Sean on

It's funny to think that Sean Tillman started his musical career as part of Amphetamine Reptile recording artists Calvin Krime. But even back then he was moving in a pop direction. I thought his show as Sean-Na-Na was pretty good - no doubt he likes Cheap Trick as much as I do - but he was overshadowed by the headliners.

Sean Tillman - a.k.a. Har Mar Superstar.



Keyboardist Lucky Jeremy, wondering why I was taking so many pictures of him (answer: Because I kept aiming too low).



Guitarist Dave Hernandez.



Bassist Patrick Costello.



Rump-shakin' action, and a half-decent shot of Dennis Franz lookalike Ben Webster on drums.



Matty of various record stores fame was pulled on stage to celebrate his birthday with some shots of Jagermeister.



They're a happy lot.



Taking it low action!



I like to think the band finished the night by drinking more and heading off to the strip club next door.

• Show reminder: Lots of possibilities this evening, with C'mon and The Nymphets helping The Weapons of Mass Seduction celebrate their CD release;Million Dollar Marxists release their own fab new disk next door at Barrymore's with Embassies of Denmark and Les Alumettes. Then there's The Soiree who - didja guess? - release their CD with Alanna Stuart at Irene's Pub.

Killer party

Jonathan Migneault of Mocking Music predicted the Hold Steady's Zaphod's gig of a few hours ago would be the show of the year. I'd say it was the fourth or fifth best - pretty damn good, since it has a lot of competition. Openers Sean-Na-Na did a good job kicking things off. Their music is a bit poppier than The Hold Steady's - in fact it reminded me a bit of Ottawa's own Rhume.



The Hold Steady have quite the buzz going on now. I wrote a blurb for the Ottawa Sun comparing Craig Finn's diatribes to Charles Bukowski's ... maybe I should have said Milton, they both specialize in the down and out.



It ended up with a good chunk of the audience on stage and Stagecoach from Quebexico and Kelly from F!ghtF!ghtF!ght playing the guitars. The crowd definitely went wild, and if you were there you may see yourself in the photos when I post them in a week or so.

• Show reminder: Sweden's Regulations and Ottawa's The Sweet Janes play End Hits. Embassies of Denmark, 120 Days and Out Reason perform at Zaphod's.