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
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.
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
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
