Hot Plains Music Fest- Bombchan at Wunderbar May 16th 2014

On Friday the second edition of the Hot Plains Music Fest in Edmonton started, which is a three day music festival of mostly local bands playing all kinds of venues in the Old Strathcona (Whyte Avenue) area of Edmonton.

I went to the Friday show at Wunderbar as the band Bombchan was playing, a band I am a huge fan of, and a band that doesn't do enough gigs in the city. Also the venue they were playing is one of my favorite venues in the city to see a band. Other bands on the bill were Marlaena Moore, Diamond Mind, Bombchan and the reunion of The Secretaries.

Firs artist of the evening was Marleana Moore an artist who plays a folk style of music, she started by playing solo and then was joined by a full band. I found her music to be interesting and the lady has an awesome voice. She was quite good in her 30-40 minute set.

Marlaena Moore at the Wunderbar.

Next up was Diamond Mind, another band I had never heard or seen before, they play I guess what you would call an indie pop style of music. They were actually quite good too.

Diamond Mind at Wunderbar.

The next band up was the reason I was at the show, and that band would be the band Bombchan lead by singer, slide guitar player Mike Park. I have loved this band since the first time I saw them in 2012. They have one album so far (Do Me Right), this show was billed as an album release show so that excited me thinking there would be a new album available. In reality what it was, was a two song EP release party, which is only available on there bandcamp page. Nonetheless, the band was on fire this night, the last time I saw them which was at the same festival last year. Only last year, the boys had indulged a bit too much before hand which affected their show as it fell apart about half way through. But on this evening, they kicked ass big time. Mike Park was sounding good, his playing was stellar and Ayla Brooks also on guitar was burning it up all night with is solos. Then of course bass player Karie Brown and drummer Grant Stovel held down the back end real well. There almost hour long set rocked from start to finish with the band looking relaxed and joking with the crowd in between songs. Why these guys don't do more shows around town and play places like The Commercial Hotel (the blues bar of Edmonton) is beyond me. They could really show the blues fans of Edmonton how it is done. If you like your music, not just blues music, but music in general, rocking, gritty and full of jam, this is the band to see. Keep your eyes and ears open for this band Bombchan.

Bombchan at Wunderbar.

After rocking out during Bombchan and having a few beers, I had enough to drink and figured it was going to be hard to follow those guys, I call it a night. So I ended up missing the last band of the night The Secretaries. All and all though, an awesome night of local independent bands. This is a great music festival and seems to be doing quite well. Here is hoping this festival lasts many years and congrats to those that put it together and venues that are hosting the bands. Good times!!!

Old 97's New Record

It's not often that I do a record review as I find most of them are boring and I am just not good at it. But after listening to this album I had to say something. I am talking about the new album by a band called Old 97's out of Dallas, Texas. A band I have yet to see in concert, damn it!!! Anyways, this is their tenth album, an album called "Most Messed Up" and wow, this one ass kickin' fuckin' record. From the opening track "Longer Then You've Been Alive" (this is one of the best opening songs for an album I have heard in a while, if not ever) to the closing track "Most Messed Up" this album rocks from start to finish. This is the fourth album of theirs that I have bought and have to say this is my favorite. Go to your local record shop and be sure to pick this one up. This album is stupid good!!!

Sometimes you can tell just by the song titles that this will be some tunes you will dig. This is one of them for me.

Opening song of album.


Closing song of album.


Have to say it is not often that I listen to the same album 3 times in a row, but I jus' dun' did er'!!! Favorite lyrics from the album " twenty good years of about twenty-five".

Black Sabbath in Edmonton April 22nd 2014

On Tuesday night I went to the Black Sabbath and Reignwolf double bill here in Edmonton at Rexall Place. Again this was a show I was hesitant to about going too, it was on the expensive side and the original drummer of Black Sabbath Bill Ward wasn't involved. After thinking about it and reading reviews and finally actually being able to get a decent ticket, I took the bite and went to the show.

Am I ever glad that I did check this show out. I have always been a huge fan of Sabbath, and it had been fifteen years since I had last seen Black Sabbath (Ozzfest '99 Vancouver). I had also heard some good things about the opening band Reignwolf, whom hail from Saskatoon.

I got to the show plenty early as I just knew that the pat downs and line up to get into the venue was going to be a joke and it was, nonetheless I was prepared and no problems and made in lots of time, to have a few drinks and catch openers Reignwolf. I'm happy to say that it was good to catch the opener Reignwolf whom is fronted by Jordan Cook who also plays lead with his brother on guitar as well and not sure who plays drums in the band, having said that Jordan also plays a bass drum while givn'r on the guitar, during one song he also got behind the drum set and played the drums as well as playing the guitar. The band Reignwold reminded me of a mix of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jack White, some old school rock like Cream and Hendrix. It was loud, in your face, noisy and made people take attention. All and all I thought they were pretty good. Good choice on an opening band, lots of people made it to their seats to see what all the noise was about.

Reignwolf in Edmonton at Rexall Place.

Up next one of my all time favorite bands Black Sabbath, original line up minus Bill Ward on drums which was a crying shame. Replacement Tommy Clufetos is a stellar drummer and did a great job, but I'm all held up on having Bill Ward there as he is the original and is still alive.

What can you say about this show, well it was even better then I was expecting. Opening with "War Pigs" while everyone scrambled to there seats after being outside smoking the sweet leaf was funny to watch, although I too was one of them scrambling. Next up was "Into The Void" from Masters of Reality, this is the song where Geezer Butler's bass really seemed to kick in for me. Then next up is "Under The Sun/Every Day Comes And Goes" from Volume 4 and you realize holy fuck, this is Tony Iommi THE riff master playing old school Sabbath in front of you, that's when I really got in the groove realized this is a special event. Ozzy sounded good, all things considered, he don't move like he used to, but the man can still sing. This was a great show with one great song after another, even the new songs from the album 13 worked into the set well. I thought the setlist was great, be nice if they would change it up night after night, but who am I to say. One thing I could have done without was the drum solo, though it was good, I am not a drum solo kind of guy, unless of course it is Neil Peart, but I understand the reasoning for it, the old guys need a breather. And after the drum solo, the boys came back full of spirit, you could see the guys were having fun performing together again, that to me is always an awesome thing to see. The place was packed to the hilt. What I also really liked was the simple set up where the music did the talking, not flashy or anything, just great music. Good times!!!

Black Sabbath at Rexall Place Edmonton.

Setlist for Edmonton show.

War Pigs
Into the Void
Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes
Snowblind
Age of Reason
Black Sabbath
Behind the Wall of Sleep
N.I.B.
End of the Beginning
Fairies Wear Boots
Rat Salad
Supernaut
Iron Man
God Is Dead?
Dirty Women
Children of the Grave

Encore:
Paranoid

T-shirt front.

T-shirt back.

Record Store Day with The Fuzz Kings and Joe Nolan Apr.19th 2014

On Saturday April 19th was one of my favorite days of the year (my Xmas), yes, the third Saturday of April every year, and this year was the seventh installment of Record Store Day. A day of celebrating independent record shops, with special limited edition releases by many bands and local shops having sales and hosting live performances by bands.

In Edmonton here, my day started by lining up at Permanent Records to see what this shop got in for the special day. I did alright here, scoring the following records.

* Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Beacon Theatre 1992
* Green Day - Demolicious
* Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey (limited edition 2,000 copies grey vinyl)
* James Brown - Food For Thought (limited edition 1,000 copies)
* Bruce Springsteen - American Beauty EP
* Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News (non RSD release)
* Bob Dylan & The Band's - Basement Tapes Influences
* Pixies - Indie Cindy
* Devo/Flaming Lips - Split 7 inch Gates Of Steel (Live)
* The Fuzz Kings - I'm Your Goon (local band RSD 7 inch release)

After dropping off them purchases, it was off to Blackbyrd Myoozik to see what they had. And well, I did good there as well, picking up these records.

* Grateful Dead - Hampton '79 (limited edition of 7900)
* Tame Impala - Live Versions
* Songs from Common Ground Dave Alvin & Phil Alvin Play and Sing The Songs of Big Bill Broonzy
* KISS - Destroyer (Remixed 2013 version)
* Brighton Rock/Harem Scarem split 7 inch single
* Wilfred N and the Grown Men - 3 song CD single (local band)

So after all that record shopping, I still didn't get everything I was looking for. Thanks to my brother Captain Citrus in Calgary, he was able to get the following titles for me. Thanks bro!!!

* The Mystery Side by Side 7 inch single
* Deer Tick - Eel Bowel 7 inch single
* Drive-By Truckers - Dragon Pants EP (10 inch record)
* Flaming Lips - 7 Skies H3 (limited edition clear vinyl exclusive)

Not only was Record Store Day special for all the new releases on vinyl, but then there was the live music performances at Permanent Records in the afternoon with local bands The Fuzz Kings at high noon, followed by Joe Nolan at 1:30.

When I got to Permanent Records just before noon to catch local roots rockers The Fuzz Kings performance, I was kind of surprised to see such a good turn out at the store for this. Sometimes these in store shows don`t always turn out, as there was very little advertising for this show. But nonetheless, a great turn out for the band and the store. This was my first time seeing The Fuzz Kings, I had picked up both of their albums, so I was looking forward to finally seeing these guys. And they didn`t disappoint. They reminded me of a party band along the lines of the Supersuckers. Lead singer "Fat" Dave Johnston and the band were celebrating not only Record Store Day but also the release of their latest album "ReTurn Of The Century" and the RSD release of their seven inch single "I`m Your Goon". They put on a great forty-five minute show. This is a band I will definitely get out and see in a club.

The Fuzz Kings at Permanent Records.

Next up was another local roots rock artist Joe Nolan whom has just been signed to Six Shooter Records. I had never seen Joe play live before, but will be sure to be watching for more live performances by this artist. He put on a great show at Permanent Records playing to another decent size audience. Joe Nolan now has two albums out called "Goodbye Cinderella" and his newest album "Tornado". This is an up and coming artist to keep your eyes and ears open for.

Joe Nolan at Permanent Records.

Another awesome Record Store Day done for the year, already looking forward to next years. A great job done by the guys at Permanent Records with the two bands playing at the store. Get out and buy some music at your local record shop. Good times!!!