So, last weekend’s Sled Island festival was pretty solid. Sleep, The Sword, Dead Meadow, Bison B.C., Red Fang–I really can’t complain. Well, not about the lineup, anyways. But after defending Calgary as an affordable city to live in, I found out otherwise during my trip there last weekend…

When I saw you drag your tired, sorry-looking asses on stage last nite, I figured you guys were on tour. It looked like you’d been to Prince Edward Island and back. Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I gather, the tour started last nite in Peterborough. I mean, the Pete’s the kinda place where you play a gig, drive home afterwards, and go to work the next day. If that’s what you actually did, I can sympathize, but I have a hard time believing you couldn’t grab a nap somewhere before a hometown show…

Any disappointment should be alleviated this evening with a solid double-dose of heaviness just offa Bathurst. NYC’s Tombs and Neurot recording artists A Storm of Light are playing Sneaky Dee’s, then I’m gonna head down the street to catch Macabre, my all-time favourite grind band, at the Hard Luck Bar.

Sled Island, a four-day, multi-venue fest, has been Calgary’s answer to NXNE since 2007. Seeing as the actual NXNE takes place the week beforehand, I’ve never had much interest in a lineup that often features many of the same bands as the Toronto event. But this year, while my initial impressions of the NXNE lineup are a little underwhelming, the Cowtown organizers have scored a major coup: they’re bringing Sleep to town for an exclusive Canadian performance, and just one of three gigs on the marijuananauts’ calendar this year.

As the owner and maintainer of TooHighToGetItRight.com, a site dedicated to the Southern Ontario stoner rock scene, I’ve seen a lotta bands come and go since 2007. Lately, it seems that there’s been a lot more going than there are coming, to the point where I might not renew my domain this year. But there are still some new bands breathing new life into the stagnant stoner scene. Here are a few to keep an eye on…

Tomorrow nite, Rhode Island sludge/doom duo The Body are playing, fresh from their appearance at Montreal’s Mountains of Might fest. The gig was supposed to be at The Garage (The Body’s in The Garage!) but being weary of Sunday nite noise complaints, they switched venues. Thing is, The Shop was already booked, so this one’s an early start. Doors at 5 pm, and the gig’s done by 9, unless you wanna stick around for whoever’s scheduled to go on afterwards…

Have you guys been following this at all? A handful of these newly-elected NDP MPs are university students, including one who’s only 19! Considering that I’ve already earned my degree, I feel that I’m adequately qualified to represent some rural Quebec riding in the House of Commons as a New Democrat. They might even make me an opposition critic.

When I went down to Cleveland last October to see Accept, I did so on the assumption that it would be my only chance to catch the reunited lineup in action. After all, they were never as big in North America as they were across the pond, so I didn’t think that a more extensive N.A. tour was in order. I’m glad I was wrong. While I had a good idea what to expect going into Wednesday’s gig at the Mod Club, I’m happy to say the Teutonic Terror exceeded expectations.