A mix of old and new at Death Cab show

Hipsters and indie fans around the city donned their plaid flannel shirts and tapped their feet as Death Cab for Cutie took the stage on Friday.



Ben Gibbard sings acoustic hit "I Will Follow You into the Dark" solo in Toronto July 29.



This is the second time the band has been in Toronto in the past two months, which likely contributed to the several empty seats in the Molson Amphitheatre. However, frontman Ben Gibbard was quick to thank the fans who attended both this week’s show as well as the May 18 performance at the Phoenix Concert Theatre.

The band opened with "Bend to Squares," the opening track to their 1999 album, Something About Airplanes. It was a slow start to the show, with fans jumping up in excitement at the band members’ entrance, and then slowly sitting back down as the performance began.

It didn’t really pick up until the fourth song, “Crooked Teeth,” which brought most of the audience to their feet. However, as soon as it finished, the audience divided into sitters and standers, almost split right through the middle for the remainder of the show.

The band continued with songs from their new album, Codes and Keys, which was released May 31. It quickly became clear that the audience wasn’t quite as familiar with the new songs as the old. However, the band seemed to understand, and played a setlist mixing the classics with new material.

They performed their major hits, including “Soul Meets Body,” “Cath…,” and “I Will Possess Your Heart,” complete with the extra long introduction, which felt like a little jam session on stage. It built up the energy of the song much more effectively than the album version.

Notably missing was "Meet Me at the Equinox," the theme to 2009’s blockbuster New Moon, which likely disappointed the many young fans, whilst pleasing many of the older fans.

Most of the audience seemed to be 20-somethings, with a fairly even distribution between men and women. It was one of the most unenergetic concerts I’ve attended, and it was the first time I’ve been to a Molson Amp show where people didn’t abandon their seats the second the band came on stage. People sat back and enjoyed the music, occasionally clapping along.

Gibbard joked with the audience, laughing that he now knows what Justin Bieber feels like, as he knelt and sang directly into the live-feed video cameras at the base of the stage.

The spotlight stuck to the often-hair-swinging Gibbard, who was equipped with two microphones and a giant pedal board. He ran back and forth from piano to guitar, and performed the acoustic “I Will Follow You into the Dark” solo on the stage.

He declared his love for Scottish opening band, Frightened Rabbits, dedicating to them a performance of the very upbeat “Stay Young, Go Dancing,” which was performed with a level of liveliness much greater than on the album.

The biggest problem with the venue was the sound mixing. Sitting just a few rows in front of the mixing booth, dead centre in the row, the sound should have been flawless. However, some songs had the vocals too low and the bass too high, making it difficult to hear the song properly.

The show ended with a very upbeat sing-along to “the Sound of Settling,” although it seemed a huge chunk of the audience left right before the song as Gibbard bid everybody goodnight. Most of the seats in the rows in front of me were empty by the time the encore began. However, the ones who stayed were treated to an excellent encore.

It began with “Home is the Fire,” the opening track to the latest album, followed by “Portable Television.” Next was “Marching Bands of Manhattan,” where Chris Walla, sometimes guitarist, keyboardist, and producer, joked that it was his first day on the job, when the band had to stall the intro while Walla worked to reprogram his keyboard.

Finally came “Transatlanticism”, the slow, romantic piano-based song. Many of the fans came with their significant others, with a large portion of them hugging during this emotional song that quickly brought a woman in the row behind me to tears.

All in all, it was a tight performance that reminded fans why Death Cab for Cutie remains at the forefront of the indie scene.

Paul McCartney puts on one-of-a-kind show

Playfulness and energy. That sums up last night's Paul McCartney show at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

I've been to a ton of concerts, but I've never seen anything like this one.

Almost every seat was filled with cheering people. Sitting up in the 300s level, I was blown away by the sheer number of people there. It's crazy to know they were all there, with very, very expensive tickets, all to see one man. What a crazy world it is. But by the end, I completely understood the attraction.

Paul McCartney wows crowd
at Toronto show [Grace Zweig photo]

I have to start by saying that I'm not a huge Beatles fan. I respect them and I appreciate them, but I've never felt the desire to go out of my way to listen to them. Therefore, my views come from someone who didn't know what to expect, and mostly has concert experiences from indie or rock club concerts.

Before the show, screens on each side of the stage showed 60s era photos and videos to the soundtrack of remixed Beatles and Paul McCartney songs.

When the lights went down and the former Beatle walked on stage, the crowd went wild.

The band played perfectly together, reciting the songs with precision and a real tightness.

They performed a wide range of songs ranging from the Beatles’ early material all the way to his most recent album.

He also played the Jimi Hendrix song Foxy Lady in a tribute to the late guitarist, emanating the wild rock and roll sound for which Hendrix was known. McCartney told a story about seeing Hendrix perform the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album just days after its release.

In that performance Hendrix used excessive whammy bar movements causing the guitar to slide out of tune, so he asked if Eric Clapton was in the audience—which he was—and requested he tune his guitar for him.

McCartney bounced around while he played, looking like he was having a great time. He was playful and seemed thankful at the same time, combining a sense of ease, excitement and humility.

Real emotion came through as he sang. Even after performing the same songs thousands of times, they still came out fresh and full of feeling.

He joked around with the audience and was very energetic. He seemed at home on the stage and his voice was strong as ever. I could hardly believe the sound and power that came out of this man.

He had a moment of dedication for John Lennon as he introduced the song about the conversation they never had, Here Today. The soft guitar-vocal piece still sounded extremely honest and clearly resounded with many audience members.

A while later came a moment for George Harrison right before he performed Something on Harrison's old ukulele. When the guitar solo kicked in, McCartney switched to a guitar while a slideshow of old McCartney and Harrison photos played behind them.

He also dedicated his performance of My Love to his late wife, Linda McCartney, as well as the other lovers in the audience.

Throughout the show, the musicianship, needless to say, was phenomenal—but I wouldn't have expected anything less from such a legend.

It was a lot of fun watching drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. dancing behind the kit throughout Dance Tonight—and McCartney’s subsequent imitation of the dance. The drummer was amazing throughout the show, performing much of the backing vocals while he drummed, and even left the drum set to sing and dance during a couple of the songs.

McCartney led the crowd in making strange sounds as he began Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, for which he said was only the second time he ever performed it in Canada, with the first being the first night of the Toronto stop.

During Paperback Writer, McCartney played the guitar he used during the period in the 60s when he recorded that song. It seemed he switched guitars after every couple of songs, and he jokingly described these purpose of these changes as simply to show off.

"We've got all these guitars," he said, "we're going to show them off."

Shortly after, the atmosphere changed completely and got even better. It began at the start of what was easily the best set: Let It Be, Live and Let Die, and Hey Jude. Although I've heard the pyrotechnics are identical every time he performs Live and Let Die, it was easily the best performance of the night.

The encore included Day Tripper, Lady Madonna, Get Back. The second encore had Yesterday, Mull of Kintyre, Helter Skelter, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and The End.

During the second encore, he called up an audience member who held a sign asking McCartney to sign her arm, promising she wouldn't sell it on eBay, quite to his amusement. He signed it on the condition that she sticks to her promise.

He performed Mull of Kintyre with the kilted Paris-Port Dover Pipe Band, which was a great addition to the show.

The energy completely changed from the first two-thirds of the show—more of a concert-like performance—to the last portion, encompassing the final few songs of the main set and the encores, which become more of a party. Instead of sitting and listening, almost everyone was standing, dancing, and clapping along.

It almost could have been two separate shows—but I suppose that's what happens when the performer has such a huge catalogue of material.

It isn’t to say the beginning section was worse, but the second portion is where McCartney truly grabbed every person in the audience and pulled them into the show.

The spread of ages within the audience was huge, with little kids as well as older folks in attendance.

I didn't come into the show hoping to relive past music moments like many of the audience members clearly were. I’ll admit I only knew most of the songs from hearing them in my Dad's car as I grew up.

But it was a great show, and an incredible experience, and I never appreciated the Beatles and McCartney as much as I did that night.

Originally posted in the Canadian Jewish Schmooze, blog for the CJN.

Gothic electronic band, Johnny Hollow, takes stage at T.O's Neutral Lounge

Johnny Hollow at Neutral Lounge, June 6, Toronto // Provided by Vincent Marcone

Johnny Hollow lured out a sizable crowd to hear their brand of Gothic electronic chamber music despite performing a late Sunday night concert, which took place June 6 at Neutral Lounge in Toronto.

The band is from Guelph, ON, and plays a few shows every year in the Toronto area, drawing a fairly regular crowd each time.

Backing vocalist and digital artist Vincent Marcone creates the distinctive artwork that accompanies the band in the live performances and their album, working under his pseudonym, My Pet Skeleton.

The visuals play an important role in this band, with Marcone’s dark paintings and animations projected behind the stage, such as the sinister bear-like creature stomping along to Worse Things.

Marcone uses keyboards and MIDI controllers to create the creepy sounds that punctuate their songs, and acts as a “human drum machine” to play the percussion parts. Kitty Thompson shines on the cello — the instrument that really makes Johnny Hollow stand out among the many dark ambient bands. Janine White is the lead vocalist, and also plays classical-sounding piano parts throughout many of the songs.

On stage, they’re accompanied by guitarist Steve Hiehn who joined the band last year, and bassist Samantha McClellan.

The band has an amazing ability to jump from performing really grim songs to joking with the audience. They never seem to take themselves too seriously, but a strong passion shows when they play.

On this particular night, the band was trying to get rid of old merchandise and therefore sold T-shirts for a huge discount. People complained that the sizes were odd, with most of the leftovers either large or extra-large.

“Remember, a baggy T-shirt is just a few button holes away from being a corset,” Thompson told the dressed-up crowd, joking around from the moment her microphone turned on.

The show began with a couple of acoustic songs. The women described how pleased they were to kick the men out for a short ladies-only set. They started with Worse Things, and continued with This Hollow World, two of their more popular songs. The added double bass provided an added layer of depth, with Marcone eventually joining in with ambience and electronics.

Apart from the acoustic treat, their set was similar to their other shows, playing a few songs off their latest release, Dirty Hands, as well as a couple from their self-titled debut release.

At each show, Johnny Hollow performs with another band known primarily in the underground Goth scene. This time, they featured UK electronic group Attrition, though it seemed like much of the audience were drawn to the show to see Johnny Hollow. Despite Attrition’s 30 years in the Goth scene, they performed a rather generic set, although I admit I left part of the way through it.

The primarily electronic music was rather boring after experiencing Johnny Hollow’s live material.

Although Johnny Hollow’s shows tend to feature the same songs, they never seem stale. And for any fan of dark, beautiful music, their show is one that shouldn’t be missed. They put on a fantastic show, performing lovely renditions of their own strange music.

Originally published in The Charlatan, Carleton University's independent student newspaper.

Die Mannequin Concert Review

Die Mannequin
Friday, Dec. 1, 2009
Live Lounge

Care Failure, the leading lady of the Toronto punk band, Die Mannequin, rocked the stage with her incredible style and performance Dec. 4 at Ottawa’s Live Lounge.

She began the show crawling across the stage, as Anthony Bleed, the bassist, mimed shooting her with his guitar. She stumbled around the stage, making the fans scream as the band began its raw punk set.

Although the band recently finished a tour with Marilyn Manson, playing arena shows across the nation, Failure said the band much prefers smaller venues.

"If I had my way, there'd be no stage — just the crowd," she said. I can see why.

Failure jumped off the stage into the audience, singing part of “Where Poppies Grow” while she was immersed in the crowd. She pulled audience members up on stage to join her for “Autumn Cannibalist.”

I have never seen so much audience interaction at a concert, and I don’t think it could possibly work as well in an arena venue.

She finished the show by crowd surfing to the back of the venue, where she spent time at the merchandise booth meeting fans and signing autographs (or in some cases, messages written on their breasts).

Many of the songs on the set list were not on either of the band’s major releases. They did not play “Saved by Strangers”— one of their biggest singles. Instead, they did a cover of a Turbonegro song.

Die Mannequin’s performance of “Bad Medicine” had many audience members singing along. It was complete with Failure singing into a megaphone to imitate the vocal effects from the recording.

The merchandise seller mentioned that the show was a late one because Failure wasn’t feeling well. It didn’t show in her performance.

It was a high-energy, microphone-throwing, bruise-inducing, punk rock show.

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Originally published in the Charlatan, Carleton University's independent student newspaper