Monday, June 16, 2008
don't panic
I was going to start off by saying that the Emergency Room Compilation, Vol. 1 is the most important collection of local underground music since "X"... but I can't really think of another truly notable document of Vancouver music other than this one that sort of slipped under the radar a few years ago (and that one included some acts that had very deservedly become relatively well known already).
While it's certainly not exhaustive, the LP is a snapshot of some of the most exciting things going on musically in this city that, largely, have yet to be noticed outside of the Lower Mainland. Plus, it shines a light on the locale that doesn't just serve as your primary place to see these bands play, but also as a practice space/recording studio/and hangout for many of the artists involved.
It's also one of my favourite places to see a show.
On Saturday, the eight bands on the comp all played the DIY space to celebrate the record's release.
I actually thought I was going to be late, but in typical ER fashion, despite the lengthy bill, Nu Sensae was just getting ready to go on when I arrived at midnight. The place was packed, so I didn't snap any pics of them (or that many in general), but my "photography" leaves much to be desired anyhow.
Daniel and Andrea were awesome, as per usual.
Petroleum By-Products were up next, but I actually missed them, when I stepped out for a bit (everyone played pretty short sets, due to the number of bands).
This was second time that I've seen Vapid, and while I thought they were pretty good the first time, I wasn't dying to see them again. They were great on Saturday though, and I'm looking forward to checking them out again soon now.
Sick Buildings were amazing. I'm bummed that I missed them at Wolf Eyes, as their "set" was completely different at Pat's (it involved eight people amongst the crowd blowing on rape whistles while Josh Rose fired sampled whistles back at them).
I knew Josh ran Run Down Sun, but beyond that, I only recognized him as the very polite, soft spoken guy at Zulu, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him looking rather surly on stage and then spitting out, "I call myself Sick Buildlings... this is the last harsh noise set I'm going to do, so consider yourselves lucky."
And then he did what was, quite frankly, the most "punk rock" thing that you could do at a noisy, avant garde, punk rock show, and jumped into a monologue about a plane ride, keeping things going long enough to illicit a fair amount of groans, calls of "you suck," and "play some fucking music," before leaving the story hanging with "and then she said..." and launching into the sickest, nastiest sounding "music" I've heard in ages. The contrast made the latter half of the performance sound even more powerful.
I sincerely hope that the "last harsh noise set" admission was just stage banter, and if not, I hope he reconsiders. If you're a fan of this type of thing, and you see "Sick Buildings" on a show poster, do yourself a favour and get your ass to wherever Josh is playing.
White Lung were nothing out of the ordinary for them, meaning they were great. Hopefully, we get some more recorded output out of them soon, because the songs seem to be coming at a fairly rapid clip.
Twin Crystals continue to get better every time I see them, and considering that they started out pretty goddamn good, that's saying quite a bit. They sounded amazing and Jesse was full of energy to the point where I thought he might knock out a ceiling panel or two with his guitar.
You probably know what I'm going ot say about Mutators, so I'll leave it at that (it was 4am already, so I bailed before Defektors).
But here's a Mutators update. Their was a mastering problem with their full-length, so the 28th won't be an LP release party. It will be a tour fundraiser though. So go down and check out one of Vancouver's best bands before they head out on tour for the rest of the Summer.
Oh, and if you didn't pick up a copy on Saturday, you can get your hands on the ER comp at Scratch (and I presume also Zulu and RedCat) now.
This Friday, Octoberman, Katie Stelmanis, and Chris-a-riffic are at Grace Gallery. This show was originally scheduled for Astoria, as you may or may not recall. And it's worth noting, since galleries usually don't have such restrictions, that this one is licensed and therefore 19+. Sorry kids.
This Saturday, DD/MM/YYYY are at the Cobalt with JPNDRDS, No Gold, and the SSRIs.
Also this Saturday, Basketball plays a Saturday edition of Friendship at the Astoria.
Forest City Lovers are at Little Mountain Studios with Aaron Beckum on June 26th.
And last, but definitely not least (not even close), Spiritualized are at the Commodore on September 13th. Tix are on sale Friday at 10am. Shit yes! (thanks Brian)
now playing: My Bloody Valentine - live in London, 06-18-2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
death letter
If you're going to go out, you might as well go out with a bang, and that is just what the now defunct Tooth & Dagger did on Friday. I also snuck off early and caught the last half of Basketball at the Astoria.
I'm kind of tired, so I'll just leave you with (poorly composed) photos (due to alcohol consumption)... plus, I've talked about all of these bands before. All that past praise still holds true.
Sex Attack are totally facebooking you while they play tunes.
No Gold, pre-set
No Gold in action
Last time I saw the By-Products, their drummer complained that I didn't get any photos of him. So here is one.
They should've renamed themselves "football" just for this weekend.
now playing: Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
Thursday, December 06, 2007
oh sailor
I'm striving to make this blog your go to source for two day old music commentary.
As mentioned yesterday, Shindig! wrapped up on Tuesday night and Fanshaw doomed herself with the Shindig curse, by taking home top spot (only kidding about the doomed part).
No disrespect to the SSRIs, but I was pretty surprised to find out that they beat out Petroleum By-Products (second photo). In fact, even though I liked Fanshaw's set the best (which was even better than the previous week), I still would've put money down on a By-Products win.
A big thanks to Ben Lai and CiTR for another great year. And a special thank you to everyone that I swore at during jokes for beer after my punchlines got called week after week... all seven of you.
This Friday, Ok Vancouver Ok, Rose Melberg, Lala, Collapsing Opposites, the Unreliable Narrator, Chris-a-riffic, and Hymn for Her Little Man are at Little Mountain Studios... which is right by my house now.
A week later on the 14th at the same place, Organ Trail, A Relative Distance, Lost Lover's Brigade, Fanshaw, and Grayscales play. Darren from the Trail promises that the band will be thoroughly unpracticed... but they've got new tunes and a new line-up to debut.
Atlas Sound are at Pat's on March 5th.
Sex Attack! are at 1/2 Alive on December 21st.
Bend Sinister are at the Media Club tonight.
Telus just called me at work to day my home internet should work now. After my failure to properly set a line on Shindig, I'm offering 5:4 that my modem still won't receive a signal when I get home tonight.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
rat face
If you haven't had a chance to see them, they're (roughly) the same age Be Your Own Pet, dress like the Polysics, and sound like the B-52s, and that ain't half bad. In fact, it's quite good.
They play Library Square (for Casbah!) with Culte du Cargo (whose record is sitting perpetually on top of my growing "must listen to" stack of CDs) and Stolen Bicycles Gang on November 30th and at Unicorn on December 14th with Hallmark and Ladies Night. I don't know the actual order for either of those shows... so just show up on time for once.
Japandroids played what was apparently the "latest set ever" at Shindig, which unfortunately resulted in half the room being cleared by the time they played. They're still one of the - or perhaps the - local act(s) that I most enjoy live, but there was a drunk girl in front of stage who was having a better time than anybody... maybe ever. They closed with a cover of my favourite Wire song.
Today a coworker of mine noted that he "enjoyed that middle band (Treacherous Machete) more this time, because that guy (Burnside) wasn't drunk - or so drunk, anyway." I suppose I would agree. Although, drunk or sober, the duo are more entertaining than when the same people say/write the same "Blues Hammer" joke about six times. I mean, don't get me wrong, I dig Ghostworld too, but at least throw in another racist joke or something (just kidding. I love you, Only).
Liam from No Gold was kind enough to email to let me know that they're playing Pat's on November 30th with Colorbook, Basketball (formerly Raking Bombs), who are playing their first show in ages, and International Falls (whose CD I also need to give some proper spins to). I'm moving the next morning, but I'm still going to try to check this out after Cadence Weapon.
I finally picked up a copy of the Mutators 7" that's out on the Broadway to Boundary (the fine gentleman who also brought you the Hot Loins 7"). If you've ever seen them play, then hearing me tell you that it slays will come as no surprise. Expect a "proper" (you know, as in, I expand that previous sentence with a bunch of descriptors and unrelated anecdotes you didn't need to know) review on Streethawk soon-ish (there's a White Lung one up right now - surprise: also slays). Each side of the 45 ends on a locked groove so the blissful noise goes forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and yougetthepoint.
In case you forgot, they're playing on Saturday with AIDS Wolf and Shearing Pinx for an early show at the ER.
Twin Crystals are playing Fake Jazz tonight at the Cobalt, which is where I'm going right now...
now playing: Nurse & Solider - Satellightning (thanks Luke!)
don't panic
I was going to start off by saying that the Emergency Room Compilation, Vol. 1 is the most important collection of local underground music since "X"... but I can't really think of another truly notable document of Vancouver music other than this one that sort of slipped under the radar a few years ago (and that one included some acts that had very deservedly become relatively well known already).
While it's certainly not exhaustive, the LP is a snapshot of some of the most exciting things going on musically in this city that, largely, have yet to be noticed outside of the Lower Mainland. Plus, it shines a light on the locale that doesn't just serve as your primary place to see these bands play, but also as a practice space/recording studio/and hangout for many of the artists involved.
It's also one of my favourite places to see a show.
On Saturday, the eight bands on the comp all played the DIY space to celebrate the record's release.
I actually thought I was going to be late, but in typical ER fashion, despite the lengthy bill, Nu Sensae was just getting ready to go on when I arrived at midnight. The place was packed, so I didn't snap any pics of them (or that many in general), but my "photography" leaves much to be desired anyhow.
Daniel and Andrea were awesome, as per usual.
Petroleum By-Products were up next, but I actually missed them, when I stepped out for a bit (everyone played pretty short sets, due to the number of bands).
This was second time that I've seen Vapid, and while I thought they were pretty good the first time, I wasn't dying to see them again. They were great on Saturday though, and I'm looking forward to checking them out again soon now.
Sick Buildings were amazing. I'm bummed that I missed them at Wolf Eyes, as their "set" was completely different at Pat's (it involved eight people amongst the crowd blowing on rape whistles while Josh Rose fired sampled whistles back at them).
I knew Josh ran Run Down Sun, but beyond that, I only recognized him as the very polite, soft spoken guy at Zulu, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him looking rather surly on stage and then spitting out, "I call myself Sick Buildlings... this is the last harsh noise set I'm going to do, so consider yourselves lucky."
And then he did what was, quite frankly, the most "punk rock" thing that you could do at a noisy, avant garde, punk rock show, and jumped into a monologue about a plane ride, keeping things going long enough to illicit a fair amount of groans, calls of "you suck," and "play some fucking music," before leaving the story hanging with "and then she said..." and launching into the sickest, nastiest sounding "music" I've heard in ages. The contrast made the latter half of the performance sound even more powerful.
I sincerely hope that the "last harsh noise set" admission was just stage banter, and if not, I hope he reconsiders. If you're a fan of this type of thing, and you see "Sick Buildings" on a show poster, do yourself a favour and get your ass to wherever Josh is playing.
White Lung were nothing out of the ordinary for them, meaning they were great. Hopefully, we get some more recorded output out of them soon, because the songs seem to be coming at a fairly rapid clip.
Twin Crystals continue to get better every time I see them, and considering that they started out pretty goddamn good, that's saying quite a bit. They sounded amazing and Jesse was full of energy to the point where I thought he might knock out a ceiling panel or two with his guitar.
You probably know what I'm going ot say about Mutators, so I'll leave it at that (it was 4am already, so I bailed before Defektors).
But here's a Mutators update. Their was a mastering problem with their full-length, so the 28th won't be an LP release party. It will be a tour fundraiser though. So go down and check out one of Vancouver's best bands before they head out on tour for the rest of the Summer.
Oh, and if you didn't pick up a copy on Saturday, you can get your hands on the ER comp at Scratch (and I presume also Zulu and RedCat) now.
This Friday, Octoberman, Katie Stelmanis, and Chris-a-riffic are at Grace Gallery. This show was originally scheduled for Astoria, as you may or may not recall. And it's worth noting, since galleries usually don't have such restrictions, that this one is licensed and therefore 19+. Sorry kids.
This Saturday, DD/MM/YYYY are at the Cobalt with JPNDRDS, No Gold, and the SSRIs.
Also this Saturday, Basketball plays a Saturday edition of Friendship at the Astoria.
Forest City Lovers are at Little Mountain Studios with Aaron Beckum on June 26th.
And last, but definitely not least (not even close), Spiritualized are at the Commodore on September 13th. Tix are on sale Friday at 10am. Shit yes! (thanks Brian)
now playing: My Bloody Valentine - live in London, 06-18-2008
Labels: mutators, nu sensae, petroleum by-products, show announcements, show recaps, sick buildings, the emergency room, twin crystals, vapid, white lung
Sunday, February 03, 2008
death letter
If you're going to go out, you might as well go out with a bang, and that is just what the now defunct Tooth & Dagger did on Friday. I also snuck off early and caught the last half of Basketball at the Astoria.
I'm kind of tired, so I'll just leave you with (poorly composed) photos (due to alcohol consumption)... plus, I've talked about all of these bands before. All that past praise still holds true.
Sex Attack are totally facebooking you while they play tunes.
No Gold, pre-set
No Gold in action
Last time I saw the By-Products, their drummer complained that I didn't get any photos of him. So here is one.
They should've renamed themselves "football" just for this weekend.
now playing: Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
Labels: basketball, lazy show recaps, no gold, petroleum by-products, sex attack, taxes
Thursday, December 06, 2007
oh sailor
I'm striving to make this blog your go to source for two day old music commentary.
As mentioned yesterday, Shindig! wrapped up on Tuesday night and Fanshaw doomed herself with the Shindig curse, by taking home top spot (only kidding about the doomed part).
No disrespect to the SSRIs, but I was pretty surprised to find out that they beat out Petroleum By-Products (second photo). In fact, even though I liked Fanshaw's set the best (which was even better than the previous week), I still would've put money down on a By-Products win.
A big thanks to Ben Lai and CiTR for another great year. And a special thank you to everyone that I swore at during jokes for beer after my punchlines got called week after week... all seven of you.
This Friday, Ok Vancouver Ok, Rose Melberg, Lala, Collapsing Opposites, the Unreliable Narrator, Chris-a-riffic, and Hymn for Her Little Man are at Little Mountain Studios... which is right by my house now.
A week later on the 14th at the same place, Organ Trail, A Relative Distance, Lost Lover's Brigade, Fanshaw, and Grayscales play. Darren from the Trail promises that the band will be thoroughly unpracticed... but they've got new tunes and a new line-up to debut.
Atlas Sound are at Pat's on March 5th.
Sex Attack! are at 1/2 Alive on December 21st.
Bend Sinister are at the Media Club tonight.
Telus just called me at work to day my home internet should work now. After my failure to properly set a line on Shindig, I'm offering 5:4 that my modem still won't receive a signal when I get home tonight.
Labels: fanshaw, lazy show recaps, petroleum by-products, shindig, show announcements, ssris
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
rat face
The fact that I don't have a picture of Petroleum By-Products speaks to how much the crowd was feeling them at Shindig last night. The area in front of the stage was crammed about 5-minutes into their winning set.
If you haven't had a chance to see them, they're (roughly) the same age Be Your Own Pet, dress like the Polysics, and sound like the B-52s, and that ain't half bad. In fact, it's quite good.
They play Library Square (for Casbah!) with Culte du Cargo (whose record is sitting perpetually on top of my growing "must listen to" stack of CDs) and Stolen Bicycles Gang on November 30th and at Unicorn on December 14th with Hallmark and Ladies Night. I don't know the actual order for either of those shows... so just show up on time for once.
Japandroids played what was apparently the "latest set ever" at Shindig, which unfortunately resulted in half the room being cleared by the time they played. They're still one of the - or perhaps the - local act(s) that I most enjoy live, but there was a drunk girl in front of stage who was having a better time than anybody... maybe ever. They closed with a cover of my favourite Wire song.
Today a coworker of mine noted that he "enjoyed that middle band (Treacherous Machete) more this time, because that guy (Burnside) wasn't drunk - or so drunk, anyway." I suppose I would agree. Although, drunk or sober, the duo are more entertaining than when the same people say/write the same "Blues Hammer" joke about six times. I mean, don't get me wrong, I dig Ghostworld too, but at least throw in another racist joke or something (just kidding. I love you, Only).
Liam from No Gold was kind enough to email to let me know that they're playing Pat's on November 30th with Colorbook, Basketball (formerly Raking Bombs), who are playing their first show in ages, and International Falls (whose CD I also need to give some proper spins to). I'm moving the next morning, but I'm still going to try to check this out after Cadence Weapon.
I finally picked up a copy of the Mutators 7" that's out on the Broadway to Boundary (the fine gentleman who also brought you the Hot Loins 7"). If you've ever seen them play, then hearing me tell you that it slays will come as no surprise. Expect a "proper" (you know, as in, I expand that previous sentence with a bunch of descriptors and unrelated anecdotes you didn't need to know) review on Streethawk soon-ish (there's a White Lung one up right now - surprise: also slays). Each side of the 45 ends on a locked groove so the blissful noise goes forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and yougetthepoint.
In case you forgot, they're playing on Saturday with AIDS Wolf and Shearing Pinx for an early show at the ER.
Twin Crystals are playing Fake Jazz tonight at the Cobalt, which is where I'm going right now...
now playing: Nurse & Solider - Satellightning (thanks Luke!)
Labels: (excessive use of brackets), japandroids, mutators, petroleum by-products, shindig, show announcements, show recaps, treacherous machete
