Peace offering

I made a rare trip to Babylon a couple of weeks ago for an equally rare show by Ottawa expats Metz. The now-Toronto-based band has plenty of Bytown ties, and there was a big crowd out to catch their return. Deathsticks opened things up with their crunchy, stripped down rock. Here's Laura!



Matt sings!



Laura sings!



More Matt!



Singalong action!



Doxx followed with a tough-sounding set. I'll just say straight up that a good quarter of the reason I like seeing Doxx is just to check out what Sof is wearing.



Guitar action with Brittany!



Kieran waits!



More Sof and Jeff!



Kieran hits!



Jeff action!



Extra Jeff!



More Brittney and Sof!



Rhythm section action!



Metz had plenty of high volume antics in store. Here's Alex cranking things up on guitar!



Alex sings!



Bass action with Chris!



Hayden hits!



Headbanging action!



Chris sings a bit!



Blurry Hayden action!



Extra Alex!



More Chris!



Even more Alex!



Swell times.

Power up

The Ottawa Explosion was also the last hurrah (or close to it) for a a couple of Ottawa bands - namely, Creep Wave and Crusades. OXW was also one of the first shows by Power of Fear, which features a few members from those bands, plus Sara from Tightlip. They played a quick set at Black Squirrel Books a couple of weeks ago, opening things up for some. Here's Emmanuel, of Crusades and a bunch of other acts (e.g. Last Communion) and Ashly of Tightlip! (Flash update: Power of Fear will be back at BSB July 27 with Tightlip, Torpor, Dogma and Pure Pressure.)



Guitar action with Britt (also of Doxx)!



More Ashly!



Guitar action with Dave of Crusades and Black Tower!



The whole lot (that's Kieran of Creep Wave and Doxx back there on drums)!



Fearful action!



Kieran hits!



Buffalo DIY bedroom garage rockers Velvet Bethany were on next. Here's Allison on vocals!



Extra Allison!



Mike hits!



The whole lot!



Mike sings!



Velvety action!



More Mike!



New Yorkers Choked Up brought the night to a close with some hard-hitting punk sounds. Here's Rachel on guitar and Cristy on guitar and vocals!



Rhythm section action with Wes on drums and Rose on bass!



Rachel sings!



The whole lot!



Extra Cristy!



Wes hits!



More bass!



Great stuff all around.

Ottawa Explosion: Day 4, Part I

Saturday offered the option of listening to bands for a good 14 hours straight, starting at 1 p.m. in the Clocktower's parking lot with a set from Empty Nesters. That's a bit more than I'm capable of these days, and I didn't make it out of the house until mid-afternoon for a set from Don't Bother, which features a bunch of folks from the Tough Age/Ketamines circle. Here's Paul on the microphone!



 Percussive action with Mark!



Assorted action with Rhonda, Marc, Jarrett (also of Tough Age), Paul and Mark!



More Paul!



Keyboard action with Rhonda!



Guitar action with Priya!



And so on!



More Mark!



Bothersome action!



More Jared!



More guitar!



Extra Ronnie!



More bothersome action!



Next up, frequent OXW visitors Future Girls. Here's Dewayne on drums!



Matty sings!



Guitar action with Heather (who also played with Dewayne in Crossed Wires before I arrived)!



Dewayne hits!



Singalong action!



Bass action with B!



Futuristic action!



More B!



On to Creep Wave, who played their last set at the festival (I'm sure the various members will be keeping busy in Doxx and Power of Fear). Here's Kieran!



Bass action with Derek!



Brittany sings!



Creepy action!



And so on!



More Derek!



Kieran sings!



Derek sings!



The afternoon ended with a set from Pity Me, England's Martha. Yes, there really is a town called Pity Me (more than one, actually), and Martha did come all they way from there to play OXW - they may be the fest's farthest travellers this year. Here's Daniel!



Bass action with Naomi!



Pitiable action!



Jc jumps about!



Jc sings!



Nathan hits!



Singalong action!



Then it was off to Babylon!