Club SAW gaining Status in Ottawa

Status/Non-Status and friends Strange Fugitives and A Mix of Sun & Cloud lit up Club SAW in Ottawa on Friday night.

Let’s face it. It’s been a long cold miserable winter. The ability to once again gather with friends to have a few drinks and listen to some live music is an incredible feeling. We got to experience that on Friday night at Ottawa’s Club SAW. From its inception in 1973, the artist-run centre SAW has supported politically and socially engaged art, focusing on the performance and media arts.

A flexible space accommodating an audience of about 300 and equipped with a bar and a state-of-the-art sound system, it is used for screenings, concerts, artist talks, festival hubs, panel discussions, conferences, book launches, theatre plays, receptions and workshops. Recently renovated, the new Club SAW has doubled in size and features a bar with a focus on local products, a deployable pop-up gallery, a green room for performers, an accessible stage, all-gender washrooms and a completely renewed courtyard. We were particularly enamored with the neon artwork in the bar area that apparently means “dance, dance, dance”. It was a fitting message for the night.

First up were locals A Mix of Sun & Cloud and Strange Fugitive who supplied the intimate crowd with an atmospheric post rock vibe. With everyone ready to rock ‘n roll, headliners Status/Non-Status took to the stage. The band, formerly known as WHOOP-Szo, is a Canadian alternative rock band from Guelph led by Anishinaabe-Canadian singer-songwriter Adam Sturgeon. In 2021, Sturgeon announced that he was changing the project’s name to Status/Non-Status, calling attention to the political and legal distinction between status and non-status indigenous people in Canada. Although they only formed a short time ago, the band’s sound was felt grungy, tight, and powerful. The band will play the Diving Bell Social club tonight, so if you’re anywhere nearby check them out!