Way out west

Back to the basement! Following the demise of the last cupcake, The Smith Westerns started their set. Since the last time they were in town, performing with and backing Nobunny, they released their debut CD and have stirred up a little more buzz. They still make me think of T.Rex sonically (but not lyrically) - and not just Marc Bolan's later output. There's some of the sweet-tempered early stuff in there as well.

Mak prepares to rock, The Omori brothers prepare to spend most of the show obscured from view behind the ceiling support.



Unfortunately the pictures of various acts of rocking out were obscured by smoke, lack of light and that darn pole.



Max knocks knees.



Cullen sings!



Hal James and the household linen.



Cameron rocks the tie-dye.



And so on!



Cameron gets shot.



More hippy vibes from Hal.



Max goes down!



People were packed in pretty tight.



The whole lot, and a whole lot of smoke - seriously, you'd think I shot this photo with a Holga ...



And some final smokey Cullen!



Hopefully we'll see more of them soon. A swell act both live and on record.

• Show reminder:The Vicious Guns and The Breakup Letter rock Zaphod Beeblebrox; People Explode at The Rainbow - sounds painful!

Pop, not pop, pop

There seems to have been a lot of house shows in town lately; I finally got around to seeing one on a Saturday evening crowded with worthy gigs. I could have headed off to the Dom or Mavericks, but I wanted to see The Smith Westerns again and catch the debut of Allie Hanlon's new combo Peach Kelli Pop.

Peach Kelli Pop only played a half-dozen songs of lo-fi pop (there's a word that's going to see a lot of us in this writeup) but made a very positive impression, and not just because they brought cupcakes.


Cupcakes, 854 Bronson Ave., August 29, 2009

In addition to Allie, PKP features her White Wires-mate Ian Manhire on drums, her twin sister Emily and Davey Quesnelle of many other bands.


Peach Kelli Pop, 854 Bronson Ave., August 29, 2009

Up next were the Suppositories, who were also releasing their new 7-inch.


The Suppositories, 854 Bronson Ave., August 29, 2009

Finally The Smith Westerns wowed the crowd with their beguiling boy-jangle. They brought their smoke machine, and near the end of the set Max kicked over the one remaining light - it was pretty dark and smokey in there.


Smith Westerns, 854 Bronson Ave., August 29, 2009

Always a good time in the basement!

• Show reminder: Pull The Trigger, Brixton Robbers, The Valveenus and Gusto Fiasco rock Cafe Dekcuf.

Jump around

As enthusiastic as the crowd had been for The Smith Westerns, they went even wilder for Nobunny. Backed by them Westerns, he kicked things off with his signature tune, Nobunny Loves You, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Land of 1,000 Dances. The San Francisco-area act dished out the garage-pop racket with the energy of a sleazier Jay Reatard (the title of his album Love Visions is presumably a riff on Reatard's Blood Visions) or a not-entirely bandaged Mummies, and the audience was happy to surge along to the beat. He was obviously very happy with the audience's enthused reaction, and when he said it had been the best show on the tour so far I've no doubt he meant it.

Nobunny makes his entrance, slithering on stage in red Y-fronts and stripper heels.



The Smith Westerns quickly doffed their tops to show off their faux tuxedos.



It didn't take long for the Smith Westerns to lose their ears.



Nobunny goes down. There's some broken glass mixed in with that confetti.



Things were getting sweaty.



Lagomorphic action!



Confetti-spraying action!



And so on!







As the show progressed the crowd was getting more rambunctious, and soon there were folks on stage.



This guy apparently wanted his photo taken.



Allie Hanlon of The White Wires and co. make off with Cameron's microphone.



The security guys did try to keep people off stage ... it didn't work long!



There he goes ...



Well that was fun and short.

• Show reminder: Howie Beck, Angela Desveaux and For The Fairest perform at Cafe Dekcuf; Ana Bhraka, The Sound Technicians and Mothers of the Lower East Side rock Babylon; Adam Saikaley, Self Surgery and Leif Vollebekk play Zaphod Beeblebrox. Elizabeth Riley’s Travelling Band makes a stop at the Elmdale House Tavern. Lukas Grant and Sean Ashby perform at the Avant Garde Bar.

Western exterminator

The Smith Westerns were definitely the most pleasant surprise of the night - everyone was at least really good, but when you consider the members of the group met at a Chicago high school and at least a couple of them still attend, I have to say their teen punk blurt meets Marc Bolan sound was an even greater accomplishment. Their recorded stuff is back in their Memphis lo-fi rock phase, at this show they were far more glam.

At left, Cullen (the old man of the group) and a guy named either Max or Hal, who's keeping his guitar up with a shoe-string.



I don't know who the drummer is ... Michael maybe.



Singalong action with Cullen's brother Cameron.



Ahchoo!



Cullen, the old man of the group.



It's all about the confetti ... and Jesus.



Western action!





More confetti!





A killer set which earned many post-show plaudits. Then they backed Nobunny to even more killer effect.

• Show reminder: Walls Of Jericho, The Red Chord, I Refuse and Louis Is Anna play loud at Mavericks. Harvey Cartel, The Rough Sea, The Suppositories and The Traps rock Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Hop on pop

Crazy times last night at Babylon as a bevy of garage rockers and assorted weirdos took the stage in front of a whole bunch of other garage rockers and assorted weirdos. The occasion was the tour for Nobunny, and an appropriately rock-tastic bill was assembled.

First up, Ottawa party-rockers The Beach Blankets. This set was not quite as loopy as their performance at The Rocker Room which I witnessed a little while back. Still plenty of fun, plus a version of I Want Candy mutated into I Hate Teachers.


Beach Blankets, Babylon, February 26, 2009

A few years back Stagecoach and The Funisher were part of herky-jerky Ottawa punks Quebexico, now their stuff with Teen Anger is a lot more Cramps, Gun Club and Gories, but with a throbbing low end. They're also running the Telephone Explosion label.


Teenanger, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Demon's Claws had a similar sound, maybe a bit more spidery ... I saw them years ago at Irene's, when Skip Jensen of the Scat Rag Boosters was their drummer ... They still tear it up pretty good, though I talked to two people in rapid succession who were poles apart in their appreciation for the band's set. They have a new limited edition LP out on Telephone Explosion.


Demon's Claws, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Ian Manhire played the hits between sets, since this was also a Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party night - RRPP has departed the Bytown Tavern, and will soon be taking up residence in the Royak Oak across the street from Babylon.


Ian Manhire, Babylon, February 26, 2009

The Smith Westerns are on tour with Nobunny as his backing band, but also played an awesome set themselves - actually it was the evening's highlight. These guys are still in their teens - the bassist is only 17, for crying out loud. Lots of confetti and a huge T. Rex influence from these lads.


Smith Westerns, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Lo-fi pop a la Jay Reatard is Nobunny's things - also stripper heels, red underwear and a ratty bunny mask. His rabid fans went bananas for his brief set.


Nobunny, Babylon, February 26, 2009

After a while things got so pushy in the crowd that a bunch of people just jumped on stage to dance around, then hurl Nobunny into the crowd.


Nobunny, Babylon, February 26, 2009

Try getting that much entertainment for $8 anywhere else.

• Show reminder: Nobody's Fool performs at the Elmdale. The Mighty Popo plays the Rainbow. Blessed By A Broken Heart, Lovehatehero, Agraceful, Vanna, In Fear And Faith and Kiros rock the New Bayou; Becky Abbott and Lindsay Ferguson sing up a storm at Zaphod Beeblebrox; Scarlet Sins, Doll, Bella Bombs and Dead End Girl play Mavericks; Hollerado, wrap up their stand at Cafe DeKcuf with Black Names, The Rough Sea and Sadie Hell. Trevor James and the Perfect Gentlemen play Babylon. Jan Purcell and Pine Road perform at Irene's.