Golden Dogs, Neil Quin - Cameron House (Dec 6/13)

Neil Quinn
Amidst the busy Golden Dogs stage set-up was a very simple one for this former golden dog. Neil picked his electric guitar while seated on an old wooden chair. Keeping the banter to a minimum he played all originals loudly, despite relatively quiet solo guitar music. His voice was strong and the set entertaining.

Golden Dogs
The last time I saw the Golden Dogs I was exiting adolescence so it has been a long hiatus, but on the first song that familiar male voice brought me right back there. In the time in between I've scarcely heard about the band and only realised this show by chance at the last minute. It was a fortunate discovery though, as they blasted out three jubilant pop rock to an enthusiastic Cameron House back room audience. With lasers splayed around the stage their blue and red set colours could barely be made out but the music spoke for them. The female drummer brought energy with both her percussion and her sometimes-lead vocals. The bass player and female keys player also contributed with the cords, and on one song when neither of their services were required they raised a sheet and a sun rose over it, the significance of which was lost on me but it was fun nonetheless. A bunch of new songs were played, as read off the "Now Playing" candelabra on the piano. Their counts into songs were varied and fun, sometimes lasting a long while. One particular song ran off the tracks and they were prepared for it as without a pause they flipped up a technical difficulties sign, began playing an old tune on the boom box until they jumped back into the song already in progress. The latter half of the set was peppered with songs I'd learned to love them back in tha day. Runouttaluck had people dancing while Saints had 'em shouting along. I thought they were closing with Birdsong when in fact they went one further with the simply effective Yeah! Unable to escape the stage their set extender was a new tune which left everyone, appropriately titled, Happy.

Picture the Ocean - Cameron House (Oct 28/13)

They just so happened to be the band playing at the Cameron House that night but as far as happenstances go, it was a pretty good one. The key player was the lead male and his electric guitar, accompanied by his lady on keys, a bleach-blonde, unmoving, sorta she-punk, and a male beat keeper. Opening with the only song I'd ever heard from them, minutes earlier in preparation, it was their anthem of sorts mentioning their band name, Picture the Ocean, within the song. Not breaking many molds they played accessible indie-pop with the vocals shared by the married fronting duo. This carried on for some time, adding in an instrumental song and on the set finale a tambourine. Entertaining enough for a time, it didn't seem necessary to stick around for the second set.

Aroara - Cameron House (Jan 27/13)

A last minute text dragged me out of my comfortable Sunday confines for the AroarA show - a makeup gig for a missed opening slot on Friday previous due to snowy traffic conditions. As Andrew Whiteman explained, it could have been in Ariel's basement with her studying daughter but for the intimate crowd who gathered in the Cameron House back room we were thrilled about this venue. The band are playing in lead up to the release of their debut album, one based on a collection of poems about somebody tripping out on Hep C medication contracted while doing Speed. Uplifting huh? Strangely so, according to Andrew. The sample- and guitar-based songs do come across positively and sound quite good under the vocals shared by the two members, Andrew and his wife, Ariel. Partway through the set they invited the one and only Feist, who had been whooping it up in the crowd, to join them for a rehearsed number or two. Her acoustic guitar complemented the others and the double female vocals worked off of each other really well. The room was full of fans, some of whom were surely introduced to the band at Jason Collett's Revue this December past (who was also in attendance following his theatre performance on the same stage prior to the show). They performed a full set covering the range of sounds and were invited back for Number Six - as the band and fans alike had fun with the fact the poems, and hence the songs, are all just numbered. I bet if you polled people they'd number this performance a ten - worth going out for!