> CONCERT SAMPLER
Live music highlights for the week of April 27 to May 3.
Blood and Glass Shape-shifting frontwoman Lisa Moore and jazz-rooted bass man Morgan Moore are a creative, compelling union of theatrical visions, technical prowess and now matrimonial bliss, whose arty tomfoolery is taken neat, no chaser — “I drink whiskey like a man . . . I drink whiskey just like dad,” she purrs on “Whiskey,” over a grungy, industrial groove that, with a Teutonic break, goes all freak-out most cheekily.
Punk Shadows, their just-released second LP, is full of such woozy gems, with Lisa sounding like Cyndi Lauper one minute and Karin Dreijer Andersson the next.
Rounded out by drummer Evan Tighe (and featuring here a guest turn by star flamenco guitarist Caroline Plante), they’ll be touring more this fall and pretty much assured for a must-see return — for now, this one-off is buried treasure on a crowded night.
(Thursday, Baby G, doors 8 p.m.)
Feist Leslie Feist slips as unobtrusively as she can back into the spotlight with this tour kickoff show around her new album Pleasure, the followup to Polaris Prize-copping Metals, out tomorrow.
It’s not like she’s been idle these past six years; she’s been guesting and workshopping in a variety of settings, including some recording with Georgia metal vets Mastodon (in here next Wednesday, so alas, no surprise guesting here) and sitting in with old pal Mocky and his band the summer before last for as euphoric a night of music as 2015 delivered.
All that collaborative work, wide range and warmth has gone into where she is now, including a hypnotic title track that’s an ode to communal delights, but it’s not like this is an ending either — she’ll be back in June for a Broken Social Scene reunion at Field Trip’s renewal. (Thursday, Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, 8 p.m.)
T. Love It’s not every day that a band makes its first visit here that has roots in the waning days of Communist Poland, and in particular the landmark Jarocin Festival that annually provided a youthful alternative to the grim daily grind. From their beginnings as Teenage Love Alternative in 1982, they’ve gone through a number of personnel shuffles around founder Muniek while remaining one of the country’s most beloved, chart-topping acts.
Primed by return engagements in New York and Chicago last week, the seven-piece should be in a celebratory mood and you have to think any language barriers will come down quickly. Not that that will be an issue with the grizzled punks, new-wavers and doubtless a few Jarocin vets from Toronto’s sizable Polish community showing up for the moshing. (Friday, Opera House, doors 8:30 p.m.)
Del Bel This Guelph-Toronto ensemble has covered a lot of ground while growing up fast, going from a shambling cast of many down to five pieces, and now weighing in at a tidy group of seven that’ll give third record III its christening here.
T.O. teenage rapper Clairmont the Second is a standout new addition on the album as bandleader Tyler Belluz further refines the band’s orchestral trip-hop, and Lisa Conway remains, as ever, possessed of a voice to match the dark, thrilling mix.
Montreal’s trippy Saxsyndrum are on the undercard, including (hopefully) their synth-soaked cover of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” disco anthem, while locals Language Arts loom here as winsome outliers. (Saturday, Longboat Hall at Great Hall, 9 p.m.)
Teddy Fantum
This Weeknd-XO confrere retired his former TFHouse nom de guerre a while back and emerged as Teddy Fantum, a far more personal project. This winter’s addictive EP Help Me and now this show, with custom set design from his downtown DSTRY mates, amounts to the coming-out after-party — “Help Me Interlude” sets a dreamy bar high by pitching his vocal low, amid autotuned ad-libbing and a hypnotic sample.
“I was at a fork in the road making the album and severely anxious about all the uncertainty in the choices I had to make, but I think it’s working out now,” he says. Sonic brother G Milla, with recent music of his own in January EP LFDY, shares the stage on his own and alongside, and given their work together they have strong chemistry. (Sunday, Drake Underground, 8 p.m.)
Metz Saying goodbye to the Silver Dollar on its final night, Toronto’s viscous threesome of manic frontman Alex Edkins, piledriving drummer Hayden Menzies and bobbleheaded bass man Chris Slorach figure to go out in constant, sweat-drenched motion and with middle fingers held high.
Abrasive locals Fake Palms and New Fries set the stage, but in truth the whole weekend at the Dollar, including Doomsquad, Suuns and Peeling (on Thursday), Dilly Dally (Friday) and Saturday’s pairing of doom metallists Blood Ceremony and Zeppelinesque riffmasters Biblical will ensure a head-start on the demolition job ahead.
RIP to the ol’ place, and all unprotected eardrums within.
Pick of the week. (Sunday, Silver Dollar, doors 8:30 p.m.)