Tuesday night was good night to be at Avant Garde Bar. Three awesome acts took the stage and patrons had an absolute blast, especially me!
The show started with Shawn Tavenier, who was joined by Nick Gauthier, both from local group Silver Creek. I had heard of the group, but never had the opportunity to hear them play live. I really enjoyed the group. After speaking to Tavenier, I discovered that the group plays every Wednesday evening at the Highlander. Check 'em out!
Then it was time for Ilvekyo. You remember Ilvekyo, right? I saw them perform for the first time this past Summer on the rooftop of Jack Pine. Since then, I've seen them play a few times, and the guys are great! This past week-end, the group apparently recorded 3-4 new songs for an upcoming EP. They performed some new songs, and they are great. Seriously, look up Ilvekyo or catch one of their upcoming shows. You will not be disappointed!
Afterwards, it was time for Toronto based musician Greg McEvoy to take the stage. McEvoy was also one of the artists that I saw performing on the rooftop. Not only is he a super nice guy, his songs are really catchy. The first few times I saw him play, it was stripped down acoustic sets. This time, he played with the support of a band, which was nice. Check out his EP "Sea of Yards", released in September.
Overall, a great night of music at Avant Garde Bar. Not too shabby for a Tuesday night.
Can't believe that September is already over! I've been insanely busy this month at work, and in my personal life. Despite the craziness, I still managed to have fun and see some great shows... I was just too busy to sit down and blog about it!
So here's the month of September in a Nutshell:
At the beginning of the month, I went to the Ottawa Folk Festival to cover some shows for Sors-tu. I saw some good shows and discovered some great bands, including the Avett Brothers and Matt Andersen. Truth to told, I was disappointed that Neil Young cancelled and I would not have gone to this year's festival if I wasn't on assignment.
For the first time, I checked out a show at Raw Sugar Café. Although I'd been to Raw Sugar many times, I had never seen a live show there. When I heard that Eamon McGrath was playing there, I was really excited. I saw McGrath play two years ago at Zaphod's and I really enjoyed the show. This time around, McGrath played a lot of new material. The setting was quite intimate, and it was so enjoyable to see McGrath rocking out in the middle of the living room type space at Raw Sugar. Overall, it was a great show and I was lucky enough to meet a lot of people and even chat with McGrath afterwards.
After seeing the poster, I decided that I wanted to check out indie group Braids at Ritual Nightclub. Yep, I often look at posters and I can just tell whether or not I would like an artist/group. Also, my girl Elly invited me to check it out with her. I was really impressed with the group, and I enjoyed the show very much. Their sound reminded me of Purity Rings, a group I really enjoy. The group recently released their second album "Flourish // Perish". Go get it now!
I participated in festivities in celebration of the 2nd annual Nuit Blanche Ottawa+Gatineau, a "dusk-until-dawn celebration of Contemporary Art and local culture that
takes place across multiple venues". This year's theme was SUPERNOVA! Many spaces (both physical and outdoor) hosted events, shows or art installations as part of Nuit Blanche. I loved it! Although it was raining, we had a blast. Starting at 1am, we started our trek in the Byward Market and stopped at the Ottawa School of Art, the SAINT-LAURENT+HILL GALLERY, Upward Dog Yoga studio, Saint Brigid's Centre for the Arts (which is a church!), la Petite Mort Gallery and Saw Gallery. There were some really interesting projects on display. I really enjoyed the video installations at the church. By far my favourite of the evening (or morning). We also got to see a short theater performance taking place in the jail cell in the basement of the Arts Court building. Overall, I really enjoyed seeing people at the different spots, participating in these events. It's obvious to me that people in Ottawa love and support culture in our city! Next year, take a nap in the afternoon and stay up all night so you can be part of Nuit Blanche!
Last weekend, my friends and I went to check out Greg McEvoy at Avant-Garde Bar for the release of this EP "Sea of Yards". A singer/songwriter based in Toronto, McEvoy is a nice, down to earth guy. I had met him previously and saw him play on the rooftop of JackPine earlier this summer. Since then, I've kept him on my radar. He played an acoustic set that summer afternoon on the rooftop so it was refreshing to see him play with a full band. The show also included performances by Danielle Knibbe, Brittanny Kwasnick and Papermaps. It sounded like entirely new material. The show was really fun, and Avant-Garde was the perfect venue!
I also played lots of Trailer Park Bingo. I didn't win but it was awesome!
So that sums up my September... At least what I remember of it! Looking back at what I did, it reminds how I truly love this city and what it has to offer.
This weekend, I was happy to spend some time outdoors. Saturday afternoon, G and I met up with my gal Elly to check out some live music on a rooftop. Yep, on a rooftop. This was part of the 4in1 Ottawa MusicSessions, which takes place every month in random spots in the city, featuring local bands and musicians. Great concept! The rooftop that we took over that afternoon was that of the JackPine Agency. First upwasGreg McEvoy, a singer-songwriter from Toronto. I really enjoyed his style of folk music and his lyrics were stuck in my head all day. McEvoy will be playing in Ottawa again in a few weeks at Avant Garde Bar. Go check him out! Also, he's a super chill and nice guy.
Then it was Ilvekyo's turn. The duo from Peterborough was really entertaining. They showed up a bit late, so they didn't play as long as I would have liked them to. Their music sounded like a mix between rockabilly and country. I especially enjoyed the music, especially because of the stand up bass. That usually seals the deal for me. I sure hope these guys come back to town sometime.
Afterwards, Ottawa's own StillNativeperformed. Their folk sound also included some elements of blues and jazz at times. It was quite interesting. The vocalist has a nice voice, kind of like Tom Petty meets Bob Dylan. I really wanted to check out the group when they played at the Ottawa Fringe Festival on Canada Day, but I had traveled to Montreal instead to see Woodkid. I'm sure I'll get a chance to see StillNative play again soon.
Finally, it was time for Fevers to jam. The electro/indie rock band gave us a tuned down, chilled out, acoustic performance. This show was part of the 24 hour fever event, in celebration of the release of the group's debut album "No Room for Light". They played a couple of shows within a 24 hour span, including a show at Mugshots Friday night, and an official album release party at Mavericks later that night. They put on a great performance, and Sarah's voice was absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch their show at Mavericks that evening. However, I am looking forward to seeing the group play their material in its intended form.
Here are some pictures that the awesome folks from JackPine took that lovely afternoon.
This summer has been amazing, and I've listened to some amazing music. I consider myself lucky to live the life I live. I never want summer to end...
On that note, check out "Endless Summer" from the Jezabels, a band I was lucky enough to see live last summer. This song seems quite fitting right about now. Enjoy!
