Run rabbit run

It says something about Peter Elkas' drawing power that even without much in the way of publicity he can still attract an audience several-dozen strong to a show. As before, when he headlined a show with Kris Ward and Sojourn. His soul-rock sounds got a great workout from his band.

The man himself, along with a good chunk of the Burt Neilson Band: Jeff Heisholt on keyboards and Gavin Maguire on drums, who were with him last time I saw him, and Jeremy Little on bass, doing a standup job in the absence of Elkas regular Doug Friesen.

















I think the opening act inspired Elkas to turn up the electric guitar a bit: He had a couple of really smouldering solos.

Moose on the loose

Last time I saw Bullmoose was more than two years ago on a bill with The Setbacks and C'mon. That might have been a better match than this show with Peter Elkas - if I was picking local acts to share a bill with them I suspect I'd think of The Double Pumpers or Mighty Eagle Band first. And now for a whole lotta' shoutin'!

Eric Lawrance on guitar and Seamus Cowan on bass.



Sean's brother Jefferson handles the traps.



Singalong action from every angle.





And now, antlered action!















Eric takes lead vocal on most of the songs, but Seamus takes a couple himself.





Eric conducts the audience singalong.



A very solid trio. I will say the tracks I hear on their Myspace lack the rougher oomph of their live set - isn't it always the way?

• Show reminder: Elephantoms, We Were the Fires of Rome and Karnax perform at Club SAW.

Starvin' for attention

It's going to be one rocking night at Zaphod's with Starvin' Hungry, Good 2 Go and Mono Hum sharing the same stage.



Meanwhile, Steve Adamyk and Male Nurse will be holding forth at the Manx and The Rookers, The Bloody MacPhersons and Obscene Bastards will be punk rocking for Remembrance Day at the Dominion Tavern.

See to it

Amos The Transparent (pictured below performing at Bluesfest) play Zaphod Beeblebrox tonight with The Wooden Sky and Travel by Owl's Trevor James.



Joel Plaskett and Co. close their Barrymore's run and Wednesday Night Heroes and The Sick Fits play End Hits. Also, the Boom Creek and Mighty Eagle Band show that was nixed on Halloween should go on tonight. Fingers crossed! James McKenty and The Spades play Cafe DeKcuf.

Coggnoscenti

Last time I had a chance to photograph The Coggs were releasing an album and The Watters Brothers Rebellion shared the bill. Same thing this time at The Rainbow.



There's plenty of other stuff on around town: GOB, Ash Lee Blade, Ending Alexander, The Prefect play Mavericks. Upstairs at Cafe DeKcuf you'll find Brendan Flynn & The Terrible Liars and The Murder Plans; Joel Plaskett Emergency and Two Hours Traffic play the first of a sold-out two-night stand at Barrymore's.

That's hot

A short while ago, Matthew Pollesel of i(heart)music canvassed the bloglands and beyond for a list of the 33 Hottest Bands in Canada. Everyone submitted a list of 10, except me: I submitted a list of nine and one name @#$%ed up beyond recognition.


Kill Cheerleader, Mavericks, March 24, 2006

Matthew's list is now up and about after some serious number-crunching on his part, and there's a lot of folks on it I almost chose and two that I did (The Sadies and Miracle Fortress). Anyway, look on and marvel at how out of step I am with the hip young kids today (I jest).

1. Les Breastfeeders – The Quebec band’s raucous live show would guarantee them a slot even if their two albums didn’t smoke as well.
2. Jon Epworth and The Improvements – Another live smoker with an excellent album of sharp pop rock under their belt as well.
3. Hot Springs – Great songs and great performances from a band that isn’t afraid to shift gears from rock to a poppier sound. Also blessed with the third most unpredictable frontwoman in Canada (as an aside, this is the band I'm most surprised didn't make it into to the Top 33).
4. Miracle Fortress – Were robbed – robbed, I say!
5. Nadja – The prolific duo’s sludge doom many to evoke striking feelings of melancholy while rolling a steamroller of sound over their listeners.
6. Black Mountain – Yay drugs.
7. The Sadies – Tremendous instrumental talent and a tremendous catalogue of songs that’s been slowly expanding out of their original country nook like a marvelous psychedelic bloom.
8. The Choir Practice – As a fan of polyphonic music I love the sound of massed voices, and The Choir Practice have all the ebullience one hopes for and none of the pretence one fears.
9. Kill Cheerleader – Their sleaze rock shtick seems so pathetically contrived at first glance it lets their super album ‘All Hail’ sneak up from behind and grab you. Unfortunately, I accidentally sent in their name as "Die Cheerleader", so they lost their one vote. I suspect it went to Die Mannequin (not that that would have been a a bad choice either). Me so stupid.
   
10. White Cowbell Oklahoma – More guitars and more strippers than any band in Canada, but they back it up with serious chops, good songs and a chainsaw.

Most of my selections (along with a vast horde of other bands) were relegated to the list of also-rans, which also served as a good reminder of bands I might have voted for on a different day of the week. I was sorely tempted to vote for Andre Ethier, Malajube, Sloan (althout they may be a bit long in the tooth to qualify as "hot") and Spiral Beach. Folks who did win a spot in the Top 33 and who I heartily endorse include Land of Talk, The Luyas, The New Pornographers (although I'm not sure they're new enough to count as hot ... then again, I voted for The Sadies), Julie Doiron, Besnard Lakes, The Acorn and Feist. So maybe I'm in step with the hepsters after all. Egads.

• Show reminder: Mustard Plug, The Johnstones and The Dirty 30s play Mavericks; Justin Nozuka plays Zaphod's.

Hell and back again

A couple of shows on tonight: Zaphod Beeblebrox hosts Raein, Delay The Explosion and Sadie Hell (whose Ben Welland is pictured below, performing at Mavericks December 2006).



The all-ages crowd can also check out Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Alesana, The Number 12 Looks Like You and Idiot Pilot at Babylon.

The new Thursday

A rainy Monday sounds like a good day to spend indoors, so I did: Specifically indoor at Zaphod's watching a quartet of bands.

First on stage was the cleverly but regrettably named TBA. Some heavy sounds with a slight singer/songwriter infusion and a bit of hand-drumming.



Rebekah Higgs was the sole out-of-towner, and she sounded really sharp; it was quite impressive watching her meld the electronic bits into her folk-rock stuff.



Then came Shannon Rose and The Thorns. I've seen most of the Thorns before: Bassist Ashley Newall guest-singing with elbeejay, drummer Tim Watson with Sarah Hallman at Irene's and guitarist Steve Matelywicz backing Damo Suzuki at the Avant-Garde. Newall thanked folks for coming out on a Monday, prompting someone in the audience to dub it "the new Thursday."



I saw F's Jim McDowell playing with Fourth at Irene's back in April (that's him at right in the snap below) . He invited me to an earlier gig at the Bytown Tavern which I missed, but second time's the charm (or something like that). F is a funk-rock combo with a songs about papercuts and bad bologna.



That was a very solid evening of entertainment. Good thing I remembered to bring my umbrella though.

Back again

Last time I saw Rebekah Higgs she was sharing a stage with Jon Epworth and The Improvements and Saskatchewan's Bloodlines - neither are an act you want to follow or precede, but she did a commendable job.



She's back at Zaphod's for another free showcase tonight; this time Shannon Rose and The Thorns and F round out the bill. Also on offer: Neuraxis, Urban Aliens, Point Blank Rage and Insides Out at The Rainbow and cross-continental hardcore action at Mavericks with Terror, Mind Piece, Constant Struggle and The Bloody Macphersons.

Moose and Elk(as)

Once more into the clubs. dear friends. I think the promotion for the Peter Elkas and Bullmoose show at Mavericks was a trifle underpromoted (I didn't see any mention at any of the regular locations, or much in the way of postering) but the attendance was decent: About four dozen people by my count, and an enthusiastic four-dozen at that. Bullmoose kicked things off with their heavy blues rock - and do they kick!



Elkas thanked Bullmoose for "kicking ass" but said that by comparison he and his band (in essence Burt Neilson's) would be "kicking heart."



His soulful show was more restrained than Bullmoose's, as promised, but did feature lots of "Yeahs" and many a "Wooooo!" Elkas will be back in the area soon as part of Joel Plaskett's band for its Barrymore's shows.

• Show reminder: Brown Brigade (featuring ex-Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh) and some other folks play Zaphod Beeblebrox; it's a good thing my evening is already spoken for or I'd feel bad about not getting a ticket to see The Weakerthans and Jenn Grant's sold-out show at Capital Music Hall.

Off and on

I'm off work for two weeks - yay! I'm still going to be damn busy fomenting nefarious plans and the like, though, so expect bursts of inactivity around these parts in the days ahead. As for the immediate future, you might want to consider going to see Peter Elkas and Bullmoose tonight at Mavericks, two performers I quite enjoyed seeing separately at that very venue. Here's a shot of Elkas with Alanna Stuart guesting from Jan. 14, 2006.



Over at The Dominion Manpower and 90 Pounds of Ugly (Lefty McRighty's other band, as I understand it) will be rocking on behalf of the Sid Ford Foundation. The Spill Canvas, Meg & Dia, Play Radio Play! and Treaty of Paris play a sold-out show at Babylon; later in the evening Brockway Biggs will be dropping some rhymes and rhythms along with an armada of DJs at the Peaceful Journey 11th anniversary shindig.

Got math?

There's lots of interesting stuff to see tonight. Too bad I'm off working or I'd probably checking out Statues and Holy Cobras (featuring some former Sweet Janes) at End Hits.



That's not all: For the Mathematics (that's most of them up above), Money Money and The Merry Monsters perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox; The Love Machine, Travel By Owl, Chillin' Room and Brights play Mavericks. Up above Gun Metal Grey and Sweet Damnation rock Cafe Dekcuf. The Brothers Chaffey are scheduled at Irene's (I'm hoping that the same fate that befell Boom Creek and the Mighty Eagle Band doesn't sandbag them as well).

Tres mal

Well, I was going to see Boom Creek and Mighty Eagle Band tonight at Irene's. I did in fact go to Irene's (almost twice, since I returned home to get some earplugs), only to discover the show had been cancelled. They didn't even have their own chalkboard updated, so I'm guessing it was kind of short notice. Unfortunately I passed on Malajube and Julie Doiron to go see it. Oh well, here's a picture of Malajube at Bluesfest 2006.



Well, at least there's some rocking shows on tonight (that'll I'll miss due to work ... Grrrr!): Fucked Corpse and Heille Gros Tas! perform at 1848 (on the second floor of the University of Ottawa's University Centre; Capital Grass and the No Men are going to perform three sets at the Rainbow Bistro; and the mighty Pride Tiger are playing at Zaphod's with Garaga, These Electric Lives and Hemi-Loco.

Scare tactics

It's Halloween, which means lots of wild'n'spooky shows around town.



You can see Boom Creek, pictured above, at Irene's with The Mighty Eagle Band (EDIT: Or not, as it emerges). Also on offer: Babylon rocks to the traditional Halloween Hardcore show with Buried Inside, Million Dollar Marxists, Outnumbered, The Rookers, I Refuse and Last Communion. Friendly Fire, The Sewer Rats, Nummies, Germ Attak! and The Valveenus play Mavericks Bar; Malajube and Julie Doiron perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

What's up

I've been busy, so there aren't any photos of recent shows forthcoming: Instead prepare yourself for a deluge of old stuff. I'm just going to throw this picture of Doll performing at Zaphod's up because they're playing there tonight with The Cliks. This snap hails from May 7, when they shared a bill with The Unavowed and The Mighty Eagle Band.



If that doesn't strike your fancy, RadioDazed, Minds of Madness and The Sunshine Project rock the Bytown Tavern; Tungda Browne, Rallycar and The Watters Brothers Rebellion have a gig at Mavericks. Over the river in Hull, The Brains and Oscar B. scare up some rock at Petit Chicago.

Kick the habit

If there's a band out there that deserves to be classed as "dancepunk," it's Shout Out Out Out Out. The crowd was a bit more active than they were at their last Zaphod's show, and generally more on the band's side their fandom is spreading! The Bluesfest gig may be to blame.

This is a Shout out Out Out action, so of course there's a lot of kicking.



Pointing out the rest of your band can be fun!



Look there's another one! Namely Whitey Houston, sans big furry hat.



Dual drumming action!





Knob-twiddling action.



The bass action was particularly thunderous at this gig.



Nik 7 goes down!



Finger-waggling action!



Behind the neck bass action!



Chicken Soup encore action!



A fun and sweaty time as usual.

• Show reminder: Lights Over Arkham, The Second Glance and Riot Service perform at Zaphod Beeblebrox; Tim Gilbertson (a nifty sounding dream-pop combo from Alberta, apparently), Fire Heats Water and The Merry Monsters play Cafe Dekcuf.