Now that we’re starting to emerge from our Holly-daze, and we can start to fill up our fresh 2016 agendas, we wanted to share the word about a pair of shows which were announced shortly before the holiday season kicked into full gear. Our pals at Sonic Concerts have lined up a pair of kick ass shows to keep us rocking well into the new year.
SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
YUKON BLONDE IN HALIFAX, MARCH 4
(Halifax, NS) – Two weeks ago Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde returned home from a tour with Hey Rosetta! that saw them travel clear across the country playing sold out shows at historic venues like Massey Hall, The Vogue, National Arts Centre, The Jack Singer and more. Now, they’re ready to do it all again – including a return trip to Halifax on Friday, March 4 at 9 p.m. at the Marquee Ballroom.
Beginning February 5 at home in Vancouver, the JUNO Award nominated and twice Polaris Music Prize listed band will take to the road for a month long tour that makes sure to stop in every province along the way.
“…every song on the Vancouver rockers’ second album is an utter and complete summer jam: 10 euphoric exercises on saccharine, psychedelic pop fit for the cottage, the patio or for turning up so loud in your car that people on the sidewalk start to walk in sync with the uplifting synth notes and frantic high hats.” – CBC Music (Top Albums of 2015)
Out now via Dine Alone Records, Yukon Blonde’s On Blonde, produced and mixed by Tony Hoffer, (M83, Beck, Foster the People, Air, Depeche Mode) gazes wistfully away towards the more shadowy elements of pop production, soft synthesizers, punching bass lines, crushed drums, 80s cosmic pop compositions, and saturated psychedelic guitar effects. It’s more dynamic, more visceral, instantly accessible, and sonically denser than its predecessors – an ambitious, fully realized psychedelic pop record from a band truly in its ascendancy.
“spaced out and shimmering, with big bottom bass hooks and static, snappy guitar lines, disco ball-worthy synth washes” – The Vancouver Sun
“There’s plenty here that would feel at home on a 1980s John Hughes soundtrack —and even dashes of Purple Rain-era Prince.” – SPIN
“Atmosphere, undeniable hooks and the maximalist expression of both” – Exclaim!
“Heavenly, multi-part harmonies and ferocious strumming.” – Alternative Press
“On Blonde has more in common with the likes of psychedelic contemporaries Tame Impala.” – Consequence of Sound
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Tickets are $22.99 in advance and $27.99 day of show (including tax and service charge) and will be available at the etixnow kiosks in the Halifax Forum (2901 Windsor Street) and Music Nova Scotia (2169 Gottingen Street) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply.
This show is restricted to ages 19+ with VALID ID. Doors open at 8 p.m.
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SONIC CONCERTS PRESENTS
THE SHEEPDOGS IN HALIFAX, MARCH 17
(Halifax, NS) – Saskatoon’s JUNO Award-winning rock band The Sheepdogs return to Halifax to perform in support of their fifth LP Future Nostalgia at the Marquee Ballroom on Thursday, March 17 at 9 p.m.
Trends come and go, styles fall in and out of fashion, but The Sheepdogs remain steadfast in their commitment to rock n’ roll excellence. Since their inception, the band has always sought to play the kind of music they themselves love: “Pure, simple, good-time music,” as singer/guitarist Ewan Currie puts it. It’s no surprise, then, that the band’s fifth LP, Future Nostalgia, is firmly rooted in the rock tradition that listeners have come to expect from the boys.
The idea was simple: find a nice, quiet, secluded place and make a record packed with all the hot guitar licks and sing-along choruses they could muster. So the band holed up in a rented house in the remote, idyllic setting of Stony Lake, Ontario, and set about creating a studio where they could work all hours of the day.
Future Nostalgia is the middle ground between the JUNO-winning, platinum-certified Learn & Burn, which spawned the rock radio staple “I Don’t Know” and its equally successful follow-up, 2012’s The Sheepdogs, featuring the instantly-recognizable, Gold-certified singles “Feeling Good” and “The Way It Is.”
The former was recorded by Currie and the band in their hometown of Saskatoon before they were propelled to fame as the first unsigned band to grace the cover of Rolling Stone, pressure free and at their own pace. Its follow-up, however, recorded in Nashville with producer and Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, was a much more formal and rigid studio experience. This time, the band aimed to combine the successes and lessons learned from these opposite ends of the recording spectrum.
Future Nostalgia builds upon The Sheepdogs’ foundation of feel-good vocal harmonizing and nasty guitar jamming. That’s made immediately clear from the opening riff of “Downtown,” an undeniable straight-up rocker that sparkles with the warmth of summer. Down at the other end of the street is “Bad Lieutenant,” which walks a dark and sexy strut courtesy of bassist Ryan Gullen and drummer Sam Corbett, who also tear up the furious “I Really Wanna Be Your Man.”
Newcomers Rusty Matyas and Ewan’s brother Shamus Currie, on guitar and keys respectively, bring a new spirit to the wistful back porch vibes of “Same Old Feeling” or the brooding melancholy of “Jim Gordon.” Elsewhere, the ominous groove of “Help Us All” calls to mind the bleak violence of Blood Meridian as sung by Sly & the Family Stone, punctuated by a devastating trombone solo from Shamus.
Now, The Sheepdogs are eager to embark on the next leg of their journey, which will involve many miles logged and stages played. From their cramped Saskatchewan jam space to gold and platinum records and shows with rock icons, The Sheepdogs haven’t strayed from their goal of sharing pure, passionate rock n’ roll with anyone who’ll listen – and Future Nostalgia is packed with it.
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Tickets are $32.99 in advance and $37.99 day of show (including tax and service charge) and will be available at the etixnow kiosks in the Halifax Forum (2901 Windsor Street) and Music Nova Scotia (2169 Gottingen Street) and online at www.sonicconcerts.com. Additional fees may apply.
This show is restricted to ages 19+ with VALID ID. Doors open at 8 p.m.
