Dead reckoning

The DeadZone. kicked things off at Zaphod's a couple of weeks ago. The bill included local heavy rockers Jesus Mullet and The Mercy Now from Toronto. The DeadZone includes a pair of Radiodazed veterans - Nials Everett and Mark McHale - and guitarist Jay Champagne. They like that Rancid, Green Day, post hardcore Cali punk sound.

I started things off with a few colour shots ... here's Jay Champagne.



Riser action with Nials and Mark!



Shoutalong action!



More shouting, including a few naughty words from me when I realized I had forgotten my spare flash batteries at home.



Sow we'll now switch over to some no-flash, black-and-white shouting action.





I did try some colour shots but the number of red stagelights tend to wash everything else out.





Dual shouting action!



And one last photo of Mark.



What they're up to now I have no idea ...

• Show reminder: Contrabandit, The Valveenus, Fleeba and Catch of the Day punk it up at Cafe Dekcuf; Hated, Fatal Flaw, It's Asshole Time! and Whiskey Shits punk it up even more at 62 Bell St. N; Lucie Idlout and Tara Holloway perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox. There's a whole lot of Cajun activity at the Elmdale's Mardi Gras shindig with Swamperella, plus some cooking and dance lessons.
  

Hop on pop

Crazy times last night at Babylon as a bevy of garage rockers and assorted weirdos took the stage in front of a whole bunch of other garage rockers and assorted weirdos. The occasion was the tour for Nobunny, and an appropriately rock-tastic bill was assembled.

First up, Ottawa party-rockers The Beach Blankets. This set was not quite as loopy as their performance at The Rocker Room which I witnessed a little while back. Still plenty of fun, plus a version of I Want Candy mutated into I Hate Teachers.


Beach Blankets, Babylon, February 26, 2009

A few years back Stagecoach and The Funisher were part of herky-jerky Ottawa punks Quebexico, now their stuff with Teen Anger is a lot more Cramps, Gun Club and Gories, but with a throbbing low end. They're also running the Telephone Explosion label.


Teenanger, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Demon's Claws had a similar sound, maybe a bit more spidery ... I saw them years ago at Irene's, when Skip Jensen of the Scat Rag Boosters was their drummer ... They still tear it up pretty good, though I talked to two people in rapid succession who were poles apart in their appreciation for the band's set. They have a new limited edition LP out on Telephone Explosion.


Demon's Claws, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Ian Manhire played the hits between sets, since this was also a Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party night - RRPP has departed the Bytown Tavern, and will soon be taking up residence in the Royak Oak across the street from Babylon.


Ian Manhire, Babylon, February 26, 2009

The Smith Westerns are on tour with Nobunny as his backing band, but also played an awesome set themselves - actually it was the evening's highlight. These guys are still in their teens - the bassist is only 17, for crying out loud. Lots of confetti and a huge T. Rex influence from these lads.


Smith Westerns, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Lo-fi pop a la Jay Reatard is Nobunny's things - also stripper heels, red underwear and a ratty bunny mask. His rabid fans went bananas for his brief set.


Nobunny, Babylon, February 26, 2009

After a while things got so pushy in the crowd that a bunch of people just jumped on stage to dance around, then hurl Nobunny into the crowd.


Nobunny, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Try getting that much entertainment for $8 anywhere else.

• Show reminder: Nobody's Fool performs at the Elmdale. The Mighty Popo plays the Rainbow. Blessed By A Broken Heart, Lovehatehero, Agraceful, Vanna, In Fear And Faith and Kiros rock the New Bayou; Becky Abbott and Lindsay Ferguson sing up a storm at Zaphod Beeblebrox; Scarlet Sins, Doll, Bella Bombs and Dead End Girl play Mavericks; Hollerado, wrap up their stand at Cafe DeKcuf with Black Names, The Rough Sea and Sadie Hell. Trevor James and the Perfect Gentlemen play Babylon. Jan Purcell and Pine Road perform at Irene's.
  

Cabin fever

Here we are at the grand finale of In A Cabin With's Mercury Lounge outing. The project brought Dutch musicians Alvin Ronde and Steye to Ottawa to collaborate with some locals. They recorded an album at Arts Court that will be free for download some time in the not-too-distant future.

First here's Alvin Ronde, guitarist for Zuco103 - and a fine one he is too. He also played some keyboards.



Steye croons a little later (with the same guitar in the picture above, Alvin having switched to a Telecaster).



People Project person Phillip Lafreniere.



More hot Ronde licks!





And all together ...



I forgot to adjust the shutter speed after switching back to my macro lens, but I like this photo anyway.



KellyLee Evans steps up to sing a few songs and Philippe switched over to guitar. Record producer Jesse Beuker moved into the drummer's seat, but I couldn't get any good photos of him.



Singalong action!







After witnessing Jesse Dangerously's set, Steye wanted to add some beats to a Dangerously rap.



The switcheroo was a little less successful.



All good fun.

• Show reminder: Brights, The A.K.A.s, The Artist Life and Delinquints rock Cafe Dekcuf; Nobunny, Demon's Claws, Teenanger and The Beach Blankets play Babylon; Corboe and Owel Five, The Foreign (with affiliate member Sublime Temple), NiLLa and Ell3 with Emcee E hip and hop at Zaphod Beeblebrox. Ken Workman, Little Birdie and Jill Zmud.

Living dangerously

Act II of the In A Cabin With's showcase at The Mercury Lounge featured expat Halifax rapper Jesse Dangerously. If I correctly recall my conversation with photog Ben Welland after the show, he's also penning a writeup of the evening for Dharma Arts online magazine.

Black and white action!



Slide whistle action!



Pointing action!



Crooning action!



His next scheduled show will be at SXSW March 20.

• Show reminder: Synkro and Schema Factor play Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Unlikely sounds

It was a pretty easy decision to head over to Sounds Unlikely last night to catch a triple bill of far-out sounds - mostly on the noise side of the spectrum - from three different acts. About 30 people showed up, so it was a tight fit among Sounds Unlikely's CD bins and record racks.

Self Surgery is the noise-music project of Fucked Corpse member, photographer, Bruised Tongue proprietor and master of disguise Pierre Richardson. You could say his performance was straight off the floor, using a bunch of tape decks and a microphone.


Self Surgery, Sounds Unlikely, February 22, 2009

HI-COMM were more melodic. Despite the photo below, there are in fact five people in the band, including Daniel from Place (at left). They got plenty noisy at times, but there was more discernible rhythm, and at times they sounded a bit like Circle, or the more industrial parts of F/i.


HI_COMM, Sounds Unlikely, February 22, 2009

Thames brought the noise back with some grinding tones and freakout guitar on the last movement. Alex Moskos, who's part of Unireverse and also played with Goa when they were at the Avant Garde many moons ago, is 50% of Thames; the other half is Blake Hargreaves of Dreamcatcher and Cousins of Reggae.


Thames, Sounds Unlikely, February 22, 2009

I'll just repeat what I said during one of the intermissions: "I'm glad I brought my earplugs."

• Show reminder: The Polytones, The Urban Aesthetics, That's The Spirit and Sunjet Records Band play Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Clocktower of Sound

It was a coin toss last night between going to see The Polymorphines and Felines at Babylon or Cold Coffee and Salty Boots and The Fays last night ... I plumped for the latter because I've been wanting to catch Mark Mcyntire's new combo for some time, and the Polymorphines seem to be keeping a busy schedule so I figure I'll catch them sooner rather than later ... unfortunately the Beach Blankets dropped off the bill, but it was still a fine knight, albeit one with fewer people standing on organs.

Merle Knurling - a.k.a. Patrick Shanks - opened things up with some of his patented humorous ditties.


Merle Knurling, The Clocktower Pub, February 21, 2009

The Fays made the debut performance. Pretty basic rootsy rock with some Velvet Underground currents running through it. Not bad for a first show by the quartet, who seem to have a fondness for songs about Ottawa neighbourhoods. Tara Holloway made a guest appearance on the closing tune.


The Fays, The Clocktower Pub, February 21, 2009

Mark has traded in the electric guitar of his Weapons of Mass Seduction days for an acoustic, and CC&SB aren't exactly folk-rock - more like The Thanes or the Dukes of Hamburg a la All Folked Up. Jason Vaughan of Artguise drums, Diane plays xylophone and Mark's Solid Senders cohort Patrick plays bass.


Cold Coffee and Salty Boots, The Clocktower Pub, February 21, 2009

As the show went on The Wicker Man was playing on the screen behind them. Naked Britt Eklund and three performances all for $6 - it's a bargain!

• Show reminder: Thames, HI_COMM and Self Surgery electro-smash your brain at Sounds Unlikely; Radio Adelaide and TwentySeven York play Zaphod Beeblebrox. Ambient French metal group HYPNO5E play the Rainbow.

This one time at band camp

It seems like an age since I last saw Chris Page play live - the Kelp Records 13th Anniversary Show playing mandolin for The Michael Parks in April 2007 at the Navy Club, looks like. Kelp Records artists contributed to the In A Cabin With recording project here in Ottawa, and Chris opened things up for the Mercury Lounge show on February.

I can tell it's been a long time since he's traded his trademark TV yellow LP Junior in for a Gretsch.



This show was being filmed for television, and I quickly realized that neither flash nor a high ISO equivalency would be required.



Whistling action!



Singing action!



The Mercury Lounge does have a nice high ceiling doesn't it?



I don't know what Chris will be up to next, other than recording his next record Camp Radio, but if you're in the mood for things Kelp you can see Flecton Big Sky at Raw Sugar performing an acoustic set with Rolf Klausener, Jake Bryce and Pat Johnson.

• Show reminder: Not that there isn't a bunch of other stuff you could go see; The Irons and Riishi Von Rex rock Zaphod Beeblebrox; The Withering Pines, The Woodrunners and J.J. Ipsen perform at the Elmdale Tavern; Boxcar Cadavers, Sketchy Poutine and Brainhunter play Cafe Dekcuf; The Polymorphines, The Felines and Dany Laj and The Implosion mix it up at Babylon; Cold Coffee and Salty Boots, The Fays, Beach Blankets and surprise opening guest star Merle Knurling make some noise at the Clocktower. The Coggs and Al Wood and The Woodsmen play the Rainbow; Kram Ran and Bear Claps perform at the Avant Garde Bar. then there's the Ottawa Rock Lottery at Mavericks with various members of Love Machine, The Balconies, Soft Disaster, My Dad Vs. Yours and so one turning their hand to instant album.
  

Modern lovers

First, let us rejoice for National Capital Rock is four today! Huzzay, etcetera. As for shows, there's plenty on offer tonight, starting with Toronto retro-rockers Modernboys Moderngirls, The Centretown Cripplers and The Montelongos (but not, as stated earlier, New Teeth, so I'll resurrect that photo later) at Zaphod Beeblebrox. For those with heavier tastes, No Other Way, Cloven Hoofs (some Fucking Machines guys in this outfit I hear), HellBros, The Epilogue and Alaskan rock Babylon. Dan Voltan and Nova Scotian Jon McKiel will be a bit quieter at the Avant-Garde Bar.


Shawn Tavenier, Bluesfest, July 5, 2008

The Ireland Brothers Band, Shawn Tavenier and Silvercreek and Andrew Shedden play the Elmdale House. Hollerado, have their all ages show at Cafe DeKcuf with The Gales and Experience More. Clothes Make The Man and Montreal's Dirty Tricks rock Mavericks. Jay Clark and The Jones and the Pamela Brennan Experience perform at Irene's.

Khan come back

Back in January when I finally got around to posting photos of King Khan and BBQ's show at Babylon I noted that Khan would be returning in May for a show with his Sensational Shrines - and now we have a date and place! May 8 at Babylon, to be precise.


King Khan and His Sensational Shrines, Zaphod Beeblebrox, July 26, 2008

Mark Sultan will also be performing at this show, so now doubt it'll be a crazy 'ol time. And I'll bet guitarist Speedfinger will be happy to see everyone. As for tonight, After The Burial, Veil of Maya, Abacabb and Fell Silent play The Bayou; Passenger Action, Molten Lava, Dancing On Fire, and OldBoys will rock Cafe Dekcuf; the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party serves up some amped up rock courtesy of The Job and also some amped up pizza. "Surprise guests" are also alleged to be in the offing. The Bruitals play the Elmdale House.

Raise a glass

If this is Tuesday, it must be Boozeday - oh wait, I skipped yesterday so it isn't. Well, next Tuesday will be Boozeday, and there will be a DJ spinning tunes and bartenders serving liquid refreshments. This weekly event at Babylon started off at the beginning of February with some rocking from Ukrainia and was a fun night out. There doesn't seem to be any immediate live action of the rock variety planned, but there will probably be pretzels.

Damian and Yogi rock!



Dave and Tom also rock!



The whole lot!



Tom drums faster than the eye can see.



And so on.





They've got a show at Zaphod Beeblebrox March 21.