tUnE-yArDsblew me away when she opened for Think About Life back in the Spring at the Polish Combatants Hall. It was one of the most inspiring sets I have seen in a long time, Merrill Garbus has a wonderfully unique voice and her songwriting is nothing short of genius. Her debut BiRd BrAiNs has been officially released by 4AD (after circulating on cassette tape for the last year) and she’s just wrapped up a supporting tour with Dirty Projectors. Let’s hope a headlining tour is in the works! She has recorded a live version of Real Live Flesh for a 4AD session, check it out below.
This Friday (November 20th), Toronto’s Steamwhistle Brewery will be presenting a pretty wicked bill at the Phoenix. On the bill are two of my favourite Paperbag Records bands, B.C.’s You Say Party! We Say Die!, Toronto’s Little Girls as well as my vote for best party band of the year, Montreal’s Think About Life. In between sets, DJ Vaneska will play some tunes. Tickets, $12, are available now here as well as in person at Rotate This! and Soundscapes.
I’m pretty excited to see YSP! WSD!, haven’t seen them in a couple years and have had their new album XXXX on constant rotation since its release. They have really matured as a band, their new stuff has less of a dance-punk sound and relies more on pop structures and good songwriting. Think Yeah Yeah Yeah’s slower, more introspective material. I’m sure XXXX will end up on tons of best of 2009 year end lists.
The tour will continue throughout Ontario then head west to ending in Calgary. Little Girls continues to support for the rest of the tour. Remaining dates are as follows:
November 21st: Townhouse, Sudbury, ON*
November 26th: Royal Albert, Winnipeg, MB*
November 26th: Amigo’s, Saskatoon, SK*
November 27th: New City, Edmonton, AB*
November 28th: Hi-Fi, Calgary, AB*
