Saturday, March 21, 2009

Canadian Music Week - Saturday Night

26 Artists, 10 Venues, 4 Nights

Saturday
I went to the Big Bob, where I could see the most bands in one place. It was great, each floor had different vibe.
The Kathedral had a modest crowd out to enjoy the rock. The first band I saw was The Randalls from Milton. With powerful guitar riffs and the excellent vocals of Jonathan Volpe, The Randalls got me pumped up for another night of music.http://www.myspace.com/therandallsofmilton

The Randalls





Next at the Kathedral was the heaver sounds of West Memphis Suicide. Chris Raposo's guitar was pretty sick. Check out their rock anthems http://www.myspace.com/westmemphissuicide

West Memphis Suicide






Alternate End closed the Kathedral with more heavy tunes, and fierce rockin stage presence. http://www.myspace.com/alternateendrocks
Alternate End




Upstairs the Reverb is packed for The Songstresses of Six Shooter Records showcase. Amelia Curran, all the way from Halifax sang us folk tales with her unique voice. Have a listen http://www.myspace.com/ameliacurran

Amelia Curran




Jen Grant, also from the East Coast was next to play her sweet melodies. She was joined by Kinley Dowling on violin, Sean MacGillivray on bass, their addition really made the songs beautiful. http://www.myspace.com/jenngrant1

Jen Grant




Melissa McClelland's voice was like a cool breeze blowing across the room. Her bluesy tunes has the crowd movin and groovin. http://myspace.com/melissamcclelland



Upstairs Holy Joe's a had a sparse crowd but The Guys rocked out like the room was full of people. With catchy tunes, and even some dance moves, The Guys put on a great show. http://www.myspace.com/theguysmusic.com

The Guys




Next to play was Norway's Seven. The Sassy front woman, Annette Gil danced all over the stage with energy and passion. Their songs are bouncy and fun. http://www.myspace.com/sevennorway

Seven




After being stuck at the Canadian border, and being awake for 21 hours California's The Robotanists rocked Holy Joes. Singer, Sarah Ellquist had a sexy, charismatic stage presence that was mesmorzing. A great end to my Canadian Music Week adventures. http://www.myspace.com/robotanists

Robotanists




Friday, March 20, 2009

Canadian Music Week - Friday Night

26 Artists, 10 Venues, 4 Nights

Friday
My night got off to an amazing start. I saw Hamilton's, The Arkells at the Mod Club. They are cute indie rock boys with something to say who are on the rise. The Mod Club was already filling up for their 7:00 set. The Arkells set the mood for their acoustic show with a sweet acapella harmonies . When they played their radio hit, Oh, the Boss is Coming, Max had the crowd "punching in and punching out". He lost his mike and finished the set singing without. Check these guys out! www.myspace.com/arkellsmusic

The Arkells









The sweet songstress Serena Ryder took the stage next. Her beautiful unique voice was memorizing with melodies of love and heart break. Her performance was full of passion and energy. Too bad the fan behind me was singing the songs. www.myspace.com/serenaryder

Serena Ryder




I made my way to The Rivoli to see Alysha Brillinger. She put are splendid show, with her bluesy smooth vocals and catchy tunes. I left for the rest of my journey feeling great.
www.myspace.com/alyshabrillinger
Alysha Brillinger




I wanted to check out Urbanology Magazine presents at Circa, which turned out to be the most disappointing venue. I arrived at the same time as some Red Bull group, so I got ushered inside with them, then off in search of music. There was no signage, and when I tried to go upstairs I was told that wasn't allowed without some sort of Red Bull wrist band and the bouncer knew nothing about CMW. I ran into a performer who verified that he was playing upstairs, so then I demanded that I be let up. The Ballroom was almost empty and nothing was going on even though it was scheduled to start 2 hours previous. I caught one act before I left that sad scene. Montreal's M.O, laid it down for the meager crowd with a swaggar. He spit clever ryhmes over beats from hit songs.
www.myspace.com/mdotodot
M.O.



Next is was back west to my neighborhood, and the Wrong Bar, a hidden Gem of CMW. I arrived just in time for Green Go. There high energy set was infections. Green Go made the Wrong Bar feel like a dance party. They did a remix of Gentlemen Reg's Thunderstorm which I enjoyed the night previous.
Check out their unique sound www.myspace.com/greengomusic


Green Go





Grand Analog kept the dancing going with their groovy performance. Odario sweat all over the stage, as he spat fresh rhymes. Backed by instrumentation took his flow to another level. Looking forward to the new album thats dropin this spring.
www.myspace.com/grandanalog

Grand Analog










The Candy Coated Killahz tore up the stage. Sexy beats, smooth rhymes, dance moves and a lot of energy. Producer and voalist Tasha Dash's style was hot wearing a dress from designer Tetiana Kachurak. Listen for their hit single Playboy on the radio and check out the music video www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIkMWT-rXfY
www.myspace.com/cckillahz

Candy Coated Killahz






There was still a large crowd left at 2am to see OPOPO and they were ready to dance their asses off.
They eletrified the room with crazy, fun beats. Give them a listen to get you in the mood when your getting ready to go out and party. www.myspace.com/opopotunes


OPOPO