They'll go far

Of the four acts on stage on this occasion, Distant Society strikes me as the band most likely to seek and find success. Even someone who's not a huge fan of such Tool-influenced alt-rock (a category that includes me, my dusty copy of Aenima notwithstanding) has to admit they've got a very solid thing going: Good chops, good songwriting and they even have their own banner.

And they're off!



Joel sings! Here's one for all you dentists out there.



Antonio Martino and that banner.



Serge Menard sings!



Joel goes acoustic.



Rhythm section action!





Joel rises to new heights.



Big finish!



They have a new EP out dubbed The Calm. They're also looking for a new bass player. Their next show is at Mavericks' Sept. 29.

• Show reminder: There's various breeds of 'billy at Cafe Deckuf with Switchblade Valentines, Gunsmoke, Machine Gun Dolly and Clepto. The Setbacks, threaten their last show ever at Zaphod's with The Reverb Syndicate and The Havocs. A bevy of Sonny Best and Soft Canyon alumni hit the stage as Jason Kent plays Irene's with Four'n'Giv'r.

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 ...