Kudos for the SunParlour Players

I was out to see the Fembots at the Rivoli last Friday, anticipating a reliably great show, and it was. But, I was once again surprised to find an opening act that really caught my attention.

First of all, duos seem to be back in fashion.. perhaps popularized by successes by White Stripes, Black Keys, The Kills and (via my last post) The Two Gallants among others.

But duos aside, my first impression of the SunParlour Players was that we had two one-man bands playing side-by-side. Fortunately, they were both playing the same tunes. They even had matching (sort of) bass drums!

The instrument changes both between and within songs was definitely something to see.

Here are some photos and a song to listen to while you go through them. If you like what you see and hear, the group will be playing the Rivoli again May 25. They're also playing a CD release gig on June 22 at Tranzac.

As for the Fembots, didn't I already say they were great, as usual!

Over The Top Festival, May 4 - 7

This one's new to me, so I welcome comments from previous years and recommendations for this year's lineup. Apparently, this is an annual thing with this being year 5. Here's how the organizers describe it at their web site...

"The Over The Top Festival is an entirely all ages music and arts festival, currently entering its fifth year. The goal of the festival simply put is to open the eyes and ears of people of all ages to new and interesting music on a local and national level, without the limitations generally set forth by age restricted venues. Each year, the festival continues to grow, in part due to the response of attendees, performers and festival drive. Attending the festival can definitely prove to be an eye opening experience, as you really never know what you’ll be experiencing until you take part and come check out the artists."

You can find the schedule here.