Big Rock Finish… reviews of independent music

Nathan Down at Tattoo Rock Parlour

October 16, 2008

Alright! I’ve been stalking Mikey S for a long time now. First time I saw him, he was in State of Worth, dancing in a chair after his set. Then he got picked up by Strap-On Tools. He played one show with Paul Burke. He found his way into Harlot. And after hooked up with Fuscia. Then next I hear, he’s playing with some dude called Nathan Down. (Are musicians allowed to be sluts?)

Anyways, the first time I went to see Nathan Down play, I was hoping for the full band, but due to alcoholic cut-backs and the last-minute-ness of the show (I believe they were added to the bill two or three hours before they were to hit the stage) no one had any gear, and Nathan went at it solo. And sober. So months later, this was my first time seeing Mikey on stage in a pretty long time actually, and I was really excited to see Nathan Down’s music with a full band, rather than just the one guy (topless guy, but still) on stage.

Definitely wasn’t disappointed, as with a full band Nathan Down is definitely full of energy. There was a big crowd, which was awesome to see, and since I don’t get out much, was quite surprising considering it was a Thursday night. But no one really seemed to care that it was a school night. Oh… those were the days…

Anyways, for some reason it didn’t occur to me that there would be a lot of people on the stage, since I’d never seen the full band before. And I was definitely not expecting it to be as packed as it was. But there they all were, drummer, bassist, guitarist, guitarist, guitar + vocalist. And it sounded great and not over-played at all.

The one thing about Nathan Down is I never really expect acoustic guitar and sort of… that hard-rock forceful type singing to really be on the same stage. And it surprises me every time I see him or listen to the myspace. But seeing the state of his guitar, and how hard he must play on it… you see he definitely rocks out on that thing.

Back to the show. It was fun. Whoever wasn’t flirting with the audience, the band was like… flirting with each other, or something. And I just love when a band interacts with each other, instead of ignoring each other like other bands that I’ve seen. Being in your zone and playing in your element is one thing, but having fun on stage and just being a bunch of guys, is totally another.

And it seems that the cover of “Pony” is really popular with all the ladies, since the build-up to it seemed endless, with as much girlish screaming as anyone could possibly expect from a crowd for an indie rock show. I don’t blame them. It’s a great rendition of the song. And I’m sure it’d get just about anyone into a frenzy.

I giggled a little inside when the sound guy put on the house music and turned up the lights after Pony, because everyone was expecting one more song. With the language only bands and sound-guys understand, the audience finally got their last song before the band packed up. And it was just as awesome as the other… I lost count, of songs.

Well, I don’t have a clue when Nathan Down is playing next, but definitely I’m going to try to get out to see it!

Ivory Tree Observatory at Tattoo Rock Parlour

October 16, 2008

Alright, so I’ve owed Ivory Tree Observatory an album review for… probably many many months by now. They’re on my growing “to-do” list and I’m sure that I’ll be getting to it before… the end of the year? I’ve been staring at this list of albums to review for a while now, so I’m pretty familiar with all the names on there.

So what’s my surprise that when I walk into a bar because I’m there to see Nathan Down, that I’m staring down the business … end of a shrimp fork. I’ve been watching too much Futurama during my unemployment, that’s for sure. Anyways, I meant to say I’m at the ticket booth and seeing “Ivory Tree Observatory” having their own guest-list, and they are already on stage.

My first impression? (Before even knowing who was on stage) Good god these guys are loud. Good. But loud. My earplugs went into my ears before I even walked into the venue. Grabbing my standard coke (I must learn to carry change with me, because no bartender wants to make change for a $20 when ordering a coke, and I feel embarassed as hell not having any money to tip with) But parking myself at a ledge like thing I got to really get into the band.

Ivory Tree Observatory are CUTE. They even mentioned a few times between songs that they were pretty boys. And I don’t blame them for saying it, because at least it’s true. And a lot of the songs were real fun & rocking and made for great “I don’t care that I’m standing alone in a club full of people” type of music, and not all music can do that. I didn’t feel self conscious at all listening to these guys by myself, which when I realized it, shocked me. So, entertaining is a word I would have no problem using. Seeing a guy play a guitar and a keyboard, practically at the same time was awesome.

The one strange part of the show was the very last song if I recall correctly. It just started like a complete mismash of instruments and not very song-like at all. Suddenly it goes from what I would have deemed utter chaos, to a really catchy tune.

So I have to say, Ivory Tree Observatory are a band worth going out to see, whether you’re there with a pack of friends hogging the big tables in the middle of the floor, or you’re all by your lonesome trying desperately to not be socially ackward of not just being alone, but being sober. I’m sorry guys for taking so long to review your album, and you’ll definitely see it up soon! (And not soon enough, since their next one is due to release Spring 2009!)

Oh, and Ivory Tree Observatory will be playing at Rilleys on November 7th, definitely go check them out!

I was checking up on Martin at the Sands and it sounded interesting enough. From what I’ve learned is that box sets are never something that’s a bad idea. Mainly because you can get EVERYTHING that’s probably now out of print, and I’ve always been a fan of the extra box-packaging! Out of everything listed, these are the songs that I actually recognize: ‘That’s Amore’, ‘Young And Foolish’, ‘Memories Are Made OfThis’ and ‘Dream A Little Dream Of Me’.

This post courtesy of: Martin at the Sands

October 3, 2008

The second band to hit the bill at Johnny B’s in Whitby was Broken Sons. Whitby. Sometimes I think it’s crazy enough that there are Toronto bands willing to travel that far, because, quite honestly, it doesn’t seem the fans want to follow. But maybe this was due to the set up of the room.

See, this particular night was deemed an all-ages night. So the all-ages area was the first 15 feet in front of the stage, with the roped off 19+ section to be behind it. The theory being that anyone who is 19+ can enter the all-ages area (close to the stage) but the underage can’t go further away from the stage.

The problem with this setup was likely the fact that everyone who showed up was of-age, and the visual barrier kept the entire all-ages area void of people. And I’d probably feel quite dejected playing to what would have felt like an empty room. Anyways, even barring the empty-room feel due to a very empty all-ages area seeing as how everyone in the building couldn’t put down their drinks to join me, I had a great time with unobstructed access to every available visual point of the stage!

As for the music, Broken Sons are very into what they do. And it shows, every member of the band had a good balance of showmanship, as well as “being into the music” that was nice to see. I’m sure as the lead singer of Broken Sons, Jay was the biggest “show-off” of the band, but it makes sense. No one wants a show-boating drummer when everyone else is all mellow.

The music was just really good. It’s hard to describe other than being an overall great alternative rock band. From what I can tell, unless you’re really good, you won’t even get to keep a band together when you’re from Toronto. Then again, there’s just a lot of talent out there that needs to be discovered. Broken Sons falls into the “needs to be discovered” category I’m sure. I’m not sure what else to write. I liked their fast-paced songs, their slow-ish songs, the in-between songs.

Broken Sons are a great band. There’s nothing left to really say! Oh, except that Wednesday October 22nd they’re having a CD release party at Tattoo Rock Parlour! It’s an awesome venue so definitely check them out! (I’ll try my damndest… but I mean… it’s a school night and I have to be up early the next day!)

(Photo from The Stormalong’s Myspace page)

September 24, 2008

Third and last band of the night. The Stormalongs took to the stage at Rancho Relaxo to a very energetic grouping of people. And some not-so energetic people who really should have been in bed long ago (i.e. ME) I always want to watch as many bands as possible, seeing as how I write about these bands, but unfortunately there was not much I could do to keep myself awake.

I stayed for as long as I could, which was probably, I’m guessing, about 2/3 of The Stormalongs set. And the music was very pumping, and very rock. Somewhat surprising, considering both previous bands had a very electronic and “programmed” feel, that such a straight-ahead rock band would be chosen to close out the night. But I’m not the promotor, I’m sure it makes sense to someone else!

What I remember about the songs? They were rock songs. Plain and simple. Somewhat simple in how I describe all rock songs are put together, but well played and I can’t complain. Grabbing their myspace page and giving their studio recordings a listen, I can agree that The Stormalongs are a great band with talented musicians. My apologies for the half-hearted review, I seriously was VERY tired by the end of the night!

In… very… short, I did like what I heard. The Stormalongs are a very “together” band who sounded great even when the decor of the venue causes one to laugh quite loudly because it really just didn’t fit a “rock venue” But, you can’t blame the band for the venue, and you can’t blame The Stormalongs for being true rockers.

And as musicians, and as a band ready to get on tour, it might not actually be a bad idea for a county inmate search to happen on each member of the band, and the touring crew. The last thing anyone really needs is to find out that the tour can’t happen, because someone can’t cross the border due to a seedy past no one wants to admit. The good thing is it’s fast and easy to search for this kind of stuff these days. And that would leave plenty of time to find a “touring bassist” or a “stand-in drummer”. Downer, I know. But sometimes a necessary evil!

September 24, 2008

At some point, I had the pleasure of kicking back and enjoying the cool electronic stylings of Great Lenin’s Ghost! It was a balmy Wednesday evening above a Toronto taco stand, wafting it’s delights to the second floor bar. The idea of Pay What You Can was my indulgence, as was the fact my camera was dragged there for the earlier set of Senor Kasio.

I digress (as I so often do). Great Lenin’s Ghost! hits the stage, and I’m much too tired to continue standing. Thankfully there were people there to take my place in front of the stage, and I sat back and amused myself with my tired musicians while listening to music that greatly resembled the very old Nintendo 8 bit games that were oh so popular when I was 10.

A part of me couldn’t believe my ears, that such music would be popular, since it’s quite simple sounding. But judging by the crowd it couldn’t be denied. And the more I listened the more I started to get into the groove of things as well. You couldn’t really argue that Great Lenin’s Ghost! can’t entertain a crowd, because the crowd was definitely entertained.

Since this band was completely new to me, my favourite was definitely when they covered Rihanna’s “My Umbrella” because it was a song I recognized. And seeing everyone, the band, the crowd, and even the group I was sitting with, who wasn’t a part of the crowd, get into this new remix of such an over-played radio hit… was quite fantastic.

In short, geeky guys can be musicians too. And Great Lenin’s Ghost! are hopefully not offended by that comment