Neon Indian -




Florence and the Machine The Mod Club, Toronto, ON November 2 By Scott Tavener Florence and the Machine's eponymous front-woman, Florence Welch, has the kind of voice that will eventually fill theatres. Massive, robust and versatile, her vocals dominated an end-of-tour Mod Club gig, ultimately compensating for the spottiness of her still-small canon. Lacking Adele's mothball sound and Amy Winehouse's public dalliances, Florence is the most universally palatable of late-period UK songstresses. Like Kate Bush without the literary allusions or staccato delivery, Welch melds light wackiness with classic talent but occasionally strays into commonplace chanteuse territory (see the non-confrontational quirkiness of "Kiss with a Fist" and "My Boy Builds Coffins"). Onstage, though, her operatic pipes and affability downplayed her reliance on MOR rock tropes. Tone-setting lead-off "Between Two Lungs" let Welch ride a promising left-field keyboard; Leaving Las Vegas-indebted (well, sort of) "Hurricane Drunk" found her playfully trying out a Motown guise; and a funked-up "Dog Days are Over" spurred jump-along audience participation. Despite a sporadically muddy mix, the five-piece Machine consummately established versatile sonic settings for Welch's vocal meanders. Forgettable radio fare "You've Got the Love" and "Howl" grew exponentially, profiting greatly from stomping percussion, while "Kiss with a Fist" gained a much-needed chunky guitar line. Conversely, a cover of Cold War Kids' "Hospital Beds" utilized minimal percussion simply and effectively. Set highlight "Cosmic Love" wisely placed Florence at the fore, beginning with a spacey keyboard part and building to a stirring vocal crescendo. Similarly, "Drumming Song" saw her vanquish feisty percussion after a spirited — albeit one-sided — duel. With only one record and a handful of covers and B-sides to draw on, Florence et al astutely kept the proceedings short. Blending robust pop with a pristine, sonorous voice, it was a rousing, polished affair.

Neon Indian
Sunparlour Players / Sheesham & Lotus
The Idan Raichel Project
	Real Estate - Real Estate
The Mayfair Set - Young One + Self-Titled
	Leyland Kirby - Sadly, The Future Is Not What It Was
Kraftwerk - 12345678: The Catalogue
	Cloak/Dagger - Lost Art
Bebel Gilberto - All In One
Lyle Lovett - Natural Forces
Will Hoge - The Wreckage
Will Stratton - No Wonder
Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend
Juliette Lewis - Terra Incognita
Sea Wolf - White Water, White Bloom
Yim Yames - Tribute To
Ambarchi / Fennesz / Pimmon / Rehberg / Rowe - Afternoon Tea
Wooley / Lytton / Grubbs - Seven Storey Mountain
Ganesh Anandan & Hans Reichel - Self Made
Todor Kobakov - Pop Music
Castanets - Texas Rose, The Thaw & The Beasts
Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - Feels, Feathers, Bog And Bees
Nocturnal Fear - Metal Of Honor
	Slayer - World Painted Blood
Green Jellÿ - Musick To Insult Your Intelligence By
	DRUDKH - Autumn Aurora
Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Letting Up Despite Great Faults
	Comanechi - Crime of Love
Brilliant Colors - Introducing
Star Fucking Hipsters - Never Rest in Peace
Bastard Child Death Cult - Year Zero
Antonio Valdetaro e Grupo - Letícia
Ken Aldcroft’s Convergence Ensemble - Our Hospitality
	Devin Townsend Project - Addicted
	The Expos - Blackwater
Ray Charles - Genius Hits the Road
Marek Hemmann - In Between
Emptyset - Emptyset
Bassnectar - Cozza Frenzy
Basement Jaxx - Scars
David Sait - Postage Paid Dues — Volume 2
	Muskox - 5 Pieces
Friendly Rich - Presents Pictures At An Exhibition
March Fourth Marching Band - Rise Up
Fat Freddy’s Drop - Dr. Boondigga & The Big BW
Collage - 54’05”
The Quiet Nights Orchestra - Chapter One
Sabrina Malheiros - New Morning
Chief - Collabo Collection
Paten Locke - Super Ramen Rocketship
DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid - The Secret Song
Scottt Catolico - Massacre
The Bushpilots - Seven Ways to Broadway
Coalesce - Ox EP
Black Anvil - Time Insults the Mind
Culted - Below the Thunders of the Upper Deep
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Gossip - Music for Men
Bell Horses - This Loves Last Time
Shonen Knife - Super Group
Hockey - Mind Chaos
The Dudes - Blood Guts Bruises Cuts
Lee & Willbee - North Carolina
Teenage Bottlerocket - The Came From The Shadows
Krum Bums - Same Old Story
Los Yetis - Nadaismo A Go-Go!
Sacrifice - The Ones I Condemn
Priestess - Prior To The Fire
	Various - Fire In My Bones: Raw & Rare & Otherworldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007)
	The Schomberg Fair - Gospel
Various - D-Funk: Funk, Disco & Boogie Grooves From Germany 1972 — 2002
Grand Archives - Keep In Mind Frankenstein
7 Worlds Collide - The Sun Came Out
A Fine Frenzy - Bomb in a Birdcage
Raveonettes - In And Out Of Control
Headlights - Wildlife
Jakartah - In the Nervous Light of Coincidence
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
The Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts
Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows
Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue
	Fashawn - Boy Meets World
Corporation - Return of the Corporation
Idlers - Keep Out
Mark Matos and Os Beaches - Words of the Knife
Genitorturers
	The Jesus Lizard / Brides
Deastro / Max Tundra
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson / These United States
Dinosaur Jr. / Pink Mountaintops
Young Galaxy / Politique / Blazer
The Fiery Furnaces / Cryptacize
Jonas Reinhardt / Sinoia Caves / Valet
Muse - The Resistance
	Ricca Razor Sharp - Causeways & C-Trains
Muneshine - Status Symbol
Magnolius - Mary Musht
Port-Royal - Dying In Time
John Abercrombie - Wait Till You See Her
Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky


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King Khan Montreal ex-pat King Khan has led a classically "rock'n'roll" lifestyle since leaving his home at 17, legally changing his name from Erich Khan to Blacksnake, and eventually relocating to Berlin. Since then, he's become renowned worldwide for his various garage, punk and soul projects, including the big-band soul project King Khan and the Shrines and his collaborative duo with Mark Sultan, the King Khan and BBQ Show.... Read More


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