The Balconies, Tin Star Orphans, Boxes and Bags & Bella Clava @ The Horseshoe

As always, Tuesday night was Dave Bookman's Nu Music Nite at The Horseshoe which means a bunch of free music. A couple of the bands on the bill came highly recommended to me personally so I figured that I would swing by and stay for at least a couple of them. Turns out that I stayed for most of the night.

The Balconies are the band that I was most highly encouraged to see and they kicked off the evening. I had literally spent zero time with their music beforehand so my expectations were basically non-existent. As it turns out, they have a sound that is right up my alley on a variety of levels. It's a very hip amalgamation of garage rock and some new wave bass coupled with a post-punk vocal that somehow makes the whole shebang sound like good old fashioned accessible pop music. The tight combo of drummer Liam Jaegar and bassist Steve Neville owes more than a little bit of credit to the ghosts of shoegazers past for their roaring sound, while guitarist Jacquie Neville has quite the intoxicating stage presence. I'll definitely be acquainting myself further with this promising young band from Ottawa.

The Balconies play El Mocambo on May 29th.

Photos: The Balconies @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: The Balconies

From the opening strains of a Johnny Cash cover moment, it became obvious that Tin Star Orphans were going to provide the hurtin' music for the evening and thankfully, they do it quite well. Zachary Bennett's voice is filled with scratchy alcohol swigging enthrall, which makes the softer moments sound downright depressing, while the louder moments become twice as triumphant. They played a quirky set of what likely would be described by many as alt-country, although it did veer off on a few eccentric tangents. This definitely kept things interesting as they displayed a sound that was truly all their own. Even when they pulled out a cover of Roy Orbison's You Got It, it was presented in their own special way. Their latest album Yonder was released on May 5th.

Tin Star Orphans play their official CD release show at The Rivoli on May 29th with Graham Wright (from Tokyo Police Club) opening.

Photos: Tin Star Orphans @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: Tin Star Orphans

The last time that I saw Boxes and Bags, I left the venue feeling very confused. The way that they responded to my review shows that not only are they cool with that, but challenging the listener is exactly what they are all about. They truly are a demented cast of characters, but while I left the last show not fully knowing where I stand on their music, this time around I enjoyed it immensely. Several of them came out wearing bella clava's on their faces (which will prove to be somewhat prophetic given the name of the next band) and they literally attacked the stage with a blast of noisy instruments and screaming vocals. Their sound was far from tight but once again, I think that's the point, as they blasted through a set of ultra eccentric ramshackled psychedelic idiosyncrattitude! If you don't know what that means, then check out this band live to find out. Call me crazy, but I think they may be on their way to reaching some alien form of legendary in our unique city.

Boxes and Bags are playing Sneaky Dee's on June 7th.

Photos: Boxes and Bags @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: Boxes and Bags

From a band that wears bella clavas to a band called Bella Clava, these guys ended the night with their celebratory brand of classic rock. In the spirit of the day, their stage held not only the three mask sporting band members, but also a female mannequin in similar diggs and a mask weilding bunny piñata hanging just in front of the stage. The band performed some straight forward rock 'n roll that also contains traces of jazz and blues infected rhythms. Caitlin Cady's voice has a slightly schmoozy quality to it that is very captivating while the guitarist Steve Suttie was just one amazing solo after another. The drummer Luis Figueroa of course kept everything tight and driving ahead at a frantic pace as the band played a set that certainly kept the attention of all in the audience. I didn't end up staying for the full set, but I did stick around long enough to see several enthusiastic crowd members beat the heck out of that poor hanging bunny while the band provided a rabid soundtrack to the excitement.

Bella Clava play The Reverb on May 27th.

Photos: Bella Clava @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Bella Clava