Kitty & the Rooster, Fred Frith, phipps pt., and Daniel Romano -- gig reviews and photos

I am adding some Daniel Romano notes at the bottom!

Did a fun feature with  Noah Walker here, and very much enjoyed the Kitty & the Rooster "full band" variant last night at the WISE, though we did not stick it out for the supergroup at the end. Shirley Gnome and Jack Garton had somevery rude hand gestures to illustrate the lyrics to certain songs: scooping upwards for "Underbutt", for instance,  or doing a sort of  double-jerk-off move for "Banging on a Cock(tail drum)." It was fun to see Walker's parents in the audience, too. I don't know if I could get onstage and sing a song like "Sexercise" in front of my own folks, were they still around! (The gestures for that were very fun, too).    

As for Fred Frith, the one thing that got cut from my two features on Frith -- interview; show review from Nanaimo -- was that he saw John and Yoko's notorious gig in Cambridge in 1969-- the first time that a member of the Beatles had performed outside the Beatles, after the Beatles had stopped playing. I'd love to hear what he made of that (he didn't actually weigh in, just said he was there. But was he pro-Yoko from the outset? Is he now? I'm actually quite into Yoko, and advise anyone whose defacto setting is anti- to listen to this, say. It's practically Krautrock). 

The Vault was a marvelous room, and phipps pt. (in the first photo) were captivating, too. I don't envy people going to the Vancouver show; the quality of listening in this city sucks compared to Nanaimo! But everyone listened VERY closely, even to phipps pt (with Wobby of Negativland and local Lovage Sharrock). The band is apparently named for a location on Hornby Island.

I had been a bit unconvinced, actually, by the prospect of seeing Fred Frith doing solo guitar, but it was brilliant, very enjoyable, very musical, and fascinating to watch. In recommending shows on social media, I've told people that if they haven't Fred Frith before, they should go see him; if not, they should go see Daniel Romano. 

(Turns out that Romano was an early show, one of those things where they clear out a roomful of people so they can have a DJ set or something. It almost always seems to me that that never works for the venue -- anytime I've been to a gig that did that, there sure seemed to be more people at the early live show than the people waiting to get in for the second thing. The band also expressed some annoyance with this arrangment. I probably could have seen a big part of Fred Frith's set, if I hadn't waited to get records signed). 

Also had a real fun experiencing zipping back across from Nanaimo to downtown on the Hullo ferry. The trip across the water takes about the same amount of time but when you land, you're not an hour away from things out in Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen. I would do this again! 

The one weird thing that must be noted about Nanaimo is the near-complete absence of easily-accessed thrift stores. I guess the locals are all so hip and cool that they'd just hoover up anything good that came to town anyhow. I bet there are lots of shop owners in Nanaimo who make runs over to Ladysmith... every thrift store I could see on Google maps was at least a 25 minute walk out of town. 

Oh, and I crashed at a friend's and made a new cat buddy. There were two cats. I only saw the butt of one, briefly, but this guy came up and said hi to me during the night. I was glad he did.

That's about all I have to report. I am going to be trying to change my relationship with this stuff soon. Money is now a serious concern, since I have transitioned from being a fulltime VCC employee to being a part-time used bookstore guy. (At least I'm out of debt! The buyout was significant from VCC, but it's going to be an interesting few years). I have bought ahead for a couple of concerts -- most notably, Dutch punk band The Ex, whom I have wanted to see for decades. But, like, there isn't going to be quite as much of my writing about shows, I don't think (as soon as I clear a few things I committed to doing). 

One show I didn't write about at all, that I would have, happened  Saturday night, in fact. It's the reason I went to see Fred Frith in Nanaimo, because I have wanted to see Daniel Romano's Outfit for a few years now, and I absolutely love the album he's touring. (I am also really partial to side one of How Ill They World is Ordered, if you want another point of reference, but he's got a very varied musical output, not all of which has hooked me, so I'm glad to be seeing him on a tour for my favourite thing he's done so far). 

Indeed, the band was incredible. There's a real 70s-rock vibe to them, in the way they dress and attack their songs; it was even reflected in the garb of the audience, who looked like they could have come straight out of a Detroit rock show circa 1973, with moustaches and mullets everywhere. 

Romano was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. Bassist Tommy Major, who I believe is also the leader of Tommy and the Commies, was sporting a Creem t-shirt under a vest and at one point dropped an MC5 lyric reference into a song. I think Romano actually introduced him as being from Detroit, but what I'm seeing online seems to suggest he's from Sudbury. So I think that was a joke, maybe? 

Tambourine player and occasional guitarist Carson McHone appears to be from Austin, Texas, though I think she might have moved to Canada herself (I heard her tell someone she was from Austin "originally," which suggests she's not there now). She wore a little black dress and cowboy boots and rocked her instrument as hard as I've seen anyone play tambourine before (there's a reference to a tambourine in one of Romano's lyrics on the new album which makes different sense now that I've seen her). 

Romano was very democratic in letting Carson take a lead vocal for one song, which might have been "Downhill"--which was the one on the Seattle setlist from the night before, anyhow. She had her own little merchtable niche, too (and was the merch girl last night: the band sell their own records, have no other merch person with them, and all that biz gets taken care of at the end of the night).

Finally, drummer Ian Romano sported a trucker's cap, and played like Keith Moon. He seemed the youngest of the members, and I presume is Romano's kid brother? I didn't get any particularly good photos of him but he drums like someone who loves his instrument; you'll hear that abundantly if you buy an Outfit album--the drums are a very strong presence.

I liked so many details of this show -- from Tommy taking lead vocals on the first song, "Firebreather", maybe the most punk rock song on the new album, to the way Romano would play so hard that his face would be overtaken by a grimace of horror.

The face of a great guitar solo

I also adored one of their t-shirt designs, where they riffed on that old Germs idea, "What we do is secret"; theirs was "What we do is sacred". It was a cool enough design that it crossed my threshold of size: I normally hold out for 3xl, but I had to get this. I love that there is a strong sense of, uh, "spiritual values" informing the new album. 

Here is what an AI search turned up for the image, complete with reference links: 

The design on this Daniel Romano t-shirt features his band's logo and the phrase "what we do is sacred," which centers on his personal philosophy of "Rock & Roll Magick". [1]

This concept represents the belief that music and creative expression are sacred acts that serve as a spiritual current, reconnecting individuals to something larger than themselves. [1, 2]

Key meanings behind the design include:Communal Experience: The design reflects the band's focus on music as a form of communion and a shared, almost spiritual human experience. [1, 2]

Creative Rebellion: It serves as a declaration against the "mono-agriculture of the mind"—a term the band uses to describe the modern flattening of culture into something banal and uniform. [1]

Icons & Emblems: The circular, geometric emblem is part of a broader set of mystical symbols used by Daniel Romano's Outfit. These icons are meant to be "secret signs for those who know," signaling membership in a community that values primal and immediate artistic expression. [1]

Spontaneity: The ethos behind their "sacred" work often prioritizes spontaneity and "truth" over polished perfection, viewing recording and performance as documents of a feeling rather than a product. [1]

My own thought looking at that symbol is that it is rather Rosicrucian, but who knows, maybe it's stolen from an Ontario stained glass window in an old-school diner or something. I'll ask Romano if I ever get the chance (I stupidly forgot to mention to him when I had his ear that I do some rock journalism). 

But that's all I've got: I didn't go as a witness last night; I went to dance, and I got to, especially to "Unseeable Root," one of my top three tracks off Preservers of the Pearl, and again with lyrics shot through with mysticism and magick. 

I love the whole new album, actually. Of the songs I did not know (about half the set), the one that made the strongest impression was "Boy in a Crow Skin Cape", and I was pleased it also was on the merch table. Lots was, also including two 7"s and a CD by Ancient Shapes (they've put out 3 LPs, so far, Romano told me later, but they all seem to be out of print now. That's his punk band; I haven't heard much of it, to be honest!). 

The band was in a rush to get off the stage, so I didn't get to chat much, but I got a few of my records signed (I was merciful and didn't ask them to sign everything. Carson liked that I asked her to sign in a different colour from the other members). Like I said above, my favourite of the ones I have heard is the one they are currently touring -- so if you  have the energy and inclination, I would see them at the Capital Ballroom in Victoria tonight. Great band, great show, great album, great t-shirt!  Real glad I did things the way I did.