Made in the shade

Chris Garneau's winsome piano pop knocked things down a notch after the mania of the preceding acts. Sounding a bit like Sufjan Stevens, the Brooklyn pianist seemed even more boyish behind the keys of a sizable Yamaha electric. I thought some of his stuff sounded a bit precious, even when singing about serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer (I guess Sufjan already did Gacey). On the plus side his melodies were aided along by a capable cellist and drummer/bassist/harmonium player.

Chris Garneau is an avid collector lampshades. No kidding!



I love piano innards.



Saul Simon-MacWilliams was kept busy moving between drums and harmonium. "Sorry to keep you running around," said an apologetic Garneau.



Eleanor Norton checks her notes.



The whole lot!



Despite having to compete with chatter from the bar, his set did grab a good chunk of the crowd’s attention.

Extra! Extra!

Mocking Music's Capital Idea Festival continues; I missed the last three days but was off work for Xiu Xiu's show. Locals Fucked Corpse were to open things up, but Rhode Island quintet Get Him Eat Him landed on the bill at the last moment - not a big leap since there on tour promoting their new album Arms Down and just so happen to be on the Absolutely Kosher label - home of Garneau and Xiu Xiu.

Get Him Eat Him - they rock it like pop punk with an indie edge. They also covered Elvis Costello's Hand In Hand. A great bonus on an already swell bill.



Ottawa's own Fucked Corpse. Unfortunately illness and ill luck has stripped away a few members and blighted the rest with communicable diseases and fractured body bits so they had a couple of ringers on stage tonight to bump their membership up to seven.



Next up, Chris Garneau. A winsome lad who plays piano tunes, he didn't quite win me over even though he sounds a bit like Sufjan Stevens.



Finally Xiu Xiu. I'd never heard them before. They're truly a band you wouldn't mistake for anyone else. I found myself thinking of Scott Walker circa Tilt through most of their set. A really exciting live act with a highly distinct approach to percussion.



That was a truly diverse evening of entertainment. Thanks should also go to As The Poets Affirm for their loan of a vibraphone. Capital Idea continues tonight at Barrymore's (not Babylon, as an early version of the post and a longstanding show listing has had it) with The Fiery Furnaces, Thundrah! (not Chinese Stars, who have been forced to cancel their tour) and The Hot Springs.

• Show reminder: Titan, Elephantoms! and Willem Dafoe play End Hits.