Ditch Horses provide a rollicking ride at Only Café two Tuesdays a month

\TORONTO EAST\

If you’ve ever been to charming little pub The Feathers on Kingston Road in TO’s Upper Beaches area without knowing anything about it beforehand you’d probably be very unlikely to guess that its owner is Country musician and songwriter.

But maybe it does help to explain why Reid Pickering doesn’t often bring his own band The Ditch Horses into his own room –the high-energy vibe this 4-piece kicks out might just be too much for the English pub-style venue and its darts and whiskey-loving denizens.

(Pickering does, however, have live entertainment every Saturday night at The Feathers, with the roster mostly populated by high-calibre local singer-songwriters and bands performing original material.)

Fortunately for fans of bright, lively Country music with catchy, danceable melodies and interesting lyrics, however, the Horses do appear two Tuesdays a month (including tonight) at another east Toronto venue: Only Café at 972 Danforth Ave. around the corner from the Donlands subway station.

With Pickering on lead vocals and uber-versatile ace second guitarist and backup vocalist Chris Bennett, the group is already a cut above your average band. More backup vocals and solid bass come from Sean Ryan (who’s also a songwriter and artist in his own right), while Dino Maccarato demonstrates versatility and taste (not to mention power when needed) on the sticks.

On their website an amusing and somewhat accurate description of their what they call Roots-Rock music suggests “they have been described as Wilco meets The Barenaked Ladies meets Neil Young meets Blue Rodeo but with hats.”

Pickering’s lyrical gifts shine on songs like “Kensington Cowgirl” (a send up of the faux-western posers common in the hipper parts of the city) and the lovely “Beautiful Face” (about devotion to just what it says). They are just two of the delightful numbers that jump out from the 11-track untitled album on cd that I picked up when I caught their show last month.

You’ll hear the Blue Rodeo echoes in the lead-off track “Down Down Down” and on “Holy Water”, but their sound is also distinctive. There are also story songs (“Thompsett Louder Swung” and “The Murder Of Dickie Hovey”) and some more Pop-Rock styled entries like “Kings and Queens”, which reminded me of one of my all-time favourite Canadian bands, The Kings (particularly on the chorus, where it intones “I wanna be a king on Queen” –coincidence?) and also a little of The Rolling Stones. From start to end, this is not only a listenable album it’s very re-listenable time and time again.

Although I couldn’t find an actual link to hear the tunes online on their website, fortunately, when the group does their twice-monthly Tuesdays 9-11 at the Only for no cover, they almost exclusively do original tunes, including the ones I mentioned and others from their gem of an album, which you can also pick up from the band at the show.

-Gary  17, www.torontomoon.ca

LISTINGS:

Listings preceded by an asterisk (*) are repeating weekly events. (Double asterisk indicates repeating event with different hosts/guest/etc.). Admission prices followed by a slash and minus (/-) after the amount indicates door charge with availability of cheaper rates for some purchases. /+ indicates stated price is minimum.

Names of subscribers appear in bold, are underlined and, where applicable, include a live link to their websites. Advertisers’ listings are in larger type, include live link to website and also have ad icon included in listings.

*6-9> Julian Fauth solo @ Sauce, 1376 Danforth Ave., TO East ~original Blues piano

6> The Morals @ Cameron House (front), 408 Queen St. W., TO

6:30> Arbuckle @ The Rex, 194 Queen St. W., TO ~Jazz

*6:30-11> The Woodshed jam with Don Niblett & Frank Zochodne @ Simcoe Blues & Jazz, 926 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa

7> Lee Koch @ Dakota Tavern, 249 Ossington Ave., TO West

7> Earl Wilfong @ Black Horse Pub, 452 George St. N., Peterborough

7:30-9:30> Jazz Moustache @ Relish, 2152 Danforth Ave., TO East ~Django Jazz

7:30> Aurochs @ Tranzac Club (Southern Cross), 292 Brunswick St., TO ~Jazz

8> FingerStyleGuitar.ca open stage @ Hirut, 2050 Danforth Ave., TO East ~Roots

*8> karaoke with Randy Petrie @ King’s Belly, 429 Donlands Ave., TO East

8-10> Lily Frost @ Castro’s, 2116 Queen St. E.. TO East

8-12> Mike Daley @ Monarchs Pub in Eaton Chelsea Hotel, 33 Gerrard St. W., TO ~songwriter

8> Danny Marks & Alec Fraser Blues Night @ Gate 403, 403 Roncesvalles Ave., TO West ~Blues

*8> open stage with host Iain Leslie @ Moonshine Café, 137 Kerr St., Oakville; $2

*8:30> Django Jam @ Dominion On Queen, 500 Queen St. E., TO ~Django Jazz

8:30> Songwriters Association of Canada Regional Group showcase and open stage @ Free Times Café, 320 College St., TO ~

*8:45> Tyler Yarema & His Rhythm @ Reservoir Lounge, 52 Wellington St. E., TO ~Jazz/Blues

*8:45> open mic with Matt Zadkovich @ Culchainn’s Irish Pub, 158 Queen St. S., Streetsville-Mississauga

8> The Ditch Horses featuring Reid Pickering @ The Only Café, 972 Danforth Ave., TO East

**9> open mic with host Jody Ferrer & 10 p.m. feature by tba @ Groove Bar, 1952 Danforth Ave., TO East

9> Mercy Flight feat. Steve York; Tofu Stravinsky; Wolves In The Timber; for Two Four Tuesdays @ The Piston, 937 Bloor St. W., TO West ~indie

*9> open mic with host Nikki Lemonbeat @ Kitch, 229 Geary Ave., TO West

9> Marcus & Nolan @ The Local, 396 Roncesvalles Ave., TO West ~Roots/Folk

9> The Treasures @ Dakota Tavern, 249 Ossington Ave., TO West

**9> Ababe Music presents Ben Crosby; J’aime Payne; Skye Wallace; Ben Doerksen @ The Painted Lady, 218 Ossington Ave., TO West ~indie showcase; $5

*9> open mic with Manny D, Andy Earle & Dave Breckels @ Big Chris BBQ, 17380 Yonge St., Newmarket

9:30> Nicola Vaughan hosts jam @ Grossman’s, 379 Spadina Ave., TO

*9:30> karaoke with The English Rose & The Mad Scotsman @ The Fossil & Haggis, 790 Military Trail, Scarborough

*9:30-2> karaoke with Krista Frank @ Legends, 774 Danforth Ave., TO East

*9:30> Peter Verity @ Black Swan, 154 Danforth Ave., TO East ~Folk Roots

9:30> Brooklyn Doran; Sarah MacRae; Sara Wilkinson @ C’est What, 67 Front St. E., TO ~songwriters; pwyc

*9:30-12> open stage hosted by Jennifer Brewer @ The Old Nick, 123 Danforth Ave., TO East

9:30> Jazz jam with Chris Gale @ The Rex, 194 Queen St. W., TO ~Jazz

*9:30> jam with Derek Downham @ Axis, 3048 Dundas St. W., TO West ~eclectic

9:30> Steel City @ The Corral, 433 Simcoe St. S., Oshawa ~Country Rock

*10-2> The Sattalites @ Orbit Room, 580 College St., TO ~orig. & cover Reggae/Funk

10> Stop Time @ Tranzac Club (Southern Cross), 292 Brunswick St., TO ~Jazz

10> Sinners Choir @ Cameron House (front), 408 Queen St. W., TO

*10-11> Nik Beat’s Howl radio show @ CIUT 89.5 FM, ~spoken word & music

*10-2> Marshall Dane Trio @ Roc’n Doc’s, 105 Lakeshore Rd. E., Port Credit ~New Country/Pop

10> Kevin Jollimore stars as Nixon in “Elvis and Dick” @ Tarragon Theatre Mainspace, 30 Bridgman Ave,, Toronto, TO ~musical theatre; $10

10:30> The World Is Yours Unplugged @ The Hideout, 484 Queen St. W., TO ~indie Rock

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