Eyes and ears

It was a chilly night on Saturday, but not cold enough to stop me trouping off to the Dominion Tavern for some punk rock action, in three distinct flavours: Pop punk, minimalist punk and garage punk. Think of it as the Ottawa Explosion in miniature - actually the last (and in two cases, the first) time I caught the bands was at the June festival.

First up, Voicemail (a.k.a. Gary Voicemail and The Touchtones, though I guess that name expired almost as soon as it was coined). The band features Ian Manhire of White Wires fame and a bunch of Sweet Janes/Mother's Children folks, and leans toward the new wave. There was even a cover of Blondie's Sex Offender (and a brief rip of The Adverts' Gary Gilmore's Eyes).


Voicemail at the Dominion Tavern, December 15, 2011

Ken frets! The band has another show coming up soon: Jan. 3 at The Daily Grind on Somerset, to be precise.


Voicemail at the Dominion Tavern, December 15, 2011

Dagger Eyes filled out the middle slot; they've just released their debut LP on P-Trash. It was another fine dose of short sharp shock from the Montreal-Ottawa trio.


Dagger Eyes at the Dominion Tavern, December 15, 2011

The Dom always offers a very orange experience ...


Dagger Eyes at the Dominion Tavern, December 15, 2011

Finally, Le Lid et Les Marinellis. They breezed through nine songs and sounded superfine while doing so. There seemed to be a lot more in the way of backing vocals this time around, to good effect.


Le Kid et Les Marinellis, December 15, 2011

Le Kid, a.k.a. Cedric Marinelli, himself!


Le Kid et Les Marinellis, December 15, 2011

Like Dagger Eyes, Kid and Co. have a new LP out on P. Trash. Those Germans must like the frozen north.