Pump up the volume

The ever-rockin' Double Pumpers once again rocked out hard'n'heavy as they bridged the gap between Iron Giant's big bum stoner doom and C'mon's rawk. I thought they sounded particular good at this show. But then I think that at every show.

A picture of Damien Sawka yelling into a microphone. I know, I've never taken one of those before ...



Paul "Yogi" Granger and his very big kick drum.



Dave Martendale unleashes the rock power of pure masonite. I understand Danelectro is back in business, too.



A Double Pumpers doubleshot.



The Pumpers, plus the back of various people's heads.



In other DP news, the band has a show with The Fiftymen, Mighty Eagle Band, a slightly incongruous Janice Hall and Yogar and the Hill People (hmm ... is this a Yogi and The Lunatics pseudonym? Answers on a postcard please ...) May 21 at Babylon. Dave Aardvark will be ghost selecting.

Moncton's heaviest men

Iron Giant opened the show at Mavericks, April 20 - or at least, they did if you're a slowpoke like me and didn't get there in time for The Mark Inside (to think, the last guys they opened for were Velvet Revolver). The show was originally going to be at Cafe DeKcuf but some problem with the latter establishment's liquor licence led to a switcheroo, with 100 Demons and their various infernal forces moving upstairs.
I actually ascended the stairs, opened the door and saw this big bald tattooed guy ripping his throat out on stage. The doorman quickly noticed my lack of piercings, tattoos and studded leather and directed me back downstairs, where I got to see Iron Giant's big tattooed bald guy tearing his throat out on stage instead.

Just how rock is Chris Lewis? Dude, that microphone stand is, like, a chain!



P.J. Dunphy is a nimble fellow for his size.



Drummer John Flanagan is the pretty one. (that's Dunphy's description, not mine). Hard to tell from this picture; they had one of those smoke machines, and you have to really turn up the flash to cut through.



Rhythm and leads, courtesy of Derek Robichaud.



Three-quarters of the band crush the audience with their stoner rock assault.



Ever wonder what the last thing you would see is if someone stuck a Gibson Firebird bass through your noggin? Wonder no more.



They promise to be back when their new record is out.

A two run-run

For some strange reason I got it into my head that Run Chico Run were from Montreal - perhaps because they describe themselves as "Tasteless art rock to hang in your parlour." The are but two Runners: Thomas Shields and Matt Skillings. They have an address in Victoria so I presume that's where they call home.

Matt does some of that singing and guitar-playing stuff so popular with the kids these days.



Thomas multitasks on keys, traps and singing.



Standing on the drum kit? That totally rocks!



Playing the drum kit? That also totally rocks! And in a Michael Jackson T-shirt, no less.



The duo also had another set of keyboards they both played, but how many pictures of two guys can you run ...?

Do, do, do

Vancouver's The Doers are an acoustic folk-punk quartet from Vancouver... part Minutemen (they've actually recorded an EP with Mike Watt), part Violent Femmes. I'm not sure if the acoustic guitar and bass are actually necessary for the sound, but what the heck. The turnout was rather horribly low, but enthusiastic, and the band put on an energetic show.

Sarah Jane on vocals and shakin' about.



Guitarist Sean Maxey gets all Joe Cockery. Bouncing the flash off the ceiling doesn't really work if it's painted black, does it?



Bassist Barry Higginson and his amazing mustache.



Drummer Jeff Sebastian and his less amazing but still impressive mustache (I also observe a marked resemblance to Kevin Kline ... hmm).



Seriously folks, is this a rhythm section, or extras on HBO's Deadwood?



Rockin' and shakin' all over!



Kathy Dube of The Cinch is/was a member, but she wasn't in evidence at this show. Nor was much of an audience, I regret to say.

• Let there be rejoicing, for The Banditas have recorded an album ... and they're holding a release party for it, even! The Nymphets (from Montreal) and Run Stop Restore (featuring them Sproull lads) will be on hand at Irene's Pub to help celebrate the happy occasion June 25.

Sealed with a kiss

David Merritt is a super songwriter, so I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that April 19 was the first time I had a chance to catch the Golden Seals (boy, I hope that sentence doesn't get me in trouble with IFAW ...). Good show, lousy turnout.

Dave Merritt jokingly called for a super fast count-in to a normally mid-tempo song ... and they pulled it off! So they played it again. And why not?



I asked the drummer what his name was "Real or made up?' "Either one," I replied. Thus, ladies and gentleman: Mr. Ben E. Carlos! Hey, it was his idea.



A rare and valuable picture of John F. Higney Jr. on bass guitar.



Wunderguitarkind Pat Lawlor, whom I totally failed to recognize from his days in Polaris.



Ladies and gentlemen, the Golden Seals!



Gosh they're swell.

• Taking-a-deep-breath show reminder: Who's playing tonight? Um, everyone. Howe Gelb at Babylon with Kate Maki of course (Howe's in town wrapping up some work on his album at Little BullHorn). White Cowbell Oklahoma serve up the southern-fried sleaze with The Longtimers and Steven Dall next door at Barrymore's. Good2Go and The Tradeoff play Zaphod's. Brutal Knights, Weapons of Mass Seduction, Quebexico and The Sweet Janes play at Irene's ... should we let Brutal Knights have access to Weapons? That sounds dangerous to me. Finally, instrumental music at The Roxy with J'envoie, My Dad vs Yours and Pawa Up First.
• This just in, a day or two ago: The Acorn, The Flaps (including John F., Pat L. and "Ben E."), The Recoilers and Andrew Vincent will all be playing at Barrymore's May 28. Get your Kelp on!
  

We conclude this blogcast day with a picture of J'envoie at The Happening.



Make it two.



They were pretty good; the doors on that show are 8 p.m.
And while we're at it, here's a photo of Good2Go at Irene's.



So don't say you have nothing to do tonight ... as for myself, I gotta have more cowbell, baby!

Over The Rainbow

The Black Boot Trio had the CD release show for "Eternal Return" at The Rainbow April 15. I got out of work late (again); so I chugged down a carrot muffin I had in place of dinner and ran down Elgin St. - destination, Murray St. I actually have no idea where Murray St. is, but fortunately bumped into Casey Comeau on the way. A quick stop at a Rideau Centre Shopper's drug store for earplugs and to pick up And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead pictures, and we made it through the door just as the trio were making their way through their first song Many Young Men Consider Themselves Cowboys. The Rainbow's an interesting place, with an upper half-storey. You can look down, and see the band kind of like this:



Look, it's Geoff "Big Daddy" Taylor's on bass ... he even looks big from up here ...



People were lining the staircase up to the 2nd floor (really the third - a restaurant occupies the building's bottom floor). The view is a bit like this:



Of course, you want to check out Stef Bennett's killer drumming ...



A quick peek as you hit the landing ...



The stage is a good three or four feet above the dance floor (incidentally, can you guess the name of the record station that sponsored this shindig?).



All that going up and down stairs can do strange things to one's shutter speed. Must be the altitude fluctuation.



The club packs out pretty quickly.



For the encore they played Hank Williams' My Bucket's Got a Hole In It and George Jones' Out of Control, and reprised their own Four Horsemen. Is This All There Is figured in there somewhere, too.

• Spiky hair reminder: The Casualties, The Briggs and The Sewer Rats play Babylon; doors open at 5 p.m. so no way in heck I'm making that show ...
  

C'mon to bed

Just got back from the C'Mon show at Mavericks; killer sets from opening acts the Double Pumpers, Iron Giant and (so I hear) A Mark Inside. I'll be posting pictures from that show in the imminent future, just as soon as I get pictures of The Black Boot Trio, Golden Seals, Doers, and Run Chico Run out of the way. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of C'Mon at the Dominion:



It was definitely one of those shows that make having a job you don't need to be up at the crack of dawn for worth having. And now: Zzzzzzzzzz ...

Follow that Trail

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead put on a very solid show at the Capital Music Hall Thursday - not as transcendent as Gris Gris or Black Mountain a week earlier (at least to my biased ears), but definitely satisfying. It certainly drove parts of the audience to fits of adulation. There was something slightly calculated about the destruction and crowd-pleasing stunts like bring a crash cymbal out for the audience to whack on (surely not for the first time) but it was still entertaining.

Jason Reece smashed his kit up, had it put back together by his drum tech (who should be nominated for an MVP award, if not sainthood), then smashed it up again during their encore of Richter Wave Madness. I found myself thinking of Henry Rollins even before I noticed he was sporting a Black Flag T-shirt. He certainly liked jumping about - he's airborne in about half the pictures he's in. Kevin Allen at left, Conrad Keely at right.



Is that you, Henry?



How much am I bid for this cymbal?



Guitarist and vocalist Conrad Keely grimaces.



Guitarist Kevin Allen, the most low-key member on stage (I grant you, this doesn't mean much). Behind him you can see the keyboardist whose name I never did catch ...



Danny Wood has recently joined on bass.



And one more picture of Danny, under the lights



Extra percussion was provided by Doni Schroader (ex-Forget Cassettes). Kettle drum, gong, chimes ... he's got the lot.



Jason behind the soon-to-be smashed drum kit.



Conrad and Jason came back to the edge of the stage after the show was over to talk with audience members. JC was fetching bits of smashed-up drum and sticks to give to the crowd as souvenirs. No rock-star attitude from these guys. This next picture's a bit dark, but you can just make them out to the right of bits of the late Ludwig.



Smashing show ... um, literally ...

• Show reminder: Rock, rock, rock at Cafe DeKcuf with C'mon, The Double Pumpers and Iron Giant!
  

Eight arms to hold you

The Octopus Project is Josh Lambert, his wife Yvonne Lambert (nee Lazarte), and Toto Miranda. Like The Sword and The Black they hail from Austin - thus there gig opening for ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead on April 14. They were joined by Eric Bogle of Bring Back The Guns on second guitar (though considering the amount of instrument-switching there was, "on guitar" may be the wrong phrase). They use a drum machine when Toto wasn't behind the kit. Theremin, mini-marimba and keyboards were added to the mix. Pretty active on stage, considering they were shunted to the front by TOD's gear.

The band prepares to socket to the audience.



Yvonne, woman of the future, controls the entrancing space sounds of the futuristic 1930s.



Josh rocks out on bass.



Toto. Started out on drums (that's him in picture No. 1), then moved about, as did everyone.



Eric the B.



Here's another picture of Yvonne on a wee xylophone. Had to get the boots in ...



And here's another of Josh and Yvonne.



Oh those crazy kids. They have a good website where you can check out sounds, images, etc.