A night of both new discoveries and familiar faces

I made a few new discoveries on Saturday night while venturing to a little known to me part of Toronto for what was billed as a secret show featuring Dex Romweber, Catl and the Zakary Miller Band.

The first revelation was the venue, Garagenoir. I’d never heard of it and there was very little information about it online. Even Romweber’s booking agent apparently didn’t know where it was, and I was given two different addresses for it. It turned out they were both correct, as they were for the same building, but there were entrances on two streets: Dupont Street and Campbell Avenue.

Zakary Miller Band

Upon arrival at this office/industrial building, I was told to go to the second floor and follow a long hallway. I was expecting a warehouse space but instead I had to go up another short flight of stairs and then into what looked like a recently renovated space that could have made a nice office or apartment. There was another short set of stairs leading down once I got inside the main room, and this is where I first laid eyes on Miller and his four-piece backing band. Instead of looking up at a stage, the 50 or so patrons who paid $15 to $20 for the gig looked down at the entertainers.

Miller and company played old-timey sounding songs with electric and acoustic guitars, tuba, trumpet and trombone. It was loose and fun and reminded me somewhat of Pokey LaFarge. It was my first time seeing Miller and will likely be my last for a long time since he’s moving from Toronto to Canada’s east coast.

Catl

I’m much more familiar with Catl, which I’ve probably seen more than any Toronto band this decade. I’ve never been disappointed by a performance, and that streak continued Saturday. Guitarist Jamie Fleming and drummer Sarah Kirkpatrick play stripped-down juke joint blues with high-octane punk energy. And even though they’d just returned home from an American tour the night before, they exhibited no signs of road fatigue.

Kirkpatrick is singing more while still smashing her snares with abandon, while Fleming continues to slink around while producing jaw-dropping licks that take you back to the American south — if it was all hopped up on amphetamines.

Dex Romweber

Catl set the mood for Romweber, a singer and guitarist who’s been a staple of the southern United States alternative music scene since forming the Flat Duo Jets with drummer Chris “Crow” Smith more than 30 years ago. The influential lo-fi psychobilly duo broke up in 1999 and Romweber has continued making music on his own and with his sister (and former Let’s Active drummer) Sara since then. But his Toronto appearances have been few and far between, so this was my first time seeing him.

Romweber was on his own this time, playing in support of his new Bloodshot Records solo album, Carrboro. I’m not as enamoured with it as I was with the previous Dex Romweber Duo record, Images 13, which was my fourth favourite album of 2014. Still, it’s a solid record and Romweber has a way of mixing rock, country, rockabilly, blues, jazz, pop, surf and straight-up ballads to create a soundscape that’s all his own.

Decked out in dark shades that gave him a bit of a Link Wray look, Romweber and his shorter than normal guitar entertained a small but appreciative audience that included local musicians Ian Blurton, Sean Dean, “Classy” Craig  Daniels, Dave Kiner, Steven Bromstein and Jeff MacNeil, who were sipping on Steam Whistle pilsner that was brought in for the occasion. 

Since I was seeing a Bloodshot artist, I showed my support and further fortified myself with the contents of my Waco Brothers flask.

It was a mellower than expected set, but one in which Romweber was able to showcase his crooning and finger-picking skills with songs including “Blind Man” and “Paradise,” even if he did seem to be treating the gig as a public rehearsal by repeating parts of songs he said he wasn’t satisfied with the way he initially played them.

There was little talking between songs until, inexplicably, Romweber put down his guitar and sat down and talked about a mental breakdown he had. He got up and sat down again while telling this story, which had unsettling racial overtones, for several minutes. While it may have been cathartic for Romweber, it obviously made some audience members uncomfortable — and I saw a couple of people walk out.

Romweber then picked up the guitar and began playing again as if that previous interlude had never happened. The room was so cozy that he sometimes moved away from the microphone and you could still hear every word. Romweber performed a few more songs and then ended with an extended guitar solo that amped up the energy but was primarily played with Romweber’s back to the audience.

Dex Romweber and Sean Dean

Romweber’s set clocked in at less than an hour. On my way out, I took a photo of him with Dean, who has played several shows with him over the years as the bassist for The Sadies.

While the neighbourhood is pretty desolate as far as nightlife is concerned, luckily Boo Radley’s pub was across the street. This was another first for me, but I liked the atmosphere, the bartender and the Henderson’s Best that was on tap, and MacNeil and I struck up a good music conversation with a young regular.

It was a nice late autumn night so, after the bar closed, I had an enjoyable 90-minute walk that got me home around 4:30 a.m. It gave me exercise, fresh air and time to reflect on what I’d experienced and discovered in the preceding few hours.

2015 South by Southwest Music Festival day two report

Ronald McDonald drove past me in a golf cart as I was walking up Red River Street early on Tuesday afternoon.

These are the types of things that happen at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. But luckily, seeing a hamburger-promoting clown was far from the highlight of my day.

Catl

One of them followed shortly thereafter, however, when I saw Catl at Cheer Up Charlie's. I've seen this group perform as much as anyone in Toronto over the last handful of years, but I wanted to pay my respects in Austin. I preferred it when there was a drummer and Sarah Kirkpatrick played keyboards instead of wailing away at a stand-up drum as she does now, but Catl remains a dynamic duo that plays raw, bluesy and elemental rock-and-roll. A Hasil Adkins cover was thrown in among the originals, which well-suited the band's unhinged approach to music.

A band called Calliope Musicals was playing outside, so I had a look and was caught off guard by seeing small kids dressed as tigers and unicorns dancing with balloons. It was cute but I wasn't into it and made my way to the convention centre to walk around the trade show for the remainder of the afternoon.

It was pretty tech-driven and there wasn't a lot that interested me, but I was invited to the Canadian Blast stand where the Ontario Media Development Corporation was having a small reception. I caught up with some Canadians I hadn't seen for a long time and chatted with people from Germany and England while having free beer, wine and sandwiches. I also got free beers from the New Zealand, Austin and Denton, Texas stands.

The Barberettes

The Next Stage in a corner of the trade show featured a South Korean female trio called The Barberettes that was making their first American appearance after playing two shows in Toronto just prior to arriving in Austin. They wore traditional Korean clothing at first but soon removed that to reveal something a little sexier. One of the women played acoustic guitar and sang, while the two others briefly picked up a ukulele and kazoo but primarily stuck to vocals. They delivered songs in Korean and English and had excellent harmonies as they sang originals (one about the popular Korean side dish kimchi was a standout) and great covers of "Barbara Ann" (with "Barberettes" subbed in during the chorus) and "Be My Baby" while doing some choreographed dance steps.

After the performance I was interviewed by a reporter from Dong-A Ilbo, whose business card said it was South Korea's leading newspaper, about The Barberettes. I'd appreciate it if all of you dedicated Dong-A Ilbo readers would save me a copy of any article you might see my name in.

I paid a visit to the washroom on the way out and Blondie drummer Clem Burke urinated beside me. He's playing with BP Fallon for SXSW and I hope to see him on Sunday.

The Breakout West party featuring bands from Western Canada was held at The Majestic and I arrived in time to see Mise en Scene, a Manitoba act with a female lead singer/guitarist and drummer and a male bassist that played a rootsy and sometimes slightly bluesy version of alternative rock that hit a lot of the right spots.

Free mini bratwursts and nachos were served and I was given four free drink tickets which I converted into a Shiner Bock and a triple rum and Coke, which seemed like a good idea at the time.

Yukon Blonde

Yukon Blonde took the stage at 6:30 p.m. and I noticed more emphasis on keyboards than I had the last time I saw the Vancouver group a few years ago. It's still a guitar-driven indie rock band, however, and a good one at that. The follow-up album to 2012's Tiger Talk will be out this summer, and that previous record's "Radio" was my favourite song of the set.

I walked across town to Stephen Easley's condominium, where he was hosting his traditional SXSW kick-off party poolside. The prominent attorney works in the technology and music fields and represents the estate of Buddy Holly as well as current artists, some of whom played this year's party. He's an excellent host and also manages the Mixed Media Mongrels, the softball team I play for in the annual SXSW tournament.

Edison Chair is a young pop-rock quintet from Austin that I can see growing into something more than it is now, which is still pretty good. You wouldn't know that lead singer Rachel Thompson only recently joined the band.

Bruce Smith

Bruce Smith is a fellow Mongrel and a salt of the earth guy who also happens to be a kick-ass roots-country singer/songwriter. He has a big following locally and hopefully that fan base will widen. He deserves it. Smith dedicated "'59 Stratocaster" to Buddy Holly, and that song may have been the standout number of his short set.

The Statesboro Revue is another young and very rootsy band that adds touches of country and blues to its rock. Their original material was solid, but their cover of Holly's "Think It Over" left me with the biggest smile.

Monte Warden

That smile was rivaled by the one that took over my face when Monte Warden said he knew who I was since no-one else in Canada writes about him. I'm a fan of his band The Wagoneers and his solo work, and he's had his songs recorded by the likes of Kelly Willis, Patty Loveless, George Jones, Travis Tritt, Carrie Underwood, Merle Haggard and George Strait. Warden performed a cross-section of his material, including some written as an ambassador for Songwriting for Soldiers, a charity dedicated to helping returning veterans adjust to life at home. Warden is an alternative country music pioneer who can do little wrong in my eyes. It would be great if he could get up to Toronto since Austin is the only place I've ever seen him.

I left the party to meet my friend Tom from Seattle, who I hadn't seen in a year-and-a-half, and we walked east to Hotel Vegas where I had hoped to see Protex, The Oh Sees, Paul Collins Beat and The Sloths, but there was a pretty long line and since it was an unofficial SXSW event, our badges wouldn't have got us in any quicker so instead we planted ourselves at a bar across the street where we could see and hear some of what was happening while enjoying some better quality beers than we could have got had we actually made it in to the multi-staged venue.

I didn't see as many acts as I normally would on Tuesday, but I was okay with that since hanging out with friends is another reason why I come to Austin.

The Gories Are Back

The Gories were a major part of Detroit's garage rock scene from 1986 to '93 before the trio broke up and its members went on to other projects. They reformed for a European tour last year and are now making their way across North America, including a July 16 stop at Toronto's Lee's Palace that drew 350 enthusiastic fans.

But The Gories weren't the only attraction on Friday night.

Toronto's Youth Crime, which idolizes The Gories and has the same two singer/guitarists and a female drummer lineup, opened the show in support of its recently released five-song, self-titled EP. Neither of singers Bev and Adam have classic voices, but they somehow suit the material — a sparse, lo-fi indie rock sound that at times is reminiscent of The Fall and Joy Division.

The set included songs from the EP, highlighted by "Mean Moe Tucker," a cut about the former female drummer for The Velvet Underground. Young drumming sensation Daria Ludwiczak (who looked hot behind the kit) nailed that one and everything else performed, including a cover of The Professionals' under-appreciated "Join The Professionals." Youth Crime also brought out a zealous fan base of young women who held up signs and shouted encouragement throughout the group's time on stage.

Another Toronto trio, Catl, was next. The band plays raw, punked up Delta blues with occasional flourishes of vintage organ that takes things to another level. Catl has been one of my favourite local live bands for the past year and even if this year's With The Lord For Cowards You Will Find No Place can't match the intensity found on stage, it still rates a very solid 7/10.

Lead singer/guitarist Jamie Fleming may be the most energetic performer you'll ever see who uses a chair to perform, singer/organist/percussionist Sarah Kirkpatrick looks and sounds great, and drummer Johnny LaRue keeps a steady beat while resembling a young Fidel Castro behind his drum kit.

The room kept steadily filling up by the time The Gories took the stage at 12:15 a.m. Singer/guitarists Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs) and Dan Kroha (Demolition Doll Rods) and drummer Peggy O'Neill (looking a bit like mean Moe Tucker in her dark sunglasses) opened with a theme song of sorts, "Hey Hey, We're The Gories."

The raw, bluesy and typically greasy Detroit rock-and-roll (with a pretty heavy raunch factor) continued throughout The Gories' hour-long set, which also included "Queenie" and covers of fellow Motown bands MC5's "Sister Anne" and The Keggs' "To Find Out."

Kroha put down his guitar to play harmonica on the final song, which saw him and Collins lying on stage while still playing. A lot of people, especially the surprisingly large contingent of women (many of whom were heavily tattooed), seemed to be having trouble keeping things together on this last number and during the two encore cuts.
I had no idea that The Gories had a following as large or as intense as what I witnessed on Friday night, but I left impressed by what I saw on stage and in the audience.