Birthday buzz

Justin Gobeil of Army of Saint Joan (and Sleeping Pilot, Long Timers, etc.) celebrated his August 26 birthday with some rocking out. A quartet of heavy bands performed at Babylon; I missed the first two acts, but caught AOSJ's rowdy set and closers Mountanaka.

The whole lot!



Justin sings!



Ehh, I've had enough of those boring normal photos - time to go crazy with lights and slow shutter speed!



Justin exercises his neck veins.



Pat hits.



Feedback action!



Those kryptonite shooters can't be good for you.



More hitting!



More drinking!



Headbanging action!



There was all manner of interpretive dancing.



Then it was on to DJ Davey!



Fortunately their tape on Bruised Tongue is ready to be released at Babylon this Friday. Less fortunately this is going to be the duo's last show. Once again they'll be performing with Mountanaka; Tokyo Sex Whale and Ian B;urton + Huron = Happy Endings (just who it sounds like) will also be on hand.

• Show reminder: The Snips, The Dirty 30s and Catch of the Day play Mavericks; Tyler Kealey, Lindsay Ferguson and Peter Voith play Zaphod's. Special Ops and Dirty Beloved rock The Rainbow.

Sleeping thrill

The Brutal Knights are a tough act to follow, but The Sedatives did a great job with a a furious set. And do I have to add the record is mighty keen?

First, the selling of Sedatives and Sedatives-related merchandise from the vast Gaga Records empire.



Now on with the show!



Ian confronts the keyboard.



Davey conducts.



Stevie sings!



Singalong action!



Skottie provides some guest vocal action.



This may be my only picture of Emmanuel singing along when he's actually a member of the band.



More audience guest singing!



Dave rocks the drums.



Emmanuel bends!



Feedback action!



More singalong action!



As for what now, I know not.

• Show reminder: Constantines rock Mavericks along with Tropics and The Allrights. Cindy Doire, Andrea Ramolo, and The Sarah & Jeff Show perform at The Rainbow.

Another late Knight

It was a busy year for The Sedatives, what with touring Europe and releasing their debut LP on P.Trash and Deranged (depending on your location). For their record release show they coralled Toronto hardcore nutballs The Brutal Knights and punk rockers Germ Attak into opening. I missed Germ Attak due to work demands, but made it for the ever-fabulous Brutal Knights.

One of my rare half-decent Katie G. Warrior photos.



Flanagan communes with the audience.



General rocking action!



Flanagan bends! Did I ever have my flash set too low for this show.



Flanagan is absorbed.



I think he's trying to mind-meld with Emmanuel.



John Powers drums! I hear that School Jerks' Ivan manned the kit at recent shows ... I'm not sure if that's permanent or temporary (or temporarily permanent).



I still have no idea what their bassist's name is.



There goes Nick again ...



I honestly tried hard to get a decent Jon Sharrock photo ... nope, not really.



Rhythm section action!



Eh, this one's not so bad.



Nick's just gotta bend.



More Powers!



When Nick's shirt goes, his pants are sure to follow.



I forget what was happening off to the right, but it must have seemed amusing at the time.



Oh those crazy punks (including some Germ Attakers).



Jon had to borrow Jo's Strat - that seems to happen at every show when GA plays and I miss them.



Way cool as ever.

• Show reminder: Soulfat Funk, Joel Kuehn and Amanda Cottreau play Zaphod's; The Dangles, Carlos Perez and Slyde play The Rainbow.

Just visiting

The Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party dished up a lot of live action this summer. August 20 it was The Kamalas and The Visitors. I missed the Screeching Weasel-lovin' Monctonites (I got off work at 11 p.m.) but made it to the Atomic Rooster in time to see The Visitors, the RRPP's "house band."

Antarctic-Cat da Gama rocks the sailor's cap.



They don't stay on well.



Kevo Polo is a blur.



Staring action!



The whole lot!



Mihajlo wants in!



Skottie Magellan sings!



The overhead view.



And that's it! They'll be returning to the RRPP's old home at the Bytown Tavern for a show with The White Wires and Peach Kelli Pop.

• Show reminder: Leaving Beechwood plays The Rainbow.

Hold that pose

The Statues finished the night off; as mentioned earlier the brothers Houle have been frequent visitors, not just as the band's rhythm section but as members of The Havocs and Varge - in fact I recently posted dome photos from the latter's show at the Montgomery Legion in 2006 to my Flickr photostream. Singer Rob Seaton's also shown up as a member of The Joliettes at Gaga Weekend.



Rob sings!



Jeff undergoes scrutiny.



Singalong action with Davey!



Singalong action with Emmanuel and Mitch!



More Mitch!



The whole lot!



Wrasslin' for the microphone.



Dave gets carried away!



And that's it, until the next time they roll through town, probably with another single or two under their belt.

• Show reminder: There's more garage goodness at Bablyon tonight with King Khan And The BBQ Show, Bloodshot Bill and The Holy Cobras. The Habit, Whale Tooth and The Property Line play Mavericks. The Bushpilots hold their own Christmas Party at The Rainbow with Good2go, Ken Workman, The John Henrys and Slo Tom all doing their bit for the Ottawa Food Bank. Lefty McRighty and the Shameless Bastards play the Elmdale House; Tony D performs at Irene's.

Here goes nothing

For those of you keeping track at home, it's August 13 - man I'm behind on posting show photos - a Thursday at The Atomic Rooster, and that means the Rock'N'Roll Pizza Party. This evening's entertainment consists of Year Zero and frequent visitors from Sudbury, The Statues. Year Zero had gained a member since I saw them perform at The Royal Oak a block away on Bank St.: Dave Williams from Last Communion, The Sedatives, The Fucking Machines et al. had joined on guitar.

First, introduction action with Emmanuel!



Tim sings!



Overhead action with the whole lot!



Mike drums!



Brad rocks the Sheraton.



Singalong action with Davey Quesnelle!



Even more, etc.



Dave sings (some more, that is)!



More Brad, plus a handy copy of the lyrics of Because You're Young.



They've got a couple of shows coming up - one in Wakefield performing with The Suppositories and Mother's Children at Kaffe 1870 January 22, and the other at Babylon opening up for the mighty Leatherface February 25. The LP version of No Tongue For Eros on P.Trash/Shooting at Decoys originally slated for last fall should also be out then.

• Show reminder: Everything All The Time plays Zaphod's; Rory Gardiner gets a big jump on the Christmas bashes with his own at the Rainbow; Vince Halfhide and Corky Kealey celebrate many years of picking and drumming at Irene's; The Flaps are at the Elmdale House.
  

Back in town

My November was remarkably free of show-going activity - in fact I only got out twice, what with memorial planning and doctor-seeing and whatnot. My resolution for December is to get and more, and since I went over to The Rainbow last night to see Sarah Burton I'm already half-way to fulfilling my goal. Burton was born in Ottawa but calls Montreal home her music sits somewhere at the nexus of singer-songwriter, country and folk. She has a somewhat tart lyrical sensibility as demonstrated by the title of her latest EP, Love Is For Pussies. Burton also introduced one song with "This one is about what you learn as parents ... it's called One-Way Ride To Hell." She frequently performs with a full band, but for this show was accompanied by Blair Hogan on mandolin and guitar. She finished her first set with a cover of Poor Wayfaring Stranger.


Sarah Burton at The Rainbow, Dec. 2, 2009

It was pretty entertaining and the friends-and-family crowd was duly appreciative. She'll be back at The Rainbow, band in tow, Dec. 13. Hogan will be up at the Black Sheep Inn with Brock Zeman Saturday.

• Show reminder: Jill Zmud, Megan Jerome and Amanda Bon perform at the Elmdale House. Contrary to early reports, Despised Icon, Cryptopsy, Acacia Strain, Trapped Under Ice and Blind Witness destroy eardrums tonight at Babylon.