Yo La Tengo may claim to not be afraid of you and capable of beating your ass, but without that surfboard, it's probably not true.

This week's obvious highlight is Yo La Tengo, who stop by Babylon on Sunday night to promote their recently released (not to mention awesomely-named) album I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass. And if that show isn't your obvious highlight, then you're completely uncool and know nothing about music. Or that's what I hear, anyway.

Also this week, Ladyfest Ottawa celebrates its 5th anniversary with a slate of dandy shows featuring ladies both local and abroad, pun so completely intended. The roster looks pretty great, featuring The Barmitzvah Brothers, Hexes & Ohs, and Les Allumettes, among others. And not only will there be music, but also films and their trademark Not Your Grandma's Craft Sale, which will run for a glorious 2 days this weekend. Take a look at their website for all the details.
Fun fact: The five-year run makes it North America's longest consecutively-running Ladyfest.

Other notables this week include a really really great-looking all-local bill at Zaphod's on Friday, headlined by Jetplanes Of Abraham, as well as a show at that new club Heaven with Israeli techno duo Infected Mushroom. Yes, Israeli techno; and yes, that will likely (but hopefully not?) be the first and last time dial613 writes either of those words.

What shows will you be looking forward to this week?

Mon - 09.25.06
Sarah Hallman* with Gianna Lauren, at The Manx Pub
-->Sarah Hallman - Shovel (website)

Tues - 09.26.06
Magneta Lane, at University of Ottawa

Wed - 09.27.06
Islands with Malajube, Unireverse, at Capital Music Hall
-->Islands - Rough Gem (website, myspace)
-->Malajube - Le Métronome (website, myspace)
Ladyfest, ft. Lesbians On Ecstasy with Nicky Click, Librarian's Touch, MacKenzie MacBride*, at Maverick's

Fri - 09.29.06
Big Jeezus Truck with Lefty McRight & The Boxcar Cadavers, at Barrymore's
Ladyfest, ft. Hexes And Ohs with Sarah Hallman*, Catriona Sturton & The Screaming Elks, and more at Club Saw
Jetplanes Of Abraham* with Soft Disaster*, Relief Maps*, at Zaphod's
Pocket Dwellers, at Maverick's
-->Pocket Dwellers - B-Boys (website, myspace)

Sat - 09.30.06
Ladyfest, ft. Les Allumettes* with Ennuie*, Bleeding Heart*, at End Hits (5PM)
-->Ennuie - Under Wraps (myspace)
Ladyfest, ft. The Barmitzvah Brothers with Kickers, Bad Flirt, Spacecan, Captain Foxy* at Club Saw (8:30PM)
Craig Cardiff with Natalia Zukerman*, at The Black Sheep Inn
The Fully Down* with For The Mathematics*, The Second Glance*, Bill Furious*, at Babylon
King Sunshine, at Maverick's
Memphis with The Thurston Revival, at Zaphod's

Sun - 10.01.06
Infected Mushroom, at Heaven
-->Infected Mushroom - Stretched (website)
Natalie MacMaster, at The Black Sheep Inn (2 sets: 4PM, 830PM)
Yo La Tengo with Why?, at Babylon
-->Yo La Tengo - Mr. Tough (website, myspace)
-->Yo La Tengo - Stay Away From Heaven

* denotes local act

Ninja High School will teach you a lesson... in fun!!lol

If you're still deciding on your plans Saturday night, maybe you want to consider Ninja High School, who play at Café Dekcuf along with Vitaminsforyou and locals Turning Into Salt.
The Toronto hip-hop group have seemingly nothing serious to say, which is absolutely not a problem at all. They turn it into an asset, but more importantly, an excuse to use an animated skeleton gif.
-->Ninja High School - It's Alright To Fight
-->more available on website, myspace, new music canada

Hip-hop not your style? Get something similar, but way at the other end of the genre spectrum with Hamilton's B.A. Johnston at Avant-Garde Bar. In his own words, he plays "short catchy songs that will make you want to lie in bed reading comics." Probably dirty ones. Maybe check out his website and myspace and new music canada site.
-->B.A. Johnston - Squirrels
-->B.A. Johnston - Pita Pit Girls

Music not your style? Then I'm not too sure why you're here. But anyway, there's always the Ottawa International Animation Festival too, which is North America's largest animation event. How cool is that? And Saturday night at 7 PM, Barrymore's will be screening Cultoons! Strange, Rare and Lost Cartoons!, which sounds neato. And you, my friend, are one lucky guy/gal, because since it's an early start, you'll have plenty of time to get over to either of the above shows afterward. The festival continues til Sunday, check their website for details.

Decisions not your style? You're in tough, because Billy Bragg, The Wailin' Jennys, Kinnie Star, and locals Casey Comeau, The Solid Senders, and The Reverb Syndicate are also on Saturday night bills. So have fun.

On Wednesday, head out (out out out) to see Edmonton's Shout Out Out Out Out

First off, let's send some dial613love to The Hidden Cameras for their show last week at Barrymore's, one of dial613's favourites to come through Ottawa recently. The love is easy to send, as it can be stamped and sent on one of those free postcards they gave out at the merch table, how convenient.

On to this week, the word of the week is 'fun.' You can go check out Ninja High School, a 'hip-hop' ensemble from Toronto who don't take anything too seriously, including themselves. You can also get the same sort of vibe, but in a folk vein, from Hamilton's BA Johnston, whose lyrical content features overaggressive barbs towards emo kids and squirrels. It's silliness, but an endearing kind of silliness. Like Eugene.

dial613's mp3 pick of the week is Atmosphere's Say Hey There, a piano-backed track about what seems to be one of the most dysfunctional relationships to be described in song, which (kind of ironically?) all flows together smoothly.
But, dear prsconcerts, why are tickets for the show $25? The same bill in Fredericton is $8, and even just $15 in Quebec. I hope there's a decent turnout, not just for your sake, but for Ottawa's altogether; it'll be a pretty poor reflection of the city's music scene if at least 50 people don't want to spend that kind of money on a Monday night to see 3 MC's who, though pretty well established elsewhere, aren't so well known in these parts (or so dial613 assumes...). And sadly, that whole scenario wouldn't be surprising.

But what do you think?

Oh, and what shows are you looking forward to this week?

Mon - 09.18.06
Atmosphere with Mac Lethal, Psalm One, at Capital Music Hall
-->Atmosphere - Say Hey There (website, myspace)
Flecton Big Sky* with Bob Dude*, Bloomistry*, at The Manx
-->Flecton Big Sky - Truce Is Stranger Than Fiction (website, myspace)
Rebekah Higgs with Jon McKiel, at Zaphod's

Wed - 09.20.06
The Junction with The Love Machine*, Bangkok*, at Café Dekcuf
-->The Love Machine - We Are Squirrels And This Is Nuts (website, myspace)
Shout Out Out Out Out with VitaminsForYou, at Zaphod's

Fri - 09.22.06
Angela Desveaux with Sarah Hallman*, Stephen St-Pierre*, at Zaphod's
-->Sarah Hallman - Shovel (website)
Danko Jones with Rocketface, Iconoclast*, at Barrymore's
King Sunshine (cd release), at Black Sheep Inn

Sat - 09.23.06
BA Johnston with Vincat, Hotkid, at Avant-Garde Bar
-->BA Johnston - Pay Me In Stolen Treasure (website, myspace)
Billy Bragg, at Capital Music Hall
Casey Comeau & The Centretown Wilderness Club* (ep release) with The McGillicuddy Sisters, at Irene's Pub
Kinnie Starr with Tanya Tagaq, at Black Sheep Inn
Nashville Pussy with Priestess, The Rye Coalition, at Babylon
Ninja High School with VitaminsForYou, Turning Into Salt*, at Café Dekcuf
-->Ninja High School - Shake It Off (cbcradio3 session) (website, myspace)
-->Turning Into Salt - Angels Cut The Angles (myspace)
The Reverb Syndicate* with The Solid Senders*, at Zaphod's

* denotes local act

Participate in an exciting reversal of roles by going to watch The Hidden Cameras, who play Barrymore's on Wednesday

[text and mp3's to be added shortly]WOW LOOK! (or look, wow)

Hope your wallet is full, because there are a lot of brand new albums being thrown at you that, for the most part, probably deserve to be purchased, including one each from local bands Ukrainia, The John Henrys, Forty Cent Fix and the Souljazz Orchestra.

There's no shortage of visiting acts to choose between over the course of the week, but dial613's biggest decisions come on Wednesday and Friday:
On Wednesday, will it be jangly, festive pop from The Hidden Cameras or mind-blowing, feverish rock-and-roll from The Golden Dogs?
And come Friday, should the plan be for pant-kicking alt-country with Corb Lund and Elliott Brood, or for a mischievous and eerily-synthy dance party with Controller.Controller and You Say Party! We Say Die!? Or the Ukrainia cd release, where the London Barivnok Dance Ensemble will be showing off their traditional Ukrainian folk dancing skills?

And all the while, there is a healthy serving of local-"world" talent spread all throughout the week, with Ukrainian pop (and stage banter!) from Ukrainia, Asian surf music provided by The Empiricals, and kinda-traditional klezmer courtesy of Socalled.

Are you sweating over what choices to make? You really can't go wrong, so suck it up and be decisive, you wuss.
And put on some anti-persperant or something, because that shouldn't happen so easily.

So, what's going to be the toughest decision for you?
Are you a wuss?
Is there a synonym for "wuss" that would have been cooler to use?

09.11.06
Brad Sucks* with Jacquie In The Kitchen*, De'mos, Dave Norris, at Zaphod's

09.12.06
Camp Best Friends*, at Pier 21

09.13.06
The Golden Dogs^ with The Golden Seals at Maverick's
-->The Golden Dogs - RUNOUTTALUCK (website, myspace)
The Hidden Cameras^ with Spiral Beach, Laura Barrett, at Barrymore's
-->The Hidden Cameras - AWOO (website, myspace)
-->The Hidden Cameras - Learning The Lie

09.14.06
Souljazz Orchestra*^ with Jokko*, at Babylon

09.15.06
Corb Lund with Elliott Brood, at Capital Music Hall
-->The Corb Lund Band - Five Dollar Bill (website, myspace)
-->Elliott Brood - Twill (website, myspace)
Controller.Controller with You Say Party! We Say Die!, The D'Urbervilles, at Zaphod's
-->Controller.Controller - Disco Blackout (website, myspace)
-->You Say Party! We Say Die! - We Like Accidents (website, myspace)
Forty Cent Fix*^ with This Is Rocket Science*, For The Mathematics*, Bill Furious*, at Maverick's
Kelly & The Kelly Girls with Glenn Nuotio*, Eastborough*, at Cafe Dekcuf
Melissa Laveaux* with Ronley Teper, at Cafe Nostalgica
The Who with Peeping Tom, at Scotiabank Place
Ukrainia*^ with The Empiricals*, London Barvinok Dance Ensemble, at Barrymore's
-->The Empiricals - Golden Beat (website)

09.16.06
Good2Go* with The Bush Pilots*, Evil Farm Children*, at Zaphod's
Hilotrons* with Socalled*, F!ghtF!ghtF!ght*, at Barrymore's
The John Henrys*^ with Casey Comeau*, Slo Tom*, Bryan Curry*, and more, at Babylon
Rock Plaza Central^ with As The Poets Affirm*, Orillia Opry, at Irene's Pub

09.17.06
Asobi Seksu, at Babylon
Australian Export Tour Showcase 2006 ft. 72 Blues, 84, Fire Underground, and more, at Zaphod's

* denotes local act
^ denotes cd release party
fun fact: Ukrainia now holds the official dial613 record for most mentions in a single post, with 4. ok, that's 5.

HiLoTrons: "Number 2? Says who!?"

You may definitely want to go have a look at Ottawa-based music website/blog i(heart)music, which compiled a tidy list of the 20 Hottest Bands In Ottawa as determined by a poll which collected the top ten lists of a number of people who are pretty good looking, not to mention knowledgeable when it comes to Ottawa music. Those polled included dial613, who was the token exception to at least one of the two above rules.

So, what do you think of the results?
The list's operative word appears to be "hot", as a surprisingly healthy portion of the list is populated by very active bands who are, relatively, still in the process of making a name for themselves.
Not that it's a bad thing to have a couple handfuls of up-and-comers (and deserving ones, at that) among the 20 hottest acts in the city, but there are some unfortunate casualties as a result.

One of these is Jim Bryson, who may not be all that new, or all that hip (though that red mesh hat is darling), but his songwriting is nearly unrivalled in the city. Others to fall by the wayside were the likes of Danny Michel and the Fiftymen, not to mention some of the less active (or completely inactive) acts, like Greenfield Main, Rhume, and The Luck. But to chastise the list would be hypocritical, as dial613 didn't include any of these names on its own list. For shame, dial613. For shame.

The 'freshness' of the top twenty is far from a bad thing, though: it goes to show that the Ottawa scene is growing in quantity and quality, with a whole new crop of bands capably giving the long-time big boys and girls a good run.
And it also helped dial613 discover a new favourite, Crush Buildings. This track has been playing non-stop at dial613 Factory since finding the band at the number 7 spot.
-->Crush Buildings - Ghoul Pounds (website, myspace)

Your turn:
Who should have been on the list?
Who shouldn't have been on the list?
Which bands should be moved up/shuffled down?

The French Kicks shouldn't leave you feeling blue after their show Sunday at Babylon

Music in the city has taken an extended long weekend, but everything picks right up again come Wednesday.

dial613's local pick o' the week is Wednesday night at Maverick's, where you can catch an all-local bill that includes plenty of experimentation: The Bridegroom work with indie-altrock, and..(oops) Liar's Rosebush plays around with deep electronic beats.
Also, Danny Michel will play two sets at The Black Sheep Inn, despite all of dial613's warnings to readers in the past couple months that each show he played would be the last chance to see him in a while. In any case, there will be a bus leaving from The Manx Pub to escort you to Wakefield. But I'm not so sure of the details, so you probably want to call first.

There are also some pretty neat visitors this week. The French Kicks make up for the late-August date they cancelled to go on tour with Phoenix, and play with Texan internet favourites SOUND Team. And of course there's also Belle Orchestre, who everybody wants to call local, but come on (wo)man, they're from Montreal, ok? Thinking they're from Ottawa is like believing that The Undertaker really was from Death Valley, California: not quite true, but it can be fun to pretend.

So, what shows are you looking forward to this week?

09.06.06
Adam Saikaley* with The Bridegroom*, Liar's Rosebush*, and Alex Maltby, at Maverick's
-->Liar's Rosebush - Delta Delta Delta (website, myspace)
Danny Michel* with Justin Nozuka and Jeremy Fisher, at The Black Sheep Inn
Design Of Cities* with The Red Arrows*, at Zaphod's

09.07.06
Danny Michel* with Eric Vieweg*, at The Black Sheep Inn
-->Danny Michel - It's Not The End Of The World (website, myspace)
The Watters Brothers* with Eppiphane*, Revival Dear, and Trevor Strange*, at Zaphod's

09.08.06
Belle Orchestre with Torngat, at The First Baptist Church
The Handsome Furs with Germans and Ennuie*, at Club SAW
The Longtimers* with The Mighty Eagle Band* and The Sweet Janes*, at Barrymore's

09.09.06
Dan Bern & The IJBC with Ember Swift*, at Barrymore's
-->Dan Bern - Jerusalem (live from this year's Bluesfest) (website)

09.10.06
The French Kicks with SOUND Team, at Babylon
-->The French Kicks - One More Time (website, myspace)
-->The French Kicks - Also Ran
-->SOUND Team - Your Eyes Are Liars (website, myspace)

* denotes local act

If you don't have plans already for tonight (come on, don't pretend like you do), that's alright, because Montreal's The Field Register, along with locals Poorfolk and The Soiree, would be happy to have you over at Irene's Pub.

The Field Register play some ethereal, lullabyish indie rock that you can go sample at their myspace.
Poorfolk also play rock of the indie variety, but with more of a folky(?) feel to it, while The Soiree have a light pop sound that sounds just right for this time of year (you can/should get a feel for it on their myspace.)

But dial613 is not going to make you work for Poorfolk tracks, nosiree.
Poorfolk - Worser Than Better
Poorfolk - Topple The Pride

Saturday, Irene's Pub, 9 PM, $6.

Alternatives:
-Andy Rourke, one-time member of The Smiths, has a DJ set at Barrymore's
-Kayo Dot plays End Hits, with locals Bangkok taking care of opening duties

Poorfolk on:

the internet
new music canada
myspace