Isn't that special

Special Noise finished the night off. They are indeed noisy and special, not to mention significantly further off the beaten path than either Cousins or Get A Life Losers. Thus, they were banished to the basement, presumably to avoid waking the neighbours.

Here's the outside on Kent St., with everything quiet and undisturbed.



But down in the basement, evil is afoot! Or at least Special Noise's somewhat abrasive sounds. JS and GN make up Special Noise - Jeff Simmons and Greg Napier, if you want the extended version.



Not many folks rock an SX.



Andy from Cousins was providing extra percussion for this show.



The inconvenient post is an Ottawa musical tradition.



Andy from over the cymbal.



JS sings!



Double drumming action!



Can you tell there was a blue light?



Blue Greg action!



The crowd goes wild! Which in Ottawa means it stands around with its arms crossed.



Tapping action!



Jeff has also visited town recently with his other band, Play Guitar.

• Show reminder: Protest The Hero, Abandon All Ships, Kingdoms, Today I Caught The Plague play Babylon; James and Blackburn, The Breakup Letter and Bloomistry perform at Zaphod's. One and Keyotone are at the Rainbow.

It's all relative

Last time I was at 443 Kent Street for a show, it was Calum Marsh of Mocking Music who had assembled the evening's lineup. This time around it was his housemate Daniel Kaunisviita, last seen on this blog playing guitar for HI_COMM, summoning the musicians.

First up were local trio get a Life Losers who kicked off with some awesome Piper At The Gates Of Dawn style psychedelic rama-lama.They got a little more raucous from there, sounding like The Modern Lovers gone bananas ... some of which may be due to the overheated PA system. Anyway, they sounded really great, particularly considering this was only their second show. They're playing another show at Leaky Pipes at 636 Somerset Street September 19 along with a bunch of other cool basement psych and Bruised Tongue adherents.


Get A Life Losers, 443 Kent Street, September 11, 2009

Next up were Cousins, who also sounded great - they reminded me a bit of Ladyhawk, partially due to Aaron Mangle's distinctive, yearning voice. He's also garnered a few Chad VanGaalen comparisons, perhaps because the band's debut Out on Town is really a one-man show. Call it lo-fi noise-folk-pop - it really sounded super.


Cousins, 443 Kent Street, September 11, 2009

A few minutes after Cousins had packed up, a thumping was heard from the basement - either Special Noise likes their sound subterranean, or it was a cunning ploy to avoid any noise bylaw violations. I wasn't quite in the mood for angular destructo-rock, and JS's vocals were a little hard to hear from where I was standing - still pretty cool. You may not be able to tell from this blue-toned photo but Cousins drummer Andy March sat in to kick up the percussion a notch. Though they're now based in Montreal, they come from Halifax originally - thus the Youth Club and Cousins connection.


Special Noise, 443 Kent Street, September 11, 2009

There was some chit chat about a possible fourth performance from Crazy Ocean, but it sounded so iffy I decided to head home.

• Show reminder: Big Jeezus Truck rocks the Dominion Tavern; The Flats perform at Irene's; there's reggae at the Elmdale House with Terry Gillespie. Beware! The Leopard! and Kris Ward's latest outfit Right By Midnight perform at the Avant-Garde.