Sunday, May 3, 2009

John Doe and The Sadies @ Call the Office

London becomes a very different city this time of year. The flowers are in full bloom, the sun is shining, and most of the university and college kids have all gone home. The same can be said of Call the Office. Earlier in the week Shout Out Out Out put on a serious dance party that got plenty of young bums shaking. On Friday, Call the Office offered quite the change of pace with a throwback country show from John Doe and the Sadies which brought out the local crowd, with plenty of friendly faces from local indie radio station 94.9 CHRW.

The way the set took shape, it seemed like two shows in one. First the Sadies played rockabilly induced honky tonk. Country hooks gave way to extended guitar jams that were absolutely ferocious. Double guitar riffs were flying at breakneck speed, leaving no doubt that the Sadies sure know how to handle a guitar, let alone Dallas and Travis Good's bang-on lyrics and tone. The first portion of the set had an unmistakable punk flavour, ironic considering ex-punk rock god John Doe hadn't even taken the stage.

John Doe took centre stage looking dapper in a charcoal grey suit and a freshly cut hairdo. His musical contributions matched his throwback demeanor as he belted nostalgic country track after track. The pinnacle of the night's longing for a romantic love long passed was the song, “Husband and Wives” which Jon Doe sung with all the conviction of a longtime country singer who knows a thing or two about love. The older crowd could definitely relate and brought John Doe and the Sadies out for a well-received encore.

John Doe thanked opening band Young Rival (one of my favs) for putting on an excellent opening show as they so often do. They've opened for big names at CTO including the Von Bondies, where they stole the show. From the big name American band If you haven't heard of Hamilton's Young Rival be sure to check out their tunes because Young Rival's sound is as infectious as the swine flu.

See you at the shows,
Adam Szymanski

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers on Tour!

The Autumn Lovers are going on tour.  All the way from London, Ontario, at a venue near you! 

May 1: Toronto, ON The Rivoli

May 7: Kingston, ON The Mansion

May 9: Fredericton, NB The Capitol 

May 10: Charlottetown, PEI The Ampersand Cafe (early, all ages)

May 10: Charlottetown, PEI Baba’s Lounge

May 11: Sydney, NS St. Pat’s Church (early, all ages)

May 11: Sydney, NS Bunker’s

May 12: Halifax, NS House Show

May 13: Halifax, NS Eye Level Art Gallery

May 14: Moncton, NB C’Mon Inn

May 15: Sackville, NB George’s Fabulous Roadhouse

May 16: Saint John, NB House Show

May 17: Trois Rivieres, PQ Le Charlot

May 19: Ottawa, ON Avante-Garde Bar


You can find more info for each show at our myspace or our "official" website ... ooooh aaaah, how professional. You can follow us on twitter through the Open House Arts Collective we'll send you breaking news about the swine flu. 


Also... thanks to R.O.B. down there (one post below) for that amazing review! 

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Saturday, April 25, 2009

London's Oh! Fest is Oh-So-Good

London's Oh! Fest takes place this weekend at multiple live music venues around the city. The festival is put on the by Open House Arts Collectiv, London's own arts collective. Great Canadian acts will be playing all weekend long, including CHRW Local Album of the Year winner, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, who kicked off the festivities last night with a stellar performance we've come to expect from London's folk ambassadors.

Tonight (Saturday May 25) at The Black Shire Pub more exciting Canadian bands are strutting their stuff. New-age disco outfit Lioness highlights the show opened by The Ghost is Dancing and A Horse and His Boy. Lioness combines shopped and screwed disco with experimental synths to put together a sound worth hearing live. Their most popular track, a bona fide club hit, “You're My heart” is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Lioness.

The Ghost is Dancing combines an alt-rock sensibility, with some great hooks. This band is so catchy you'll want to sing along and with the perfectly placed chanting interludes. A mystical quality emanates The Ghost is Dancing's sound that will surely draw the audience into their live set tonight. London's own A Horse and His Boy will open with their ambient sound and distorted lyrics.

Sunday night will also be a can't-miss evening at Chaucer's Pub. Singer-songwriter Laura Barrett headlines alongside The Burning Hell, one of Canada's most intriguing bands at the moment. Justin wrote a full feature on them a while back, be sure to check it out.

See you all at Oh! Fest,

Adam Szymanski

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Wednesday, April 8, 2009

You Should Know: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers

Olenka and the Autumn Lovers are a collective out of London, Ontario with most members coming out of the Open House Arts Collective (Producers of, amoung other things the Oh! Fest.) Fronted by Polish singer/songwriter Olenka Krakus the band mixes eastern European influences with North American folk to create a style all their own. From It's Not the Band I Hate It's Their Fans
"The last time that I saw this band, I was completely taken in by their uplifting sound, as well as Olenka Krakus' captivating vocal charms. They've been back a few times, but until now, I had been unable to catch their live show again. In the interim, they've continued to impress new audiences on a regular basis and, as I predicted, the buzz surrounding them is starting to grow."
I really don't need to say alot about the band though as there is a ton of media for you to check out so you can decide for yourself what you think. For more info on Olenka and the Autumn Lovers check out their Facebook, Myspace, or Web Site (there are also some tour dates farther down the page.)

First you can check out an entire show of theirs recorded at Aeolian Hall, London, ON on June 15, 2008 at CBC Radio 2's Concerts on Demand. People have also put a ton of stuff on YouTube including this CD Release party.

P1: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers CD Release



The rest of this is here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

You can also see them, starting tomorrow night in Toronto at
9 Apr 2009 8:00 PM - The Rivoli - Megan Hamilton CD Release show - Toronto, ON

Oh! Fest:
24 Apr 2009 8:00 PM - Oh! Fest - London, ON

May Tour:
7 May 2009 8:00 PM - Cafe Dekcuf - Ottawa, ON
8 May 2009 8:00 PM - not yet confirmed - Montreal, QC
9 May 2009 8:00 PM - The Capital - Fredericton, NB
10 May 2009 8:00 PM - The Ampersand (6-8p), Baba’s (evening) - Charlottetown, PEI
11 May 2009 8:00 PM - Sydney, NS
12 May 2009 8:00 PM - not yet confirmed - Halifax, NS or Sackville, NB
13 May 2009 8:00 PM - not yet confirmed - Halifax, NS or Sackville, NB
14 May 2009 8:00 PM - The Paramount - Moncton, NB
15 May 2009 8:00 PM - not yet confirmed - St. Andrews, NB

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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

LOLA Concert Series in London Thursday!

The actual LOLA festival isn't for months, but the folks in charge are busy bringing us great concerts to keep us going until then....

London Ontario Live Arts and Museum London present....

Muskox, Canaille, and Not the Wind Not the Flag
Thursday, April 2nd at Museum London
8:30PM
$10 advance / $12 at the door

Advance tickets are available at Grooves Records downtown and at Infosource, in the University Community Centre at UWO.

Check out the Facebook event!

Hope to see you there....

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

London: Another one bites the dust...

Today marks the last day that the Alex P. Keaton will be open.

This afternoon, they are holding a garage sale, so this is your last opportunity to grab a piece of history and say goodbye. It begins at 4:30pm roughly and will go a few hours at least.

As a loyal patron of the Alex P. Keaton, I am both saddened that it is closing and frustrated that we lost another music venue in London.

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Saturday, March 21, 2009

London's Oh! Release First Compilation TODAY!

London's Open House Arts Collective has been extremely busy for the past few months putting together their first (of hopefully many more to come) compilation.

The disc features tracks by 12 different acts in the Forest City such as Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, the Lava Lamps, and many more who have made their mark on the London scene.

The compilation is only 5 dollars and went on sale this afternoon at the London Indie Media Fair. It's also available at Grooves Records and shows put on by the oh! collective.

It received much praise from London arts guru James Reaney in today's issue of the London Free Press.

Keep your eye out for this collective as they bring more great music to the city in April for the first ever oh! fest, as well as other great shows around town in the meantime.

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