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Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin’ Bastards: Doin’ it right, at the Rainbow this Friday, May 27th

Canada’s hardest working blues rock act, Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin’ Bastards, do it right. They take their strong, timeless material to the place that matters. The People.

Ross Neilsen and The Sufferin’ Bastards have a new CD titled “Live at The Acoustic Grill”  and are hitting the road for more than 50 dates over the summer months taking them from coastal New Brunswick to British Columbia’s interior and all points in between, including some of Canada’s finest Blues festivals.

The new acoustic CD was recorded at The Acoustic Grill in Picton, Ontario in the late fall of 2009 and is part of the bands “bootleg series”. It showcases the band in a quiet environment, which allows the lyrics and songs to stand upfront and shine on their own merit. Although the album is acoustic, Neilsen ensures that most rooms will get the trademark high-energy blues/rock show that he and his Sufferin’ Bastards are known for from coast to coast.

The second leg of their massive national tour is currently underway supporting the release of the first single, “Afflicted” is in full swing. While Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin’ Bastards are rocking Canada again, preparations are under way for the release of the second single in early 2011 supported with an animated video.

Ross Neilsen and The Sufferin’ Bastards work so hard so they can share a night with you in a dark club, ripping through their original songs of real-life pain, love, loss and twisting up classic blues catalogue favourites to steal your eyes, ears, heart and hips.

You will leave with a smile on your lips, song in your heart and the need for more. This is real music made from the real lives of real people, hand delivered just for you.

Ross Neilsen & The Sufferin’ Bastards @Rainbow Bistro, 10 pm

Triple Bill: Ross Neilsen & The sufferin’ Bastards, Bluestone, Papa Shango

Links:

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Hot Night at The HoeDown Day 1

O-Town Hoedown 2010 begins Sept 24

Review by Lee Ann McLellan

This is my first ever experience attending the O-Town Hoedown. So I headed down to the Rainbow Bistro eager to catch the opening night of a week long string of shows with some of Ottawa’s finest bands. I was covering the event for Ottawa Tonite and was looking forward to a night of some down home music.

On the docket for the night was Ottawa’s own Ken Voita, from L.A., The Driftwood Singers and one Ottawa’s favorite county and western outfits, Lefty McRighty and The Shameless Bastards.

I was familiar with Ken Voita from previous shows and was looking forward to hearing him again, this was his first appearance at the Hoedown and like in previous shows I’ve seen it’s always a phenomenal show each time!!

While I was watching Ken’s performance, I started chatting to a lady I didn’t know previously who seemed very familiar with Ken’s music. We chatted about music and how we were enjoying Ken’s set. Turns out this lady was another musician, Missy Burgess and she was telling me that she had played with Ken recently as a duo and she and I exchanged stories about our own musical experiences about playing in bands.

Next up was the Driftwood Singers from Los Angeles. Now although the crowd was not huge, it made up for it by being super attentive and appreciative after each and every song the bluegrass duo did. I was quite captured by their stunning harmonies, and the genuine honesty emulating from each and every song. This was my first opportunity to see a harpsichord being played and I now have a curious fascination with it after seeing Pearl play it. During this time I had struck up a conversation with a couple out on their first date, I asked them how it is going so far. They both agreed things were
indeed going well. They bought me a drink and we chatted about how we were all from The Maritimes originally and how much we were all enjoying the show.

I love a good sense of humor and no one has a better sense of humor than Lefty McRighty. Tonight’s performance with filled with heartbreak, cheating and poutine. After the show I was really hungry with all that talk of poutine and cheese curds, I tried to scour the market looking for a chip truck but alas, none were around at 1:00 a.m.

Can’t wait to do it all over again at Irene’s with one of my favorite bands Evil Farm Children…till tonight

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Acoustic Afternoon Series

Come one and all to the first edition of the Acoustic Afternoon Concert Series, this Saturday, January 9th (4pm) at the Rainbow Bistro.

Presented by Ottawa Tonite contributor and local character, Maxim Cossette. This “pay what you can” series will run every Saturday afternoon from 4pm- 7pm (except the last Saturday of the month) until the end of April. The aim is to bring you the best established and unknown, traditional and contemporary acoustic musicians from the Ottawa area.

Over the next few months, you’ll see Ottawa mainstays like Lefty McRighty and Amanda Rheaume, breakthrough artists like L. Poushinsky and Ken Voita  as well as underground heros and future folk stars like John Aaron Cockburn and Kara Askwith.

So come celebrate the first concert in this bound-to-be-stellar succession of passionate performances and unforgettable moments.

For more information and artists profiles go to  http://acousticafternoon.wordpress.com/

 See you at the party!

-Maxim

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On the 6th Annual Xmas Bash for the Ottawa Food Bank & All of the Pieces Working Together

The scene: The venerable Rainbow, a hub for live music in Ottawa

The time: Saturday night, December 5, 9:30 pm

What’s happening:

The room goes dark and people get fresh drinks. They’re ready for a show. And they’re gonna get it in spades, with FOUR great local bands playing — the John Henrys, Ken Workman and the Union, Good2Go, and the Bush Pilots. The Bush Pilots have organized this night for the last six years as a benefit for the Ottawa Food Bank, and the donations have been flowing in.

But suddenly there’s a guy on stage, with a laptop and a projector. And a guitar that doesn’t look like other guitars. The rosette (the ring around the soundhole) is in the shape of a maple leaf. The dots on the fretboard aren’t all the same. Some are dark, some are light, some catch the light like jewels.

And then the guy starts to talk, and his voice is familiar, because he was the host of Global Village on CBC Radio for a long time. And it’s Jowi Taylor, and you realize that this is the Six String Nation guitar.

And he starts to point out parts of the guitar on the screen and on the instrument. That’s Pierre Trudeau’s canoe paddle. That’s part of the Bluenose. That’s part of a door from Centre Block on Parliament Hill. That’s a piece of Louis Riel’s former schoolhouse. That’s a piece of Paul Henderson’s hockey stick. And on, and on, and on.

The Six String Nation guitar is Jowi Taylor’s dream made real — a single instrument that encompasses dozens of pieces of the shared cultural history of Canada. From Doukhobours to Inuit to Sir John A, some piece of this guitar is going to resonate with you.

And then Jowi finishes talking, and someone picks up the guitar and plays it, and all of those pieces work together and make a gorgeous noise.

And the music begins. And for a while, everything is good.

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