Davila 666 - Babylon, Ottawa, 14/4/2011

  by Andrew Carver

published: 23 / 4 / 2011

intro

Andrew Carver enjoys a triple bill of garage rock from Davila 666, the Bare Wires and the White Wires at Babylon in Ottawa

Ottawa’s the White Wires, San Francisco’s the Bare Wires and Puerto Rico’s Davila 666 aren’t just fellow travellers in the world of catchy pop-influenced garage rock; they all seem to be enjoying simultaneous critical success, and there was a good-sized crowd ready and waiting when the three acts made a stop at Ottawa’s Babylon nightclub. The hometown trio, back on their own turf after a spate of SXSW-related touring behind the release of their sophomore album ‘WWII’ (on Dirtnap), kept their set short, lopping a few tracks from a 12-song setlist to make way for the other two acts. Although the tour had been billed with the Bare Wires as the headliners (there’s something of a connection between the fuzzier side of Ottawa and San Francisco’s music scenes), they went on second, immediately launching into a non-stop onslaught of distorted space-rock. Frontman Matthew Melton also fronts Snake Flower 2, a band more indebted to loud space-rock than the poppier Bare Wires, and a bit of his other outfit must have bleed through. Swathed in red lighting, the California combo were also an active stage presence, with remarkably gangly bassist Fletcher Johnson in non-stop-motion, even launching himself into the crowd at one point. Davila 666 finished things off with a lively set. While the band sings in Spanish - barring a cover of ‘Hanging On the Telephone’ (made famous by Blondie) - their knack for taking a hook and wrapping it in a twin-guitar rock attack quickly won the crowd over. While their latest album ‘Tan Bajo’ has some of that reverbed sound that can across as a bit tinny, live their already catchy songs enjoyed an extra oomph. Unfortunately their full-time maraca shaker Panda Davila seemed a little subdued ... but it was his birthday and by the time the band hit the stage past midnight, previous celebrating might have begun to take its toll. A work night also meant some of their audience started creeping off to be mid-set, but the several dozen who remained happily shook along to the band’s hook-laden sound.

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