The Little Red Umbrella: Search results for laurie mcgregor

SNOwMG! A Snow Day, in Pictures by Laurie McGregor

The storm today was supposed to be THE WORST in recent history, and caused people to freak out, work from home, close schools, and issue lots and lots of warnings. It really didn't snow that much and frankly, I think it’s quite pretty out there. I took advantage of the beautiful afternoon, and went on a loooong walk through the park. Aside from wondering why people complain so bitterly about snow, the day left me with one burning question: what law dictates that as soon as you put on your snowsuit, you immediately find yourself with an incredibly strong urge to pee?

Photos: Laurie McGregor

Laurie McGregor is a Toronto-based dilettante. She is the co-founder of The Holy Oak Book Club, a sort-of monthly reading series in Toronto, and seating engineer and curator for Trampoline Hall, a very excellent monthly lecture series. She likes books, soft things, baking, unicorns, robots and has an unnatural love of vending machines. You can find her posts here and email her at laurie@littleredumbrella.com.

NXNE 2011: Rusty @ The El Mocambo by Laurie McGregor

FRIDAY - If you were a fan of Rusty in the mid-late nineties and you were not at Saturday night’s reunion show at The El Mocambo, you should be kicking yourself for missing out on one of the best shows of this years NXNE festival. It was everything you could ask for to transport you back to your early years, when you were young and carefree and going to shows was one of the most important things in your life. When you still had the kind of abandon to completely lose your shit at a show, and turn into a screaming, crazy fool. It was packed to the tits. It was incredibly hot and sweaty. There was stagediving and moshing and set-list scheming and some sweet pairs of Converse One Stars.

Rusty’s lead singer Ken MacNeil may have gotten rid of his (really amazing) dreads from back in the day, but nothing much else seems to have changed in the 11 years since they called it quits. They sounded just as fantastic as I remembered them from the countless shows I went to throughout high school. Joking that they were about to start a set entirely of new material, the band launched into one of their biggest hits, "Groovy Dead", and continued to play just about every song any fan would want to hear. The four guys were so enthusiastic and appreciative of the totally insane crowd that was screaming along to absolutely every word of every single song. It was so loud from the audience that at times I couldn’t even hear what MacNeil was singing – but that didn’t matter, since we all knew the words to all of our old favourite songs anyway.

I left the show drenched in sweat and covered in other people’s thrown beer and absolutely bursting with excitement. Its three days later now, and I’m still having a hard time articulating how amazing this show was without busting into: “OMG THAT WAS THE BEST SHOW EVER AND IT WAS SO SWEATY AND AMAZING AND KEN TALKED TO ME AND TOUCHED ME AND I STOLE THE SET LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!” It’s rare that a concert these days can even get me close to the front of the stage, but Rusty’s show reminded me what it’s like to completely lose yourself in an experience and not give a fuck what anyone else thinks. It’s fun. And I’m going to do it more often from now on.

(Oh, and Ken? If you’re reading this – thank you. And I’m sorry for nicking your set list in the middle of the show. I wanted to wait until the end, but the guy beside me was getting really, really grabby and I didn’t want him to get his dirty paws on it. Thanks for being so awesome about it, and remembering your promise to give it back after the show. You made my night.)

Photos by Laurie McGregor

More of our coverage of NXNE 2011 here.

NXNE 2013: Sloan @ The Great Hall by Laurie McGregor

FRIDAY — Having things to count on in life makes me happy. I like knowing that a good grilled cheese sandwich can make my day; that a cold glass of Pepsi will make me feel better; and that seeing a Sloan show will always be a guaranteed perfect time. The Halifax rockers, playing to celebrate the 21st birthday of their label, Murderecords, didn't disappoint on Friday night, performing their 1992 Peppermint EP from start to finish. It was a happy show, with the Great Hall packed, loud, happy and sweaty, singing along to all the words and having a nice, great, Canadian time.

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Find all of our coverage of NXNE here.

Photos by Laurie McGregor, except the last one by Carmen Cheung.

Laurie McGregor is a Toronto-based dilettante. She likes books, music, soft things, baking, unicorns, robots and has an unnatural love of vending machines. You can find all her posts here and email her at laurie@littleredumbrella.com.

NXNE 2013: Fevers @ The Hideout by Laurie McGregor

THURSDAY — I want more people to know about Fevers. Why don't more people know about Fevers? Anyone who likes anything good should know about Fevers! The tight five-piece band from Ottawa packs a whalloping punch of indie-electro-dance-pop that should turn any bar into a whirling, frenzied, sweaty dance party. Think along the lines of Mother Mother mixed with Metric with some Yeah Yeah Yeahs thrown in to balance everything out... Sadly, their Thursday night set at the Hideout was under-attended, and the only dance party happening was the amazing one in my head, but Fevers put on a damn good show regardless and reaffirmed my now burning desire to tell everyone I know to check these guys out. Seriously. Do it. They are great and play the mandolin sometimes. They even scream into it! Screaming into a mandolin! Where else will you see that happen?!

MP3: "Passion Is Dead (Long Live Fashion)" by Fevers
MP3: "The Rapture" by Fevers

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Find all of our coverage of NXNE here.

Photos by Laurie McGregor.

NXNE 2011: Candy Coated Killahz @ The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom by Laurie McGregor

SATURDAY - We were tired. It was Saturday, we'd been out until 4am for the previous three nights and had just left a bit of a disappointing time at Yonge & Dundas Square. We were looking for a bit of a pick me up. We headed over to the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, following the buzz about local electro-ghettotronic group, Candy Coated Killahz, and got exactly the kind of energy boost we needed.

Setting the tone of the night with their hit single, “Neon Black”, CCK launched into a set full of high-energy, electric awesomeness. Often breaking into perfectly choreographed dance routines, leads Tasha Schumann and Icon the Anomali kept the crowd engaged with their chemistry and captivating stage presence. They had everyone dancing along from their very first beat, laid down by their talented DJ, Danthrax. They deserve all the attention paid to them lately - “Neon Black” has been getting mad love on the radio, has made it onto the Much Music Video countdowns, and was also nominated for an MMVA this year.

While the dance party at the Gladstone didn’t get as crazy as we’ve heard their parties can get (a couple of years back, they had their set at a huge warehouse party shut down by about 14 police cars, and had their gear seized!), we could see how it would have turned into a sexy, sweaty mess had they had a later time-slot and a much longer set. Regardless, it was a really fun show, and we’re only sad that we didn’t get around to checking out these guys sooner.

Photos by Laurie McGregor

More of our coverage of NXNE 2011 here.

NXNE 2013: Tangiers @ The Garrison by Laurie McGregor

SATURDAY — When I saw Tangiers in the NXNE line-up, I thought there'd been a typo. Or that some other, lesser band had formed, and stolen the name of the gritty band that I hazily remember thrashing around to at parties in 2003 / 2004. I don't remember specifics about about any of those shows, but I remember the music was loud, the dancing was frenetic and that Tangiers was like a dirtier, harder version of the Strokes (live, at least). I remember listening to bunch of their songs I had on a tape that would play over and over as loud as it could, a summer soundtrack trailing out the windows of my old, unreliable car.

Needless to say, I was excited to see these guys again after many years of silence, and got to the Garrison early to make sure I'd get in. After narrowly missing a couple of fistfights out front of the crowded club, I was let in past the lines (sorry, guys!) and ventured towards the back room of a bar that I usually only go to for the monthly, more sedate Trampoline Hall lecture series. The energy in there was pretty crazy, and it was dark and crowded, which normally makes me hang at the back (because I am old and don't like being trampled), but I said screw it to the geriatric that sometimes takes over my brain and made it into the front row.

And holy crap, I'm glad I did. Tangiers, after a ten minute delay due to sound issues (I think?), put on a brash, dancy, amazingly loud set that was just what I needed to blow out my ear drums and make me dance like a young twentysomething again. Any fears that the guys had lost their power after not playing together for so long went flying out the window as the whole Garrison lost themselves in the darkness of a band who says, to quote their Toronto Star interview, that "the city and the world may need this kind of rock again." It sounds kind of silly, but I tend to agree.

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Find all of our coverage of NXNE here.

Photo by Laurie McGregor.

NXNE 2013: Blinker The Star @ The Horseshoe Tavern by Laurie McGregor

FRIDAY — These big music fests always seem to wind up being a small trip down musical memory lane, with old favourite acts coming back to play. Indulging my nostalgia, I went to check out Blinker the Star at the Horseshoe for their 9pm set to start my Friday night. Early sets are usually tough, I find — the crowd is sleepy and worn out, lacking their later night booze-fueled energy, while attendance tends to be on the leaner side, and the bands seem to feel it too. Musically as tight as I remembered them being live, Blinker the Star put on an ok show — really kicking into their best gear when they launched into their 1999 hit (and my personal favourite) "Below the Sliding Doors" — but the entire thing could have used more oomph... from the band and the crowd alike.

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Find all of our coverage of NXNE here.

Photos by Laurie McGregor.

Songs You Can Dance Around Your Apartment To, Volume 3

This week we turn things over to our Editor-At-Large, Laurie McGregor, who points out that all but one of these songs was released in the first five years of the last decade. That probably has some deep psychological significance, but it's the weekend so we're not going to waste any time trying to figure it out. Instead, we're going to dance.

TRACKLIST

1. "You! Me! Dancing!" - Los Campesinos!
2. "Letter From An Occupant" - The New Pornographers
3. "Our Weekend Starts on Wednesday" - Hey Mercedes
4. "The D in Detroit" - The Anniversary
5. "Matthew Modine" - Pony Up!
6. "F.U.N.E.R.A.L" - Her Majesty
7. "Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks" - The Rapture
8. "Satellite" - TV On The Radio
9. "7/4 (Shoreline)" - Broken Social Scene

You can find every edition of Songs You Can Dance Around Your Apartment To here. If you are the copyright holder of any song included in this podcast and would like it removed, please contact us.

Podcast compiled by Laurie McGregor, a Toronto-based dilettante. She is the co-founder of The Holy Oak Book Club, a sort-of monthly reading series in Toronto, and seating engineer and curator for Trampoline Hall, a very excellent monthly lecture series. She likes books, soft things, baking, unicorns, robots and has an unnatural love of vending machines. You can find her posts here and email her at laurie@littleredumbrella.com.

CMW 2013: Limblifter @ The Horsehoe Tavern by Laurie McGregor

FRIDAY — I really love the recent trend of some of my favourite Canadian bands from the nineties getting back together and touring again. First it was Rusty, and now Limblifter are back (albeit in a somewhat modified format) to fill my ears with nostalgia from my teenage years!

Friday was my second time seeing Limblifter play in the past three months. I had caught them in December at Lee’s Palace in support of the vinyl release of their self-titled first album, and was super excited to get to see them again so soon. My inner 16 year old was squealing in anticipation and the packed house at the ‘Shoe were too. Limblifter hit the stage and treated the excited crowd to a mix of old hits like "Screwed It Up" and "Tinfoil", songs off frontman Ryan Dahle’s solo album, and some new tunes – and also hinted at the release of a new album in the near future. Despite Dahle not being able to keep still for longer than a second, at times it felt like the energy wasn’t near the level of freneticness that I had seen at the last show. Maybe it was just me projecting my sleepiness onto the set, as the rest of the crowd, singing along and screaming out for their favourite songs to be played, didn’t seem to notice one bit.

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Find all of our coverage of Canadian Music Week 2013 here.

Photos by Adam Bunch.

Laurie McGregor is a Toronto-based dilettante. She likes books, music, soft things, baking, unicorns, robots and has an unnatural love of vending machines. You can find her posts here and email her at laurie@littleredumbrella.com.