Let me draw you a picture

Next up were The Paint Movement. They were a pretty exuberant bunch on stage, and getting a baker's dozen of good shots were a cinch. They're also very capable musicians. An unconventional bunch, about the only thing I didn't fancy was the music. If you dig Broken Social Scene they might be a little more up your alley. For my tastes, they didn't rock hard enough and were just a shade too jazzy.

Guitarist Kevin Kralik fronts the crew and handles most of the vocals, Jason Loftman plays the saxophone and takes an occasional turn at the keyboard, Glenn Candy plays the drums andJason Haberman plays bass.



Kralik bends!



I'm a little dubious about the merits of a camouflage cymbal case.





Loftman toots his own horn.



Singalong action!



And so on!



Oh okay ... yet more singalong action!



Haberman shakes it.







More Candy!



And there they go.



They're currently headed out west, so if you're in a major (or not-so major) metropolitan area anywhere to the left of Thunder Bay on the map, chances are they're playing a club near you in the month ahead.

• Show reminder: Withering Pine Eric Vieweg performs at Zaphod Beeblebrox with Graven and Dave Norris and Local Ivan; Fish & Bird roll through The Rainbow.

To Centretown and back

I hoofed it over to Mavericks last night to check out what, at one point in time, had been a show with The White Wires and The Balconies. For some reason in the interceding weeks it turned into a show with Modernboys Moderngirls, The Paint Movement and Centretown Cripplers , but that was still enough reason to go since I've wanted to check out the Cripplers for some time now and had heard intriguing things about MBMG. This was also my first encounter with Mavericks new stage, which is now about Zaphod's height, with the ceiling recessed to match.

As I walked in the door The Centretown Cripplers were just finishing off a cover I'm Not Your Stepping Stone. You'll not Allrights keyboardist Chris Cook slinging some guitar; Allright Mel Sturk was off to the left.


The Centretown Cripplers, Mavericks, May 17, 2009

Up next were the Paint Movement. They quickly left an impression of being very adept musicians - and how many indie rockers are there with saxophones these days? (I guess the answer to that question may actually be "quite a few", so never mind.) That aside, they didn't bowl me over. In their favour lead singer Kevin Kralik sounds quite a bit like Stephen McBean of Black Mountains, but otherwise they were a bit too polite for my taste.


The Paint Movement, Mavericks, May 17, 2009

The Modernboys Moderngirls get a lot of comparisons to The White Stripes. This is because most music writers are too young to remember The Panther Burns. Mainman Akira Alemany even looks a bit like a younger, more compact Tav Falco. At times I thought they sounded a bit like a pumped up Talking Heads (perhaps due to their keyboardist). They strike me as a band that would put just as much energy into performing for an audience of two as 200, which is to say a lot. I also have to give props to bassist Juan Carlos Rivas who was a very livelys stage presence.


Modernboys Moderngirls, Mavericks, May 17, 2009

A pretty good show: Sure could have benefited from more Wires and Balconies, though.

• Show reminder: The Woodrunners, No Fly List and Sun's Command are at Zaphod's.