Tuesday, August 05, 2008
this one's out to the wasted space kidz
Friday, I hit the Sweatshop for the first time since it moved (surprising, I know) and caught the Clips, who were celebrating the re-release of their (great) debut, Matterhorn. The guys were their usual dance-tastic selves. I left before Faunts (combination of drunk and tired). Anybody catch them?
Saturday, I started my evening off at Hoko's. Ora Cogan was pleasant, but I wasn't really in the mood for her very soft sounds. It would have been nicer in a different venue.
Aja Rose Bond was a little more up my alley (on that particular evening). And things really got rolling when the sound got cranked a bit. In fact, I would've liked to hear her stuff even louder. Things were just great at a normally palatable volume, but I imagine that I would've loved all the swirling noise had the decibels approached something closer to ear splitting. But that's just me.
A big thanks to Kris and Jesse for letting me know that they were putting on this show, because I'd never heard of Grouper before they emailed to say they were bringing her to town, and she was absolutely wonderful. If you described what the performance was - essentially layers of heavily delayed instrumentation and looped/delayed/reverb laden vocals - it sounds like a bit of a sonic mess, but it was anything but. As with Ora Cogan, it wasn't exactly the most fitting environment, but I would've watched her pretty much anywhere.
My only regret is that, because I had my bike, I didn't have anyway to carry an LP or two home.
After the Hoko's show wound down, I made my way over to the Peanut Gallery, where No Gold had just started playing. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but something about that band just cheers me up, no matter what my mood... and I was in a pretty decent mood before arriving.
I will take any Secret Mommy show that I can get, but their rather intricate arrangements suffered from the less than optimal sound at the Peanut Gallery. It's still nice to cram together on a Summer evening to see one of the city's best bands do their thing, but if you missed it, you can count on the fact that you can catch them with some better acoustics at some point.
Basketball weren't held at bay by the sound system. In fact, they weren't held at bay by anything. Cam sort of nailed it on the head this afternoon when he asked me, "how amazing were Basketball?"
This band get's better every time I see them, so I'm more than a little bummed out that Vic Square is going to be their last Vancouver show for the foreseeable future.
Oh, and Cheylene from the Peanut Gallery lost her jacket, ipod, and cell phone on Saturday. If you took it my accident (or you upped it and have decided to have a conscience since then), drop her a line and give it back.
Speaking of the Block Party, for the anonymous facebook-less person who asked awhile back, the rest of the line-up (thus far - there's more to come) is: Evaporators, No Kids, Ice Cream, and Defektors, with Bison and Sorcerers playing the after party. And, there should be a real website up here sometime before the show.
Speaking of Sorcerers, Budgie's Burritos is celebrating their soon-to-be finished renovations with a party on August 15th at the Biltmore. Sorcerers and VPD play and the headliner's being advertised as a "big, hairy, East Van bovine." Wonder who that could be?
Speaking of Cam, he's got a new monthly with My! Gay! Husband!, and they're kicking it off with a bang at the Sweatshop on August 16th. Ladyhawk and Hard Drugs perform with Jason spinning tunes before and after. It's really wouldn't be proper to make it all the way through summer without a Ladyhawk show (I know they opened for the Cons, but I was in Calgary).
On Wednesday, David Eby is having a fundraiser for his City Council bid. Taxes, Brasstronaut, Language Arts, and Tyler Fedchuk are all flexing their political muscles for the evening at the ANZA.
Hawaiian Bibles, Familia, Ruskin, and i/i are at the Media Club on Friday.
Also on Friday, Mutators are having their LP release party at the ER. You may remember their being a previously held LP release party where the celebratory mood was dampened slightly because the records got delayed due to a mastering problem. Well, they're all packaged and ready to go now! I, for one, am absolutely amped to hear their full-length. Hopefully, you are too. Shearing Pinx and V. Vecker are on hand, along with Zs (from Brooklyn), who go on last.
now playing: BSS w/Liz Powell - Horses (Patti Smith Covery)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
get off the internet
I was kind of busy, hence no internerding...
On Thursday, I made it down to the Unicorn to catch Secret Mommy headlining Technotown Boogiedown. They were great as usual.
Montag opened up. And while, I was pretty impressed with the recorded material that I've heard by him, I was thinking that he'd be a little too low key for the evening. He was low key, but he was also very good. Pleasant surprise of the evening for sure.
Although, with that said, Colby Sparks was also a pretty pleasant surprise. He was the most traditional fit on the bill of a monthly electronic showcase, and his stuff sort of reminded me of Atari Teenage Riot, minus the political sloganeering.
The next morning, I woke up hungover and hit the I5 down to Seattle (while miraculously avoiding the reported 3 hour border waits) to see the Boredoms. To put it succinctly, they blew my mind. No pics, since I forgot my camera and since they also didn't allow any in the venue, which is a shame, because they had some ridiculously awesome contraptions (not to mention 3[!] drummers up on stage with them). If you get the chance, go see them, even if it's a bit of a trek.
On Saturday, I was back home and sort of exhausted, but I made it to the Peanut Gallery to catch White Lung's return to the stage (or in this case, art space floor). They seemed a touch rusty, but it was still a nice homecoming. Plus, a rusty White Lung is still better than a practiced anybody - or, at least, almost anybody - in my books.
Vapid opened up. It was actually my first time seeing them, which is surprising. Good stuff. I'd want to check them out again before forming a proper opinion though.
Sunday saw the Fake Shark-Real Zombie CD release show at No Tofu. I'd only ever been there for events that didn't involve live bands. The space is a bit weird for a show, but the band were their usual entertaining selves. Their formerly Japan-only debut, Zebra! Zebra! is available at HMVs across canada for $11 right now. That, my friends, is a steal.
I spent the rest of my (extra) long weekend in Victoria with my friend Neil and the DNGROUS ADDRESS ladies (whose videos you might recognize from various shows/dance parties), but none of that really relates to here.
As mentioned, a whole bunch of show announcements tomorrow, and I'll clean up the sidebar as well. In the meantime, book off work and start planning a trip to Calgary for Sled Island. Wire, the RZA, and Jonathan Richman (among many others)? Yes, please.
Monday, February 11, 2008
the tale of a bird hit by lightning
On Friday, I walked down to the Biltmore to help CJSF celebrate the 5th anniversary of the station jumping to FM.
They brought cake and also the Secret Mommy Orchestra.
I think I've spoken to their prowess live a couple of times. And, even though I'm over the initial (and very pleasant) surprise of finding out that a Secrety Mommy performance was going to be so much more than Andy and a laptop, I'm still impressed by just how alive the very processed music sounds when it's performed in front of an audience. That's not a knock at the record, by the way. Electronic music should sound electronic, it's just nice when there are some extra elements live.
If I were to describe CR Avery, I would probably come up with a description of the exact type of thing that I despise, especially since he was sans band on Friday. He beatboxes, does what you can really only describe as some sort amalgamation of spoken word and a poetry slam, and he sort of seems like he belongs in that whole Commercial Drive hippy music scene... except he doesn't suck. In fact, he's pretty mind blowing.
I missed the first act, but I hear they were pretty good.
The Long Blondes are at Richard's on May 30th.
this one's out to the wasted space kidz
Really quick recap of my weekend (I'm sure yours was different - there was a lot to do):
Friday, I hit the Sweatshop for the first time since it moved (surprising, I know) and caught the Clips, who were celebrating the re-release of their (great) debut, Matterhorn. The guys were their usual dance-tastic selves. I left before Faunts (combination of drunk and tired). Anybody catch them?
Saturday, I started my evening off at Hoko's. Ora Cogan was pleasant, but I wasn't really in the mood for her very soft sounds. It would have been nicer in a different venue.
Aja Rose Bond was a little more up my alley (on that particular evening). And things really got rolling when the sound got cranked a bit. In fact, I would've liked to hear her stuff even louder. Things were just great at a normally palatable volume, but I imagine that I would've loved all the swirling noise had the decibels approached something closer to ear splitting. But that's just me.
A big thanks to Kris and Jesse for letting me know that they were putting on this show, because I'd never heard of Grouper before they emailed to say they were bringing her to town, and she was absolutely wonderful. If you described what the performance was - essentially layers of heavily delayed instrumentation and looped/delayed/reverb laden vocals - it sounds like a bit of a sonic mess, but it was anything but. As with Ora Cogan, it wasn't exactly the most fitting environment, but I would've watched her pretty much anywhere.
My only regret is that, because I had my bike, I didn't have anyway to carry an LP or two home.
After the Hoko's show wound down, I made my way over to the Peanut Gallery, where No Gold had just started playing. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but something about that band just cheers me up, no matter what my mood... and I was in a pretty decent mood before arriving.
I will take any Secret Mommy show that I can get, but their rather intricate arrangements suffered from the less than optimal sound at the Peanut Gallery. It's still nice to cram together on a Summer evening to see one of the city's best bands do their thing, but if you missed it, you can count on the fact that you can catch them with some better acoustics at some point.
Basketball weren't held at bay by the sound system. In fact, they weren't held at bay by anything. Cam sort of nailed it on the head this afternoon when he asked me, "how amazing were Basketball?"
This band get's better every time I see them, so I'm more than a little bummed out that Vic Square is going to be their last Vancouver show for the foreseeable future.
Oh, and Cheylene from the Peanut Gallery lost her jacket, ipod, and cell phone on Saturday. If you took it my accident (or you upped it and have decided to have a conscience since then), drop her a line and give it back.
Speaking of the Block Party, for the anonymous facebook-less person who asked awhile back, the rest of the line-up (thus far - there's more to come) is: Evaporators, No Kids, Ice Cream, and Defektors, with Bison and Sorcerers playing the after party. And, there should be a real website up here sometime before the show.
Speaking of Sorcerers, Budgie's Burritos is celebrating their soon-to-be finished renovations with a party on August 15th at the Biltmore. Sorcerers and VPD play and the headliner's being advertised as a "big, hairy, East Van bovine." Wonder who that could be?
Speaking of Cam, he's got a new monthly with My! Gay! Husband!, and they're kicking it off with a bang at the Sweatshop on August 16th. Ladyhawk and Hard Drugs perform with Jason spinning tunes before and after. It's really wouldn't be proper to make it all the way through summer without a Ladyhawk show (I know they opened for the Cons, but I was in Calgary).
On Wednesday, David Eby is having a fundraiser for his City Council bid. Taxes, Brasstronaut, Language Arts, and Tyler Fedchuk are all flexing their political muscles for the evening at the ANZA.
Hawaiian Bibles, Familia, Ruskin, and i/i are at the Media Club on Friday.
Also on Friday, Mutators are having their LP release party at the ER. You may remember their being a previously held LP release party where the celebratory mood was dampened slightly because the records got delayed due to a mastering problem. Well, they're all packaged and ready to go now! I, for one, am absolutely amped to hear their full-length. Hopefully, you are too. Shearing Pinx and V. Vecker are on hand, along with Zs (from Brooklyn), who go on last.
now playing: BSS w/Liz Powell - Horses (Patti Smith Covery)
Labels: basketball, no gold, secret mommy, show announcements, show recaps, the clips
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
get off the internet
A bunch of shows got announced, but I think I'll just stick with recapping the weekend for now, ok? Ok.
I was kind of busy, hence no internerding...
On Thursday, I made it down to the Unicorn to catch Secret Mommy headlining Technotown Boogiedown. They were great as usual.
Montag opened up. And while, I was pretty impressed with the recorded material that I've heard by him, I was thinking that he'd be a little too low key for the evening. He was low key, but he was also very good. Pleasant surprise of the evening for sure.
Although, with that said, Colby Sparks was also a pretty pleasant surprise. He was the most traditional fit on the bill of a monthly electronic showcase, and his stuff sort of reminded me of Atari Teenage Riot, minus the political sloganeering.
The next morning, I woke up hungover and hit the I5 down to Seattle (while miraculously avoiding the reported 3 hour border waits) to see the Boredoms. To put it succinctly, they blew my mind. No pics, since I forgot my camera and since they also didn't allow any in the venue, which is a shame, because they had some ridiculously awesome contraptions (not to mention 3[!] drummers up on stage with them). If you get the chance, go see them, even if it's a bit of a trek.
On Saturday, I was back home and sort of exhausted, but I made it to the Peanut Gallery to catch White Lung's return to the stage (or in this case, art space floor). They seemed a touch rusty, but it was still a nice homecoming. Plus, a rusty White Lung is still better than a practiced anybody - or, at least, almost anybody - in my books.
Vapid opened up. It was actually my first time seeing them, which is surprising. Good stuff. I'd want to check them out again before forming a proper opinion though.
Sunday saw the Fake Shark-Real Zombie CD release show at No Tofu. I'd only ever been there for events that didn't involve live bands. The space is a bit weird for a show, but the band were their usual entertaining selves. Their formerly Japan-only debut, Zebra! Zebra! is available at HMVs across canada for $11 right now. That, my friends, is a steal.
I spent the rest of my (extra) long weekend in Victoria with my friend Neil and the DNGROUS ADDRESS ladies (whose videos you might recognize from various shows/dance parties), but none of that really relates to here.
As mentioned, a whole bunch of show announcements tomorrow, and I'll clean up the sidebar as well. In the meantime, book off work and start planning a trip to Calgary for Sled Island. Wire, the RZA, and Jonathan Richman (among many others)? Yes, please.
Labels: better than loneliness, boredoms, colby sparks, fake shark real zombie, montag, secret mommy, show recaps, vapid, white lung
Monday, February 11, 2008
the tale of a bird hit by lightning
On Friday, I walked down to the Biltmore to help CJSF celebrate the 5th anniversary of the station jumping to FM.
They brought cake and also the Secret Mommy Orchestra.
I think I've spoken to their prowess live a couple of times. And, even though I'm over the initial (and very pleasant) surprise of finding out that a Secrety Mommy performance was going to be so much more than Andy and a laptop, I'm still impressed by just how alive the very processed music sounds when it's performed in front of an audience. That's not a knock at the record, by the way. Electronic music should sound electronic, it's just nice when there are some extra elements live.
If I were to describe CR Avery, I would probably come up with a description of the exact type of thing that I despise, especially since he was sans band on Friday. He beatboxes, does what you can really only describe as some sort amalgamation of spoken word and a poetry slam, and he sort of seems like he belongs in that whole Commercial Drive hippy music scene... except he doesn't suck. In fact, he's pretty mind blowing.
I missed the first act, but I hear they were pretty good.
The Long Blondes are at Richard's on May 30th.
Labels: cr avery, secret mommy, show announcements, show recaps
