Past and Present

It looks like the early week is the new end of the week: After my Monday visit to Targ, on Tuesday I went over to Zaphod's to check out long-running British pop combo The Wedding Present. I didn't pay them much attention back in their early-1990s heyday (I've got an ancient copy of Seamonsters lurking somewhere in a closet), but after Gedges restarted the project in 2004 and I got some review copies I began to check them out more thoroughly. A small and sensibly shod crowd turned out for their set and for a fine performance from Colleen Green, who has gone full band since I saw her last at Ottawa Explosion. (You can check my Flickr stream for photos of those aforementioned band members; for some reason at publication time I can't get them to appear as they should in the post.)



More Colleen, plus some rhythm section action!



Bass action!



Percussive action!



Even more Colleen!



Even more extra Colleen!



On to the Weddoes; they played a fine selection of tunes from their extensive back catalogue as well as stuff from their latest, Going, Going ... Here's David and bassist Danielle!



Guitar action with Marcus!



More David!



Percussive action with Charles!



Wedding action!



Rhythm section action with Danielle!



More guitar!



Danielle sings! And also provides the traditional Wedding Present fact of the day.



Crowded action!



Dual percussive action!



And finally some more gripping action!



Great tunes, new and old.

Explosive ending

I had a bit of a late start on Ottawa Explosion activities Sunday, and missed a chunk of Nice Try's set (along with all of BB Cream, The Lonely Parade, Faux Cults and Mixer); still, the Bloomington, Indiana duo made a good start with some lo-fi pop. Here's some closeup action with singer Madeline!



Kahler hits!



Extra Madeline!



Danelectro action!



Extra Kahler!



Chiller were a more rocking affair, which is unsurprising when you consider it includes Erin from Black Tower and The Visitors, Tim from Year Zero and Million Dollar Marxists, and Eric and Ilisha from Feral Trash (and a bunch of other bands, including Fear of Lipstick, in Eric's case). They're playing July 17 at Pressed.



Eric sings!



Bass action with Erin!



Tim hits!



Guitar action with Eric!



More guitar action with Ilisha!



Head-banging action!



Chilling action!



A shouty bit!



The whole lot!



Extra Tim!



More headbanging!



Even more Eric!



Cassie Ramone made a name for herself with The Vivian Girls. When that band split at the start of January 2014, Ramone headed out on her own and released a solo album that August. Those tunes made for a nice come-down, sit-down set.



Cassie sings!



And so on!



Ramone is touring with Colleen Green and they make an excellent double bill. For this set her band was in her iPad, which wasn't functioning at 100%.



Colleen sings!



Guitar action!



Hair-tossing action!



Her final number was going to be guitarless but her iPad finally klonked out so that was it for the Explosion at Club SAW.



And that's it for this year (I missed the closing party at Pressed). Can't wait until July 2017, when it looks like OXW is going to be hunting up a new home.

Weed and waves

Last week was a busy one for me - it's been a while since I went to four shows in four nights, but dare I say the entertainment season is easing out of the August doldrums as cottage season ends and the students return. Wednesday I went to Pressed to check out Colleen Green, making a return appearance, new album in hand. It also marked the last hurrah of Weed Mom and (I think) the second show from Gaycation/Tropical Dripps/Wooka Tribe vets as Creep Wave. Pressed was packed. Here's a well-lit Britanny.



Derek Muldoon gets in the zone.



Kieran hits!



Bonus Brittany!



The whole lot, likely covering All This And More!



Singalong action!



So the youngsters of Weed Mom dressed all spiffy for their farewell show. There's no doubt the crowd was mostly hyped up this performance. Here's Tyrin and Allie modelling their sharp stuff!



Zoe works the keys!



Tyrin sings!



Suitable action with Sasha!



Guitar action with Kai and Allie!



Tyrin switches to drums.



Extra Allie!



Extra Sasha!



Extra Kai!



Zoe sings!



Things were getting pretty chaotic in the audience, which may explain why Allie is standing on her amp.



Sasha sings!



Head-rubbing action!



Fisheye action!



On to Colleen Green. Green has been talking about getting a live drummer on the interwebs since appearing at Pressed in April 2013. Apparently Casey Weissbuch of Slutever fit the bill. She also has a "new" album (I Want To Grow Up, released in February), containing somewhat more reflective material than her breezy debut.



More Green!



Casey hits!



The shouty bit!



Hair-tossing action!



Extra Casey!



Rocking action!



A fine capper, if a bit of an anti-climax.