L.A. Beat

It was a “mammoth” week for rock and roll and garage punk at Henotic  this week thanks to Paul Lawton, who brought in bands from all over the country as well as  a lot of local bands for four days of loud,  rambunctious and in many cases synth- powered rock and roll.
Rocktoberfest started off Oct. 14 with  approximately 40 people having a blast.
 Local blues duo the Smoke Stack Jacks had the GCBC Lounge hopping with frenetic blues influenced rock which had an enthusiastic audience bouncing. They will be back with the Pack AD, Amelia Earhart (who also had an excellent Rocktoberfest set, Oct. 16) and Austria, Nov. 10.
 After that a unique Vancouver trio called Fox Opera performed some wild jazz influenced original music featuring some intricate bass lines and some weird guitar sounds which appealed to the audience.
 I also caught a couple songs from a new musical collective called  Skull Train to Hell Town which included members of the Creationists and the New Danger Kids, who, dressed in gold lamée tights and disco era polyester, had an array of computerized sounds powering strong dance and R and B influenced music.
On Oct. 16, Rocktoberfest featured some wild  punk  bands. Namely Calgary’s The Ex-Boyfriends who brought back the crazed spirit of Iggy and the Stooges, they played with reckless abandon.

Blow those grey day blues away with  some wicked shows this week.
 In addition to the Joys and Bluessmyth, who will be bringing their special brands of blues influenced rock and roll to the Slice, more traditional blues enthusiasts will want to see a great show on Oct. 24 at the Slice with Winnipeg acoustic blues god Big Dave McLean who is in the middle of another extensive tour with Toronto based American transplant Doc MacLean. Local acoustic bluesman Papa King will be opening the show. Tickets cost $10.
At Henotic the same night,  the JPS Trio including John Paul Smith, Dino Scavo and Kyle Harmon,  will be filming their show for an upcoming video. They are looking for a crowd  who is ready, willing and able  to party their faces off and be filmed doing it. Tickets cost $10 to hear  this excellent rock and roll band.
If you want to dance, Hippodrome will be bringing the funk to the Slice on Oct. 23.

Speaking of cool shows, if you were at the South Country Fair this year you will remember the rootsy, wild, weirdness that was the Hank and Lily Show. If you missed them then, don’t miss them Oct. 29 at Henotic when they will be playing with the Secretaries. With that in mind. L.A. Beat has two tickets to give away to the first person to e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the answer to this question:
 What is the name of Hank and Lily’s  back up singers? Hint it is in L.A Beat’s archives. And the answer is not Jenny Whiteley or the Secretaries.