Numbers game

Like Sleeping Pilot, For the Mathematics are an action-packed outfit. Their music is both brainy and energetic. I quite enjoyed The New Science EP when I got a copy to review at the Ottawa Sun (back when I did that sort of thing), but hadn't had a chance to catch them live before this past Valentine's Day. Unfortunately the crowd had petered out a bit before they hit the stage, so some folks missed an entirely killer set.

Robb howls.



Bassist Liam realizes it's all in how you point your toes.



Nate takes his guitar out for a quick run.



Clayton can also be seen playing guitar in Jetplanes of Abraham (not Amos the Transparent as I said originally - I can't keep these collectives straight).



Wish I'd taken a more exciting picture of Mike. Oh well.



Mathematical action!



Feedback action! (There was quite a bit of it.)



Scary vocalist rampage! Aaaah!



And so on!











Up, up and away!



Very cool.

• Show reminder: Valery Gore and Sarah Hallman play Zaphod Beeblebrox; The Soul Jazz Orchestra and The Uptown Strugglers perform at Mavericks; The Nads, Bad News Bears, The Possums, Contrabandit, Sketchy Poutine, Critical Convictions and Eugene and the Eugenics play The Electric Gallery Co-Op; Geoff Berner, Mail Nurse and Bob Wiseman perform at the Black Sheep Inn.

You've heard it before

"I'd just like you to know that even though we have the most violent name, we're actually the least violent-sounding band on the bill tonight" said Kelly of F!ght F!ght F!ght by way of introducing the group's performance. True, that - though it would be the case for just about anyone sharing a bill with Sleeping Pilot and Elephantoms.



Sebastien from the floor. Strangely enough I was to see him just a few days later playing bass in Crowded Skies at Zaphod's. Though come to think of it going from synth rock to country rock isn't to strange for Ottawa.



Hair-swishing action!



Honest to goodness jumping action!



Hat-losing action!



Singalong action!





Some guest vocal action from an audience member for the band's theme song.



Cymbal action from Etienne!



Kelly bends strings and self.



The whole lot!



Snazzy. They have a pair of shows coming up March 10. First, they'll play End Hits first anniversary, then they're lugging their gear off to Zaphod's to perform with Go Sumo.

Panic at the disco

I worked Valentine's Day, so by the time I got to Babylon for their Valentine's Day show Death March Volunteers and Elephantoms had come and gone and Sleeping Pilot had just started off their action-packed set. They attracted a decent-sized crowd (considering the cold and the day of the week) which was also quite enthusiastic.

The whole lot in action!



Mike Bond makes a run for it.



Pat lookin' mighty fiery. Somebody brought some extra lights which added considerably to the photos.



As usual for Sleeping Pilot, there was a lot of laying down on the job, in this case by Justin.



Alex rocks the dreads.



Scott rocks the dead.



More laying about action!





Pilot action!





Big finish!



Lots of fun; I also finally got around to buying their excellent album Panic Sex.

Two

How time flies! Just a short while ago I posted a picture I fancied from Barrymore's, and now here it is two years later. I'm not even going to guess how many pictures I've shot in the last 12 months since most of it has been on digital; it's dead easy to shoot 100 photos at a show (barring a desire not to blind the performers with flash).



Of course, the best thing about anniversaries is that they're an excuse to buy a cupcake!

The bear essentials

A while back I got a copy of Grizzly Bear's first album, the rerelease from Warp with a bonus disc of remixes. I remember thinking it was okay, but not to the point where I wanted to hang on to it. I also heard rapturous descriptions of the band's show at The Black Sheep Inn, so I decided to check them out when they came to town. Glad I did because in addition to a bevy of first-rate of openers, Grizzly Bear put on a magical set. They built up their reputation with extensive touring, and it shows in their superbly placed and paced performance.

Bear founder Ed Droste.



Daniel Rossen.



Christopher Bear gets down on the xylophone.



Wish I had a better picture of Christopher Taylor ... they'll just have to come back so I can snap another.



More Ed!



Recorder solo!



Ursine action!



The whole lot!



Best thing I've seen so far this year.

Muck and mire

I'd say that The Dirty Projectors were the wild card in the Grizzly Bear show lineup, if only Crush Buildings hadn't been on the bill. As for the band, Projectors mainstay Dave Longstreth has been described as one of the most individual songwriters around, and his band certainly has few precedents (the only one I could think of was Canada’s similarly singular Bob Wiseman, who also has a strident warble and occasionally rabble-rousing lyrical taste). Longstreth’s music seems to draw from Afropop – the high-pitched, brittle licks played by him and guitarist Amber Coffman sound like the thumb piano riffs transferred to guitar that are the hallmarks of the style. While the melodies were occasionally weird and angular, the band’s rhythms held it all together and went over very well the audience.

Projector-in-chief Dave.



Co-guitarist and backing singer Amber.



Bassist Angel Deradoorian.



Brian Mcomber on the skins.



Dirty action!





They're currently on tour with Hella; they're just that versatile an outfit

• Show reminder: Butterflies and Zebras, Hey Ocean, Transitaural and Adeline perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox.