THURSDAY – There were lots of big names at Lee's Palace on Thursday night as Paper Bag Records celebrated their 100th release. Born Ruffians. PS I Love You. Even members of Broken Social Scene. Sixteen different bands were scheduled to take the stage during the epic, seven-hour show. It was a marathon. By the time the wee hours of the morning rolled around, the weeknight crowd had begun to thin. But those who stayed were treated to one of the highlights of this year's North By Northeast: a set by one of the most striking live acts in the country.
It's not every band in Canada who can say their influences include everything from prog rock to Kabuki theatre, from metal to Chinese opera. It seems a bizarre mix. But seeing Yamantaka // Sonic Titan live, those strange influences make complete sense — and are far from just a gimmick. Stepping out under the lights all dressed in black, their faces white with paint, the band members seemed almost like ghosts on stage. But their music is far from insubstantial. At Lee's Palace this Thursday night, it was a physical force, thundering through air as the band blazed through a too-brief roar of a set.LOOK
WATCH
LISTEN
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Read all our coverage of NXNE 2015 here.
Words and photos by Adam Bunch, Editor-in-Chief of the Little Red Umbrella and the creator of the Toronto Dreams Project and Toronto Historical Jukebox. You can read his posts here, follow him on Twitter here, or email him at adam@littleredumbrella.com.
1 comments:
It's nice that you write about it
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