Stay Fabulous, Sackville!

Surely you've read by now if you have any history following this blog of George's Fabulous Roadhouse. It's one of a few venues for music here in Sackville, and I rated it my best of 2008. Jason Collett, the Tom Fun Orchestra, Justin Rutledge, Wintersleep, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers, Plants & Animals, and countless countless others!

Fact is, the CBC has picked up on the awesomeitude of George's, and in a Radio 3 contest has first named it among the 100 best venues in the country, subject to voting and then becoming one of the 50 best, and it has recently made the cut, along with only two other East Coast venues (none in Halifax!), to the TOP 20 in Canada! Voting is now on from this Top 20 list to discover the best venue in Canada, and you can vote in the poll here. Please note: you will have to sign up for a Radio 3 account, but it only took me about two minutes, so it's not that difficult!

For those of you in Sackville, this Friday night there is a concert at George's, featuring he who has been dubbed Sackville's mascot, Shotgun Jimmie, alongside Construction & Destruction and Roy Earlington. Come out and cheer on George's Roadhouse for the title of Best Live Music Venue in Canada!

You can blame us for the colonies of altruists and despots.

Construction & Destruction are Dave Trenaman and Colleen Collins, hailing from Nova Scotia. A couple of weeks ago I was at a CD release party for their latest, The Volume Wars, with Shotgun Jimmie opening. The show was absolutely wonderful, a fusion of rock provided by Dave and strange ethereal electronic noises as made by Colleen, with I'm sure some interplay between the two. They trade off vocals, so why not everything else? The lyrics are beautifully literate and gorgeous to the ears. The show erupted into an all-star Sackville explosion complete with tambourine and didgeridoo, adding new layers to the literate lo-fi music found on the album. The whole of the crowd joined in on the chorus of 'and not seeing nothing at all', repeated and repeated and repeated ad infinitum and it was a moment of absolute and pure beauty, c'est tout.

Construction & Destruction - Thresheld

As you might know, I absolutely love words, and the way these two use words is such a selling point for me--it's simply beautiful, the simplicity of music and complexity of words merged. Leaning against a piano in a darkened living room, the voices and the sounds washing over you like a tide, that was a beautiful experience. The toned-down nature of the music might have some of you just half-listening, but it deserves your full attention, absolutely. Only with all one's attention directed thereto is the true beauty of Construction & Destruction realised.

The contrast between Dave's comparatively harsh voice with Colleen's dreamy and fragile vocals, in addition to the wicked juxtaposition of noises and sounds and genres all through the concert and the albums make this a worthwhile listen. It's all just so beautiful; the perfect band to see play in a friend's living room on a cold winter's night.

So, here are a few songs. The first two are from their latest record, but the third is from their 2007 release, Homebodies.

Construction & Destruction - What The Non-Human Taught Us

Construction & Destruction - The Volume Wars

Construction & Destruction - First Day