June may have just started, but the summer festival season has already kicked off. In this week's Can't Miss Concert roundup, we look at two festivals offering a concentration of great live music, as well as plenty of stand-alone shows. Check out our preview for the details on the best shows in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
Vancouver
Thursday, June 7
This week marks the 18th instalment of Vancouver's Music Waste festival, which continues to provide cutting-edge music for a more than reasonable price. Featuring local comedy and art, as well as of course tunes, the event kicks off on Thursday at the Waldorf, with a killer-looking ten-band showcase in its three rooms.
Music Waste Kick-off featuring:
Vincent Parker
Telefoam
New Krime
B-Lines
Capitol 6
Greenback High
White Poppy
Dirty Spells
Peace
The Godspot
Velvet Fist
$10 at the Waldorf Hotel
Friday, June 8
One of the biggest names on the Vancouver indie scene these days, Apollo Ghosts will be occupying the headlining slot in this Music Waste show. They will surely be repping their recent Exclaim!-approved LP Landmark, and the band will get some opening support via the Courtneys, Hermetic and Cloudsplitter.
Apollo Ghosts
The Courtneys
Hermetic
Cloudsplitter
$5 at The Rickshaw Theatre
Saturday, June 9
Two months after the release of their first full-length album, Ketamines are bringing their brand of psychedelic surf pop to the Music Waste stage at Pat's Pub. Founding members, and Lethbridge, AB natives, James Leroy and Paul Lawton recently signed onto Oakland's Southpaw Records, and have added two more members, rounding out their sound and live performances. Lending opening support are B.A. Johnston, Korean Gut and Phoenix Thunderbird.
Ketamines
B.A. Johnston
Korean Gut
Phoenix Thunderbird
$5 at Pat's Pub
Calgary
Friday, June 8
Calgary Metal Fest gets underway on Friday with headliners Begrime Exemious, along with a lineup of seven other bands. The Edmonton-based five-piece are coming off the April release of their newest EP, Visions of the Scourge, and are set to play a handful of summer shows after Metal Fest wraps up. The three-day Metal Fest will see performances at three venues over the course of the weekend.
Begrime Exemious
Annex Theory
Kyoktys
Autaric
Wormbox
Kriticos
Day One
Sacred Savage
$12.50 at the Gateway
Saturday, June 9
Metal Fest will be offering two shows on Saturday, at different venues, both featuring a deep lineup of bands. The first, at the New Black Centre, will be an all-ages affair, with doors opening at 2:30 p.m. Calgary's own Royal Blood are set to headline the early show, with 11 other bands leading up to their set.
Royal Blood
Annex Theory
Stab Twist Pull
The Noumenon
Akakor
Bloated Pig
Exit Strategy
Pointzeroeight
T.O.V.
Edge of Attack
Blackest Sin
No More Moments
$15 at the New Black
Saturday, June 9
Also on Saturday, hometown one-man project Dark Forest will be wrapping up a series of Metal Fest sets, starting at 8 p.m. David Parks released the third Dark Forest album, Land of the Evening Star, back in March, and will enlist the talents of four other Calgarian musicians to bring the songs to life on stage.
Dark Forest
Kataplexis
World Class White Trash
???Mystery Band???
Phantom Limb
We Found the Body
Reverend Kill
Arsenal
Streets of Pestilence
$10 at the Distillery
Toronto
Thursday, June 7
Experimental producer, popsmith and Brooklynite Tom Krell, otherwise known as How to Dress Well, will be stopping by the Drake Hotel this week on the second date of a short North American tour. The tour comes just after the announcement that Krell will be dropping a new album, entitled Total Loss, sometime this fall, and features his new live band, which features opener Babe Rainbow.
How to Dress Well
Prince Innocence
Babe Rainbow
$15 at Drake Hotel
Friday, June 8 / Saturday, June 9
Long-standing oots rock outfit Skydiggers will be gracing Toronto to two shows this weekend at Hugh's Room, in the midst of their Northern Shores tour. With over two decades of performing and recording behind them, the band's members should offer concertgoers a well-honed live set on both evenings.
Skydiggers
$22.50 advance, $25 door at Hugh's Room
Saturday, June 9
Toronto rockers Zeus will be wrapping up the Canadian leg of their latest tour this weekend, as they take the stage of the Phoenix Concert Theatre following a series of shows supporting Arts & Crafts labelmate Dan Mangan. The band debuted their second full-length album, Busting Visions, back in March, and critics have been singing its praises ever since. Charlottetown, PEI's Two Hours Traffic and the Elwins round out the night's bill.
Zeus
Two Hours Traffic
The Elwins
$15 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre
Montreal
Friday, June 8
After gracing the stage at the Drake Hotel in Toronto, How to Dress Well (aka Tom Krell), will be bringing his brand of R&B-styled experimental pop to Montreal's Il Motore. This time around, he'll be backed up by Kuhrye-oo and Vancouver's Babe Rainbow.
How to Dress Well
Kuhrye-oo
Babe Rainbow
$13 advance, $15 door at Il Motore
Sunday, June 10
Syrian musician Omar Souleyman made a name for himself in his own country by selling recordings of his wedding performances, but he'll be bringing his brand of traditional Middle Eastern songs to Il Motore this Sunday. The show comes at the tail end of a short tour that saw Souleyman travelling in Canada and the U.S. In Montreal, he'll be accompanied by La Desunion and far-out pop duo Phèdre.
Omar Souleyman
La Desunion
Phedre
$20 advance, $23 door at Il Motore
Tuesday, June 12
Porcelain Raft, the bedroom pop project of musical veteran Mauro Remiddi, will be in town early next week in the middle of a summer tour schedule that includes a number of upcoming festival dates. Recently signed to Secretly Canadian, the NYC-based Remiddi released his first LP under the Porcelain Raft moniker in January, following up the project's promising debut EP, Gone Blind.
Porcelain Raft
Receivers
$12 advance, $15 door at Il Motore
Vancouver
Thursday, June 7
This week marks the 18th instalment of Vancouver's Music Waste festival, which continues to provide cutting-edge music for a more than reasonable price. Featuring local comedy and art, as well as of course tunes, the event kicks off on Thursday at the Waldorf, with a killer-looking ten-band showcase in its three rooms.
Music Waste Kick-off featuring:
Vincent Parker
Telefoam
New Krime
B-Lines
Capitol 6
Greenback High
White Poppy
Dirty Spells
Peace
The Godspot
Velvet Fist
$10 at the Waldorf Hotel
Friday, June 8
One of the biggest names on the Vancouver indie scene these days, Apollo Ghosts will be occupying the headlining slot in this Music Waste show. They will surely be repping their recent Exclaim!-approved LP Landmark, and the band will get some opening support via the Courtneys, Hermetic and Cloudsplitter.
Apollo Ghosts
The Courtneys
Hermetic
Cloudsplitter
$5 at The Rickshaw Theatre
Saturday, June 9
Two months after the release of their first full-length album, Ketamines are bringing their brand of psychedelic surf pop to the Music Waste stage at Pat's Pub. Founding members, and Lethbridge, AB natives, James Leroy and Paul Lawton recently signed onto Oakland's Southpaw Records, and have added two more members, rounding out their sound and live performances. Lending opening support are B.A. Johnston, Korean Gut and Phoenix Thunderbird.
Ketamines
B.A. Johnston
Korean Gut
Phoenix Thunderbird
$5 at Pat's Pub
Calgary
Friday, June 8
Calgary Metal Fest gets underway on Friday with headliners Begrime Exemious, along with a lineup of seven other bands. The Edmonton-based five-piece are coming off the April release of their newest EP, Visions of the Scourge, and are set to play a handful of summer shows after Metal Fest wraps up. The three-day Metal Fest will see performances at three venues over the course of the weekend.
Begrime Exemious
Annex Theory
Kyoktys
Autaric
Wormbox
Kriticos
Day One
Sacred Savage
$12.50 at the Gateway
Saturday, June 9
Metal Fest will be offering two shows on Saturday, at different venues, both featuring a deep lineup of bands. The first, at the New Black Centre, will be an all-ages affair, with doors opening at 2:30 p.m. Calgary's own Royal Blood are set to headline the early show, with 11 other bands leading up to their set.
Royal Blood
Annex Theory
Stab Twist Pull
The Noumenon
Akakor
Bloated Pig
Exit Strategy
Pointzeroeight
T.O.V.
Edge of Attack
Blackest Sin
No More Moments
$15 at the New Black
Saturday, June 9
Also on Saturday, hometown one-man project Dark Forest will be wrapping up a series of Metal Fest sets, starting at 8 p.m. David Parks released the third Dark Forest album, Land of the Evening Star, back in March, and will enlist the talents of four other Calgarian musicians to bring the songs to life on stage.
Dark Forest
Kataplexis
World Class White Trash
???Mystery Band???
Phantom Limb
We Found the Body
Reverend Kill
Arsenal
Streets of Pestilence
$10 at the Distillery
Toronto
Thursday, June 7
Experimental producer, popsmith and Brooklynite Tom Krell, otherwise known as How to Dress Well, will be stopping by the Drake Hotel this week on the second date of a short North American tour. The tour comes just after the announcement that Krell will be dropping a new album, entitled Total Loss, sometime this fall, and features his new live band, which features opener Babe Rainbow.
How to Dress Well
Prince Innocence
Babe Rainbow
$15 at Drake Hotel
Friday, June 8 / Saturday, June 9
Long-standing oots rock outfit Skydiggers will be gracing Toronto to two shows this weekend at Hugh's Room, in the midst of their Northern Shores tour. With over two decades of performing and recording behind them, the band's members should offer concertgoers a well-honed live set on both evenings.
Skydiggers
$22.50 advance, $25 door at Hugh's Room
Saturday, June 9
Toronto rockers Zeus will be wrapping up the Canadian leg of their latest tour this weekend, as they take the stage of the Phoenix Concert Theatre following a series of shows supporting Arts & Crafts labelmate Dan Mangan. The band debuted their second full-length album, Busting Visions, back in March, and critics have been singing its praises ever since. Charlottetown, PEI's Two Hours Traffic and the Elwins round out the night's bill.
Zeus
Two Hours Traffic
The Elwins
$15 at the Phoenix Concert Theatre
Montreal
Friday, June 8
After gracing the stage at the Drake Hotel in Toronto, How to Dress Well (aka Tom Krell), will be bringing his brand of R&B-styled experimental pop to Montreal's Il Motore. This time around, he'll be backed up by Kuhrye-oo and Vancouver's Babe Rainbow.
How to Dress Well
Kuhrye-oo
Babe Rainbow
$13 advance, $15 door at Il Motore
Sunday, June 10
Syrian musician Omar Souleyman made a name for himself in his own country by selling recordings of his wedding performances, but he'll be bringing his brand of traditional Middle Eastern songs to Il Motore this Sunday. The show comes at the tail end of a short tour that saw Souleyman travelling in Canada and the U.S. In Montreal, he'll be accompanied by La Desunion and far-out pop duo Phèdre.
Omar Souleyman
La Desunion
Phedre
$20 advance, $23 door at Il Motore
Tuesday, June 12
Porcelain Raft, the bedroom pop project of musical veteran Mauro Remiddi, will be in town early next week in the middle of a summer tour schedule that includes a number of upcoming festival dates. Recently signed to Secretly Canadian, the NYC-based Remiddi released his first LP under the Porcelain Raft moniker in January, following up the project's promising debut EP, Gone Blind.
Porcelain Raft
Receivers
$12 advance, $15 door at Il Motore
