Rocking Out in the Boonies

Selina Martin

Just came back from a show in Thomasburg, and it was so good I wanted to give it one last posthumous plug. JC Pigeon and I, as the Real Coyotes, opened for the Selina Martin Triage at the Thomasburg Hall and caught their show afterward. JC and I felt very relaxed and comfortable, which came through in our act, but the 'Triage really nailed it.

The Selina Martin Triage is Selina Martin with Annelise Noronha and Kevin Lacroix. They bill themselves as art pop, a genre I'm not especially familiar with, but this was nice way to meet it. The band was not only extremely tight, they were beaming the entire time, and it's scientifically proven that's infectious. I was particularly taken by their surprising vocal and rhythmic flourishes, the kind of thing that keeps the audience engaged, and requires time and forethought on the part of the band. As you can see elsewhere on Bang & Jangle, I'm a sucker for instrumentation like Lacroix's homemade kit, made of an old suitcase and porchboard bass, and Noronha's accordion. Selina Martin's vocals and lyrics preside over the whole affair - I thought her line about "a spine made of homemade wine" really painted a picture.

I'm listening to their album Life Drawing Without Instruction as I write this. Expect to hear a track on the Bang & Jangle Radio Hour in the next couple weeks. I'll keep you posted if they plan to come to Peterborough. They're Toronto-based, so it's bound to happen.

Thanks also to everyone who helped to promote and put the show at the hall together. The more I look, the more I see the rural communities have got it going on...