>Dial 6-1-3_

The Bellrays will unpack their trumpets at Zaphod’s on the 17th

The Motown soul-and-rock-and-roll band The Bellrays, the introspective (and cuddly) Bright Eyes, and punk-rock legends(?) DOA are three big-name acts that will see Ottawa this week, and I have a feeling that there isn’t one person who will be going to more than one show out of the three.

dial613 is really looking forward to The Golden Dogs, whose sold-out show at Maverick’s last summer absolutely destroyed. Without question, they’re one of the top (and most underappreciated) live bands around; if you saw them at the Tulip Festival, then you only got a taste… it’s at a smaller, in your face, no-escape venue where they will make you their new biggest fan.
Who will you be seeing? Who have I left off the list?

06.12
Bright Eyes w/ Gruff Rhys at the Bronson Centre
—>DOWNLOAD: Another Travelin’ Song
Home w/ Flecton* at Babylon

06.13
DOA w/ four-stroke*, layiterslayit* at Barrymore’s

06.14
The Resistance w/ Forty Cent Fix*, Lives Of Many, Seeing Emerson* at Maverick’s

06.15
The Bellrays w/ Weapons Of Mass Seduction* at Zaphod’s
—>DOWNLOAD: Third Time’s The Charm
The Polytones* w/ Red Shag Carpet at Black Sheep Inn

06.16
The Golden Dogs w/ Sojourn, Bullmoose at Maverick’s
—>DOWNLOAD: YEAH!
Kobayashi at Black Sheep Inn
Spesh K w/ Jugga, John Akpata, DJ Alive at Zaphod’s

this week in dial613:

• another Ottawa act is featured
• a westfest diary (with pictures), maybe
• more postering
• a shiny new FAQ
• omgomgomgweakerthansin8daysomg
• TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT DIAL613, JEEZ. (but that’s every week)

* denotes local act

Billing itself as Ottawa’s newest large-scale festival (Xpress puts its capacity at 10 000), Westfest flies (albeit under the radar) into its 3rd year with a stellar combination of FREE music, dance, art, busking, and more. But here at dial613, it’s all about the music. (…And the show listings.)

DAY 1: 06.10.06
Elliott Brood – Only At Home
This track by Elliott Brood has absolutely dominated dial613’s speakers for the last while. As a band, Elliott Brood are description-resistant. They are plucking banjos, howling, and “get down!”’s in the name of old-timey bluegrass. …and I’m completely failing in my attempt to describe the description-resistant (obvious), so just listen to the mp3, check out their perfectly appropriate website, and go.

the schedule:
10:00 AM – Bigstone Drummers (various members of aboriginal tribes)
1:20 PM – The Cliks (college indie-rock)
2:30 PM – Ember Swift (“corporate-free.. jazz to funk to pop to punk”)
4:00 PM – Justin Rutledge (singer-songwriter)
5:15 PM – Elliott Brood
7:00 PM – Nukariik (inuit dancers; only 15 minutes)
7:30 PM – Emm Gryner (ambient pop/rock)
9:00 PM – The Sky Diggers and The Cash Brothers

DAY 2: 06.11.06
High on Ottawa content, westfest’s second day features no less than 6 local acts, including Bleeding Hearts, the trio of 14-year-old girls who could be Ottawa’s answer to Smoosh.. despite the fact they probably sound nothing alike.
More notably, 3 of the biggest names in Ottawa’s indie music scene will make appearances:
Jim Bryson – Somewhere Else
The Acorn – Plates & Saucers
Hilotrons – Science Fiction Music

Also, dial613’s ever-piqued curiousity about spoken word and slam poetry will hopefully be satisfied, as Westfest showcases 5 word-speakers and poetry-slammers on the main stage.

the schedule:
9:30 AM – Bleeding Heart (???)
10:15 AM – The Habit (“melodic pop, folk-funk”)
11:30 AM – Spoken Word showcase (w/ John Akpata, DJ Morales, Greg Frankson, and more)
1:00 PM – Joshua Morin (acoustic rock)
2:00 PM – Kellylee Evans (urban jazz)
3:00 PM – Hilotrons
4:30 PM – The Acorn
6:30 PM – Peggy White (roots)
7:30 PM – Jim Bryson

(More information on all the artists, and their websites (some of which have mp3s), here.)

So, who are you looking forward to?
Will you be heading to see any of the non-music events?
(also, feedback is welcome on this “guide”. Did you like anything specific? What would you have liked to see but didn’t? Tell me what you want.)

The Hylozoists tag-teaming on the, uh, thingy, at Hamilton’s The Casbah earlier this year

Friday night, go see The Hylozoists, an orchestral pop ensemble whose rotation of members includes a handful of Cuff The Duke, a couple Fembots, and one Weakerthan.
You may go for the glockenspiel, but you’ll stay for the strings, two drum sets, vibraphone, and other instruments that may or may not actually have names. The one that intrigues me most is this thing that looks like an organ from one end and has a fan, and it can be played with something that looks like an oversized violin bow. If anybody can name it, I still have that prized granola bar available (it’s a “nut medley”!).

Wayne Petti, front of Cuff and pianist of Hylozoists, opens solo.

Details:
The Black Sheep Inn, doors at 9, $10 advance (more at the door).

dial613 will be there. If you want to come say hi, feel free… just look for the person repeatedly trying to hug Wayne Petti (and refusing to let go once successful). Oh, Wayne… siiiigh…

Uh, anyway, The Hylozoists’s sophomore album, La Fin Du Monde, is being put out on Western-Canadian label Boompa, whose roster also boasts dial613 favourites The Salteens and Small Sins (ex-Ladies And Gentlemen).

DOWNLOAD
The Hylozoists – Details at Five (harpischord-y!)
The Hylozoists – Strait is the Gate (strings!)

and, an excuse to tell you to hear some Cuff The Duke:
Cuff The Duke – Ballad Of A Lonely Construction Worker (off the 2002 release Life Stories for Minimum Wage)
Cuff The Duke – The Future Hangs (off their self-titled 2005 release)
Cuff The Duke – Belgium Or Peru (off their self-titled 2005 release)

The Hylozoists on:
the internet
new music canada
myspace

Cuff The Duke on:
the internet
new music canada
myspace

and don’t forget, dial613’s westfest guide will be up tomorrow night.

dial613 headquarters has been buzzing lately… it’s mosquito season, and someone forgot to close the screen door (har-de-har).

But seriously folks, really, things have been hectic.

Despite this, the show listings (on the sidebar to your right) have still been updating daily. They will now be among the first to tell you about upcoming shows like:

• The French Kicks (w/ Jetplanes Of Abraham, worth the price of admission alone),

• Wolf Parade (w/ Frog Eyes, likely not quite worth the price of admission alone, unless it’s like $5 or something),

• and this year’s maybe-finalized Canada Day lineup on Parliament Hill, featuring Stars.

Unrelated: did anyone else catch Pitchfork giving Ottawa some love via Bluesfest? Make your own comment about hoping it doesn’t result in an attendance spike among those “Pitchfork types” here. (or, even better, in the comments section down below. Because that’s where comments go.)

Check back Friday for dial613’s guide to the inappropriately-titled westfest, complete with mp3’s.

Elliott Brood make their way to Westfest this weekend

Ottawa is treated to at least one notable show every day this week, with the conspicuous exception of 06.06.06. Hmm…

This week also marks the (un)official beginning of music festival season: the questionably-named Westfest is followed in the coming weeks by both the “International” Jazz Festival and Bluesfest (plug: dial613 will be giving a rundown and recommended schedule for each, so hang around).

dial613 is making sure to see Elliott Brood and the rest of Westfest. The Hylozoists are tempting, too.
What shows will you be sure to go to attend?
Are there any missing from the list?

06.05
If Then Do* with The Flaps*, Golden Famile*, Banditas* at Babylon

06.07
Amy Millan (yes, of Stars) with The Fembots at The Black Sheep Inn
VCR with The Grey at Zaphod Beeblebrox

06.08
Pride Tiger with Bend Sinister (double-bill) at Zaphod Beeblebrox
Fiftymen* with Ukrania*, J’envoie* at Capital Music Hall (“CHUO is 15″ birthday party)

06.09
Amanda Rheaume* with Emergency Broadcast System, Counterclock at Zaphod Beeblebrox
The Hylozoists with Wayne Petti (of Cuff The Duke) at The Black Sheep Inn

06.10
Emm Gryner with Elliott Brood, Ember Swift, and others at Westfest
The Pink Mountaintops with The Black Angels, Camp Radio* at Barrymore’s

06.11
Jim Bryson* with The Acorn*, Hilotrons, and others at Westfest
Boycrusher* with Stutter at Babylon
The Hot Springs with Kickers, Les Allumettes, and Captain Foxy at Irene’s Pub

* denotes Ottawa-area band

Jetplanes Of Abraham in police line-up formation

First, a gold star and pat on the back goes to locals (dare I say supergroup?) Jetplanes Of Abraham for their set last night opening for The Most Serene Republic. They were great.. but like everything else you may read here, don’t take my word for it, go check it out for yourself. I think your next chance will be August 2, when they open for The French Kicks. Meanwhile, you can listen to one track off their myspace.

Alright, so there are a couple things going on that you might want to look into this weekend for when you’re not at one of the twelve (!) dial613-approved shows happening between tonight and Sunday (which, of course, are all handily listed in the sidebar to your right):

Art in the Park 2006
The 14th annual Glebe community art festival is on this Saturday and Sunday from 10AM-5PM. It’s right in the Glebe’s Central Park, which I’m told is located at Bank and Clemow (I don’t know, google it). It’s free admission, and you’re supporting the local artists who paint, sculpt, etc. as their livelihood. The festival also includes music, dancing, and buskers.

Doors Open Ottawa
from the website: “is a weekend celebration of our architectural heritage when historic and architecturally significant buildings open their doors to the public.”
Apparently they’ve been doing this since 1998.. it’s the first I’ve heard of it, but it sounds kinda neat. You can go into the Bytown Museum built in 1827, the old Ottawa Jail on Nicholas (which I think is now a hostel), and some other places you normally can’t get into, like the headquarters of Canada Post and OC Transpo. For a list of all the buildings you can see, go here.

Lastly, just a quick thanks to everybody who has come to check out the blog and/or commented on the Myspace. Yesterday alone, dial613 saw more traffic than the previous 4 days combined. So it looks like everything is on the right track here. Keep telling your friends. Especially about the show listings on the right. Those are awesome.

Let’s get the Ottawa music scene the attention it deserves.

The guy 2nd from left better not wear that Toledo Mud Hens t-shirt in Ottawa Lynx territory.

Tonight, go see The Most Serene Republic. One of the few on Arts & Crafts’s roster not related by members to Broken Social Scene, The Most Serene Republic is… well… still related to Broken Social Scene, except by the actual music, which features poppy instrumental jams with plenty of experimentation and improvisation. But most importantly: sing-alongs and hand-clapping!

/The Most Serene Republic at Zaphod’s, 8 PM, $10advance/$12door (with Jetplanes Of Abraham, featuring members of local bands Turning Into Salt, Kingston Fog, and For The Mathematics)
DOWNLOAD – Content Was Always my Favourite Colour
……………….Where Cedar Nouns And Adverbs Walk

BONUS – Stars – Ageless Beauty (Most Serene Republic Remix)

If that’s not your bag, Ottawa staple The Souljazz Orchestra continue their Thursday night residency at Babylon.

ALSO: check back tomorrow for a heads-up on a couple/few weekend events in the city to keep you busy.