CAKE MIX
CAKE MIX is a blog about music and culture based out of Ottawa, Canada. The focus will be to promote local talent and inform more people about various events around town. We are in no way professional critics… think of us more like that friend who always wants to bring you out to the bar down the street to see a band you’ve never heard. Maybe you’re that person too. We love those people.
Why?
If you’ve ever been to a really great show and spent the night wishing there was something more you could do to support the artist(s), you’ll understand. Maybe we can’t set up the next gig or cover the cost of producing the next record… but we can tell everyone we know to go see the next show or buy the new album when it comes out. So that’s what we’ll do.
What if I want to promote an artist/event?
Shoot us a message on tumblr (or tweet @cakemixculture) and we’ll take a look.
Hello everyone!
Over the past few weeks we’ve been considering the future of this blog, whether or not it’s feasible to keep it up throughout the year, etc. We’ve decided that due to time constraints and other responsibilities, posting on Cake Mix will be put on hold indefinitely. Perhaps we’ll be back in some form or another in the future, but that is undecided as of now.
If you’re looking for show recommendations, we suggest these sites:
Apt613 - This blog has articles and information about lots of arts and culture events around Ottawa. Definitely a good source, and they have a pretty wide range of events.
Ottawa Showbox - A relatively new blog focused on the Ottawa music scene. They’ve got event lists, interviews with artists, reviews, etc.
Spectrasonic - These guys organize a lot of the shows we’ve been promoting around the city, so they’ll have a pretty decent list of some upcoming shows.
There are many more sites, venues, groups we could recommend, but these ones are a good start. If you’re the type of person who thinks nothing happens in this city, please check these out or do a little research on your own. There are so many things going on if you take the time to look.
We’ll leave you with that and one last recommendation for tonight:
Cuff the Duke / Kalle Mattson / Dave Norris & Local Ivan @ Mavericks, 9:00pm doors
So long and see you at the shows!
Tonight: The North Lakes at Zaphod’s with The Rebel Year and Ashley Crnic.
Doors 8:00pm, Tickets $8.
Ok friends, here’s what we like for this weekend.
Tonight: PEI alt-rockers The North Lakes are playing at Zaphod’s with The Rebel Year and Ashley Crnic. Doors 8:00pm, Tickets $8. Check out the seasonally appropriate, Cold Ottawa Wind if you’d like a taste of their sound.
On Friday night, you can see The Luyas, an indie band from Montreal, with Fiver and André M Bluteau at Mavericks. These guys played on CBC’s Q yesterday, and you can listen to the interview/performance here. Doors 9:00pm, tickets $13.
On Saturday, we’d like to recommend The Once at the National Arts Centre, but unfortunately the show is sold out! If you can find some tickets to this, it should be a really nice one.
If not, there are a few other options. Jerry Leger and the Situation are playing a folk-rock show at Zaphod’s (8:00pm, $7), or you can catch Citizen, State Champs and Candy Hearts at Pressed Café (8:00pm, $10). They’ve got more of a punk-rock sound. Either one looks like a fun way to spend Saturday night.
On Sunday, we’re recommending the Support Local Open Mic at the Hintonburg Public House, 9:00pm. There are open mics all over town most days of the week, but we’re promoting this one as part of Support Local month. It’s a chance to hang out with cool people from the Ottawa music community and maybe discover some new talent.
P.S. Don’t forget that Evening Hymns are playing at Mavericks next Wednesday! Should be great!
Tonight: Tusks and Winchester Warm @ Raw Sugar Café, 9:00pm, $10
Ho boy. It’s November. Lots of cold, grey days ahead, Ottawa!
You’ve got lots to look forward to this month, with great music every weekend and plenty of other interesting events around town. Here are a couple we think you should know about…
Apt613 has organized a month-long series of events to promote Ottawa arts, music, food, business, interesting groups, etc. Support Local starts tonight with a launch party at Raw Sugar Café (8:00pm, free admission). Check Apt613’s event listings for a full schedule.
We’ll also recommend the Plaid Parade on Saturday. Wear plaid, ride your bike along the parade route with other cool people dressed in plaid, then head to the Kichesippi Brewery for the after party. The ride starts at 11:00am at Suzy Q Donuts, and the after party goes from 2:00pm - 8:00pm. Free brewery tours all day, musical performances by Fellow and Hamilton, food from Murray Street and Flatbread Pizza Co. Sounds like a good time!
Friday night we’ll suggest the Tusks Record Release at Raw Sugar with guests Winchester Warm. You can check out the new album here… We think it’ll be a nice show, especially in an intimate venue like this. It starts at 9:00pm, tickets $10.
You’ve got lots of options for Saturday, and since the party at Kichesippi ends at 8:00pm, you’ll be able to attend a couple different events. We’ll recommend Zeus, Dan Griffin (The Arkells) and Lazzy Lung at Zaphod’s. Doors at 8:00pm, tickets $12 advance. Looks like a fun lineup there. Another option is Joe Grass at Irene’s pub, starting at 9:30pm. Joe plays guitar with Patrick Watson and has a sound we think you’ll really like.
On Sunday, you can check out The Maladies of Adam Stokes at the Elmdale Tavern. The Maladies have a cool folk/rock sound that should be a nice way to end the weekend. 9:00pm, tickets $8.
That’s our picks for the weekend - stay cozy, friends!
Time for more weekend recs!
There have already been some fantastic shows around town this week - The Crackling at Raw Sugar on Sunday and The Wooden Sky last night were both excellent! Here are a few choices for the next couple days…
Halloween is coming up next Wednesday, so this weekend is a good time to start celebrating. While there are a number of parties and performances going on around town, we’ll recommend the Indie Rock Halloween Party @ Zaphod’s, Saturday night, 8:00pm. Musical entertainment provided by Paper Lions, Danielle Duval and Ashleys, and costumes are encouraged! In fact, there’s a costume contest and a chance to win free tickets to spectrasonic shows, so go all out if you’re into dressing up. Tickets are $12 advance.
On Sunday afternoon is this month’s 4in1 Music Session near the Rideau locks/Bytown Museum, featuring Kristine St. Pierre, Tindervox, Shannon Rose, Trees and Lazzy Lung. It’s acoustic, outdoor (last outdoor session of the year!) and free. Once again, costumes are encouraged, and we hear coffee and tea will be available to keep you warm. Check the facebook page for location changes if the weather doesn’t cooperate.
If you’re up for more music Sunday night, check out Justice RF, Fellow and Mabel & Alex at the Elmdale House Tavern. Indie/folk sounds, looks like it’ll be a nice, chill show to end the weekend. 9:00pm, $5.
That’s all for now! See you at the shows.
Tonight: The Wooden Sky and guests @ First Baptist Church, 7:00pm doors
Tonight: The Crackling and Steve St. Pierre @ Raw Sugar, doors at 8:00pm
Hey everybody, guess what? There’s more great music happening this weekend!
Here’s a couple quick picks for you…
Friday (tonight!) is the grand finale of Live 88.5’s Big Money Shot. Kalle Mattson, Les Mosquitos and more will be playing at St. Brigid’s starting at 9:00pm. Tonight’s the night that one lucky band wins $25000.
Saturday, you can head to Babylon for a dance party with Dragonette, Data Romance and Young Empires at 9:00pm. These bands should get you moving with their electro-pop tunes.
Sunday should be a good one. The Crackling and Steve St. Pierre play at Raw Sugar Café starting at 8:00pm. It’ll be folk-rock, indie-rock sounds and we think it’ll be a great way to spend Sunday evening.
Looking ahead to next week, don’t forget that The Wooden Sky is playing on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church!
It’s been a busy week over here! Actually, it still is. Tomorrow we relax though. This post will be a brief one, but we wanted to mention a few things happening this weekend…
Friday: Herd Magazine Launch at the Fall Down Gallery on Bank. Musical guests include Amos the Transparent and Fellow, and it looks like a fun, local, artsy night.
Saturday: In case you missed them last weekend, Little Stella will be at Le Petit Chicago, 9:00pm, $8 advance.
Sunday: Templeton Grey plays at the Rainbow Bistro, 9:00pm. Nice, moody voice. Good choice especially if it rains on Sunday.
More shows on the calendar soon, but this covers a couple picks for the weekend.
