Bytowne Boogie

Ottawa is well-known for its dinner parties, not for going out. This is doubly true for holiday week-ends. But though I was in the nation's Capital for Thanksgiving, I decided to check out the live music scene Saturday night.

Arriving at Mavericks, I was surprised to see the black-clad, tattooed crowd on the sidewalk. I thought I was going to a dance party. It turns out they came from the upstairs venue of Cafe Def Cut; there was a metal show going on. The audience inside Mavericks was the more typical hipster/college crowd. Silkken Laumann was setting up. A side-project for members of The Acorn, they played four-on-the-floor thumping dance music (though they veered now and then to complex poly-rhythm) and even brought their own spinning lights. But their indie background came through in the guitar riffs and emotive vocals.

The headliners were Diana, a synth-pop trio from Toronto. Their songs were definitely slower and more atmospheric (Perpetual Surrender, New House). Though they did get some upraised arms for indie hit "Born Again". The mix buried slightly singer Carmen Elle's airy vocals but she was able to engage the crowd with some assured stage presence.