If CKXU loves you, then a lot of people showed they love CKXU too, Feb 11 at the Slice for CKXU Loves You VI.
The annual University of Lethbridge  based community radio station on the weekend was sold out by a mass of people enjoying a variety of jokes and local musicians having fun on stage reinterpreting love songs and anti love songs.
 I arrived just in time to catch an interesting set from Andrew Scott, backed by drummer and former band mate Kyle Harmon. Scott was a character on stage  through a solid version REM’s “The One I Love.”

Then things got a little weird and entertaining as Harmon shouted  “Andrew,” “Andrew”  from behind his drum kit.

They played Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” which segued into Kings of Leon’s “Sex is On Fire,” then back in to the Springsteen song. Scott donned the ukulele for one last song before calling it a night.

 The Ketamines showed a lot more improvement  with their set of straight ahead punk rock love songs, most of them obscurities from bands like Megan and Teenage Head. They played a tight, loud and energetic set which had a good sized crowd banging their heads in front of the Slice’s stage.

 Metal band Arcanis decided to “bring the heavy to this night of love songs,” and were good for their word.
 The colourfully dressed band brought elements of ’80s metal and more modern sounds to their upbeat set.

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The Lethbridge Folk Club Wolf’s Den  was packed to the rafters for a fun, globe-trotting set by the Sultans of String, Feb 11.
 The Toronto quartet were having a lot of fun on stage playing a variety of up-tempo instrumentals which  drew  heavily from the musical wells of Celtic music, jazz, blues and a plethora of Afro-Cuban and Arabic influenced rhythms.

“Everything sounds better with a rumba and flamenco rhythm,” chortled beaming frontman/ violinist Chris McKhool as he and the band got the audience to clap along. Guitarist Kevin Laliberté got to show how diverse the band is as  McKhool exhorted him to  play an array of styles including classical, blues, jazz, ’80s rock, bossa nova and Cuban salsa while the other band members danced to the rhythm.

 And while they are primarily an instrumental band, they showed they could sing and harmonize very well  during a hot version of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.”

They wound down their set on an energetic note by inviting opening act Phrashant John on stage to play Arabic flute with them.

A handful of people enjoyed Calgary based roots/ rock trio Brocade, Feb. 9 at the Slice.
 They had the stage set up like a comfortable living room with lamps and adorned the stage with black velvet paintings of bridges, landscapes, ships and various animals  all over the backdrop and front of the stage.

Bassist Weeze Brown sported a Leeroy Stagger t-shirt, which fit in well as the band had a strong Leeroy Stagger  / Elliott Brood style roots rock sound.

They started off slow with a soulful Sly and the Family Stone cover, which had one amorous couple up and dancing.

 The trio showed a lot of energy on stage and played catchy riffs while exhibiting a keen sense of melody.
 They played a long first set including a much of their debut CD  “Like You were Here,” and some strange ones like their “number one hit” about Weeze’s cat. They played a few choice covers including a Prince’s “ You Don[t have to be Pretty, to be My Girl”  and an unusual arrangement of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” before asking the audience  for requests.

 They played their first single “Riot,Riot.” They ended their set with  a cover of the Black Crowes’ “Remedy,” and took a short break.
 They returned for a quick set  including Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” before ending with their latest single and video “Every Single Day.”

All 12 of the people  at the Slice, Feb. 6 were loving the Todd Wolfe band as they tore into an energetic set of blues rock music.
 The trio filled in all the spaces as bassist Justine Gardner played in the pocket, her thumb anchored to her bass pickup guard as she let her fingers do some groovy walking while drummer Roger Voss kept the time.

 Wolfe played some supremely tasteful lead guitar and belted out the blues as his voice gave the music a John Cougar Mellencamp meets the Los Lonely Boys vibe.
 He played an array of original music and some long lost classics from the likes of Derek and the Dominoes and even a groove heavy version of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen.”

 Together they provided a solid, laid back blues behemoth, though they let each other out of their cages to roar on the odd bass solo and drum solo. Throughout, Wolfe played every note perfectly in place. He didn’t say much on stage, but told a quick story about New Orleans before playing a song called “Why So Blue?”

 While there weren’t a lot of people in the audience, they were enthusiastically enjoying the show with one of the more exuberant  shouting out  “All 12 of us are loving this” throughout the set.

 He played a revamped version of Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac’s “ Need Your Love So Bad” and “Homework.” plus some old Derek and the Dominoes.

They ended their first set with solos, lots of solos, before taking a really short set break and picking up the tempo again in the second set.
There were more tasteful solos and great groove as he played several originals including “On The Run,” which was a definitely a highlight.