Wednesday, September 26, 2018

The Young and the Louder

Last week I popped over to Black Squirrel Books for another edition of Not Normal, curated by Low Noise Productions. The first performer was Young Truck, shown here using one of those ubiquitous red toolboxes as a percussive instrument.

Young Truck at Black Squirrel Books

VJ Cinetek was also on hand to provide some black and white visuals.

Young Truck at Black Squirrel Books

More percussion!

Young Truck at Black Squirrel Books

On to Leon Louder and his "junkyard spaceship" - a cobbled together contraption made from effects and keyboards.

Leon Louder at Black Squirrel Books

Makeshift action!

Leon Louder at Black Squirrel Books

More Louder!

Leon Louder at Black Squirrel Books

Brockville's Clint House wrapped things up.

Clint House at Black Squirrel Books

House action!

Clint House at Black Squirrel Books

Cool stuff all around.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Where the neon cacti grow

On Sept. 15 I headed over to Pressed for a diverse plate of pop and rock music. New York City quartet were passing through town and landed on a bill with Casa Lagarto and Concrete Desire. Concrete Desire is the solo project of Rory Lewis; last time I caught him performing was with Kalle Mattson way back in 2010 (I've bumped into him since doing sound at Bar Robo). Here he is with some gripping action!

Concrete Desire at Pressed

More guitar!

Concrete Desire at Pressed

Rory sings!

Concrete Desire at Pressed

And so on!

Concrete Desire at Pressed

On to Casa Lagarto, serving up their trademark desert noir. Here's Jonny and Travis!

Casa Lagarto at Pressed

Guitar action with Jason!

Casa Lagarto at Pressed

Grant strums, Travis sings!

Casa Lagarto at Pressed

Percussive action with Tyler!

Casa Lagarto at Pressed

More Grant!

Casa Lagarto at Pressed

Keyboard action!

Casa Lagarto at Pressed

New York's' Zula reminds me (and a lot of other folks) of the mid 2000's psych pop crowd that included combos like Animal Collective. It's fronted by a couple of cousins, Nate and Henry. Here's Henry!

Zula at Pressed

Bass action with Jo-Anne!

Zula at Pressed

She also plays keys.

Zula at Pressed

Guitar action with Nate!

Zula at Pressed

More Henry!

Zula at Pressed

And so on!

Zula at Pressed

Alejandro hits!

Zula at Pressed

Singalong action!

Zula at Pressed

More Nate!

Zula at Pressed

Jo-Anne sings!

Zula at Pressed

Pop action!

Zula at Pressed

Extra Arturo!

Zula at Pressed

 A fun night out.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Orange amplification

There was an eastern invasion at Orange Art Gallery last week. Superheavy duo ZAUM, from New Brunswick and Gothenburg, Sweden doom titans Firebreather played crushing sets, while The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol started things off. Blueish tint comes courtesy of accidentally adjusting my camera's settings to incandescent lighting.

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol at Orange Art Gallery

Rhythm section action with John and Nate! The art on the wall is courtesy of Anita Utas.

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol at Orange Art Gallery

Jason adjusts!

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol at Orange Art Gallery

Guitar and trumpet action with Dave and Scott!

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol at Orange Art Gallery

Symbolic action!

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol at Orange Art Gallery

Guitar action with Bill!

The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol at Orange Art Gallery

Firebreather really crushed it - I detected a definite High On Fire and Sleep vibe from Mattias, Axel and Kyle.

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Axel hits!

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Hair-tossing action with Kyle!

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Guitar action with Mattias!

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Riff-worshipping action!

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Firebreathing action!

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Mattias sings! And wears an Iron Giant shirt! Whatever happened to those guys?

Firebreather at Orange Art Gallery

Well, here's one of them: Chris was the vocalist with IG when I caught them destroying Mavericks twice way back in 2005, now he's drumming and singing with ZAUM.

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Here's Kyle, the other half of ZAUM.

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

More Chris!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

The whole lot!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Chris hits!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Bass action!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Guest vocal action with Mattias!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

The band also had dancer Nawal Doucette with them.

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

And so on!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Thundering action!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Extra Nawal and Chris!

ZAUM at Orange Art gallery

Everything sounded great - hopefully the gallery will step up their musical offerings.