A great time was had by all last night--Jeff and Tammy and I went out to the Marquee to see one of the ECMA showcases. We arrived just as the first band was ending. The next one, Mardee (I think) from Cape Breton started a little slow but by the end of their set we really liked them. The fact three of them traded off on vocals was pretty cool--the guy in the middle playing the Rickenbacker had a sound that made all of us turn to each other and agree he sounded like an eighties British band, possibly the singer in Joy Division.

In-Flight Safety was on next and the place predictably filled right up. They were really good, as usual.

Carmen Townsend followed them and kicked copious amounts of ass. We all mourned the fact that we couldn't instantly buy her CD, and I overcame my fear of jinxing ever getting to see her again to nab her as she walked by and tell her we'd loved her set.

Mark Bragg closed out the night and... well, I am prepared to believe he's very good at what he does (and his band was terrific, including the singer from Rock Ranger on guitar) but I frankly did not get him and would appreciate never seeing him with his shirt unbuttoned ever again. Eek.

It was a really good night, though. Especially the Carmen parts.