By Tina Griffith
Arts@mondaymag.com
Victoria indie-roots quartet West My Friend will perform a CD release show for its debut album Place at Hermann’s Jazz Club on April 5 (6 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show), and the theme will be revolutions — as in the revolutions of a bicycle wheel, the revolutions of a CD and the revolutions that eco-friendly community members create when they bike or walk to work or play…or, in this case, bike from Fernwood Square to their CD Release Party. Stopping along the way to pick up other cyclists, band members will cycle to their show in support of the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition. Eden Oliver, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the band, explains how the idea got started: “When I moved my house by bike, I was shocked at the community support and at the amount of people who were stoked to do without cars. I’m hoping I’ll be just as shocked at our pre-show bike ride.” With their acoustic blend of instruments and four-part harmonies, West My Friend has emerged as a unique voice in the city’s music scene. Tickets for the show are available at Long & McQuade and Larsen Music ($8 advance, $10 at the door). M
New Zealand reggae-soul heavyweights The Black Seeds are bringing their funky beats to the stage at Club 9ONE9 on April 10 (8:30 p.m.) with the launch of their fifth studio album Dust and Dirt. The album introduces new sounds and styles not heard on previous releases while still retaining its trademark reggae-funk fusion sound. “Don’t Turn Around” finds the band doing a fresh take on a disco-boogie jam full of old-school funk and plenty of bouncy playfulness. The opener “Out of Light” sounds different from anything the band has tried before, tipping into an almost psychedelic pop sound, while roots gems like “Love Me Now” and the title track retain a classic reggae sound. Formed in 1998 and led by the soulful vocals of Barnaby Weir and Daniel Weetman, The Black Seeds’ sound is a boundary-crossing fusion of dub, funk, afro-beat and soul mixed with vintage reggae, which also features Rocky Mountain Rebel Music. Tickets for this highly danceable eight-piece live show can be purchased for $25 at Lyles Place, Strathcona Hotel, Ditch Records, Ticketweb and The Reef. M
The Foggy Hogtown Boys team up with slide guitar (Dobro) legend Ivan Rosenberg and will be performing in support of their new album The Hogtown Sessions at The Orange Hall (1620 Fernwood Rd.) on April 6 for two shows: one at 6:30 p.m. and another at 9:30 p.m. The band jumped at the chance to collaborate with Rosenberg, who made the 2,600-mile trip from Oregon to their hometown of Toronto to record the album of “pre-modern” bluegrass. “We settled on some rarely-covered bluegrass and country classics plus a few originals, aiming generally for a 1970’s medium-traditional Yankee-grass aesthetic,” states Rosenberg. “They sang in their own unique voices, were in touch with the lyrics, favored melody-based solos and sounded like they were playing a form of folk music that’s rooted in a long tradition — whereas modern bluegrass sometimes sounds a little more like Keith Urban than Flatt & Scruggs.” Tickets are $20 ($15 for VBA members) and available at 250-388-4520 or by email at tickets@victoriabluegrass.ca. M
