. : : October 15th, 2016 : : .
Boo! Not dead yet.
[[ a live music blog ]]
. : : November 3rd, 2012 : : . The problem with seeing a perfect show from a band is that every performance afterwards will suffer from comparison. That was a bit of my initial problem with enjoying the set Paper Lions played at The Rivoli in Toronto last November. After an overly generous two-set free performance at Dundas Square earlier in the year, no set would be able to quite hit all the right notes. The sound in the venue had trouble mixing just the right amount of lead guitar among the rhythm section, and the back-up vocals couldn’t seem to quite strike the right balance. Not…
. : : June 29th, 2012 : : . Virgin Mobile is putting on an Indie Showcase this summer; each Friday evening, a new independent band will be performing two showcase performances in the heart of the city, Dundas Square. There will be no openers, no cover charge, aDnd really, no reason not to go. Kicking off the summer event was Paper Lions, whose music is a well-documented love of mine, but after Paper Lions’ somewhat underwhelming set at NXNE festival, I checked my high expectations at the proverbial door. After all, how could the sound and atmosphere at Dundas Square, a cleared…
. : : June 15th, 2012 : : . After wrapping up at Yonge-Dundas Square, it was time to get to the El Mocambo. I was expecting a good sized crowd to show up at the Young Lions Music Club showcase, and didn’t want to risk being left in the figurative cold, and opted out of the subway for a quick and easy taxi ride over to the club. As the crowd of thousands poured into the subways and out onto the streets, we decided to head southbound, even though the venue was north-west. It only made sense: as we suspected, northbound lanes were immediately filled…
. : : December 10th, 2011 : : . After a month-long weekly residency gig in Toronto, the Paper Lions took to a cross-Canada tour that seemed to bring them to every major (and some minor) Canadian city EXCEPT Toronto. I guess it was kind of rude to expect another stop by, but it would have been nice to see them again. Although they weren’t letting us in on the secret yet, the Paper Lions had a well-calculated reason for shipping Toronto for the weeks-long Rolling Oyster Revue tour. Namely, the Young Lions Music Club (no relation) that put on the aforementioned residency at Toronto’s The Supermarket would…
If you’ve been reading the blog this past summer, you’ve probably noticed there’s two bands I really started to get into in a big way: The Rest and Paper Lions. Both bands were openers and underdog show highlights at the Dark Mean album release party this past June. I’ve made a concentrated effort to catch the bands every time they’ve come into town since, and luckily, both bands have thus far made it an easy and frequent occasion. Paper Lions, based out of Prince Edward Island on the far east Canadian coast, were the band I least expected to see again so soon but returned…
. : : July 20th, 2011 : : . Paper Lions‘ Trophies EP has been on frequent rotation since I saw them open for Dark Mean last month. Their brand of power pop fits firmly up my alleyway. Several of the songs performed at that show are actually as-of-yet unreleased, and I’m anxiously awaiting their forthcoming LP to see how these tracks translate from the live stage to the recording studio. Luckily, I was given the opportunity to experience the next best thing. Hailing from the east coast, I sure wasn’t expecting Paper Lions to make the trek back to Toronto until they had the aforementioned…
. : : June 24th, 2011 : : . Leaning heavily on piano-and-guitar pop/rock and phenomenal vocal harmonies that blended so well they might as well have been pre-recorded samples, it was clear within the first 90-seconds of Paper Lions‘ set at the Horseshoe Tavern that the band could have been checking off items on my “Things I Loves About Music” checklist. It’s no surprise that The Horseshoe had finally filled up in time to catch this little band of brothers and friends from Prince Edward Island on the cusp of making it big. Indeed, they’ve been featured on MTV Live!…