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

Chicago, Illinois is known for many things: it is the third largest city in the US, it is often referred to as the “Windy City”, it is the place that Oprah Winfrey calls home, however one thing that it is not normally known for is its vast musical talent. Well that is about to change with the growing success and popularity of Chicago-based band Maps and Atlases. This foursome are known for their spazzy guitar riffs and voice-driven melodies that speak stories. However, it is their technical skill that truly impresses, as they finger tap at such a rate that it is hard to maintain where their fingers end and the strings begin. After catching their set at the El Mocambo in June, it was great to be able to chat with Dave (guitar/vocals) and Erin (guitar) for a bit about where this technicality comes from, what’s in store for the future and why their live show can’t be beat!

iheartthemusic: You guys are known to be more of a technical band, so when you are writing is that a major factor for you or is it more of an organic process?

Erin: It’s definitely an organic thing, I mean we all studied music theory but we are at a point now where when we are writing music, it’s not really  something we think about. It just kind of happens and we don’t think about it while it is going on.

iheartthemusic: From everything that I have read on you guys, it appears that your live show is where it’s at. Why do you think that is?

Dave: I think that really from our EPs there is definitely a certain amount of precision that came with the recording of them. We recorded relatively fast and since we did it ourselves, the emphasis was basically on being able to do it as good as possible. When you do hear the record version of the song that you haven’t heard in a very long time and it hasn’t sort of taken on that life, its like “oh yeah this is how it is supposed to sound” because we’ve been speeding it up or slowing it down live. I really appreciate that and I think that we all sort of emphasize the differences between the live show and the record.

Erin: It is always really funny to listen to a song that when we play it live, we play it a lot faster. I think it also has to do with the fact that we can be pretty loud sometimes.

Dave: Yesterday was really interesting because I feel like we played everything way slower than we had ever played it before. We played at this art gallery and it sounded crazy in there because it was such a small room. We also didn’t have a set list and just played whatever.

iheartthemusic: Describe the progression your band has taken musically from each album to the next.

Dave: It has been different for every album that we have done. For the first record and everything that sort of preceded that it was definitely a lot more of us just sort of stumbling upon things- which was a great process. We really never set out to be a technical band and never necessarily thought of ourselves as that at first. The last EP was sort of us acknowledging the things that we really liked doing and the things that we did well on the first EP and tried to do what we knew we did well and expand upon those layers. So songs started out as more simple ideas and then we worked in more layers here and there. With the newest album, its been a really interesting process but also really fun. Definitely the most experimental thing that we have done so far!

iheartthemusic: Really? How so?

Dave: We purposely started off with really simple ideas and then through the actual process of recording it was great to just see how it paned out.

Erin: It’s the first time we’ve left songs unfinished going into the recording process. I mean the song was done with all the melodies, but it was basically like we had bare guitar parts and all the lyrics and then left it up to the recording process to finish it. It’s also the first time we’ve ever had songs that are all strings or chords.

iheartthemusic: So when can we expect that album out?

Dave: It’s actually most of the way done so we are going to try and finish it as soon as possible.

Erin: It will hopefully be out late fall.

iheartthemusic: You recently played SXSW- what was that like?

Dave: It was really fun! We’ve played it the past three years and it has always been super crazy. I think that our perspective on it is that it gets consistenly more and more fun. The first year we sort of had a real serious perspective on the industry and then the past couple of years we’ve set out to have fun and do what we wanted to do.

Erin: We totally embraced the fact that it is the music industry’s spring break.

iheartthemusic: Were there any bands that stood out for you guys this year?

Erin: This year we were down there and then did a West-coast tour right after, so we pretty much got there and played a few shows and then left. We didn’t have enough time to actually go check anyone out unfortunately.

iheartthemusic: [at this point the boys have been discovered by fans who keep telling them how awesome they are] What was it like the first time someone came up and recognized you?

Erin: We are never really aware of that. I mean people find out about our music through like grassroots methods- which is amazing! We really enjoy that. Last fall we did some shows in the UK and we were surprised that people showed up to see us play. I mean we were thinking that that was really weird! We’re not even on a label over there so its all been through blogs and the internet.

iheartthemusic: What was the crowd like in the UK in relation to the US?

Erin: It was really crazy! We played with our friends who are maasive over there and so we played to about 2000 people! It was intense.

iheartthemusic: Since forming, what has really stood out for you as a milestone for the band?

Dave: There have been a lot of things that have been really crazy and fun, but I think the tour in the UK was the most surreal thing that we’ve done.

Erin: It was really crazy travelling like that where you wake up in another country. It was definitely was something that we never imagined that we would get to do.

Dave: Another thing was just getting to play with bands that we genuinely really enjoy which has been awesome. I’ve also never been to Toronto at all so we are looking forward to playing here too. We’ve heard that it’s a great city and thus far just being around this block for the past 45 minutes has been really great. I personally really get a feel for a city based on things to eat. If I came back a month from now I would immediately come here and wherever we go to eat I would be able to maneuver around the city based on that. Already, just driving into the city, it looks like there is just so much good food here.

When iheartthemusic heard that Chicago math rock band Maps and Atlases was hitting up Toronto, we knew it was a show that could not be missed. Having already followed this band for quite some time, we were excited to see that Toronto-based group (and friends of iheartthemusic) Arietta was set to open the show. Arietta never disappoints their fans, but sadly (for us) we ended up missing their set as we were busy entertaining members of Maps and Atlases at Sneaky Dee’s for a quick bite before the show. To hold you Arietta fans over in the meantime, here are some shots from their album release party at Horseshoe a few weeks back!

We arrived back at the El Mocambo just in time to see the last few songs from St. Louis, Missouri’s So Many Dynamos. This young band is currently on tour with Maps and Atlases and, if the response from the crowd was any indication of what’s to come for this band, we are happy to have caught some of their set! Signed to Vagrant Records and about to drop their latest album entitled The Loud Wars (their third, might we add), So Many Dynamos blew us away. The crowd ate up their pop/punk sound, but for us it was Aaron Stovall’s voice and keyboarding skills that really stood out as he actually played (fairly well) with his chin at points throughout their set. It was also interesting to see the punk influence of his voice mixed in with such an indie pop vibe, which worked to their advantage quite well. These guys just seemed to be having a great time onstage, which only pushed the crowd even further to participate in the fun.

It was finally Maps and Atlases’ turn to take the stage. We spoke with them earlier about what makes their live performance so appealing to fans, and lead vocalist Dave Davison assured us that it is the crowd that gives them the energy to put on a good show. This is probably one of the most technical bands we have seen in a while with their signature finger tapping on the guitar and almost trance-like state while they are onstage. We have to add that there was a group of (underage) fans at the front who were clearly enjoying the sound and talent as they each sang along and appeared to be trying to get up onstage with the band. The rest of the crowd overall didn’t seem as enthusiastic as they did for So Many Dynamos’ set, which was surprising to see since they were the headliners for the night. It might have to do with the fact that this was their first time playing in Toronto, or perhaps that the crowd interaction was lacking, either way, they played all the favourites seamlessly. “Israeli Caves” started off the show with it’s incessant finger tapping by guitarist Erin Elders and Davison’s mellow voice that never fails to disappoint. Near the end of their performance they pulled a Broken Social Scene-esque manoever and had So Many Dynamos up on stage playing with them for a few songs. When they were finally finished their set, the chants for an encore began almost immediately and miraculousy Dave appeared on stage sans band to play a personal favourite, “Pigeon”. If you haven’t already picked this album up, then we suggest anyone hoping to get into the music industry get it, study it and let it blow you away.