week was, weak is, week will be

So in the real world... the one I've invented for myself to go through either completely unnoticed (that's me outside you're office window right now... don't look up... oops!) or as obvious as a drunk falling down two stories onto your picnic table... I've been trying to take in as much good music as possible in the bars and taverns of Fredericton.

Last Wednesday... that'd be November 9th... I booted 'er after work down to the mighty Bugaboo Creek to see a trio of Canadian bands: Controller Controller with Magneta Lane and Sylvie. Since I don't have complete control of this invented real world of mine, show time for the first band, Sylvie, didn't occur until around 11pm.

Sylvie

I'd missed Sylvie last time they were in town and had heard good things. Live they were fairly aggressive, but with lots of vocal harmonies and pedal effects. On CD they have a Jawbox feel... if you can imagine bassist Kim Coletta adding to lead vocals (I really miss Jawbox). Magneta Lane were just setting up to go on around 12:15 am... and I realized that in this real world I was getting very sleepy... veeerrrry sleeeeepy. So I went home. I figured the cool kids had come out to see Controller.Controller and the only way to be cooler (other than stay and carry on a loud conversation throughout their whole set) was to bail before they came on.

I took a break from the rock n roll real world on the weekend and instead waded upper-thigh deep into the real world of poetry readings and chapbook production. It was the Poetry Weekend at UNB with about 20-30 readers on Saturday and Sunday... enlightening, entertaining, gruelling. Interspersed with the performances I was helping my friend Brecken start to assemble her chapbook which is coming out soon with JackPine Press who do lovely limited run artbooks. Her book is being launched here in Fredericton in January in the last third of the month. Stay tuned.

I re-entered the RRW (Real Rock World) last night with a visit to The Cellar to see Cuff the Duke. I missed the opening act, but second up was a Toronto band called The Blue Raincoats, who are (usually) two young women on gtr and bass. One of the Raincoats apparently had fallen ill (see mom, you can protect yourself all you want and still get a cold) and a fill in second gtr took up the slack. The performance was a little too woozy/Lillith Fairy to keep my neck from getting a little rubbery. Soon enough the boys from Oshawa took the stage.

Cuff the Duke

They did a shortish set playing mostly from their new album (which I've yet to purchase... why? Don't ask me I live in the RRW). It was good, but not as energetic and diverse as I've seen from them in the past. Maybe rocking a Wednesday is harder for some.

On the horizon is a weekend of music. An old acquaintance of mine,

Selina Martin

is playing a couple of shows at the Capital on Friday and Saturday. On Friday she's opening for Les Paiens, then on Saturday she's headlining. So come out (Saturday would be the best) and help me to rock in the RRW... if only in my mind.