Taking wing

I don't get around to Club SAW all that often ... there shows seem fairly far apart, and publicity is sometimes less than stellar. Fortunately I heard about this gig, headlined by Mahogany Frog, far enough ahead of time to book the day off. Better yet, local psychedelic act Butterflies and Zebras were opening things. I'd taken a listen to their stuff online and purchased their CD at Birdman Sound and wanted to see them live. Since their CD is recorded "live and organic" it's a good representation of their wiggy improv set. They had a light show, which I avoided disrupting with flash. On the downside Club SAW is not brightly lit (even with their light show), so some of these shots turned out a tad murky.

Steve Northover on acoustic guitar.



And over on the other side of the tiny stage, electric guitarist Norm Howard and percussionist Ken Walker.



Illuminated action!



The whole lot!



Ken works the iPad.



Well, at least the photo of their title screen turned out nicely!



Anyway, I arrived a bit late and it was a sitdown affair , so there were few photos to be taken. What comes next I know not.

• Show reminder: GOOD2GO, releas their latest recording at Irene's with The Bible All-Stars; The Acorn, come home for a show at Capital Music Hall with Jim Guthrie and Pat Jordache; The Love Machine, These Electric Lives and Hungry Hearts perform at Zaphod's; Ross Neilsen & The Suffrin' Bastards and Papa Shango rock the Rainbow; Famous Underground, Hooked on Karma and The Weeds play Mavericks; Rock Snake has The Atomic Rooster covered; Train Jumpers and Andre Bluteau roll into Raw Sugar; Old Whiskey Road makes tracks for the Avant-Garde Bar.

These are end times

Two different shows, one celebrating an institution that everyone is glad to see sticking around, one commemorating the end of a band everyone is sad to see go. The first stop last night was Club SAW for one of the many events celebrating CKCU 93.1 FM's 35th anniversary. I was wondering how many people would show up since when I swung by Birdman Sound today to buy a ticket around six hours before the show was scheduled to start I ended up with ticket No. 0001 .... I presume that means I was dealt one from the bottom of the deck since when I got to Club SAW there was actually a decent sized crowd. I was a little nonplussed by the tables till being set up, complete with candles. What is this, dinner theatre?

First band on the bill was Ottawa trio Butterflies & Zebras, who make many strange noises with guitars, loops and some hand percussion. I picked up their album at Birdman Sound and was quite impressed. The band seems to have flown under the radar, but are worth checking out for anyone who likes their psychedelia somewhere off the deep end.


Butterflies & Zebras at Club SAW, September 10, 2010

They were followed by Winnipeg quartet Mahogany Frog. I'm a big fan of The Soft Machine, which is obviously a big influence and Herbie Hancock (who may not be but should) so their jammy jazzy sound was quite appealing to my ears, particularly since they add in some loud guitar on occasion.


Mahogany Frog at Club SAW, September 10, 2010

That done, I walked a couple of blocks to Ritual Nightclub where The Suppositories were coming to an end (so to speak). Ottawa's premiere Wire-worshippers are calling it a day. For their final bow (until the cash-in reunion) they had Montreal's Genital Hospital on hand to open things up around midnight. The tough-sounding quartet apparently features members of Demon Claws and The Confusers and sounds a bit like The Banditas with bass to my ears.


Genital Hospital at Ritual, September 10, 2010

As for The Suppositories, they played a killer set. Maybe things sounded so great because I was standing right near the amplifiers for most of it. Although the crowd seemed a little sparse at first, things filled out by the time they hit the stage (okay, the corner) with plenty of familiar faces there to see them off. They wrapped things up with a cover of M.O.T.O.'s  Dance Dance Dance To The Radio.


The Suppositories at Ritual, September 10, 2010

As for the future, Ian and Ilona have a new combo on the way called Dagger Eyes.

• Show reminder: L. Poushinsky and Erika Werry perform at Raw Sugar Cafe; The Sin Sisters, Gunsmoke, Machine Gun Dolly, The Valveenus and Gusto Fiasco rock Cafe Dekcuf; Left4Dead play The Rainbow; Trevor James & The Perfect Gentlemen, The Lovely Killbots and The Watter Brothers are at Mavericks; Liquorbox and Uncle Sean and The Shifty Drifters drift into Irene's; John Riley Roe and Tigershow roll into the Elmdale House. Soloman Skillman and Stairwell Leo are at the Avant-Garde Bar.