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Big John Bates seem to like having one-man acts open for then. The first time I saw them in Montreal (at Mile End’s Green Room), they brought along a guy who played a heavily distorted bass which he accompanied by the soothing Bossa Nova beats of an electric organ like my grandparents had. This time, they featured bluegrass/roots/blues musician Reverend Deadeye, who played resonator guitar, a washbasin kick drum, several tambourines, a trumpet and a hi-hat. His show was lively and cacophonous, impressing the small crowd and, more importantly, me. It was clear that the good Reverend was a created character: one song involved “Gettin’ High on Jesus” and a hobo aesthetic was cultivated. At the same time, the material seemed to be crafted with genuine love. While I’m not sure if I’d enjoy a record as much, I know that Reverend Deadeye’s act succeeds in the live setting.

It was my third time seeing the B.C. Burlesquebilly band Big John Bates (although both other times were under the name Big John Bates and the Voodoo Dollz), and I noticed that they had gone through a lineup change since I saw them in Vancouver last summer, having lost drummer J.T. Brander. Unfortunately, the new guy wasn’t really able to fill his shoes. J.T. Brander put on a show, complete with protracted drum solos, audience interaction and Jager shots mid beat, but the new guy (who shall remain nameless because I don’t know his name) merely played the songs. These were, of course, quite good; in fact the new songs were excellent, but it’s about visual presence. With the drummer remaining in the background, the task of entertaining the audience fell to the titular frontman/guitarist, contrabassist Brandy Bones and the celebrated dancing girls. Unfortunately, due in part to a small and somewhat apathetic audience they weren’t able to generate much in the way of a party. It’s kind of sad to see a band you like start slipping. The night might just have been full of fuck-ups, such as poor promotion, poor booking, or the like. Hopefully they’ll bounce back, but I am concerned.

-Alexandre Perrault

Todays news was read and produced by Erica Bridgeman.

The stories were written by Alina Gotcherian, Michael Moore and Michael Lemieux.

While Canadiens fans are focusing on the team’s first round playoff matchup with the Boston Bruins, an ex-Habs is having a legal faceoff of his own.

Former captain Vincent Damphousse was charged yesterday with six counts of assaulting his wife, Allana Henderson. The assaults allegedly took place between 2008 and last month.

Damphousse did not accompany his lawyer to the Montreal courthouse to enter a not-guilty plea.

According to Montreal police, the former Hab is also pressing assault charges against Henderson, who is expected to be arraigned later this month.

Damphousse spent six seasons in Montreal, serving as captain from 1996 to 1999.

Since his retirement, Damphousse and Henderson have remained a highly visible couple. They are the official spokespeople of the ALS Society of Quebec, a charity that raises money for people suffering from the disease.

Heard of a cappella vocal music? All the vocal nerds that just chirruped kindly ignore this bit. To the rest, allow me to educate you. “A cappella” means vocal music without instruments. While originally a classical term, it's commonly found in styles like doo wop, barbershop and, more recently, pop covers ('Glee' and 'The Sing-Off' both feature a cappella music).

Your standard a cappella group is a quartet (derived from the French word “quatre”). Singing ranges are broken down into a high tenor, a lead tenor, a baritone, and a bass (think Barry White). As the name suggests, Naturally 7 has three more members than that, adding a vocal instrumentalist, a vocal DJ, and a beat boxer. Naturally 7 treated a good sized crowd to 2½ hours of pure a cappella music of the finest quality.

If you've never been to the Corona Theatre before then I feel its important to tell you it is old - almost 100 years. It is not a huge venue, but it is very open and spacious. The setup is rectangular from back to front; the back half is the bar and some open floor space, and the front half is the stage and dance floor. There is also a balcony, but I couldn't locate the door leading to it and it was clearly off limits. After the mandatory coat-check (*sigh*), I noticed that the total number of chairs in the room was lacking. I quickly deduced that we weren't expected to sit, we were expected to stand and possibly... dance? No. You don't dance to a cappella music. It's weird. I found a spot where I could slouch against the banister.

Naturally 7 is so awesome that there was no opening act. Suddenly, out of the speakers came a deafening “AWW." It was the bass member; he held his rumbling drone as the other members manifested one by one into the song. The last member entered with a beatbox drumfill, and what was previously operatic transformed into tasty R&B. It didn't take long for me to realize that Naturally 7 was a group of highly advanced robots with superpowers. And then they started dancing.

I mentioned the bass before. People, I listen to a lot of a cappella music. I've heard all range of basses, from the over developed, lanky white nerd to Russian operatic Basso Profundo. Bass singer Armand “Hops” Hutton is a freak of nature. He doesn't talk; he vibrates. He's like the “Cave of Wonders" from Aladdin. On top of his awesome low range, he can reproduce slappin' and thumpin' bass sounds crazy well.

They went through group hits like “Wall of Sound” and “Feel It (In The Air Tonight),” and showcased individual members between tunes. Rod Eldridge was introduced and referred to as the “DJ” of the group. He promptly began throwing combinations of “wika” and “wiggity-wah” together in a stylistic fashion. His scratching sound effects were spot on and at one point he had four imaginary turntables in front of him and “juggled” the beat between them. The audience was like “WHAAAA”.

Most of Naturally 7's songs feature at least a verse or two of Rogers Thomas' lyrical licks. They were hard to make out and, honestly, Naturally 7 would do better without them. He sounds a bit like Biggie with a dark nasal quality, and maybe with more basic tracks it would be appropriate, but N7 have such a huge field of sound that his vocals drown in the voice-created mix. He also boasts the smallest singing range of all the members, an average two octaves. According to the Naturally 7 website, most other members have close to four. This might explain his role in the group somewhat, but it is interesting to note that Rogers also arranges Naturally 7's music. Arranging for 7 voices is a challenge in itself; let alone coming up with commercial-quality material to be sung by superstars.

The most noteworthy part of the show was when they were giving the audience a little history of the group and it's origins, and they performed the first song the group ever learned. It was off the mics; true a cappella. The song was “Bless This House”, and it was wonderful.

If people haven't realized it by now, Naturally 7 have heavy Christian roots. The group originated at the church and, based on the biographies on their website (which include members' favourite Bible passages and characters), it's safe to say they're of the faith (I have no qualms). While the members never brought this Christian factor to the forefront of the show, they're use of language did touch upon it a few times. However, it was never an issue that distracted one from enjoying the show.

Naturally 7 wrapped up the show with two encores. I checked my watch and was surprised to see how late it was. These guys had worked hard, and in a performance where so much can go wrong, they performed flawlessly. The mix was great throughout the entire night, and the show was devoid of any technical problems. As far as a cappella groups go, Naturally 7 is easily in today's top 5. The harmonies were tight, their blend is phenomenal and they have talent gushing from their pores. I'd see them again in a second.

Next time I'll just have to bring my own chair.

8.5 strapping young lads out of a possible 10.

-Drew Pascoe