vintage

I’ve finally decided on the best live shows I saw all year. I couldn’t narrow it down to ten (largely because of the Calgary Folk Music Festival), but who decided that was the format for year-end lists? Fifteen it is, and in chronological order because I cannot figure out how to rank them.

Sloan (March 6, The Supermarket, Toronto)
review

Just by virtue of the fact that they played a host of songs I never thought I’d see them do (“Stood Up” and “Same Old Flame”, for example, from an old 7″ released around 1996), gave us a preview of some new tunes a few months before Parallel Play, and had a good time on a small stage.

The Bad Plus (May 24, Quincy’s, Calgary)
review

One of the more talented jazz groups I have had the pleasure of witnessing, and of course, they ended with their now-famous cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” (which the Bad Plus have released on 2007’s Prog). Incredibly talented and versatile musicians, and Quincy’s was a great venue for them.

The Weakerthans (July 24, Calgary Folk Festival)
review

I credit this show with catapulting me into becoming a Weakerthans fan. They were terrific, and just the perfect sort of music for a summer afternoon. There couldn’t have been anything better about the Weakerthans’ short folk festival set.

Be Good Tanyas (July 25, Calgary Folk Festival)
review

I’ve wanted to see the Tanyas for quite a few years, dating back to the first time I heard “The Littlest Birds” from Blue Horse. Unfortunately, they didn’t play that, but they put on a very impressive show at the Folk Festival, reminding us that their blend of bluegrass, folk and country is not going anywhere. Three of the finest voices this country has to offer.

Andrew Bird (July 25, Calgary Folk Festival)
review

Definitely one of the most unique and interesting acts at the Folk Festival this year. It was hard to believe everything was being done by one man and a hard-working loop pedal; very intricate and delicately crafted music, and a great experience to see it being done live.

Blue Rodeo (July 26, Calgary Folk Festival)
review

Words can’t describe how much fun I had with Blue Rodeo. It had rained most of the afternoon and evening that day and I was ready to bail, but I’m glad we stuck it out — it’s obvious to me now why Blue Rodeo have been around for such a long time. Incredible musicians, and their joy of playing radiates from everything they do.

Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet (July 27, Calgary Folk Festival)
review

Abigail Washburn: a redheaded Southern belle who can sing in fluent Mandarin, accompanied by a string band. This alone is good enough to land the Sparrow Quartet on the list, but on top of that, they are amazing (also featuring banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck). To see these musicians is a real experience.

Squeeze (August 28, Kool Haus, Toronto)
review

I’ve wanted this to happen for years, and when it finally did, nothing was a letdown. Tilbrook was on top form, his voice and guitar skills as good as they ever were, and a bonus of touring without an album to back was a setlist jam-packed with all kinds of unexpected songs. A party from start to finish.

Sigur Rós (September 22, Massey Hall, Toronto)
review

I didn’t know what to expect going into this, but everything about it was great. Ethereal and soaring and very, very musical. The encore didn’t hurt either: a huge, joyful version of “Gobbledigook” featuring all the members of opening band Parachutes, and near the end, the biggest blast of confetti I’ve ever seen inside a concert hall. We were picking up the pieces for weeks!

Martin Tielli (September 28, Hugh’s Room, Toronto)

I regret not doing a proper review for this show, since it stayed with me for quite a few weeks. Tielli is one of those musicians you can go to when you’re sick of everyone doing the same thing, because he’s never, ever conventional. An incredible performance of his solo tunes and Rheos material with a great band of supporting musicians.

David Byrne (October 29, Massey Hall, Toronto)
review

Byrne is a real legend, and deservedly so; he did all the right things on the Massey stage, and added some quirks too (like the dancers!). The new material translates exceptionally well live, and he threw in some Talking Heads favourites too. He’s a thrilling performer, and one I’d see again in a heartbeat.

Hayden (November 1, Massey Hall, Toronto)

Backed by members of Cuff the Duke, Hayden’s jamming-in-a-living-room sort of set was homey and perfect, filling the beautiful old Massey Hall with his easygoing music. I didn’t want it to end. I’d see him again quite readily, especially since I bought his album after the show and know it reasonably better now.

Robin Williams (November 22, Massey Hall, Toronto)

The funniest hour and a half I’ve spent all year. Robin Williams just does not stop talking, and flits around from subject to subject to potty joke faster than light. Much ado was made about the American election, but also the Canadian one (he did a remarkable impression of Prime Minister Harper), and his accents and miming skills are among the most hilarious things I’ve seen in a while.

Justin Rutledge (December 1, Cameron House, Toronto)

If ever there were a perfect show, this might be it. The Cameron House’s front room capacity is about 70, and there were at least that many people crammed in there to hear Justin Rutledge on night 4 of his “Incredible Shrinking Tour” (each night brought a smaller venue). Many songs from Man Descending were played, and he went over two hours before finally deciding to take a break. I had no idea that much time had passed — a testament to the captivating things happening on stage.

Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe (December 14, Massey Hall, Toronto)

I must confess: before this, I didn’t even like Stuart McLean. I would turn the radio off when the Vinyl Café started. However, there’s something about seeing the live version that makes things all the more enjoyable; ad-libs, personal anecdotes, and the really great musicians he brought along with him. I have been inducted into the world of Dave and Morley, and while I probably won’t listen to too many studio broadcasts, the live ones have a certain warmth that I really enjoyed.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS: There were two shows that I feel worthy of mentioning here, but they didn’t make the main list mostly because I was heavily involved with them (and that is probably a conflict of interest!). One of them is The Bicycles’ CD release party at Lee’s Palace on November 8, featuring a myriad of guest performers like Forest City Lovers, Henri Fabergé and the Adorables, Sloan, Hooded Fang, $100, Matt Murphy, etc. I did play in about 8 songs, but the Bicycles put on a fantastic performance in every one, including backing up all the aforementioned bands. It was a great way to bring Oh No, It’s Love into the world. (review)

The other is Entire Cities’ CD release party at the Canadian Corps Hall on April 11. This is my band, and we had planned for quite some time to get the release party in order. Everything went without a hitch; no delays, no PA problems, great sound, and a lovely time. It still stands as probably the best show I’ve ever played, and certainly the best show with Entire Cities; I think that in itself merits a mention.

Happy new year, everybody! I look forward to the news and tunes of 2009 (already shaping up to be a pretty good year). Now if only that strike would end already.

Tags: abigail washburn & the sparrow quartet, andrew bird, be good tanyas, blue rodeo, david byrne, entire cities, hayden, justin rutledge, martin tielli, robin williams, sigur rós, sloan, squeeze, stuart mclean, the bad plus, the bicycles, the weakerthans

You know, the thing I hate the most about shows I am really looking forward to is how quickly they end. Here you are having a grand old time, yelling so loud it is a wonder you’re not voiceless already, and suddenly it’s “Goodnight Toronto!” and that’s that.

Squeeze’s performance, taking place last Thursday night at the Kool Haus, was definitely in this category of “disappointing only because they didn’t play all night” shows. That aside, though … it was awesome.

Kicking off the night was Aimee Mann, who I had the pleasure of seeing almost exactly a month before at the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Her set was quite similar to that one, although it seemed a little more laid-back and less energetic than the festival – she did a couple I recognized (and liked) such as “Freeway”, which got a good response, but overall it seemed a bit flat. Nevertheless, Mann gave us a rare grin at the end and promised a pants-igniting set by Squeeze was on its way, and she was certainly right about that.

Just under an hour later, the lights dimmed and Squeeze hit the stage to wild cheers and the opening strains of the perplexing kick-off number “Strong in Reason” (from their first record). I can’t say this tune is particularly rousing, nor is it a memorable way to start a show; in fact, it isn’t really much of anything. Most of the attention was focused not on them, but on the giant projection screen behind the band, filled with fairly abstract-looking video clips of cars driving and weird kaleidoscopic shapes.

I think more than a few of us were probably focused on Glenn Tilbrook as well, not because of his guitar playing (that came later) but more because of his three-piece banana yellow suit. Yellow! Those Brits.

The show improved considerably from that point; since they had no new album to promote, it was just a mishmash of old favourites, mainly from the singles vault. Personal highlights included “Up the Junction,” which came fairly early on and included some fabulous vocals by Tilbrook; “Piccadilly,” featuring Stephen Large on keyboards, who also plays with Glenn’s band The Fluffers; and “Melody Motel”, Glenn belting out the lyrics while playing all the leads completely flawlessly. What a player.

Let me take a second here to mention just how excellent a guitarist Tilbrook really is. Among those who are Squeeze connoisseurs, this is no great news; however, to some it may come as a great surprise that he could give some “legends” a run for their money. Time and time again, jaws dropped as he slid another solo out of his (yellow) pocket, and his beat-up old Fender Telecaster sounded like liquid gold no matter what he did. It’s certain that Tilbrook doesn’t get quite as much credit for his playing as is due, especially if he’s always like that on stage.

Chris Difford was dressed smartly and played with about as much excitement as a fencepost for most of the show, although he cracked quite a few grins at a particularly enthusiastic fan in front of me. At one point he was seen chugging away on his Tele and attempting to do the twist across the stage, a gesture which was hilarious, but appreciated. Difford’s voice and lyrics are still good, but perhaps he has some work to do as a stage performer (particularly beside Tilbrook, bouncing around in front of the wind machine, silver curls flying everywhere). Still, his vocal contributions – particularly to the Cool for Cats repertoire – were very well executed.

Former Squeeze bassist John Bentley returned for this tour, with Simon Hanson (also of The Fluffers) rounding out the lineup, and together they formed an incredibly tight incarnation of Squeeze. Perhaps not one that would please the fans of “the classic lineup”, but one that put on a fabulous show, a show featuring breakdowns of “Black Coffee In Bed”, Large karate-chopping the keyboard like his life depended on it, and a soul-destroying performance of “Some Fantastic Place”, on which Difford’s steel-string sounded marvelous.

Though there were a few notable exceptions to the setlist (“In Quintessence” being one of them), it encompassed eight albums, as well as the compilation favourite “Annie Get Your Gun”, and probably had something to satisfy everyone in attendance. I certainly wouldn’t have minded if they had played another two hours, though. Squeeze is a band I’ve been waiting years to see and after this performance, I’d see them again in a heartbeat.

(Apologies for the lateness of this review; the next day I got hit with the worst case of food poisoning I’ve ever suffered in my life, and am still recovering. C’est la vie, I guess. At least it was after the show.)

Tags: aimee mann, squeeze

According to Uncut Magazine, duo Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook from the good ol’ pop/new-wave band Squeeze took home the “Outstanding Contribution to British Music” at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards. The ceremony was held in London on Tuesday; other winners included Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, Mika, Phil Collins, and a Lifetime Achievement Award for David Gilmour (Pink Floyd).

More exciting, though, is the magazine’s report that “[the] band plan to start work on their first album in ten years in 2009.” Squeeze’s last album, Domino, was released in 1998 to less-than-stellar reviews. Their best works, however, including back-to-back Argybargy (1980) and East Side Story (1981), are excellently crafted pop masterpieces; lyricist Difford and composer Tilbrook are oft-compared to Lennon & McCartney, more in terms of sheer songwriting prowess than actual stylistic similarities. Whether or not the comparison is a good one, there is no denying that Squeeze – who have an impressive 22 releases to their name, including a 6-disc remastered box set, Live at the Royal Albert Hall, and some singles and greatest hits collections – are certainly top contenders in the songwriting department, and a new record is an exciting prospect.

The band has announced quite a few tour dates for the summer, which you can browse here. Currently, their only Canadian date is — wait for it — Toronto; they’ll be hitting the Kool Haus on August 28th, supported by Aimee Mann. I have had my ticket for about three weeks already and will probably be first in line. Pack a lunch and come keep me company.

Tags: chris difford, glenn tilbrook, ivor novello awards, squeeze, uncut