Canadian Music Week Top 5
Number 5. The Almighty Trigger Happy, Funhaus,
March 4 at 8 p.m.
“This is a Trigger Happy show, why is everyone
smiling?” wondered singer Al Nolan halfway through
the band’s half-hour set. Maybe it was because
everyone was having fun. The band looked like they were
having a great time plowing through their set of hard-hitting
New-York-HC-inspired thrash, the crowd that turned out
for the early start time was clearly there for them,
and Nolan’s hilariously abusive banter that targeted
everyone from audience members to the upcoming bands
made for a great start to the week.
Number 4. High Dials, The Horseshoe, March
6 at 10:30 p.m.
Montreal’s High Dials did almost the impossible:
Made a crowd of music industry professionals shut up
and listen. Maybe it was their snappy Beatle-esque harmonies,
or their well-crafted pop songs, but they added some
energy to a gig that otherwise seemed like a ho-hum
industry event.
Number 3. Chris Page, Healeys, March 5 at 9
p.m.
Chris Page, formerly the singer for the Stand GT, kicked
off the showcase for Kelp Records with his solo electric
guitar act that has drawn comparisons to Billy Bragg,
but without the heavy handed politics. Give him credit
for pulling off a decent set in front of an audience
made up largely of the Friday night sports bar crowd.
Number 2. Despistado, The 360, March 6 at 9:30
p.m.
Regina, SK’s Despistado have studied their Fugazi
records well. The thing I noticed the most was how tight
they were, with lots of stops and starts, time-changes
that with most other bands would sound wanky and self-indulgent,
but with enough hooks and energy to make them sound
sincere. In about a year when their debut on Jade Tree
is released, I predict people will be talking about
them the way they are talking about the Constantines
today.
Number 1 Clay George, Holy Joe’s, March
5 at 11:30 p.m.
Holy Joe’s is perhaps the best venue in Toronto
for an artist like Clay George. Small and intimate,
almost like hanging out in someone’s living room,
it’s the right atmosphere for a solitary musician
singing downbeat songs about traveling life’s
road alone. George’s quietly confident baritone
makes him sound like he’s not broken by the twists
and turns his life has taken, but has the need to tell
his stories like a great short story writer does. When
he tells an audience about writing a song at an old
upright piano in a rooming house in Nelson, B.C, you
can almost see the room he’s singing about.
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