>Dial 6-1-3_

The White Stripes transitted publicly in Winnipeg earlier this week.
(Pic via Pitchfork.)

UPDATED 07.09.07 (see below)

Sooo, uh, anyone have any idea if/where The White Stripes might be playing their half-expected/totally hoped for secret pre-show gig in Ottawa tomorrow aft?

It all seems pretty air-tight… there isn’t even a rumour mill in sight, let alone rumours.
dial613’s guess, for the record, is the Parliament Hill lawn, but is that too cliché?

Hmmm…
If you were a White Stripe, where would you be?
Feel free to leave your guesses in the comments. (and e-mail with tips)

UPDATE: Aww, ain’t that sweet, they played the Bronson Centre for about 40 seriously sick kids and their families thanks to Starlight Starbright. This gig was completely sealed shut from outsiders, unlike the ones they’d played in other Canadian cities leading up to this; it wasn’t even announced on their official forums the way the past ones have. But do you really mind? Nope, me neither.

Bluesfest is here again, except now it’s over there, in Lebreton Flats. dial613 is looking forward to seeing how the new set-up works.
Apparently 35000 people showed up to see Van Morrison and his shades last night, and the crush of the crowd wasn’t exactly as comfortable as it was back at City Hall. But hey, dial613 has no problem getting close with the public, as long as the public a) keeps their hands where they can be seen, and b) bows karate-style in honour of dial613’s presence. One of the two will do.

The hot topic this year seems to be the location.. will it be better or worse than City Hall? Organizers, of course, are touting the new site, but reviews of the new site from people who saw Van Morrison last night are pretty mixed.
Also, the ‘big’ names this year are bigger than ever, but has it been at the cost of the non-headlining names?

Once again, the guide will be presented in 2 worlds: the hypothetical world where dial613 can be cloned in order to see every show possible, and the real world in which dial613 must break one band’s heart to go see another.
It’s also split up into 2 parts, 5 days each, and doesn’t include day 1. Because day 1 is over. And it only had 2 shows, which were happening one after another. Is that good enough reason? Ok.

And, as always, dial613 wants to know what you think. If there are any shows that really wowed/heavily disappointed you, comment or e-mail dial613 to share the excitement/grief. And what do you think of the new set-up?

On to business..
dial613 reader’s guide to Bluesfest 2007, pt. 1:
days 2-6
KEY:
(mbna) = MBNA Stage
(sheep) = Blacksheep Stage
(rog) = Rogers Stage
(riv) = River Stage
(bd) = Barney Danson Theatre

* denotes local artist

Day 2 – Thursday, 07.05.07

No cloning needed here; the festival’s 2nd night is pretty low-key, meaning you can see pretty much full sets from 4 out of the 5 acts scheduled. And headlined by Bob Dylan, who is here again for those who didn’t get to catch him last fall (and even for those who did and prefer to see him outdoors). dial613 will be cheering for rain…y day women #12 & #34. Zzzing.

It’s a pretty low-key start to the festival, with just 6 performances spread out over the first 2 days, but things pick up as the weekend begins.
———————–

The guide continues… click here for days 3 thru 6.

———————–
———————–
Day 3 – Friday, 07.06.07

Getting things started off with a smidgen of spy-fi from The Reverb Syndicate to get some stealth stage-hopping ambience going, and then off to see…

Under The Radar – Formerly local Mark Wilson, whose once-freely available Endless Elevator EP from last year (or the yr before?) made him sound destined for bigger things.. like Bluesfest stages, har har. Really though, there’s no good reason for him to remain hidden much longer.

Sure-Shot – Scratchmaster Kid Koala, who has made a name for himself both as a solo DJ and as a member of Gorillaz, Deltron 3030, and Lovage; if you’ve heard of any of those (or are a fan of MC Del or producer Dan The Automator), you should check it one two. Word.

Also: Bela Fleck & The Flecktones should be interesting.. bluegrass banjo-picking with a bit of be-bop fusion. And, FYI, he’s a dude.

–>The Reverb Syndicate – I Am The New Number Two
–>Mark Wilson – The Art Of Give And Take
–>Lovage – Koala’s Lament

———————–
Day 4 – Saturday, 07.07.07

The schedulers deserve a kudos here for making it possible to see 8 of the 10 bands in the clone schedule. But alas, there’s a …
BATTLE!: Manu Chao vs. Luke Doucet
Is it really much of a contest though? Doucet, as nice as his songs are, comes around here more than once in forever, and plays a style found easily enough in North America. The same can’t be said for Chao, whose laid-back worldbeat music carries influences from all over the map.
Pick: Manu Chao

Under The Radar – Continuing with the world music theme, Toumani Diabate plays a type of harp unique to his native Mali and its neighbouring regions, called the kora. He may be touring internationally, but his roots still appear to be deep into African culture, making both his music and performance style worth seeing.

Sure-Shot – Michael Franti & Spearhead
dial613 hears it’s illegal to hold a festival called Bluesfest in Ottawa without Michael Franti headlining a night. It almost happened this year, with the event tentatively renamed Sorrywecouldn’tgetMichaelFrantithisyearFest. Thank goodness that didn’t happen… think of how clunky the wristbands would’ve had to be.

–>The Soirée – Turn This Car Around
–>Jon-Rae & The River – Just One More

–>Jetplanes Of Abraham – Tunnels/Terminals
–>Michael Franti & Spearhead – Everyone Deserves Music
———————–

Day 5 – Sunday, 07.08.07

Gotta do some stretching around 5:40 on this day, as dial613 would ideally run around to see parts of 3 different bands’ sets on 3 different stages in the course of an hour.

BATTLE!: The White Stripes vs. Hawksley Workman
Are you going to miss a chance to see The White Stripes without spending bus/gas money to Toronto? Well, you might, even if you don’t intend to, depending on how the whole site is laid out. dial613 wouldn’t hesitate to head over to see Hawksley Workman to spite an awful sightline or distant sound quality from the main stage. He’s a great alternative.. but, again, exactly that.
Pick: The White Stripes with a view.

–>Sarah Hallman – Snowballin’
–>Joel Plaskett – Happen Now
–>Hawksley Workman – Jealous Of Your Cigarette
–>The White Stripes – You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You’re Told)
———————–

Day 6 – Monday, 07.09.07

Is there any irony in the way that what might be the most bluesy day of Bluesfest (with acts like Fiona Boyes, Jonny Lang, and Buddy Guy) features pop-punk and viol-indie-in headliners? dial613 would assume that Hedley and Final Fantasy will draw the bigger, if not more excited crowds– and is in no way making an ASS of U and ME by doing so.

BATTLE!: Final Fantasy vs. Buddy Guy
There are lots of performers who have been proclaimed to be the King of Blues: B.B. King, Muddy Watters, dial613 (King of Everything encompasses blues too, right?)… the list goes on. Simply, Buddy Guy is maybe the only performer at Bluesfest this year who could easily be included on that list. Plus, he’s probably got the coolest name in town.. and this is a town with a guy named Engelbert Humperdinck.
Pick: Buddy Guy

Also: Remember back in the late-90’s, a 16-year-old kid named Jonny Lang causing quite a stir with his major-label debut? Yeah, it’s fuzzy for dial613 too, but hey, he’s here, and his show may be interesting to see.

–>Relief Maps – Pattersickle

———————–

What Bluesfest shows are you looking forward to most?
Have any strong recommendations of acts that are flying below radar?
Any bones to pick with dial613’s scheduling?

Stay tuned for Part 2, where dial613 reveals 2 of this site’s most anticipated acts of Bluesfest.
Spoiler: it’s neither INXS nor Da T.R.U.T.H., despite the wonderfully capitalised names.

(ps: viol-indie-in … you totally loved it.)

Sure, they’re stylin sunglasses, but do they really offer Van Morrison full UV protection?

A reminder that Bluesfest starts today, with a 7:30 PM show by caraVan Morrison and a late show with the Elmer Ferrer Band, whom dial613 stumbled upon last year at the Blacksheep stage and found really entertaining.
They added The Vanner long after the fest lineup had been announced, and tacked on an extra day at the beginning to accommodate the show, which is why you may be looking at your calendar, then back at your computer screen, then back at your calendar, etc. etc.

And remember, it’s at Lebreton Flats this year, but dial613 is curious about going to City Hall just to take in the confusion of those that weren’t paying close enough attention. The people there will be probably be those same kids in your class that always showed up on the PD/PA Days at school. Except you wouldn’t know who those were unless you showed up yourself. Hmm…

Check back for a guide to the first few days, soon.

–>Van Morrison – Wild Night

Destroyer makes a very special stop in Ottawa this week; it’s recommended that you go, but stand back, lest you be.. destroyed.

It’s going to just have to be listings this time around (may or may not get some mp3’s available soon), as dial613 is suffering from an illness propogated by the ways of modern capitalist society and overpowerful corporations with close ties to high levels of federal governments. And it’s certainly no conspiracy.. there’s PROOF.

Also, as far as ‘this week’, there’s not much else going on, so there’s probably no need to put it up. Ok.

dial613 reader’s guide to Capital Idea!, pt. 2: days 7-11

Day 7 – Tuesday, June 26
The Fiery Furnaces with Hot Springs and Thundra!, at Barrymore’s
8PM doors, $22.50.

Day 8 – Wednesday, June 27
Destroyer with Rock Plaza Central and As The Poets Affirm*, at Barrymore’s
8PM doors, $20.

Day 9 – Thursday, June 28
The Russian Futurists with Parts & Labor and Liar’s Rosebush*, at Zaphod’s

Day 10 – Friday, June 29
Born Ruffians with Henri Faberge & The Adorables and The Field Register, at Zaphod’s
8PM doors (10PM headliner), $12.

Girl Talk with Crystal Castles, at Babylon
8PM doors (1230AM headliner), $20, even if you have a festival pass.
Proceeds donated to the AIDS Committee of Ottawa.

Day 11 – Saturday, June 30
Damo Suzuki with Smoke Judo*, Adam Saikaley*, and j’envoie, at Zaphod’s
8PM doors, $12.

* denotes local act

The Walkmen bring the party party, but not likely Stephen Harper, to the Bronson Centre on Friday.

The Capital Idea! Festival is already underway, having already seen Quebecers The Besnard Lakes and Sunset Rubdown headline their respective shows on the first two nights.
But by golly, don’t you worry: the rock will still be brought over the course of 9 shows in the next 8 nights, the first half of which has been summarized into this handy little guide below.

It’s actually pretty exciting to see some of these names come to town, some of them without even having Montreal or Toronto shows scheduled around the date, which makes you feel so much more special as an Ottawanianite, don’t it? We don’t usually get that sort of treatment in these parts, and hey, maybe this is being slightly overthetop, but this brings a bit of hope that maybe those ways are changing. Or not. Time will tell. Don’t count your eggs before they’re hatched! History is written by the winners, and a stitch in time saves nine.

It’s also nice to see the big names almost all paired with local acts, who’ll get exposure they wouldn’t have before. Take Fucked Corpse, for example: they get to play to fans of Chris Garneau! dial613 is crossing fingers for an impromptu collaboration, but will settle for the awkward juxtaposition.

And for your convenience, dial613’s mathematical mind has also figured out that, if you plan on going to every show, the $99 festival pass (available at the doors for all shows) is still worth buying up until the Xiu Xiu show on 25th. After that, taking it show by show is the way to go. Yo!

Speaking of Xiu Xiu, that could be the festival show that dial613 is most looking forward to. Which show(s) are you capital idealising?

dial613 reader’s guide to Capital Idea!, pt. 1: days 3-6

Day 3 – Friday, June 22
The Walkmen with Relief Maps* and Acres*, at The Bronson Centre
–>The Walkmen – Louisiana
–>Relief Maps – Pattersickle
Doors 8PM, $25.

Day 4 – Saturday, June 23
The Wrens with The Darling Arms and Poorfolk*, at Babylon
–>The Wrens – Everyone Chooses Sides
–>Poorfolk – Demons
Doors 7PM, $18.

Day 5 – Sunday, June 24
Frog Eyes with Books On Books* and People For Audio, at Zaphod’s
–>Frog Eyes – Achaean Press
–>Books On Books – One Page At A Time
Doors 8PM, $15.

Day 6 – Monday, June 25
Xiu Xiu with Fucked Corpse* and Chris Garneau, at Babylon
–>Xiu Xiu – I Luv The Valley
–>Chris Garneau – Not Nice
Doors 9PM, $15.

* denotes local act

note: keep in mind that the headlining act generally starts either 2 or 3 hours after doors.

Friday night, local independent music label Death March Records and the Ottawa School Of Art are working together to bring you simultaneous sights and sounds at Babylon.

The evening is a fundraiser for the Ottawa School Of Art Bursary Program, which dial613 can only assume helps cover costs of the school’s students, rather than those associated with buying dresses made of meat.
Local mythical creature Flecton, The Kettle Black, and also-local Army Of St. Joan hold down the role of ’strings’ while over 20 visual artists take care of the ’strokes’.

There’ll be an ‘affordable’ silent auction, too, if you’re looking to take something home with you, and live artistic activities throughout the evening.
Tickets are $8 at the door, and as mentioned above, the money is going to support local independent arts, which seems like a worthy cause which means you’ll be a good person. And good people are cool, man.

Summary: Friday, June 22, 9PM, Babylon. $8 at the door. Good people.

On Wednesday, the Capital Idea! Festival kicks off its 10-day party party with a show headlined by The Besnard Lakes.
Have you heard about it yet? It’s a streak of shows from June 20-30 featuring some of the bigger/hotter/I’d-never-have-thought-they’d-come-through-town indie names around (Destroyer, Girl Talk, The Wrens), along with local talent peppered throughout (Books On Books, Relief Maps, Liar’s Rosebush), being held at the usual venues around the city.

You can see a full line-up and set times here. Festival passes are $99 and guarantee entrance to every show (as long as you’re punctual), and can be picked up here at your local independent record store and at each show.

A better look at the fest, and ‘this week’, will be up in the next little while.

Simply Saucer, circa when you were in diapers. (Kids’ ones.)

If there’s one show to be recommended this week, it’s Simply Saucer, who sound kind of like a jangly 1970s Velvet Underground-era relaxed rock band. And that may or may not be a result of the fact that they actually are one; the band formed in 1973, and are still touring after releasing their latest album, Cyborgs Revisited, back in 2003. They were also once produced by Hull’s Daniel Lanois, so … so nothing, but just thought you’d like to know, ok? Jeez. But check out the mp3 below, you’ll hear their influences instantly.

More of the past comes to town this week in the form of The Evens, featuring Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat). Though the band is fairly new, the bands that its members have been a part of cover off significant portions of the 80s and 90s.

On Friday, local punkrockers Fortycentfix are playing what will be the last of their almost 200 shows over the course of four years. Their myspace claims that, over the course of those shows, they’ve only performed 23 different songs. Which means that they only had about 69 different chords to memorize, so I bet they know them real well by now and they should sound pretty tight when they call it quits with other locals Smaller On You and Contrabandit.

Looking forward to any shows this week?

W 06.13
Rockets Fall with The City Above*, at Zaphod’s

Th 06.14
The Evens, at Club Saw

F 06.15
Amanda Rheaume* (CD release), at Zaphod’s
Elmer Ferrer Band, at Black Sheep Inn
Fortycentfix* (final show!) with Syracuse, A Dying Race, Smaller On You*, and Contrabandit*, at Maverick’s
Lynne Hanson* with Red Wood Central and Brian Gladstone, at Irene’s Pub
Simply Saucer, at Babylon
–>Simply Saucer – Bullet Proof Nothing (myspace)
Theodosios, at Avant-Garde Bar

Sa 06.16
The Bush Pilots* with Evil Farm Children* and The Faithful Few, at Zaphod’s
Elmer Ferrer Band, at Black Sheep Inn
Jokko* @BBY
The Setbacks* with The G-Men* and The Bella Bombs*, at Café Dekcuf

Su 06.17
Jenn Grant* (cd release) with Tanya Davis and Sarah Hallman*, at Black Sheep Inn
–>Sarah Hallman – Snowballin’ (website, myspace)

* denotes local act

You say party! I say where! You say your place! I say cool see you then! You say aiight! I say peace bro! Some guy says stop talking I’m trying to watch the movie!

We’ll talk about Westfest in the next couple days, ok?
edit: Promise: broken. But look at the Westfest site yourself, the lineups are really really solid, and it’s all completely free. That’s right: Kathleen Edwards, The Golden Dogs, Camp Radio, and Jason Collett will play for you and you can just stroll right through the gate and up to the stage. It’s a wonderfully hearty festival that probably has the best atmosphere of any held here in the city.. maybe because it’s run by friendly, hard-working people who appear to be doing it for all the right reasons. And there’s great support for local art, craft, speech, business, etc., including an all-local music line-up on Sunday headlined by Fiftymen.
If you’d like a general idea of what it’ll be like, you can always take a look at the charmingly amateurish coverage of last year’s edition, featured here and here.
Oh and hey, maybe that promise wasn’t broken after all..?

And FYI, for all you now-defunct controller.controller fans: that band – lead singer nirmala = Lioness.

And also FYI, Nikola Sarcevic is the frontman of everybody’s favourite band back in Grade 10ish, Millencolin.

And Yo Majesty, clever cute name!

And if you like to rock out with your socks out, you better go see Pride Tiger, Die Mannequin and locals Mighty Eagle Band. That’s how that saying goes, right? Guess you could also just wear sandals somewhere loud or something too. But really this show will be total rock, man.

Ok, so what do you want to see this week?
What do you like to have out when you rock out?

M 06.04
The Bloodlines with Jacko*, Rebekah Higgs*, and Jon Epworth & The Improvements, at Zaphod’s
Protest The Hero with All That Remains and Bless The Fall, at Capital Music Hall
Nikola Sarcevic with Raising The Fawn, at Café Dekcuf

Tu 06.05
The Clientele with Beach House and My Dad vs Yours*, at Babylon

W 06.06
The Coggs* with The Rude Dudes*, Hellbros*, and Raventamers*, at Zaphod’s

Th 06.07
Eric Farr with James Farr and Simon Honeyman, at The Black Sheep Inn
Geronimo with Fire Heats Water, at End Hits

F 06.08
Melwood Cutlery, at Irene’s Pub
The Flatliners with Ceremonial Snips, at End Hits
Shanneyganock with Westfest TamTam*, at Westfest
Woodpigeon with Entire Cities, Nich Worby, and Eastborough*, at Ecclesiax
Yo Majesty with Thunderheist, Lesbians On Ecstacy, and Jokers Of The Scene*, at Babylon
You Say Party! We Say Die! with Lioness, at Zaphod’s

Sa 06.09
Bluestone* with Red Light Saints*, at Barrymore’s
Kathleen Edwards* with Lily Frost, Jason Collett, Angela Desveaux*, The Golden Dogs, Andy Swan, Hunter Valentine, and more, at Westfest
Mouthus with Cousins Of Reggae, B’Italian, and Smoke Judo*, at End Hits
My Tiny Circus*, at Avant-Garde Bar
Pride Tiger with Die Mannequin and Mighty Eagle Band*, at Zaphod’s
Nathan Wiley with Megan Hamilton and Stephanie Hardy, at The Black Sheep Inn

Su 06.10
Fiftymen* with Camp Radio*, Crowded Skies*, Eric Vieweg*, Mackenzie McBride*, The John Henrys*, Slo’ Tom*, Jupiter Ray Project*, and more, at Westfest
Romi Mayes with John Evans (4pm), at The Black Sheep Inn

* denotes local act

No mp3s this week, bandwidth is maxed like your-grandma-who-loves-the-shopping-channel’s credit card.

Would you like 2 free tickets to see The Clientele in Ottawa?

The retroish-poppy English band plays Babylon on Tuesday, June 5 along with atmospheric tourmates Beach House and locals My Dad vs Yours, in support of their new album Gd Save The Clientele.

And OMG, dial613 has a pair of tickets to give away, courtesy of those folks over at local internet outpost Mocking Music.

To enter: Simply e-mail dial613 (dial613[AT]gmail[DOT]com) with the subject line, dial613 Save (me) The Money. (A ‘har-har’ is optional.)

The contest closes at 11:59 PM on June 2, 2007, and the winner will be contacted through e-mail on June 3. Should the winner not respond in a reasonable amount of time, the tickets will be drawn for again.

–>The Clientele – Since K Got Over Me

note: tickets = guestlist spots; no physical tickets involved!