Music in the Streets – The October Edition

For the young professional (YP), October either signals the end of summer far too soon, or the beginning of fall, just in time.

Now, if you find yourself in that latter group of “glass half full” types, you won’t mind that the festival circuits, outdoor stages, and weekend bangers are once again replaced with late night shows in dark and intimate back rooms. 

And while this isn’t everything that’s happening in the Toronto music scene this month, what would be the point in covering them all? It’s not like you could see every single one. You’re a motivated YP, not a ubiquitous super-being

Perfume Genius 
You don’t have to wait long this month for a show you simply can’t miss. Fresh off the release of one of the most beautifully strange albums you’ll find, and featuring a slightly re-imagined and more electronically textured aesthetic, Mike Hadreas is here once more to captivate every last soul in the house, for every last minute of the night. If you know Perfume Genius, the bare piano melodies and evocative lyrics remain; but the surprising sonic additions to Too Bright will only fill the quiet spots with further wonder.
The Virgin Mod Club. October 4. $15.

Jungle 
Sure, the anonymous Internet record release thing is old, and quite frankly, so is their choice of genre. But you know what isn’t old? Big ensemble funk outfits and dancing the night away with beautiful people. So there.

While only two men officially take credit for their “80s white funk sound”, the stage will surely be filled with friends supplying tropical percussions, tribal rhythms, and dominating bass lines; but in among that mass also comes an almost post-punk austerity to efficient and clean hooks. Of course, the downside to seeing Jungle live is that it’ll be one less night you can sit at home watching their videos. But imagine if the roller-skates come out…
Danforth Music Hall. October 6. $18-20. 19+


Titus Andronicus 
If we felt like starting a fight about rock music, we’d first do the rock star thing and drink a bottle of Jack Daniels. Then we’d say something like, Titus Andronicus’ The Monitor is the best f@!?ing rock album of the decade, garble garble garble. Of course, then we’d wake up with all kinds of regret, but not because when sober we’d realize how outlandish it was to proclaim The Monitor the best rock album of the decade; rather, because we drank an entire bottle of Jack Daniels.
The Garrison. October 9. $3 (That price is basically the rock show equivalent of a Big Box Combo). 19+.


Flying Lotus
Another huge month at Danforth Music Hall – which includes the Constantines, Jungle (remember them from two paragraphs ago?), Cat Power, Damien Rice, Big Wreck (umm…what???), and many more – but if we’re ever going to gain traction with our hippest readers, we better do the right thing and feature Flying Lotus.

Quite frankly, we don’t always get the experimental and psychedelic outputs of Steve Ellison’s mind; but given the family pedigree, the widespread critical acclaim, the A++ list of collaborators lined up at his L.A. door, and the ultra cool crowd following his every release, we recognize our miss on this one.

And when you add to this list of endorsements the fact that he’s produced most of the bumper music for the Adult Swim network, we kindly request a Flying Lotus mulligan. But our nescient opinions aside, one thing’s for sure: if you appreciate fresh and provocative takes on beats and rhythms, and a catalogue of deeply thoughtful genre-bending creations, here’s your chance to see the reigning champion of all things conceptual in the live.
Danforth Music Hall. October 21. $29-33.50. 19+. 

Stayin’ Alive at Your Day Job: Newer Music That Unfortunately Isn’t in the Streets This Month

The Record: Aphex Twin – Syro
The Legend: Richard D. James is back. Who? How about the man for whom they invented the term “IDM” (even though he ridicules it); or how about the man Thom Yorke credits as the creative inspiration for Kid A. Still not sure? No matter, after 13 years without an official new Aphex Twin release, James’ re-introduction is an astonishingly vast collection of melodic phrases, electronic palettes, and arrangements so meticulously mixed, they could only come from one man. However, strangely missing is the same level of listener difficulty. Dare we say, pleasurable from beginning to end?

 

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