The Byng | Rod Wilson's Blog

MISS QUINCY at the Byng Roadhouse, Wednesday March 6, 2013, 8pm. Heather Gemmell and the Peaks opened for Miss Quincy.

I have an aversion to loud drummers and, for me, the drummer for Miss Quincy was too loud. As a result any review by me of Miss Quincy will lack objectivity. On the other hand Brian Noer of the The Peaks is into really, really loud music so he is right at home in reviewing Miss Quicy. To use his words – “I love hearing music that wouldn’t be out of place in a Tarantino or David Lynch film set in some sleazy, smoky bar in a small town in Mexico, with slow droning, reverb drenched guitars, a walking bass, sultry vocals and plenty of tequila shots. I thought Miss Quincy pulled off the vibe they were going for, and I bought one of their CDs. My barometer for what kind of music captures the attention of “normal” people (as opposed to opinionated musicians like me) is women and children. Once in a while, I’ll put on a CD and someone in my family will ask me who that is (it doesn’t happen too often given the heavier music that I prefer). I was playing the Miss Quincy CD in my studio the other day and my wife poked her head in and said, “Wow, I like that; who is it?” Maybe she was just happy I wasn’t playing Slayer. Never-the-less as a barometer I think it works”.

The opening act of the evening was Heather Gemmell and The Peaks (Heather – guitars and vocals , Podier Atto – drums and Brian Noer – bass) and they were at the top of their game on Wednesday night. So much so I think they upstaged the headliners (Miss Quincy). Heather’s choice of solid body guitars sounded great and the little bit of slide guitar towards the end of their set was the icing on the cake. Podier Atto abandoned his “rubber” electronic drum kit (Ferdy’s words) and made use of Miss Quincy’s acoustic set. He had the right amount of volume, sizzle and sparkle on the acoustic set and there is no doubt metal cymbals have a bit more “zing” than their electronic cousins. Brian Noer did not look as cute as the “dreaded” girl on the upright bass in Miss Quincy’s band but then again we were not there for his looks. Brian, in his own defence said “we have yet to see him in his little black dress” . Now that would be worth the price of admission.

– Rod Wilson and Brian Noer.

More images from the evening (click on the images for a larger view):

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Bocephus King, Slack Pine and the Bison Brothers at the Byng Roadhouse, Cranbrook, Monday January 28, 2013, 8pm.

My wife accuses me of losing my objectivity. After every recent show it seems I have nothing but good to say about the performance. Well, I guess it’s because live music away from the concert platform is always good. It doesn’t matter how many train wrecks, if any, may occur during the performance the intimacy, vibe and the audience interaction are what makes for great evenings. So, I don’t think I losing my objectivity. How can I lose objectivity when I am having so much fun? Case in point; The recent show at the Byng opened with the new local group Pine Slacks featuring Clayton Parsons (guitar and vocals), Connor Foote (guitar and vocals) and Stu Driedger (stand up bass). The sound system was a little harsh, the lighting less than satisfactory and their bass player was dealing with some serious medical pain. Despite the difficulties they pulled it together and delivered a set that included originals such as Echoes, Know My Name, Time, Coyote, How I Met Your Mom, Stay, Grey Cell Doors, Hold On, Waiting to be Set Free, Ducks and a great thumping version of Hangman. Kudos to Stu for hanging in there despite the pain. Tim Ross (vocals, guitar), Ferdy Belland (vocals and Bass) and Colin Righton (drums) are no strangers on the local scene. When Ferdy recently arrived back in town Tim Ross re-activate their musical partnership in The Bison Brothers. This is a slick, in the best sense, tight rock solid unit. With Tim’s song writing skills, cowboy/rock star/western persona, Ferdy’s hyperactive bass and backup vocals and Colin Righton’s harnessed heavy metal sensibilities any performance is guaranteed to please. On Monday night at the Byng it was no different. Apart from a few cover tunes Tim’s original material was front and center. Songs include My Sister’s Friends, Fish God, My Baby Won’t Ride in My Car No More, Day After Day, Ghost Town, How Come I Never Have any Money, the rocking (“everyone needs a car song”) Rocket 88 and, my personal favorite The Lucky Star. “Bocephus King at the Byng” – doesn’t that have a nice ring to it. Despite having a website Bocephus is a bit of an enigma. The biography on the web site is a masterpiece of non-information. Who is Bocephus King? Where does he come from? Apart from working out of Vancouver anything else is pure guess work. No matter his music and his five piece band speaks for its self. The band, featuring Bocephus King on guitar and vocals, Wynston Minckler on short scale bass, Paul Townsend on drums, Charlie Hase on pedal steel and Skye Wallace on vocals, percussion and Melodica delivered over two hours of non-stop grove based music. There were a few covers in there (Don’t Think Twice, Run Like a Fugative ) but it was mostly roots based, and as near as I could tell, original music with a distinct Caribbean feel.This was a great show with good flow, a good grove, very musical (?? a rock band that’s musical) and lots of space for each musician to shine. Charlie Hase’s pedal steel added that extra melodic voice that is often missing in most bands; Skye Wallace’s vocals, percussion and especially her Melodica playing on the old Dean Martin pop classic Sway was a real surprise and a joy to hear. It was a Monday night, traditionally a dead night in the week but the word must have got out because there was good crowd who are obviously enjoying the Byng’s Roadhouse’s return to the live music scene. Here are some more images from the evening.