The lineup on Friday included Dave Norris & Local Ivan, Geoffrey the Giant, Loon Choir, Orchid Theives, and The Murder Plans. Now, being out of Canada for a couple years and away from Ottawa for longer, I have not really kept up to date on the local scene. Thus, I've never seen these bands play and have heard of only one of them before. The lone standout being Loon Choir, and I know of them through a couple of good friends who are members. I was lucky enough to be given their album so I'll be reviewing that a little further down.
But first let us steal into the night...
Live Lounge is a pretty cool venue, nothing spectacular, but has a decent sound system and good sound guys. It is owned and operated by LiVE 88.5FM - which is I think a first for a Canadian radio station. DJ Noah from 88.5FM was hosting the evening and spinning tunes in between sets, most of which were okay. Although 88.5FM is a decent station they still play pretty safe music by mu standards; but relatively speaking, they would ibe the best alternative rock station in the Ottawa area. (Side note: I requested a song from Herman Dune but he didn't know who they were - that's fine, Herman Dune's kind of unknown here. But when I asked for Eric's Trip he wondered if that was a place. I mean, I hate sounding snobbish, but if you're a fan of Canadian music you should at least know who Eric's Trip is. Maybe I am snobbish...?)
I was a spot late getting to the show but came in probably half-way throug Dave Norris & Local Ivan's set. Norris is clearly the driving force here; his acoustic guitar and songwriting will jump out at you immediately. While their set was enjoyable it wasn't my cup of tea, which is funny because Dave Norris on his own I quite enjoy (solo he kind of sounds like a mix of Roy Orbison and Jim James). And that's the other thing: a band's live show can often be very different from what they can get on a disc - whether that's good or bad is always debatable. Everything considered, I liked their last song "Cheryl." Check them out: click it.
Next up was Geoffrey the Giant playing solo on the Kurtzweil. I really enjoyed his performance: it was energetic, fun, and polished. His skill on the keys was obvious and the songs and lyrics were catchy, if not a little kitschy. His style reminded me a little of Ben FOlds Five, a little New Pornographers, and maybe Hawksley Workman. My favourites were "Peace by Peace" and "Ode to Lisa Simpson." (Interesting side note: "Eyes Wide Open in the LIght" is the unofficial NDP theme song and is essentially the same song as "PEace by Peace" with different lyrics.) You can listen here and do other stuff here.
Okay so two bands done, three more to go. Thoughts so far: a lot of different styles and people which I like very much. I'm hoping I see something a bit familiar and to my liking in the next few bands. The bands did a great job of bringing a diverse crowd here tonight. Intrerestingly, LiVE Lounge has the pleasure of being next to a couple of other types of clubs, which I mistook for Jersey Shore reunions. My bad.
Loon Choir is a band I've heard before but not live. So I was a bit anxious to see them and was, truth be told, rooting for them a little. They are a larger band with several members playing a variety of instruments, including violin, keyboard, and synthesizer, which lend themselves to a deeper, layered sound with a lot of different facets in their music. Their set was defintely the best oif the night so far: lots of energy, some dedorations, and a few props! Decorations and props never hurt and are great for getting the audience into whatever mood you want. They're a pretty solid group and despite having so many instruments and members, they took great advantage of that flexibility with all members contributing to each song they played. I really enjoyed thier set and every song they played. Later I'll be reviewing their James Bunton produced 201 EP Expansion Forces. (Also of note, Loon Choir recently found out that they'll be playing NXNE later this year). You can listen and/or buy here and a here.
Next we had the Orchid Thieves, and they were also good but I felt a little underwhelmed at times, having gotten a mite excited after the Loon Choir performance. It was a tough act to follow in my opinion but I guess someone had to do it. But they are pretty good and worthy of a few clicks here and there.
The final act of the evening was a band called The Murder Plans, of whom I had heard nothing previously. I was actually quite blown away by their performance. The Murder Plans have two frontmen who know how to write a tune or two - and they have great stage presence. You could tell they have been at this for a while. They also had guys on drums and keys, which really volumized the band. I'm not sure how to describe their sound but the two bands I thought of right away were the Constantines (dog rest their souls) and a darker Pavement. Check 'em out - bing and bong.
All in all it was a really nice night - a rare delight, in fact. Check out the bands' websites below and listen, buy, get in contact with, see tour dates, all that stuff.
Dave Norris & Local Ivan - www.myspace.com/davenorrislocalivan
Geoffrey the Giant - www.geoffreythegiant.com & www.myspace.com/geoffreythegiant
Loon Choir - www.myspace.com/loonchoir & www.loonchoir.com
Orchid Thieves - www.orchidthieves.com & www.myspace.com/orchidthievesmusic
The Murder Plans - http://www.themurderplans.com & www.myspace.com/murderplans
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