Knees and news

The last few years have seen a bunch of great festivals spring up in Ottawa; first came Gaga Weekend, which turned into Ottawa Explosion, then came Arboretum, and most recently Megaphono has emerged to champion local bands and give Bytown's music business a boost (Not to mention the bevy of other one-two-and-three day affairs filling out the yearly schedule). I missed out on the Wednesday fun, but made it out to Barrymore's on Thursday and The House of Targ on Friday to see some of past and future favourite bands. It was nice to go back into Barrymore's I saw a bunch of shows there in my early days of going to shows (including what I think of as my first "big" show, Swervedriver). It doesn't look like it's changed much inside, though the soundboard setup isn't the same (no more watching the hockey game set up under the old board!). First band on stage was Montreal's IDALG, formerly known as Il Danse Avec Les Genoux. They played an awesome set of psych rock (I heard a few flashes of Astronomy Domine-era Floyd). Here's some bass action with Tommy!



Gripping action with Yuki!



Tambourine action with Philippe!



Guitar action with Jean-Michel!



Percussive action with Felix-Antoine!



Singalong action!



Guitar action with Martin, and more Tommy!



Noise-generating action!



Keyboard action!



Extra Martin!



Reddish action!



More guitar!



Illuminated action!



Extra Tommy!



The whole lot!



Danseable action!



Extra Philippe!



I was really blown away by Partner when I caught them at Pressed, and they were even more fantastic this time around: A bigger stage suits them. Here's Josee, just warming up a bit before their set.



Guitar antics with Lucy!



Bass action with Kevin!



Josee had to shop around for a substitute pair of Harry Potter style glasses.



Percussive action with Brendan!



Lucy sings!



More guitar with Dan!



The shouty bit!



More guitar!



Partnered action!



I'll say one thing for Barrymore's, you do get more interesting lighting ....



Extra Josee!



Hand-clapping action!



New Swears finished things off with a killer set. As usual the crowd was rambunctious from the get go - some time later they were fed the on-stage placard for the Megaphono Getaway. Here's Alex!



Bass action with SammY!



Singalong silly-stringed action!



Guitar action with B.J.!



Illuminated action with Nick!



The whole lot (and the soon-to-be-sacrificed sign).



Abridged action!



Confetti-launching action!



Swell as always.

Bears and bells

I've been trolling through old photos, and have decided to dump a few larger sets into my Flickr pool. Now you too can marvel at the off-centre and out-of-focus! The photos come from Barrymore's, and feature Grizzly Bear and The Dirty Projectors.


Grizzly Bear, Barrymore's, February 5, 2007

There are also some new old White Cowbell Oklahoma photos. Some of them best viewed at home rather than work, if you know what I mean.


White Cowbell Oklahoma, February 24, 2007

As it happens, Cowbell will be back in town October 29 at Mavericks.

The unstationary Arkells

If you're quite recovered from Hollerado's February 13 show at Cafe DeKcuf, you might want to head over to Zaphod's on the following Sunday - I'll give you the Saturday for free - and check out Hamilton rockers The Arkells. They put on a fun show at Barrymore's last year opening for Matt Mays and can only be better in the smaller venue. The Waking Eyes are also on board.


The Arkells, Barrymore's, November 5, 2008

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to sulk because Neko Case's tour for her new album isn't passing through Ottawa (unless you count the drive from Toronto to Montreal).

• Show reminder: Matt Ouimet releases his new CD at Zaphod's. Streetlight Manifesto, A Wilhelm Scream, The Swellers and The Stitch Up play Babylon (already sold out, I see); M. Mucci's and Jozef van Wissem play the Avant-Garde Bar. East of Gatineau perform at the Elmdale. They have a song called Honky Tonk a Baudelaire, which should be reccomendation enough.
  

Train kept a-rollin'

Ottawa has been pretty good to Matt Mays - the local radio stations played his songs before just about anyone outside his homebase in the Maritimes, and I remember good crowds back when he was in The Guthries, and even a decent turnout for his first free showcase performance at Zaphod's several years ago. Now he's a pretty good draw - witness his two nights at Barrymore's - give it time and his songs will be backing beer and car ads. His sound has crept away from the Byrds-style stuff of The Guthries to more straight-ahead rock with his band El Torpedo, but that's oky with me. I like my classic rock as much as the next guy, and Mays and Co. deliver.

The man himself and his Gretsch White Falcon.



Bassist Andy Patel.



Guitarist Jay Smith - as before, an active presence on stage. (And a barely visible Tim Baker- once again, no good pictures of Tim ...).



Singalong action.





More Jay.



Torpedo action.



Back to back action!





Feedback action!



Guitar-raising action from keyboardist Rob Crowell (I think).



The crowd returns Smith.



And a big-ol' get-together with The Arkells to finish things off.



I've also since discovered the name of that Gordon Lightfoot tune: Steel Rail Blues. I knew it had something to do with trains ... As for Mays, he's off to the West Coast for a couple of gigs, then plays Halifax in January.

• Show reminder: Broadcast Radio, New Teeth and Bear Claps play Zaphod Beeblebrox. Nick Diamonds (Islands) and Jim Guthrie's Human Highway, perform at Mavericks along with excellent Barmitzvah Brothers/D'urbervilles offshoot The Magic and shy strummer Giant Hand. Leaving Beechwood rock The Rainbow.