Great gigs of 2008 (PART 1)

I'm someone who goes to alot of shows. That's not bragging, that's just the straight up fuckin' truth. I work in a record store and get guest list for quite a few shows so sometimes i'll go just to see 1 band, or even just a few songs. On top of going to a lot of shows in Vancouver i also travel for shows, and have been doing that for years. Living in the Northwest is great because i've got Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, and many other cities all within short drives. I'm also someone who puts on shows, under the moniker of No Sense Productions.
I bring all these useless facts because i've been thinking about great shows and bands i've seen this year and how i'd like to write about some of them, but there's alot of info to process so it's going to be slow coming. Consider this Part 1 of a series of ongoing posts about "Great Gigs of 2008". Maybe i'll also write about some of this craptastic shows & bands i've seen this year.
This is a picture of Grave Maker, a band based out of Vancouver/Seattle. They started playing this year and i've seen them a bunch, not to mention done shows for them. This picture is from a show at the Media Club, not the best i've seen them but a great show. Their CD "Bury Me a Sea" is favorite of mine for 2008. The band are true road dogs who are a flurry of activity on stage.
That's Steveston Mike in this 1st picture, chilling up front at the show while i stand on the sidelines.



Handsome Furs and Wolf Parade are 2 bands from Montreal that i love, and that share a member (that would be Dan Boeckner). Handsome Furs is just Dan on guitar and his wife Alexi taking care of beats, sound manipulation, samples, etc. When i try to describe their music it's hard because it sounds like something i would hate, but i love the music these 2 create. Me and erin saw them play at Richards on Richards twice this year, once headlining and once as an opener. Musically their songs are great but there's something special about watching 2 people so in love creating art together, and their love for one another shows on stage without being too cutesy or mushy.
Wolf Parade played a great set at the Commodore Ballroom, knocking out the hits from their first LP ("Apologies to the Queen Mother") as well as their 2nd/newest LP ("At Mount Zoomer"). Their new LP has grown on me over the past few months and that's partially because of how powerful the songs came across in the live setting. I prefer Dan Boeckner songs over Spencer's songs (maybe that's why Sunset Rubdown hasn't grown on me yet) but on the new record and live Spencer's songs are burrowing their way into my brain big time.
Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs are great examples of bands that don't go crazy or jump around or say witty shit in-between songs, It truly is about the songs, and how well crafted they are and how talented the musicans are without over-playing.

Handsome Furs @ Richards on Richards

Metal on Metal

A few weeks back Vancouver was treated to a double dose of Canadian metal-heads Anvil. The band was being flown out for a screening of the great documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" so the band figured why not play a show as well.
First let's talk about the movie; truly an awesome documentary that can be enjoyed even if you've never heard a single song by Anvil. Rather than follow a strict timeline/history of the band director Sacha Gervasi (who's known for shooting some big hollywood movies like "The Terminal" )decided to focus more on the last 10 years, showing what happens to a band after the golden years. The movie starts off with testimonies from famous fans such as Slash (Guns n Rose) and Lars (Metallica) as well as some great archival footage including the video for "Metal on Metal" that i used to see on Much Music's "The Power Hour" all the time. There's alot of band history mostly told thru new interviews with founding members Robb Reiner and Lips, some of which were done while the band works their mundane jobs in the suburbs of Toronto. The theme of the movie seems to be that this band wrote a blueprint for metal that alot of bands used and got famous for while Anvil never got their due, but still childhood friends Lips and Robb refuse to give up. The latter part of the movie shows them in it's current incarnation as a band full of hope and desires to play & succeed but failing in so many ways. If you've ever been in a band or been on tour with an independent band the footage from the last european tour will be all too familiar; canceled shows, promoters who promise the world but do nothing, lackluster attendance at shows, rip-off promoters, etc. At one point you see the band excited to be headlining a "big" metal fest in a 10,000 seat arena only to hit the stage to a meager crowd of less than 200.
If you have the chance to see this movie, do it. And if you're lucky the band will be in attendance to do a Q&A afterwards like they did here in Vancouver. Quite entertaining. Check out the site Anvil! The Story of Anvil".
The next night Anvil rocked Pat's Pub, a little hotel bar down in the depths of hell, aka Main & Hastings, one of the most poverty stricken and drug infested neighborhoods in Canada. Normally this bar hosts punk and garage rock shows, usually i'm not super excited about shows here because of the shitty sight lines and half-decent PA. The stage is so tiny that only the drum kit could fit on the stage (along with the amps). This left Lips and the bassist to play on the floor with all the metal heads, punks and freaks in their face! The guys in Anvil were super excited about life and getting to play in Vancouver as it's been around 10 or more years since they last visited our fair city. Highlights of the hour plus set; introducing a song Lips said "this is about my computer addiction, i've got it down perfect with the right hand on the mouse and the left hand jerking it" and then after talking about a porn site about squirters (google that!) he went on to say "you know you're doing the job right when she starts squirting, right guys? You get down there and take a bite and the fruit starts squirting!". I laughed so damn hard!! The other highlight was the last song of the set (before the encore)... a true metal anthem...METAL ON METAL!! What a song, and everyone was singing along like their lives depended on it.
Here's some pictures from the show....

Revival tour hits Seattle!!

A couple weeks back i found myself in Seattle for the Revival tour, featuring Tim Barry, Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, and for this stop on the tour, Austin Lucas and Kevin Seconds. This tour was modeled after old folk/bluegrass tours where performers not only sing songs solo but they also collaborate with each other. The tickets said show at 8pm and right on cue all 5 of the singer/songwriters walked onstage accompanied by a stand-up bass player, a pedal steel guitarist and a violinist. In total there was 8 people on stage! The set started with everyone playing "Shoulda, Oughta" by Tim Barry which was even more powerful with all the extra vocals and instruments. That song was followed up with a Chuck Ragan song and then a Lucero song (that would be Ben Nichols band). These first 3 songs were worth the price of admission and the hours spent on a stinky greyhound bus alone! As i stood front & center singing along with "Last Night In Town" by Lucero my mind was reeling at the idea that i was listening to Ben doing an acoustic version of this song with Chuck Ragan from Hot Water Music and Tim Barry of Avail providing secondary vocals!! This is the kind of shit that music nerds like me dream of!
After the amazing triple shot of rock that opened the set everyone left the stage for Austin Lucas to perform. During his solo time a few of the back-up musicians joined him as well as Chuck Ragan to perform some of the songs that he and Austin had released on the album "Bristle Ridge". After more than 25minutes Austin invited Kevin Seconds to play. Kevin has released a couple records solo but is better known for being the singer in influential hardcore/punk kings 7 Seconds. I'd rather see 7 Seconds but at the same time Kevin seems into playing solo and some of the songs sound like "New Wind" era.
This show ran real smooth, no breaks what so ever in between bands. After Kevin played Tim Barry took the stage and was so fuckin' good! I'm a huge Avail fan and this was my first time seeing Tim performing solo and i'm happy to report that Tim is just as charismatic, engaging, honest and heartfelt with just a guitar as he is when he's onstage with Avail. He was in a great mood, joking around thruout the site, but also wasn't afraid to show a more vulnerable and serious side while introducing a song that meant alot to him, talking about 2 friends who passed away in the last year.
Ben Nichols set wasn't far off from a Lucero set; in other words Ben had no idea what to play and all his fans yelled out what songs they wanted to hear. He was joined by the pedal steel guitar player as he played a few songs from his new solo ep "The Last Pale Light In The West" as well alot of songs from the Lucero catalog. It's great watching Ben intently listen to the song requests being yelled at him and then figure out if he can or wants to play the song.
Chuck Ragan's set was pretty intense and passionate, not far off from his days with Hot Water Music just minus the distortion. He played songs from all his releases, some with the back up musicians and tourmates, and 2 of the highlights were the Hot Water Music and Alkaline Trio songs that he busted out.
After Chuck's set everyone came back on stage to play a few more songs including a song that they wrote & recorded on this tour called "Revival Road". In total this show ran for just about 4 hours, with no breaks at all. Yeah my feet and back was beyond sore at the end of it all but i'd be the last to complain about this show. I was so impressed with this show/tour and the way it was run, hopefully it becomes a yearly event.

Check it out now.... funk soul brother.

I've been meaning to update this blog about some of the shows i've been to, records i've listened to, records i never want to hear again, etc. But most importantly i've been meaning to write about my big brother's blog, check it out at http://acidica.shawwebspace.ca/blog/

My brother Tom is the one who got me into music, at a young age. When i was real young i remember him being a big KISS fan and seeing those painted up faces on the record covers is really where my love affair with vinyl started. As i got a bit older i found myself checking out whatever music was blasting out of his room in the basement, and at that point it was mostly metal with forays into other styles. My brother never seemed to listen to one style of music, it wasn't uncommon to hear Metallica, Dylan, Alice Cooper and Stompin Tom all in a row while hanging out with him. This open-mindedness to music really rubbed off on me which is why my musical tastes are quite all over the map. Tommy is also the one who took me to my first concert; KISS in 1985! Over the years me and him have gone to alot of shows, first while we were growing up in Edmonton, and then over the years in various cities i've lived in.
My brother's blog is all about music and is looking quite promising. When you go to his site you should make sure to look thru the photo sections as he has taken on some huge projects like scanning all his concert ticket stubs (some pretty awesome shows!) as well as his old concert shirts (I believe a couple of these might be mine that were traded/sold during the 90's when i was broke).
The site address once again is http://acidica.shawwebspace.ca/blog/

I've been slacking....

Yep, i'll be the first to admit that once again i've been slacking on the 'ol blog. The whole point of starting a new one, with a very strict focus, was to get more serious about writing on here. But while i have been slacking i haven't been slacking when it comes to music. Ok.... maybe just a little bit on that end too. But i've bought alot of new records over the past few weeks, old & new, and i have been to some shows... so let's try to catch up....
A few weeks back i saw Elliot Brood... the band not the man... at Richards on Richards. Their new record "Mountain Ambassador" has been in constant rotation the past few months so i was looking forward to this show, and they didn't disappoint. Only 3 members in this band, but they make a racket like you wouldn't believe! It's weird, for a band that falls somewhere in the alt-country realm for the most part they really do kick up the dust and make a racket when they hit the stage. One of the guitarists plays an acoustic that goes thru a bunch of pedals and at times he comes up with the dirtiest, most distorted, sound i've heard in a while. The other guitarist, who also plays some ukulele and banjo, also uses distortion on his instruments. There was also pedals that might've been creating some bass, and they had a small scale light show that was hooked up to pedals. This was no stadium style light show, i'm talking 3 flood lights and some lights stolen from grandma's christmas tree. One of the highlights, besides my request for "Miss You Now", was when they handed out disposable baking trays and wooden spoons and encouraged the crowd to join in. What a racket the drunk dude next to me was making, and i'm hoping it was the beer causing him to be so out of time!
The night before that show i saw DOA play their 30th anniversary show with the Tranzmitors and Dayglo Abortions. I think the teenage me would've been in heaven, and 3 sheets to the wind, but the 34 year old me was bored off his ass. The Tranzmitors played a great set as usual, debuting a new song that sounded good, as well as busting out the hits. Dayglo Abortions... what happened? Were they always this bad & this boring. DOA... sounded ok, opened with World War 3 which was rad... but i just wasn't feeling it. And Randy Rampage is out of the band again.
OK this post has gone on for too long... i'll write about all the new records i've got in another post. And i've been rooting thru my 7" records, finding some gems i forgot about that i think i'll babble about at some point or another.

The Tranzmitors new 12" ep

We have some good bands here in Vancouver, some of whom i'llmake a valid effort to see every show they play around town. One of those bands is the Tranzmitors, Vancouver's sharp dressed purveyors of power-pop. Over the 2+ years i've lived here the band has released quite a handful of records, mostly 7"s and 1 full length LP/CD. This past week the band released a 4 song 12"ep, which has been recorded and in the works for well over 8 months now. I was lucky to hear this recording just after it was finished and i was jonesing for the rest of the world to hear these songs as i feel it's the Tranzmitors strongest songs to date. Sure we all loved those early singles, and yes the LP has some "bangers" on it.... but this ep is close to perfection. The first song "Live A Little More" has been a live staple for the past few months, and to me it sounds like a 50's or 60's power ballad played by a Robert Smith (the Cure) fronted power pop band. Track 2 is the first song sung by Mikey and it's fuckin' great! I think the record should've started with this song, but i guess it would be weird to start a record with a song not sung by the usual vocalist. But this song sounds like it's a long-lost 70's era Elvis Costello track. Side 2 starts off with off with "Best Dressed Man", and it's a bit faster and upbeat than the average Tranzmitors song. At times i hear some old pop punk influence on this one, especially with the little guitar leads that Nick does. The final song is a cover of the Moondogs song "Who's Gonna Tell Mary?", and in my opinion they do a great job of a great song.
The band really went all out on the production of this ep, adding little tricks like 12 string guitar on parts and distorted bass one part of a song, but even though the production is loud and amazing it doesn't come off as sounding too clean or hollow. The production adds another layer to the great songs.
I highly recommend everyone pick up this 12" ep, either from Deranged Records (www.derangedrecords.com), from the band at one of their upcoming shows, local stores like Scratch Records (726 Richards St.) or from distros like Ebullition (www.ebullition.com).
Below is pictures of the limited white vinyl pressing (limited to 150 i believe) as well as my copy of the test press!

Pointed Sticks Play A Free Show!!

Last weekend local power-pop legends the Pointed Sticks played a free show outdoors down on West 4th Ave in Kitsalano neighborhood. The streets were shut down for some sort of "summer of love" anniversary celebration, and they had old cars on display, local merchants were having sidewalk sales, and there was also 2 stages "celebrating the music of the 60's". Somehow the Pointed Sticks, late 70's punk/power-pop, ended up playing... right after a Doors tribute band. I don't get it, but i'm not complaining because the Pointed Sticks don't play very often (i think this would be their 5th local show since reforming).
By time the boys came onto the tiny stage next to the Marks Work Wear House the sun was blazing hot and not showing any signs of easing up. Before they kicked into their 1st song the crowd was treated to a little rant from Art Bergman, formally of the legendary Young Canadians! From what i understand Art no longer lives in Vancouver, and it appears his health is on the decline. But even though he looked rough and needed a cane to keep himself up he is still filled with piss & vinegar as his rant ended with him wishing death upon the audience (or something like that). The Pointed Sticks played a bunch of new songs over their hour-long set, some of which i had heard before, plus a healthy amount of the classics. Highlights for me were when they played "Apologies" and "Part of the Noise", which had the small crowd singing along.
I managed to catch a CD thrown into the crowd, it was a new Pointed Sticks CD called "Raw Power Pop" and features 18 or 19 songs recorded at some of the reunion shows they've played. Nice little treat for this fan!!
Here's some pictures from the show....

Art Bergman addressing the crowd.

Stiff Little Fingers

I know Stiff Little Fingers are well known, and get a fair bit of praise, but yet i still feel like the band is often overlooked. I'll be honest here, not only do i consider their first LP "Inflammable Materials" to be one of the best records EVER but i think this band is just as important as the Clash as far as late 70's punk bands go AND i think they're way fuckin' better than the Sex Pistols. Yeah i said it, and yeah i'm going to stand behind all of those statements. When i first started listening to punk i somehow got my hands on a copy of "Inflammable Materials", i still own that copy, and i remember my jaw hitting the floor when the record started off with "Suspect Device". The guitar was so raw & gritty, the lyrics were filled with rage and spat out with conviction, it was exactly what the teenage me wanted out of music. My only complaint with this record, then and now, is the record closing song "Closed Groove". It's not that the song is horrible, i actually kinda dig it now, but it just seems like such a silly way to end such an angry and amazing record! Especially with "Alternative Ulster" being right before it, why wouldn't you just end with that? I mean, that shouldn't have been buried that deep into the record anyways, but if you aren't going to put it on side 1 then why not just close out the record with it?
Anyhow, about a week ago my friend Jeff got some records from a friend of his to sell. |Out of the pile i got a few, most notably Stiff Little Fingers "Alternative Ulter" 7". This single came before the "Inflammable Materials" LP and not only is this a different, and more raw version of "Alternative Ulster" but it also features the otherwise unreleased B-side "78 RPM". Like i said the A side is rawer, and just explodes of the turntable. "78 RPM" is a great song, and i don't understand why it never got put onto a full length. It's a great jangly song with Jake Burns just spitting out the lyrics . Fuck, this is such a classic 7" single!!

Old Pop-Punk Compilations...

If you look thru my collection you'll see that i'm interested in all the different aspects of hardcore/punk, pretty much all the styles and different scenes are represented (except for white power shit like Skrewdriver). But one style that you'll see alot of is 80's/90's style pop punk. I still love alot of the melodic punk that pops up in basements and not the kind that pops up on billboard charts. It seems that the early to mid 90's were the best years for this style of punk, with cities like Berkeley/San Francisco/Oakland and Gainesville, Florida providing alot of my favorite bands. You could usually count on labels like No Idea, Very Small, Lookout!, Mutant Pop, Allied and others to provide the goods. I'm going to write sporadically about some old pop punk bands, and maybe i'll even upload some lost gems. This week i got a couple compilation singles in the mail that i won on ebay. One of them i had been trying to procure for a while, and the other i honestly had never heard of before but had to have since it featured Cringer. First up, "Misfit Heartbeat" on Take A Day Records (which didn't release alot but most of it was great), and this double-7" comp features Pinhead Gunpowder, Wynona Riders, Rhythm Collision, Pot Valiant and others. Nice little photo copied booklet with lyrics and what not inside the photo copied sleeve. All in all not the strongest comp, the Pinhead Gunpowder song is ok but not great, Wynona Riders cover "Kids in America" (it seems like a million pop punk bands covered this song years ago), Rhythm Collision has one of their great speedy melodic songs here, and Pot Valiant is surprisingly great on here with a song that sounds like old DC emo or a bay area band called Scherzo. The other comp i got is called "Things I Stole" and features Christ on A Crutch, Lupo, Cringer, and Libido Boyz, and is on Disaster Records. Not 100% "pop punk". Like i said, i had never heard of this record or label so when i saw the listing i had to throw my hat into the ring and try and win this 7". The packaging on this record is great, the picture sleeve folds out into a big poster with some original poster art on 1 side with the other side providing band info & lyrics. Christ on a Crutch, who are NOT pop punk, does a Diddy Squat cover which is pretty cool. We don't need to mention Lupo. The Cringer song comes from when the band lived in San Francisco which is important to note since their early days in Hawaii and L.A. are when the band was still weak and honing their skills. Their song, "Hooked On Junk" is similar in style to the songs on the (amazing) "Karin" 7". These later songs show the progression in Lance's lyrics and music that eventually became the blueprint for J Church. Libido Boyz song here is fast and melodic, sounding like a combination or SNFU (and other skate rock bands) and Uniform Choice (mainly vocals). I recommend tracking this down if only for the Cringer song.

Gaslight Anthem

A few years back i discovered a New Jersey band called the Gaslight Anthem, i can't remember why i looked into them, but i felt an instant connection to the band lyrically and musically. And lately it seems like i'm not the only one feeling this connection. Musically the band reminded me of some older melodic punk bands (the vocals have a little gruffness to them) mixed with some rock elements that bring to mind Bruce Springsteen and some old college rock (for those who remember the term). Lyrically, they flow more like essays, or a book but aren't too wordy or filled with whiny poetry.
This week I got 2 new 7"s from the Gaslight Anthem; one is a sneak peek into their new (2nd) full length "The '59 Sound", while the other is demo versions of songs from their 1st full length "Sink or Swim".
The 2 new songs are incredible that show a progression without changing their sound. They've added a bit more of a "roots" influence, a little of the Springsteen influence, especially on the song "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues". And you gotta love a song with lyrics that name-drop Tom Petty.
The "Sink of Swim Demos" 7" showcases songs that i'm already familiar with but with a rougher, and looser quality to them. I imagine that this is closer to what the songs sound like in a live setting. I think in some ways i like these versions better, especially the haunting "Navesink Banks". This record is on Devil Dance Records, and i lucked out in getting the "tour press", with a nice grey/blue split vinyl, see the picture below.
Over the next few weeks the mailman should be bringing me not only the new full length on vinyl but also a very sweet looking Gaslight Anthem coffee mug! Both ordered from the fine folks at Vinyl Collective.

New beginings

First post of a new blog. The old one never became what i wanted it to be. Or maybe i never thought about what i want it to be. This one will be about music. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'm going to talk about records i'm buying, bands i like, bands i hate, shows i attend... I think you get the point.
Stay tuned.....