Just happened upon this YouTube for our pal Coco Love Alcorn. Even if you're not voting Green today, it's hard to argue with the sentiment:



Bob.

Happy summer everybody!

It's Friday the 13th, and I want to say thanks to all of those who came out to a show in the first half of 2008, as well as our great performers, Chris Whiteley and Diana Braithwaite, Tony D, Andy J. Forest, Penny Lang, Amy Campbell, Sarah Johnston, and Coco Love Alcorn.

We've had a wonderful first half of the year, and I now encourage you all to go find more live music this summer at Westfest, Bluesfest, the Jazz Festival, the Stewart Park Festival in Perth, the Folk Festival, with Tony D's new project Monkeyjunk at Irene's, at the Sheep, or wherever life takes you.

We're taking the summer off, since we figure most people are going to be cottaging, vacationing, and festivaling, and since we want to do some of that too!

But rest assured, we will be back in the fall with some more amazing performers.

Sweeet, sweet Coco.

Every concert we host, there's always something new to do, see, or experience. And last night -- well, last night was something special.

The first first: First time that at 6:45, I'm taking the headliner out for a bike ride up to Westboro Beach and a bit of a spinning session (in part to help her work out some caffiene-inspired jitters).

The second first: a full department store size rack of shirts getting rolled into the house.

The third first: being able to see our new back yard through the windows!

The fourth first: having enough Alcorns in the house to start growing oak trees. Okay, that's a crap pun, but I'm tired.

The fifth first: having an Ottawa-based fair-trade success story bring us FREE CHOCOLATE in liquid and solid form. Yum.

Coco Love Alcorn finished up her spring swing through her newly-adopted home province (she's just moved from Vancouver to Toronto) at our house last night, and the music was SUBLIME.

We'd never seen Coco perform live, and had a suspicion she'd be great from what we'd heard on record, but ...

She's got the whole package. She can do a rap song abut "Intellectual boys", a sultry ode to her bicycle that would leave your saddle steaming, and scat her way through Route 66 with a combination of full-throated vocal pyrotechnics and a kitten-purr worthy of Blossom Dearie.

Her parlour guitar, sometimes joined by her uncle Mark Alcorn's, was sweet, and her vocals, combined with her cousin Lindsay Alcorn singing backup, are simply awesome. Coco knows how to use what is a formidable instrument.

And her songs are amazing. From quirky little numbers like "Where do robots go when they die?" to intensely sensual like "For just one night" to romantic like "Sugar", Coco's creativity is remarkable for its diversity and its accomplishment.

(And the shirts? Coco and her husband rescue shirts from Frenchy's, a regionally famous chain of secondhand clothing stores in Atlantic Canada, and add on their own silkscreened designs. Very cool.)

And the folks from La Siembra, the worker-owned fair-trade chocolate co-operative that makes the Cocoa Camino brand of chocolate, came by (one of whom did so on her birthday!) and shared their story and their product. Nice to eat something that makes you feel decadent and virtuous in equal measure.

Pictures: Mark and Coco digging in; Mark, Coco, and Lindsay Alcorn; Melanie and Colin from La Siembra, Some guy in a great shirt massacring a Garnet Rogers song, and Coco and Lindsay.

See y'all in the fall!

We bring Coco... and Cocoa... on May 17.

Coco Love Alcorn is a BC singer-songwriter who's got a style that we haven't had here yet. Her sound is funky, sultry, laid-back, and intense. She's got a great voice, she plays well, and yes, that is her real name. Ottawa Xpress calls Coco "A bright burst of colour amidst the many shades of indie gray." She's been part of Lilith Fair, she's toured with Ani diFranco, she's toured and recorded for years with 54.40, and now you have a chance to hear her in our sunroom!

Her sweet sounds are most recently captured on her CD "Sugar", produced by Steve Dawson, and on her special edition CD "Coco Love Solo" only available at house concerts.

If all of that doesn't get you interested, check this YouTube of Coco out.



Which brings me back to the "two sweet treats." The great folks at the La Siembra co-op bring fairly traded chocolate to Ottawa under the Cocoa Camino brand.

As you likely know (especially if you had some cake at the Penny/Amy show), we at BobCat are big fans of the sweet stuff, and the Cocoa Camino chocolate is REALLY good. So we're looking forward to giving the La Siembra folks a few minutes to talk about what they do, and give everyone a taste of what they do.

So if you have a sweet tooth or a sweet ear, you have to get here. Surely between Coco, and cocoa, a great evening will unfold.

WHAT: Coco Love Alcorn at BobCat
WHERE: 214 Northwestern Ave
WHEN: May 17, mingle after 7, show at 8

Suggested donation: $20

As always, all proceeds go to the artist; please reserve and we like payment in advance; you're welcome to bring something desserty or snacky to share, as well as a donation for the BobCat Basket for the Ottawa Food Bank, and it's BYOB if you're into the potent potables.

See you on the 17th!

Cancellation - Coco Love Alcorn, September 15

Sadly, we have had to cancel the Coco show on September 15. However, Coco will be doing a show on September 16 at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield at 4:00 pm.

For those of you who have already paid by cheque, we can destroy or return cheques and will get in touch via e-mail shortly.

Check her out with additional acts Claire Jenkins and Jack Lavoie.

Hope to see you all at the October 27 or November 17 show.

Bob and Cathy.

3 must-see fall 2007 BobCat shows

It's been a while, but BobCat has been working away on concerts for the fall of 2007, in between real life. Much of last weekend was spent at the Ottawa Folk Festival, listening to wonderful performances by some people who are already booked, have already performed at BobCat, or are now firmly ensconced on our list of "want'ems."

Among the highlights for us:

• Penny and Jason Lang - a legend and a legend in the making
• Jah Yussuf - a Malian n'goni player who jammed the blues with Chris Whitely to ecstatic levels
• Buffy Sainte-Marie - such power. such presence.
• Chris Whiteley and Diana Braithwaite - killer blues set Sunday night that had folks dancing in the aisles
• Kate Weekes Trio - sweetly-voiced songs with great appeal
• Oh Susanna - a pure voice with purely insightful songs
• a slightly over-caffeinated Meredith Luce, leading a great workshop show
• the Arrogant Worms - able to make us laugh till we ached with great musicianship
• Old Man Luedecke - great banjo playing and insightful writing.

It's a great festival, and if the universe unfolds as it should, we may be slightly more formally involved in 2008.

And we're ready to announce 3 shows, with a fourth to hopefully get added soon.

• Our first show will be Saturday, September 15, with BC singer-songwriter Coco Love Alcorn. There is no shortage of musical families in Canada, and Coco is part of a great one. But she doesn't need family ties to make her way in the music business – from touring with Ani diFranco to working with 54-40 to her own music being featured on "The L word", Coco has mixed up a potent blend of jazz, folk, and R&B that has irresistible groove. And Coco loves her bike, so we're organizing a Sunday ride to show her some of Ottawa's best riding. If you're interested in joining up, let us know.
  





• On October 27, we're featuring what we're calling the Ottawa Up and Comers show. Our headliners are going to be two performers who call Ottawa home, but will soon be known to Canada and the world. Meredith Luce and Ana Miura are both young, both immensely talented, and both captivating on stage. Meredith released her first CD, October, this summer, while Ana's EP Tenacious Heart came out a little earlier. Most recently, Ana has been singing with local collective Amos the Transparent, while Meredith has formed a group to bring the electric edge to her songs. We think that these musicians, who are very different in styles but are both insightful writers and charismatic performers, will make a great two-for-one act. See 'em now, before you have to go to the NAC!
  
  

• On November 17, the first return performer to BobCat is... Suzie Vinnick, this time with her longtime collaborator and friend Rick Fines. Suzie is one of Saskatchewan's great musical exports, able to growl out a blues or sing a sweet love song with her powerful voice, and to play a mean riff or two on guitar or on her wild-looking bass. Rick Fines has graced Canadian stages since the 1980s with Jackson Delta, on his own, with Suzie, and with his trio. His guitar playing is simply amazing, with tremendous fingerstyle skills and the ability to match his accompaniments to his gravelly, evocative voice. His most recent solo album, Solar Powered, is a masterpiece, and his work with Suzie Vinnick rings with good humour and the ability to push each other to musical greatness.

We are hoping to have one more show in the fall, but wanted to give you the opportunity to "save the dates" for these three.

The details:

• Each show will be $20 per seat
• We require payment in advance. You can use Paypal by going to our site (http://www.bobcathouseconcerts.blogspot.com/; otherwise contact us to make arrangements for dropping off a cheque or cash.
• Show starts at 8:00; you're welcome to come and mingle early
• We'll have a few munchies available; if you want to contribute, please do
• Our shows are BYOB; we provide non-alcoholic refreshments and encourage responsible consumption
• Music is food for the soul; but some people need real food. Please bring some
  non-perishable food items; we will deliver them to the Ottawa Food Bank.

Those dates again:

• September 15 - Coco Love Alcorn
• October 27 - Meredith Luce and Ana Miura
• November 17 - Rick Fines and Suzie Vinnick

Lots of great ideas for shows in 2008 as well. We love to get your ideas too -- is there someone you love? Maybe all it takes is an e-mail. Do you play? Would you like to open a show? Do you have a concept for a show? Let us know.