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Tame Impala Currents
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Tame Impala – Currents / Interscope

by Jack Neal on

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Tame Impala’s previous two efforts, Innerspeaker (2010) and Lonerism (2012), were widely talked about pieces of work that pushed the boundaries of psychedelic rock into previously unexplored territory. On their third studio album, Currents, lead singer Kevin Parker has perfected his knack for crafting exquisite melodies layered beneath his own Passion Pit-sounding vocals. This album gravitates towards soft rock, resulting in a polished ‘70s sound that feels much more relaxed than his previous work.

The songs here feel airy: Both the production and Parker’s vocals are noticeably less constrained than his previous albums, with the songs consisting of multiple parts and shifting melodies. Seven-minute-long album opener, “Let It Happen,” is an almost funk-derived tune, with huge guitars and vintage synths. Lead single, “‘Cause I’m A Man,” is a stunningly laid-back track featuring soaring vocals, while the truly impeccable song, “The Moment,” is heavily reminiscent of Jessie Ware’s 2012 album, Devotion.

The record is made even more intriguing with the themes and production of the songs reflecting the ill-fated themes brilliantly. For example, “Reality In Motion”—the song most similar to the band’s past work—deals with the regrets of one’s own self doubt in the past. ‘“Cause I’m A Man,” oozes with self confidence, presumably with this new musical direction; the album is at once looking back whilst moving psychedelically forward.

Though Parker has clearly excelled in rehashing the psychedelia-come-soft-rock sound of the ‘70s, that very inspiration is an undeniable problem in the album. Not only do many of the songs sound similar, but they all seem like attempts at reconstructing some sort of idealized notion of a bygone era. The album, despite being a refreshing listen, is not revolutionary nor particularly emotive. Granted, Currents is being released at a time when re-imagining the past, whether it be through music, photos, or fashion, is en vogue; perhaps it should be enjoyed from that perspective.

Overall the handful of truly outstanding tracks outweigh the lackluster ones, and these songs shine out as true gems that are worthy of recognition. Currents sounds anything but current. Instead, Tame Impala succeeded in rehashing ‘70s soft rock in an album that is unlike anything else that’s been released this year.

Standout Tracks: “The Moment,” “The Less I Know the Better,” & “Disciples”

This article was corrected Thursday, July 30, 2015. The Tribune regrets these errors.

Kacey-Musgraves-Pageant-Material-1024x1024
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material / Mercury Nashville

by Jack Neal on

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Since the release of her critically acclaimed debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park (2013), Kacey Musgraves has filled an odd gap between country and mainstream music. Musgraves’ follow-up album, Pageant Material, continues where her debut album began, with Musgraves lyricising witty critiques of the social norms that define her small town upbringing in a folky southern drawl.

In “High Time,” a slow, Spanish-influenced guitar track featuring western-style whistling, the Texas-born singer-songwriter muses on her longing to return to her roots: “I’m gonna turn off my phone and go back to the old me.” Pageant Material is very much a reflection—and ultimate rejection—of her newfound way of life and stardom. the instruments are simple, the vocals bare and without effects, and the lyrics are more personal.

“Dime Store Cowgirl” sets the scene for the rest of the album. After name-dropping cities nationwide, Musgraves reassures herself that, “It don’t matter where I’m going / I’ll still call my hometown home.” Elsewhere on the album, the title song “Pageant Material” sees Musgraves contradict the so-called ‘changing the world’ premise that beauty pageants promote: “It ain’t that I don’t care about world peace / But I don’t see how I can fix it in a swimsuit on stage.”

When she’s not being straightforward with her lyrics, Musgraves’ clever approach to songwriting makes her work heavily reminiscent of fellow country star, Dolly Parton, whose lyrics convey a similar critical view on many social norms. Between the seemingly innocent lyrics there lies a much more serious and critical undertone. For example, the line “Grow your own daisies” in lead single “Biscuits,” is innocent enough, but when followed with, “Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy,” it becomes clear that it’s part of a much larger picture than the encouragement of an incessant weed.

Musgraves has perfected a brutal honesty when it comes to songwriting, and she seems right at home when ruffling Nashville’s feathers. That the line “Slow my roll” in “High Time” can easily be misheard as “smoke my roll” is testament to her brilliant knack for creating amusing mondegreens. She pushes listeners to take issue with her and what she sings, but in turn forces them to question why they are accusing her in the first place. As she poignantly says: “You can’t be everybody’s cup of tea/…But why would you want to be?”

Although her themes are fairly new in country music, Musgraves doesn’t stretch herself into any new boundaries vocally, instead relying on her lyrics to carry the songs forward. But even some of her lyrics occasionally err on the corny side (“You can take me out of the country / But you can’t take the country out of me”); some of the songs on this album seem like slightly reworked themes from her first album. For example “This Town” discusses the complicated drama that revolves within small-town circles. (something she previously visited on her debut single, “Merry Go Round”) Album closer “Fine” proclaims the exact same message as her earlier song “It Is What It Is."And self-love anthem “Cup Of Tea” is ultimately “Follow Your Arrow – Part 2”, but with much less conviction than the original.

While Pageant Material is at first listen a straightforward and honest country album, it distinguishes itself from other songs in the genre in a way that almost seems as though Musgraves is singing every other line with a knowing wink. And besides the aforementioned missteps, she has delivered another thought-provoking record that’s sure to successfully shock the southern sensibilities that dominate the country music genre.

Standout Tracks: Dime Store Cowgirl, Biscuits, Good Ol’ Boys Club

Travel

Amsterdam on Foot: Where to Walk in the Dutch Capital

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This is some dummy copy. You’re not really supposed to read this dummy copy, it is just a place holder for people who need some type to visualize what the actual copy might look like if it were real content.

If you want to read, I might suggest a good book, perhaps Hemingway or Melville. That’s why they call it, the dummy copy. This, of course, is not the real copy for this entry. Rest assured, the words will expand the concept. With clarity. Conviction. And a little wit.

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In today’s competitive market environment, the body copy of your entry must lead the reader through a series of disarmingly simple thoughts.

All your supporting arguments must be communicated with simplicity and charm. And in such a way that the reader will read on. (After all, that’s a reader’s job: to read, isn’t it?) And by the time your readers have reached this point in the finished copy, you will have convinced them that you not only respect their intelligence, but you also understand their needs as consumers.

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As a result of which, your entry will repay your efforts. Take your sales; simply put, they will rise. Likewise your credibility. There’s every chance your competitors will wish they’d placed this entry, not you. While your customers will have probably forgotten that your competitors even exist. Which brings us, by a somewhat circuitous route, to another small point, but one which we feel should be raised.

a, Opinion

Finding opportunity following McGill undergraduate medical program probation

by Julia Dick on

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In recent years McGill has become associated with financial struggles and student protests; most recently, McGill’s name has circulated following the Committee of Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools' (CACMS) decision to put the undergraduate medical program—part of a Faculty that has existed since 1829 and is considered one of the beacons of the university—on probation. Trepidation looms above all conversations on the matter. What does this really mean for the school? And what will those in charge decide to do? Probation is a stain, but perhaps a silver lining can be found. With the proper allocation of time and resources, this reminder of McGill’s mortality may be just what the doctor ordered.

McGill’s medical program is the oldest in the country, and this is the first time it has been put on probation. Despite the setbacks, the review is ultimately a good thing. In a comment to the Montreal Gazette, Nebras Warsi, the former president of the Medical Students’ Society, argued that the accreditation process will force the university to improve the program.

To others it is a glaring reminder of how far McGill has fallen after years of government austerity, budget cuts, and financial uncertainty. It is a glaring reminder of who pays the cost for McGill’s administrative failures—the students. The CACMS exists to ensure medical schools produce quality medical professionals. Probation does not mean the doctors who go through the school in this period are any worse; instead, it seeks to ensure that medical schools across the country meet certain standards of education. In the short-term this logic becomes faulty as the action framework does not indicate how students whose studies may have suffered leading up to the review will be compensated.

But this perspective should be tempered by two caveats. First, moving the medical program from the Royal Victoria Hospital to the new McGill University Health Centre was disruptive, possibly influencing the findings of the review. Second, probation is by no means the end of a program. It is an opportunity to resolve shortcomings and ensure the resilience of the program. In fact, probation should be seen as an opportunity to innovate.

McGill’s action plan provides hopeful prospects for the future by detailing McGill’s plan to address each standard for which they were found to be non-compliant. The plan includes strategies to improve on the consistency of educational experiences and assessments, gather feedback from students in order to improve instruction in women’s health, and ensure that medical students are aware of overall program objectives.

“Probation is by no means the end of a program. It is an opportunity to resolve shortcomings and ensure the resilience of the program.”

David Eidelman, dean of Medicine, has stated that he will put every effort into ensuring future students do not face similar circumstances. Where the administration has faced obstacles, the program should take the opportunity to go beyond the minimum standards laid out by the CACMS. Dalhousie’s program may be taken as an example of how probation may be an opportunity for improvement. Since its two-year probation, beginning in 2009, was lifted, several of Dalhousie’s courses have been deemed national models.

Should these strategies succeed, students within the program will be confident that their experience conforms to the high standards and rigour that is expected of prospective medical professionals. Improving the ability of students to report violations of the workload policy and standards of conduct without fear of reprisal or breaches of confidence or anonymity will restore student trust and wellness. But it will be the innovation that follows once the probation has been lifted that will define the program in the future.

McGill’s medical school has always been a point of pride for the university. While probation clouds this image, it is not obscured. With time, probation must push the faculty to return to the principles that once defined McGill as the preeminent institution in Canada.

New Pornographers NXNE
a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

New Pornographers go beyond NXNE boundaries

by Elie Waitzer on

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North by Northeast (NXNE) drew 350,000 attendees last year and lists over 1,000 performers–mainly independent and local–but many Torontonians will tell you they’ve never even heard of it. Despite the encyclopedic list of musicians, comedians, and entertainers, the shows are hosted across over 30 separate venues dotting Toronto’s sprawling core, making it difficult for the festival to seem unified to passing observers. NXNE is a fantastic, underrated event, but it can be hard to hear the buzz when it’s so spread out.

On a warm Friday night in June, I played my part as a festival-goer, heading to Yonge-Dundas Square to see Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers perform a free show. I had discovered the band at another free show they played in Nathan Phillips Square back in 2007 in the dead of winter. I remember wondering how the hell lead singer A.C. Newman could pick his guitar – let alone feel his fingers in his fingerless gloves on that frigid January night. After coming to the conclusion that he was the ‘hardest’ indie pop frontman I had ever seen (at least as hard as you can get in the realm of indie pop), I fell in love with the band’s unique sound.

The New Pornographers have since released two albums (Together in 2010, Brill Bruisers in 2014), and their full discography now spans six albums and 11 singles created by nine on-and-off band members—Neko Case, A.C. Newman, Dan Bejar, John Collins, and Blaine Thurier have been the only mainstays since the band’s inception in 1999. In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail Newman said that, “in a lot of ways, we’re not a full-time band.” So it’s no small wonder that they’ve managed stay relevant in the indie scene. Then again, that’s not so hard to do when half of their songs have titles like “Mutiny, I Promise You,” “The Bleeding Heart Show,” and “Sing Me Spanish Techno,” and are catchy. In a way, the New Pornographers are like the poppy cousins of Broken Social Scene; while both bands have had members branch off into successful solo careers, only the former have managed to stick together.

If you’ve ever been to Yonge-Dundas Square before, you’ll know it’s a bit of an odd venue to hold a concert. The large clearing is fenced in by LED billboards and glowing signage for the chain restaurants that occupy the Eaton Centre, but the sound coming from the stage speakers still manages to escape through the high-rises and diffuse into the surrounding traffic. As the show wore on and the crowd drew tighter towards the stage, I began to feel lyrics and melodies from old songs dislodge themselves from deep down and bubble up through my memory. During the whole concert, you could tell that Case and Newman were trying their hardest not to let the washed out sound quality ruin the performance, if only to avoid having “washed out” and “New Pornographers” mentioned in the same breath.

The main criticism of The New Pornographers’ sound has always been that their songs all blend together, and it’s a fair critique. The band is fully committed to writing infectious hooks and belting them out over prose-like lyrics. Their live performances force you to acknowledge the band’s stellar performance style, while they play without a shred of self-consciousness as they have for the past decade and a half. The brilliance of the NXNE free performance set-up is that it invites even casual listeners to delve deeper into The Pornographers’ trove of tunes, and enjoy classic ballads like “Adventures in Solitude” and “If You Can’t See My Mirrors.”

Even after 21 years, NXNE still feels like an event in limbo. Between the army of enthusiastic volunteers and the Red Bull sponsorship, the vibe is that of an open-air indie festival torn off of a grassy hillside and transplanted into a gridlocked city. There are a few well-known names, but the festival at-large is geared towards discovering new music, not re-listening to what you’re already familiar with. And even for the bands you know well, you never really hear them until you see them live on stage.

Vince Staples Summertime '06
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Vince Staples – Summertime ‘06

by Chris Lutes on

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Many people are fortunate enough to be able to reminisce about their hometowns or past selves without the weight of shame or regret. In Vince Staples' stunning two-disc debut, Summertime ‘06, he shows that nostalgia is more complicated than that. Using the eponymous summer as a jumping-off point, he explores everything that has since happened to his community of North Beach, California with an air of anger and sadness.

In an Instagram post released with the album’s artwork, he wrote “youth was stolen from my city that Summer and I’m left alone to tell the story.” That’s a huge burden to carry, but Staples more than rises to the task with an album that, despite it’s length, never feels padded or overreaching. Working from the memory of the anonymous thousands lost to drug dealing and violence, he brings together the micro and the macro to explore themes such as loss and regret through an intensely personal lens

After a solid EP, Hell Can Wait, and a litany of guest verses under his belt, Staples' has sanded off the rough edges of his earlier work. Consequently, in this album his lyrics are more focused, his hooks are catchier, and his rhymes are tossed off with the flow and internal structure of a Stephen Sondheim musical. Legendary producer No I.D. (of Kanye West mentorship fame) wisely keeps the beats and instrumentals unpolished enough to evoke a feeling of tormented nostalgia. The discordant wailing deep in the mix of “Jump off the Roof,” for instance, lends a note of jarring realism to the track on the album that comes closest to a love ballad. This realism permeates every track with remarkable precision and insight, but never feels oppressive. Instead, it brings the small victories of life into sharper relief, giving cause to persevere through hardship and let hope shine through. Staples would be the first to admit that the past wasn’t perfect, but the passage of time allows for love to eclipse the more painful memories—at least sometimes.

Key Tracks: Jump Off The Roof, Norf Norf, C.N.B.

a, McGill, News

McGill undergraduate medical program placed on probation

by Eric Tweel on

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On June 17 the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) put McGill’s undergraduate medical program on probationary status due to a failure to meet a variety of proper accreditation standards. The CACMS has given the university until December to create a detailed plan to fix the program’s shortcomings.

According to the CACMS report the undergraduate program within the Faculty of Medicine was found to be out of compliance with 24 accrediation standards, including disparaties in students’ learning experiences, a lack of mapping objectives to outcomes within the program, and inadequate instruction in women’s health. Additionally, the report identified eight standards that have recently been complied with but need further monitoring. These include include inadequate instruction of topics such as pain management, the health care system and policy, human sexuality, ethics, and law. Also noted was the lack of diversity within the student body and the Faculty and a lack of women in leadership positions.

Since 1979, the CACMS has existed to review the quality of Canadian medical programs before granting them accreditation.

“[The accreditation process] operates on an eight year cycle and involves a peer review by medical professionals,” Dr. Danielle Blouin, secretary of the CACMS, explained. “This review takes three or four days, and the team produces a report detailing their verdict.”

Dean of Medicine David Eidelman addressed the issues outlined in the report in an open letter to staff and students within the Faculty.

“We knew from the beginning that we were going to have to be re-reviewed,” he said, explaining that the records detailing McGill’s new medical curriculum are limited, which is partly due to the fact that it was implemented very recently. “A lot of accreditation has to do with keeping records.”

According to the report, all Canadian medical schools are required to “be responsible for monitoring the curriculum, including the content taught in each discipline, so that the program’s educational objectives will be achieved.” CACMS’ findings at McGill, however, showed that the school “lacks a well-functioning curriculum mapping system.”

Eidelman acknowledged that a combination of problems contributed to CACMS’ decision.

“This is a multifactorial issue, but none of these factors are an excuse,” he said.

Despite this, Eidelman did not expect the report of the CACMS to be as negative as it was.

“I’m very disappointed about it,” he said. “Our approach has been to be transparent about our problems, and to find a clear and direct way of solving them.”

The undergraduate program within the Faculty of Medicine was found to be out of compliance with 24 accrediation standards, including major deficiencies in students’ learning experiences, a lack of overall direction and objective within the program, and low quality of instruction in women’s health.

McGill’s medical program was the first faculty of its kind to be established in Canada and was the first faculty at McGill University. Concerns have been raised as to how greatly the probationary status will affect McGill’s international reputation and rankings, something Eidelman is currently not worried about.

“The real test of an institution is not whether it does everything right, but how it responds to difficulties,” he said.

Assistant Dean of Medical Education for Campus Santé Outaouais, Dr. Gilles Brousseau, echoed Eidelman’s sentiments.

“It’s normal to be on probation when you’re modifying your curriculum,” Brousseau said. “[The Faculty has] a very good action plan and is working to fix the problems outlined by CACMS.”

The only other Canadian medical program currently on probation is the University of Saskatchewan which failed to meet 10 CACMS standards in 2013, including inadequate clinical rotations and a lack of study space.

 

Despite this status, the program is still accredited and current medical students will still be able to graduate. The Faculty announced an action plan framework on June 17, which includes plans to target the Class of 2016 by highlighting curriculum topics that were inadequate. The program will be reviewed again in 2017.

This article was corrected Thursday, July 9, 2015. The Tribune regrets these errors.

canada flag
a, Off the Board, Opinion

Considering Canada Day in the context of Bill C-24

by Mayaz Alam on

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Last week, I celebrated my first Canada Day as a new citizen. My family immigrated here a little over five years ago and earlier this year, I took my oath of citizenship. Being Canadian offers opportunities, rights, and privileges that being a citizen of Bangladesh does not. Although I received a certificate that allowed me to call myself a “Canadian,” I did not automatically feel that way–I am still adapting to my new country. I’ve since watched Team Canada play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup where I proudly draped the Canadian flag over me and sang the national anthem—my national anthem. After this, and many other experiences, I was finally starting to feel more Canadian. All that changed when Bill C-24, “The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act,” became law; rather than feeling proud, I was deeply concerned.

As it stands, the legislation gives the government the right to strip Canadian citizenship from any dual citizen for crimes such as treason, spying, and terrorism, whether it be in Canada or elsewhere. Individuals who commit such crimes and are found guilty after due process should, undoubtedly, be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Revoking citizenship, however, is an unnecessary extra measure that essentially creates two classes of Canadians. In addition to its flawed principles, the proposed implementation of the law is worthy of criticism; the revocation of citizenship would be primarily decided by the citizenship and immigration minister, rather than by the judiciary, hardly due process.

For naturalized citizens such as myself, this law is a cautionary warning that despite legally immigrating and being a productive member of society I am not, and may never be, a true Canadian.

Certain statutes within Bill C-24 are commendable. For example, there is a broadening of language and knowledge requirements to all prospective citizens aged 14-65. (it’s currently required for everyone aged 18-54) These requirements measure knowledge of history, governing institutions, geography, and rights and freedoms through a citizenship test. This amendment should help ensure that more new Canadians are able to integrate within and contribute to their communities as active citizens.

Despite a few worthy points, Bill C-24 compromises the well-being of both dual citizens and Canada’s future. For naturalized citizens such as myself, this law is a cautionary warning that despite legally immigrating and being a productive member of society I am not, and may never be, a ‘true Canadian.’ Bill C-24 reminded me that as long as my national identity is hyphenated, I will be treated as a second class citizen by the law.

The act also has the potential to limit Canada’s future growth because it is likely to act as a deterrent to immigrants. The country’s population is aging—the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement and the fertility rate has stagnated. According to a 2014 report from Statistics Canada, population increases from immigration would be the primary engine for growth in all potential scenarios (low, medium, and high growth) for the next 50 years.

Laws such as Bill C-24 risk alienating the very people that Canada needs the most to continue to grow in the 21st century. With its increased application fees and longer residency requirements, it makes the immigration process more cumbersome and increases the investment required of prospective immigrants while also warning any potential immigrants that they will not be treated equally. Canada is very fortunate to not suffer from many of the ills of the U.S. immigration system. Creating extra barriers to legal immigration, a process that stands to benefit all Canadians, is counterintuitive. Moving forward, the government should make attracting and retaining young talent, such as international students, innovators, and creative pioneers, a top priority.

Becoming a Canadian citizen was one of the proudest moments of my life. In Canada, I am a member of a free and fair democracy; however, a functioning democracy is built upon the rule of law. Section 27 of our constitution holds that multiculturalism is a central value of Canada, while Section 15 states that all citizens deserve “equal treatment before and under the law, and equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.” Bill C-24 does not celebrate multiculturalism, it intends to marginalize those who add to Canada’s multicultural fabric and it creates second class citizens. Simply put, the Act is contradictory to the principles of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and will do more to harm Canadian society than to strengthen Canadian citizenship.

Video

The Beauty of Norwegian Countryside (Full-width Post)

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This is some dummy copy. You’re not really supposed to read this dummy copy, it is just a place holder for people who need some type to visualize what the actual copy might look like if it were real content.

If you want to read, I might suggest a good book, perhaps Hemingway or Melville. That’s why they call it, the dummy copy. This, of course, is not the real copy for this entry. Rest assured, the words will expand the concept. With clarity. Conviction. And a little wit.

In today’s competitive market environment, the body copy of your entry must lead the reader through a series of disarmingly simple thoughts.

nxne toronto
a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

NXNE wrap-up 2015

by Daniel Kang and Elie Waitzer on

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This past week the Tribune visited North by Northeast (NXNE) in Toronto, the Canadian equivalent to Austin, Texas’ famed South by Southwest (SxSW) Festival, which showcases promising up-and-coming music in locations throughout the city. After taking in five days of indie promos and roof-shaking concerts, we’ve narrowed our experience down to six memorable and meaningful performances that defined the festival.

  • Elie's Picks

    Lucius

    This outstanding Brooklyn-based indie pop band didn’t disappoint. In recordings, lead singers Jess Wolfe’s and Holly Laessig’s voices weave together through slow ballads and pitch-perfect harmonies, but on stage they took their sound to a new level and never came down from that high. Even during renditions of quieter songs like “Tempest” and “Go Home,” every member in the five-piece band was banging some surface in full force with a drumstick or two. The show ended with Wolfe and Laessig bringing a double microphone into a small clearing in the middle of the crowd and crooning a few slower songs for an intimate ending to a memorable set.

    San Fermin

    Mixing a lot of individual aspects together is a challenge that can often come off as incoherent; in the case of San Fermin, however, unique and grandiose sound is created that’s somewhere between indie and rock opera. The eight-piece band is fronted by willowy diva Charlene Kaye and sultry bass vocalist Allen Tate. The duo is backed by a baritone sax, violin, and trumpets that erupt into delirious jazzy interludes a few times each song. Catch them at Osheaga so you can say you saw them before they were a big-font name on a festival poster.

    Cathedrals

    Cathedrals was one of a long list of openers in a long showcase at Adelaide Hall on the festival’s second day, but they still managed to steal the show. The Bay Area band has a synth-heavy, dreamy sound, looping and distorting around lead singer Brodie Jenkins’ voice. Jenkins has been singing since she was 14, and moves around the stage with a rare sense of comfort and grace. The band’s debut EP Cathedrals is out now on Neon Gold, and there is a wonderful remix version of the EP, titled “Blush.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Dan's Picks

    Shad

    While Canadian-raised hip-hop artist Shad is relatively unknown outside of the great white north, his music has garnered a sizeable following within it. His verses provide an uplifting message that encourage an optimistic attitude for his listeners, but also successfully navigates that message away from preachiness—a problem commonly attributed to ‘positive’ rappers. Recently, Shad was anointed as the new host of the popular radio program q, illustrating his capability as a multi-faceted and competent entertainer. His standing-room only set at NXNE, at the heart of downtown Toronto in Dundas and Yonge Square, vociferously reminds us that he is as talented and as hard-working as they come.

     

     

     

     

     

    A photo posted by Shad (@shadkmusic) on

     

     

     

     

    Vince Staples

    To the section of hip-hop fans that claim “hip-hop is dead” or “it’s gotten worse since the 90s,” Vince Staples proves the doubters wrong. In 2014, Staples released his critically acclaimed EP Hell Can’t Wait—an album that powerfully addressed issues such as police brutality, drugs, gang violence, and lost love through a barrage of clever lyricism and sharp production. Staples exudes a level of poise in his live performances that is surprising for someone so young (he’s only 21). His performances inspire a kind of sweaty frenzy among his fans, and his set at Berkeley Church was no different.

    Hundred Waters

    While the quartet that forms Hundred Waters does many things well, its main strength seems to be their authenticity. Classically-trained pianist and lead singer Nicole Miglis led the indie-electro band from California through a solemn and graceful performance at the Phoenix Concert Center. It’s worth noting that out of all the people in the venue, no one seemed to be enjoying the set more than the band members themselves (a difficult task indeed considering the adoration showed by their fans). Overall, Hundred Waters’ performance was both refreshing and cohesive, something truly to be remembered.

     

     

     

     

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