High timber

Toronto's The Wooden Sky are one of those many bands on the indie rock scene that have risen to prominence while I've been out devoting my attention to bands more dedicated to headbanging. Despite a joking claim online to be black metal, folk rock is more their thing. The like it in both electrified and acoustic styles and put on a good show for their dedicated fans.

Gavin Gardiner sings!



Andrew Kekewich shakes it.



Simon Walker slings some Telecaster.



Singalong action with bassist Andrew Wyatt  - I should note that while the band is frequently joined by others, this time it was down to the core four.



Simon sings!




He also multitasks on piano.



Andrew hits! This is a well-signed band.



The other Andrew basses!



Wooden action! Actually, very un-wooden action - these guys do like to jump about.



Dog-eared action!



Melodica action!



Xylophonic action!



The whole over-exposed lot!



Simon shouts!



Feedback action!



The Yukon Blonde guys joined them on stage for a few tunes.



Percussion action!



Working the substantial crowd ....



Meanwhile, back on stage.



And now it's time to take things outside ...



Hmm, a bit too gloomy to not use flash.



Banjo action!



More singalong action!



There's one thing you can't do indoors ...



Brushed action!



The end!



Hopefully they'll get down to a full-length soon.

• Show reminder: Street Meat, Those Gulls and The Big Muffs get the year-end shows started early at Zaphod's; The Maria Hawkins band does the same at the Rainbow; The Black Donnelly Sisters (aka Lynn Miles and Rebecca Campbell) are at Irene's.

From the city to the sky

Wednesday was my only day off this week so I headed off to Mavericks to see Yukon Blonde, a band I was under the impression was hairy and loud on a bill with The Wooden Sky and The Amalgamation. When I got there the place was pretty full -  I'd be very surprised to hear the show wasn't a sellout or close to it. When I walked in the door The Amalgamation was just starting things up.

I've seen them before, opening for Old Crowns and The Property Line, where their slightly jazzy sound made them a bit of the odd men out. They've expanded since then, adding a saxophonist and another guitarist. They've just finished mastering their new album.


The Amalgamation at Mavericks, October 27, 2010

Yukon Blonde are indeed hairy, but not quite as heavy as I'd imagined. They made me think of Badfinger, but that may just be because I've been listening to a lot of that band lately. They do have a lot of harmony vocals and a radio-friendly rock sound though. They had a couple of the Wooden Sky folks up on stage to sing along, a favour returned later in the evening.


Yukon Blonde at Mavericks, October 27, 2010

The Wooden Sky finished things off with a slightly more rustic sound. They can get raucous when they need to though, and definitely have an appreciation for feedback. They covered Tom Petty's and The Heartbreakers' American Girl during their set.


The Wooden Sky at Mavericks, October 27, 2010

After they wrapped things up on stage, they headed out doors for a few more songs, including Bob Dylan's You're Time's Going To Come.


The Wooden Sky outside Mavericks, October 27, 2010

Yukon Blonde and The Wooden Sky are touring a bit more together, then the former head to the States and the latter are off to Europe.

• Show reminder: Wintersleep and The Besnard Lakes perform at Capital Music Hall; Trees, Audio Cassette and Filet Sterling play Zaphod Beeblebrox; Ron Leary and John Carroll are at Raw Sugar; The Jon McLurg Band rolls into the Avant-Garde Bar. The Elmdale House hosts Peter and The Wolves.