All talk

I was first exposed to Land of Talk in March 2007 when they shared a bill with Field Music and Menomena at Zaphod Beeblebrox and came out looking quite good - not something easy to do with two such stellar combos on either side. Their sinewy sound once again made a good impression, and they gave an energetic performance.

Queen of the Land Elizabeth Powell gets into (alternate) tune.



The band has undergone many a lineup change, resulting in Andrew Barr of The Slip playing drums on their latest album. This, I believe, is he.



Elizabeth rocks out.



The whole lot!



Also playing musical chairs (and rocking out) is Joe Yarmush on bass, who joined in late 2008. previously he played in Kill The Lights (and may still for all I know).



Elizabeth sings!



More Joe ... or at least I think it's Joe ... honestly, I've lost track of all the people who have left and joined Land of Talk.



Faceoff action!



More Andy!



I guess the sun got low enough (or the clouds got thick enough) for Powell to ditch the shades.



Running about!



They're heading off to California in October, then up the West Coast.

• Show reminder: Lullabye Arkestra and Army Of St. Joan play Cafe Dekcuf; The Love Machine, We Were Lovers and The Property Line play Mavericks. Andrew Vincent and Sports play the Raw Sugar Cafe.
  

Jams and jamz

Not every band you see at Bluesfest is going to knock you dead, or even off your feet ... The New Mastersounds are one of those bands I think I might enjoy bopping around to in a club. They're a Leeds, England-based soul funk combo who really demand a dancefloor. The slight slope in front of the Hard Rock Stage is not well-suited, particularly when wet and cluttered with lawn chairs, unless the name of your act is "Girl Talk". There is one thing unusual about the new Mastersounds ... they are in fact a continuation of an older Mastersounds, featuring guitarist Eddie Roberts and drummer Simon Allen.

Joe Tatton eyes his organ.



After the quite active Balconies and intense ejaculations of Sunparlour Players thay also seemed a bit sedate. That's bassist Pete Shand standing just behind Roberts.



Simon Allen, prototypical scruffy British drummer.



Jazzy action!



What passes for faceoff action!



A bit more of Shand and Roberts.



Allen holds a pose.



The whole lot and several annoying microphone stands.



They only held my attention for a handful of songs. I went off to the Subway Stage to check out the bluesy sounds emanating there from. The Homemade Jamz Blues Band were performing, and doing a decent job of it (not even taking their age into account). With those instruments they should probably come from Detroit, not Tupelo.

Ryan gets a full dose of sun.



Kyle keeps to the shadows.



Then there's Taya, who's not even a teenager yet.



And, er , that's it (unless you want to bother with the Flickr stuff) since I went off to see Land of Talk. I will note that as I headed back over to the Black Sheep Stage that the New Mastersounds sounded like they were cooking much hotter than when I left.

• Show reminder: The Polymorphines and Vincat rock at Zaphod's. New Car Smell and Medium Fi play the Elmdale House. Lucid 44, Ship Shapes and The Kettle Black are at the Avant-Garde.
  

Royal outing

A passel of Guelph musicians came through town last night. I mostly wanted to see Sarah Mangle since I was intrigued by the news that she played SappyFest but figured on past experience that Guelph would produce its usual high calibre of entertainment.

Party Time opened the show. She is in fact a party of one and is based in Toronto, real name Emma Moss Brender. She plays sad songs on guitar and covered Sarah Siskind's Lovin's For Fools. Matt Reeves, who was performing as part of the Oil Spills, accompanying Richard Laviolette, also joined her on stage. This brought on an amusing story about the time she played a song about hoping to return to an ex-lover's arms only to find out that the lady in question was in fact Reeves' current flame (or something like that).


Party Time, The Rainbow, September 27

Mangle is also known as Sarah Mangle Buys a Bear in band mode. On this occasion she was accompanied by Gregory Burton on euphonium and keys and headliner Richard Laviolette on drums. The combination of brass, banjo-ukulele and drums made me think of Elephant 6 combo The Music Tapes.


Sarah Mangle Buys a Bear, The Rainbow, September 27

Richard Laviolette finished things off with a folky set, including a cover Bob Wills' Stay All Night (which always makes me think of The Sadies, since I've heard them cover it so often). In addition to Reeves, he had Jenny Mitchell playing bass. You may recall her playing with The Barmitzvah Brothers, or as Jenny omnichord. She and Richard sang a duet of the song they did together for her children's album, dedicated to her son Otis, who was off being babysat by the grandfolks.


Richard Laviolette and The Oil Spills, The Rainbow, September 27

A nicely rounded evening of entertainment, but in the end I just got Party Time's album since I'm saving up for a sync cord.

• Show reminder: A Wilhelm Scream, The Artist Life, The Riot Before and Dancing On Fire make some noise at Mavericks; Ablyss, Throes, Backyard Witchcraft and The Girlfriends play Zaphod's.
  

Vinyl solution

Last time I went to the record show held at St. Anthony's Hall, everything I bought was from people I already know. There was a whole lot of crate-digging required to get even a few items, unless you had a great interest in KISS collectables. Thus, local vinyl addicts Dave Aardvark and John Westhaver of Birdman sound and community radio decided to take things into their own hands and organize a community record show - and it's fair to say the first annual iteration was a big success. The Sandy Hill Community Centre was packed when I got there, and things didn't really lighten up until past 5 p.m.

Mark Nolan spins some tunes.



John Westhaver prepares to talk to the press (i.e., Aedan Helmer of the Ottawa Sun, at right).



For all your Yardbirds needs ... though in fact I bought a Heads record.



Patrick and Bill and the hard sell.



It was pretty full (I also shot some really bad video).



There was even eight-tracks!



Ming Wu shows off his finds. He also took my photo, looking much dorkier.



Okay, this whole thing was just an excuse for Dave to finally get that Lucien Francouer album.



I also got albums by The Roches and one from the Grease Band for $6 that I saw someone else hawking for $40.

• Show reminder: Sarah Mangle, Richard Laviolette and Party Time play The Rainbow; Blind Witness, A Textbook Tragedy, We Came As Romans, Sleep Is For The Dead and Louis Is Anna rock Mavericks.

Parlour games

After The Sedatives had done their thing I headed back over the hill to the Black Sheep Stage to check out Sunparlour Players. They've played several times in Ottawa to a fair amount of acclaim, and I can see why. Their live show is quite energetic, but for some reason I wasn't won over. I think I need to see them in a cozier venue.

A good crowd had gathered for their set.



Shouty action from Andrew Penner!



Michael 'Rosie' Rosenthal makes his best glockenspiel face.



Actually, all his faces are pretty good.



Dennis Van Dine was pretty sedate by comparison, but that's not saying much.



Singalong, and drumalong, action!



Banjo action!



Emotional banjo action!



Rocking action!



Dennis sings!



Dennis hits!



Big sliding finish!



They'll be back at the Black Sheep Inn itself November 14 as part of a cross-Canada tour.

• Show reminder: Long Way From Here, Epyllion, Far From Venus and Look Toward the Sun play Cafe DeKcuf; Brainhunter and Boom Creek rock the Carleton Tavern for free. Ninety Pounds of Ugly, The Kingmakers, The Sin Sisters and Rough Sea round out the O-Town Hoedown. The Montelongos perform at the Avant Garde. Also of note, what is hopefully the first of many Ottawa Community Record Shows takes place at Sandy Hill Community Centre.
  

Make the cut

And the secret band was ... Off With Their Heads! The Minneapolis quartet was in town thanks to their tour with Bouncing Souls and Youth Brigade and decided to round out their evening with a second set at the Rock'N'Roll Pizza Party. Year Zero also played, but I missed them due to work demands, curse it. OWTH play a gravelly oicore with a bit of a pop-punk injection lurking under the gruff surface.


Off With Their Heads, Atomic Rooster, September 24

The crowd was really into the show, and essentially packed the place. There wasn't a huge crowd outside like during the Gaga Weekend kickoff, but a few folks did have to cool their heels outside the sweatbox that was The Atomic Rooster.

• Show reminder: There's vast punkitude at Bellhouse (at 62 Bell St.) with Hated, Thrashards, Obscene Bastards, Boozounds, Whiskey Shits, Second Generation Bastards and Destroyer Scene (also barbecue); Harvey Cartel, The Ornaments and FutureSnake play Zaphod Beeblebrox; Little Girls, Giant Hand and Centretown Cripplers are at Cafe Dekcuf while downstairs at Mavericks you can catch Golden Dogs and Acres. Blue Venus and My Tiny Circus perform at Irene's. Due to a brain malfunction I said The Polytones, The John Punch Band and The Village Bicycles played the Elmdale House Tavern last night. No! In fact it is tonight.

Sleep on it

International garage rock superstars The Sedatives were up next on the Hard Rock Stage. There were lots of familiar faces in the crowd - the same people who turned out for the Gaga Weekend, organized by Sedatives organist Ian Manhire. Speaking of organs, he had the real deal, a Hammond with Leslie rotary speaker, to play this time.



Ian sings!



Steve sings!



It's all about the T-shirts.



Dave percusses.



Emmanuel bends.



Singalong action!





Shouty action!



The whole lot, and crowd action!



Ian knocks knees.



Big finish!



The band is resting up after a trip to Europe, but with a new 7-inch expected soon, I figure a release party looms. And of course the band members have other stuff on their plate ... for example Dave will be performing with Year Zero and some secret band rock at the Atomic Rooster as part of the Rock'N'Roll Pizza Party.

• Show reminder: Bouncing Souls, Youth Brigade, St. Alvia, Off With Their Heads hop over to the Capital Music Hall. Blazer, Silver Starling and Organ Eyes pop into Zaphod Beeblebrox; Sara Ciantar drops into the Umi Cafe. Huntley Slim and The Suburban Cowboys, Slo' Tom and Dave Norris and Local Ivan clop into the Clocktower Pub. Ron O'Leary stops at Raw Sugar.