Duck and cover, Carolyn Mark is throwing a Hootenanny at the Black Sheep on Sunday afternoon.

This week in Ottawa might be a little easier on your wallet than usual, as three of the neater shows are all free of charge.
Monday night, Zaphod's hosts its weekly free music showcase with Lions In The Street, who fittingly first got attention by distributing their EP for free online. You can still get bits and pieces of the rocknroll here. Speaking of rocknroll, few do blues-rock in the city as well as The Watters Brothers (Rebellion), who open up on that bill along with other locals Elie Smith & The Mainprize.
On the same night, The Empiricals provide their "Southeast Asia a go-go" surf-rock free of charge at the Manx, but maybe you'd like to use the would-be-cover money to buy a dessert there, because they taste pretty good.

And finally, Jim Bryson releases his lovely new album, Where The Bungalows Roam, with a lunchtime in-store performance on Tuesday at Compact Music. Compact Music, unfortunately, does not serve dessert.. but picking up the new record while you're there might be an experience that is just as sweet. As long as you don't try to eat it. Mmmk.

There are some people who want you to pay to see them play, though, and goshdarnit, isn't it only fair? It's especially fair if you were to get tickets to see The Constantines with tourmates Jon-Rae & The River and Shotgun & Jaybird on Wednesday night, which is a wonderfully solid bill from open to close: you've got your rock, your rock, and then... your rock. But each in their own vein, of course, so it's very much all-right.

Which shows are you hoping to get out to this week?

M 03.26
The Empiricals, at The Manx
-->The Empiricals - Golden Beat (website)
Lions In The Street with The Watters Brothers Rebellion* and Elie Smith & The Mainprize*, at Zaphod's
Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes, at Maverick's

Tu 03.27
Jim Bryson* (~12:30PM), at Compact Music
Embassies Of Denmark* with The Great Plains and Rebekah Higgs, at Café Dekcuf

W 03.28
The Constantines with Jon-Rae & The River and Shotgun & Jaybird, at Barrymore's
Mary Gauthier with Lynn Miles* and Eliza Gilkyson, at Library & Archives Canada
Twelve 34* with Circuit and Scarlet Fever, at Zaphod's

F 03.30
The Dunn Project*, at Irene's Pub
Eric Vieweg & The Silver Lining* with Their Majesties and Famous Lovers, at The Black Sheep Inn
The Polytones* with General Electrik*, at Zaphod's

Sa 03.31
Good2Go* with Muffler Crunch*, at The Dominion Tavern
The Coggs* with Autobahn* and The Mighty Eagle Band*, at Zaphod's
King Sunshine, with The Black Sheep Inn
Trevor Alguire* with The Jason Kent Band*, at Irene's Pub

Su 04.01
Michael Weston King with Steve Fai*, at Irene's Pub
Kelly Joe Phelps, at The Black Sheep Inn (4pm show)
Carolyn Mark with Jenny Whiteley, Luther Wright, and Jim Bryson*, at The Black Sheep Inn (9pm show)
Say Hi To Your Mom with Travel By Owl* and Relief Maps*, at Zaphod's

* denotes local act

Born Ruffians, died on a couch watching Search For The Next Pussycat Doll.

This weekend, Born Ruffians appear to be the main attraction in town with their pixy-like stage behaviour and tight pants that would probably be tucked into socks if they reached that far down. They've been through town a couple times recently, including a great-sounding (heavenly?) show at the First Baptist Church, where they also first made their self-titled EP available. For those who haven't heard it, maybe you should consider; you can grab an mp3 of the opening track below. This time around they'll be playing at Zaphod's with local noisemakers Fucked Corpse and tourmates We're Marching On, who kind of sound like every trick in indie-rock smushed together into a pasty somethingorother. That's either a good or a bad thing, but that's up to you to decide.. dial613 will only do so much of the legwork for you.

Also on Friday, locals Casey Comeau & The Centretown Wilderness Club anchor a neat night of country/roots/rock at Babylon, with other dial613endorsed locals Crowded Skies and Guelph's Violet Lyal.
Also of note, VJ Daisy will be there to provide some visual accompaniment in the form of "live video mixing" to the music; how this will go down, dial613 is completely unaware, but it's probably worth a looksee even out of curiousity. Even if it doesn't work out, the bands should be good enough to keep your feets a-stomping and toes a-tapping, which is either a good or a bad thing, but that's up to you to decide.. dial613 will only do so much of the legwork for you.

Two bands hot on the indienet circuit also stop by this weekend. On Saturday, (phe)Menomena come around, whose album Wet And Rusting kind of sounds like a punchline without a joke, or a dirty euphemism, although those could be one and the same. As well, West-coasting Canadians (and Asthmatic Kitty labelled) Shapes & Sizes play Sunday, and they sound pretty good. And if you're not all legworked out by now, you can decide yourself whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Where will you be wearing your hippest clothes this weekend?
To what joke is Wet And Rusting the punchline? Did the chicken cross the road because he was Wet And Rusting? Or maybe it's cheese that isn't yours?..

W 03.21
As The Poets Affirm* with The Dudes, at Zaphod's
-->As The Poets Affirm - Awake Chaos (website, myspace)
-->The Dudes - Dropkick Queen Of The Weekend (hheyyy!) (website, myspace)
Jason Collett, at Bar 1848 (at University of Ottawa)

Th 03.22
David Usher with NLX, at Zaphod's
-->David Usher - If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next (Manic Street Preachers cover, who knew?) (website)
Starvin Hungry with The Phantom Shifters*, at Babylon

F 03.23
Amos The Transparent* with Hoodlum, at The Black Sheep Inn
Born Ruffians with We're Marching On and Fucked Corpse*, at Zaphod's
-->Born Ruffians - This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life (website, myspace)
-->4 tracks from a session at KEXP via i(heart)music
Casey Comeau & The Centretown Wilderness Club with VJ Daisy, Crowded Skies*, and Violet Lyal, at Babylon
The Country Boys, at Irene's Pub

Sa 03.24
Big Jeezus Truck* with The Shifters, at Barrymore's
Bloodshot Bill, at Irene's Pub
Caridad Cruz & Kubacua, at The Black Sheep Inn
Hilotrons* with Great Aunt Ida, at Babylon
Mackenzie MacBride & The Supermodel Syndrome*, at Avant-Garde Bar
Menomena with Land Of Talk and Field Music, at Zaphod's
-->Field Music - House Is Not A Home (website, myspace)
The Mighty Popo with Mansa Sissoko, at The Black Sheep Inn
Simply Saucer with Weapons Of Mass Seduction* and Four 'n' Giver*, at Babylon

Su 03.25
Meredith Luce* with Mail Nurse*, James Farr*, and Erika Werry (4pm), at The Black Sheep Inn
Shapes and Sizes with Castanets and Books On Books*, at Zaphod's
-->Books On Books - One Page At A Time (website, myspace)

* denotes local act

BONUS!
-->Moist - Resurrection (those lyrics don't actually mean anything, right?)

With ice melting, Great Lake Swimmers will be able to further indulge in their pastime.

The city is thawing out and signs of spring are starting to show up, and there isn't a much better soundtrack to the feelings that go with it than music from Great Lake Swimmers; then again, their lazy folk sound would also work perfectly on a scorching August afternoon. dial613 posits that the band is like Ducks: multi-purpose, for all sorts of weather, and your mother would be delighted to know you're into them.
Opening is London, Ontario's vocally-gifted Basia Bulat.

Also visiting is Peterborough's James McKenty & The Spades, who release their new record Let It Grow at Maverick's with locals The John Henrys. If you like rock and roll the same way that dial613 likes leather pants (tight and packed, that is), this is something you will likely enjoy.
The same night, Zolof The Rock & Roll Destroyer plays at Zaphod's; no word on whether Zolof destroys rock & roll, or if he affiliates himself with it while destroying some other entity. Though if it's the former, James McKenty & The Spades better be keeping an eye out...

dial613 can also recommend Man Man based completely on hearsay of their raucous live show (pics of the last time they were through at National Capital Rock).

Which shows do you plan on heading out to this week?
What ovious Meat Loaf barb did dial613 gloss right over?

M 03.12
Jon McKiel* with The Sleepless Nights*, at Zaphod's

W 03.14
Tara Slone with The Tender Box and Dolls, at Zaphod's

Th 03.15
Buck Brothers with Turn Off The Stars, at Zaphod's
Jetplanes Of Abraham* with Relief Maps*, at The National Gallery
-->Jetplanes Of Abraham - Tunnels/Terminals (website, myspace)
-->Relief Maps - Pattersickle (myspace)
Slowcoaster with Acres*, at Maverick's
Melissa Stylianou with Jason Bajada, at The Black Sheep Inn

F 03.16
Ball & Chain, at Irene's Pub
Great Lake Swimmers with Basia Bulat, at The Black Sheep Inn
-->Great Lake Swimmers - Your Rocky Spine (website, myspace)
-->Great Lake Swimmers - Moving Pictures Silent Films
-->Basia Bulat - Snakes And Ladders (website, myspace)
Meat Loaf, at Scotiabank Place
James McKenty & The Spades (CD release) with The John Henrys*, at Maverick's
Zolof The Rock & Roll Destroyer with Bad Flirt, at Zaphod's

Sa 03.17
The Ana Miura Band* with Dave Gaudet* and Royal Wood, at The Black Sheep Inn
Garaga* with Tokyo Sex Whale* and Manpower*, at Irene's Pub
Man Man with Icy Demons, at Zaphod's

Su 03.18
The Alex Cuba Band with David Myles* (4pm), at The Black Sheep Inn
Switch with Jokers of the Scene*, at Zaphod's

* denotes local act

Oy gevault, the Barmitzvah Brothers could look a little happier, don't you think they should look a little happier?

This week in Ottawa, local independent record store End Hits celebrates its first year of records, Ventrex, and basement shows on Saturday afternoon. The party gets started at 1 PM, at which point begins a series of 4 local bands playing on the hour. dial613-endorsed Sadie Hell, playing the role of Pink, will be getting the party started.
Also, some local band called The Acorn plays Zaphod's on Sunday to kick off a month-long tour across Canada to promote their new EP, Tin Fist. You should probably go say hello, and then goodbye, and then come back soon, I baked you some cookies for the road, do I not even get a hug goodbye, no I don't want a hug anymore, yeah ok fine I'll see you whenever.

If you've got a (friend with a) car and a full tank of gas, be sure to get the junk in your trunk over to the Black Sheep Inn this weekend for a pair of dandy shows. Saturday night features unrelated non-Jews the Barmitzvah Brothers (myspace), who've made their name instigating indie-folk hoe-downs. With them, dial613 heartily suggests opener The Burning Hell, who feature impressively melancholic use of the ukelele, melodica, and accordion. Even Kim-Jong Il is a fan, so who The Burning Hell are you to disagree?! Oh, Snnnnaap.

Sunday afternoon, The Forest City Lovers and The D'Urbervilles gaze longingly into each others' eyes and say their goodbyes on the last date of a brief March tour together. dial613 was fortunate enough to catch The D'Urbervilles play in that other 6-1-3 just recently, and very much encourages you to follow suit.

Even if you don't have car access, there's still plenty of hope for your OCtranspo-warmed bottom, since The Black Sheep Inn has started up a Carpool Board to help you find rides. Maybe you can use it to pick up chicks/studs... in your car! And take them to the Black Sheep Inn! And then drive them home! And smell your car's seat cushions once they leave!

Where will you be dragging the junk in your trunk this week?

Tu 03.06
Ottawa Jazz Collective* (open jam), at Avant-Garde Bar
Shaun Verreault with North Easton, at Zaphod's

W 03.07
Against Me! with Riverboat Gamblers and Fake Problems, at Capital Music Hall
Universal Habit* with Salted and Titan Rain, at Zaphod's

Th 03.08
Moses Mayes, at Maverick's
Projet Orange with Les Hellcats and Colour Surrond, at Zaphod's
Leeroy Stagger with Matt Hopper and Templo Diez, at The Black Sheep Inn
Ember Swift*, at The Rainbow

F 03.09
Comeback Kid with This Is Hell, at Babylon
four-stroke*, at Café Dekcuf
The Most Serene Republic with The Junction and The Love Machine*, at Zaphod's
Ndidi Onukwulu with Mihirangi, at The Black Sheep Inn
The Soirée* with SunBleached Skulls*, Dave Gaudet*, Lynne Hanson*, and Neil Gerster*, at Irene's Pub
-->The Soirée - Turn This Car Around (1st version) (website, myspace)
Wassabi Collective, at Maverick's

Sa 03.10
Barmitzvah Brothers with The Burning Hell, at The Black Sheep Inn
-->The Burning Hell - The Things That People Make (myspace)
End Hits 1st Anniversary, ft. Sadie Hell*, Dear Judah*, Last Communion*, F!ghtF!ghtF!ght* (1-5pm), at End Hits
-->Dear Judah - With Skyscraper Fists (myspace)
Go Sumo with Good Night Knights, at Zaphod's
My Tiny Circus*, at Avant-Garde Bar8
Rev Engine* with The Moon Movement*, at Irene's Pub
Souljazz Orchestra* with Kobotown and Jokko*, at Barrymore's
The Sweet Janes* with Arson Eagle and Dave Kerr*, at Babylon

Su 03.11
The Acorn* with Missing Children, at Zaphod's
-->The Acorn - Spring Thaw (website, myspace)
The Forest City Lovers with The D'Urbervilles, at The Black Sheep Inn (4pm show)
-->The D'Urbervilles - We Are The Hunters (website, myspace)
Gym Class Heroes with RX Bandits and P.O.S, at Babylon

* denotes local act

And oh, err.. if anyone has any idea why the show listings have suddenly turned all bold, please get in touch.