Bird is the word

Duchess Says were the middle act at Wednesday's Lovely Feathers show. I arrived too late to see Jetplanes of Abraham (too bad, I hear they were excellent) , and Duchess Says' giant parakeet banner led my sleep-and-food deprived brain to conclude they were the headliners (birds = feathers, right?). Thus, their 30-minute set was all I caught of the night's entertainment. Says their religiously inclined website:

"The church proposes a vast range of products and service such as psychic phone lines, a tarot service, a religious shop and principally the rock band Duchess Says."

The avian fixation would explain some of the kooky noises lead singer Annie-Claude Deschenes was making.



Ismael on the keys!



Phil on guitar!



Tremble before the Holy Budgerigar! And drummer Simon! And while you're at it, could you fetch some extra duct tape for the banner?



Annie-Claude rocks the keytar.







Down on the floor! (With her discarded footwear.)



The whole bunch!



More holy rolling action!



They were fun and energetic - didn't make a lick of sense, though.

• Show reminder: my dad vs. yours release their new CD at Babylon with Empiricals and j'envoie; Feu Therese, As The Poets Affirm and City of a Hundred Spires perform at Zaphod's. Next door, first-generation punks The Vibrators play - Montreal's Ventilators and The Rookers are also on the bill. Crash Kelly plays Barrymore's with Manpower and Galore. The Flaps play Irene's with Lucil (of Lederhosen fame?).