Nashville express

There was too damn much stuff to see Saturday night. My first show of the night was The Solid Senders and Reverb Syndicate at Zaphod's. The Senders keep on getting sharper and sharper, plus Mark has a square guitar now, for the extra Bo Diddley-ness their music demands.



Next up, the surfy sounds (and go-go dancers) of the Reverb Syndicate.



I split early because I figured I'd either head over to Irene's or Babylon. I decided to check out Nashville Pussy and Priestess (I assumed I'd get there too late for Rye Coalition, and I was right). As always Priestess rocked out with amazing puissance.



I can't say I'm a big fan of Nashville Pussy, at least in record form, but they followed Priestess with considerable vigour - and the audience certainly went nuts.



A fun-filled evening. I just hope a chance to see Casey Comeau and Co. will arrive in the near future.

Songs for swinging lovers

I got to Barrymore's around midnight. By then the openers - The Empiricals and The London Barvinok Dance Ensemble - had come and gone and Ukrainia was on their fourth or fifth song. It was a large and rambunctious crowd. There had been some drinking (of course!) and some dancing, and the room was starting to feel a bit like it had when Gogol Bordello rolled through town, if not at quite the same pitch.



Damian emotes.



As usual Tom Werbowetski was on drums and dodgy translation.



Dave Martindale and some strategic merch placement.



Paul "Yogi" Granger shows off some moves.



The band had help on their second album from the Empiricals/Hi Lo Trons axis, among others. You can see Michael John Dubue and Mike Schultz at back.



Mike and Philip Bova.



Ukrainian action.



Yogi and some pretty colours.



Several audience members came on stage to help out on the singing and stomping.









For the encore, which lasted a good half hour, the lights were turned on the dance floor and the audience had a chance to strut their stuff as the band played faster and faster.





Like much good folk dancing, it's also an excuse to swing good-looking women about.





One crazy night. As I was heading down the stairs I heard one of the security staff complaining "It's the same damn thing every night!" Er, really?

• Show reminder: Casey Comeau and the Centretown Wilderness Club roll out their debut EP at Irene's with the McGillicuddy Sisters; The Reverb Syndicate deploy their own debut at Zaphod's along with The Solid Senders; Nashville Pussy, Priestess and The Rye Coalition play too damn loud at Babylon; Ninja High School and Vitamins For You perform at Cafe DeKcuf. Finally, fat chud B.A. Johnston - with a new album, even - revisits the Avant-Garde Bar, with Vincat and HotKid in tow.
  

Gimme some kicks

Man, was I feeling gruesome last weekend. After a perfectly fine dinner at my aunt's I cycled home - for most of the trip I felt like someone was trying to stab me with an icepick through my left tearduct. On the good side, I was feeling much better after grabbing some shuteye. On the downside, I missed Sound Team, who were opening for French Kicks at Babylon. I found the Kicks a bit Morissey-ish. I gather the band was spikier in its youth. Maybe they've been listening to Beach Boys records since then. They've certainly had a few lineup changes ... I think vocalist Nick Stumpf is the only Day 1 member.

Nick shows off his moves.



Drummer Aaron Thurston gets sweaty.



Guitarist Josh Wise.



Lawrence Stumpf, Nick's little brother. By about a foot.



"This is our friend Kush." El-Amin, that is - along to help fill out the band's sound with some judicious guitar and piano.



Dual vocal action!



Well-lit action!



Multi-tasking action!





French action!



That was very pleasant, if not hugely memorable.

• Show reminder: Angela Desveaux, formally of the Sonny Best Band, performs at Zaphod's with Sarah Hallman and Stephen St. Pierre; Danko Jones, Rocketface, Iconoclast @ Barrymore's; The Nukes, The Sewer Rats, Hands of the Few, Four-Stroke, The Rookers, Nummies, The Intruders and Bombed Out! perform at Mavericks Bar; Eugene and the Eugenics, Galactinaut, The Bella Bombs, Jason Ramone, Bad Road and Revv Engine perform at Babylon as part of the Rock and Learn sex education night.

Out and about

There was a good crowd at Zaphod's for the hotly tipped Shout Out Out Out Out; a noisy crowd too. If you can measure the distance a band has penetrated into the mainstream by the number of chunky drunk guys in the front row - and I think you can - they may well be headed for big things. They were accompanied by Vitamins for You, a one-man dance-pop act who would probably fit in snugly with Junior Boys and Manitoba (who I've just noticed he namechecks on his MySpace page).

The nutritious one, Bryce Kushnier.



SO4 have a bunch of drummers and bassists and keyboardists, but more important they have a set of big wooden letters that light up!



Okay, I'm teasing - but I shudder to think what their light bulb budget is. Better shots of the letters, and band members, and high kicks, shall come shortly.

The byway to bros

I was starting to feel pretty wretched by the time The Hellbros were getting ready to finish things off last Saturday. But as is often the case I began to feel a bit more chipper once then amps went up to 11. I like the way this show went musically, with the rock'n'roll getting heavier and rockier as the night progressed. They didn't take things too seriously either and there was a good vibe between the band and the audience. A most enjoyable capper.



Stabatron. I didn't noticed any stabbing occurring at this show. That's one nasty case of pinkeye, by the way.



Bassist Killbot. You can tell because his bass has "Killbot" written on it.



Count Rockulla on drums ... didn't he once have a breakfast cereal?



Finally, Nightwolf on Joe Satriani signature Ibanez.



"This song is about testicle problems."



Riser action!



Rock action!



Back to back action! What is this, 1987?





As the show progressed they made attempts to get their pal Mike to "get out his costume". Mike declined at first - "F@#$ you all!!! Ahahahaha!" were his precise words I believe - but he did in fact break out his cape, Spiderman underoos and lightsabre.





Now there's something you don't see every day.

The devil you say

Big, hairy, detuned southern rock is the order of the day when Diablo Red comes through your town. I believe I said they'd fit in well with the Small Stone label bands. In retrospect I'd say they're on the growlier, less stoned side, so toss a little Pantera and Down into that comparison for taste. Anyway, these guys sound just like their pictures, so here goes.

Robert Ulysses Simon Hare and the mandatory Gibson SG.



Billy Diablo on flaming guitar.



Paul Mancuso on the low end.



Putting their best foot forward ...



Rock action! With generally obscured drummer Brett Savory at left.







More big riffin' from Billy.



Some riser standing from Paul.



They ended things with a ZZ Top cover. Billy sang: "I'm just looking for some tush."



A lot of chug for the buck. They'd do great on the same stage as Iron Giant.