tND tonight @ Harbourfront - Free

[CyberHippie]

Who's going?

[Bennito]

I'll be there!

[kung]

I was a little iffier on the whole show. At the time I was digging it enough as long as I didn't, you know, think. They're kind of like donuts those guys, you think you want them because they're all greasy and sweet but they've got this big hole in the middle and they never actually satisfy you, see also sodomy.

Martina, Dan's new wife, was not nearly as bad as she could have been. Fortunately she's a credible artist in her own right. Andy was genuinely hot and worked really well into the set. Funny cause when I told the Recipe guys that they were going to be joined by a guitarist they said 'wouldn't it kill if it was Andy Scott'. That guys a consumate professional.

The smoke and lights were good and I almost had a fit of nintendo epilepsy- thanks Farrow. Got to chat with Jian Gomeshi and gave him the 411 on the show which he already new cause it turns out he's Martina's manager. For the record she's not going on the road with them at least currently.

All in all my favourite part was when they did the duh duh duh duh de de de de wee wee wee wee (insert huge build and ride cymbal smash)

doo doo doo doo duh doo doo doo doo duh. That was so hot wehn the duh duh duh's turned to doo doo doo's. HOT!

[CyberHippie]

hehe

I'm much more of a fan of the "doop doop daa dee dooop doop, wahhh wahhhh wa wah wah"

I was wondering if that was Jeff doing the lights. Great job! Is the fog a regular thing, or just came with the venue?

[MarcO]

Interesting New Deal show last night, to say the least. When we got there early, at 7.30pm, we immediately found good seats on the bar patio along the rail, where we could sit and drink and listen. Having broken a toe the night before, this was ideal for me. It filled up pretty good by showtime, a real mix of Toronto funkies, a free family affair by the waterfront.

tND played from about 9.30 to 11, a one-set throwdown highlighting some new material. They were joined by Martina Sorbara on vocals for a couple of songs early on, and Andy Scott on guitar (formerly of One Step Beyond), who blew solos through a great version of "Homewrecker". Having the opportunity to sit back and chill gave me the chance to reflect on just how this band has changed from my first exposure to them, back in 2000. Particularly, the introduction of Darren's hand drums, and Jamie's Fender Rhodes electric piano has brought the band back down to earth from the electo-cosmonaut freakouts of just a couple of years ago. There were times last night where they played with an almost punk-like intensity, just smashing out the beats with minimal frills or fuss. Alternatly, during the two songs they were joined by Ms Sorbara on vocals, combined with Jamie's jazz-chording and horn-like melodic lines, they were suddenly transformed into an urban r&b/house hybrid. It's too early to tell if the vocal contributions are entirely successful as far as adding more to the tND experience. I'd have to hear some more to tell you if the vocals actually made the material *better*, or was extraneous. In any event, she was gone before you knew it and we were back to the core three-piece, doing what they do best. I will say I enjoyed Andy Scott's guitar contributions far more, but there's always the disorienting factor of hearing a human voice in the midst of tND's sound, something that's going to take some getting used to. I had to remind myself during her performance that, "The New Deal is whatever they present it as" and this is just something different.

Anyway, the show was a good mix of new and old, and certainly highlighted some sick new grooves like "Homewrecker", "VL Tone", "G-Nome" and - the hairiest, nastiest mofo of them all - "Gone, Gone, Gone", which is incidentally, the title track of their next cd, available October 7th on sound+light records. For those of you who have felt tND relied too heavily on their intial burst of material, there's lots of good new stuff to get into now.

Darren mentioned a cd release party @ The Opera House but I think he mentioned October 12 at first, and then October 11 later on. I'm sure that'll get pinned down sooner than later. Back on the road this Fall to tour the cd. It'll be intersting to see what kind of reaction tND would get from the US "jamband" market with a vocal contribution bringing their sound closer to smooth r&b than anything else.

A good, interesting show from a great band currently in a transitional period.

[CyberHippie]

Wow!

That was I think the best tND show I've ever seen. It was so diverse, and definetly fitting for a jazz festival. That's the first time I've ever really thought of the set as being a "show". Usually I've seen sound and light nights, and it's much more of a mad rave... I enjoyed the show last night so much, Any Scott on guitar definetly made my head melt. It was so sweet, at times almost reminding me of SCI, where they are going off on the keys and acoustic guitar.

The big free show at the harbour front each summer always proves to be one of my favourites of the summer. Last year it was Herbalizer. Love the venue! Love the price!

Anyone catch 'Small World Ensamble' afterwards? It was going on in one of the other buildings. More about them later!

Marc, Sorry I didn't see you guys again. I ended up being mesmerized for the whole set and didn't come back till after, you guys were gone though. I ended up eating the 2nd cookie! Oh man, at about 4am this morning I got hit by the cookies truck, I thought I broke my head! Good too see you guys though, talk soon.

[canadianphan]

I brought in the fog to max out the Nintendo Epelepsiy effect. Normaly I use a hazer (a little more subtle) but for an outdoor stage on the lakeside you need the big guns. Glad you enjoyed it...