The first time I saw Japandroids was during the summer of 2009. A hot sweaty night found me impatiently waiting for the Vancouver duo at the El Mocambo, a Toronto staple for independent music. Hot off the release of their debut full-length Post-Nothing, one of my favourite releases of the year, it is needless to …
From time to time, one will attend a show simply for the sake of seeing the headlining act, and thus go in with no prior experience of what the opening acts sound like. In a situation like this, it is usually safe to say that one really enjoys the headlining act, since they attended the …
I am convinced that The Appleseed Cast are actually magicians. Anyone who witnessed their spectacle of a show at Lee’s Palace in Toronto would probably agree with this statement. The venue was a bit empty, considering how long the band has been around, and how important they are, but the audience hardly matters to the …
If the abundance of ‘one hit wonders’ that have made their way onto radiowaves and mp3 playlists anywhere have taught us anything, it is that one great song can catapult a band into superstardom as quickly as they disappear into the massive black hole in Whogivesashit land. But instead of music videos and radios being …
It wasn’t surprising that The Mod Club wasn’t exactly packed to the brim for The Dillinger Escape Plan‘s co-headlining (ish) tour with Thursday. It was indeed a Monday, and for some reason – maybe a combination of odd timing (Thursday’s Common Existence has been out for awhile, and the next Dillinger album isn’t out until …
This decade has been asking for a lot of sacrifices from aggressive music in its latter years. No more is this plain than Toronto. The door is closing on acts that died young, asking for more to herald the painful virgin era that will end up defining another ten years worth of dry throats and …
Harvey Milk and Torche shouldn’t need an introduction. Both bands play sludge metal with a twist; one utilizes southern and classic rock influences while the other isn’t afraid to show that they have melodic sensibilities. Harvey Milk kicked the bucket during the 90s before resurrecting themselves in 2006 while Torche evolved from the ashes of …
The venue is sweltering. As the temperature drops outside in the downtown Toronto streets, the inside of the El Mocambo pumps up the heat. It’s hot, it’s sweaty, and the patrons are growing impatient. Countless men and women sip back beers and fancy drinks in the hopes of cooling off, but after a few they …
While Toronto’s music scene has been flourishing as of late, with Arts & Crafts bands like Ohbijou and Still Life Still, Broken Social Scene still remains the city’s (and the label’s) treasure, and they’ve proved that time and time again, not only with their impressive live shows, but with their dedication to the city in …
Upon entering the Mod Club, the first thing that came into my head was “Jesus Christ, what are Dillinger going to do to this place?” Though not as small as other venues around Toronto, it’s relatively small for a band like The Dillinger Escape Plan to play in, and the lack of security like their …