Rudely Interrupted, Rural Alberta Advantage & Still Life Still @ Sneaky Dee's

On Tuesday night, I attended the show that I had contested out a few weeks ago at Sneaky Dee's featuring two of the most talked about local bands on the scene today as well as an Australian import that truly is one of the most unique acts that I've ever seen.

Rudely Interrupted were right smack dab in the middle of an incredible rock 'n roll experience, one that I'm sure band mentor and musical director Rohan Brooks never anticipated when he formed the band as part of a music therapy session for people with disabilities just a few short years ago. However, a few days prior to this show, the band had become the first indie band to ever perform at United Nations headquarters. After a couple of gigs in New York, they made their way across the border to play this here show, (which apparently included a little meeting with Tom Cruise earlier in the day) and right now they're in the middle of a mini tour of the U.K. There has likely never been a band more worthy of being called "inspirational" as this particular six piece, and their performance on Tuesday was exactly that.

You couldn't help but be drawn in by their charm and enthusiasm. Lead vocalist Rory Burnside was full of witty banter and amusing anecdotes about "unprofessional gaffes," the band's newfound success with the opposite sex due to being rock stars, and the various smells that emanate from the tour bus when you're in a rock band. Rory was self deprecating about his own personal ailments (he was born with no eyes and he has Aspergers syndrome) but never in a way that was uncomfortable or came across as a cry for sympathy. He was actually just a genuinely funny guy. The fact that the band's brand of power pop was accessible and very hooky was also a big hit with the crowd, and I particularly enjoyed their cover of I Melt With You, along with their own single Don't Break My Heart. When the show was done, there was a part of me that just felt like giving them all a great big indie rock hug because they had once again proved the old dictum that "rock 'n roll always wins." They're planning on coming back next year sometime, and it would definitely be a show worth looking into.

Photos: Rudely Interrupted @ Sneaky Dee's on flickr
Myspace: Rudely Interrupted
Video: Don't Break My Heart on youtube
Download: Green Lights mp3

I actually find it rather shocking that I have never really blogged about the Rural Alberta Advantage at any great length on this site before. Their CD Hometowns is a shoo-in for my year end top 10 of 2008 list (which I'm currently racking my brains around as we speak) and the band has to be one of the most exciting bands that our city has to offer at the moment. The excitement surrounding this band has been steadily increasing for a little while now, but the hype has really taken off over the past month or two. The fact that a musical journey as epic as theirs comes from a band of only three people is pretty difficult to fathom. The fact is, that there are a few bands hailing from Toronto and Montreal that are on par with this local act, but they tend to boast a lineup comparable to a small country. The RAA are very talented and very proficient, creating a large sound that some have referred to as simple, but my ears hear something rather complex. This may seem like unnecessarily high praise, but the harsh vocals of Nils Edenloff remind me quite a bit of Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum, while the complementary backing vocals (and keyboards) of Amy Cole add a dose of sweetness that enhances the entire experience. It's drummer Paul Banwatt though that gets full marks as he proved himself to be much better than your average drummer, alternating his percussion skills from the kit at the back of the stage to the snare (?) upfront, preventing the show from ever growing lax. The already great songs sounded even better live; particularly Don't Haunt This Place, which is a truly masterful song. There were also a couple of newer songs introduced, that has me enthused about hearing another album from them, even though I'm still busy digesting their current one. I know, I know, I'm kinda greedy that way.

Photos: Rural Alberta Advantage @ Sneaky Dee's on flickr
Myspace: Rural Alberta Advantage
Video: Rush Apart (live) on youtube
Download: Don't Haunt This Place mp3

I first saw Still Life Still back in August and although it was a fun enough show, I'll admit that I wasn't completely sold on their sound. Back then they had a rabid fan base that clearly thought that they were the greatest thing since sliced bread, which worried me because I thought the band showed a lot of promise, but I feared that the over enthusiastic fans may lull the band into a false sense of security, preventing them from reaching out for future potential. This time, I was interested in seeing if they might have kicked it up a notch. The verdict?

Um, a little bit I guess. The rabid fans were still there in full force, although the crowd shrunk considerably once The RAA left the stage. In some instances, I think that the band gives off a little bit of a Dinosaur Jr. vibe, particularly in the Mascis-ness of the vocals. This is very positive in my books. But other times I feel that the band's sound gets a little mundane, offering up very little in the sense of something vibrant or fresh. In other words, a lot of it just seems like something that I've heard before, only better. On the plus side, they do know how to throw a party, and when their fans jumped onstage to dance around and sing along and scream their faces off, well, how could you not enjoy that? Their ability to arrest a crowd's attention is admirable and I think that with a couple of tweaks here and there, they could really be a force to be reckoned with. Just like last time, I still think the band is talented and shows tremendous potential. Hopefully, that potential is realized soon, because there's a part of me that is really rooting for them.

Photos: Still Life Still @ Sneaky Dee's on flickr
Myspace: Still Life Still

CONTEST: Rural Alberta Advantage, Still Life Still and Rudely Interrupted @ Sneaky Dee's

Rudely Interrupted - Don't Break My Heart EP

In the early 80's, many talented bands found themselves at a serious disadvantage with the rise of music video requiring them to engage a certain look if they wanted to enjoy a measure of success. This was unfortunate and, perhaps more importantly, very unfair in the sense that many good artists were tossed aside simply because they didn't have the supermodel good looks of Duran Duran or the quirky sexiness of The Go'Go's. Thankfully, it appears that we have gone full circle now that MTV no longer shows music videos as they once did, and the playing field is beginning to be adequately leveled. And it's this truth of musical equality that allows bands such as Australia's Rudely Interrupted to exist and thrive.

To describe the band as unique is quite the understatement since 5 of the 6 musicians have a range of intellectual and physical disabilities (Blindness, Deafness, Autism, Aspergers and Down Syndrome.) However, about a minute into listening to their Don't Break My Heart EP made it clear that labelling these guys as a novelty band, is like saying that Stevie Wonder's popularity is a massive act of sympathy. I thought the EP was rock solid in the way that it showcased a set of hip shaking songs that would definitely get more than a couple of heads bobbing on the local dance floor. They describe themselves as "Joy Division having a Gary Numan party while eating pitch perfect cookies." That's a fairly accurate description, especially since all four songs on the EP are enthusiastic slices of new wave influenced power pop. Vocalist Rory Burnside's voice reminds me of Richard Butler from The Psychedelic Furs as it displays a divine mix of melancholy and confidence, that suits the honest (yet very simple) lyrics that accompany the EP's versatile instrumentation.

Myspace: Rudely Interrupted
Video: Don't Break My Heart on youtube
Download: Green Lights mp3


CONTEST: Rudely Interrupted are playing a show at the UN in New York for International Disability Day on December 3rd and while they're in the general area, they'll be stopping off in Toronto to play a show at Sneaky Dee's on Tuesday December 9th. Joining them on the bill are two bands that probably need no introduction for anyone who is up on the local music scene.

Rural Alberta Advantage has been receiving an enormous amount of buzz, with their Hometown CD being raved about all over the place. Still Life Still are a band that I had the pleasure of checking out a couple of months ago and I would describe their performance as nothing short of celebratory. Well I've got a pretty neat prize pack to give away that consists of the following:

1) A pair of passes to the show at Sneaky Dee's on December 9th.
2) A copy of Rural Alberta Advantage's Hometown CD
3) A copy of Rudely Interrupted's Don't Break My Heart EP
4) possibly more stuff...

If you're interested in winning this prize pack, simply email me at quadb2001 [at] hotmail [dot] com (with the at's and dot's filled in the normal way of course) with "I'd Love To Be Rudely Interrupted" in the subject line and your full name in the body.

Contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to Allison.

Myspace: Rural Alberta Advantage
Myspace: Still Life Still
Download: Don't Haunt This Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage mp3

Download: Frank, AB by The Rural Alberta Advantage mp3