Review: Shad K in London, Ontario @ Call the Office

This is a repost from my blog Monday Through Monday.

photo by Thom Pilgrim

It's nights like these that get me excited about live music. Call the Office built it, and they came. By the hundreds.

As I rounded the corner of Clarence and York the sound hit me first. Dozens of chatting, arguing, whining and yelling concert goers snaked down York Street, in line to see London's prodigal son, Shad K. Each one of them sure they could talk, flirt, or threaten their way into the near capacity club.

I arrived minutes before Two Crown King took the stage. Their bio says they met while enrolled in Fanshawe's Music Industry Arts program. I wouldn't say these guys are entirely up my alley, but they were certainly entertaining. A formidable entity on stage; A combination of funk and hip hop (funk hop?) boasting 6 members, including a live drummer, keyboard player, guitar and bass in addition to the two lead men. The live drummer is definitely refreshing! (Who I might add is London's own, Pat Maloney, music programmer at Fanshawe) I'm down with the live dj + backing tracks, but these guys really can claim to being a "band".

Next up! Winnipeg's Grand Analog take the stage. A charismatic 3-piece, they managed to win over the audience with a mix of solid tracks, witty banter and maybe a few too many gimmicks. In between the spacey, delayed kazoo solos and cute girls being asked on stage to pour water on the lead man, Odario Williams, they spat out clear and thoughtful rhymes along to the fattest of bass lines.

Finally, after a short break which included much shoving to get back to the front, our main man Shad, was ready to start. Shad, clad in a Grooves Records t-shirt commanded the stage with just himself and a mic. He never needed the crutch of gimmicks or a big live band to keep the audience captivated. Dj TLO spun Shad's backing tracks plus some creations of his own. Familiar track after track, littered with London references kept the audience happy and proud, while the newer material garnered cheers and a heightened excitement for his new album, due to drop sometime this year on Black Box. As an encore, Shad invited Grand Analog back up on stage to close of the night with some freestyling. (I feel really white just typing that) I must say, Shad had the home turf advantage, reeling out references to most of the highschools in London only to win over the audience even more... if that's possible.

photo by Thom Pilgrim

photo by Thom Pilgrim

Overall, an amazing night. Great performances by all. Definitely worth the ticket price and we won't be seeing a show like that again for a long time. I think I can say, on behalf of all of London, come back soon, Old Prince.

Coming up in London (Ontario that is)

In addition to being an amazing band our friends in Olenka and the Autumn Lovers run the Open House Arts Collective and put on music (and other arts) shows in and around London, Ontario. One of them even contributes to the site, but she is ill at the moment (no, not with that). But I got an email about upcoming shows that they are happy about a little while ago and thought I should share:

If you're in, or around London these are the places to be (according to the experts).

Sat Nov 21: Sam Allen CD Release show @ Chaucer's Pub
>http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173599208287&index=1

Sun Nov 22: Le Cyc @ The Arts Project
>http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193956459601&index=1

Tue Nov 24: Our friends the Wooden Sky will be at Call the Office (not an open house show)
>http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172489954652&ref=ts

Fri Nov 27: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers @ Call the Office
>http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207661971367&index=1

Tue Dec 1: a new intriguing (monthly) night at Call the Office, Hoot! Night. Singer/songwriter's showcase
>http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176217764507&index=1

Fri Dec 18: I just noticed this listing, the Constantines w/ Ladyhawk AND Julie Doiron will be at Call the Office! woo!
>http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=177966783080&index=1

A hot sweaty mess…

You Say Party! We Say Die!

wsg Think About Life / Thesis Sahib

The Black Shire Pub - 11/11/09

presented by Open House Arts Collective

Thesis Sahib | While I am not the world's biggest fan of hip hop, oddly enough, acts that resonate the most with me – like the rest of my musical diet – happen to be Canadian. No where is this more prevalent than in hip hop. I feel as Canadians, our geography and way of life give us something unique that I can relate to.

Thesis Sahib has been kickin' it in London for quite some time, both with a spray can and a microphone as a multi faceted artist. But his skills with the microphone have drawn the attention of the likes Buck 65 which in Canada is in effect an anointment. He opened the night with a short set his rapid fire delivery, coupled with beats and loops far from the familiar bass thump-thump-thump formula left mouths wide open. In fact, one of his songs uses samples from Lord of The Rings, which he proudly mocked himself for.

Think About Life | I will admit that Montreal's Think About Life had received a lot of hype before I ever got off the fence pole. But, when even Torquil Campbell of Stars is preaching their praises, it sure makes one want drink the Kool-Aid. They have that infectiously great track Johanna that's been getting some time on CBC Radio 3, but it wasn't until they blasted into their live set, that I immediately understood what all the hullabaloo was about.

Introducing themselves (tongue firmly in cheek) as Hootie and the Blowfish, it was obvious that the jam packed, and equally humid club knew exactly what they were about to receive. The second floor of the Black Shire Club felt more like a trampoline under the weighty dance party that began from note number one. At one point, about halfway through the set, singer Martin Cesar said, "I'm sorry but this isn't going to stop", and that about summed up the show. From start to finish, every last bit of energy that could be wrenched into keeping the butts moving in the crowd was used. Even Becky Ninkovic of You Say Party! We Say Die! was front and center in the dancing mob by the end of the show.

You Say Party! We Say Die! | It didn't take long for You Say Party! We Say Die! to raise international awareness from their humble beginnings in Abbotsford BC basements, five years ago. Since then they've released four critically acclaimed albums and toured relentlessly honing their live act. So much so, that almost a year ago, it got the better of them, and the band looked to be in peril of becoming the next promising act disappearing from our radar. But they found a way to reinvent themselves, not only as a band, but also as the people that came together to make it unique.

And sometimes you need to break something in order to make it new again – to make it exciting. And that is just what they did with fourth release XXXX that they are touring. As a group, you can see the influence of their incessant touring on their insanely tight delivery. Five people on stage can be somewhat tricky to get into sync on a nightly basis in a band, but I get a sense that for this fluid, cohesive and energetic flock, this is never an issue.

They soared through a set that included old favourites, but spent most of the night on the new album which – to a song – represents the graduation of a band that has found the zone and riding it for all it's worth. Dark, moody but remarkably upbeat, their music is like a love note, reflecting to the uncertainty of life with the wisdom and perspective of time. Laura Palmer's Prom, Dark Days and There is XXXX cemented that they've hit the ground running on this tour, and are ready to take hearts and dance floors by storm.

What a show…

For as reserved as London can be, every now and again a show comes to town that picks us up, turns us on our collective sides, and gives a show we won't forget. A show that has the likes of Think About Life and You Say Party! We Say Die! billed in the same intimate venue won't ever happen again. Those that were there last night know just the sort of treat they got. It was one of those rare nights where the band and crowd completely gave and received equally.

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers at NXNE

The motivation for starting NXEW was something like this: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (and their surrounding suburbs) are the places where Canada's professional music press is concentrated. These cities (and their suburban areas) may well have 1/4 of Canada's population but that means that 3/4 of Canada's population is not being well covered by the music press.

Early validation of this idea came from Olenka and the Autumn Lovers out of London, Ontario whose fusion of Eastern European folk and indie rock sensibilities brought them quickly onto the radar at NXEW. They have appeared on our Podcast 3 times now and are firmly in the top 40 of our shadow Polaris voting.

As if that wasn't enough London's Open House Arts Collective (with which Olenka & Co. are affliated) then cranked out a CD Sampler that clearly demonstrates that there are several other amazingly talented bands sitting under the national music press radar in London.

(As an added bonus for NxEW Paterson Hodgson of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, State Bird of Idaho and sometimes others is a occasional contributor to this site.)

So all of this led me to take a pass on Jason Collett at the Horseshoe and run down to Bread and Circus' in Kensington Market to catch Olenka and the Autumn Lovers live for the first time: They didn't disappoint. Any day now the national press will wake up and notice them and wonder where they came from and how they managed to get out a full length and two EPs (2 more EPs if you count Olenka's solo work) without them noticing. As I said at the start - the Canadian music scene is 4x the size that the national press previously thought: there will be many surprises for them along the way.

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers - Iron Pump



Olenka and the Autumn Lovers - Soldiers Waltz

Download a CD Sampler from London's Open House Arts Collective

The Open House Arts Collective in London Ontario does some amazing work. In addition to being the home of Olenka and the Autumn Lovers and Oh Fest and putting on other live shows and art and music events, they now have a small music label (the Open House Recording Company). And the Open House Recording Company has just released it's very first compilation album.

Ideally they'd like you to buy it. But more than that they would like for you to hear it.

So, here's the deal, you can have it, for free and if you like it buy a physical copy for 6.50 (5.00 + 1.50 shipping) or at least go see the artists that you like when they come through on tour.

Download the disk at http://www.sendspace.com/file/jc2tj6. You can also find out more about the Open House Arts Collective, their events and record label at openhouseartscollective.com, on Myspace at www.myspace.com/openhouseartscollective.com and/or follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/openhouselondon.

ON THE SAMLER

Davita G - Sleep is Nothing
The Lava Lamps Band - Unimaginable
A Horse and His Boy - Sidewalks
the State Bird of Idaho - A Condition of Body and Mind
For Love or Money - the Weight of the World
Aaron Lozynksy - Almost Done
Bryan Pole - Curse of the Sleeping Bear
The Late Miss Mary Kingsley - 1906
The Whipping Wind - Tidal Wave
Handsome Dan and His Gallimaufry - The Man Called Noon (Main Theme)
The Samuel Musical - Would You Love Me
Olenka & the Autumn Lovers - the Decline

London's Oh! Release First Compilation TODAY!

London's Open House Arts Collective has been extremely busy for the past few months putting together their first (of hopefully many more to come) compilation.

The disc features tracks by 12 different acts in the Forest City such as Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, the Lava Lamps, and many more who have made their mark on the London scene.

The compilation is only 5 dollars and went on sale this afternoon at the London Indie Media Fair. It's also available at Grooves Records and shows put on by the oh! collective.

It received much praise from London arts guru James Reaney in today's issue of the London Free Press.

Keep your eye out for this collective as they bring more great music to the city in April for the first ever oh! fest, as well as other great shows around town in the meantime.