summer metal festing (Heavy TO and more)

Now that we're half way through June I'm starting to look ahead to my summer concert plans a bit more seriously. This year I'll be staying fairly close to home, but just in southern Ontario there's more coming up than I can possibly make it out to. Here's a rundown of some of the shows I'm considering or recommend.

I already mentioned this one - this weekend, Invasion Infernale Fest 2012, a two-day black/viking metal festival here in Hamilton. It takes place at The Doors (tonight) and The Corktown (tomorrow).

Though there are some more worthy events planned in June, I might save myself (and my money) until July 2, when The Scorpions hit Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. If I don't see these guys before they retire my life will be incomplete.

The next couple of weekends look to be a busy one. 3 Inches of Blood are scheduled to play the Casbah in Hamilton on July 5. Plus there's a memorial event at the Opera House in Toronto for fallen metal warrior Rob Cranny on July 7.

Friday the 13th is Iron Maiden day in Toronto, another Molson Amphitheatre show, and they're dragging Alice Cooper along to Sarnia the day after for Bayfest. That same night Shockwave Festival, featuring Voivod and Fear Factory rolls into Toronto, swinging back around to Buffalo the following week (July 21).

Agalloch with Taurus and Muskox hit Toronto on July 23 - a highlight of Inertia Entertainment's strong summer line-up.

And it looks like our local metal festing culminates in August.

• Heavy TO: Last year was a blast and this year's line-up looks to be even more diverse. Never having seen Marilyn Manson or Slipknot, I'm hoping for memorable spectacles from both. Plus I feel a little warm and fuzzy about seeing old favourites like Overkill and Suicidal Tendencies. And I'm definitely looking forward to the bombastic onslaught of Fleshgod Apocalypse (or, as I prefer to call them, Fleshgods of the Apocalypse) and a host of other bands.

• I've never been, but Southern Ontario Metal Festival looks to have some cool bands lined up, including Blackguard and Unexpect.

• And August comes to a close with D-TRASH fest 2012 at the Cave, part of the wind-up to the release of a brand new Schizoid album. (more to come on that in future posts)

 Looks like I might have to stock up on vegan protein balls or something to power me through!
 

post labour-day music and vegetarianism

In the mad rush of end-of-summer beginning-of-term craziness I almost forgot to post this stuff, but here it is, just in time. Think of this as a things to do this weekend kind of post.

This is the weekend of the annual Vegetarian Food Fair at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. As usual, there will be speakers, cooking demonstrations, music, vendors, and (I'm hoping) lots of delicious samples to try. I also plan on eating in the World Cafe. If you're in Toronto on Friday night you should drop by to watch the revealing documentary, The World According to Monsanto. Gene Baur from the Farm Sanctuary will also be at the Fair; so will Nimisha Raja, an independent food and environmental researcher, writer and speaker, and Ironman Triathlete Brendan Brazier among others.

After energizing yourself at the Food Fair (you may wanna go back for some re-energizing on Sunday), you can indulge in an all day/all night live music extravaganza. First, Glory Through Steel 3 starting 1:30pm at the Kathedral. I'm aiming to see Legion DCL XVI and Gates of Winter, but there are tonnes of bands on the bill, including headliners Nunslaughter.

From there, we plan on heading southeast a block or so northwest to Z-Club for the DTrash 'Fest D-Trash Records artist showcase. I'm particularly psyched to see Hansel again (I hope we make it in time!) but the whole line-up looks great: NWODTLEM, MEATPARADE, THE PHOERON, PHALLUS UBER ALLES, UNITUS, HANSEL, SCHIZOID, PRINCESSE ROTATIVE. Check out the Fest myspace site for a sampling of what you'll be hearing.

Then I should have enough time to recover before seeing Trouble at the Casbah in Hamilton next week. Thank the cygods for vegan energy.

music and technology to feed the tech junkie habit

I saw Nine Inch Nails for the second time last night, the first time in an arena setting. I wasn't especially pumped. I love a few NIN songs and appreciate many more, but I haven't really been following them lately and the Kool Haus show I saw a few years back (despite my relatively enthusiastic review) was nowhere near mindblowing. Not that I didn't want to go, but $80 seemed a bit expensive for a night out with a good friend. The openers from Georgia, whose name I failed to catch, didn't do much to increase my excitement.

Apparently it doesn't take that much to captivate me if you've got the right tools: a few synths and samplers, digital projection, computer graphics, fancy lights, good songs, and a strong performance. The integration of lights, graphics and music was beyond remarkable. It was also ultra-contemporary (and I'm sure, very expensive), making old school light and stage shows look just plain lame. At times the effects were subtle, creating space for the band to literally take the spotlight and rock out. Other songs pushed synthesized sound and digital image to the foreground, presenting Nine Inch Nails as an artistic entity rather than a man and his hired musical guns. Some of these pictures from the appropriately named Lights In the Sky: Over North America tour should give you an idea what this all looked like. If only you could see how well these visuals meshed with what I heard...
(I think I need to re-evaluate my knowledge of NIN. Reznor's recent activities in free music offerings only underline that even further.)

Since I'm talking about technology and music (and free music) it seems like a good time to bring up some recent D-Trash Records activities. [actually, it seems like a good opportunity to talk about Death to Music Productions as well, but I'll save that for another day] Keith Carman beat me to the punch reviewing Matamachete for exclaim!; while I take issue with his slur against Mindless Self Indulgence, I support his appreciation for Tanin No Kao. I also recommend checking out some D-Trash artist videos and investing in the label's first DVD compilation.