Agent Orange, China Creeps, Life Against Death, Plus Perfect
The Cobalt, Sun Feb 22nd
It’s not very hard to be the hot ticket on a Sunday night, and when Agent Orange was in town what would you rather be doing? Watching some ‘Simp...
Royal Unicorn Cabaret
April 25th, 2008
A pointless evening, overall; I came for Black Betty – Black Betty did not come! Ana was sick. They were replaced by the comparable, admirable Hezzakya, with huge double-stacks of amps-amps-amps ...
Richards on Richards, July 2
As someone far more familiar with the Modern Lovers than Jonathan Richman’s solo output, I had little idea what to anticipate from his show. All I know is that it took place on my birthday, and Mr. Richman ...
After 30 years, The Mahones founder and front man releases first-ever solo offering.
Joey Chaos and The Ghosts have released their new single, “Fear.” The first in a series of recordings to be released in the coming months, the song is gritty and compelling. A mixture of 90s rock n’ roll and 80s new wave, their brand ...
This is the Sleep Factory, Trish Shwart’s exhibition at Martin Batchelor Gallery that opened on November 7th, with a persuasive performance by the artist as a marketeer, and continues with a visual smorgasbord of parodies that explore the commodificatio
Cracker
Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
429 Records
Since the early 1990s, and most famously with 1993’s platinum selling Kerosene Hat, Cracker has been providing an interesting take on contemporary alternative country (think ...
Victoria’s Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra recently played Upstairs Cabaret here in their hometown of Victoria with locals Compassion Gorilla and Carousels opening up. There was a strong sense of community and no shortage of dancing at the ...
Fri Jun 20th, 2008
I played an acoustic show with Rich last summer at Hoko’s on an invitation from Ryan of Collapsing Opposites. Rich was touring on his bicycle from his hometown of Halifax to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Founda...
BLACK MOUNTAIN
In The Future
Jagjaguwar
When I hear Stephen McBean’s slowly-picked A-minor guitar intro for “Stormy High,” I’m almost tricked into thinking it’s a cover of “Hell’s Bells,” but then the swing-time Black...
Derek Miller
The Dirty Looks
Arbor
I try to balance the good and bad in my reviews, even if I'm not into the style. I don't like saying it, but the sophomore album from Ontario's Derek Miller thoroughly sucks. It sounds like a bar band...