Shout out.

I'm going through next week's show listings, prepping for the next podcast, and listening to some tunes I've already got from artists playing. There's a couple excellent $10 shows (with advance tickets recommended): Two Hours Traffic w/ The Danks, and Ohbijou and The Acorn w/ The Rural Alberta Advantage. These are all great bands. The Acorn's been getting a lot of play on my Zune lately. I've never seen this Ottawa band before, though they've been around a few years and have several beautiful albums in their discography. I've only recently realized too that the handsome man I saw at the BBQs at both NxNE and Pop Montreal this year was The Acorn's lead singer/songwriter, Rolf Carlos Klausener. That's one unanswered question now answered.

Download: Here's The Acorn's song Low Gravity, off the 2007 release, "Glory Hope Mountain."

Another band with a show next week is the Toronto group This Is Picture. Much lesser known, this one. Rob likes to give away his music for free, so thanks to me catching most of a set in the summer, I've been enjoying a few of the band's tracks since then. This is pop but with a difference. Just when you think you're going to break out into dance mode, the music switches up, screwing with your rhythm. Great stuff.

Download: This Is Picture's Every Copied Step.

In my last shout out post, I wrote about Provincial Parks. They are playing a show next Wednesday at the Bovine with a Regina band called Library Voices. What a great venue, and an awesome lineup. Thanks to the internet, I've grabbed a few Library Voices songs, and have been listening. What fun! Apparently a huge group---10 members?!---that's made a name for itself rather quickly. They remind me a little of Vampire Weekend, which in my books is a good thing. Have a listen for yourself, and see you at the show.

Download: Step Off The Map & Float by Library Voices. This one's a definite keeper. And I think Rob would like it too.