Vietnam - May 25, 2007 at Richards On Richards

Michael Gerner

We actually wanted to check out this show for the Black Angels who were headlining. We weren't sure we'd get tickets as it was a last minute decision, so we hung out outside the club waiting for the doors to open.

While we were waiting a van pulls up, and out pour four grubby souls who would have looked like homeless were it not for the confidence they exuded. Even relaxing with a smoke while crouching beside the club, Michael Gerner looked more like George Harrison then a a bum.

In the end, it was Vietnam who stole the show for me with their intense thoughtful lyrics, and compelling songs.

The Black Angels sound pretty good in recordings, but live felt like a mess to me. Lead singer Alex Mass sounded like he was singing through cotton candy and not a single lyric could be heard. Despite a compelling dynamic within the group which include a girl drummer, the lights were kept low and a looped video ran behind the band. I'd have way rather seen Alex sing since perhaps I could have read his lips.

The Killers at Virgin Fest - May 21, 2007 at Thunderbird Arena

David Keuning

Best part about the Virgin Festival was the dress like a rockstar booth. We dressed up in crazy wigs and clothing and had our photos taken in a blatant attempt to sell Motorola Razrs! I want one now so I guess it worked.

My thoughts on the Killers show are that they were amazing and you could barely tell that Brandon Flowers had had bronchitis and had cancelled the previous two shows.

This is a link to my photos and thoughts from the show I saw in October 2006.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - May 12, 2007 at Richards On Ricards

Peter Hayes

So as promised, here's more photos and thoughts from the show.

We arrived right at 7:00 because I'd heard that there was going to be no opening act and I wanted a place to sit for a change. The room was already smoky with fog which was weird since the show was over an hour away from starting.

The Fratellis WERE to have opened the show, which was I'm sure part of why it was such a fast sell out. I mean, to be honest, despite the unrelenting run of the IPOD commercial with Flathead featured in it, Costello Music is an awesome CD and a lot of fun to boot. They probably would have blown BRMC away.

The show itself reminded me a lot of The Secret Machines show from last year. Another great band that sounded great live but with no personality whatsoever. Copious use of the smoke machine and lights were meant to disguise this fact, but in the end, there was really no connection with the audience. I don't believe that either Peter Hayes or Robert Levon Been said a grand total of 50 words between them.
Robert Levon Been

Also, all that smoke made it almost impossible to take a photo that didn't suck.

Baby 81 is a great CD and I was actually pretty sad that they skipped so many of my favourite songs from the album. One of the highlights of the show for me was when Peter and Robert came out for the encore and each played acoustic numbers, which felt quite intimate. This was especially surprizing considering that Robert's number was entirely in the dark.