Sound Seekers by Fateema Sayani is published weekly at OttawaMagazine.com. Read Fateema Sayani’s culture column in Ottawa Magazine and follow her on Twitter @fateemasayani
This Weekend!
Toronto four-piece Box Tiger play art rock with cryptic titles (“Set Fire to Your Friends”) and one-word expressions of frustration (“Knives,” “Unmasked”). The band — led by songwriter and guitarist Sonia Sturino — brings to mind The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Box Tiger plays Le Petit Chicago with Fevers and Mastik on Friday, Oct. 11. Check the club’s facebook page for details.
Buzz band Diana — they’re in good dance-indie rock company with Austra on Paper Bag Records — play Maverick’s Saturday, Oct. 12, with Silkken Laumann and Black Usher. Info here.
Garry Elliott and Steve Boudreau — the jazz enthused guitarist and pianist who jam often at Vineyards, decide to record a few originals on their first duo album called Pre-Dawn Skies. Saturday, Oct. 12, at GigSpace Performance Studio on Gladstone Avenue.
Highlights from the Fall Calendar:
Good2Go and No Kinds of Love: October 25, Irene’s Pub
The punk-lite, much-loved hometown band Good2Go teams up with a barroom igniting Velvet Underground cover act.
The Darcys: October 26, Zaphod Beeblebrox
The Toronto band just released Warring, the bookend of a trilogy for uber-hip label Arts & Crafts. The sonic wallop was inspired by the indulgence of ‘70s studio albums.
Hiltorons: November 2, Black Sheep Inn
The pop band recently released At Least There’s Commotion! The album explores front man Mike Dubue’s complicated headspace, which he discussed at length with Sound Seekers earlier this year. Also on the bill: Goodluck Assembly and HydroThermal Vents.
Lee Harvey Osmond: November 15 and 16, National Arts Centre
Tom Wilson’s band will play two nights as part of the NAC Presents showcase. The spectacle is part of the band’s Shadow and Light Song Series, where Wilson will document songs as they are written. “I’m mystified and in awe of the creative process and the energy that surrounds ‘the moment,’ “ he says.
Paul Langlois: November 21, Zaphod Beeblebrox
The Tragically Hip guitarist increases his Can-rock output with his eponymous band that’s separate from the Can-rock behemoths, but still in a vein familiar to Hip fans.
Fiftymen: November 30, Black Sheep Inn
The city’s favourite country band continues to draw the sell-out crowds. Tickets were still available at last check. $12. Slo’ Tom opens.
Hip Hop Karaoke Holiday Benefit: December 20, Venue, TBA.
The monthly homie showdown where fans pay tuneless tribute to rap classics turns its focus to the less fortunate — and hizzoner. After a yearlong social media woo campaign, organizers hope that Mayor Jim Watson will come and throw it down for the inner city electorate.