Recording: Art Bergmann
Artist: Art Bergmann
Songs: My Empty House + Drones of Democracy

Empty House:
Empty House.mp3
Drones of Democracy:
Drones Of Democracy.mp3

Recorded at Sneaky Dee’s (“Wavelength FIFTEEN – Night 1”), February 13, 2015.
Link: mechanicalforestsound.blogspot.ca/2015/02/recording-art-bergmann.html

Notes: mechanicalforestsound.blogspot.ca/2015/02/gig-wavelength-fifteen-night-1.html

Even after half-a-dozen short sets, the night was only halfway over. Celebrating the past in a different way, Can-rock icon Art Bergmann made his Wavelength début. Ever since forming the K-Tels in 1978, Bergmann has been a voice in the wilderness and a cog in the machine, trying to slip his raw testimonials into the prevailing discourse. Fighting health troubles and a depleted muse, Bergmann has been living in Alberta for the past decade, mostly off the radar (save for an occasional special appearance), and it was a pleasant surprise last year to hear of his return with a new EP. The four tunes on Songs For the Underclass are as pointed as the disc’s title in their last-chance lamentations for a world gone wrong.

Whether all that would be appreciated by the large segment of the crowd that looked too young to remember his cultural presence looked uncertain. “Yeah, we’re covering something named Art,” Bergmann off-handedly muttered near the start of his set, picking up on the vibe. That double joke sailed over the audience’s heads, and Bergmann seemed a little disappointed at these modern audiences that don’t boisterously rise to the occasion, or even heckle more than half-heartedly.

He was definitely not disappointed with his “Toronto band”, who were in fine form. Powered by Chris Wardman on guitar, Bergman was soon swapping grins as the band powered through his back catalogue. There’s an embarrassment of riches in his songbook, and it was a thrill to hear high-powered versions of “Remember Her Name”, “Beatles in Hollywood”, “Bound For Vegas”, “Contract” and more. “Drones of Democracy”, the first track from the new one provided the set’s climax, a sweeping song that owes more than a little something to the slow-burning lament of Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer.”

Some of that goodness was definitely lost on the crowd, who started to drift away as the set wore on. After the short, sharp bursts of the cover sets, the hour-and-a-quarter here felt a little long in the context of the night, and too much perhaps to engage the casually interested. But I was glad to have seen Bergmann put on an impressive show that maintained its power and focus throughout.

After a short intermission, Art Bergmann took to the stage. A key figure in Canadian punk rock, the 62-year-old Calgary native has likely seen livelier days. That said, he still puts on a strong-sounding show (albeit a far too long show, given the circumstances.) He’s very much all snarled, near-spoken word lyrics while his band backs him up with aggressive, bordering-jazz instrumentals. Bergmann teeters around on stage, but he knows what he’s doing. Though crowd reception was slightly tepid, his stream of consciousness lyricism was transfixing and bewildering, even referencing Beyonce, Jay Z, and Kanye West.

Controller.Controller, Art Bergmann, Most People, Delta Will, Hervana, LOCKBOX, More or Les & Skeletones Four at Wavelength 15

Picture: Chris Wardman, Glenn Milchem, Art Bergmann, Jason Sniderman, and John Dinsmore.

The tribute sets went by quickly, and a little past 11:30 it was time to switch formats. Out came the Canadian punk icon and his backing band, still packing a wallop. At 62, Bergmann still has plenty of fire in him, throwing out sarcastic remarks between songs and even asking the audience to insult him. His set was long, and it noticeably made some audience members restless, but Art Bergmann did not and does not give a shit. His rambling vocal style, a la Lou Reed, helped bring his highly political lyrics to life, and his backing band helped bring the noise. Later in the set he inspired some audience participation on “Company Store,” and he concluded his set after 80 minutes with “Drones of Democracy.”

Full Story:
grayowlpoint.com/2015/02/14/wavelength-15-controller-controller-art-bergmann-and-tribute-sets

I’m playing guitar again for Art Bergmann at Sneaky Dee’s:

Wavelength: Art Bergmann

February 13, 2015 at 7:30PM
with Controller Controller and Brides

Sneaky Dee’s

$10 advance

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ART BERGMANN (Calgary – Canadian punk pioneer & living legend – former member of The Young Canadians, Poisoned & long-time solo artists – playing songs from across his entire career w/ Toronto all-star backing band – Weewerk Recordings)

CONTROLLER.CONTROLLER (Toronto / REUNION SHOW for iconic mid-’00s dance-punk band – Paper Bag Records)
BRIDES (Guelph/Toronto – REUNION SHOW for skronky late-’00s no-wave crew)

Plus Classic Wavelength/Toronto Song Tribute Sets:
MOST PEOPLE Plays Broken Social Scene
DELTA WILL Plays Caribou
HERVANA Plays Constantines
MORE OR LES Plays Toronto Hip-Hop Classics
LOCKBOX (LAURA BARRETT) Plays Owen Pallett
THE SKELETONES FOUR Plays Jim Guthrie

justshows.com/toronto/2015/02/13/art-bergman/13416

[“Dirge #1” sounded great thanks to his fantastic band which included producer/guitarist Chris Wardman and Blue Rodeo skin man Glenn Milchem.]

Full Story Here:
thescenemagazine.ca/art-bergmann-live-alive

Who: Art Bergmann
From: Vancouver, BC
Where: This Ain’t Hollywood, Hamilton ON
When: Thursday, October 23, 2014

We all have a musical bucket list – except I terrorize myself with artists that the probability of seeing are slim to nothing. But, every now and then, I get a treat and this week it came in the form of one of the most prolific songwriters in Canadian history, Art Bergmann. I traveled down to Hamilton to see him play an intimate performance at Hamilton’s hub of underground music – This Ain’t Hollywood. TAH are known throughout the world for bringing in some really rare acts like Roky Erickson, Johnny Winter and members of the New York Dolls just to name a few past performers. I know that owner (and long time punk supporter) Lou Molinario was happy to be able to add Art to that list, and the city of Hamilton was lucky to have such an artist in their city.

The night began with a special performance from Canadian punk legend Gordon Lewis of Teenage Head and his new band, The Gordon Lewis Band. They took the stage and the hometown crowd was instantly supportive, though it took a few songs for them to really warm up and let lose. I immediatly from the beginning stood directly in front of the stage – right in front of Gordon Lewis’ amp because I grew up seeing punk shows in Toronto and “that’s how we do”. There was serious nostalgia and energy runnig through me. Gordon and Teenage Head were HUGE influences on me, and the way the guy plays is instantly recognizable. They rocked through some of their new songs to warm everyone up and when they had the crowd where they wanted them they started into the Teenage Head repertoire. Classics like “teenage Beer Drinking Party”, “Some Kinda Fun” and of course, “Let’s Shake”. It was a short but sweet set, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Gordon was even nice enough to sign a vintage Teenage Head poster I had and take a picture.

The scene was set, and it was time for the legend Art Bergmann. The was his first time back on the road for many years, so I knew this was going to be a great performance. He played a set of classics ranging his entire career – from his early punk days with the Young Canadians with songs like “Automan” and a lounge version of “Hawaii” to his current release “Songs for the Underclass” and songs like “The Company Store“ and “Drones of Democracy“. He also played a variety of cuts from his numerous past solo efforts saying “I want to play them all for you tonight” several times throughout the evening. Classics like “My Empty House”, “Contract”, “My Baby Needs Oil” and my personal favorite “Dirge #1” sounded great thanks to his fantastic band which included producer/guitarist Chris Wardman and Blue Rodeo skin man Glenn Milchem. You could tell that there were many die hard fans there (including myself), who stuck with the show for the duration of a 2 hour set even though it was a “school night”.  The show was awesome in many ways. Musically, it was great. There was so much feeling and emotion in the performance. And it was just great to see Art back up on stage where he belongs, playing his rock and roll music. It was really inspiring.

If there’s one thing you can say about Art Bergmann, he is a survivor. He survived punk rock, addiciton, the music industry and just about everything else that could be thrown at him. He took a well deserved break, but I think it’s safe to say that he is back and this time, he’s going to do it right. I got to talk to Art in depth about his new record, his musical influences, and his views on a bunch of topics.