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.