“Do you want the official answer or the unofficial answer?” Sean Brewer asks on a warm night—the question being the current state of The Uncas, and whether the band has packed it in for keeps. Rumours are everywhere. “We’ve been married to each other for six years now,” the friendly fuzzball continues. “It’s kind of nice to have your life back; kind of nice to have a break.”

Hm. “Break.” Double meaning there, one part meaning “vacation,” the other “jagged tibia sticking out through your shin.” Finally, he uses the words “on hiatus,” leaving the medicine cabinet closed, certainly, but unlocked. “We’re all working on solo projects now.”

For the multi-instrumentalist, that means two separate projects that could easily guest star on The Muppet Show: the hirsute McGowan Family Band, who always know when it’s 4:20; and a band full of his own family, The Brewer Boys, with dad Gary and brother Aldon filling up the stage. The Uncas will be finishing off all their commitments, of course. This will leave Mark Feduk to his dreamy, New Romantic Red Ram, too.

I have a special place in my heart for these boys. They once cut a line up most of the province to play a mushroomy bush party o’ mine, and it’s hard to imagine North Country Fair without them and their half-naked teenage fans. But, as George Harrison once said, “I’m dead now.” No, wait, it was actually “All things must pass,” which he probably stole from the Bible and later settled out of court.

Meanwhile, inside Wunderbar, a rather pungent yet awesome show railed on through the big windows, as Sunset Six opened for the hard-rocking Deadcity Serpents. Their drummer Nikabrik is one of the best in Edmonton. Sunset Six really caught my ear, though—23-year-old singer Tam Tam the Destroyer rap-talking her way over dub/rock as the line between crowd and band dissolved thanks to empty pint glasses big enough to have twins in without spilling a drop. Their drummer was hilariously called an “old man” for turning 25 on the spot, and there was a frantic and unpolished basement vibe all night, one which reminded me of a WWIIID gig approximately 103 years ago on the north side. 

Jenny from the Sun ran around taking snaps and pseudonyms for her photo column, and I must say it’s nice to be at a gig with the door open onto the street again. Winter, go fuck yourself.

Finally, a note on what turned out not to be a Blues War on our avenues. Thank God—imagining the uniforms gives me nightmares. CKUA had originally protested a bid from Ontario to start an all-blues station in our working-class, filthy-rich city, which caused local player Jeremy Loome to raise an understandable stink, as a supporter of both the existing and proposed station. I asked him if there was an update: “Actually, yes. I got into an e-mail debate over this with Ken Regan, the GM at CKUA, and pointed out that they’d be better selling their existing blues shows to this station if it comes in and cross-promoting two small indies rather than slugging it out. 

“After a few more e-mails, both sides agreed, and CKUA said it will withdraw or significantly amend its intervention—to merely be its correction of several points on record—if the Ontario firm can come to a prelim arrangement about shared content and promotion that pleases both sides.

“So,” he concludes, “fingers crossed at this point.”

Is that a banana I see in your boxers, blues fans?