Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks with Holy Sons, Ritual, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Thursday September 22, 2011, $27.25.

Ahhh, the 1990s! All that fin de siècle jollity! Post and Pre the uptight and socially regressive 1980s and 2000s! Identity politics! A leftward shift! Indie cinema exploding! Alterna-rock, Britpop, and Electronica hit big! Cable channels make TV bearable once again!

And during that decade — one that started with the Berlin Wall’s decimation and ended amid century’s-end, global Y2K hysteria — my favourite band was probably Pavement; my favourite solo act, Beck.

I was drawn to each’s creative mix of peculiar aesthetics, hooky tunes, cockeyed lyrics, and distinct sonic trademarks. I even came thisclose to seeing both of them on the same bill, during the final Lollapalooza I attended (in 1995, coming up as no. 85). Pavement, who had a notoriously hit-or-miss reputation as a live band, were definitely in "hit" mode that day, delivering a brilliant set of their quirky-yet-rockin grooves. Alas, we didn’t arrive early enough to catch Beck (or Elastica for that matter).

Frequent visitors to VA’s CD player in the 90s: Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994), Brighten the Corners (1997), and Terror Twilight (1999); and Beck’s Mellow Gold (1994), Odelay (1996), and Mutations (1998).

Pavement ended in tandem with the decade/century, as lead vocalist and principal songwriter Stephen Malkmus launched a solo career with his backing band, the Jicks. Pavement reformed for some very successful shows during 2009-10, but stayed true to their word that the reunion would not be permanent (although they never said it wouldn’t be intermittent).

As for Beck Hansen, after 2002's superb, introspective Sea Change, he settled into a string of meh releases for the rest of the noughties.

Well, here we all are in ‘10s and those alterna titans of yore have joined forces, with the latter producing the former’s new one.

Actually, Beck’s been on one helluva roll in the producer’s chair as of late with Charlotte Gainsbourg’s I.R.M. (which he also largely wrote), Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts (which strongly recalls Sea Change on a number of tracks), and Malkmus and the Jicks’ career best, Mirror Traffic. Based on these very strong releases, especially when measured against his last few patchy discs, Beck can simply carry on wearing his producer’s hat until he feels truly inspired again to be an artist in his own right as far as I’m concerned.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Mirror Traffic (2011)

I’ve followed Malkmus’ solo output to varying degrees, liking what I’ve heard but only occasionally being as bowled over as I was with Pavement. I guess the Beck connection and the strong buzz preceding its August release compelled me to scoop up this new one at my local gramophone shop upon its appearance. In a year saturated with five-star albums (as I wrote in my 2011 recap), Mirror Traffic jumped out to me as one of the finest and is still in regular rotation on my personal jukebox.

How splendiferous, then, that it’s with this tour that Malkmus made his virgin visit to the National Capital.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks + crowd at Ritual, Thursday September 22, 2011 (Photos from the show by VA). Below: The cover of local weekly XPress, from the week of the gig.

"It’s my first time in Ottawa," he remarked to a packed, enthusiastic house. He’d spent some time earlier on walking around the Market area where Ritual resides, in that section’s northern peak. Noting how the Rideau Canal divides the middle of downtown Ottawa between the Market and the business district, he commented that "I didn’t realize it was a thriving metropolis. I guess they keep the trash over here on this other side of the river," which was fine by him. "That’s how I consider myself," he jested.  Or maybe not.

Stephen and band had hit the stage around 11pm to a boisterous reception, following an earlier opening set from a post-rock-esque band that I believed was called Holy Sons (and were good). As for the headliner, given my focus on Mirror Traffic, I was pleased that the lion’s share of the gig focussed on playing most of this new album, although older numbers thrown into the mix too, such as "Ramp of Death," a personal favourite, which turned up as one of the encores.

Good natured hijinks and buffoonery during the Ottawa show last September, with Malkmus and bassist Joanna Bolme chuckling along.

"Senator," the album’s single, got a particularly big response, whereas I was particularly pleased when I heard the opening notes of "Share the Red," a mid-tempo highlight from the new one. I had been talking pre-set with a transplant from New Brunswick and fellow Malkmus/Pavement fan who was excited to be seeing him in any capacity for the first time, and was similarly championing "Red" as Traffic’s finest moment.

Meanwhile, the attendees jostled to be heard between numbers. "I want the penguin song," shouted someone loudly amid an aural blur of hopeful appeals. But Malkmus was faux-unmoved. "All requests must be emailed 24 hours in advance," was his deadpan quip.  

Drummer Jake Morris thanked the faithful "for coming to our house party" during the four-song encore, with the foursome finishing out the night via an off-the-cuff cover of the Looking Glass’ "Brandy," suggested by keyboard player Mike Clark who lead the band through it. Malkmus got creative with the lyrics when he couldn’t remember the originals. Following a spirited run through of "Jenny and the Ess-Dog" from his debut — and head Jick playing a few licks from Rush’s "The Spirit of Radio" — they were done like dinner, off and away.

Upon Pavement’s reconvening a couple of years back, I’ll admit that I’d hoped the reunion would produce some new material, and was disappointed that, instead, Malkmus went back to the Jicks. While I’d still love to see Pavement reform more than once, albums like Mirror Traffic and shows like this make me miss Pavement a tad less.

Having just endured an imperious Prince delivering a truncated set that I wasn’t able to see from overpriced seats with an obstructed view at the Palladium, er Corel Centre, er, Scotiabank Place, way out in the perpetually exciting environs of Kanata earlier in the evening, this set by rapidly-up-and-coming Austra in a small, packed, sweaty club to an enthusiastic downtown audience was just the anecdote I needed.

We’d purchased tix for this Austra show a couple of weeks before the announcement of Prince’s Ottawa gig, so some logistic planning was required in order to see two shows in one night in completely different parts of the city (thanks to VA Jr for the taxiing, and thanks to Austra for being late and not starting until midnight, moments after we arrived, allowing us to see their set in its entirety).

The evening was also a flashback of sorts, as we moved from seeing an ‘80s icon to a clever reinterpretation of an ‘80s-based sound. At times I was half expecting to turn around and see a woman in leg warmers drinking a can of New Coke while over-applying mousse to her big hair — accessorized with a rat’s tail, of course.

In one year, the electro-focussed Toronto unit have gone from obscurity to Polaris and Juno nominations and a swiftly rising visibility — particularly in Europe, but now also here at home in Canada — with their excellent debut disc, Feel It Break. It landed on a variety of "Best of 2012" lists (including mine), snagging the Album of the Year huzzahs from the Toronto Star and New York Magazine.

Opera-trained Katie Stelmanis was centre stage with her dramatic, swooping vocals, rocking a look that could be described as a blonde Nico in a Hansel and Gretel dress, while twin sisters Romy and Sari Lightman bookended her, dancing, singing and flailing in doomy black unitards to terrific dramatic effect. In some ways, the theatrical-synthpop-with-operatic-touches, and the onstage symmetry of the front person flanked on either side by dramatically gesticulating backing vocalists, brought to mind the late, great Klaus Nomi’s performance in Urgh! A Music War.

While synths, played onstage by Ryan Wosniak but on record by Stelmanis, are the primary instrumental focus on recordings, the bass and drums, courtesy of core members Dorian Wolf and Maya Postepski respectively, are sonically forefronted when Austra appear in the flesh. The musicians collude into a full, dynamic live sound, providing a grounded counterpoint to Stelmanis’ soaring voice. Meanwhile, the two parallel rows of three persons created a sharp visual on the crammed stage.

"Hate Crime," "The Noise," and "Lose It" were enthusiastically received high points of the night, but it was the best known single, "Beat and The Pulse," that had revellers going looney. "You recognize that one," chimed in Stelmanis as excited cheers greeted its opening notes.

Encore "The Future" rounded out this night which wrapped up a successful five week tour of Canada. "Thank you for coming and celebrating with us," enthused Stelmanis, before she and the rest of Austra headed off for a second trek through Europe, where most of the venues had to be upgraded to accommodate ticket demand.

Austra: Icy and engaging in all the right measures. I’ll be looking forward to next time.

Next On Stage àMy 2012 concert-going started in style with Ottawa’s Kathleen Edwards’ triumphant, sold out homecoming show at the Bronson Centre. Touring behind her best album yet — this year’s Voyageur — it was replete with shirt-matching ear plugs, sad talks of non-enjoyable spankings, and songs about brushing your teeth. Double latté-loving "assholes" spotted roaming World Exchange, not included.

171. Chameleon/Comedian: Kathleen Edwards with Hannah Georgas, Bronson Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Thursday February 9, 2012.