Amos The Transparent, Whale Tooth & Bellewoods @ Rancho Relaxo
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Artist:
As much as I've been enjoying the last few weeks of going to bed (relatively) early and staying home watching movies, I realized that it was time to head back out into the world of live music madness, and what better way to do so then to catch the mighty mighty Amos The Transparent at Rancho Relaxo.
Have I told you lately how much I love Amos The Transparent? This was my fourth time seeing the Ottawa band and every show has been an experience unto itself. They brought the six piece version of themselves out to town this time around, and the internal energy coupled with the audience's rampant enthusiasm made for another top notch performance. At this point, both the band's engaging rapport and lead vocalist Jonathan Chandler's undeniable charisma are an established fact, as far as I'm concerned. However this time I noticed one other piece of the puzzle that helps to solidify their overall appeal. I don't know if newer member Kate Cooke is always this funny or if she had a drink or five in her (as is becoming an Amos at the Rancho tradition of sorts..) but almost everything she said and did on Friday night was filled with hilarity. Whether it was her dead-on impersonation of Bobbi Mohan-Culp (the operatic voiced high school music teacher played by Ana Gasteyer on SNL with Will Ferrel) or her hilarious response to audience members who thought she was sexy, Kate is definitely an entertaining addition to the band. Oh yah, and she doesn't have a bad voice either.
The band seemed to be extra enthusiastic this time around, and this was no doubt due to the fact that Toronto is becoming like a second home for them. Jonathan even made the endearing comment that he wished the crowds in Ottawa were more like the crowds in Toronto. This is something that our usually reserved hometown members need to hear more often. They played many songs from 2007's Everything I've Forgotten To Forget, but the new songs that they played (many of which can be heard on myspace) sounded fantastic. It seems like the band is going to step a little further out of their folksy shell for the next release, and become a bit more, I don't know, in your face. I'm not saying they're becoming the angels of death metal or anything, but they're definitely going to be forcing more people to take notice. The highlight of the show was a hyped up rendering of Stale Scent Of Old Beer with a crazy long ending that I honestly never wanted to end. The audience participation on the final song I'm On Trial was also a sign of how devoted the fans have become. This is a good thing.
Amos The Transparent are back in town again at the end of the month. They'll be at Sneaky Dee's on Friday January 23rd with (holy crap! I just checked out the bandlist right now!!!!) Modern Boys Modern Girls, The Golden Hands Before God and Fox Jaws!!! Holy crap!!!! I don't know how much the tickets are but honestly, does it even matter??
UPDATE: Looks like Golden Hands.. are taking what seems to be a much needed hiatus although they assure us that they are NOT breaking up. It is still to be announced as to who is taking their place that night. Stay tuned...
Photos: Amos The Transparent @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr
Myspace: Amos The Transparent
I've been listening to the Whale Tooth EP for the better part of the week in preparation for this show and it really is a very good pop album filled with many dance fueled hooks. The fact that the band is more than aware of how catchy their songs are was made obvious by how much fun they appeared to be having on the tiny Rancho stage. Admittedly the band is still in the process of completely gelling their sound, but in the meantime they certainly are having a good time doing what they do. Elise LeGrow was all kinds of adorable as she danced spasmodically around the stage, while her jazzy vocals were shouted out with an unparalleled gusto! The hooks were there in full force and many of the songs that I have been listening to sounded even better live. As the band grows more and more comfortable with their onstage persona, I think that they certainly have a chance at being one of the great buzz bands of the year on the local music scene.
Whale Tooth's next show is at Sneaky Dee's on February 7th.
Photos: Whale Tooth @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr
Myspace: Whale Tooth
The opening band of the night was Bellewoods, a local folk band that many of my friends have been recommending to me for about a month or so now. They're a bit of a local supergroup of sorts, containing members of Raising The Fawn, The Diableros and Great Lake Swimmers, as well as others. While I did enjoy their set, I have to admit that they haven't completely sold me on their sound just yet. Many of the songs seemed to just blend together, and there didn't seem to be quite enough variety to keep me altogether riveted. However, I was quite exhausted and I think perhaps in another setting I would have enjoyed the show just a little bit more. What the band does have in its favour is some tremendous vocals and some very tight musicianship. There were also moments when some of the songs did remind me a bit of Harvest-era Neil Young and we all know how I feel about Neil. So Bellewoods does show a lot of promise and it's going to be interesting hearing their debut album when it becomes available and seeing whether or not the band as a whole can measure up to the sum of its parts.
Photos: Bellewoods @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr
Myspace: Bellewoods
Have I told you lately how much I love Amos The Transparent? This was my fourth time seeing the Ottawa band and every show has been an experience unto itself. They brought the six piece version of themselves out to town this time around, and the internal energy coupled with the audience's rampant enthusiasm made for another top notch performance. At this point, both the band's engaging rapport and lead vocalist Jonathan Chandler's undeniable charisma are an established fact, as far as I'm concerned. However this time I noticed one other piece of the puzzle that helps to solidify their overall appeal. I don't know if newer member Kate Cooke is always this funny or if she had a drink or five in her (as is becoming an Amos at the Rancho tradition of sorts..) but almost everything she said and did on Friday night was filled with hilarity. Whether it was her dead-on impersonation of Bobbi Mohan-Culp (the operatic voiced high school music teacher played by Ana Gasteyer on SNL with Will Ferrel) or her hilarious response to audience members who thought she was sexy, Kate is definitely an entertaining addition to the band. Oh yah, and she doesn't have a bad voice either.The band seemed to be extra enthusiastic this time around, and this was no doubt due to the fact that Toronto is becoming like a second home for them. Jonathan even made the endearing comment that he wished the crowds in Ottawa were more like the crowds in Toronto. This is something that our usually reserved hometown members need to hear more often. They played many songs from 2007's Everything I've Forgotten To Forget, but the new songs that they played (many of which can be heard on myspace) sounded fantastic. It seems like the band is going to step a little further out of their folksy shell for the next release, and become a bit more, I don't know, in your face. I'm not saying they're becoming the angels of death metal or anything, but they're definitely going to be forcing more people to take notice. The highlight of the show was a hyped up rendering of Stale Scent Of Old Beer with a crazy long ending that I honestly never wanted to end. The audience participation on the final song I'm On Trial was also a sign of how devoted the fans have become. This is a good thing.
Amos The Transparent are back in town again at the end of the month. They'll be at Sneaky Dee's on Friday January 23rd with (holy crap! I just checked out the bandlist right now!!!!) Modern Boys Modern Girls, The Golden Hands Before God and Fox Jaws!!! Holy crap!!!! I don't know how much the tickets are but honestly, does it even matter??
UPDATE: Looks like Golden Hands.. are taking what seems to be a much needed hiatus although they assure us that they are NOT breaking up. It is still to be announced as to who is taking their place that night. Stay tuned...
Photos: Amos The Transparent @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr
Myspace: Amos The Transparent
I've been listening to the Whale Tooth EP for the better part of the week in preparation for this show and it really is a very good pop album filled with many dance fueled hooks. The fact that the band is more than aware of how catchy their songs are was made obvious by how much fun they appeared to be having on the tiny Rancho stage. Admittedly the band is still in the process of completely gelling their sound, but in the meantime they certainly are having a good time doing what they do. Elise LeGrow was all kinds of adorable as she danced spasmodically around the stage, while her jazzy vocals were shouted out with an unparalleled gusto! The hooks were there in full force and many of the songs that I have been listening to sounded even better live. As the band grows more and more comfortable with their onstage persona, I think that they certainly have a chance at being one of the great buzz bands of the year on the local music scene.Whale Tooth's next show is at Sneaky Dee's on February 7th.
Photos: Whale Tooth @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr
Myspace: Whale Tooth
The opening band of the night was Bellewoods, a local folk band that many of my friends have been recommending to me for about a month or so now. They're a bit of a local supergroup of sorts, containing members of Raising The Fawn, The Diableros and Great Lake Swimmers, as well as others. While I did enjoy their set, I have to admit that they haven't completely sold me on their sound just yet. Many of the songs seemed to just blend together, and there didn't seem to be quite enough variety to keep me altogether riveted. However, I was quite exhausted and I think perhaps in another setting I would have enjoyed the show just a little bit more. What the band does have in its favour is some tremendous vocals and some very tight musicianship. There were also moments when some of the songs did remind me a bit of Harvest-era Neil Young and we all know how I feel about Neil. So Bellewoods does show a lot of promise and it's going to be interesting hearing their debut album when it becomes available and seeing whether or not the band as a whole can measure up to the sum of its parts.Photos: Bellewoods @ Rancho Relaxo on flickr
Myspace: Bellewoods
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