Torngat is one of many groups, including Belle Orchestre and formerly the Arcade Fire, of which horn-player Pietro Amato is a member. This instrumental trio caught my attention back in 2007 at a show they played at Kingston’s Grad Club, where I had attended based mostly on my love of all things horn related. Despite a very intoxicated young Kingstonian lady dancing distractingly provocatively and yelling such witticisms as “Torngat? Pfft… more like TornGUT”, the show definitely was worth checking out.

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For all you recessionistas out there (people who manage to stay fashionable during the recession), here are some pumpin’ jams to put a smile on your face while you sit on your couch at home at 2:00 on a Thursday afternoon getting CNN’s advice on job-hunting.

Thunderheist will be playing Kingston tomorrow night at the Grad Club for anyone in that neck of the woods.

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Being born and raised on the East Coast of Canada, to me Alberta was where you went to pay off student loans or make cash money to send back to your defeatist-have-not fellow Nova Scotians. A concept album about rural Alberta sounded about as appealing as the latest Nickleback effort. Torontonian group, the Rural Alberta Advantage, have made such an album work with Hometowns. I haven’t managed to get a copy of it yet (it’s available on their website: www.theraa.com), but from what I’ve heard at their recent concert in Ottawa at Cafe Dekcuf and in the songs I have managed to track down, they manage to combine oil, wild roses and the Rockies with a good dose of heartbreak (and  drumming well beyond your average alt-country fare) to craft what I can only assume is an accurate portrayal of life in the Texas of the North.

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Don’t Haunt This Place

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The Rural Alberta Advantage – Frank, AB

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The Rural Alberta Advantage – Sleep All Day (Green Go Remix)

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It’s takes no great leap in logic to say that the longer an established artist waits to release an album, the more the anticipation from the fan base grows. Pressure is on to achieve a delicate balance between what made you successful while still growing as an artist, remaining relevant to the fickle masses. Do you shed your Oops I did it again image to become a Womanizer, or can you have it both ways, being not a girl and not yet a woman?

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs got it wrong…. on their sophomore album. Show Your Bones was squeaky-clean when we wanted at least some of the fuck-me, balls out raw tracks of Fever to Tell. The range between Rich and Maps showed a depth that was sorely missing on the following album. Granted, there were some perfect pop songs (Cheated Hearts, Gold Lion), but the whole album generally left a feeling of “huh?” lumped at the bottom of your throat.

For this reason, I approached It’s Blitz! with some apprehension, keeping my still tender feelings well guarded after the prior disappointment. That Karen O’s lyrics were going to be nonsensical and disjointed with the occasional mind-blowing line, was a given. Suspicions were confirmed with the opening line of Zero – what exactly is a “latitude sun” and does it shake? Maybe its just Karen being madman on the run again.

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Over the years, whether for my stellar foresight or uncritical ear, I have been to surprisingly few concerts that have left a bad taste in my mouth (insert groupie joke here). However, there have been occasions, through fault of artist, venue, friends, or even my own doing, where the night just didn’t live up to expectations. This playlist is an ode to those shows, in chronological order as to when I saw them.

My love of this group began with the acapella arrangement of song Ambulance (mp3 below) back from the Desperate Youths, Bloodthirsty Babes LP, so when they came to Toronto after releasing Cookie Mountain, I was ready to howl along. What transpired that night was not the textured layers of voices, crescendos and nuances for which I was hoping. What we got was stadium rock. I largely blame this on the fact they were playing Kool Haus in Toronto, a converted warehouse with acoustics to match. Our friend also passed out in the middle of a big crowd, which was kind of a downer.

TV on the Radio – Ambulance

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I may be showing my (lack of) age here, but when Fever to Tell first came out in 2003, my teenage mind first came to understand that women could rock it as hard as men and still be smokin’ mamas. It was a dream to see them play Lollapalooza, and for the most part Karen O played the part to a T, complete with a cape of tinsel. However, the mood was totally shattered when she giggled between every sexually explicit lunge. It wasn’t actually that disappointing, I just wanted an excuse to put this latest leaked track from their forthcoming album up. It’s hot.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll

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Last April I tried to go see Jay Reatard played a show at Silver Dollar in Toronto. The crowd was pretty riled from the set and lots of beer bottles got smashed within the first song or two. Reatard had a hissy fit and called the show off. The broken glass was pretty rock n’ roll, but Jay’s response was more whiny bitch.

There was some back and forth between the bar owners and Jay.

Jay Reatard – Gamma Ray

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I saw Chromeo play in a non-stop dancestravaganza at Coachella last year. The acts for the dance tent were Aphex Twin, Simian Mobile Disco, Chromeo, Hot Chip and Justice, one after the other. Coachella in general is not condusive to good sleep and after walking around in 40C weather, I was pretty beat, and my back was killing me. I ended up sitting down in the middle of a throbbing mass of people during Chromeo, and missing most of it. I now understand what children at clubs must feel like. Fellow Montrealer, Hatchmatik remixes the track below.

Chromeo – Bonafied Lovin’ (Hatchmatik Remix ft. Teki Latex)

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This was another case of sleepyheadedness. I made the two hour journey to Montreal to see Sigur Ros play the Vieux Port. I am well practiced at sleeping standing up from my Catholic rearing (getting some Sunday morning Zs while standing in mass) and ended up getting almost to the REM stage while Jónsi Birgisson destroyed his bow with raw emotion.

Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook

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Ottawa needs to get some consensus going between venues as to when shows usually start. At Zaphod’s they will kick the band off the stage after 11 (this happened to King Khan and the Shrines) so second year Ottawa U students with scarves can dance to all the indie hits. However, what I discovered when I went to go see Handsome Furs at Maverick’s, at some venues shows start decidedly later (1 am). This puts the set well past a point in the night, where after 4 hours of *socializing*, I can process that there is a band on stage, let alone appreciate the music (the October show). They are coming back to Ottawa to promote the newest album, Face Control, March 12th. I’ll try to keep it together for this one.

Handsome Furs – Thy Will Be Done

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Even if you dont like angry music, if you haven’t seen Fucked Up in concert, do it. Nothing beats a big sweaty guy with hair every where but on his scalp bouldering around the audience as little people (i am trying to be PC, but I mean midgets) hardcore dance. My regret for this one was showing up late and missing some of the action.

Fucked Up – Son The Father

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Here’s a brand new track off the YYYs forthcoming album, It’s Blitz!, due out April 14th. Through the fuzz of my crappy work earphones, I can make out more the first promising fist pumping, tail-shaking (more dance elements than usual) notes of their first full length release since 2006’s Show Your Bones.

Let the remixes begin.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero

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Junior Boys recently announced the dates for their upcoming North American tour, with a stop in Ottawa May 10th at Babylon.

Here are a couple tracks from their upcoming album, Begone Dull Care.

Dull To Pause – Junior Boys

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Bits and Pieces – Junior Boys

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I thought as a tribute/explanation of my moniker (ironically yesterday’s word of the day on my igoogle), I would devote my inaugural post to our favorite almost-failed state, Belgium. Bloodstainsoverbelgium comes from a series of punk mixtapes, starting in 1992 with BloodstainsacrossTexas, and which includes among others, BloodstainsacrossYugoslavia (a little too soon for that one). I should probably also mention I haven’t actually listened to any of these mixtapes.

Anyway, here are a couple tunes from Riots in Belgium, along with a remix they did of Headman’s On & On.

Headman – On & On (Riot in Belgium Remix)

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La Musique – Riot in Beligum

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