No comments. This was awesome. Just too bad I never got to see them in their prime days.

All good things have to come to an end.

Wavelength was a good, good thing.

Sunday night marked the final weekly Wavelength performance, and what a way to go out.

Unfortunaly I had missed the first two bands (I wanted to see BOARS). My night began with Mean Red Spiders who played a mix of Shoegaze and Distortion Rock, which I couldn’t get into. Three songs had me going for a walk. Right after them were the heavily-desired The Barcelona Pavillion (yes, DESIRED). The return of Steve Kado sent many hearts-a-throbing. His screams and angry-looking, but entertaining looks, were reminiscent of the time when he was known as The Blankket, performing Bruce Springsteen covers to homemade beats. Nostalgic? Very much so. The BP got a mosh-pit going successfully. They were victorious.

Kids On TV took over, sporting costumes, uniforms and anything having to do with Valentine’s Day. At first, it took a while for the crowd to get into dancing. By the time ‘Breakdance Hunx’ kicked in, the whole crowd was into it. “YOU THINK SO?” “I KNOW SO!” Any time I see Kids on TV, I look forward to this track, and the ensuing mayhem.

THOMAS was one of the extended performers of the evening. Thom Gill (aka. THOMAS) is, as Kevin Parnell put it “one of most inventive guitarists in the city.” His composition is very unique and is not of something I can really compare it to. There are some “White Soul” elements about it. All I can say is that his debut record, entitled ‘Self Help’, is densely layered and requires patient listens. The result? Something new and innovative. It’s good, good stuff, people.

Owen Pallett played a small, but stunning set for the late-staying crowd. I’ve seen Pallett play many times, but this was clearly his best performance from all the times that I’ve seen him. His new record is a masterpiece and it sounds like floating on air when performed live, despite only having two people on stage to emulate the beauty that is ‘Heartland.’

The Hidden Cameras came out at 3am and played a one-song set with the majority of the original band from the early 2000’s. Joel Gibb lead the Cameras in ‘I Believe in the Good Life’. Assisting on stage was Kevin Drew. Was he a Hidden Camera? Eh.

Overall, it was a wonderful night and a great surprise to see so many of the people who helped make Wavelength what it was over the years. Wavelength wasn’t just any music series. It was responsible for the growth of many artists and bands who are now far out of our reach, but, as demonstrated by The Constantines, Owen Pallett and The Hidden Cameras, they have not forgotten about their roots. This gave me the best feeling.

Thank you to Jonny Dovercourt, Duncan “Doc” Pickles, Kevin Parnell, Ryan McLaren, Steve “Shoe” Heyerdahl, and everyone else who made Sunday nights bearable.

Wavelength 500 continued into its 4th night with The Constantines, Rockets Red Glare, Donné Roberts, Picastro & Danger Bay.

Getting a tad personal, I was looking forward to seeing Rockets Red Glare and The Constantines (okay, maybe I’m speaking for a lot of people). However, the other acts were entertaining. Danger Bay are always a fun kick-back to punk metal, Picastro were droany and somewhat subdued, and Donné Roberts played guitar as if he were playing on air (also, amazing bassist).

Rockets Red Glare didn’t take long to set up: a guitar, a bass and drums. Their set was rather reminiscent of their early 2000 times. It felt odd that I didn’t feel the excitement that I was expecting to explode with during their set. However, when the encore kicked in, they played ‘Halifax’ and made me drop my camera with happiness (note: camera did not hit the ground). This is exactly what it had reminded me of: click to watch video. The set was a reunion set. It had brought back old memories of old Mississauga shows in Masonic Lodge basements. So, thank you for that.

The Constantines decided to play their entire debut record for the crowd, which was probably the nicest, most thoughtful thing they could. The band clearly displayed their love and respect for their roots and the Wavelength scene by performing the way they did. The encore lasted as long as the original set. I was tired and ready to call it a night, but I couldn’t leave something I probably wouldn’t see again.

One more night: The Garrison.

Wednesday kicked off the beginning of the end: Wavelength 500. Yep. 500 times we’ve been so lucky to witness small bands find their feet walk and their way up the popularity peak that IS Toronto music. Many can recall more than a handful of bands which have graced the many stages where Wavelength has called home: Lullabye Arkestra, Fembots, Jon-Rae & The River, The Russian Futurists, The Arcade Fire, Think About Life, Timber Timbre, Ohbijou, Ninja High School, Tokyo Police Club, Miracle Fortress, and many, many, MANY more.

The night began with jazz ensemble Canaille, followed by well-known Wavelength-ers’ Deep Dark United. Seeing them a time before, coincidentally at the same venue (opening for Akron/Family), it was an unpleasant experience of directionless noise and sounds. Seeing them a second time around, Deep Dark United had sported a somewhat changed sound. Maybe it was the same to begin with. Regardless, it was enjoyable.

Pony Da Look have recently changed their all-female lineup by one person — Drummer Rebecca Mendoza for Drummer Rob Gordon. Still shaking walls and melting stomachs with their hallow medieval sound, Pony Da Look has slightly changed tangets with their sound since bringing Gordon in to take over on drums. How? Louder, more aggressive, probably a little (or, to some, a lot) more well-rounded. The bottom-line is, Amy Bowles is an entertainer. She grabs a hold of you and lets you feel her wrath. It’s a good, GOOD wrath, folks. However, be brave when you allow yourself to be pulled into the pits of Pony Da Look.

Evening Hymns have evolved from the one-piece wonder that was Jonas Bonnetta to a full band of trusted friends and talented musicians. For a sound like what Evening Hymns shares, The Music Gallery was an ideal place to have it reach its ceilings and depths, however deep they might go. It’s great to see Bonnetta with a full band, but the preference has always been to hear him play solo (for specific songs): they are personal and are usually well-told when it’s him being the storyteller. Otherwise, the talk and the love will rise, and rise, and rise some more for this band. Promise.

Bruce Peninsula, another band which suited the confines of The Music Gallery, ended the night in a church with a choir and a congregation. Some photos were taken, but the remainder of the night was meant for putting the camera down and singing along. It’s great to be a part of this bands tremendous live performance: beautiful choir singing, fantastic percussion and powerful lead vocals. Simply put, everyone wants more.

Be sure to check out more Wavelength shows this weekend!!!

I finally decided to trot out and see the band that Toronto was talking about: Everything All The Time.

This band has a lot of sweet something to them that can only be appreciated when captured live. They sport an indie-electronic sound which stems from bands such as controller.controller and Lioness. The only difference between those bands and Everything All The Time is simply measured in their lead singer, Alanna Stuart.

Stuart, who also performs under the pseudonym on a different project called Bonjay, simply owns the stage. Although she says that the band is starting to come together and really feel confident about live performances, it’s clear that Alanna Stuart loves to perform; she was centre-stage and was loving the energy she was getting from the crowd.

I felt bad that the majority of the photos I had captured were of Stuart and only few of the band. It wasn’t easy with them trapped in a semi-circle, stuck behind their music equipment. Regardless, it was a great show and I look forward to see this band in the future.

The Singing Lamb had something to say about this show.

Woodhands, consiting of the great Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt, held a secret show at The Smiling Budha for a select few to witness the new material from the just-recently released record entitled ‘Remorscapade.’

From hearing the new material, it seems Woodhands, fairly keeping their dance feel intact, have seemingly slowed down a bit from ‘Heart Attack,’ which was a lot more powerful and almost floor-breaking. Regardless, Woodhands have taken a giant step forward from their indie status into a wider scope and vision, and it has shown in their somewhat new, constructive sound.

Shooting with a smoke machine and very little light was fairly difficult. Have a look and read from other people who were The Smiling Budha that night: Chromewaves, Narratives (album review included), so far. More to come.

Since the success of our previous photo shoot, Bull Hooey (Inessa Frantowski & Craig Brown) and I decided to go at it again by creating a Bull Hooey calendar!

We shot the entire thing at The Comedy Bar, using a spare room with a green wall (green screen) for after effects. Once the post-editing is complete, you will see backgrounds to accompany the shots. My favourite has to be the Valentine’s Day shots of Inessa giving Craig a Valentine and Craig giving Inessa a memo saying she’s fired.

Brilliance.

Amy Lam, an aspiring Thai Masseuse, was in need of some photos for her future website to help show her new-found skills in de-tensing arts. We did the shoot at the Toronto Carpet Factory lofts over in Liberty Village – always a favourite spot to photo, or even walk about.

Amy acquired the assistance of two subjects – one male and one female, to help demonstrate the unique methods used in Thai Massage. We had experience problems due to an ugly door on the wall being an eyesore and the walls not being fair with the flash. Other than that, it was a nice place to shoot and suited the idea very well.

For anyone who has back problems, or feels their muscles and joints need a twinge, try out Thai Massage. To get a better idea of what Thai Massage is, click here.

This was a fun shoot. The wide-angle lens I used tends to stretch the objects in the shot, but when it doesn’t, it works nicely. My favourite shots were the heads-over-heads shots. Clearly.

gangLion are a comic zine collective with cool ideas and hilarious stories, lead by Georgia Webber and assisted by Jennifer Alison Carroll and Bonnie Ann Lee. Follow gangLion on Facebook, but expect a website soon.

NOTE: The shot of Georgia yawning is considerd the actual Lion shot…or Lioness shot. I dunno.

The good people at SteamWhistle Unsigned decided to throw another party at The Phoenix since the previous one, involving techno-drums duo Woodhands, The Carps and Creature, was so successful. This time around, dance-punk westeners’ You Say Party! We Say Die took the helm for this night. Along with them were Montreal’s best, Think About Life, and locals’ Little Girls.

I had missed Little Girls set, so I can’t say anything about them. I’ve got to stop being late for shows.

Moving on, Montreal’s Think About Life took the stage just before 11pm. Noise Producer Graham Van Pelt went on first and brought out experimental sounds of yonder (old TAL/Fort Miracle greatness). Following Van Pelt were the rest of his helpful music-making crew. Now sporting a new drummer by the name of Greg, Think About Life have completed their new look for a new crowd. I will always miss Matt Shane (ex-drummer) and will always see him as a part of this wonderful band. Just thought I’d say that. Anyways, this was the first time I didn’t sweat at a TAL show. The Phoenix isn’t really a place to see this band at their utmost epic and heroic. Regardless, they’re extremely good at what they do and they all have hearts of gold.

You Say Party! We Say Die! headlined the night, showcasing their recent record entitled ‘XXXX‘ (aka. LOVE). There were lit-up X’s across the back of the stage to showcase this theme. Visually, it was neat. That’s about it. Anyways, for a dance-punk band that rocks out while highly-entertaining lead singer Becky Ninkovic sings over the tunes, YSP!WSD! put on a decent show. Of course my allegiance for a fun dance-rock show clearly leans toward TAL, but that’s merely personal opinion. I had enjoyed parts of the show where the tempo would immediately ramp up, such as when the band played ‘The Gap’. The band got their call for an encore, and that was that.

SteamWhistle Unsigned put on a great night. While they were competing against The Rural Alberta Advantage show at Lee’s Palace just down Bloor street, SteamWhistle did enough to spread the word about new bands on the rise.