Driving you crazy

I've always hoped that The Blue Van would return to Ottawa. Last time they rolled through they put on a really exciting set. I'd heard that their live show was a big step up from their recorded work and so it proved to be. At the time they were appearing for a Danish showcase at Zaphod's along with Kira & The Kindred Spirits and The Figurines, who were riding a wave of critical acclaim at the time thanks to their au courant New York sound (think The Strokes). The Blue Van were not trying to reinvent the wheel - they liked The Small Faces, but didn't try for a slavish recreation of the 1960s sound. Jump forward to June 17 and The Blue Van are still in the game (so are The Figurines, while Kira Skov has moved onto a new project). With NXNE going on in Toronto and an about-to-be-released-in-Canada album (actually two years old) called Man Up, it was time once again to visit Ottawa and jump around.

Guitar action with Soren Christensen and Steffen Westmark.



Jump-prone bassist Allan Villadsen.



The whole lot, including drummer Per Jorgenson.



Soren at the edge.



Fiery action!



Closeup action!



The shouty bit!



Guitar action!



Extra bass action!



Soren gets organized.



Per hits!



Bending action!



Jumping action!



Allan takes a stand.



More Per!



Microphone sharing action!



More jumping!



I am not sure if Soren's technique is recognized by the Organists Association of Denmark.



I'm just waiting for it to end up on someone's foot ...



Blue action!



The end!



For the next few weeks they're going just about everywhere you can in Denmark.

• Show reminder: Scottmandu and The Ringtones hit the Elmdale Tavern. Texa$, The Jettison Commitment and UTKF play Cafe Dekcuf.