Thursday, February 28, 2013

Days of glory

Things were a little less crazy during The Glorious Moonrockets' set, and more clothes were worn.

Rhythm section action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Chris sings!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Percussive action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Lunar action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

It's all very amusing!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Singalong action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Chris frets!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Faceoff action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Guitar-lifting action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Feedback action!

The Glorious Moonrockets at Atomic Rooster

Their next gig is tomorrow at the Wellington Eatery as part of the Wellington End Music and Food Festival.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Rude boys

Last time I saw New Swears, they were following Average Times, and here they repeating themselves, this time at The Atomic Rooster. These assorted denizens of the Fun Boy crowd are well known for their antics at many rock shows (I've long lost track of pictures of Sammy crowd-surfing ...) and follow in the distinguished pedigree of The Girlfriends for causing the maximum amount of trouble with the maximum amount of rock.

Assorted shady characters.

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Sammy rocks the tinsel.

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Scru Bar sings!

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Wolfgang hits!

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Nick and Wolfgang have the same tailor.

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

I forget if there was smoke, or I just turned the f-stop up too high ...

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Behind-the-back action!

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Sammy takes a ride!

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

Extra Scru Bar!

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

The view from outside!

New Swears at Atomic Rooster

The band has been on hiatus because Scru Bar slashed his hand open, but will return in triumph to Pressed March 7 with a new tape.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Keeping time

I pass by Bank St. restaurant The Atomic Rooster quite often, and I'm glad to see that even after the much-lamented passing of the Rock'N'Roll Pizza Party they still host plenty of bands. Mind you, these shows are often catering to the blues and jazz crowd, so it's refreshing to see some genuine rock back in the house, in the form of Average Times, New Swears and The Glorious Moonrockets. This August gig started off with a hot set from Average Times, last seen rocking the Ottawa Explosion a couple of months previous.

Todd rocks the Tele.

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

Stef hits!

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

Curtis sings!

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

Men and their microphones.

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

More Stef!

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

Curtis frets.

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

Tim handles the low end.

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

The whole lot!

Average Times at Atomic Rooster

They just played a show at the Fun Boy Cliubhouse. (Update: And they have one coming up at Mugshots with The Yips and Teenanger on March 22.)

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Senses working overtime

Back to Babylon, mid-August, for Nu Sensae's headling set. Last time I saw them, on their tour with White Lung, they played on the floor. They're moving up in the world - this time they were on the stage itself. More important, they also have a guitarist now. As usually, their set ripped.

Daniel hits!

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Brody frets.

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Rhythm section action!

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Sensible action1

Nu Sensae at Babylon

More Daniel!

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Extra Andrea!

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Daniel takes a spin on bass while Andrea hits the kit.

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Percussive action!

Nu Sensae at Babylon

Violet action!

Nu Sensae at Babylon

There was moshing mania by the end. They've got a heap of touring planned for Mach and April, but nothing out this way (yet).

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Gypsies, liars and spies

If it's the last Friday of the month - and it was, last night - a good place to be is the House of Targ, where you can both check out great bands and play pinball or old-style arcade games. There was an eclectic lineup last night. Local surf spies the Reverb Syndicate headlined, along with Montreal gypsy punks Bad Uncle and new instumental heavies Pseudo Vista.

This was Pseudo Vista's first show in front of a live audience, though you may recognize Boom Creek's Ian Vance under the wool hat. Sean Finkler and Trevor Costello handle the guitars. They've got a heavy, kind of groovy sound with a bit of a post-rock flavour to it.

Pseudo Vista at the House of Targ
Pseudo Vista at the House of Targ, February 22, 2013

Jay McConnery (of Nero and Elbeejay) handles the drums.

Pseudo Vista at the House of Targ
Pseudo Vista at the House of Targ, February 22, 2013

On to Bad Uncle, whio take chunks of balkan, baroque, circus stomp, punk and who knows what else into their crazy musical melange. I could well imagine them on a bill with Ukrainia and Ol' Savannah. And here they are! Santosh Lalonde plays accordion and sings, Ram Krishnan on drums, Hugo Joyal on guitar, Jean-Phillipe Demers Lelotte on standup bass and Eli Richards on trombone.

Bad Uncle at the House of Targ
Bad Uncle at the House of Targ, February 22, 2013

Santosh's accordion didn't make the trip, so he used a replacement - one missing both straps.

Bad Uncle at the House of Targ
Bad Uncle at the House of Targ, February 22, 2013

Reverb Syndicate finished things off with a brief set - they'll be playing a longer one at Zaphod's on March 14 with The Calrizians. Last time I saw them play, way back in August 2008, they were a four-piece, and about to embark on a tour of Britain. For this show they were down to three. Mike Sheridan of Golden Famile, et al. is their drummer nowadays.

Reverb Syndicate at the House of Targ
Reverb Syndicate at the House of Targ, February 22, 2013

Mike hits!

Reverb Syndicate at the House of Targ
Reverb Syndicate at the House of Targ, February 22, 2013

A fine time all around.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Above the rest

"Is today Thursday? It feels like a Monday ... and then you get someone pregnant and everything changes," said Jose Miguel Contreras at last night's By Divine Right gig. Although the Toronto indie rock outfit has been around for ages (and employed a who's who of Toronto rock scenesters in the process, up to and including Brendan Canning and Leslie Feist), this was my first chance to see them play.

The Superlative opened thins up, and it was kind of a first-timer for me as well. Not because I've never seen them before - they also opened a show with Monic and Black Dog at Mavericks in March 2011 - but this time vocalist Charles Lapointe was on hand, so it wasn't "instrumental only."

The Superlative at Zaphod's
The Superlative at Zaphod's, February 21, 2013

These guys like their Godins.

The Superlative at Zaphod's
The Superlative at Zaphod's, February 21, 2013

On to By Divine Right, who played a loose-limbed show full of witty (and occasionally nonsensical) banter, as well as loads of feedback. At the moment Conreras is backed by Alysha Haugen (of Sheezer fame) and former A Mark Inside drummer Geordie Hynes.

By Divine Right at Zaphod's 
By Divine Right at Zaphod's, February 21, 2013

Last time I saw her, Alysha was sporting a green wig and a Sailor Moon outfit.

By Divine Right at Zaphod's
By Divine Right at Zaphod's, February 21, 2013

Both bands have records on the way: The Superlative plan to reveal Chester in March, while BDR's Organized Accidents should be out in May.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Leaving here

The Holy Cobras have been livening up the local rock scene for some time with their Germs-loving psychedelic pummel and throb. Unfortunately that came to an end with this show - sort of. Most of the band has split for Montreal. Of course that's just a short drive (by Canadian standards) away, so they've been back a couple of times to roll around on the floor and suchlike.

Rhythm section action!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Danny gets a grip!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Krystal hits!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

The shouty bit, plus a bit of Rod!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Danny works the floor!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Meanwhile, back on stage ...

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Jesse was the Ottawa holdout.

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Extra Krystal!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Guitar action!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

Holy action!

Holy Cobras at Babylon

No doubt they'll pass through town again before long ...