Motoro 1: FunnelFest I FREE Sampler






Here's the first Windsor Scene FREE downloadable sampler. Get 14 FREE tracks from bands in Windsor's original local independent music scene, from experimental instrumental to folk, from alternative rock to heavy metal. Check out a nice cross-section of local music.  "FUNNELFEST I" is the local music scene's way of saying "THANK YOU" for helping out one of our own during December's FunnelFest events. PLEASE 'SHARE' THIS!  ‎"Liking" this does nothing to help the local scene. But "sharing" it means everyone you know will see this and get the opportunity to download a 14-song FREE sampler of local music. It's right there beside 'Like' and 'Comment' (not available on Smartphones yet).

Download HERE -----> http://motoro.bandcamp.com/



#NYEB: New Year's Eve with Elliott BROOD at Lee's Palace



Although 2010 isn't even over yet, 2011 is already shaping up to be a good year of music.  N2D will be attending this fabulous event along with a few fellow CBC Radio 3 listeners and bloggers.  




Six Shooter Roots Rock annual NYE w/
Elliott BROOD
Two Sets @ 11:15p & 1:00a w/ ‘Catl’ @ 10:00p, Bradley Boy @ 9:00p  
$20.00adv @ Tm-Hs-Rt-Ss $25.00 at the door
 

Wait, how is this considered a Windsor/Detroit event?  Casey Laforet was raised in Windsor; EB are hereby qualified as Windsor's Hometown Heroes.  They'll also be back to Windsor January 29 at the Capitol Theatre.  More to come on that show.     #heyheyhey


Photos: Russ Gordon
http://www.leespalace.com/coming.php3


Show Review: Chillin' with Rah Rah


We've seen bands perform at a lot of different venues this past year: Toronto's Dundas Square and the historic Gladstone Hotel. Windsor's intimate Phog Lounge. London, Ontario's Victoria Park at LOLA. The Majestic Cafe and Magic Stick in Detroit. But Rah Rah in the Vernors Room of the Crofoot in Pontiac on Dec. 15 definitely ranks as one of the most surreal.





So how did a six-piece Canadian indie pop band from Regina, Saskatchewan end up as part of the Crofoot's Wednesday "b*lite" programming ("Funk, Soul, Disco and Boogie" with DJ Erno the Inferno-- and autotune karaoke)?











Touring the U.S. without their merch, held at the border due to a lack of proper paperwork? Performing in their coats, hats and boots (we understand keeping heating costs down, but you could see your breath when we first arrived)? Because in between Bloomington, Indiana and Chicago, "We'd rather play than take the night off," said lead singer Marshall Burns. "We love to play."






And we loved to hear them (for the second time) and the songs from their two albums, Going Steady and their latest, Breaking Hearts. All four us-- N2D and fellow Radio 3 bloggers Wapuche and jojodillon. That's right: for most of the show, we enjoyed our own free private concert (not counting the bartender, a few random folks passing through and Rah Rah's tour manager) with the band named "Best Alternative New Artist" and "Best New Canadiana Artist" in iTunes Best of 2009 list, until a colourful assortment of people began arriving for the karaoke. No irony there. Unless you count Wapuche's karaoke rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Rah-Rah

Photos: Russ Gordon

Year in review: the N2DS2W show list

Fifty-five.

That's the number of shows/bands we will have seen this year, after Rah Rah this Wednesday at the Crofoot's Vernors Room and our grand finale, Elliott BROOD at Lee's Palace in Toronto for New Year's Eve. With rare exception, each was a noteworthy (NOTEworthy, get it?) performance. Yes, we love our life. And Canadian indie music.

Here is our who, when and where for 2010:

February:
Yukon Blonde w/Two for the Cascade @ Windsor's Phog Lounge. Two for the Cascade gets our vote for Best Opening Band We'd Never Heard Before.

March:
Brasstronaut @ Phog Lounge. One of our top shows for the year.

You Say Party! We Say Die! (Now You Say Party!) @ the Crofoot's Pike Room. We still get choked up every time we think of this show; drummer Devon Clifford tragically passed away only two weeks later.

April:
Raised by Swans @ Phog Lounge. Didn't know much about them before the show, total fans afterwards.

English Words @ Phog Lounge. Due to some glitch, English Words went on stage first and played a too-short set, making them our runner-up for Band We Most Wanted to Hear More From.

May:
Yukon Blonde @ the Magic Stick.

June:
Megan Hamilton w/Ryan Bourne @ Phog Lounge.

The New Pornographers @ the Crofoot Ballroom.

NXNE (read it and weep): NxEW showcase @ the Gladstone Hotel—Volcanoless in Canada, the Mountains & the Trees, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, Rock Plaza Central, the Coast, Horse & His Boy and Amos the Transparent; Sloan @ Dundas Square; Hollerado @ the Hard Rock Cafe.

Besnard Lakes w/Ghostkeeper and Young Galaxy @ Call the Office, London, Ont. Three Polaris short-listed bands in one night? Doesn't get any better than that. Oh wait, it does.

Library Voices@ Phog Lounge. (Let the gratuitous linking to our own posts commence.)

July:
Black Mountain @ the Magic Stick.

Islands w/Gregory Pepper and His Problems @ the Magic Stick.

Yukon Blonde @ Phog Lounge. Yes, for the third time.

August:
The Wilderness of Manitoba w/ The Mountains & The Trees @ Phog Lounge. What a great night, even though the Windsor bakery failed to deliver the cake ordered for Russ's birthday celebration and Russ's backpack with his phone and camera got loaded into Jon's car and ended up in Toronto...

Young Rival @ PhogPhest 2. Because it was race day at the Michigan International Speedway, we only made it in time to PhogPhest for Young Rival. It was well worth the effort.

Dan Mangan @ the Crofoot's Pike Room. Singalong to "Robots." Nuff said.

September:
Hot Hot Hot w/Hey Rosetta! @ the Crofoot's Pike Room. Hey Rosetta! gets our vote for Band We Most Wanted to Hear More From. Six songs was just waaaaay too short. Okay, we'll stop whining about it now.

LOLA @ Victoria Park, London, Ont.: Minotaurs, Fond of Tigers, Land of Talk and Caribou. All for FREE.

Bend Sinister w/ the Zolas and Will Currie & the Country French @  Phog Lounge.

The Pack a.d./Young Rival @ Phog Lounge. Man, those women can rock.

Holy Fuck @ the Magic Stick. Holy (fill in the blank), "Lovely Allen" was transcendental live.

October:
Olenka & the Autumn Lovers w/ The Locusts Have No King @ Phog Lounge.

Rah Rah w/ We Were Lovers @ Phog Lounge.

Born Ruffians w/ Forest City Lovers and Meligrove Band @ the Majestic Cafe.

Hannah Georgas w/ Jody Glenham and Allie Hughes @ Phog Lounge. A very special show.

November:
Two Hours Traffic @ PJ's Lager House.

December:
Rah Rah in the Vernors Room @ the Crofoot (this Wednesday).

Elliott BROOD @ Lee's Palace, Toronto (New Year's Eve).

CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards 2010


Wednesday, Dec 8 
Grant Lawrence Live
11AM PT / 2PM ET

  • Best Song
  • Most Canadian Song
  • Best Vocals
  • Best Live Act
  • Best Reason To Learn French
  • Best New Artist
  • Best New Band Name
  • Fan Of The Year
  • Best Lyrics
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Sexiest Artist
  • Best Video

Two Hours Traffic in Detroit



Normally, the words "Two Hours Traffic in Detroit" would evoke nightmarish memories of winters past, but this was not the case on a balmy Thursday night in November. 



After a last-minute venue change, Two Hours Traffic, the Charlottetown, PEI foursome comprised of Liam Corcoran, Alec O'Hanley, Andrew MacDonald and Derek Ellis rolled into PJ's Lager House, one of the bright spots located between the hugely popular Slow's BBQ and the hugely illuminated MGM Grand Casino.  


The Lager House is a new venue to us  (more on that in another article) and seemed like your average corner bar.  What we soon discovered was that the other half of the building was a second, secret room where amazing music would have its way with all of those in attendance. 


Opening with "Noisemaker," THT instantly captivated the crowd in the room. The chatter turned into hushed comments: "Who are these guys?" and "Whoooa..."  As the set continued, the majority of the bar side came into the music side to listen.  The expressions on the faces said it all.

By the time "Territory" was played, THT had convinced their new fans that good, honest, rocking Canadian music had come to Corktown and would be loudly welcomed back.  


Our experience has been that Canadian indie bands are some of the nicest people in the world and Two Hours Traffic were no exception. As we chatted with Liam, Alec, Andrew and Derek after the show about their tour and their eventual return to the Motor City, they commented on the surroundings. "There's lots of activity over there, and over this way," Liam observed.  Nothing happens around here?"


Yes, my friends, Two Hours Traffic just played here.




Photos: Russ Gordon

Show alert: Detroit Cooler*


No, that's not a meteorological observation. It's a Jeopardy answer to the question: What happens went one of the best pop bands to come out of Regina, Saskatchewan play the Vernors Room at the Crofoot in Pontiac?

Rah Rah will be performing (free!) in the Vernors Room on Wed., Dec. 15 as part of the Crofoot's B*Lite club night. They're a definite departure from the evening's usual funk/soul/disco/boogie and one we highly recommend. We saw Rah Rah at Windsor's Phog Lounge in October and loved them; read the show review here.

*If you didn't get the "pop" reference in the title, it refers to the invented-in-Detroit Boston Cooler-- Vernors and vanilla ice cream.

UPDATE - FunnelFest 2.0 - A Benefit for Scott Funnel




He talked about it on CBC Radio 3's Lanarama, now he's doing it.

Phog Lounge's Tom Lucier tweeted this a short time ago:
I'm heading over to FM Lounge shortly to hook up live stream of FunnelFest for full night. I believe I'll watch from Phog on big screen :)

Click HERE to watch along with the rest of the world.



UPDATE - FunnelFest 2.0 - A Benefit for Scott Funnel



Here are the very latest updates for Funnelfest 2.0

Red Rows with special guest Tony Cotes will be performing at Milk Coffee Bar on Friday December 3rd at 9pm.
All proceeds will be donated to this great community cause, FUNNELFEST 2.0.
- Angelo Marignani


The Coach’s Fri. night line-up has recently changed. Our band, Grand Marais, were lucky enough, and proud to hop in the line-up !

FRIDAY DECEMBER 3 @ The Coach & Horses
Doors at 7pm
8-8:25- SILENT MOVIE TYPE
8:40-9:05 – THE HEAT SEEKING MOISTURE MISSILES
9:20-9:45 – HAMMERDOWN
10-10:25 – PITCH UNION
10:40-11:05 – GRAND MARAIS
11:20-11:45 – THE VAUDEVILLIANAIRES
12-12:25 – EXPLODE WHEN THEY BLOOM
12:40-1:05 – DEATH IN CUSTODY
1:20 – ?? – GYPSY CHIEF GOLIATH
- Meg Farron


Due to tour schedules, etc. ITABITH (Is There A Band In The House) featuring Jeff Burrows (ex-Tea Party), Kelly Hoppe (ex-Big Sugar), Dave Cyrenne (The Experiment), Nick Beluli (ex-Porcelain Mary) and Daren Dobsky (ex-Magic Hall of Mirrors) will be hosting a show on Thursday December 23rd at the FM Lounge. Door proceeds will go to Scott, just in time for Xmas.

Look for special guests like Stuart Chatwood (ex-Tea Party) and others including guests vocalists from some of Windsor’s biggest local bands of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
- Nick Beluli

More here and there.

Show Review: Girls' Night Out

It was all treats, no tricks for N2D on Halloween night at Windsor's Phog Lounge, from the moment we arrived and caught Hannah Georgas' sound check. Hearing a solo mini-set from one of Canada's queens of indie music to a room of maybe 10 people? This is why we love what we do.

Georgas was the headliner that evening for an amazing bill of lovely and talented ladies, beginning with another Vancouver-based singer-songwriter, Jody Glenham (jodyg on the R3 blog). After Russ hung up his costume-- a larger-than-life-size edition of the highly-coveted CBC Radio 3 scarf-- we settled in for her set.

A bartender by night when she's not performing/touring, moxie is the word that comes to mind when describing Glenham. That's what it takes to self-release two albums, including her latest, Focus Pull, which earned a "Best of Vancouver" nod in 2009. At the keyboard, whether delivering the 40s-inspired "Coffee Soaked" or a contemporary pop gem like "Buttons," Glenham and her warm, redolent voice are as straight-up as a shot of (insert your favourite scotch whisky here).


Glenham's Halloween costume celebrated significant events in Canadian history.


Allie Hughes
was the evening's wildcard for us. If you haven't heard of her yet, we guarantee that will change. Even in the indie world there are a lot of bands doing the same thing, albeit well; artists like Allie Hughes give the status quo a welcome jolt. As much as we dislike cliches-- and Hughes is about as far from cliched as you can get-- sometimes no other words will do: we were blown away. While Hughes is definitely the diva (in person she was modest and not surprisingly, a tad eccentric), we were also really impressed by her band. Operatic and unabashedly original, don't miss the chance to see Allie Hughes live.



Following a six-piece band, especially one as over-the-top as Hughes, isn't easy but Hannah Georgas and guitarist/keyboardist Andrew Braun more than held their own.

With her distinctive voice, candid stage presence and some of the most popular songs in Canadian indie today (and on U.S. television, if you've heard the Walmart commercial featuring "You've Got a Place Called Home"), no theatrics are needed for Georgas. The silence in between songs as Georgas performed the majority of her debut album, This is Good, plus "The Beat Stuff" and some new material (looking forward to hearing those fully arranged), was truly louder than words from a less captivated audience.

Georgas and Braun traded outfits for their Halloween "costumes."





Not only does Georgas write some pretty good alt pop, she's a pretty good sport too, willingly posing with the giant R3 scarf as we sent a special message to a fellow blogger and Hannah fan.


Photos: Russ Gordon