Show Preview: The Besnard Lakes @ Casbah Sunday November 17, 2013

The Besnard Lakes

Montreal is known for being home to arguably the most popular indie rock band today. Another band hailing from the  French Canadian city that have been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize (twice) but have forged a much different path are The Besnard Lakes. The brainchild of husband and wife (Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas), the group tours as a quartet. Their fourth album, Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO (Jagjaguwar), continues in the shoegaze, psychedelic rock vein. A key ingredient to the band's sound is their overall sense of creating songs which contain pop elements. This is what separates these Canadians from their peers. In addition, Lasek owns a recording studio in Montreal, and his production experience translates well to his own project.

See one of Canada's best kept secrets, The Besnard Lakes, at the Casbah this Sunday, November 17. Fellow Canadians Elephant Stone set the stage. Tickets can be purchased here.

Watch a video of Colour Yr Lights In by The Besnard Lakes below.

Recommended Shows in San Diego November 11-17, 2013

The days are getting shorter (daylight time) but the nights still have plenty to offer San Diego music fans. The upcoming week reveals some shows worth attending.

Sweden's duo Deer Tracks play strange yet captivating music...catch them at Soda Bar on Monday...Lord Howler and Chess Wars fill the air with their hard rock at The Griffin...

Thee Oh Sees return to their favorite haunt here, Bar Pink, for a great show on Tuesday...OBN IIIs open the evening...

Wednesday marks the return of the interestingly named band Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, playing this time at Soda Bar...they recently released Fly By Wire, more indie pop goodness via Missouri...

On Thursday newly formed band Minor Alps, comprised of Matthew Caws (Nada Surf) and Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies), hit Soda Bar for a Casbah Presents show...FMLYBND and Kiev will be at The Griffin...Melt Banana will be melting faces at the Casbah...

The weekend kicks off with Wild Child, a Minnesota band who just released a great self titled album, at Soda Bar...Nik Turner's version of Hawkwind headlines the Casbah...

Austin troubadour Slaid Cleaves returns to AMSD Concerts, i.e. that Normal Height church, for an acoustic show on Saturday...Autolux will be at the Casbah, Caspian and 65daysofstatic co-headline Soda Bar...

One of my favorite Canadian bands, The Besnard Lakes, stop at the Casbah for a great show this Sunday...Elephant Stone open...highly recommended...

A great week of live music is waiting for those wishing to enrich their lives...head out to a show (or two)...

Watch a video of I Don't Know What To Do With My Hands from Minor Alps below...



Watch a video of People of the Sticks by The Besnard Lakes below..

Jeff's Weekly Pick: The Besnard Lakes @ The Casbah Wednesday May 12, 2010

If you are not familiar with the Montreal based indie rock band The Besnard Lakes, consider yourself like many others. After all, the band just released their third full length, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, in March. Prior to that their previous LP was back in 2007 and the band has in reality done little touring. Formed by the husband-wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas back in 2003, they have had a revolving cast of group members during their existence. This is mainly due to their work primarily as recording studio owners in Canada. In addition, The Besnard Lakes just finished the soundtrack to the recently released film Sympathy for Delicious.
This seems to be the way musicians have evolved over time. Making a living through different outlets is considered to be the norm these days. I really liked the band's second full length, The Besnard Lakes are The Dark Horse, and drove to Orange County to see them perform live back in 2007. There were only a handful of patrons who witnessed that performance, but the band has grown in stature since then. This will be their initial visit to San Diego, and all I can say is the music is truly progressive. Sometimes soaring vocals and at other times hushed melodies will fill the air. I know it takes our laid back community a while to catch on, but in this case it is a great opportunity to see a quality band in an intimate setting. This will be a great way to cure the midweek blues.

The Happy Hollows and Roxy Jones set the stage.

Watch a video of Albatross below