Pipe up!

In early April I made one of my regular trips to the House of Targ. All three acts have a toe in the kozmik waters (okay, in the case of Yoo Doo Right it's closer to full-body immersion), but no one will confuse one for the other. Up first were mal/aime, the drone-oriented side project of Pony Girl (a.k.a. Droney Girl). They played a super set at Bar Robo late last year and were just as fine this time around. Here's Julien (with Yolande and Jeff in the background).



Clarient action with Yolande!



Jeff multitasks!



Extra adjusting!



Droning action!



Yoo Doo Right played a really fierce set of motorik psych. Here's Justin channelling his inner Jimmy Page.



Charles works the keys.



Rhythm section action with John and Mitchell!



John hits!



Justin sings!



Canny action!



Glowing action!



The whole lot!



More John!



Pick A Piper bust out the keyboards for some pleasant electronic polyrhythms; mainman Brad Weber also drums for Caribou ... here he is in mid-adjustment!



Also on board are Angus Fraser and Dan Roberts. Not sure if this is Angus or Dan ...



Dan or Angus?



Brad hits!



Keyboard action!



Percussive action!



Vocal action!



The whole lot!



Even more percussive action!



A charmingly diverse outing.

Not so deer

Caribou used to be Manitoba ... then Dictators growler "Handsome" Dick Manitoba's lawyers came a-calling. Dan Snaith, the main force behind Caribou, changed the name to something less tort-worthy and released Yeti under the new moniker. When I saw Manitoba - as they/he were then known - at Bluesfest I was really blown away by the two drummers. Second time around, I wasn't nearly as impressed. The two drummers thumping away in unison is still kind of cool, but a little less exciting when you see they've got their earbuds telling them what to do. It was also more obvious what was coming out of a backing track. To be honest, I thought the most interesting bits were the prerecorded parts. The show just wasn't "live" enough to engage me.

Dan Snaith, left, and touring guitarist Ryan Smith toot and slap.



The show has a large visual component; since Smith mostly stays at centre stage, he's right in the beam from the projection gear. I'd want sunglasses.



Peter Mitten drums (Snaith plays the other parts). The projected images are designed by Delicious 9.



The group - prerecorded folks not shown.



Dual strumming action - this is as live as it gets.



As I said, I was less than blown away ... but then I watched them the night after Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and the night before I went to see Motorhead, so it might just be they were the musical equivalent of the neglected middle child.