Desert riders

Brant Bjork has soldiered in the front lines of heavy rock for a lot of time. First as the drummer in Kyuss - strange to think it's been more than 15 years since I bought a copy of Blues For The Red Sun - then in a short stint with Fu Manchu and most recently under his own name. Bjork and The Bros kept up a nice heavy flow for an hour and a half, and the crowd really dug the stoner rock thunder.

Brant Bjork, looking exactly as he did the last time.



Stalwart bassplayer Roche looks pretty much the same, except he's changed from a trilby to a knit cap.



New drummer Giam Paolo.



Guitarist Max Radings and his Ovation guitar, complete with upside down Bigsby.



And so on!







Beware of Barbarian hair!





Heavy, man.

• Show reminder: Get your daily rockabilly fix at Zaphod's with The Farrell Brothers and The Kingmakers.

Box of Freaks

Four shows in four days ... I feel like it's the good old days when I got off work at 8 p.m. and not midnight. Like Friday's show, last night at the Dominion dished out the heavy rock. First Castor dealt some psychedelic perambulations and Rubik's Cube solving, the Brant Bjork and The Bros unleashed a steam roller of hippy heaviosity.


Castor, The Dominion Tavern, June 21, 2008

Bjork has a couple of new Bros; Giam Paolo on drums and Max Radings on guitar.


Brant Bjork and The Bros, The Dominion Tavern, June 21, 2008

Great show from all concerned, and a super-enthusiastic sold-out crowd.

• Show reminder: Bruce Boris, Throes, Shot by Jack and Riishi Von Rex and the Dire Royalty play The Rainbow; Mavericks hosts I Wrestled A Bear Once, Kissy Face Fashion Faux~Pas, Beneath All Innocence, Pray For Tomorrow, Her Last Words and Caramel Waltz.

BB and BB

There's a lot to see this week (I know, I always say that ...) just not today. So rest up and prepare yourselves for Wednesday.


Bella Bombs, Babylon, January 3, 2007

... When Sweden's Oholics play Zaphod's. They're a retro garage-psych act with production courtesy of Ebbot Lundberg of Soundtrack of Our Lives. The Bella Bombs open.


Bloodshot Bill, Irene's, November 20, 2006

Thursday night you can see Indiana psychobilly cat Art Adams and Montreal trashabilly idol Bloodshot Bill at the Elmdale. It's a busy night: you can also see Butterflies and Zebras at the Avant-Garde; Trevor James and The Perfect Gentlemen with Montreal indie rockers The Darling DeMaes and Windsor folkies Michou at Zaphod's or Bonjour Brumaire, Winter Gloves and The Murder Plans at Mavericks.


D'Urbervilles, Zaphod Beeblebrox, August 10, 2006

If you have the means to make it to The Black Sheep Inn you can see The Wooden Sky with ace Guelph combo The D'Urbervilles and Leif Vollebekk.
Friday is, of course, the start of jazzfest: Wynton Marsalis, Common Bond, Servantes and Apex Jazz Band are the bigger names; their website has more, but since it crashed my Firefox you might just want to hunt up a handbill instead.


Tara Lee Combs, The Rainbow, September 9, 2007

But let us suppose you are not a jazz fan: You can always see Flow 14 with Tara Lee Combs at Zaphod's. Rock lovers can check out Garaga's record release at Babylon with Tokyo Sex Whale and Boom Creek. If you like Ball and Chain, you might want to check out cajun ensemble Grouyan Gumbo (with which they also play) at the Elmdale House tavern. There's also Uzumaki - this is not the bonkers Japanese rap-rock combo, but a local outfit featuring Lindsey Wellman, Toronto experimentalist eldritch Priest and Rory Magill - at the Avant-Garde.


Brant Bjork, Babylon, June 6, 2005

On Saturday, apart from Jazzfest (Cosmos, Buddy DeFranco, Felix Stussi, Duane Andrews Quartet and the ever-popular more), you can see A Plot Against Me with Knives for Kids at Cafe DeKcuf, Econoline Crush and State Of Shock at Mavericks or Hunter Eyes and Blind Mule at the Avant-Garde. Politique release their new CD with The Balconies at Zaphod's; Shawn Tavernier and Silver Creek (and/or Anders Drerup, there are conflicting listings) perform with The Withering Pines at Irene's and Washboard Hank and The Wild Turkeys get down at the Elmdale House. The big draw from rock fans is, of course, former Kyuss man Brant Bjork at the Dominion Tavern. The younger set may enjoy Strike Anywhere, The Flatliners, Hostage Life and Assemble Me at Babylon.
Sunday the Jazzfest continues with Herbie Hancock Quartet, Iro Haarla and Alexis Baro Sextet. And more? Of course! I miss anything? Drop me a line in the comments section or via e-mail. The Rainbow plays host to Bruce Boris, Throes, Shot by Jack and Riishi Von Rex and the Dire Royalty, while Mavericks collects as many strangely named bands as they can for a bill including I Wrestled A Bear Once, Kissy Face Fashion Faux~Pas, Beneath All Innocence, Pray For Tomorrow, Her Last Words and Caramel Waltz.

Band of Brothers

Brant Bjork and The Bros. - Mike Peffer on drums, Dylan Roche on bass, and Cortez on guitar - rolled into Babylon (and that's not all they're rollin' if you catch my drift) for some lowdown grooviness and the emission of hip vibrations to a decent-sized Monday crowd. No opening act, but who needs 'em when the headliner steps on stage at 10:45 and steps off at 1 a.m. with only a 15-minute break?
Their sound reminds me of a bunch of bands from the Chicano rock scene of the early 1970s: Sapo, Azteca and early Santana. These guys wouldn't have looked out of place at a West Coast free festival circa 1972. Add some of the desert rock vibe of Kyuss and Queens of The Stone Age and Bjork's past in Nebula and you've got some primo stoner rock, of the type we get way too little of in Ottawa.

Bjork. Gee, he doesn't look like he's from Iceland ...



Dylan; not many could get away with this look.



Mike; lots of hair and flashing teeth.



Cortez just grooving away.



None of these guys moved around too much until Bjork started working some feedback by jamming his guitar headstock into his cab, so a few pictures tell the story. It was a show heavy with vibes.

Last but not least, a shout out to the folks who brought Bjork and Co. to town, CKCU and John Westhaver of Birdman Sound.



It seems pretty quiet out there, so I'll just once again mention that The Sunburned Hand of The Man will be playing at the Avant-Garde (about a block away from the Rideau Centre on Besserer St.) with St. Bernard of Love and Akisikala tomorrow.