vintage

One of the most excellent things about Toronto music festivals is the abundance of in-store performances you can catch, both by local bands and visiting ones, completely for free. I dropped in on a few of them last week – braving the awful snowstorm – and here we are.

The first was at Soundscapes, a little independent record store in Little Italy with a great deal of emphasis on homegrown talent. In between buying the latest and greatest albums to hit the shelves, we witnessed a short but wonderful set by Toronto’s own Laura Barrett, mistress of the kalimba and brand-new signee to Paper Bag Records (staff were playing fellow labelmates The Acorn before her set, but I can’t tell whether that was a coincidence or not).

Since self-releasing her EP Earth Sciences back in 2005, Barrett has seen the recent release of a second EP, Ursula, as well as the reissue of Earth Sciences on Paper Bag late last year, and is at work on a full-length. Her set was, as usual, completely charming and extraordinarily well executed; she’s the newest one-woman band, at one point playing the kazoo, kalimba, and MIDI-controller bass foot pedals at the same time (and, of course, never missing a beat). We were treated to a handful of newer songs from the second EP and the upcoming album, as well as a few old favourites like “Robot Ponies” and “Stop Giving Your Children Standardized Tests”. She’s always sunny and charming, and remarkably good at keeping the audience’s attention, directing lines of the songs at audience members and generally being a great time to watch. It’s always a pleasure to catch one of her sets.

Afterward, I made it to Criminal Records (“legal music and swag”) on Queen West for an East Coast instore showcase. Because of the aforementioned snowstorm, and a late start at Soundscapes, I missed the first band – former Eric’s Trip bassist Julie Doiron’s new outfit Calm Down It’s Monday, formerly Blue Heeler, with Dick Morello – but we did catch her solo set later, which was delectable, featuring some work from her latest album Woke Myself Up (notably “Dark Horse,” which I love). I did, however, arrive in time to see – in the words of the Meligrove Band’s Mike Small – “the cutest band ever”: Halifax duo The Superfantastics. They’ve just come off a mini-tour with Laura Barrett, and they were well matched; self-described as “the Alex P. Keaton of the indie pop scene,” they are absolutely adorable, extremely talented, and make incredibly enjoyable music. Their songwriting is catchy and despite being only two people, their sound is remarkably full and engaging. They are currently touring with Julie Doiron promoting their newest EP Choose Your Destination, a follow-up to their full-length album Pop-Up Book. They’ll be playing in Calgary as part of Junofest at the beginning of April.

Closing band Dog Day, once described by Sloan’s Chris Murphy as “the ABBA of Canada” (referring to the two married couples who make up the band), ended the afternoon with an excellently delivered set of energetic pop-rock, although their stage presence left a little to be desired compared to the bouncy Matt MacDonald of the Superfantastics. Still, their performance was tight, supported by excellent work on the bass by Nancy Urich, and upheld the remarkable reputation that the Halifax-centric East Coast scene has earned for excellent pop and rock bands since the original Pop Explosion. They are touring extensively to support their new full-length, Night Group, which has earned them a great deal of positive press (for good reason; the songs are magnificent).

And all that for free! What’s not to love?

Coming up: reviews of School of Language,  the I Spies, Jason Collett, and the Mountain Goats! Stay tuned!

Tags: calm down it's monday, canadian music week, criminal records, dog day, instores, julie doiron, laura barrett, soundscapes, the superfantastics