Review: Bloc Party

Source: www.thestar.com - Ben Rayner

(August 17, 2012) OMG, we finally made it to ALL CAPS! on the island last weekend. We are in love.  • Bloc Party, Four (Arts & Crafts/EMI). At this point, most of us have given up all hope of Bloc Party ever making an album as great as its 2005 debut, Silent Alarm, again. Nevertheless, after a couple of iffy records and an even iffier solo outing by frontman Kele Okereke, the U.K. quartet has finally delivered another collection of songs you might actually still be playing at the end of the year.  At first blush, Four seems to be trying a bit too hard to rock out the way Bloc Party used to before things went slightly awry, but by the time the gigantic Smashing Pumpkins riffage of “Kettling” opens up into a deliriously bombastic processed-guitar solo it’s best to just give into it. And fortunately, the album gets better from there. “Coliseum” is as close to metal as Bloc Party is ever likely to get, “V.A.L.I.S.” and “Truth” are as tuneful and sleekly kinetic as anything on Silent Alarm, and “Team A” and the pummelling album-ender “We Are Not Good People” recover most, if not all, of the clenched urgency and spastic energy we’d feared the band had lost forever. Streaming at four.blocparty.com.

Elton John Bass Player Found Dead Of Apparent Suicide

Source: www.thestar.com - Raju Mudhar

(August 16, 2012) LOS ANGELES — Robert Wayne Birch, a backup musician and bass player for Elton John, was found dead in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday of an apparent suicide resulting from a gunshot wound to the head, officials said.  Los Angeles County Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter said Birch’s body was found after 1 a.m. local time in a community of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. The case is “being investigated as a possible suicide,” Winter said.  Birch, who also played saxophone, worked as the bass player in John’s band starting in the early 1990s, opening the door for Birch to play with other famous musicians and bands such as Billy Joel, Keith Emerson, and The Replacements.

Aisslinn Nosky’s Demanding Drive

Source: www.thestar.com - John Terauds

AISSLINN NOSKY
Bach, Ysaÿe, Oesterle ( www.aisslinn.com)

(August 20, 2012) Tafelmusik violinist Aisslinn Nosky’s red hair is a warning sign that here is someone who must be heeded as she deftly mixes power and polish in her playing. Her first solo album is anchored on the E-Major Partita by Johann Sebastian Bach, one of the six solo sonatas and partitas that are the basis for any violinist’s core training. The prelude and five ensuing movements based on French courtly dances of the late 17th century are not only the ultimate test of a fiddler’s skill, they are beautiful music.  Nosky performs the suite with an elegance that belies the Bach’s technical challenges, underpinning her interpretation with a compelling pulse. The busy Toronto musician — she is a founding member of I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble and the Eybler Quartet as well as concertmaster for Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society — has cleverly rounded out the album with modern pieces that echo the partita’s style and patterns: The daunting Sonata No. 2 (Op. 27) by Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe and Stand Still, from Canadian composer Michael Oesterle.  Here, Nosky further shows off her mettle in music that obsessively plays with themes, sometimes sweetly, but often with fire – and even anger. Not easy listening, this, but a showcase for a fearsomely powerful musician.

Measha Brueggergosman Welcomes Baby Boy

Source: www.thestar.com

(August 21, 2012) It’s a boy for Canadian opera star Measha Brueggergosman. A publicist confirms that the singer gave birth to Shepherd Peter Brueggergosman earlier this week in Ottawa. The baby comes after a turbulent few years for the Juno-winning performer, who released the new disc I’ve Got a Crush On You in April. In June 2009, Brueggergosman underwent emergency open-heart surgery to repair a dissection in her aorta. Later that year, she split with husband Markus, but the pair reconciled in 2011. Brueggergosman endured another personal tragedy last August when she had a miscarriage and lost twins. She was recently seen as a judge on Canada’s Got Talent, which has since been cancelled.

Avril Lavigne To Marry Nickelback Frontman Chad Kroeger

Source: www.globeandmail.com - By Rita Trichur

(August 21, 2012) It’s a Canadian coupling nobody saw coming. A spokeswoman for Avril Lavigne has confirmed a People magazine report that says the pop-punker is engaged to Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger. The magazine says Kroeger popped the question after a six-month courtship that seemingly flew completely under the radar of media outlets and fans alike. Nickelback appeared to verify the news Tuesday, posting on its website and official Twitter account, “Congrats Chad and Avril!” along with a link to the People article. Lavigne retweeted the Nickelback note on her Twitter account and then tweeted her thanks to the multiple congratulations that came her way. People says the romance began after the two got together in February to co-write a song for Lavigne’s upcoming fifth studio album. Kroeger, 37, has never been married before. People says the Hanna, Alta., native proposed to Lavigne with a 14-carat diamond ring on Aug. 8. Lavigne, 27, of Napanee, Ont., filed for divorce from fellow Canuck rocker Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 in 2009 after three years of marriage. The engagement was trending on Twitter on Tuesday night with many expressing their surprise at the news. Lavigne surged to fame with her 2002 album Let’s Go. Kroeger has served as lead vocalist and guitarist for Nickelback since the band formed in 1995.