Tamara Williamson

TAMARA WILLIAMSON

...
For someone who draws inspiration from such sources as a suspicious death, a British fascist and a failed Everest expedition, Tamara Williamson seems to be having an uncannily good time."It's a bit positive tonight," she acknowledges."I'm going to sing one about my grandmother dying next, just so you remember where you are."

...
It takes a while for that light to come through: for the first set, Williamson and her band play behind a sheet, onto which is projected the short film Housing Developments by Christy Garland.
...
"Jetlag" takes off with bassist Mitch "King Kong" Girio's supple dance groove and evolves into a full-on disco chorus, followed by a "Hava Nagila"-esque coda; encore "The News" finds Williamson plugging in a new distortion pedal and smiling at her art-rock freak-out.She even covers World Party's happy-go-lucky "Love Street."

Lest one think Williamson has gone soft on us, she and keyboardist Ryan Carley throw in some loops and ambient dub weirdness from time to time.The band is currently recording the new songs, and as Williamson's C'est What residence continues over the next two weeks, they'll have the chance to flesh out arrangements and integrate the disparate facets of her style.It makes for perfect October music -- alternating the hot and the chilled -- and a chance to see one of Toronto's most intriguing artists developing her best music yet.