Saturday, June 27, 2009
die slow
We took it easy for a couple of hours before heading to the mainstage (at the Olympic Plaza instead of the sprawling Mewata Field this year) in time to see Liars. I thought they were a little ill-suited to the venue the last time I saw them on a big stage (opening for Radiohead), but they were pretty great last night in a place that, while smaller, was still pretty huge.
The Breeders were up next on the mainstage. I felt the same way about last night as I did about their performance at Sasquatch a year or so ago. The old material was awesome, but it sort of made the newer stuff they played seem boring by comparison. They were once again worth seeing though, if only for "Divine Hammer."
After a quick stop at our hotel, we made it down the block to the Marquee Room(a great little venue in the same building as an arthouse theatre) and caught Puberty's last few songs. The female fronted group played pretty straight up garage punk pretty well. Keith from Sex Negatives lent his sax skills to their last track.
Twin Crystals repped Vancouver and repped it well next. I'm a fan of Jesse's keyboard playing, but he rocked a guitar for their entire set, which meant they were even more intense than usual.
HEALTH headlined the Marquee and were absolutely awesome. They tore through a set that balanced out stuff from their s/t debut and new songs, presumably from the forthcoming Get Color. If you were into the first record, you'll be stoked on the next one, by the sounds of things
Thursday, March 06, 2008
glitter pills
Apparently 90% of the people who had planned to see the nearly sold out Crystal Castles/HEALTH show were going for the former, because after the duo was forced to drop off the bill, attendance was a bit sparse at Dick's last night, despite the newly discounted ticket price.
Basketball started off the evening. To be completely honest, the last two times I saw them, I was really drunk, though I remember them being pretty good. Last night, they were awesome. I didn't notice - or, at least, I didn't remember - all the sequenced drums and synth squeals that laid the backbone for most of their songs (although David assured me that they'd always been there). Some of the jammy outros were a bit too long for my tastes, but on the whole they were really good. See that kids? You don't need alcohol to have a good time. In fact, you might want to avoid it, if you plan on appreciating what you're seeing and hearing.
Mutators were vicious. I don't think there's band in the city that sounds more brutal and menacing. But if you've been here before, you know my feelings on them.
I was pretty enamored with HEALTH the the last time they came through Vancouver, but their set last night was amazing. One of the best things I've seen all year, and even more impressive because, due to the rather small crowd, the band didn't really have anything to feed off to bring such an energetic performance to the stage. Their album is one of my favourite records right now, but yesterday's live show brought things to the next level.
And because sometimes I like to throw to semi-related, shameless plugs, if you want to pick up the new copy of Color you'll find the article that I wrote on them..
Hey, let's give away a Hot Chip record. Congratulations go out to Gabriel, who takes home the ultra sick "Ready for the Floor" single that many of you (and me) wanted. Thanks to Will at Cornerstone Promotion for hooking up the much sought after prize.
This month's edition of Technotown Boogiedown is a doozy. Secret Mommy, Montag, Colby Sparks are the featured performers, while regulars (and part-organizer) the Swords of Righteousness Brigade holds it down as usual. DNGROUS ADDRESS provide some added visual flair and it all goes down on March 20th.
Terrorbird, White Owl, and the Boogie Monster are at the Astoria on March 29th.
The Blow does an all-ager at St. James Hall on April 17th.
Buck 65 is at the Commodore on May 7th. Cadence Weapon, whose fantastic new record came out on Tuesday, opens.
The Kooks are at the Commodore on May 24th.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
crimewave
I know they weren't headlining, and they'll be back in a few months with Crystal Castles, but the main reason that I made my way down to the Media Club last night was for HEALTH.
To keep it brief, the band was totally brutal (in the good sense of the word), and all that noise was grounded with some rhythms that you could actually dance too. Two of my favourite things in one place.
Joined by a pair of musicians (on bass and guitar, who filled out his synths/beats/singing), White Williams ' performance made me appreciate their songs more (because they're really quite good), but left me pretty disappointed. I'm not sure if it was the sound or the actual playing, but it just seem like the arrangements were lacking. That being said, I left after "New Violence," and heard Joe (his real name) mention that they had "a few more." So maybe they brought the house down after that.
Not bad for $15 on a Wednesday night, at any rate.
If you like dancing and hate the usual dance nights (or even if you don't), here are a few things that might interest you...
Dance or Die is starting Sundays at Pub 340. Justin (I think this Justin) promises to play a mixed bag of "punk, glam, new wave, hardcore, no wave, post punk, oldies, girl groups, doo wop, rap, and etc." Note the lack of "electro" or "bmore" in that description. The first night runs on February 3rd... so don't show up this Sunday expecting it.
And on Friday at 340, Jesse's spinning similar music. He promises the Ronettes and Sonic Youth, which is really good enough for me.
die slow
I started off yesterday by catching (or I guess "attempting to catch" is more correct) Monotonix at Tubby Dog (aka the best hot dog place, this side of Japadog). It took us a little longer than expected to saunter our way down there, so unsurprisingly, the rather tiny "venue" was packed to overflowing when we arrived. One thing about hearing Monotonix while not being able to see them is that you quickly notice that they're much better performers than they are a band. Speaking to the former though, they made sure all the people stuck outside didn't go home disappointed by dragging all their gear out onto the sidewalk to hammer out a few riffs. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen anyone dive off of a mailbox to crowd surf.
We took it easy for a couple of hours before heading to the mainstage (at the Olympic Plaza instead of the sprawling Mewata Field this year) in time to see Liars. I thought they were a little ill-suited to the venue the last time I saw them on a big stage (opening for Radiohead), but they were pretty great last night in a place that, while smaller, was still pretty huge.
The Breeders were up next on the mainstage. I felt the same way about last night as I did about their performance at Sasquatch a year or so ago. The old material was awesome, but it sort of made the newer stuff they played seem boring by comparison. They were once again worth seeing though, if only for "Divine Hammer."
After a quick stop at our hotel, we made it down the block to the Marquee Room(a great little venue in the same building as an arthouse theatre) and caught Puberty's last few songs. The female fronted group played pretty straight up garage punk pretty well. Keith from Sex Negatives lent his sax skills to their last track.
Twin Crystals repped Vancouver and repped it well next. I'm a fan of Jesse's keyboard playing, but he rocked a guitar for their entire set, which meant they were even more intense than usual.
HEALTH headlined the Marquee and were absolutely awesome. They tore through a set that balanced out stuff from their s/t debut and new songs, presumably from the forthcoming Get Color. If you were into the first record, you'll be stoked on the next one, by the sounds of things
Labels: breeders, health, liars, monotonix, puberty, show recaps, sled island, twin crystals
Thursday, March 06, 2008
glitter pills
Apparently 90% of the people who had planned to see the nearly sold out Crystal Castles/HEALTH show were going for the former, because after the duo was forced to drop off the bill, attendance was a bit sparse at Dick's last night, despite the newly discounted ticket price.
Basketball started off the evening. To be completely honest, the last two times I saw them, I was really drunk, though I remember them being pretty good. Last night, they were awesome. I didn't notice - or, at least, I didn't remember - all the sequenced drums and synth squeals that laid the backbone for most of their songs (although David assured me that they'd always been there). Some of the jammy outros were a bit too long for my tastes, but on the whole they were really good. See that kids? You don't need alcohol to have a good time. In fact, you might want to avoid it, if you plan on appreciating what you're seeing and hearing.
Mutators were vicious. I don't think there's band in the city that sounds more brutal and menacing. But if you've been here before, you know my feelings on them.
I was pretty enamored with HEALTH the the last time they came through Vancouver, but their set last night was amazing. One of the best things I've seen all year, and even more impressive because, due to the rather small crowd, the band didn't really have anything to feed off to bring such an energetic performance to the stage. Their album is one of my favourite records right now, but yesterday's live show brought things to the next level.
And because sometimes I like to throw to semi-related, shameless plugs, if you want to pick up the new copy of Color you'll find the article that I wrote on them..
Hey, let's give away a Hot Chip record. Congratulations go out to Gabriel, who takes home the ultra sick "Ready for the Floor" single that many of you (and me) wanted. Thanks to Will at Cornerstone Promotion for hooking up the much sought after prize.
This month's edition of Technotown Boogiedown is a doozy. Secret Mommy, Montag, Colby Sparks are the featured performers, while regulars (and part-organizer) the Swords of Righteousness Brigade holds it down as usual. DNGROUS ADDRESS provide some added visual flair and it all goes down on March 20th.
Terrorbird, White Owl, and the Boogie Monster are at the Astoria on March 29th.
The Blow does an all-ager at St. James Hall on April 17th.
Buck 65 is at the Commodore on May 7th. Cadence Weapon, whose fantastic new record came out on Tuesday, opens.
The Kooks are at the Commodore on May 24th.
Labels: basketball, contest winners, health, hot chip, mutators, self-aggrandizing, show announcements, show recaps
Thursday, January 24, 2008
crimewave
I know they weren't headlining, and they'll be back in a few months with Crystal Castles, but the main reason that I made my way down to the Media Club last night was for HEALTH.
To keep it brief, the band was totally brutal (in the good sense of the word), and all that noise was grounded with some rhythms that you could actually dance too. Two of my favourite things in one place.
Joined by a pair of musicians (on bass and guitar, who filled out his synths/beats/singing), White Williams ' performance made me appreciate their songs more (because they're really quite good), but left me pretty disappointed. I'm not sure if it was the sound or the actual playing, but it just seem like the arrangements were lacking. That being said, I left after "New Violence," and heard Joe (his real name) mention that they had "a few more." So maybe they brought the house down after that.
Not bad for $15 on a Wednesday night, at any rate.
If you like dancing and hate the usual dance nights (or even if you don't), here are a few things that might interest you...
Dance or Die is starting Sundays at Pub 340. Justin (I think this Justin) promises to play a mixed bag of "punk, glam, new wave, hardcore, no wave, post punk, oldies, girl groups, doo wop, rap, and etc." Note the lack of "electro" or "bmore" in that description. The first night runs on February 3rd... so don't show up this Sunday expecting it.
And on Friday at 340, Jesse's spinning similar music. He promises the Ronettes and Sonic Youth, which is really good enough for me.
Labels: health, show recaps, white williams
