Photos: Death Angel @ Mavericks

Thursday night, I headed over to Mavericks to check out Death Angel. The band was joined by TYR and Signs of Chaos, a local metal band.

What an amazing show!

 

My partner wrote a piece on the show for Couch Assassin. Check it out here.

Photos: White Cowbell Oklahoma @ Mavericks

Saturday night was complete mayhem. White Cowbell Oklahoma definitely left a mark at Mavericks... literally! A good crowd showed up to witness the mayhem and rock out. If you've never seen WCO live, check 'em out in a town near you. You won't be disappointed, trust me.

Check out the pics below. Enjoy!

 

 

 

In case you missed it, check out my interview with Clem C. Clemsen from White Cowbell Oklahoma on Couch Assassin here.

Photos: Warbringer @ Mavericks

Last night, I hit up Mavericks to check out Warbringer, an L.A. based trash metal band. Such a great show! These guys are absolutely insane, and the show was a blast!

The show also featured Joe Trasher, My Shadow and DIABHOLICO. And there were many mosh pits, and lots of broken bottles and blood. Good times were had by all.

Review: Groenland @ Mavericks

I like being wowed when I go see shows. And I was very wowed when I went to Mavericks last night to check out Groenland.

Last week, my friend Elly invited me to go to the show the same day I stumbled upon the band's poster. When I saw it, I remember thinking: "I should go see this. I would probably like it."

I headed to Cafe Dekcuf to find that the show had been moved to Mavericks. Great news, seeing as this venue is more spacious than Dekcuf.

The opening act was the Orienteers, a local band. I really enjoyed their quiet, melodic sound. It reminded me of Raised by Swans, a band from London, Ontario that I really enjoy. The sound of the lap guitar added so much electricity to the music, I loved it. The only thing I did not like is that the crowd was loud and it was distracting during the Orienteers' set. I can't wait to catch these guys play live again soon.

Photo: Cindy Boyce www.cindyboycephoto.com

Then it was time for Groenland. There was quite a bit of people for a Sunday night show. From the looks of it, many friends and family members of the group were in attendance. It felt like a homecoming of sorts. Also, the band announced that this was the last show of their tour.

Hailing from Montreal, the band is comprised of six members. Luckily the venue was changed because I highly doubt all those people would have fit on the tiny stage at Cafe Dekcuf. Also, I should add that all the members are equally talented and charming, not a bad combination.

The group played music mostly from their first LP "The Chase". Their style of indie pop is fun and whimsical - you can't help but dance! I love seeing musicians having a blast playing together on stage, and this was definitely the case. I especially love that there was both a violin and cello. This added so much depth to the music.

Be sure to check out Groenland when they play Osheaga on August 3rd. Check out their really fun video for "The Thing I've Done" below. Admit it, you really want to party with them too!

Catching up With Loon Choir

Last Saturday, I went to Mavericks to check out Loon Choir, who were playing alongside André M. Bluteau, Phantom Shores and Kalle Mattson. The show had a really great turnout!

I first saw the band live last October at the Mercury Lounge for Couch Assassin's Launch Party. I was really impressed with their performance. First of all, there were so many of them on stage; they barely all fit on the tiny stage of the Mercury Lounge. My first observation was the energy that the band projected. It was quite contagious and the audience absolutely loved it!

A while ago, I spoke with Brad Sheffield, synth player of Loon Choir, and asked him about the growth of the band, the music scene in Ottawa and what's next for Loon Choir. You can check out my piece on the band on Couch Assassin here.

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What local bands do you listen to? If you know a great local band/artist that deserves to be promoted, let me know. I love to write about them on Couch Assassin!

Review: Hunter Valentine @ Mavericks

Friday night, I headed to Mavericks to check out Hunter Valentine. Having heard of the group, I never actually listened to their material. However, I was curious to check out the group and see what they're all about.

Things that I knew about the band before the show:

Courtesy of www.huntervalentine.com

-  Hunter Valentine is an all-girl, lesbian band.
- The band was somehow connected to the reality show "The Real L Word".

Things I did not know about the band:

- They're Canadian! (from Toronto)
- They have three albums under their belts.
- The band members had starring roles in Season 3 of "The Real L Word".

The show began with performances by Fiona Noakes and The Ecstatic. Both groups did a decent job at warming up the crowd and keeping them entertained until the main act took the stage. Unfortunately, I missed most of Fiona Noakes' set so I would love the opportunity to see her live at another time. As for the Ecstatic, their sound is quite hard to pinpoint, but the members all played really well together, and the lead singer had such a huge voice (coming from such a small frame).

Hunter Valentine put on a great performance. I really enjoyed their set and their energy levels were good. Lead guitarist / singer Kiyomi McCloskey has impressive vocals and her sound is raw and gritty, yet still quite pleasant to listen to.

I really enjoyed watching these girls rock out on stage. They genuinely seem to love playing live music, which is always a plus. I was also really impressed with the evening's turnout. The show was sold out, and the majority of the crowd was female under the age of 25 (not surprising).

Overall, the show was good and quite entertaining. I'm happy I checked it out. Am I going to get my hands on some Hunter Valentine albums? I haven't decided yet... I honestly think that this is one of those instances where it's better to listen to the group live than on disc. I guess we'll wait and see... In the meantime, you can listen to "Lonely Crusade", a track of their third album "Collide and Conquer". Enjoy!

Review: Ben Caplan @ Mavericks

After a busy week-end volunteering at Winterlude, I hit up Mavericks on Sunday night to see Ben Caplan in action. I had heard of Ben Caplan before, but hadn't had the pleasure of seeing him live.

A great crowd was gathered at Mavericks. The show started with JP Hoe . He did a great job keeping the crowd's attention throughout his set, which can be challenging. His voice was nice, clean and quite powerful. I really enjoyed his music; it was just my cup of tea.

Next up was Ottawa's own Her Harbour. Singer/songwriter Gabrielle Giguere took the stage and right off the bat, I was intrigued. Her sound was very interesting and I was hoping to completely immerse myself in her music. Unfortunately. the crowd at Mavericks was loud and their talking completely overshadowed her set. It's unfortunate because Giguere has a very interesting sound and stage presence. I feel like I would really like her music. I hope I can catch her at another show, where (hopefully) the crowd will be more respectful and pay attention.

Finally, Ben Caplan takes the stage. This guy is the real deal. His beard is big and his personality is even bigger! The music was fantastic and so was the banter between songs. He's a great storyteller... I honestly wished that we could have stayed at the venue all night, just listening to this guy speak. His voice is deep, raspy and powerful. Also, his stage presence is fantastic. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with everything about Ben Caplan and the show exceeded my expectations.

Although I loved his sound and stage presence, my favourite part of Ben Caplan's performance was his ability to involve people in his set. He was easily able to get the crowd to sing along and clap to his songs. His songs are quite contagious! Finally, he's a Maritimer, so what's not to love?

I will definitely be checking out Ben Caplan again when he comes back to Ottawa. His sound, stage presence and his beard all won me over. Well done, sir!