RAMP is an event held the first Thursday of every month at Broken City in Calgary. The idea is to invigorate the local club scene with a night that features unusual, unexpected and always entertaining performances. While musical acts of various stripes are the focus of the evening, audiences will be treated to a variety of entertainments, from video projections to spoken word, noise collage to ethnic ensembles. And, oh yes, there will be rock, just not what you would get most nights. RAMP events are curated by none other than Calgary’s denizens of sonic wondrousness, The Summerlad , who will keep the cover low and the standards high, so you can be guaranteed an evening of fantastic diversion. If you're not a myspacer, you can email us at [email protected] .
Thursday September 4, 10pm:
The finale of the RAMP series!!
Calgary Covers Calgary II
The second of what I hope will be a long string of incredible annual events to salute the talent and community in this city. Each act will play a sampling of tunes from Calgary bands past and present. The music being covered is top secret and the band order is yet to be determined, so come early and catch some amazing stuff!!
Featuring the mad skillz of:
Indiensoci (Raphaelle of Neighbourhood Council)
Lucid 44
The Unbundling (Laura of Consonant C)
Honeybear
The Heavy Pets (Laurie Fuhr et al.)
Mid Atlantic
The Beverly D'angelos (Brenda Vaqueros trio)
Forest Tate Fraser (Brendan of Grandfather Fire)
It's going to be an awesome night and a good sendoff for the RAMP series.
Friday August 15, 10pm:
This one will be epic!!!
The Capital RRRs
This is Rob from Mt. Royal doing his best to get your ass shaking. This is awesomeness of the highest order. Imagine what Daft Punk would be like if they weren't so serious all the time and had an enormously cuddly front man.
Scars and Scarves
You may know of Garrett and Annalea (of The Summerlad and Woodpigeon respectively) as Una Corda, but someone else took that name, and now they're back. This time it's going to be a full sonic experience with, like, eight keyboards or something.
Beneath These Idle Tides is Myke Atkinson, back from a hiatus to bring the heavy drones and studious melancholy. This will start the evening off RIGHT!!!
Thursday July 31, 10pm:
Note special not-first-Thursday date!!
The Murder Ballads edition, featuring:
Lucid 44 are back with a CD release and some more songs about death 'n stuff
Honeybear has been writing a special set of material for this show, which make us very happy over here in RAMPland. We're very curious to hear what evil lurks in the heart of this fine young fellow.
Prairie Prax aka Mark David Stewart has been creating music in Calgary for a long time and will be a treat to behold.
Thursday June 5, 10pm:
Doo-wop triple feature!!
with:
The Pigeonettes: the wonderful ladies of Woodpigeon are going to amaze yet again, this time with bee-hives and poodle skirts (we hope). Expect all the good bits about Phil Spector, and none of the embarrassing, nasty bits that make you never want to get old and crazy. Oh yeah, he was pretty crazy to start of with. But the Wall of Sound, people!! Anyway, this show will not disappoint.
The Lovebullies : the line-up alone is enough to make you want to check this one out. Members include Chantal Vitalis, Kris Demeanor and Danielle French, and they cite Frank AND Nancy Sinatra as influences. They make music your grandparents made out to in the back of a Cadillac.
Followed by a killer DJ 50's and 60's dance party. Are you a Jet or a Shark?
Thursday May 1, 10pm:
Special Fundraiser show for new Calgary recording collective, Awesome Calgary Awesome!!!
The Consonant C collaborating with The Summerlad
Indiensoci aka Raphaelle from Neighbourhood Council
Mark Hamilton from Woodpigeon
Knots
Honeybear
Thursday April 3, 10pm:
This is a special unofficial Juno Week medley of disparate elements:
Sound And Speedway are trio of young Calgarians producing sweet mostly acoustic pop. It's like romantic driving music, going across the prairies with your honey in your parents' '91 Cutlass Ciera, looking out the window at the rolls of hay.
Tuias may turn out to be the most unusual act we've ever had at RAMP. They actually cite opera as a major influence, wear make-up and costumes and call themselves buffoons. Of course they're from Montreal. Craziness!!
Mary James is a Calgary hip hop artist with a strong message and tremendous presence
Thursday March 6, 10pm:
Axis of Conversation was born in a south Calgary bedroom, but since outgrown it. They're not afraid of ghostly noises and the voices of friends and lovers spun backwards in the middle of the night. Nor are they afraid of Pop. They change as they see fit. And then change again. Guitars, drums, bass, kaoss pads, keyboards, children's toys that sound like keyboards, 1980s drum machines, a glockenspiel, a violin, and stolen noises covered in dust.
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo (or "Buffalo to the 8th power" for short, or Bto8 for even shorter) is a collaborative communal live improvisation project. Live shows incorporate a myriad of guest musicians and performing artists from a growing pool of members. Shows are primarily made up of improvised music with additional layers of spoken word, visualizations, and other forms of live expression.
On their myspace page Knots refers to himself as Japanese Classic Music - if that's a facetious description like (see: Gothic Christian Ska) it's strangely fitting as the music is sparse and delicate. From his myspace bio: Knots is Neal, and maybe you. It's kind of about thinking of things, and then doing them, because they could be beautiful. And other times, it's about saying things, because saying them seems better than not.
Thursday February 7, 10pm:
Woodpigeon and The Brenda Vaqueros are two very distinct bands, despite sharing a pianist and drummer. This time they're going to collaborate on film soundtracks, and it's going to be exciting to see how a melodic orchestral folk-pop ensemble will meld with a dirty soulful garage rock act. I'm thinking it'll be pretty noisy, is what I think.
The Neighbourhood Council are a quartet of upstarts who are making really creative and inspiring modern rock mini-masterpieces and sometimes full-length masterpieces too. Atmospherics and melody combine with bombastics and great vocals to produce a sound that's really quite exciting.
Mid Atlantic produce engaging instrumental compositions using piano, guitar, bass and drums. Their songs create emotional arcs that make you feel good.
Thursday January 3, 10pm:
Grandfather Fire and the Holy Morning are releasing a new EP and want you to come and celebrate the occasion. They play this great mix of dirty blues a la Tom Waits with some old school punk enthusiasm. Lotsa banjo and gruff wailin' in the best way.
The Jagatha Christies are a two-piece pop-rock sensation who never fail to delight audiences with just how lovable they are. They're unabashed fans of Teenage Fanclub, so bring your sweet tooth!
Ashstacker are planning a visual extravaganza to go along with their energetic indie-rock set!
Thursday December 6, 10pm:
The Children-Are-Our-Future edition, featuring:
The Consonant C are a siimply delightful collection of individuals whose exhuberance and charm are sure to win you over. They play folky melodic songs with sweet harmonies and will no doubt entertain you
Aaron Booth and
Ryan Bourne will perform selections from the famous Harry Nilsson musical The Point! Nilsson was a favourite of John Lennon's and this children's musical feature is an under-appreciated gem. Aaron and Ryan are both mega-talented, so this will be awesome
The Appleman Collective play music that you might hear if you were in a place that had dancing bears, snake charming vixens, and absinthe-drinking unicorns. So a little odd, but fully enthralling, and with a big dose of old-school accordion.
Thursday November 1, 10pm:
The Day of the Dead edition, featuring:
The Azymyth are planning a dancing robot skeleton spectacular complete with video and costumes. Their music is already enough to take you to the netherworld and back, so this show should be quite the marvel.
Transient Bodies is a video and sound collaboration between Jessica McCarrell, Ben Charlton and Owen Kalau. Expect some far-out visual and sonic textures created using both hand-made and digital media.
The Square Waves play some cool synth-based pop with a bit o' the ol' Kraftwerk seeping in, which can never be a bad thing.
Thursday October 4, 10pm:
Special $10 cover for this amazing line-up
The Besnard Lakes are one of those bands that if you don't go to see their show, you'll realize after about a month that you made a grave mistake that you can never take back. Take my word, the next time BL comes to Calgary after this show, it'll be a much larger venue and triple the price. They're finalists for the Polaris Prize for their stellar album " . . . Are the Dark Horse" and their live show is totally amazing, so don't miss this bunch of Montrealers before they blow up.
The Hylozoists play very cool instrumental music with touches of spaghetti western and all kinds of xylophones. They're from Toronto and have many members, because you must have many members if you're a band from Toronto these days. Ha ha.
The Summerlad just had to play the bill with their friends the Besnards. They haven't played a club show in about a year and this will be their last big show before their CD release planned for ..his may be your last chance for a while to hear some of the older songs played live before we start hammering you with the new album.
Thursday September 6, 10pm:
RAMP Anniversary Bash!!!
Calgary Covers Calgary - a modest assemblage of Calgary's finest (musicians, not policemen) are gathering for what I believe to be the first of its kind in this fair city - a night of local acts giving tribute to other local acts' songwriting. The line-up is incredible:
Woodpigeon
Lint
The Ex-Boyfriends
Aaron Booth
The Consonant C
Gutterawl
Martin Fulton Overkill
Lonely Hunters
Lucky Sonne
Guitarsplat
The Tetraktys
The Keith Frank
The bands they're covering is top secret, but is guaranteed to entertain. Come out and celebrate our first year!
Thursday August 2, 10pm:
Nick Cave Appreciation Night!
The Brenda Vaqueros are going to represent the full-band assualt a la Bad Seeds/Birthday Party and will basically rock you in that way where you only want more Aussie swagger and bluster. They can be noisy and twangy in the best possible way.
Lucid 44 will be gracing the RAMP stage for the second time, this time providing a side to Mr. Cave that would be best described as the brooding, growling sort. The kind of man who might be planning on the best way to remove your eyeballs, while at the same time convincing you to buy him another drink. I'd buy the drink.
Una Corda are so new they don't even have a myspace page, can you believe it?! RAMP has carefully removed the foil wrap on this delightful duo of Annalea Sordi (Woodpigeon/Spree Park) and Garrett McClure (The Summerlad/Lotus Galaxy/The Bloat). The pair are also madly in love, so this set will likely highlight the troubadour/ romantic in Nick Cave's personality while some of you drink yourselves to oblivion.
Thursday July 5, 10pm:
The Psychedelic Pop Edition.
Remote Kid is a 7 piece pop group. Glockenspiels and multiple vocals abound. They are good people and their songs are infectious. There are rumours that they will produce a radio play or some such thing for us to enjoy.
Christmas play melodic and intriguiing post rock and are another great group from Medicine Hat. Dynamic swells and soaring guitars.
The Tetraktys make very cool brooding avante-pop and like to mix the odd sound collage into their set. I dare you to say their name three times.
Thursday June 7, 10pm:
The Return of Prog (in a good way!) Edition.
Lint is a fantastic rock four-piece that play wide-ranging and intense instrumental compositions. Their energy and sense of adventure is truly infectious and they will impress you with their musicianship and musicality (if you know what I mean). Another one of this city's great new bands.
Tetrix make music that takes electronica and puts it through the wringer, adding rock elements and visuals to the live show. They're just back from touring Europe and will no doubt impress.
Meta will woo you with their seamless combination of synth pop and technical post-rock. Lotsa bloopy keyboards and crazy beats!
May 5 - RAMP presents an off-site concert in addition to our regularly scheduled programming:
Thursday May 3, 10pm:
Great Aunt Ida brings her lovely piano pop to the Broken City stage with a full band and great ideas. This Vancouver-based songwriter has been a part of that city's scene for a long time and has recently brought her own songs to the fore with impressive results.
Team Building write moody and melodic rock that brings out the best in psychedelic post-rock. These are often slow-buildings songs that reward the patient listener like a good stew rewards the patient cook. They're from Edmonton god bless 'em.
Brittle Siren make sparse and intriguing rock with catchy jangly guitar and drums and sometimes some other stuff. It's good, and I think you should check it out.
Thursday April 5, 10pm:
The "Spring Carnival" ediition, for all those who say, "Friday's a holiday, yay!"
Danielle French is releasing her much-anticipated CD, "Shadows." Expect a tremendous live show with a full band and mass carnivalesqueness.
Lullaby Baxter received a very respectable 7.0 on Pitchfork! She's on Boompa Records and sings fantastic loungey pop.
Ryan Bourne and the Distraction will fit nicely into the festivities of the evening with a freak-pop cabaret featuring full band with organ, horns etc. This guy's got some serious skills.
Thursday March 1, 10pm:
The "7 Deadly Sins" ediition, for all those who say, "This would be cool if it was heavier."
Martin Fulton Overkill will devastate the senses with their two-man sonic pummelling. This is serious metal, but with a great sense of fun and adventure.
Holzkopf is a Saskatoon-based electronic artist who specializes in exploring the limits of a sound system's frequency spectrum. Crushing, yet really good times!
The Bloat is the new project by Myke of Azeda Booth and Garrett of The Summerlad. You may have heard their stuff in January, but this time they really mean business. Be prepared for a couple awesome covers in their set of intense guitar drone.
Thursday February 1, 10pm:
The "Valentine Horror" ediition, for all those who say, "I hate love."
Mt. Royal are group of upstarts from Medicine Hat who play fantastic and complex pop. The isolation of the harsh prairie has driven them to great musical heights. They're not really scary, except it's scary how good they are.
The Petrichor , aka Brooker Buckingham, mad guitarist extraordinaire, will perform a soundtrack to a really gory movie, and we'll all laugh, and be just a little disturbed.
Guitarsplat is Rodney Brent, whose been honing his one-man vampire psychobilly for 30 years. I've personally never seen him during the daytime.
Thursday January 4, 10pm:
The "Jazz Lounge" edition, headlined by Miss A.J. Giesbrecht taking on the jazz standards with Kenna Burima on piano. Both of these fine women regularly take part in Woodpigeon activities. We'll have candles on the tables and the lights low.
Jane Vain and the Beautiful Creep Cabaret will play an acoustic set of her tightly crafted mini-epics.
Lucky Sonne is Luke Colborne, true blue Alberta country boy, who writes some of the best country/folk/indie songs this side of Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys and Tom Waits. Powerful stuff!
Also, between sets, guitar soundscapes will be provided by Garrett of The Summerlad and Myke of Beneath These Idle Tides/Azeda Booth!
Thursday December 7, 10pm:
Aaron Booth The techno remix version feat. chanteuse A-J Giesbrecht.
David P. Smith Accordion freak folk from Victoria. You will be wowed.
The Consonant C Carolling for all peoples to beckon the winter season.
Thursday November 2, 10pm:
Jay Crocker dazzles you with his rendition of the self-titled second album by The Band
AA Soundsystem saunter across the analog/digital divide, providing their approach to psych-country-roots music
Lucid 44 and Psychic Pollution , together as Lucid Pollution 88, present the video for the Lucid track "Chewin' Chicken' with live electrical atmospherics
Thursday October 5, 10pm:
Jim Brown Local MC's CD release extravaganza featuring live band - noneother than The Summerlad !!!
Günther (along with their pal Brad) will make your jaw drop with their renditions of Nintendo soundtrack favourites
Todoroki Taiko present tradiional style Japanese drum performance - Heartstopping action!!
Thursday September 7, 10pm:
Woodpigeon perform the Redbeard pirate rock opera in five parts
The Summerlad unveils a new extended composition, "Calm of Cancer, Calm of Capricorn"
Kara Keith previews her new animation project complete with live soundtrack
