this year.

Another music filled night. Took in the Andy Stochansky show at the Bombshelter Pub, on the campus of The University of Waterloo. I was supposed to see this guy play back in 2003 at the same bar, but some saftey concerns surfaced, the bar was shut down, and the show didn’t take place. So let’s call this a concert that also helped mend some old wounds, and close the book on a sad period in time.

The opener was Turn Off The Stars, a wanna be rock band from Toronto. It’s just personal preference, but I didn’t really dig what they were putting out. It wasn’t bad music, it just wasn’t anything special. They didn’t do anything that John-Q rock band couldn’t do, and when it comes right down to it, it felt like they enjoyed the spectacle of being a rock band more then making music. Their set gave me an opportunity to mess around with long exposures on the camera, as well as grab another pint of Alexander Keith’s.

Andy, thankfully, did not fail to impress. What he has going for him is an ability to write songs that are good. Pretty simple, but far to many bands can’t seem to get that down. It also helps that he is a talented musician that can play many instruments, and has a unique voice that bathes the audience in his warm lyrics. From his opening songs House of Gold and Stutter, he faithfully entertained a surprisingly packed house (he was surprised). From his witty banter with the audience, to his enthusiastic acoustic encore, Andy put on a fantastic show that got people out of their chairs and hovering around the front of the stage

I was surprised to learn that Les Cooper is in Andy’s band. The previous week Les was playing a show at the Bombshelter in support of Craig Cardiff’s CD release (another artist that draws big crowds to the Bomber). I didn’t have the opportunity to take in that show, but was around in January when he recorded the album ‘Bombshelter Living Room’. It took me a few tries to get into Craig’s material, but I eventually did, and really enjoy his laid back style. I see what the big deal is, and I’m on board.

Spending an evening listening to live music, and drinking cold beer is easy to do, and very enjoyable when the entertainment is of the caliber of Andy Stochansky. I eagerly await his new album, that is scheduled to come out at the end of March.

More concert photos.

No bout of fog was going to stop me from making it Downtown last night for The Trews at The Horseshoe Tavern. The fog was pretty cool. I haven’t seen soupy fog like that in years. But onto the show.

Last night was an evening of pure, raw, Rock N’ Roll. The evening began at 10:30 with a fine 3 piece band RocketFace. You gotta love a band that has the drums front and centre, and the drummer as the lead singer so he has to wear the pop star head-mounted microphone. These boys were loud. I’m talking painful loud. Your entire body shakes and your ears threaten to bleed. I think a saw a few heads explode during the drum solos.

The Trews graced the stage promptly at midnight, launched into Every Inambition, and didn’t stop rocking until 1:45am. Having seen these guys numerous times now, I have to say this was, by far, their best show. Breaking into Beatles, Stones and Zeppelin covers in the middle of their songs, everyone taking an extended solo at some point during the show, as well as a few new songs kept the energy palpable. I still love the Tired of Waiting / Hey Jude medley. They were into it, and picking up the vibe the audience was throwing down. I’d venture to say they have finally found their rock star groove.

I found some online LIVE Trews shows. It doesn’t work so well with firefox, so you’ll have to boot up IE. They say it is shutting down February 15th due to money problems, so check it out while you can. There is also a live show in full at spin45.net. The date on the show is 2003, so they are still finding their groove, but it’s a good study in progress.