Concert Reviews

 It is of utmost importance to Hayden Pedigo that you know he’s from Amarillo, Texas. A place where the plains stretch on forever and the edge of town feels like the end of civilization as we know it. This great empty expanse called the Texas Panhandle is the background for Hayden Pedigo’s musical project. In numerous interviews, he’s cited Amarillo’s beautiful desolation as his greatest inspiration.

Dan Snaith of Dundas, Ontario has been consistently pumping out ever-changing electronic sounds for over twenty years. Under the name Manitoba, he started out making shifty, sample-heavy dance music in the vein of Four Tet’s early work.

Weekday shows have always irked me a little; standing in a crowd at 9 pm, with that lingering dread of class the next morning sitting idly in the back of my mind. It takes a special kind of music to cut through that sadness, and thankfully L’Escogriffe Bar had exactly that this past Tuesday night. 

Tinashe’s world tour show at MTELUS did not live up to the level of freak I expected. The R&B legend, who’s been in the game for over a decade, gained more popularity with her album Quantum Baby riding the wave of Brat Summer. The show was well done and long, the dancers and Tinashe were very talented, but there was a lack of aesthetic continuance. Song transitions felt disjointed, as if there was a slew of creative directors who didn’t talk to each other.

This last Wednesday, November 6th, at the cozy Bar le Ritz, I had the opportunity to see the indie singer-songwriter, Odie Leigh. The folk singer was here to tour her new album Carrier Pigeon, though you may know her through Tiktok for her song “Crop Circles”. I was introduced to Odie Leigh during a time in my life where I was doing some serious soul-searching. I feel this encapsulates how her songwriting impacts her listeners.

Halfway through the first leg of The Slightly Less Lonely Tour, Myles Smith stopped in Montreal for the first time on Saturday, October 26th. The tour, sparked by his TikTok successes and his breakout hit “Stargazing”, drew a passionate crowd to the Theatre Beanfield, eager to experience his emotional and personal sound live.

Few bands have the ability to create music that feels like both a confessional and a confrontation, but Xiu Xiu’s artistry does just that. Xiu Xiu performed in Montreal on October 18th, less than a month after releasing their latest album, 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips, marking another milestone for the California-based band that has been around since 2002.