Elder, Ruby The Hatchet and Howling Giant
Where: Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club / DOWNSTAIRS
109 7 Avenue S.W Calgary
http://thepalomino.ca/
18+ with government issued identification
When: Tuesady May 23, 2023
Doors: 6:00pm / Bands 7:00pm
Admission: $25.00 advance at www.showpass.com
NO JERK POLICY ALWAYS IN EFFECT!!
Elder
Innate Passage is the sixth Elder full-length. It finds the mostly-Berlin-based band in the post-pandemic era as veterans at the forefront of a league of progressive and heavy groups working in large part under their influence; a stately presence as reliably forward-thinking as they are unpredictable in sound. They are among the most important acts of their mostly-still-emerging generation. Genuine leaders in style and expressive intention. Innate Passage is further proof why.
In Spring 2020, Elder released their fifth album, Omens, and with it established a claim on their most prog-leaning interpretation of sprawling heavy rock and roll. Two years later, Innate Passage builds on many similar concepts, but outdoes its predecessor on every level of performance, weight of its impact, interplay between founder Nick DiSalvo and Mike Risberg’s guitars and keys, the now-settled-in drumming of Georg Edert – who made his debut on Omens – and bassist Jack Donovan’s tonal warmth underscoring the shimmer of DiSalvo’s leads.
Says DiSalvo: “This record channels the surreal world we live in from a fantastical point of view, not super-literally, and how we as humans processed that; everyone on their own passage through time and space and whatever version of reality they chose for themselves. The phrase ‘Innate Passage’ appeared to me when writing the record. Passage and transition are necessary in the human condition and this process is intrinsic to us. All the growth and introspection we underwent in the past few years totally made this apparent to me more so than any other experiences in life so far.”
“Catastasis” begins Innate Passage with a pointedly bright perspective and the most complex vocal harmonies that Elder have ever produced. Alongside DiSalvo, Innate Passage features a guest singer for the first time in Behrang Alavi (Samavayo), who adds his voice to what’s already a career performance for DiSalvo as a singer; his voice is more confident, has more presence, and more reach than ever before. That is but one way in which Innate Passage steps boldly deeper into this new era for Elder.
Whether it’s a shredding lead in the culmination of “Endless Return” or the willfully patient, almost meandering, build into the crescendo and fade of “Merged in Dreams/Ne Plus Ultra,” Elder are poised as never before as they execute this material. In centerpiece “Coalescence,” they offer Opeth-worthy rhythmic intricacy and piano drama offset by crunching heavy guitar and twisting leads, and in “The Purpose,” they craft a wash of melody that is engrossing without sacrificing any clarity of the individual instruments that make it.
As the album ends with soft guitar in an answer to the intro of “Catastasis,” the sense of wholeness that comes through is one more aspect arguing for Elder as singularly crucial. Innate Passage is a culmination of everything they’ve done before, and that’s reason to celebrate, but more, it is that after more than 15 years, they’re still pushing forward to places where neither they nor anyone they’ve influenced have yet gone. – JJ Koczan, Sept. 2022.
https://www.facebook.com/elderofficial
https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/elderband
Ruby the Hatchet
With “Fear Is a Cruel Master”, RUBY THE HATCHET deliver exactly the brain-frying, catchy yet full of raw energy thriller-album that the American trailblazers acclaimed predecessor “Planetary Space Child” (2017) promised it to be. Five long years have passed since the New Jersey psych-rock squad dropped their last album, but the wait is finally over. RUBY THE HATCHET have reached a new peak of writing music as a collective that was hard won through sacrifices and an iron will to get better and to reach a new level each time. The album title, “Fear Is a Cruel Master”, duly epitomizes the mood of the lockdown period in which it was written. Accustomed to working together as a group, singer Jillian Taylor, guitarist Johnny Scarps, drummer Owen Stewart, bassist Lake Muir, and organist Sean Hur were forced to spend more time apart than they normally would. “I read a lot during the pandemic, when I came across the phrase ‘fear is a cruel master’, Taylor explains. “At the time, you could see the fear and how it was holding people back. The title resonates with being in the music community, because it was shaky for everyone – from bands to booking agents to venues. Fear was in the air.” Recorded at New Future in Jersey with Paul Ritchie from THE PARLOR MOB, “Fear Is a Cruel Master” wasn’t as meticulously mapped out as RUBY’s previous albums. The band purposely left space for spontaneity and magic moments. Ultimately, the main theme of “Fear Is a Cruel Master” is self-reflection. Although these songs were forged in the crucible of world-stopping pestilence, they come with a timeless quality that transcends the moment of their creation. Everything that makes RUBY THE HATCHET such an outstanding and wildly loved act even among their peers is there – ranging from those sultry, honey-smoked vocals, via lush yet crisp guitars, to the spirit of rock ‘n roll organ heroics. “Fear Is a Cruel Master” is definitely an album written after a decade of being in a band and looking back without regret at all the things done or not done. It is a testimony to that journey, as we now embark to follow the band’s equally impressive and massive sonic wake.
https://thehatchet.bandcamp.com
https://linktr.ee/rubythehatche
https://www.instagram.com/rubythehatchet
https://www.facebook.com/rubythehatchet
Howling Giant
Heavy, instrumental psychedelic rock from Nashville so weird it can only be called progressive.
https://linktr.ee/Howlinggiant
https://www.instagram.com/howlinggiant/
https://howlinggiant.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/howlinggiant
Remember if you are experiencing or exhibiting any of the symptoms below you should stay home and undertake the monitoring and testing recommended by Alberta Health Services here: https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-testing-in-alberta.aspx
• Fever
• Cough (new cough or worsening chronic
cough)
• Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
(new or worsening)
• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• Stuffy nose
• Painful swallowing
• Headache
• Chills
• Muscle/joint ache
• Feeling unwell/fatigue/severe
exhaustion
• Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea/unexplained
loss of appetite
• Loss of sense of smell or taste
• Conjunctivitis
*This event takes place on the territory of the Blackfoot and the people of Treaty 7 Region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikuni, the Kainai, the Tsuu T’ina and the Stoney Nakoda First Nations. Calgary is also home to the Metis Nation of Alberta, Region III.
NO JERK POLICY ALWAYS IN EFFECT!!
