Do it yourself

Back at the tail end of September I walked over to Black Squirrel Books to check out some pop and rock. Berlin musician Laura Carbone was playing a few dates around North America, and was joined by Crystalena (who sings in local outfit Blakdenim) and Adam Ferris (also of Outfielder). Here's a couple of shots of Adam!



Bookish action!



Crystalena performed next



Closeup action!



And so on!



Laura Carbone played a fine rocking set with her pickup band.



The whole lot!



Bass action!



Guitar action!



Closeup action!



Singalong action!



A shouty bit!



Percussive action!



Good stuff all around.

Friend zone

Right at the tail end of August I rambled over to Black Squirrel Books for a night of entertainment dubbed "Your Friends Are My Friends." The friendly bands  on offer were Barrington Club Band, Stoby and Teenage Fiction, who kicked things off. Here's Sandy!



Sierra sings!



Singalong action!



Flashy action!



More Sierra!



Floral delivery action!



Next up, Stoby, who have been keeping busy these days!



Rhythm section action with Jesse and Rick!



Maryse sings!



Kevin and more Jesse!



Phallic action!



Guitar-lifting action!



The whole lot!



Show curators Barrington Club Band finished things off after some last-minute prettying!



Some things I don't even try to caption.



Guitar action with Jake!



Kieran hits!



The whole lot!



Jake sings!



Clubbable action!



And so on!



A fun night out.

Sudden stop

This show on a mid-August Friday wasn't supposed to happen - at least, not in Ottawa - but Seattle's Supercrush had a Toronto show fall through, so friends arranged for a last-minute gig at Black Squirrel Books. Solo performer Secret Connection started things off. Here's R. Thavanathan in action!



R. sings!



And so on!



Supercrush played a killer set. Longtime punk-hardcore musician Mark Palm fronts the band, but the sound ends up pitched somewhere between Teenage Fanclub and Seattle circa 1992.



Bass action!



Guitar action!



Mark sings!



Percussive action!



More Mark!



More drums!



A fun night out.

SBSW: Night Four

The first Side By Side weekend wrapped up with a low-key show at Black Squirrel Books. Instrumental duo Duck Toys were up and running when I walked in the door. Here's Kyle (who performed earlier in the week with Flaws) and Sheehan, also of the Tenenbaums.



Sheehan adjusts!



Guitar action with Kyle!



And so on!



Next up Pippa performed. Here's Sam (also of Organ Eyes)!



And so on!



Even more Pippa!



Novusolis then finished the night off. Here's Zachary and Amanda!



Amanda sings!



Guitar action!



Greenish action!



Extra Amanda!



More Zachary!



And so on!



A fine capper to the weekend's activities.