Those of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning (ie. July 2007), might have noticed that my concert listings seem to get smaller each month. In fact, back in the early days I used to post a list of all the shows of interest, regardless of whether or not I was going. While clean and simple, I ultimately found this course a bit redundant given the nearly complete listings found at places like Rotate This and Soundscapes. These days I’m taking a more personal approach and only mentioning shows that I have some hopes of getting to (barring outside commitments, as always).

Of course, I’m a guy who prefers a smaller, more intimate venue, so hopefully some of the shows mentioned might not be the ones you’ll see given high billing elsewhere. For instance, I’m going to do my damnedest to get out to see Megan Hamilton at Rancho Relaxo on April 4 (see her spotlight here), though I’d highly recommend Sandro Perri at the Tranzac on the same evening for those of you looking for an alternative.

Things really heat up in the middle of April though, as a few of my favourite live acts are making stops in Hogtown. The Sunparlour Players, a band that everyone should see at least once (as per my previous live review, here), are playing the Horseshoe on April 10 with Andy Swan as part of the Hilotrons CD release (for Happymatic, out April 1 on Kelp Records). Entire Cities are also celebrating an album release next month—April 11 at the King & Niagara Legion Hall to be exact—and I really owe them a nod after my shoddy coverage from one of The Burning Hell’s shows earlier this year. Speak of the devil (pun-intended), as two WHK favourites, The Burning Hell and Wax Mannequin, are teaming up at the Silver Dollar on April 12.

That said, one of the bigger shows I’m thinking of checking out this month is at the Horseshoe on April 18, as The Coast is celebrating the release of Expatriate (also out April 1, but on Aporia Records), their highly-anticipated debut full-length. Of course, it helps to entice me that both The Wooden Sky and Ghost Is Dancing will be opening that night. All told though, the “biggest” show I’ve got tickets for in April has to be the Born Ruffians and Miracle Fortress at Lee’s Palace on April 26.

There you have it, my month in a nutshell. Of course, I’m being a bit optimistic, as I doubt I’ll get off my ass to see all of these shows, but this is my ideal hit list.

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Here’s an excellent track from The Ghost Is Dancing’s self-titled debut EP:

The Ghost Is Dancing - People

Grab a digital copy of the whole EP here (not to mention their subsequent full-length).

…and yes, those are my shakers pictured above (they were a gift from one of my grandmother’s many tropical cruises).