Saturday night garage

Off to Babylon to see a bunch of sort-of retro sounding acts. Yes, The Secret Loves include noted local garage rocker Patrick Shanks, yes Montreal's Devil Eyes have occasionally be tagged as punk rock and yes, The Uncles do have some surfy sounds in their repertoire. But all three bands are doing a bit more ... well okay, not always a whole lot more.

First up, The Secret Loves, which definitely follow in the footsteps of other Shanker-associated acts like The Glads. Patrick is joined by John Sproull (who I seem to recall playing in The Silent K way back when) and Christine on second guitar (bassist Jennifer is off in New Zealand right now). So what we get is a trio of fuzzy garage rock, and a cover of The Sonics He's Waiting. I suspect I'll see them again soon since they're playing the Kelp Barbecue at the Carleton Tavern May 15.


The Secret Loves at Babylon May 1, 2010

Another band for the "I last saw them years ago" file is Devil Eyes. To be precise, the last time I laid eyes on the eyes was at the Rock'N'Roll Pizza Party back when it was at The Bytown Tavern. This time around they sounded incredibly heavy, and the guitar noise was a hurricane. Their entire set really motored along, including a cover of Johnny Kidd's Shakin' Too Much. Guitarist Matt also set a band record by busting a guitar string in the first few seconds of the gig.


Devil Eyes at Babylon May 1, 2010

The Uncles start with surf and end up wherever the party is. A very fun band who threw in some shirt-tearing during Jack The Stripper and a cover of Suffragette City.


The Uncles at Babylon May 1, 2010 

Fun times all 'round.

• Show reminder: The Brothers Chaffey are throwing a birthday party at the Elmdale House.