Mark's Blog

I went to O'Connor's, one of my favorite pubs, tonight, for a friend's birthday. It was surprisingly quiet there at the start of the night, especially given that it was a perfect summer night, but it picked up later on in the evening. The band, Popjoy, really impressed me. They had kind of a punk look going on (the lead singer had a pink mohawk) and played with an catchy pop/punk sound. It's always risky describing bands by comparison, but the style was similar to the Weezer Blue and Green albums at times (although with a female vocalist, it's not a great comparison in terms of overall sound). The adjective "crunchy" is an indie cliché now, I think, but their sound certainly epitomized that description. The band played with contagious energy and the crowd seemed a lot more into the show that usual at the pub.

Popjoy led off with a really amazing cover of the Beatles' classic "With a Little Help From My Friends" that was very upbeat and was a whole new take on the song. An up-tempo version of the Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep" was another standout. I bought their CD for a very reasonable ten dollars, but I haven't had a chance to listen to yet. I believe it is all cover songs, including "Video Killed the Radio Star" and "Walkin' on Sunshine". They did play some original stuff too, which is apparently going to be on a forthcoming album. Highly recommended, if you get the chance to see them play. They have a schedule on their web site, but unfortunately this appears to be their last Ottawa date for awhile.