Fred Penner is still rocking, and his concerts are just as much fun for parents It was a shot in the dark—I wasn’t really expecting a response. Last Wednesday, I was looking for a weekend concert to cover when I noticed that Fred Penner was doing an afternoon show at Centrepointe Theatre on Saturday. With […]
Alternative rock band Balance and Composure have all the right influences. I’ll mention them now, so the rest of this concert review isn’t littered with name drops: Nirvana, Knapsack, Jawbreaker, Sunny Day Real Estate, Neutral Milk Hotel. There. With that out of the way, I’d like to mention that I expected a slightly older crowd […]
Last Saturday I got the chance to see The Strumbellas at Zaphod Beeblebrox. While their 2012 effort My Father and the Hunter was recently nominated for a Juno award, the band is currently touring their fall 2013 release We Still Move on Dance Floors. The album has received warm reviews. Joining them was the like-sounded […]
From time to time, a live show will catch me off guard. These occasions are fewer with age, but nevertheless they do persist. Sometimes pleasantly, even. When I walked into Zaphods on Friday night, I had a vague idea that Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning would jump up onto the Beeblebrox stage, and sit down […]
Canadian folk-rock artists Megan Bonnell and Emilie Mover are stopping in Ottawa in February, and you can win a pair tickets here at Spotlight. Bonnell is supporting her new record Hunt and Chase, which has been receiving glowing reviews. Her music is an image-heavy blend of folk-rock and indie-pop, and her singing voice gives her […]
Charlottetown pop-rock band Two Hours Traffic’s farewell tour hit Zaphod Beeblebrox on Saturday, bringing Toronto’s Grounders with them. Two Hours Traffic has released four full-length records and three EPs since 2003, and won multiple awards. Meanwhile, Grounders just released their first EP, Wreck of a Smile. After Grounders opened the evening to an empty floor, […]
On Friday, I pulled up my hood (both of them) and headed to Luneta Café, where a couple of psychedelic rock bands put on an intimate show. Ottawa band Opium Den was joined by Montreal’s A Devil’s Din, fronted by Dave Lines. Lines is a veteran session musician and graduate of other acts like Mongrels […]