Fan club

Yikes, you go see a few shows, post a few previews and the thing you know you're a couple of weeks behind on your posts. Back on June 11 I went to see Loose Ties, Hellbros and Erick Von Erick play a sweaty show at Zaphod's. It was seriously muggy up near the stage, with only one fan to shift the air about. Since Stabatron and Nightwolf's mother was there, they took pains to point out that despite singing about murder and destruction and such they didn't approve of any of that kind of thing.

Stabatron!



Killbot!



Nightwolf! And a powerful fan.



Count Rockulla!



Killbot shows excellent colour co-ordination with the Zaphod's lightshow.



Of course there was plentiful hairshaking.



Faceoff action!



And so on!





They have an upcoming show on the Booze Cruise with The Sick Sick Sicks.

• Show reminder: The Rough Sea and Thick As Thieves play the Exile Infoshop. Ex-Girlfriends rock Irene's.

Salt, Sea, Saints, Sicks, Sadie, Shanker and so on

Tonight Ramona Cordova performs at the Treehouse (80 Spruce St.); tourmate Francois Virot appears to have been sidelined, but if you like falsetto folk-pop it's worth looking into. Zaphod's hosts Windsor folk-punkers James O-L and The Villains, Gargle Salt (horrible name, cool acoustic folk with found sound garnish) and Fused.
On Tuesday The Rough Sea and Thick As Thieves play the Exile Infoshop. I'm darn sad to be missing the screeching trash rock of Winnipeg's Ex-Girlfriends at Irene's on the same day.
If you miss 'em them, they'll also be at the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party on Thursday.
Wednesday, Tympanic, F the Band and Amos the Transparent's Jonathan Chandler perform at Zaphod's.
Thursday, apart from the aforementioned Ex-Girlfriends at the Bytown Tavern, Aaron Allen and the Small City Saints will be performing at the Elmdale House Tavern - it's good, moody country rock with a soulful edge.


Videotape, Zaphod Beeblebrox, March 21, 2008

Things heat up Friday with Kites Overhead and Larsin performing at U of O's Cafe Nostalgica. International Maniac Institute, Zero Hours, Karnax, Everything Less, Sketchy Poutine and Sick Sick Sicks rock The New Bayou. Psychic Hotline Sadie Hell and Videotape play Zaphod Beeblebrox. Matt Ouimet perform at Irene's.


Casey Comeau, Babylon, March 23, 2007

On Saturday The Late '94s, These Electric Lives and Acres play Zaphod Beeblebrox; illScarlett and Daniel Wesley perform at Mavericks; Shanker and Romps release their new CD alongside Casey Comeau at Irene's.
Endemise, Arising Roots, Aggressor, Demise of a King and Mercury Flow play Mavericks on Sunday.

Box of Freaks

Four shows in four days ... I feel like it's the good old days when I got off work at 8 p.m. and not midnight. Like Friday's show, last night at the Dominion dished out the heavy rock. First Castor dealt some psychedelic perambulations and Rubik's Cube solving, the Brant Bjork and The Bros unleashed a steam roller of hippy heaviosity.


Castor, The Dominion Tavern, June 21, 2008

Bjork has a couple of new Bros; Giam Paolo on drums and Max Radings on guitar.


Brant Bjork and The Bros, The Dominion Tavern, June 21, 2008

Great show from all concerned, and a super-enthusiastic sold-out crowd.

• Show reminder: Bruce Boris, Throes, Shot by Jack and Riishi Von Rex and the Dire Royalty play The Rainbow; Mavericks hosts I Wrestled A Bear Once, Kissy Face Fashion Faux~Pas, Beneath All Innocence, Pray For Tomorrow, Her Last Words and Caramel Waltz.

Great weight

I had the early shift Friday night and figured that if a put the pedal to the err, pedal I might make it home soon enough to catch Garaga's record/CD release show. I did miss Boom Creek, but managed to see a good-sized chunk of Tokyo Sex Whale. They sounded super heavy. You might not to be able to make out the microphone on the left in this somewhat dark photo, but they were also set up to record this gig.


Tokyo Sex Whale, Babylon, June 20, 2008

Then I ran back home for my spare batteries ... good thing I live close by. Garaga tore through a dozen or so tune; they had their new drummer John Knoll of Gruesomes fame.


Garaga, Babylon, June 20, 2008

And now I'm off to iron a few shirts while I listen to their new record.

• Show reminder: A Plot Against Me with Knives for Kids rock the punks at Cafe DeKcuf, Econoline Crush and State Of Shock play Mavericks; Hunter Eyes and Blind Mule perform at the Avant-Garde. Politique release their new CD with The Balconies at Zaphod's; Shawn Tavernier and Silver Creek perform with The Withering Pines at Irene's; Washboard Hank and The Wild Turkeys play everything, possibly including the kitchen sink, at Elmdale House. Brant Bjork and Castor get heavy at the Dominion.

Changing of the seasons

I went to Mavericks last night to see hotly tipped francophone act Bonjour Brumaire, Winter Gloves and Ottawa's own Murder Plans, a show courtesy of i(heart)music. There was something a little different about the place went in: Namely, a total lack of furniture. They also seem to have sawed the bar in half. I gather a play for an increased capacity is at work.

The Murder Plans kindly warned the following acts that the X on the stage marked a hole in the wood underneath the carpet. There goes my "buried treasure" theory. They also asked people to visit their Youtube video. Watch it and you'll never complain about the size of your practice space again. Their live show was once again excellent. I'm still getting a strong Postcard records vibe from them, but they sounded a bit more rootsy this time around.


Murder Plans, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

Next came Winter Gloves, who stole the show with their super bouncy electronic pop and falsetto vocals. "They deserve the Polaris next year!" said Bonjour Brumaire frontman Youri Zaragoza. They've been recording with a guy who's worked with Malajube and Les Breastfeeders, so who knows?


Winter Gloves, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

Finally Bonjour Brumaire ran through their set of classic rock-influenced indie pop. For some reason the Montreal quintet put me strongly in mind of 1990s Irish rockers Whipping Post (I'm still trying to figure out why my brain dredged up the comparison ... a familiar riff, perhaps). Quite good, but a bit overwhelmed by the openers.


Bonjour Brumaire, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

This was their first show in Ottawa; I bet they'll be playing someplace a bit larger when they return.

• Show reminder: Flow 14 and Tara Lee Combs rock Zaphod's. Garaga unleashes their new record at Babylon with Tokyo Sex Whale and Boom Creek. Grouyan Gumbo get spicey at the Elmdale House Tavern. Uzumaki perform at the Avant-Garde.

Liquid all around

All right, who decided we were going to do April over again? I feel like there's been a rain cloud on my heels everywhere I've gone in the past two weeks. Harrumph! At least that meant things were a little cooler inside Zaphod's, which has also brought in a couple of very large fans to improve the air circulation. As for the music, it started with an excellent set from The Bella Bombs. The band was on hiatus briefly while e-bomb had a baby, but haven't slowed down since I last caught them at Babylon in October 2007.

E-bomb and Honey Bomb.


The Bella Bombs, Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 18, 2008

The Oholics then played a cool set of Stones-influenced retro-rock. They cop to a Madchester influence on their website, and I can definitely hear some Stone Roses and Happy Mondays in their music. Their solid rhythm section gives them a real boost. They also reminded me of Singapore Sling. Unfortunately their sitar player's sound didn't come through very well - it sounded quite plunky and scratchy.


Oholics, Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 18, 2008

At least they got a good and enthusiastic crowd for a damp Wednesday.

• Show reminder: There's a whole lotta 'billy at the Elmdale House Tavern with Art Adams and Bloodshot Bill. Butterflies and Zebras perform at the Avant-Garde; Trevor James and The Perfect Gentlemen, The Darling DeMaes and Michou play Zaphod's; Bonjour Brumaire, Winter Gloves and The Murder Plans at Mavericks.

The ties that bind

One my sole free day last week I went off to Erick Von Erick and The Raving Psychos. Two other bands on the bill, Loose Ties and Hellbros. None of the bands really sounds like the others; personal ties were the prime connector for the evening, not least of which is that The Loose Ties' guitarist also sings and plays guitar as Stabatron in Hellbros. I don't have much more to say: Where EVE was 1980s pop rock and Hellbros are screamy metal, they were floating around in the indie-rock zone with some extra female vocalists. I don't know anymore than I did about them during my first aftershow post, so here's a bunch of photos (FLASH UPDATE: this post was edited June 19 because I met bassist Dave Rowan working the door at Zaphod's for the Oholics/Bella Bombs show, so I got some names to put to faces).

Meghanne Kessels and Mallory Lynn Giles.



Claudia Jurt on the left, and you can just make out drummer Antonio Caballero and keyboardist Jordan.



"Oh fuck, I promised I wouldn't swear so much because my Mom's here ... sorry Mom!" says guitarist Peter Jurt.



Meanwhile, on the other side of the post, Jordan and Dave.



And so on!







The whole lot!



I can't say more, other than it was pretty muggy up near the front of the stage. I hope they've got their air-conditioning fixed, since I'm going to Zaphod's tonight to see The Bella Bombs and The Oholics.

BB and BB

There's a lot to see this week (I know, I always say that ...) just not today. So rest up and prepare yourselves for Wednesday.


Bella Bombs, Babylon, January 3, 2007

... When Sweden's Oholics play Zaphod's. They're a retro garage-psych act with production courtesy of Ebbot Lundberg of Soundtrack of Our Lives. The Bella Bombs open.


Bloodshot Bill, Irene's, November 20, 2006

Thursday night you can see Indiana psychobilly cat Art Adams and Montreal trashabilly idol Bloodshot Bill at the Elmdale. It's a busy night: you can also see Butterflies and Zebras at the Avant-Garde; Trevor James and The Perfect Gentlemen with Montreal indie rockers The Darling DeMaes and Windsor folkies Michou at Zaphod's or Bonjour Brumaire, Winter Gloves and The Murder Plans at Mavericks.


D'Urbervilles, Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 10, 2006

If you have the means to make it to The Black Sheep Inn you can see The Wooden Sky with ace Guelph combo The D'Urbervilles and Leif Vollebekk.
Friday is, of course, the start of jazzfest: Wynton Marsalis, Common Bond, Servantes and Apex Jazz Band are the bigger names; their website has more, but since it crashed my Firefox you might just want to hunt up a handbill instead.


Tara Lee Combs, The Rainbow, September 9, 2007

But let us suppose you are not a jazz fan: You can always see Flow 14 with Tara Lee Combs at Zaphod's. Rock lovers can check out Garaga's record release at Babylon with Tokyo Sex Whale and Boom Creek. If you like Ball and Chain, you might want to check out cajun ensemble Grouyan Gumbo (with which they also play) at the Elmdale House tavern. There's also Uzumaki - this is not the bonkers Japanese rap-rock combo, but a local outfit featuring Lindsey Wellman, Toronto experimentalist eldritch Priest and Rory Magill - at the Avant-Garde.


Brant Bjork, Babylon, June 6, 2005

On Saturday, apart from Jazzfest (Cosmos, Buddy DeFranco, Felix Stussi, Duane Andrews Quartet and the ever-popular more), you can see A Plot Against Me with Knives for Kids at Cafe DeKcuf, Econoline Crush and State Of Shock at Mavericks or Hunter Eyes and Blind Mule at the Avant-Garde. Politique release their new CD with The Balconies at Zaphod's; Shawn Tavernier and Silver Creek (and/or Anders Drerup, there are conflicting listings) perform with The Withering Pines at Irene's and Washboard Hank and The Wild Turkeys get down at the Elmdale House. The big draw from rock fans is, of course, former Kyuss man Brant Bjork at the Dominion Tavern. The younger set may enjoy Strike Anywhere, The Flatliners, Hostage Life and Assemble Me at Babylon.
Sunday the Jazzfest continues with Herbie Hancock Quartet, Iro Haarla and Alexis Baro Sextet. And more? Of course! I miss anything? Drop me a line in the comments section or via e-mail. The Rainbow plays host to Bruce Boris, Throes, Shot by Jack and Riishi Von Rex and the Dire Royalty, while Mavericks collects as many strangely named bands as they can for a bill including I Wrestled A Bear Once, Kissy Face Fashion Faux~Pas, Beneath All Innocence, Pray For Tomorrow, Her Last Words and Caramel Waltz.

Come all ye faithful

Holy Fuck brought the show to a close with an awesome set of their ersatz electronic psychedelic groove. This was the third show I've seen by them, and they seem to be better each time. Unfortunately I couldn't get into a good spot to take photos, but I had a swell time bopping to the music along with 300-plus other people.

Graham Walsh reaches!



Brian Borcherdt has it all on film.



The last time I saw them, Mike Bigelow (not Kevin Lynn, as I said earlier) and Glenn Milchem anchored the combo. This time around they had Union Dues-payer Matt McQuaid on bass and Matt Schulz of Enon fame on drums. And a very solid rhythm section they are too.



Melodica action!



More rhythm section!



The crowd was large and loud.



And so on!







They're currently on tour in Europe.

• Show reminder: Auto Racing, The Painted Birds, Leigton Bain and Salvatore William play Zaphod's. Martyr, Atma, Remnants of a Deity and Abhorrent Human Animation disembowel your eardrums at the Rainbow.

Erection destruction

The Holy Fuck show takes a switch to less squelchy pastures with Crush Buildings more tune-oriented set. As with the last show by them I caught - opening for Grizzly Bear - they didn't sound much like anyone else on the bill, yet still managed to fit in.

James and Dan Hay.



My one Eaze photo. Which is horrible.



My one photo of drummer Mike Steenbakkers, which is almost as horrible. Note the "Say No To Dan" T-shirt ... although since it has a prohibition sign, maybe it's actually saying say no to say no to Dan?



Also on board for this go around was Luke Duross from Relief Maps, playing mostly bass and a bit of guitar.





More rocking from James and Dan!



"I believe this is the first time Dan has played bass on stage since high school," James observed.



Pointless overexposure. Or James' head exploding - you decide.



Big finish!



So far, so good!