Bruce Cockburn is a man of contrasts; political but polite, Christian but liberal, serious but jocund. The latter was exemplified during his nearly two-and-a-half-hour set Tuesday night at City Winery, part of a North American tour supporting his 31st studio release, Small Source of Comfort.

Though the album is composed of a mix of songs written over the past number of years, Cockburn’s recent visit to a Canadian forces stationed in Afghanistan was most strongly evoked onstage: a camouflage net backdrop, combat boots, harem pants, and bandolier guitar strap. Featuring “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” near the beginning of his set ostensibly emphasized our tumultuous present. However, he quickly countered with the hilarious new track, “Call Me Rose”, an imagined reincarnation of Nixon as a poor single mother, which energized the crowd. At one point Cockburn received a request to play the theme song to Franklin, a Canadian children’s cartoon he composed for. A hilarious exchange ensued: the crowd raucously demanding “Franklin” and Cockburn steadfastly refusing to indulge them. From this he managed to transition to the gravitas of “Each One Lost”, a funereal song reflecting on the sacrifices of Canadian troops. The solemn tone was soon palliated by the equally poised but beatific intro of “Wondering Where the Lions Are”.

The Swedish indie rock band Peter Bjorn and John (affectionately abbreviated as PB&J) began their three show New York visit with the drumbeat intro of “May Be Macabre” off the latest release, Gimme Some. They explained in recent interviews that these new songs were created with the idea of bringing the high energy of their live shows into the studio, so to see them performed was an interesting twist.  But they left behind their synthesizers to lighten the load, reduce the burden of their carbon footprint, and showcase their power pop roots. Strings of shifting colored bulbs provided the light show and the cartoon fist giving a three-thumbs up from the latest album artwork provided the backdrop.

Peter Morén’s lead vocals floated over the venue with a hint of John Lennon and he even tousled his mop top hair around now and then. But he was instantly engaging the crowd, showing when to add handclaps to get things going and cupping his ear asking for applause, even jumping down twice with a mic to sing from the floor. Just a few songs in, he was jumping like Pete Townshend and doing a take on the duck walk with his guitar—by the encore his head was bloodied by the thrashing yet he never reached for the towel. Bass player Björn Yttling also mouthed words to encourage audience participation while they both wandered the edge of the stage to rev up the audience with wide smiles of pop stars. Back at the drum kit, John Eriksson threw his sticks and hopped on his stool, all while rocking the rhythm of the various offerings. Jackets came off with all the activity on stage and you even had to wonder how the group would keep up the energy to make it through the late show. 

The next night after a gig in Boston – playing to a hometown crowd for friends in the city of their beginning – The Submarines took the time for a quick chat with PopMatters before their show at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. The married couple of John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard have just released Love Notes/Letter Bombs, a new collection of songs detailing their lives – past, present and future.

Dragonetti spoke wistfully as he reminisced about starting out on drums at age four; he had to leave behind a beloved kit when his family moved to Cairo and then Dubai.  He begged his parents to let him have another but it wasn’t until years later they did.  He discovered guitar in his teens and a simple four track recording system which started his interest in writing as well as production.  Hazard grew up in Vermont, a family household without television and a rule that piano was to be mastered first before any other instrument.  About the same age as Dragonetti’s first drumming experience, she was learning the keys before moving on to guitar.  By her teens she was writing songs to acoustic guitar. They met while playing in separate bands and Dragonetti ended up producing Hazard’s debut Little Airplane in 2002.  Now they’ve co-written and recorded three full-length albums: Declare a New State (2006), Honeysuckle Weeks (2008) and Love Notes/Letter Bombs.

Love Notes/Letter Bombs began as sketches of songs which Dragonetti took into the studio to work with Spoon’s drummer Jim Eno and producer John O’Mahony, who has worked with Coldplay and Metric.  Meanwhile, Hazard was in Paris for a month filling up notebooks with lyrics and ideas of her own.  They each hold a veto power in the band, so anything not fully endorsed by both is taken out of the mix.  The title comes from the track “Tiger”, and powerful imagery of conflict and convergence runs through the album. Lyrics such as “You know I’ve loved you from the start / but this house can’t make you stay” in “Tiger” and “Would you ever let me love you like I did before the fight” from “A Satellite, Stars and an Ocean” convey the idea.  Their song “Birds” was used recently in the fundraiser compilation Songs of Love for Japan, benefiting Shelterbox, which delivers emergency shelter and essentials to the area.  The Submarines were happy to help them out and have hopes they will travel to Japan some day.

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This spring they are busy touring in support of their new release, playing all ages shows where they can so a younger demographic can discover their signature indie pop. The constant collaboration is a hard version of couple’s therapy to recommend; its always a challenge with the togetherness of working together and traveling on tour.  It all seems so effortless and Dragonetti was pleased to hear it described as such.  But, on stage later that night, the complex layers of arrangements showcased the talent of each band member, revealing their passion for making music as well as for each other. 

Just before the band was to go on stage, Hazard was buzzing about decorating the instruments with strings of tiny white lights while Dragonetti was intently tuning guitars.  He was wearing a dark dress shirt with black pants while she wore a vintage white dress with appliqued flowers. With a quick “good evening” greeting from Dragonetti, they began the set with their first hit, “Peace and Hate”, which incorporates electronic bleeps that sound somewhat like a submarine (and additional elements were triggered by Dragonetti using foot pedals and a laptop nearby).  New songs were presented with enthusiasm and older songs, such as “Brighter Discontent” and “Swimming Pool”, still sounded fresh.  During the encore, Dragonetti introduced band members J Stare on drums and bassist Scott Barber.  After “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”, the swelling chorus of “Xavia” became a bold opportunity for a venue-filling, sing along with the audience.

On Friday, April 29th PopMatters was invited by tastemaker LA radio station KCRW to be one of the roughly 100 guests to watch k.d. lang perform with her new band, the Siss Boom Bang. Presumably as a warmup for her upcoming tour, which begins in late May, lang performed most of her new record Sing It Loud, which was released in early April on Nonesuch.

The venue, a private recording studio in Santa Monica, was packed with the mainstream musical illuminati of Los Angeles. Most of the men were wearing tight Levi’s, expensive cowboy boots, and corduroy suit jackets and the women were wearing an homage to Zooey Deschanel circa 500 Days of Summer. Tequila was being generously served so by the time k.d. lang walked through the audience and onto the stage the crowd had come to the conclusion that they were in Mecca and Lang was their Kaaba. Unlike Mecca, you did not have to be one of the Lang faithful to enjoy the show.

When it comes down to music, it’s either Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Moonface, Swan Lake, Destroyer, or Handsome Furs for me. It’s simple science that rarely deviates. Friends and fellow car passenger know what to expect. I am an avid fan of the art created by Canadian wolf artists such as Dan Broekner, Spencer Krug, Carey Mercer and Dan Bejar. Their lyricism is honest, the melodies are challenging, and the results of these collaborating Canadians often end up in a certain type of magic that is hard to find anywhere else.

My brother and I had the opportunity to see Wolf Parade perform last year while living in Eastern Europe in May of 2010. We had no idea what to expect. Back home, this band sold out shows, yet none of our Czech friends had even heard of them. The venue was a stereotypical dark underground Czech bar: cool, windowless, and smoke filled. We bought our tickets at the door and walked into the empty space. It felt too good to be true and in some ways it felt a little wrong, like we had stepped into something very personal. It felt very secret; sacred even.