Top 4 picks for live music in Ottawa this weekend
Octoberman @ Pressed, w/ Culture Reject, Andy Swan, 8 p.m., $10
Octoberman exists as a rotating cast of musicians, depending on the time of a given show or what part of the country it's happening in, but it's always grounded in the music of a Toronto singer-songwriter named Marc Morrissette. He's been prolific in his Octoberman project, releasing five albums in the past eight years, the most recent one being this past summer's What More What More. On both the album's upbeat, plugged-in songs and gentler acoustic musings, Morrissette explores the issue of loss in friendships, relationships, and from his own perspective. Still, as reflective and mournful as the songs can get in trying to make sense of that loss, there's a consistent positivity in the wispy upper-register of Morrissette's vocals. Octoberman is at Pressed on Friday night along with a couple of friends: Toronto's Culture Reject, a soulful low-fi pop project, and Ottawa's own folk-pop hero, Andy Swan.
King's Quest, Sharing, Nightshades, Pith & The Parenchymas @ Club SAW, 8 p.m., $7
Also on Friday night, Club SAW is boasting a line-up of four distinct bands, one of which is Ottawa's King Quest. Like their band name — an homage to the classic computer game — King's Quest is charming and feels like a reminder of those first aesthetics you really identified with that remain a part of who you are. I'm speaking for myself, at least. The band's song "Alana" gave me butterflies when I first heard it, because of how much it connects with everything I still love about quirky 90s indie-rock. King's Quest unveiled that song recently on the band's Bandcamp page as a sneak peak at a new album, Fox Island, which they'll be releasing on Friday ahead of their set at Club SAW. For that show, King's Quest will be joined by a couple of other exciting young Ottawa bands, Nightshades and Pith & The Parenchymas, not to mention Sharing, from Montreal.
Wotts, Cosmo Doris, ONFIILM & Violet, Elementals, Carpenteers @ Avant-Garde, 9 p.m., $5
King's Quest isn't the only Ottawa group with a new release out this month. Wotts is a relatively new name in the city's hip hop scene; the foursome just established an online presence a couple of months ago, but already they're making waves and establishing a following in the lead-up to putting out their debut EP. There's a rawness in the beat-boxing that forms the backbone to Wotts' music, and the lyrics are edgy. That said, like a Saturday night at the club, Wotts is consistently danceable and smooth, a quality only enhanced by the addition of Mindy Amelotte (otherwise known as Dynamite Motel) who lends her sultry voice to Wotts' first single, "Walk On By." Wotts is performing at Avant-Garde on Saturday night on a stacked and seriously diverse bill alongside Cosmo Doris, ONFIILM & Violet, Elementals and Carpenteers.
The Gallop @ The Rainbow, w/ Atherton, Stay Classy, 9 p.m., $10
Saturday has a lot to offer in terms of local music, from MonkeyJunk at Irene's Pub, to Roddy Elias's performance with Nicole Ratté at La Grange de la Gatineau, to a headlining set at Pressed by femme-surf art-punkers Bonnie Doon. Seeing as we've been talking about new releases, though, there's another new local album worth noting by five-piece rock band The Gallop.
The band got its start back when two of its members, David Gervais and Mike Holmes, were in their early teens and learning to write songs together. Since then, The Gallop's sound has grown along with its age. Case in point, their new EP, Tall Tale Tellers, officially coming out on Saturday but already available for free on their Bandcamp page. The four new Gallop songs on this EP feel like variations on a unifying theme: dreamy chord progressions on reverberant guitar, and always a swelling of the band's big sound as the energy builds. The Gallop is celebrating the release of the EP with a show at The Rainbow where they'll be joined by fellow Ottawa band Stay Classy, along with their pal Atherton.
LISTINGS
Thursday, Dec. 11
- Centretown Recording Alliance 4th Annual Holiday Bash @ House of TARG ft. Mnemonics, Fresh Hell, Lindbergh Babies, Steady Shakes, Thunderuncle, The Stuff, Slim & Popular, 10 p.m., $5
- The Barra MacNeils: An East Coast Christmas @ Centrepointe Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $55
- Guy Belanger & Adam Karch @ Le Petit Chicago, 8 p.m., $20
- Noel a Deux: Marie-Eve Janvier & Jean-Francois Bureau @ Shenkman Arts Centre, 8 p.m., SOLD OUT
- Jonesey & The GreyTones play Beatles 65 @ Greenfields Pub, 9 p.m., $5
- The Peptides @ Mercury Lounge, w/ Old Stereo, 8 p.m., $12
- All-Stars Blues Thursdays @ Irene's, w/ Mark Crissinger 9:30 p.m., free
- Joey Gorman, Tall Trees, Benihana, Bull Domino @ The Rainbow Food Bank benefit, 7 p.m., $5
- Reggae Night w/ Roots Movement @ The Rainbow, 10:30 p.m., $7
Friday, Dec. 12
- Octoberman @ Pressed, w/ Culture Reject, Andy Swan, 8 p.m., $10
- King's Quest, Sharing, Nightshades, Pith & The Parenchymas @ Club SAW, 8 p.m., $7
- Lindy @ Raw Sugar, w/ Brothers Dube, 8 p.m., $10
- Terrible Liars @ House of TARG, w/ Uranium Comeback, 9 p.m., $5
- Frank James Band @ The Rainbow, 4 p.m., free
- The Ginger Fox Band @ The Rainbow, w/ The Lionyls, Hello Hello, 9 p.m., $10
- NQ Arbuckle @ Black Sheep Inn, 8:30 p.m., $20
- Terry Gillespie & Lyndell Montgomery @ The Branch, 9 p.m., $10
- Muelkik @ Avant-Garde, w/ Red Sideburns, The Nailheads, 8:30 p.m., $5
- The Strumbellas @ Mavericks, w/ Sam Cash & The Romantic Dogs, 8 p.m., $13
- A Rock 'n' Roll Benefit for the Snowsuit Fund @ Zaphod's, ft. Big Jeezus Truck, Sick Sick Sicks, Sons of Scotland, Slo' Tom & The Handsome Devils, 8 p.m., $10
- MonkeyJunk @ Irene's, 9:30 p.m., $20
- King Louie @ Ritual, 10 p.m., $12
Saturday, Dec. 13
- Wotts, Cosmo Doris, ONFIILM & Violet, Elementals, Carpenteers @ Avant-Garde, 9 p.m., $5
- The Gallop @ The Rainbow, w/ Atherton, Stay Classy, 9 p.m., $10
- Bonnie Doon, The Young Offenders, Ladyboy @ Pressed, 8 p.m., $5
- A New Phoenix @ Cafe Dekcuf, w/ Giscar, Phil Kesler, 8 p.m., $5
- Criticull @ The Brass Monkey, w/ Written On Canvas, The Dreaded Rebels, 8 p.m., $5
- Flying Fortress @ House of TARG, w/ Cross Dog, Black Tower, 9 p.m., $7
- The Flatliners @ Ritual, w/ PUP, Such Gold, The Dirty Nil, 8 p.m., $15
- Mike Plume Band @ Black Sheep Inn, 8:30 p.m., $20
- Sweet Alps, Tindervox, Arms of the Girl, Danielle Allard, The Dead Centuries @ Mavericks, 8 p.m., $5
- Roddy Elias & Nicole Ratte @ La Grange de la Gatineau, 8 p.m., $20 ($30 w/ dinner)
- Montreal Guitar Trio @ Neat, 7:30 p.m., $45
- MonkeyJunk @ Irene's, 9:30 p.m., $20
- The Standby Brothers @ The Branch, 9 p.m., $10
- LowBall Bidders @ Atomic Rooster, 4 p.m., free
- Sons of Pluto @ Atomic Rooster, 10 p.m., free
- Lucky Ron @ The Lafayette, 4 p.m., free
Sunday, Dec. 14
- Alex Bilodeau Trio @ The Manx, 9:30 p.m., free
- Finest Kind Annual Holiday Concert @ Black Sheep Inn, 4 p.m., $25
- Sun Crescent BBQ Stomp @ Irene's, 9:30 p.m., free
- Open Blues Jam @ The Rainbow, w/ Steve Thomas Band, 4 p.m., $3
- Midcoast Band @ The Rainbow, w/ Miss Polygamy, 9:30 p.m., $5
- Double Double @ Atomic Rooster, 6 p.m., free
- Jesse Greene @ Atomic Rooster, 10 p.m., free
- Justin Orok Trio @ Pressed, 3 p.m., free
- Ihtimanska @ Bluesfest School of Music & Art, 8 p.m., $10
Monday, Dec. 15
- Lisa Fowler, Archy & Mehitabel, Treephones, Alex Sullivan @ Zaphod's, 8 p.m., free
- Maple Hill @ Pressed, 8 p.m., $7
Tuesday, Dec. 16
- Voicemail @ Le Troquet, CHUO live broadcast, 6 p.m., free
- Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) @ Mavericks, w/ Adam Faucett, Eamon McGrath, 8 p.m., $18
- Everyday Castaways @ The Rainbow, 8 p.m., $5
- Dogwood @ Pressed, w/ The Noisy Locomotive, 8 p.m., $7
Wednesday, Dec. 17
- Tara Holloway @ Atomic Rooster, 8 p.m., free
- Dr. Dave @ The Rainbow, 4 p.m., free
- Capital City Community Choir @ The Rainbow, 7 p.m., $5
- Just Voices Solstice Concert @ Irene's, 7 p.m., PWYC
- John Carroll @ The Lafayette, 8 p.m., free
- We Were the Fires of Rome @ Zaphod's, w/ The Adding Machine, Rydell, Willows, 8 p.m., $8
