Blog: >Dial 6-1-3_

The Golden Dogs will be in your face at Maverick's Friday night I've already said my share on the The Golden Dogs and their absolutely rock-n-roll live show, so I won't add much more, other than be sure to keep your head up. They seem to have a tendency to knock things around whenever they visit: last year at Maverick's, it was a repeatedly falling mic stand (and lead singer), and at this year's Tulip Festival they upped the ante with a drum kit that refused to stay in one piece. dial613 [...]

Just a quick report: links to download mp3s will actually work now. (right click the link, choose "save target as") dial613 was having some major issues with reliable file hosting, and so a lot of the mp3 files which had been posted (read: all of them) were likely useless. But no more! e-mail dial613 if you notice any problems from this point on. Because you didn't before. Jerk.

Folk-rock career musician Danny Michel first made a name for himself in the city while playing a residency at Elgin Street's Manx Pub back in the late 90s, then continued to grow his reputation during a short stint as a member of locally-based (and now-defunct) Starling , after which he kept working at it as a solo artist with frequent sets at The Black Sheep Inn . On June 13, the 2005 Juno nominee (for "Best New Artist"... hmmm) released his 7th solo album, Valhalla , which is his 3rd in [...]

The Bellrays will unpack their trumpets at Zaphod's on the 17th The Motown soul-and-rock-and-roll band The Bellrays , the introspective (and cud dly ) Bright Eyes , and punk-rock legends(?) DOA are three big-name acts that will see Ottawa this week, and I have a feeling that there isn't one person who will be going to more than one show out of the three. dial613 is really looking forward to The Golden Dogs , whose sold-out show at [...]

No, no, no, it's not what you think... The "West" in Westfest refers not to the origin of the artists, but to the location of the festival: the West end of Ottawa (the festivities are all based in Westboro, centered around Richmond Road). Funny? Yes. But does it matter? No! Billing itself as Ottawa's newest large-scale festival ( Xpress puts its capacity at 10 000), Westfest flies (albeit under the radar) into its 3rd year with a stellar combination of music, dance, art, and more. But here at dial613, it's all about the music. (...And the show [...]

The Hylozoists tag-teaming on the, uh, thingy, at Hamilton's The Casbah earlier this year Friday night, go see The Hylozoists , an orchestral pop ensemble whose members include a handful of Cuff The Duke , a couple Fembots , and one Weakerthan . You may go for the vibraphone, but you'll stay for the strings, two drum sets, mallets, glockenspiel, and other instruments that may or may not actually have names. The one that intrigues me most is this thing that looks like a piano, and it's played with something resembling [...]

dial613 headquarters has been buzzing lately... it's mosquito season, and someone forgot to close the screen door (har-de-har). But seriously folks , really, things have been hectic. Despite this, the show listings (on the sidebar to your right) have still been updating daily. They will now be among the first to tell you about upcoming shows like: The French Kicks (w/ Jetplanes Of Abraham , worth the price of admission alone), [...]

Elliott Brood make their way to Westfest this weekend Ottawa is treated to at least one notable show every day this week, with the conspicuous exception of 06.06.06 . Hmm... This week also marks the (un)official beginning of music festival season: the questionably-named Westfest is followed in the coming weeks by both the "International" Jazz Festival and Bluesfest (plug: dial613 will be giving a rundown and recommended schedule for each, so hang around). dial613 is making sure to see Elliott Brood and the rest of [...]

Elliott Brood make their way to Westfest this weekend Ottawa is treated to at least one notable show every day this week, with the conspicuous exception of 06.06.06 . Hmm... This week also marks the (un)official beginning of music festival season: questionably-titled Westfest is followed in the coming weeks by both the "International" Jazz Festival and Bluesfest (plug: dial613 will be giving a rundown and recommended schedule for each, so hang around). dial613 is making sure to see Elliott Brood and the rest of Westfest. [...]

First, a gold star and pat on the back goes to locals (dare I say supergroup?) Jetplanes Of Abraham for their set last night opening for The Most Serene Republic. But you need to see for yourself.. I think your next chance will be August 2, when they open for The French Kicks. Meanwhile, you can listen to one track off their myspace . Alright, so there are a couple things going on that you might want to look into this weekend for when you're not at one of the twelve (!) dial613-approved shows happening [...]

The guy 2nd from left better not wear that Toledo Mud Hens t-shirt in Ottawa Lynx territory. Tonight, go see The Most Serene Republic . One of the few on Arts & Crafts 's roster not related by members to Broken Social Scene, The Most Serene Republic is... well... still related to Broken Social Scene, except by the actual music, which features poppy instrumental jams with plenty of experimentation and improvisation. But most importantly: sing-alongs and hand-clapping! /The Most Serene Republic at Zaphod's, 8 PM, $10 in advance [...]

So you know that Celtic-like music you hear when you head into Irish pubs, right? Yeah, that fast-paced fiddling, "hey!"-laden, almost Riverdance-y formula that sounds pretty much the same every time you hear it.. or maybe it's just the beer that makes it seem that way. ( note: I'm going somewhere with this, I promise ) Now think of that typical guy who personifies that music. We all know him: the husky, checked-shirt-wearing late-20's male with a really short brush cut and permanently seen with a pint in hand. He's always having a good time and [...]

The Most Serene Republic play Zaphod's on June 1 Looks like, at least for this week, Wednesday is the new Friday, although Friday still remains Friday. Next week, I'm sure Wednesday will be back to being the same old Wednesday it was before.. so embrace it while you can. (in tv junkie terms: this Wednesday is Dwight with a concussion . ...anybody?) dial613 is most looking forward to seeing The Most Serene Republic and My Dad vs. Yours. What show will you be sure not to miss? (Man Man [...]

Tonight, go see the honest guitar-strumming of Halifaxer Halifaxian Nova Scotian Joel Plaskett (along with his band The Emergency), who won the East Coast Music Award for male artist of the year. He also picked up the award (and deservingly so) for songwriter of the year with his warm-and-fuzzy tune "Happen Now," which he wrote on his father's tenor guitar , making it even that much cuter . / Joel Plaskett Emergency @capital music hall, doors 8PM, $17.50 in advance DOWNLOAD - Happen Now [...]

If there was ever a party in outer space, Hilotrons would be the perfect band to play it. With unreal synths, robotic voice effects, handclaps (dial613's ultimate weakness), and perfectly placed bleeps and bloops, the 4-piece group, whose members make up a surprising proportion of other Ottawa bands (The Empiricals, Kepler [ r.i.p. ] ), know exactly what buttons to push to get the kids up and dancing. And not only do they have all these quirky sounds perfectly polished on their records, but Hilotrons make the effort to replicate the sound live so that the [...]

Making the drive down from Waterloo, Andrew Vincent looks to have found himself a home in Ottawa (although maybe not literally? ) being on local label Kelp's roster and playing local shows since around 2000. Andrew Vincent peppers his lyrics with local staples like Bronson Avenue and Oldies 1310, which not only work seamlessly into the songs, but also let the beer-drinking / radio-hating / dagnabit-i'm-stuck-in-rush-hou r masses in on the music. But he and The Pirates don't lean on those personal connections to get love, always including cleverly crafted pop arrangements, witty wordplay, and [...]

Last night, the official dial613 street team spent a couple hours roaming Bank and Rideau throwing up posters. As opposed to the unofficial dial613 street team, who spent the night threatening to smash bottles in people's faces, ripping down bus ads, and falling over on Rideau. If you are here because you saw one of these posters, I'm... surprised!.. but happy, nonetheless. Welcome! But could you do me a favor? If you saw the official (and soon-to-be-revised) dial613 poster , I'd appreciate it if you e-mailed me ( dial613@gmail.com ) or commented here to tell [...]

It's a quiet week coming up, giving all the Tulip Festival attendees time to dry out their favourite show-going clothes before trekking back out into the ever-dangerous late-May weather. My curiousity is piqued by Andrew Vincent's choice of venue (or maybe the venue's choice of him?). dial613 is most looking forward to Joel Plaskett. What shows will you be checking out? Who is missing from this list? May 24 - Andrew Vincent (minus the Pirates) at Shanghai Restaurant [...]

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