Brothers gonna work it out

Do KEN mode ever stop touring?  The Juno-winning experimental metaltallurgists have a new album out, Success, and it seemed the right thing to catch them live after a hard day of voting. They've been on the road with Life In Vacuum and funnyman Garrett Jamieson, and were joined for their House of Targ show by local trio Hamn. Yes, Leigh Newton also plays in Street Meat and World War 4, but I guess he wante to pick up the guitar again.



Percussive action!



Bass action!



Bendy action!



The shouty bit!



More bass!



Rhythm section action!



On to Life in Vaccum, who are ready to start now thank you! Like KEN mode, these guys seem to spend their lives on tour. Here's guitarist Sasha Chornyy.



Rhythm section action with Dylan Bravener and Ross Chornyy!



And so on!



More Ross!



The whole lot!



Singalong action!



More Dylan!


Then it was time for a musical break, with Garrett Jamieson doing a brief bit of standup.



Finally, the crushing sounds of KEN mode steam-rollered the audience. Here's guitarist and singer Jesse!



His brother Shane hits!



Bassist Skot fills out the trio.


More Jesse!



Grimacing action!



Extra Shane!



The whole lot!



The shouty bit!



A great start to the week.

A la mode

KEN Mode have been enjoying a lot of acclaim of late. They won the inaugural heavy metal Juno, and their latest album has been raved about far and wide. So it was a little alarming to see them headlining the Daily Grind, a venue which accommodates three dozen people comfortably. Then again, they're playing a basement in Oakland tonight, so perhaps they like enclosed spaces.

Brotherly action!



Jesse sings!



Shane hits!



Fisheye action with Chad!



The whole lot!



More Jesse!



Rhythm section action!



Shoutalong action!



Guitar action!



The end!



They're on tour right now ... actually, I think they're always on tour.

Daily Grindcore

Last night I went off to a new venue to check out some metal acts. Daily Grind is not a regular shows spot, but it has held a few (that I'm aware of), and is just large enough to hold a quartet of metal bands, their amplification (granted, not all at the same time) and two-dozen or so head-bangers. In addition to the musical entertainment, you also got to see the expressions on the faces of people passing by, which was amusing in itself.

First up, Klovenhoofs. The last photos I took, of Pregnancy Scares, also happen to feature Davey Quesnelle ... he gets around!


Klovenhoofs at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

And here's some fisheye action with Adam, eric and Scott.


Klovenhoofs at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

Next up, Vilipend. I saw them rocking the Mavericks stage back in September 2010 with the Great Sabatini and Black Faxes. They put on an active show; the Daily Grind doesn't have quite the space for jumping about ... you've got about two feet to spare and the ceiling isn't high, either.


Vilipend at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

Singalong action!


Vilipend at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

Biipiigwan have a new EP, Nibaak, some God's Hooks vinyl and are about to set out on a tour that will take them to Southern Ontario and Chicago. Musky is the guy who put the show together.


Biipiigwan at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

They've had a few lineup changes, with Mike moving to bass, Steve from The Great Sabatini on drums and a new guitarist (Matt Fleming, says Musky).


Biipiigwan at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

KEN Mode ripped things up for the finale. I'm not sure what I think about a Juno-award winning band playing live in a coffee shop ... here's some headbanging action with the brothers Matthewson.


KEN Mode at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

And regulation bassist Chad Tremblay, if I'm not mistaken.


KEN Mode at Daily Grind, November 15, 2012

Great sets from everyone, and a nice place to see a show, too.

Horseplay

Back to the extremities of volume with Mares of Thrace. Named after the man-eating horses of Greek myth, the Calgary duo of Thérèse Lanz and drummer Stefani MacKichan have been making loud noise for some time, with Lanze taking a trip through Ottawa with KEN Mode as their bassist in March 2011.

Stefani has a nice new pink drum kit!



Therese has a bunch of misbehaving gear!



Therese sings!



Rhythm section action! Well, I guess the whole band is rhythm section ...



They're a forceful pair.



The shouty bit!



Stefani hits!



And so on!



Guitar action!



Faceoff action!



I haven't heard much, so presumably they're tied to a bronze manger somewhere.

• Show reminder: Holy Cobras and Mannequin (who have a new tape out) play Overkill Bar; the Joe Gaspar Band is at The Rainbow; Joel Kaiser and The Devil’s Own,  The Sick Sick Sicks and Mystery Pill rock the Elmdale House.