Sunday wonder

It turns out that even in March you can have a show on Sunday night. Now, not a lot of folks turned up for this Pressed gig, but it was a pleasantly convivial show with lots of familiar faces. Headliner Jon Hynes, for example was last seen on the blog playing bass as one of "The Replacements" at the Punk Rock Covers show in April 2012, along with Dave Banoub and John Sproull, who also made on-stage appearances.

First up, Wunderstrands. And yes, Jon is in this band too, along with Mara Pellerin of Gramercy Riffs, Brad Kirkland of Holy Fuck (albeit not on any of the occasions when I've seen them) and Shaun Brodie (like Hynes, an occasional Hidden Camera). As usual, Mara's vocals sounded great. There was also fine covers of work by Victor Lewis and Neil Young's Expecting to Fly.



Brad hits!



Singalong action!



Shaun, as seen through the entranceway window.



Mara also took a spin on guitar.



Jon played an acoustic set at Raw Sugar a few days ago with Chris Page; this time around he had Dave and John on hand. Unfortunately bassist Don Ellis' flight was trapped in Newfoundland, so there was a bit of filling in going on. 



Guitar action!



And even more guitar with Dave.



A bit of bass.



Mara and Shaun then added some brass to the last couple of numbers.



Studio recordings are promised in the not-too-distant future.

Siren calls

Next in line were East Coasters-via-Toronto Gramercy Riffs. The band is notable (at least to local music fans) for including Daniel Banoub, brother of The Centretown Cripplers/Allrights/Mnemonics Dave. To those who don't care about the relative Banoubiness of bands, it should also be noted that they've got two excellent vocalists in Lee Hanlon and Mara Pellerin, who bring a sort of 1970s vibe to their solid jangle. If their was one local band I think they'd fit a bill to a tee with it would be The Polytones.

From left to right we've got Lee, Mara, Daniel and a mystery guitarist who is not Adrian Collins, unless Collins has undergone a major makeover. Not shown, drummer James March who's lurking somewhere in back.



Mara close up!



Lee sings!



I am of course joking about mystery guitarists ... though Jimmy Rose has changed a bit from when I saw him in May 2007 with Jetset Motel -  what, no Gibson Bluebird?!? - his hair has remained the same. 



James hits!



Mara blues, Daniel bends.



Lee goes acoustic!



Mara works the keys!



Hair-shaking action!



Last minute Mara, Daniel and Jimmy!



A really fine outfit, and their latest release It's Heartbreak is one of the year's best.

• Show reminder: The Mahones and Continental are at Zaphod's; The Five Georges - that's a lot of Georges - perform at The Rainbow.

Beginnings and ends

It's time for i(heart)music's annual music festival, which this year is a three-day affair at Mavericks. It was evenly divided between a couple of great Ottawa performers and a couple of great not-from-Ottawa bands.

The Centretown Cripplers started things off - and also finished things off in a sense since it was their last show. They went out with a typically chaotic show highlighted by Chris Cook's repeated string-breaking - good thing there were a lot of Telecasters in the house to borrow.


The Centretown Cripplers at Mavericks, August 26, 2010

The last (and first) time I saw Giant Hand was also his first show, opening for Immaculate Machine and The Hi Lo Trons in the basement of End Hits. Since then he's garnered quite a bit of critical acclaim, thanks to his unvarnished songwriting and penetrating voice. Since that March 2008 gig he's acquired an electric guitar and made some use of looping in a very fine set.


Giant Hand at Mavericks, August 26, 2010

Gramercy Riffs' sound echoes the days of Richard and Linda Thompson, Lee Hazelwood and Barbara Sinatra and Fleetwood Mac thanks to the dual vocals of Lee Hanlon and Mara Pellerin, though it has plenty of modern kick (and is mostly duet free - Lee and Mara trade of singing duties on a song-by-song basis). Incidentally, Daniel Banoub, brother of The Cripplers' Dave - you may recall him playing with the band at the pre-Cook wedding gig at the Montgomery Legion Hall plays bass in the St. John's combo.


Gramercy Riffs at Mavericks, August 26, 2010

By the time Parlovr got on stage the audience - never all that large to begin with, I'm sad to report - had shrunk to about a dozen, but they still got a super-active show from a band that would probably give 150% no matter the size of the crowd. The trio has a huge sound thanks to the cunning deployment of an octave pedal and loads of energy to go along with their choruses.


Parlovr at Mavericks, August 26, 2010

The festival continues tonight at Mavericks with performances by Amos the Transparent, The Darcys, Old Crowns and Oceans.

• Show reminder: Sarah Blackwood, The Mudplots and Jersey Hurtt are at Cafe Dekcuf; Zachary Lucky, The Bravest Ghost and A.R. Coleman are at Raw Sugar; Alaska Army Band, Weak Size Fish and The Weeds play the Rainbow Bistro; The Beat Project gets funky at Irene's.