CLUES(Constellation), WAX MANNEQUIN, SARAH MANGLE :This Friday in Hamilton

[kc]

CLUES (Montreal/Constellation Records)

http://cstrecords.com/bands/clues

WAX MANNEQUIN (Hamilton)

http://www.waxmannequin.com/

SARAH MANGLE BUYS A BEAR (Guelph)

http://www.myspace.com/buysabear

LES MAMMOGRAPHES (Montreal)

http://www.myspace.com/lesmammographes

Doors 9pm - $8 before 10pm - $10 after

Friday, January 15th, 2010

CLUB ABSINTHE - 233 KING ST EAST

CLUBABSINTHE.CA

â—„ CLUES â–º - http://cstrecords.com/bands/clues

Clues was founded by Alden Penner and Brendan Reed, both active for years in the Montreal music scene. Alden was one-half of Unicorns, a band that burned bright and fast at the beginning of the century, and Brendan has been a member of a number of groups, including the endless, Endless Forever. They began building Clues quietly and in near-secrecy during the summer of 2007, playing a series of unadvertised shows in small Montreal venues. Their early performances elicited passionate responses and made it clear that Alden had an awesome batch of new tunes in the works, a glorious voice to deliver them with, and a brilliant foil in Brendan as his co-conspirator.

By 2008, friends Ben Borden, Lisa Gamble, and Nick Scribner had been recruited from the Montreal art and music scenes; a few more exuberant shows went down, the sound building and strengthening every time. With the band’s foundations fully cemented, Clues began work on a debut record towards the end of the year.

During live shows and on recordings, the band share and trade-off on an extensive array of instruments and create a twitchy, urgent, utterly original music that expands Montreal’s (already diverse) pop music lexicon. Clues incorporates multiple drummers, horns, a table of fried electronics (including a Commodore 64 and an OLPC), saw and pianette alongside their trusty electric guitars and basses.

Through their founding and early work as a band, Clues has remained close to home, dedicated to collaborating with and supporting fellow independent artists. In 2008, Reed started VillaVillaNola, a digital music store featuring recordings by predominantly local artists who have flourished underground but who otherwise receive sparse attention. Strong ties to the independent music community, together with shared ideals, led Clues to collaborate with Montreal’s Constellation, who released the band’s debut record in May of 2009.

â—„ WAX MANNEQUIN (FULL BAND) â–º - http://www.waxmannequin.com/

Wax Mannequin's fourth disc -- Orchard and Ire -- is being released now on Infinite Heat. This record does many of the same things as The Price, but this time, as you listen, the music places the white hot sun in your spine. Heavy, dramatic, melody-driven songs like ‘Everything Proper' and ‘Animals Jump' counter pose surreally subdued tunes like ‘Almost Everyone' and ‘Animals Come Home'. Lyrical themes interweave: the absurd becomes profound and the comedic becomes grave as the careful listener is drawn deeper into the ridiculous yet strangely logical poetic and musical mythology that Wax has been weaving since he began.

He has been touring back and forth in Canada for the past five years. He also brought his shit to Australia. In the beginning he played his classical guitar and gave people cards where they collected points and “super powers†for coming to his shows. But, disturbed by the cultish success of his “system", Wax stripped down the shenanigans, and upped the supreme power by adding heavy machines and an angry electric guitar. Now the roses come out of his skin when he gets excited. They are a problem, and he throws them at the audience, but it hurts and they keep coming back.

So that's pretty much it. If you can deal with that, Wax Mannequin will change your life. If not, you get to eat a blade.

Plus Special Guests

â—„ LES MAMMOGRAPHES â–º - http://www.myspace.com/lesmammographes

Orphelins d'amour prêt à faire des chose pas mal n'importe où, n'importe quand...

â—„ SARAH MANGLE BUYS A BEAR â–º http://www.myspace.com/buysabear

Lately Sarah mangles pop, she's also mangled folk music and experimental stuff with lots of strings and sounds. (Wet nose hero) Her most recent music combines the euphonium and organ and drums, collaborating with Gregory Burton, Richard Laviolette, Fezz Stenton, Fellow Worker, and other talented Guests. Sarah has performed at Electic Electrics (2009), Sappyfest (2009) in Sackville, The Flaming Film Festival (2007) in Minneapolis, Queerreaction (2007 and 2009) in Montreal, Kazoofest (2008) in Guelph, Barnbash (2007) in Wisconsin. She sets up small tours, (in the United States and Canada) and prefers small venues. Sarah is soon to release her third album this fall, which will surprise and delight you, and sound like a remixed Harold and Maude Soundtrack. Sarah also organizing small festivals (Cold is Not Cool, Put a Scarf On, Guelph, 2009) and concerts, writes zines, illustrates, and works in community radio. She recently moved from Halifax and Montreal to live in Guelph.

Edited January 12, 2010 by Guest

[kc]

Tim Heidecker in CLUES - "You Have My Eyes Now" (dir. Matt Wells) from Matthew Wells on Vimeo.

[kc]

I highly recommend this show.

Edited January 14, 2010 by Guest

[NewRider]

IN! Anyone wanna go with me?

[Freeker]

Whoa crazy, I know Sarah Mangle. We went to the same high school. Good for you Sarah!

[kc]

Attn People of Hamilton.

Don't sleep on this show.

My prediction is that Clues are going to get BIG and this will be one of those "I was at that show" kinda show.