-photos by Aaron Young
Apple Building
London, England
January 30, 1969,
J Fox’s
Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 6, 2009
Dave B, drummer
of Novillero
stands on the very edge
the precipice
(fearlessly)
looking out from
the rooftop
of J Fox’s,
“in 1969
The Beatles played on the rooftop
of the Apple Building/
40 years later,
we’re doing it
at J Fox’s.”
and So It Goes
(Nick Lowe style)
all pop/all Who
all Beatles/esque
and Kinks(y) too
Winnipeg’s Telepathic Butterflies
open their sizzling
30 minute set
with their own,
Born In The Seventies
and i’m dan!cing
and we
The Watchmen
and
The Watchwomen
lined along the other side
of Academy Road
in River Heights
a swish part of My Winnipeg
no child poverty
only comfort
(too much comfort)
kids with way too
much handed to them/
(aka money for drugs)
there’s grit on the rooftop
and there’s no fire
escape stairs,
there are two ladders
leaning against the building
out back, in the parking lot
which
(if you think about it)
means
hauling PAs and
instruments
by rope
onto the rooftop,
now that’s The Heavy.
The Telepathic Butterflies
list their influences
as The Beatles, The Kinks
Syd Barrett, The Velvets,
The Who and so many
more, aka
The Greats
(Ray Davies, the best pop music songwriter of all-time)
(and So It Goes accordingly to Shawn Conner)
http://www.myspace.com/thetelepathicbutterflies
The Trouble Keeping Up with The Joneses
it’s me and the kids
(the toddlers that is)
dancing
cuz they don’t have the social
inhibitions the ancients
(anyone over 8) have
(other songs that The
Telepathic
Butterflies
may or may not have
played
on the rooftop)
Birds Of A Feather
If It’s All Too Much
A Midlife Crisis
While You’re Asleep
Flora (Definitely
the last song)
The Tele’s are:
jacques on drums
rob on guitar
rejean on bass and lead voice
(the above 3 are in The Wind Ups,
while Reg is also in Novillero)
and russ on guitar
so just before the rooftop show,
Dave B’s wife/life partner
Susan B says,
“you know Novillero’s
not playing, Rod (the lead
singer) is in a walk-in clinic.”
(Rod’s throat is done-in by the flu)
“so what’s going to happen?”
“The Wind Ups are going to play,
with Dave on lead vocals.”
“wow! that’s great!”
“you’re ever the optimist.”
oops.
The Wind Ups
currently
are My Favorite Winnipeg Band
and Novillero
is in the ever,changing
(roof)Top Three!
Novillero’s
The Art of Carrying On
is my theme song
My Dancing Song
My Exploding Song
http://www.myspace.com/novillero
check it out
and dance with me!
listen to Dave sing
Trans Am my fave
Nathan song.
if anyone
can make this work
make this carry on,
in an artful way
it’s Dave,
a music lover of undeniable dimensions.
he’s also Tawny The Brave on CKUW-FM
95 point 9
Thursday evenings.
ah, this all makes sense.
to review,
3 of the 4 Wind Ups
are in The Telepathic Butterflies.
The missing Wind Up,
lead singer Andy is working
at the Folk Festival Music
Store, but Dave’s
looked over the Wind Ups
song list
and has picked 6 that he can
do. he drums and sings.
Dave will be a harder,
screamier,
punkier
version of the dapper,
silkier/smoother
Andy/
this will work,
i have faith.
I am A Man of Faith.
6 songs
and two more
surprises
equals
an 8 song
spur
of the crisis moment set
35 minutes
The Jam’s In The City
The Buzzcock’s Ever Fallen In Love
The Velvet Underground’s White Light White Heat
Joe Jackson’s I’m The Man
David Bowie’s Hang On To Yourself
The Police’s Next To You
and then Sean of Novillero
joins the roof,toppers for the surprises,
Don’t Let Me Down
Get Back
by The Beatles
and performed on the Apple Building
rooftop back in 1969,
of course.
when Winnipeg’s Cavern
club opened New Years Eve
a few years ago
Novillero performed
the entire second side of Abbey Road,
along with their own songs
and here’s what happened
saturday afternoon
just after 4:20 PM,
Dave’s head turned remarkable
shades of bright (nearly,bursting) red
“looks like his head’s going to explode!”
“you can see the vein pulsing!”
even Dave commented,
after White Light White Heat,
about the incredible headache
he was going to have
after the set!
he was screaming and writhing
on the rooftop
disappearing from sight
every song a punky
crazy/angst/shining
diamond
except,
The Velvets song began
very badly
before Dave found
the punk essence of the song
i remember when
Shane McGowan
did the song with The Pogues
during their encore
in Amsterdam
in the late 80s
after having to stagger off
incredibly so very drunk
that he could no longer
stand (the third song
into the set) and the Irish
in the audience
the few thousand
who travel the continent
following The Pogues
took over and sang
with the band
every word of every song!
until Shane returned
an hour later
for White Light
White Heat!
make no mistake,
it is a Punk Song.
The Wind Ups
with Dave bursting
all brilliant, all lights
summer’s
taking its time arriving
but it was hot,hot,dancing
providing the heat
Dave Reg Rob and Jacques
and Sean adding guitar licks
played it hard
played it on the edge
and
Dave stood so close to the roof’s edge
he didn’t care
he was All There
into The Moment
on the rooftop
of J Fox’s
June 6, 2009
40 plus years after The Beatles.
and that’s Winnipeg,
it’s a (music) scene
you can’t have.
not in Toronto. not in Vancouver.
not in Montreal. not anywhere,
Canada,
it’s here.
it’s now.
it’s
rock
n
roll
Winnipeg
roof,top,ping!
style.
