Saturday, October 20, 2018

Darkness and light

I headed off for another edition of House of Targ's Switched On Synths a week ago, and it was a great combination of analog beepery, gothic sounds, classic synth pop and dance rock, starting with a set from Infinity's Astrum. Here's Nick and his modular setup!

Infinity's Astrum at House of Targ

So ... many ... wires.

Infinity's Astrum at House of Targ

Modular action!

Infinity's Astrum at House of Targ

On to The Marquis; he's performed at Targ before, both solo and as one half of Automelodi. He was quite a bit more goth this time around.

The Marquis at House of Targ

Guitar election!

The Marquis at House of Targ

Vocal action!

The Marquis at House of Targ

Gripping action!

The Marquis at House of Targ

On to the moody synthpop of Glass Apple Bonzai - they've also come through Targ a couple of times. Here's Daniel!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

Keyboard action with Steve!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

A shouty bit!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

More Steve!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

Singalong action!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

Steve sings!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

Roof-raising action!

Glass Apple Bonzai at House of Targ

Toronto's Kontravoid ended the night; mainman Cameron was a founder of Parallels during their early days (well before I caught Holly and Co. at Targ), now hes heavy on a minimalist dancefloor kick. His setup includes some powerful floor lights, so a lot of my picture taking involved shooting a whole lot and hoping he was standing in the right place when the lights flashed on. Here's Cameron!

Kontravoid at House of Targ

Cameron jumps about!

Kontravoid at House of Targ

Synthetic action!

Kontravoid at House of Targ

Gripping action!

Kontravoid at House of Targ

And so on!

Kontravoid at House of Targ

A very lively night out!

Monday, October 15, 2018

By the water

I went to Targ last week for a quadruple helping of rock and or roll. Inbstrumental heavyweights Monobrow were headlining their first show in a while, Hatchet Lake travelled from Nova Scotia, Montreal crunchers Tunguska Mammoth dropped in from Montreal, with Buttercotch Palace almost but not quite kicking things off. As it happened the band had a brush with the plague, so the half that weren't stricken (Ian and Todd) showed up with the rest of their other band, Boom Creek, to starts things off. Here's Neil with some microphone-eating action, and Adam!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Rhythm section action with Todd!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Guitar action with Ian!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Adam hits!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

More Todd!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Singing and drinking action!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Singalong action!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Feedback action!

Boom Creek at House of Targ

Tunguska Mammoth stomp out of Quebec with some heavy stoner sludge. From right to left, it's Mathieu, Maxime, Paolo and Pierre-Hugues.

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

Maxime sings!

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

And so on!

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

More guitar with Mathieu!

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

Paolo sings!

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

Pierre-Hugues hits!

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

Even more guitar!

Tunguska Mammoth at House of Targ

Hatchet Lake had a more grungy sound - they immediately had me thinking of Slow, Tad and other Northwestern fuzzers; here's singer Craig!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

Guitar action with Andy!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

Bass action with Stephen!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

Watery action with Craig and drummer Adam!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

More Craig!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

Extra Adam!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

And so on!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

More guitar!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

The whole lot!

Hatchet Lake at House of Targ

Monobrow have emerged from a bit of studio time (they have a new track up at their Bandcamp) and will be playing another show at Targ on Nov. 9 with Mountain Dust and Sierra. Here''s Paul laying down some riffage!

Monobrow at House of Targ

Percussive action with Brian!

Monobrow at House of Targ

Bass action with Sam!

Monobrow at House of Targ

And so on!

Monobrow at House of Targ

The whole lot!

Monobrow at House of Targ

More Brian!

Monobrow at House of Targ

Always a great set!

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

One Furr all

Country rock enthusiasts Blitzen Trapper are on tour right now, celebrating the 10th anniversayr of their landmark album Furr. I was keen to see them play again -even though another fave, Castle, was performing the same night at Targ - since my last sighing, back in 2012 during Bluesfest. It was fun to see them in a club setting, as an added bonus their was a fine opening set from Oregon trio Candace. Here's guitarist and vocalist Sarah!

Candace at The 27 Club

Rhythm section action with Sarah and Mara!

Candace at The 27 Club

Singalong action!

Candace at The 27 Club

More Mara!

Candace at The 27 Club

Closeup action!

Candace at The 27 Club

More guitar!

Candace at The 27 Club

Blitzen Trapper pulled a pretty big crowd; here's guitarist and keyboardist Erik!

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

Eric sings!

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

It was pretty busy at the front of the stage, so this is probably the best picture you'll get of drummer Brian.

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

Guitar action! That's bassist Michael at right.

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

More guitar with Erik!

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

More Eric!

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

And finally some harmonica action, with keyboardist Marty at right.

Blitzen Trapper at The 27 Club

A very pleasant evening.