Bluesfest: Murder Plans

My Thursday started with The Murder Plans. That's a very good way to start things! I've enjoyed everything they've done so far, and this set was no exception.

Michael Simon handles the low end.



As you can see from Connor McGuire, they had already worked up a sweat.



Faceoff-and-videographer action with Joel Jacques!



The whole lot, including drummer Nicholas Descarie.



Closeup action!



Nicholas hits!



Michael moves it.



Extra Joel!



Murderous action!



Nicholas brushes up.



Michael takes centre stage.



Singalong action!



Gripping action!



Then it was off to see Al Wood and The Woodsmen.

• Show reminder: The Bam Bams rock The Manx. Clementine, Llynn Kellmann and J.F. Robitaille perform at Raw Sugar. The Johnny Cash Music is at The Elmdale.

Bluesfest 2011: Day 9

Looking at the two big headliners for Thursday, Theory of A Deadman and Billy Talent, did not really encourage me to make the trip out to Lebreton Flats; what tipped the scales was a look at the video for Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, which is pretty funny. I also like that old country blues, and the weather was certainly looking fine.

Also, one of my favourite Ottawa bands, The Murder Plans, were playing. As usual they put on a really good show.


The Murder Plans at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

When they were done I traipsed over to the Subway Stage to see Al Wood and The Woodsmen, a band that has made many, many appearances in my show reminders. For some reason I thought they were country rockers, in fact they're harmonica blues-rockers.


Al Wood & The Woodsmen at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

Next up were Cancer Bats, a band well known in the metal-hardcore scene. They've played Ottawa a bunch of times, but I've never had a chance to see them. A DJ came out first to politely request the audience not kill anyone while moshing. Cancer Bats really kicked it out, with lots of running around (in half of my pictures frontman Liam Cormier is lunging out of the frame).


Cancer Bats at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

I had my Batfill after a half hour, which turned out to be the time that Rosie Ledet and The Zydeco Playboys were coming onto the National Bank Stage, so I walked over there to see what was what. Zydeco bands are always fun for at least a while, and the crowd was small but enthusiastic.


Rosie Ledet and The Zydeco Playboys at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

Then it was off to see Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. Peyton's band is actually a trio, including his wife Breezy on washboard, and as mentioned earlier they like their old time blues, although it comes with a bit of a wink and a nudge.


Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

I took a quick break from the Rev and Co. to check out the egregiously named Girls With Guitars. The 'girls' in questions are frequent Bluesfest performer Cassie Taylor (either solo or with pop Otis), Bristol blues-rocker Dani Wilde and Kansas City axewoman Samantha Fish. Cassie got a little jazzy on piano, throwing in some Dusty Springfield covers, while Wilde sang a tune of her own, Red-Blooded Woman.  Then I went back to listen to more of Peyton and eat some dinner.


Girls With Guitars at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

After that my choices came down to Billy Talent, The Tea Party, Tim Robbins and The Rogues Gallery Band and La-33. I plumped for La-33 since the festival's world music offerings are usually a cut above. The 13-man La-33 hail from Bogota and salsa-ed up a storm.


La-33 at Ottawa Bluesfest, July 14, 2011

A very fun day, though I can't recommend the barbecue.

• Show reminder: Common Enemy, Naughty Girls, Spitfist and Shot Nerves rock the Kent St. Legion;  The Nailheads, RWR, The Beer Barons and the Mudplots are at 452 Gladston; David Gogo is at The Rainbow; The Yohawks perform at Irene's; there's post-Bluesfest action at the Elmdale with Rocket Rached and The Fat City 8; Jon Roy performs before Django Libre's regular Avant-Garde gig.

Deadly intention

I've been looking back over previous Murder Plans writeups, and they all seem to say they put on a great show opening for (fill in the blank) and remind me of Orange Juice and Whipping Boy (the Irish one). Well, er, nothing new to report on that front, though now I'll add that I can see them on a bill with The Wedding Present or The Wrens as well. Murder by Death wasn't the first band I'd put on the same bill, but if nothing else the similar names are good for a laugh.

Joel Jacques works the keys.



Connor rocks the Tele.



Nick Descarie looks up.



Singalong action with Michael Simon.



And so on!





Does it count as lap steel if it's not in your lap?



Big rock finish!



They previewed a few new songs, so can that long-promised new album be long in coming?

• Show reminder: Dancepunk combo Shout Out Out Out Out rolls into town with a new CD in tow for a show at Babylon with Smalltown DJs and The Cansecos. The Rough Sea and Gauche play Zaphod Beeblebrox. Soulfat Funk performs at The Rainbow.
  

No one gets out alive

I had a fun time at Mavericks last night - or, as it seems to have renamed itself, Maverick - watching local feral folkies Sadie Hell, The Murder Plans and Murder by Death.

Ben Welland bolstered his forces for this show with saxophonist Dave Halabisky and guitarist Sam Welland along with drummer Sean Laframboise. Ben was sounding in very good voice - they kept it to a short set of five songs, ending with popular howlalong The Wolf Can.


Sadie Hell, Mavericks, April 18, 2009

The Murder Plans were also sounding pretty tight, rocking out a healthy helping of new tunes from their 5/8ths finished album and sounding even more like The Wedding Present to me than usual.


Murder Plans, Mavericks, April 18, 2009

Finally. Murder by Death. When they last played town, opening for the Reverend Horton Heat, they didn't make much of an impression - not surprising since I only heard three songs. On this occasion they really impressed, both with their doomladen songs about puking, survivalists, drinking, bad brothers and the apocalypse - or, as lead singer Adam Turla put it "The fun stuff." They certainly seemed a lot more energetic on stage this time around, and were buoyed quite a bit by a large, enthusiastic audience. I could hear a lot of singing along. Turla's voice was in excellent shape, and it's a nice, resonant instrument.


Murder by Death, Mavericks, April 18, 2009

They also left an impression of being generally swell folks, performing The Big Sleep by request for a soon-to-be married couple. Turla encored alone with Shiola then had the band back for an instrumental workout.

• Show reminder: DD/MM/YYYY, METZ, Fucked Corpse and Army Of St. Joan were supposed to rock Mavericks tonight, but one of the DD/MM/YYYY guys got banged up on his bicycle (he'll recover) so the band had to cancel ... not sure what that does to the rest of the gig, so I'll update the post as soon as I find out (Update: Alas, the whole show's cancelled); Ridley Bent, Dustin Bentall (son of Barney) and Steve Stacey perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox; Jane Ehrhardt, Bette et Wallet and LPoushinsky folk around at the Rainbow.

Say a little prayer

First, the bad news: The Parenthetical Girls' van flamed out about a week ago, so they didn't make it to last night's show at Zaphod's or, for that matter, across the border. The turnout wasn't that great either, considering the headliner has a fair amount of critical buzz to its credit - about two-dozen people, mostly local musical types.

The show itself was rally good, starting with Glenn Nuotio. His band seems to have left for university (or something like that), so he nicked The Murder Plans' rhythm section: You can see Nick Descarie and Michael Simon adding oomph in the background.


Glenn Nuotio, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sept. 28, 2008

The Evangelicals are from Oklahoma and get a lot of Flaming Lips comparisons (mostly to the latter band's early years). I think they also sound a bit like Dead Meadow. They put on a super show. Lots of reverbed backing vocals, one of the guitarists wore a cape, and they brought their own murky green stage lighting.


Evangelicals, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sept. 28, 2008

I hope people don't make the same mistake tonight and take a pass on The Evangelicals' pals in Dark Meat.

• Show reminder: Dark Meat (yes, I'm repeating myself ... really, missing this show is probably not a good thing), Fucked Corpse and Holy Cobras rock Zaphod Beeblebrox.

First degree homicide

Bonjour Brumaire and Winter Gloves made a trip to Ottawa at iheartmusic.com's behest; the opener was locals Murder Plans. They put on a swell set - they definitely deserve a larger local following.

Michael Simon and Connor McGuire.



Nicholas Descarie and Michael are obviously rocking the negatives look.



Joel Jacques works the steel.





Singalong action!



The whole lot!



And so on.





Still waiting for that full length they were allegedly recording ...

• Show reminder: The Late '94s, These Electric Lives and Acres play Zaphod Beeblebrox; illScarlett and Daniel Wesley perform at Mavericks; Shanker and Romps release their new CD alongside Casey Comeau at Irene's.

Changing of the seasons

I went to Mavericks last night to see hotly tipped francophone act Bonjour Brumaire, Winter Gloves and Ottawa's own Murder Plans, a show courtesy of i(heart)music. There was something a little different about the place went in: Namely, a total lack of furniture. They also seem to have sawed the bar in half. I gather a play for an increased capacity is at work.

The Murder Plans kindly warned the following acts that the X on the stage marked a hole in the wood underneath the carpet. There goes my "buried treasure" theory. They also asked people to visit their Youtube video. Watch it and you'll never complain about the size of your practice space again. Their live show was once again excellent. I'm still getting a strong Postcard records vibe from them, but they sounded a bit more rootsy this time around.


Murder Plans, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

Next came Winter Gloves, who stole the show with their super bouncy electronic pop and falsetto vocals. "They deserve the Polaris next year!" said Bonjour Brumaire frontman Youri Zaragoza. They've been recording with a guy who's worked with Malajube and Les Breastfeeders, so who knows?


Winter Gloves, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

Finally Bonjour Brumaire ran through their set of classic rock-influenced indie pop. For some reason the Montreal quintet put me strongly in mind of 1990s Irish rockers Whipping Post (I'm still trying to figure out why my brain dredged up the comparison ... a familiar riff, perhaps). Quite good, but a bit overwhelmed by the openers.


Bonjour Brumaire, Mavericks, June 19, 2008

This was their first show in Ottawa; I bet they'll be playing someplace a bit larger when they return.

• Show reminder: Flow 14 and Tara Lee Combs rock Zaphod's. Garaga unleashes their new record at Babylon with Tokyo Sex Whale and Boom Creek. Grouyan Gumbo get spicey at the Elmdale House Tavern. Uzumaki perform at the Avant-Garde.

Central planning

The Murder Plans put on another excellent set opening for Dog Day; they still put me in mind of mod-soul-loving Scots bands like Orange Juice and descendants like The Wedding Present (and as I mentioned earlier, the tougher sounding Britpop bands like Adorable and Ireland's Whipping Post). I see from the 2007 XPress "Best of Ottawa" poll that I'm not the only one who' s impressed, as they scored an honorable mention in the Best New Artist and Best Album categories.

Joel and Connor; the colour in these lowlight photos are kind of nice, if a tad on the fuzzy side.



Nick, even more of a blur in motion than usual.



And the whole lot.



I did use flash here - just not enough.



Bassist Mike; we chatted a bit pre-show and he asked about the Orange Juice comparison. I admit I completely blanked on Edwyn Collins' name.





More Joel!



The stage was still a bit smoky.



And so on.







Their next show is at Cafe DeKcuf on Jan. 12.

• Show reminder: Exile Bookshop hold a People's Global Action benefit at Dishouse (at 454 Gladstone) with The Suicide Pilots and Knifehammer. Dry River Caravan, Gaby Wilson and Andre M. Bluteau perform at Cafe Dekcuf.