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Tom Fun Orchestra / Bruce Peninsula / The Darcys Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON January 31 By Sam Sutherland This was a pretty stacked show that had already drawn a substantial and attentive crowd by the time Toronto-by-way-of-Halifax indie rockers the Darcys took to the stage. While the band’s recorded material hints at a sound similar to the Dears, their amped-up live interpretations recall the Constantines at their loudest and most structured, tightly hammering on inventive riffs and then retreating into soft choruses. If the band’s live show is any indication, their second full-length should be worth watching out for. Bruce Peninsula followed, and their status as Toronto’s current buzz band did them well; a rapt audience had crowded tight to the front before they even played a note. An already filled-out rock band (two drummers!), Bruce Peninsula went the extra mile with a whole choir, plus a dude who just played the chains. It’s the kind of weird indie rock band that could only exist post-Arcade Fire, and while it sounds engrossing and epic for five minutes, it quickly hinders the band’s impact. Dynamics are hard to come by with a band this big, and when all an audience can see is a wall of up back-up singers, it’s easy to lose the visual impact that’s supposed to come with live rock’n’roll. While older material played up the rock-meets-gospel aspect of their sound, new music sounded like tripped-out Gang of Four, totally ruled, and totally didn’t need a million people to make an impression. Tom Fun Orchestra, another big-by-most-standards band, had a hard time stealing the night from the earlier bombast; but with a collection of unbelievably catchy songs and an unbelievably loud and tight band playing them, they did. A dirty mix of the Pogues and Tom Waits’ more standard fair, they blasted through a set mostly comprised of songs from their underrated Your Will Land With A Thud, throwing out a few brilliant-sounding new jams that show a lot of promise for the band in the new year.

Metronomy It’s hard to know where to start here: with the performance or the audience-fuelled shit-storm that followed. Both no doubt deserve their fair share of words, but since it was actually Metronomy’s name on the ticket, and not some feral crowd of party kids, we’ll start with them. Taking the ...Read More

Darkest Hour / Born Of Osiris / Arise and Ruin Going to shows is pretty much self-inflicted torture during the winter months so when the trek is over you arrive expecting to be entertained to the tits and eventually this would come to pass in a heavily housed Reverb. Guelph’s Arise and Ruin were looking to impress the crowd with songs ...Read More

Accolade of Apocalypse / Eradication / Audrey Rose
Andrew W.K.
Battlesoul / Terrorhorse
Ben Kweller / The Watson Twins
Broken Social Scene / Tegan and Sara
Evan Parker / AIM Toronto Interface
High Places
The Jimmy Swift Band / Scientists of Sound
Lenka / Megan Hamilton
Lil Wayne / T-Pain / Gym Class Heroes / Keri Hilson
The Mae Shi / Bayonets / Pine Tarts
The Pack A.D.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Soilwork / Darkane / Warbringer / Swallow the Sun
The Submarines
The Izzys / Easy Targets / Nature Move Faster


Hostage Life - Centre Of The Universe It's unfortunate the words "maturity" and "growth" are stigmas in the world of punk rock. They would be the perfect descriptors for Toronto, ON-based Hostage Life's tertiary release. Maintaining the adage that a band never realize their true potential until their third album, the quintet prove thems... Full Review


Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant Dir. by Paul Weitz In an interesting twist of Hollywood fate, Chris and Paul Weitz have entered the final stretch of 2009 each in control of a major vampire franchise built from the pages of popular young adult fiction. From one half of the brotherly team who brought us American Pie and About ... Full Review


The Brütal Legend of Tim Schafer Game designer Tim Schafer is not a well-known man, at least not to the mainstream. But like Buffy creator Joss Whedon, Schafer's a full-blown hero amongst the geek-pop set, his name synonymous with creative vision, critical acclaim, fervent fans and, alas, sub-par sales.... Read More





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