Photo by Mary Rozzi
Although winter was very kind to audiences in Metro Moncton, delivering shows from The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo and more, the music is just getting started in many ways.
Here are some of the March musical highlights that we have to look forward to:
■ Friday night at the Capitol Theatre in Downtown Moncton, Serena Ryder will perform before a sold-out audience. Her special guest for the show is Danielle Duval.
Over the course of her previous two releases, Serena Ryder has made an impressive name for herself here in Canada. As she heads into this year’s Juno Awards with two nominations, expect arguably bigger things from her thanks to her latest record, Harmony.
Though she was not available for an interview leading up to her show this evening, I interviewed Ryder for Here Magazine late last year. She told me how going into the making of Harmony, she originally had upwards of 65 songs completed. Fate had other plans for her, however.
“In the time leading up to the making of Harmony, I had written 65 songs,” Ryder says. “I tried as hard as I could to put my heart and soul into those songs but then my manager said that it sounded as though I was trying too hard. I went back to the drawing board to help push the record over the finish line.”
Although only a handful of those 65 tracks ended up seeing the light of day, she admits that revisiting some of those discarded songs will be all but a certainty in the future:
“Three of those 65 songs are included as bonus tracks when you buy the record but otherwise, I am just looking at it as though I have another two or three records worth of material to play with and expand upon. I am still really proud of those songs because many of them fit together and represent a very specific period of time.”
■ In-Flight Safety performs at the Tide & Boar on Friday, March 8. Their special guest is Jonah Haché.
Taking a bit of a break from the making of their next record, Halifax-based band In-Flight Safety return to Metro Moncton next Friday night with a show at the Tide & Boar in Downtown Moncton. Their show in Moncton is only one of two in the region before the band heads to Texas to take part in the influential SXSW Music Festival.
The group’s next album is scheduled for release later this year. The band is somewhat anxious to get new music out to their fans and as such, will release a new single, “Destroy,” in the very near future.
“We wanted to release something new before SXSW this year. It is somewhat ridiculous to do in the middle of recording, but we really wanted to put out something to remind people that we have not forgotten about them,” vocalist-guitarist (and Moncton native) John Mullane tells The Times & Transcript.
■ On Tuesday, March 12, Toronto’s Inlet Sound performs at Plan B Lounge, located at 212 St. George Street in Moncton. Show time is 9:00 p.m.
Boasting one of the most dynamic convergences of folk and pop that I have heard in quite some time, Inlet Sound’s upcoming show at Plan B promises to be a doozy. The group comes to Moncton touring in support of their infectious full-length debut effort The Romantics, released last October.
Throughout the record, the group explores recurring themes of both universal and personal life experiences. Recorded with transplanted east coaster Laurence Currie (Sloan, Wintersleep) over a three-month span last spring, a dual feeling of both sadness and optimism permeate each of the songs on The Romantics.
■ Moncton’s own The Motorleague performs at the O.C., 700 Main Street on Friday March 29 at 10 p.m.
Could The Motorleague’s upcoming record Acknowledge, Acknowledge be Moncton’s very own version of Chinese Democracy? That might be a bit of a stretch however there is no denying that many have been patiently awaiting the newest release from The Motorleague.
The group has already released a handful of cool videos for songs on the record, all viewable on the group’s YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/MotorleagueChannel).
But much like Clara asked “Where’s the beef?” for Wendy’s back in the ’80s, Motorleague fans are asking “Where’s the record?”
The group’s vocalist-guitarist Don Levandier assures me that the record is indeed forthcoming. In the meantime, you can’t go wrong seeing these guys live. Bring yourselves out to the rock show when they play at The O.C. on Friday, March 29.
Article published in the March 1, 2013 edition of The Times & Transcript