Rock Schedule June 14-20

There are so many great gigs coming up in Toronto in the next few months that every Sunday night I am going to highlight what I think you should go to. I can't go to all of these, and some are on the same night, so if anyone wants to guest post, please say the word (rockstaraimz at gmail dot com).

NxNE is Technically from June 14-20, but most of the gigs start on Thurs, June 16. I am still not sure exactly which shows I am hitting. More on that later in the week. But for now, here is what I think you should go to.


Tuesday, June 15
1. Austin Lucas with Gentlemen Husbands at Sneaky Dee's (431 College). I will be at this one for sure.

Somebody Loves You.mp3
Buy: Somebody Loves You (2009)

2. The New Pornographers with The Dodo's and The Dutchess and the Duke, The Sound Academy (11 Polson Street)


Thursday, June 17
1. Kasey Anderson, part of NxNE, Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen Street West), 12:00. I'll be there!

Sooner/Later.mp3
Buy: Nowhere Nights (2010)

2. NxEW Showcase. Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West), 8 p.m. - 3 a.m. I'll be bouncing between this showcase and various other NxNE acts.

There is a sweet FREE compilation featuring the above artists available from Zunior.com. Download here.

3. Outlaws and Gunslingers Showcase presented by Six Shooter Records and Starfish Entertainment, NxNE, Lee's Palace (529 Bloor Street West).

Friday, June 18
1. Uncle Sinner, part of NxNE, Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen Street West), 11:00. I'll be there.

Jack of Diamonds.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Ballads and Mental Breakdowns (2008)

2. Buddyhead Goes Canadian! 2010 NXNE SHOWCASE! I didn't realize it when I posted this yesterday, but the following showcase is being presented by the LA-based irreverent punk blog Buddyhead, one of the best blogs on the internets. The Great Hall (1087 Queen St. West), starting at 9:00 pm.

9:00 - Avi Buffalo
10:00 - A.A. Bondy
11:00 - John Doe and  Exene Cervenka from X (unplugged)
12:00 - Mini Mansions
1:00 - The Icarus Line

Travis Keller – DJing the most smashing and crashing Rock N’ Roll all night long!

If you can't get into this one, come join me at Uncle Sinner, just a few blocks down the street.


Saturday, June 19
1. A.A. Bondy, NxNE, Dakota Tavern (249 Ossington Avenue), 9:00. I'm probably going to park my sorry carcass at the Dakota for the night.

2. Toronto Island Concert. I'm too broke to go to this, but I would love for someone to do a guest review (or give me a ticket)!

Uncle Sinner: Death Country from Winnipeg

A few weeks ago I was having a discussion with one of my blogging colleagues on how annoying it is when iTunes or whatever CD ripping software you use auto tags the genre of the music that you are trying to import. In my buddy's case, iTunes had tagged Elliott Brood as "death country." He asked me, "what the hell is 'death country?'" Although Elliott Brood describes themselves as "death country," to my ears they are more alt country with a little bit of punk rock thrown in. If you want to listen to real death country music, you must check out Uncle Sinner.

I first heard of Uncle Sinner via the Nine Bullets blog and their review of the Rodentia: The Best of Dark Roots Music. I was immediately hooked by the dark, evil feel of Uncle Sinner's track "When Jesus Comes." This song combines a gothic sounding banjo with the spoken word samples of a fire and brimstone-style preacher. The samples are from a record found in a thrift store in Steinbach, a small Mennonite town southeast of Uncle Sinner's hometown of 'Sinnerpeg,' Manitoba.

While "When Jesus Comes" is a very cool song, it isn't exactly representative of the tracks on Uncle Sinner's debut album, Ballads and Metal Breakdowns. Most of the album is bleak and sorrowful bluegrass, touching on themes of grief, heartache, death, and, of course, sin. Upon first listen, the style sounded very similar to Ralph Stanley, especially his song "O Death" which I recently wrote about. Only Uncle Sinner builds on this traditional Appalachian-style blues with clever stories of gambling, bootlegging, and cheating, often with religious overtones.

On lead vocals, banjo, and guitar is Uncle Sinner himself, with his partner/producer Fuller Vengeance on bass, mandolin, guitar, and backing vocals. The fourteen track album contains original songs and excellent arrangements of traditional folk songs. Two that stand out to me are "Jack of Diamonds" (gambling is a sin, tsk, tsk) and "Old Rub Alcohol Blues" (woe to troubles, whiskey, and women).

Uncle Sinner's music is brooding and foreboding, and makes one wonder why something like this hasn't come out of stoic Winnipeg sooner. You can almost feel the winter chill of the cold, cold prairie air while listening to this album, and if you didn't know better you would think that Uncle Sinner and Satan are settling in together to watch hell freeze over.

By the way, when I ripped Ballads and Mental Breakdowns with Media Monkey, it auto tagged the genre as "other."

Jack of Diamonds.mp3
Old Rub Alcohol Blues.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Ballads and Mental Breakdowns (2008)