On The Road Again: Tool, Geoff Berner And Hexes And Ohs

Tool played a handful of North American shows, including one at Toronto's Hummingbird Centre, this spring in support of their new 10,000 Days album. The Maynard James Keenan-fronted heavy rock band are now in the midst of a more comprehensive tour that will bring them to Canada for four shows with heavy metal experimentalists, Isis. With only a bit of disrespect meant to Tim Allen, it's Tool Time:

Aug. 22 Vancouver, BC @ GM Place
Aug. 24 Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Aug. 25 Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Sept. 23 Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre

Vancouver's Geoff Berner has just published a new instructional booklet titled How To Be An Accordion Player. Thankfully, Berner is an accordion player. He's no Walter Ostanek, mind you, but no one is.

The tome includes chapters on how to choose an accordion, how to pay for your accordion and approaching the buttons of your accordion without fear, among other weighty subjects. And what better way to hawk an accordion instructional booklet than by selling it at shows across the country? Expect to hear a lot of accordion, though the singer/songwriter offers a lot more than that, at these shows:

Aug. 10-13 Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Folk Festival
Aug. 18 Vancouver, BC @ Railway Club w/The Plaintiffs
Aug. 24 Guelph, ON @ E-Bar w/Barmitzvah Brothers
Aug. 26-27 Peterborough, ON @ Peterborough Folk Festival
Aug. 28 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa w/Wax Mannequin
Sept. 1 Wakefield, QC @ The Black Sheep w/Wax Mannequin
Sept. 2 Wakefield, QC @ The Black Sheep
Sept. 3 Toronto, ON @ Harbourfront Centre
Sept. 5 Kingston, ON @ The Sleepless Goat w/Wax Mannequin
Sept. 6 London, ON @ The Alex P. Keaton w/Wax Mannequin
Sept. 7 Windsor, ON @ The Phog w/Wax Mannequin
Sept. 8 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah w/Wax Mannequin
Sept. 9 Wayne, AB @ Waynefest
Sept. 17 Edmonton, AB @ The Blue Chair w/Dave Lang
Sept. 18 Saskatoon, SK @ Carrie Catherine's house w/Dave Lang
Sept. 19 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre w/Dave Lang and Shuyler Jansen
Sept. 20 Regina, SK @ O'Hanlon's w/Dave Lang
Sept. 21-22 Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Comedy Festival
Sept. 23 Calgary, AB @ Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association w/Carolyn Mark and Dave Lang
Sept. 24 Lethbridge, AB @ The Tongue 'N' Groove w/Carolyn Mark and Dave Lang
Sept. 26 Creston, BC @ TBA
Sept. 28 Nelson, BC @ The Royal w/Carolyn Mark and Dave Lang
Sept. 30 Vancouver, BC @ RIME w/Carolyn Mark and Dave Lang

Montreal electro-pop duo Hexes And Ohs released their Goodbye Friend, Welcome Lover debut full-length on Noise Factory Records last year. They're hoping to capitalize on the support it received from campus radio for their next album, which they'll preview with a limited-edition tour-only EP that will feature new material from their forthcoming album, remixes and selections from the current disc.

Heidi Donnelly and Edmund Lam, partners in life as well as music, will share stage time with Stolen Minks and Hunter Valentine at these gigs:

Aug. 27 Guelph, ON @ TBA
Aug. 28 Hamilton, ON @ The Underground
Aug. 29 St. Catharines, ON @ Mansion House
Aug. 30 London, ON @ Grooves
Aug. 30 London, ON @ Call The Office
Aug. 31 Toronto, ON @ Rancho Relaxo
Sept. 1 Ottawa, ON @ Irene's Pub
Sept. 2 Montreal, QC @ Main Hall