Music Preview: I Mother Eleven

I Mother Earth photo by Mike Peleshok

I Mother Earth and Finger Eleven perform at Union Hall on Saturday night (show starts at 8:25, $19.99 and up, BUY), as part of a lengthy joint tour across North America. They’re in the early throes of said itinerary – some of which still remains to be announced – which sees the bands perform an acoustic and Q&A session, followed by a full electric set.

I Mother Earth hit their peak in the mid to late 1990’s, with such hits as One More Astronaut, Summertime In the Void, and Another Sunday. Founded by brother and sister combination Jagori and Christian Tanna, along with vocalist Edwin Ghazal, the latter left the band for nearly twenty years before reuniting with the band in 2016. The band recorded a total of four albums from its founding through 2003, only two of which featured Ghazal on vocals. Fans of the era may well remember Edwin also went on to his own solo career, as well as fronted the supergroup Crash Karma.

Finger Eleven, also from Ontario, have seven studio albums to their credit, including the somewhat recent Five Crooked Lines (2015). Best known for their singles One Thing and Paralyzer, the band has been mainstays on alternative rock radio for most of this century. Four of its founding members remain to this day – Scott Anderson, James Black, Rick Jackett, and Sean Anderson. Only the drummer stool has seen some rotation, with the band now on their third – Steve Molella.

Thursday 26

Pink Mexico. This once-solo project of Robert Preston, who started out musically as a drummer, has received exceptionally positive reviews out of the indie music circuit, starting with his 2013 full-length pnik mxeico, and now encompassing his second release Fool, which now finds him surrounded by a full band. The project’s surf/grunge/garage sound seems to play pretty well to a pretty wide cross-section of fans. Teetahs and Whitsundays are also on the bill. 9910, 9pm, $7.

Friday 27

PVRIS. This electropop/alt-rock project out of Massachusetts is touring to support their 2017 album All We Know Of Heaven All We Know Of Hell. If you’re heading over to the all-ages show don’t forget the Starlite Room now has an app so you can avoid the lineups for your membership fee. Starlite Room, 7:30, $26.50 and up. BUY

Saturday 28

Upsidedowntown. This local post-grunge/Canrock trio has been getting quite a bit of buzz around town for their debut album Firemoon, for which this gig is a release party. In the afternoon, no less! King Of Foxes open. Aviary, 2pm, $10. BUY

Monday 30

Uriah Heep. This English hard rock band formed back in 1969, and has been at the vanguard of an agile sound that continued to move with the times – well, at least for a fairly long spell anyways. The band has an extraordinary twenty-five studio albums to their credit, though their popularity, of course, has diminished. Still, they continue to attract large enough crowds in many parts of the world to play in arenas. Here, they’ll have to be content with Union Hall. 8pm, $29.99 and up, BUY.