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....