Underground sensation
Local lo-fi band Deliluh has arranged one of the hottest shows of the upcoming Canadian Music Week, rocking the Lower Bay subway station
“The fact that they agreed to it still boggles my mind,” confesses Kyle Knapp.
He’s done it, though. The Deliluh frontman and ceaseless seeker of unconventional DIY concert spaces has somehow managed to convince the legendarily stuffy city of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission and God knows how many regulatory bodies to loosen up for once and let him put on a show — with help from ex-Silver Dollar/El Mocambo promoter Dan Burke and the folks at Exclaim! magazine — in the disused Lower Bay subway station this Friday during Canadian Music Week.
And a fairly uncompromising one, at that. The already soldout subterranean gig will be headlined by local prog-hardcore heroes F---ed Up, with merciless machine-techno producer E-Saggila, gritty Scarborough rapper Tyriqueordie and, of course, rambly lo-fi noisemakers Deliluh on the undercard.
“It literally began as a joke,” confesses Knapp over a couple of drinks with current bandmates.
Acid Dad. This Brooklyn combo sounds exactly as you’d expect a band called Acid Dad to sound: Psych-y, dirty, jangly and shaggy. This live show is a hot one. Adelaide Hall, Wednesday at 11:15.
Anemone. A breezy/groovy dance party from Montreal facilitated by charming frontwoman and keyboardist Chloé Soldevila. Kind of a hippie Stereolab. They proved a major hit at South by Southwest in Austin last March. The Baby G, Friday at 10.
ANML. Toronto-born Lila Rose calls what she does as ANML “hardcore witch pop.” Theatrical goth electro-pop melodrama. Longboat Hall, Friday at 9:30.
BETS. This idiosyncratic young electropop auteur has written tunes about summer lust and one-night stands in Paris and covered the Violent Femmes and generally seems to observe the motto expressed by her tune “Don’t Give a F---.” The Painted Lady, Friday at 10. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. These long-lived San Francisco sleazeniks are still one of the best guitar bands in the business. The Phoenix, May 13, at 9:30.
Casper Skulls. The Toronto quartet announced its step up to the mythical “next level” with a monster set at Lee’s Palace during last year’s Canadian Music Week. Since then, the Skulls have released one of the best Canadian indie debuts to come along in years in the form of Mercy Works and grown into an even more smashing live band. Horseshoe Tavern, Friday at 11.
Death Valley Girls. Gritty California psych-punk shenanigans. Hard Luck Bar, Friday at 11.
Ellevator. Buzzy Hamilton popsters play a bit like an artier version of Metric. Not to be confused with the beloved New Brunswick psych trio Elevator. Lee’s Palace, Friday at 10.
FOONYAP. Brittle, cathartic, classically influenced electro-strangeness from one-woman band FOONYAP. Think of her as Calgary’s answer to Bjork and you’re getting there. Small World Music Centre, Saturday at 9.
Helena Deland. An alternately spooky and sultry singer/songwriter from Montreal. The last couple of times she’s passed through Toronto she’s had an ace band behind her. Going places. The Baby G, Friday at 9.
Iskwe. Winnipeg-born, Hamilton-based synth-pop songstress and yet another standard bearer for the coming Indigenous takeover of Canadian popular music. Longboat Hall, Friday at 11.
Jo Passed. Expat Vancouverites signed to Sub Pop Records in the States who sound very much like the west coast — and Sub Pop Records — did at a certain crucial, “grunge”-y moment during the 1990s. The
Garrison, Saturday at midnight.
Keys N Krates. Booming, ravetested big-room hip hop from Toronto played expertly live on turntables, keys and drums. Danforth Music Hall, Friday at 7.
Lindi Ortega. Canada’s classiest country export. A voice that’ll send shivers down your spine. Mod Club, Wednesday at 7.
Lionsault. Rollicking ’80s-style metal from New Brunswick. Very entertaining live, thanks in no small part to Lita Ford-esque frontwoman Kortni Nicols. Cherry Cola’s, Thursday at 1 a.m.
Lowdown Brass Band. These Chicago cats have decidedly more swagger and attitude than your average brass band, trust me. 3030, Thursday at 10.
Ora Cogan. Electronically haunted, psych-streaked folk from Vancouver. One of a kind. Longboat Hall, Friday at 8.
Ought. Another day, another hot art-rock band from Montreal. These fellas are worthy of the hype. Horseshoe Tavern, Friday at midnight.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. All your favourite Australian and New Zealand guitar bands at once, with a little shoegaze thrown in for good measure. The Garrison, Tuesday at 8.
Show Me the Body. Misanthropy, thy name is Show Me the Body. Walloping live act. But you will feel uncomfortable. Longboat Hall, Wednesday at 11.
Starcrawler. If this year’s South by Southwest shows were any indication, you should probably prepare to get streaked in blood. It’s a spectacle. Not always a pretty one. Bovine Sex Club, Friday at midnight.
The Beaches. Toronto’s most joyously entertaining, soon-tobe-world-dominatin’ ladies of rock-’n’-roll. Opera House, Friday at 8. The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Speaking of spectacles that are not always pretty; Danforth Music Hall, Wednesday at 7.
The Sword. Because metal always wins. Opera House, Thursday at 10.