EVENT PREVIEW: The Pack A.D. Brings The Blood, Sweat and Tears to Windsor Tonight!

The Pack A.D. (Vancouver, BC) with special guests Another Saturday Knight
Phog Lounge, 157 University Ave. West
Doors at 9pm, Tickets are $5 at the door, 19+

The face of blues in Canada is changing. With the explosive debut of Detroit's own The White Stripes a few years ago (that was conceivably bubbling under years earlier with the likes of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and since fed by the likes of The Black Keys, The Dirtbombs and The Vasco Era, music fans are being treated to a raw and emotionally charged brand of blues garage rock that carries way more of the blood, sweat and whiskey induced tears of the original blues legends of the 1930's and 1940's than much of the 80's blues of Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jeff Healey. Hence a re-emergence in finding some of these older players such as R.L. Burnside.

This has lead to a rise in similar indie sounds coming from our own great country over the past few years. Winnipeg's The Perpetrators have been tearing through Windsor for years now (they played here just last week actually), infecting all who've witnessed with their gritty blues attack. Toronto's The Speaking Tongues have been making waves of late, touring in support of their critically acclaimed 2008 debut Wild Sound, as well as the sheer awesomeness that is the shredding capabilities of Shiloh Harrison in Cambridge's HotKid. Even locally, we saw a brief resurgence of late, with Lee Gaul and Steven Gibb (both of The Golden Hands Before God...) surfacing in a sideband called Baby Blue Eyes & The Spanish Boots, as well as the raucous blues-based punk rawk of veteran revivalists High Mother.

But no one has done more for Canadian blues and garage rock in the past year and a half than Vancouver's The Pack A.D. Following the oft-imitated new garage blues norm of performing as a duo, guitarist/singer Becky Black and her skins-bashing bandmate Maya Miller have carved their way through an established niche and left an indelible stain of their own blood all across it's dirty sheets. Their 2007 independent debut Tin Type gave an early warning sign to what lay ahead - so much so that one of Canada's longest running and most respected indie labels, Mint Records, scooped them up for their own roster. After adding an "A.D." to the The Pack (there was literally thousands of indie bands called The Pack), they released their Mint debut the following year with the critically acclaimed Funeral MixTape (as well as a full on national re-distribution of Tin Type on Mint).

These ladies sing the blues to whomever is willing to join them for a beer and a song, wherever the rock and roll trade winds take them. They are true testaments to the heart and soul of a travelling musician, playing some nights to the faces of a thousand sweating grins before braving the cold winds of the 401 to playing in front of ten weathered souls, more interested in the Jeopardy on the crackling television set behind the bar. But they've always paid attention by show's end. They give their all no matter the crowd, the venue or the circumstance. They sing their songs with a demand that you feel their stories. An empassioned plea to feel their sting of a broken heart, their joy of a whiskey kiss or their anger at a disrespecting or hard woman. And boy, do you ever.

They've also always stood by the ones that helped them out throughout their journeys - fans and venues alike - and for that very reason they're playing Phog Lounge (157 University Ave. West) tonight on their tour. This is about the third or fourth time they've hit Phog and by rites they should very well be playing a much larger venue this time around than the meager 60+ that Phog holds. They could easily be at Saint Andrew's or The Magic Stick in Detroit, or at the least, The Blind Dog. But Phog has always treated them well, the crowds have always treated them well, so they'll stick with the stage that brung them.

So if you're hankering for some down and dirty, rock and roll honest to goodness blues, dig out a fiver and head over to Phog tonight for some of the Canadian blues guitar that's even got Rolling Stone in the U.S. taking notice (the latest issue mentioned their killer "Making Gestures" single as one of their faves right now). To warm up the show, Chad Howson and the gang from Another Saturday Knight will be playing their post-punk pop goodness for a spell.

Here's the video for "Making Gestures" to whet your appetite...