The Sphinxs & The Gories!

So I made it out to a couple of shows last week -- the first was last Tuesday, the début performance of sometime No No Zero chanteuse Siân Llewelyn's new band The Sphinxs (with Chris Cheeseman, also of No No Zero, on guitar), playing at Parts & Labour in Toronto. Less straight-up soul/garage than her previous band The Bang Bangs, The Sphinxs brought a walloping energy and diversity of style to their impressive set - one I was unexpectedly hooked into playing a bit of theremin for at the last minute, I might add.


I missed The Modern Superstitions because I was outside during their set, no offense to them. Headlining the bill was Chicago's The Hollows, who really blew me away with their loud old time RnR sound and three (four?) part vocals. I thoroughly dug them, what can I say? Fun live band. I will go see them again if I get the chance.


Friday night, blog favourites Catl opened for Detroit legends The Gories at Lee's Palace and, against all odds, I made it out to that one as well and a fun night out it was too. Catl charmed another crowd in their usual forthright manner, looking slightly odd actually being on a stage for a change. I was particularly struck by new song "Hold My Body Down" and Sarah K's standout performance on same.


The Gories played a great set: relaxed and loose but with groove and energy. Danny was the band mouthpiece and seemed like he was genuinely having a fun time. It was The Gories' first-ever Toronto show and the crowd was fully into it. They played all my faves, did an encore of "Hidden Charms" and "Nitroglycerine", and I left feeling exhausted and happy.


Good photo of Sian and Chris by Ivy Lovell; good photo of Sphinxs by Christina Wozniak; crappy Catl & Gories photos by me.

Anatomical Maps!

Awesome art blog Designboom presents A Short History of Anatomical Maps, a "contemplation of our internal workings...from the mystical and spiritual to the surreal and then the informative".







From the article --

"...while our understanding of the physical may have increased beyond all recognition compared with our ancient forefathers, arguably our mechanistic understanding of our bodies doesn't fully reflect the reality of the human self. In fact there may be much to learn from history. If we can again attain an innocent perspective on the blood, guts and muscle that represent our physical self and move beyond this arguably more reductive understanding we will arrive at a point at which we consider the body both in terms of biology, psychology and philosophy. In some senses the more we know the less we know about the miracle of life."

Four Corners Poster!

Here it is -- Ka-BLAOW! -- the quadriffic animalistic stylistics of thee grandiose Fort Polio art foremost boast in this post. Drop your LSD tablets and spend all your money on booze, this show is FREE!!!

Anagram, No No Zero, Ancestors and Teenanger all playing simultaneously July 23rd at Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto. 9pm BBQ 11pm show.

FREE FREE FREE

COME OUT TO FOUR CORNERS

JULY 23 2010

Police S&M!

At the risk of being too topical or political (qualities I try to avoid here as much as possible), I confess to being pretty shocked and disgusted - and hence I suppose fascinated also - with the behaviour of the force policing the G20 in Toronto this past weekend.


Working with an unprecedented budget of nearly a billion dollars, questionable legal powers, and police and soldiers from all over the country (and even the U.S. military) totaling a force some 19,000 strong, this was the cop's show -- they were most definitely in charge and running things.

It was disturbing to see this militant show of strength in such a normally polite and casual place as downtown Toronto - as though we had been invaded by an army of cowardly bullies wearing gas masks and body armour, brandishing weapons and banging on their shields like Zulu warriors. Also very, very angry apparently.


Between the costumes, the disguises, the theatricality, and the overwhelming DOMINATION of it all, this was power play taken to extremes. And it's all so simple, even primitive - the police sacrifice a few junk cop cars, let them burn for the media, putting fear and anger into people who aren't even there. Triggering the loopholes in human brains that let them approve horror, let them applaud violence as a consequence to things that scare them.


And then the cops have the go-ahead to bust up heads: to invade, detain or beat people at random, spray tear gas into crowds of peaceful demonstrators or charge into them with horses. To go crazy basically, shoot people with rubber bullets, make mass arrests, refusing to apologize when even The Sun says they've gone too far.

Swamp Love!

"...come up hard as brass bubble from hair swamp little leather love pimple form solid lump for tongue mess..."

"...come up come up from women ocean period mecca egg farm mystery beds come up come up from where I don't ever go from profound clam stretches from breathless gill yards from gray broadloom oyster floors of girlsoul far far amazon sex control..."

"...rise rise here clity clity clity from amazing forbidden protoplasmic amoeba fulfilled woman gla gla galaxy please appear in small helmet of hope lap lap oh pearl pink precious radio crystal marvelous fruit pit of whole bumcunt harvest appear form develop unfold unshell unskin look into cocklove lead dykeplug prickgirl nrrr grrr..."

"...bridge entre men woman so I can do you pleasure my lady deliver unto me thy downtown brain..."

"...for I may never join you in the seaweed nets in the sunk hotels in the spongey jungles passive womb tubed mudlined herbal cast closet vast as Mrs. God what? you no come up? splash splash hidden for a newer tongue? for a nobler tongue? for dirtier tongue? for F. tongue? for stranger?..."

"...I go down maybe where I meant to go like a snail this automatic tongue slides down the aquarium moss shoot there is a ridge tender and yielding as the casting join of a hollow chocolate bunny I ride it down don't be ashamed all smells are alchemized..."

"...listen Edith listen to me smother listen darling love it is thy hairy hole I suck are we not joined Edith are we not proved Edith are we not breathing Edith are we not awesome lovers Edith are we not filthy postcards are we not good meals Edith are we not conversing miraculously darling pink evil fartrisk terror position darling I swear I loved you..."

- all quotations from Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen.

Algae Ladies In The Place!