Amos The Transparent: Video for "Says The Spark" & Tour Info

One of Ottawa's main exports as far as Canadian indie music goes is Amos The Transparent, a band that has been flying high form the critical acclaim of their first two albums and receiving praise for the most recent release Goodnight My Dear... I'm Falling Apart. Personally, the band has grown on me for a few reasons. First, out of all the music that's out there, songs or bands appeals to us for various reasons. Sometimes it's image, catchiness, or lyrics - in the case of Amos, it's a bit of everything. But to me the most attractive aspect of their music is honesty. The honest composition and delivery of their music is refreshing every time you put on their albums, and none more so than their latest release. Their announcement of festival dates at Pop Montreal and Halifax Pop Explosion affirms that they are serious about making their voices heard across Canada.

Tonight they are set to play Zaphod's, I'll be following up this post with a review/interview with the band in collaboration with Apartment 613. In the meantime, here are their tour dates and latest video for "Says The Spark".

TOUR DATES

Aug. 10 @ The Branch, KEMPTVILLE
Aug. 16 @ Zaphods, OTTAWA (w/ Battle Mountain Band, Ben Caplan)
Aug. 17 @ Rivoli, TORONTO (w/ Revelstoke)
Aug. 23 @ Maxwell’s Music House, WATERLOO (w/ Sandman Viper Command)
Aug. 24 @ APK, LONDON
Aug. 25 @ Phog Lounge, WINDSOR (w/ The Archives)

Down To Earth: Cardboard Crowns @ Zaphod's July 26

This past week has been pretty hectic, moving into a new place and helping friends move apparently takes a while. I wanted to write about a show I went to last week, one that was probably one of the funnest I've been to all summer.

The bill was a wild one, with The Dead Zone starting things off with hardcore punk and then the Musettes calming things down with their beautiful harmonies and melodic music. I had been meaning to see them play for a while now, hearing great things about their live performances. Not only were they happy to be on the bill with a few punk bands, they got the crowd at Zaphod's on their side immediately. I was curious how the contrast in genres would play itself out, but I was completely blown away with how talented these girls were. Check out their CBC Music page here.

As far as ska/punk goes, it's a really tough genre of music to break into. It's one of those things that has been done so many times that it's hard to imagine anything original being brought to the table. Not to say that these bands don't have something to offer, reggae and punk-influenced music by nature is limited in terms of style. Ottawa's own Cardboard Crowns are an example of a band that refuse to be part of the herd. They get that it's not always about the music, but about the identity of the band as a whole. What separates them from the pack is their character on stage, and the fact that their primary goal isn't to get money or fame. It's to get people together and have the best time possible, not taking themselves too seriously. Between the goofy clothes and funny on-stage banter, it was pretty evident that Joel, Matt, Frank and Tokyo were having as much fun as everyone watching the show.

The obvious highlight of the show was the encore. The lead singer Joel told everyone to come on stage, and almost the entire crowd got up and danced the rest of the night away. The last time I saw something like this happen was when Iggy & The Stooges did the same at Lollapalooza in 2007. Getting the crowd involved in the fun made the night that much better, as the energy from their set reached a peak. Their set included my personal favourite, "Down To Earth" as well as great new tracks  "Global Citizen" and "Long-Armed Bandits". As far as shows at Zaphod's goes, this one was the most fun I have been to. Keep an eye out for these guys playing in Ottawa again, the Crowns do not disappoint.