Unholy light

I yakked briefly about Early Man in yesterday's post; by not much of a coincidence, that was also the last show where I saw Priestess. They had their new projection stuff at the show. As mentioned earlier, it looks okay but is not a boon to photography. As for the show, the stuff they were just starting to work out last November was sounding a lot punchier this time around.

The gloom-enshrouded Priestess!



Vince Nudo hits!




Mikey shouts!



Explorer action with Dave Watchorn!



At least you can make out his hair!



Mike Dyballl rocks the low end.



Silhouetted action!



Okay, that's a little better.



Holy cow, Mikey is sure rockin' the sideburns.



Drum solo!



They're just wrapping up a bit of stateside touring.

• Show reminder: Down in Ashes and Noise Houndz are at the Rainbow; Dress Rehearsal, Luke Michielsen & Among Millions play the Elmdale House.

Frost, faith and fire

Many years ago I bought High On Fire's debut album on Man's Ruin. It was definitely one of the most hard-charging metal albums I'd heard. Shortly thereafter they came to town for a show at Babylon with Voivod that didn't get the audience it deserved - I think the promoters, who were also starting up a tattoo parlour, were kind of new to the concert promotion business. Also it was a cold night in a cold month. More than a decade has passed, and it's widely recognized that HOF is one of the hottest metal combos around. Thus, they were the headliners instead of the openers at an all-round kickass show at Capital Music Hall.

Opening act was Athens, Ohio metal combo Skeletonwitch. They were just starting to crank things out as I walked up the stairs at the Capital Music Hall. These dudes obviously like bands like Mercyful Fate and Exodus, and get some of their growl from black metal as well. They really motored through their set, stopping only to recommend the consumption of beer, pot and pussy between tunes.


Skeletonwitch at Capital Music Hall, July 23, 2010

Priestess filled the middle slot with their relatively more melodic metal take. I've already seen these guys a bunch of times ... I think they may be the out-of-town act I've seen the most of - heck, I've seen more of them than some local acts of similar vintage. They just keep on touring! This was a pretty hot set from them, and their projection backdrop was also working a bit better than it was at their Mavericks show with Early Man and Trigger Effect in November 2009.Unfortunately it was not such a boon in terms of photography.


Priestess at Capital Music Hall, July 23, 2010

Finally High On Fire appeared to steamroller everyone's eardrums with selections from their extensive catalogue of heavy metal thunder. Axeman Matt Pike kept up a never-ending barrage of his trademark sliding riffs while his mighty rhythm section served up a pounding backdrop. Unfortunately they didn't play an encore. Still, a mighty hot show. I'm hoping we don't have to wait another decade until they come through town again.


High On Fire at Capital Music Hall, July 23, 2010

Skeletonwitch and High On Fire are now off to Montreal for their inaugural Heavy Metal Fesival.

• Show reminder: Bloomistry, and Oceans are at the Raw Sugar Cafe; Horses, Orphan Choir, The Mudplots and Jersey Hurtt & the Skidkids rock the basement at 443 Kent St.; Danny Rebel & The KGB and The Living Sound System pop in to The Rainbow; Sandman Viper Command, The Panama, and Ornaments play Cafe Dekcuf; Captain Firebutton reunites at Mavericks; Irene's hosts Rudeboy; Uncle Sean and the Shifty Drifters and Marie-Josee Houle perform at the Elmdale House. Ska boys The Sidewalks and Dame Alexander are at the Avant-Garde.

Sideways attack

The frequently touring Priestess don't need any excuses to come to Ottawa — they've got a devoted fanbase in town, but with Prior To The Fire out on the streets (after something like three different editions of Hello Master) meant they also had a bunch of new songs in their set.

What was the name of this band again?



Hair-shaking action from Dave Watchorn!



Vince is a blur.



Singalong action!



Mikey frets.



That projection really lights things up.



Mike Dyball holds down the low end.



Grimacing action!



Rhythm section action!



And the crowd goes wild!



They're currently on tour in Europe, with stops in Germany, France, Britain and environs.

• Show reminder: Fire and Neon, Oceans, Scripts and Tees play Zaphod's. Destroyed Scene is at the Rainbow Bistro.

A triple-edged sword

Eighteen days without going to a show is probably a record for me, at least in this millennium - but that's more or less how long it's been between going to see Priestess, Early Man and Trigger Effect last night and catching a free Zaphod's showcase near the start of the month. This was an ace triple bill of heavy metal music, in three distinct flavours.

I hadn't heard of or seen Trigger Effect before this show, apart from a few snippets of praise on the punkottawa.com message board. They come from Montreal and are closer to punk rock than metal - lots of metal in their sound and some smart alec banter from singer Nick Babeau, who jumped into the crowd on their last song to raise havoc.


Trigger Effect, Mavericks, November 20, 2009

I was trying to remember when I got Early Man's debut, Closing In - turns out to be 2005, when it came out on Matador, of all labels. Back then they were a duo. Now they're a aquartet with a heavy debt to thrashy and wheedly metal bands. They really had the crowd moshing and put on an awesome display of guitar prowess - extra props to Pete Macy, who really knows how to shred.


Early Man, Mavericks, November 20, 2009

The big news on the Priestess front - and the reason for this tour with Early Man and Trigger Effect - is that they finally have a new album out, Prior To The Fire. I've run out of things to say about Priestess; as usual they put on a great show. They also have some slide-projector generated light effects to jazz up their set, not that they really need it. I'm predicting everyone will be wearing sunglasses by the end of the tour, because it's set up so it shines right in their faces.


Priestess, Mavericks, November 20, 2009

Their cross-Canada tour is now heading south to Toronto and Hamilton before heading north and west.

• Show reminder: Quest for Fire (featuring former Deadly Snakes) and Sports play Zaphod's and make me regret I don't have the day off. The Hammerheads are at The Rainbow; Holly McNarland and Fused perform at Mavericks; Irene's hosts Far Away Star; The Big Bend - last seen on this site opening for The Scenics - Brendan Flynn and the Terrible Liars and Devin Johnstone play The Elmdale House.

The second coming

Last time I saw Priestess, in May 2007, I gently suggested they finally get around to recording their second album. Hello Master was keen and all, but I've seen something like three different issues of it. According to their Myspace blog of about a month ago, their new record was being mixed, so hopefully we'll soon have it oin our hands (or on our hard-drives, for the digitally inclined). Back when I first saw them in 2005, opening for Motorhead, I was saying they'd soon be huge. Well, not quite, though they've obviously built up a dedicated fanbase. The crowd at this show liked their new stuff, so hopefully they'll finally fulfill my prophecy.

Mikey Heppner swings some hair. I'm not sure if a semi-hollowbody is all that good an idea for band that plays at their level of amplification.



Dave Watchorn stares down the audience.



Vince Nudo attacks!



Mike Dyball.



Mikey eyes the photographer!



Not quite back-to-back action.



Monitor-standing action!



More hair-swinging!



The whole lot, provided you can see Vince's knees.





Big finish!



A fine end to an excellent night.

House of worship

Well, Priestess has finally gotten around to recording the followup to Hello Master, and even though it isn't set for release yet, they're taking some of its tunes out on the road, accompanied by hometown fellows Barn Burner, Toronto boogie merchants Flash Lightnin' and B.C. riff monsters Bison (or Bison B.C. as they're known due to the presence of another Bison, which appears to be some kind of joke ska band).

First up, Barn Burner. They've got a hard thrashing sound and an excellent drummer to supplement their two lanky guitarists. The vocals could use some work, but they're young yet and no doubt after yelling for a month straight, singer Chevy will have attained a suitable metallic hoarseness.


Barn Burner, Mavericks, November 11, 2008

When a band called Flash Lightnin' rolls through town I expect something a little glammy. The beards and Canadian tuxedos gave away the fact that you can't judge by a name. Flash Lightnin' is in fact a mighty boogie rock power trio who should actually come from somewhere south of the Mason Dixon Line. Darren Glover - who I believe served a spell in Matt Barber's backing band - wields the axe and sings. You can make out Darcy Yates (whose resume is too long to list, but includes folks like Amy Millan and Fred Eaglesmith) on bass at right and Chris Henry on drums at left.


Flash Lightnin', Mavericks, November 11, 2008

Next up, the mighty Bison B.C. steamrollered the audience with some High on Fire-flavoured DOOOOOM. They played a ferociously intense set. I bought their new CD and a T-shirt - my first T-shirt purchase in quite a while. They actually came through town a few weeks ago with Genghis Tron and seemed quite happy to be back again.


Bison, Mavericks, November 11, 2008

Priestess rounded up the night. Their new stuff sounded pretty good. Communicating With Eyes kicked off with some creaky solo stuff from Mikey, then got super-heavy. Gem and another tune called "Baffles" on the set list also hit pretty hard, but the stuff that really got the crowd moving was of course their hits Lay Down and I Am The Night.


Priestess, Mavericks, November 11, 2008

A mighty fine show, and a big crowd too. If it wasn't a sellout, it was damn close: There were 10 tickets left as showtime approached.

• Show reminder: The Creeps, The PG-13s and The Face of Jam rock Oliver's Pub; F the Band play at Zaphod's. Sleepless Nights and Henrietta perform at the Elmdale House.

Temple of sound

Priestess: They like Ottawa and Ottawa likes them, as evidenced by the good turnout for this gig. Attending was a bit of a last-minute thing for me since I got home about midnight and they're a band I've seen a bunch of times; I could probably sing their songs backward by now if I didn't have a memory like a hunk of Swiss cheese. Anyway, I'm glad I decided to nip over to Babylon. They put on a great set (I'm guessing the wee bit at the beginning I missed was as good as the rest), and I'm not tired of them yet.

Mikey Heppner gets his sweat on. I've noticed at the last couple of Babylon shows I've been to that things are getting noticeably more humid when there's a big crowd. It's not quite as bad as when DFA 1979 played, but we're definitely heading into summer.



Vince Nudo goes grrrr!



Dan Watchorn sings.



Mike Dyball, right, back in black.



Monitors: Still mostly for standing on.



I'm not sure a band with this much difficulty seeing where it's going should move around as much as these guys.



And rock action!





They hit Britain in June for a tour with Megadeath ... then perhaps it's time to sit down and record album No. 2?

• Show reminder: The Rude Dudes, Tea For The Voyage, Fleeba, Ceremonial Snips, The Real Deal, The Possums, Bad News Bears, Finkelstein Shit Kids and The Dirty 30's bring the ska to Bronson Centre's Mac Hall. Boo Hoo, Relief Maps and Crush Buildings play Zaphod's. The Joel Plaskett Emergency and Peter Elkas release CDs at the Capital Music Hall; Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, P:anoman Nick Krgovich and Saint Bernard Of Love play Babylon. The Stance, The Bella Bombs and Four'n'Giv'r play 80 Spruce St. The Brothers Chaffey play Irene's.
  

Get me to the church on time

I'm on my way home, about 11:30, just zipping past the Carleton University smokers who congregate near the locks, and the chorus from Priestess's Time Will Cut You Down begins to insinuate itself in my brain. This is what happens when you start mulling the tough choice between rock show and hot bath after you arrive home. You can probably guess which I chose.



Missed The Binges and Tokyo Sex Whale; at least I hope to catch the latter when they release their new vinyl record July 21 at Babylon. Mark your calendar ....