This list is composed of my 10 favourite bands that played the venue in 2008 that haven’t played for TWM before.  That means that even though Amos the Transparent, the Golden Hands Before God and many other fantastic bands returned to the Rancho this year, they won’t be on thist list.  I have another one of those coming before the end of 2008.  Check out these myspaces and make plans to catch these bands in your city next year.

10. La Casa Muerte (http://www.myspace.com/lacasamuerte): You are going to listen to these recordings and think I am a nutter because they are about as lo-fi as humanly possible.  Well, take a chance to see this band live and name me many others that put on anywhere near as high energy and absolutely infectiously fun set.  It’s chaotic at times, but in the most electric way possible.  One of my favourite memories of the year is Brandon Lim (bassist) tumbling down to the ground and not noticing his bass was unplugged, just playing anyway as 20 people charged the Rancho stage to dance and sing along with the band’s last song of the night.

9. Pants & Tie (http://www.myspace.com/pantsandtie): Imagine a mad scientist getting a hold of some DNA from Prince and Justin Timberlake, and then raising that kid listening to nothing but highly-charged, riff-driven, keyboard heavy indie-rock.  You might end up with something like Pants & Tie.  Creative, unique and challenging are three words I’d use to describe Pants & Tie, but when they played Rancho literally everyone was won over.

8. Lovely Killbots (http://www.myspace.com/lovelykillbots): Describing this band without using the world lovely is impossible, so I’ll just say it.  Lauralee brings the lovely both vocally and on the keys, and Ryan systematically drives these songs with his precise drumming.  This band isn’t content to do things the easy way, often times playing in unusual time signatures.  You can tell that Lauralee and Ryan work hard at what they do, and might just payoff in 2009.

7. Language Arts (http://www.myspace.com/languageartnet): Not to future bands — If I have never met you before and you come up the stairs dropping hilarious obscure quotes from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, you are going to be my new friends.  Language Arts are from Vancouver and played a tour stop at the Rancho and absolutely killed it.  Kristen Cucimore’s quirky singing/rapping is oddly compelling and their song “White Socks and Birckenstocks” still gets regular mention around the Rancho when talking about year-end lists etc.  Hopefully they’ll come back someday as I would push that show with everything I had.

6. Gypsophilia (http://www.myspace.com/gypsophiliaband): A six-piece instrumental gypsy swing band from Halifax.  Got your attention yet?  We were unbelievably lucky to get this band twice in 2008.  It is often said that in the current music scene you don’t really need to be that great at music to be in a band and get gigs in the city.  The whole adage if you can get 20 friends to go to all your shows you can play gigs whenever you want.  I don’t entirely buy that, but I will say it is refreshing to have top-rate musicians like Gypsophilia take the stage once and a while and display higher level musical skill.

5.The Paint Movement (http://www.myspace.com/thepaintmovement): Perhaps the least successful TWM show in the history of the series ends up having a band play it that cracks this list in the no. 5 spot.  The Paint Movement played the venue several times in 2008, and they always bring their A+ game whether they are playing for 20 people or 120.  Tremendous vocals, epic saxophone, and upper echelon songwriting are their staples.  Hopefully they’ll keep enjoying playing the Rancho in 2009!

4.Hank & Lily (http://www.myspace.com/hankandlily): If you know what is good for you then you will see Hank & Lily next time they tour.  It was a pretty impressive moment, looking around the packed to the gills room knowing that Radiohead was going on at the same time and tons of people had to choose between the two.  A little bit of vaudeville, a fair bit of cutesy Betty Boop, and a reasonable touch of haunting undertones would be my way of describing Lily.  Hank, on the other hand, is a mask-wearing vocal distortionist who adds a darker element to the music and provides the perfect accompanient.

3. Racoon Wedding (http://www.myspace.com/theracoonwedding):  Racoon Weddings writes songs and makes music that basically sums up the style of stuff I find myself listening to right now.  While I hear a lot of bands that sound great on Myspace, Racoon Wedding is that rare band who can not only duplicate the sound they’ve recorded but actually surpass it live.  There is a level of reckless enthusiasm in the music that lends itself to a memorable live show, but you know they’ve always got it under control.

2. Parlovr (http://www.myspace.com/parlourmontreal): The next big band out of Montreal!  I fully believe this and am going to enjoy every second of their performance for Hi-Hat Compilation #3 at Rancho on February 13th as I doubt I’ll get them back on that stage after that.  There is a palpable comparison to Wolf Parade that I’ve heard made and I understand it, but in my opinion there is more of a dancey/electro and a higher rock vibe to Parlovr’s songs.  That isn’t saying that Wolf Parade sucks, but if you gave me a chance to see either band tomorrow, I’d be going to check out Parlovr.

1. The Burning Hell (http://www.myspace.com/mathiaskom): Nobody impressed me as much at Rancho this year as did the Burning Hell.  Once I knew we were going to be able to fit this band on the stage, the rest was going to be easy.  The Burning Hell has everything that I love about Mark Berube & the Patriotic few, but with the big band sound and musicianship of Gypsophilia.  Cross that with a bit of a punk/beatnik ethic that makes them undeniably unique.  Oh, and did I mention they played with Hank & Lily?  Enough said.

The Return of TwoWayMonologues.com

I’m excited to be sitting here tonight penning this note for all of you.  I’ll begin with a sincere and humble apology for ever stopping the updates of TwoWayMonologues.  Over the last month I have been filling a definite sadness over the fact that the website has been dormant, and trying to muster up the energy it would take to get it back going.

Sometimes when things are going pretty well, you lose sight of what got you there in the first place.  The bookings and promotions at Rancho, in combination with Hi-Hat Recordings, managing bands and real life happenings, left very little time for much else — that’s what led to TWM going on hiatus.  But I keep on thinking to myself that none of those things ever would have happened without the review website opening the doors.

In the short term, I’m not going to be able to run it the way I did in the past with daily updates and constant information going up on the site.  But I do have a plan to keep fresh reviews and articles/features on the site.

We will be posting updates on Weds morning and Sunday morning with Track-Fu going up weekly on Sunday or Monday night depending what works with Terri’s otherwise busy schedule.  Each update will have 2-3 new pieces whether it is album reviews, live reviews, or interviews depending on what the writing staff has decided to take on.

I want to start having more contests, and figure out a way to have more interactivity with the readers of the site.  We want to review stuff you want to hear about!  We want to add things you give a shit about, and I’d really love to figure out how to have the online TWM sync up with what we have going on offline.  If you have any ideas send me a message at dan@twowaymonologues.com.

We also really need new contributors for TWM.  Our writing staff dropped off, largely due to me not having the time to track down top-calibre releases for the writers to get to review.  I am going to do my best and lean on other people who want this site back up and running to fix that problem.  We also might start publishing a zine version of TWM to be distributed free of charge at the shows.

In short, I am thrilled to be bringing this back.  It feels like I’m getting back to the core of why I got into the independent music scene in the first place.

Talk to you soon,

Dan ]]> http://www.twowaymonologues.com/blogs/Daysthatareover/2008/10/12/the-return-of-twowaymonologuescom/feed/ http://www.twowaymonologues.com/blogs/Daysthatareover/2008/06/18/215-am/ http://www.twowaymonologues.com/blogs/Daysthatareover/2008/06/18/215-am/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:22:21 +0000 daysthatareover Uncategorized http://www.twowaymonologues.com/blogs/Daysthatareover/2008/06/18/215-am/ I’m still up and believe it or not the same person who just wrote that blog is writing this… gutted.  Going to sleep but sleep lately has just been one non stop dream about the drama I deal with during the day.  You can now found all my insane ramblings here: http://theonetimeithoughtimademymind.blogspot.com/

I just need to get this stuff out somewhere.

I think I am more exhausted today and now well Weds evening than I have been in perhaps my entire life. NXNE just happened to fall on what was the busiest week in recent Rancho Relaxo history. We were open from Tuesday straight through till Monday night. I was at the venue for various parts of every NXNE night and all of Tues, Weds, Sun and Monday.

You’ll notice some incomplete coverage. I apologize for that. The weekend was tons of fun at NXNE but it also had a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that made even making it to the venues and dragging myself out to 4 AM almost impossible. Here’s a quick recap of what I saw and didn’t write about…

Spookey Ruben at Dundas Square: Some really lousy and cheesy R & B band delayed Spookey’s set about an hour and so I only saw three songs. Still, I saw enough to realize that Spookey Ruben if given the right exposure and publicity could be more vital to the music scene today than he ever was when he had his string of hits back in the 90’s. Such energy, such a fun demeanor on stage and just a wicked guy to boot. I need to see a full set with his band asap.

Old Man Lueducke @ the Rivoli: I actually knew so little about Old Man Lueducke that based on the CD cover I saw before passing the album along to Tyler for review I thought he actually was an old man. Turns out that is more in spirit than anything else. Easily the best banter of the weekend and definitely the most earnest musician I’ve witnessed in ages. Oh and he also writes ridiculously pretty songs that I now want to know all the words to so next time I see him I can sing along. Unfortunately the Riv is horrible for chatty overly well dressed types who really don’t care what is going on and that did seriously hurt the vibe.

Elder Roche @ the Hideout: Tyler isn’t fond of the Hideout. I liked that my exhausted ass could plant itself in a fairly comfy leather couch and have a few drinks off my feet. Unfortunately for Mr. Roche that was the highlight of the set. His backhanded comments to the chatty crowd were kind of weak. Either you play through or say something with some vindication man!

Epigram @ the Hideout: Much better! I recently found out that Megan Hamilton had joined Epigram and since she is one of my most beloved locals musicians I specifically called an audible to be at the Hideout for this set. Alas an overly packed Horseshoe resulted in us also catching the above Elder Roche.

For me this was the surprise set of the weekend. With Tyler angry about being at this venue and my other TWM writers annoyed I made them watch Elder Roche the set needed to be gold. For me at least it was. It sounds not even remotely close to anything else Megan is involved in. Instead it’s an intense, experimental sound that was only all the more heavy juxtaposed with what we had heard earlier in the night. Pedals galore… vocals gymnastics that made me wonder if the poor guy singing would speak again on Sunday and only one blip being really weak work by the sound tech on the backing vocals. If you have two talented backing vocalists it’d be nice if you would let me hear them Mr. Sound Tech!

Slim Twig @ The Dollar: I saw a band in between this but was mainly drinking and hanging out at the Rancho so putting an evaluation on it would be pointless. I dug Slim Twig quite a bit. At this point I was hearing everything well on the way to being drunken so that many people slagged it for not being tight or on key probably eluded my ears. I found it rowsing and it would have led better into the Schomberg Fair than the Oholics did.

Then at 3 AM the Schomberg Fair took the stage. I manage them so you aren’t about to get words of critique from me nor was I in any shape to tell you anyhow. What ensued was one of the most fun 45 minutes I’ve had in my life. So many close friends, so many people from bands I love came out to support a band consisting of basically the nicest guys in the Toronto music scene. It was triumphant and I was proud to be a part of it.
So now what? I have sort of an NXNE hangover and I am not really sure where the online TWM is going. We need more content! I need to write more reviews… get back to doing interviews etc. The photo section is in a sad sad state I don’t even know if it will ever be back.

But there is also exciting news on the horizon. Tyler Wade and I had a meeting tonight laying the groundworks for the TWM Collective. Which is going to be something to keep an eye on… we have big and exciting plans for where this is going and the readers of twowaymonologues.com are going to get more of a 360 experience than ever before. Offline, online and all over the province. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag yet BUT stay tuned friends as this is going to be our craziest endeavor to date.

I feel a really serious explosion of activity coming on within me… both online and offline and I intend to use this blog as a means to bring you with me. I warn you though! The grammar will be horrible, the topics won’t all be about music and you are going to be very much inside my head by reading it.

But it might be fascinating as I once had a blog that was all gonzo style writing and train of thought thinking. So all I’m saying is stay tuned… sometimes when my life is most out of control is when the best things come out of me.

Ok City Ok @ the Silver Dollar (9 PM): So the Silver Dollar takes the cake I think for the best venue for the festivals.  Everyone and their dog runs off to the Horseshoe to lineup and see bigger, poppier bands that get more airplay and end up lining up for an hour and missing the chance to see another band somewhere else.  But usually you can get in the Dollar and end up getting a better atmosphere, cheaper alcohol and always more interesting bands.

Ok City Ok were ok.  The cynic in me sort of found it a bit curious when the Caucasian frontman for the otherwise fully Japanese band continuously announced to the crowd that they were from Tokyo without ever explaining how he fit into the equation.  Maybe he has lived his whole life in Tokyo but I just would have liked to know.  The lead singer was actually sort of boring which was a shame because the other three players were really entertaining and talented.  With a different frontman this band could be wicked.

Action Makes @ Silver Dollar (10):  Action Makes are supposed to be a really cool band and I’ve been meaning to check them out for a while.  Problem is they never seem to play anymore.  Problem with that is I thought they were super sloppy on Friday night at the Dollar.  I can tell that if this band were playing regularly and practicing regularly that these songs would have been tighter and the set a lot more memorable.  I would see them again but not if they are just lingering around playing big festival shows.

The Primaries @ Rancho Relaxo (11): The Primaries were playing what I believe was their second show since becoming a three piece out of the ashes of a band from London who were called the Knaves.  So colour me surprised when this band played a higher energy, tighter and the whole far more entertaining set than Action Makes did at the Dollar.

Their sound isn’t that full and that might be a problem because with three members and songs that are a tad predictable in nature they’ll have a tough time getting repeat audiences.  Still, this is a band to watch and one of the pleasant surprises of the festival for me.

Golden Hands Before God… @ Savannah Room (12): And here ladies and gentlemen is the set of the festival for me.  Surrounded by some of my closest friends, including Jenny who has been spending the last few weeks completely obsessing over Golden Hands’ amazing soon to be released EP I was at a fever pitch waiting for this set to start.

The Savannah Room stage is tiny, but all six members fit on it even if it meant tambourine specialist Jamie Greer had to get up to his crazy antics while hardly being able to move his feet.  GHBG owned that room… everywhere I looked people were dancing, banging their head, shouting to their friends about how awesome what was going on was.  And the band knew it… they channeled all that energy and fired it back at us in the crowd ten-fold.  When their trademark set closer “All Together Now” came on Jamie came out and handed a shaker to me and a few others in the crowd and called Aaron from the Speaking Tongues up to sing along.  I think it was perhaps my favourite rock moment in my life to date.

Hot Springs @ Sneaky Dee’s (1): I can’t even review this.  I apologize but I was riding high on the previous set and just wanted to tell everyone about it.  Not to mention some crazy shit was going down that I won’t get into here… Hot Springs I owe you a mulligan.

We Are Wolves @ Sneaky Dee’s (2): This wasn’t that well kept of a secret band at Sneak’s but that is good because for the second time that night I was in a bar surrounded with some of my closest show friends in the city.  I also had my lovely fiancee dancing with me and sharing what was such a good set it almost could have rivaled what I saw at the Savannah Room earlier.

Big props go out to Chantal who worked the sound for We Are Wolves Friday and had Dee’s sounding better than I’ve ever heard it before.  I guess you would call We Are Wolves electro rock all I know is that I haven’t danced at a show in months yet this was the second time in three hours you could find me dancing and losing myself in the intense energy and forever memorable choruses.  The lead singer got a bit too reggae in his banter which was weird but forgivable.  If you saw them at the El Mo Saturday night instead I feel your pain.  I heard that set didn’t even come close to comparing.

My NXNE experience started off really poorly. I’d rant about that, but you can find all you need to know in Jeff Geady’s blog about the time and effort it took to pick up the laminates we’d been approved for months ago. However, in the end we got them and nights like last night are what makes these festivals so much fun.

The Hots @ the Supermarket (9 PM): The Supermarket was a pretty happening place to be last night, starting with the Hots and followed by Cancel Winter, Amos the Transparent, Great Bloomers and Angel Pier. That was, in my opinion, one of the best line-ups of the festival.

I manage the Hots so I really can’t say anything non-biased, but I was impressed with the crowd and the energy they exuded during their set. I was not impressed — and never have been impressed — with the brutal sound at the Supermarket. From what I’ve been told, this problem continued all night.

Medallions @ Rancho Relaxo (10 PM): I’m really stoked about Medallions, to be honest. Formed from the remnants of two notable bands for Canadian indie music fans (Controller Controller and Frontier Index), this new Toronto band left a favourable impression on me last night at the Rancho.

Of the two bands, I hear more similarities to Controller Controller for sure. The song structure, the guitar and even the drum beats will remind you of what was so great about that band. Medallions have a lot of vocals coming from their drummer too, which is always neat if done right. This is the beginnings of some really catchy indie rock that will definitely get people dancing. So why was their set was less than 25 minutes long?
Black Hat Brigade @ Neutral (11 PM): Watching these five guys attempt to maneuver around that stage without completely tripping over one another was entertaining. Black Hat Brigade are a band I’ve seen a few times now, and I have never been disappointed. They do need a bigger stage than this, though, to really be able to leave an impression.

It also seemed that an extra vocal mic could have been helpful… or a better vocal mic, for that matter. If you haven’t been to a BHB show, do yourself a favour and check one out. They are one of the few up and coming bands in the city who don’t seem in a rush to end their songs before they approach 4 minutes. Instead they allow really beautiful ebb and flow to develop as the songs crash into peaks and then rest in valleys, leaving you anxious for the next peak to come around again. I sort of hope the double percussion doesn’t become a trend because people will use it without knowing how to. If you want to see how it should be used, Black Hat Brigade are the band to see.

Young Rival @ Sneaky Dee’s (12 AM): This set didn’t do much for me at all. It was tight, but it felt way too safe for my liking. I like tight indie-rock, and I book bands that play it all the time at the Rancho. However, I like tight indie-rock that distinctly sounds like the band I am hearing. You could blindfold me and put me back in a bar tonight with Young Rival playing, and I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you that’s who it was. This band has a strong following and their future is bright. It’s just not for me.

The Darcy’s @ Sneaky Dee’s (1 AM): The Darcy’s actually are the perfect continuation to what I was saying above: a tight, dancey indie-rock band that does manage to still have a unique sound that remains very identifiable to their band.

To me, The Darcy’s exude that feeling you get from a band of very close friends rather than several musicians who just started playing together. Bands like that just seem to have a sense for what the other members are going to do and the songs always sound just a bit different because of it. I’m not sure I’m totally sold on the matching suits, but it definitely adds to the lasting mental image the listener has of the band. It might just be a touch too ragged for the more commercial success a band like Young Rival is having right now, but I think there is more longevity to this type of indie rock.

Thursday

9:00 - The Supermarket (The Hots)

10:00 - Rancho (Medallions — new project from members of Controller Controller)

11:00 -  Neutral (Black Hat Brigade)

12:00 - Sneak’s (Young Rival)

1:00 - Sneak’s (The Darcy’s)

Friday!

9:00 - Silver Dollar (OK City OK)

10:00 - Silver Dollar (Action Makes)

11:00 - Rancho (The Primaries — formerly known as the Knaves)

12:00 - Savannah Room (Golden Hands Before God *pick of the festival*)

1:00 - Sneak’s (Hot Springs)

2:00 - Sneak’s (Mystery show… not telling but you want to be here!)

Saturday!

9:00 - Rancho (Catnip — as part of the a night of Australian bands)

10:00 - Silver Dollar  (Adam & the Amethysts)

11:00 - Sneak’s (Guest Bedroom)

12:00 - El Mo (The High Dials)

1:00 - El Mo (We Are Wolves)

There it is!  Let me know what you think I should be doing instead:)

Tonight I saw Carnival Moon at the Tiki Room in the Tranzac.  I heart the Tranzac… if I could pick one venue to own and book the shows at it would be this lovely place.  However, I had never saw a show in the third and smallest of their rooms (the Tiki Room).  Picture a rather large living room with some chairs, a couch, and a makeshift stage setup and that’s basically the Tiki Room.  I’ve been in there before during the day and never had a clue shows went on there.  It was here surrounded by some friends and a bunch of people who clearly are passionate about music to have ended up here on a Monday night that I had my first experience with Carnival Moon.

Or as Elaine Kelly put it because of the absence of Stefan Banjevic the other half of the band, Carnie Moon for tonight.  You might know Elaine from playing fiddle with Key Witness, or have been at a show she played with the Weather Station.  But neither would really provide any indication as to what you get with Carnival Moon.

Armed with nothing but a beautiful, semi intimidating harp Elaine nestles in close to the harp while still trying to keep the microphone close enough that you can hear.  I can’t tell you who is a good harp player and who isn’t… my knowledge of the harp begins and ends with the lovely Joanna Newsom.  I can however tell you that it looks harder to play than any instrument I have ever witnessed.

If you closed your eyes and listened to any of Elaine’s songs you might have thought there were two people playing.  Instead it was just her two hands somehow playing two distinctly different parts so well that you could easily be fooled.  Vocally… Elaine has a quiet voice and one that may cause her some difficulties in bigger more jammed rooms.  But I post this as a blog because Elaine is a friend and I am biased.  Still, I know that she’ll overcome that because her voice is beautiful… she just needs some confidence in it.

Now I need to see the full Carnival Moon asap to see how Stefan’s unique talents compliment Elaine’s.  I definitely think this is an act to watch, and recommend you find a way to see them in the near future.

Me?  I’m going to spend the rest of my night re-listening to that old Joanna Newsom record I love so dearly and had somewhat neglected in recent times.  Thanks for the reminder Elaine!

Dan

It’s been this long…. I guess in many ways the length between blog posts from me is sort of the point of this blog in the first place.  Don’t worry, I’ll make it make some sense just stick with me for a few minutes.

For four + years I’ve been plugging away at TWM.  From the days when it was a blog with nobody but me posting… until the first version of the dot-com was made for me and allowed TWM to have an expanded roster.  Just at the end of 2007 we finally got the new 2008 version of TWM up and finally I’ve been happy with what we have here.

I’ve been somewhat unhappy with the output of TWM lately.  The reviews have not been coming in at the pace that I wish they would, and I just haven’t had the time like I have in the past to pick up the slack.  I could have rushed something out, but those usually aren’t worth reading anyhow.

Some of you know, others don’t but the TWM series that I’ve been doing at the Rancho has resulted in a pretty awesome opportunity for me.  I’ve been hired as the new full time booker at the Rancho Relaxo.  This is an unbelievably chance for me, and one that I am so grateful to have.  It will come with some changes though… and don’t worry I’m not about to shut down TWM.  I am however, going to be moving into a bit more of a managerial role with the site.

I still intend to file regular show reviews (yes it seems I’m the only one who files those anyhow), start doing more and more interviews and try to revitalize that section of the site.  But you won’t be reading as many reviews from myself.  I’m just involved with a lot of these bands and now and it seems you could make an argument that I am in many cased having bias towards some of them.  I’ll still the file the odd review of a band who never would play TWM at the Rancho.  But for now, I’ll be adding a few writers in the weeks to come in the hopes that we can get back to daily review updates.

I love TWM, and have some really exciting things in store for you in the months to follow (both offline and online).  For those of you who read my reviews regularly, hopefully you’ll find the live reviews will do the trick!

If you want to write for TWM send an email to dan@twowaymonologues.com and let’s talk.

Dan

I have dates confirmed all the way through to the end of April now at various venues around Toronto so I thought I’d use this forum to give a sneak peak of what is to come for the live part of TWM in the months to follow. Let it begin:

Friday, January 25^th @ Rancho Relaxo (300 College) cost $5:

10 PM – Bass Lions (http://www.myspace.com/basslions)
11 PM – Roflcopter (http://www.myspace.com/roflcopterrock)
12 PM – The Eatons (http://www.myspace.com/theeatons)

This promises to be a really fun night. All three bands are definitely on the up and up and have in their own way mastered their art of making catchy indie rock. Bass Lions go on first but they might just have the brightest future of the bunch so come by early.

Friday, Feb 8^th @ Rancho Relaxo (300 College) cost $7:

10 PM – B.A. Johnston (http://www.myspace.com/bajohnston)
11 PM – The Stables (http://www.myspace.com/herecomethestables)
12 PM – The Schomberg Fair (http://www.myspace.com/theschombergfair)

So here’s the deal. If you haven’t seen B.A. Johnston play a show then your life is incomplete. The man relentlessly tours all over the country, playing his hilarious brand of music. I saw him several months ago and have been trying to get him to play a TWM show ever since. Trust me, you need to be at this show. After that the night just flows flawlessly with the Stables and the Schomberg Fair who are pretty much made to play after one another.

Saturday, Feb 16^th @ the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern cost $8

9:30 PM – Great Bloomers (http://www.myspace.com/greatbloomers)
10:30 PM – Key Witness (http://www.myspace.com/thekeywitness)
11:30 PM – Raised By Swans (http://www.myspace.com/22806563)
12:30 PM – First Person Shooter (http://www.myspace.com/1stpersonshooter)

This is not a TWM show. But I was asked by the amazing Raised by Swans to help with promoting and booking the night. This is very exciting for me! Raised by Swans were one of the first bands we interviewed for TWM, and are fronted by Eric Howden who formerly was in another of my favourite bands Gandharvas. They are one of the most beautiful bands I know of. Accompanying them on the bill are the addictive yet always unique Great Bloomers, TWM favourites Key Witness, and ending the night is the high energy electro grooves of First Person Shooter. Please come out if you can!

Thursday, Feb 21^th @ Rancho Relaxo (300 College) Cost $5

9:45 PM – The Wisk (http://www.myspace.com/thewisk)
10:45 PM - Blue Sky Borderline (http://www.myspace.com/blueskyborderline)
11:45 PM - The Miles (http://www.myspace.com/themilesthemiles)

Again this isn’t a TWM show but it has been booked and will be promoted by me. These bands all are eager to play with one another and that usually leads to an awesome atmosphere at a show. Come out and catch some bands that are on the cusp of breaking out in this city and be in the know!

Friday, Feb 29^th @ Rancho Relaxo (300 College) cost $7

10:00 PM – Nich Worby (http://www.myspace.com/nichworby)
11:00 PM – The Basement Arms (http://www.myspace.com/basementarms)
12:00 PM – The Winks (http://www.myspace.com/winks)

Bands coming from all over for this one. Nich Worby and his awesome band will be driving up from Kingston to play their first show in Toronto in a long while. The Basement Arms well they pretty much broke up and so I didn’t think I would ever see the day where we got to have them on a TWM show, but thankfully I’m wrong. You won’t get many more chances to see this band. Lastly, the Winks are coming in from Montreal to play their tremendously catchy yet quirky indie-art-pop. Shows go on in Toronto all the time where if you miss it you can catch them again next week, but this show is guaranteed unique.

Thursday, March 13^th @ Tranzac (Main Hall) Details to be determined

Friday, March 28^th @ Rancho (300 College) $7

10:00 PM – TBD
11:00 PM – TBD
12:00 PM – Tin Bangs