Go for the silver

The first time I saw Silver Creek members Shawn Tavenier and Anders Drerup was performing together with the Elmer Ferrer Band at the Birdman Stage at Bluesfest when it ringed city hall. They were singing Hey Jude with beers in hand. Subsequent exposure totheir music has left the impression of too much technical merit, not enough feel. By comparison with Silver Creek they get it just right - they make a hell of a bar band, and their originals blend nicely with covers of With A Little Help From My Friends a la Cocker and the like.



Shawn yells!



Drerup twangs.





The apprpriately named John Steele puts the pedal to the metal.



Back to back action! With bassist Marc Laforest.



Jeff Rogers is the third wheel on this tricycle, at least when it comes to singing.



They're a smiley bunch. That's Shane Mcewan on drums.



And here's Tyler, stuck off on stage right.



One of the unexpected pleasures of the festival.

• Show reminder: Forty Lashes, Mad Cowboys, The Dirty 30's, International Maniac Institute, The Toughtones and the The Dirty Nuns punk it up at The New Bayou; just over the Bank St. Bridge at Irene's you can see the somewhat less punk Flotilla and Gianna Lauren. Bear Claps, Tonk & The Honkys and Mary Ellis perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Tooth and I

Honest I's - pronounced like eyes - are an interesting trio. They say they're influenced by Tom Waits ... I would have said Pleasure Forever and Michael Gira's Angels of Light too, thanks to the singer's mannered delivery (though his range is tad higher than Gira's). The combination of tremeloes and delayed guitar with piano and some snappy drumming really works.


Honest I's, The Rainbow, August 11, 2008

As for The Harold Wartooth, they like their riffs fuzzy and their guitars moderately pointy. I presume they get their name from the legendary Scandinavian warrior king Haraldr Hilditoenn. Musically they come from the land of the ice and snow. They're young chaps with a fondness for 1970s rock in the vein of Deep Purple and more modern stuff like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Queens of the Stone Age. A solid combo with a good singer, but still working on establishing a distinctive ID.


The Harold Wartooth, The Rainbow, August 11, 2008

Ottawa's Keyotone were also on the bill, but I missed them. They have a show coming up August 25 at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Totally wired

Just about a month ago The Jolts came through town. It was a Thursday, the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party was in full swing, the Creeps had a CD to release and the Bluesfest headliners weren't demanding my attention (at least at the time - in hindsight I wish I'd stayed around for Seun Kuti's set). Well I enjoyed a fine helping of rock at the Bytown Tavern, beginning with a short-notice appearance from London punkers Stiff Wires. I'm sure none of these guys were around for punk's first wave (or anything prior to the mid- to late-1980s, come to that). If these guys have an influence (other than something in a bottle) it's The Forgotten Rebels.

Frontman Josh McQuaide dropped the hat pretty quickly. Lead guitarist Jamie Barber is at the back (in a Ready Set Go T-shirt no less), bassist Dan Ormsby at right.



Rhythm guitarist Brandyn Walkom is at even more right.



Drummer Jesse Flemming rocks the tats.



Singalong action. Well, shoutalong really.



Josh works the crowd.



And so on!







There was some broken glass. Josh recommended I take a picture of him sweeping up, so why not?



They can be found in various South and West Ontario venues in the upcoming weeks.

• Show reminder: Eric Solomon, The Traps and Winston Smith and The Anti-Sex League perform at Zaphod's. Harold Wartooth rock The Rainbow. Despite the name, this is not some crusty old folkie but a heavy Toronto combo who cite Leafhound, Nebula and Queens of the Stone Age among their influences.
  

Hey Mama

As I arrived at Bluesfest on Saturday I could hear The BushPilots winding up their set on the River Stage - they seem to be ending as I arrive lately, so I'm going to have to head out a half-hour early next time they're on a bill.



They had Miss Maureen of Good2Go guesting, as they often do.



Singalong action!



Maureen's tambourine has magic lifting powers.



See?



Even more singalong action!



Kevin rocks the hair.



I headed around to the other side of the stage, but by then things were really wrapping up.



They have a show coming up at the Black Sheep Inn on August 29 with Good2Go, and another at Irene's Oct. 31.

• Show reminder: Videotape, The Honest I's and Remotely Controlled rock the living room at 443 Kent.

One more time

There's only one way to describe The Monotonix live show: Unadulterated craziness. Although some people have said they enjoy The Monotonix' EP on Drag City, almost nothing about this show appealed directly to my taste music; it's all about loopy wildman singer Ami Shalev and his kooky co-conspirators.

Them Monotonix: Hirsute singer Ami, skirt-wearing drummer Ran Shimoni and 'fro-rocking guitarist Yonatan Gat.



Many singers climb on the drum kit. Ami goes one better by climbing on the drummer.



Yonatan looms.



Ami surfs.



Great big pile!



Trash time.



Jump!





Ami plays some drums ... which just happen to be balancing on the head of Ran, possibly Rock's most long-suffering drummer.



A refreshing drink at the bar.



After that the band dragged bits of the drumkit out the door and took it to the streets.



Time to hang out a while.



Then they ran off for the drum-pounding finale.



Shhhhh! "Thank you."



That was pretty silly and not hugely musical, but a lot of fun. I was chatting with Creeps frontman Skottie Lobotomy a few days later and he noted the smiles on the faces of the crowd in all the photos he'd seen of the show.

Trees lounge

Orchestra Baobab have gone through many a change since Pirate's Choice made them legends beyond their African stomping grounds. They broke up in the 1980s as the rise of harder styles pushed their sophisticated African pop to the sidelines, but now they're back with a bunch of old hands, some fresh blood and some new recorded work. I'm not 100% sure of the IDs for this show - the last at Bluesfest on July 4, 2008 - so they should all be taken with a grain of salt ...

Let the show begin! Barthelemy Attisso had a thriving legal career in his homeland of Togo but decided to pick up the guitar again (he still keeps his law practice running, though). Charlie Ndiaye is possibly the fellow on bass. And I feel fairly confident in saying lead singer Rudy Gomis is the guy in the hat.



Unless I'm totally off my head, Issa Cissoko is the guy pointing out an amusing audience member. He's a bit fuzzy in this shot, but the rhythm guitarist is Lafti Benjeloun of Morrocco.



More Issa!



I'm guessing that Balla Sidibe is the chap taking a turn on the microphone at right, while Assane Mboup is at left.



And now I'm just going to say "And so on!"









Whole lotta movin'!





Not as rollicking as some of the Afropop shows I've been to, but certainly one of the sharpest musically.

• Show reminder: Peste Noire, Akitsa and Sombres Forets spread the good cheer at New Bayou. The Stabby Dancers and Roy Charles perform at The Rainbow. The Elmdale Tavern risks the wrath of PETA with Fuzzy Bunny Slaughterhouse with Andy Snap & The Loose Cannons.