Wake up on time; there's no one around.

Wow. It has come to my attention that I've never really talked about The Got To Get Got in any sort of length on this blog. I have previously on the radio show, but never on the blog. How very very strange. I must remedy this situation immediatement.

In 2005, I went to my first Halifax Pop Explosion. I had just turned 17 and was restricted to the All Ages shows. Luckily for me there was a show, at the Pavillion (which some of you may know) headlined by Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, featuring bands like Halifax's Sharp Like Knives (billed as "five wicked dance parties each with the strength of ten wicked dance parties"! how could I say no?), Toronto's Femme Generation, and a post-breakup North of America come back to showcase their wares. And, holy mackerel, this was one of the best concerts my young self had been to. And Mark Mullane and North of America were a highlight, I bought their album and have treasured it since. It's a beautiful possession.

Fastforward a few years. North of America shows are few and far between--I'm not even sure when the last one was, and the band is effectively broken up. Mark has been working this new project, The Got to Get Got since about 2006 as a cross-country venture, with chapters in Halifax and Vancouver (though I understand most of them are now based in Halifax). In 2007, they put out effectively a split EP between the two chapters of the band, which is absolutely fantastic. Contact me if you want to hear more than just what I post, but "Blood Test" is on their myspace.

Anyway, now it's 2009, and they've been touring like wild. They played in Sackville and in Saint John in April (but I missed both shows, because I was so disorganised and never in town at the right time! Boo to me) and have a number of shows coming up in Halifax, Saint John, Ontario and Quebec to both hype up and support their new album, Sahalee, being released in mid-July. Check out that myspace link and see if they'll be in your area. It's not a show you ever ever ever want to miss. I've missed them twice. I'm kicking myself for it--so hard. So, enjoy their music, and maybe I'll even do a retro review of North of America's last album, sometime.

The Got To Get Got - Rattle Off
The Got To Get Got - No One Riots in Winter


As a side-note, many of the photographs on the band's myspace [and all of the photos used in this post] are of the band in places I love. All the more reason to call them awesome.

Also, please note that Adam Kierstead (the mustachioed man in the last photo) is not a member of the band, merely something of a god to the Saint John music scene. Thank you, and good night.

Blast from the past III

Way back when vampires disintegrated in the sunlight, I went down to Halifax for a tour of Dalhousie University. The open house weekend happened to coincide with the Halifax Pop Explosion--my first Halifax Pop Explosion! This was 2005. I was 17. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, I found out, they were playing an all ages show as part of the Pop Explosion. Obviously, I convinced my compatriots to accompany me to this evening of awesomesauce and beards.

Sharp Like Knives, I've talked about before. I think. I've played them on my radio show, anyhow.
Femme Generation, I've talked about before.

North of America, however, I've overlooked.

Their last record was put out in 2003, and that was technically the end of the band, but they've come back together a few times since then, most notably for that 2005 tour with Ted Leo, ending on the HPX date. They sound like the turn of the millennium. They sound like everything you once loved, and hopefully still do. They're a gateway drug, they're a straight-up indie rock band who put on an awesome high-energy show, when I saw them. Totally fab. I hear they reunited again at last year's HPX, but I missed them. I have no regrets about my 2008 HPX experience, though. I would like to see them again, though, and see how they're holding up four years on.

The show closed with a massive clusterfuck, I don't know what else to call it. Ted Leo and his band were on stage and joined by the whole of North of America--which means two drumkits were on stage--and members from the other bands got up there, too. They played something incredible, but this old brain, he ain't what he used to be, and can't remember what that song was. All I know is Ted disappeared at the end of it. Just vanished. Pouf!

North of America - Let's Get Sick To Our Stomachs
North of America - Keep It On The Download