I've been thinking about writing about some records/songs/bands that mean alot to me. And i've also been thinking about how certain records/songs/bands trigger a memory (good or bad). But then it becomes a matter of which ones to choose? I look thru my record and cd collection and there's just to many things to choose from. So i decided to grab my ipod and leave the decision up to fate. I've put my ipod on random and will write about each song that comes up. If this turns out to be a good read i might try it again....
First up....
Doughboys - "Stranger From Within" (from "Whatever" LP)
-- Canada's own Doughboys, who started after John Kastner left the Asexuals. The first 2 Doughboys records, "Whatever" followed by "Home Again", are classic melodic punk albums and both have many songs that trigger memories (especially Home Again). I remember the first time i saw the band was at the Bronx in Edmonton on the Home Again tour. John Kastner was doing these big jumps off the bass drum ala Chi Pig, which i thought was so rad. There's something about the vocals... they have this strained quality that really works for the slightly morose and contemplative lyrics that they are known fore.
Snapcase - "Priceless" (from Progression Through Unlearning)
Man, Snapcase were such a powerhouse on record but live they were even more amazing! The heavy crunch of the guitars was so powerful in a live setting. The first time i saw Snapcase was in Minneapolis, must've been 1996. I had hitchhiked to MPLS for a punk fest, but Snapcase wasn't part of that fest. But some great bands played that weekend; Los Crudos, Dillinger Four, Man Afraid, and more. On day 2 of this fest i ran into an old friend from Edmonton who let me stay at their house, which was appreciated since i had been sleeping outside the past couple nights. Around the corner from their house was a small venue called the Bombshelter. It was a tight, little basement space...about the size of a bombshelter. My memory is slipping on who opened the show, but the 2 main bands that night were Snapcase and Refused. Snapcase were great that night, but Refused were even more explosive!! This was their 1st tour of north America, right around the time "Songs To Fan The Flame" came out. I remember the band were literally running at the concrete walls and bouncing off them. There was little to no air in this little space, and it was a hot July night, so the space became unbearable to be in after a while. But you couldn't walk away when a band this explosive and powerful was happening right in your face. What a show!
Mike Hale - When She Loved Me (from "Lives Like Mine")
I'm still trying to get into Mike's solo work, and it's not because it's bad but because i think i'd rather he record a new Gunmoll record. Gunmoll were from Gainesville... yeah, just another great Gainesville band on No Idea Records. What's with that town? Everything Gunmoll did was great, they had that rough-around-the-edges melodic punk with gruff vocals that i love so much.
Triple Threat - Obliterate (off "Into The Darkness")
Triple Threat never got the respect they deserved, and i think that's because they had so much to live up to because of the band members resumes. I like their records, but live they were even better, just alot stronger. One of the times i saw them was with Insted in New Jersey, fuckin' great show, but the day almost got ruined by the person i was dating at the time. It's a long, and actually quite stupid, story that i won't repeat here. But it was a hellish day spent with that person, but thankfully Insted and Triple Threat set it off. After the show the bullshit started all over again with this person, making for a horrible night.
The Get Up Kids - Anne Arbour (from Red Letter Day 10")
Fuck me... the Get Up Kids are one of my go-to bands when i'm feeling down in the dumps or nostalgic. They just trigger these emotions in me. In 2005 I spent alot of time on tour and i didn't have an ipod yet, just a discman. I brought every GUK recording i had, and i remember after a night of hardcore i would often put one of them on, listening to it on my headphones as we drove thru the night or slept on the floor of some random people's house. Recently me and erin bussed to Seattle to see them play and it was fantastic. So now i have another good memory attached to the Get Up Kids.
Downcast - They Are Not (demo version from the Discography)
Early 90's.... when every band and person involved in punk/hardcore had to be careful of what they said and did due to the extreme political correctness that prevailed the scene. Every action was judged. It was like a witch hunt. The weird thing was that if you were a heavy band but didn't have overtly political lyrics you were called macho, but if you were heavy and had something to say you were ok. So bands like Downcast, Econochrist and Born Against were loved by pretty much everyone. Not alot of the bands from this era stood the test of time, but Downcast did. I remember buying their first 7" from Allan Watermelon, aka Honking Dog, an Edmonton punk guy that ran a distro with his gf Karen. Good people.
Samiam - Hey Brother (from Billy)
I've got alot of memories attached to Samiam, but i think my favorite would be from the 1st time i saw them play, in 1990. My friend Rusty convinced Sven to drive us to Calgary to see Samiam and Snuff. I don't think Sven cared about the bands at all, he was really into stuff like Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death. Sven was also one of the craziest drivers ever. He'd have the metal cranked to 11, yelling french swear words at other drivers and worst of all is when he'd speed up behind a car and then start flashing his lights until they changed lanes. It was scary enough driving across town with Sven, so you can imagine what it felt like to drive 3 hours in the winter. The show was at the Westward hotel, i was underage but got in with no problems. Skin Barn played first, they were a really good Calgary band. Samiam played 2nd, this was right around the time of their 1st full length, and fuck were they good. Lots of energy. Closing the night was Snuff, who at at that point had never toured North America and didn't actually have any records out in this country. That could explain why there was less than 50 people at the show. I had a penpal in the UK who had sent me their records and stuff so i was really into the band by that point. Their set was lots of fun and ended with every single person at the show coming on stage and slam dancing while they covered "Purple Haze". It was a complete mayhem on that stage!! As we left the Westward sweaty and tired we realized it had been snowing all night and the roads were very unsafe. By time we got past Airdrie we realized that visibility was pretty much zero, so we had no choice but to drive really really slow. This pissed Sven off so much! He was cursing in french the whole way. The drive took way longer than normal, so by time i got dropped off at home it was pretty much time for me to head to school. Oh yeah, did i mention i was 16, in high school and had told my parents the night before that i was going to hang out at Rusty's place up the street? I snuck in the house, i think my dad was already up and getting ready for work, laid down on my bed for 5 minutes before dad was "waking me up" to go to school. What an adventure!!
Part 2 at a later date?
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Billy Bragg
Can you think of a better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon then inside a record store watching English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg playing a free show? I'm way to broke right now to be spending $45 for a ticket to his show at the Commodore Ballroom tonight, so when i heard that he'd be playing free at Zulu i got very excited.
Zulu Records was starting to fill up shortly after 1pm, and by 2pm the place was jammed full when Billy Bragg strapped on an acoustic guitar adorned with a couple slogans from the Clash. For a man who's been around for so long, it's quite amazing that he's playing for free in a record store and seems quite happy to be doing so. Throughout the 45 minute set he was telling stories, joking with the crowd, and the guys from his road crew. For some reason the person sitting in front of Billy Bragg had a penguin of some sort (not a live one obviously) and this became fodder for many jokes, like during the song "Sexuality" he sang "Bestiality" during the chorus. I was happy he played "Between The Wars", and felt goosebumps when the song started. He closed the set with the classic song "New England, which got the whole crowd singing. It was pretty cool to look around the record store and see so many people singing along with big smiles on their faces.
Zulu Records was starting to fill up shortly after 1pm, and by 2pm the place was jammed full when Billy Bragg strapped on an acoustic guitar adorned with a couple slogans from the Clash. For a man who's been around for so long, it's quite amazing that he's playing for free in a record store and seems quite happy to be doing so. Throughout the 45 minute set he was telling stories, joking with the crowd, and the guys from his road crew. For some reason the person sitting in front of Billy Bragg had a penguin of some sort (not a live one obviously) and this became fodder for many jokes, like during the song "Sexuality" he sang "Bestiality" during the chorus. I was happy he played "Between The Wars", and felt goosebumps when the song started. He closed the set with the classic song "New England, which got the whole crowd singing. It was pretty cool to look around the record store and see so many people singing along with big smiles on their faces.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Recent Gigs I've Seen
Once again i've gone a few months without writing on here.... whatever, it's never gonna change.
Here's some (very) short reviews of some shows i've seen recently;
October 17
Ruiner / In Bear Country / I.O.P. @ APC
I'm always happy when i get the email from Ruiner asking me to set up a show for them. I fuckin' love this band, they never disappoint on record or in a live setting. And this time was no different. Sporting 2 new members and promoting a new LP, Ruiner came to Vancouver on a cold and wet Saturday in October. The APC is a tiny little place that gets real warm real quick, which was apparent by the end of I.O.P.'s set. In Bear Country played 2nd, and this was their first Vancouver show (even though they are from here). IBC consist of some dudes from some older local bands, and sound like a cross between Small Brown Bike, Crime In Stereo and melodic hardcore. They were great, and i'm sure they will catch on worldwide once they release something. Ruiner cranked out a 14 song set, including a few requests from the crowd. The new songs sounded great. Can't wait for these guys to come back
October 27
Propagandhi / Rebel Spell @ the Rickshaw
I don't like being around this many people in a space that isn't flat & wide open. I become a grumpy old man. I caught some of the Rebel Spell's set. Whatever. They do their thing, and i guess you could say they do it well. But after a couple songs it all sounded the same. And their singer needs to have more personality on stage. Propagandhi.. a band i loved when they first came around, but who don't mean nearly the same to me anymore. The first LP, and the split 10" with I Spy, are great records. I guess Today's Empire is ok too. Hell, maybe all their records are amazing, but i just stopped paying attention. So alot of their set went right over my head and i found myself bored. Throughout their set i just kept thinking about how i wish Todd would quit this band and start playing in I Spy again. Fuck, they were a great band!!
November 5th
The Raveonettes / Mode Moderne @ Venue
Locals boys Mode Moderne opened up, showcasing songs from their recent self-released LP. There's no hiding the fact that these guys LOVE the Smiths and Joy Division. But they do the sound well, no fucking around. Headlining the show was the Raveonettes, who's recent LP has grown to be a favorite of mine over the past month. They were great, playing songs from all their releases, and really sounding like a cross between the Jesus and Mary Chain and Sonic Youth (at times). The "wall of sound/phil spector" comparisons that get thrown around would apply more to their records. The use of pre-recorded drums mixed with the live drummer who's kit was simply a floor tom, a snare drum and a cymbal really made me think of JAMC. The male & female vocals worked well together in the live setting. And who ever was in charge of the strobe lights had them timed perfectly to the guitar freakouts. An amazing show!
November 10th
Dinosaur Jr / Pink Mountaintops @ Commodore Ballroom
This was my 1st time seeing Pink Mountaintops, which is kinda odd since they're a local band and i work at the label that released 2 of their records in Canada. They were good, a bit more laid back and different than Steve McBean's other band Black Mountain. Was that Tolan McNeil on bass? I haven't seen him on stage with steve since the mid-90's when they played in Gus. Dinosaur Jr were loud! And because J Mascis has so many amps i would ask that he please buys an electric guitar tuner. No one wants to hear you try to tune when you've got 6 amps turned up to 10. I was happy to hear some songs from the 90's major label records throughout the set. As uncool as it might be to say, i actually like those records than the SST ones. So when they opened with Thumb i was pretty stoked. Same as when they played "Feel The Pain" and "The Wagon". Another surprise was closing the set with a cover of the Cure classic "Just Like Heaven". It's great to see a legendary band touring for a new record that is just as solid as their "classic" albums, the new songs sounded great alongside older numbers. Great show. My ears were ringing long after the fact even though i had ear plugs in the whole night.
November 15th
Teenage Bottlerocket / Cobra Skulls / The Tranzmitors / Isotopes @ the Red Room
The Isotopes opened the show with a set that was only 10minutes long, but filled with pop-punk songs like Ben Weasel would write. The Tranzmitors used their 30minutes to play a mix of older songs (Bigger House-Broken Homes, Glamor Girls, etc), new unreleased songs (Sunday Morning and a song about someone named Jimmy) and even a cover (Jesus and Mary Chain). These guys are my favorite local band, and in my opinion can do no wrong. I can't wait till some of these new songs come out on vinyl. Cobra Skulls were up next, and that's 40minutes of my life i'll never get back. These guys weren't good at all. Boring punk, with some ska bits thrown in here and there. Yawn. The best part of their set was when they finished and the sound guy played Metallica "Motor Breath". Now that's a good song!! Teenage Bottlerocket played last. I like listening to their records, and live they sounded pretty good, but all in all it wasn't anything spectacular. They do the Ramones/Screeching Weasle thing quite well, but after 25 minutes i felt bored, so i left and went to see Carpenter at the Railway.
November 15th
Carpenter @ the Railway
What are the chances that there would be 2 good shows happening on a sunday night in Vancouver? And the bands i mainly wanted to see at both venues were the locals. At the Railway i ended up missing In Bear Country since i was at the Red Room, but i made it just in time to see Carpenter. These guys have been on tour most of the year, and this show was the last show of a month long tour. This was also my first time seeing them without Ryan on 2nd guitar. I missed ryan's dancing and singing along, he always looks like he's having so much fun! But the new guy played well, and appeared to enjoy himself, just without the dancing. Carpenter sounded like band who's been on tour alot; tight. They played 2 new songs, one of which i had never heard before. Both sounded good, one of them gives off a Face to Face vibe. I hope they get into the studio soon.
Here's some (very) short reviews of some shows i've seen recently;
October 17
Ruiner / In Bear Country / I.O.P. @ APC
I'm always happy when i get the email from Ruiner asking me to set up a show for them. I fuckin' love this band, they never disappoint on record or in a live setting. And this time was no different. Sporting 2 new members and promoting a new LP, Ruiner came to Vancouver on a cold and wet Saturday in October. The APC is a tiny little place that gets real warm real quick, which was apparent by the end of I.O.P.'s set. In Bear Country played 2nd, and this was their first Vancouver show (even though they are from here). IBC consist of some dudes from some older local bands, and sound like a cross between Small Brown Bike, Crime In Stereo and melodic hardcore. They were great, and i'm sure they will catch on worldwide once they release something. Ruiner cranked out a 14 song set, including a few requests from the crowd. The new songs sounded great. Can't wait for these guys to come back
October 27
Propagandhi / Rebel Spell @ the Rickshaw
I don't like being around this many people in a space that isn't flat & wide open. I become a grumpy old man. I caught some of the Rebel Spell's set. Whatever. They do their thing, and i guess you could say they do it well. But after a couple songs it all sounded the same. And their singer needs to have more personality on stage. Propagandhi.. a band i loved when they first came around, but who don't mean nearly the same to me anymore. The first LP, and the split 10" with I Spy, are great records. I guess Today's Empire is ok too. Hell, maybe all their records are amazing, but i just stopped paying attention. So alot of their set went right over my head and i found myself bored. Throughout their set i just kept thinking about how i wish Todd would quit this band and start playing in I Spy again. Fuck, they were a great band!!
November 5th
The Raveonettes / Mode Moderne @ Venue
Locals boys Mode Moderne opened up, showcasing songs from their recent self-released LP. There's no hiding the fact that these guys LOVE the Smiths and Joy Division. But they do the sound well, no fucking around. Headlining the show was the Raveonettes, who's recent LP has grown to be a favorite of mine over the past month. They were great, playing songs from all their releases, and really sounding like a cross between the Jesus and Mary Chain and Sonic Youth (at times). The "wall of sound/phil spector" comparisons that get thrown around would apply more to their records. The use of pre-recorded drums mixed with the live drummer who's kit was simply a floor tom, a snare drum and a cymbal really made me think of JAMC. The male & female vocals worked well together in the live setting. And who ever was in charge of the strobe lights had them timed perfectly to the guitar freakouts. An amazing show!
November 10th
Dinosaur Jr / Pink Mountaintops @ Commodore Ballroom
This was my 1st time seeing Pink Mountaintops, which is kinda odd since they're a local band and i work at the label that released 2 of their records in Canada. They were good, a bit more laid back and different than Steve McBean's other band Black Mountain. Was that Tolan McNeil on bass? I haven't seen him on stage with steve since the mid-90's when they played in Gus. Dinosaur Jr were loud! And because J Mascis has so many amps i would ask that he please buys an electric guitar tuner. No one wants to hear you try to tune when you've got 6 amps turned up to 10. I was happy to hear some songs from the 90's major label records throughout the set. As uncool as it might be to say, i actually like those records than the SST ones. So when they opened with Thumb i was pretty stoked. Same as when they played "Feel The Pain" and "The Wagon". Another surprise was closing the set with a cover of the Cure classic "Just Like Heaven". It's great to see a legendary band touring for a new record that is just as solid as their "classic" albums, the new songs sounded great alongside older numbers. Great show. My ears were ringing long after the fact even though i had ear plugs in the whole night.
November 15th
Teenage Bottlerocket / Cobra Skulls / The Tranzmitors / Isotopes @ the Red Room
The Isotopes opened the show with a set that was only 10minutes long, but filled with pop-punk songs like Ben Weasel would write. The Tranzmitors used their 30minutes to play a mix of older songs (Bigger House-Broken Homes, Glamor Girls, etc), new unreleased songs (Sunday Morning and a song about someone named Jimmy) and even a cover (Jesus and Mary Chain). These guys are my favorite local band, and in my opinion can do no wrong. I can't wait till some of these new songs come out on vinyl. Cobra Skulls were up next, and that's 40minutes of my life i'll never get back. These guys weren't good at all. Boring punk, with some ska bits thrown in here and there. Yawn. The best part of their set was when they finished and the sound guy played Metallica "Motor Breath". Now that's a good song!! Teenage Bottlerocket played last. I like listening to their records, and live they sounded pretty good, but all in all it wasn't anything spectacular. They do the Ramones/Screeching Weasle thing quite well, but after 25 minutes i felt bored, so i left and went to see Carpenter at the Railway.
November 15th
Carpenter @ the Railway
What are the chances that there would be 2 good shows happening on a sunday night in Vancouver? And the bands i mainly wanted to see at both venues were the locals. At the Railway i ended up missing In Bear Country since i was at the Red Room, but i made it just in time to see Carpenter. These guys have been on tour most of the year, and this show was the last show of a month long tour. This was also my first time seeing them without Ryan on 2nd guitar. I missed ryan's dancing and singing along, he always looks like he's having so much fun! But the new guy played well, and appeared to enjoy himself, just without the dancing. Carpenter sounded like band who's been on tour alot; tight. They played 2 new songs, one of which i had never heard before. Both sounded good, one of them gives off a Face to Face vibe. I hope they get into the studio soon.
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