Oh no, Oh No Forest Fires!

[EDIT:] I've decided to re-post this feature on account of some important updates.

Photo by Kyle Hutton

Toronto's favourite indie-math-rock-guitar-spazz band, Oh No Forest Fires, has announced their final show. Ever. Mark Saturday Jan. 23rd on your calender, and head to the Horseshoe Tavern for one final epic hurrah to raise money for relief in Haiti.

In front man Rajiv Thavanathan's own words:

"All four of us are adults. Well, maybe not entirely full-time adults, but at least some of us are closer to adults than others, sort of maybe almost. And life has started adding responsibilities and commitments that weren’t there before. They are quite varied in nature, and that makes me happy- it is a reflection of the fact that all four of us are extremely different people. For some of us these responsicommitibilityments means starting a career in a very demanding and time-consuming industry. It also means finishing school. It also means quitting a job that you’ve been doing for years to try and figure yourself out a bit. It also means exploring how to be creative in a post-Napster/file-sharing/record-it-yourself-at-home kind of world. It also means trying to go back to a school that was never actually attended before, but I thought about it and now I’m actually applying in a way that I was expected to back in 2004 and maybe/probably/almost definitely having to move out of this wonderful city that I love because of it."

Read the full explanation-apology-thank-you-love note at Oh No Forest Fire's mySpace page.

It's sad, but understandable. Oh No Forest Fires have been around since before I got really into the local music scene (which actually wasn't that long ago, now that I think about it). They were one of the first small Toronto bands that I latched onto as a music fan, so it's kind of difficult to imagine the city without them. They're one of those bands with crazy energy, and walking into a venue that they were playing at, you knew it was guaranteed good time. They're also going to be releasing a new album as a final goodbye gift to their fans before the end. It's going to be called Wants To Try Something, it's going to be 22-26 minutes long, and it's going to be free. They've already put out the first track through their mySpace.

Oh No Forest Fires - Spontaneous Changes In Isolated Systems (Bobby's Song) (mp3)

And check out an acoustic version of the song performed for The Uncharted Territory on Ryerson University's internet station, SPIRITlive.net:



Remember, the final Oh No Forest Fires show is happening at the Horseshoe Tavern this Saturday, January the 23rd. Tickets are $7 at the door, and they'll be joined onstage by Arietta, Songs From a Room and The Darcys. All proceeds from the night will be donated to the Haiti Emergency Fund through Partners In Health.

Click here to RSVP on the Facebook event page.

Audio Blood + Third Estate's Jingle Bell Rock

The first major snow fall of the year has taken Toronto. Yeah. Hey Winter, fuck you too! So the festive spirit hasn't descended upon me yet, but I'm sure this upcoming show will brighten up the winters of many of my fellow Toronto-nians.

You've probably already heard all about it even before you visited our humble blog. Audio Blood is a relatively new Toronto-based publicity/artist development company that's been helping to promote the local music scene, and they've been doing a pretty great job of it so far. They've even given us here at the Impressionable Youth blog quite a lot of the news and music that we've passed onto you too! Thanks, Audio Blood! Well, Audio Blood has teamed up with Third Estate (expect some really sweet swag and merch from these guys) to bring you "Jingle Bell Rock", happening at the Horseshoe Tavern this Saturday December 12th. It's going to feature four of Toronto's most engaging bands, The Balconies, Clothes Make the Man, Make Your Exit and Oh No Forest Fires! It's a guaranteed good time!

The Balconies - The Slo (mp3) (iTunes)

Clothes Make the Man - Telescopes (mp3) (iTunes)

Make Your Exit - Leave This Town (mp3) (iTunes)

Oh No Forest Fires - It's Not Fun And Games Unless Someone Loses An Eye (mp3) (iTunes)

Here's a video featuring all four bands getting into the holiday spirit. It's just like Christmas at home with the folks!



Get in on the festivities at the Horseshoe Tavern on Dec. 12th! Doors at 9 PM, $7 cover.

Where's the Fire?

Where's the fire? I'll tell you what it's at. In Newfoundland.

Fire!

Oh No Forest Fires is headlining the Wallsaway Arts and Music Festival in St. John's Newfoundland on August the 29th. I've been meaning to write about these guys since I saw them live at the Mod Club with Five Blank Pages and the Boys Who Say No. Beforehand I knew that they were a pretty big Toronto indie landmark, but with a cute name like "Oh No Forest Fires" and an EP called "The War On Geometry" I wasn't expecting the explosion of epic-awesome hyper pop that they delivered that night.

There's was so much energy on the stage when they came on, I just didn't know what to do. Frontman Rajiv Thavanathan was going ape shit, bouncing off walls, equipment and other people. I was worried he was going to hurt himself, or someone else. There were instruments being swung around and poor life advice being tossed at the youth (it was an all ages show). Damn it was a good night!

Oh No Forest Fires - It's Not Fun and Games Until Someone Loses an Eye (mp3) (iTunes) (amazon)

If you're into something a little more chill, visit Secret Sessions at TARA to download a live acoustic set.

And if you're in the Toronto area like I am, check 'em out at Lee's Palace on September 25th with the Balconies, Fox Jaws and Whale Tooth. I highly reccomend it. Oh No Forest Fires isn't just a band. It's an experience.