Live Video : Rose Cousins in Vancouver (featuring a NxEW contributor)

My good friend and fellow NxEW contributor Alex was able to record a clip of Rose Cousins performing "Sadie In The Kitchen" off of her latest The Send Off, on November 25 at the Media Club in Vancouver. Which, by the way, featured yours truly on the shaker egg. The song's a lovely one, Rose's humour is demonstrated, and I didn't do too badly either!

Enjoy!

Concert Review : Rose Cousins & Royal Wood at the Media Club

Rose Cousins and headliner Royal Wood put on a fantastic show on November 17, 2009 at the Media Club in Vancouver-- one full of switching roles, great laughs and even greater appreciation of your loved ones.

Halifax-based Rose Cousins, touring her new album The Send Off, began her opening set by the strumming of her guitar and the clear, warm tone of her voice. Well, not completely accurate. She opened her set by commenting on the amount of people surrounded the stage and how it made her feel "popular." And indeed there was a unusually large crowd for an opening set, which consisted of a dedicated base of "Rosebuds," which included Vancouver artists such as Jill Barber, Nat Jay and T Nile. She also thanked Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3, who was in the audience, for interviewing her earlier on during the day and heaped praise on the CBCs across Canada.

It wasn't long into her set that the rest of the people in the room were equally captivated by her honest lyrics, perfect (can I say that?) voice and gut-busting banter, which ranged from touchingly personal to hilariously inappropriate. She also accompanied herself for the entire set on keyboards, guitar and mandolin, save the beautiful "All the Time It Takes to Wait" which was accompanied by the "talented and handsome" Royal Wood.

Rose had the attention of the entire crowd in the usually chatty Media Club. Mid-set, she put the audience on the spot by asking for things in a den-- with the crowd yelling things like "chesterfield!" and "Jenga!" and her constructing a vivid image of that idyllic childhood den with her descriptive imagination. She then transitioned into her song "The Dancers" which imagined an elderly ballroom aficionado couple waltzing around this constructed den.

This was not the only time she called out for audience participation, of course. In another great switching of roles, she called out for an audience member "who's good at keeping rhythm" before playing the last song in her set, "Sadie in the Kitchen." I volunteered hesitantly, and soon found myself sharing the stage with Rose accompanying her on the shaker egg. She gladly regaled myself, an audience member, with the spotlight (and microphone!) while she led the rest of the audience in a sing-along, complete with "random vocal projections." The adorable refrain "before bed, before bed, B for bed, B for bed..." was written with her friends' young daughter in mind, and meant to be an "adult children's song" that she composed for said friends' wedding. Her willingness to share the stage and completely engage the crowd in participation recalls the show by her good friend, Joel Plaskett, whom she supported in a Vancouver show in May.

So yes, I'm going to include that in my resume and CV from now on.

Royal Wood took to the stage with guitarist Dean Drouillard inconspicuously, launching into their first of many songs. Playing many songs from his latest The Lost and Found EP as well as his 2005 A Good Enough Day, Royal filled the Media Club with his romantic, melancholy ballads without his usual backing band. And was the show romantic! Couples lined the perimeter of the stage, as well as filling the rest of the venue, while Royal told of the songs inspired by his brother's wedding, his parents' love, his own love and that of his friend's grandparents. In one of the more poignant moments, he told the audience to never settle for less than the reverberating, lifelong love that they deserve, and for which he sings. These touching anecdotes were nicely interspersed in the song-heavy, banter-light set, which included hits "Juliet" and "Don't Fall Apart."

Royal invited Rose back on stage for 2 songs near the end of his set, and wrapped up with an extended, passionate "Acting Crazy (It's a Breakdown)." Before returning on stage for the encore, he seemed confounded by the presence of washrooms where backstage is supposed to be. The Media Club's backstage is actually at the back of the room, and he commented that he wasn't sure whether to enter the men or the women's washroom in order to get there. Matching Rose's incredible sense of humour, he poked fun at the men in the room by encouraging a final sing-along by saying "this is to show your sexual confidence," which of course, got a burst of laughter and the desired louder audience participation.

All in all, the show was a heartwarming experience, and concert goers exited the Media Club with muted smiles, holding their loved ones into the windy, rainy Vancouver night.

For more photos of the show, visit my Flickr set.

Olenka and Slow Down Molasses at Ottawa's Raw Sugar Cafe

On Oct 27th at Ottawa's Raw Sugar Cafe.
Playing there were:
Jonathan Pearce

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers

Slow Down Molasses
Here is a 12 minute interview I did with one member of Slow Down Molasses.


Review of the show is here.

October 24th: Bruce Peninsula w/ Right By Midnight, The Allrights and Brothers Chaffey

On October 24th these bands were playing at Ottawa's Mavericks:
Right By Midnight

The Allrights

Brothers Chaffey

Bruce Peninsula

It was an amazing show.
Reviews are here.

Here are three videos I took on my digicam.
Sorry for the quality on the sound and video.
Steamroller

2nd 4th World War/Satisfied

Crabapples

Audio interview with The Ghost Is Dancing

Interviewed the Toronto band The Ghost Is Dancing on October 17th.
In this 15 minute interview, we talked about their tour, album, bands, Toronto, Ottawa, the music video for "This Thunder", USA and music stuff.

Review of the show.

Photos of Pop Montreal 2009

This year I went to my first Pop Montreal.
It was a fun experience.
Here is a photo slide show of who I saw this year at the fesitval.

For reviews click here.

Rifflandia Recap in Pictures : Saturday Night

CHAR2D2

Jon & Roy

Jets Overhead

Hey Rosetta!

Pink Mountaintops

For the complete set of photos, click here. Also photos from Thursday and Friday nights on my Flickr.

Rifflandia Recap in Pictures : Friday Night

Aidan Knight

Tegan and Sara

Zeus

The Most Serene Republic

Click here for the complete set of photos, as well as Thursday night's set on my Flickr.

Raw Sugar Cafe: September 2, 2009

On August 2nd I went to see three acts at Raw Sugar Cafe
They were:
Tissø Lake from the UK

Brooke Manning from Toronto

The Wilderness of Manitoba from Toronto

It was a nice intimate acoustic show for all three acts playing.
Full review is on here.
Listen to the interviews I did with each musicians.
Full review is on here.
Tissø Lake

Brooke Manning with Erin Lang

The Wilderness of Manitoba
The Wilderness of Manitoba: Interview by blurasis

The Wooden Sky: Bedrooms and Backstreet Tour in Ottawa

August 17th, the band Wooden Sky made a stop in Ottawa for their Bedrooms and Backstreet tour.
They played at a nice small store called Canteen.
Here are the photos from the show.
The first band was Ottawa's Old Crowns.

Here is a interview I did with them before their show.
Interview: Old Crowns by blurasis
Here is a photo of Wooden Sky.

After their set I got a chance to do a quick interview.
Interview: The Wooden Sky by blurasis
Overall it was a nice set they put despite being a hot humid summer day.

Arietta in Ottawa

I went to see Arietta play at Zaphod Beeblebrox on July 25th.
Apparently they were suppose to open up for Black Diamond Bay but the drummer fell ill.
So it was just a solo show for Arietta.
Here are some photos.

Also I did a interview with the band.
Its about 20 minutes.
Sorry if the waitress happens to come in part of the interview.

Bear Claps: Interview

On July 23rd (same night as the Bruce Peninsula show).
I interview the Ottawa band Bear Claps.
The members consist of:
Derek Ledoux

Jenna Johnson

Tyson Everitt

I interview them at the chinese restuarant Imperial Palace on Dalhousie St.
Derek: Pop music, more nitty gritty which is more electronic music and pull in folk and rock
Who are your influences?
Derek: Radiohead, Pavement, Modest Mouse
Jenna: Blur
Tyson: Brian Eno, Boards of Canada, My Bloody Valentine
Favorite venues in Ottawa?
All three:Babylon
Derek: Blacksheep Inn
Tyson: Dekcuf used to do webcast shows.
Who have you played with local or out of town musicians?
Locally: New Teeth, Silver Birch Society, Ennuie, Adam Saikaley
Out of town: Mina May, Bruce Peninsula
What's coming up for Bear Claps?
Going into the studio to make an official EP
Here is the audio part.

Bruce Peninsula: Interview

Lately I bought this digital recorder and try to get my hands into interviewing musicians/bands.
My first try was interviewing the members of Bruce Peninsula.
Interviewed them on July 23rd where they played a show at Cafe Dekcuf.
I talked to them after their sound check and did it at the corner of Rideau and Cumberland St.
Members I interviewed were:
Neil Haverty
Matt Cully
Misha Bower
Andrew Barker
Steven McKay
Kari Peddle
Daniel Geshundheit
I was thinking of typing it down but here is the audio part.

Vancouver Folk Fest Preview

As the Vancouver Folk Music Festival is taking place next weekend (July 17-19th), let's cover three of the reasons why you should start getting excited if you are going, and reconsider if you're not.

At the Railway Club on June 3, three artists took to the stage to fundraise for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival as part of the VFMF Revue -- Veda Hille, Dan Mangan and Geoff Berner. Each put on a phenomenal set, and if this is any indication of things to come, this year's festival will be a treat for those living in/near Metro Vancouver.


First to play a set is the quirky Veda Hille. She opened with Lucklucky, which was accompanied by the clacking noises of the toy train overhead at the Railway, to good effect. The song, which included a short ode to the Hockey Night in Canada theme, demonstrated Hille's playful theatrical voice well. She played a couple of covers, which included Neil Young's Transformer Man. Grab an early demo version of Lucklucky below.

MP3: Veda Hille - LuckLucky


Second on the stage is Dan Mangan, who announced that his new full-length record Nice, Nice, Very Nice will be released August 11th, 2009. He took the time to thank two local Vancouver stations who have given his infectious hit Robots much deserved airtime.

Mangan played an eight song set, which included several songs from his upcoming album such as Tina's Glorious Comeback, The Indie Queens Are Coming (which brought Veda Hille back on stage), You Silly Git (a song inspired by his girlfriend), as well as Basket, which is written for his grandfather. Of course, Mangan wrapped up his set with the catchier-than-herpes Robots, which ended with him holding his guitar aloft while walking through the audience, encouraging a sing-a-long. He looked visibly surprised that half the audience already knew the words; it was very endearing. He also spent a considerable amount of time bantering and speaking with a couple of fans who were right up against the stage. The man emanates warmth.


The final performer of the night was Geoff Berner. He plays frequently at the Railway and states that it's one of his favourite venues. However, it was my first time seeing him. When he entered, accordion-clad and unassuming-looking, and started screaming as an introduction to his song Shut In, the shift in the room was likely a collective startled jump. The song also included a small shout-out to In My Life by the Beatles.

The best way to describe Berner and his set that night would be "perpetually intoxicated, irreverent drinking songs," demonstrated by such songs as The Way That Girl Drinks Beer. However, in more than a few occasions, his meandering voice sharpened their focus towards specific points that he wanted to make. The best example is his song The Dead Children Were Worth It, which criticizes the upcoming Vancouver Olympics in 2010. So while his voice (and mind) may wander and drawl, it does once in a while come back and sucker punch you into paying attention. Below is the download for the aforementioned Olympic theme, which previously got him in trouble with concert sponsors. Take a listen and hear why.

MP3: Geoff Berner - The Dead Children Were Worth It!

Once again, if you haven't gotten your Vancouver Folk Music Festival tickets yet,
you can find them here. The venue is the beautiful Jericho Beach in downtown Vancouver.
The full line-up, which includes Canadian artists such as the Weakerthans, Basia Bulat, Great Lake Swimmers, among many international acts such as Iron & Wine, is here.
The full schedule is here.
And you can also follow VFMF on Twitter.

And don't forget to check back here at NxEW for more VFMF updates by AlexOfAnders and I! You can also find us on Twitter at AlexOfAnders and kn0ttyn3rb, respectively.

See you at the show!

Bluesfest: Day 2

July 9th was my favorite night of Ottawa Bluesfest.
It was better than Day 1 mostly because I knew the bands/musicians that were playing on Day 2.
I had a great time running over from stage to stage.

The acts that I got to see:
Kyrie Kristmanson
Kyrie was totally amazing live. She wore her famous white fuzzy hat during Song X but took it off after it.
Nice to see her back from France for the summer.


Holy Fuck
Loved hearing Milkshakes and some new tracks.
They were absolutely amazing live and I was happy to catch Lovely Allen at the end.


Metric
Seen them alot of times now. Glad that they sang "Help! I'm Alive" live.


Iron & Wine
I wish I got to stay longer for his set.
Sad that I missed out on Such Great Heights


Ben Harper and Relentless7
All I have to say that he was totally loud.

Bluesfest: Day 1

July 8th was the start of the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest.

Highlights that I covered:
Amanda Rheaume

Flash Lightnin'

Amos The Transparent


MonkeyJunk

Jon & Roy

Jeff Beck

Sled Island Organizer Speaks to NxEW

Sled Island, as previously reported, is Calgary’s mammoth multi-venue music and arts festival and it’s less than two weeks away! In anticipation of the festival, NxEW was able to line up an interview with festival founder Zak Pashak.

When asked why he continues to choose Calgary as ground-zero for Sled Island, Zak Pashak says, “I think the festival encourages open-mindedness and has a larger political purpose in bringing smart people in Alberta together.”

Now in its third year, Sled Island has garnered lots of attention locally, abroad, and online as the premier showcase for Western Canadian bands and visual artists. After witnessing thousands of music fans flock to Sled Island two years in a row, the City of Calgary’s Mayor’s Office has started to play an active role in supporting the organizer’s desire to promote emerging artists and youth culture.

“More people are getting involved and people are putting a lot of love into making [the festival] work,” says Zak. “Teresa Byrne in Arts and Culture [at the City of Calgary] has been amazing. If you see her and you like Sled Island, please give her a hug!”

The biggest difference in store for this year’s festival is the selection of Olympic Plaza as the main outdoor all-ages venue. On Friday evening, there is a stunning line-up, including The Summerlad (Calgary), Malajube (Montreal), Biz Markie (NYC), M5 (Calgary), Anvil (Toronto), Holy Fuck (Toronto), Liars (NYC) and The Breeders (Dayton). This will no doubt be among the noisiest night in downtown Calgary’s recent history. Zak highlights Liars as being a potentially difficult band to book:

“Maybe Liars would have been really hard to get except they are huge fans of Colin Newman's so they wanted to come. They are going to blow people away.”

Colin Newman, front man for Wire, an influential post-punk band that rocked the festival in 2008, was chosen as this year’s guest curator. For the past year, he has been helping with the “big picture” strategy for the festival in an effort to make it as good as it can be for the city. According to Zak, Colin fell in love with Calgary and the fans that enthusiastically supported his band last year. He will also be performing with his new project, Githead.

As for great local showcases, Zak points to the shows at the Bamboo on Thursday and at The Lord Nelson throughout the festival. A remarkable feature about Sled Island is its unique ability to host shows in unusual venues. This year boasts the addition of the local hipster hotdog stand, Tubby Dog, unique, posh art spaces like TrépanierBaer, the John Dutton auditorium at the central branch of the Calgary Public Library and the Higher Ground coffee shop to the list of innovative spaces from past festivals.

To grace the stage of these myriad venues, there are over 250 bands scheduled to appear (including 50 from Vancouver alone!) If all this seems overwhelming, Zak noted some key changes to the festival website that are designed to help navigate the line-up. One of the main challenges in organizing this kind of event is that many bands are virtually unknown outside “music geek” circles, but he ensures that, “the website is less cluttered and a pretty powerful tool. With a little digging, you can start to find out some very interesting things about the bands we booked.”

The addition of a regular podcasts on the website has also made the discovery of new artists much more approachable.

The main festival runs from Wednesday June 24th to Saturday the 27th, but there are related events, parties, and screenings scheduled from Tuesday to Sunday.

If you are thinking of making the trek to Calgary for Sled Island, Zak says, “please do.”

Sled Island - Full Band List

All 251 bands from A to Z:

40 Thieves

a relative distance

Adam Power

Adelaide

Aerosol Constellations

Agnostic Mountain Gospel

ahna

Analog Bell Service

Andrew WK

Anvil

Axis of Conversation

Azeda Booth

Backbone of Science, The

Band Name

BATTLE SNAKES

Bayonets!!!

Bebop Cortez

Before Dawn

Beija Flor

Bell Tower

Bend Sinister

Benath These Idle Tides

Better Off Dead

Bikeland

Biz Markie

Black Death Boners

Black Dicks

Black Mold

Blind Shake, The

Blist

BLOOO BOI

Blue Violets, The

Bob Quaschnick

Boogie Monster

Book of Black Earth

Bownesians, The

BRAIDS

Brain Fever

Brasstronaut

Breeders, The

Brenda Vaqueros, The

Bronx, The

Calum Graham

Cam Penner

Cam the Wizzard

Chris Gheran & the Graveyard Gang

Christian Hansen & The Autistics!

Clea Anais

Coathangers, The

Colin Decker Free Fall, The

Colourbook

Cool dad

Cripple Creek Fairies

Crosstown Rivals

Curtis Santiago

Cut Off Your Hands

Darcys, The

Dead Science, The

Deformer

Desert Boots

Desiderata

Dieselboy

Doer and the Doddler, The

Dragon Fli Empire

E.L.E.V.E.N.

Eamon McGrath

Endangered Ape

Envelopes Filled with Cash, The

Evaporators, The

Evidence, The

Ex-Boyfriends, The

Excision

extra happy ghost !!!

Famines, The

Final Fantasy

Fine Mist

Fond Of Tigers

foonyap

Fox Opera

Francis Cheer

Frantic Artillery Featuring Bijaan Lalani and Grady Welbourne

Friendo

Get Down, The

Get Through Summer

Ghostkeeper

Gift Eaters

Gift of Gab (from Blackalicious)

Githead

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Good Luck Assembly, The

Grass featuring Erin Thrall and the Lily Quartet

Great Orbax Freak Show, The

Grim Beat, The

Hamas

Hank and Lily

Hazard Lights

HEALTH

heat-ray

Hobophobes

Hollerado

Holy Fuck

Homage (Dustin Lee)

Hot Little Rocket

Hot Panda

Hours, The

INDIENSOCI

Instinct

Japandroids

Japanther

Jenny

Jezibelle

Jim Brown as Rank Nubah

JJ Shiplett

Jody Glenham

Joe Nice

Joel Fraser

Joel Learoyd

Jon-Rae Fletcher

Jonathan Toubin

Jupes, Les

Keser

Kilbourne

King Khan & BBQ Show, The

Kirby Criddle

Kisses of Fire

Knots

Knucklehead

Kris Ellestad

Ladyhawk

Last Plague

Lauren Mann

LAZERTAG

Liars

Library Voices

lint

Lucas Chaisson

Lucid 44

M5

Madcowboys

Main Drag, The

Malajube

Mark Sultan

Matthew Skopyk & The Future

MC Juakali

Meat Draw

Medicine People, The

Meggido

Michael Rault

miesha & the spanks

Mikey Mmmuscles (aka Mike B)

Moby Dicks

Mohawk Lodge, The

Monotonix

Morgan Greenwood

Mothfight!

Mount Analogue

Mount Eerie

Mt. Royal

Myelin Sheaths

Neckbeards, The

Neckers, The

New Danger Kids, The

NEW FIGHT SCENE

No Gold

No Horses

Noah York

Novillero

Nu Sensae

O'Death

Obits

Octoberman

Oldfolks Home

Outlaws of Ravenhurst, The

Oye!

Pack A.D., The

Paperbacks, The

Passenger Action

Pete Samples

Pine Tarts

Press Gang, The

Priya Thomas

Puberty

Quintron & Miss Pussycat

Racoon

Ramblin' Ambassadors

Random Task Collective

Re-Mains, The

Rebel Spell

Reuben Bullock + Ben Bullock

Ricca Razor Sharp

Rio Bent

Robin Hunter and the Six Foot Bullies

ROCKET REDUCERS

Rub, The

Ruben Young

RUDE CITY RIOT

Rural Alberta Advantage

Sabretooth

Sadlier-Brown and the Sound

Sarah Clark

Sean Nicholas Savage

Secret Brothers

Seven Story Redhead

Sex Party

SEX WITH STRANGERS

Shagbots, The

Sharar

Sharp Ends

Shearing Pinx

Sheepdogs, The

Sit Still!

Sleepyhead

Slim Pickins

Slim Twig

SNFU

SONS OF YORK

Sounds Like BS

Space Rabies

Square Waves, The

SSRIs, The

Stamina Mantis

Stolen Organ Family Band, The

Sub-linguals

Superfantastics, The

Susie Forsyth

Swank

swwords

Team Building

Thank Magnets

That's the Spirit

These Arms are Snakes

Thighs

Tricky Woo

Twin Crystals

Up in Smoke

Von Zippers, The

Walk Off The Earth

Warbird

Warbrides, The

Whitey Houston

Whitsundays, The

Wicked Awesomes!, The

Women

Woodhands

Woodpigeon

X-Ray Cat

Yells, The

Yes Nice

York Redoubt

Yukon Blonde

Zebra Pulse

Whew! More info about scheduling and tickets available at www.sledisland.com. If I missed any, feel free to add to the comments section below.

Skate4Cancer in Ottawa

It was a very cold Sunday evening down at Confederation Park.
The free all ages event was called Skate4Cancer, where it was organized by Rob Dyer.
To bring awareness about cancer and how it has affected in people's lives.
Also there was music and playing there was:
Steve St.Pierre (who usually plays in the band Anchors)
The Love Machine
Brighter Brightest
Photo of Rob Dyer.


First up was Steve and he sang some of his solo.
It was a nice settling with him and his guitar.
He sang a cover of MGMT's Kids which was amazing to listen to.

After him was the Love Machine.
I never got to hear them live acoustically.
They were amazing doing it without the electric instruments and drums.
Shows that they can really belt out their own tunes acoustically.
Sang Squirrels, Love Is On Your Side, Amos the Transparent cover and a new song.
Great performance.

Finally it was the Brighter Brightest from Aurora.
It was only two members that played acoustically.
Sang mostly from their EP.
They were great live with just their guitars.
If they come back to Ottawa, I would like to see the whole band play live.


Overall it was nice intimate and cold event in the park.