// Category Archive for: Canadian Content

Blu-Ray Review: The Brood

By Less Lee Moore

Let’s get this out of the way first: whenever someone asks about my favorite David Cronenberg film, my knee-jerk response is, The Brood. Having seen almost all of Cronenberg’s pre-A History Of Violence movies, it still stands out. Perhaps it doesn’t have as much of the gruesome depravity of Videodrome or Dead Ringers (both excellent films in their own right), but there’s just something about it that continues to fascinate me.

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Retro Review: Pontypool

By Less Lee Moore

Let’s face it: with few exceptions, everyone is sick of zombies. That’s not to say that zombie movies and TV shows are dead in the water (with zombie sharks), but it does mean that artists are going to have to do better than the standard ripoffs of “I’m coming to get you, Barbara.”

Enter Tony Burgess and Bruce McDonald. Based on Tony Burgess’s book, Pontypool Changes Everything, the McDonald-directed film Pontypool—which screened at TIFF in 2008—is a breath of fresh air in a cemetery full of empty, stinking graves.

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Neon Dreams Will Bring Your Neo-Noir Fantasies To Life

By Less Lee Moore

Streets of Fire

If you live in the Toronto area and you love movies, you might already know about The Royal Theatre on College Street. But did you know that every month, programmer Brendan Ross takes over The Royal for one night devoted to the best of neo-noir cinema from the 1970s, 1980s, and beyond? Featuring such classics as Body Double, Risky Business, To Live and Die in L.A., and Streets Of Fire, Ross’s Neon Dreams Cinema Club is one of the city’s best kept cinematic secrets.

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Concert Review: Riot Fest 2015 in Toronto

By Tyler Hodg

Coheed and Cambria

Toronto music fans came out in droves to witness this year’s Riot Fest. The traveling festival made a stop in “The Six” on September 19-20, with international artists such as Weezer, The Prodigy, Motorhead, Wu-Tang Clan, and Canada’s hardcore darlings Alexisonfire all showcasing their stellar live shows to a very hungry crowd.

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Concert Review: Sloan At Massey Hall

By Tyler Hodg

Photo shamelessly stolen from Sloan’s Facebook page

September 11, 2015
Toronto, ON

For only the second time in their career—and the first time since 2000—Sloan brought their talent to the legendary Massey Hall in Toronto on September 11. As singer/guitarist Chris Murphy pointed out, the band “never really got massive,” but the venue was packed with their die-hard, loyal fanbase. For those who were in attendance, it was a night to remember. For those who weren’t in attendance, it will be a night you will hear about for a long time.

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Music Review: Dealer, Don’t Worry I Got You Man

By Tim Murr

Sometimes you just don’t need to re-invent the wheel. For example: thrash metal, which pretty much got it right the first time and hasn’t done a hell of a lot of evolving since the early 1980s. Sure, some thrash bands progressed and started playing different types of music, but as far as I can tell, thrash metal has stubbornly dug its heels into the ground and stayed true to itself. It’s the bastard son of hardcore and metal, epitomized by bands like Suicidal Tendencies and DRI.

In the tradition of those great bands comes Montreal’s Dealer who recorded their debut EP earlier this year. Don’t Worry I Got You Man contains five tracks of unadulterated metal that is as fun as it is brutal. Even the album art calls to mind old school Suicidal Tendencies.

The album kicks off with “House Wins” and for a minute, you don’t know if it’s 2015 or 1985. The vocalist has a screechy yowl which fits the tunes well and is a nice reprieve from the Cookie Monster vocals a lot of bands are (over)using these days. You’ll definitely hear shades of Exodus, but Dealer has a more confrontational, frenetic, punk approach. The third track, “Game of Death,” might be my favorite of their songs. It’s a pummeling two and a half-minute pit classic if I’ve ever heard one. The longest track on the EP clocks in at less than four minutes; all five tunes fly past in a blur of belligerence and head banging.

The members of Dealer are true students in the art of thrash. Don’t Worry I Got You Man is a nice taste of their sound and I hope to hear much more from them in the future.

Don’t Worry I Got You Man was released on August 15. You can name your own price to download the EP on Bandcamp. Follow @BlackoutPR on Twitter for more information.

Music Review: Wordburglar, Rapplicable Skills

By Tyler Hodg

Rather than indulge in generic, mainstream topics and themes of current day hip-hop, Wordburglar has chosen to write about subjects much more close to home—like hockey players, Canadian issues, and video games—with conviction and humor. But don’t get him wrong, Wordburglar is far from a joke.

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Concert Review: Veruca Salt At Lee’s Palace

By Less Lee Moore

July 28, 2015
Toronto, ON

Imagine, if you will, the early 1990s. Back when alternative music was all the rage, indie wasn’t a sonic genre, and bidding wars were still a thing, a time before blogs grabbed the reins of underground music writing away from printed fanzines and Facebook was just a gleam in Mark Zuckerberg’s eye.

When I was nostalgic for the 1980s in the ’90s, I never thought I’d be nostalgic for the last decade of the old millennium. Yet, here we are in 2015 and Veruca Salt has reformed with the original members, released a new album called Ghost Notes, and is currently wrapping up a North American tour.

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Concert Review: Shuggie Otis At Lee’s Palace

By Brendan Ross

July 20, 2015
Toronto, ON

You know how sometimes you go see a show with a specific set of songs in mind that you really really want to hear live? You know when you go to that show and none of the songs you “really really want to hear live” get played? You know when that couldn’t possibly matter less and it still ends up being one of the best shows you’ve ever seen?

Hey guys. This was that show.

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Concert Review: Black Lips At The Horseshoe

By Pierce Finch-Coursey

July 10, 2015
Toronto, ON

Black Lips performed two nights in a row at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. After seeing both sets, I can easily come to the conclusion that Black Lips is by far one of the best live acts I have ever seen. With a career spanning more than 15 years and seven albums under their belts, it seems like these guys aren’t going to be hanging up their guitars anytime soon.

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