VEKTACULAR

Tom Vek at The Drake last night had almost all the markings of excellence. Great tunes? Dancing people? beautiful women? They were all there. So what was missing?

Oh yeah, people…I couldn't help but agree with three English fellas in front of me. One said to the other two, "Glastonbury? 10,000 people show up. Toronto? 100?" One of his friends scanned the room with his eyes and replied, "This is steeeeeewpid!"

Ok, so a huge crowd didn't turn up for Tom Vek. Not a big surprise, since he's barely been written up here in Canada. He ends up on the odd campus radio program like CiTR's Radio Zero and DJ Seez's Fever Pitch (currently on hiatus). No worries, as those of us who were there dug it to the utmost. I was quite impressed to see almost everyone around me sing along to some of his well known songs, which he tore through in the earlier parts of the set.Material I had not yet heard didn't let me down for a second. "Music Television" may be trespassing on Talking Heads Territory lyrically, but the machinish beats and atonal meoldies are distinctly Tom Vek. There's nothing more fun than an airy stereo-effected synth part over slinky basses and slanky drums.

The young Vek delivered most of the performance from the kit, while his band members played his songs as comfortably as he might in his house, where he does most of his recording. Of course, "C-C (You Set the Fire in Me)", "If You Want" and "Nothing But Green Lights" were highlights, and he only played about six songs apart from those, but the 45 minute set was a wider exposure to Tom's material for a relatively new audience. His album We Have Sound only just came out last week in Canada, but word will spread because of this show,as well as his tow day stint in Montreal.


Tom skipping school.

TOM VEK – I Aint Sayin' My Goodbyes
TOM VEK – If You Want (Live from London)
* Downloads courtesy of Rock Insider.

Also, openers The Mobius Band from Detroit are worth checking out, but don't expect the MC5 and Motor City and all that craziness. It's a more mellow type of deal.

ESB PLAYLIST 11/11/05



I hope you wore your poppy or your pacifist white poppy today. It's good to remember those who suffer generation to generation from the costs of war, military and civilain alike. I am the only male in my family over the past hundred years that has not had to experience first hand these effects. While some in my family were soldiers, others were victims, so the scope of total war is not lost on these ears., and hopefully, not on yours either.

LEONARD COHEN - The Partisan
SIKTRANSIT - I Fell The Hardest
SIKTRANSIT - Beginnings
SIKTRANSIT - Danny is An Elf, Man
SEAN BRAY - Alone
BRITTA PHILLIPS + DEAN WAREHAM - Moon Shot
TEGAN AND SARA VS. MYLO - Walking With a Ghost in Paris
HELLA - Madonna Approached R&B Blonde Wreckages
SCHWUMP - Aphids in the Hall
THE BAD PLUS - Rhinocerous is My Profession
NO NECK BLUES BAND - The Doon
THE FIERY FURNACES - Winter
RICK WHITE - The Clock
TOM VEK - I Aint Sayin My Goodbyes

SWAMPY SAVOY

Quintron, the man who does so little, yet so much, with that nutty organ-car and other accessories like The Drum Buddy, just knocked us flat off our feet this past weekend.

At the Silver Dollar on Saturday...

No Dynamics sets the course for the KO with one of their tightest sets to date, and an updated guest drummer line-up for "I've Got You on My Mind". A gyrating Eugene of Lenin I Shumov stared at us like Cousteau through the skin of a floor tom while Jon McCurley grinned through clenched teeth as he bashed the shit out of a snare.

A bizarre puppet show preceded Quintron and Miss Pussycat's first number, depicting the wild story of two cavemen who build a bar at the behest of their pet skunk so that they can pick up two hippie girls. It was too much, but at least it let us laugh a bit. With a cue to get silly, we tore ass for an hour and a half while Quintron and his saucy woman drove a Cadillac through a swamp at high speed.



Great pic from Blog TO's Kate...review of show here.

Crowds in Toronto are getting madder and wilder, but it's still only an occasional thing to see an audience let loose like that. Much like past shows by the likes of No Dynamics and Ari Up , the overcrowding, sexy dancing and pogoing turned into ping-ponging and by the end of the night, there was a shark frenzy immediate to the stage. When he joins us in the audience for "Swamp Buggy Badass", he doesn't let us off easy, and neither do we let him.

Quintron's stage set up radiates with rumbling oscillations so deep that our bones whirr and shake, even when we're high in the air after launching ourselves off the floor. We're kids again, being stupid and ridiculous, thinking of space aliens and mad scientists as strange sounds abound. When the lights drop out and Quintron starts playing with his Drum Buddy (essentially a basic oscillator that can be controlled with a light bulb), that's when we see the real magic. This man and his wife have lost their home, studio and night club to a hurricane. If anyone knows the power of mysterious, dark forces, it's this guy.



QUINTRON – Drum Buddy Intro

Read more about this fantastic instrument here.

ZHIEN DOBRE!

I must admit, I have a sick obsession with MTV Award shows, although I can't really watch them anymore because they're getting lamer and lamer with each new production.

The MTV Euro Awards, however, are relatively new to me, unlike the countless shindigs hosted by the Americans twice a year. From the brief glimpses I'd get of the Euros during my more avid MuchMusic watching years (ie. the 90s), I can remember the Euros as being more fun, if not a little cheezier, than the American productions. I could never bring myself to watch them for more than thirty seconds at a time...until last night!

The Euros are like a bohemian parody of the American shows. While the vast majority of nominees and performers are American or British, there's something intensely European about this whole festival that doesn't often make it to TV over here.

Par instance...Jared Leto, who bigs up Portugal in their native tongue, leads the crowd into a chorus of boos via an anti-Bush pseudo-slam poem. The Gorillaz play a live animated performance. But there are two appearances that made it impossible to be replicated in the States or Canada.

First off, Borat hosts the show. He bare ass spanks a gangsta thug from the audience for talking while the "President of Kazakhstan" delivers an address. Borat then tells the audience that Shakira in Kazakhstani means "vagina", and does a tasteless Freddie Mercury impression, Spandex and all. But the overall top-up has to be the traditional Kazakh dance troupe who perform almost endlessly to a soundtrack of Eurasian disco-funk. It's so utterly offensive that it's hilarious!



Second, the performance by the American girl group The Pussycat Dolls of their song "Dontcha" was unreal. These saucy women win the prize for the best female pop group in the early part of the 21st century.



Who are they and why have I never heard of them? Are they only popular across the pond? If so, then I'm surprised, because these foxes are outrageous! Maybe I'm just out of touch, but where have they been all my life? As if we've had to sift through all these Britneys to get a hold of this. Only in Europe can you pump this kind of sexuality so flagrantly on television. I mean, this is like, whew, too much. There are just too many models on stage making you say "I know it's a terrible fantasy, but yeah, I'd love to do them all." They're not as cool as Queens of Noize, but they're just as audacious, even if it is in a more doctored and manufactured sense.

They arrive to the award show in their own black tour bus and bust into the song with a chorus that rings like loud bells to this young convert:

Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? / Dontcha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?
Dontcha wish your girlfriend was raw like me? Dontcha wish your girlfriend was fun like me?

Why yes, ma'am, I do! My girlfriend, when I get one, will indeed be all of those things.

Check the video, featuring a totally randy Busta Bust.


Busta says, 'Gimme some mo' !"


*****

On another note, our Fall Fundraising Campaign is going swimmingly well this year. Morning Ride and Jason Plama's show scored a combined 150 membership pledges on our first day alone, which amounts to at least $3750. We fared quite well, scoring VERY close to our quote of ten memberships...You can still PLEDGE until DECEMBER 15th, and there's some majorly wicked awesome prizes that are going to be given away the next day. YOU can WIN! Check it all out at CIUT.

We did well today. Andrew Hallisey, aka Siktransit, joined us for the hour-long portion of the week-long telethon. Thanks to everyone who pledged support today! Not only are you members of the Friends of CIUT 89.5, but you're members of the Eclectic Sound Basement Benevolent Society Esquires...way to go, champs! You've supported homegrown worldwide campus radio with your financial contributions, and you should feel damn proud of yourselves. You're of utmost value to our radio station.

AND NOW...we shall welcome the first members of the ESBBSE!

SENIOR ESQUIRES ($25 or more)
Sean Bray (Toronto)
Elliot Johnson (Toronto)
Book Corner Inc. (Niagara Falls, NY!!!)
Dr. Catalena Birek (Winnipeg, MB)
Dr. Michael Mowat (Winnipeg, MB)
Dr. Peter Birek (Toronto)
Sharon Aitken (Toronto)
Andrew Hallisey aka Siktransit (Toronto)

JUNIOR ESQUIRES
Lauren Speers ( aka DJ Chocolate, CKLN Ryerson Radio, Toronto)
Roland Enns (Oshawa, ON)

NOVEMBER RAINISH

Yes, yes, I promised an update as soon as the show was over last week, but I got caught up in all kindsa things. Sadly, due to illness I missed Extermination Music Night at the Don Valley Brickworks last Friday, and I'm kicking myself in the pants. Check out pictures here and wish you had been there too.

I was well enough to get into the Halloween spirit on Saturday, donning a wig, old school audio gear and a revolver to round out my Phil Spector outfit. Goin' Steady's Monster Mash was outrageous and hazy as usual. Mediocrity Rules joined me and we twisted the night away. I cannot remember much of the rest, but I seem to recall on the walk home passing by a giant vagina. As Vice pointed out in their Guide to Toronto, this city is great for irony partying year round, so you can bet that when Halloween rolls around, the cream of the crop will be out on the streets yelling at one another in ridiculous clothing.

November is looking to compete with October for fantastic live music in the city. Our friends Spiral Beach released a new EP last night at the Drake and will be playing there every Monday night this month for free...with a free food to boot! Word is that these dudes are in the sights of bookers from The Boat and Wavelength, so keep an eye out for our favourite youngsters some high profile shows in the near future, particularly pn the 17th for Eugene Ripper's Fast Folk Underground.

I have picked up my tickets for Tom Vek, LCD Soundsystem and Quintron, but I'm hoping to catch more. There are a lot of toss ups...do I see Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings or Belle Orchestre on the 11th? Can I spend the money to see John Cale at the Lula Lounge on the 12th or 13th? Will I be able to see Echo and the Bunnymen or The Hidden Cameras stellar collabo with the Toronto Dance Theatre? All of these questions will be answered through this blog, so keep reading and keep tuning into the show every Friday at Noon ET on CIUT.

Here are some downloads for your consumption...


SPACEMEN 3 - May the Circle Be Unbroken
* Wow! Powerful tune from the psychadelic underground.


RAY CHARLES - Night Time is the Right Time
* This tune had us all shaggin at Monster Mash this past weekend.


DOLLY PARTON - Jolene
* She may have been workin 9-5 on getting breast implants in the 80s but in the 70s she was at the forefront of the country music crossover movement.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

Next week is fundraising time. PLEASE TUNE INTO THE SHOW, CALL 416-946-7800 AND DONATE TO THE FRIENDS OF CIUT 89.5FM FALL CAMPAIGN! Campus radio is our lifeblood and without it, you'd have to listen to shit music and blah-blah news all goddamn day. You can win prizes, people...prizes!

A friendly message from our Communications Director Elaine Banks, who hosts the old school rock+soul show Pass the Dynamite on Tuesdays at 7pm.

The Friends of 89.5 FM Fall Membership Drive will take place from Thursday, November 3 to Wednesday, November 9, 2005.

CIUT 89.5 FM is listener-supported radio - that means you're an integral part of everything we do.

By pledging $25 or more and becoming a member of CIUT you'll be showing your love and support for an increasingly unique and important radio format.

Our pledge lines will be open during the membership drive and you can call: 416-946-7800, or toll-free: 1-888-204-8976 to donate, or you can pledge online anytime at www.ciut.fm/pledge.html. Don't forget to let us know what your favorite show is!

Our flexible payment options make it easy for you to become a member of CIUT 89.5 FM. We accept all major credit cards, cash, personal cheques and money orders.

As always, we'll have all kinds of great items to give to our members, including a swanky new t-shirt and other great swag - plus we'll be holding a draw for these amazing grand-prizes:

An Arts and Culture Super Pack, crammed full of gift certificates from: Pages Books, She Said Boom!, Come As You Are, Utopia Cafe and Grill, Festival Cinemas, the Bloor Cinema, The Art Gallery of Ontario, Il Fornello, Soundscapes, Hart House Theatre, The ROM, Roy Thomson and Massey Hall, and more!

Plus a $500 Via Rail gift voucher redeemable for travel to any VIA destination.

We'll also be giving away a Norco Yorkville Hybrid bicycle every weekday, courtesy of Bikes on Wheels, 309 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market.

So get in on the action and become a member of CIUT 89.5 FM during our Friends of 89.5 Fall Membership Drive, November 3rd to 9th!

Thanks for your support...and stay tuned!

Cheers,
Elaine

Communications Director/
Fall Membership Drive Coordinator
communications@ciut.fm

ESB PLAYLIST 10/28/05

THE STROKES - Juicebox
THE NOISETTES - Don't Give Up
BABYSHAMBLES - Arebours
HEROES AND VILLAINS - ESA 2000
TOM VEK - CC (You Put the Fire in Me)
TOM VEK - If You Want (Live from London)
LADY SOVEREIGN - Hoodie
0=0 - permit
0=0 - Difficult Histories Pt. 1
0=0 - Difficult Histories Pt. 2
THE COMAS - Invisible Drugs
THE CONSTANTINES - Draw Us Lines
THE CONSTANTINES - Soon Enough
THE CONSTANTINES - Working Fulltime
BLACK MOUNTAIN - Modern Music

ESB PLAYLIST 10/21/05

THE BARCELONA PAVILLION - Masters of Our Feelings
PUPPETMASTAZ - Mastaplan
JEANS TEAM - Hi Fans
JEANS TEAM - Keine Meoldien
OLD TIME RELIJIUN - Wolves and Wolverines
THE CREEPING NOBODIES - Your Likeness
NO DYNAMICS - Josephine Baker
THE FALL - Pacifying Joint
THE FALL - Clasp Hands
THE FALL - What About Us
THE DEADLY SNAKES - Gore Veil
PAUL MCCARTNEY - English Tea