I’ve heard from numerous sources that the dance floor at the Commodore is supported by a layer of tennis balls, but I’ve never had cause to believe it until TV on the Radio unknowingly put this hearsay to the test. During a visceral tak...
White Lung/Crystal Antlers/Fucked Up @ Richard’s on Richards September 7th 2008
The sparse crowd was bewitched by the androgynous shrieking of White Lung’s Mish. As our ears would testify, there may have been no sound check and we we...
August 14, 2008
Honey Lounge
I was shocked at how many people filled Honey Lounge to see the B-lines and the Defektors off on their tour of the West Coast, especially since the club is usually reserved for dancing college kids. The nig...
Perhaps more so than any other artist of his generation, Beck is a master of mutation, reinventing himself with each tour and album. Recent Beck tours have featured lavish, gimmicky stage shows, including life-size marionettes and kitchen t...
Yowza! Saturday night was a melting pot of birthdays, friends, and 4 of Vancouver’s finest bands all under one small jam-packed roof. Getting over the ridiculous layout of The Railway takes some time getting used to if you’re not a regu...
w/ The Tranzmitors / Master Apes / Los Tycoons
The Biltmore Cabaret
July 11th, 2008
Mmmm! The Biltmore, with its refurbished red booths, red lights, cavernous mystery – once the most depressing waste of space in Mt. Pleasant, it is...
Richards on Richards, July 2
As someone far more familiar with the Modern Lovers than Jonathan Richman’s solo output, I had little idea what to anticipate from his show. All I know is that it took place on my birthday, and Mr. Richman ...
The Sweatshop, June 22nd
I walked into the dimly-lit Sweatshop to catch the tail end of System Shit’s wonderfully sloppy set. Who would have thought that a punk gig would start at 7pm? Fear of Tomorrow hit the stage and began to sonica...
Fri Jun 20th, 2008
I played an acoustic show with Rich last summer at Hoko’s on an invitation from Ryan of Collapsing Opposites. Rich was touring on his bicycle from his hometown of Halifax to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Founda...
Dick's On Dicks, Wed.June.18th
With the 2008 Vancouver International Jazz Fest getting under way, the illustrious Commodore Ballroom is pretty well taken for a month or so solid at this time every year. As such, I was not so much surpris...
The Pack AD / Cadaver Dogs / The TVees / Valerie Graham
ANZA Club
June 20th, 2008
Dave Bertrand
So we swagger in with our free stamps and I'm feelin' good – old friends in the house, old friends at the bar, fist of beer; I enjoy the...
Music Waste 2008
Jesus fucking CHRIST!!! This city is a veritable loot-bag of musical talent, and it becomes more apparent to me every time I get my ass out to see some live music that there's much more going on under my nose than I thou...
Friday June 6, 2008 @ the Railway Club
Expectations were running high for this CD release. Swank’s epic new CD/Karaoke DVD release Campfire Psalms has been greeted with banner press all around. Punters filled the Rail early, imbibing...
Pub 340 - June 5th, 2008
MUSIC WASTE 2008:
The B-Lines / Dead Ghosts / Get Well Bomb / The TVees
Pub 340 - June 5th, 2008
Dave Bertrand
For the first time in many moons, I really made the effort to make it out on time for the openi...