The spice of life

You know whenever King Khan or Bloodshot Bill is in town you're in for a good show. Add local rockers The Polymorphines to the bill, and how can you miss? Well, a few people did miss out, but for a Tuesday show on a day with nonstop rain the turnout was pretty good.

The Polymorphines had a bumpy set due to some technical difficulties - that bass would just not stay plugged in - but you know everything doesn't have to go right for their scrappy brand of rock to work. And now, some singalong action!


The Polymorphines at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Tough-sounding as usual!


The Polymorphines at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Bloodshot Bill then went on stage for a short, all-request set.


Bloodshot Bill at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Finally the Tandoori Knights rocked the joint with their tremelo-abusing rockabilly garage, complete with some standup bass courtesy of Nadeem Khan, perhaps best known for his part in Orlando combo Big Jef Special and drums from Josh Johnson, ex-Spinns, and a one-man band himself under the Pinche Gringo name. King Khan and Bloodshot Bill are old pals and obviously work well together; folks may recall them horsing around at a wild Irene's show back in 2006.

Khan and Bloodshot!


Tandoori Knights at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Nadeem works the crowd!


Tandoori Knights at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

They had some ladies from the audience up on stage to sing along for the encore, which finished with Nadeem Khan jumping into the audience.


Tandoori Knights at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

A killer show all round.

• Show reminder: Kathryn Calder and Himalayan Bear play the Raw Sugar Cafe; Pretty Little Death Machine, Hunter Walks and The Dead Zone rock The Rainbow.

Here they come again

I feel pretty sure that anyone who's been reading this blog for any length of time - even just a few seconds! - will have heard of King Khan and Mark Sultan. The two Montrealers were a team in notorious garage rockers The Spaceshits, and have been collaborating on and off ever since, most recently in The Almighty Defenders with The Black Lips. But they've also strode the stages of the world as the King Khan and BBQ Show. A show at Irene's in November 2006 still ranks among my all-time personal favourites, and their December 2008 show with Golden Triangle was memorably crazy as well. Khan came through town in 2009 with His Sensational Shrines and Mark as an opener, and once again pandemonium reigned.

First, we have some soundcheck action, with Mark Sultan in his trademark cloth cap.



.... and King Khan looking like a dweeby tourist.



BBQ rocks the turban.



Khan gets Teutonic.



Here comes Khan!



Butt-shaking action!



Guitar licking action!



More Sultan!



About then it started to rain, so I went in search of an umbrella. It was a short search, and I was never really out of earshot, so I decided to brain the drops and watch some more.



Khan shakes it!



Khan goes wild! Mark is amused.



Sultan sings!



Tasty, tasty guitar!



The evil soul brothers will be back in town to play Babylon Dec. 5. Maybe the weather will be better by then.

• Show reminder: Detroit attacks the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party as Human Eye and the Terrible Twos rock the Atomic Rooster; The Sin Kickers, Claudia and The Red Light Saints perform at The Rainbow; Elmdale House hosts The Woodrunners; Evan Symons and Scottmandu play the Avant-Garde. Paper Beat Scissors and That's The Spirit are at the Raw Sugar Cafe. The Mudmen and Headbounce perform at Zaphod's.
  

Rain, rain, go away!

So much for my weather-predicting capabilities. Not only did it rain, it was rather cool, never a good combination. At least things stayed pleasant enough for the first part of the day.

I arrived as The Balconies were starting their set. I was very impressed by their Gaga Weekend set, and they were just as good this time around. A sizable crowd gathered to listen to their new-wave sounds, and there was a good turnout at the autograph tent later on. It was still warm and sunny enough for Jacquie Neville to note that wearing black was a mistake.


The Balconies, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

Following their set I went off to buy a copy of their new CD and to go to the Music-Themed Eatery Stage to watch The Sedatives. Ian Manhire appeared to be getting a primer on the operation of the Hammond Organ as I arrived.


Sedatives, Hard Rock Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

Then they were off an rocking, with a very hard-hiotting set. Apparently copies of their new album have arrived, but Ian forgot to bring them. He did promise to make a cover and bike one over to whoever was interested though.


Sedatives, Hard Rock Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

Since their set only lasted about 30 minutes I alsom managed to pop over the hill to see most of the Sunparlour Players set. Hmm, I'm not completely sold on their somewhat hectic take on Americana. The triple kick-drum lineup is kind of nifty, though.


Sunparlour Players, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

And one can't fault the amount of energy the players - particularly accordionist/drummer Michael Rosenthal.


Sunparlour Players, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

The New Mastersounds followed The Sedatives on the Music-Themed Eatery Stage. They're a Leeds-based funk-soul-R&B combo. I can't say they held my attention, but they did seem to have some of the audience grooving along.


The New Mastersounds, Hard Rock Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

Casting around for something to watch I passed by the Fast Food Chain stage, where the Homemade Jamz Blues Band was performing. Not hugely fascinating, but I dig those custom instruments.


Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

They're a family outfit, drummer Taya, 10, is the youngest.


Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

I decided to go and see Land of Talk since I enjoyed their Zaphod's set with Menomena and Field Music. They played a similarly fine set, and like the Sunparlour Players before them praised The Balconies' show.


Land of Talk, Black Sheep Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

Then I headed back over the hill to catch The King Khan and BBQ Show, which is when things turned nasty. I don't mean musically nasty, I mean meteorologically nasty. with a lengthy rainshower. Bleaaah. Not too good for the camera, either. At least King Khan and BBQ were entertaining as usual, with their between-song banter even more cracked than usual. Also, King Khan kicked the crap out of those heads mounted along the front of the stage, an act I heartily condone.


King Khan and BBQ Show, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

I went looking for an umbrella for sale, but had no luck, so soon enough I was back at the Music-Themed Eatery Stage getting wet. At least I had a plastic bag to wrap my camera in. Bloodshot Bill and his new wife also showed up to bop along around this time. That done, I headed off to the Telecommunications Giant Stage to fulfill my main reason for sticking around through the rain - seeing Neko Case, one of my favourite singers, perform.


Neko Case, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

It was well worth the wait and slight sogginess, she put on a super set, which lasted about 80 minutes, including a cover of Harry Nillson's Alimony and an encore performance of Sook-Yin Lee's Knock Loud.


Neko Case and Tom V. Ray, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

She was joined by her usual backing band, including Jon Rauhouse (below on banjo), but usual co-conspirator Kelly Hogan couldn't be there due to a death in the family.


Jon Rauhouse, Paul Rigby, Rogers Stage, Bluesfest, July 12, 2009

After that, I sped on home - I've got an early day today, and I'd prefer to be reasonably dry when it comes time to greet it.

All fall down

I've shot King Khan and His Sensational Shrines before, so there's no reason for introductions (I missed a few members anyway, unless you want to see a very dull drummer shot of John Boy Adonis and the top of organist Fredovich's head). If you've caught my previous Khan posts, or seen his show, you know what to expect - a serious soul workout with a healthy helping of crazy and occasionally painful audience behaviour - and this show was no exception! There was lots of shoving and swaying and a good chunk of the front row ended up tipping onto the stage on more than one occasion.

Please welcome to the stage your new space overlord, King Khan!



He quickly doffed the helmet (and a song or two in the jacket).



I cheated on this photo off the horn section and took it during the soundcheck when I actually had a clear view of them.



Singalong action! With Big Fred Roller, Riddiman and Mr. Speedfinger.



Mark Sultan jumps on stage to sing one.



King Khan slings axe.



Soul action!



Bamboorella isn't just the Gogo Queen of the Underworld - she's also mighty flexible.



Speedfinger jumps! Of course!



Know Your Product gets a workout.



Encore action!



Khan works the crowd!



Big Fred Roller really, really works the crowd.



And a final toot.



A sensational and sweaty show as usual.

• Show reminder: Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Black Tusk, The Hardy Boys and The Courtship play very loud indeed at Babylon.

Khandemonium

I try to make a habit of seeing King Khan and Mark Sultan whenever either man makes a trip through town, since either independently or together they always put on a great show. It's only been half a year since they performed as a duo at Babylon. Things have been increasingly fired up at their shows, so when Khan rolled into town with both Sultan and His Sensational Shrines on hand, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that the audience would go bonkers.

The Sunday Sinners kicked things off with a killer set. I've actually seen a few of these folks before: Guitarist Jordan also slings his axe for The Mystery Girls, and I saw him when he performed at Mavericks on a bill with The Weapons of Mass Seduction and BBQ. Ottawans have seen organist Work With Me Annie a couple of times as she once did time in a band called Les Sexareenos (which come to think of it also included BBQ). Unfortunately you can't see Annie in thse shots, since she and her Farfisa are tucked away on the other side of the stage (also out of view, drummer Chantale). What we have here is Jordan, Jenna and Kieran. Jenna has a super voice, and I think anyone who enjoyed The Detroit Cobras would find them irrestible as well.



Next up came Mark Sultan, another guy I've seen plenty of times before, performing with The Spaceshits, with King Khan (also an ex-Spaceshit), in Les Sexareenos and of course as BBQ. For this show he let things get a little crazy, speeding up and slowing down and babbling gibberish between tunes.



King Khan and His Sensational Shrines put on a really hot show. As for the crowd, they were already keyed up, tolerating a lengthy soundcheck and setup, and flipping their collective lid when Khan and The Shrines finally swung into things. Khan took the stage wearing a blue plastic helmet he quickly doffed. While he and his band got their mojo working the audience surged and heaved - and indulged in a little surfing, despite a posted ban upon such behaviour.



Things may have gotten a little too hectic at the end, when one crowd surfer launched himself into the crowd at shoulder level and landed on a particularly diminutive woman near the front row. Dude, you're supposed to try for altitude.

• Show reminder: White Whale Records is celebrating five years with Tusks, The Mohawk Lodge, Octoberman and Poorfolk at Babylon; if I weren't working tonight I'd almost certainly be down at The Dominion watching C'mon and Pride Tiger tonight; Mr. Plow, Doug Hell, Four Stroke, Jon Creeden and Pull The Trigger are performing at Cafe Dekcuf; Sun's Command and Kris and Dave are preforming at Woody's on the Elgin Strip. Michael Munnik and Whale Tooth are at Zaphod's. Our Kingdom, Crash, Violated Rot, Kimaris, Paradigm Divide and Elypsis play Mavericks. Nudie and The Turks hit Irene's. Melwood Cutlery plays The Elmdale House.

Khan come back

Back in January when I finally got around to posting photos of King Khan and BBQ's show at Babylon I noted that Khan would be returning in May for a show with his Sensational Shrines - and now we have a date and place! May 8 at Babylon, to be precise.


King Khan and His Sensational Shrines, Zaphod Beeblebrox, July 26, 2008

Mark Sultan will also be performing at this show, so now doubt it'll be a crazy 'ol time. And I'll bet guitarist Speedfinger will be happy to see everyone. As for tonight, After The Burial, Veil of Maya, Abacabb and Fell Silent play The Bayou; Passenger Action, Molten Lava, Dancing On Fire, and OldBoys will rock Cafe Dekcuf; the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party serves up some amped up rock courtesy of The Job and also some amped up pizza. "Surprise guests" are also alleged to be in the offing. The Bruitals play the Elmdale House.