Gimme a 'G'

The G-Men once again followed The Bella Bombs on stage (for the third time running, in my experience). As before, they played ripping metallic punk rock. Drummer Doug was sounding particularly good.

Mopa sings!



Eye-rolling action from Jamie G and his extra-pointy guitar.



A slightly blurry and quite sweaty Doug.



Dave Only ... actually this picture looks a great deal like the last one I took of him at Babylon.



Singalong action!



The whole lot!



Next time, more flash. Then Dave won't look like he's got a third-degree sunburn.



Extra blurry action!



And now I'm off to top up my rudimentary photo manipulation skills so I can get rid of that damn line.

• Show reminder: Xiu Xiu, Chris Garneau and Fucked Corpse play Babylon.

Guitars, guitars, guitars

... and that was just the first half of last night. There was a lot six-string action going on on my Saturday sojourns. First I went off to Zaphod's to see The BushPilots (who I've seen a few times before) and Evil Farm Children (who I saw at The Rainbow. Opening trio The Truthful Few was new to me, and there was some mighty speedy pickin' going on there as well.

The Truthful Few - all three of them.



Dave Kerr of Evil Farm Children and his sparkly silver Gretsch.



A couple of BushPilots and an acoustic guitar.



Then I sneaked off to Cafe DeKcuf. Things must have run a little lat, because The Bella Bombs were still on stage. And another sparkly silver guitar!



And here's a pointy one, courtesy of the G-Men.



A couple more, a la Setbacks.



Well I'm all guitared out. My plan now is to get to sleep before 3 a.m. on Sunday - it'll be a change for me ...

Ministry of punk

Last time I saw the G-Men was at Mavericks, a performance they undertook after a previous engagement was KOed by a missing member. And like last time, they had a new drummer in tow (peculiar gardening accident, anyone?). They sounded extra good this time. They strike me as one of the more technically accomplished punk bands around, and they aren't afraid to throw in some fancy lead work or bass riff to liven things up.

Here's Mopa and new chap Doug.



Jamie G., serious as ever. No his guitar does not have tiny legs.



Dave Only.



Mopa encourages some audience singing from Ken Vermin and Honey Bomb.



Mopa looks like he's ready for a quick jog.



More Doug!



Government action!





The G-men are all about the snuggling.



I should mention again that Jerk Appeal was on the bill, but had wrapped up before I arrived.

• Show reminder: Brian Seeger, The Soft Disaster and Saint Bernard of Love perform at 59 Argyle Ave.; Fucked Up, The Yah Mos Def, Fucked Corpse and The Fucking Machines say bad words at Cafe Dekcuf; F!ghtF!ghtF!ght, Mile Over Mecca and Ana Miura perform a benefit for the homeless at Zaphod's; Muffler Crunch and Blackball make loud noise at the Dominion; Lil Andy and Karaoke Cowboy and The John Henrys get country at Irene's.

Hit and run

That's what this post is going to be. I'm plum tuckered from riding my bike into a headwind all the way from Antares Dr. to MacLaren St. after work, then going directly to Babylon for a second night in a row to watch rock'n'roll, or variations thereof, until 1:30 a.m. Anyway, I caught Harshey (who a nice new CD-R out), Toronto's G-Men and The Bella Bombs, and took a few pictures as I often do. I missed opener Jerk Appeal, of who many spoke highly.

The G-Men!



The Bella Bombs!



Harshey!



Swell, more later, boo-hiss to Bylaw Services, etc.

• Show reminder: Julie Doiron, Shotgun and Jaybird, Woolly Leaves and Poorfolk perform at The Rainbow.

Nuthin' but a G thang

The G-Men hail from Toronto; straightahead punk rock with a lot of metal tone. Nothing fancy here. Just solid, nourishing punk.

Singer Mopa Dean looks like a heavy from a 50s gangster flick - direct from central casting! His off-stage porkpie hat with the playing cards in the band help the impression.



Bassist Dave Only.



Guitarist Jamie G put a lot of metal in the sound.



Ron - "He's a metal drummer."



Mopa howls while Jamie G. rips it up.



In the pit (of four people). Ken Vermin of four-stroke contributes some guest vocals.



The G-Men and three young Ottawa fans.



This was an all-ages show, and they really meant it: The youngest guy there looked about 12, the oldest about forty years older.

• Show reminder: Cheerleader and RadioDazed play Zaphod's. The Heck are also on the bill. The Suburban Pop Project hold a CD release party at Babylon with the aid of The Acorn and some other folks. Best of all, thanks to the tireless efforts of some cool guys and the good graces of Alexei at the Avant-Garde at 1351/2 Besserer St., Sunburned Hand of The Man will play an all-ages show there ... hooray!