Tag Archives: Tranzac
I Am Robot and Proud at The Tranzac
Another Friday, another night spent in the front room of the Tranzac. On this particular evening it was Kite Hill and I Am Robot and Proud, who were celebrating the release of their new album Uphill City Remixes & Collaborations. I Am Robot is basically the solo project of Shaw-Han Liem, who you may have seen in other Toronto bands over the years including Sea Snakes and Jim Guthrie’s band. This was my first time seeing him play a full set, and on this night he was joined by three other excellent musicians so the songs really came to life. They’re actually departing for a tour of Japan tomorrow, but hopefully they’ll play some more shows this summer. Really great instrumental music.
Casey Mecija at the Tranzac
I made my way over to the Tranzac last Friday to catch my friend Stuart’s monthly “Out of this Spark presents” concert. Stu’s been doing these shows for a while now and I’ve yet to miss one. They’re always nice, laid-back affairs, where you’re sure to see unique sets from both fresh talent and more established acts. The lineup for the night was The Youngest, whose short, wistful set left me truly impressed, VIVIV, the latest project from Ken Reaume, and finally, Casey Mecija of Ohbijou. I’ll be honest, it was pretty late by the time Casey went on and I’d had a few drinks, so I collapsed into a seat right up front and tried filming to the best of my inebriated abilities. So please, watch this video of Casey playing a song that I’d never heard before – her sister Jenny is singing backups and really nails it. Love ‘em.
Evening Hymns at The Tranzac
This past November, Evening Hymns released Spirit Guides, which was one of my favourite albums of the year. I’ve been a fan of Jonas Bonetta (the man behind Evening Hymns) for a long time now, so I’ve been really happy to see so many people discover him with his latest release. For the longest time, Jonas was a one-band-band, using only his guitar and keyboard (and a few looping pedals) to create his lush sonic landscapes. For Spirit Guides, he enlisted the help of his many talented friends (including Sylvie Smith of The Magic, Tim Bruton from The D’Urbervilles, Shaun Brodie of the Hidden Cameras, and most of The Wooden Sky), resulting in his most diverse and transcendent album to date.
Jonas brought out these friends for his album release show back in December, and I was fortunate enough to be in the audience. Here they are performing his song “Broken Rifle” – see if you can count how many people are on stage for this.
Harbourcoats at The Tranzac
Here’s a video I shot last month when the Harbourcoats opened up for Evening Hymns at the latter’s album release show. I’ve seen the Harbourcoats (Bry Webb, also of the Constantines) play many times now going back several years, and each time has been special. The first time was almost five years ago, also at the Tranzac. I believe that was one of Bry’s first solo shows, and he only played a handful of songs (it was an afternoon gig in celebration of Three Gut Record’s fifth anniversary). The next time I saw him play was two and a half years later, once again at the Tranzac. For that show he had an entire band backing him up, with members of several prominent bands filling out the ranks. Now jump ahead to this winter, a few more years have passed and I find myself back at the Tranzac watching Bry Webb (this time wrapped in blue Christmas lights).
It’s actually unprecedented for me to have seen a performer so many times (I failed to mention above that I’ve seen Bry play at least two other times) and know the songs so well but not own their record. I can’t be blamed in this case since he’s yet to release an album! I’ve heard for several years that he’s been chipping away at one, so hopefully we’ll have something by the end of this year. If you’re really jonesing for some solo recordings, check out 2007’s Friends in Bellwoods compilation for a cover of The Velvet Undergrounds’ “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’” he did with Ohbijou’s Casey Mecija, or try tracking down the soundtrack to This Beautiful City, which features two originals by Bry Webb called “Big Smoke” (which nominated for a Genie last year for Best Original Song) and “Positive People.” Whew.
Sebastien Grainger at the Tranzac
Continuing with the anniversary celebrations, here’s another recently uncovered gem from earlier this year. I’m not sure why I never posted this the first time ’round, but it’s totally the only video like it on the internet! Sebby G himself has gone blog crazy in recent weeks, so ch-ch-check it out!