It takes a lot

And What Army finished the night off at The Rainbow. This was the first time I saw them in action, but bassist Johnny Nash has shown up in a number of other bands, notably The Fucking Machines and Long-Timers. I've also seen drummer Kevin Earle play at The Rainbow - more than four years ago in Design of Cities. Guitarist Ryan Hillier did time in Crank and Chickpea.

That Nash!



Kevin hits!



Ryan steps on it.



Ryan sings!



Rhythm section action!



Fisheyed action!



The whole lot!



Johnny sings!



The shouty bit!



Bonus Kevin!



They're playing April 27 with Halifax's Alert The Medic at Zaphod's.

Left and leaving

At last, a day off with no visiting family to squire around town. Jon McLeod of Design of Cities mentioned he'd be playing Zaphod's free showcase yesterday night, so I headed off to catch a quartet of acts, most of which I hadn't heard before.

Lost Inside have a new member - they used to get by on three guitarists, a bassist and a drummer; now they have a vocalist as well, but I'm not sure what chair shuffling has been done to accommodate him. They sound like a a lot of the metal-punk outfits doing the rounds these days.



Distant Society had the most pro sound of the bands that evening - they were very sharp, technical problems notwithstanding. There was a nice cover of Wish You Were Here.



After a couple of songs from The Semantics I found myself thinking I'd seen them before - then it hit me that I'd seen them opening for The Town Cryers. I was underwhelmed that time, and found myself unimpressed this time too. I think they need to be a bit snappier and speedier before I start to enjoy them.



Finally Jon did a solo acoustic thing; unfortunately I missed the end since I had to be back home by midnight, lest I turn into a pumpkin.



Now I'm going to see if I can stay awake long enough to try some lunar eclipse photography ...

A different city

Another day, another band with municipal leanings, this time Design of Cities. They take a slightly poppier turn than The City Above, but they share the other band's love of Swervedriver ... or so I'm guessing from the fact they have a song called Adam Franklin. I'm also guessing they like Edmund N. Bacon.

Soundcheck action! With singer Tarek and Chuck.



Bassist Jon.



Drummer Kev. I've always wondered where that door led to ....



Guitarist Chuck does a bit of e-bowing.



Psych action!



Singalong action!







The whole lot, as seen from the balcony.



They have an upcoming show at Zaphod's Feb. 24 with The Postage Stamps.

• Show reminder: Speaking of city bands, City of a Hundred Spires performs at Cafe Aux 4 Jeudis in the Gatineau.

Thar she blows!

A Poorfolk show is always a good way to spend a Sunday - or most other days, come to that - so I hustled over to The Rainbow last night to see them and fellow White Whale artist Octoberman perform along with local psych dealers Design of Cities.

Put these guys on a bill with The City Above (and possibly City of 100 Spires) I say!



Marc Morrisette - a.k.a. Octoberman - then took a solo turn before inviting Poorfolk on stage and tossing out egg shakers for some folks in the crowd so they could rattle along.



Finally Poorfolk came back for a storming set of rootsy rock.



A cool time all 'round.