Vancouver rock trio  the Manvils blasted through their repertoire and tore up the Slice for an almost full house, Friday March 12.

Some of the audience was surprised their balls to the wall intense show was done before midnight. Me especially, though they don’t have a lot of original material. Regardless, the band was a having a blast on stage as was the crowd jumping in front of it responding to every note.

Lead guitarist/ singer Mikey Manvil leaped into the midst of the bouncing audience, then back on stage. They  had a lot of energy, tight musicianship, a crisp sound mix, tight hooks, a lot of catchy songs and have come into their own as a trio.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor

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This week will almost be as exciting and action packed as the last week. There are a couple of cool St. Patrick’s Day’s  shows this week including a special show by Glencoulee at the Wolf’s Den on March 17 and the Chevelles at  the Soundgarden.
 But the Folk Club has a pretty sweet show this week. J.P Cormier will be bringing a taste of his native Cape Breton to the Wolf’s Den. March 21. Cormier is a multi-award winning multi-instrumentalist who is a virtuoso guitar player, mandolin player, banjo player and violinist. He plays a variety of styles from bluegrass to Celtic music. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him several times and  can assure you he is phenomenal. Tickets are $25 for non members $20 for members.

Another great show for roots and blues fans is Dave Alvin, who will be bringing along a couple ‘guilty women’ to the Geomatic Attic, March 22. Alvin, who used to play with  ’80s roots rockers the Blasters as well as did a brief stint with popular punk pioneers X. He just released a critically acclaimed CD “Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women” including Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Christy McWilson, Sarah Brown and  Amy Farris. Tickets are $25 for members, $27.50 for non-members and $40 at the door.

’90s rockers have a cool shows to look forward to too. Calgary pop-punk band  Chixdiggit are back in town to play Henotic with the Sophomore Jakes and Aleeycat Blues, March 20. Get ready to to relive the ’90s and see a great show. 

It’s a good week for the blues as well with Paul Kype and Texas Flood at the Wooden Kilt, March 20 plus The Boogie Brothers (Darryl Düus) are playing at  a new south side pub called Jimmy’s Pub next to the Future Shop, March 20. And Blues Sen-Sa-Shun and the David Harmon Experience have a gig  at the Slice, March 19 as well.

Edmonton dance-rock band the Shout Out Out Out Out ’stop by Henotic, March 23  on the way back from South By Southwest in Austin this week. They will have spent 39 straight hours in a  van together— there and back.

“Lethbridge is out only stop on the way back, so we’ll be ready to let loose and get rid of some cabin fever,” said Nik Kozub, Shout Out Out Out’s  synth programmer/ vocalist and bassist.

“Everybody who doesn’t play drums plays bass in this band,” Kozub laughed adding he is looking forward to  playing five shows in Austin this week.

“We go every year and  to the CMJ and North by North East. We find it really worth our while. We go down there to have fun and also to work. We always do business down there. There’s music industry people there,” he said adding it is a a bit of a hassle setting up and tearing down equipment (two drum sets in addition to a variety of basses, keyboards and synthesizers)  for the 45 minute sets at South by Southwest showcases.

“It’s a pain in the butt, but it’s also a big part of our sound and who we are,” Kozub continued adding playing Henotic on March 23 is going to be a challenge too.

“Trying to figure out how to fit everything on a tiny little stage. Last time (on Sept. 12 last year) they opened the big garage doors and the drummers played in the windows. But I don’t think that will happen  at this time of year. It will be tight but we’ll be ready to let loose and  get rid of that cabin fever,” he said.

Ajax, Ontario’s main claim to fame is being home to pop punk superstars Sum-41. It’s next claim to fame will be up and coming rap superstar Peter Jackson, who plays the Blarney Stone, March 19 with Tech N9ne , Krizz Kaliko and Big Scoob and the Scalebreakers.
“I’ve always been a big fan of hip hop music. I  just started messing around with freestyling at parties. There’s definitely a lot of people doing it there, but I’m one of the first to start doing it as a career,” said Jackson who was just here last year with Naughty By Nature. Naughty By Nature also appears on his debut CD on a track called ‘Certified.’
 The 24-year-old has performed with Busta Rhymes, Classified, Naughty by Nature, Nas, Wu Tang, Youngblooz and D12 among others.
“Touring with Naughty By Nature helped me a lot. A lot of little things like how to hold the mic and stage presence,” Jackson said from Toronto where he is playing two huge shows for Canadian Music Week including headlining  the urban music showcase and performing with Tech N9ne.
“It’s all about how you carry yourself as a person. I just sat back and soaked everything like a sponge.  And they (Naughty By Nature) really took to what I was doing,” Jackson continued adding he is enjoying the tour with Tech N9ne.
“He’s got one of the greatest stage presences I’ve ever seen. It’s been great. Tech N9ne’s fans are very loyal so they’ve been great crowds and great energy. I like to see that. They’ve really taken to what I’m doing,” he enthused adding he isn’t surprised he has come such a long way in a short time.