My flash on you

Ukrainia didn't spare the wattage at their show last night. If you wanted flashing lights you got 'em. Good thing I heeded the warning to bring sunglasses. It did mean that several of my photos are just washes of white, though.


Ukrainia at Babylon, June 25, 2010

 The event was for the release of their new CD The Maiden, which they'll soon be touring across the country, so Tom, Damian, Dave and Paul had a few special guests on hand, including Sofia Bilozor, who does a fair helping of the backing vocals on the CD.


Ukrainia with Sofia Bilozor at Babylon, June 25, 2010

Unfortunately, I missed Mike Essoudry's Mash Potato Mashers since I had to work ... next time, I guess!

• Show reminder: The Strumbellas, and Hamilton Trading Co. rock the Raw Sugar Cafe; Rudeboy and Clepto skank up The Rainbow; The Wilderness of Manitoba and Dave Norris and Local Ivan play the Irving Greenberg Theatre; Emperor X, Bob Uker and Patrick Dolan are at Avant Garde Bar; The Schomberg Fair, Dream Jefferson and Erik Jorgensen play Zaphod's; Bluestone and The Big Bend roll into Irene's; NWOBHM-worshippers Cauldron return to Mavericks for a show with The Motorleague and Flying Fortress; Three Times Lucky are at the Elmdale House.

Drugs and bunnies

Last night provided a great opportunity to see a lot of bands. First stop of the night was an early performance at Zaphod Beeblebrox by the great Ted Leo. I've been an admirer since the days of Chisel, when his sharp mod rockers provided a snappy alternative to grunge. For this particular show he was joined by New Jersey's Screaming Females.

Perhaps that should be Screaming Female, since the trio has only one, guitarist and singer Marissa Paternoster. The band is a bunch of troopers, having just come off a tour that ended with some serious van woes. Fortunately Ted and Co. lent them their gear so they could soldier on. Marissa's fuzzy guitar actually reminded me of Kyuss at one point. Her playing also makes me think of Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, albeit not quite as loud.


Screaming Females at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 24, 2010

As for Ted Leo, I think he's one of the best performers around, always super-intense in his singing and guitarwork, witty and charming between tunes. He's an uncommonly intelligent songwriter too, which may be why he's not as popular as he should be. Anyway, it's been a couple of years since I last saw him play at Barrymore's October 6, 2007. I figure this is show number five for me, and No. 6 can't come soon enough.


Ted Leo & The Pharmacists at Zaphod Beeblebrox, June 24, 2010

The Born Ruffians were also in town, but I couldn't pass up a chance to see Nobunny again - also the Ruffians had apparently sold out a while ago. So off to Nine . I arrived in time to catch the Steve Adamyk Band's last three or so songs.


Steve Adamyk Band at Nine, June 24, 2010

The Nymphets followed them. The band is down to a duo. They sound just fine sans bass player, like a combination of The Television Personalities and a ramshackle Buzzcocks. The Nymphets like to round out their sets with an Oi! tune. At previous gigs it's been Borstal Breakout - this time it was Cocksparrer's England Belongs To Me.


The Nymphets at Nine, June 24, 2010

The first portion of Nobunny's set was not as wild and crazy as previous Ottawa dates. You can blame the fact he was playing guitar and thus had less opportunity for misbehaviour. Fortunately White Wires' Allie Hanlon soon joined on drums, allowing the drummer to take over on guitar and Nobunny to put the Nine railing to maximum use.


Nobunny at Nine, June 24, 2010

A short set that ended strong.

• Show reminder: Ukrainia!, release their new album, accompanied by Mike Essoudry's Mash Potato Mashers at Babylon; Bob Wiseman, Glenn Nuotio and Catriona Sturton play the Raw Sugar Cafe; Brendan Flynn and the Terrible Liars and Morgan MacDonald are at Irene's; Great Bloomers and Donlands And Mortimer perform at Cafe Dekcuf; Muffle Crunch and 90 Pounds of Ugly do batle at The Rainbow. Luther Wright and the Wrongs and The Jack Grace Band.

Sight unseen

Well, that was a whole lotta shaking ... no, I'm not talking about our wee temblor yesterday afternoon (though it felt damn alarming on the sixth floor of my old and creaky building), I'm talking about Minneapolis trio The Blind Shake. I had hopes that all the folks who were wowed by their performance at Babylon would roll by their show at Nine. The crowd they drew was enthusiastic but not all that large - we can probably blame the Stanley Cup for that one. The Blaha brothers once again offered up plenty of kicks - both literal and figurative - and Dave Roper is one of the most enthusiastic drummers around.

Mike! Dave! Jim!



Shakin' action!



I like Jim's snazzy pumpkin-coloured shoes.



Mike rocks the baritone.



Where there is The Blind Shake, there is kicks!



Dave hits!



The mirror image.



Singalong action!



The overhead view.



Dave really, really likes drumming.



A little nibble on the drumstick provides necessary fibre.



The whole lot!



More shakin'!



They're now back in Minneapolis. A new record is slated to appear this summer.

• Show reminder: The one and only Ted Leo & The Pharmacists and Screaming Females rock Zaphod Beeblebrox; Nobunny, The Nymphets and The Steve Adamyk Band kick it at Nine; Born Ruffians, Young Rival and PS I Love You play Mavericks; After The Vendetta, On The Shoulders Of Giants, Red Rocket and The Channel 4 News Team are at Cafe Dekcuf; Victor Nesrallah and Kara Askwith hit the Elmdale House. Jon Creeden is at The Avant-Garde.

Suit up

For Act III we have Minneapolis duo The Birthday Suits. Drummer Yuichiro Matthew Kazama and guitarist Hideo Takahashi both used to be in a band called Sweet J.A.P., and share that better-staffed combo's taste for screwed up punk squall.

Matthew and Hideo prepare to unleash the sonic tornado that is The Birthday Suits.



Tippy-tappy action.



Bending action!



Guitar-lifting action!



Hideo goes down!



It's not just running about ... there's also some singing.



More tapping!



More hitting!



The overhead view.



More Hideo!



Even more Hideo!



Sometimes two sticks won't do.



Matthew shows off his homemade harmonica holder.



Hideo jumps!



Feedback action!



Entertaining, but I felt strangely unmotivated to by the music.

• Show reminder: Dinosaur Bones, U.S. Royalty, and Hotshotcasino perform at Zaphod's;  Folkstar Vagabonds roll into the Rainbow; God Falls, Speak Of The Devil, Sleep Is For The Dead, Rising City States and Aimless Endeavor do it for the kids at Mavericks; Will Matthews and Kristine St-Pierre play the Elmdale House.

Deep breath

Next up in our evening of vaguely post-punk clatter was White Lung, a female-fronted (and largely staffed) quartet from the West Coast with a shouty, restless sound and an oblique menace to the lyrics.

We start things off with the band's newest and malest member, Kenneth McCorkell, ex-Pro Nails and Cheerleader Camp.



Anne-Marie Vassiliou rocks the traps.



Mish Way on vocals.



Fisheye action.



Bassist Grady MacIntosh lurks in the shadows.



Double the Mish.



Anne-Marie gets some help recovering the rack tom on her kit ... or is it the School Jerks' kit?



We know return you to our regularly scheduled drumming.



Hair-shaking action!



More Grady.



Shakin' about!



And that's that ... they're now back on home turf, gearing up for a tour of the coast.

• Show reminder: Brooklyn's Talibam! and The Winks play Raw Sugar Cafe; Cute Is What We Aim For target Mavericks.

Pregnant pause

You know it's a slow week in Ottawa when someone isn't forming a band. The latest lot on the block (probably not by now) are Pregnancy Scares, a foursome formed by Emmanuel Sayer of Last Communion, The Steve Adamyk Band and The Sedatives, Craig Proulx from the now-dead Fucked Corpse and Bruised Tongue, noted scene photographer David Forcier and Davey Quesnelle of Mother's Children, Peach Kelli Pop, Klovenhoofs, Male Nurse and so on and so forth. They play fast'n'crazy hardcore stuff.

Craig puts the Nine rail and a few handy audience members to use.



Shaking and shivering from Craig and Davey.



Emmanuel handles the low end as Davey bends.



David hits!



Everyone jumps out of the shot.



Shouty Craig!



Pregnant action!



More David!



The shouty end!



And of course I saw them again just a few days later at The Gaga Weekend.

• Show reminder: The Zolas, The Fays and The Watters Brothers join The Grass for their Monday Showcase residency at Zaphod's; The Sin Kickers and The Liquid Edge play The Rainbow; The Cowards, Shotgun In The Ambulance, Victory By Revenge, Pretty Little Death Machine and Rosedale are at Mavericks.