Thursday, December 12, 2019

The smoking gun

Back on October 25, I zipped over to the Dominion Tavern for some punk rock action. Ottawa Motorhead fans Ciggie & The Darts were headlining, with support from Montreal proto-thrash combo Luger and local trio Slim & Popular kicking things off. Here's some rhythm section action with Dave and Larry!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Guitar action with Brendan!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Dave hits!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Extra Larry!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Brendan sings!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Larry sings!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

More Brendan!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Extra Dave!

Slim and Popular at the Dominion Tavern

Luger played a killer set - I'd say their sound is pitched right around the birth of Motorhead, a filthy melange of proto-metal and thrash. Here's bass man Frank!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

Guitar action with Jim!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

More Frank!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

More guitar with Max!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

More guitar!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

Blurry action!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

Hugo hits!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

Max frets!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

Singalong action!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

And so on!

Luger at the Dominion Tavern

Ciggie & The Darts finished off the night with some Motorhead-inspired tuneage. Here's Aaron (of Omerta and others) on bass!

Ciggie & The Darts at the Dominion Tavern

Vocal action with Dumb & Homely chap T.J. (also of Slumlord).

Ciggie & The Darts at the Dominion Tavern

Percussive action with Scott (of Asile and others).

Ciggie & The Darts at the Dominion Tavern

Extra Aaron!

Ciggie & The Darts at the Dominion Tavern

More T.J.!

Ciggie & The Darts at the Dominion Tavern

And, er, that's it!

Saturday, December 07, 2019

Wanted dead or alive

Back in October I hopped over to the House of Targ to catch Toronto fuzz-rockers Possum. They were joined on stage by the always excellent Deux Trois and youn rockers The Frequencies, who were up first with a very solid set. Here's singer Jaden, with bassist Kris.

The Frequencies at House of Targ

Ted hits!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

Guitar action with Brad!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

More Kris!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

Frequent action!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

More Ted!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

More guitar with Jaden!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

And so on!

The Frequencies at House of Targ

Deux Trois are no strangers to the blog at this point, and as usual they played a super set. Here's Ben!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

Nadia sings and hits!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

Bass action with Kiel!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

Nadia hits!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

More Kiel!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

Extra Nadia!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

Ben sings!

Deux Trois at House of Targ

I hadn't heard much of Possum before catching their set, but they really knocked it out of the park, and I snapped up a copy of their new album, Space Grade Assembly, afterwards. Here's Patrick on bass!

Possum at House of Targ

Guitar action with Tobin!

Possum at House of Targ

Brad hits!

Possum at House of Targ

Patrick sings!

Possum at House of Targ

Guitar action with Brandon!

Possum at House of Targ

Extra Possum!

Possum at House of Targ

Psychedelic action!

Possum at House of Targ

And so on!

Possum at House of Targ

Playing dead action!

Possum at House of Targ

Brandon sings!

Possum at House of Targ

Singalong action!

Possum at House of Targ

Great stuff from all the bands.

Wednesday, December 04, 2019

Deep thoughts

Back in the middle of October I headed over to the House of Targ for some metal action, headlined by crushing Austin trio The Well. It was a dreaded five-act bill, fortunately shortened to the less-dreaded four-act bill when one of the bands had to back out. In addition to Texans, you had a trio of Ottawa bands, starting off with sludge outfit Opium Winter. Here's frontman Josh and guitarist H. Figurine!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Bass action with Nicholas, who I last saw a decade ago performing with The Unavowed!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

More Nicholas, and fellow Unavowed vet Chris on drums!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Chris hits!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Guitar action!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Gripping action!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

More Chris!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Extra Nick!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Singalong action!

Opium Winter at House of Targ

Next up Black Galaxy; I've seen them a few times in the last year, so without any more preamble, here's Jimmy!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

Guitar action with Dave!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

Bass action with Mark!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

More Dave and Jimmy!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

Extra Mark!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

Josh hits!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

Dave sings!

Black Galaxy at House of Targ

The Aphelion are one of the sharpest outfits in the city, and as usual the put on a great performance. Here's Evan, also handling bass duties this time around.

The Aphelion at House of Targ

Percussive action with Nathanael!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

Keyboard action with James!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

Extra Evan!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

More guitar with Tyler!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

Peak action!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

Singalong action!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

More James!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

Bonus Nathanael!

The Aphelion at House of Targ

The Well really crushed it, here's some drinking action with Lisa and Ian!

The Well at House of Targ

Bass action with Lisa!

The Well at House of Targ

Guitar action with Ian!

The Well at House of Targ

Lisa sings!

The Well at House of Targ

Ian sings!

The Well at House of Targ

Singalong action!

The Well at House of Targ

Jason hits!

The Well at House of Targ

More Lisa!

The Well at House of Targ

Extra Ian!

The Well at House of Targ

Texan action!

The Well at House of Targ

Bonus Jason!

The Well at House of Targ

Even more Ian!

The Well at House of Targ

Even more Lisa!

The Well at House of Targ

Good stuff all around.