Rumbleseat

Over the weekend the Juno awards were held in Ottawa. The Junos are the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys. William Shatner hosted the TV event on Sunday (how awesome is that?). Feist beat Michael Buble for artist of the year, Dallas Green beat Feist for songwriter of the year, and Dan Mangan won best new artist, even though he's not that new (similar to Bon Iver winning that award at the Grammys). Good old Justin Beiber won the Teenaged Girls' Choice Award, I mean People's Choice Award. You can see all of the nominees and award winners here.

And also like the Grammys, most of the Juno awards were handed out at a Gala on Saturday, the day before the TV broadcast. I was cruising around on twitter on Saturday night when someone posted that The Sadies, one of my favorite bands, had won best video. Cool! The winning video posted below is called Rumbleseat and features the song "Tell Her What I Said" from the 2010 album Darker Circles. Rumbleseat, directed by Mike Roberts, is more of an animated short film than an actual music video. It's pretty bad ass.



The Sadies - Tell Her What I Said.mp3
Buy: Darker Circles (2010)

Bonus!
Tell Her What I Said.mp3
From: iTunes Canada Session (2010)

My Favorite Albums of 2010

My normal year-end favorite albums list usually tends to favor the bands/artists who I saw live in that year. This is only somewhat true for 2010. While The Hold Steady, The National, Drive-by Truckers, and Justin Townes Earle all had killer live gigs in Toronto this year, I just couldn't get into their 2010 releases (I didn't write a review of The National at Massey Hall on June 8 because every other blogger in Toronto did). Turns out that I tended to like some of the opening acts better than some of the headliners, which makes me sound like an even bigger music snob than I already am. And this list makes me sound worse! Only three pseudo mainstream indie records made the cut. I also noticed that the albums I favored this year leaned towards the Bruce Springsteen/Tom Petty-style of rock. I'm not sure why, but that's just what tickled my fancy, or something, in 2010. If I could, I supplied links to buying the albums directly from the band's/artist's web site (more $ for the band). Go buy these records! Most have cheap shipping, and it's only like $1-2 more to ship to Canada. All of these records are worthy of being in you collection.

1. The Fox Hunt - Long Way to Go

This modern bluegrass quartet out of Martinsburg, West Virginia, put out the best album in 2010. From my original review posted in September: The band has two primary songwriters, John R. Miller and Matt Kline, who both cover a range of human emotions in their music. Women, sinning, drinking, misery, temptation, you know, the happy subjects, are covered in depth in their lyrics. Their music is mostly uptempo country/folk, filled with vocal harmonies, and lots of banjo and fiddle, rounded out with acoustic guitar, mandolin, and upright bass. And the musicians frequently rotate instruments and share lead vocals. Now that's talent!

Long Way to Go spans an entire range of roots music, with a mid-tempo opening track called "Screw Me Up" which is about a woman messing with a dude's head. Later, a snappy song called "It Suits Me" which is ostensibly about a one night stand (the instrumental outro kills me). One of the best songs on the album, "Four Horses" is a slaying meditation on life and death. "No one said that life was easy. No one said that life was fair." Gulp. One of my favorite songs on the album, "I'll Drink Cheap," is about breaking the bank to please your lush of a woman. I listened to and enjoyed this album more than any other record released in 2010. You should be doing the same.

Third runner up to song of the year:
Four Horses.mp3
Buy: Long Way to Go

2. Glossary - Feral Fire

Remember when The Hold Steady released their first few albums and everyone, including me, said they were the second coming of Thin Lizzy? Wrong! Ladies and gentlemen, I present Glossary. Feral Fire is such a killer rock album. It takes its name from a line in the Cormac McCarthy book, The Road. Apparently this is their sixth album, but I am just hopping on the bandwagon now. Can't wait to listen to their back catalog, some of which is free on their web site. If you like Bruce Springsteen/Tom Petty/Drive-By Truckers kind of rock, then get this album pronto.

Second runner up to song of the year:
Save Your Money for the Weekend.mp3
Buy: Feral Fire


3. Matthew Ryan - Dear Lover (electric and acoustic)

I got a copy of Matthew Ryan's Dear Lover back in October 2009, and I have been dying to put it on my top 10 list for the last fourteen months. From my original review from February: The entire record revolves (evolves?) around the theme of a romantic relationship. Relationships are complicated, wonderful, confusing, stressful, exhilarating, scary, empowering, and even lonely, sometimes all at the same time. "I could be your super hero. I could be your biggest disappointment." Ryan is telling stories in his songs, but the stories are vague enough where each listener can interpret the song in his/her own way. The mark of a great songwriter is the ability to let his audience decide what the song is about, and Ryan thrives in this aspect of musicianship.

The songs on Dear Lover are power pop anthems, indie rockers, soft ballads, and electro/synth tracks you could hear in a Manhattan martini bar. Some people may be turned off by the ambient/electro-sounding songs, but I think they really add to the overall feel of the album and show Ryan's willingness to experiment with diverse sounds. In fact, one fan called Dear Lover "Matthew Ryan's synth/techno/electro Nebraska."

Later in 2010 Ryan released Dear Lover as an acoustic album, with a different track order, and one new track, which makes it a completely different album. I haven't heard of an artist doing this before, except in the context of a live album or something. This approach may be a new way for indie/DYI artists to get more mileage out of one record. Screw that iTunes "exclusive" or iTunes "sessions" crap. I may be old school, but I like the physical disc in my hand, in both electric and acoustic forms.

City Life.mp3
City Life (acoustic).mp3
Buy both: City Life (electric and acoustic)

4. Joe Pug - Messenger

I saw Joe Pug open for Justin Townes Earle back in March, and I was totally taken with Pug. At the time I didn't own the album Messenger, but after subsequent listens I was enamored with his work. This is a solid singer/songwriter folk-ish, country-ish album, with brilliant lyrics and great storytelling. I don't have a lot to say about this album. The music speaks for itself.

Fourth runner up to song of the year:
Not So Sure.mp3
Buy: Messenger

Pug has a free EP out right now. You can download it for the cost of your e-mail address.

5. Tim Barry - 28th & Stonewall

I had the pleasure of seeing Tim Barry in concert twice this year: once opening for Chuck Ragan in February and once opening for The Gaslight Anthem in July, both times solo acoustic.

Barry is intense, and pissed off, but also deeply sincere and forthright. He has deep convictions, and he stands by them. You don't fuck with Tim Barry. You also don't fuck with his album 28th & Stonewall, an intersection in Barry's home town of Richmond, Virginia. I would love to know about the significance of this particular corner. This album continues with Barry's style of simple storytelling about complicated people. The characters in Barry's songs are presumably semi-autobiographical: they are fucks-up who are trying to do the right thing, but keep stumbling into people who are constantly letting them down. In addition, he's also very self-deprecating and self-aware. 28th & Stonewall is Barry's most well-written solo album, with vibrant lyrics boosting his powerful voice. But, this album is not for the timid. You may be offended by some of the content, but Barry doesn't give a shit, and neither do I.

(Memento Mori).mp3
Buy: 28th & Stonewall

6. Two Cow Garage - Sweet Saint Me

The fact that Two Cow Garage hasn't cracked the indie rock glass ceiling completely baffles me. Sweet Saint Me is their fifth album, and as I said in my November review, this album as a whole is their strongest one yet. Sweet Saint Me is nearly a pure rock album, but this time the lead singers, mostly Michal Schnabel with a few tracks by Shane Sweeney, seemed to have really concentrated on honing their songwriting technique. The entire album seems more mature and focused. But don't worry, "mature and focused" can also kick fucking ass! Take my favorite track, "Lydia;" "Lydia, you're much too young to have your teeth on the tip of my tongue. If your lips were just a little bit older…" I heard through the twittervine that when Schnabel premiered "Jackson, Don't You Worry" at SXSW, a song dedicated to Sweeney's baby son, grown men were weeping. Indeed, I took a hard gulp the first time I heard it. And I'll be damned if Schnabel didn't steal the "Insolent Youth" lyric "just because you can doesn't mean you should" from me, cause I've been saying that for years. Sweet Saint Me is peppered with hard rock anthems ("My Great Gatsby"), love songs ("Closer to You"), and stories ("Lucy and the Butcher Knife"), with the occasional lyric borrowed from Bruce Springsteen, Townes Van Zandt, and Bob Dylan. To paraphrase my reader Ron from Buffalo, Two Cow Garage has written better individual songs ("No Shame," "Swingset Assassin," "Humble Narrator," "Mediocre," "Saturday Night," "Come Back to Shelby") but this album is solid everywhere.

Lydia.mp3
Buy: Sweet Saint Me

7. The Sadies - Darker Circles

A few months ago I was listening to a podcast of the CBC radio show Q where the host was interviewing The Sadies lead guitarists/singers/songwriters brothers Dallas and Travis Good. One of them said that after their mom listened to Darker Circles she called them to make sure they were OK. You know you've made a good album when you freak your mom out.

Per my May review: Darker Circles is a very different album from their 2007 release New Seasons, although both were produced by Jayhawks member Gary Louris. Darker Circles is, well, much darker than New Seasons, with lyrics like, "it won't be long 'til all your hopes and dreams are dead and gone," ("Another Year Again"), and "I turn to oblivion night after night," ("Tell Her What I Said"). The songs have themes of isolation, regret, remorse, and ponderances of "what could have been." There is even a country-rock killin' song ("Violet and Jeffrey Lee," not quite a murder ballad). The entire album has a very psychedelic feel to it, like a 2010 version of The Byrds. Especially my favorite track "Postcards," (listen below) which sounds like it could be straight out of Roger McGuin's 1960s catalog.

This is not an album that will cheer you up on a bad day, but it is a killer country-rock psychedelic folk bluegrass record (its damn impossible to categorize The Sadies). As my friend Whiskey Devil said, "Dark Sadies might just be the best Sadies."

Postcards.mp3
Buy (Maple Music): Darker Circles
Buy (Amazon): Darker Circles

8. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

I was apprehensive about The Gaslight Anthem's newest release until I saw them live back in July. They totally lived up to the hype. Blew me away actually. They blasted into the title track "American Slang" and never looked back.

American Slang and The Gaslight Anthem are filling in a much needed niche in music right now: they are a solid rock band. They don't fart around with pretentious new sounds, or have weird outfits, or feel the need to do namby-pamby acoustic folk songs (and I like namby-pamby acoustic folk songs). American Slang is essentially following the same Tom Petty/Bruce Springsteen rock formula that they have been using since their 2008 debut album Sink Or Swim, except that they have become better singers/guitarists/musicians in general. I'm hoping that the Gaslight Anthem will get today's teenagers interested in rock and roll. God knows that popular music needs it.

Stay Lucky.mp3
Buy: American Slang

9. Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights

Nowhere Nights came out in early 2010, and as I predicted in February, it set my standard for the year in rock music. It contains eleven tracks of solid rock songs: some slow, some fast, some you can dance to, some that will make you think, and some that will just make you rock out.

Anderson's rock influences are all over this album. You can hear Tom Petty in "Sooner/Later," Bruce Springsteen in "Leavin' Kind," and Mike Cooley-penned Drive-By Truckers songs in "All Lit Up." "Real Gone" is an obvious nod to Tom Waits, but it also seems like it could be Anderson's "Desolation Row."

"I Was a Photograph" is the song of the year. Anderson wrote this song about Lance Cpl. James Blake Miller after reading an article about the Iraq veteran in Rolling Stone. You can read Anderson's thoughts on the song on a post he did for Ninebullets.net.

While the album is largely autobiographical, the themes and stories easily resonate with everyday folks (in other words, me). Two songs specifically hit home for me. The first track, "Bellingham Blues," reminds me of never feeling at home in the town where you grew up. Similarly, the song "Home" reminds me of my home town. I'm assuming that this song is also about Bellingham, a city similar in population to my home town. "That's how it goes in a town this small. You either play your hand a little closer to the vest, or you don't play at all." Great lyrics, and so true.

Song of the year, easily:
I Was a Photograph (Blake's Song).mp3
Buy: Nowhere Nights

10. The Black Keys - Brothers

The Black Keys do it again with a killer blues-based rock album called Brothers. This album makes me want to tap my feet, shake my ass, and drink hooch like an old blues man on Maxwell Street. Some have compared The Black Keys to The White Stripes in terms of a blues-based rock duo, but The Black Keys has a deeper, more restrained and disciplined sound, as opposed to blues-spaz-rock and bizarre lyrics that sometimes spews from Jack White. For Brothers itself, the recording is raw and uncomplicated, but you can also hear a bit of punk rock and hip-hop influences throughout the record. The songs are catchy, fiery, and sexy, and will get stuck in your head. This is a good thing.

Brothers also has the worst/laziest album art of 2010.

Apparently The Black Keys are driving some of my US peeps crazy because several of songs are licensed for TV commercials. But those licenses didn't reach Canada, so I can't complain!

Next Girl.mp3
Buy: Brothers

This Wheel's on Fire

Neil Young, Garth Hudson and Peter J. Moore, backed by the Sadies outside Moore's studio.

My buddy Rad Jen posted this on Facebook this weekend, and I thought that it was so brilliant that I had to share. Greg Quill, entertainment reporter for the Toronto Star, penned this wonderful essay on Neil Young and The Sadies recording the Bob Dyaln/Rick Danko classic "This Wheel's on Fire" for the album A Canadian Celebration of The Band, which was released in November 16.

This Neil’s on Fire: A classic cut reborn

Those who know him say Neil Young never begins a new recording project before cleansing his musical soul by immersing himself in The Basement Tapes, those seminal 1965 recordings of one of rock’s overwhelming Big Bang moments, when The Band – formerly The Hawks, from Toronto – and Bob Dylan, recuperating from a motorcycle accident near Woodstock, N.Y., undertook a stunningly fruitful 100-song collaboration, melding new compositions with country music, folk music, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and R&B, and redefining the forms, functions, language and boundaries of popular American music.

So, when Young turned up one morning in April 2009 at the west-end Toronto studio of award-winning music producer/engineer Peter J. Moore to add his contribution to a collection of some great and some lesser known Band songs — recorded during the past three years by a number of Canada’s prominent pop, rock and folk acts, selected and arranged by The Band’s legendary keyboardist Garth Hudson, and released last week as A Canadian Celebration of The Band, on the Curve Music label — it was appropriate that a particularly potent talisman, the original Big Pink basement tape recording of the Dylan-Rick Danko composition, “This Wheel’s On Fire,” was positioned decorously on the studio’s fireplace mantel, oozing mojo.

Young and Toronto country-rock outfit The Sadies were about to lay into what may well be the best version of the song — recorded by everyone from Ian & Sylvia to Siouxsie and the Banshees, and also known as the theme song to Absolutely Fabulous — ever recorded, and certainly the album’s money cut.

“They had intended to record it with acoustic instruments,” Moore says, recalling some of the dozens of amusing, cathartic, frustrating and catastrophic events that occurred during the lengthy recording project, the brainchild of Hudson and his wife/manager, Maud, who live in upstate New York.

“And Neil was supposed to record his bit four months earlier, but performance schedules and a sore throat kept pushing it back.”

When Young finally did show up – his three tour buses took up an entire block of the narrow residential street on which Moore’s studio is situated – it was on a travel day between concerts in Kingston and London. And he had no intention of playing an acoustic guitar.

“There’s a knock at the door, and Larry Cragg, Neil’s guitar technician, is standing there, asking how he can get ‘the rig’ into the studio,” Moore says.

Young’s guitar rig — a famously mystical contraption made up of a battered, modified vintage Fender amplifier boosted by several custom-made sound-processing devices, distortion effects and a number of reverb plates, linked together and gaffer-taped to an assembly that rests in a huge black box — can’t be turned sideways, for fear of displacing loose but vital objects, Moore was told.

“So we had about six guys lift it over the driveway fence and into the backyard, where it was unpacked, and the rig was rolled into the studio’s piano room through patio doors that had to be removed.”

Accommodating the guitarist’s huge red pedal board with it’s gigantic “umbilical cord” that ran from the main studio in the front of the building to the rig in back, meant cutting holes in doors and jambs – ad hoc renovations that Moore, credited with Hudson as co-producer on the album, was only too happy to make in order to facilitate the creation of a recording he calls “a labour of love.”

With Hudson and The Sadies in Moore’s “big room”, and his guitar rig in another, Young worked through the song, settling the arrangement, before the musicians cut “four or five” versions, any of which would have been perfectly acceptable, Moore says.

“Then Neil left, and went back into the piano room where his amp was, and closed the door. I could hear him practicing scales in there with the piano, warming up his voice . . . then things got very quiet.”

Thinking their work was more or less done, The Sadies relaxed. Dallas Good had left his electric guitar on a stand in the studio to make coffee in the adjoining kitchen. Brother Travis was in a corner picking an acoustic guitar off-mic. Garth leaned over his keyboard. Drummer Mike Belitsky, Moore recalls, had set his sticks aside and was standing by his kit, chatting with bassist Sean Dean.

“Suddenly, the piano room door flew open, and without a word, Neil rushed into the studio, picked up his guitar and whacked out this enormous chord. He was going for it.”

The only evidence you’ll hear of the panic that ensued – Dallas flying across the room, plugging in his axe (Moore edited out the “pop” in the mix), Dean picking his stand-up bass off the floor, Belitsky diving into his kit and extracting his sticks – is the missing first beat on the snare drum.

It’s a beat Moore says he’s happy to live without.

“That was a killer take. Luckily the recorder was still running.”

Part fury, part ecstasy, “This Wheel’s On Fire” by The Sadies, Hudson and Young is a defining event on A Canadian Celebration of The Band, a three-minute explosion that captures all six musicians at their best, and delivers a heart-stopping wallop. It sounds extemporaneous, immediate, too big for the room – it’s as good as rock ‘n’ roll gets.

“I think that was Neil’s intention,” Moore says. “I’m just guessing here, but when he stormed out of that back room it was as if he meant to catch everyone off guard, to get their blood pumping.

“If that was his plan, it certainly worked.”

Buy (Maple Music): Garth Hudson Presents A Canadian Celebration of The Band (2010)

Garth Hudson plays keyboards on all tracks along with the following artists:
1. Forbidden Fruit – Danny Brooks & The Rockin’ Revelators
2. Out Of The Blue – Mary Margret O’Hara
3. Acadian Driftwood – Peter Katz & The Curious
4. This Wheel’s On Fire – Neil Young and The Sadies
5. Ain’t Got No Home – Suzie McNeil
6. Clothes Line Saga - Cowboy Junkies
7. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere - Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle
8. Sleeping - Bruce Cockburn & Blue Rodeo
9. Yazoo Street Scandal - The Road Hammers
10. The Moon Struck One – Raine Maida
11. The Shape I’m In - The Sadies
12. Tears Of Rage – Chantal Kreviazuk
13. I Loved You Too Much – Hawskley Workman
14. Knockin’ Lost John - Great Big Sea
15. King Harvest - Blue Rodeo
16. Move To Japan – The Trews
17. Genetic Method (Anew) – Garth Hudson
18. Chest Fever – Ian Thornley & Bruce Cockburn

I don't have this record yet. Who wants to get their favorite blogger an early Christmas present???

Rick Danko - This Wheel's on Fire.mp3
Buy: Times Like These (2000)

Sunday Videos

A few cool videos came across my monitor this week which you need to check out!



How killer is this? And how was I NOT at this show?????



I've had this song stuck in my head for the last month. Watch how furiously Branan beats on his guitar. I thought he was going to snap a string when I saw him back in early Oct. "Karen's Song" will be on his forthcoming album. I actually like Branan live acoustic solo better than his studio albums, which sound too slick for my ears. Also, I wonder if any of the Spanish/Catalan speakers of Barcelona would have even noticed if messed up the verse. I love Barcelona. One of my favorite cities in the world.



Ryan sounds really great here, but his wifey Mandy Moore is no Emmylou Harris.

A weird Sunday morning with The Sadies

B-E-E-P B-E-E-P B-E-E-P

SLAM!

Why the fuck is my alarm clock going off at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday morning? (Aimz fades in and out of consciousness) I could use a large glass of water. (rolls over, yawns, stretches) I need to buy a dress for Ryan's wedding, but the stores don't open until noon. Why the hell did I set my alarm? (pulls covers over her head) Why the fuck was I dreaming about my office printer? (clock now says 9:50) Oh yeah, there's a free Sadies show at 11:00. I better pull it together and get moving.

3/4 of The Sadies during the TIFF Lightbox opening street party.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is in full swing, and as part of the festivities the city welcomed the official opening of the TIFF Bell Lightbox with a street party. The Lightbox building is the new home of the TIFF, and it includes the TIFF offices, a public atrium, five public cinemas, two art galleries, three learning studios, a center for students and scholars, a bistro, a restaurant, and a lounge. The other side of the Lightbox will boast a 46 story condominium development called the Festival Tower that is currently nearing completion.

So why, you ask, would I drag my sorry carcass out of bed on a Sunday morning just to see a new building? Normally I wouldn't, but for this street party my favorite Canadians were playing a mini gig. Yes, a free Sadies show is one of the few things that will get me moving on a weekend morning.

The scene was actually quite surreal at 11:00 a.m. at the intersection of King West and John St., roughly four blocks from where I live. Normally this area is pretty dead on a Sunday morning, with a few people headed off to brunch, or to the Starbucks, Second Cup, or Tim Hortons, all of which line the block. I crossed the intersection of Peter and King West and was greeted by a giant inflatable rat, part of an ongoing, rotating series of scheduled walkouts by hotel employees (this time from the nearby Hyatt) to protest working conditions. After the rat and dozens of protesters, I came upon lines and lines of people headed into the Lightbox to see whatever TIFF screenings aired at 11 or 12. Vendors from nearby restaurants were preparing food tents.

"A donut for my dog?"

The people watching was fantastic. In addition to the movie-goers and protesters, there were people of all walks of life milling about the block. Overdressed TIFF scenesters, young couples with their little munchkins, old couples decked out in their Sunday best, hungover locals (e.g. me), baseball fans (the Sky Dome is three blocks to the south and the Jays had a 1p.m. game), the homeless man who hangs out in front of the Tim Hortons who has been terrorizing people with his cranky German

"Most boring security gig ever."

Sheppard for the last eight years (upper right). The security dudes looked completely bored and surly (lower right). One in three people had TIFF lanyards (which means that they are more important than you). One in two had an iPhone. One in four had a bluetooth headset. I kept thinking, "This must be what L.A. is like."

When I got to the stage at King/John, an energetic young rock band called 100 Monkeys was finishing their set. They had a lot of excited fans, mostly chicks. And they were from L.A. - the band that is, I'm not sure about the chicks. The Sadies were supposed to go on at 11:30, but the stage was already behind schedule. I usually see the Sadies take the stage at 11:30 p.m., so I was very amused to see the band members all carrying extra large coffees instead of extra large beers. It's rough being a rockstar at 11 in the morning.

Dallas Good, the other 1/4 of The Sadies.

The Sadies played a very quick set of six tracks, four of which were from their latest album Darker Circles. The mini-set was heavy on the psychedelic riffs, and despite the early hour, they sounded really good. Some on-stage genius decided that a smoke machine would be a good idea, but it actually made the stage look like it was on fire. I estimated that only about 60 people were actually paying attention to the band, as opposed to the reported 1000 that showed up to see "surprise" guest K'naan later that afternoon (This link is to an article in the Toronto Star. The photo of all of the people with cameras just kills me. Can you imagine how man BAD photos of K'naan where taken that afternoon?).

As I was watching The Sadies, I noticed a kid, roughly 12-years-old, standing next to me watching the show. After it was over I asked him what he thought. "It was good!" he enthusiastically responded. One thing that is neat about public performances like this is that youngsters can actually see very cool artists perform. K'naan might sell out the all-ages Air Canada Centre, but the Sadies usually play in dingy bars well past the bedtime of young tweens. I hope this kid was inspired to take guitar lessons.

There were other bands playing that afternoon, but I didn't stick around for them. I had to go dress shopping (unsuccessfully, I might add), and I was really looking forward to my Sunday afternoon nap.

Another Day Again.mp3
Buy: Darker Circles (2010)

August Feel Bad For You

The monthly comp from the forum users at AltCountryTab.ca.

Download the zipped comp for one week only.

1. Dave Gleason's Wasted Days - Rusty Ol' Halo.mp3
Buy: Just Fall To Pieces (2007)
Would love to see this band live. Great at rootsy Americana, straight ahead country, Stones-y rock n roll, they can do it all and do it good.

2. Delbert McClinton - "I Had A Real Good Time"
Cost Of Living (2005)
Another artist who can sing and play every kind of roots, and has been doing it for 50 years.

3. Doug Sahm - "Can't Fake It"
Hell of a Spell (1980)
Like McClinton does, Doug Sahm had country and blues in his soul. Nothing he couldn't do, he was Texas. Hell he was everything south of the line. Love the doo-wop backing on this cover. A master.

4. Paul Thorn - "Love Scar"
Pimps & Preachers (2010)
Haven't seen this new release mentioned on the board, so thought I'd throw out one of the prettier songs for the August FBFY.

5. Jetset Motel - Settle Up, Settle Down.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Jetset Motel (2010)
Country-rockers from Toronto (although they're all Newfoundlanders). Pretty nice debut from them here, and they put one a great live show. And the bassist is a heck of a nice guy.

6. Sherman Downey - "Church Mouse"
Honey for Bees (2009)
West-cost Newfoundland folkie. Most of his songs are fairly upbeat, but with some introspective and thoughtful lyrics hiding under the danceable sound. Again, crazy good live show when he's with the full band.

7. Red Star Belgrade - "Under My Wheels"
Where The Sun Doesn't Shine (1996)

8. John Moreland - "Mississippi Moonlight"
First Demo (2006)

9. The Sadies - Tell Her Lies and Feed Her Candy.mp3
Buy: Precious Moments (1998)
Old school Sadies covering older school Porter Wagoner.

10. Good Lovelies - "Sleepwalkin’"
Good Lovelies (2009)
My new favorite band. From the Toronto area, they won a Juno (Canadian Grammy) this year for best Roots or Traditional Group.

11. Del McCoury, Doc Watson & Mac Wiseman - "The Old Account"
Mac, Doc & Del (1998)

12. Howe Gelb & A Band Of Gypsies - "Blood Orange"
Alegrías (2010)

13. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "September (alternate version)"
Jacksonville City Nights Rarities (2005)
Not sure where this is from but found this track on a rarities compilation and since I'd never heard it, I figured a few others probably haven't either. Far superior country rock version of this track.

14. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - When The Wild Wind Blows.mp3
From: Elizabethtown Sessions (2005)
The best track off the otherwise middling Elizabethtown sessions bootleg.

15. Tim Easton - "Taken"
Unreleased (2006)
Tim, at one point, had a myspace page concealed under the moniker Dark Watson. It was there that I discovered this gem!

Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to my Canadian peeps! This US ex-pat has to go to work.... boooo!  For those of you in the Toronto area, I highly recommend that you get off of your lazy ass and get down to the Harbour Front (notice Canadian spelling) for a free show by out heroes The Sadies. Whoo-hoo!

For those of you not in the GTA, have a great day, and rock out to this track from one of my favourite (Canadian spelling) Canadian groups and one of the best albums of 2009.

Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle - Canada Day Off/Toronto.mp3
Buy: Let's Just Stay Here (2009)

New Video: The Sadies, Postcards

My favorite Canadian band The Sadies officially release their new album Darker Circles today. I wrote a mini review of this album back on May 1. To briefly summarize, its fantastic, especially if you like The Byrds and dark lyrics. In addition, the band released a killer hippie trippie video to my favorite song on the album, "Postcards." The video was directed by Rick White. If you don't know Rick White, get off your ass and do some research!

Buy (Canada, Outside Music): Darker Circles (2010)
(Everywhere else, Yep Roc)

The Sadies: Darker Circles

Very occasionally I luck out and get to do cool blogger/"journalist" things. Last Monday was one of those occasions where, thanks to Outside Music, I got on to the "guest list" for a private live preview of The Sadies forthcoming album Darker Circles. And the only thing better than a free Sadies show, is a free Sadies show with free beer! Thanks for the brews, guys!

The Sadies played a 30 minute mini-set featuring five new songs (the first five tracks from the album, I believe), followed by the crowd-pleaser, "Tiger Tiger," originally from their 2002 album Stories Often Told. Here's the problem with The Sadies, and believe me, most bands wish that they had this problem: they are so good live that their albums are slightly underwhelming.

That's not to say that Darker Circles isn't a good album. Its a very good album, a Top 5 for me so far this year. Its a very different album from their 2007 release New Seasons, although both were produced by Jayhawks member Gary Louris. Darker Circles is, well, much darker than New Seasons, with lyrics like, "it won't be long 'til all your hopes and dreams are dead and gone," ("Another Year Again"), and "I turn to oblivion night after night," ("Tell Her What I Said"). The songs have themes of isolation, regret, remorse, and ponderances of "what could have been." There is even a country-rock killin' song (not quite a murder ballad).  The entire album has a very psychedelic feel to it, like a 2010 version of The Byrds. Especially my favorite track "Postcards," (listen below) which sounds like it could be straight out of Roger McGuin's 1960s catalog.

This is not an album that will cheer you up on a bad day, but it is a killer country-rock psychedelic folk bluegrass record (its damn impossible to categorize the Sadies). As my friend Whiskey Devil said, "Dark Sadies might just be the best Sadies."

And for the love of God, go out and see this band when they come to your town! I don't want to hear any of this "I have to work early tomorrow," or "It's raining" or "The venue is too far away" whiny crap. The Sadies are EASILY my favorite live Canadian act. I'll even help by typing out their tour schedule for you.

May 21 - Call the Office - London, ON
May 22 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON
May 25 - Pyramid Cabaret - Winnipeg, MB
May 26 - Louis' Pub - Saskatoon, SK
May 27 - Starlight Room - Edmonton, AB
May 29 - Dicken's Pub - Calgary, AB
May 30 - The Canmore Hotel - Canmore, AB
May 31 - The Canmore Hotel - Canmore, AB
June 1 - The Hume Hood - Nelson, BC
June 4 - The Biltmore - Vancouver, BC
June 5 - The High Dive - Seattle, WA
June 6 - Wild Buffalo - Bellingham, WA
June 7 - Doug Fir - Portland, OR
June 9 - Great American Hall - San Francisco, CA
June 10 - Echo - Los Angeles, CA
June 11 - The Casbah - San Diego
June 12 - Pappy and Harriet's - Joshua Tree, CA
June 13 - Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ
June 15 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO
June 25 - Cedars Lounge - Youngstown, OH
June 26 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH

I'm serious people! Go see The Sadies live!!! Especially my fuckhead American friends. You know who you are.

Postcards.mp3
Pre-order: Darker Circles (2010)
Officially available May 18.
US: Yep Roc
Canada: Outside Music

About a year ago there was a rumor blurb in NOW Magazine speculating that The Sadies and Neil Young were recording a tribute to The Band. I don't know any details, but I have heard that The Sadies are recording a tribute to The Band with a "Canadian superstar." Who might that be? Hmmm?!?!?! I get excited just thinking about it.

The Sadies on New Years Eve

The first time I saw The Sadies was on New Years Eve in 2006. I was with this really hot dude, and I spent the entire show - both the 11:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. sets - looking like this (actual photo):
Mind. Blown.

And I never saw that hot dude again.

Since 12/31/2006, I have seen the Sadies at least 10 times. Their records are good, but their live shows are unbelievable. They are easily my favorite live Canadian artist, and in my top five of all live touring acts.

I rolled into 2010 with the Sadies again this year, and it was no different. Kick fucking ass! Even my recovering-metalhead buddy Dan commented on how amazing brothers Dallas and Travis Good are on their geetars. Dallas announced that they have a new album that should be released in May (yipee!), and they played a few tracks from the upcoming release. I was drinking and didn't catch the track names, but they sounded more twangy than their last album, New Seasons. I love me some twang.

And it wouldn't be a Sadies show if they didn't bring the rest of the family along. Dallas and Travis' mom Margaret sang a few tunes, father Bruce sang and played the harmonica, and cousin Darcy played a mean fiddle. I loved watching Ma and Pa Good shake their heads and roll their eyes at their boys, especially as Dallas is cursing up storm on the countdown to midnight.

My only complaint about the night was that it was hotter than fuck inside of the Horseshoe Tavern. It was unseasonably warm that night, and the 'Shoe didn't compensate by turning down the heat or starting the overhead fans. I can't imagine how the musicians made it without fainting. I had to leave before the end of the show. There is only so much Bud Light one can drink to rehydrate.

Anna Leigh.mp3
Buy: New Seasons (2007)

Rat Creek.mp3
Buy: In Concert, Vol. 1 (2006)

Thanksgiving Canadienne

I've been sick as fuck for the last week and haven't had the energy to get out of bed, much less to blog. If anyone has a good sore throat/dry cough remedy, I'm all ears. I'm sort of on the mend now, just in time for the long weekend here in Canada.

Yes, its that wild and wacky holiday, Canadian Thanksgiving. Poster DeadManSaloon from Newfoundland (one of my favorite places) posted this tidbit on the AltCountryTab.ca forums about Thanksgiving in the Great White North.

Hey, who wants some pretty much useless information!?

Thanksgiving in Canada used to be celebrated in November, but after WWI, Armistice Day was, of course, placed on November 11th, and the two dates were celebrated at pretty much the same time (one on Sunday, the other on Monday, I think). However, due to the the joyousness related to Thanksgiving, and the reflection with Armistice Day, they were eventually split up and Thanksgiving, like the weird, step-child, holiday it is in Canada, was thrown back to October (and Armistice Day became Remembrance Day).

I'm taking a Newfoundland Folklore class at uni this term, and picked up this tidbit yesterday, along with the knowledge that one of the origins of Thanksgiving in Canada is American refugees (who were still loyal to the English) who came up here after the Revolution. You imperialist assholes (I kid, I love you guys!). There were some First Nations from what is now Canada that picked it up from the Europeans too, probably right before they were killed.

I don't have a "The More You Know" image, sorry.

Its always a weird holiday for me. Its on a Monday, there is no football (see note below), and there is no shopping. I have no plans to eat lots of turkey and pie, and tomorrow I plan on going to work to try to catch up from being sick last weekend. Either that or watch an eight hour marathon of The Office on cable (in Toronto on Rogers cable channel 90, 11 am - 7 pm).

I am very thankful for Canadian musicians. Here are three of my favorites:

Neil Young - Rockin' in the Free World (acoustic).mp3
Buy: Freedom (1989)

The Sadies - Wasn't Born to Follow.mp3
Buy: Tremendous Efforts (2001)

Great Lake Swimmers - Everything is Moving so Fast.mp3
Buy: Lost Channels (2009)

Note: OK technically there is football, but its the CFL so it doesn't count.

Sadies Originals

This photo has nothing to do with today's post. I just like kitschy-Americana (Canadiana?) things. I actually took a road trip to Sudbury once, and yes, I saw giant the nickel. Read about Sudbury, the nickel capitol of the world here. To see other large roadside attractions in Canada, click here. To hear the song "Sudbury Nickel" see Friday's post.

I have a playlist on my MP3 player that I call "Sadies Originals." Its all original tracks of songs that I have heard The Sadies cover live. Here are a few "originals" that John Doe and The Sadies cover on their album Country Club.

Roger Miller - Husbands and Wives.mp3
From: Live at the Birchmere, Alexandria, VA, Feburary 16, 1991.
Full disclosure: I pulled this track off of a wonderful live Roger Miller show posted on the A Truer Sound blog. Great show. You should listen to the entire thing!

Willie Nelson - Night Life.mp3
From: Revolutions of Time: The Journey 1975-1993 (1995 Box Set, out of print)

Rosanne Cash - I Still Miss Someone.mp3
Buy: Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash (2002)
Not the original, but this version by Johnny's daughter is my favorite. Vince Gill and Cheryl White sing background vocals, while Marty Stuart plays electric guitar.


The Sadies - Before I Wake.mp3
Buy: Tremendous Efforts (2001)
The original version was performed by Dallas Good with his mother Margaret singing the female part. Margaret returns on the updated version with lead vocals by John Doe.

Horseshoe Hootenanny: John Doe and The Sadies

Concert Review: John Doe and The Sadies
Sonic Boom and The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto
Thursday, April 30, 2009

You know how when you read a really good book, and then see the movie and the movie didn't quite live up to your love of the book? Or when you are at a restaurant and you eat some apple pie, but its not nearly as good as your mom's apple pie? Its not a completely fair comparison - your interpretation of a novel verses a director's film interpretation, or mass produced restaurant pies verses your mom's secret recipe. But you compare them nonetheless. This is sort of how I feel about The Sadies recoded music verses seeing The Sadies live. Yeah, their albums are good, but the records don't come close to the awesomeness that is a Sadies live show. Thus, I was uber excited that I got to see The Sadies with and without John Doe twice on Thursday, April 30, in Toronto.

I darted from work in the pouring rain to get to Sonic Boom for John Doe and The Sadies in-store show that evening, promoting their new album Country Club. Though my leather shoes were soaked through to my socks, it didn't stop my toe tappin' as Doe and the boys happily played through five songs from their new album. Doe was chatty and jovial , and his voice sounded terrific. In fact, in terms of country music, Doe's voice sounds a lot better live than on the record. The Sadies were a tight quartet as usual, with brothers Dallas and Travis Good singing backup in the places where women sang backup on the album (not that the boys sounded girly at all). Dallas rocked his killer electric guitar that has his name splayed over the fretboard, while Travis and Doe played acoustic guitars. The audience was thrilled, and as I looked around I spotted a smiley and drenched Greg Keelor in the corner sporting sunglasses and a yellow rain slicker. The performers mingled after the show, but I had to bolt home to change into dry clothes and forage for food before part two.

Sonic Boom (in-store) Mini Set

1. I Still Miss Someone
2. Husbands and Wives
3. It Just Dawned on Me
4. Stop the World and Let me Off
5. Are the Good Times Really Over for Good

Buy: Country Club (2009)

Photos by Ryan O'Shaughnessy from his photo blog.

The rained stopped in time for me to head over to the Horseshoe Tavern for the 10:30 start time. Local Toronto roots band The Pining was in the middle of their set when I arrived, and the crowd was so chatty that I could barely hear the all-woman quintet. I hate that! The crowd was an odd mix of people, including many in the over 50 age category who I am assuming were there to see John Doe. I overheard one man behind me say that he took two days off of work to drive to Toronto from Rochester, NY, just to see Doe and The Sadies.

I didn't know how the main act would proceed. The Horseshoe web site listed two sets, and I was hoping one of the sets would be The Sadies doing their original tunes. My hopes came true when the foursome took the stage and blasted into an hour set of 15-18 (I lost count) tracks of kick-ass surf, gospel, alternative, and instrumental rock, leaning heavily on their 2007 release New Seasons. By the end of the first hour I already had my $17.50 ticket price worth of entertainment. And there was more to come!

The Horseshoe Tavern
Set I - The Sadies
(Very rough set list because I don't know the names of all of the songs. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. But its hard to concentrate on the show, drink beer, and keep a detailed set list all at the same time. I clearly need more practice.)

• Lay Down Your Arms - Stories Often Told (2002)
• First Inquisition, Pt. 4 - New Seasons (2007)
• Anna Leigh - New Seasons
• Higher Power - Pure Diamond Gold (1999) (Note: every time I see The Sadies, the audience always breaks out the wacky tobaccy during this song. No wonder Dallas referred to the crowd as "Delightful Crazy Bastards." I love Canadians.)
• What's Left Behind - New Seasons
• The Trial - New Seasons
• The Story's Often Told - Stories Often Told
• The 400 - Tales of the Rat Fink (2006)
  
• Ridge Runner Reel - Tremendous Efforts (2001)
• Tiger Tiger - Stories Often Told

Higher Power.mp3
Buy: Pure Diamond Gold (1999)

The Trial.mp3
Buy: New Seasons (2007)

The 400.mp3
Buy: Tales of the Rat Fink Soundtrack (2006)
(Totally unrelated note: This is the soundtrack to the documentary on custom car legend Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, which was very coincidentally on cable (Bravo) the same night as the Horseshoe gig. The Sadies scored the film with original instrumentals and surf rock, and all of the songs on the album are named after clubs and bars where they have performed. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that The 400 is in Minneapolis, MN.)

Roughly 15 minutes after the first set, John Doe joined our heroes for a little hootenanny. "Warning, there will be country and western music tonight," he said. "Stage dive at your own risk." Unlike an X show from Doe's past, there was no stage diving here, but a lot of country wallowing and heartache taken mostly from the new Country Club album. Now this is what I hoped Country Club would sound like. High energy, soulful country. The Good brothers continued singing backup, but this time mixed up the instrumentation with Travis switching between fiddle and a couple of electric guitars, and Dallas swapping between two different electrics.

I was standing about six people deep from the stage, slightly to the left and closer to Travis. He had some bad-ass guitar solos. There were some guitar geeks in front of me with their mouths hitting the floor. I don't know anything about playing guitar, but Travis did some technique where he makes his electric sound a bit like pedal steel. The geeks in front of me said, "wow, that is really hard to do." Then they shook their heads and gawked in awe some more. And the Good bros got to sing lead on a few tracks that didn't make the Country Club cut. Travis sang the Jimmy Martin bluegrass standard "Free Born Man" while Dallas sang something slightly faster than the speed of sound (see track 11 on the set list). The audience was treated to a few songs from Doe's past, "The New World" from his days with X, and an amazing version of The Knitters "Call of the Wreckin' Ball." These tracks fit in perfectly with the country and/or western theme of the second set. Despite the potential for crying into one's beer due to the heartbreaking lyrics of many of the songs, it turned into a uplifting night of music from a punk legend and a fireball backing band.

Set II - John Doe & The Sadies
(mostly from Country Club except where noted)

1. I Still Miss Someone
2. It Just Dawned on Me
3. Help Me Make it Through the Night
4. Free Born Man - (Jimmy Martin Cover)
5. A Fool Such as I
6. Husbands and Wives
7. The Losing Kind - John Doe, Black Snake Moan Soundtrack (2007)
8. 'Til I Get it Right
9. Stop the World and Let Me Off
10. Take These Chains from My Heart
11. Note: I have no idea happened here. Doe said, "Dallas, can you sing us a pretty one?" Then there was two minutes and thirty seconds of country spaz-rock. At the end Doe said, "That was pretty. Pretty fucking fast!" Holy crap.
12. The Cold Hard Facts of Life
13. Night Life
14. Workin' Man's Blues (Merle Haggard Cover)
15. The New World - X, More Fun In the New World (1983)
16. Are the Good Times Really Over for Good

Encore

1. Sudbury Nickel
2. There Stands the Glass (Webb Pierce Cover)
3. Call of the Wreckin' Ball - The Knitters, Poor Little Critter on the Road (1985)