Let there be light

Last Friday I went over to pressed for some folk music, in the earnest social tradition (in contrast to the"Old Weird America" style I usually favour). It was a release show for Erin Saoirse Adair's new EP, Gaslighting,. She was joined by Carmel & The Witness and Nine of Nine. Unfortunately the show started a bit earlier than I expected, and Nine if Nine had come and gone by 8 o'clock when I arrived, so instead things started with Carmel & The Witness. The three singer-songwriters in the band also have solo careers: Here's Heather at centre stage for a few songs!



To the left, Patricia, to the right, Carmel.



Carmel multitasks.



Guitar action with Patricia!



Extra Heather!



Carmel sang a few, too.



And so on!



Erin played tunes from her new EP and some Phil Ochs tunes (she's a big fan).



She was joined by Mike Essoudry on drums, Nicholas Dyson on trumpet and Richard Page on clarinet.



Trumpet action with Nicholas!



Saxophone action with Richard!



Percussive action with Mike!



Keyboard action with Erin!



Cackling action! Erin had wanted to put an updated version of Ochs' Cops Of The World on her new EP, called Cocks Of The World (about a University of Ottawa sexual harassment scandal), but Universal demanded she not on the grounds that it would be offensive - because we all know Phil Ochs never offended anyone.



She finished off with some solo ukulele.



Definitely a bit different from my usual outing.

Frozen farewell

One of the highlights of the local music scene a few years ago was heavy post-rockers Alaskan. The last time I caught them live was back in 2013 at the Dominion Tavern; they released an album earlier in 2014 (Despair, Erosion, Loss) and that was the last I heard of them until they decided to call it a day. They played a trio of shows, starting in Toronto, heading to Montreal then back to Ottawa for one final hurrah, sharing a stage with Swarm of Spheres, Biipiigwan and New York's Black Table. Swarm of Spheres started things up just as I was sitting down to an order of perogies, so I only got to shoot for their last couple of songs. Here's Mark on drums!



Guitar action with Jay!



Bass action with Andrew!



Extra Jay!



Mark confronts his snare drum!


This was my first encounter with Black Table; they fit in quite well with Alaskan's esthetic, bringing some blackened touches, post rock and experimental metal sounds to the stage. Here's guitarist DJ Scully (and a fuzzy drummer Mike Kadnar in the background).



Mike hits!



Since bassist DJ Scully was in constant motion, most of my photos of him look like this:



Guitar action with vocalist Mers Sumida!



Extra Scully!



More Mers!



Mike hits some more!



Mers sings!



DJ sings!



Extra Ryan!



Tapping shirtless action!



Last time I saw Biipiigwan was at the late, lamented Daily Grind; as always there's been a bit of a lineup switch since then. Here's mainstay Musky shouting a bit - he's switched over to bass.



Guitar action with Matt!



Mark hits!



Close-up action!



Mark sings!



Sean sings!



And so on!



Alaskan played a fine set; it wasn't the classic lineup; Deniz, Gary's partner in They Grieve, manned the kit. Here's Cory, filling out the trio on bass.



Gary sings!



Shirtless action with Deniz!



Extra Gary!



A shouty bit!



Deniz hits!



And so on!



The show was also a benefit for The Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women and raised $500 for the cause.

Monday night fever

It's time for another Peach Kelli Pop tour, and that means a stop in Ottawa so California-based bubblegum princess Allie Hanlon and her band can meet family and friends, and escape the van for a couple of blessed days. It was a really good turnout for a Monday night, and a good show too, starting with the debut of Toxic Thoughts, the hardcore combo fronted by Yogi's son Felix. And here he is, running about!



Guitar action with Connor!



Michael hits!



Rhythm section action with Shayla on bass.



Strap-losing action!



Felix rolls about!



Hair-flipping action!



More Shayla!



Shirtless action!



On to Nightshades, who have experienced another lineup shift; Dean from The Haig has joined on bass.Here's Mallory, singing a bit!


Geoff hits!



Cat-fancying action with Dean!



More Mallory!



Extra Geoff!



Guitar action with Mallory!



More Geoff and Dean!



Allie and company brought the evening to a surprisingly on-schedule close. The lineup was a bit different this time around: Mindee is still on drums, Gina is on bass and Alex on guitar. Now here's some fisheyed action!



Allie sings!



Alex sings!



Well-accesorized guitar action!



Closeup action!



Guitar action with Alex!



Mindee hits!



Gina sings some more!



Singalong action!



Best of all, no unfortunate microphone-shoving.