No swearing please

Gimme an M! Gimme and E! Gimme a T! Gimme an A! Gimme an L! That spells metal, in case you were too busy surreptitiously listening to Judas Priest on your Sony Walkman during English class. There aren't a huge number of straight-out metal shows in Ottawa (last night's offering from Metallica notwithstanding), or at least not of the somewhat old school style I favour, so it was good to get a quadruple dose at this Rainbow show back on August 4. Locals The Unavowed opened things up. I was surprised to find that the last time I'd seen them in May 2007 at their debut show at Zaphod's ... time flies when you age, I guess. On the other hand, I seem to recall Nicholas asking me if they'd changed much in the interveing years. I dunno. This may be a sign that volume causes brain damage.

The shadowy figure of Nicholas from The Unavowed.



Singer Dan and bassist Carey.



More Nicholas and drummer Chris.



Singalong action! Can you tell it's a wee bit dark for my camera?



Time for the other side of the stage, and more Carey!



Darn microphone stand.



Rocking action!



Chris in the red.





Allright, time to break out the flash ... the whole lot!



Bending action!



Monitor-standing action!



A little more focus would have done wonders for this shot ...



Oh well - this one turned out sharpish.



And some final headbanging action!



As before, a no-frills metal throwdown.

In a cold country

Despite a nagging case of the sniffles, I decided to go to Zaphod's and check out their free showcase since there were a couple of local acts I'd heard frequent mention of, but hadn't been able to see, along with a newer combo of which I'd heard little.

Riishi Von Rex commenced the evening with some bare-knuckled balladry played on a shiny new Gretsch. Made me think a bit of P.J. Harvey in her husky-and-low mode.


Riishi Von Rex at Zaphod Beeblebrox, November 2, 2009

Bloomistry held down the middle slot with some arty pop-rock. Something about singer Wayne K. Spear's singing voice reminds me of Mark Hollis from Talk Talk, though the rest of the music isn't outwardly similar. They're a bit more like Anton Barbeau, the San Francisco cult favourite. There bassist was off with the flu, so I imagine they sound a bit heavier on other occasions. They've got a show coming up at the Live Lounge November 18.


Bloomistry at Zaphod Beeblebrox, November 2, 2009

The Donna Litas were the unknown quantity. Apart from some photos courtesy of Ming Wu, who caught them sound-checking with The Property Line a few weeks ago at the Mercury Lounge, I basically knew zip. They obviously take a fair amount of direction from the blues - they covered Robert Johnson's Me And The Devil Blues and I believe I heard some mention of lemon squeezing. They also played The Beatles Yer Blues. I'd trace their lineage back to outfits like Big Brother and The Holding Company, through seventies combos like Truth & Janey and Poobah and onto 1990s bands like Fluid and Screaming Trees, who were occasionally lumped in with grunge without being really of it. I liked them quite a bit, and they're good at working the stage, too. You'll note that despite the name there are no women in the band ... there's also another guitarist off to the left.


The Donna Litas at Zaphod Beeblebrox, November 2, 2009

And now it's time to take copious amounts of cold medication and go to bed.

A whole new bag

I've seen SHaron Jones and The Dap-Kings a few times - they always put on a dynamite show, but I'd say this one stood out in particular for the quality of new material they laid out for the enthusiastic crowd. On the downside, Ms. Jones was not meant to be separated from her fans by a security barrier.

A little pre-gig soundchecking from her men of brass.



It was mighty dark.



Conga-power!



The shadowy Mr. Bosco Mann.



The Sugarman lays down some sax.



Sometimes a saxophonist must lay on the percussion.



Gah, but was the lighting ever bad.



With no Binky Griptite on hand to handle the introductions, the conga player did the emceeing



And here's the lady herself!



... flanked by a shadowy Tommy and Homer.



More Jones!



And in a more solemn moment.



Soul singing action!



Jones is also a font of excellent advice.



Soul-shouting action!



More advice!



As for advice to own self, it was to go home and sleep, even though the show wasn't completely over ... I was sidetracked into watching a bit of Les Claypool, but other than that it was off to the sack.

• Show reminder: The Donna Litas, Bloomistry and Riishi Von Rex perform gratis at Zaphod's.

Letter, number, number

Haved viewd some blues I went off to the Black Sheep Stage to see some electronic noise by French combo M83. Combo may be too strong a word ... it used to be a duo but is now one guy, Anthony Gonzalez, and whoever else he has along. I can't remember when I first heard their music - a promo copy of Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts made its way into my hands somehow, and I remember liking it enough to get a copy of Before The Dawn Heals Us.

While waiting for the show to start I scrutinized Gonzalez's box-of-stuff. The various cyclotrons and modulizers may be best appreciated at a higher resolution.



Switch-flicking and knob-turning.



If I'm not mistaken this is Morgan Kibby of The Romanovs.



Anthony sings some.



There's some serious multi-tasking going on here.



Guitar action!



There was also a drummer, stuck behind a screen, who you can sort of make out.



Singalong action!



Drumming action!



Morgan sings some more.



Anthony rocks some more.



This laptop stuff requires concentration.



Faceoff action ... it's not really the same with a screen.



Faceoff action!



Anthony gets on down.



Dual knob-twisting action!



Considering they were stuck behind various electronic devices I have to say M83 made a good attempt to craft a lively performance - a very solid show.

• Show reminder: John Tielli of Metal Kites and Clark the Band returns to Ottawa for a little solo action at The Manx. The Schomberg Fair bring the speedy gospel to The Rainbow.