The Owl Acoustic Lounge turned it up a notch, May 10 with Lethbridge psychedelic rock trio Cosmic Charley and  Calgary’s Ultra Mega.

 As always, Cosmic Charley played an innovative set full of funky, Red Hot Chilli Peppers tinged bass and catchy rhythms and melodies.

They were a lot more laid back than usual.  But they wound up their set with a lot of high energy music from their last CD, which had a handful of people on their feet dancing. They  played a variety of music from disco infused songs to country to Strokes inspired indie rock, ending with a cover of the Strokes‘ “Last Night.”

Ultra Mega were also in a  psychedelic mood , playing a strong set of psychedelic indie rock which sounded like a blend of the Blue Oyster Cult and Pink Floyd.
 They had plenty of ambient guitars and ghostly vocal harmonies.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

Winnipeg jazz/ rock combo Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers were inspired by insects for their new EP  Fruit and Ash.
 They will be playing the Owl Acoustic Lounge, May 27.
“ We‘re pretty pumped to get it out,” said vocalist bassist Lindsey Collins.

He noted frontman Jesse Kraus was inspired by insects and nature to write the four songs.
“He used Mother Nature to draw parallels to the human experience and to tell an interesting story,” he continued.

“ He grew up  on a farm in Langley, so he  comes from a more pastoral life. He really like nature  documentaries so we see a lot of that on the DVD player in the van,” he said.

Get your Brains this week, when the Montreal based psychobilly quartet the Brains play Bo Diddly’s with local rockabilly trio Bent 8, May 24. The show begins at 9 p.m.
Advance tickets are $10.

If your tastes lean towards classic rock, then you will a want to be at Casino Lethbridge, May 23  for Holly Woods and Toronto who will be playing all of their hits like “Your Daddy Don’t  Know,” and others.

If you like country  music, Petunia returns to the Slice, May 22.

 Dan Frechette also returns to Lethbridge to play the Owl Acoustic Lounge, May 23 with Kayla Luky and special guest  Laurel Thomsen on fiddle and guitar. He plays a variety of different music, but is concentrating on his latest CD “Dawning of a New Day.”

 There are also a couple excellent blues shows with Erin Ross returning to the Owl Acoustic Lounge, May 24 and local blues band Riviera Paradise returning to the Mocha Cabana, Friday and Saturday, May 24-25.

Grandview , Manitoba singer/ songwriter Kayla Luky is excited about getting on the road again and learning a few things fellow Manitoban Dan Frechette.

“You can’t live in a car with someone and not learn a few things,” said the alt country songwriter, packing the car for the trip.

“He’s been at it for a lot longer than I have. So it will be nice to learn from him,” said Luky, who released her first CD 10 years ago.
“We’ve played a lot of the same places. I played the Winnipeg Library once and he must have liked what he heard,” she said.