Sort of a late update this time around, sorry for that.

This past weekend was a fun one. On Thursday as always the Drake was fun, although I was fighting a flu and couldn't stand for more than twenty minutes at a time. Downstairs was pretty bumping, with Put the Rifle Down bringing out massive amounts of people and Golden Girls capping the night with a set of melodic and raunchy Casiotone pop. Jessie Keeler was in attendance as well, and, having been mistaken for him at least once a month for the past five years, it was funny to make eye contact with him and realize that, yes, we do look sort of similar.

On Friday the Spiral Beach kids and their friends took over Whippersnapper to great result: Carmen Elle played a set of exotica-tinged folk-pop, the Lords of Kobol had fun playing whatever they wanted to (postpunk into party rap, and then later noisy electro into 80s disco - fun!) and Spiral Beach even had people crowd surfing. Pretty crazy stuff. I'm hoping that the show paid for their postering fine.

Meanwhile at the Boat, Bang the Party celebrated its second anniversary with a late crowd, and while that's typical Friday night vibe, it's still irritating. Regardless, once the party started it didn't stop, and had I not been at Whippersnapper I would've been there. Friends say it was truly a jam, and the new BTP mix has been getting lots of play at my place.

Saturday was surprisingly busy, for what was to be a quiet night. There was an impromptu performance at the Ossington which has led to a new Friends Explode monthly starting their in July, more information on this later but it will be a night of fun songs and no dance music, to speak of.

The coming weekend is a slow one, with most of the time being devoted to the planning of the following three weeks, which include:

July 4th: Room Party at the Boat (Hi Mom, Gabe and Diana) and Lisp at the Beaver (Pat C and CTV News at Noon)

July 5th: Feelsgreat at the Ossington

July 12th: RTRD'D 6.2 at the Chelsea Room

July 18th: Young Morticians in Love CD Release Party at the Press Club


Yeah. July is a big month for us so stay tuned here and on Facebook for much info regarding the coming month. In the meantime here are some songs for you to check out:

Droids: Be Happy Part 2

Called the "1970s Daft Punk" by a lot of reporters looking for an easy shorthand, Droids were much more than that (if that's possible?). They simultaneously bridged the gap between the dying French Coldwave scene and the more traditional postpunk stuff coming out of Britain and the States, as well as injecting a much needed dose of electronics and space disco vibe into their music. Yes, their schtick was that they were robots. Yes, this sounds a lot like Daft Punk. But where Daft Punk build their compositions on house and an eye toward the past, Droids were firmly set in the retro-futuristic vibe of 1960s science fiction movies and television. Highly recommended.

Mo-Dettes: White Mice
This one will be familiar to anyone who owns any Rough Trade postpunk comp or has done any delving into the weirder world of German new-wave, but it's so good that it deserves recognition. Simultaneously a response to and a move away from the dance-punk of Gang of Four, Bush Tetras and the Slits, the Mo-Dettes made a song so hooky and poppy and yet so rhythmically odd that you can't help but dance awkwardly to it. Really great stuff!