United in Flow Monthly Hip-hop Showcase @ Sneaky Dee's, January 25, 2010

This past Tuesday Sneaky Dee's played host to United in Flow, a "socially conscious hip-hop movement" making waves for around half a year, all of which began with a mixtape. Producer James Pew of Toronto-based Euphonic Sound Recording Studio rounded up some hip-hop and slam acts from around the city last October to write on the theme of unity and community. The record, United in Flow: Volume 1 can be purchased for charity to help local neighbourhoods.

Their first monthly showcase, hosted by trip-hop T.O. general Mindbender Supreme, went off with a bang and delivered a vibe seldom seen in grassroots indie shows like this. Any uneasiness about the night was immediately ushered out in exchange for a unanimous love for the social music of hip-hop, which brought closer a community of like-minded people revelling in a weeknight of beats and rhymes.

Mindbender Supreme

"It's about the collaboration and community of the scene in Toronto," Pew told me, as the crowd slowly builded. "We want to build something that people can be part of." Mindbender Supreme debuted his new music video, "Reset Button", that night, and you can go watch it here. If you're a fan of clever, heavily delivered lyrics, and want to support Toronto hip-hop (or if you like old-school videogames), definitely check it.

All the artists delivered a uniqueness in their respective music, playing off influences and themes to a nicely varied crowd throughout a night of great music.

More pictures after the jump.

Mayer Hawthorne and the County @ Opera House, October 15th 2010

So this is one of a few concerts that I went to in 2010 that slipped under the "post these" radar, and I accidentally left the photos on my hard drive, which have since been waiting patiently to be unleashed onto the world. Mayer Hawthorne's 2009 LP A Strange Arrangement instantly got my attention before it was released, as he is on my favourite record label of all time, and I trust any new artist they sign to bring something interesting and exciting to the table.

Combining a throwback to Motown-soul with low-fi, do-it-yourself recordings, Mayer establishes a fantastic niche that should please both longtime listeners of their folk's old records, hip-hop heads, and general likers of good music the world over. His is a great introduction to music from a simpler time, where classic themes dominated, singing in falsetto wasn't ruined forever, and tucking in your shirt was actually hip. 

If you haven't already, please, recognize:

Dirty Projectors @ Opera House, September 16th 2010

 

Last Wednesday, on a whim, my girlfriend and I decided to muster up $30 to go see the band that released what TIME Magazine called the 2nd best album of 2009. Surely an indie act that received that kind of praise would put on, at the very least, a decent concert.

And man, did they deliver.

Their latest EP with Icelandic singer Björk recently made waves on the music blogosphere, and for good reason; Dirty Projectors' frontman and creative force Dave Longstreth provides a terrific jarble of noise, off-beat time signatures, and quirky melodic guitar tones that perfectly complement the avant-garde direction of song Björk is notorious for.  Definitely one to check out if you're familiar with either act's musical style.

Born Ruffians @ Phoenix Concert Theatre, March 14 2010

 

I never really listened to Born Ruffians much past that catchy "ah, ohh a-oh" song that seemed to be everywhere, even a Skins episode. Well, they put on a fun enough show at the Phoenix. In fact, it was very fun. Despite flagging with a bit of a lame album, their catchy two-step song skills made a really great night out of an otherwise forgettable band. Thanks for the mam'ries guys. Unfortunately their musical prowess wasn't enough to prevent the sag that was my girlfriend's wallet getting stolen at the show. It was eventually found, but it's the sort of thing that really impedes the whole "positive concert experience" deal.

THE MOST SERENE REPUBLIC @ HORSESHOE TAVERN

So I went to see The Most Serene Republic last November with some old friends at the Horseshoe tavern on Queen St. They were pretty goddamn amazing if I do say so myself. If you're a fan of drowny collective-based big bands who play with the obviousness of being great friends with each other, then definitely check them out. They sounded great, and played some good stuff from their first LP.