JASON COLLETT RETURNS WITH THE BASEMENT REVUE, LIVE THIS DECEMBER


JASON COLLETT’S BASEMENT REVUE RETURNS TO THE PARADISE ON BLOOR, EVERY THURSDAY IN DECEMBER FOR A HALF-MUSIC, HALF-LITERARY VARIETY SHOW - TICKETS ON SALE NOW

PERFORMANCES WILL BE BROADCAST ONLINE VIA SIDE DOOR - MORE INFO HERE

"Part variety show, part vaudeville theatre, part improv act and part poetry slam, the Basement Revue is a cross-disciplinary carnival where anything can happen,
and often does" - The Globe And Mail

For 13 years, The Basement Revue has been a half-music, half-literary variety show with a rock-’n’-roll sensibility and a unique Canadian voice, hosted and curated by Broken Social Scene singer/songwriter Jason Collett. From its inception on a wintry night in 2007 at Toronto’s Dakota Tavern, The Basement Revue has explored what happens when artists of different disciplines share the stage together. This has made for exciting collaborations, such as Feist backing up Michael Ondaatje or Margaret Atwood stepping up to the mic in front of one of Toronto’s most celebrated bands and saying, with her characteristic deadpan wit, “hit it Sadies.” Combining a compelling mix of musicians, storytellers, and poets with the improvisational spirit of a kitchen party, The Basement Revue has blossomed into one of Canada’s most dynamic live event series.

For 2021, The Basement Revue returns to The Paradise on Bloor, every Thursday in December beginning on the 2nd and running until the 30th. Each night will also be broadcast via Side Door. Tickets are on sale now for both the live show and the online broadcast. 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

PERFORMANCES WILL BE BROADCAST ONLINE VIA SIDE DOOR - MORE INFO HERE


MORE ABOUT THE BASEMENT REVUE
The Basement Revue presents the best emerging and established literary and musical talent of the country on stage in curated multi-disciplinary evenings. This kind of cross-pollinating is a one-of-a-kind format. The Globe and Mail said of its eighth season, “Part variety show, part vaudeville theatre, part improv act and part poetry slam, the Basement Revue is a cross-disciplinary carnival where anything can happen, and often does. The list of past participants reads like a who’s who of CanRock and CanLit, from Broken Social Scene to Sheila Heti and Cadence Weapon to Vincent Lam.”  

In 2017, The Basement Revue partnered with Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) and New Constellations was born – a nation(s)wide tour celebrating Next Wave Indigenous music and writing. Bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists alike and featuring contributions from Polaris Music Prize winners Jeremy Dutcher and Lido Pimienta, as well as July Talk, Feist, Sam Roberts, Stars, Weaves, Billy Ray Belcourt, Naomi Klein and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.

As is tradition for the Basement Revue, each night’s performers remain a surprise to the audience until they step on stage. Even the performers themselves are kept in the dark, adding an extra element of surprise to the evening. Past Basement Revues have boasted an impressive roster featuring Anne Waldman, Canisia Lubrin, Daniel Lanois, Tanya Tagac, Gord Downie, Rufus Wainwright, Marina Abromovic, Lee Maracle, Bahamas, Shad, Dennis Lee, Hal Wilner, CA Conrad, Weaves, Miriam Toews, Tanya Talaga, K-OS and more.

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PONDERCAST SEASON 5 OUT TODAY,  LAUNCHES NEW ‘PONDERCAST RADIO’


LISTEN TO PONDERCAST EP 179 : CURRENT CONDITIONS

GET ‘THE SIGNAL’ EXPERIENCE EVERY MONTH WITH ‘PONDERCAST RADIO’ - SPECIAL CONTENT FOR PATREON SUBSCRIBERS

SUBSCRIBE TO GROUND LEVEL - THE NEW PODCAST FROM LAURIE BROWN - ARRIVING NOVEMBER 1, 2021

LISTEN TO PONDERBEAT EPISODE 10 HERE

SUBSCRIBE TO PONDERCAST ON
ITUNES / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE

Season 5 of Laurie Brown’s Pondercast begins today, and this season “feels like a brand new beast,” she says. A few new things are happening while some others are getting their own spotlight. First, the Pondercast team is bringing you something entirely new yet a little reminiscent of times past. Pondercast Radio uses an innovative hack of streaming technology to bring you a once a month ‘radio show’ which you can stream at any time. The show will include a new playlist of music and Laurie’s introductions for your dining and dancing pleasure.  The episodes play out exactly like radio, feel like Laurie’s old show The Signal - and you will get a 2 hour show of new music for you to fall in love with every month.

Pondercast Radio is available only to those who support Pondercast via Patreon at any level. Supporters must also have a paid Spotify or Apple Music account to access Pondercast Radio. If you have a paid account on Apple Music or on Spotify, then you can get our monthly ‘radio’ shows delivered to your inbox.

SUPPORT PONDERCAST VIA PATREON HERE

The other big news is the new podcast Ground Level which debuts Monday, November 1st.  Pondercast is moving all of their weekly guided meditations to a brand new podcast. So if you have been meditating with Laurie, subscribe to Ground Level wherever you get your podcasts to be sure you don’t miss an episode. Look for interviews and other content to help navigate these strange days. 

SUBSCRIBE TO GROUND LEVEL - THE NEW PODCAST FROM LAURIE BROWN

To officially begin the fifth season of Pondercast, expect some turbulence in the weather! Laurie looks at our emotional response to big weather: wind and rain, thunder and lightning and fog - and music director Joshua Van Tassel outdoes himself creating a musical electrical storm.

LISTEN TO PONDERCAST EP 179 : CURRENT CONDITIONS

SUBSCRIBE TO PONDERCAST ON
ITUNES / SPOTIFY / YOUTUBE

Recently, Killbeat Music partnered with the team at Pondercast to bring you Ponderbeat, a series of special episodes featuring selections curated by Brown from some of Killbeat’s latest releases. The ninth episode of Ponderbeat is live now, featuring music from Charlotte Cornfield, Ouri, Andy Shauf, Cots, Absolutely Free, Homeshake, and more.

LISTEN TO PONDERBEAT EPISODE 10 HERE

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CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD SHARES NEW VIDEO FOR “PAC-MAN”, NEW LP OUT FRIDAY

WATCH AND SHARE “PAC-MAN” HERE

BUY / STREAM “PAC-MAN” HERE

HIGHS IN THE MINUSES OUT THIS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, VIA NEXT DOOR RECORDS

"Cornfield always makes sure that the emotions at the core of each song are accessible to everybody. Highs in the Minuses is about exactly that: the dizzyingly sweet moments that happen even when things feel unbearably bad." - Exclaim!

U.S. HEADLINE DATES AND DECEMBER CANADA DATES SUPPORTING STARS BEGIN IN NOVEMBER

PRE-ORDER HIGHS IN THE MINUSES NOW

Credit: Angela Lewis // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, Charlotte Cornfield shared “Pac-Man”, the crushing, emphatic final single off her new album Highs In The Minuses out tomorrow, Friday, October 29, via Next Door Records. Arriving today alongside its Ali Vanderkruyk-directed video, Cornfield wrote “Pac-Man” after having a strange dream about someone from her past: “At the time I was listening to Elliott Smith’s ‘Everything Reminds Me of Her’ over and over. There’s an effortlessness to that song that I love, but also a real heaviness. I tried to embody that duality on this one,” explains the Toronto-based artist. “This song really came to life in the studio. I have one guitar pedal and I cranked the gain on it, and Alexandra Levy (Ada Lea) got this heavy bass sound that’s almost like sludge metal. Liam’s tambourine playing destroys me. The whole thing kind of feels like bumper cars at a theme park.

Ali came up with the concept for the video, which has a Pac-Man theme,” she continues. “In it, I’m walking, crawling, and being dragged through linear landscapes: a cornfield, a lavender farm, an apple orchard, a hilly path. I collect objects along the way and then create a maze out of chalk, placing the objects in it and walking away. To me this captures both the fraught nature of the emotions in the song, and the calm of looking back at them from far away.” 

WATCH AND SHARE “PAC-MAN” HERE
BUY / STREAM “PAC-MAN” HERE

“Pac-Man” follows previous singles Drunk For You”, “Partner In Crime”, and Headlines, which earned great press from Stereogum, NPR Music (NMF Spotify/Apple playlist), Brooklyn Vegan, The Alternative, and more. Cornfield will celebrate Highs In The Minuses with a short run of U.S. headline tour dates this November in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brooklyn and Philadelphia. She’ll then support Stars on select December dates in Toronto and Ottawa. See below for a current itinerary.

PRE-ORDER HIGHS IN THE MINUSES NOW

Though the songs of Highs in the Minuses are highly personal, Cornfield wanted their sonic quality to convey the communal, aleatoric energy of live performance. With this in mind, she and the band allowed their psychic connection to express the emotional interconnectedness that comes with stories of heartbreak, self-discovery, and new love. Cornfield (guitar, piano, vocals), bassist Alexandra Levy (Ada Lea) and drummer Liam O’Neill (Suuns) convened in Montreal at the studio of Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen), whom Cornfield had originally met through a musician’s residency he founded at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. In just five days, with minimal takes and overdubs—and with contributions from guitarist Sam Gleason (Tim Baker) and Stars singer Amy Millan—they set Cornfield’s vivid mini-memoirs to an earthen folk-rock symphony. 

TOUR DATES
11/18 - Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
11/22 - Washington, DC @ Pie Shop #
11/23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right #
11/24 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA #
12/03 - Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix*
12/06 - Ottawa, ON @ The Bronson Centre*

# w/ 2nd Grade & The Glow
*Supporting Stars

DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

HIGHS IN THE MINUSES TRACKLIST
1. Skateboarding By The Lake
2. Headlines
3. Pac-Man
4. 21
5. Black Tattoo
6. Blame Myself
7. Out of the Country
8. Drunk for You
9. Partner in Crime
10. Modern Medicine
11. Destroy Me

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