Time after time

Way back on Sept. 5 I toddled over to the House of Targ for some classic Canadian supergroup action. Ian Blurton (of Change of Heart, C'mon and Public Animal, among others) has a new combo, pseudonymously titled Ian Blurton's Future Now, and it might just be his best one yet. First up, Glenn Milchem (of Holy Fuck and Blue Rodeo) played some solo stuff.



Guitar action!



Glenn sings some more!



Next up, Espanola. This is the project fronted by Aaron Goldstein, who's best known for being a go-to steel guitarist in Toronto; he's popped up on the blog before as part of Huron (who also backed Ian for his Happy Endings show at Targ) and accompanying Daniel Romano.



Glenn hits!



Anna Ruddick on bass - she's also in City and Colour and is definitely an ace on her instrument.



And of course Ian helps out on guitar.



Rhythm section action!



Extra Anna and Aaron!



The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol hit the stage next. Here's Scott on trumpet!



Keyboard action with Jason!



Guitar action with Bill!



Bass action with Nate!



More Scott and Bill!



More guitar with Dave!



John hits!



Fisheye action!



And so on!



And finally a bit more Dave.



Ian Blurton's Future Now absolutely killed it. I dare say this quartet is the four most technically proficient musicians he's assembled (and yes, it is himself, Aaron, Anna and Glenn again). First off, some hand percussion with Glenn!



Ian sings!



Bass action with Anna!



Glenn sings!



Flying V action!



More Ian!



Anna sings!



More Glenn!



An absolutely killer set!

Crying time

I like my country music old school. For a long time my music collection's country section went from Johnny Cash to Hank Williams, with no stops in between. Nowadays there's a lot more variety, helped along by more modern performers, including Daniel Romano. Best known for Attack In Black, he's produced a trio of fine country albums in the past three years, starting with Workin' For The Music Man; his Mavericks show in November was right around the time of his release of Come Cry With Me. 

The cat in the hat.



His band The Trilliums includes brother Ian on drums and Ross Miller on bass.



Aaron Goldstein works the steel.



More Daniel!



Ian hits!



The end!



He's on tour of the States right now, including a stop at Bonnaroo.

Going country

There was a lot of good stuff to go and see on Friday night, but one can't be everywhere at once, so I traipsed through the biting cold to Mavericks to see Daniel Romano. I've enjoyed his work with Attack In Black, but have really been knocked out be his recent country albums; his Working For The Music Man was one of my favourites of 2010.

Opening was Brandon Allan, (aka Brandon Walsh) last seen on the blog playing guitar with Amalgamation.


Brandon Allan at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

He had three other folks with him, including a banjo player.


Brandon Allan at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

It's been a while since I've seen Rey Sabatin Jr. on stage Once upon a time I saw The John Henrys on a regular basis. Then Rey split for T.O. and I didn't see them again until a CD release show at Mavericks in April 2010. Now here he is again, trying his hand at the solo thing, and sounding pretty good.


Rey Sabatin Jr. at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

He was accompanied by musician-about-town Matt Ouimet on guitar and lap steel, but not drums (apparently he forgot his snare, if you trust the stage banter).


Rey Sabatin Jr. at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

Finally, Daniel Romano played a knockout set, accompanied by a trio named The Trilliums, including his brother Ian on drums. He's dressing fancy these days and sporting a bigger hat.


Daniel Romano at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

There was some fine steel accompaniment courtesy of Aaron Goldstein, who's also in Lee Harvey Osmond.


Daniel Romano at Mavericks, November 30, 2012

Good stuff from all hands.