John Mayer with Michael Franti & Spearhead
At Toronto’s Air Canada Centre,
February 14, 2010

By Sara Starkman

This Valentine’s Day, I got to spend the evening with the two men I love the most: my father, and the very talented, very sexy, John Mayer. Enraptured by the buzz of Toronto’s jam-packed Air Canada Centre, the energy was almost tangible.

Opening band Michael Franti & Spearhead had the entire stadium on their feet as Michael Franti, with guitar and a microphone, made his way through the crowd and personally serenaded audience members along the way. This hip-hop meets funk meets reggae band has been together for ten years, and has just recently cracked the Billboard Top 40. Although it has seemingly been a long and arduous journey for this talented group, rest assured that they will be selling out arenas with countless fans of their own in no time.

The energetic performance of Franti & Spearhead left a magical atmosphere in the arena, and as Mayer walked on stage and asked the audience at large to be his valentine, the magic only grew.

Photo credit: Phil Carpenter / Montreal Gazette

Dressed in a white collared shirt, converse sneakers, and a red tartan plaid vest, Mayer resembled a Palm Spring’s resident on his way to shuffleboard. Old and slow, however, are the last two words to describe John Mayer. Accompanied by a group of worthy musicians, Mayer and company played a selection of songs both old and new. The group also decided to have some fun and perform covers of timeless pieces like McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Real Love” by Mary J. Blige. Both songs had every audience member on their feet, in awe of the passion, soul, and flawlessness that came with Mayer’s personal spin of these great songs. His artbitrary outburst of rap improvisation also solidified his quick wit and lyrical aptitude.

Brilliant lyrics and audience rapport aside, Mayer’s musicianship was jaw-dropping. A modern-day Hendrix stood before us on stage, and played with his heart and soul for two and a half hours. He repeatedly paid gracious dues to his talented accompaniment, insisting the sincere honor he felt standing next to each and every musician and vocalist on stage. Needless to say, my date didn’t disappoint, and Valentine’s Day was a huge success.

A behind-the-scenes photo from Tono. Wednesday's performance included just the musicians (background, in traditional dress). Photo by Alicia Ho.

Tono: a music concert
Presented by Red Sky
Featuring Tuvshinjargal Damindinjav, Bat-Orshikh Bazarvaani, Batmend Baasankhuu, and Rick Sacks
January 20-21 @ The Music Gallery

By Isla Craig

I am forever captivated and amazed by the similarities and expressions found in folk music traditions. Across land and time and centuries of histories, the power of song prevails, confirming our connection with life and the living world.  As a singer, I am interested in the sound of voice, the body as instrument and find great wonder in the connections forged between continents and across language.

Wednesday night’s performance of traditional Mongolian folk songs was undoubtedly an amazing display of vocal technique of a celestial nature. The voice is the driving force behind the Mongolian folk song, consisting of throat singing and long song. Throat singing sounds like crickets and bees and all sorts of frequencies you would never imagine could be replicated by the human voice. Read the rest of this entry »

By Allana Mayer

Editor’s note: In this MONDOmusic special feature, former music editor Allana Mayer shares her views on the music of the last 10 years, nominating her favourites and some honourable mentions…

Ten years ago I was using AudioGalaxy to download Bjork and Depeche Mode tunes. Now, people use YouTube as a radio. It’s been one long, exhausting decade, and it’s fantastically impossible to keep on top of everything. And yet people (myself included) continue to use the best-of list as a viable format for journalism. Let’s be honest: it’s all about the name-dropping, and not a bit about the ranking… and we like the arguing, too. With that in mind, let’s make some unnecessarily pigheaded blanket statements about the 00s, shall we?

Here is my no-holds-barred, no-discussion, completely-unaccountable list of the best albums of the decade, one per year: Read the rest of this entry »

Patrick Watson & The Wooden Arms
The Wooden Arms
Secret City Records, 2009

By Sara Starkman

Patrick Watson and The Wooden Arms’ self titled album, The Wooden Arms, debuted in 2009. The Montreal based group consists of four highly skilled musicians who composed a collection of songs that can be described as none other than chilling. The overtone of the CD is ominous yet whimsical, and could, perhaps, make a great soundtrack for a Tim Burton movie. Listening to the album with my eyes closed feels much like Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole: fascinating yet arbitrary. At times I felt run off course: the tranquil sounds of harpsichord would often be sharply interrupted by abrupt, offbeat percussion. There is merit to this polarized tone: it steps outside of the box and causes you to rethink the journey you originally thought to have been on. Read the rest of this entry »

The Little Black Dress live at the Rivoli

By Sara Starkman

A little black dress is every girl’s “must have,” up-to-date item positioned at the front of her closet. It can be dressed up or dressed down, but regardless, it’s a timeless piece, never forgotten. And no matter what, you know it will always look just so damn good. It’s no surprise then, that the band The Little Black Dress chose this to be their name. Opening for another Toronto-based band at Queen Street’s well-known hotspot, the Rivoli, The Little Black Dress stole my ears for an hour in time.

I came in mildly skeptical, as I am of most new bands. Call me a music snob, or a skeptic at large, but regardless, any cynicism I had towards this new band was washed away within minutes. Surrounded by sweater vests, scruffy beards, and studded belts, the crowd had a very upbeat, granola, hipster vibe to it. The warmth that emanated from the venue floated just above the heads of the musicians and audience, who knew almost all of the words to every song played. At first, I was shocked at how large of a following there was. However, it became progressively clearer, as did the amount of talent that The Little Black Dress encompasses. Dan Sadowski, the band’s lead singer, announced at the beginning of the concert that he was feeling somewhat ill, as he proceeded to guzzle a bottle of honey. Even under the weather, though, his voice remained strong: neither guttural, nor nasal, Dan’s voice was audibly delicious, reminding me a lot of Bradley Nowell of Sublime. The songs themselves sounded like a cross between Sublime and Maroon 5. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jake Shenker

Phish – Joy (JEMP Records)
With this summer’s inundation of 90s band comeback albums — some surprisingly excellent, many predictably forgettable — how could New England jam band Phish be left out of the equation? After a five-year hiatus – initially considered a full-fledged break-up — Phish have treated us to Joy, their newest studio album, along with a lengthy summer tour to promote it. While on first listen Joy sounds like a natural progression from where the band left off, subsequent hearings reveal the true nature of this 10-track opus: Joy is a review of Phish’s entire career, compressing their 25-year musical progression into one flawless set of songs. Album opener “Backwards Down the Number Line” takes a cue from 2000’s Farmhouse; “Kill Devil Falls” is reminiscent of Story of the Ghost’s “Birds of a Feather;” the latter half of “Light” plays like an updated “Bouncing Around the Room.” The unexpected focus of this relatively short disc is partly due to producer Steve Lillywhite, who ensured that Phish’s 5-year hiatus would not leave the band sounding scattered. With a perfectly apropos title, Joy is the product of an impeccably synchronized quartet at their best. Welcome back!

The Beatles’ Remastered Catalogue (EMI)
A refresh of the Beatles’ compact-disc catalogue has been on every fan’s wish list since it was initially released on lousy sounding CDs in 1987. An event several years in the making, September 9 will mark the release of The Beatles in Stereo and The Beatles in Mono, two box-sets containing the entire digitally-remastered catalogue in your desired format. If you’re any kind of fan, you’ve been following the avalanche of reviews hitting the web since June, so I’ll be brief: this release is good. Very good. Old favourites shine with astounding clarity, revealing detail that was lost in the previous format. Vocals sound crisp, bass and drums sharp, and layered instrumentation unambiguous. If you ever needed a reason to listen to more of the Beatles, this is it.

311
Uplifter
Volcano Entertainment, 2009

By Brian Last

When I think about the origins of bands that fuse rock, ska, rap, and punk, my mind immediately jumps to Southern California, the hotbed of that sound. But 311 hail from Omaha, Nebraska, and have become synonymous with this kind of musical fusion. This summer the fantastic foursome from the mid-west returned with their new album, Uplifter, whose sound holds true to its name.

311 took some time putting out this album, their first endeavor since 2005’s Don’t Tread on Me. Guitarist and lead singer Nick Hexum has expressed his satisfaction with Upliftter, comparing it to the band’s self-titled “Blue” album, which spawned hits like “Down” and “All Mixed Up”.

And 311 have a right to be proud. Uplifter brings the band back in touch with their founding sound: the rock/rap fusion that gained them notoriety and a legion of loyal fans. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jake Shenker

It’s hard to believe, but they just keep coming back. This week brings us the absolutely unnecessary new release from Collective Soul. At this rate, I expect to see a Chumbawamba album drop in September.

Here’s what’s new this week:

Collective Soul – Collective Soul (Roadrunner)
The new record from this 90s alt-rock band really does beg the question “why?” It’s really not bad, I guess — it sounds just like every other Collective Soul album. But two breezes through the entire disc left me with the same feeling I get after watching back-to-back cooking shows on the Food Network: what the hell have I been doing for the last 2 hours? Collective Soul has no standout tracks and no serious stinkers, no departures in style and no surprises. Fans will buy it (it’s selling for 10 bucks — clearly the record execs have high hopes); the rest of us will yawn and ask “who cares?”

Imogen Heap – Ellipse (RCA)
Ellipse is everything I want from a new Imogen Heap album: a full disc of staggering vocal harmonies, trippy synthesized beats, and damn fine songs. Beyond those superficial features, though, lies a flawlessly-conceived follow-up to Heap’s 2005 breakthrough album Speak For Yourself. Although songs like “First Train Home” would fit in well with Imogen Heap’s back catalogue, new gems like “Earth” and “Bad Body Double” establish the British singer’s uncanny ability to evolve.

Matisyahu – Light (JDUB)
I’m over the shtick. Back when Youth came out, everyone was fixated on Matisyahu, the Hasidic Jew who rapped and sang reggae music about God and religion. Putting aside the persona, Youth was an impressive album with a chunk of memorable songs. But Matisyahu’s newest disc, Light, is a step in the wrong direction. Abandoning the minimalist reggae sound of Youth in favor of more polished in-da-club-style hip-hop production, songs like “Smash Lies” and “We Will Walk” are neither fresh nor catchy, and border on irritating. Matisyahu’s once endearing faux-Jamaican singing accent has been replaced with high-pitched rapping and monotone speech. Although standout tracks like “So Hi So Low” and “I Will Be Light” echo the favorable sound of Youth, Matisyahu’s own lyrics articulate the main problem with this disc: “I’ll say to you / this is nothing new.”

By Sara Starkman

Matt Nathanson is a name that hovers just below the radar of popular music. You may recall his provocative song “Laid,” which was featured on the soundtrack of the classic 2003 comedy, American Wedding. But it’s probably his latest hit, “Come on Get Higher,” that you’re most familiar with. His new album, entitled Some Mad Hope, was three-and-a-half years in the making, and he’s finally back on the road for a North American tour, letting everyone know that he is here to stay.

Nathanson touched down on August 11^th at Toronto’s Mod Club, crowded with die-hard fans, and Nathanson — alongside his bandmates — put on an energy-packed performance with enough musical conviction to fill an entire stadium. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jake Shenker

This is definitely the summer of ’90s alt-rock comeback records, and here’s yet another new release I didn’t expect to see. This week’s Big Shiny Tunes-style nostalgia is coupled with piano-rock guru Christopher O’Riley, who has thankfully included some ’90s rock on his record and given me this beautiful tie-in. Enjoy.

Here’s what’s new this week:

Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major (Sony RED)
It’s impossible to approach the first new album in six years from an arguably one-hit-wonder band without bias, so let me be the first to say it: Third Eye Blind’s new album surprised the shit out of me. I always dug the singles that ruled the airwaves in the ’90s, but I can’t say I ever Read the rest of this entry »

Maxwell
BLACKsummers’night
Columbia Records, 2009

By Sara Starkman

Perhaps I shouldn’t have had a certain expectation before hearing soul singer Maxwell’s newest album, BLACKsummers’night, but it seems to come with the territory of an artist’s first new album in EIGHT YEARS. So I got into my car and cranked the stereo, hoping for Maxwell’s sexy voice and urban beats to surge through my speakers and trickle into my bloodstream, forcing my heart to pump just a little bit faster.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Although the album is definitely one I’ll reserve for the lovemaking shelf, it didn’t encompass the necessary spark or pizazz for an album intent on Read the rest of this entry »

By Jake Shenker

How is it possible that summer is two-thirds over and I haven’t been to the beach yet?

On a related note, here’s what’s new this week:

Black Mold – Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz (Flemish Eye)
This record is what I would imagine music would sound like if I took dangerous amounts of hallucinogenic drugs. Black Mold is the new alter ego of Calgary-based singer/songwriter Chad VanGaalen, and his debut album is, in a word, trippy. Loaded with electronic soundscapes, Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz can at times be overwhelming: “Tetra Pack Heads,” for example, features a convoluted and disorienting percussive groove, punctuated by sweeping electronic pulses and African-inspired marimba melodies. But elsewhere, VanGaalen’s unique electronic cobbling succeeds in producing engrossing grooves and Read the rest of this entry »