The mystery of the showcase listed as simply MapleMusic Allstars
in the
Horseshoe's 9 pm slot was intriguing enough to check out,
considering the impressive stable the Cancon-conscious star-up label has
assembled from the talent the major labels are too clueless to sign.
Once host Andy Maize finished thanking the entire industry in his
opening spiel, an acoustic three-piece version of the Supers took
over the stage and hogged the spotlight for the next 30 minutes of what
was supposed to be a 40-minute slot, total. Admittedly, their
countrified spin on A-ha's Take Me On was stoopid brilliant, but five
tunes was three too many when members of Blue Rodeo and the Barenaked
Ladies were waiting in the wings.
When Ladies man Ed Robertson finally came out casually attired
in what looked like pyjama bottoms it was only to accompany his
protιgι Jason Plum, whose gorgeous closer, Satellite, should be a
massive pop hit. All of that was quickly forgotten as soon as Maize,
Jim Cuddy and Josh Finlayson nailed their three-part
harmony on their awesome blast through Andrew Cash's You've Got A
Lot of Nerve. They'd be crazy not to cut it as a label-launching single.
But enough of MapleMusic, as the Tammy Faye Starlite buzz was
beckoning from the Bovine Sex Club. The joint was jammed so tight
by 9:55 pm that the door dude was declining the $20 bills being dangled
in front of him. Clearly, manager John Lomax Jr. had done his job
getting the word out, although the Starlite razzle-dazzle didn't live up
to the hype. Sure, the kooky sermonizing about the coming apocalypse was
mildly entertaining, but the worrying revelation that Britney Spears is
an anagram for Presbyterians isn't really enough to build an act around.
Conversely, Tel Aviv's RockFour weren't big on stage banter, but
their delightfully skewed take on freakbeat combining mod-ish bashing
with prog-like changes was captivating in ways their mediocre Rainbow
Quartz debut never suggested. These fools need to get out of Israel more
often.
The other big buzz for the night belonged to D-Sisive, who had
promised to top all previous performances for his NXNE spot at the
Tequila Lounge. A tall order considering past nuttiness. But
with a Scotsman ventriloquist, Chuckie the Sodomizing Chicken,
the Doo Wops, and someone masquerading as Remy Shand who sang a
love ballad to MuchMusic's George Stroumboulopoulos, who was
standing up front, D-Sisive actually made good on his promise, proving
himself the hiphop showman to watch.
Saturday buzz
Charlie Is My Darling Andrew Loog Oldham's revealing
Rolling Stones documentary gets an extremely rare screening at the
John Spotton Cinema (150 John) at 8:45 pm, with the charming
ex-Stones manager in attendance. It's preceded by a 90-minute director's
cut of the hilarious cult rocumentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot at
7 pm. Get there early; all previous NXNE film screenings have sold out.
Ghetto Concept T-dot hardcore hiphop crew, at the
Horseshoe, 9 pm.
Iffy Run Westy Run turn Minneapolis funkateers, at C'est
What, midnight.
Mooney Suzuki the Strokes without the hype, at the
Horseshoe, 1 am.
