Fun in the sun

Tropical Dripps's months-long hiatus took a quick break Saturday night as Bytown exile made a quick return - time enough for at least one show, in conjunction with Montrealers Tang Soleil and Sam Coffey associates King Creep. It all went down at Gabba Hey.
King Creep includes some Iron Lung folks (also veterans of Ultimate Lost High of Killer Wolf fame) ... and off they go!



They have a snazzy new EP out, as well. Exactly who they are, I know not.



Stand up drumming action!



Singalong action!



They definitely have a West Coast garage rock sound.



The shouty bit!



The whole lot!



Tang Soleil has ties to The Brabazons and Mystery Girls. Last time I saw these guys was in 2011 at Babylon. They've had a few lineup changes (no sax player or Ysael, for two) in the intervening years.



I think that's still Matt on guitar and vocals ....



New (to me) bass player Lil' Stevie.



Tangy action!



Dollard has moved over to guitar.



Jean hits!



On to Tropical Dripps, who rocked through a rambunctious set.



Kieran hits!



Shadowy action!



Soon-to-be-doomed pinata action!



The whole lot!



Kieran's bass drum made several attempts to escape.



The shouty bit with Kurt!



Surf's up!



Some nice sunny garage rock for the middle of our godforsaken winter.

Totally gnar

Saturday night I walked over to Luneta Cafe to check out some surf-punk-garage rock for a good cause. The Ottawa Skateboard Community Association has got a line on a skatepark for the corner of Bronson and Gladstone, and is raising some dollars so they can make full use of the space. Montreal's Brabazons came to town to aid the cause, and locals Swollen Eyes and Chero Chavo also pitched in.

I know little of Chero Chavo; they have a surf-a-delic sound and did a swell job starting things up.



Ray-banned action!



I believe this is Travis Kinnear handling the bass.



Bowlered action!



The ever-fashionable Phil Bones rocks the Silvertone.



Singalong action!



Rhythm section action!



Phil sings!



Travis sings!



Shoot-em-up action!



Then it was on to Swollen Eyes ...

Pilot project

After Roberta Bondar's brisk experimental indie-pop, another aeronautically themed band took the stage (or front room): The Brabazons. That's assuming they're named after the pioneering airliner. Maybe they're named after something completely different. But at least bassist Marty was wearing a pilot's helmet. Onward!



That's a very 80s metal guitar Dollard - also of Tang Soleil is wielding.



Hello from The Brabazons!



Dollard frets!



Jean - also of Tang Soleil - hits!



More Marty!



Rock action!



About this time they realized they forgot to turn on the smoke machine.



Lijida brings the smoke to life!



The crowd goes wild!



Fisheyed action!



More Jean!



There was epic strap failure.



Bonus Jean!



The end!



Some mighty fine Black Lippy noise.

• Show reminder: Newfoundland transplants The Sober Second Thoughts jam it up at Zaphod's; Edison's Art, Carl Agar and Jeff Paul Graham perform at The Rainbow; the Elmdale's monthly singer-songwriter shindig features Jon Laurie-Beaumont, Alanna George, Ray Harris and Lefty McRighty.

In the house

It's been a while since I was at a house show, but Saturday was definitely a good day for it, with people slipping into their summer stuff for a rare nice day. The house at 137 McLeod is well suited to it as well, with the living and dining room stripped more or less bare and featuring a fresh coat of paint. As for the bands, it was a bunch of (mostly local) band veterans and some of the guys we last saw playing with Tang Soleil at Babylon.

First up was Chris Bush; Ilona of the Dagger Eyes said he sounded a bit like Billy Bragg. Hmm. Chris is also in Get A Life Losers and Greed Brothers, but this time he was flying solo.


Chris Bush at 137 McLeod St. May 21, 2011

Next up was Roberta Bondar, featuring some of the show's hosts, as well as veterans of local acts such as Fire Heats Water and As The Poets Affirm. They've got a couple of good vocalists in Alex Maltby and Lidija Rozitis, and a heavy, driving rhythmic sound. I could imagine them landing a record on the Sacred Bones label.


Roberta Bondar at 137 McLeod St. May 21, 2011

Montreal's Brabazons played a very garage-rock style set, though Dollard stomp boxes updated the guitar sound to somewhere in the mid-80s ... sometimes it sounded a bit like Chrome covering The Vagrants.


The Brabazons at 137 McLeod St. May 21, 2011

Dagger Eyes finished things off; as you'd expect from a band featuring half of The Suppositories, including vocalist and bassist Ian, they sounded quite a bit like Ottawa's favourite brutalist minimalists.


The Dagger Eyes at 137 McLeod St. May 21, 2011

Swell all the way through, barring the armada of mosquitoes outside.

• Show reminder: Will there be mass protests outside Living With Lions show at Mavericks with Such Gold, Dead Weights and Carry Yourself?!? Eh, probably not. As for myself, I'll be upstairs at Cafe DeKcuf rocking out to Coliseum, Quest For Fire and Asile. Stairwell K, The Pejoratives and Halibisky's Uprising perform at The Rainbow; the Elmdale hosts Sons of York, Mise En Scene and Preetam Sengupta.