Soul Sister No. 1

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings brought a huge crowd into Babylon on a Tuesday, and played a super-hot show for them.
They're a large crew themselves: They had almost as many people on stage as White Cowbell Oklahoma did at Barrymore's (possibly more, if you count the audience members they invited up to shake it) and the stage at Babylon is quite a bit smaller.
This was one sweaty show - between the large crowd, the lights and a muggy evening the air by the side of the stage was starting to feel more like soup after the first few songs.

Sharon Jones - Soul Sister No. 1!!! Likes a fish in her dish, she says.



The horn section: Dave Guy on Trumpet ... Neal Sugarman on sax, "Spliffy" on bigger sax. They blow, they move, then blow again.



Homer "Funky Foot" Jenkins on drums and fixed stare and Bosco Mann on bass (also the group's musical director). Remember how in the Batman movie the villains always were filmed at an angle?



Bosco and Tommy "TNT" Brenneck on guitar. I believe Bosco is thinking "Damn, you tall."



Binky Griptite, MC, vocals, and a heavily reverbed Fender (plays with a thumb pick ... haven't seen that before ... I don't go to enough country music shows, I guess).



More Sharon? Why not! She really had the audience in the palm of her hand for the whole show, with both her performance and her between-song repartee.



Some behind the neck guitar action from Mr. Griptite.



"I'm going to walk right up to the White House door ..." Sharon Jones explains politics in the U.S. and how to get that Mr. Bush's attention.



Jones, is 4-foot-11; Tommy is 6-foot-4 ... you do the math.



The Dap-Kings had a relentless soul and funk attack - it was a killer show from start to finish. Certainly in the Top 3 so far this year.

• Show reminder: The Telepathic Butterflies play Zaphod's tonight with Mono Hum.
  

Good for the soul

Ottawa R&B act Maya and Alanna were performing as I walked into Babylon Tuesday night at a little past 10. Ben Mullin (last seen testing my powers of identification with The Caution Press) and Tristan Boucher were providing a tasteful, minimalist backing on guitar and drums.

Maya and Alanna (right to left, that is).



Alanna takes it to the river.



Don't mess with Maya.



Here's the whole crowd, with Tristan on drums and Ben on guitar.



Dap-King Bosco Mann jumped aboard for Chain of Fools ... I think he may sleep in those sunglasses.



I had much better pictures of Alanna and Maya that I managed to make a mess of by turning up my flash way too high. Oops. So you'd better go see them live - they perform at Fresco Cielo every Saturday at 10:30 until June 15.

• G7 Welcoming Committee ecording artist Greg Macpherson and his band perform with the Recoilers, Steve Cuch and The Spanish Main at Mavericks Bar tonight.

Ooooooklahoooommmmaaaaa!

April 22 is a day that shall live in infamy. It was a night with five eminently go-toable shows on. Top of the list: Howe Gelb and Kate Maki at Babylon vs. White Cowbell Oklahoma, Steven Dall and The Longtimers at Barrymore’s.
I plumped for the cowbell. One, I’d caught Gelb at Bluesfest and had been amused by his mellow, folksy solo act – almost more raconteur than musician – but not overwhelmed. Two, I heard people got nekkid on stage at WCO’s show. Barrymore’s it is!
This first post I'm just going to introduce people ... 11 in all!

Jesse Lactater opened things up with some keyboard moves. I do like that lighting ...



On double-neck guitar, T’Boo Hollis Wayne Gentry IV. You'll see more of him later (and when I say more, I mean more ...).



On another guitar, Clem (just Clem) ... yes, this picture does kinda' stink, I was down to 100 ISO, and old 100 ISO at that ...



On another guitar, the Cousin Who Cannot Be Named, in his natural circumstances - gettin' down.



On another guitar (last one, I promise!) Jessup H. Christ.



On drums, Mudflap Williamson - darn tootin' there's stick-twirling here, podner.



Bubba Lee Phett handles the bass.



Sgt. Rock sings - a good soul voice, I might add.



And Sheriff R.R. Horton? He keeps all them boys in line … almost. Round these parts, cowbell is the law, mister.



Chainsaw Charlie McGee also helps out on chainsaw, stuffed animal destruction, purchasing clothes from pretty women in the audience – and of course, the mightiest variety of cowbell around … the white cowbell! Also he tried to set folks on fire. This picture isn't so good either. I promise better things in future.



So was there trouble? In a word: Yes. Keep scrolling down for a good 50% of the depravity on display ... I warn you though, it is not for the faint of heart or short of grits.

More Cowbell!

... And you just new that post title was coming, didn't you?
First, I said I'd serve up a better Clem picture (or did I .. to hell with it!), so here he is, along with the Sergeant and a spark-shootin' Chainsaw Charlie.



White Cowbell are big on audience participation, whether it's asking them to sing "Put The South In Your Mouth" in Dutch (a tour of The Netherlands is imminent ... can Amsterdam survive?), or, as you are about to see, playing slide guitar with the Pyrex on ... well, let's just say Hollis gets a little help from both four nubile young audience members and "Hollis Jr."

First Chainsaw Charlie selects some assistants from the audience. It used to be two, but now that Hollis uses an Ibanez doubleneck, four are required. The more the merrier, I always say.



Preparation is very important when you're going to play guitar with your johnson (and I don't mean the Big Sugar guy either ...). In this photo Hollis Jr. has been sanitized for your protection and replaced via the latest censoring technology in case you're viewing this blog at work.



But this picture hasn't! Not that you can see much (just because of the angle ... no offence Hollis!) but click that link at work and you're a goner.

Isn't it nice that Hollis made some new friends?



Ahem. Does the debauchery stop there? Of course not ... apart from requesting "Nine shots of tequila to the stage!" the act features ... animal sacrifice!!! Well, stuffed animal sacrifice. Here Tigger goes to meet his maker ... ripped to shreds by the fans. Does this qualify as a catfight?



I saw one of the ladies wear the tiger's head as a hat later on. I never knew there were so many foam pellets in one of those things.
Of course, it's not a rock show without jumping, is it? Here's Cousin, airborne.



It gets crowded on that stage; here's another Sgt. Rock picture, with people and guitar headstocks coming in from all over, and just about everywhere.



Big finish! Sparks, guitar hoisting, stage-diving, cousin-kissing, etc.



"Wait a minute!"
"Yes?"
"You took pictures at a White Cowbell Oklahoma show and didn't photograph any naked chicks?!?!"
"Well ... I thought I had three more rolls of 800 ISO film ... then I realized I was out, so I zipped home to pick up a pair of old rolls, which is why some of these pictures are so crappy, and then I ran out of film ..."
"You .. ran out of film ... before Chainsaw Charlie bribed those two hotties into going topless?!?!?!"
"In a word: Yes."
(A well-deserved beating ensues.)
I promise that next time White Cowbell Oklahoma comes to town there will be naked girly pictures. I'm not promising I won't charge, mind you .... Add White Cowbell Oklahoma to your must-see file. Great music and a great time.

• Show reminder: Motorhead. Capital Music Hall. 'Nuff said.
  

Blue thoughts

Without the Birdman Stage the Ottawa Bluesfest doesn't hold the same interest for me as it did in 2003 and 2004. However, there are a few bright spots:

• Tinariwen: Much loved by Britain's Mojo magazine, these guys should attract world music cognoscenti for miles around. Where else are you going to see the world's premier Libyan-trained Kel Tamashek guerrillas turned musicians? I'm looking forward to the genuine Saharan nomad blues.
• Mofro: Another favourite record from last year. Swampy blues from Florida, where as you know they have a lot of swamp. They're on at 1:45 on a Sunday ... what a fine band to beat the crowd for ...
  
• Pernice Brothers: I'm not sure how well the groups country-pop will translate to a big outdoor stage, but their records are so uniformly excellent, it's be foolish not to go and find out.
• Neko Case: I saw her at a bitterly cold and windy Ottawa Tulip Fest performance. Unfortunately as things are currently scheduled she's on at the same time as Tinariwen.
  
• Calexico: I missed them when they played Babylon ... never again!
• Martha Wainright: I don't care what the critics say (except for Allan Wigney, of course!) - this is the most talented Wainwright; best new record of 2005, too.
• Holly Golightly: Well, duh.
• Lhasa: Another killer lady singer, in three languages. I expect a vast rush from the MBNA Grassroots stage to the Black Sheep stage where she's performing after Tinariwen wraps things up.
• The Sadies: There isn't that much else on the first Saturday that interests me ... but if you fancy the Broken Social Scene scene, you'll be in heaven.
• Dr. John: For the second time Bluesfest books him off the main stage ... what the? Just after Joe Bonamassa, so I think I'll catch both.
• Dutch Mason. Gotta see the prime minister of the blues while you can (the other option is The String Cheese Incident - eek!). And he's followed by John Mayall - perfect! I do expect the average age of the crowd to be over 55, though ....
  

There seem to be a lot of TBAs in the late slots. I'll be interested to see what they have to top up their announced lineup ... I hope to catch Keren Ann, The Dears, Gentleman Reg, Danielia Cotton .... any other must sees? That comment section is there for a reason you know ....

Valley of the Dall

Steven Dall seems like a bit of a strange opener for White Cowbell Oklahoma, but he was a nice middle act between The Longtimers and WCO - and he does have a cowboy hat ... His set was a bit of a breather, if you will, between the two heavier acts. He opened with a low-key acoustic song, aided by Fred Guignion on lap steel (actually, it was on a stand, but you know ...).

Steven Dall is not going to let go of that microphone stand. Is it just me, or is he wearing PJ bottoms?



Fred, a little later in the show.



The Department of Foreign Affairs backed him for all but that first tune. I told myself this picture of Brennan Pilkington wouldn't work out ... glad to see I was wrong.



Rob Skitmore was really getting down on guitar later on the show, but by then I was headed for the door to grab some extra film, since I'd stupidly forgotten to buy any extra rolls after the C'mon/Double Pumpers/Iron Giant show. Not that there's anything wrong with this picture.



Kosta McKay has a healthy infernal glow thanks to Barrymore's stage lighting.



Joe Skuce looks like he's enjoying himself.



Steven Dall dubbed Chris Teasdale "The Beard" during roll call. Er, okay.



G'night folks.



Dall reminded me a bit of Paul Kelly; moody music with an ecstatic edge and a hefty dose of rock'n'roll.

• Show reminder: Caribou plays Babylon, along with The Junior Boys and The Russian Futurists. He put on a great show at last year's Bluesfest on The Black Sheep Stage; you can really do a lot with two drummers ...
  

Not so long

... Since I saw The Long Timers rock Babylon in conjunction with Mighty Eagle Band, Turbo ACs and the prodigal punks in The Million Dollar Marxists. I don't know if it's because of the addition of Johhny Nash, a slight change in musical taste, or Barrymore's sound system, but the Longtimers sounded Stoogier than ever as I ascended the stairs to the ballroom.
Plenty of nice pictures from this gig too - an opening set for White Cowbell Oklahoma; Steven Dall and Department of Foreign Affairs were also up on stage this night.

Johnny rocks the wristband. Danzig watch out.



Justin Gobeil pushes things into the red.



Rene's a blur on bass.



Greg Kerr concentrates on his work ... sorry, that should read "concentrates on his rock."



Some people like J.P. Sadek blue. Others like J.P. red.



Justin rocks while Johnny works the feedback.



More Johnny with Greg in back. This picture almost composed itself.



Even more Justin, Johhny and Greg. Plus some wacky lights. I love wacky lights!



Gee, I didn't think I fuddled the shutter speed that much ...

• Funk reminder: Soul Sister No. 1 - that's Sharon Jones, people - and the Dap-Kings play Babylon tonight.
• Pollstar says Holly Golightly is playing the Ottawa Bluesfest July 17. The official announcement of the fest's lineup is supposed to be tomorrow ... is someone naughty jumping the gun, or are they just playing with our tender hearts?
  

C'mon feel the noise

This was the third C'mon show I've seen; the others were a smashing gig with The Illuminati and The Longtimers and a somewhat underattended shindig (also dynamite) with BBQ. By comparison a pretty good crowd showed up at Mavericks April 22. Both of those were at The Dominion. Ian Blurton: "Ottawa! On a Wednesday! Kicking Montreal's ass on a Tuesday!"
Another excellent show from the trio.

I just could not get a good solo picture of Canadian rock champ Blurton, but it doesn't hurt to have some of his missus, Katie Lynn Campbell, in. Extra points for the Dead Moon T-shirt.



Ms. Campbell not only plays the bass well, she can work that hair like nobody's business. Lots of room on the Mavericks stage for her to stomp around, as is her wont.



Only the latest stop-motion technology can catch Randy Curnew in motion.



Clap along with C'mon!



I'm not sure what happened here, but if I were that cowbell, I'd be worried.



A killer show. No encore, but who needs one?

Pump up the volume

The ever-rockin' Double Pumpers once again rocked out hard'n'heavy as they bridged the gap between Iron Giant's big bum stoner doom and C'mon's rawk. I thought they sounded particular good at this show. But then I think that at every show.

A picture of Damien Sawka yelling into a microphone. I know, I've never taken one of those before ...



Paul "Yogi" Granger and his very big kick drum.



Dave Martendale unleashes the rock power of pure masonite. I understand Danelectro is back in business, too.



A Double Pumpers doubleshot.



The Pumpers, plus the back of various people's heads.



In other DP news, the band has a show with The Fiftymen, Mighty Eagle Band, a slightly incongruous Janice Hall and Yogar and the Hill People (hmm ... is this a Yogi and The Lunatics pseudonym? Answers on a postcard please ...) May 21 at Babylon. Dave Aardvark will be ghost selecting.

Moncton's heaviest men

Iron Giant opened the show at Mavericks, April 20 - or at least, they did if you're a slowpoke like me and didn't get there in time for The Mark Inside (to think, the last guys they opened for were Velvet Revolver). The show was originally going to be at Cafe DeKcuf but some problem with the latter establishment's liquor licence led to a switcheroo, with 100 Demons and their various infernal forces moving upstairs.
I actually ascended the stairs, opened the door and saw this big bald tattooed guy ripping his throat out on stage. The doorman quickly noticed my lack of piercings, tattoos and studded leather and directed me back downstairs, where I got to see Iron Giant's big tattooed bald guy tearing his throat out on stage instead.

Just how rock is Chris Lewis? Dude, that microphone stand is, like, a chain!



P.J. Dunphy is a nimble fellow for his size.



Drummer John Flanagan is the pretty one. (that's Dunphy's description, not mine). Hard to tell from this picture; they had one of those smoke machines, and you have to really turn up the flash to cut through.



Rhythm and leads, courtesy of Derek Robichaud.



Three-quarters of the band crush the audience with their stoner rock assault.



Ever wonder what the last thing you would see is if someone stuck a Gibson Firebird bass through your noggin? Wonder no more.



They promise to be back when their new record is out.

A two run-run

For some strange reason I got it into my head that Run Chico Run were from Montreal - perhaps because they describe themselves as "Tasteless art rock to hang in your parlour." The are but two Runners: Thomas Shields and Matt Skillings. They have an address in Victoria so I presume that's where they call home.

Matt does some of that singing and guitar-playing stuff so popular with the kids these days.



Thomas multitasks on keys, traps and singing.



Standing on the drum kit? That totally rocks!



Playing the drum kit? That also totally rocks! And in a Michael Jackson T-shirt, no less.



The duo also had another set of keyboards they both played, but how many pictures of two guys can you run ...?

Do, do, do

Vancouver's The Doers are an acoustic folk-punk quartet from Vancouver... part Minutemen (they've actually recorded an EP with Mike Watt), part Violent Femmes. I'm not sure if the acoustic guitar and bass are actually necessary for the sound, but what the heck. The turnout was rather horribly low, but enthusiastic, and the band put on an energetic show.

Sarah Jane on vocals and shakin' about.



Guitarist Sean Maxey gets all Joe Cockery. Bouncing the flash off the ceiling doesn't really work if it's painted black, does it?



Bassist Barry Higginson and his amazing mustache.



Drummer Jeff Sebastian and his less amazing but still impressive mustache (I also observe a marked resemblance to Kevin Kline ... hmm).



Seriously folks, is this a rhythm section, or extras on HBO's Deadwood?



Rockin' and shakin' all over!



Kathy Dube of The Cinch is/was a member, but she wasn't in evidence at this show. Nor was much of an audience, I regret to say.

• Let there be rejoicing, for The Banditas have recorded an album ... and they're holding a release party for it, even! The Nymphets (from Montreal) and Run Stop Restore (featuring them Sproull lads) will be on hand at Irene's Pub to help celebrate the happy occasion June 25.

Sealed with a kiss

David Merritt is a super songwriter, so I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that April 19 was the first time I had a chance to catch the Golden Seals (boy, I hope that sentence doesn't get me in trouble with IFAW ...). Good show, lousy turnout.

Dave Merritt jokingly called for a super fast count-in to a normally mid-tempo song ... and they pulled it off! So they played it again. And why not?



I asked the drummer what his name was "Real or made up?' "Either one," I replied. Thus, ladies and gentleman: Mr. Ben E. Carlos! Hey, it was his idea.



A rare and valuable picture of John F. Higney Jr. on bass guitar.



Wunderguitarkind Pat Lawlor, whom I totally failed to recognize from his days in Polaris.



Ladies and gentlemen, the Golden Seals!



Gosh they're swell.

• Taking-a-deep-breath show reminder: Who's playing tonight? Um, everyone. Howe Gelb at Babylon with Kate Maki of course (Howe's in town wrapping up some work on his album at Little BullHorn). White Cowbell Oklahoma serve up the southern-fried sleaze with The Longtimers and Steven Dall next door at Barrymore's. Good2Go and The Tradeoff play Zaphod's. Brutal Knights, Weapons of Mass Seduction, Quebexico and The Sweet Janes play at Irene's ... should we let Brutal Knights have access to Weapons? That sounds dangerous to me. Finally, instrumental music at The Roxy with J'envoie, My Dad vs Yours and Pawa Up First.
• This just in, a day or two ago: The Acorn, The Flaps (including John F., Pat L. and "Ben E."), The Recoilers and Andrew Vincent will all be playing at Barrymore's May 28. Get your Kelp on!
  

We conclude this blogcast day with a picture of J'envoie at The Happening.



Make it two.



They were pretty good; the doors on that show are 8 p.m.
And while we're at it, here's a photo of Good2Go at Irene's.



So don't say you have nothing to do tonight ... as for myself, I gotta have more cowbell, baby!

Over The Rainbow

The Black Boot Trio had the CD release show for "Eternal Return" at The Rainbow April 15. I got out of work late (again); so I chugged down a carrot muffin I had in place of dinner and ran down Elgin St. - destination, Murray St. I actually have no idea where Murray St. is, but fortunately bumped into Casey Comeau on the way. A quick stop at a Rideau Centre Shopper's drug store for earplugs and to pick up And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead pictures, and we made it through the door just as the trio were making their way through their first song Many Young Men Consider Themselves Cowboys. The Rainbow's an interesting place, with an upper half-storey. You can look down, and see the band kind of like this:



Look, it's Geoff "Big Daddy" Taylor's on bass ... he even looks big from up here ...



People were lining the staircase up to the 2nd floor (really the third - a restaurant occupies the building's bottom floor). The view is a bit like this:



Of course, you want to check out Stef Bennett's killer drumming ...



A quick peek as you hit the landing ...



The stage is a good three or four feet above the dance floor (incidentally, can you guess the name of the record station that sponsored this shindig?).



All that going up and down stairs can do strange things to one's shutter speed. Must be the altitude fluctuation.



The club packs out pretty quickly.



For the encore they played Hank Williams' My Bucket's Got a Hole In It and George Jones' Out of Control, and reprised their own Four Horsemen. Is This All There Is figured in there somewhere, too.

• Spiky hair reminder: The Casualties, The Briggs and The Sewer Rats play Babylon; doors open at 5 p.m. so no way in heck I'm making that show ...
  

C'mon to bed

Just got back from the C'Mon show at Mavericks; killer sets from opening acts the Double Pumpers, Iron Giant and (so I hear) A Mark Inside. I'll be posting pictures from that show in the imminent future, just as soon as I get pictures of The Black Boot Trio, Golden Seals, Doers, and Run Chico Run out of the way. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of C'Mon at the Dominion:



It was definitely one of those shows that make having a job you don't need to be up at the crack of dawn for worth having. And now: Zzzzzzzzzz ...

Follow that Trail

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead put on a very solid show at the Capital Music Hall Thursday - not as transcendent as Gris Gris or Black Mountain a week earlier (at least to my biased ears), but definitely satisfying. It certainly drove parts of the audience to fits of adulation. There was something slightly calculated about the destruction and crowd-pleasing stunts like bring a crash cymbal out for the audience to whack on (surely not for the first time) but it was still entertaining.

Jason Reece smashed his kit up, had it put back together by his drum tech (who should be nominated for an MVP award, if not sainthood), then smashed it up again during their encore of Richter Wave Madness. I found myself thinking of Henry Rollins even before I noticed he was sporting a Black Flag T-shirt. He certainly liked jumping about - he's airborne in about half the pictures he's in. Kevin Allen at left, Conrad Keely at right.



Is that you, Henry?



How much am I bid for this cymbal?



Guitarist and vocalist Conrad Keely grimaces.



Guitarist Kevin Allen, the most low-key member on stage (I grant you, this doesn't mean much). Behind him you can see the keyboardist whose name I never did catch ...



Danny Wood has recently joined on bass.



And one more picture of Danny, under the lights



Extra percussion was provided by Doni Schroader (ex-Forget Cassettes). Kettle drum, gong, chimes ... he's got the lot.



Jason behind the soon-to-be smashed drum kit.



Conrad and Jason came back to the edge of the stage after the show was over to talk with audience members. JC was fetching bits of smashed-up drum and sticks to give to the crowd as souvenirs. No rock-star attitude from these guys. This next picture's a bit dark, but you can just make them out to the right of bits of the late Ludwig.



Smashing show ... um, literally ...

• Show reminder: Rock, rock, rock at Cafe DeKcuf with C'mon, The Double Pumpers and Iron Giant!
  

Eight arms to hold you

The Octopus Project is Josh Lambert, his wife Yvonne Lambert (nee Lazarte), and Toto Miranda. Like The Sword and The Black they hail from Austin - thus there gig opening for ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead on April 14. They were joined by Eric Bogle of Bring Back The Guns on second guitar (though considering the amount of instrument-switching there was, "on guitar" may be the wrong phrase). They use a drum machine when Toto wasn't behind the kit. Theremin, mini-marimba and keyboards were added to the mix. Pretty active on stage, considering they were shunted to the front by TOD's gear.

The band prepares to socket to the audience.



Yvonne, woman of the future, controls the entrancing space sounds of the futuristic 1930s.



Josh rocks out on bass.



Toto. Started out on drums (that's him in picture No. 1), then moved about, as did everyone.



Eric the B.



Here's another picture of Yvonne on a wee xylophone. Had to get the boots in ...



And here's another of Josh and Yvonne.



Oh those crazy kids. They have a good website where you can check out sounds, images, etc.

Sword of Doom

The Sword were playing as I walked into the Capital Music Hall; definitely a must-see for fans of Sleep/High on Fire etc. A killer doom metal band with wicked Orange/Laney gear and loads of mega riffs.

Singer-guitarist J.D. Cronise apparently also features in Austin hard rockers Those Peabodys.



Guitarist Kyle Shutt: Lotsa hair, lotsa tattoos ... and a Guild S-100. Don't see many of those ...



Bassist Bryan Richie.



Drummer Trivett Wingo and Richie. A deadly rhythm section.



Amazing band; I bought their CDEP and it's good.



My only regret is that being from Austin they likely won't make it up here again.

• Metal reminder: Strapping Young Lad, The Agony Scene, Misery Signals and Reflux play Barrymore's tonight.

Miraculous occasions

Two-Minute Miracles are a fuzzy-meets-folky band based in London; the back porch's answer to Guided By Voices or the Elephant Six. They're well-suited to the night's bill with The Fembots - and not just because both groups should be far better known.

Andy MacGoffin is the group's main man. I took these pictures before moving to higher speed film which is why he's looking even redder than my natural light photos normally look.



Local musician John J. Higney Jr. of The Flaps, Greenfield Main, and a bunch of others, including the Golden Seals (more about them later).



The rhythm section: Eric Howden of Raised By Swans and Aaron Curtis.



In toto.



I corresponded briefly with Magoffin, he says he's also playing in Raised By Swans. They had an album release show recently I gather from their website ... I hope an Ottawa performance is in the offing.

• Show reminder: Vancouver acoustic punks The Doers play Babylon tonight in conjunction with The Golden Seals (now Dave Merritt and The Flaps, according to Kelp supremo John Bartlett) and Run Chico Run. This show carries the Black Mountain seal of approval.
  

Ben!

Hurray, my witless teasing has paid off with a positive ID (unless someone's yanking my chain)! Ben Mullin of the Caution Press is this chap here (who I seem to recall was always saying the group was The Beatles ... does that make the keyboardist Billy Preston?), at least according to "Anonymous":



I've actually begin to put some effort into getting people's names, so hopefully NCR will attain even greater heights of semi-accuracy. Now, does anyone want to cough up the other Caution Press names? Website URL? Astrological signs? Favourite colour?

Release the z'Howndz

Toronto's z'Howndz is composed of members of Tetrezene, a Do Make Say Thinker and someone from Tangiers (the band, not the city ... but why not both?). From the chatter I gather the band is supposed to be a busman's holiday from art rock ... a chance to get down'n'sleazy. Really, they make me think of early 1970s Cleveland band The Mirrors (live, anyway; their disc left me a little chilled).

Ryder Graham, the man with the sparkly Gretsch guitar (and in Tetrezene lap steel).



Benjamin Boles, the man with the less sparkly guitar, until he broke a string and borrowed Ryder's.



The band was joined by Brian Cram (of GUH, Gesundheit, Bug Night, Do Make Say Think, Mike Hopkin's Formula, Justin Small's Someone Is Flying, David Clark's Woodchoppers Association, and probably a zillion other things) on trumpet. He had a lot of fun stalking around the stage with his radio remote unit.



James Payment (Do Make Say Think) keeps the beat.



Shelten Deverell of Tangiers boogies mightily on the keys. No photo can accurately capture his shaking and bobbing.



"Hello, my name is Brian and I'll be your trumpeter for tonight." Richard, two Karens (I believe the lady at back was with the band), Mark - a.k.a. Jake Heartbreak of The Weapons of Mass Seduction - with his recently cropped top, and, reflected in the mirror, my own be-denimed self.



And the semi-obligatory band shot.



A small audience, but everyone agreed it was something a bit different, and good.

• Show reminder: Jesus Mullet, Agriculture Club, The Mighty Eagle Band and Layiterslayit play at Zaphod's tonight - and it's free. Hurray!
  

More Organ

I posted one picture from this set I took of The Organ when they played at Zaphod's, here's a few more for those who didn't grab a ticket for their sold-out show tonight with Stars, the similarly named but different Wooden Stars and Montag at Barrymore's.

Ashley Webber played bass at the Zaphod's gig, but she's since left the band; as of last December the group was still hunting for a replacement.



Katie Sketch's crystalline singing voice is the band's best asset.



Debora Cohen may be the world's most stoic guitarist.



Remind me again, what's the name of this band? And what's the name of that instrument Jenny Smyth is playing?



Drummer Shelby Stocks is probably the band's sharpest performer musically.



Some group action ...



I'd like to see them again, but no ticket for tonight ...

Crash, bang, boom

Well, the Million Dollar Marxists have returned, and throughout the land manufacturers of microphone stands are rejoicing.

Luke prepares to explode.



A half-decent drummer picture of Tim. Okay, quarter-decent.



Why use one microphone when you can use two (not counting the one on the floor)?



Johnny sings after a refreshing beer bath.



Luke checks the set list.



Steve and Tim wrestle over guitar and drums.



Tim contemplates the unlikelihood of an encore while Luke jumps on what's left of the kit.



"Put that back together and keep playing!"
"Go home, Dave Martendale!"

Turbo power

The Turbo ACs went on just before the Million Dollar Marxists on April 10 (always a good idea to go on before M$M, while the stage and audience are all in one piece ...) They describe themselves as surf-injected punk rock; hard to argue with that. They also have enough wo-oh's to satisfy a convention of Misfits fans.

Guitarist Kevin Cole and bassist Michael Dolan.



Drummer Kevin Prunty is "the sweatiest man in rock," according to the other Kevin.



More of Kevin No. 1 ... dig that Fender reverb unit.



More Eric ...



And I'm running this next picture nice and large because it was a happy accident ... I wasn't even looking through the lens. I don't think I even had to crop this picture ...



Needless to say, Cole's rock star jump is much better than your rock star jump.

Heeeeeeere's Johnny!

Nash that is. Yes, the bassist for South of 78 has joined The Long Timers as singer and sometime guitarist:



Justin Gobeil isn't giving the microphone up without a fight! (There were a few below-the-belt kicks in this scrap.)



Bassist Rene - who recently proposed to his gal Heather Osborne, once of Holy Hell.



Finally I got a good shot of J.P. Sadek! Or it would have been if he hadn't moved.



Greg Kerr and Rene.



Justin's had a haircut since the last show I attended but there's still enough to wave around.



Rock, rock, rock, rock ... and some rock.



As usual, they covered Mountain's Never In My Life. I was amazed to see Mountain ("featuring Leslie West and Corky Laing") are coming to the Corel Centre with Deep Purple and April Wine June 19 - old rockers never die, they just go on reunion tours with half the original members.
The Long Timers play at Barrymore's this Friday, April 22, with White Cowbell Oklahoma and Steven Dall.

• Show reminder: Power metal fans rejoice! Anvil will be widdly-widdly-widdling at Mavericks tonight with Rammer (there's a Goat Horn connection there, I think ...), Grind Corps and Phalanx.

Humming along

As I mentioned earlier, Casey Comeau has joined Mono Hum on organ. She made her debut on April 12 when the trio opened for z'Howndz on April 12.

Here she is with Richard Jeffrey (by my count this makes four bands they're working in together ... Golden Famile, with the Halfmilers and their as yet unnamed project ...). Unfortunately my only other picture of her turned out to have the dreaded Irene's post in half of it ...



Drummer Tim tries out a new brand of sticks.



... and Richard gets on down.



The band is opening for The Telepathic Butterflies Saturday, April 30, at Zaphod's. Casey and Richard will also be appearing in the Golden Famile when they play with z'Howndz at Zaphod's May 4.

Mighty, mighty

The Mighty Eagle Band opened the Marxists/Turbo ACs/Longtimers show on Sunday night with some of their growly stoner rock.

Neal Johnstone gives the rock star grimace - and not, despite appearances, because he hiked the mic stand a bit too high.



Bassist Ian Tolton appeared to be not quite sure what to make of this photography business ...



Somewhere under the hat and hair is Shawn Hill, most recently of the Bitchin' Camaros; also a veteran of King Kung.



Adam Frasier just looks so darn happy.



The Mighty Eagle Band launch the rock rocket ... baby!



They're still getting their sound together, but progress is being made ...

• Show reminder: The Jezebels peform tonight at Barrymore's Music Hall (along with the Hidden Cameras and Dandi Wind, about which I care naught).
  

What the Truck?

Big Jeezus Truck are probably Ottawa's most popular hard rock act. Though other bands may offer more musically there's no denying BJT put on a hell of a show: Lights, lasers, strobes, jumping about, standing on monitors, a big backdrop with a bug-eyed demonic Colonel Sanders .... It's straight ahead chug-a-lug rock. There was a cover of Del Shannon's Runaway (quite good) and Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire which they made a decent stab at - but covering a Cash tune is more or less begging for an unfavourable comparison.
All those lights mean most of the pictures I have of the band are their silhouettes, or really red. Here goes!

Bassist Spag in the spotlight. I'm doing his picture first because he shows up everywhere ...



Drummer T.E.D., pretty darn red.



Singer Slim Reaper and his driving-wheel microphone stand (and Spag).



Guitarist Tom E. Hawk (and Spag ... and Slim's bum in profile).



I didn't stick around for the encore, but I figure I got my money's worth.

Ripped to the tits

Red Light Rippers opened for Big Jeezus Truck. No frills hard rock, lots of running about on stage (and loads of smoke) plus a cover of Pills. I think the Red Light Rippers may be bad for your teeth ....

Singer Rip Skin'er ...



If the rock thing doesn't work out, there's always the Cirque du Soleil.



Guitarist Staci T. Rat. The band cut things a little short because he busted a string and had only one guitar with him (an Epiphone Alleykat - I have a Wildkat, which is similar, albeit with a Bigsby vibrato, P-90 dogears and a hideous yellow finish).



Bassist Stephane DeBernardi (okay, that's an obviously fake name ...) is very scary.



You can actually see drummer Danny C. in this picture, which is a major improvement on the one where a huge billowing cloud of stage smoke puffed in front of my camera just as I snapped the picture ...



There's got to be an easier way to have a singing drummer!



The band that works together ...



And so on.



As you can see, Skin'er was an active chap; I wish I'd captured a jump or a somersault but no such luck.

• Show reminder: Punkottawa.com holds its 4th anniversary shindig at Babylon tonight. The lineupis .moneen., Comeback Kid, The Reason, Brazil, Ghosts of Modern Man and "special guests." Black Boot Trio release their fine new CD at The Rainbow.
  

Golden splinters of feedback

Echo, feedback, and sitting down - all vital parts of Oakland, CA, group The Gris Gris' synapse and amp-torturing show. An awesome performance from this quartet who entirely fulfilled my expectations (based on their killer debut album). Band leader Greg Ashley has played with psychedelic garage punks The Mirrors (who have two very good albums to their name) and has a super-fine solo album too. He may also be the most normal-looking musician I've ever seen; really, he could play Joe Average in any TV commercial. But his sound had hair down to its waist. Best use of feedback in a show that I've seen, ever.

Dave Aardvark, feeling all echoey, introduces the band.



Greg Ashley and a cavalcade of distortion-inducing pedals.



While Ashley twisted knobs, Lars Kullberg did a feedback-dance with the Squier amp.



Bassist Oscar Michel does some dual deelie manipulation and keyboard playing ...



... tootles squawkingly on the clarinet ...



... but spent most of the time playing the bass - occasionally with a cello bow.



Drummer Joe Haener had ripped his mallets to shreds by the end of the show.



And here's the band all together and way out there, man.



A killer, buy-everything band. Some trip, man. Interesting T-shirt colours too (hmm, orange or turquoise?).

• Show reminder: And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead destroy the Capital Music Hall with The Black and The Sword (that's two bands, not one, I gather) tonight.
  

It's a Famile affair

And now I can't get that Sly Stone tune out of my head. The Golden Famile had their CD release party April 6, with copies of "Nobody Loves a Growler" in individual handmade covers. They've lost saxophonist Jay Baird to the siren song of Toronto, so the group was a mere sextet on Wednesday night. Since they were opening for The Gris Gris I fooled around with my shutter speed, hoping for way-out mindblowing visual effects. What I got was bits of neon Silly String. Sigh. The Famile:

Mike Sheridan, on drums and neon silly string.



I took a few natural light pictures of Jennifer Comeau. We shall never speak of them again.



Nate Hurlow was kind of stuck behind Darryl and Jen, so this is what you get.



Richard Jeffrey goes solo.



Now this picture of Ryan Hough turned out nicely. I bounced the flash off the ceiling, so hopefully Ryan wasn't blinded in the taking of it.



Actually, this picture of Darryl Angus, Richard and Ryan turned out pretty freaky, didn't it?



Here's a less exploded version with Richard singing.



The Famile play May 4 at Zaphod's with z'Howndz - who I just saw last night,with Mono Hum, Richard's other band (with Jen and Tim Matthews of The Glads). I wasn't wild about z'Howndz' last album, but live they were really good - like Cleveland Velvet Underground fans The Mirrors with a case of the jitters - so I'm definitely hoping to catch them again.

Demolition time

Breaking news: Demolition Doll Rods return to Ottawa June 3 for a gig at Mavericks; Broadzilla is with 'em. The Rods put on an - ahem - revealing show last year at the Dominion. Photographic evidence is available at the Birdman Sound website, but just look here: Margaret, Christine and Danny Doll Rod in action.





And another side of Margaret Doll Rod. Yowza.



Some of this stuff might not be safe for work ... you've been warned!

• In other news, The Acorn, Kepler and Snailhouse will be post-rockin' the joint at Irene's Pub May 13. I'm sure their stage show will be largely similar to the Doll Rods'.

Crystal clear

With a name like Crystal Skulls, and with their tour mates being Black Mountain, I was sort of expecting this Seattle outfit to be more psychedelic; instead they sound more like a jumped up Postcard band crossed with 1970s powerpop. Good, though.

Christian Wargo sings and strums while new lad Mark Richardson handles keyboards and percussion.



Ryan Phillips tickled the ivories (or whatever they make piano keys out of nowadays) on the band's album, but was on guitar full time on Monday.



That's bassist Yuuki Matthews between Phillips and Wargo. He was bobbing and weaving so enthusiastically that he bobbed out of my camera frame in my other shots.



Like Wargo, drummer Casey Foubert has worked with Pedro the Lion (Wargo's also done time with the Danielsen Famile).



That's the lot.



They have an upcoming tour with the Wedding Present. Most would say it's a far better match stylistically than Black Mountain, but I personally prefer a diverse musical ticket: Both rock and roll.

• Show reminder: Mono Hum (with the addition of Casey Comeau on organ) play Irene's tonight with z'Howndz from Toronto.
  

Blood, beer and bells

I just retrieved my pictures from Sunday night's show with The Million Dollar Marxists, the Turbo AC's, The Longtimers and The Mighty Eagle Band, and there's a surprisingly high ratio of good ones. A great night of drum kit demolishing, beer spraying, Johnny Nash debuting, guitar-induced bleeding, punk jumping, mosh pitting, wedding announcing rawnk'n'roll.
I'll post them when I have a spare moment, but for now here's Greg Kerr of The Long Timers dripping blood.



That ought to hold you.

Departmental matters

The Department of Foreign Affairs started their set with a very catchy blast of power pop. They hit the ground running - I thought they sounded much better than at their Barrymore's set, but I always did prefer a smaller room (or maybe they're sharp after touring) .

Last time I posted stuff about the Department of Foreign Affairs, I admitted some confusion about who was who guitar-wise (and also flopped Brennan Pilkington's picture). Having consulted with the Department directly, I can now confirm that this is indeed Brennan, and he is indeed the right way 'round.



And this is definitely Rob Skitmore, enjoying the natural light goodness. Also the right way around.



Bassist Chris Teasdale shows his allegiance to the Atlanta Braves (oops, as a comment noted, it's actually the Cleveland Indians). At Barrymore's he was sporting a Buffalo Sabres jersey ... I'm sure there's a rational explanation for his choice of teams, yet I can't think of one ... (post-comment ... nope, I still can't understand it).



Mostly all together ... I failed to get any good pictures of Kosta McKay ... such is the drummer's life. Joe Skuce, centre, on congas.



Their next Ottawa show is June 25 at Zaphod's.

Changelings

The Diableros were the other band who opened for Department of Foreign Affairs April 2 ... I admit, I went to Irene's mostly for the purpose of checking them out. They did not disappoint - apart from playing a regrettably short set. The band has been compared to mid-80s Brit bands like Echo and The Bunnymen, Jesus and Mary Chain and The Wedding Present, all of which I can hear, though the comparisons only go so far. Live I thought they had a bit of a Modern Lovers sound as well.

Pete Carmichael. He also plays guitar in Another Blue Door, who are on the fine Stinky label.



Guitarist Ian Jackson of Airfield, who has replaced Paul Watling.



Michael K. Newton fills in for Tara Huk.



Bassist Tyson Asher, looking less mobile than he actually was.



Drummer Phoebe Lee.



And mostly all together. Darn that Irene's pole.



Thanks to Pete for the Who's Who.

• Show reminder: The Million Dollar Marxists return to Babylon tonight, where they open for the Turbo AC's. Long Timers and Mighty Eagle Band share the bill.

Cautionary tale

The Caution Press opened for The Diableros and Department of Foreign Affairs. They did a pretty good job (and went over well), but weren't really my cup of tea ... well at least the pictures turned out okay, if I do say so myself. These guys don't have much of a web presence yet, so all I know so far is that one of them is named "Ben Mullin."

Maybe it's this guy ...



No, wait ... maybe him?



I suppose it could be either of these guys .... There was fair amount of instrument switching between the guitarist, bassist and keyboardist.



Ben?



Well, isn't there a little Ben Mullin in all of us? Okay, maybe not. Needless to say anyone who wants to put names to faces, drop me a comment ...

• Breaking news: The Telepathic Butterflies will play at Zaphod's April 30. They played a fine show at Irene's last time they were in town - I'm keen to see them again. No word yet on an opening act, but apparently Eugene and Co., are taking suggestions ....
  
• Show reminder: If you're in the mood for punk and in Barrhaven (an unusual combination, I grant you) the Botched Suicides, the Rookers, the Sewer Rats and the Sweet Janes are playing Greenfield's Pub tonight.

Eternal Return

More Black Boot Trio photos, in preparation for their upcoming gig at The Rainbow April 15. These are pictures from their Bluesfest 2004 show.

Steffany Bennett, in one of the few pictures of her when you can see more than a lot of swirling hair and drumsticks ...



Steve Fai models the man in black look.



Geoff "Big Daddy" Taylor walks the walk.



I, for one, feel very prepared.

• Show reminders: Tonight The High Dials, The Glads and The Hitmakers play Zaphods, while BigJeezusTruck has a CD release party with Toronto's Red Light Rippers at Barrymore's. Those with more upscale tastes (and transportation) can go to Wakefield and catch Rock Plaza Central, Nathan Coles Outfit and Mike Feuerstack's Snailhouse at the Black Sheep Inn.

Testify!

Reverend Glasseye returns to Ottawa June 4. Last time they were in town (in early November) was for their CD EP release party. Their Appalachian gypsy music went over a charm as always.

First, let's introduce new (and vaguely new wave) vibraphonist/keyboardist and backing vocalist Wendy Emerson.



Guitarist/keyboardist/yodelist Piet Masone with his B.C. Rich prototype ("this switch is the coil tap, this switch puts the pickups out of phase ... I'm not sure what this switch does ...").



The horn section: On trumpet, Jon Wobesky; on saxophone, Kevin Corzett.



Standup bassist Dennis Maher (his brother Tim is the drummer ... sorry, no good pics of the latter).



Ladies and gentleman, I give you a testimonial! The RG6! With Adam Glasseye at full steam.



Stand back, he's gonna blow.



And The Dominion crowd (hi, Bob W. and Bill G.!).



As mentioned earlier, they'll be in town whooping it up with fellow Music For Cats Records artists Golden Famile, Weapons of Mass Seduction and Mono Hum June 4 at Babylon.

• Show reminder: If you like the Reverend, you'll probably like Elliott Brood who play at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield tonight with The Acorn.
• Dust off the bong: Stoner rock dude Brant Bjork (formerly of Kyuss and Fu Manchu) and his Bros. bring the desert to Babylon May 30.
  

None more black

Since a bunch of brain-churning psych wizards are going to be playing tonight at Babylon, here are some pictures of the brain-churning psych wizards who played there on Monday. Black Mountain put on a wicked synapse-twisting show of their heartbreak moan meets Sabbath dirge modern music.

Stephen McBean lays down the guitar mojo. His tone was awesome.



Stephen and Amber Webber. Everyone in the band sings, which is a major plus for any group.



Amber keeps her eye on the gourd.



Matt Camirand. When I saw him on stage, my first thought was "I recognize those tattoos ... that guy was in the Black Halos!" Seems like a dog's age since they played at Lucky Ron's (or was it the Hi-Fi then?) with the Murder City Devils. He's a local guy: "I have family here tonight ..."



Joshua Wells drums, sings, plays some organ, modulates some frequencies. Sometimes all at once.



The gang's all here! Well, four-fifths of the gang, anyway. Jeremy Schmidt had to stay home, I guess.



All that mind melting goodness brings me too ...

• Show reminders: Gris Gris with the Golden Famile at Babylon. It's a CD release show for the Famile, and Greg Ashley of GG is a Texas-California psych genius, so go see 'em, damn it! If that isn't to your fancy (freak), there's also the eminently entertaining Elliott Brood at Irene's Pub with The Acorn. Also: Raising the Fawn and A Northern Chorus are playing at Zaphod's; Damon and Naomi were supposed to be on the bill, but seem to have slipped off (I could be wrong).

Sigh. Well, Gris Gris came all the way from Oakland, CA, so that's where I'll be ... but I'll travel over the city - in spirit, y'know.

• Good2Go, in addition to playing April 22 at Zaphod's with The Tradeoff, will be doing a show May 7 with The G-Men, four-stroke and The Bella Bombs at Irene's Pub. The G-Men have some Armed and Hammered guys in them. The BBs say they'll be announcing their new drummer "any day now", so perhaps this will be her (I'm guessing) debut. But wait! There's more! G2G also have shows at the Rainbow Bistro May 14, and will return to Irene's June 4.
  

Harshey the Crow

There used to be a few more pictures of Harshey at Irene's in March here (their show with The Setbacks and Four'n'Giv'r. A great rocking time from all three bands). Now there aren't, because they've been replicated a month or so in the future. During the initial post, it also mentioned an upcoming gig at the University of Ottawa's Agora/University Club Lounge with Blacksheep, Last Voice Heard and Blackball April 9. If memory serves, it fell through, but since this is being updated December 1, 2007, I wouldn't depend on it.

• Show reminder: Tonight the Double Pumpers and The Hi Lo Trons play Barrymore's (some kind of Tulip Fest announcement, I gather).
  

Peak experience

Things I learned at the Black Mountain show:

• Howe Gelb will be playing at Babylon April 22 "with friends."
  
• The Banditas always start their set about a half hour earlier than I expect. Yes, I missed them again. Also they have a record coming out sometime.
• Crystal Skulls are not some drugged out West Coast freakanauts, but a less fey Postcard style band - a more muscular Orange Juice, if you will.
• Black Mountain are drugged-out West Coast freakanauts, and rock like nobody's business.
• We are - all of us - hereby ordered by Jon Bartlett and Matt Camirand (ex-Black Haloes, now with Black Mountain) to attend a show by the The Doers April 19 at Babylon. Vaselines, Beat Happening, Minutemen go acoustic is the buzz I hear. Run Chico Run and Golden Seals share the bill.

All in all, it was very instructive. Good turnout for a Monday night, too. Here's a clumsily retouched picture of Howe Gelb on the Birdman Stage at the Ottawa Bluesfest 2003.



Way too many people have scheduled a show April 22. The latest are Weapons of Mass Seduction, who have a gig at Irene's with Brutal Knights, Quebexico and The Sweet Janes at Irene's Pub. Anyone who says "I have nothing to do!" on that Friday will be mercilessly flogged with a sheaf of concert tickets.

Down from the mountain

Castor expanded a few minds in the Aloha room on March 30. A great show from Dave Redford, Charlie Brooks (who, incidentally, has a pair of awesome CD-Rs out under the Carlangas name) and James, who were in rare form as they knocked out the psycho-sabbath sound from the deep dark woods of the hash-pipe mind.

Dave on Jaguar and really big pedal board.



Charlie takes a trip.



James drums, then drums evilly.



Castor and their many fans .. get it, fans? I crack myself up. That's Will Desjardins of V.E.O. modelling the latest in Castor-related hearing loss prevention gear ...



They played two sets, reminding everyone there it's a darn shame their shows come once in a blue moon.

• Show reminder: Black Mountain, The Banditas and The Crystal Skulls play Babylon tonight. Stephen McBean was excellent opening act (under the name Pink Mountaintops) for Frog Eyes and Destroyer, and his new CD as Black Mountain augurs well for tonight.
• Maximum RNR is apparently no longer playing the Cafe DeKcuf gig April 20; instead The Double Pumpers will share the bill with C'mon and Iron Giant.
  

This is Pop!

What, you were expecting Andy Partridge? Mary Pop of The Jezebels sang Louie Louie (in French) with The Weapons of Mass Seduction at the SS Cardiacs/Weapons/We're Marching on triple bill at Mavericks.



"So what are you doing tonight?"
"We're going to get high!"
"Oh, is this a cocaine night?"
"No, we're going to eat mushrooms!"
"I like a good portobello myself ... in butter ..."

Jake Heartbreak of WOMS: Guitarist, singer and buttered mushroom fancier. I have many pictures of Mark, and many of them look remarkably like this one.



The Duke lays down some riffs while Bill Baumshell conceals himself behind a carefully placed cymbal.



More Bill, in his growly phrase.



The Duke works the feedback while JH does his Cousin It impression.



They're scheduled to play with other Music For Cats people in June, but I'm sure they'll play a gig before then ... The Jezebels are on the bill with The Hidden Cameras at Barrymore's April 16. Here's a picture of them from the June 11, 2004, WOMS/Sights show at the Dominion, singing backup for The Weapons.



I don't know if their Barrymore's gig is in a punk exercise or backup singing capacity - or something else entirely ...

• The Sick Fits have emerged from hibernation! You can see them fall over, break things and play music at Zaphod's May 6 with Midnight Tramp.

Cardiac arrest

SS Cardiacs played a great set at Mavericks. They were a kind of artless duo (bassist Mike Small was MIA), but between Leon Taheny's stick-smashing drumming and Jessie Stein's distorto-guitar sounded first rate (unlike my previous grumping about the sound at Mavericks for previous shows, this time the sound was excellent). They were supposed to headline but were in a rush to get to Montreal so The Weapons of Mass Seduction finished the bill.

Jessie Stein does the knees-together move I forever associate with Elvis Costello.



Stein's singing voice is raspy yet girlish, and quite appealing, if a bit of an acquired taste.



A Taheny montage. They were in such a hurry to go he was removing the microphones from his kit as he played the last song.



I'm still fooling around with the old shutter speed, but I think that generally works better with slower film.



I'll be interested to hear what they sound like with their bassist.

• Show reminders: Tonight you can either zip over the border to Quebec and catch The Fiftymen at the Black Sheep, or cross the border into the Glebe and see The Department of Foreign Affairs at Irene's with The Diableros and Caution Press. The Weakerthans and Constantines are playing with Greenfield Main and Andrew Vincent and The Pirates at Barrymore's. If you like your stuff a little more off the beaten track, there's an earlier show at Club SAW: Buried Inside, Zombi, Expatriates, Cancer Bats - music to eat brains to, I'm sure.
  

Good to know

Let's start the day with some Good2Go pictures. I took a bunch of the band at their Irene's show, and only posted two; one of Maureen, one of Gilles. Here are some more, starting with guitarist Christian Lapensee.



Here's one of bassist Reg Allen, with Maureen Hogan adding some extra percussion.



Gilles Mantha and Maureen got rhythm.



Reg sings a song, quite probably one about beer.



And finally, more Maureen, raising the roof.



Enough navel-gazing, it's time for a bunch of new shows, starting with the abovementioned rockers:

• The Hi Lo Trons and The Double Pumpers are playing at Barrymore's April 5.
  
• Speaking of Irene's, Z'howndz from Toronto are playing there April 12 with Mono Hum. Z'howndz features James Payment from Do Make Say Think on drums. Also on board are guitarists Ryder Graham and Ben Boles (tetrezene) and Shelton Deverell (Tangiers) on keyboards. It's like a New Glue showcase band.
• The free Mighty Eagle Band/Jesus Mullet show at Zaphod's April 18 I mentioned earlier now also features appearances by hardhitting cow-rockers The Agriculture Club and Layiterslayit.
• The mighty C'mon will be rattling the floorboards in conjunction with Maximum RNR and Iron Giant at Cafe DeKcuf, April 20.
• Good2Go will play at Zaphod's with The Tradeoff April 22. Come celebrate Earth Day in the peaceful and loving environment of Haslam's club before we blow it to kingdom come - the Earth that is, not Eugene's digs.
• Also on April 22, there's a night of instrumental music with My Dad Vs. Yours, Pawa (from Montreal) and J'Envoie (who played at the Club SAW Happening) at The Roxy.
  
• The aforementioned Z'howndz are playing at Zaphod's May 4 with The Golden Famile (whose CD release show with Gris Gris you are going to on April 6, right?).
  
• Golden Famile are also playing a musically feline show June 4 at Babylon with label-mates Mono Hum, Weapons of Mass Seduction and Reverend Glasseye.
• Looking far, far ahead The Rheostatics are appearing at Babylon June 15.
• Show reminder: Ukrainia, The Empiricals and Nashi play the Black Sheep Inn tonight. Huzzay! You can also catch the Rolling Tundra review with The Weakerthans and Constantines, plus Kelp Records artists Recoilers and South of '78 at Barrymore's.