Phog Lounge was voted Canada's Best Live Music Venue by CBC Radio 3 listeners in February 2009. Live rock and indie music has a home in Windsor. It's Phog Lounge.Book a show today.phoglounge@gmail.com
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Jean-Paul De Roover (Thunder Bay) & Pawnshop Diamond (Vancouver)
Jean-Paul De Roover has an original name. He also has a unique way of performing music. He's been compared to Final Fantasy, and for some odd reason, Wax Mannequin. The Final Fantasy reference makes sense because of his use of looping pedals, creating blankets of sound that usually make onlookers blatantly aware of how amazing deft audio juggling can be.
He booked Wednesday, September 30th a long while ago, and Pawnshop Diamond was then added to the bill. Here's some video of Jean-Paul De Roover:
Pawnshop Diamond will be coming from Vancouver to delight everyone's ears as well. Go to their myspace to see more video.
Hey Ocean just left Phog least week after an incredible show. Dan Mangan is relatively unknown in Windsor, for no good reason, and is on his way here for October 9th with Will Currie & The Country French as well as Windsor's own Field Assembly.
Here's a video of Dan Mangan and Hey Ocean covering a Wintersleep song that I've been enjoying since it came out.
Come get your advanced tickets for the Dan Mangan show. $7 Advanced. $10 at the door.
Humanities Research Group - "Philosophy And The City"
On Tuesday, September 22nd we held an event at Phog. It was organized by Stephen Pender of the University of Windsor Humanities Research Group. The event, Philosophy And The City, was designed to bring people together to discuss the way the city works, doesn't work, and how we envision our future together.
Jeff Noonan (Philosophy, The University of Windsor), Justin Langlois (Broken City Lab), Melinda Munro (City of Windsor), and myself were "panelists" in the very open forum discussion taking place. In fact, I was holding my post behind the bar, tending to the needs of the customer, and hopefully adding an answer here and there to help move the discussion.
Of course, I live streamed the event. And I also archived it online. For you. So if you want to take the time to listen to the discussion (the parts that are audible), please do so below.
Hey Ocean is on their way to Phog. They're bringing some solid acts behind them...and this Wednesday show will be yet another stellar Autumn show. From Hey Ocean's myspace:
"Often described as one of Canada’s best up-and-coming acts, Hey Ocean is a young band with an extraordinary talent for blending various musical styles into a brand of infectious pop that is uniquely their own.
Together, Ashleigh Ball, David Beckingham and David Vertesi have created a musical repertoire that cannot be ignored – be it on radio, television or your neighbor’s iPod, Hey Ocean will soon be everywhere.
Aside from the skillful delivery of their music, what sets Hey Ocean apart is the spirited character they bring to the stage. Three mischievous personalities combine to form a dynamic live presence that keeps concertgoers captivated and on their feet. In fact, live performance has been an integral part of what the band calls their “natural growth.” But what began as a very casual musical partnership between friends has, in less than four years, morphed into one of Canada’s most successful independent bands."
For more videos, visit Hey Ocean's myspace page. There's a TON on there. The Fast Romantics will also be playing this evening...and here's a bit about them on their myspace page:
"The Fast Romantics are a band from Calgary, Canada. They played their first show with the current line-up in September 2007 and have since played alongside acts such as Stone Temple Pilots, the Flaming Lips, the Fratellis, the Stills and more. After playing Virgin Fest and a number of other high-profile shows, the band caught the ear of legendary Mix Engineer Mike Fraser (Franz Ferdinand, Sam Roberts, AC/DC), who recently finished mixing their upcoming self-titled debut album. The album was mastered by Grammy award winner Adam Ayan (Nirvana, Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters). After two top ten singles on commercial radio in Calgary, features on National radio (CBC) and continual praise in print, the band took their energetic live show on the road. In March they completed a national tour including a headlining slot at the Canadian Music Week Festival in Toronto, and in September 2009, they will head out on a follow up tour of Canada and the US in support of their debut release, which is now available on iTunes!"
Joining them will be Secret Broadcast. Enjoy a video.
And yes, the fourth act...which will be starting nice and early (9pm) is Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. A video for you to get a sense of him.
TICKETS ARE $7 advanced or $10 at the door! GET AHEAD OF SCHEDULE and buy your tickets to a killer show! Frank and Tom are BOTH working this night. It must be good.
One of Canada's best rock and roll bands is playing Phog on Friday. Young Rival (previously The Ride Theory) are back on the trail of giving amazing shows to people who really love music. http://www.myspace.com/youngrival
This band has been startling audiences with their jaw-dropping guitar-work, energy, and songwriting since they were teenagers. They're not much older than that NOW, but they are NEVER a disappointment.
The show will be helped out by local band, The Heels. The show will begin around 10:30pm, and the cover price is $5. Be there to see one of Canada's best. Truly. They are phenomenal.
Hot Panda (Vancouver) w/ Little Girls (Toronto) on Wednesday, September 16th
Hot Panda played Phog a while ago. It was a jammed bill, and they played two shows that day. It's going to be great to have this group back, as they were wonderful to host, and we'll all get to hear them nice and early on a weeknight.
For those of you who haven't noticed, for whatever reason, the shows occurring on the WEEKDAYS are starting around 9pm. It's wonderful. You get to see a live show and head home before midnight! This will again be the case on Wednesday.
What does Hot Panda sound like? From Hot Panda's myspace: "When you get compared, in the same breath, to everything from Daniel Johnson to the Talking Heads, you know you have a sound that's hard to pin down. Since their formation during the particularly chilly winter of 2006, the members of Hot Panda (Maghan Campbell, Keith Olsen, Chris Connelly, and Heath Parsons) have yet to sit down and have the discussion that goes: "So, what should we sound like?". The result is a swath of tunes that sound like anything and everything. Brit pop, gypsy swing, opera solos, Robert Pollard style lo-fi jangles, glammy Roxy Music keyboards, and "melodies that will be impossible to dislodge from your temporal cortex" (ChartAttack), all find their home in the music of Hot Panda...sometimes all in the same song!
After the recording of their 2007 EP "Whale Headed Girl," Hot Panda took to the road, and I guess you could say the road took to them! The band hasn't looked back since, ever wheeling over Canada in a questionable 1977 ambulance, taking their rambunctiously theatrical live show to "kids who like to dance" all over North America (including stints at festivals such as SXSW, CMJ, and Pop Montreal!), and now Europe too, having just completed a big ol' European tour with Detroit's the Von Bondies! In February 2008, Hot Panda took the time to travel to Winnipeg and record their first full length record, Volcano...Bloody Volcano!, with Ryan McVeigh at Mid Ocean Studios, which came out on Mint Records one year later, on February 10, 2009!"
There's all kinds of hype about this squad. And for good reason. GO listen to their music and find out why. They'll be touring with Japandroids a few dates after Phog, which is pretty substantial proof that they have SOMEONE'S ear. Another Paper Bag Records band comes to Phog to remind us why we even bother to bring in out of town bands in the first place. Read the Paper Bag Records write-up here.
Awesome vid here of live performance:
So come see these two bands for $5 on Wednesday at 9pm.
I have put out a Facebook invite for an incredible walk taking place in Detroit. Bob Goldsmith of Detroit Tour Connections is hosting the two-hour tour. The tour will be in the area of Cass Corridor...a richly interesting space, which will lead us to the Dally in the Alley festival.
Here's the details of the walk, according to Bob: "I think we should meet at the main branch of theDetroit Public Library. The address is 5201 Woodward. Let's meet at the rear (west) entrance, which is on Cass. People can park on Cass, or on Kirby. "Midtown" is a pretty large area of Detroit that includes the Cass Corridor, Brush Park, the Detroit Medical Center, the large campus of WSU, and the Cultural Center area.
We're mostly going to tour the Cultural Center area. Our two hour tour will include: Hecker mansion and other homes from the late 1800s; the DPL, DIA, Park-Shelton and Maccabees Bldgs from the 1920s; the Historical Museum; the Detroit Science Center; the Charles H. Wright Museum; the Scarab Club; the College for Creative Studies; and a few of the buildings on WSU's campus.
The Dally has a website -- www.dallyinthealley.com. It includes a map and directions ... but the best bet is probably to mapquest 5201 Woodward if we are going to meet at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. People can take I-75 north to Warren, and then take Warren west to Woodward or to Cass,
or they can just take Woodward from downtown Detroit to the Cultural Center area."
We will meet initially at Phog Lounge at 9:45am. We will leave by 10am on our way to the Detroit Public Library. If you want to come, you must e-mail me at phoglounge@gmail.com or message me on Facebook (Tom Lucier). If you can drive...good...if you can't, we still have room in some cars heading over. And you need your Passport to attend.
THIS SATURDAY!!! We already have over 20 people coming, so there will be tons of opportunities to make friends from Windsor along with the endless opportunities to meet your American reflections during the walk. I think it's going to be an important first step in creating a very important community that is almost non-existent...the cross-border cultural community.
Personally, I feel that this is a KEY and CRUCIAL event for community leaders to be a part of, in order to initialize, strengthen, and solidify our relationships and understanding of our American brethren. If you find yourself to be a leader here in Windsor, I really think it's a good time to start thinking about sharing your strengths with people across the way, who know little or nothing about this community of artists, musicians, and doers.
One thing to understand about this show is that Wax Mannequin (Chris Adeney) is one of the nicest, most pensive people I've ever met.
He is truly a man living outside of his art, yet FULLY submersing himself in his creations when on-stage. The transformation is unlike any other performer who comes to Phog. Yes, some people put on costumes and make-up...or they wear the costume they wear every day, the musician's costume, but they do not do a 180 degree turn like Chris/Wax.
When Chris becomes Wax, well, it's transformative to more than just him. Onlookers see the vein in his forehead start to pulse, and as he rocks back and forth toward the microphone, one wonders what he's bound to do.
This show coming up on Tuesday will be phenomenally up-tempo, fiery, and memorable, as Wax Mannequin brings a band supposedly from Cuba (Popeye's Golden Theory), and is joined by the local powerhouse Bulletproof Tiger.
The Cubans look terrifying if I found their videos properly on Youtube. Giant cardboard masks etc. are tantamount to me having nightmares after the show, but having some ethnicity in our midst is a hell of a prospect! I was asked sardonically online if it was illegal for Americans to come and watch/listen to this band (especially to PAY them). Nice. I liked that.
Bulletproof Tiger will be bringing bigtime heat to support this show. The boys seem genuinely keen on seeing/hearing Wax's crew unload in a full-band mix that is rarely gifted us.
Do you need another reason? The cover charge will be $7 at the door. If you could take ten minutes out of your day between now and Tuesday to come get a ticket in ADVANCE, it will cost you $5. And for that matter, if you are wanting to be made aware of these shows sooner, join the Phog Lounge Facebook group.
Location: 157 University Ave. W., downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Live music venue in Windsor Ontario is host to the best in Canadian Indie music. We host the most shows in Windsor, and we pride ourselves as an industry example of how to run a music venue in Canada.
Pawnshop Diamond will be coming from Vancouver to delight everyone's ears as well.
