The Bloodstains Across the Prairies 7” vinyl compilation, which features several Saskatoon bands, has been put up for pre-order by Mammoth Cave Records.

Featuring local groups such as Feral Children, Haunted Souls, Auld Beak and The Eyebats, as well as a handful of bands from Winnipeg and Manitoba, the vinyl compilation is a part of a series that features bands by region all across Canada.

Although he recognizes the logistical challenges, Mammoth Cave co-founder Paul Lawton hopes to one day showcase all areas of Canada, including the northern regions.

Lawton expects Bloodstains Across the Prairies to be released in March.

Ominocity: Having put out several of these compilations are you seeing a “regional sound” or is it more a case of like-minded bands?

Mammoth Cave: I think there are definitely some regional sounds going on here. I mean listen to the difference between the Winnipeg and Saskatoon bands – crazy differences. The only real similarities between the different singles are the similar DIY approaches to being a band.

OM: Was it more difficult to find bands for the Prairies compilation?

MC: It wasn’t hard to find bands but it was hard to find enough bands that employ the same band-mentality as us. There are tons of bands in the prairies, but lots are playing a different game that we have nothing in common with, and frankly want nothing to do with.

OM: How does the Prairies record stack up against the rest of the releases?

MC: I spent a lot longer shaping the prairies 7″ than the first three. Ontario had so many bands we wanted to work with and couldn’t. It filled up in one day. But Prairies took five months of digging, and in the end it is my favorite. Pretty much all of the bands on Bloodstains Across The Prairies are unknown outside of their scenes, and the variety/quality is amazing.

OM: Will you be working with any Prairies bands for future releases?

MC: We are doing a Haunted Souls 7″ very soon. We love that band so much. I imagine that we will work with the Microdot/Atomic Don crew again soon (both bands have almost identical members, everyone just switches instruments). We want to work with every band! It’s just hard because we never have enough money.

Saskatoon’s Shuyler Jansen is dropping a track from his upcoming remix album entitled Water Wings.

Additionally, Jansen is playing live this Friday, February 10 at the Bassment, along with Foam Lake and Powder Blue.

While Jansen says Water Wings, which features remixes from his latest album entitled Voice From The Lake, may not see release until some time in March, he hopes to have some preview copies available on Friday.

Voice From The Lake, released on Scratch Records, has drawn rave reviews, and Jansen expects more touring and festival dates alongside Foam Lake in 2012.

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A big fat thumbs up to all the Saskatchewan nominees for the 2012 Juno Awards:

The Sheepdogs for New Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year
The Deep Dark Woods for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year
Donny Parenteau for Aboriginal Album of the Year

Ex-Saskatonian Shaun Mason, who plays under the moniker of Dumb Angel, is set to release his new album entitled Eight Moments of Spring in March.

On his third full-length, Mason revisits his usual spaced-out folk muse, but adds a welcome layer of dynamics and musicianship. The songs drone appropriately, plodding behind a sheen of haze and introspective meandering. But despite the orchestral melancholy, these songs are among Dumb Angel’s most positive-sounding work yet.

Recorded in Montreal, where he relocated several years ago, Mason says that several other familiar Saskatoon musicians helped flesh out his songs, including Jordan Perry, Tessa Kautzman, along with Benoît Gauthier of Quebec.

“Tessa Kautzman sings on every song on the album,” says Mason. “The whole album is drenched in her and my harmonies. I think we spent two of our six recording days just on harmonies. We didn’t really plan it that way but it just kind of happened. It kind of ended up making the record what it is.”

Having spent time in Korea in addition to the prairies, Mason hesitates to cite his home of Montreal as a contributor to his sound.

“I wouldn’t really say the songs, or at least the lyrics, are reflective of my life here in Montreal,” says Mason. “There are a couple of little references to Montreal, but most of these songs encompass a long period of time. I would say there is much more Saskatchewan and Asia in there than Montreal. That said a lot of the music and structure was really fleshed here, jamming with my piano man, Benoît.

“I have never been one of those people enamored with that whole ‘Montreal music scene’ thing,” continues Mason. “I came to Montreal for school and music was an afterthought. But it’s great that it somehow worked out that I was able to record and album at Breakglass and all that. I really wasn’t expecting that to happen.

For Eight Moments of Spring, Mason teamed up with Breakglass Studio, which is owned and operated by Jace Lasek of Besnard Lakes along with Dave Smith and James Benjamin.

“Recording at Breakglass was a blast,” says Mason. “Jace and James are real gentlemen, and made the whole experience really positive and stress-free. They also really know what they are doing, which makes everything to do with recording an album so much easier and straightforward. We somehow managed to record and mix the whole thing in 11 days, which apparently is kind of a feat to pull off.

“Oh yeah, Andrew Dickson from Tricky Woo was dry-walling a new room in the studio the whole time we were recording.”

15-year-old me is officially rolling in his grave – I will fully admit to liking The Deftones.

Except I’m not really rolling. It’s more of a half-hearted cold-shoulder because up until now I’ve only ever really been able to tolerate White Pony. And this.

Crosses ††† is a spare vehicle for Deftones front man Chino Moreno to wax dramatically about whatever it is that he sings about – not exactly a huge selling point. Then again, when I stumbled upon this at random, and totally dug it, I had no idea this had anything to do with Moreno and his faux-nu-metal nonsense so what does that say about me?

Moody, temperamental and epic, Crosses ††† is clean and engaging while only merely skirting ostentatious.

Speaking of ostentatious, the band is selling their debut EP on vinyl for the low price of $100. Or, you know, you could just download it for free…

I miss 15-year-old me.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH
- Iced Earth, Symphony X and Warbringer at Louis’
- Miesha and the Spanx, Jeans Boots and Ride Til Dawn at Amigos
- Shuyler Jansen & Foam Lake and Powder Blue at The Bassment

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH
- Tovah, Jeans Boots, Jeremy Lane, Cidne Treen and The Seahags at 302

Saskatoon’s Slow Down Molasses, along with filmmaker Andrei Feheregyhazi, are debuting a video for their song “Bodies” on NME.com.

Taken from their second full-length album Walk Into The Sea, the group are set to release a companion piece EP entitled Bodies of Water: Remixes in the next couple of weeks.

Feheregyhazi, who has also worked with Library Voices on their song “Be My Juliette Gréco, Paris 1949″, has been screened at several festivals across North America, worked on a Gemini-winning TV series “Hell on Hooves” and has been featured on CBC’s ZED.

Click here to read Ominocity’s interview with Feheregyhazi.

Editor’s note: Yeah, yeah, this is being posted almost a week late. Some of us are still nursing hangovers from last weekend. Blarf.

Weekend in Review part two of two.

After racing up to Broadway from the Village Guitar & Amp Co. party, Amigos was already packed and buzzing.

As it turns out we got there just in time: the show sold out.

Up first were Dirt, a new-ish local group that I half wrote off because of their silly, monosyllabic name. Fail. The three-piece were surprisingly impressive – at one point during their aching-punk rock set I leaned over to a friend and said that they reminded me of a band that didn’t necessarily sound like Nomeansno but they played like they should open for Nomeansno. New band goal? Regardless, Dirt were taut and well-practiced, and I hope to see more of them soon.

Up next was the highly anticipated debut of the all-femme Powder Blue. Featuring members of Foggy Notions, We Were Lovers and Ultimate Power Duo, the five-piece band looked completely badass with a massive light show backing them, much to the amusing chagrin of local amateur photographers. Featuring pounding drums and swirling, rhythmic guitar lines, the audience swooned and swayed while the members rooted themselves down on stage. Word is that Powder Blue will be playing again soon with Shuyler Jansen and Foam Lake.

Headliners The Reform Party similarly rocked in their usual mean, uptight way. Sounding well-rehearsed as always, I nevertheless found my attention lagging – having two amazing local bands debut before you is a hard act to follow. Regardless, the evening was pretty much a rousing success.

That is unless you were that drunk dude who totally bit it on the sidewalk in front of all those smoking people. Sucks to be you.

Editor’s note: Yeah, yeah, this is being posted almost a week late. Some of us are still nursing hangovers from last weekend. Blarf.

Weekend in Review part one of two.

After a particularly delicious-but-debilitating night sampling beer from local brewer Paddock Wood’s 1,000 Monkeys stout unveiling the night before, hitting up a party – parties as it were – wasn’t a particularly tempting offer.

Blarf.

But receiving free tickets to an exclusive business event at Saskatoon’s newest music gear store at Village Guitar & Amp Co. – which coincidentally also featured Paddock Wood beverages – was too good to pass up.

Village Guitar & Amp Co. is located at 432 20th Street W. just a few blocks down from the Two Twenty office building and nearly across the street from the Park Café. Taking advantage of the vanguard of new businesses in the neighbourhood, owners Todd Peters and Dan Canfield offer a musical juxtaposition from the stark contrast of seedy pawnshop guitars that typically prowl the area.

The store, however, had been completely cleared out for the musical guests, a countrified set from locals Massey & the Fergusons – who feature Village co-founder Peters on guitar and vocals.

The group played a particularly upbeat and banging set – having not seen the band in some time I felt a little sheepish for having written them off years ago. Also showing off a hilarious and bold new T-shirt design from local screen printer Hard Pressed, Massey & the Fergusons feature strong songwriting along with competent and entertaining musicianship.

The party itself was a good time – various cheeses lined a table in a back room along with plates filled with delicious appetizers. The atmosphere was a little stark – an empty retail store doesn’t exactly scream super happy fun times but the vibe was akin to the pop-up sites of mad DJ’ed dance parties that are rampant in large Canadian cities like Montreal.

However, one complaint of the evening was the lack of gear featured in the store – a live demonstration of boutique pedals mysteriously named “Charlie Brown” likely would have helped drum up sales and offered a closer look into what the fledgling business has to offer.

And while it certainly makes sense that the equipment was put away prior to the party – drunkenness and $2,000 amps make for scary, sloppy bedfellows – it didn’t really lend itself to the feeling that there is some really cool gear to be discovered there.

No matter, Village Guitar & Amp Co. is located in a beautiful building and offers a unique and exciting venue for a city that features a vibrant up-and-coming music scene – lets all hope the party continues.

January Style Guide
This one was a pleasant surprise. Conjured up by the talented and amazing Caitlin Pickett, the January Style Guide resonated with a huge amount of people – especially surprising considering that the founders of Ominocity are known for being slovenly chumps who wouldn’t know a half-windsor knot if it was dipped in gin and slapped against their collective ass-cheeks.

Band Swap VI Review
Band Swap may just be the social event of the season for Saskatoon. Not only does it bring in a sellout crowd every year but it happens during the Christmas season crush when everyone who pitifully moved away slinking back to their depressing hometown for another piss-up before slinking back to whatever big city they decided to go to college at. But maybe most importantly you get to hear songs by Journey, Rush and other faux-metal greats. Ugh.

Reform Party Matador Video Premiere
Saskatoon’s Reform Party rule. The end.

Lugo Review
Lugo, the mysteriously-named one-night-only festival at the Mendel Art Gallery, sort of killed it this year. Combining theatrics, live music, live art and a crowd of ridiculously sexy people playing dress-up, the fundraiser has established itself as a local black tie affair that caters to those who don’t think twice about sneaking in purse vodka and pocket Boh.

Saskatoon’s Vive Announces They Are No More
When Saskatoon’s promotion concern vive announced their disbandment – including the cancellation of the perennially popular vivefest – the Internet kind of went apeshit. And while Ominocity, and pretty much every other person in Saskatoon who cares remotely about indie rock, mourns the lost, we all acknowledge that it was a cool thing while it lasted. Here’s to the next thing.

I recall the first few house shows I attended with some real fondness. Small groups of friends all shared the same silly secret: a band was playing in someone’s basement. The covertness of it all, plus the constant fear of being ticketed with noise complaints, made for some thrills and a feeling that we were all doing something we shouldn’t. This weekend, I had the chance to relive some of those titillating feelings of excitation.

Friday afternoon, while wandering around at the university, I received a text message from a friend inviting me to watch his dad’s band practice.

Also, beer was involved.

What could be better? I agreed to join and was whisked away to the basement of a consulting firm in the downtown core. What I thought was a private jam turned out to be a full-on office party, where a band made up of engineers and architects were entertaining at a small staff function celebrating the end of the workweek. Bottles of beer and platters of food were scattered throughout the room. I tried to stifle my snickering as employees frowned at me with unfamiliarity, knowing that we weren’t really allowed to be there.

Uncapping a beer, I turned my attention to the band – a quintet, who played through a well-planned set of cover songs by Blue Rodeo, Neil Young, and The Beatles, amongst other well-known hits. The musicians smiled shyly at the friendly heckles from their co-workers, which were always followed by offers of more beer. As I chatted with the friend who brought me to the function, I began sneaking snacks from the table of food. Nobody said anything, or even really acknowledged me, which I took to mean I was allowed full admission to what was available, and grazed unashamedly before we decided to leave.

The following night, my band, Savs, was scheduled to play a mysterious house show in the Varsity View area. We arrived with three cars full of gear and unloaded our equipment into a backyard shed, which was slowly being warmed by a propane heater. After barely squeezing amplifiers and drums through the tiny door, I realized that we were the only band performing, and that we were playing a black metal-themed goodbye party.

Sweet.

Bearded men skulked around the yard adorned in sinister corpse paint, clutching cans of beer and fistfuls of cigarettes. Thankfully, they were friendly. As the night went on and the black and white face paint was passed around, other humanoid creatures appeared, including zombies, ICP members and kitty-cats.

Which led to some other feelings that we were all doing something we shouldn’t.

Saskatoon microbrewers Paddock Wood recently launched their 1,000 Monkeys Stout on the weekend of Jan. 27.

Hosted in the Two Twenty building, well-dressed go-getters shuffled diligently while clutching plastic cups of booze, keeping a wary eye on the Tweet wall. The event was kept somewhat secretive with an exclusive RSVP-only guest list – likely a good idea when free beer is involved. Bottles of Loki and Red Hammer flowed fiercely.

Those beers, however, could hardly compare to the beer of the evening – 1,000 Monkeys, a Russian imperial stout that’s been aged in Wild Turkey bourbon barrels, packs a gorilla’s wallop.

The initial thought was that the beer was bitey and thick, with notes of smokiness. Some said it had chocolate notes, while others noted a roasted coffee flavour. Although madly robust, the taste was still smooth enough to mask the 10% alcohol content of the beverage.

Thankfully, Paddock Wood had the foresight to offer both a warning and some sandwiches. The food was well-heeded – the advice not so much.

One of the cooler moments of the evening was when artist Augusto Kapronczai gave a quick presentation on the making of his poster. Kapronczai had constructed a sped-up tutorial of his work, giving us six hours of art compressed into two minutes. Other highlights included some live jazz guitar performances and hanging out next door at Collective Coffee.

Paddock Wood does an excellent job of making strong, full-bodied beers that skimp neither on the deep flavours nor the boozy content. While these beers have become entrenched in my weekly purchases – certain waitresses at The Yard and Flagon are known to bring me a pint of 606 without even being asked – I’ve always wondered what Paddock Wood could do for a lighter pale ale or a blonde beer.

Call me a sissy but sometimes its novel to drink an entire six-pack and not feel completely goosey and cock-eyed.

Then again, you know a beer is good when you drink one and start fishing around for bus fare because you know its not a good idea to drive, carry a conversation or attempt to function beyond a crawl.

1,000 Monkeys was delicious, but does come with a fair warning – when I woke up the next morning I was naked in bed and facing the wrong way. My wallet was in the kitchen sink for some reason – my phone was next to the toilet.

Now that’s a fucking good beer.

Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

Back in the day Pitchfork was amazing. The new crop of reviews that would pop up mysteriously at the beginning of every day was actually a reason to get up in the morning – it was like a newspaper with stories that you actually gave a shit about. I didn’t have a home computer at the time so I would walk to the computer labs at the University of Saskatchewan and spend an embarrassing amount of time trolling on the internet looking for new bands to devour.

Pitchfork was a tool that could help catapult relatively unknown bands into the hands of an audience that really appreciated the effort put into finding new music. It was also really cool when hard-working but under-appreciated bands would get a boost – Saskatoon’s The Deep Dark Woods got mad props and their audience doubled in a day. Amazing.

However nowadays its really fucking hard not to be jaded about Pitchfork and anything they market.

The majority of the reviews skim the upper crust of mainstream crapola. Tellingly, I haven’t been excited about Pitchfork’s smorgasbord of pabulum in a long time.

Of course I still take an obligatory peek once in awhile, hoping for a scrap of the faded glory of what was once the world’s best music blog.

Cloud Nothings’ Attack on Memory is currently gracing Pitchfork’s top albums section. Relatively unknown to me, I have to admit that they are right to do so – this LP rocks in a way that’s both fun and urgent. It’s a punk rock album that rocks in such a straightforward way that it’s impossible to be pretentious. But at the same way it’s a little too cerebral for all the garage-weirdo stuff that’s popping out of the woodwork across Canada.

It’s also the first album released in 2012 that I’ve lost my shit over.

So thanks for the suggestion Pitchfork, you collection of scummy whores.

Cloud Nothings blah blah fucking blah.

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Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST
- City and Colour at The Odeon

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD
- Father Figures, Young Benjamins and Lady Deathstryke at Amigos

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH
- Library Voices at Amigos

Staff Contributor

Ryan Smith Facebook / Twitter

Ryan Smith is the developer and event coordinator of Ominocity. Smith owns a web hosting and software development company called Varial Technologies and spends his days making sure the Internet doesn’t blow up. He was formally the vocalist for punk rock band Set Aside and wishes he would have learnt how to play an instrument. He also owns way too many t-shirts with cats on them.

Saskatoon’s Powder Blue are making their debut Jan. 28, Saturday night at Amigos, opening for Reform Party. The group, comprised of members of We Were Lovers, Foggy Notions and Ultimate Power Duo, are a dreamy, washed-out psych rock haze that plods along with plenty of warm harmonies.

Kind of a no-brainer methinks.

Also of note is the Mendel Art Gallery’s opening reception for their winter exhibitions. The opening kicks off several new installations, including works from Benjamin Hettinga, who has done artwork for bands like Shooting Guns and Golden Smoke. Apparently there are free screen prints for those who attend Jan. 27, Friday night.

The Young Benjamins, a Saskatoon-based four-piece, are celebrating the recent release of their self-titled three song EP, and are quickly making a name for themselves in local circles.

The group formed when front man Neusha Mofazzali moved from England to Saskatoon four years ago, and coalesced around seasoned musicians Enver Hampton (bass) and Vaero Poulin (violin). Rounded out by drummer Kuba Szmigielski, The Young Benjamins have brought a different perspective to a rapidly expanding prairies sound.

“Moving to Canada from England really inspired me to write songs, because the whole move brought out a handful of different emotions that eventually led me to put them into a musical perspective,” says Mofazzali. “I used to just write lyric-less songs on the piano and guitar, until I moved to Canada and for some reason the transition to the prairies helped with expanding my song writing.”

Musically the band falls somewhere in-between traditional folk and indie rock. The instrumentation is telling of the genre but the arrangements are at times reminiscent of the angularness of math rock but without sounding dated.

Alternating between footstomping anthems and sleepy folk dirge-ballads, according to Mofazzali, The Young Benjamins hope to carry their current momentum into the summer tour circuit.

“We have few shows coming up in February,” says Mofazzali. “On the 3rd we are playing with Father Figures at Amigos and on the 19th we are playing at Lydia’s with Fountains of Youth. As for the near future, Young Benjamin’s are working on a tour of the States after the album is released, and playing a few more shows across the province. We are looking to do a mini tour in April after we release a single.

“I can’t wait to go on tour and play festivals.”

Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

The weather this winter has been one big dysfunctional relationship. The prairies have been non-committal, dramatic, bitchy, extreme and alternating between boring tepid to frosty anger. Someone once told me that dating someone crazy makes for good sex but rarely does it mean a good relationship.

That being said, we are all kind of stuck with the loveless prairies winter. Love it or leave it, like it or lump it.

But, having been out with a few crazies in my time, I’ve learnt a thing or two about dealing with relationships gone sour – they are a race to the bottom, so why not grab a toboggan and go hard and fast. If you’re lucky you make it to the end, brush yourself off and trudge back up the hill. If you’re unlucky you spill out over the sides and chip a tooth or rip your favourite pair of ski pants.

Thankfully winter has reverted back to its typical frozen sullen self – time to break out the Krazy Karpets, toboggans, GT Racers and discs and catch a mouthful of snow.

Of course, being something between an adult and a skid, I don’t own any of those things. Anymore. So, rather than invest in any such nonsense, we decided to grab some telltale household items and go skid tobogganing.

Pilsner beer box

This was the initial winner – the smooth coating of the cardboard was pretty much akin to that of a Krazy Karpet. And, surprisingly enough, it lasted for several runs down the hill. But after about four or five runs it started to suck, and you only got about halfway down the hill before being flipped over. Solution: bring many beer boxes.

Discarded pizza box

This wasn’t a very good toboggan. It was awkward, cumbersome and its corrugated texture kept you from picking up a decent amount of speed. However, after a few half-hearted runs down the hill, it started working better. My guess is that either the grease soaked through to the bottom of the box or else it just needed a few passes over some ice to get a decent smoothness. Solution: eat several pizzas.

Lid from Rubbermaid container

Despite having the appearance of one of those fancy store-bought toboggans that look like a spaceship, the Rubbermaid lid was a fail. The edges kept digging into the snow when I tried to push off and there wasn’t a good way to sit on it to distribute weight properly, unlike the Pilsner and the pizza boxes. Solution: keep the lid on the box and go get some pizza and beer.

Baking pan

The classic skid toboggan of choice, as made popular by the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Also made popular by not wanting to go to Shopper’s Drug Mart to buy a $2 Krazy Karpet. In any case, this pan – the GT Racer of the group – already came pre-greased and worked like a charm. That is, until my weight caused it to concave in half. Thankfully we brought a heavier pan with us and this worked even better. Solution: lay off the beer and the pizza.

Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

vive, the music promotions team that brought Saskatoon vivefest and the now-defunct all-ages music venue jale, has announced via Twitter that they are no more.

Concurrently, vivefest4, which was scheduled for April, 2012, has been cancelled.

There is no official reason from remaining founder Phil Greer. However, vive is putting on a final show at The Broadway Theatre with Said the Whale and Chains of Love, Tuesday, April 24.

vive will be missed.

Winter suddenly became cold last week. Or maybe winter just became winter. On the coldest of nights, it’s easy to seek refuge at Amigo’s Cantina and check out live music and tasty beer. So, on Friday night, with a bronchial cough teasing me like a rude poke in the ribs, I purchased a pint from my favourite bartender and sat down to enjoy performances by local Zachary Lucky and Regina’s The Lazy MKs.

Lucky kicked off the night to a polite crowd with a rare performance on electric guitar. Armed with ’61 Guild, the local songster employed an impressive finger-picking style that is often overlooked, performing old favourites as well as new songs that will soon appear on an upcoming album due this winter. I grinned into my beer as he honoured my request for a Jackson Browne tune, adding his own flair to it, and also dishing out mad props to the Karpinka Brothers, who were amongst the captivated audience members.

Waiting only long enough for chumps like me to enjoy a shivering smoke break, The Lazy MKs quickly took the stage. The Queen City trio was almost a write-off for me as a self-indulgent jam band. Featuring drums, bass and pedal steel as the main instruments, the band ripped through uppity tunes and displayed sheer mastery over their instruments. I was ready to leave, fearing an impending 12-minute pedal steel solo or similar wankery. However, after further inspection, I realized The Lazy MKs had much more to offer than just fast fingers.

Though the instruments they played hinted at a country, folk or bluegrass sound – and truly, it would be easy to confuse one of their songs for one of the many instrumental jams on any Sadies record – The Lazy MKs showed true diversity by being virtually indescribable by any one genre and ensuring each song was very different from the last.

Truthfully, I wanted to hate this band, but I couldn’t. The diversity in their compositions, and containing each song to only three minutes or so, made them exciting and completely unpredictable.

The worst part of the evening? When last call came and went, and we were forced to shuffle back into the discourteous cold.

Contributor

Aaron Soulz Twitter

A. Soulz is a lover of good books, bad coffee, weird dates, and competitive games of cribbage.  When not volunteering as a guest contributor for Ominocity, Soulz falls asleep overnight at the university library, deejays on CFCR 90.5FM, and sometimes plays in bands.

Filed under “Where Are They Now”, ex-Saskatonians Chris Reimer and Clint Needham have recently released an eponymous EP as Clunt & the Scrunts, a Victoria-based two-piece.

Reimer once put in time as the drummer for Fury and the Mouse and the Paper*Kites, while Needham played guitar for the Hawaiian Mafia.

However, Clunt & the Scrunts, a name that is equal parts humour, sex and awkwardness – an amazing first date, is a whole other beast entirely. Retaining a healthy, non-offensive twang – something that 99 per cent of non-country bands rarely ever pull off – the duo buffalo through five songs of countrified, mathy rock that resembles the Hot Snakes if they had grown up in the prairies. The guitar is interesting enough that no other stringed instruments are needed, but mercifully avoids ever being too showy.

However, their use of the Comic Sans font in their artwork makes my toes curl up in pain.

Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27TH
- King of the Prairies at Amigos

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28TH
- Reform Party and Powder Blue at Amigos
- Theory of a Deadman at TCU Place

Staff Contributor

Ryan Smith Facebook / Twitter

Ryan Smith is the developer and event coordinator of Ominocity. Smith owns a web hosting and software development company called Varial Technologies and spends his days making sure the Internet doesn’t blow up. He was formally the vocalist for punk rock band Set Aside and wishes he would have learnt how to play an instrument. He also owns way too many t-shirts with cats on them.

Misterfire, a Saskatoon-based ska group, is dropping their latest album All Lit Up on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Louis’ Pub.

The album, which features 11 tracks recorded by the fine-looking gents at The Avenue Recording Company, contains the signature ska elements – upstroke guitar licks, bouncy bass lines and horns. But vocalist/guitarist Ben Fortosky is quick to point out that the band has infused a diverse palette into their set.

“We started out playing ska covers but we branched out quite a bit since then and there is a lot more diversity,” says Fortosky. “There’s still a lot of ska but there is a jazz tune in there and a latin rock tune and some reggae songs as well.”

The band officially started in 2008 under a different name, but began picking things up in 2010 when they put on their first independent show and changed their name to Misterfire.

Despite their undying love of ska, the band is comprised of musicians who moonlight under, ahem, more reputable genres. Misterfire’s bassist plays in the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra, and the majority of the group were previously in the jazz combo The Flu, which performed at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival numerous times.

But on All Lit Up the band leapfrogs through high-octane ska that retains that solid level of musicianship and talent without ever coming off as boastful or showy. But even more importantly, Misterfire keeps things fun and dancey.

“We give a really high-energy live show,” says Forotsky. “We try and have a sense of humour about everything on stage and we like it when everything is fast-paced. We also try and throw in a few cover songs we like.

“We do Ghostbusters.”

That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.

Check out Misterfire this Saturday, Jan. 21 at Louis’ Pub for their album release show. Opening are locals Young Benjamins, whom Ominocity will be featuring in the not-so-distant future.

Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

Apple expanded their iTunes Match service to international markets last month, finally allowing Canadians to subscribe to the service for a $27.99 annual fee. iTunes Match is a different beast from music streaming services like Rdio and Spotify and instead acts as an online storage locker for your music so you can instantly access your iTunes library over the Internet from all of your iDevices.

After subscribing to iTunes Match, Apple will scan your iTunes library and match your songs against tracks they have available in the iTunes Store so that only the songs they could not match are uploaded to the cloud.  iTunes was able to match about 80% of my library so it only took an hour or two to upload my unmatched songs to the service.

Once the initial setup process is complete you can simply enable iTunes Match on any additional Mac/PC computers and on your iPhones and iPads and now your entire music library is instantly available to those devices.  No more need to sync your music!

The biggest selling feature that drove me to purchase iTunes Match is Apple’s claim that they will upgrade your poorly ripped, low quality MP3s to high quality DRM-free AAC tracks — the actual files that Apple sells on the iTunes Store.  This claim is true, however it does not happen automatically and requires a little trickery if you want to upgrade your original library. I nervously deleted my original files and let iTunes download higher quality versions, which took the better part of a day.

With my iTunes library upgraded and sounding better than ever, I spent some time looking at the files that iTunes was unable to match with the hope of upgrading even more tracks. I was able to match up more by correcting track names and by re-encoding low quality tracks, however on many occasions iTunes was unable to match just one track of an album and no amount of techno sorcery could fix it. Grr!

So is iTunes Match worth $27.99/year? If you’re happy with the current way you download music and just want an easy way to stream your library to your other computers and Apple devices, than sure, the price isn’t too bad for that. When compared to streaming music services like Rdio or Spotify, iTunes Match is a big disappointment. I’d rather pay more and have full access to stream everything the iTunes Store has to offer. Unless Apple really enhances the service over the next year I will be cancelling my subscription and sticking with Rdio. At least $27.99 was a fair price to pay to upgrade 10 gigs of songs to higher quality tracks (which you get to keep after cancelling)!

I highly recommend that you check out our review of Rdio before handing Apple any money!

Staff Contributor

Ryan Smith Facebook / Twitter

Ryan Smith is the developer and event coordinator of Ominocity. Smith owns a web hosting and software development company called Varial Technologies and spends his days making sure the Internet doesn’t blow up. He was formally the vocalist for punk rock band Set Aside and wishes he would have learnt how to play an instrument. He also owns way too many t-shirts with cats on them.

One of my first memories of the Mendel Art Gallery was when I was in grade 5. Our teacher had a headache – possibly migraine, ice cream or hangover – and had instructed our class that we were to “have art” for the remainder of the day.

I had a headache too – mine was a bully named Curtis, or “Durty Curty” as he was known around the tire swing. I took the opportunity to squeeze out of class and hide in the library where I could draw hockey dudes with pencil crayons in peace.

The next day our teacher collected our artwork and displayed it on the wall. Within a few hours mine had been removed. Curty’s revenge? Nope, it was the grade 6 teacher, who had recently started banging the grade 8 teacher’s ex-husband.

My sketchy rendition of Eric Lindros – who recently started banging his teammate’s wives – had been spirited off to the Mendel where it was on display alongside other kids’ artwork.

It kind of sucked.

Thankfully my drawing didn’t stick out too much – a collective of uninspired elementary school babysitters had handpicked the entire installation. My piece was just another tepid dish in a smorgasbord of mediocrity.

Fast forward many years later…

Under the LUGO banner the Mendel Art Gallery is transformed from its traditionally staid battleship self into a well-heeled rave revue.

Local bands such as We Were Lovers and Father Figures rocked out with great aplomb, while individual musicians talented enough to provide amazing improvisations strummed with immense precision in the next room. Andrei Feheregyhazi’s video premiere for Slow Down Molasses’ song “Bodies” literally shook the walls. Actors soliloquized, and when The Gaff scratched we stretched and jigged around a pile of jackets and purses.

It was amazing, and at times overwhelming, to see so many beautiful people all gathered in one spot. Snacking on some of the delicious food – thanks for the vegetarian options, might I add – I wiped crumbs from my lips while attempting to chat up local babes and spy slyly on live-Tweeters. Beer line-ups went quickly, aided greatly by the winks and catcalls of the volunteer staff. And the roving bands of photographers stalked easily throughout the crowds in an attempt to document the mess for the morning after.

While it’s easy to give a lazy thumbs up to the performances, the true heroes of the evening were those who coordinated and steered the careening ship forward. LUGO is a remarkable vision for Saskatoon, an ideal for an increasingly progressive citizenry.

I suppose if there was one complaint to be had it would be the lack of visual artwork that normally frescoes any given gallery space. The giant crossword puzzle, infused with local themes, was fun but there were far too many blank walls for my wandery eyes.

I understand the need for the gallery to express itself as a vehicle for unconventional mediums – in this case music, dance and dramatic performances. But I have always been a fan of mixing up genres. Indie rock romances visual art and vice versa, and I long for more of these kinds of marriages. They are an art and they are proven to last.

Regardless, LUGO is easily and already one of the most successful events of the year – rumours say that over 1,000 people walked through the doors that night.

To all those involved, please take a bow, drink a beer in the shower and go back to bed for another hour. You earned it.

Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.

For reasons that elude me, The Rapture is one of those bands that I am quick to dismiss with each successive album. And, after giving myself a swift kick to the ass – no easy feat might I add, I am quick to admit that immediately poo-pooing them was wrongheaded.

New York City post-disco dance punk didn’t age particularly well. Most bands quickly found they had to constantly reinvent the sound of crashy hi-hat beats to remain relevant (LCD Soundsystem) or else they simply crashed into the wayside and started to fiercely suck (Hot Hot Heat).

However on In The Grace Of Your Love, The Rapture – who have slimmed down to a three-piece – sound as urgent as ever. The hooks are immediate and the songs still bang to the tune of an impromptu 4 a.m. dance party. There is certainly no “House Of Jealous Lovers” to be found here, but that’s not a bad thing. One of the worst things a band can do is try to hold onto their youth via their songwriting. In The Grace Of Your Love tips a gentlemanly top hat towards a youth well-spent while still giv’n’er balls deep.

Concurrently, speaking of fiercely sucking, check out the video for the band’s single “Sail Away”. Ugh.

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Staff Contributor

Chris Morin Facebook / Twitter

Chris Morin aka Chrix Morix is content editor and features writer of Ominocity. Morin divides his time between freelancing and working a day job as a digital news producer in addition to self-publishing his own work as zines, tour diaries and graphic design. He plays guitar and sings for The Eyebats and he also plays guitar, bass and mandolin in Slow Down Molasses. He makes soup for fun and has a really creepy ghost story involving a door opening on its own and a highjacked makeout session.