Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds at Rogers Arena Vancouer BC on October 25, 2012

Snow Patrol at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC on October 25, 2012

Dandy Warhols, June 16, 2012 in Vancouver BC at the Commodore Ballroom

Kanye and Jay Z at Rogers Arena in Vancouver B.C. on December 17, 2011

Cheap Trick at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver B.C.- September 1, 2011

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

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

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

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

Art Brut- November 3, 2009, The Biltmore Cabaret

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

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

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

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