Arkells Playing Pepper Jack's Last Show

05/26/09 1:23pm

by Bianca Marcus (CHARTattack)

Hamilton's beloved Pepper Jack Cafe will host its last shows this weekend, but will bow out with something special.

The Surly Young Bucks — a country-influenced roots rock band made up of the Arkells' Dan Griffin, Mike DeAngelis and Max Kerman, Huron's Aaron Goldstein, Adam Melnick and Cam Malcolm, and sometimes Lynn Seward — will reunite to play on Friday (without Malcolm). Wax Mannequin, Terra Lightfoot and Richard Laviolette will open.

"It's one of those things we seem to do about once a year if we’re lucky — that is, reunite," The Surly Young Bucks wrote in an April 19 MySpace blog entry. "But this time it's a little more sentimental than usual.

"Pepper Jack's was the place where we cut our teeth with the Bucks and we've gone on to play there countless other times with our other projects," the post continued. "[Promoter] Ken [Inouye] has always provided a warm and welcoming environment for bands, and has always been about the most easy-going promoter we could think of. Of course it didn't hurt that he would usually feed us too..."

You can hear a 2007 recording of the Bucks playing Pepper Jack's here.

The venue's final show on Saturday will feature Fat Cats, Diesel Dog and the Gratefully Deadicated Sound System.

Cam Malcolm And The Owls will play Hamilton's Gage Park on July 3 as part of It's Your Festival.

Arkells will play these dates:

June 20 Toronto, ON @ Downsview Park (Edgefest)
June 27 Wiarton, ON @ Wiarton Airfield w/The Tragically Hip and Sam Roberts Band
July 4 Halifax, NS @ Citadel Hill (Virgin Festival Nova Scotia)
July 15 Ottawa, ON @ Rogers Stage (Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest)
July 23 London, ON @ Harris Park (Rock The Park)
July 25 Guelph, ON @ Guelph Lake Island (Hillside)

Huron will perform here:

July 8 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah w/Sandman Viper Command
July 9 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern w/Sandman Viper Command
July 10 London, ON @ The Black Shire w/Sandman Viper Command
July 11 Guelph, ON @ Wally's Tavern w/Sandman Viper Command
July 16 Peterborough, ON @ The Montreal House w/Sandman Viper Command
July 17 Burlington, ON @ Legendary Red Rooster Cafe w/Sandman Viper Command