Immaculate technician

There's been a lot of Immaculate Machinery on the blog of late. The band has family in the vicinity so it's no surprise they'd pass through town twice. As mentioned before they sang in Mandarin and covered Final Fantasy. They also bantered a bit, telling the crowd about the dumb in-jokes bands come up with during the hermetic world of touring. This round's big thrill: Tourmate Ladyhawk's "mini-thumb's up." On to the photos. I took a few of Kathryn, many of which turned out, many of Brooke, almost none of which turned out and one of Luke which (fortunately) did. Onward!

Kathryn, and a shadowy Luke.



Brooke dressed up a bit for the occasion.



Luke took off his shirt this time - it's a mite warmer on the Zaphod's stage than End Hits' basement.



And now a bunch of lowlight stuff ...









Okay, i did use a little flash on this one.



The band is off the road for now, barring a gig in Vancouver in a couple of weeks, thus leaving them plenty of time to brush up on foreign tongues.

• Show reminder: Basia Bulat, Amos The Transparent, and Galaxy gal Katie Stelmanis perform at Zaphod's; Sick Fits and Sedatives play a freebie at the Bytowne Tavern.

Video surveillance

Anyhow, back to last Friday and Videotape. The trio formed from the ashes of local post-rock instrumentalists-with-occasional-vocals As The Poets Affirm, but are fuzzy pop with some off-kilter rhythms and occasional instro weirdness. At the time I thought their sonic aesthetic was a far sight more established than their songcraft, but I'm finding them more interesting the more I listen to their MySpace tunes. I'm definitely keen to hear more.

Adam Saikely ... somewhere Jonathan Richman is looking for his shirt.



Ryan Patterson rocks the Ric.



My photo of Nathan Gara is also my worst drummer photo ever! Yay! Okay, boo.



Two microphones for double the vocal fun.





More Ryan.



And more of all that!






It's never a bad idea to make faces at the photographer.



Their next show is up at The Black Sheep Inn with Mahogany Frog and My Dad Vs. Yours April 4. They also have a gig with Thundrah! and We Fled Cairo at a 443 Kent St. house show April 25. They also have an EP, My Favourite Thing, available for download.

• Show reminder: The City Streets, The City Above and The Little Bees perform at Babylon.

Double header

This was a good weekend for shows, and I caught a bunch of acts - no unfamiliar faces, but four fine combos and a new permutation of another. I went to Zaphod's on the Friday to see Ladyhawk. I loved their first album and was keen to see what they were up to. The first act on stage was local trio Videotape, who I would describe as sometimes sounding like Bailter Space, at others like a jangly Jesus and Mary Chain. What their fuzzy pop doesn't sound like is the various members' previous band, As The Poets Affirm. As a bonus, vocalist Adam Saikaley was looking a bit like Jonathan Richman.


Videotape, Zaphod Beeblebrox, March 21, 2008

I had of course seen Immaculate Machine just a few weeks prior at End Hits performing with The Hi Lo Trons and Giant Hand. Once again they sound a few verses in Mandarin (and some others in French). They did sound a lot better on this occasion, which I'd attribute to Brooke being in better health and the techie stuff being done by Slo' Tom, and not a mixing board stashed in the closet. They threw in a cover of Final Fantasy's This is the Dream of Wim and Regine.


Immaculate Machine, Zaphod Beeblebrox, March 21, 2008

Ladyhawk also put on a great show. Last time they were in town they opeded fopr Tapes'N'Tapes, who I didn't find as interesting. As before Duffy Driediger's plaintive vocals were a big part of the band's appeal. Unfortunately they passed on an encore.


Ladyhawk, Zaphod Beeblebrox, March 21, 2008

The next night I went to the Dominion to catch round 2 of The Double Pumpers' CD release show. Unfortunately we missed the opening act, Starvin' Hungry. Allegedly they put on an ace show. Judging from the previous occasions I've seen them I can well believe it. The next act up and running was C'mon, who put on an outstanding show - even better than their usual killer performance. Ian Blurton's vocals were really good, perhaps due to the generous dose of echo. There was a great big crowd at the Dom to rock along, Blurton's chiding about insufficient enthusiasm notwithstanding. By the time the show was over, Blurton had decided Ottawa was better than Kingston, perhaps because they had opened for Against Me there earlier in the week. "We are officially against Against Me," he joked earlier in the show.


C'mon, The Dominion, March 22, 2008

I can't say that I'd want to follow C'mon on stage at any time, but the Double Pumpers did a good job living up to Dave Aardvark's "best band in Ottawa" introduction - particularly when you consider they were getting pretty drunk as the evening rolled on.


Double Pumpers, The Dominion, March 22, 2008

I picked up their new LP, Old Gold before heading out the door.

Good Friday

There shall be rock! At least twice! The Double Pumpers have a new record in the offing (which to everyone's shock and surprise is called not Three, but Old Gold). They're launching it with a two nights of riff-mania at The Dominion.


The Double Pumpers, Babylon, March 4, 2007

On the Friday they'll share the stage with Bionic and Mad Parish; on Saturday, C'mon and Starvin Hungry will be kicking out the jams.
If hard rock on a Friday isn't to your liking, Ladyhawk, Immaculate Machine and Videotape will be playing at Zaphod Beeblebrox (actually, since they're right next door you could conceivably hit both shows). Also on Friday, over at the Elmdale, the Empiricals and Flaps once again battle to the death.
The Pumpers aren't the only folks with CDs to peddle. Captain Foxy will be turning their debut loose at Irene's with Hollowtip Hearts, Leslie Dishslayer and Betty Rockets on Saturday. On the same night Owen, Casey Baker & the Buffalo Sinners and Paper Rival play at Zaphod's. Grimskunk, Drillpoint and Universal Habit rock Barrymore's. Those in a more instrumental mood may want to duck across the river and see Torngat and J'envoie at Le Petit Chicago.

Some things

Another week begins ... well, not really, but if you remember what you were doing yesterday you probably weren't doing it right (or are a working teetotaler like me). But tonight you can head over to Babylon and catch the return appearance of Xiu Xiu (whose latest album is creeping me out right now), Thao Nguyen and Fucked Corpse.


Xiu Xiu, Babylon June 25, 2007

Alternately, there's Aggressor and Karnax at the Bytown Tavern.
Wednesday, the always entertaining Two-Minute Miracles pass through Mavericks, along with Share and Gianna Lauren. Upstairs at Cafe DeKcuf there's The Heartland, One Strong, Set Fire To Wicker Park, Dead Winter and Case of Asthenia. Over at Zaphod's there's Finger of Knowledge, Symphony in the Stairwell and Agwanti.
On Thursday, Glenn Nuotio and The Habit perform at Cafe DeKcuf.

Natural Hi

I suspect the crowd that gathered to see The Hi Lo Trons in End Hits' basement was one of the smallest the outfit has played to since their earliest days. Then again, it's also probably the city's smallest venue (possible exception: The Manx). This was a brisk but less sweaty than usual performance, more of a taster for the folks to young to attend their album release party at Barrymore's April 4.

Most of them. There's not enough room for Mike Dubue's keyboards so the once-departed and now-returned Mike Schultz handled all that end of the show.



The rest of them. And electricity.





More Paul Hogan.



More Mike.



More other Mike.



More shouting!



As mentioned before their new CD Happymatic hits the streets on Kelp Records April 1. They celebrate its venturing into the outside world April 4 at Barrymore's.

• Show reminder: I'm repeating myself, but this evening you can see The Love Machine, The Junction, These Electric Lives and Fire Heats Water entertain the multitudes at Barrymore's; Amanda Rheaume and Tim's Myth play Zaphod Beeblebrox, you can catch Manpower, Mighty Eagle Band and Polymorphines at Babylon or head over to Irene's for a big 'ol helping of Missippi Grover, Shanker and Romps and The Felines.

Some shows

I swear I'm going to get those Hi Lo Trons photos up some day, but a busy social calendar means a few much-delayed show notices will have to do for now. Tokyo Sex Whale, Hemi-Loco, and Doll rock Zaphod Beeblebrox tonight.


Tokyosexwhale, Babylon, September 28, 2007

Also Friday, The End, Johnny Truant, A Textbook Tragedy and Darkness Rites make rocky noise at Cafe Dekcuf.
On Saturday, The Love Machine, The Junction, These Electric Lives and Fire Heats Water entertain the multitudes at Barrymore's.


These Electric Lives, Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 26, 2006

Also on Saturday, Amanda Rheaume and Tim's Myth play Zaphod Beeblebrox, and you can catch Manpower, Mighty Eagle Band and Polymorphines at Babylon. Last but not least, Missippi Grover, Shanker and Romps and The Felines bring pig poles, pancakes and purrs to Irene's.

Handiwork

So here we are, back in End Hits basement ... they've given it a lick of paint since I was last there to see Calvin Johnson and Captain Foxy - no longer does graffiti declare it the best venue in Ottawa for five or six years running. At least the hole in the ceiling is still there. Giant Hand was into the last handful of songs so I only snapped three or four photos, of which this fuzzy crowd scene is one.



And here's Kirk Ramsay winding things up.



After that Immaculate Machine was up. They turned a few knobs on the soundboard (stowed away in a closet to the side of the stage) and embarked on a first number with more guitar than they likely planned. After four months away from photography I found myself pretty rusty, so I spent a lot time adjusting settings. As for the band, they were much as I remember them from their Babylon set. They did have some new songs from Fables to perform and an abbreviated take of their Mandarin version of Dear Confessor.

Brooke and Luke sing!



Kathryn Calder and singalong action. The New Pornographers announced they're performing in Ottawa April 8 - I understand Neko Case is supposed to be with them this tour.



More Kathryn action! I just wish she was in better focus than the keyboard. Oh well.





This time Luke kept his shirt on. He also wished people farewell at the foot on the stairs.



The end!



I plan to see them again on March 21 with Ladyhawk.

• Show reminder: Crush Luther, The Love Machine, Ukrainia, Antizario and Clepto and the Gypsies and assorted other entertainments will be rocking for the teens at the National Gallery of Canada noonish. John Allaire plays The Rainbow with Kaya Fraser. I quite forgot to mention earlier that Vancouver's The Town Pants will be playing at Zaphod's; Newfie Fog will roll on stage to warm things up.

Back in the saddle

They say pictures don't lie. This wasn't true, even before the days of Adobe Photoshop, but the brand-spankin' new pictures below are pretty solid evidence that I have my camera back. I shall not dwell upon the almost four months it took the company that oversaw my warranty to figure out whether they were repairing or replacing it. I'll just say a quick thanks to the speedy and ever-competent work done by the good people at Nortown Photo Service (next time something breaks, I'm just sending it to them and to hell with the warranty) and move on to last night's show at End Hits: A rare chance for The Hi Lo Trons to perform before an all-ages crowd.

First up on stage (okay, floor) was Giant Hand, a.k.a. Kirk Ramsay, with some fragile folk. He seemed a bit nervous. This was his first show and I only caught the last couple of songs, including one he just wrote to stretch out the set.


Giant Hand

The Immaculate Machine were passing through town on their way to other gigs and did an impromptu show. Brooke had laryngitis, so they tried to confine themselves to songs with only three or four notes.


The Immaculate Machine

Finally The Hi Lo Trons bounced their way through a quick set, including tunes from their upcoming album.


Hi Lo Trons

A good and much-photographed show. Immaculate Machine will of course be back March 21 to perform with Ladyhawk at Zaphod's. The Hi Lo Trons have their CD release show at Barrymore's April 4.

No choice at all

It's Tuesday, and those of you who haven't been trapped behind colossal walls of snow can shuffle over to Irene's to see Sarah Hallman perform; also on stage are Down With The Butterfly.


Sarah Hallman, Babylon, July 22, 2006

I saw Faber Drive at Bluesfest 2007. I did not like them. But they must have a few fans, and they're appearing with Canadian Idol victor Brian Melo, Hello Operator and The Prefect at Mavericks. More to my fancy are Sadie Hell, Rich Aucoin and I See Rowboats , who'll be performing upstairs at Cafe Dekcuf.


Sadie Hell, Zaphod Beeblebrox, April 15, 2007

On Wednesday The Coggs, Hellbros and Goddamn Goddamns louden things up a mite at Zaphod Beeblebrox.


The Goddamn Goddamns, Zaphod Beeblebrox, February 17, 2007

And the artistically inclined might want to go to the National Art Gallery Thursday to see Crush Luther, The Love Machine, Ukrainia, Antizario and Clepto and the Gypsies perform as part of the Nat Gal's "Annual Teen Event" at noon.



Last but not least, John Allaire is performing over at The Rainbow Thursday evening with Kaya Fraser.

Snow delay

And so the rush to the weekend begins. If you're willing to brave the March weather (more snow on Saturday, I hear ... ugh), there's more than a few ways to keep occupied. Over at the Capital Music Hall tonight -Thursday, for those of you tuning in late - you can see Josh Ritter and Emm Gryner. I liked Ritter when he played Bluesfest. Gryner was okay at Zaphod's, but I think she may do better on a larger stage.


Emm Gryner, Zaphod Beeblebrox, November 26, 2006

Bytowne Tavern is not only the new home of the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party, it also seems to be the new home of punk rock in town, at least when it comes to licensed venues. The Visitors, are holding their release party there on Thursday in conjunction with former Sweet Janes Savage Crimes. There's a cross-country checkup at Zaphod's with Vancouver combo Big John Bates and The Voodoo Dollz sharing the stage with Haligonian ensemble The Tom Fun Orchestra.


The Visitors, Zaphod Beeblebrox, April 2, 2006

On Friday you may want head off to Irene's to see Garaga, Shanker and Romps and the long-awaited return of The Banditas. It'll be the battle of the stand-up drummers!


Garaga, Cafe DeKcuf, April 21, 2007

Over at Mavericks, Deamon, Heaven Ablaze, Our Kingdom Crash, Case of Asthenia and Sacriment hold forth. I'm guessing it's not hip-hop. Ceremonial Snips, Clock Strikes Music and International Maniac Institute rock Zaphod Beeblebrox. There's more punk rock at Cafe DeKcuf with Subsistance, Machine Gun Dolly, Dead City Citizens, The Rats (Sewer Rats original 3-piece), Nummies and The Zero Hours. Corb Lund and co. get all country at Capital Music Hall with Hayes Carll.
Saturday seems a tad slow as Saturdays go: As the World Fades, Around Tiffany, Theressa Knorr, There were thousands and Skler play Cafe Dekcuf. Over at Zaphod's there's Chris Koster, Blazer, and once-upon a-time Canadian Idol competitor Josh Palmer's Rebellion (or not ... I think his space is now occupied by The Lonely). Maybe everyone heard about the weather?
Sunday you can scuttle down to End Hits basement and see Fake Shark Real Zombie, The Medium Mood and Hooray Henry - which is someone from Thundrah! according to the punkottawa.com listing. The band's Myspace audio sounds interesting. Quebec guitar ace Steve Hill will be rocking Zaphod's.
On Monday, it's time for a return trip to End Hits' basement for a show with soon-to-be CD releasers The Hilotrons, Immaculate Machine and Giant Hand. Yes, this show is for real - I guess the Machine folks are making a pass prior to their date with Ladyhawk at Zaphod's in a couple of weeks.


Immaculate Machine, Babylon, June 23, 2006

Same day, there's Delay The Explosion, Said The Whale, Brad Sucks and Jordan Patrick at Zaphod's.

A whole new day

As the week gets started, you can check out a pair of shows on subsequent days featuring artists that are strikingly dissimilar. Tonight at Zaphod's, you have somewhat breathy acoustic guitar with Yoav and Caroline Keating (who makes me think of a lot of Joanna Newsom crossed with a little Randy Newman, and I don't mean that as an insult). And yeah, Steve Earle and his lady love Allison Moorer perform at Bronson Centre, but it's sold out.



On Tuesday, you can see the fire-breathing guitar of Grady - pictured above at Bluesfest last year- making good on a previously canceled show with a gig at Barrymore's. The openers are the Daniel Wesley Band and the Murder City Sparrows.