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2011 in Review 2: Shows

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Now that I’ve got the hardest list out of the way (I am not cut out for music criticism) … on to the other list. I see a pretty good number of shows in a year, augmented by my job as an usher at Massey Hall, and it’s kind of fun to look back at them.

My first show of the year was my band Entire Cities‘ CD release party at the Dakota Tavern on January 6th, with Wayne Petti of Cuff the Duke and the Strumbellas. A giant snowstorm didn’t stop everyone from packing the place and lining up down the street (seriously, I love you guys), and I Hope You Never Come Home made its way into the world in a totally wonderful way.

The last one was the second of two Fucked Up benefit concerts on December 21st, with Bonjay, Ohbijou, the Rural Alberta Advantage, and Sloan. I barely had the energy to get my butt there but it was, of course, totally worth it. (It’s on the list!)

Also, not including the ones I played myself, I saw 51 shows this year. Not too bad, although 30 of those were at Massey, so my actual concertgoing was a bit slow! Nevertheless, for fun, here’s the list of my favourite shows of 2011:

10. Elliott Brood (with $100), November 18 @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Finally my first EB show after years and years of being a fan. Dark and rough and rowdy, just the way I’d hoped, and $100 were a perfect addition. They should tour together forever. (Now if only there weren’t so many violent bros at Elliott Brood shows, that would be cool.)

9. Lowest of the Low (with Mick Thomas & Squeezebox Wally), May 7 @ Massey Hall
For the 20th(!) anniversary of Shakespeare My Butt, the band played the entire album front to back at Massey Hall. It was awesome. Great crowd, tons of energy from the band, super tight & blazing performance of a great record … I had a blast and I was working the show.

8. Weird Al Yankovic, July 16 @ Massey Hall
I’ve never seen so many nerds in one place — but what a hilarious show. All the hits, a billion costume changes, a ridiculous, over-the-top, goofy, amazing production. Weird Al is the definition of showman.

7. Sam Amidon (with Ken Reaume), March 27 @ Drake Underground
We all sat on the floor of the Drake like it was storytime and let Sam Amidon’s beautiful tenor wash over us, singing quietly along when prompted, and it felt like we were all an extended family in a giant living room somewhere with a crackling fire. It was a beautiful, happy, wonderfully relaxing evening, and I even got to buy I See the Sign from a very thrilled Sam himself post-show.

6. Sloan, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Ohbijou, and Bonjay, December 21 @ Great Hall
Sloan, playing all of One Chord to Another front-to-back (with horns). Amazing. A ton of material I never thought I’d see now, and done pretty impressively well. Not to mention the stacked lineup — I hadn’t seen the RAA since before Hometowns came out, and boy do they sound great. Just a fun, happy night.

5. Levon Helm (with Lucinda Williams), March 5 @ Massey Hall
Levon’s always been my favourite member of The Band, and while it was heartbreaking that he could barely sing this time around (his daughter Amy held up the vocals with him) he showed no sign of being defeated, instead putting on one hell of a show behind the kit and grinning like a kid all night. He is a magnificent entertainer, and the musicians he has with him … well, it’s a gig I dream of. I admire him immensely and it’s always a treat to see him play.

4. Bon Iver (with Lianne La Havas), December 6 @ Massey Hall
They opened with “Perth”, filling Massey Hall to the rafters with this giant collection of instruments and voices, and from then on it was just layers and swells and heartstrings. Colin Stetson’s insane, skronky extended bass sax solo was obviously a highlight, but it felt like everything was absolutely perfect.

3. Paul Simon, May 6 @ Massey Hall
I’ve been wanting to see Paul Simon play since I was a little kid listening to my dad’s Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints CDs, so this was a long time coming. Tough audience (surprisingly) so I missed a few songs, but it was all magic. He is tinier than I could have imagined and so much more wonderful. Seeing one of my favourite musicians of all time in my favourite venue ever … yeah. Thanks, Paul.

2. Jeff Mangum (with Andrew, Scott & Laura), August 13 @ Trinity St Paul’s
I’m not one of those crazy people who glorifies Mangum like he’s the Messiah, which was most of the rest of the audience at this show, but … the joyful singalongs to “King of Carrot Flowers” and “Holland, 1945″ (including some boot-stomping), the earnestness of Mangum’s voice, the horns reverberating through the church — it was quite an experience. Sometimes performances are electric. This one was.

1. The Mountain Goats (with Megafaun), April 3 @ Opera House
Another band I’ve been wanting to see for years; from the moment John Darnielle stepped on stage to the beginning of “Liza Forever Minnelli” I was transfixed. The joy of performance is stamped all over him, his emotional investment in everything obvious; everything, from that opening song to the insanity of “This Year” with Megafaun, was jaw-dropping. A banner year for these guys in my life, I think. After the show it took me weeks to come down from the high (I tried to write a review of it at least 5 times and couldn’t manage it)–probably one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, period.

Honourable mention:
Lee Konitz & Brian Dickinson Trio, February 11 @ Glenn Gould Studio.
Neil Young with Bert Jansch, May 11 @ Massey Hall.
Brian Wilson, June 18 @ Massey Hall.

More 2011 in review: Albums of the year

2011 in Review 1: Albums

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Writing my year-end lists has alerted me to the fact that, once again, I missed out on a ton of good music. I still haven’t heard the records released this year by Wye Oak, Holy Ghost!, St. Vincent, Austra, Bjork, TV on the Radio, or Wild Flag (and plenty of others). Most of the jazz and electronic music I picked up was to fill in gaps in my collection. But here anyway are my more-or-less favourite ten records of the year, plus a few honourable mentions that I couldn’t totally leave off the list.

Also, I’m admittedly not good at writing album reviews, so all of this is probably going to sound like “I like this because it’s fun” written ten different ways. You’ve been warned!

My favourite albums of the year:

10. Sam Amidon – I See the Sign
Some of this album sounds almost otherworldly–these gorgeous textures of banjo and mallets and guitar quietly overlapping each other. I most often listen to it when I’m alone in the house. Traditional folk without being, well, very traditional at all.

9. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Another album I didn’t expect to like, but ended up listening to surprisingly often–and another alone-in-the-house kind of record. The vocal harmonies on this are wonderfully dense and the whole thing wraps you up like a blanket.

8. The Decemberists – The King is Dead
I unapologetically love the Decemberists already, but the addition of Gillian Welch all over this record just takes the cake. “Don’t Carry It All” sounds like the sunny opening credits to a film. It’s a little less self-serving than The Hazards of Love (which I liked anyway), and a lot more Americana- and pop-influenced — in other words, pretty fun.

7. Destroyer – Kaputt
Smooth. This album is smooth. I consequently thought I would hate it because I have a bit of a crusade against “things that make people hate saxophones”, but in reality it makes a pretty solid case for Dan Bejar being one of the most interesting songwriters we’ve got these days.

6. Elliott Brood – Days Into Years
There are some real gems on here (“If I Get Old” and “Their Will” particularly), but the best part about it is the same kind of cohesion they achieved with Mountain Meadows. Everything fits together so well it feels like a crime not to hear it as an album. Dark, rough, and still sing-along-able.

5. Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Weird insane saxophone. Laurie Anderson. Shara Worden. Friggin’ live single takes. This album is totally crazy, ear-bendingly fascinating, and unlike pretty much everything else that is happening right now. Music like this is usually relegated to the dusty “weird stuff” corner of the store, but this found itself on the Polaris shortlist instead — and it’s nice to see a sax player front and centre in the non-jazz world for once.

4. Feist – Metals
I was never totally convinced by Feist’s other records; I’ve had songs I really liked but never enjoyed entire albums. Metals is a welcome departure from that. The arrangements are surprisingly stark at times but always held together by the thread of strong vocal lines, and the absence of cute pop stuff like “1-2-3-4″ is really welcome. If this is Feist’s new direction, count me in.

3. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l
Unlike anything else I’ve heard — there is so much rhythmic brilliance in this record, such a fierce energy. Merrill Garbus has this earthy voice that can croon or wail or squeal or yelp on command, and she does all of those things with acrobatic agility. w h o k i l l is not smooth; rather it explodes joyfully out of your speakers in a sort of crazy musical collage.

2. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Lush, dense, and beautiful. The instrumentation on Bon Iver’s sophomore record has filled out considerably (including aforementioned bass sax virtuoso Colin Stetson) and that makes all the difference here — everything is layered so thickly it’s like you’re buoyed up on sound. Bon Iver meanders off in different musical directions but never strays too far from the thoughtful, melancholy feel that anchors everything together. And there are still a few huge, gleeful, full-orchestra moments (in “Perth” especially) that I love.

1. The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck
John Darnielle is one of my favourite songwriters of all time, and this is one of his best albums–I certainly would place it among the ranks of The Sunset Tree and We Shall All Be Healed. I can’t even begin to think about how many times I’ve listened to this since it came out (but tMG did move up on my last.fm charts this year from roughly 40th to a whopping 2nd). He touches on the birth of mankind, Judy Garland, vampires, Liza Minnelli — and all, as usual, with such lyrical perfection. It’s usually tricky for me to pick one album from the whole year to crown as number one, but this one took virtually no effort at all; I can’t think of a group more deserving than the Mountain Goats.

Honourable mention:

Radiohead – The King of Limbs: I honestly just forgot that this album came out in 2011 until I had finished my list (and didn’t even acquire until most of the year had gone by). Nevertheless, I really really like it, and am basically stupid for having forgotten about it all year.

Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What: There’s some filler on this record, to be sure, but when Paul Simon writes filler it’s usually better than a lot of artists’ good material. He still has the voice of an angel, though, and the production is wonderful.

Holiday Rambler – There Is No End to the World, And Nothing Can Shatter the Earth: An album I wish I had written. Full of Southern folk influence, great songwriting, and D. Alex Meeks’ rich voice.

The Weather Station – All of It Was Mine: If we’re counting records I wish I’d made, add this to the list. I’ve seen many of these songs performed many times, but the arrangements — especially the sudden vocal harmonies on “Everything I Saw” — bring them to life. “Came So Easy” is still among my favourite songs of the year.

More 2011 in review: Shows of the year