last week in music...

Heavy Trash - 05.09.06, Call the Office

a band comprised of jon spencer, matt verta-ray and the sadies, how could this miss? gritty, greasy, and loud as hell. the band is obviously full of some seriously talented musicians - the sadies never seem to miss a beat, no matter what outfit they're playing in, they're just spot on with each other, with seemingly very little stage interaction.. or noticeable interaction, at least. it always amazes me to watch these guys - and though their proficiency shone through on the night, there were definitely some moments where i felt they were a little outta step with mr. spencer, and mr. verta-ray. spencer is full of raucous rock n roll grit, growling and screaming his way through songs... a man of his (smaller) size, producing a sound of it's own (larger) size, is quite a juxtaposition in sight and sound. definitely there were some great moments, pockets of songs, that really stood out, but for the most part i found the songs much weaker than the strength of the playing. eventually it was too much of the same old, and by 12:30 i was starting to nod off in the bar. for me, the night was made most enjoyable from watching sean dean (bass - the sadies) hammer away on his stand-up, and from picking out dallas good's parts and listening intently to those - the man has quickly become one of my favourite guitar players, and i thought his accents were perfectly placed and tastefully executed all night. all in all, its always a treat to see musicians such as this come together, especially on a quiet tuesday night in the city, but i really do wish that the songs themselves stood up to the playing.

Small Sins - 05.12.06, Call the Office

well, my 3rd time seeing small sins (first time they were the ladies and gentleman), and i really do have to give these guys credit. i will say, of the 3 shows i've seen, this was probably my least favourite in some respects, but it wasnt bad, and there were some things i was really glad to see. first of all, these guys are a poppy indie-rock band, and you wouldnt expect much jamming or re-arranging, but i gotta say the songs have really grown in their own ways, outside of and apart from the album. the first time around the show was absolutely excellent - blew away all expectations, and after picking up the disc that night and giving it a listen, you could really hear where they were trying to take those songs to the next level. the 2nd time we saw them was incredible. even blew the first time away! the show was rocked up even more, the songs had developed their own charm and taken on their own flavour in a live setting. this time around, there was certainly more of that, but i felt as if, at times, they were again trying to take some of those songs to yet another level. trying to really create something within them, push them in one direction or another. its a hard thing to describe, at least i am finding it hard right now, but definitely, to my ears, the songs had a bit of a different flavour to them, and i wont go so far as to say they were perhaps in an "experimental" mode, but maybe it was a little bit of "well, what about *this*, *here*.. " kinda thing.. if that makes any sense. who knows. the band was still very much in-sync with each other, we got our favourite keyboard solo, and i got to sing along with some great tunes that are becoming more and more familiar to me everyday. and, i always enjoy seeing a band try new things within their songs, whether or not they come off perfect everytime.. if you never try, you'll never discover the possibilities.

Black Crowes - 05.13.06, John Labatt Centre

alright, the big one! the black crowes, reunited once more and rocking canada coast to coast, making a saturday night stop in london, ontario, a mere 3 minutes away... my first opportunity to see them was foiled by a silly "of-age" law in early winter '99, so i was completely stoked for this. the JLC had the whole theatre vibe thing goin on, closing it up to 3000 people or so, and we had floor tickets so all was good. missed the openers, matt mays, but for there in time for the crowes to rock our faces off. and they did. with a big southern swampland wall of guitar sound and jammy gospel goodness. chris robinson could be the frontman of all frontmen, wailing away, dancing, clapping, in all his divine jamrock god glory... rich robinson, his brother, perhaps one of the most underrated, underappreciated guitar players in rock n roll grabbed my attention with his tasty southernfriend licks all night. marc ford, the other guitar player in the band got to show off his chops quite a bit as well, and you could tell there was no ego between the 2 guitar players... trading solos, giving away to each other when the time called, it was a great lesson in playing together. the band pulled out a bunch of their older hits including sting me, thick n thin, wiser time, a conspiracy, she talks to angels, remedy, and thorn in my pride, along with a couple choice covers, most notably, dylan's this wheel's on fire, to close out the encore. for me, the highlights of the night were remedy, which seemed a little sped up, she talks to angels, this wheels on fire, and thorn in my pride.. in fact, the jam leading into and the jam in the middle of thorn in my pride were the clear winners.. some seamless movement of music right there. i was super impressed with all their jamming all night.. they opened the night welcoming us to a night of music for heads, by heads, and they certainly delivered. and the next day, my head hurt a little.

after the show ended we took the party back to 175 dundas, and it was nice to entertain some out of towners for a little post-show come downer... scottie and his buddy paul got out the acoustics and treated us to a drunken little latenight rooftop set, highlighted by the soulful singing of mr. king and the smooth stylings of mr. aitken... a perfect way to cap off a sweet week of music in london rock city.