And just like that, summer is officially here. Sure, this means many of you will skip town for the peace and quiet of Ontario’s cottage country most weekends; but that’s ok for the rest of us, because as far as we can tell, Lionel Richie, Jack White, and Soundgarden aren’t playing The Kee. So if your July includes slogging around this concrete jungle without respite, do yourself a favour and make musical lemonade. Need help? Well, this isn’t everything that’s happening in the Toronto music scene this month, but where else are you gonna go for your concert advice, this guy?
Toronto Urban Roots Festival (TURF)
Speaking of that guy, you know what this city has more of than elections? Music festivals. The unofficial North American explosion began in 2012, carrying with it a complex set of costs and benefits to fans, industry, and host locations, still being quantified in fancy spreadsheets. For example, you get more bands at once, and acts that may not be touring otherwise; but you give up many more bucks at once, for sets that are often short and sometimes uninspiring. Hmmmm, if only we had a number crunching superhero to help us reach a verdict. Bet you didn’t see that coming.
But back to local festivals: in only its second year, TURF is set to rock (and sometimes gently roll) Fort York the first weekend of July. If it were just any old lineup of performers, it might be more difficult to get out of bed for yet another non-stop weekend of music (three stages, more than forty bands), outdoors (three full days and three starry nights), and standard festival add-ons (um, food). But with another A-list roster, comprising the Violent Femmes, Neutral Milk Hotel, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (do we still have to qualify with Wilco?), Sam Roberts, Local Natives, Jenny Lewis, and The Gaslight Anthem, we imagine this is a great example of one of those summer events you’ll strongly regret skipping when we’re back to this.
However, if a single day drop-in is more your thing, make it Friday night around 9:30PM, at the East Stage. Because while we’ve just saved them for last, TURF has them front and centre the first night. The elusive band we insist on dedicating special mention? Beirut. There won’t be a better performance.
Fort York & Garrison Common. July 4-6. All ages. Single Day and Weekend Passes vary.
Quick, what do you get when you mix baking soda and vinegar? That’s right, an erupting Grade 3 science fair project. Ok, what do you get when you mix Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga all taking the stage on the same night in downtown Toronto? Unless you’re actually going to one of the shows, the answer is, you’re gonna wish you were at home building that volcano.
If the combined star power in name alone isn’t enough to turn the south side into a chaotic mess of screaming teenagers, terrifying Little Monsters, and shaky Instagram videos way too far from the either stage to be worthy of posting (but hey, you were there), these tours collectively mark the first time that the first couple of hip-hop will headline together, the first time Beyoncé will fully showcase critically-acclaimed Beyoncé, and the first time Gaga will simply go on stage and sing songs. Yes, you just participated in the game “Two Truths and a Lie”.
This Popapocalypse leaves us with just a few logistical questions:
1) Whose jet has runway priority?
2) Is Gaga’s meat dress on Jay’s rider?
3) Which show gets the Drake cameo? Trick question: you thought Zeyoncé was the obvious answer but it turns out Gaga is Drake in costume. Always. Forever. Unless she goes with the meat.
4) What’s Hundred Waters’ booking manager doing now that he’s been fired for this?
Zeyoncé. Rogers Centre. All ages. $52-$Really Expensive.
Gaga. Air Canada Centre. All ages. $35-$200+.
Hundred Waters. The Drake Hotel. 19+. $12.50.
Ought w/ Dub Thompson…or is it Dub Thompson w/ Ought? Either way, you win. But we’ll be there for Ought.
With a debut full length, More Than Any Other Day, currently topping our list of 2014’s best, Ought is easily the most exciting band to see in July. With exhilarating musical inertias capable of inducing near religious experience, and an underlying sense of deep moral anxiety in every lyric, this album will only expand live. Maybe the defining moment is the countdown in “Today, More Than Any Other Day”, when the almost-title track transforms into something resembling a marching order for the personally disenchanted. We promise, after one listen to this song, you’re either going to ask that girl out, leave that guy, or tell your boss what you really think. Or maybe you’ll just buy the 2% milk. (You have to actually listen to the song to get that. Lucky we provided the link above.)
Oh yeah, Dub Thompson, the co-headliner. They’re pretty awesome, too.
Drake Hotel. July 14. 19+. $10.50.
Ok, so Basement Jaxx haven’t been doing a lot lately. Or at least, the music they’ve released these past couple of years may suggest they don’t intend on further contemporizing their sound. But that doesn’t mean they can’t just go retro and drop showstoppers from Remedy, Rooty, Kish Kash, and even Crazy Itch Radio (yeah, we’ll give them that) Any. Time. They. Want.
Bam.
So, sure, you have to be a 30 or 40-something to remember the impact the Basement Jaxx had on the dance music scene in their prime; but even if you aren’t, we think they’ll have you shaking uncontrollably (you’ll call it dancing) at the Hoxton this month, anyway. Seriously, don’t miss this.
The Hoxton. July 17. 19+. $20.
Stayin’ Alive at Your Day Job: Newer Music That Unfortunately Isn’t in the Streets This Month
The Song: Birth In Reverse from St. Vincent’s latest self-titled.
The Sound: Honestly, we’re not prepared to vouch for the whole album the way most others are lining up to do, but if Birth In Reverse isn’t already your song of Summer ‘14, we promise it’ll have you bouncing high enough for co-workers to see you above the cubicle walls. “Hey, there’s Nancy’s hair. Hey, there’s Nancy’s hair again. I hope she’s getting her TPS reports done over there. I better make sure she has the memo about the new cover sheets.“
The Record: The Antlers – Familiars
The Sound: And when the boss comes around to ask about those TPS reports, we’ve also got just the thing to help you relax and get your work done. We sold you on The Antlers in the June edition, and that was before we became, um, familiar with Familiars. Just another perfectly conceived and executed record from the established kings of melodious layering and lush orchestral soundscapes. Hope we didn’t use those catchy descriptions last month…
#NOTABLE
Cover image from: Society Vernacular
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