The Grove Music Fest at Fort York

Posted on by Katie
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Lest we lead you poor readers on (I know some of you might still be under the impression that The Grove Music Festival is still happening in Niagara-on-the-Lake) I just wanted to do this quick little post to remind you that The Grove has been relocated to Fort York Garrison Common. Presumably, this was done to accommodate Toronto residents who actually believe the world drops off past Grenadier Pond in High Park.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Phoenix, although I wasn’t too crazy about their latest album Bankrupt! and I’m a huge fan of 2006′s It’s Never Been Like That, and of course, 2009′s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (who isn’t?). Hot Chip and Girl Talk should also be a blast. As a reminder, tickets are available here for $73.25 (fees incl).

Doe Paoro’s artsy R&B with Tibetan roots

Posted on by Katie
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Both Sasha and I love strong, powerful ladycrooners: Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, Lykke Li, Grimes, Angel Olsen, Laura Marling, Lorde, Shannon & The Clams, Lissie, Little Scream, Azealia Banks, Solange, Beyoncé… the list goes on. Across all genres, the common element remains a mutual admiration for women who express themselves in a kickass, bombastic way, riffing like we do on car rides, but sounding ten thousand times more impressive and on pitch.

Sadly, Sasha and I work and live in separate cities, so we rarely get to hang out in person. Hence, Music Between Friends is both a mutual appreciation music funnel and a means of keeping in touch. This post is all about sharing some music with Sasha.

Brooklyn’s Doe Paoro makes self-described “feral wailing” but comes across as smooth as liquid silk. The video for her new release New Lows is nothing short of entrancing – I kept watching so I could find out what the hell she was starting that damn fire for.

This is my favourite track from her 2012 EP Slow To Love, an album written while she was sequestered in a cabin in Syracuse. She trained as a singer and pianist in Lhamo (Tibetan opera) while traversing the Himalayas which makes her infinitely cooler than that chick I know from yoga.

This cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is absolutely lovely and very Lana Del Rey (if I actually enjoyed Lana Del Rey).

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New apartment

Posted on by Katie
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So here’s what’s been happening lately. My new apartment is adorable but absolutely filthy. I found a fossilized cockroach in the cutlery drawer and the toilet smells like old poo. Please note that this is not a personal attribute which I have bestowed on the apartment – I poop rainbows and fairy dust in the sunlit barn where Taylor Swift was foaled. Obviously. Sometimes I see her clomping around singing into a currycomb while feathering her forelocks.

Since moving in last weekend, I have been up to my eyeballs in a medley of  grime and unsavouries, scraping dirty grout, bleaching sinks, sweeping mouse turdlettes into dustbins, and slopping cracked and mouldy cupboards with a thick layer of paint. Actual sweat has been trickling from my armpits. I am a lady (ladies perspire!!) so this is a new phenomenon for me. Of course, I sweat when I run, but it feels strange to drip like a faucet while simultaneously mopping the floor.

I guess you’ll want to see pictures at this point, so here we go:

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The best thing about moving is the feeling that things are about to happen. A fresh slate. A clean break. Here favourite new releases to celebrate a brand new start in the heart of Parkdale. Cheers.

Toronto Concert Update – June, July, & August

Posted on by Katie
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Well kids, it’s that time of year again. Summertime. So slap on the SPF, bite into a juicy hot dog, slip on your sunbleached Keds and comb through Now & The Grid for concert listings until your fingers are stained with ink and sliced through with delicious papercuts. Or, you could just look at this handy guide to Toronto Concerts that we put together. Your choice. See you at the venue.

JUNE

the xx & Grizzly Bear @ Echo Beach, All Ages
Thurs June 6, 2013 – $67.50

Twin Shadow @ Phoenix, 19+
Fri June 7, 2013 – $27.50

Field Trip: BSS / Feist / Bloc Party / Stars / Timber Timbre / Ra Ra Riot / Cold Specks / Zeus @ Historic Fort York, All Ages
Sat June 8, 2013 – $93.50

Crystal Castles @ Sound Academy, 19+
Sat June 8, 2013 – $28.00

Baths @ Horseshoe, 19+
Sun June 9, 2013 – $15.00

Junip @ Great Hall, 19+
Mon June 10, 2013 – $16.50

Mates Of State / Postal Service @ Air Canada Centre, 19+
Tues June 11, 2013 – $76.00

NXNE: Dan Deacon / Diana / Moon King @ Horseshoe Tavern, 19+
Thurs June 13, 2013 – $30.00 (1-Day pass)

NXNE: Inlet Sound @ Cameron House, 19+
Thurs June 13, 2013 - $30.00 (1-Day pass)

NXNE: The Blank Tapes / Her Harbour @ Cameron House, 19+
Sat June 15, 2013 - $30.00 (1-Day pass)

The Cave Singers @ Horseshoe Tavern, 19+
Mon June 17, 2013 - $15.00

Luminato Festival: Patrick Watson @ The Hub, All Ages
Thurs June 20, 2013 - FREE


JULY

Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Echo Beach, All Ages
Mon July 1, 2013 – $42.00

Chloe Charles / Alex Cuba @ Harbourfront Centre, All Ages
Mon July 1, 2013 – FREE

Yeasayer @ Phoenix, 19+
Tues July 2, 2013 – $19.00

TURF: She & Him @ Historic Fort York, All Ages
Thurs July 4, 2013 – $60.00

TURF: The Arkells / Fitz & The Tantrums @ Historic Fort York, All Ages
Fri July 5, 2013 – $50.00

TURF: Hannah Georgas @ Historic Fort York, All Ages
Sat July 6, 2013 (12:20 pm) – $60.00

TURF: Hannah Georgas @ Lee’s Palace, All Ages
Sat July 6, 2013 (10:40 pm) – $30.00

TURF: Belle and Sebastian / Kurt Vile / Neko Case / Yo La Tengo @ Historic Fort York, All Ages
Sun July 7, 2013 – $70.00

Ben Folds Five / Barenaked Ladies @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, All Ages
ThursJuly 11, 2013 – $37.50-166.50

Weezer / Passion Pit @ Downsview Park, All Ages
Fri July 12, 2013 – $70.00

Soundclash Festival: Chairlift @ Harbourfront Centre, All Ages
Fri July 12, 2013 – FREE

Soundclash Festival: Born Ruffians @ Harbourfront Centre, All Ages
Sat July 13, 2013 – FREE

Solange @ Kool Haus, 19+
Sat July 13, 2013 – $28.00

Bjork @ Echo Beach, 19+
Tues July 16, 2013 – $67.00

San Cisco @ Garrison, 19+
Wed July 24, 2013 – $13.50

Smith Westerns @ Lee’s, 19+
Mon July 29, 2013 – $17.00

Edgefest: Mother Mother / Band of Horses @ Downsview Park, All Ages
Wed July 31, 2013  – $63.25


AUGUST

Grove Music Festival: Phoenix / Girl Talk / Hot Chip / Wavves / Icona Pop @ Historic Fort York, All Ages
Sat Aug 3, 2013- $59.50

Father John Misty @ Danforth Music Hall, 19+
Sat Aug 3, 2013 – $21.00

Strfkr @ Opera House, 19+
Wed Aug 14, 2013 – $16.00

The New Pornographers @ CNE, 19+
Sat Aug 17, 2013 – FREE

Thoughts on the new Junip album + tour dates

Posted on by Katie
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JUNIPST

This is an album for breezy summer nights bathed in orange streetlight. Swedish trio Junip have really outdone themselves on their second EP Junip (released April 23rd on Mute). There’s a subtle tenderness to everything; the tracks melt into a beautiful, evocative memory of dusky June evenings walking with your crush’s oversized jacket on your shoulders, sweeping dust into your tennis shoes. Everything is meaningful and gentle but fleeting.

Their previous record, Fields (2010) is certainly the friskier and fierier of the two. If I were breaking both albums down into their elemental molecules, Junip would be the mercurial, liquid stream quenching the aggressive embers of Fields.

So these are my favourite tracks, in the hopes of persuading you to check out this great album: Line of Fire – deliciously evocative of ending-credit rollouts – Suddenly – fuzzy, warm and vaguely folky with its echoed lines – Walking Lightly – meandering, smiling journeys – After All Is Said and Done – I’ve never loved vibraphone more.

Tour dates:

5/29 – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA (2nd Show Added!)
5/30 – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA **SOLD OUT**
5/31 – Rio Theatre – Santa Cruz, CA
6/1 – Bimbos – San Francisco, CA
6/2 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
6/4 – Rio Theatre – Vancouver, BC
6/5 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
6/8 – Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
6/9 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
6/10 – Great Hall –Toronto, ON
6/12 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
6/13 – Highline Ballroom – New York, NY
6/15 – 9:30 Club – Washington DC
6/16 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA

#WaybackWednesday: David Bowie’s Sound and Vision

Posted on by Sasha
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I love new music, but when I listen to songs from another generation like this one from David Bowie, I get nostalgic of an era I wasn’t even a part of, we are so heavily saturated with new music (I say this because our e-mail inbox for the blog is so out of control I couldn’t even begin to look at it) its nice to listen to a little retro jam.

I’ll also say that I’m not a massive David Bowie fan, I think Pressure is one of the greatest songs, but I don’t have his entire catalogue, I did have the chance to listen to some of his new music, but wasn’t extremely moved- sorry :S.  This song though, is something I can jam to, on repeat, consistently and not be phased.  You don’t have to be quite that extreme but I do hope you’ll give it a listen and enjoy (even if you’ve heard it before).

David Bowie - Sound and Vision

 

#MusicVideoMonday – Who’s That? Brooown! by Das Racist

Posted on by Katie
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For a long time, Who’s That? Brooown! by the late Brooklyn trio Das Racist has been a favourite music video of mine – you can actually PLAY the game and this hella catchy track has a way of getting stuck in my head all day. Of course, I’ve never beaten it because I always seem to take my sweet time. If you haven’t given it a try yet, here’s your morning time-waster. Good luck dodging your supervisor!