howikilledthescene

CONCERT CONDUCTION

2010-05-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

A NIGHT WITH MATT

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I had the pleasure of attending Matthew Barber’s record release show at Toronto’s MOD Club, arguably one of my favorite venues in the city; situated in the heart of Little Italy, it’s atmosphere is intimate despite it’s 600 person capacity; you’re guaranteed to see the stage no matter where you stand and the sound is impeccable. You could also argue however that the sound was so because the artist standing on the stage was just that fantastic!

In the company of my roomy Meghan and Tom (Matthew Barber’s agent at Feldman) we showed up to the venue early enough to catch the opening band, to our misfortune. The Wilderness of Manitoba was no ones cup of tea so at the expense of Sam Feldman Tom walked us across the street to enjoy a glass of wine on the company card.

Back in the MOD Club I was instantly captured by this mans stage presence. Regardless of whether you like his tunes or not you can’t deny that this guy knows how to perform. He immediately engaged the audience with his wit and charm quickly showing his excitement for the recent Habs win just moments before he stepped onto the stage. Sporting his acoustic guitar and a few strokes on the keys, accompanied by Paul Mathew on bass, Joel Stouffer, drummer of electro/pop/dance group Dragonette and Jess O’Brien on keys, the boys played a solid mix of both old and new tunes that included a gem from 1997. I can honestly say that Matthew Barber is one of the best performers I’ve ever had the privilege of watching…and I’ve seen my fair share. His voice outshines that of which you hear on his album and he offers a perfectly balanced mix of songs and audience interaction, no story was left untold. You can’t help but notice, and even Matt had to comment, that he was playing to a silent and thoroughly enticed audience the entire night, with the exception of rowdy applause in between songs and my comment on how snapping was far harder then clapping when he asked for a bit of audience participation…he of course heard this and poked a bit of fun at my apparent lack of snapping talent. After a two-song encore, one of which included just him and his guitar, the night ended and he emerged from backstage to schmooze the room, we left extremely satisfied with what we just saw…oh and did I mention how beautiful of a man he is.

Matt has a few show dates that if you by any chance are close enough to attend I highly suggest going to. Regardless of your musical preference you can’t help but appreciate his live show. It’s artists like Matt who have reestablish my belief in this industry, although I wonder how this guy hasn’t blown up…I don’t doubt that he will, as long as he continues playing these sort of intimate shows.

“True Believer” is the latest release from this Toronto-based singer-songwriter and the vinyl LP is now available for purchase at http://www.maplemusic.com/product.asp?dept_id=1381&pf_id=1380-12&l%20ang=EN and includes a digital download card of the album with the bonus track "Wasn't Born To Leave You". Since emerging on the scene in 2003 this is Matts fourth full-length album and follow-up to the internationally acclaimed and Juno-nominated record “Ghost Notes” (Outside Music) and major label release “Sweet Nothing” (Warner Music Canada) for which he saw commercial success.

“ “True Believer” is a hearty homemade soup with a broth heavily steeped in the rock’n’roll singer-songwriter tradition of Young, Petty, Dylan and Springsteen; yet it features dashes of the ashes of Hank Williams, the spirit of Paul Simon and the timeless essence of The Band. “ (Official Bio)

*Date*	*Venue*	*Location*
May 12 2010	The Mod Club Theatre - Record Release Show!	Toronto, ON
May 20 2010	Town Hall Theatre	Meaford, ON
May 21 2010	Aeolian Hall	London, ON
Jun 12 2010	The Fairview (Old Brome Hotel)	Brome Village, PQ
Jul 3 2010	Parks Canada Administration Grounds	Banff, AB
Aug 21 2010	Fred Eaglesmith picnic festival	Aylmer, ON
Aug 28 2010	Windsong Festival	Powassan, ON

http://www.matthewbarber.com

http://www.myspace.com/mbarber

http://www.twitter.com/mattbarbertweet

http://www.youtube.com/meansandends

Record Label:

Outside Music Label (North America), Code One (Australia)

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

2010-05-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Go Ahead & Click...
Ya Know Ya Wanna!

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For more reviews, including Featured Artist Bios, Festival Recaps, Live Show Reviews and LTTE Event Postings check out!

http://www.lessthanthreeentertainment.com/updates.html

DISMANTLING THE BAND

2010-05-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

SHAD TSOL

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I’ve never written any sort of album review, although I wouldn’t actually call this a review, in fact I’m quite a terrible writer so you’re not going to find any fancy lines or words and I’m not going to analyze every song, I’ll leave that up to you, however I’m currently listening to the new Shad album TSOL, the follow up to the highly successful “Old Prince”, and I feel the need to express the pure awesomeness of it in hopes to pursued you to go check it out. See I work for Black Box Music, Shad’s label, so I had the privilege of listening to the recording process and with each new mix I heard I became more and more in love with just who exactly this artist is. Then when Dan Weston (he mastered the album) brought in the final masters and the 4 of us in the office sat, shared a few shots of whiskey and listened to it I knew Shad had a real gem on his hands. If you aren’t familiar with Shad this Canadian rapper is known for his strong lyrical content and ability to appeal to both the urban community but also the indie/rock scene. More than just rhymes, Shad incorporates a variety of instrumentation and beats to support his lyrics…this guy is diverse and it works! I think Shad’s goal with this new album was to create a diverse and widely accessible Canadian hiphop record and I feel he rocked it. He has this ability to transcend hiphop and really make it palatable for a wide audience. His appreciation for live instrumentation (he himself plays guitar) and his understanding of how to create a diverse yet cohesive collection of songs is truly unparalleled in Canadian music. The quality of the instrumentation, the sequenced beats as well as Shad’s lyrics and vocal performance has really determined his success. Not to mention his live performances…he really kills it!

Back to the album…

Shad’s been known to work with some fantastic artist in the past such as Hey Ocean and this album certainly doesn’t disappoint in the collaboration department with vocal appearances from such artists as Brendan Canning and Justin Nozuka, and a co-composer cred with another solid Canadian hiphop artist Classified. The album starts with an instrumental intro and ends with Shad just laying down some lyrics, a pure representation of his talent. The other 11 songs in between put together a solid mix of upbeat crowd pleasers and rhythmic, soulful songs with lyrics to inspire, something Shad certainly does. I think my favorite song is track #4 “Lucky 1’s” or “We Myself and I”…it’s a hard choice with such a solid album like this. TSOL isn’t set to be released until May 25^th but you can now sample the whole album at http://www.spinner.ca/2010/05/04/shad-tsol-new-album/ where Shad also lets us in on what was going through his mind with each song. You can also catch Shad in your city starting later this month while he tours the album, if you’ve never experienced what this guy has to offer I highly suggest you get your butt out to a show. For all of you in Toronto, on May 24th Shad will be playing a free in-store performance at Sonic Boom on College street May 24th. You'll get the chance to purchase TSOL a day before it's release!

For more info check www.shadk.com

Brand new video for TSOL’s first single “Yaa I Get It”

Track List

1 Intro

2 Rose Garden

3 Keep Shining

4 Lucky 1's

5 A Good Name

6 We Are The Ones (Reservoir Poetry)

7 Telephone

8 Call Waiting (Interlude)

9 Yaa I Get It

10 Listen

11 At The Same Time

12 We, Myself & I

13 Outro

CRUCIAL INFORMATION

2010-04-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

CAUSE I WANT YOU TO LIVE when the world gets taken over by Zombies.

DROOLTIME

2010-04-15T12:35:00.001-07:00

CRUEL INTENTIONS was the first ‘scandalous’ movie that I ever saw and I fell in love with Ryan Phillippe. Since then, he has been involved in a ton of b-list movies that no one has seen. But HELLO RYAN. Check out this cover of Ryan on the new Men’s Health *Drool

MY FAVOURITE

2010-04-15T10:15:00.001-07:00

DAILY DEATH CAB

LIL KIM WANNA BE

2010-04-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

WHO THE FUCK IS NICKI MANAJ? Also known as the girl who dropped off of the Rihanna "Last Girl On Earth" tour just days after it was announced. Also known as a glorified Lil Wayne Groupie. Also known as a part of Young Money. Is it just me or is she a Wayne/Lil Kim hybrid? She teams up with industry heavyweights and is trying to make a career for herself.

check her out on myspace here: http://www.myspace.com/nickimanaj3 i think that she could potentially blow up on top 40... but only if she simmers down on the 'bad ass slutty chick' vibe.

DRAKE LOVE

2010-04-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

DRAKE IS FAR FROM OVER and that doesnt upset me in the least. I think he is one of canada's hottest hiphop exports to date. in this track, however, it sounds like he took Lil Wayne Lessons.

WOAH

2010-04-13T15:17:00.001-07:00

SRSLY? WTF is going on here?

ENTER SANDMAN

2010-04-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

MORE CANADIAN CONTENT; because Canadian Content is the best content. Obviously. With this brief blog I would like to introduce you to an Indie Rock band from Ontario. Now, when I first got thrown the link for this band I was curious simply because of the name: Sandman Viper Command. I had no idea what to except. After taking a listen to their myspace their influences became very obvious; giving a more current take on the likes of Pavement and Sonic Youth this band had a very interesting take on mod-indie rock. Kind of like the Strokes without the pretentious flare that Julian Casablancas clutches to so dearly. (Don’t get me wrong, I have mad love for The Strokes)

This four piece, consisting of Rob Janson, Aaron Harvey, Dan Reardon, Matt Meyer have recently independently released their debut album ‘ Everybody See This’. The single on the album “Strawberry Quick” is a great track with a more mellow groove then the rest of the album – an interesting choice for a lead single but a good song none-the less. I probably would have gone for one of their more upbeat tracks such as “The Best of Plans” where you can really hear the Strokes influence.

Along with a great record, Sandman Viper Command have also been hailed on their live performance and been granted opening spots of Holy Fuck, The Arkells and more. I would love to see these guys perform in a room like The Commodore when their sound could really be soaked up. You can catch them on tour in 2010 across

Canada

http://www.myspace.com/sandmanvipercommand

BEN GIBBARD DROOLSESH

2010-04-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

DEAR BEN GIBBARD; your biggest mistake in life was not marrying me. Now, if Death Cab played at EVERY baseball game... baseball might sell some damn tickets. Can i get an 'amen'? no? dammit. Why am I the only person who loves this band ridiculously? GET INTO IT PEOPLE.

TEGAN & SARA GET PIZAZZ

2010-04-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

I LOVE THE WORD PIZAZZ; and this Passion Pit remix of T&S's Alligator makes me want ALL of their stuff to sound like this and not their drab emo lesbian pop rock crap... sorry to Tegan & Sara fans, but I normally don't dig what the twins dish out. This, however, is groovy:

I LOVE CANADIAN POP

2010-04-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

THE BALCONIES; The Balconies are a three piece Canadian pop/rock-band consisting of Jacquie Neville, Stephen Neville and Liam Jaeger. Jacquie and Liam met at University and formed the base of the band – inviting Jaquie’s brother Stephen to join in to make the band an effective power-trio.

The Balconies released their debut album stuffed to the brim with adorable and painstakingly catchy pop rock and roll in 2009. They have played along side the likes of Mother Mother, Dog Day, and Land of Talk, as well as being personally invited to play a number of festivals, including Ottawa Bluesfest, North by Northeast, Canadian Music Fest, and Pop Montreal. Before long, they graced the cover of Ottawa's VOIR, win 3 categories in Ottawa Xpress' Best of Ottawa 2009 poll, further establishing themselves as ringleaders in their hometown. They relocated to Toronto and topped campus radio charts all across the country. One thing's for sure, although their album is infectious as hell, it's their ability to leave a lasting impression on any crowd they play to that have critics tripping over their lips. Jacquie, with her batting eyelashes and wide eyes smirking at boyfriend Jaeger, who’s soaked in his own sweat from playing so hard, and brother Stephen unassumingly spewing out tales of messy late nights and relationship faux-pas.

After breaking-in their new hometown of Toronto, the band will spend 2010 on the road, travelling our fair country until the highways end, bringing their unforgettable and honest sets to new stages.

They say university gives you a direction, peace of mind, and a place to start. And surely this is just the start of a very promising career for these three studious young artists. Anyone who says that a university degree is more credible than a Masters in feedback regulation or an Honours in late-night caffeine-fuelled driving probably never listened to The Balconies.

Check out their myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/thebalconies

GADGETS AND TOYS

2010-04-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

IPAD MANIA; I, like many people are in limbo about Apple’s new toy – the iPad. It seems pretty badass but so does HP’s Slate… hmmm, perplexing. Take a look at this video that compares the two – what do you think?

THE CONJOINED TWINS

2010-04-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

EVELYNEVELYN; HAVE YOU SEEN MY TWIN? I am sure that you’ve heard of Amanda Palmer and the Dresden Dolls – but have you heard of Evelyn Evelyn? Now, when I first came across Evelyn Evelyn – I was mother fucking confused. They are marketed as such:

Lyn and Eva Neville were born in September of 1985 on a small farm in Western Kansas. The girls are Parapagus Tripus Dibrachius twins, conjoined at the side and sharing between them three legs, two arms, two hearts, three lungs, and a single liver. Orphaned when their mother died in labor, little is known about their early life until 1996 when they made their first public appearance with Dillard and Fullerton's Traveling Circus. It was here that the "Evelyn" sisters developed their love of song and performance.

Unsatisfied with the grind of circus life, at the age of nineteen the twins decided to explore a solo career. It was then that they were discovered by Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley, who heard the twins' music on MySpace. Webley and Palmer encouraged the twins and offered to help them record a proper album.

The album will be accompanied by a full US and European tour and - later this year - a graphic novel about the twins' inspiring life, illustrated by Cynthia von Buhler and published by Dark Horse Press.

Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley (along with their legion of supportive fans) will be traveling with and musically supporting the sisters on their ambitious world tour of Europe and North America.

(Thanks to Amanda Palmer’s website for the bio on the twins)

Now, any random who is going to read that is going to be like… ‘really?! Wtf’ but alas, Amanda Palmer is up to her freakshow (with all loving intentions) ways in bringing her new side project to the stage with long-time friend Jason Webley. Yes, Palmer and Webley are in fact, Evelyn Evelyn. They are bringing their show to the Commodore Ballroom on May 17^th (buy tickets at livenation.com) and I must say, I am very very intrigued. I realize that this write up has probably done NOTHING to clear up the confusion about Evelyn Evelyn – but that is what makes it so interesting. I would say that this is most def a show that you should check out… for the sheer curiosity factor.

5 STARS FOR YEASAYER

2010-04-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

YEASAYER;ODDBLOOD If you haven’t heard of new york natives Yeasayer… you need to remedy that. These guys have toured with the almighty Beck and MGMT (before MGMT got hardcore lame). Consisting of three core members and additional touring members, these Brooklyn natives have been together as a band since 2007 when they released “All Hour Cymbals”. Only on their 2^nd album, these guys have shown that they might just have the staying power to keep people interested for years and years to come. Their sophomore release, Odd Blood, came out late in 2009 to rave reviews. I am not going to lie, before Odd Blood was released – I had no idea who Yeasayer was. I stumbled across a review of it on Pitchfork and decided to give it a go. Odd Blood is one of those truly genuine albums that show diversity and complexity from it’s first track to the end of the album. In fact, I was actually upset when the album ended on my first listen. I wanted to hear MORE, I wanted to know what else they could possible get up to in one album.

Every track on Odd Blood made the album worth listening to… however, three tracks stood out to me as a cut-above the rest. “I Remember” is the slowest track on the album and as the fourth track in, it couldn’t have been placed better. It’s whimsical synth and haunting vocals make it one of my favourite songs to be released, ever – Let alone on this album. “still afraid of flying – but with you I’d die today.”

The song that, in my opinion, sticks out like a bloody sore thumb with wonderfulness, is the 7^th track on the album, “Rome”. Resembling old school Hot Hot Heat, Yeasayer’s vocalist really shows his ability to be diverse and creative with his vocals. All-in-all, you can’t help but dance and bop to this fast paced fun track! “rooome, is gunna be mine, it’s just a matter of, just a matter of time”

“Mondegreen”, track 9, is a seriously groovy song – you can’t help but get the ol’ hand clap going. Potentially one of the best sunny-day driving songs going; this song was the highest rotated track on my recent California roadtrip. Once you listen to it, I doubt you would be surprised. “everybody’s talkin’ bout me and my baby – makin’ love til the morning light”

I am guessing that from this review you can gather that I am a very big fan of the album. Odd Blood really is one of the best albums to be released this decade, let alone in 2009. It has everything right about it – it is exactly what artists should be striving for. There are far too many ‘safe’ albums being produced in masses. Fuck safe. Bring be an album that takes risks and stretches boundaries. Thankyou Yeasayer.

ARE YOU READY?

2010-04-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

WEAREBACK;Alright, here we go. Are you ready? HIKTS is coming back back back to your computer screens. After a ridiculously long and unpreventable hiatus – it’s back. Are you ready? Want to contribute? howikilledthescene@gmail.com for deets.

VIDEO MANIA

2010-01-29T10:35:00.001-08:00

HEY, SOUL SISTER - TRAIN IS STILL A BAND?

POSTED BY lighterFLUID

VIDEO MANIA

2010-01-29T10:32:00.000-08:00

GAGALOO: MY POOSY IS OFFENDED

BY BEETLE

STOP THE PRESS! STOP THE PRESS!

2010-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

OKAY OKAY! H-H-HERE WE GO!

ALRIGHT AMAZING PEOPLE - WE ARE BACK. BACK IN BLACK. AND SHIT IS GOING TO GET MOVING AGAIN. FO'REALZ. WATCH FOR THE RELAUNCH OF AN INCREDIBLY SEXUAL HOWIKILLEDTHESCENE ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 1ST, 2010. THAT'S RIGHT. THIS IS GOING INTERNATIONAL AND WE ARE GOING TO BLOW YOUR MIND. THANKS FOR HANGING IN THERE WONDERBARS!

XOXOXOXOXOO BEETLE & THE HITKS PEEPS.

VIDEO MANIA

2010-01-07T16:16:00.001-08:00

ANOTHER HOT MESS: MARIAH IS A TALENTED TOOL

I HEART MIMI: LIGHTERFLUID

VIDEO MANIA

2010-01-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

PARTY DISASTER KE$HA WAS ON SIMPLE LIFE?

SRSLY? BEETLE

VIDEO MANIA

2010-01-07T11:02:00.001-08:00

BECAUSE I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR LIGHTS

BEETLE SHOWS LOVE

SOCIAL COMBUSTION

2009-12-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

ENOUGH SAID: ROFL

BEETLE LOVES IT

VIDEO MANIA

2009-12-16T10:57:00.001-08:00

OUR FAVOURITE CANADIAN YOUTUBE SENSATION AND HIS OFFBEAT BEARD

LOL’D AT BY LIGHTERFLUID

Canadian comedian and actor Jon Lajoie is one of the few talents who has been able to manifest the cult following for his Internet videos into a mainstream audience, placing him in a preeminent spot in the comedy landscape. With ironically singsong lyrics about everything from boring everyday activities to genitals and getting high, his videos have over 100 million aggregate views on YouTube and Lajoie’s website alone, with “Show Me Your Genitals” recently surpassing the benchmark of 10 million views.

Known primarily for his comedic anthems “High As F#%k,” “Show Me Your Genitals,” and “Everyday Normal Guy,” Lajoie responded to the popularity of two of his videos by making sequels. He followed up “Everyday Normal Guy” with “Everyday Normal Guy 2” and “Everyday Normal Crew,” as well as the sequel to “Show Me Your Genitals,” “Show Me Your Genitals 2: E=MC Vagina.” The sequels furthered the notoriety of the characters he created and Lajoie is now met by audiences who eagerly await the appearance of their favorites during his live shows. Many of his die-hard fans don t-shirts emblazoned with the characters’ distinct visages. Lajoie has also parodied late-night infomercials, peddling “pedophile beards,” “rapist glasses,” and methods of stress relief in his “not giving a fuck” video. Lajoie previously starred in “L’Auberge Du Chien Noir” (“The Inn of the Black Dog”), a primetime dramedy on French-Canadian TV after graduating from Dawson College’s theatre program in 2001.

Currently touring the

United States

and

Canada

in conjunction with the release of his album “You Want Some of This” on ITunes and Amazon.com (as well as his website), Lajoie is kicking off his tour at Canadian Music Week and South by Southwest. He will then make his way across the country, touring until the Montreal Comedy Festival where he will again be a main headliner. The rampant success of Lajoie’s internet videos landed him a talent development deal with HBO. He is also a regular on the leading comedy website, Will Ferrell’s and Adam McKay’s www.Funnyordie.com. Ferrell and McKay, having quickly became fans, are also in the process of collaborating on a project with Lajoie.