Riley Brandt

Blending Neil Young swagger with modern bombast, Deadhorse is set to stun Calgary audiences

Halloween comes smack dab in the middle of the drab limbo between summer holidays and Christmas break, and reminds us of something crucial: The need to rock out and be weird. If you are unclear just how to rock out or how weird to be, take note of Deadhorse. With the swagger and groove of early ’70s Neil Young and the drugged-out bombast of more modern psychedelia (think Sweden’s Dungen or Comets on Fire), this six-piece has been howling the night away since last winter.

So why haven’t you seen its name on any marquees? Because the band took its self-described “hagg-rock” sound on a tour around the Okanagan before trying their hand at home.

“The opportunity to go on tour means you’re going to breathe, sleep and eat music all day, so it’s a good chance to solidify,” says singer (and former member of late dream-folk project Consonant C) Jennifer Creighton.

“There’s a certain sound that we get when we play together… the way we write songs, we like to put a lot of work into them,” adds guitarist and singer Daniel Vescerelli, also of Consonant C. “We were happy to test it on an audience that had no expectations.”

You can be among the first to catch Deadhorse’s impressive tornado of riffs on Thursday, November 5 at The Marquee Room — and I do mean first, since there are no known recordings of the band and this will only be its second appearance on a Calgary stage. The night will also feature Afro-Cuban rockers Beuna Buya of Victoria and yet another former Consonant C member, Clea Anais, who will unveil her hushed solo EP, Heartstrings.

Speaking of new releases, local garage-rock hardasses Sharp Ends have been perking up ears all over the world in recent weeks with their two 7-inch releases on Chicago’s Hozac Records (home of Nobunny and buzzed-about The Smith Westerns) and Lethbridge’s Mammoth Cave Records. They’ll be taking in a weekend of non-stop celebration as they party the night away this Halloween at The Marquee Room with cavernous indie outfit Extra Happy Ghost and death-punk band The Rigormorticians, then again the following night with Lethbridge’s Moby Dicks (who are commemorating the release of their own 7-inch on Mammoth Cave) and Friendo at the Bamboo Tiki Lounge.

If you’re still not sure about what it means to be weird, head over to Weeds Café on November 11 to catch an evening of twisting, turning experimentalism, courtesy of Free Nude Celebs (a.k.a. Jordon Hossack of Azeda Booth), Eric Hamelin and Jay Crocker’s No More Shapes and torrents of noise from Beneath These Idle Tides.

If it’s the rock part you’re having trouble with, try checking out the elder statesmen of Calgary’s punk rock scene, The Martyr Index, at Broken City on Thursday, November 19, along with pals The Falling Pianos. They’ll teach you a thing or two.

Continuing the November new release train, Jay Crocker collaborator Ryan Bourne will release his debut LP, Supermodern World of Beauty, via Crocker’s Artunit Recording Kompany on November 21 at The Marquee Room. His affected indie-rock is often augmented by unpredictable and eccentric arrangements for his live shows (harp, horns and improvised noise were featured in previous lineups), so it’ll be interesting to see not only what sounds he brings with him this time around, but what he chose for permanent inclusion on the album. Power-pop three-piece Thighs will support, who, if you recall, just released their debut CD, New Words for Awful Things. Old Dane had a chance to pick up the beautifully packaged disc at the release party and believe me, it has some of the catchiest and warmest sounds to grace this city all year.