Zunior 5th Anniversary (Dog is Blue, Forest City Lovers, Entire Cities, etc.) @ the Tranzac June 27. 2009

Sadly, I missed out on both the Ohbijou CD Release on Thursday and the Sunparlour Players CD Release on Friday, which was really unfortunate, but a man's gotta eat... but, despite my disappointment at missing both of those shows, the Zunior 5th Anniversary Show/Party/Extravaganza was on at the Tranzac on Saturday night. The show was appealing for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to: it started at a reasonable time (9pm), which meant that I was going to get home at a reasonable time (before the subway stops); the Tranzac is a great sit down venue; and there were at least a few bands that I was pretty keen on seeing.

Aside from the smell (TO garbage strike + heat + crowded house + not enough A/C = big tyme stink), the night was set to go quite well.


(the shadow to the left is Laura and the shadow to the right is Paul)
Dog is Blue, 9:15 Acoustic Room

B/c of the number of bands and the amount of stuff going on Paul Watson and Laura (Dog is Blue) ended up without mics in the acoustic room for their set... c'est la vie... it actually didn't matter so much. In fact, I'd almost go so far as to say as it added a degree of 'authenticity' to the performance.

Their songs, which typically consist of guitars, keyboard, and a variety of music toys, sounded terrific in the tiny room at the front of the Tranzac. For whatever reason, their songs - live - really resonated with me, and I caught myself humming 'Seacaptain' (probably my favourite) on my way home. At this point I'm projecting this as a sleeper for a year end top 10...

[mp3] Dog is Blue - Seacaptain (live @ the Tranzac)


Forest City Lovers, 9:40 Main Room

Had heard a lot of good things about this band, have their 2nd album Haunted Moon Sinking on my computer, but never really listened to it. After their set last night, I daresay it'll be getting a few more (metaphorical) spins. The band has a sound that is relatively similar to Ohbijou - sweet female vocals, strings - but, there is something a little darker about FCLs. At this point I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I do know they have my attention... and I also know that Liz really liked them... she says they were her favourite.

[mp3] Forest City Lovers - Orphans (live)


Entire Cities, 10:30 Front Room

Those of you who have been around for a while (say, more than a year) may remember (but likely won't) how much I enjoyed Entire Cities' Deep River (#20, 2008). So, it seems logical that I would really enjoy their set, and I did. They were great. They were energetic to say the least - breaking drum sticks and guitar strings - but weren't all go-go and had a really nice balance b/w that unbrideled energy, and a quiet, more intimate side.

I think for them to become a (inter)nationally recognized band they're going to have to polish things up a little bit (if that's what they're into), but they were really fun and I def. look forward to seeing them again/hearing a new album...

[mp3] Entire Cities - Talkers (live @ the Tranzac)
[mp3] Entire Cities - Accountants Dream (live @ the Tranzac)

... and then, some time shortly after that, Liz and I went home...

But, I did catch snippets of Culture Reject and By Divine Right both of which I enjoyed and'll be interested in checking out in the future...