Bob Mould - The Descent (Hype 0270)

Brand new single from Husker Du Sugary guy Bob Mould. Adult Oriented Rock but catchy nevertheless. Taken from his new album Silver Age.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MdhsCeasBQ

Haircut One Hundred - Nobody's Fool (Retro 023)

30 year old pop track from Haircut One Hundred. This was the bands 4th single and was released as a stand alone 12 Inch single. Catchy track huge in England but ignored by North American Radio

Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVQSmW6klew

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Only In My Dreams (Hype 0269)

Great sunshine Beach Boys fuzzy harmony type of indiepop track from Ariel Pink. Off the 4AD album Mature Themes released just recently.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta46M5rksBk

Dead Can Dance Review Sony Centre Toronto August 23, 2012

The New York Times describes Dead Can Dance as “mixing elements of western medieval music, world-beat and synth-rocks magisterial sweep.” I've always described them as a 4AD band.

On Thursday night the Dead Can Dance were in downtown Toronto for what seemed like a sold out show at the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts. The band is on a world tour to promote their new album Anastasis and this is what this night was all about. I'm not sure if the band made it to Canada for their last world tour in 1996 which was in support of their last album Spiritchaser. That was 16 years ago and inbetween this time main stays Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard have been taking time to do solo work and movie scores. I got the opportunity to see Dead Can Dance in 1993 in Toronto at The Danforth Music Hall which may or may not be Dead Can Dance's only other stop in Toronto (Anyone else see them in Toronto at a different time?).

However, last night's show was completely different. The show was definately heavier on the more recent tracks than the older tracks and completely avoided material from their earlier albums Dead Can Dance, Spleen and Ideal, Within The Realm Of The Dying Sun, and Aion. The band went through a variety of tracks throughout the evening that included playing all eight tracks from the new album, and 11 other tracks taken from various places. They did play some This Mortal Coil material.

Here is the setlist which included three encores:

1.  Children Of The Sun (Anastasis 2012)
2.  Anabasis (Anastasis 2012)
3.  Rakim (Toward The Within 1994)
4.  Kiko (Anastasis 2012)
5.  Lamma Bada (N/A)
6.  Agape (Anastasis 2012)
7.  Amnesia (Anastasis 2012)
8.  Sanvean (Toward The Within 1994)
9.  Niereka (Spiritchaser 1996)
10. Opium (Anastasis 2012)
11. The Host of Seraphim (Serpent's Egg 1988)
12. Ime Prezakias (N/A)
13. Now We Are Free (Gladiator Soundtrack 2000)
14. All In A Good Time (Anastasis 2012)
Encore
15. The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove (Into The Labyrinth 1993)
16. Dreams Made Flesh (It'll End In Tears 1984)
Encore 2
17. Song to the Siren (It'll End In Tears 1984)
18. Return of the She-King (Anastasis 2012)
Encore 3
19. Rising of the Moon (N/A)

Toronto is not known for its concert venues so I was slightly surprised when Brendan mentioned that the sound in the Sony Centre was spot on. I'm more of a music collector rather than a sound quality guy so being the big fan I am the concert last night could have sounded like crap due to the venue and I would still have thought it sounded amazing.

The setup featured a very mesmorizing backdrop and a touring band including Astrid Williamson, David Kuckhermann, Jules Maxwell, and Dan Gresson. (Sidenote: David Kuckhermann opened the show with some nice work on the "hang" drums)

The crowd was definately into the night with standing ovations after each encore. Enthusiastic cat calls were heard through the night including: Lisa will you marry me;  weird animal sounds; and the standard we love you;. I can only imagine from passionate long term fans. Rightfully so as the band put on an extraordinary entertaining and lengthy show.

DCD new album Anastasis is out now in North America on their new record label PIAS America. Definately worth catching the show if it stops in your area. North American Dates upcoming are:

Montreal August 24, 2012 (Tonight)
Philadelphia August 26, 2012
Vienna August 27, 2012
New York August 28 and 29, 2012
Durham September 1, 2012
Nashville September 4, 2012
Atlanta Spetember 5, 2012
Austin September 7, 2012

Thanks to the www.http://www.panicmanual.com crew for getting things sorted on Thursday night.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZDCOR2a1-E

Grimes - Genesis (Hype 0163V)

Rewind to January 11th Grimes drops her first single; off the 4AD label. Fast forward to August and a video is released for the track. Killer. Grimes will be in Toronto for two dates on the 21st and 22nd of September at Lee's Palace.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FH-q0I1fJY

Gwenno Saunders - Ymbelydredd (Hype 0268)

Pipettes singer with a nice downtempo pop track from her Ymbelydredd EP out on Peski Records
Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GRk4-trONk

Upcoming: Dead Can Dance Toronto Sony Centre August 23, 2012

On August 23, 2012 Dead Can Dance will be performing at the Toronto Sony Centre. To my knowledge their are tickets still left for this epic event. For me, the last time I caught Dead Can Dance was in 1993 at the Danforth Music Hall where they put on a very memorable show. The band have finally released their ninth album after a 16 year wait on Pias Records (yes, the first one not on 4AD). Lisa Gerrard kept busy doing solo material and tons of soundtracks. Brendan Perry did a couple of solo albums. The new album is called Anastasis. Check them out if you have a chance. This may be your last chance to hear their gothic murmurs ever.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uk3sExKtao

Cold Showers - BC (Hype 0267)

Daunting gloomy pop music from Cold Showers. Nice! Taken from the forthcoming album Love And Regret.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu26V4mUuVY

Soft Cell - What (New/Old 003)

I saw the 12 Inch to this many times but never picked it up. The song was also found on their second album Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing which I have never owned either. The song was a huge top 10 hit in the UK when it hit number 3 in August 2012 thirty years ago. Only heard this for the first time when I looked it up on youtube. Nice new wave pop hit.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LYfwdu4R3A

The Album Shortlist For August

On The Stereo:

The Fixx - Beautiful Friction (Kirtland Records)
Heavenly Beat - Talent (Captured Tracks)
Passion Pit - Gossamer (Columbia)
Nas - Life Is Good (Def Jam Recordings)
Vicious Pink - Vicious Pink (Cherry Pop)
WIld Nothing -Nocturne (Captured Tracks)
Shonen Knife - Pop Tune (Damnably)
Jessie Ware - Devotion (PMR Records)

Jessie Ware - Sweet Talk (Hype 0266)

Downtempo pop track from Jessie Ware taken from her album Devotion. Nice!! A crafty soulful track. Don't confuse with Olympic popster Jessie J

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA5yP9jM5DE

Moon King - Sleeping In My Car (hype 0265)

Fuzzy swirling pop music from Moon King taken from their EP called Obsession I. Nice!!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYr6UUEG9A4

Gitar - Eyes Of The World (Hype 0264)

Gitar are back with a single taken from their new album Seen As Unclean. Alittle Beta Bandesque. Nice!!!!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVoKR3d1rWk

The Associates - 18 Carat Love Affair (New/Old 002)

Another track I had never heard of until now which is taken from their album Sulk (at least the american version of it). This track was a top 40 hit in the UK reaching number 24. Nice alternative gothic sounding single from 1982. The band was never really big over in North America. I always saw their records in the used shops but never really checked their music out until recently via the internet (Did own a 12 Inch for Waiting For The Loveboat which is a great track). Sadly, the lead singer of this band ended up committing suicide in 1997, potentially a casualty of the eighties.
Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z04_5pCkaE

Storm Queen - Let's Make Mistakes (Hype 0263)

Bumping club track from the Storm Queen. Probably would have been better for a Saturday night post. Sunday chill!
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-rMtg_9Ev0

Headpins - Don't It Make You Feel (Retro 022)

Classic Canadian eighties track from the Headpins taken from the Album Turn It Loud released in 1982. Thirty years old and still going strong.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYzySRvLD_0

Raveonettes - She Owns the Streets (Hype 0262)

Brand new single from the Raveonettes off their new album Observator. Nice grungy fuzzy indie guitar track.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGBLKevkdUw

Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Visions (Hype 0261)

Great new track from LUDGF. Buzzy swirly guitar pop. Taken from their album Untogether which is coming out in October. We can't get enough of this band.

Kim Wilde - You Came (New/Old 001)

I thought that this would be an interesting new segment for the website. Exploring indie and dance songs that are dated but ones that I'd never heard of until comign across them on the internet or around town.

This dance pop track that was released in 1988 by Kim Wilde was just one year ahead of my time of getting into djing, picking up 1200 turntables and starting to buy 12 Inch dance records. From 1985-1988 I'd really settled for alternative music and would have easily have dismissed this when it came out. What a great song though which reminds me of Kylie alot. The 12 Inch mix was done by Shep Pettibone.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ2gyZLwLn8

Saint Etienne I Got Your Music (Hype 0235V)

Saint Etienne release an official video for their gigantic club track I Got Your Music from their new album Words and Music. Saint Etienne did something really cool here and had their fanbase put videos up of themselves holding their favourite records. Being a huge Saint Etienne fan I regret not participating. Its definately a fun video though and shows how eclectic the tastes of Etienne fans are. Definately Some Kind Of Wonderful holding up the Pretty In Pink album. The band also appear in points in the video holding up their fav albums. Nice!!!

I thought I'd trainspot Etienne taste for you. Below the video I have listed the covers.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MQmsHPwLvU



Here is the cheat sheet

1) Jeff Buckley - Grace
2) Blondie - Parallel Lines
3) Spiritualized I Think I'm In Love
4) Prince And The Revolution - Parade
5) Talking Heads - True Stories
6) Pet Shop Boys - Heart 12 Inch
7) OMD - Architecture And Morality (Held by Bob Stanley)
8) Pet Shop Boys - Actually
9) Hot Chocolate - 20 Hottest Hits
10) The Flirts - 10¢ A Dance
11) Rosa Yemen - Rosa Yemen EP
12) Helmet - Aftertaste
13) Divine - Love Reaction 12 Inch
14) Metallica Ride The Lightning
15) Associates - Sulk
16) The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
17) Cardigans - Life
18) Prince - When Doves Cry 12 Inch
19a) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
19b) Ronettes - Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes
20a) Pet Shop Boys - Heart 12 Inch
20b) Pet Shop Boys - Heart Remix 12 Inch
20c) Suede - The Drowners 12 Inch
20d) Massive Attack - Blue Lines
20e) Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart 12 Inch
20f) Pet Shop Boys Go West 12 Inch
20g) Pulp - This Is Hardcore
20h) Smiths - Panic 12 Inch
20i) Depeche Mode - Strangelove 12 Inch
20j) New Order - True Faith 12 Inch
20k) KLF What Time Is Love 12 Inch
21) Monkees - Head (held by Pete Wiggs)
22) Krush - House Arrest
23) Nilsson - The Point
24) Wings - Band On The Run
25a) World Of Twist - The Storm 12 Inch
25b) ***K The Millenium 12 Inch
25c) Kingmaker - The Killjoy Was Here EP 12 Inch
25d) Pop Will Eat Itself - Cicciolina 12 Inch
25e) Hazel - Jilted 12 Inch
26) Pet Shop Boys - Actually
27) Dubstar - Disgraceful
28) Nicklas Barker - El Último Fin De Semana
29) Bananarama - Greatest Hits Collection
30) Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat (Held By Sarah Cracknell)
31) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
32) Abba - The Album
33) Iva Zanicchi - Caro Theodorakis
34) Belle And Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
35) Burt Bacharach - Hits From With Love
36a) Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
36b) Deee-lite - Groove Is In The Heart 12 Inch
37) Bobbie Gentry - The Delta Sweete
38) Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
39) Kraftwerk - Trans - Europe Express
40) A-ha - Hunting High And Low
41) Kylie Minogue - Rhythm Of Love
42) Soundtrack - Pretty In Pink
43) Bjork - Homogenic
44) Madonna - True Blue
45) Spacemen 3 - Recurring
46) Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
47a) TISM - I'm Interested In Apathy
47b) They Might Be Giants - The Statue Got Me High 12 Inch
47c) They Might Be Giants - The Guitar 12 Inch
48) Klf - What Time Is Love 12 Inch
49) Erykah Badu - Baduizm
50) Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart 12 Inch
51) Tom Jones - Live In Las Vegas
52) The Beach Boys - Friends
53) Joni Mitchell‎– The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
54a) Belle And Sebastian - Tigermilk
54b) The Smurfs - All Star Show
55) Diana Ross And The Supremes - Love Child
56) Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring 12 Inch
57) Stacey Q - Two Of Hearts 12 Inch
58) Toto Coelo - I Eat Cannibals 12 Inch
59) Dusty Springfield - A Girl Called Dusty
60) Art Of Noise - Into Battle With The Art Of Noise
61) Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
62) Marianne Faithful - Broken English
63) Inxs - Kick
64) Alaska Y Los Pegamoides - Alaska Y Los Pegamoides
65) Hugo Montenegro‎– Moog Power
66) Manic Street Preachers - You Love Us 12 Inch
67) Dr Hook - Sometimes You Win
68) Dead Or Alive - Rip It Up 12 Inch
69) The Strokes - Is This It
70) Annie - Chewing Gum 12 Inch
71) Saint Etienne - London Conversations
72) Small Faces - From The Beginning
73) East Village - Drop
74) Rosa Yemen - Rosa Yemen EP

Jesus And Mary Chain Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto August 3, 2012

I have to admit its alittle annoying when your friend shoves his iphone in front of you at the beginning of the concert and says here is the setlist; they play the same thing everynight. Where is the magic in that? Another friend who saw them in Hong Kong also recently exclaimed to me that they play the same setlist so why would he want to go to the Toronto show. Glad the Chain proved them wrong.

The Jesus and Mary Chain brought the magic back last night with a slightly altered setlist for Toronto and a guest vocalist in Jessica Pare on Sometimes Always. The band played just over 60 minutes of their patented fuzzy guitar shoegazing rock to a capacity crowd at the Phoenix Concert Theatre.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the show was challenged midway by some short hairy netheanderal ape who wanted to push his way in front of me and bump into all sorts of people. I pushed him aside at one point as he kept bumping me and he looked at me as if I had destroyed his world. Of course, he didn't stop and ended up moving in front of me and then farther up. Glad I didn't push him again as he started to pick up things and throw them at William Reed. At this point I came to the conclusion that he may not be stable. How this guy had a girlfriend (who was with him) is beyond me.

After this unfortunate painful sequence, I got back to enjoying an amazing show. The band tackled material from across all their albums.

Here was the Setlist:
1.Snakedriver (Sound Of Speed EP)
2.Head On (Automatic)
3.Far Gone and Out (Honey's Dead)
4.Between Planets (Automatic)
5.Blues From A Gun (Automatic)
6.Teenage Lust (Honey's Dead)
7.Cracking Up (Munki)
8.All Things Must Pass (Heroes Soundtrack)
9.Some Candy Talking (Some Candy Talking EP)
10.Happy When It Rains (Darklands)
11.Halfway to Crazy (Automatic)
12.Just Like Honey (Psychocandy)
13.Sometimes Always (Stoned And Dethroned)
14.Reverence (Honey's Dead)
Encore:
15.The Hardest Walk (Psychocandy)
16.Taste Of Cindy (Psychocandy)
17.Never Understand (Psychocandy)
Encore 2:
18.Sidewalking (Barbed Wire Kisses Sidewalking EP)

Here is what the crowd said:

Nightbox (Openers)
Caught alittle bit of the opener. They weren't bad at all but not everyone shared our opinions
‏
@sararose66: On rout to nightbox gig #YesPlease

@imacgill: Interesting choice to open for J&MC. Toronto/Ireland dance band Nightbox. Sound a lot like Friendly Fires.

@Going4theGreen:Now officially think the opening band at jamc show is cheeseball. Called nightbox, dangerously close to night ranger.

@mechamoney: Closing track = epic drumming. Great jorb @nightbox !

Jesus And Mary Chain

@imacgill: At The Phoenix (my 2nd home) chatting to my favorite bartender and awaiting The Jesus And Mary Chain. (IKDK: Ian of Aural Report http://iauralreport.blogspot.ca/)

@IKvsDK: Jesus and the mary chain #rewind #phoenix

@aeudet: The Jesus and Mary Chain time!!!

@lokin8 Excited, feel like I'm 12 again

‏@stuberman The benefits of Jesus and Mary Chain hiring John Kastner as their guitar tech: you get Jessica Pare singing back-ups on Just Like Honey

@JennBarnesy: The Jesus & Mary Chain: Guy beside me is doing a variation on "the monkey" and having the time of his life!

@TheMegNog: Jesus and Mary Chain just blew my fucking mind! INCREDIBLE.

cherylesque: Toronto Jesus And Mary Chain show. Infinitely better than last night's show in Buffalo. Sometimes Always! And I had earplugs this time.

@lisa TTRO: Only Hope Sandoval should be allowed to sing this Jesus and Mary Chain song

@AaronAStanford: Saw The Jesus and MaryChain tonight. They delivered. By the second encore the entire audience was one collective morphine overdose :)

End this with sharing my favourite JAMC track.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLdlGceO8aE

Seapony - Late Summer (Hype 0260)

Breezy summery low-fi twee from Seapony. Nice! Their second album Falling is out soon on Hardly Art.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w1JqAOTZIw