Monday, February 26, 2007

Sweet Valentine


I knew it was smart to put these videos up...but it's pretty dumb to put up Sweet Valentine this far after the 14th. Tough.
This song, for your information, was played on last week's Vinyl Cafe, hosted by Stuart McLean.
Ron Leary has hit the national radio waves on a major Canadian program again, and was joined on the playlist by Joni Mitchell, Ry Cooder, Tom Waits, Frank Sinatra, The Weakerthans, and Leonard Cohen. Not too shabby.



Way to go Ron. Keep it up.
Tom

Windsor Live Music: More Leary and Mr. Chill



Are you as shocked as I am that Frank blogged?!
Holy crap!
Enjoy more Monday night greatness.
Hey, you can enjoy it in person if you come out on Mondays yourself.

Windsor Live Music: Julie Doiron and Baby Eagle

This already happened. It was pretty darn good. I said darn. I didn't take pictures but I'm sure they will turn up some time soon. I spelt soon as son at first but then I fixed it so you didn't notice that because I fixed it before I wrote this sentence. Alrighty then. So much for me blogging.
Poop,
Frank

Windsor Live Music: Ron Leary and Kelly Hoppe play at Open Mic Surgery (Monday)



Just thought you might like to see some of the videos I shoot and post to YouTube.
There's a LOT more to come.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

A film I think I want to see

Try playing this.

Friday, February 23, 2007

No Royal Wood Yet

Royal Wood will not be playing March 27th.
He cannot make it.
He is coming for the Emm Gryner show in April.
Tickets will be on sale for that one soon.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Windsor Live Music: Friday March 2nd...QR5 wsg Perilelle


Once again, a band coming to Phog is getting loads of press and respect.
CBC Radio 3 has once again covered one of our shows...
Here's the article:
A name can be very deceiving.

When I first saw Qr5 on R3's playlist, I immediately assumed that they were an electronica artist.

Wrong.

Based in a traditional, folky sound, Qr5 is actually quite difficult to pin down and label. "Revisitied Gone" has a wonderful, airy ska feel to it - but not an aggressive stomp-ska vibe. More of a Stewart Copleand-y thing. Some of their stuff is augmented with drum loops, too. It never loses its organic roots, though.

Ben Bootsma and Matthew Maaskant have worked together for a decade on soundtrack and production projects and Qr5 retains that sense of the visual, even if the lyrics are a little "eclectic".

Their song, "Dreams", is currently on The R3-30. It's a great song, too. I didn't choose that one for my Track of the Day because you've all heard it because you all listen to The R3-30, right?

Right?

Julie's Big Single



Remember, Julie Doiron with Baby Eagle Sunday February 25th.
Very few tickets are left.
$8 Advanced sale.
Get them at Phog.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Windsor Live Music: B.A. Johnston and The Kent Boys Bring the House Down

Yes, this man is from Hamilton, and yes, this man has been here before.
B.A., we love you, even if you bring half of the bar into the street so you can sing with no shirt on in below-zero weather. We also like that you are willing to do the worm dance on the winter-dirty floor.
Thanks to the Kent boys who also impressed many onlookers and onlisteners.
Thanks to Eric Welton for all these photos...

Somehow, we had two gut-bucket players in the house on two consecutive nights. Even more impressive when you consider that we've NEVER had a gut-bucket player on the Phog stage.
Thanks You! Good night Hamilton! Er, uh, Windsor!

Julie Doiron CD Review


Here's a review of Julie Doiron's new album, which she will be performing at Phog Lounge on Sunday February 25th.
There are advanced tickets available for $8 at Phog.
This show will be accompanied by Baby Eagle, who has not yet visited Phog.
I expect a massive show of support for this show, but I know the tickets will be hard to come by at the end of the week.
Here's the review.


Julie Doiron
Woke Myself Up

New Brunswick indie group Eric's Trip, who broke up following the release of their 1996 Sub Pop album Purple Blue, were one of those increasingly rare acts whose work has never become particularly over- or underrated-- at least by those of us outside of Canada. The group's admirers are content just to remember and cherish the band as they were: a foursquare but reliably melodic lo-fi outfit whose songs were charged with flashes of noise and subtle lyricism. The group's modest legacy has been ably reinforced by the subsequent career of band member Julie Doiron, whose solo work both as Broken Girl and under her own name has been similarly filled with a natural intimacy and chance moments of homespun, offhanded beauty.

So it only stands to reason that Woke Myself Up-- much of which constitutes a virtual Eric's Trip reunion-- is such a low-key affair. Produced by Eric's Trip guitarist Rick White, the album also features regular appearances from former group members Chris Thompson and Mark Gaudet, all chugging steadily along behind Doiron's ever-winsome voice and guitar. As has become her trademark, the album is crowded with organic, vaguely melancholic tales of home and hearth, with each clear-eyed lyric fully possessed by whatever household drama is at hand. Kind-hearted and disarmingly earnest, Doiron's music remains as resistant to curmudgeonly critique as it is to over-exuberant hype.

Perhaps since the album is a reunion of sorts, on several songs here Doiron concerns herself with the uncomfortable disconnect between the faces of her past and those of the present. "I don't want to be loved by you/ I never understood your scene," she sings on "Don't Wanna Be/Liked by You", before she softens and tempers her kiss-off by adding, "I suppose I'll just let the love in." A similar emotional dissonance crops up again on "Me and My Friend", when she notes, "We are not friendly anymore... so long ago it meant much more than this."

Unfortunately, if the rest of her ex-Eric's Trip bandmates recognize something of themselves in Doiron's familiar domestic laments, they're not saying, as they all sound perfectly satisfied to witness these songs from a comfortable distance. On full-band tracks like the sleepless mother vignette "I Woke Myself Up" or the wryly romantic "The Wrong Guy", the group's restrained rock textures feel grafted onto solo Doiron songs after the fact. Even on the engaging "No More", the best of the album's collaborations, Doiron sounds like she's having difficulty writing for a band again, as the group struggles to fully integrate each musician's performance into the arrangements.

"When we'll pass on the street/ I won't look away if you don't look away," she talk-sings to another lost love on "You Look So Alive", the song's narrator setting careful limits on how much of the past to permit herself. Fittingly, she sounds most at ease on the album when she remains in the present, ruminating on the joys of motherhood ("Yer Kids") or casting wishes out her kitchen window ("Swan Pond"). Since the dissolution of Eric's Trip, Doiron has carved herself a cozy little niche as a songwriter and a master of understatement, a niche that seems too comfortable for her to vacate for long. While these home fires can be appealing, though, at some point Doiron's work-- with or without her erstwhile bandmates-- could certainly benefit from a measure of high-spirited youth and adventure that goes beyond that one last fond, passing look.

-Matthew Murphy, February 15, 2007

Monday, February 19, 2007

Patrick Watson Part II


I knew you'd like it so I added another one.
More samples of shows past and future to come.
Keep an eye on this site, and let people know they should go to this site if they are interested in finding out what's new and what's passed.
Thanks
Enjoy...again.

Phog Sample of Patrick Watson



I told you he would be amazing.
Maybe we can get him back to Windsor for the P.A. Fest.
Enjoy.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Unload a Piano



I have been asked to get a piano in the bar several times.
I want one, but Frank might destroy it the night, under the cover of darkness.
I, for one, after watching Patrick Watson, think we should have a piano installed somewhere up front.
Also, we could invite this cat to play and not have to pay.
Frank would LOVE that.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Watson and more


To begin with, I saw this picture on a very popular blog post (raymi the minx) who happened to win best diarist blog (impressive). She's from Toronto, and hits The Horseshoe Tavern from time to time...and looky-looky...a pic of Care Failure from Die Mannequin wreaking havoc outside (on the way back in) with only one shoe on.

On another note, I looked for some shots of Mr. Patrick Watson (playing Thursday...tonight) with Tara Watts. I found this page of possibilities.
I know this is him though...it was in the original image list...

Come see him tonight. The cover is only $5. We're THAT generous.
Enjoy. You'll thank me for it later.
Tom
Phog

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Another video I HAD to share...



I'd pay people this slick to play Phog.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Frank IS David Cross




I know you will love this.
I saw this image on stereogum.com, the amazing music blog, and I totally thought it was Frank for the first 5 seconds I was looking at it!

Frank IS David Cross, I'm convinced. Frank is funny, David Cross is funny, Frank wears black glasses, David Cross wears black glasses, just look at the pictures!!!
Awesome.

CONGRATS RON!


Well, he's done it again!
CBC Radio 3 has shone the light on our man...
The blog site www.cbcradio3.com is an excellent source of info for indie music in Canada, and it should be a regular stop on your web surfing.
I believe the site has won blog awards...

Ron Leary has gotten his work into the hands of people who can recognize greatness...and they have recognized his prowess!

You can read the little artice here if you cannot read it cleary from the image above.

We love ya Ron!
Way to go man.
Since it's Monday, Ron will be at Phog celebrating his incredible talent.
Come see! Come see!

Friday, February 09, 2007

Windsor Live Music: ROYAL WOOD


That is his real name.
Royal Wood.
The guy started playing piano at age four, and has been crooning on higher and higher levels since then.
You check him out here or here.
He's coming to play Phog two days after Julie Doiron and Baby Eagle.
Come see Royal Wood Tuesday, February 27th.

Patrick Watson and Daniel Victor


Well, well, well...
Our local boy has made waves in the music community with Neverending White Lights, being nominated for a Juno as Best New Artist!
It just so happens that another person in that category will be hitting Windsor on Thursday, February 15th. That man is Patrick Watson.
Above is a photo of the two, stacked on top of one another, from the Juno Awards website.
Let's see who decides to check out the competition while the chance is available...
I would hope Victor supporters would see the benefit of attending this show.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Exclaim Loves Patrick Watson

More on why you should bring your attentive ears to the Patrick Watson and Tara Watta show on Thursday the 15th of this month.
Here's the article in question.
Enjoy.

Eric Keeps Busy

Phoggy Night - A Night in the Phog Lounge

Add to My Profile | More Videos

With great appreciation to Eric, I give you his most recent, unprovoked video collage.
Thanks Eric.
Enjoy

Friday, February 02, 2007

Windsor Live Music: Patrick Watson and Tara Watts

Watts and Watson. Don't say I didn't warn you.
This show will DESTROY.
Wednesday February 15th is when it's going down.
I need not spell out all of the reasons to watch Tara Watts. Locals know thier local stars.
But here is the dirt on Watson.





"What makes this Watson character so great? Well, to put it simply, he makes really good music. His album Close To Paradise, released earlier this year, was criminally overlooked by critics and the listeners alike. Watson skilfully balances symphonic avant-garde elements with beautiful piano driven pop.

Said the Gramophone has called Watson a "swaying, crooning, gem." I happen to think the description is quite apt. His music swings and maneuvers from one musical aesthetic to another almost effortlessly. You'll be fully rewarded if you allow yourself to be taken along for the ride." - Mocking Music

Things to consider


I must share this Menomena story...
I was walking over to Phog, to open, when a "band van" pulls up. I assumed it was my band for the night, but when the van rolled down it's windows, they asked, "How do we get to the tunnel?"
They had a gig in Detroit that night. The Magic Stick
"Oh, I thought you might be my band for tonight...what kind of music do you play?" I asked.
The reply? "Overrated."
Sean and I were flabbergasted. We had never heard an answer like that.
They told us their band name, shook hands, gave directions, and they GAVE me an EP of Wet and Rusting.
I played it immediately upon entering the bar...getting things ready to the tunes of this incredible band who told me they were from Portland.

Later on in the day, I get a call asking me to cover for a show at the university radio station, CJAM. I agree, and take my new prize CD along with me. Upon playing it, and announcing my miraculous meeting, there were more ears listening than I thought.

A week later, Menomena returns from their tour and sends me a myspace message (Phog's profile) and thanks me for playing their CD on the air and promoting the show. Apparantly, some listeners went to the show because of the samples, and told the band the whole schtick I used on the air.
It was amazing. They claim that they will play our place on their next tour...and within months, I am seeing these posts on blogs such as Gorilla vs. Bear (READ IT)
Their success is hugely deserved, and kudos to gorilla vs. bear for putting on such a sweet show. Too bad it's in Dallas.


If you are intrigued at all to know about the newest up-and-coming bands with fun, lighthearted stuff, go to gorillavsbear.blogspot.com and stereogum.com - they are priceless resources for independant music in Canada, the US, and the world.
Tom