All this and rabbits, too

Rebekah Higgs played a very sharp set. I certainly enjoyed it more, and not just because Jon Epworth and Bloodlines weren't around to put everyone else in the shade. I'm not sure if it's working in a trio with occasional Epworth sidemen Sean McGillvray and Jason Vautour (who were alongside last time) or plenty of roadwork that's made the difference, but less was more.





Sean started off on bass, but after a couple of tunes switched to drums.



His replacement, Jason.



He also played some slide guitar, and later activated the pickups using a cellphone.



Sean on the skins. Higgs said he "fortunately happened to be in Ottawa," I'm wondering if he was here with Jenn Grant, who played at the Capital Music Hall the night before.



Singalong action!



Higgs had a couple of papier-mache (or something like it) rabbits, Bernard and Stacey. "They've kind of been hogging the attention," she noted.



Bernard or Stacey.



And so on!



Hopefully she'll return soon with her cuddly hand-crafted merch.

• Show reminder: Relief Maps, Woodhands and Kwiz Massturz perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

The new Thursday

A rainy Monday sounds like a good day to spend indoors, so I did: Specifically indoor at Zaphod's watching a quartet of bands.

First on stage was the cleverly but regrettably named TBA. Some heavy sounds with a slight singer/songwriter infusion and a bit of hand-drumming.



Rebekah Higgs was the sole out-of-towner, and she sounded really sharp; it was quite impressive watching her meld the electronic bits into her folk-rock stuff.



Then came Shannon Rose and The Thorns. I've seen most of the Thorns before: Bassist Ashley Newall guest-singing with elbeejay, drummer Tim Watson with Sarah Hallman at Irene's and guitarist Steve Matelywicz backing Damo Suzuki at the Avant-Garde. Newall thanked folks for coming out on a Monday, prompting someone in the audience to dub it "the new Thursday."



I saw F's Jim McDowell playing with Fourth at Irene's back in April (that's him at right in the snap below) . He invited me to an earlier gig at the Bytown Tavern which I missed, but second time's the charm (or something like that). F is a funk-rock combo with a songs about papercuts and bad bologna.



That was a very solid evening of entertainment. Good thing I remembered to bring my umbrella though.

Back again

Last time I saw Rebekah Higgs she was sharing a stage with Jon Epworth and The Improvements and Saskatchewan's Bloodlines - neither are an act you want to follow or precede, but she did a commendable job.



She's back at Zaphod's for another free showcase tonight; this time Shannon Rose and The Thorns and F round out the bill. Also on offer: Neuraxis, Urban Aliens, Point Blank Rage and Insides Out at The Rainbow and cross-continental hardcore action at Mavericks with Terror, Mind Piece, Constant Struggle and The Bloody Macphersons.

Bird on a wire

Rebekah Higgs was up next. I liked what I heard of her smoky country with trippy electronic garnish on Myspace. Live she was quite entertaining as well, not to mention somewhat more vigorous than expected. She apparently wowed the crowd at NXNE as well.

There were a few familiar faces on stage, namely Sean and Jason from The Improvements. Her band is rounded out by drummer Cory and electronics man Colin Crowell.



Sean on keys and bass. (You can see Improvements bassist Shane Kerr just behind him, snapping a few picture himself during the set.) Incidentally, Sean's also worked with Jenn Grant, who performs at The Black Sheep Inn on Sunday ...



Drummer Cory won't stand for this. Okay, he will.



I took a few low-light pictures as well. White and black is definitely a good combo in such circumstances.









Jason works the feedback.



Folktronic action!



Higgs takes over the Korg.



Big finish!





Higgs and Co. will be running back through town July 4; no venue or definite show as yet, but you might want to keep your eyes peeled.

• Show reminder: Ostara, Sunjet Records and Jon Creeden play End Hits; Rockets Fall and The City Above perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Cross crountry checkup

One of the great things about going to see four unknown bands for free is that the worse that can happen is that you get your money's worth. Well, not quite unknown; I've already seen Rebekah Higgs praised in print and given a listen on Myspace to her and Jon Epworth (Please Stop Celebrating, a quite energetic tune that sounded a bit like early Joe Jackson). It was all quite promising, really ... on the downside, as far as I can tell for most of the evening the rest of the audience was either in a band or an employee of Zaphod's. I guess everyone else was off watching Dying Fetus at Mavericks.

First up, local trio Jacko. Alt rock with a bit of a funky rhythm.



Jon Epworth and The Improvements were up next; I'm not sure their performance could actually be improved on, except to be made significantly longer. A dynamite set. Epworth has a great voice, great players in the band, fine songs. These guys could have been on Stiff back in the early 1980s with Elvis Costello and that lot.



Rebekah Higgs was also very good; her rootsy sound garnished with electronic sounds made me think a bit of Jim White.



Finally Bloodlines; sometimes they made me think of Soundtrack of Our Lives, at others The Webb Brothers. You can get a better recommendation from me, but it's not easy.



As per usual, more on this at a later date.

• Show reminder: The Clientele, Beach House and My Dad Vs Yours play Babylon.