Ha-ha-happy birthday!

Those White Wires are all over the place. One day they're out rocking California, the next they're playing some guy's birthday party. I can't get out to Cali, but I did make it to the apartment for a few Wires tunes on the occasion of Brad and Craig's mutual birthday shindig.

Them Wires!



Ian sings! That crowd is in mighty close.



Allie, plus some amp pears.



Assorted rocking about!



Luke sings!



More Ian!



This show needs more fisheye.



Guitar and bass-lifting action!



Overhead action!



More Allie. And in case you're wondering what's on my lens - it's humidity.



The crowd goes wild! Or is beginning to suffer heat exhaustion. One of the two.



Party action!



"Crown those boys!"



Surfing Craig action!



Sweaty action!



The end!



Fun as ever! They've just been immortalized by Dirty Donny in T-shirt form, and are currently in California ... they're in L.A.  tonight, San Diego tomorrow and Fullerton Sunday.

• Show reminder: Secret Chiefs 3, FAT32 and *Major Entertainer* Mike H play Mavericks; Three Second Rescue, Emmas Ringer and Matt Dorgan Project perform at Live Lounge; The Stogies are at Zaphod Beeblebrox; The Jesse Greene Band holds forth at The Rainbow; Digmobile and E.R. Collective groove into Irene's; The Elmdale hosts The Brothers Chaffey.

Birthday boys

I missed them at Ottawa Explosion, but fortunately Pregnancy Scares played a couple of weeks later at the end of July, a couple days in advance of the birthdays of Year Zero man Brad McOuat and Bruised Tongue chap Craig. The venue: Brad's apartment - his kitchen, to be exact.

Amps on? Stove off? Then proceed!



Davey in a festiv mood, Craig on top of Dave Forcier's drum kit.



Pierre snaps as Craig sings.



Bending action!



Dave hits!



The shouty Bit! Well, I guess they're all shouty bits ...



Bonus yelling!



Emmanuel rocks the low end.



Fisheye action!



More Dave!



Headbanging action!



Guitar-stepping action!



Craig works the floor!



By crazy coincidence, Weird Canada just said nice things about their demo..

• Show reminder: San Francisco's Royal Baths and Adam Saikaley perform at Zaphod's; Jason Kirkness and Nomadic Sound Division are at The Rainbow; The Elmdale hosts John Mann. HotShotCasino and Still Native play the Avant-Garde Bar.

If you can't stand the heat

I wasn't expecting to see any live music Thursday night, but walking back from the gym I bumped into Brad McOuat of Year Zero outside Capital Rehearsal Studios, who invited me to his birthday party, where The White Wires and Pregnancy Scares were going to play a few songs. Brad has a pretty spacious place on Bank St., with a kitchen sizable enough to fit a band. Mind you, when you fit 80 or so people into it (the apartment, not the kitchen) it does get a bit sweaty.

First up, Pregnancy Scares, featuring birthday co-celebrator Craig, who turns 25 on Sunday, on vocals.


Pregnancy Scares at Brad's birthday party, June 30, 2011

Also featuring guitar-stomping action!


Pregnancy Scares at Brad's birthday party, June 30, 2011

Brad gets a kiss. And  cup for a hat, for some reason. It's all a bit alarming.


Brad at his birthday party, June 30, 2011

Then The Whites played a few songs ... then another song ... then another song ... then another. I think they played about four last songs in all.


The White Wires at Brad's birthday party, June 30, 2011

Allie hits, Davey adjusts the volume.


The White Wires at Brad's birthday party, June 30, 2011 

Surfing action!


Craig at his pre-birthday party, June 30, 2011 

Happy birthday Brad and Craig!