BALLROOM DAYS

another No Dynamics show, this one at the dovercourt house. the crowd was interested but largely lethargic, save for a few knuckleheads at the front and their lacadaisical mosh dances. the band reflected the low energy state of the evening by playing a rather withdrawn set, but musically it was perhaps their best effort to date. once they'd kicked into a new number written only that day, people perked up a little and gave the band some fuel to work with. those guys give it their all, no matter what the conditions, and their low key sensibility grounds them in such a way that differentiates them from most bands in this who city mimic one another and play as if in tribute to their idols. but with no dynamics, there are no such postures.

what i enjoy about their show is their death-zombie sort of tip. carl didur slouches over his organ as if undead while daniel allows those scarier, muddier twangy sounds ring out from his guitar in a rocky horror. vanessa on vox showed her herself in commanding form, even if she might have come off a slight more reserved than usual. no matter what energy level the room might be at, finklestein will always flex his jones for knockout drumming to the utmost.

i didn't stick around to watch Lenin I Shumov, but they brought out a rather sizable crowd for their EP release. the band had sent out an invitiation just before the show over the message boards calling for folks to come down early and help package the disc before showtime in exchange for no cover charge. it's little things like that which show that toronto has its friendly side, our own version of the westerner "c'mon over neighbour" kinda vibe. the Ep was available for an additional 6bux on top of cover, also 6bux. not a bad deal...

Grasshopper informed me that last night's Fantomas gig featured The Locust as one of the supporting acts, and maybe i'm late to the punch but i really have to go see this band. they're like villains from a Shaymalan film...and they have this fantastic video that you should watch.

and while we're at it, i should mention that there's a stunningly excellent offbeat record label of the same name. it's run out of chicago and there's a tonne of sweet mp3s on their music page. if you like droning violins and ethereal guitars, and hell, even some minimalist electronic soundscapes, this is your kinda thing. they like to put out many many many compilations, which in my opinion shows their approach takes on an air of totality and commulaism. i'll look into this scene further and maybe put together a feature for the show. god knows there's enough material to choose from. only wish these guys could have been around during the winnipe high school years, i coulda used these tunes over my headphones as i watched detritus float down the red river during flood season.

here's some samples, but do some browsing of your own here:

HENRY FLYNT - Purified by the Fire
JOSEPHINE FOSTER AND THE SUPPOSED - Jailbird (Hero of the Sorrow)
JOSEPHINE FOSTER - Crackerjack Fool

tune in next friday at noon, 89.5 fm in toronto, or stream it live on our website for part two of our "Live Notes" special, featuring two live tracks from No Dynamics, some new Siktransit bombs and some cuts from his new side project with Numba One Stunna called RYU vs. KEN.