Blog Archives

Legendary Rockers Avenge Sevenfold stop by on their Life’s Is But  A Dream North American Tour in the Nations Capitol and we were there to rock out!

Primus makes a stop in Edmonton on their “Tribute To Kings” tour, featuring the band covering Rush’s classic 1977 album “A Farewell To Kings” in it’s entirety.

Progressive Metal giants deliver tides of gloom and melancholy through to intense, sophisticated, winding storytelling.

The Infamous “Scumdogs of the Universe”, The almighty GWAR – As of writing, have just wrapped up their 30th anniversary tour commemorating their second album “Scumdogs of the Universe”. Along for the jaunt were grindcore legends Napalm Death, and Slugelords EYEHATEGOD.

Friday, January 31st saw Montreal indie-rockers Half Moon Run bring their ‘A Blemish in the Great Light’ World tour to TD Place in Ottawa.  Their 19-song set was a melange of music from their previous 2 albums along with their November 2019 release. Early in the eve, Devon Protielje exclaimed “This is a good place to be Ottawa” and indeed he was right. The night ebbed and flowed as they wove through the songs that shaped their set.  From the opening crescendo builds that bind “21 Gun Salute”, to the softer silken harmonies of “Need It”, to the formidably heavier moments in “She Wants To Know”, there was a particularly pleasing oscillation in intensity. This was amplified by the talents of a string quartet accompanying them, at times ethereally emerging from the shadows of the stage.

Notably, there were some non-music moments that had uplifting qualities that made the night even more memorable. Gratitude was expressed by the band to their fans, for this was their first headline arena show, and sold out no less. Also, the band recognized their tour manager, Doug, for he happily found out that day he was going to be a Dad. Also, the sheer glee in the face of a little tyke as he rose from the stands and giggled to the audience’s applause, after being acknowledged by the band for contributing his “cooing” to the intro of “Razorblade”.

After a standing ovation for the original 3-song encore, the band returned with an acoustic  gather ‘round one mic performance of “Sun Leads Me On”. A well chosen end to an indelible evening. Last Fall, Half Moon Run was nominated for a Juno award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, an accolade last night’s performance underscored is so well deserved.

Opening the evening was Winnipeg-native Taylor Janzen. This young artist, guitar in hand, came to the stage with a story to tell and beautifully balanced voice to express it.  At 20 years old, this accomplished singer-songwriter has 2 critically acclaimed EPs under her belt, and her recent release “What I Do..” was recognized as a critical cut by SiriusXM.   Though the Ottawa show represented her last stop on this tour, after a brief sojourn Half Moon Run continues with European dates the end of February through March, before being back in Montreal for 2 sold out shows for a home-town crowd.

more photos from the show

Winter does not want to quit but that’s not stopping the crew over at The Diamond Mine Agency from heating things up in town with some killer shows.

Alright, I know my buddy Matty McKechnie has a new band called The New Band but, between you, me and that guy who doesn’t look at me sideways when I pour ten pounds of vanilla powder in my Bridgehead cup of java, I gotta’ say Graven and the O-town Scene is a pretty vanilla caked coffee sweet runner up.

This past weekend was the 3rd edition of the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival, a winter spin on their extremely popular summer event. Similar to the summer occurrence, this festival raises money for various local charities while providing a fun experience for all.  In tandem with the competitions and charitable endeavour, both seasonal iterations of this festival have become widely popular for the free concert series the public can attend. Through the years, the stage has been headlined by some of the hottest acts in Canadian music. This year’s featured artists were electro-rock energized Dear Rouge and the reggae and ska sensation Bedouin Soundclash. Both are Juno Award winners for Breakthrough Group of the Year in 2016 and 2006, respectively.

Nine questions with Ottawa’s own Lemon Cash to give you everything you need to know about the band, the song writing and what’s to come.

Last Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing Jeff Martin for the second time in as many years doing a solo gig at The John Street Pub in Arnprior, Ontario.  Jeff’s performance was fantastic and with the intimate venue and great opening acts the entire night was perfect.