SHOW REVIEW: Stone Temple Pilots and Crash Karma at Kool Haus!

The Kool Haus saw a 90s revival of sorts on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009, when Crash Karma opened for headliners Stone Temple Pilots.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

Stone Temple Pilots are one of those bands you can never go wrong in seeing. They sound top notch even when the band members are not quite at their best, and not a lot of bands can say that; usually it's pretty easy to tell when someone is downright fucked up. Scott Weiland always puts on a good show, and newly sober or not, he did just this on Tuesday night at Kool Haus. Was he topless or half-naked in general, spinning wildly across the stage doing Big Bang Baby lizard dances with a police cap perched on his head and a red feather boa draped across his shoulders? Not so much. He seemed to have ripped a page out of the Robert DeLeo book of dapper stage wear and how to look slick. Weiland sang and performed a great set, bottom line, although he was decidedly less energetic than in days of yore. Is that a bad thing? No. I simply mention it because after perusing some reviews online, people seem to be dwelling on this a lot. It's not the same show it was and it may never be so, but who the hell cares? Why would you want to see the same band perform the same set of songs the same way every single time you see them? We as music fans need to grow and evolve with our artists, not stagnate and complain that things just ain't how they used to be!

STP's set was fan-friendly. Not, "hey, I love Sour Girl, STP rawks!" kind of fan friendly, but if you have all the albums and know your cuts, you would have had a blast. While songs from their last record, Shangri-La Dee Da were decidedly absent from the set, and tracks from No. 4 were in short supply (save for "Down" and "Sour Girl"), fans of Core and Purple were delighted, as the bulk of the set was comprised of cuts from those two albums. And surprisingly, the only song off of Tiny Music... was the final encore, "Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart," with hits like "Big Bang Baby" and "Lady Picture Show" very noticeably left out of the set.

1. Silvergun Superman

2. Wicked Garden

3. Vasoline

4. Big Empty

5. Lounge Fly

6. Army Ants

7. Sour Girl

8. Creep

9. Crackerman

10. Plush

11. Interstate Love Song

12. Down

13. Sex Type Thing

14. Sin

15. Unglued

Encore:

16. Dead and Bloated

17. Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart

All in all a wicked show, though certainly more subdued than, say, their show with Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Molson Amphitheatre back in 2003, when they encouraged fans to fuck the seats and rush forward to get closer, but at least they didn't leave the Toronto Sun with any cheesy, sensationalistic headline opportunities, right?

CRASH KARMA

Crash Karma is one of those "supergroup" bands that everyone is going to try to knock down a few notches before even giving them a chance. They're not even the ones billing themselves as a supergroup -- the press is. They spin them as a supergroup and then in the same breath tear them down for being spun as a supergroup, opting to call them has-beens. Featuring Edwin (I Mother Earth) on vocals, Mike Turner (Our Lady Peace) on guitar, Jeff Burrows (Tea Party) on drums, Amir Epstein (Zygote) on bass and Ron Bechard (Basia Lyjak, and formerly of Edwin's solo band) on guitars for live shows, there is definitely a lot of Canadian talent in this band. Comparisons to their former bands and band mates is inevitable, and it's just that type of off-hand, ignorant commentary that will dog this band and hinder their being accepted as an entity all their own. Music fans welcomed, supported and worshipped Edwin on his years of solo touring in various incarnations - sales of Another Spin Around The Sun will attest to that fact - so why should this band be any different? If people loved the guy in I Mother Earth and his solo days, why would they think twice about giving this band a chance? Now think of an Our Lady Peace song that you love, that was a huge hit, and that is a Canadian classic... the likelihood of someone firing off the name of a post-Turner OLP track is pretty slim, at best. As for Burrows, there's not much point in comparing what he's doing these days to what Jeff Martin is doing. If Martin has had a solo hit since the Tea Party, maybe I've been living under a rock and can explain away not having heard it that way.

"Zygote? Who the hell are Zygote and that guy on stage we don't recognize?" seems to be another general response to Crash Karma's lesser known bass player's former band, but that guy, as Edwin himself explained to the audience at the Kool Haus, is essentially the mastermind behind the whole Crash Karma concept; Amir is the guy who brought everyone together. And although formally only part of the CK live band (a point driven home by his being kept more or less in the dark onstage while the other 4 guys were lit up like Christmas trees), second guitarist Ron Bechard is a pretty recognizable dude himself, having toured with Edwin on the Another Spin Around the Sun and Edwin & the Pressure tours. He's also played with and for more Toronto bands than you can count on two hands, most currently including Sin Dealer, Basia Lyjak and Patrizia.

So, maybe they're not 25 anymore, but these guys are not has-beens. They have been key members of huge bands - not only in Canada, but internationally - and they have been playing music before those bands came to be and well after they ceased to be. I just really wanted to preface the live review with that; they are as pro as pros can be and seeing them live should be a pleasure for any music fan with an open mind and no sign of a self-entitled, chip-on-the-shoulder critic's attitude.

Although Crash Karma's album is not yet out (it's slated for release in the new year), it's not difficult to find demos in varying states of completion on YouTube, plus several tracks on the official MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/crashkarma). From the sounds of things, the band anticipated the mass discord that would ensue their formation, and the songs they've recorded reflect an attempt to put together a record with a little something for everyone.

Starting off with 3 strong tracks, "Man I Used To Be," "Next Life," and "On My Own," the crowd definitely seemed to be digging what they were hearing, with various cries of surprise coming from every section of the audience - "Is that Edwin?" or "I knew Edwin was in the band, is that Mike Turner??" and so on. By the time they slowed it down with an acoustic number, a track called "Lost," most of people were pretty impressed after not necessarily knowing what to expect. Thornley fans should be particularly into this track, considering he's the guy behind the sweet solo, and has even joined Crash Karma onstage at past shows to perform it with them.

Picking it up a notch, the band launched into the Tea Party's "Fire In The Head" next, inciting mini riots in pockets of the audience; eyes shut, fists clenched, word for word sing-a-long type hysteria was kind of nice to see. Apparently not ALL Toronto concert-goers are jaded and just biding their time until they can find something to nitpick about.

Saving the heaviest and catchiest for last, the guys ripped through "Fire" and the song currently getting really heavy radio rotation across the country, "Awake." Emphasis must be put on how much people were digging the show at this point, because there don't seem to be any reviews yet that reflect that tiny, somewhat important detail.

Next came "Fight," a venom-dripping hard rock tune with a beast of a catchy riff that had the band thrashing around onstage as much as the fans were.

Finally, the last song of the set served as an answer to the "Will they or won't they?" inevitable question everyone asks when learning of Crash Karma. If you've seen them more than once, you know that there's a token frat dude in the audience screaming, "PLAY ONE MORE ASTRONAUT, PLAY ONE MORE ASTRONAUT" before, during and after pretty much every song. And they did. And people lost their shit, as if the original I Mother Earth themselves had just miraculously reunited onstage before them (when they happens, by the way, I hear they'll be opening for the original GNR line up, complete with Izzy and Steven). There was jumping, thrashing, moshing, screeching of lyrics at tops of lungs, and so Crash Karma's set ended with a bang. People liked them. A lot. Now whether some ornery critic at Free Piece of Crap weekly feels the same way is a toss-up. If I were the band, I wouldn't lose much sleep over it.

1. Man I Used To Be

2. Next Life

3. On My Own

4. Lost

5. Fire In The Head (Tea Party)

6. Like A Wave

7. Fire

8. Awake

9. Fight

10. One More Astronaut (I Mother Earth)

Definitely looking forward to seeing both bands again in Kingston this Saturday!

NEW MUSIC: Basia Lyjak releases "Never Wanted Anything"

Basia Lyjak's 5th independent release is here! 2 EPs and 3 stand-alone singles in the last half-dozen years have explored a wide musical range for this Toronto-based rock singer, and in listening to her journey of stylistic self-discovery, the point she drives home with her songs is that good music defies genre.

Her first EP, a hard-to-track-down self-titled disc, dished out 6 catchy, pop-driven tunes more suited to adult contemporary fans than the heavier rock crowd her latest material has won over.

"Writings on the Wall," her 2007 release showed huge stylistic growth. From simple pop songs, she graduated to a grungier sound with 5 versatile tracks, Writings starts off with the Queens of the Stone Age meets electropop vibe of "Stuttering" and pure pop rock of "Bye Bye," and on to the empowering chick anthem "Plastic," which there's nothing particularly tongue-in-cheek about. Ending with two gut-wrenching power rock ballads "Torn" and "Lies," "Writings On the Wall" is short n' sweet, a delectable taste of a rainbow of emotions and sounds. The EP delivered stellar vocal performances from Lyjak, tight performances by the musicians who played on the songs and fantastic production by Andrew Lauzon. One would almost be inclined to say, "Fantastic production for an indie record," but amongst a playlist of major recordings with more cash pumped into one track than all of "Writings," you would be hard-pressed to single her out for anything other than solid delivery of solid material.

If "Stuttering" wasn't enough of an infectious, fester-in-your-head-for-days (but in a good way) rock track, 2008 saw her release "Don't Talk." Co-written by local-turned-international heartthrob Kyle Riabko (who has spent much of the last couple of years on the road, including with the Spring Awakening musical), it's the kind of track every musician wants to write - simple as hell, contagious, singable, relatable, and just an all-around good, fun rock n' roll piece. Similar to the kind of envious scorn Nirvana songs were and still are met with, it's so simple that you could write the damn thing yourself, right? Well, you didn't, and maybe the biggest trick for a songwriter is to, in fact, keep a simple song just that: simple and free of gratuitous self-indulgence. "Don't Talk" does just this; it's poppy, it's heavy, it's straight-forward and it delivers just enough of a ripping, noodling solo at the end to make you want more! Your little brother is just as likely to want to hear it again as your grandma is - we're talking wide appeal, here! Complete with a video, the track is all over the web, and despite its command, it's got people talking!

And it managed to keep her fresh in people's minds long enough to bridge the gap between it and her last single, the FACTOR-awarded and funded "What It Feels Like." Another track penned with Kyle Riabko, it was released at Basia's NXNE 2009 showcase this year. As with "Don't Talk," it was also produced by Brian Moncarz of Rattlebox Studios -- a facility resulting from a partnership between Moncarz and Tool producer David Bottrill -- and after perusing their MySpace page, it's clear where the monster production comes from! Equipped with a "state of the art SL AWS 900," most any musician would kill to have their music recorded with such a beast, and the sonic result is incomparable. "What It Feels Like" is an emotional Spirograph; drowsily luring you in with dizzy, rhythmic guitars and lilting bass and drums, the track starts off melancholy, and subdued and ends with a bang (or, more fittingly, a scream). Lyjak's vocal performance is reminiscent of a monologue in a tragedy; with the range of feeling relayed lyrically, so does her voice dip, soar, accuse, beg and triumph, each word dripping with as much conviction as sincerity. A keen ear will also hear band mate Pat Kelly's velvety, sinister baritone echoing Basia's cautioning pre-chorus an octave lower. Enter the chorus and the whole band kicks into high gear - chugging rock guitars and bass, heavy drums and true rock n' roll vocals take this track from what seems like a ballad to something that belongs in an arena filled with 20,000 screaming people. Not quite another love song, the tracks seems to echo lyrically sentiments expressed by Lyjak in interviews -- it ain't easy chasing a dream (maybe it ain't smart, either), and those around you don't always let you forget that. But it's worth it, and so is giving 3 minutes of your life to give this tune a spin (and every subsequent listen is just as worthy).

For such a heavy, fresh new rock track, "What It Feels Like" hasn't gotten the attention so far that it really should have. May it's not typically commercial enough, maybe she did wait too long to follow up "Don't Talk;" either way, those are shoddy reasons to overlook a song by an artist who seems to bridge "chick rock" and "dude rock" so flawlessly.

If Basia tapped in to these potential reasons for the quieter response to the song herself, perhaps her brand-spanking new single, "Never Wanted Anything" is a big 'bite me' to her detractors. For starters, it's unique for her catalogue in that it was co-written with someone no involved in her previous efforts, Norm Sabourin, and recorded out of his Aqua Sound Studios. While the track obviously features trademarks like Basia's one-of-a-kind vocals and her core band members, guitarist Ron Bechard (Crash Karma, Sin Dealer, Patrizia), bassist Dave Carreiro (Nigels 11, feat. Chris Kirkpatrick of 'Nysnc, Slash Puppet) and now former drummer Glenn Nash (Q107 house drummer) (Dale Harrison of the Headstones and Alannah Myles's touring band now drums for Basia), it's also got a generous splash of Sabourin's influence - he shares guitar duties with Bechard and is the axeman behind the decidedly retro guitar solo in the bridge. Now, that's not a bad thing by any means -- it arguably seems like there hasn't been an enduring hit top 40 pop song in a LONG while that doesn't feature a classic riff, lick, melody, lyric or loop. Why praise pop artists for recycling when there are still artists out there producing those classic sounds that people will still want to hear 20 years from now? Further widening the reach of the song is R&B/soul singer Kim Davis, whose back-up vocals contrast and complement Basia's epic rock delivery.

Where "Don't Talk" was maybe too polished and simple for some, and "What It Feels Like" wasn't simple enough for others and a little rougher around the edges, "Never Wanted Anything" is the compromise. It's got pop, rock, melody, memorable lyrics and hook, and if it's not good enough for pop AND rock radio - then what the hell is, and who is setting these standards?

Basia Lyjak's catalogue proves she's no one-trick pony who managed to squeeze out one catchy song to gain her indie notoriety. The 8 songs she's released over the last two years feature many co-writers and collaborators, four producers, five studios, a dozen musicians and one connective tissue - Basia herself. She surrounds herself with the best and clearly challenges herself to be the best in turn. Everything she has put out has been, quite simply, great music. No big name label, manager or investor behind her, this girl has been trucking it independently, and not once have her releases reflected this in terms of quality. Let's have an indie round of applause to Basia Lyjak, and hope that the majors figure it out a hell of a lot sooner than later!

NEW MUSIC: Voodoo Bunny release debut EP!

Toronto's Voodoo Bunny have just released an awesome new EP, celebrating the event at the Bovine Sex Club this past Saturday, November 13th. Featuring legendary local guitarist Steve Scarlet on guitars, Phil Skot on bass, Kelly J on drums and lovely singer Tres fronting the band, these guys kick out an high energy live show. Their mix of punk, pop, rock and a peppering of electro is catchy, fun and makes you want to bop! Produced by Sir Ian Blurton, the debut EP is available for purchase at their shows, or you can listen to some tracks by searching "Voodoo Bunny" on YouTube, or, of course, by going to their....

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/voodoo13bunny
or
Official website: http://www.voodoobunny.ca

NEWS: Scarlet Sins Break-Up; DAME changes name

Toronto rock fans of all-female bands take note; Influential and popular local metal band Scarlet Sins have called it quits over creative differences in trying to compose their second album.

Vocalist Sylvya Nuvynska, guitarist Cris Bishop, drummer Elie Bertrand and bassist Tanya Nicklaus are apparently moving on having accomplished a great deal together in a short time.

Dame is Now Moerae's Fate

In other notes, award-winning power trio Dame have changed their name to "Moerae's Fate". They are set to play a New Year's show in Niagara Falls.

Fidget Needs New Rhythm Guitarist

Punk outfit Fidget has parted company with rhythm guitarist Elissa Barclay who is concentrating on her work in other bands Plastic Star and Pavement Princess.

Fidget is looking for a replacement and applicants can inquire via the band's myspace http://www.myspace.com/fidgetpunk.

NEWS: Gentlemen Husbands new EP!

Gentlemen Husbands are a wicked 4-piece indie rock band whose infectious, foot-stompin' canteen blues tunes are high energy and make you feel rad. They just released a 4-song EP, the follow up to 2008's "Something Along The Lines Of 'A Lesson In Unprofessionalism,'" and it's FREE! Download it at their MySpace: www.myspace.com/gentlemenhusbands and give these guys a listen...

You can check them out live this Friday in Peterborough, ON at the Montreal House with Attack in Black.