Canadian Music Week 2009

Well, it's that time of year again. Hundreds of bands playing every venue Toronto has. Here's who we checked out at Canadian Music Week this year.

If you want to see more pics click here...

Wed. March 11

Jason Bajada
9pm
El Mocambo (Downstairs)
Grade: B-

A singer-songwriter from Montreal, Bajada kicked off the night with a solid, though slightly depressing set that included a song about an ex having sex with someone famous. It was hard to hear him at times over the crowd talking but what you could hear was more than decent. Bajada’s voice definitely got better the louder he sang and his numerous guitar breaks gave him an edge that others in his genre don’t always have. He could’ve been a little more interesting, but since he mentioned he wasn’t used to playing without his band I have a feeling that’s the environment he would shine in. I would definitely like to see him with a band and I’m sure I’ll be checking him out again in the future.
- Alyssa Caplin

Joshua Radin
10pm
El Mocambo (Downstairs)
Joshua’s Grade: A
His Fans Grade: F

There were two things wrong with this set and neither one had anything to do with Radin directly. One, he was in a venue that was too small, by the way they were turning people away at the door, this show could’ve easily been at the Mod Club. On the other hand that would’ve meant more of his fans attending which leads us to problem number two, Joshua Radin quite possibly has the absolute worst fans I’ve ever seen. Snotty girls with their boyfriends filled the relatively tiny room with rudeness. Everything from bitching at the person in front of them for being too tall, to not letting photographers through, to well, if there was any possible way to be rude to the person next to you, they did it. Which is a shame because Radin has a fantastic voice and some of the most uplifting songs out today. During his only acoustic show of his tour (and without his band as well), he charmed the cranky crowd with stories about how he wrote his songs. “No Envy No Fear” and “Sky” started off a great set that included fan favourite “Brand New Day” which he played by request since he’s not playing it on this tour. Without a set list planned out there were a couple silent spots in between songs, but no one seemed to care. I would’ve liked to see “Bring Me To You” with the band because it felt like it was missing something. With all of these fan-loved songs by the time we left no one person sang along to a single note. I don’t know if the crowd was just that into it, but I’ve never seen that happen to a singer songwriter before. I would definitely like to see Radin again, just with some different, less bitchy fans.
- AC

Thurs. March 12

Carmen & Camille
Bovine Sex Club
9:00p.m.
Grade: C

Carmen & Camille graced the stage with their good looks and soft sounds from Vancouver. Carmen plays flute and Camille plays guitar and they both do the vocals. They started off with just the two of them and were then joined by a band to add some dimension to their pop new country sound. Their backing back definitely didn’t fit in with the girls looks, but played well often looking like they could go much heavier. It all seemed like a strange choice for the Bovine Sex Club. That stage isn’t graced with country very often let alone country pop singers with flutes. They would work in a different setting quiet well probably, but maybe they were just a little too light for the crowd.
- Davey Mitchell


Your Favourite Enemies
Bovine Sex Club
10:00p.m.
Grade: A

These guys really know how to put on a show! Coming out with an I Am Ghost like sound the band seems to really put their all into. Before they started it was clear they had some dedicated fans as the crowd filled up with what I assume was a busload of fans straight from Montreal. The singer didn’t have much room with six members and used the whole bar as his stage, jumping on the bar swinging on the posts, climbing the fence on the roof. Thank god for those fans too because they got his full attention as he sang to them and pulled them up on stage with him. The two guitarists rocked out the jams with their three feet of hair and two feet of beards thrashing up and down reminding me of ZZ Top. Your Favourite Enemies have lots of talent, great charisma and a great show, even if it did look a little staged. They have a metal based sound without the screaming and they use every second of their time onstage creating great sounds that pull on track into the other. It’s a shame the female singer was trapped in the back behind her keyboard because it would have made for great dynamics to see them come together. Can’t wait to see them at a bigger venue where I’m not worried about the bar falling down around us.
- DM

Jason Bajada
Clinton’s
11:00p.m.
Grade: B

I caught Bajada’s solo set at the El Mocambo the night before, but was so intrigued I had to go see him with his full band. Bajada started off slow with just him and then invited the full band on to play his song. I was surprised at how well they translated from sad slow acoustic tracks into more upbeat numbers. It made his songs even more appealing because they were so ironic. How could this song you be tapping your foot to really be about heartbreak? The full band didn’t add much more to it other than the lovely addition of female vocals to the songs. He is definitely one to check out in a dark bar night after night.
- Stephanie Joudrey

Fri. March 13

Dinosaur Bones
Horseshoe
8:30
Grade: A

It’s too bad that these guys had to go on at 8:30 because they were one of the gems of the festival. With their wavy, drug addled sound they sound like a mix of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and NOFX playing jazz chords. Their charming tunes had girls sighing and batting their eyes and the boys with orange Nike hi-tops tapping their feet to the sexy beat.
Oh yeah, this band had great stand alone moustaches.
- Jackson Main

The Junction
Sneaky Dee’s
9:00p.m.
Grade: B+

It seemed like the first half of The Junction’s set was their older lighter songs which was a bit slow and boring. The rest were new songs and man what a difference! Their newer harder songs are much catchier and they look like they have fun playing them. It really shows that this band is moving forward and the crowd responded really well to it. When The Junction finally settles in to this new sound they could be a force to be reckoned with. Keep up the improvements.
- DM

The Reason
Sneaky Dee’s
10:00p.m.
Grade: B+

I’ve loved The Reason since their 2006 release and was interested to see what new songs they were going to be previewing here from their upcoming album. The set was dedicated to the new material with the exception of one old track, “Unquestionable.” I must say I am more confused and curious now than I was before. It seems The Reason have stripped their sound down to something more mainstream rock. Frontman Adam White was strapped to his guitar the whole time making the showmanship I know is in him more hidden. He wasn’t dancing around the stage like I have come to expect from him. The songs themselves seem ok, but it is such a departure from the old that I don’t know what to expect from them now. Their stage show seems to have lost its flair though and I hope it returns as they get more comfortable playing the tunes live. On the plus side, White‘s voice sounds great on the new songs and he seems to really be using it more. I begrudgingly give them a B+, but am hoping the next time I see them they will return to blow my socks off.
- SJ

Ten Second Epic
The Kathedral
11:00p.m.
Grade: A+

What a great band and hung-over from Alberta even. With their energetic songs and wicked stage performance everyone wanted to watch them, even City TV. These guys are known for being a poppy band that had a pretty big hit on MuchMusic a while back. In general, I expected screaming young girls and that over done act you see from every young “punk” band nowadays. It was very surprising to see so many older dudes singing along to all of the songs. They even did a cover of “The Boys Are Back In Town” and everyone was singing. They have taken their songs somewhere new and have a live energy that was completely unexpected. It’s unfortunate that this place wasn’t packed because they deserved it and played like it was. These guys work so well together as a band I am curious to listen to their new album, Hometown, which hit stores recently. You have to check them out again next time they are playing at a club near you!
- DM

Handsome Furs
Horseshoe
12:10
Grade: B

What a clusterfuck of spazzy dance, hipster pop. The Horseshoe was so frigging packed for this act blasting their balls out space raps you couldn’t even focus on the band. It was so hot I had to go to the back and get really drunk.
- JM

Final Flash
Hideout
1:00
Grade: B

These guys were lots of fun and positive but played a lot of hippy rock. They sounded like NYC garage rockers playing with the Muppets band at Woodstock. I don’t want to hear the lyrics Peace and Love unless Neil Young is singing them in 1969. In any case these guys had the usual set up of guitars with a huge keyboard painting a lot of cool sounds that the crowd dug. Note: Thank god the Hideout finally built a stage.
- JM

Hideout
2:00
Grade: D

I really wish I could find the name of the band that played at 2:00am because they were so fucking terrible. A total identity crisis of thrashy metal pop, this band had a sound that went nowhere. The singer wasn’t a hardcore singer and they rest of the band didn’t have a clue what kind of music they were trying to accomplish playing. I have no idea how a band that seemingly sounded like they had been playing together for a week made it into a festival roster.
- JM


Sat. March 14

Unbelievers
Bovine Sex Club
9:00p.m.
Grade: B-

This young band comprised of two girls (vocals and drummer) and two guys (guitar and bass) really brought a huge sound to the stage. With their upbeat, punky songs they warmed up the Bovine for the night. They really hammered the drums and found time to play about sixteen really short songs, maybe even a little too short, which left everyone wanting a little more. Every time you could start to get into a song it was over and they were on to the next. It’s a shame they were the first band on because if the place had of been a bit fuller we probably would have gotten to see more of their energy. The little pint sized singer looked like she could explode on that stage if she wanted to. If you want to see a little more check them out March 31st at the Kathedral opening up for The Queers.
- DM


Sinkin’ Ships
Bovine Sex Club
10:00p.m.
Grade: C

This was an in your face then kick your ass kind of band. Vocalist Naomi screams her lungs out kind of reminiscent of Courtney love but meaner. She seemed like the kind of woman who would pick up her kids from school the go to a punk show and get in a fight all while wearing the same little black dress and feathers in her hair. In between songs the whole band would all try and talk over each other making it in cohesive and a little confusing. It felt like they were all on their own agenda and weren’t really working as a team. The set seamed to blend together making it feel very long and it just started to seem like screaming after the first couple of songs. With only 40 minute sets allowed for CMW, this started to feel like the longest hour of my life. Not to mention a couple of the band members tried to play different songs and having to start their last song over again.
- DM

Young Galaxy
The Horseshoe
10:10
Grade: B

Sometimes a band a makes a name conform to its sound. With Young Galaxy it would seem that their band was named after their sound; like a 90’s soundtrack to a teen space movie. Hailing from Montreal their sound influenced by dark 80’s pop is fronted by two complimentary band leaders: Steven who has a simpler Morrissey sound, and Catherine who has the intensity of Annie Lennox who sings for a Goth Duran Duran. Their songs are dark but safe other than their out of place bashing noise outros that were blastastic! They had high energy that used the stage well and entertained the crowd save for Steven’s stage banter which was god awful. Who gives a shit about that though - they have a great sound and they’re danceable.
- JM

Hell Yeah Fuck Yeah
Bovine Sex Club
11:00p.m.
Grade: A+

With a name like this how can you go wrong? Irish front man Al911 really gets the crowd going with high energy catchy songs that flow from one to the next making for a very entertaining set. From the beer showers the crowd gave to Al, to Dave Baksh (former member of Sum 41) joining them for their last two songs on guitar. You can tell they have been doing this for a long time, so these guys are really all about rocking out, getting free drinks and causing a little shit in the process all for the fun of it. They were great from beginning to end the best I’ve seen all week. This was the energy infusion that the Bovine and all of Canadian Music Week needed on a Saturday night. This is the band that makes you say hell yeah the bars are open until four tonight, so let’s get our fucking drink on a listen to some punk rock until the sun comes up. Even when all of the mics cut out at the end of the last song it didn’t matter, everyone in the club just sang a little louder. So next time these guys play nearby, ask me if you should go? Fuck Yeah.
- DM

Two Hours Traffic
The Horseshoe
11:10
Grade: A

Horseshoe Tavern owner JC introduced Two Hours Traffic complimenting them on being the only band from PEI that has sold out weekend headlining spots at the venue. These PEI darlings have only been around a few years and although young have written some great tunes. They’re kind of like the Strokes if the Strokes were farmers. They mix acoustic Country inspired tunes with the influence of 60’s pop with a touch of synthesiser. Sounds like it wouldn’t work right? It does and they were the highlight of the night.
- JM

Farewell To Freeway
Bovine Sex Club
12:00a.m
Grade: B-

Farewell To Freeway are probably a great band in their own scene with their own fans in a bar they know. This was not their scene or their fans unfortunately. With their screamo sound they tried their best to get the crowd into it with them to almost no avail. The first half of the set was more than uncomfortable as they tried to get the crowd screaming. It was only when they lightened up and took what they could get that they got better. When they all head banged together and guitarist Chris made a flying leap off of the wall you could see they were going to do their thing regardless which I admire. They do have a good thing going for them. The contrast of Michele and Chris on either side singing, while Adam screams and thrashes his hair around in the middle makes for a balanced stage that is nice to watch. The premiered a few songs off of their upcoming album, but it all sounded fairly similar to me. It’s a shame they didn’t get a better placement where you could really see what these guys are like because it all seemed very unfortunate here.
- SJ

Golden Dogs
The Horseshoe
12:10
Grade: B

The Golden Dogs always seem like they are having so much fun, which is what makes them so engaging. They always seem like they could care less about anything except leaving their guts on stage and rocking the hell out. Well they did, and when you try and pin down a Canadian indie sound you can look to them for examples: Melodic bass, ballsy lo-fi sound and very little effects on the guitar. And the leader of the band had great hats on all night.
- JM

The Artist Life
Bovine Sex Club
1:00a.m
Grade: A

Whereas most bands are debuting new songs during CMW, The Artist Life it seems came only with the mission to play a great set. Sticking to the old material off of both of their EPs, even though I know they have a full length in the works, they got the Bovine dancing for the first time of the night. It was hard not to dance though when you saw the smile plastered on guitarist Dean Richards’ face. They all looked like they were having a great time and it brought itself into the crowd. Their tracks are danceable enough that there were two girls in the front row going crazy while the punk guys in the crowd could jump up chanting along to “Let’s Start A Riot.” There weren’t any surprises or trick from these guys, nothing flashy or hilarious gags, they fairly modestly did a great cover of The Replacements’ “Bastards Of Young,” but it was the best way to end CMW. Whereas so many other bands seen this week try to act or look the part of a great rock and roll band, these guys were on stage looking like they were four guys having a good time. They didn’t need to act it because they are. A great set by a good band that you already know and love, what more could you ask for?
- SJ