Tomi Swick – The Yukon Motel album review

Slaight Music Review by Mike Bax Is It Worth it? Whatever you wanna do. Guaranteed. I’m leaving it up to you. It’s opportunity. These are lyrics from ‘Opportunity’, one of 14 low-fi, straight-up roots-rock tracks on Tomi Swick’s wonderful third album, released today on Slaight Music. An album of addictive introspection, The Yukon Motel is…

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The Balconies – Rhonda album review

Self Released Review by Mike Bax Taking elements of pop sensibilities from the 1980s and blending them with their own modern musicality, The Balconies have created something truly special with Rhonda, their followup to 2014’s Fast Motions. The new album is a thematic story of hope, self-discovery, and the struggle for authenticity carried through eleven…

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Interview with Steve Vai – October 4th, 2016

By Mike Bax Photo by Larry DiMarzio A few days ago, the inimitable Steve Vai began an ambitious 21 date North American tour showcasing the entirety of his 1990 Passion and Warfare album – rehearsed to perfection and pushed out on the road for the masses. Already showcased over two months in Europe, this tour…

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An Interview with Chasms – October 5th, 2016

By Mike Bax The descriptor for Chasms that steered me to their Soundcloud a few weeks ago was “a duo crafting percussive dirges that are at once beautiful and menacing”. I can’t really spin-doctor anything better than that, so I’m not even going to try as it’s fully accurate. When I listen to On the…

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Symphony X – Mod Club Theatre, Toronto – October 3rd, 2016

Review and Photos by Mike Bax “It’s Monday night, right?” Russell Allen – in disbelief to the screaming crowd before their encore. There was lots of live music to choose from this evening in Toronto. Sigur Ros was playing a sold out Massey Hall, Adele was playing a sold out Air Canada Center show and…

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Ash – Mod Club Theatre, Toronto October 1st, 2016

Review and Photos by Mike Bax If there was a running theme for this weekend’s Ash performance, ‘Old Is New’ would definitely suffice. For this early Saturday night Toronto performance from Ash we got their 20+ year-old debut album 1977 performed in its entirety. From Kestrels, we got a slathering of post-modern material harkening back…

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