Clock strikes 12

Black Dogs were followed by Right By Midnight, a definitely rocking combo with a jones for 1990s Britrock, fronted by Kris Ward.

Chris Terkuc, ex- Wise, Young & King handles, the low end.



Kris sings! At left is long-serving guitarist Charles Downey, while James Brint handles the drums.



James hits!



More Kris!



Charles frets!



Faceoff action!



Rhythm section action!



The whole lot!



Even more faceoff action!



Gripping action!



Guitar action!



Bonus Brint!



I've got to break out the fisheye at least once ...



The end!



They've putting in a lot of road time so as of mid-August they're settling down to do some writing.

• Show reminder: Colin Stetson and Emily Wells perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox; Robots Everywhere!!!, Rat Tales, The Uncles, Wooka Tribe, The Mudplots, Bruce Boris, Arman's Frozen Peas and Stale Cum rock the The Rat's Nest at 279 Flora St. starting at 3-ish. Martha and Friends perform at Raw Sugar (this features a few Winchester Warm folks, Rolf Klausener and others); Laugh at the Fakes and Maria Hawkins play The Rainbow; Al Wood and The Woodsmen lumber into Irene's; The Elmdale hosts The Locusts Have No King, Last to Leave and Morgan Cameron Ross. StillNative and Metronome Jones play the Avant-Garde Bar.

After the storm

My showgoing opportunities are pretty sparse in this pre-Bluesfest week, but at least Winnipeg's The Details had the good timing to drive their tour van through town on one of my days off. Even better, a couple of fine local acts were recruited to open things up at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

First up, Black Dogs, self-described as "some folks playing folk." Well, you can't argue with that. I'll just add that they're a very pleasant sounding duo - William Armstrong and Gavin Dyke - with good vocal harmonies that stray close enough to ragged on occasion in a many that is most endearing.


Black Dogs at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 28, 2011

Most of my photos, like this one of Armstrong, were sans flash, and kind of indifferent.


Black Dogs at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 28, 2011

Up next, Right by Midnight, which as Black Dogs singer-guitarist Gavin noted are "louder than us." I haven't seen them before, but have caught frontman Kris Ward doing some singer-songwriter stuff on a couple of occasion. His Right by Midnight output is quite a bit different; apart from the volume difference, there's also another singer in fellow guitarist Charlie Downey (who I saw playing with Kris for the first time back in 2006) and there's a lot more powerpop and Britrock in the mix. This was their first show as a quartet, as they've been joined by former Wise, Young and King bassist Chris Terkuc.


Right by Midnight at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 28, 2011

Charlie's grown his hair since 2006.


Right by Midnight at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 28, 2011

Finally The Details played a very energetic set, lots of moving around on stage from this bunch who clearlu no how to work a room (even when it's rather sparsely populated). I detect a slight roots twist to their pop music, and I'll confess what sticks most in my mind is their versatile percussionist, who has a very nice touch on the traps.


The Details at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 28, 2011

Meanwhile, over on the left ...


The Details at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 28, 2011

A pity more folks couldn't make it - it was a very solid triple bill.

• Show reminder: Gruve, The Toughtones and Doug Porteaus are at The Rainbow; Lakes of Canada, Erin Saoirse Adair and Glenn Nuotio perform at The Elmdale.

Get the chair

We take you back now to July 29, 2009. The headliners were The Got To Get Got, who were doing a bit of touring with Germans (the band, not the nationality). Local performer Kris Ward was the opener. Ward gets out a fair bit, but I've missed most of is shows - last time I saw him was when he opened for Peter Elkas in January 2006. This time he was mostly solo.

And here we have ... a chair. But I kind of like the colours so I'll include it anyway.



And here's Kris Ward, sitting in said chair and playing some harmonica.



The other side of Kris.



Kris sings!



Love my prime lenses though I do, sometimes you just gotta flash.



Guest vocal action! The Beatles In My Life was the unsuspecting victim.



Big finish!



He was fronting The Rebel Year for a while, but that band seems to be defunct. he was also doing time in The Violet Drag, who last had a show at the Avant-Garde in September. His current project is Old Crowns (including the above guest vocalist and Rebel Year mate Alex Seguin ... at least I think that's him) - they have a show at Mavericks with Elliott Brood November 5.

• Show reminder: Sleep Is For The Dead, On Burning Shores, Be The Saviour, In Sepia, Right Before The Rise, The Breathing Apparatus rock Cafe Dekcuf. Gamut covers a wide spectrum at The Rainbow.
  

While the getting's good

I wasn't particularly fascinated by the prospect of going to see Got To Get Got when the listing popped up online. The band was promoted as including members of North of America, a group I saw when they opened for Ted Leo and The Pharmacists in October 2005. I really only recall Ted and Co.'s performance from that gig, but decided to check out Got To Get Got's music online. Good thing too, since I found it far more compelling than North of America's. Thus, I walked over to Mavericks for 9 p.m. to see and hear what could be seen and heard.

The opener was Kris Ward. The Rebel Year member hasn't played a solo show for a while. His singing reminds me of someone I can't place but like, while his guitar playing reminds me of Robert Montgomery, a very good thing in my book. That said, he seemed a somewhat incongruous opener for the more frenetic touring bands. He also invited up a pal to sing on a version of The Beatles In My Life. They muffed the first take ... a little more practice next time, folks.


Kris Ward, Mavericks, July 29, 2009

Next up were Germans. The band has been on hiatus for about a year and a half, they say. I was contemplating the pair of synthesizers with Mike Sheridan prior to their set. "This could be a good thing or a bad thing," he noted. "We could be in for a spellbinding evening of DAF covers," I replied. Actually the band sounded like a combo of fractured arena rock (a la Guided By Voices), synth pop and The Cure minus Robert Smith's distinctive vocals.


Germans, Mavericks, July 29, 2009

The Got To Get Got are the new band from Mark Mullane, formerly of North of America. The band's a well-staffed affair with a keyboardist, cellist and violinist in addition to the two guitarists, bassist and drummer. Lineup aside, they reminded me a bit of Jetplanes of Abraham. Someone joked in the lead up to the show they would only attend if they played a Q And Not U cover. "Three of us know it ... four of sort of know it ..." Mullane joked before launching into a tune (which I didn't recognize, not being a QANU fan).


The Got To Get Got, Mavericks, July 29, 2009

I also bought their new album Sahalee and it's quite good.

• Show reminder: Jucifer, Caramel Waltz and Corpse of the Servant rock The Bayou; Royaume Des Morts and Boo Hoo play Zaphod's; East of Gatineau heads to The Rainbow; Hello Marx, Loon Choir, John Punch Band and Ace Kincaid perform at the Elmdale House.

Shades of Gray

Kris Ward was the first act on the bill at the Peter Elkas show. For the last little while he's been performing with a band, the Downtown Swingers. That outfit has since parted ways, so now he's moving more into singer-songwriter territory. For his Mavericks show he was accompanied by guitarist Charles Downey. He dedicated a cover of David Gray's Caroline to his girlfriend of the same name, played a Doves tune (Caught by the River) and, having recently seen Walk the Line, also offered up a Johnny Cash-inspired tune entitled Walk by the Water.

Kris sings!



Charlie has a spare, clean style that I quite liked. It was his first show with Ward.



Duo action!



And Kris at the keys.



A nicely understated opener (the posse of screaming lady fans notwithstanding).

• Show reminder: Feist plays the Capital Music Hall - one of the last shows before the condo boom shoves the venue aside. The aforementioned Peter Elkas and Paso Mino (who played with Jason Collett at Bluesfest this year) are also on the bill.

This means War!

Just got back from Bluesfest where I saw the latest incarnation of War acquit themselves well. All the hits (The Cisco Kid, Slippin' into Darkness, Spill The Wine, Me And My Baby Brother, etc.) and an interesting insertion of Edwin Starr's War ("Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nuthin!") into The World is a Ghetto. Yes, it's 1969 again. I think the sound is a little better with the stage facing east, since there is less brick and concrete for the sound to bang off of, but you definitely want to bring sunglasses and the widest-brimmed hat you own, since the sun is directly in your face until about 8 p.m. Ouch. It doesn't help that a few of city hall's flagpoles disrupt the view and a pathway cuts through the crowd, inviting dawdlers to stand in the way of people sitting down.
Also on the bill: Southside Steve Marriner (I heard the last few rambunctious minutes, it sounded good) and The Architects, who played some over-emotive, melodic modern rock.