Sunday, October 31, 2010

In the beginning

Next up at Babylon was Year Zero, celebrating the release of their new CD Year Zero (if only because guitarist Brad McOuat remembered to bring their merch tub this time around). They sounded a bit crunchier than usual.

Dave sings!

Year Zero at Babylon

Tim between words.

Year Zero at Babylon

More Tim!

Year Zero at Babylon

Mike prepares to hi!

Year Zero at Babylon

Dave gets the fisheye treatment.

Year Zero at Babylon

Brad rocks the Nuclear Assault look.

Year Zero at Babylon

Yet more Tim!

Year Zero at Babylon

The whole lot!

Year Zero at Babylon

A vinyl version of Year One is supposed to be on the way.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Up against the wall

I took off from Bluesfest, leaving a legion of Keith Urban's cowboy-hat wearing fans in my wake, and made my way to Babylon. The show that night was being headlined by Tiltwheel, but the band on stage when I got in was Barrier, a Montreal-Ottawa combo whose membership had becoming so divided by geography that they were calling it a day. This was in fact their second last show. I hadn't seen them before or (for obvious reasons) since. On their Myspace they go by the pseudonymous handles Doktor Avalanche, Shakira Bernardo, Brad Attitude and Kriegshammer, so I'll skip the identifying and go straight to the photographying.

Guitar action!

Barrier at Babylon

Pagan pummelling action!

Barrier at Babylon

Bass action! And more guitar!

Barrier at Babylon

Well, those photos were rather dull ... let's just slow the shutter down a tad.

Barrier at Babylon

The shouty bit! Or rather, a shouty bit.

Barrier at Babylon

The whole lot!

Barrier at Babylon

More singing!

Barrier at Babylon

More pummelling!

Barrier at Babylon

More guitar!

Barrier at Babylon

The view from the other side of the stage.

Barrier at Babylon

More fooling about with the shutter speed!

Barrier at Babylon

And so on!

Barrier at Babylon

That was crusty.
  • Show reminder: Dan Mangan and The Harbourcoats get themselves to the First Baptist Church; the less ecclesiastically minded Kloven Hooves, Mountanaka, Loviatar perform at 439 McLeod; Good2Go and Evil Farm Children get all Halloweeny at The Elmdale Tavern; Ladymilk, Niles Thrompton, Matt Prov and Petrol For My Lorry play the Avant-Garde; The Ataris and We Outspoken are at Ritual; HellBros, Dance Laury Dance and Babble Goons rock Zaphod Beeblebrox; Brock Zeman performs at Irene's.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Hold on to the end

Okay, quick Hold Steayd post since @#$! blogger just ate the last 45 minutes of work (what happened to autosave, ferchrissakes?!?) so we'll just jump right in with a pic of frontman Craig Finn and hired gun Steve Selvidge.

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Of course it's not a Hold Steady show without plenty of gesticulating from Finn.

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Bending action, plus bassist Galen Polivka.

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

The crowd of indie rock boys goes wild!

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Galen makes the blah-blah-blah hand signal ... can't think why.

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Over on the right, somewhat obscured by the gear for the Genesis tribute that followed them, is Tad Kubler.

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Guitar action!

The Hold Steady at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Then it was off to Babylon to see Tiltwheel etc. Sorry, no show reminder because I'm damned if I'll do the whole thing twice, and no pics of drummer Bobby Drake or whoever it was doing keyboards for them because of gear obstructing my view.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

From the city to the sky

Wednesday was my only day off this week so I headed off to Mavericks to see Yukon Blonde, a band I was under the impression was hairy and loud on a bill with The Wooden Sky and The Amalgamation. When I got there the place was pretty full -  I'd be very surprised to hear the show wasn't a sellout or close to it. When I walked in the door The Amalgamation was just starting things up.

I've seen them before, opening for Old Crowns and The Property Line, where their slightly jazzy sound made them a bit of the odd men out. They've expanded since then, adding a saxophonist and another guitarist. They've just finished mastering their new album.

The Amalgamation at Mavericks
The Amalgamation at Mavericks, October 27, 2010

Yukon Blonde are indeed hairy, but not quite as heavy as I'd imagined. They made me think of Badfinger, but that may just be because I've been listening to a lot of that band lately. They do have a lot of harmony vocals and a radio-friendly rock sound though. They had a couple of the Wooden Sky folks up on stage to sing along, a favour returned later in the evening.

Yukon Blonde at Mavericks
Yukon Blonde at Mavericks, October 27, 2010

The Wooden Sky finished things off with a slightly more rustic sound. They can get raucous when they need to though, and definitely have an appreciation for feedback. They covered Tom Petty's and The Heartbreakers' American Girl during their set.

The Wooden Sky at Mavericks
The Wooden Sky at Mavericks, October 27, 2010

After they wrapped things up on stage, they headed out doors for a few more songs, including Bob Dylan's You're Time's Going To Come.

The Wooden Sky at Mavericks
The Wooden Sky outside Mavericks, October 27, 2010

Yukon Blonde and The Wooden Sky are touring a bit more together, then the former head to the States and the latter are off to Europe.
  • Show reminder: Wintersleep and The Besnard Lakes perform at Capital Music Hall; Trees, Audio Cassette and Filet Sterling play Zaphod Beeblebrox; Ron Leary and John Carroll are at Raw Sugar; The Jon McLurg Band rolls into the Avant-Garde Bar. The Elmdale House hosts Peter and The Wolves.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Out of your hair

My Saturday Bluesfest viewing was a bit hit-and-miss, but managed to redeem itself at the end, starting with a set from Athens, Georgia's The Whigs. The trio are a band born a decade too late ... or perhaps they're right on time, since they've absorbed the lessons of the grunge era they plainly revere, stripped away the fat and added some soul and country to create a pretty sweet sound.

Here we are with frontman Parker Gispert and hair-waving drummer Julian Doro.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

It probably helped that i had a good spot up front.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Bass-hefting action from Tim Deaux.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Running about!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Tim sings!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

More running about!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

More kicking!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Tim certainly has strange taste in glasses.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

The whole lot!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Parker sure wears his guitar high!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

There may be stick-tossing going on.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Tim gets in some six-string action.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Parker works the keys.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Julian shakes the hair, Parker goes down.

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

And one last out-of-focus jump shot!

The Whigs at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

A swell act that inspired me to pick up their latest, In The Dark.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Miss and hit

Not every band can tickle my fancy - amazing but true. J.D. & The Details were unfortunately one such band. They're all fine musicians, but the early 1980s radio rock they essay does absolutely zero for me.

Here we have Geoff Johnson (also known for hosting an open stage at Irene's), J.D. and bassist Max Henderson. Drummer Gord Troup is back there somewhere.

J.D. & The Details at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

J.D. sings!

J.D. & The Details at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

At least they're active on stage.

J.D. & The Details at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Anyway, after a very brief exposure to that I toodled off to the Subway stage for something marginally more up my ally, the British blues rock stylings of Matt Schofield.

The man himself!

Matt Schofield at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

His regular organist is noted Hammond fancier Jonny Henderson. Wether or not this is him I can't say.

Matt Schofield at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

Guitar action!

Matt Schofield at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

And so on!

Matt Schofield at Ottawa Bluesfest 2010

A prety good set.
  • Show reminder: Don Campbell, Jillian Brady and Normann perform at The Rainbow; Partizen and Life In 2D are at the Elmdale House.