Entries by Philip Turner

Rallying Against Stephen Harper with Canadians in Brooklyn

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I was glad I could offer my personal support to Canadian expatriots in the NY area who rallied last night to mobilize voters back home to help vote the Stephen Harper government out of power in the federal election next Monday, October 19. Among the musical guests that played were Slow Down, Molasses, a rockin’ band from Sasketchewan. I chatted with Levi, one of the 5-piece band’s guitarists, and his friend, Amanda. Gillian Frank—an expat who’s filed suit against the current government’s restrictions on the voting rights of Canadians living abroad, contrary to provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms—was also in the house and gave a rousing talk. Frank’s website is LetCanadiansVote.com.

I was also pleased to see that a number of journalists—both independent correspondents and representatives of traditional media, like the Guardian, which ran this video report today—came out to cover the event. Among the latter group was CBC’s correspondent in New York, Steven D’Souza, who I saw holding a mic emblazoned with the CBC logo on it while he conducted an interview with a woman who spoke about how Canada’s reputation abroad, always stellar when she travels, has suffered around the world. As he asked her questions, I recognized his voice from listening to CBC radio. He interviewed me, too, asking why an American had come to this event. I explained about my lifelong affinity for Canada, and my bi-national bent, in which I’ve long been interested in politics, culture, and media in Canada and the US. I added that the longer Harper’s been in power, the more I’ve been reminded of the George W. Bush presidency, a disastrous siege from which the US is still recovering. I’ll add here what I wish I’d also said: the CBC is an essential national service and I hope with great fervency that the next Canadian government will fully restore funding and support for the future of the national broadcaster. No more #CBCCuts, please.

The venue in Brooklyn was intriguing, a former car wash called Williamsburg Hand & Detail that’s recently been converted to a music venue. I had a chat with “Donovan,” one of the proprietors of the new venue. There was indoor space, where the bands played, and outdoor space, where spontaneous art-making was encouraged, including a big photograph of Stephen Harper on which people were drawing new facial features and pungent messages. Wearing a PEI ball-cap obtained during a vacation to Canada’s smallest province some years ago, and a CBC Radio 3 t-shirt under my jacket, I met lots of interesting people, with whom I discussed politics, music, baseball, and books. Here are more pictures from the event.

Campaigning Ugly, Stephen Harper’s Tag-teaming with the Ford Brothers

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Stephen Harper’s renewed association with the Ford brothers—with them being invited and introduced at Conservative campaign events this week—could not have come at a less opportune time for the mudslinging incumbent. I’m sure the Harper campaign thought having the two would arouse base Conservative voters, and in these late hours of the race, go largely unremarked-upon in other quarters, but the publication of a salacious memoir by Rob Ford’s former chief of staff Mark Towhey is sending them off message, especially after they’ve spent weeks promoting their supposedly squeaky clean family values. Maclean’s has an excerpt from the new book.

The Harper Campaign, Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel

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Happy to See “All the Broken Things” Up for the Toronto Book Award

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As readers of my blogs may recall, I enjoy circus novels and fiction about the carney world, with books by Robertson Davies, Angela Carter and Ellen Hunnicutt among my longtime favorites. Here’s a post on that world called “Life is a Carnival.” One literary highlight I discovered last year is Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer’s All the Broken Things, a resonant and beautifully written novel about a teenage immigrant to Canada from Vietnam who befriends an animal trainer and becomes a carnival’s star attraction wrestling the troupe’s bear. I wrote about the book here on my other site, The Great Gray Bridge. Earlier this week, I was pleased to read that the book is now officially available in the US.

A day later, I was delighted to see the book is a finalist for the Toronto Book Award, along with another novel I enjoyed very much, the apocalypse-tinged, yet gentle, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Here’s a screenshot from Shelf Awareness showing all the finalists. The winner will be named at a public event hosted by CBC Radio’s Gill Deacon at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram and Bluma Appel Salon on Oct. 15.

Fall Live Music Lineup Already Filled w/Highlights like Frazey Ford at Joe’s Pub Nov 11

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As the end of August hoves in to view, one of the most welcome signs of fall is the upcoming return of touring Canadian musicians to NYC music venues, as it seems many acts seemed were off the road for much of the season. Actually, I know where many of my fave Canadian artists have been: playing in and partaking of the great summer festival season that stretches across the great land to the north. Happily, my fall music calendar already includes the Strumbellas at Rockwood Music Hall on Sept 10; Kathryn Calder at Mercury Lounge on Sept 11; Corb Lund on Oct 8 at Mercury Lounge; Rah Rah (on a bill with Dear Rouge) in the Studio at Webster Hall on Oct 21; The Sadies (with punk legend John Doe) at Hill Country on Oct 24; and Elliott BROOD at Mercury Lounge on Nov 14.

And tonight I learned that Frazey Ford will be at Joe’s Pub on November 11. If you haven’t heard her yet, she’s really terrific, singing with a warm, dusky voice and consistently interesting phrasing that always projects her lyrics into interesting sonic space. Her latest album is called “Indian Ocean,” an infectious blend of Memphis soul and Canadian folk. Here’s a link to a video of a live set she did for radio station KEXP in Seattle, including several songs from the new release. I hope you like her sound. If you’ve already been to live shows at Joe’s Pub, you know what a classy venue it is. I wrote up Jill Barber’s show there in 2013. If you haven’t been to Joe’s Pub yet, I recommend you try fitting the Nov 11 show into your budget and your schedule. You’ll be in for a treat, with the great Frazey Ford at Joe’s Pub, a live music room with superb acoustics and ambience.

Big Response for Stephen Marche’s “Closing of the Canadian Mind”

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Good commentary on the very widely shared NY Times op-ed about Canadian PM Harper's disastrous record by Stephen Marche….

Posted by Philip Turner on Thursday, 20 August 2015

NXNE Day IV—Celebrating Community at the CBC Radio3 Picnic

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During this year’s NXNE, Toronto’s great music festival, Honourary Canadian is publishing guest posts by Regina Sienra, aka Reginula, a music journalist who hails from Mexico City. She’s a stalwart fan of Canadian indie music, and has been recognized by the CBC Radio 3 community as our Fan of the Year. You can follow Regina on Twitter and Instagram where her handle is @Reginula. From one honourary Canadian to another, I’m delighted to be publishing her work here—Philip Turner.
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Every June for the past five years, the CBC Radio 3 community has gathered in Toronto’s Trinity-Bellwoods Park for a fan picnic on the Saturday of NXNE to celebrate an extraordinary community that always supports and watches the back of the Canadian indie music scene.

Attendees from all over Canada, the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the UK, and other countries, savor the opportunity to spend quality time with a handful of indie musicians who offer to play acoustic tunes at the picnic, gratis I should add. The performers this year were Kathryn Calder, David Vertesi, Rolfe Klausener from The Acorn and Murder Murder, a band that recently participated in CBC’s Searchlight contest, winning the Northern Ontario region. Among the hosts for the picnic is erstwhile Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence, who emcees the proceedings. The photo above shows all the picnickers and musicians in a group shot taken by Vancouver photographer Christine Macavoy.

Kathryn Calder performed a couple sons from her new, self-titled album, as well as her classic “Turn a Light On,” accompanied only by herself on acoustic guitar, which is pretty special considering Calder is more often seen playing keys with the The New Pornographers, who were slated to play Yonge-Dundas Square later that night.

David Vertesi, longtime member of the Vancouver band, Hey Ocean!, performed songs from his recent album “Cardiography,” and although he only had a few hours of sleep after finishing a NXNE set at 3am that morning, Vertesi delivered a mesmerizing performance under the trees. David Vertesi

Rolf Klausener, introduced by CBC Radio 3’s Lana Gay, performed “Dominion,” from his Polaris long-listed album, as well as songs from her earlier work, sharing some stories about his family and how his 2008 Polaris-Prize nominated album Glory Hope Mountain was inspired by his mom’s journey as an immigrant from Nicaragua to Canada.

The New Pornographers are true headliners, which earned them the prime time slot Saturday night at Yonge-Dundas Square. Performing after California sensation Best Coast and Canadian act Mise en Scene, the Pornos hit the stage without longtime members Destroyer and Neko Case (she was in the NYC area for the Clearwater Festival).

To make up for the absence of the auburn-haired crooner, the band crammed some other hits in to the setlist and, as in the past years, Kathryn Calder took charge of Neko’s songs.

Rather than focusing on 2014’s “Brill Bruisers,” the band went through their entire history and played songs like “Slow Descent into Alcoholism,” “Sing me Spanish Techno” and “All the Old Showstoppers,” closing the evening at a packed YDS with fan favorite “The Bleeding Heart Show.”

NXNE 2015 Day III, Enjoying Born Ruffians & Hollerado at Yonge-Dundas Square

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Because I couldn’t be in Toronto for this year’s NXNE, the city’s great music festival, Honourary Canadian is publishing guest posts by Regina Sienra, aka Reginula, a music journalist who hails from Mexico City. She’s a stalwart fan of Canadian indie music, recognized by the CBC Radio 3 community as our Fan of the Year. You can follow Regina on Twitter and Instagram where her handle is @Reginula. From one honourary Canadian to another, I’m delighted to be publishing her work here! Philip Turner, Publisher, The Great Gray Bridge and Honourary Canadian.
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Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 6.00.33 PMOne of the best opportunities NXNE offers live music fans is close proximity to both new and classic acts from the local Toronto and Ontario scene, as well as acts from the rest of Canada and internationally. On Friday, the ones in charge of that approach were the guys from MusicOntario, who threw an afternoon party at The Garrison.

KASHKA, latest project from Kat Burns, leader of the seminal band founded in 2006, Forest City Lovers, performed at this party around 5 in the afternoon, an unusual set time for her. “I feel a vampire,” and it’s understandable, her electronic sound—rather than the indie, almost folk sound from her earlier projects—would fit better at a nighttime party. Still, Kat and her bandmates delivered a relaxing set that included tracks from her 2014 release “Bound.”

One of the biggest shows of the festival had just been announced only four days earlier: Hollerado and Born Ruffians would play a free show at Yonge and Dundas Square on Friday night. YDSQ is like the Times Square of Toronto, and crowds are big at these NXNE shows, especially with two big Ontario acts, definitely what NXNE must’ve been hoping for when they booked the show.

Always stylish and rhythmic Born Ruffians hit the stage around 8:30, opening with their latest single “Oh Cecilia.” The setlist included songs from all of their albums, pleasing both long time fans and newcomers. Singer Luke Lalonde is a charming man on stage indeed, but bassist (Name)’s energy on stage and virtuosity is the soul of the band. Luke Lalonde announced they will be releasing a new album later this year.

Up next came Hollerado, with a brand new female member to help the quartet on keys, guitar, and backing vocals. First song of the set was “Pick Me Up,” the upbeat track from their 2013 release, “White Paint.” Stage props were brought in to play as that first tune that included lots of strewn confetti. Also, when the band played “Firefly,” a song from their recent effort, “111 Songs,” several personalities came on stage to throw white illuminated balls onto the crowd.

The set also included some new songs that will be on Hollerado’s next album. From those samples, it’s somewhat noticeable the band has moved on from their striking sound to a calmer, a là “Pinkerton” sound.

Down west on Dundas Street, CBC Music also held a showcase featuring Jane’s Party, Iceage (a Danish band), CATL and Ben Caplan, the latter being joined by a band called The Casual Smokers, a group of musicians Caplan himself discovered on Queen St in Toronto. The sheer number of musicians on stage enhanced the intense presentation of Caplan, the bearded singer whose voice often resembles an articulate growl.