Sunday, February 23, 2014

To the finish line

Reading week is coming to a close, so I grabbed my last chance for showgoing yesterday and headed over to Luneta Cafe to catch some Montreal punks and whatever category Muffler Crunch fits under. First on deck were The Shitizens, who may be the first-ever punk band I've seen use a 12-string guitar.I got a bit of a Social Distortion vibe from them.

Toge sings! I'm not sure if he's a naturally gravelly vocalist, or if was due to the condition that made his doctor order him not to sing ...

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

Twelve-string action with Dillon!

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

Max pauses.

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

Extra Toge!

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

Bonus Dillon!

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

The whole lot!

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

Guitar-lifting action!

Shitizens at Luneta Cafe

They were followed by fellow Montrealers The Lovely Haze, who were quite impressive.

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Johnny handles the low end.

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Faceoff action!

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Jon counts in.

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Epi action with Paul!

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Extra Emily!

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Singalong action!

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

The whole lot!

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

The end!

Lovely Haze at Luneta Cafe

Muffler Crunch finished the night ... or perhaps the night finished them, they had to bring things to a quicker-than-usual conclusion as the clock ticked past 11 p.m. Here's Luc!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

Angie sings!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

Luc gets down!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

The whole lot!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

Luc works the crowd!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

Prior to the show I was wondering what Luc would find to stand on ... well, he always does.

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

In a pinch, there's always the bass drum!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

Low-density fibreboard action!

Muffler Crunch at Luneta Cafe

They played one last song. "Damn, I don't know how to finish, that's our middle song!" said Angie at the end.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Back to base

My reading week showgoing continued Friday with a quick jaunt over to Yips House for some power-pop. Unfortunately I procrastinated before wading out to 614 Gladstone (thank goodness for galoshes) and missed the first bit of Mother's Children's opening set. Here's the view from the back of the basement.

Mother's Children at Yips House

Then I snuck around to the stairs for a better view.

Mother's Children at Yips House

Back-to-back action

Mother's Children at Yips House

Ken sings!

Mother's Children at Yips House

Tim hits!

Mother's Children at Yips House

Michael sings!

Mother's Children at Yips House

On to first base, making a quick return visit after their gig at the House of Targ at the end of December. They're actually in town to do a bit more recording with Yogi for some upcoming singles and had a few new songs for the crowd. Here's Joel!

First Base at Yips House

And here's Connor and Fraser.

First Base at Yips House

Singalong action!

First Base at Yips House

Fraser sings!

First Base at Yips House

The whole lot!

First Base at Yips House

Percussive action!

First Base at Yips House

Guest vocal action with Davey!

First Base at Yips House

There was also a requested-by-Davey cover of Mamma Mia and The Undertones' My Perfect Cousin.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Birthday boys

If you've been to many of the shows that I've been to, you'll have noticed yet another omnipresent photographer (somewhat more omnipresent than I am these days), Ming Wu. As you can see from his PhotogMusic blog, he gets around. Since he turned 34 on Thursday (along with his twin brother Lenny, also a blogger and snapper), some pals decided to throw him a birthday party at Babylon along with a couple of his favourite bands, Big Dick and Flying Horses to provide some of the soundtrack.

First, the Ming Zone!

The Ming Zone

Jade winds things up.

Flying Horses at Babylon

And takes a spin on piano.

Flying Horses at Babylon

Raphael (also of Musk Ox) and Karolyne pitch in some strings.

Flying Horses at Babylon

Extra Raphael!

Flying Horses at Babylon

Bonus Karolyne!

Flying Horses at Babylon

Eye contact action!

Flying Horses at Babylon

Sparkler-waving action!

Flying Horses at Babylon

Then it was Big Dick's turn - who you gonna call!

Big Dick at Babylon

Johnny sings!

Big Dick at Babylon

Pat sings!

Big Dick at Babylon

The whole lot!

Big Dick at Babylon

Closeup action!

Big Dick at Babylon

Extra Johnny!

Big Dick at Babylon

Ming gets surfed.

Big Dick at Babylon

The end!

Big Dick at Babylon

And happy birthday Ming and Lenny.

Wus at Babylon

A swell celebration.