Keri's Vancouver Concert Photos

Bumbershoot 2010-September 4-6, 2010

2010-09-08T18:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, Busy weekend, and sucky weather for the second year in a row! Nothing can be done, and we still had lots of fun. And we didn't unpack the rain gear, so why am I complaining!
Hightlights...
As always, The Dandy Warhols

Courtney Taylor-Taylor
Best show of theirs in ages.

Jenny and Johnny. My current favourite new band.

Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis

Jonathon Rice
Sweet Water

Rich Credo

Cole Peterson
Hey Marseilles. Can you fit any more band members on stage? Really great stuff that reminded me a lot of the Decemberists.

Hey Marseilles

Hey Marseilles

Bumbershoot 2010- KEXP Lounge

2010-09-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

So, this year at Bumbershoot, quite by accident, I discovered the KEXP lounge. I mean, I'd read about it every year but never attended a show, however this year, The Raveonettes were one of the performers, so I knew I couldn't miss it.

Sharin Foo
We dutifully lined up a half an hour early at the booth, not realy knowing what to expect, but when we finally entered the venue, it was clear that we were in for something special. A nice small venue that sounded great for the live recording they were performing.

Sharin Foo
After the show, the band even broke down their own gear so we got to meet the band.

Glen and Sharin

Visqueen was a band I loved last year at Bumbershoot. I was just as happy to see them this year, except even happier to be sitting in the lovely KEXP lounge.

Rachel Flotard

Cristina Bautista

Rachel Flotard
They were charming and funny and I love them so check them out.

Another favourite, and oddly, someone I've never seen live before, was The Thermals. Pillar Of Salt is still one of my favourite songs and the new album has another potential all time fav in I Don't Believe You.
Here is a video I took of a different song. Awesome right??

We also saw The Engish Beat who are oldies but goodies from my youth. Tenderness (same guy but he was with Gneral Public at the time) is another of my all time favourite songs, even to this day.

Dave Wakeling

Antonee First

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros -May 31, 2010 at the Commodore Ballroom

2010-05-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite bands. Alex Ebert can command a crowd wearing nothing but what looks like dirty pajamas. So much love in the crowd and on the stage. Magical
.
Alex Ebert

Alex Ebert

Alex Ebert

Jade Castrinos

Wilco - Livecity Yaletown February 13, 2010

2010-02-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

Jeff Tweedy

The 2010 Vancouver Olympics are more then an athletic event. It's also a big party and celebration for all of Vancouver to enjoy. Free concerts are abundant and I'll try to cover a few of them.

Today was one of my favourite bands, Wilco. I've seen them a few times, and they were better today then I've ever seen.
Jeff Tweedy

Sure it rained. Hell, it poured at times, but as Wilco says, in Wilco (the song) As they say in their song, Wilco (the song), ( a bit or paraphrasing here)

Tired of being exposed to the cold?

Wilco, Wilco
Wilco will love you, baby

Peak Performance Project Finale - January 22, 2010 @Commodore Ballroom

2010-01-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

We Are The City - Andy Huculiak

Winners of $100,000 in the Peak Performance Project
Cayne McKenzie & David Menze - We Are The City

David Menzel and Andy Huculiak - We Are The City

Kevin Gau - The Left

Second Prize winners, The Left
Carl Davis -The Left

Third place winners of $50,000, the band I thought should win, Bend Sinister.
Dan Moxan - Bend Sinister

Joseph Blood-Bend Sinister

Ok Go Makes Good Videos!

2010-01-13T17:40:00.001-08:00

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

The Raveonettes - November 5, 2009 at the Venue in Vancouver

2009-11-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

Sharin Foo

I love the Raveonettes. They are one of my favourite bands and proof of that is that show up at least 3 times in the pages of this blog. Musically, I never get tired of listening to their records, and the new one, In And Out Of Control is amazing.
Sune Rose and Sharin

They were back with as a full band after their last visit with just an added drummer. Speaking of drummers, I have to mention that this was my second show in a week which featured a stand up drummer. Trend alert. Anyway, they also had a bassist this time, which really helped fill out their sound.
Sharin Foo

The Raveonettes are sonically beautiful. Noisy guitars and odd haunting harmonies that reckon to another time. My problem with them is that they are so boring live! They barely talk, they barely acknowledge the audience, and they spend half the time performing in either complete darkness or under strobe lights.
Sune Rose Wagner

After Art Brut, it was hard to not to be slightly disappointed.
Sharin Foo

The night started at the cellar to see Ben Sigston perform as part of the Peak Performance Project. If you've read this far, check him out and please vote for him here. Also, you can get some free downloads just by checking out www.bensigston.com
Ben Sigston

Art Brut- November 3, 2009, The Biltmore Cabaret

2009-11-04T00:28:00.000-08:00

Eddie Argos

I saw Art Brut the first time at Bumbershoot two years ago. I was totally blown away, by their energy, and the fun they brought to their show. Something I almost never see anymore.
Jasper Future

Eddie isn't afraid to write about his life in all it's embarrassing boring glory. Whether it's about old girlfriends, his brother, or his love of DC Comics. The songs are great on their own, but seeing them live adds an extra dimension as Eddie adds lots of details to the stories. As an example, during the song DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshakes, Eddie gave an extensive and hilarious overview of a tour they took of the actual DC Comics Headquarters. A video of that tour is HERE if you want to check it out, but I assure you that Eddie's version is better.
Eddie and Jasper

Although they didn't play my favourite song (Moving To L.A.) they did play many of some of my new favourites from their new album, Art Brut vs Satan including Alcoholics Unanimous which includes the best merch tie in ever. The song includes the line, "Bring Me Tea, Bring Me Coffee" which is blazed across coffee mugs.
Eddie Argos

Manic Street Preachers- September 22, 2009 in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom

2009-09-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

James Dean Bradfield

I think I've finally figured out why I like Twitter. It's like a search engine for everything you actually want to find. I like taking photos, but I don't particularly like writing reviews of the shows I go to. Mostly, you could say that at best, I write commentary. With that in mind, I am going to direct you readers to a review I found on Twitter. It's from an amazing website called Guttersnipe, and I urge you to check it out.

The review is HERE and I pretty much have nothing to add to it, except for a bit of personal commentary.

I saw the Manic Street Preachers when they came to Vancouver ten years ago. I don't remember that much about it except that every interview mentioned the disappearance of Richie Edwards. It's only now with the release of Journal For Plague Lovers, which features lyrics left behind by Edwards, that I can appreciate his contribution to the band.

My final commentary is that this show felt like the Goldilocks show. It had been a busy week with the Hold Steady, Arctic Monkeys, and Manic Street Preachers. If you read my thoughts on the other shows, then you'll understand why I felt this show was just right. Great music, amazing energy and genuine engagement with the crowd.
Nicky WIre

Arctic Monkeys - September 20, 2009 at the Malkin Bowl

2009-09-26T23:37:00.001-07:00

Alex Turner

I've never actually seen a rock show at the Malkin Bowl. In fact I'd pretty much forgotten it was there at all, but that was where the Arctic Monkeys played. It's a gorgeous setting and it was a beautiful evening. When the band took the stage the crowd was ecstatic.

All that potential for something magical was not matched by the band on stage. I'd missed seeing the Arctic Monkeys once before at SXSW when their scheduled set was hours late and we just had to leave. I was really looking forward to finally seeing them as I loved the debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. What was missing from Sunday's show was any expression of personality by anyone on the stage.

Alex Turner has a lot of charisma and looks the part of brooding indie rocker and musically, they sounded great, but they just appeared to be bored or at the very least, introspective. Three albums in, I just think a band should be more engaging with the audience. More flattering and detailed reviews can be found HERE.

The Hold Steady - September 19, 2009 Vancouver at the Vogue Theatre

2009-09-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

Craig Finn

Craig Finn shouldn't be cool. Receding hairline, late thirties, dance moves that consist of hyper speed hand claps and flailing arms. It all adds up to something strange, but from Craig Finn, it's most certainly cool. I was unable to find a single YouTube clip that captured that manic energy, but try, Stuck Between Stations for a great song.

The Hold Steady are a band that makes music that tell stories like Bruce Springsteen, but Craig Finn spits out those lyrics with a punk rock vibe more like Art Bergmann.

It seemed like the crowd sang along to every song, intoxicated by the energy of Craig Finn. This is despite the fact that the show was held at the Vogue Theatre, with reserved seating (which we had abandoned for our post at the stage. Hardly the best location for a show where you should be jumping around.

Check them out live if you get the chance. It should be a problem as they seem to tour continually.
Tad Kubler

Bumbershoot 2009- Monday Night, September 7, 2009

2009-09-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Monday Night.I'll go backwards this time because the highlight for me was Metric. Canadian band that is amazing. Check out Gimme Sympathy. Emily Haines is a dynamo with charisma to spare. See them if you get a chance.
Emily Haines

Joshua Winstead
Lenka. Adorable to behold with a captivating voice that really has you singing along. My favourite song is Trouble Is A Friend.
Lenka

Franz Ferdinand. My favourite band to play on "Rock Band" This isn't my favourite song but I do love this video for Ulysses.
Alex Kapranos

Paul Thomson

Bumbershoot 2009- Monday Day September 7, 2009

2009-09-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

It rained. It poured. But for our troubles we made the front page of the Seattle Weekly's coverage!

First up was my most anticipated show, Visqueen. I love them so much. Check out their video for Crush On The Radio, although my favourite song is actually Vaxxine. It came as a huge disappointment to me when they played their new album in it's entirety with neither of songs I wanted to hear.
Rachel Flotard

Cristina Bautista

Tom Cummings

We went for one of our endless free Starbucks coffee's and still managed to catch The Minus 5. I'd seem them before when R.E.M. played a secret show with them. Peter Buck still plays with the band, which was cool to see. I'm going to link to a live performance of Lies Of The Living Dead because the song is a cool as the title.
Scott McCaughey

Peter Buck

Delhi 2 Dublin was an unexpected stop. As we were passing through the grounds, we were seduced by the sounds of Bangra music and had to stop. This is a truly a multicultural group with world wide influences, and you need to check this video out to see what I'm talking about.
Sanjay Seran

Delhi 2 Dublin

Ravi Binning

Next it was the Black Eyed Peas. This was for Sonia, so I braved life and limb to get up close.
Fergie

will.i.am

Taboo

Last for the day was Akron/Family. I was really looking forward to them and expected a dozen people on stage, but was surprized to see just two guys. Check out Ed Is A Portal.
Seth Olinsky

Bumbershoot 2009- Sunday, September 6, 2009

2009-09-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Started with The Black Whales. As in all my Bumbershoot, the song choice will be linked to a video. My choice for the Black Whales is Young Blood.

I have a pet peeve in watching bands, and singer Alex Robert was a big offender. He kept his eyes closed during the entire performance. You can not connect with an audience when you have your eyes closed. The performance is internal, and you lose us. For this reason, here is my photo of Alex tuning his guitar because nothing else is compelling.
Alex Robert

Davey Brozowski

Then it was off to the main stage for our first main stage show. I HATE the main stage because they have no video screens at all. It's ridiculous because you can't see anything unless you get up really close and you are basically taking your life into your own hands at that point. Bumbershoot, GET SOME GIANT VIDEO SCREENS!
Anyways, off to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who I adore. My favourite song is Zero which you can watch here.
Karen O

What's not to love. They were amazing. A highlight for sure. Also more giant confetti cannons which seem to be the new thing right now.

After an awesome Happy Hour at Twist (love the pomegranate ribs) it was off to Michael Franti and Spearhead. Say Hey is supposedly a hit although I don't know anyone else who knows it. I love it to death, but Sonia and Glen were not too impressed.

Michael Franti

Michael Franti and Jason Mraz

Last stop of the day was to see The Helio Sequence. My favourite song is Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

Brandon Summers with Benjamin Weikel

Bumbershoot 2009- Saturday Night, September 6, 2009

2009-09-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

So after nice Mexican dinner complete with beer flavoured water, we began our evening. As before, I've added a link to the videos wherever possible.

I've loved World Party forever, so Glen was pretty surprized when I said I could take them or leave them. On our way to the EMP Sky church, we happened by the Fisher Stage where World Party was beginning my favourite song, Message In A Box. Needless to say. I got all excited, and ran to the front of the stage.
Karl Wallinger

He was simply accompanied by another guitarist and a fiddler

David Duffy and John Turnbull

We still managed to catch Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground. Check out Momma here. The EMP/SFM Sky Church is probably my favourite venue at Bumbershoot. The gorgeous lighting compliments the great sound that the space has

Kirk Huffman

Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground

We still managed to catch about half of The Long Winters set. Watch Fire Island, AK here.

John Roderick

Bumbershoot 2009- Saturday Day September 5, 2009

2009-09-11T00:19:00.000-07:00

Another busy Bumbershoot. Lots to see and do. Songs will be linked to a video when possible.

We started our weekend with Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. A crazy, fun Seattle band. Best song? Check out Sophisticated Side Ponytail.
Luke Smith

Claire England

Shaun Libman

Amazing live. So much energy. Great fun songs. Great start to the weekend.

Second up. Low vs Diamond. Best song? Don't Forget Sister.
Lucas Field

Anthony Polcino

They were good enough, but who I was really waiting for was Matt and Kim.
Best video? Lesson's Learned which features them stripping down in New York's Time Square. Best SONG however, has to go to the incredibly catchy Yea Yeah which I couldn't stop singing all weekend.
Matt Johnson & Kim Schifino

Matt and Kim

Another really fun energetic set which featured lots of glitter explosions and crowd surfing including a go by Kim.

Doves-May 21, 2009 at The Commodore Ballroom

2009-05-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

Winter Olympic 2010 news. Pounding from the Doves, The Last Broadcast is being used by the 2010 Winter Olympics in commercials, Watch it here.
Jimi Goodwin

After four long years, the Doves are finally back with a new album, Kingdom Of Rust. I've been a huge fan since 2000 when Lost Souls was released and they were the new "it" band and "Catch The Sun" is still one of my all time favourite songs.

Jetstream, from the new album, opened the show which was unusual. Unusual because Jez isn't the main singer, that Jetstream is biggest departure from the "Doves" sound, and that apparently Jez was recovering from laryngitis. It turned out to be a good choice as he sounded great and the heavy bass/electronic beat got the crowd moving.
Jez Williams

Jimi Goodwin sounded great as usual. He has the most amazing voice and the fact that he can pull it off live has always been a joy for me. He also looks great so the time off has been good for him. 10:03 from the new album was also particularly great. I love they way it builds into an almost completely different song.

The last time I saw them was in 2005. One of the things that moved me was the fact that they had the most inspiring multimedia show with trippy video and a stunning light show. Not so much this time. Blame technical problems? It was clear during the stage setup that they were planning on using a visuals on the stage based on the projected message that was on the screen on the stage, however this did not happen. Also, the stage seemed bathed in darkness except for the lights which eminated from behindy Andy's drum kit.
Andy Williams

My only other comment on the show are that they didn't play Catch The Sun....AGAIN!

Opening the show was Wild Light from New Hampshire. I have almost nothing good to say about them based entirely on Co-leader Timothy Kyle's pants.
Jordan Alexander (got the stove pipes just right)

Yes, they have a great song. It's "California On My Mind" and you should check it out here but seriously, I could not get past the pants. Who would tell him he looked good in those really monstrous tight white stove pipes. At one point, a crowd member yelled "Nice Pants" to which Tim replied "Always about the pants. Thank you, I'm going to assume it's sincere." It wasn't. When I'm horribly distracted and appalled by your pants, enough to waste a paragraph on them, I urge you to discard them forever and let me concentrate on your music.
Seth Pitman

(Notice no photos of offensive pants. I have standards as to where I aim my lens.)

Junos - March 29, 2009 at GM Place in Vancouver

2009-04-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

My first Junos. To those of you not in Canada, the Junos are Canada's Music Awards or the Canadian Grammy's if you will.

Here are a few of my photos from the show.

Nickelback

Elvis Costello

Bryan Adams and Kathleen Edwards

Dallas Green (City And Colour) with Gord Downie

Loverboy - Hall of Fame inductee's

Simple Plan

Ok Go - March 28, 2009 at Chop Suey in Seattle

2009-04-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

I've seen Ok Go four other times, and despite it being Junos weekend in Vancouver, and despite the high probability that I would be invited to all the coolest events, I choose to truck to Seattle and see Ok Go.
Damian Kulash

I understand the concept of taking it on the road to try out the new songs but Chop Suey? Chop Suey is a tiny tiny club in Seattle. The stage is the size of a shoebox, and there is no air conditioning or air circulation at all for that matter. Sounds like a great venue for a hard core Ok Go fan on paper, but not so much in practice.
Andy Ross

In other words, it was hot in there. Sweltering, in the crowd, and probably even hotter on the crowded tiny stage under those lights. This (along with singer Damian Kulash's recent illness) probably contributed to it being the least fun Ok Go show I've seen. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but Damian didn't seem like his usual "sarcastic bastard" self.

Most famous for amazing Treadmill video, and well known for closing their shows with the Backyard Dance, their latest fun gimmick is an interpretation of "What To Do" with handbells. A really lovely idea and execution.

Many new songs from the much anticipated new album were introduced, and they were all great and I really look forward to hearing it but until then, here is a an acoustic song that Damian introduced as "a simple love song".

It was my Marsi's first Ok Go show, and I told her she should make a sign because my experiences had shown that if Damian saw it, he'd surely say something. Well, sadly, he didn't see it, but after the show, Dan did and loved it.

Airborne Toxic Event - Feb 18,2009 at Richards on Richards

2009-02-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

So, Richards on Richards is moving to the old A&B Sound location on Seymour! I'm so excited that Vancouver isn't losing a live music venue to condo development.

Airborne Toxic Event, indie darlings from L.A., brought their show to Vancouver on Wednesday despite a toxic throat infection being suffered by leader Mikel Jollett.
Mikel Jollett

It was a sold out crowd but the poor sound quality, and lackluster performance (perhaps due to the illness) led to a generally unappreciative audience.
Anna Bulbrook

I'd just been about to mention to the couple next to me that I could hear their conversation more then I could hear the band when Mikel berated the audience about the excessive chatter.
Daren Taylor

The throat definitely caused some problems with the show. Mikel had a problem with any high range vocals which led to an unsatisfactory rendition of some of the songs. Gasoline probably suffered the most from that loss.

Overall though, the sound and show got better as the night progressed. Mikel became more lively and he and Anna roamed through the bar and the crowd during one number. Of other notable mention was guitarist Steven Chen. An actual live Asian rock star! Other then James Iha, the only one I've seen in anything but a local band. I'm half Japanese, so I was all over that.
Steven Chen

The encore was a generally raucous affair where Mikel tried to make up for his earlier bad attitude by inviting everyone who wanted to, onto the stage.

Check out Airborne ToxicEvent and especially check out the video for the amazing song, Somewhere Around Midnight.

Opening act The Henry Clay People where notable for the energy and fun they brought to the night. Opening with a sing-a-long count out and generally wrapping the crowd around their fingers with their youthful hijinks, brothers Joey and Andy Siara made the most of the opening slot.
Andy and Joey Siara

Transmission 2008

2008-12-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

The third annual Transmission Festival. Yeah! Transmission is my favourite music festival.

It's a place to see some really excellent breaking bands under the best possible circumstances. The sound is amazing, and the staging and lighting are gorgeous.
Betty Bonifassi of Beast

My favourite show was Montreal's Beast. They are probably best known for Betty Bonifassi's work with Champion a few years ago. The dramatic lighting lent an extra component to the set that was already magical.
Alex Cuba

Another highlight for me was Alex Cuba. After years of playing with traditional Cuban groups in his native Cuba, Alex moved to Smithers B.C where he's spread his "Go With The Fro" world music vibe worldwide.
Mark Sasso of Elliot Brood

I'd run out of batteries, so this photo isn't great, but my other favourite band of the fest was Elliot Brood. Kind of a hillbilly Social Distortion?
Shane Nelken of The Awkward Stage

The Awkward Stage had the, um, awkward opening slot of the evening. I guess I should mention that I only made it Wednesday and Friday's shows. If you went on Thursday, let me know how it was. Anyways, I'd never seen them before, but would check them out again.
Bison B.C

Bison B.C. is a Vancouver band who I will remember most for the fact that their own brand of Bison beer was served at the fest and featured the warning, "Do not throw this bottle at the stage" on it's label.
Courtney Wing

Courtney Wing recruited a five piece choral section especially for the show.
Ben Worcester of Said The Whale

And lastly I present one of my favourite Vancouver bands, Said The Whale. In fact one of my favourite "Christmas" songs lately is This Winter I Retire which I could play on repeat for hours. Download their Christmas EP for FREE HERE!

Gogol Bordello - October 11, 2008 at the Commodore

2008-10-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Eugene Hütz

I first heard Gogol Bordello brand of "Gypsy Punk" at Bumbershoot 2007. We were wandering around the market place as the stalls were closing, and individually, we each were drawn to the music from the neighboring stage.

Within minutes we were immersed in the music, a combination of Soviet folk music with polka/punk beats which had has jumping around like crazy people.

We were pretty excited to see a real show and with two sold out shows, apparently everyone else in Vancouver was excited too.

There was no opening act, just a stage full of musicians playing everything from accordions to fiddles, and all led by bear hat wearing, fire drum playing Eugene Hutz.

Elizabeth Chi-Wei Sun & Pamela Jintana Racine

The Music was great, just as fun as we remembered. The stage full of musicians included two very hot multi-ethinic chicks who banged cymbals and marching drums and prowled the stage like wild animals.

Sergey Ryabtsev on fiddle

Much jumping ensued, lots of screaming, and singing. At one point a guy jumped on stage and Eugene wouldn't let security take him away. Instead he let him sing the last verse of "Start Wearing Purple" before watching him leap into the audience.
Thomas 'Tommy T' Gobena

Was it a little bit over the top? Maybe, but who cares! It was fun! They were having fun! We all had fun and you will to. Go check them out when you get a chance.
Yuri Lemeshev

Bumbershoot-Day 1 August 29, 2008

2008-09-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm starting with my favourite of the day, West Indian Girl.
Mariqueen Maandig

Robert James

West Indian Girl were my second favourite of the entire fest actually. This was my first show at the EMP Sky Church (um, second if you don't count the unmemorable Mono In VCF which is following)

A Myspace discovery, I wasn't really expecting them to be as cool as they actually were. Mariqueen is actually my new girl crush!

One of my favourite songs of theirs is "To Die In LA" which was rewritten after recording This new version was slower and missing the cool vibe of the recorded version. Another favourite is Blue Wave which you should totally check out on their MySpace!
Francis Ten

Okay, now let's try for some order. We started the day seeing Neko Case. I hate the Main Stage, and think I'm vowing not to return unless some serious changes like video screens are added.
Neko Case

Love her in the New Pornographers, but not such a fan of her country career.

Then it was off to the Rockstar stage for Seattle's own Barcelona.
Brian Fennell

After our first Happy Hour of the weekend and well fortified, we started our afternoon in earnest with the Walkmen. I've liked them for ages and have seen them before.
Hamilton Leithauser

Our next choice was Mono In VCF as they'd had an okay vibe when we checked them out on myspace and we were going to EMP Sky Church anyway for West Indian Girl.
Kim Miller

Hunter Lee

Skipping around now, as I've already written about West Indian Girl, are Nada Surf, one of my favourite bands of all times. This is despite the fact that I've never even contemplated suicide.
Matthew Caw

Nada Surf were great despite the notable absence of bassist Daniel Lorca who was absent due to an inconvenient knee injury. Daniel had also written a hilarious Bumbershoot primer for The Seattle Weekly publication.

Ended the night with Beck. As you'll see again and again, I hate the Bumbershoot Main Stage and will be forever banning it.
Beck

The sound was awful, and it didn't help hat I've never warmed to Beck's music.

Bumbershoot- Day 2 August 30, 2008

2008-09-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Let's start with my favourite of Sunday, The Shackeltons.
Mark Redding

They took to a stage that covered with branches, no, LIMBS of trees and a bounty of dahlia's. Dressed in old school military uniforms, they put on one of those shows where you like the band a whole lot more after you see them.

Lead singer Mark Redding is as much of a performance artist as he is a singer and has a particular affinity for falling, sometimes from a straight standing position.

Justin McDanel

Highlights of the stage banter included enticements to purchase CD's with the offer to pinch drummer Sean Hallock's baby fat or the chance to discuss being half black in America with bassist Justin McDaniel.
Sean Hallock

But topping all the stories was the orgin of the stage forest. Apprently it's a $500 fine for, um, pruning trees in the city limits, so it was a good thing they'd liberated the trees at a location out of city limits.

Okay, now on to what else I saw. It was a busy day.
Let's see.
Biggest disappoint was Sons and Daughters from Glasglow. Loved them on myspace, hated them live.
Adele Bethel

Loved them so much that we'd spontaneously break into the opening of the "The Gift" while walking around the Bumbershoot grounds. This was an example of where you like a band a whole lot less after you see them.
Scott Paterson

Worst of all?? No it wasn't that the sound was awful. It was after all that spontaneous singing, we'd done, they didn't even play "The Gift"!

Also on the agenda and a band that didn't disappoint were Seattle's own The Blakes.
Snow Keim

I'd totally go see them again. I think they are great!
Garnet Keim

Hmm. I'm all over the map here as far as timeline goes. Let's see....we started the day with Lushy who are art of Shag in musical form.
Annabella Kirby

Mostly percussion, Lushy have a mellow effervescent quality which was fun, especially for the hipster oldsters dancing away in the crowd.
Andrew Sodt

I don't know what instrument is shown here in this photograph, but I do know that Glen wanted one.

Also, highly anticipated but a bit of a let down, were The Whigs. I was probably a bit (a lot) drunk by this time (love the Seattle Happy Hours) so I should go a bit easier on them.
Parker Gispert

I especially like the song "Like A Vibration" from their Mission Control album.
Ben Deaux

Julian Dorio

Scott Weiland

Next up, in no particular order, is Stone Temple Pilots. Despite showing up a half an hour late and being escorted directly to the stage in the tour bus, Scott Weiland was in pretty good form.

Yeah, these photos suck, but I was pretty far away, and you get the picture.
Hating the Main Stage (horrile sound, unmanagable size) we left STP for Tapes 'n Tapes who I'd seen once before at SXSW.

Bumbershoot 2008 - Day 3 September 1, 2008

2008-09-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Rhett Miller of the Old 97's

I've loved the Old 97's for years. I must have had a period when I was really depressed that I don't remember anymore because the 97's and Nada Surf were my must see choices of the fest, and I have spent hours listening to their CD's.

The set was great, and was comprised of mostly new material that I didn't really know. I loved it though, and really loved guitarist Ken Bethea who showed you don't have to be a kid to rock..
Ken Bethea

Langhorne Slim

Strange Fruit
Performance art from Australia

Monotonix
Ami Shalev

Last but not least, the highlight of the day for me which was Tel-Aviv rockers Monotonix's aborted 15 minute set at the Exhibition Hall.

When we arrived, we found their equipment set up on the floor instead of the stage, and when the band finally began their set I couldn't see a thing as I was pretty much in the back of the throng. Having no barrier between band and audience made for a crazy, anything can happen, energy, so I eventually made my way through he crowd as close as possible. At that point, Ami was pretty much performing atop the audience limbs. In that slim 15 minute set he managed to moon the crowd, play 3 or 4 songs, and ride atop the crowd in a garbage can. Reports are the the fire marshall shut down the show for the tossing of said garbage can.

Catch most of the show plus Avi's closing remarks at YouTube HERE

Dandy Warhols- Richards On Richards June 18, 2008

2008-06-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Finally a really great Dandy's show!

I've seen the Dandy Warhols probably a dozen times. They are one of my favourite bands, and I would never miss them, but it's been awhile since I saw them put on a truly memorable show. In fact, they've been so consistently unmemorable that I didn't even right anything about the last show I saw.

This show was a pretty short notice practice show in anticipation of festival season across the pond. The entire "tour" consisted of only 4 shows, and Vancouver was one of the lucky cities.

One of the VERY lucky cities, because this show was the best I've ever seen them. What was different? Maybe the fact that they'd "Practiced a lot" which Courtney jokingly told the crowd when someone yelled out how great they sounded. Maybe the fact that they seemed to be genuinely having fun. Maybe the long stretch off the road had made them hungry for it again.

Maybe it was that the new material they played off the new album, Earth To The Dandy Warhols may be the strongest songs they've released in years.

Courtney definitely brought his "A" game, being very dramatic with his performance both with his instrumentation and with body. They sounded amazing and except for a few dropped lyrics that I'm sure only Glen noticed, they were all I could have hoped for.

They'll be back in September and so will I!

Two Hours Traffic at the Railway Club - March 8, 2008

2008-03-12T18:54:00.001-07:00

Two Hours Traffic are my favourite new band. Not just Canadian band, but favourite new band period.
Liam Corcoran

Their new album Little Jabs has rarely been on constant rotation since I first heard "Caught For The Summer" and we made a point to go see them on their swing through Vancouver after the Raveonettes show.
Liam Corcoran

Oddly enough, they were another band that sounded great but weren't very compelling to watch. What happened to showmanship? What happened to making a connection with your audience? Singer Liam Corcoran barely opened his eyes the entire performance, and I can't remember if he uttered a single sentence.
Liam with Andrew MacDonald

Thankfully, the music did all the talking that was necessary.
Alec O'Hanley

The Raveonettes at the Plaza Club- March 8, 2008

2008-03-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sharin Foo

This was our second time seeing The Raveonettes in a few months who are touring in support of their new album Lust Lust Lust. It's an amazing album, and made the "Must List" of Entertainment Weekly.
Sharin Foo

The Last time we saw them, was at Richards in October. The album hadn't been released yet, and for reasons unknown they gave a lackluster performance that Sharin actually apologized for at the end of the set.
Sune Rose Wagner

This show was quite a bit better although not as good as the first time I saw them. At that time they toured with a full band, and not only did they sound amazing but the band provided a much needed personable presence on stage.
Leah Shapiro

These last couple of times have been with drummer Leah Shapiro. Her small kit, and and entertaining presence help break up the lack of charisma of the band. That said, I Love Love Love the Raveonettes, and have a serious girl crush on Sharin, who was voted one of Blender Magazines hottest rockers.
Sharin Foo

David Usher - Richmond Winter Festival. Feb 8, 2008

2008-02-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

Transmission 2007

2007-12-09T00:56:00.000-08:00

This is the second annual Transmission music and digital technology conference and showcase. It's purpose is to gather international music industry delegates to discuss all aspects of music and technology, and most importantly, to discuss how to bring artists and audiences together in this brave new technological world.
Luc Brien of Les Breastfeeders

For me, it's all about the music, since Transmission's other goal is to bring international acts together for professional showcases.
Johnny Maldoror of Les Breatfeeders

It's really the sweetest of showcases. 20 bands in 2 days. Very civilized and professional. It's set up in two gorgeous rooms. While one band performs, the other band is setting up. The sound is great, the lighting better then most shows I attend, and best of all, the artists are always of a pretty high caliber.
Care Failure of Die Mannequin

The first year was great, but had some problems. The exclusive nature of the show meant that there were not as many people at the shows as there could have been, and it felt kind of strange watching acts that are used to playing in front of thousands, playing in front a hundred.
Care Failure of Die Mannequin

Of course that was last year, and Facebook helped make this years showcase better attended and yet still exclusive. A perfect marriage of the technology and ideas the conference is espousing.
Clare Bowditch

Thanks Tyl, and Brad for another great year and I hope you keep them up for years to come!
Patrick Watson

Hayley Sales

Simon Angell of Patrick Watson's band

Smoosh

Dan Managan

Ben Sigston under those crazy lights

Rubik

Apostles of Hustle

Ryan Guldemond of Mother Mother

Warren C Spicer of Plants And Animals

Detroit Cobras - September 21, 2007 at Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room, Seattle

2007-09-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Rachel Nagy and Mary Ramirez

So this is a very late post. I wasn't going to post about it all. Why?? Because I love the Detroit Cobras and they were a big disappointment, and I hate having to say it.
Dan Sartain

Let's start with Dan Sartain, who was great. I've loved Dan Sartain since I first heard "Join Dan Sartain". He's basically a guy with a guitar but he's on this tour with a drummer as well. The set was too short for my liking and he never played my very favourite song, "Young Girls". In hindsight, I wish it had been the Detroit Cobras opening for him.

The Cobras finally hit the stage, but it was clear from the opening notes that there were sound troubles afoot. Rachel Nagy's voice was completely lost in the mix, and no amount of fiddling was ever able to fix it.

Maybe this is what contributed to the lackluster performance. Or maybe it was because Rachel was crabby because she'd quit smoking (or at least never smoked once during the show). Any way you looked at it, Rachel wasn't there mentally, physically, or emotionally.

What was interesting to see was Mary Ramiriz working hard to bring a smile to Rachel's face or joy to the rest of the band's performance. Anything good about this show was because of her gleeful energy.

Bumbershoot 2007 - Transit Stage

2007-09-13T00:43:00.000-07:00

By Far my favourite stage as it's where I spent most of my time.
First up...Stars of Track and Field.
Jason Bell

Originally, my first choice in this time slot was the Horrorpops, who I adore. Sadly, they cancelled, and so I was able to see The Stars Of Track And Field who are a trio who use backing track for the bass bits. A bit of cop out, and I totally think they need to bring in a bassist if they want my true love.
Kevin Calaba

Another favourite was Art Brut, who totally blew me away. I don't know what I'd call the music. It was a bit like Louis XIV in that the lead singer talked and the rest of the band sang their back up bits.
Jasper Future

Other highlights with no photo accompaniment were Gogal Bordello who were the most fun, and Menomena who had a punky choir complete with choir robes who were great.

Bumbershoot 2007 - Starbucks Stage

2007-09-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

Ian Ball

I was really looking forward to Ian Ball, as I really like his work in Gomez. Pretty low key, and mellow performance.

He was followed by an incredible performance by Andrew Bird, who could whistle, play the violin both naturally, and by plucking the strings, plus he used a looping board with even more skill then KT Tunstall.
After the show he took the time to sign autographs and sell CD's. No photos from the actual show as I was mellowing out too far back.

Bumbershoot 2007 - Main Stage

2007-09-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

Crowded House - Neil Finn

Crowded House is one of my favourite bands for when I'm feeling mellow and just want to listen to something amazingly beautiful. They played the first Main Stage show of the weekend, to a crowd that clearly didn't appreciate them as much as they should have, but what can you do?

Even a guest appearance by Eddie Vedder wasn't enough to bring any life to the listless crowd who were apparently passing time until the Shins played.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Another highlight for me was seeing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club who I saw not long ago in Vancouver.

This show was quite a bit better then the one in Vancouver which felt like a halfhearted effort. Despite technical guitar difficulties early in the show, the band seemed light hearted and happy, and sounded great at least partly due to the presence of an additional side player.

More photos and thoughts to come...

David Usher - RW & Co appearance August 28, 2007

2007-09-05T00:35:00.000-07:00

Special acoustic set with Jon and Kevin in Vancouver's RW & Co store.

There are only a few photos because I got caught taking photos early on and shut down.

Really beautiful sounding set and an amazing performance by David despite the fact that he was seated the enitre time.

The performance was about 30 minutes in which he commented that they had just learned to play them acoustically that morning.

Another added bonus is that they played "Smile" by Ben Sigston before the show. I'm not sure how they had it but it was a special bonus for me and Marsi.

Crashing The Pirate Party With David Usher - June 29, 2007

2007-06-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

David Usher

Special Guest Report by Marsi Neufeld
It all started with a status update last week. Keri changed her status to say “Keri is hopefully seeing David Usher next week”. My immediate question to her was “Marsi too?”. She said yes and I was very excited.

As the week progressed our information about the event did not increase. All we knew was that it was something to do w/ Future Shop and it was in Vancouver. Eventually, we found out it was on Friday and at noon. Then yesterday (the day before the “event”) we found out it was a private corporate event. All of a sudden my access to see David perform was not so secure. Multiple phone and text messages later we decided to wing it and try and talk my way in if need be.

Friday morning we are on the road to Burnaby (not Vancouver) to the Future Shop / Best Buy headquarters to crash their event. Driving down the road, I am the first to spot the tent (which seems like a good sign since we were sure we’d get lost). The second good sign was that we immediately found a parking spot. We got out of the car and walked around the building and stopped short when we saw pirates. Yes, the theme of the BBQ was “Pirates of the Caribbean”. In a weird coincidence I was actually wearing a pirate shirt. So I casually unzipped my jacket figuring it would help us blend in w/ the crowd. I have to say, it felt very surreal, not only was I crashing an event (Keri had been legitimately invited) but everyone was dressed up like pirates (aargh!). After a quick stop in the ladies room for Keri to text Barb it was off to the performance tent.

We walk into the tent and snagged front row seats (right next to two “reserved” seats that I am convinced were meant for us). The tent filled up and the mini-concert started. David immediately recognized Keri, which was a very cool moment. The set was awesome! David is such an excellent performer. I was thrilled to hear “The Music”, “Black Black Heart” and “Push” (the latter bringing back great memories of high school). A dancing Best Buy mascot got a laugh out of David and in a very sweet moment David interacted with a toddler that was there.

After the set, David came off the stage and headed towards Keri. They exchanged pleasantries and she made the very classy move of stepping aside so his other fans could get a photo or autograph.

Because it was the Best Buy / Future Shop annual Canada Day BBQ, they brought someone onstage to lead us in the singing of our national anthem. One of the coolest parts of the day was standing next to David Usher and singing “O Canada”. Anyone who knows me knows how much the anthem means to me (remember the Man U match in Seattle?). And it made for a great memory to be singing it with him (okay, fine, next to him). After the anthem was over I decided that it was our turn for some David time. I got to meet him and have my picture snapped and when I thanked him for letting us crash the event, he responded “anytime”. So obviously I think that means that we’re invited to any future David Usher event. :-) Kidding, sort of.
Steve Zsirai

Keri got to chat with Kevin and Steve (I think, the bass player) as she’s met them before.

Then it was time for David and the band to head back to the airport and Keri and I took off to see “Ocean’s 13”.
All in all it was an excellent day!

“I’m counting the cars on the freeway below”

NXNE 2007 - A few highlights

2007-06-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

North By North East is the largest music festival in Canada. Hundreds of bands, independent and majors alike, gather for the 3 day festival.

Between the many parties, and bottles of pink champagne, I did actually get out to see a few bands, and below are a few I feel are worth checking out.
Chris Stopa

First Place goes to a Toronto band called Public who played a set at C'est What. How cliched is it that the best show was the last show we saw.

Second Place goes to We Are The Take, and they are also the worst photos, so sorry guys.
Erik Alcock

I've seen them before and have liked them for awhile, so I guess this isn't really a surprize pick.
Craig Stickland

Third place goes to Simon Wilcox, who. despite the name, is a dynamic and gorgeously girly singer songwriter.
Simon Wilcox
.

Not officially a NXNE showcase, but rating a Fourth Place spot is a band from my youth, LOVERBOY!
Mike Reno and Paul Dean

They atually have a new album coming out soon, and they mixed a few new jewels in amongst the old standbys like Working For The Weekend.
Matt Frenette

Don't believe the boys still have it?? Check out these happy concert goers...

Esthero - June 6, 2007 at the Mod Club in Toronto

2007-06-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

This was a last minute show and not part of the official NXNE festival.
It was a laid back acoustic set with two guitarists, and a couple of backup singers.

The Dandy Warhols - June 1, 2007 at the Commodore

2007-06-02T02:04:00.000-07:00

Courtney Taylor-Taylor

Courtney Taylor-Taylor

Fathead

Courtney Taylor-Taylor

Courtney Taylor-Taylor

Zia

Vietnam - May 25, 2007 at Richards On Richards

2007-05-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

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.

The Walkmen and The Kaiser Chiefs - April 24, 2007 at The Commodore in Vancouver

2007-04-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hamilton Leithauser - The Walkmen

I've liked the Walkmen and the Kaiser Chiefs for years so a triple Bill of the Little Ones, The Walkmen and The Kaiser Chiefs was almost too good to be true. I'd missed the Kaiser Chiefs on their first jaunt through town when they'd had another incredible triple bill with Ok Go and the Caesars!
Ricky Wilson- The Kaiser Chiefs

The only bad part was that I'd just come off a fabulous vacations and was pretty tired.

The Kaiser Chiefs are the biggest party band I've seen in awhile. Such incredible energy and such fun, sing-a-long songs that it was like being an Karaoke bar where everyone is singing.
Ricky Wilson - The Kaiser Chiefs

The Kaiser Chief photos don't really reflect this energy because I was pretty far back, out of the swaying crowd. It's been a long time since I'd seen that kind of enthusiasm for a band, and tired or not, I'm glad to have been there.

David Usher - April 13, 2007 at Richards On Richards

2007-04-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

I've been lucky enough to actually hang out with David Usher in New York. It included a fun bar hop through the East Village for which I'll always be thankful to Barb.

I was a fan before those days, but appreciated him so much more after that.

After being sick for a number of days, David Usher played a fabulous sold out show at Richards on Richards in support of his new album "Strange Birds". To protect his voice, he hadn't spoken in 4 days. It was worth it as he was in amazing voice, and played a fabulous set. One thrilling highlight was a cover of Crazy which culminated in a spastic dance in front of strobe light.

I have no better shots of the show as it was pretty dark and so these are both with a flash, but I did get to see him again after the show where he communicated via gestures an sign language to protect his voice for the next nights show.

Rockstar Supernova - February 19, 2007 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver

2007-02-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Rather then give a usual review, I'm going to tell the story of Lukas Rossi and Yvette.
Dilana

I met Yvette before the show from our exceptional second row (actually more like 6th row) seats. I noticed we were surrounded by these fans with Supernova tee shirts and lanyards with the Rockstar Supernova badges.

I ended up talking to this woman sitting in front of us. She was there with her husband and she had a sign that said "LUKAS 1786 votes"
Toby

She told us that when she saw the show for the very first time she felt a connection with Lukas. She could relate to his hard life and struggles as she'd also had struggles which she had overcome including brain surgery and a kidney transplant. Before the show had aired her husband, Robert, had won 10 computers at an auction. He had five of them set up in their house. Yvette was determined to support Lukas so rallied her husband, brother and friends to all vote for Lukas. Robert helped set up friends with computers so they could vote too. After all the dust had settled they had determined they'd all voted 1786 times.
Dave

During the show, her husband flung the sign onto the stage (almost hitting Lukas on the head btw) like a frisbee and about 20 minutes later, Lukas noticed it and picked it up. He looked at it a bit, and got a bit reflective and said how humbled he was and how he would have been honoured to have any single number of those votes. Of course all this happened WHILE YVETTE WAS AWAY TAKING HER ANTI REJECTION MEDS AND SHE MISSED THE ENTIRE EXCHANGE!

Cut to after the show. Her husband tracked down someone with pull because after explaining that his wife had made the sign and that she had missed seeing Lukas read it, and finding out Lukas wanted to talk to her, they ended up backstage.

She was able to tell Lukas a little of her story but mostly she used the opportunity to personally say thank you to him. I don't know what it was about that particular exchange or that particular time but it clearly moved Lukas in a deep way. He took off his skull ring placing it on her finger while showing her that he had the matching skull on the chain he wears on his belt and that now they would always be bonded together.

Of course, she was blown away. I mean, I must stress that Lukas has no money (yet) so his gesture was a huge deal. In fact, a few minutes later when I was talking to Lukas’s brother Jonas and dragged her over and showed him the ring, Jonas got stern right away. "Where did you get that?" he asked pretty seriously. She told the story to him, and he got all quiet for a bit. Then he told her that Lukas had had that ring specially made and that it had a lot of personal meaning to him. Of course she started to cry, and Jonas just reassured her and told her that he must have had a very good reason to give it to her.

Here are some photos, courtesy of Yvette including one with a photo of Lukas actually wearing it.

Lukas gets a lot of bad press but I have nothing but great things to say about him. Ive never met anyone with so much love and respect for his fans, but this gesture just blew me away.

Gomez - February 16, 2007 at the Commodore in Vancouver

2007-02-18T11:13:00.000-08:00

My first and only other time seeing Gomez was in 1999 on their first swing through Vancouver at the Starfish Room. Wow, 1999. Before I had high speed internet and used to buy Q magazine and CMJ for the CD's so I could find new music. It was through one of those CMJ CD's that I first heard Gomez.
Ben Ottewell

I loved "Bring It On", and was really looking forward to the Starfish Room show but ended up being really disappointed because I could barely recogognize a song. They were a jam band, ala Grateful Dead or at least it seemed like it to me at the time. Although that really works for some people, I'm just not that type of girl so I thought that would be it for me and Gomez. Fast forward to the present, and I'm on myspace and happen upon "See The World" on someones player. "How We Operate" became my non stop favourite.
Tom Gray

Despite my lifelong love of music there are many, many reasons why I never tried to become a music critic or writer professionally. An example of one of those reasons is as follows. I thought that there were only two singers in Gomez. I thought the one I liked most just did my favourite and least favourite songs. There are actually three and they are pretty distinct.
Ian Ball

I may not have come to this show had it not been double billed with Ben Kweller, or if Deb had not been so excited about seeing Gomez. It turned out that I'd parked myself in front of my favourite singer, Ian Ball, and he played my favourite song, Hamoa Beach, second song in. He had a fender guitar with stickers of all sorts of life affirming thoughts and phrases. I'm assuming they are not meant ironically due to the lyrical content of his songs. Click here for my flickr photo to see what all the stickers say.

I was especially happy to see that they weren't a jam band. Anymore? Never really were? I don't know. I do know that about halfway through the set they started to loosen up and seem enjoy themselves. Ian seemed especially nervous and tense at first. This could be due to a fake set list that had been distrubuted as a joke.

This could also have been due to the monitors being located up high as opposed to on the stage where they usually are. I witnessed a little pantomine between Ian and Ben that seemed to indicate a wish to rip them off the ceiling and put them on the floor.

Highlights of the two hour show include an almost a capella version of "How We Operate" which was hauntingly gorgeous and a Happy Birthday song sung by the crowd to a crew member that was giddily silly.

Ben Kweller - February 16, 2007 at the Commodore in Vancouver

2007-02-17T02:49:00.000-08:00

This was a double bill with Gomez so I'll break it up into two parts.
First up was Ben Kweller.

I've actually seen both Gomez and Ben Kweller before. Ben Kweller was about three years ago at Richards on Richards in support of "On My Way".

That was a great show. I love that album, and there was an element of danger due to the precarious balancing of the keyboard on the speaker. It felt like at any second that Kweller played the keyboard that he could tumble 4 feet to the floor.

This show was more stripped down with Kweller touring with just a bassist and drummer. Kweller arrived on stage with his eyes almost completely covered by the brim of his cap. The stage was set with a lovely Ben Kweller banner.

Highlights included a fun cover of an old timer Texas tune, the name of which I can't remember, but seemed to be on the set list as Chugg. (?) and an impromptu performance of the Nintendo Supermario game song.

Okay, real highlights were "Penny On The Train Track" and "I Gotta Move" from the new Ben Kweller self titled album and of course "Wasted And Ready". I was really sad he didn't play my favourite song from the new album, "This Is War".

One of the other things I love is when artists come out after the show to say hello and meet the fans. Happily, Kweller was amazingly nice while I rattled on and on as I am want to do.

Pete Yorn - February 8, 2007. The Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver

2007-02-09T23:49:00.000-08:00

The last time I saw Pete Yorn was 4 years ago when he was touring in support of "Day I Forgot". According to him, the last time he was actually through Vancouver was as the opening act for the Foo Fighters, which is a double bill I just don't get.

Yorn did tell an interesting anecdote about that trip. As he was leaving a sushi restaurant he was overcome by a crowd of people swarming the streets in celebration. He asked what was going on, and it turned out that the Canucks had won a semi final game. "You've got to admire a city that celebrates the first game, of the first series.

The opening acts were Charlotte Martin, who had the most beautiful stage setup consisting of twisted christmas lights arranged to look like candelabras, and Aqualung.

Aqualung is Matt Hales, a Winston lookalike/soundalike from the UK who also sounds a lot like Travis. He sounds so much like Travis in fact that I had to google him when I got home to see if it was actually the Travis lead singer gone solo. Having these kinds of thoughtful distractions coupled with the fact that he was hidden on the side of the stage playing a grand piano out of my eyeline meant that I pretty much thought his set was pretty much forgettable. I say pretty much because he does have one remarkable song called "Better Then Sunshine" which I know I've heard but can't remember where.

Pete Yorn took the stage to great fanfare. The crowd was surprizingly mixed since the last time I'd seen him the crowd was probably 80% girls. This time was pretty even although his status as a sex symbol has not diminished judging by the amount of lingerie that was tossed his way.

His backing band is actually a band I well and truly love called Minibar. In Yorn's previous west coast tour, Minibar was the opening act as well as backing band, and I would have loved to see that, alas they only played as close as Seattle. Most memorable moments for Minibar would have to be the incredibly energetic drummer, Malcolm Cross, pictured above, and the multitalented bassist Sid Jordan who managed to 1) play bass 2) smoke a joint, all while 3) singing back up vocals! I wish I had gotten a photo of that.

Since I'm not a writer, and have a crappy memory, I'll just mention some thoughts and highlights about the actual show.

He had this gorgeous old decorated acoustic guitar that had it's strap held on with duct tape. I love to see things like that.

He told of how he'd awoken to hear that Anna Nicole Smith had been hospitalized and after he had finished showering heard that she'd died. He dedicated "Bandstand In The Sky" to her. A sample lyric is ...

You can take my life but I'll never die.
You can tell that's the way I'll survive.
Heading for the bandstand in the sky.

He also told about the soft spot he had in his heart for "Life On A Chain" because it was the song that got him his record contract. "Sing along if you know it" and sing along the crowd did. Sang along to pretty much everything in fact.

Particularly lovely was an almost acoustic version of "Come Back Home" played at 2/3 speed giving it a nice intimacy and a totally acoustic cover of the Grateful Dead song "Friend of the Devil".

The other cover he played was "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths. Pete had just seen Morrissey in L.A. and I guess he was a big influence on him.

I'm sure I forgot a lot but I can say it was a great show. Love him, not JUST because he's cute.

Lukas Rossi in Ottawa, Ontario - Nov 24 and 25, 2006

2006-11-30T22:50:00.000-08:00

I love Lukas Rossi. I loved him before I ever saw him or even knew who he was. Sounds weird? Well, not really when you know that I was with Barb when she called Lukas from SXSW and convinced him to go audition for Rockstar Supernova. I was so excited because I had someone to actually root for on the show.

Fast forward 8 months and the world knows that Lukas actually won the whole thing. I was really excited to be going to Ottawa to see him play.

He played to shows on Saturday. One was part of a larger show with Josh and Phil from the show. Lukas played with two members of his old band, Rise Electric, Jay and Dom. They'd rehearsed for the first time on Friday night, and it was a really great set which included a solo performance by Lukas of "Living On A Prayer" which he'd done on the show.

This photo was from that Friday night rehearsal. Lukas may be all rockstar in public, and was pretty much a spoiled brat at the VIP party, but in person he was amazingly nice. Much taller then I imagined, maybe 5'10", and very warm.

Of course, his actual quote upon seeing this photo was "I look like a crack whore....COOL!"

Ok Go - November 5, 2006 at Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading Room, Seattle

2006-11-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Ok Go are my favourite band. I don't think I've said that anywhere else on this rather long blog, so you know it's the truth. Sure I have many other bands I love and adore, but I love and adore none more then Ok Go.

The very first time I ever saw them was opening for The Vines at Richards On Richards. They totally stole the show with humour and music and yes, dancing. Damian Kulash, in surprizing marketing savvy, hung out after the show handing out stickers and selling CD's.

Fast forward a couple of years, and now they are brinked on NEXT BIG THING success. Unless you living in a cave, Ok Go has become famous for the dances. The Backyard Dance and the Treadmill Dance to be specific. Hell, even my MOM sent the video, so I don't need to see the actual statistics.

The show at Neumo's was an amazing. Damian Kulash has a real rapport with the audience, making everyone feel like they are part of a big party but never letting them forget that it's his show. After a rousing, accidently bassless version of "Here It Goes Again" he commented that they weren't going to play the "big hit" again then followed with a bit about Seattles music history and Kurt Cobain's status as music wealtiest dead rock star. When a woman in the audience yelled out that Kurt would have played the song again, Damian never missed a beat and shot back mischievously, "Weren't you listening to me bitch? I said we weren't playing the song again!" Then with boyish insincerity apologized for saying bitch and vowed to not say it again.

Never one to miss big moments in a show, Damian spent a couple of songs singing from the audience floor.

After one such jaunt, he was stopped in his tracks by the presence of young boy. "Dude! I have to say you are one seriously small dude. I'm not used to seeing little people at our shows." then he invited the boy onto the stage, where he put him on his shoulders and introduced him to the crowd!

That's an Ok Go Backyard Dance teeshirt the boy is wearing by the way.

Other highlights included a short acoustic set at the back of the room featuring "A Million Ways To Be Cruel" and an amazing punk rock cover of the Damned's "Neat Neat Neat!

When they came back fot the encore, Damian mentioned that it must have been a surprize to anyone who'd seen them before because he'd always expressed disdain for the encore. "I'm a fucking hypocrite!"

He mentioned at one of the shows I saw that that was one of the reasons they'd started doing a dance in the first place.

The first encore song was what I'm sure was a new song. The sound at that point was awful, so I can't really make a good judgement call at all. Maybe someone reading this can tell me more about it. The very last song was the "Do What You Want" which was exactly what the crowd wanted to do at that point. The insane jumping around by the crowd reminded me of the days of the springy Commodore floor except I don't think Neumo's have springs in their floors!

Last but not least, I can happily report that although they didn't bring the treadmills "We brought my backyard"! A still photo of THE backyard was the new backdrop to the infamous Backyard Dance which I can also happily say, still looks as fresh and as fun as the first time I saw it live at SXSW.
I'm also happy to report that Damian still puts the fans first by coming out after the show to meet the fans!
Here he is with Deb and Glen! I am so happy right now.

The Yoko Casionos with Sloan- October 24, 2006 at the Commodore Ballroom

2006-10-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

I've always been a big fan of The Yoko Casionos since the first time I saw them. It was totally exciting to see them play a big venue with their first major label release, "These Are The New Old Times".
Misty Reid of the Yoko Casionos

They were opening for Sloan who I've seen several times, so it was really all about the Yokos.
Patrick Pentland of Sloan

At the heart of The Yoko Casionos are the brother and sister team of Chad and Misty Reid, who just also happen to be twins.
Chad Reid of the Yoko Casionos

I've seen the Yokos many many times so it was no surpize to me to see the hometown crowd cheering them on wildly. I was singing along to everything like they were already the big stars I hope they become.
Juice of the Yoko Casionos

Sloan was promoting a new 30 SONG CD called "Never Hear The End Of It". Some of songs are only about a minute long, and many of them aren't true gems, so it's quite the risky move for their first studio album in almost 3 years. They did play my favourite new song called "Someone I Can Be True With".
Chris Murphy Of Sloan

The bad thing is when you have a new 30 song CD and you play even a 10 of the new songs, you end up missing out on a lot of material that your fans have come to love.

The best part was the encore when Yoko's Juice and Misty returned to the stage for Sloan's encore.
Misty And Jay Ferguson of Sloan

The Killers - October 11, 2006 : The Orpheum Vancouver

2006-10-12T00:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks Sonia for the invite.
Tonight we went to see the Killers at the Orpheum. 8th row!!! Pretty sweet. This is only a few weeks after we did the Orpheum tour where we got to see every square inch of Vancouver's historic landmarks.

The San Franscisco band The Immigrants opened the show with a short set. The lead singer looked like a mix of My Chemical Romance and Richard Ashcroft of the Verve fame. The guitarist looked EXACTLY like V from V for Vendetta.

The Killers took the stage to Sam's Town and When You Were Young, and the crowd was going crazy including me and Sonia who were screaming like school girls.

In keeping with the cowboy theme of Sam's Town, the stage was dressed like a wild west saloon. Of course, this steel claw grasping the disco ball was a bit of an anomaly.

Sonia was really into the porn stache of Ronnie Vannuccci Jr and I can't say I blamed her.

The four song encore meant we could finally run screaming to the front of the stage where we could see Brandon's stubble. We're such girls, I know, but don't judge us.
Check out my Flickr site for more photos.

Matt Epp- September 18, 2006 at Rime

2006-09-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Just a small post following up on a guy I met last year during Western Canadian Music Week.

I met Matt Epp during one of Barb's busy days. She wanted to talk with him, but couldn't find the time, so we basically adopted him for the day. Fast forward a year, and Matt has a new album, Love In Such Strong Words, out now.

He's promoting it with a cross country tour and stopped by Vancouver for a gig at Rime.

Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre- Sept.8, 2006 : The Showbox in Seattle

2006-09-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

I couldn't have been more excited to hear about this double bill in Seattle. I saw DiG! for the first time because of the Dandy Warhols but the movie is really about Brian Jonestown Massacre and Anton Newcombe. If you've seen it, then you know what a disfunctional human being Anton is, and although the movie ends with all sorts of bad feelings, they have apparently been worked out over the years.

We arrived early, and heard from some very friendly locals that the Dandy's and BJM all jammed during the encore the night before in Portland, so we were extra expectant.

I saw Brian Jonestown Massacre at SXSW this year, and he looked pretty good. This time he was almost unrecognizable. It's weird that some can deteriorate so badly in six months. It turned out we'd been standing almost right beside him before the show by the sound board, but I swear we didn't recognize him. Even after he got onto the stage, Glen and I looked at each in confusion.

The performance itself was amazing. It was almost a completely new band from Austin with some new cute young guys which only made Anton look worse by comparison.

I loved DiG! and all the BJM songs in small doses, but albums worth leave me cold so I wouldn't consider myself to be a fan. This show was like a best of show, with all the songs I love and no long extended jams.

Anton was very talkative, and chatty with the crowd. He never lost his temper, and even when having a girl removed from the front of the stage for bad behaviour, he made it clear to security, to not throw her out.

Funniest moment? Well, to me, that was when he offered a drink from a cup to the guitarist, who wouldn't take a drink until Anton took a drink first. Anton followed this with the classic, "I Chinese, I play joke, I make pee pee in your Coke".

Ironic moment? When Anton earnestly thanked all the black people in the crowd for keeping it real. Um, that would be the two security guards??

The Dandy Warhols took the stage and the house was completely packed. So many people, I'm sure it was oversold.

They opened with one of my favourite songs, Godless. They had no trumpet player, which the song really missed, but it was a great crowd pleaser. Zia looked amazingly hot with some sexy new hair and a glamourous new look.

Peter, looked sullen as usual, and sorry, not photos because I was on the other side of the stage. Fathead played his drums in the middle front of the stage. That's twice now this year I've seen that set up, so I guess it's a trend.

My problem with the last couple times I've seen the Dandy's is that don't seem to be having much fun when they play anymore. The first time I saw them five years ago, it was like being at a party but now a smile rarely passes across Courtney's face. Only Zia really ever seems to be having any fun.

This show was better with momentum of having the BJM open, Courtney went on and on towards the end about what an amazing genius Anton was, and how lucky we were to have seen such an amazing show. HOWEVER, the awaited special guest appearance didn't occur this night.

Now it says on the set list that they closed with Country Leaver from 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia, but I swear it was a song I'd never heard before. I'll have to look into that later but for now I'll just say the last song was a crazy barn burner that shook the house down.

World Party - August 9, 2006 at Richards on Richards and something about Rockstar Supernova

2006-08-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

I've always loved World Party . I have many awesome memories of driving up to Kelowna with Private Revolution blaring out the cassette deck while Glen pretended to put up with my singing.

Glen surprized me with tickets on the day of show and I was really excited. Of course I we couldn't leave until AFTER the results show of Rockstar Supernova.

Karl Wallinger is pretty much World Party, but he was touring with a 7 piece band! (As an aiside, I only took a couple of photos and yes they actually are different!)

They opened with my favourite song, Message In A Box, and closed the show with my second favourite song, Ship Of Fools but somewhere in the middle of the set an onstage collision took out the bass and effectively put a stop to any of the momentum that had been building. Thankfully, Karl is very chatty and during the long pauses of attempted repairs, told some interesting stories. In one story he told of his first trip to BC where they were playing a festival with Midnight Oil. There plane landed late, and they got on the bus and drove two hours and when they got to the hotel, they crashed. In the morning when he awoke he went to the window and opened the curtains and was greeted with a sparkling vista of trees, mountains and a lake and he said his first thought was that it was a photo.

Anyway, it was still an okay show and I was happy to hear all those songs, and to see so many people there.

Back to Rockstar Supernova. I loved Rockstar INXS too, so I can safely say I'm not just watching for Barb's sake. When I was at SXSW Barb was trying to get one of her artists to Vancouver to audition for Rockstar. That artist turned out to be one of the top contenders, Lukas Rossi. He and Dilana are my two favourites so when I saw this, I had to share it with everyone.

The Rockstar Supernova Drinking Game

1. NAVARROS NOT WEARING A SHIRT=1 DRINK
2. BROOKE HAS HER FAKIES JUST POPPING OUT OF HER SHIRT=1 DRINK
3. SOMEONE SAYS "BRO OR BROTHER"=1 DRINK
4. ONE OF THE GUYS ON THE PANEL MAKES A "THIS SUCKS FACE"=1 DRINK
5. TOMMY MUGS FOR THE CAMERA=1/2 DRINK (COME ON NOW)
6. THE METAL SIGN IS GIVEN=NO DRINKS (WE DO WANT YOU TO SEE THE END OF THE EPISODE)
7. SOMEONE SAYS "DUDE"=1 DRINK
8. SOMEONE SAYS "DUDE" TO A CHICK=2 DRINKS
9. THE "GOTH HOBBIT" SNEERS=1 DRINK
10. SOMEONE SAYS IT'S AN HONOR TO JUST BE HERE=1 DRINK
11. SOMEONE SAYS THAT "THEY ARE THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE BAND"=1 DRINK
12. THE PHRASE "SONG SELECTION" IS SAID=A THIMBLE OF A DRINK
13. JASON NEWSTEAD LOOKS LIKE HE'S IN PAIN (MENTALLY OR PHYSICALLY)=1 DRINK
14. JASON GETS UP AND SCREAMS "I WAS IN MOTHER FUCKIN METALLICA, WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE? FUCK THIS" AND STORMS OFF THE SHOW=10 DRINKS
15. AIR GUITAR OR DRUMS IS PLAYED BE EITHER CONTESTANT OR BAND=1 DRINK
16. THEY ANNOUNCE PHIL'S REAL LAST NAME IS "BURNETT"=10 DRINKS
17. NAVARRO SAYS "THAT WAS INSANE" OR SOMETHING WITH "AWESOME"
OR "SICK"=1 DRINK
18. ANY OF THE GUYS ON THE PANEL MENTIONS THEIR PREVIOUS BANDS=1 DRINK
19. ANY CONTESTANT CALLS ANYONE ON THE PANEL A "HERO", "ROLE MODEL" OR "INSPIRATION"=2 DRINKS
20. SAME AS ABOVE BUT SAYS "YOU TOO GILBY"=5 DRINKS

FYI - You'll usually be wasted by the first 10 minutes, so play at your own risk.

Another Non Concert Post

2006-07-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

What Can I say, it's been a dry summer concert wise. Stay tuned for The Detroit Cobras, The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre.

For now, it's the annual HSBC Celebration Of Light fireworks festival.

It was 9:45 when we decided to check out the fireworks. Thankfully we had the presence of mind to try out the patio by Bridges on Granville Island. We we were sitting on the railing right as the fireworks started. The music was being played at Bridges so it was a pretty amazing place to watch.

Happy Canada Day!

2006-07-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

While walking home on Canada Day, this was the view by my house. I loved how light it was even thoug it was almost 11:00pm.

Alejandro Escovedo -June 22, 2006 Irving Plaza, New York

2006-06-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Like it wasn't enough that Marah played that night, I also got Alejandro Escovedo, who I think is absolutley amazing. If you don't know his story, he has a long rich musical history which nearly came to an end in 2003 when liver damage caused by Hepatitis C nearly killed him.

Now with restored health, and a new album, The Boxing Mirror, he's looking great and reflecting on his new lease on life. Thursday's show was my second this year, and although it was great, I really liked the messy crowded feel of the Austin show more. At that show, he talked a lot. I felt like I was witnessing something like a revival show. The stage was absolutely packed with people and I was almost poked with the cellist bow several times. I thought someone was falling into the crowd for sure.

This show opened with my favourite song, Put You Down which you should download right now if you've never heard it. (Get the version from Disc 2 of "With These Hands") It sounds like a love song, but it's a love song to booze (I think). Lyrics are here, if you want to decide for yourself. Anyway, it was almost halfway through the show before he said a single word and although he was still the same amazing man, funny, and thoughtful, it felt like he was a bit tired of telling the stories. Of course, the music is where it matters, and although you can't tell from these photos, he had his full band of 8 with the two cellists, and the violinist, something you don't get from the usual rock show.

And of course he totally rocked this Steel Gray satin suit with the blue lace shirt.
To check out his story, See this great PopMatters interview and to hear more of his music, check out his MySpace site.

Marah - June 22, 2006 at Irving Plaza in New York City

2006-06-24T18:59:00.001-07:00

Marah and Alejandro Escovedo. I've mentioned them both as being favourites of mine on this very blog, and both are highly underrated. I mean, critically, they are everyone's favourites, but they should be selling tons of records. They should be taking over the world right now.

I was totally blown away to find out they were playing a double bill in New York while I was there. (I am so lucky)
Dave Bielanko

Marah has always blown everyone away with their live performances, and this one was probably my favourite of the three I've seen.

After a touching moment where Serge acknowledged the happiest recent event of their lives, the birth of Shiloh Pitt-Jolie, he brought the show into the crowd.
Serge Bielanko

Check them out MySpace or at www.marah-usa.com

Rhett Miller - June 17, 2006 at the Central Park Summer Stage in NYC

2006-06-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

So it was my birthday, and I couldn't have been happier to hear that Rhett Miller, of one of my favourite bands, the Old 97's, was playing a free concert in Central Park.

It had already been a long, hot day in New York when we made our way to the theatre. I have to admit we both slept pretty much through the two opening acts.

I've pretty much loved the Old 97's since the first time I heard Murder (Or A Heart Attack) in some bar one summer. I remember trying to remember the lyrics so I could google them when I got home, and new musical obsession was born.

I didn't even know that Rhett Miller was a hottie until some time later. Anyway, he's embarked on a solo career, and of course, I missed him during SXSW. (Side note, SXSW is crazy, but even crazier is how easy it's been to catch up on what I missed!)

Anyway, the Central Park gig, was great. He played a lot of songs from the new album of course, but one of the funniest moments was when he went on record to announce that he would no longer play Question to help some guy propose. "It's too stressful. One day she's going to say no!"

The Boy Least Likely To - May 30, 2006 at The Plaza in Vancouver

2006-05-31T18:25:00.001-07:00

This was the first show of the North American Tour for The Boy Least Likely To. You can read about how they spent that first day on their web blog found here.
Jof Owen

The opening set was by the surprizingly fun Toronto band, The Bicycles, The Boy Least Likely To took to the stage with their song, Hugging My Grudge.

Now I have to admit when I first heard the song I didn't read the song title. For quite a long time, I misunderstood the lyrics. The line is "I don't think I'll ever be happy unless I'm unhappy and hugging my grudge." I'm afraid I thought he'd only be unhappy hugging his crotch.

The lyrics are usually pretty sad but the music is so lively and childish that it's hard not have a good time at their show. Both Jof Owen and Pete Hobbs were really funny, riffing one liners at each other and telling stories and asking for questions from the crowd.

When a crowd member asked if they were married they joked "To each other?" When told they could legally marry in Canada Jof did funny double take and said "No really, we're just friends"
Pete Hobbs

About mid show they played a cover of George Michaels, Faith. ("We have to play a cover! Our albums only 37 minutes!")

Apparently they hate the "encore" as much as I do. I've mentioned before how dumb I think it is to have the band huddle around the corner while people are supposed to yell. Anyway, Jof apparently thinks that's dumb too because where the end of the show should have been he said "If we left the stage right now, you'd all holler and have us back wouldn't you?"

One song in the "encore" was only 10 seconds long. They closed the show with the song everyone was there to hear, Be Gentle With Me. It also summoned the use of the bubble machine which is always fun and I think a good way to end a show.

Technorati Tag: The Boy Least Likely To

Birds Of Wales - May 23, 2006 at Richards On Richards

2006-05-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

This was the west coast release of the Birds Of Wales self titled CD. Morgan Ross grew up in Burnaby so it was pretty big love fest. At least half the crowd were former friends or classmates.
Morgan Ross

My favourite cat calls were "Take off your shirt" and "I went to elementary school with you!".

Check out Fall Of The 49 on my MySpace. It's an amazing song.

The Secret Machines - May 9, 2006 Richards on Richards

2006-05-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to see The Secret Machines at SXSW this year. We showed up at La Zona Rosa at 1:00 for their 12:45 start time to find DJ that was to precede them, still on stage. I was tired, and cranky so we skipped them. I'd heard the show was great, so I was glad to get to see them.

It was all about the ambiance. The band was lit entirely from behind with little or no direct lighting.

The Secret Machines are brothers from New York plus one. What I thought was unusual was that for a three piece they had a road crew of four.

Their material is two sided. On one side, they play these amazing pop songs like "Lightning Blue Eyes" and "Nowhere Again" and on the other side they play these long experimental groove tunes which I'm not so fond of. In their own bio, they talk about the songs having themes of isolation which permiate through the album.

Visually, the show was quite stunning and musically it was pretty true to the record. Maybe not my favourite show but I'm glad I finally got a chance to see them.

More photos on my flickr site.

Technorati tags- The Secret Machines

New Music West - April 26th - April 29 2006

2006-04-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Horrorpops - March 8, 2006 at the Red Room

2006-04-09T01:34:00.000-07:00

Another great show.

Psychobilly punk from Copenhagen, the Horrorpops had been through Vancouver at least once and maybe twice in the last 12 months. Vancouver obviously loves them judging from the fact that the show was a sellout.

They have suicide girl style dancers who also did a bit of back up singing, but were amazing to watch and lots of fun.

All the angry young punks were out for the show and lots of slaming was going on. Sean jumped right into the melee and we pretty much lost sight of him in the crowd.

They totally new how to work the crowd into a frenzy, and although it was a lot of fun, it was somehow less organic then the Subways. Where the Subways did all the same sort of rock star posing, it still seemed real coming from them while it seemed more like part of the show with the Horrorpops.

See more photos here
Technorati Tags Horrorpops

Stalking at SXSW

2006-04-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Now generally in this blog I don't talk about myself but I thought I'd make an exception to that rule since not much is happening musically this month, and I love to use my free Flickr space, so here is my stalking report from SXSW.

#1 Damian Kulash of Ok Go at the Austin Airport.

I saw the band the minute I entered the airport. They were in the American Airlines line ahead of me. "Could I be this lucky" I thought. "Could they be on my flight? Maybe I'll be sitting right beside them and we'll laugh and talk and become best friends!!! It will be such an improvement over the smelly man I had on the way here" Alas, it wasn't meant to be. They were going home to Chicago and was destined to be stuck overnight in Dallas on an unscheduled stopover.

All was not lost however as I did introduce myself and get a picture. Yes, Damian took this one ("My arms are longer") but I love it anyway.

#2 Dave Bielanko of Marah
This makes the number 2 spot since I really really like Marah. Check out this very blog for my rapsodies about the time they came through Vancouver. We were on our way out when we ran into them all sweaty and having a post show smoke. Is it okay to bug them then? As I was unsure of the proper etiquette, I did it anyway.

#3 Dan Gillespie of the Feeling

Now a reasonable person wouldn't post these photos. I'm unshowered, really tired, and these are not flattering shots for anyone involved, but I don't care at the moment. At this moment, it was all about Dan, and that amazing song Sewn that made me almost cry.
#4 Lyle Lovett with runner up Joe Ely

This is stalking post radio show. We'd been out until 2:30 and woke up at 6:00 to see Neil Young, who never showed up by the way. We'd seen Lyle Lovett in a SUV on Friday and that was exciting so meeting him was even better.

Lastly are the unusual people wandering around SXSW 6th street like the alien from the band The Here

...and I don't remember what this guy was about.

Technorati Tags SXSW OK GO Damian Kulash Lyle Lovett Marah Dave Bielenko

The Subways - March 29, 2006 Richards On Richards

2006-03-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

I will go on record as saying that although it's still March, The Subways were the best show I'll see this year.
The Subways

I love the album Young For Eternity. It mixes up Ramones like Punk/Pop like Holiday with subtle emotional pop gems like With You. They've also got the whole youthful rockstar thing down to an art and it seemed genuine to me. It was one of those shows where you see someone just on the cusp of greatness. They were having a great time and were so happy to be there. They closed the show with the Oasis epic lik Rock and Roll Queen (of course) that saw Billy Lunn jump from the drum kit, climb the railings to the upper level of Richards, climb
over the bar, and finally end with a stage dive.
Charlotte Copper

Technorati Tags
The Subways Richards On Richards Charlotte Cooper Billy Lunn
Vancouver

City and Colour - March 26, 2006 Mesa Luna

2006-03-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

Save Your Scissors is such an amazing song that it wasn't hard to believe how big a deal Dallas Green has become.
Dallas Green

What's amazing to me is that he's also part of Alexisonfire which is like the polar opposite of City and Colour. It was just him and a guitar, and lots of adoring fans.

Technorati Tags
City And Colour Alexsisonfire Dallas Green Mesa Luna Vancouver

SXSW - Sunday March 19, 2006

2006-03-28T12:09:00.001-08:00

SXSW is actually officially over on Saturday, but the unofficial end is when Alejandro Escovedo plays his show at the Continental Club of South Congress.

We got there in time for Gordie Johnson's set with his new band Grady
Grady

Grady at The Continental2
After 10 years with Big Sugar, he moved to Austin and formed Grady, a chance to keep it simple and keep it loud.

It's true I'm not a big Big Sugar fan, but Grady was nothing but bad noise. It was so loud I put paper in my ears.

Charlie Sexton and Nick Tremulis were next doing a couple of songs
Charlie Sexton

Charlie Sexton at the Continental
Finally what everyone had come for. After an introduction which made reference to Alejandro's recent illness, he took to the stage with his band which included 2 cellists and a violinist.
Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro Escovedo at the Continental

Alejandro Escovedo at the Continental
After an amazing hour plus set he returned to the stage with a number of special guests including everyone who had played that night, plus Garland Jeffries

Alejandro Escovedo at the Continental
Technorati Tags
Alejandro Escovedo Grady Charlie Sexton SXSW

SXSW - Saturday March 18, 2006

2006-03-27T12:19:00.000-08:00

After an amazing dinner at California Pizza Kitchen (no joke. Don't judge me!!) we headed out to Numo's to catch Moneen. It was very dark and photo ops were not really an option, but I did capture this moment of Chris Hughes. Dreads are fun.
Moneen

I wanted to go see Small Sins (formerly Ladies and Gentlemen) but the line up to the Parish was enormous. We went to see a few songs of a few acts before deciding that maybe the could badge our way in to the Parish.
Small Sins

I'd never seen them before despite the fact that I loved the CD and they'd been through Vancouver about a half dozen time in the past year.

Saturday was clearly the busiest night as we also had trouble getting into Emo's Annex for the Pink Mountaintops.
Pink Mountaintops

I had heard one song and loved it but was surprized to see them in the flesh. They sound a lot like Kings Of Leon, but better and look like they'll be a jam band but aren't. They were a revelation. Of course I found out later they are a real buzz band, and I see things about them everywhere now, but I'm really happy I got to see them here.

Last stop was Antone's for Robert Pollard.
Robert Pollard

Former leader of the legendary Guided By Voices, he's obviously still got lots of rabid fans because the place was packed.
Before the show even started I was worried as the Norwegian guy in front of me was flinging his arms around like a mad man.

He took to the stage with about a tray of a dozen, what looked liked, double shots of something and of course a copius amount of beer was already on the stage. His drinking is as legendary as his music which is saying a lot. When Barb saw him in Vancouver he'd apparently downed 2 dozen beer BEFORE he got on stage.

Of course he was amazing. A great way to end the official SXSW events..

Stay tuned for more on the Sunday night at the Continental Club with the legendary Alejandro Escobar, Charlie Sexton, more...
Technorati Tags
Samll Sins Moneen Pink Mountaintops Robert Pollard SXSW

SXSW - Friday Night, March 17, 2006

2006-03-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

This was the best night for me. It started at Bourbon Rocks for The Lovetones from Australia. Now Bourbon Rocks is a strange venue as the stage has a fence around it, and the two bands I saw there had lots of members so it was like watching them in a pen.
The Lovetones

Very educational banter about Aussie slangs and numerous guests appearances which made the stage so crowded the band was forced to all play facing the same direction.

Matthew, looks and acts a lot like Joel, formerly of Brian Jonestown Massacre. (Watch DiG! if you want to see for yourself) I wasn't surprized to hear that the Lovetones have toured with BJM many times. Of course Matthew had skills beyond the tambourine.

This was followed by one my highlights of the night, OK GO!
I've seen them before in 2002 opening for the Vines in Vancouver.
Damian Kulash circa 2002 in Vancouver

OK GO
They had magnetism and stage presence then, and I totally remember their set from 2002. There was also dancing (though not a routine) after the show, so the roots were always there. ANYWAY, this show was fabulous! Damian is wicked funny(drunk) and genuine pearls of wisdom included..."celebrating St Patrick's day during SXSW is like celebrating your birthday on Christmas"
Mid show, he sent a girl from the crowd to get the band double whisky's ("I'm a rich rock star, I can afford it") then confused another girl for the first girl and said "I don't mean to bother you but you aren't going to get those drinks are you." Other snippets. "Last time we came through Austin we were arrested for wrestling naked in the meridian of the freeway....It was rush hour." Now I think it DID actually happen, but I think it was the crew. To see more about Damian's ACTUAL arrest in Orlando the week before, click HERE

The paisley lighting complimenting their gorgeous attire complete with really tight stovetop pants really added to the entire groove.

They ended the show with "The Backyard Dance" If you don't know what I'm talking about or are wondering what the hell is going on in these following photos the please click HERE

Off to see Brian Jonestown Massacre. I'd never heard of them before DiG! but I was really excited to see them now. (If you haven't seen the movie do yourself a favour and find it now!!). I got in easily enough, but was stuck in the another sub room and stuck in my first real line to get into the main room. I found out later that the back entrance was a free for all, but it ended up not mattering as I did get into the main room before the show started.
Anoton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre

I ended up more or less behind the stage, that same cage/pen stage I was talking about with the Lovetones as the place was packed. Anton got on stage, made an elaborate show of having his shirt removed, and proceeded to have the stage lights turned completely off. I guess I was expecting (hoping) some crazy Anton, but he was pretty cool and as promised played the sitar.

Last stop of the night was to see a band called the Feeling from the UK. Another highlight in an evening of highlights.
The Feeling

Dan Gillespie has a wonderfully expressive voice and performs with the gestures of an actor. Sewn, their last song, almost made me cry. I met him after the show and when I started to babble Barb had to drag me away.

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SXSW - Friday Day, March 17, 2006

2006-03-25T00:41:00.000-08:00

So we got up really early because we'd heard that Neil Young was going to make a surprize appearance at the KGSR radio show breakfast that had been happening every morning during SXSW. We got there at 7:00 and found a bit of real estate, and waited. I'll save you suspense and tell you that Neil Young was a no show.
Lyle Lovett was there as a guest weather man and the morning's headlining performer.
Lyle Lovett

The show opened with Rocco Deluca, who I liked. This was followed by Gemma Hays, and the amazing KT Tunstall who's like a little one girl band.

Governor of Texas hopeful Kinky Friedman made an appearance as well. Kinky is everywhere. Kinky is everything. Kinky is everybody. Kinky is still the King.
Kinky Friedman

Sure there was no Neil Young, but there was a great performance by Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, and Rodney Crowell.

Home for a nap, spent an insane amount of time(and thankfully not money) at Flatstock and then the NXNE party at Caswell House.
Barb took this photo of Cuff The Duke.