Evening Headlines: Jill Barber Moves to the Wag; Nickelback = A Margarine Sandwich on White Bread

First up, a venue change: white-hot chanteuse Jill Barber's show at the Burt is now going down at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (thanks to Pat for the heads up).

New York City drumming maven Ravish Momin makes his Manitoba debut (at the WECC) on Friday, October 7th.

Speaking of Friday, October 7th, Victoria, BC electro-pop residents Data Romance stop by the Park Theatre that night.

The Bluebird North songwriters showcase featuring: Renee Lamoureux, Heather Longstaffe, Ray St. Germain and Dave Wasyliw will be held at the Park Theatre on September 22nd.

Nova Scotian roots export Kim Wempe plays the Winnipeg Free Press Cafe on October 12th.

Ten Second Epic rock the WECC on Saturday, November 19th.

Add Montreal's Danielle Duval to the Royal Wood show happening at the WECC on September 18th.

And finally, if you missed this over the weekend (I did) FreeP music critics past and present made a spirited and frankly hilarious plea to Gary Bettman not to pick Nickelback to perform at NHL FaceOff going down at the Forks on Thursday, October 6th. By doing so, Rob and Bartley have forever made Nickelback and "Margarine sandwiches on white bread" synonymous in my mind.

I second their vote for Arcade Fire.

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Evening Headlines: Rumblings at the Park Theatre; Bill Bourne @ The WECC

Some more concert listings to pass along your way:

Local pop-rockers Quinzy play Park Theatre on September 9th w/ Federal Lights.

Resident blues-rock merchant Romi Mayes has a cd release party going down there on September 16th w/ Jay Nowicki.

Speaking of cd release shindigs at the Park, Dan Frechette's happens there on October 6th w/ The Dylanaires.

And Scott Hinkson is also releasing his new disc, One Beside Two, at the Park on September 24th.

Add Sara Lowes to the September 19th bill there already featuring Said The Whale and Rah Rah.

Bill Bourne & The Radio Free Dance Band perform at the West End Cultural Centre on Saturday, October 8th alongside Hindi Zahra.

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Elliott BROOD Further Fleshes out the Impossibly Great Fall Season at the WECC

Toronto three-piece act Eliott BROOD are touring this fall in support of their third outing, Days Into Years, due out September 27th via Paper Bag. And the band's itinerary includes a stop at the WECC on October 29th. One Hundred Dollars supports.

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Mark Kozelek To Make Rare Appearance in Winnipeg

Mark Kozelek (of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon) has just one show listed on his website for the rest of 2011: Winnipeg concert hotspot The West End Cultural Centre on Friday, November 4th. Presale is currently underway and the code is reportedly sunkilmoon. Public sales commence this Friday. Tickets run at $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

But expect this to sell out.

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Ohbijou Set To Play The WECC

Ohbijou have just added a string of Western Canadian tour dates including a stop at our very own and rather bustling West End Cultural Centre on November 12th. Look for their new record, Metal Meets, on September 27th.

What a fall lineup at the WECC!

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Contest: Enter to win two tickets to see Greg Macpherson (Quiet) @ The WECC

Courtesy of the West End Cultural Centre, I've got a pair of ducats to giveaway for the incomparable Greg MacPherson's live show going down on Saturday, September 10th. Please note: this is for the quiet edition of the weekend (previous day's show is the loud version).

If you're interested in checking out the show, fire me off an email (on the right hand side) by Thursday, September 1st @ noon CST with the subject line "Greg MacPherson Ticket Giveaway" and your name in the email's body. Winning name will be drawn randomly sometime that afternoon and contacted shortly thereafter. As always, one entry per person please!

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Album Review: Washed Out - Within and Without

Rating: *** out of five.

Of the myriad sub-genre permutations bandying about the contemporary indie music landscape, it can be argued that the most aptly named just might be chillwave. On Within and Without, one-man-band Washed Out (Ernest Greene) unabashedly wears the aesthetics of this aural movement on his sleeve and fully embraces its key signifiers: airy vocals, casually danceable rhythms and pretty, synth-led melodies. While several key tracks such as the warm Soft and the late-night vibes of Before are carefully arranged and demand relistens to unearth their shimmering brilliance, many others easily slip into the background. Chillwave can do that sometimes.

-Mykael Sopher

Republished with permission from Uptown Magazine.

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Album Review: Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest

****1/2 out of Five

Eight criminally long years have passed since treasured country-folk songstress Gillian Welch brought her last record, Soul Journey, into being. Whatever the reasons for this near-decade gap between albums — writer’s block, end-product unhappiness — the songs populating The Harrow & The Harvest instantly alleviate any concerns about Welch’s inability to produce quality material. Throughout this fifth proper release, Welch’s subtle, melancholy alto and alluring, honest narratives work symbiotically within songwriting partner David Rawling’s inspired and intricate acoustic guitar framework. The expansive arrangements of Soul Journey are stripped away in favour of skeletal instrumentation, and only banjos, acoustic guitars, harmonicas and percussion courtesy of hands and feet are called to action. This is a tuneful, beautiful and soulful collection from one of America’s finest purveyors of folk.

-Mykael Sopher

Republished with permission from Uptown Magazine

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Evening Headlines: Red River Rampage Moved to the New Year; Wilderness of Manitoba @ The Lo Pub

First up, due to their bassist’s debilitating back injury, local punk heroes Propagandhi have cancelled their gig at September 13th’s Red River Rampage gala. The good news is that the event organizers still wanna do the whole soiree with Propagandhi and have shifted the event to March 23rd, 2012.

The Wilderness of Manitoba is heading this way in September and will bring their chamber-folk sounds to the Lo Pub on the 3rd.

Canadian hard punk rockers Kill Matilda will blow the roof of the Cavern on September 30th.

Friends of blog The Eardrums has landed the snazzy opening spot for Wool on Wolves, October 3rd at the Park Theatre.

Award-winning blues/roots singer-songwriter Matt Andersen has booked a two night stay at the WECC on September 20th and 21st.

OKA and Delhi 2 Dublin play the Garrick on October 22nd.

Oh My Darling release their newest disc, Sweet Nostalgia, at the WECC on November 5th.

And finally, guitar virtuoso Kim Churchill is at the Folk Exchange on September 29th.

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Evening Headlines: The Abrams Brothers playing The Park Theatre w/ Oh Susanna; Fleshing out some shows

First up, rising folk stars The Abrams Brothers perform at the Park Theatre on Sunday, October 23rd w/ the lovely and talented Oh Susanna.

On Friday, September 9th genre-blenders Bonjay play the Pyramid.

Add Painted Palms to the September 16th bill at the Albert already featuring Braids and Pepper Rabbit.

And nascent Winnipeg act Modern Romantics to the Yukon Blonde show going down October 2nd at the WECC.

Opening for PS I Love You, September 24th at the Albert: Atlanta exports The Balkans.

The Wheat Pool’s Mike Angus brings his debut solo effort, Hymns, to the Ellice Theatre on September 10th w/ Andy Shauf.

And finally, this Saturday, Raizen Band plays the Cavern w/ special guests Eve Rice (aka DJBeekeeni) and Potatoes.

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The Pack a.d. bring Unpersons to the Lo Pub

Vancouver's garage-rock pairing The Pack a.d. are dropping their fourth proper release, Unpersons, on September 13 via Mint Records and have booked a slew of dates in support, including a stop at the Lo Pub on September 30th. Also on the bill is melodic indie-rockers Sun Wizard.

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Evening Headlines: Cuff The Duke @ Park Theatre; Propagandhi @ Red River Rampage 2011

Toronto's Cuff The Duke are releasing their fifth album, the suggestively titled Morning Comes, on October 8th via Paper Bag Records, and will be hitting the road later that same month for a Western Canadian jaunt. This includes a date at the Park Theatre on Friday, October 21st.

Meanwhile...resident punk act Propagandhi play this year's Red River Rampage on Saturday, September 10th held at Red River Ex Park. Also on the bill are Dreadnaut, Asado, Somehow Still Standing, On This Day, and Seventh Sin.

Flamenco guitar wizard Juan Martin is at the WECC on Thursday, November 17th.

Juno-winning singer-songwriter David Francey plays the Park Theatre on Wednesday, October 12th.

And finally, songstress Jill Barber performs at the Burt on Tuesday, November 15th.

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Evening Headlines: Perms CD Launch; John K. Samson On The New Jets Logo

Local pop-rockers The Perms (above) are launching their newest disc, Sofia Nights, at the Park Theatre on October 14th.

Genre-bender Cécile Doo-Kingué stops by Le Garage Café on August 14th.

On Friday, August 19th Regina’s Fur Eels rock the Cavern.

The opening act for Greg MacPherson: Quiet Edition is…Jesse Hill (of Slow Dancers). Show goes down on September 10th at the WECC. 

Add Dinosaur Bones to the rockin’ October 1st bill at the Pyramid feat. Ra Ra Riot and Imaginary Cities.

And finally, if you haven’t read this already (it made its way into my inbox/Twitter feed many times yesterday), Weakerthans leader John K Samson recently penned his thoughts on the new Jets logo for The Winnipeg Review. Spoiler alert: he’s not a fan.

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