Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Last Town Chorus is coming to town

An exciting thing arrived in my inbox last week... I was actually sent a cover song by a label rep, right when I was on the verge of swearing off unsolicited e-mails from bands/marketers. I realize my tagline is "...and whatever the hell I feel like", but 92% of the time whatever the hell I feel like is cover songs. I just don't have the time or inclination to sift through all the stuff that's sent my way. Uh, on the other hand, don't let that discourage you. I'm just saying there's no guarantees I'll pimp out my blog unless I'm in a particularly fanciful mood.

Anyway, as I was saying, a cover song arrived in my inbox last week. And not just any cover song, but a David Bowie cover song. And not just any Bowie cover song, but a fantastic Bowie cover song. And not just any fantastic Bowie cover (oh yes, I can do this forever), a fantastic Bowie cover performed by an artist embarking on a Canadian tour. And not just any Canadian tour, but one that swings through Edmonton, woohoo!

The song is Modern Love. The artist is the Last Town Chorus. Enjoy.


The Last Town Chorus - Modern Love [originally by David Bowie]

Similar to my recent experiences with Final Fantasy, The Last Town Chorus ostensibly refers to one artist: Megan Hickey. I'm told by the press release that her cover of Modern Love was featured on an episode of Grey's Anatomy and a promo for the film Diana: Last Days of a Princess, both of which fall outside the realm of my demographic, so it's a good thing I was sent this cover independently. Megan's weapon of choice is a lap-steel guitar from which she coaxes a haunting atmospheric soundscape to accompany her hypnotic vocals. She uses the natural crescendo of the original chorus to build a slow burn to an electric mid-section before gradually fading to a whisper. Lots to love here. I just requested her album Wire Waltz from the library... using EPL's brand-spankin' new facebook intregation! I know this doesn't apply to about 99% of you, but believe me it's pretty snazzy.

The Last Town Chorus will be performing a number of shows in Canada in the next few months, accompanying the likes of Camera Obscura and The Weakerthans.

Aug. 25 Le National (Montreal, QC) - w/ Camera Obscura
Aug. 26 The Phoenix (Toronto, ON) - w/ Camera Obscura
Oct. 6 The Commodore Ballroom (Vancouver, BC) - w/ The Weakerthans
Oct. 7 Sugar Nightclub (Victoria, BC) - w/ The Weakerthans
Oct. 9 MacEwan Hall Ballroom (Calgary, AB) - w/ The Weakerthans
Oct. 10 Myer Horowitz Theatre (Edmonton, AB) - w/ The Weakerthans

I normally would, but I regrettably can't see her show in Edmonton... because at the time I'll be in China for a month!

2 comments:

Jeni Q said...

You probably wouldn't have liked it as much if you'd seen it played over shmaltzy Diana footage. My friend told me about it and it sounded horrible.

Fongolia said...

Good thing I didn't see that then.