On fire

I've caught Two Hours Traffic twice at Zaphod's in what I'd call the recent past (i.e., since last fall), and both times, in addition to their own great set, they've had a keen band opening for them. For this September 26 show, Great Bloomers were on hand. They're fans of harmonious pop and roots music and blend the two with aplomb.

Lowell sings, Tim Moxam frets!



Adrian Cook works the frets.



Anthony McKnight rocks the low end; Kyle Watt mans the kit.



Tim also plays the trumpet.



More Lowell (and Kyle and Anthony)!



Kyle hits!



More Tim.



Anthony's under there somewhere.



And so on!



Feedback action!



The end!



What they're up to now, I know not.

Two and two

I went over to Zaphod's on Wednesday to check out Great Bloomers and Two Hours Traffic. The latter have a new EP out which apparently presages a more rocking direction for the recently revamped quartet. The former I've seen before, also at Zaphod's, ran through a pretty hot set of pop with a rootsy twist. They had just started up as I walked in the front door.

It's been three years since I saw them, give or take a month, and they haven't changed much at all - at least not soundwise, their lineup has undergone some permutations. Lowell and Co., like THT, have a new release out, Distant Fires.


Great Bloomers at Zaphod Beblebrox, Sept. 26, 2012

Adrian Cook works the keys.


Great Bloomers at Zaphod Beblebrox, Sept. 26, 2012

Two Hours Traffic were really sharp, backing up super pop hooks with an energetic performance. I'm also always keen for a Nick Lowe tune: They covered Raging Eyes.


Two Hours Traffic at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sept. 26, 2012

Guitarist Andrew MacDonald has recently shifted over from bass.


Two Hours Traffic at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sept. 26, 2012

They also had a very enthusiastic crowd who were happy to shout out requests and sing along.

Great expectations

Great Bloomers are the ideal band to be paired with Kalle Mattson (or vice-versa). Both outfits take a folk-country rock base and add a wide range of college rock influences. Their list of influences on their Myspace site looks like my own record collection, though to be honest I'm not hearing a lot of Royal Trux (nice to see the name-check, though).

Lowell Sostomi, Anthony McKnight and Nate Hindle show off their love for country rock and lumberjack shirts.



Shawn Dell works the keys.

 

Blooming action!



Riser-jumping action!



Lowell frets!



Kyle Watt on drums.



Shawn sings!



Anthony sings!



Nate breaks out the lap steel.



Lowell goes acoustic.



Singalong action!



The whole lot!



Big finish!



They plan to tour out West in February and are in Montreal on Saturday.

• Show reminder: Red Mass (featuring Montreal garage rock great Choyce of Les Sexareenos and CPC Gangbangs) and Total Crush rock Atomic Rooster; illScarlett, To The Rescue and USS play Mavericks.

That's just great

Last night I figured I'd take a little wander back to my college rock days (not to be confused with my actual college days, when I mostly listened to grunge and Jesus and Mary Chain) when Wilco and Son Volt albums were never too far from my CD player. Kalle Mattson and Great Bloomers seemed to fit the bill on very cursory inspection so I went over to Zaphod's.

Kalle Mattson was on stage as I got in the door, and making quite a noise. I hadn't done much research on the band before going to the show and was actually expecting a wispy Scandinavian folk singer. Although Kalle Mattson takes its name from founding member Kalle Mattson Wainio, the band is in fact a youthful quartet, and can rock'n'yell quite capably when not displaying their folkier side. Guitarist Rory Lewis certainly likes his phases and pulsars and digital delay so they also sounded quite space-rocky on occasion. They come from Sault Ste. Marie but the various members are now taking music and recording courses at various local institutes of higher learning.


Kalle Mattson, Zaphod Beeblebrox, October 15, 2009

The Great Bloomers were up next, playing a tasty brand of roots pop. They claim a wide range influences, but I was hard-pressed to think of any one act I'd say play a real defining role. Yo La Tengo and Pavement may come closest.


Great Bloomers, Zaphod Beeblebrox, October 15, 2009

Then I went home and watched Universal monster films while my photos downloaded, so you can head over to my Flickr account and check them out right now.

• Show reminder: Brendan Flynn and the Terrible Liars, The Withering Pines and Winchester Warm play Mavericks; upstairs you can see Woodpigeon, The Polytones, Yukon Blonde and The Gallop at Cafe Dekcuf; Luke Doucet, Justin Rutledge, NQ Arbuckle, Melissa McClelland, Royal Wood, Bidini Band, Amelia Curran and The Beauties perform at Capital Music Hall; Zaphod's hosts The Hundreds and Thousands and The Sound Technicians; Mason Rack and Entire Cities are at The Rainbow; Kent McAlister and The Iron Choir and The Devilaires rock Irene's; Push Inc. and Group Therapy are at the Elmdale House.