty excited to see what it was all about. I know that this band has a very loyal following so I don’t want to piss anyone off… but, I must confess that I did not enjoy it one bit. Although they were engaging as an act, I could hardly make out what Dean was saying and Randy appeared to be in his own world on the guitar. The crowd were clearly MASSIVE fans and they created probably the biggest mosh pit that Lee’s has seen, which continued for the entire duration of their set. I believe that at one point Dean revealed that he just puked in his mouth and then swallowed it. I’m not sure if that is what turned me off the most or if it was the amount of kiddies around me snorting lines. Two thumbs down from me.

« Older Entries

Newer Entries »