FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
In my 7.5 years of living in Toronto, I’ve seen my share of local bands break up, but last night was the first time I saw one pack the Horseshoe Tavern for their farewell gig. The venue couldn’t have been more fitting, as it was there that my relationship with Quest For Fire began five years ago–and almost to the day, at that…
Suffice to say, the dudes in Quest For Fire must have a wicked sense of humour. I mean, who breaks up the day after Valentine’s Day? Well, these Toronto heavy-psych stalwarts, apparently.
Great gig at the Silver Dollar Room last nite, featuring Tee Pee recording artists Naam, ELKS and Toronto’s own Quest For Fire. It’s not every day that Toronto sees a heavy psych triple bill of this magnitude.
Sled Island, a four-day, multi-venue fest, has been Calgary’s answer to NXNE since 2007. Seeing as the actual NXNE takes place the week beforehand, I’ve never had much interest in a lineup that often features many of the same bands as the Toronto event. But this year, while my initial impressions of the NXNE lineup are a little underwhelming, the Cowtown organizers have scored a major coup: they’re bringing Sleep to town for an exclusive Canadian performance, and just one of three gigs on the marijuananauts’ calendar this year.
While it obviously wasn’t some Spinal Tap tribute show, I was nonetheless intrigued by this poster for a gig called Four Corners II. At first, I wasn’t sure how you could have four bands all play at 11, unless it was one of those “every band is awesome, so we won’t tell you who’s on first” type of deals. As it turns out, this concert was the second installment of a series conceived last summer, in which four bands each set up in one corner of a room, and take turns playing tunes…