It's Party Time

September 27 I popped over to The Rainbow to see a couple of Guelph related acts and Toronto's Party Time opened the show. Despite the name, the performances of Emma Moss Brender (sole proprietor, etc.) are not really geared to providing festive levity. I also wonder why someone would hide a cool name like Emma Moss Brender behind the relatively generic Party Time, but I guess that's a question for another time. I liked her set enough to buy her album.

I'd say she's a bit like Ottawa's own Giant Hand.



It was a little darker than usual, thus the cruddier low-light photos.



She was later joined by Matt Reeves of the Oil Spill.



Capo time!



Headliner Richard Laviolette prepares for his guest vocal moment.



Singalong action!



Big finish!



She's also a member of Toronto combo The Pinings; no word on upcoming shows from either combo.

• Show reminder: Man, where isn't there a party going on tonight? Ukrainia!, Empiricals and Lords of Vanier, live it up at Babylon; Good2Go and The Kingmakers rock the Elmdale House Tavern; Lindsay Ferguson, The Polymorphines, Blazer and The Sin Kickers hit Zaphod Beeblebrox; The Hammerheads get funky at The Rainbow; Monkeyjunk performs at Irene's; Rep By Pop is at the Avant-Garde Bar; if your part of the houes-partying demographic, there's also Homosexual Cops, The Suppositories, Ultrathin, Holy Cobras, Pregnancy Scares, Total Crush and Get A Life Losers down in Cozzie's Dungeon.

Royal outing

A passel of Guelph musicians came through town last night. I mostly wanted to see Sarah Mangle since I was intrigued by the news that she played SappyFest but figured on past experience that Guelph would produce its usual high calibre of entertainment.

Party Time opened the show. She is in fact a party of one and is based in Toronto, real name Emma Moss Brender. She plays sad songs on guitar and covered Sarah Siskind's Lovin's For Fools. Matt Reeves, who was performing as part of the Oil Spills, accompanying Richard Laviolette, also joined her on stage. This brought on an amusing story about the time she played a song about hoping to return to an ex-lover's arms only to find out that the lady in question was in fact Reeves' current flame (or something like that).


Party Time, The Rainbow, September 27

Mangle is also known as Sarah Mangle Buys a Bear in band mode. On this occasion she was accompanied by Gregory Burton on euphonium and keys and headliner Richard Laviolette on drums. The combination of brass, banjo-ukulele and drums made me think of Elephant 6 combo The Music Tapes.


Sarah Mangle Buys a Bear, The Rainbow, September 27

Richard Laviolette finished things off with a folky set, including a cover Bob Wills' Stay All Night (which always makes me think of The Sadies, since I've heard them cover it so often). In addition to Reeves, he had Jenny Mitchell playing bass. You may recall her playing with The Barmitzvah Brothers, or as Jenny omnichord. She and Richard sang a duet of the song they did together for her children's album, dedicated to her son Otis, who was off being babysat by the grandfolks.


Richard Laviolette and The Oil Spills, The Rainbow, September 27

A nicely rounded evening of entertainment, but in the end I just got Party Time's album since I'm saving up for a sync cord.

• Show reminder: A Wilhelm Scream, The Artist Life, The Riot Before and Dancing On Fire make some noise at Mavericks; Ablyss, Throes, Backyard Witchcraft and The Girlfriends play Zaphod's.