One For The Weekend: Amy Millan

Watch the animated clip for Amy Millan's "Make Way For Waves" off her new album I Went To Find You out May 30.

Here's the scoop on Amy Millan's new album... 

The first solo album from Amy Millan in over 15 years, I Went To Find You emerged from the kind of once-in-a-lifetime serendipity that alters our experience of the world. 

After crossing paths with award-winning musician/composer Jay McCarrol in fall 2023, the Montreal-based singer/songwriter felt a sense of musical communion reminiscent of the elation she’d first accessed in singing with her father as a little girl—a connection severed when her dad was killed in a car accident just before her fifth birthday. As she began creating songs with McCarrol, Millan slowly realized that an unconscious desire to sustain that feeling had informed her lifelong devotion to music and her many cherished collaborations over the years, including her work in beloved indie-pop band Stars and a satellite member of iconic collective Broken Social Scene. 

 “I so clearly remember being a kid and putting on my pajamas and being so excited for nighttime, because that’s when my dad and I would sing together,” Millan says. “Ever since then I’ve tried to make my life an arrow back to that feeling, but I didn’t fully understand that until now.” 

 In selecting a title for her third solo effort, she chose to honour that sense of revelation and self-discovery. “A lot of this record had me looking into my past for clues on who I have become and why,” says Millan, who names longtime musician-friends like Feist, Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin, Metric’s James Shaw, Stars’ Chris Seligman, and her husband and Stars bandmate Evan Cranley among the musical kin who’ve profoundly enriched her life. “The ‘you’ of the title is the people I found, the people I went looking for after they’d gone—and the ‘you' is the person you become when all these components align.”

Amy Millan's much-anticipated new album "I Went To Find You" is being released on May 30th via Last Gang Records. You can pre-order a copy on hot pink vinyl right here. She'll be launching the album in Toronto with a show at Longboat Hall on June 14th at 8 pm. Get tickets via dice.fm right here. Watch Gaia Alari's animated clip for "Make Way For Waves" following Amy's preview below.   
 

Dakota Tavern's "renovation" marks the end of an era for a beloved T.O. live music venue

Apparently, the Dakota Tavern won't be returning as a live music venue. Who really needs another sports bar in Toronto?  

Derek Downham remembers the Dakota Tavern

The death of The Dakota Tavern represents so much more than just the loss of a great live music venue.

This is where some of Toronto's greatest bands were born and nurtured.

This is where strangers met to dance and fall in love. 

This is where for many years there was a mutual respect between band, audience and staff.

That's what made it so very special.

My emotional connection to The Dakota cannot be overstated. 

I am honoured that I had the opportunity to be a part of it's heyday for 11+ years on Sundays with The Beauties and as part of so many other groups. I actually can't calculate how many shows I played there. Several hundreds, certainly.

Thank you to Jennifer Haslett, Maggie Ruhl & Shawn Thomas Creamer for giving myself and so many others the opportunity to play and build community at The Dakota.

While many of us have already moved on and mourned the loss years ago, I feel this needed to be said.

Thank you.

There will never be another scene like The Dakota on a Sunday when The Beauties played. The music, the abandon, the happiness...truly the greatest and longest running weekly gig I have ever seen or been a part of. It's where I met and played for my heroes like Stuart Copeland, Johnny Marr...Jason Momoa would pick me up like a rag doll. The nights with Kevin Drew and the Metric crew were nothing short of legendary. The Beauties got to play the Junofest Gala, signed to Six Shooter Records and played Zach Galafanakis' wedding because of these nights. This is all just the tip of the iceberg of what came out of these incredible shows. 

Thank you to every one of you who came out and supported us and the venue.

I've lived a truly blessed musical life, and a huge part of that is because of The Dakota Tavern.

So Long, Dakota

There is no way

To draw the end of a line

There is no way to tell ending of time - it’s over 

And in a way we are a victim of crime

Another way to paint a picture so fine, moreover

So Long Dakota, Carry On Dakota

We had a day 

we had a decade or more

There wasn’t anybody keeping the score

It’s over 

We saw the morning through a bottle of wine

We held each other 

‘Til the end of the night spilled over

So Long Dakota, Carry On Dakota

- DD

Now, more than ever: 

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LIVE MUSIC. 

Without you, it ceases to exist. 

For more info on the unfolding story about The Dakota Tavern, check out Lindsay Dunn's report for City News (below) and the Exclaim piece in the links section. Also, watch The Beauties performing "Fashion Blues" at The Dakota Tavern back in 2010 below followed by a performance by Colonel Tom Parker & The American Pour feat. Nichol Robertson on guitar and a 360' clip of Toronto's premiere blues duo Catl in action.

LINKS

Exclaim.ca Toronto's Dakota Tavern reportedly not reopening

Broken Social Scene shares "Cause = Time" performance from 2003

Broken Social Scene is celebrating 20 years of You Forgot It In People – their victory lap kicks off in Vancouver this September. 

You Forgot It In People 20th Anniversary tour

Thursday September 22nd Vancouver, BC The Commodore Ballroom 

Friday September 23rd Vancouver, BC The Commodore Ballroom SOLD OUT

Saturday September 24th Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre 

Monday September 26th Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom 

Tuesday September 27th Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom 

Thursday September 29th Sonoma, CA Gundlach Bundschu Winery

Friday September 30th Oakland, CA Fox Theatre 

Sunday October 2nd Dana Point, CA Ohana Festival 

Tuesday October 4th Santa Fe, NM Meow Wolf 

Wednesday October 5th Denver, CO Summit Music Hall 

Friday October 7th Iowa City, IA Englert Theatre 

Saturday October 8th St Paul, MN Palace Theatre 

Sunday October 9th Chicago, IL Thalia Hall 

Monday October 10th Chicago, IL Thalia Hall 

Wednesday October 12th Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer 

Thursday October 13th Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre 

Friday October 14th Washington, DC 9:30 Club 

Saturday October 15th New York, NY Webster Hall 

Sunday October 16th New York, NY Webster Hall

Broken Social Scene @ Harbourfront Centre, Monday

Celebrate Canada Day with Broken Social Scene at Harbourfront Centre tonight starting at 9:30 pm. 

Andy Kim's Christmas Show @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Wednesday

Andy Kim will be joined by Broken Social Scene, Ron Sexsmith & Alex Lifeson on Wednesday which is also Andy's 72nd birthday.

Andy Kim and Foreigner appear in Broken Social Scene's Skyline video

Andy Kim is apparently committed to both peanut butter and his friends in Broken Social Scene.

Broken Social Scene announce split... single

Broken Social Scene and The Sea and Cake, currently touring together hand-in-hand across Canada, have taken their mutual admiration to the next level. Yes, it's official, they're releasing a split single. Although, somewhat strangely, the release date has been set for October 26, a week after their final show together at the House of Blues in San Diego. Apparently no one in either group has a handle on how the whole "tour single" thing works where you have a record available for sell exclusively at shows and then use the money earned to offset the high cost of fuel to get you to the next gig. Oh well.   
In any case, both groups have come up with a previously unissued song for the limited-edition seven inch which have something in common – John McEntire's studio smarts. The BSS track is Curse Your Fail, boasting a special guest singer (relax, it ain't Tom Cochrane), is an outtake from the Forgiveness Rock Record sessions overseen by McEntire in Chicago while TSAC's Skies was also produced by McEntire at Soma Studios. 
"We are very honoured to be touring with The Sea And Cake this fall and so in celebration of this fact, a split 7" limited edition single is here for you now," explains BSS co-founder Brendan Canning.
"Eric Claridge, bass player of TSAC, was gracious enough to let us use a couple of his paintings for the artwork. Also to note, "Curse your Fail" features Sebastien Grainger on the chorus vocals. Please enjoy and hope to see you somewhere on the North American continent this year."
The BSS/TSAC single is currently available for pre-order for $8 at the Gallery AC right here and you can catch BSS on tour, coming to a fancy ballroom or soft-seat theatre near you.

Broken Social Scene On Tour

10/06/10 - Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre *
10/07/10 - Saskatoon, SK @ The Odeon Events Theatre *
10/08/10 - Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Ballroom *
10/09/10 - Edmonton, AB @ Winspear Centre *
10/10/10 - Kelowna, BC @ Community Theatre *
10/12/10 - Victoria, BC @ Alix Goolden Hall *
10/13/10 - Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom *
10/14/10 - Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom *
10/15/10 - Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre *
10/16/10 - Portland, OR @ The Crystal Ballroom *
10/17/10 - San Fran, CA @ Treasure Island Music Fest
10/18/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre *
10/19/10 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues *
10/23/10 - Mexico City, Mexico @ Lunario Nacional
11/06/10 - Valladolid, Spain @ Two Days Fest
11/07/10 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Aula Magna
11/08/10 - Porto, Portugal @ Casa da Musica
11/10/10 - Marseille, France @ Cabaret Aleatoire
11/11/10 - Milan, Italy @ Magazzini Generali
11/12/10 - Vevey, Switzerland @ Heartlands Festival
11/13/10 - Leeds, UK @ Leeds University
11/15/10 - London, UK @ Koko
11/16/10 - London, UK @ Koko
11/17/10 - Paris, France @ Elysee Montmartre
11/19/10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
11/20/10 - Berlin, Germany @ Admiralspalast
11/22/10 - Adhus, Denmark @ Voxhall
11/23/10 - Copenhagen, Demark @ Vega
11/25/10 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ La Guess Who? Fest
12/08/10 - London, ON @ London Music Hall
12/09/10 - Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
12/16/10 - Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre
12/18/10 - Montreal, PQ @ Metropolis
12/19/10 - Quebec City, PQ @ Imperial Theatre

* with The Sea And Cake

A Broken Social Scene video you won't see on TV

According to an Arts & Crafts release, an anonymous fan of Broken Social Scene is said to be the brains behind a provocative G20-inspired video for the group's anthemic instrumental Meet Me In The Basement from their new Forgiveness Rock Record album recently short-listed for a Polaris Prize.
Since it's unlikely that the potentially controversial juxtaposition of images will ever be shown on MuchMusic – at least in in an un-pixelated form – I thought I'd post it here along with a clip of BSS performing the song at Harbourfront last July.

"This video was made as a response to the G20 Summit in Toronto June, 2010. 
The rest speaks for itself.
It was sent to us by a lover of our music who wants to remain anonymous.  
We are very proud to share this mash-up with you." 

- Broken Social Scene

Meet Me In The Basement by Broken Social Scene



Meet Me In The Basement by Broken Social Scene @ Harbourfront July 11, 2009

A taste of Forgiveness

As most of you already know, Broken Social Scene's much anticipated new recording Forgiveness Rock Record is officially released on May 4 by Arts & Crafts, although I'm guessing all of the album's 14 songs co-produced by Tortoise's John McEntire will be familiar to fans long before the street date. Here are the first three to get you started...