05.06.2010 Video Games Live

I was at Video Games Live last year. As I recall, it was a pretty good show top to bottom. As such, I was expecting an equally good show this time around. This time around, the event was at the newly renovated Queen Elizabeth Theatre. If you have ever been to the the old QE Theatre you would have been pleasantly pleased by the changes. The old venue had very majestic and ornate feel to it. The newly renovated venue was noticeably cleaner in both aesthetics and tidiness. It was certainly a much more modern looking venue.

Much like last year, the pre-show festivities, included a costume/cosplay contest. Probably due to the fact last year's was around halloween, the number of entries were decrease from last years. The majority of the costumes were Final Fantasy related, but the eventual winner was a very amusing, yet mildly inappropriate, Earthworm Jim costume.

My post from last year was pretty thorough, so I'll make this a little more abridged. For the most part the main elements and structure of the shows was pretty similar to last year's. It started with the the typical Classic Arcade Medley, included an interactive audience game section (Frogger this time around) and a live Guitar Hero section. The solo piano portion was back, this time with the original "Video Game Pianist", Martin Leung. Actually, I think the 'staples' were actually in the same part of the setlist as they were last year.

Also returning was Victor Lucas and the guys at "Reviews on the Run". This time they ripped on "Record of Agarest War". This was probably one section of the show that I really don't mind seeing again. Some of the jokes and segues that were used in the show were repeats from the years before. The dialogue at times were repetitive and on the campy side, but overall things were smooth and well run. The setlist had a few repeats, "Halo", "Warcraft", "Kingdom Hearts"; but it did have enough new material to make it fresh. New entries "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Assassin's Creed" were particularly well done. The "Mega Man" rendition was okay. I still prefer the other renditions of it.

Once again, the encores were where the the show really took off. One grip was that the violin solo during "Chrono Cross" was barely audible through the amped guitar sections. The show ended as expected with Final Fantasy 7's One Winged Angel. I don't think the show was a as special as it was last year (a lot more one off / premiere songs), but the setlist was a little better.

Setlist
Intro/Symphony warm up
Classic Arcade Medley
Sonic The Hedgehog
Shadow of the Colossus
Interactive Frogger Competition
Skype Interview with Ralph Baer
Mass Effect
Assassin's Creed 2
Final Fantasy Piano Medley
Final Fantasy 8
Legend of Zelda
---------------------------------------
Electric Playground / Reviews on the Run Segment
Kingdom Hearts
Bioshock
World of Warcraft
Super Mario Brothers
Super Mario Brothers Piano
Super Mario World - Athletic Level Piano
Tetris Piano
Guitar Hero Challenge: Van Halen - Jump
Mega Man Medley
Halo
---------------------------------------
Castlevania Rock
Chrono Trigger / Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy 7: One Winged Angel

02.19.2010 Stars / Hey Rosetta

I should preface this review by saying I suppose the fact that the guy who I bought the ticket from sort of dicked me a around and wound up meeting halfway through Hey Rosetta's set, whom I really wanted to see. I think the worst part of it was that while I was waiting, a scalper tried to sell me a front row ticket for the same price.

From what I saw of Hey Rosetta, I was pretty impressed. They've got a pretty good live sound with a nice layering of sound complimented by a string section. Well a cello and violin player. The crowd was really into it, especially their radio numbers. Suffice to say much like Two Hours Traffic and Said the Whale, there is good number of up and coming Canadian indie bands.

I've Stars a good 6-7 times in the last 3 years or so. I suppose I really shouldn't feel the need to be surprised, I was hoping for something special about this show; this being the olympics and all. Unfortunately, I suppose when you hit a market so many times, the surprises become less and less. Most of the setlist were standard Stars staples from the last couple of years. I think "Ageless Beauty" was reworked a little with an addition of an extra guitar from Evan Cranley, which left the song with out a bass part. I wouldn't exactly say it was an improvement. Actually, what I was most disappointed in were the handful of new songs that were played. Granted "In our bedroom after the war" was a pretty good album, the new songs far from memorable. In fact, aside from "Dead Hearts", I don't think I can recall what the other new songs sounded like. Negativity aside, I'm sure 99% of the crowd left happy, so what do I know.

$35/$50

07.25.2009 Virgin Festival Day 1

Normally I'm not really a fan of festivals. Packed crowds, all ages (not that that's a bad thing), generally high ticket prices and short sets are all things I could do without. However, if you wait long enough, usually secondary market ticket prices usually drop by the time the date rolls by. The weeks leading up to said show, I even recall a 2 for 1 promotion somewhere. This usually means the show was undersold, but it also means I was able to snag a ticket for $30.





I get there around 3pm just in time to see Mute Math. Two or three years ago, they had a bit of an indie level hype about them. Somehow I never really got into them. Live, they're not too bad. Decent stage presence; they sort of had a Filter vibe to them. Actually I recognized one of their songs from somewhere, I think it's called 'Typical'. To close their set, they did a pretty cool 3 person percussion thing during the outro to "Break the Same".









After their set, I walked over to the second stage, (or bands they put on so they can set up the mainstage) to find out that it's none other than Vancouver's own Elizabeth. I think I've seen them 4-5 times now. Can't say they've up'd their game too much.





K-os followed up on the mainstage. Much like the day one headliners, the Roots, K-os had a full band back him up live. Having never seen K-os perform live before, I was kind of impressed by his captivating live show. Some of his songs actually used excerpts of classic rock tunes (Rush - Tom Sawyer, Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven) to which he would put lyrics over. 'B-boy Stance' wasn't played, but mega-hits "Man I used to be" and "Sunday Morning" were represented. Much like any dynamic artist, his live renditions were quite a bit different than his album versions, adding more dimension to his work. Was a little disappointed I didn't see Emily Haines make an appearance during this set. Would have liked to have seen 'Uptown Girl' live with her. Of course her absence here can only mean more disappointment later on...

I don't recall who was next on the secondary stage because I was a)finding water b)contemplating whether or not I should shell out for an overpriced Jamacian patty (I didn't).





Broken Social Scene was the last band that I saw. Having to compare this set to the one they did in Toronto would really be unfair. Although this show really couldn't compare (I doubt any show could), the V-fest set was pretty good on its own right. Today lineup was very male dominate.





Hometown resident and Stars frontman Torquil Campbell was included, as well bandmate Evan Cranley. James Shaw of Metric was present, however Emily Haines was not. How peculiar.





Lisa Lobsinger handled all of the female vocals that day. The crowd seemed somewhat into it. It was hard to say. Definitely different than most festivals that I've been to. A pretty good mix of new and old songs were played.





k-os even did a verse or two on one of the songs. The set was about 45 minutes and seemed to end just while things were starting to take off. I actually took off after this. I really don't know if I could sit through another Our Lady Peace set.

Normally this is where the review would end, but as luck would have it, it rained in Vancouver. Actually thunder and downpoured. Ends up the organizers pulled the plug before the Roots got on stage (I later found out that they're planning on doing a free make-up gig in the near future). The also let day 1 festival goers use their tickets towards day 2 (not me, I had other plans). So... I guess those tickets that scalpers were desperate to get rid of, are going to be worth something after all. I guess everyone wins. Well except the organizers I suppose. I've got pretty good odds on there not being a V-fest Vancouver next year.

$30/$30

06.19.2009 The Pack A.D. / Sorcerers / Canaries

I must admit, I really don't see that many non-touring acts. As good as the local Vancouver scene is, the last local show that I saw was probably Fake Shark, Real Zombie. Even that was almost a year ago. I'm not really sure why this is, but this show was all local, so there you go.

The first band up were Canaries. No "The". Apparently this is important. I wasn't too into them. They had a very lo-fi, synth/party/screamo sort of feel to them, or as my friend put it, "Hey look it's Andrew WK".

Sorcerers were a little better. Firmly planted in the Vancouver Skate scene, their music had a interesting stoner/dub/punk feel to them. Actually throughout their set, they blasted out the smoke machine, making the stage seem like, for lack of better words, an opium den. Ironically, I don't remember much about their set, I do recall their bass player being really tight and their guitar player using a lot of effects, but that's about it.

The Pack A.D.hit the stage to a pretty packed house. The crowd was a bit on the older side (including the owner of Neptoon Records), but there were a couple of the usual indie crowd. The overall vibe of the show was very much like a homecoming gig despite the fact that it was more of tour send off show. Lots of crowd interaction as well as a surprise guest for a song or two. Two things really stood out for me. The first being the presence and power of singer/guitarist Becky. The second being that it was quite apparent that there was an abundance of chemistry between the two girls in the band. The seemed to be playing off of each other all throughout the set. Despite a couple of technical difficulties, the show went off without too much of hitch - a good send off for a band who probably won't be playing Vancouver again until December.

05.31.2009 Clues / Apollo Ghosts

I missed the first time Clues came to Vancouver, but tonight I had a second chance. It was at still also still at the same venue, the Biltmore, and an early show at that. I suppose after seeing both Islands and the Arcade Fire in small venues, I had somewhat high hopes (I know unfair comparison). Expectations aside, there were a couple of surprises.

The night started out with Apollo Ghosts. Songs were sort of surf rocky, folky and heavily influenced by the city of Nanaimo. Not really my thing, but showed some promise. Singer had pretty good presence, bassist had a couple of good licks and the drummer, I don't think, curiously, played a single drum fill the entire night.



Shortly after Apollo Ghosts left the stage, 2 men dressed in black hit the stage unannounced. I later found out they were members of the rarely to tour Jerusalem in my Heart. For the next 5 minutes or so, the audience was hit with a barrage of middle eastern chanting/song/prayer?.



After an even shorter turnover, Clues took the stage. Much like their band name, musically they were a bit of a puzzle. Despite packing the stage with a expanded drum kit and a variety of different instrumentation, it was quite clear from the onset that front man, and former Unicorn, Alden Penner was the main focus of the show. Having only heard a demo prior to the show, I pretty much came into the show with a clean slate. That being said, some things worked somethings... not so much. I did get the impression that the next album would be a better measuring stick as to how to really rate them. Overall, the show didn't exactly blow me away, but did seem to keep me intrigued for the 2 hours I was there.

$10/$12

03.26-28.09 Wintersleep / An Horse

....And on the Vancouver side of things. Its been a while since I've made a post. Almost 4 months in fact. For anyone who actually reads this blog, it's quite fitting that the first (Vancouver-ish) review of the year is none other than a 3 show Wintersleep run. Winding down their successful run of shows supporting their latest album Welcome to the Night Sky, this leg was primarily a SXSW / Westcoast run with An Horse.

Portland
I'm not quite sure if Wintersleep has ever played in Portland before. The venue was double booked. Wintersleep in the smaller room "Lola's" and radio rockers Blue October in the main room, Crystal Ballroom. While the building was quite equipped to handle both shows, there was quite a bit of bleed through from the upstairs room to the downstairs. During many quieter parts, you really could not help but notice the bass coming through. Amusingly, the Blue October seemed to be the running joke throughout much of the night. I actually overheard some of the buildings staff quip during load in:

Guy 1: When is Blue October getting off the stage?
Guy 2: Not soon enough.

The opening band (whose name escapes me) seemed a little out of place. They played a sort of folk/lounge kind of music. I don't remember much, but seem to recall that their bass player was quite good and the singer's voice was good. An Horse, who was playing a co-headlining slot, probably should've taken the headlining slot as about half the crowd left after their set. I'm guessing their buzz can be attributed to their Tegan and Sara vibe as their recent Letterman appearance. But seeing as they only have 1 albums worth of material, I guess it doesn't matter that much. They played quite well, I definitely liked them more than I thought I was going to. Their singer, Kate, even has some amusing stage banter, which I always like.

Wintersleep played quite well considering they just drove 10 hour from San Fransico. The setlist consisted of songs from their last 3 releases. No new songs were played, and no encore was played. The set was about 45 minutes. I didn't actually mind too much. It's nice having long sets, but its also nice having small intimate shows too. This may have happened during An Horse's set, but also of note:

Wintersleep: So do you guys like Blue October?
Crowd: No.
WS: Really why?
Crowd: Because we aren't 12.

Setlist:
Drunk on Aluminium
Archaeologists
Caliber
Astronaut
Weighty Ghost
Murderer
Search Party
Laser Beams
Oblivion
Miasmal

Seattle
Seattle was actually somewhat special in that it was one of the only dates that was an all ager. The venue, The Vera Project, was pretty cool. Definitely the best run all ages venue that I've ever been to. If you've ever been to Portland about 5 years ago, it's what the Meow Meow should've been. Clean, decent sound system, with a good lighting system. I've got a feeling that it benefits from grants or some sort of assistance, but still whatever it takes to keep something like this alive is cool.

The first band to hit the stage was an all girl local highschool jazz kind of outfit, Deer Boy. Of their set, 2 things came to mind. The first, they were very good considering how old they were. They were able to hold my interest, which is better than about 1/2 of the opening bands that I've seen in the past. The other was that there was a toddler crawling through the crowd during their set...sigh, comes with the territory I suppose. Deer Boy has some potential. Their stage presence does need some polish however. Their singer appeared distracted/disinterested at times, or maybe just not used to singing and playing the guitar at the same time.

An Horse played another wonderful set with the crowd eating them up.

Wintersleep played a pretty similar set to Seattle. There was one major change. Insomnia was played, which was a nice treat. Miasmal also opened the set, which I always find refreshing. Pretty standard set otherwise, no new songs again.

Setlist
Miasmal
Archaeologists
Caliber
Drunk on Aluminum
Weighty Ghost
Murderer
Insomnia
Laser Beams
Oblivion

Victoria
Finally the last show on my run was Victoria. In some ways, this show played out similar to a hometown show when compared to the last couple of shows on the tour. Indeed the last couple of times, they've been Victoria, the crowds have been pretty wild, tonight was no exception.

An Horse took the stage first. No surprises here, crowd loved them. Doesn't seem to matter whether it's in the States or Canada, the crowd was into it.

Before I get to the Wintersleep portion of the review, possibly the coolest thing happened even before the doors opened. For one of the songs, they actually played a rousing rendition of Neil Young's Words. They also soundchecked the acoustic guitar for Assembly Lines, but alas both didn't make it to the show (Words was on the setlist). The Victoria show had a good vibe, but different than the previous nights. This one definitely had the big time sold out feel to it. The setlist was similar to the previous nights with a few additions. The new songs that they've been road testing last year, "Baltic" and "Encyclopedia" are definitely starting to grow on me. "Baltic" especially, since it's got a cool little jam at the end of it. "Danse Macabre" ended the first set, although it didn't have the extended 10+ minute jam. The only disappointing part was that the set was rather short in comparison to the previous Victoria shows. I was told however, that the fact that they haven't really been playing 90+ minute sets probably factored into things (because they were doing shorter sets in Europe and the US). Also they're probably going to be heading into the studio again to record, which hopefully means a new album soon.

$20/$0
$20/$0
$40/$0

10.29.08 Video Games Live

Music has always been an integral part of video games. In most recent years, there have been a number of bands and events showcasing this natural association. Bands such as the minibosses and Neskimos have been covering Nintendo numbers for a number of years. Other events, such as Video Games Live, use the more elaborate approach of a full symphony.



The concert started about an hour before the music with a costume party/contest. The actual number of attendees who dressed up was pretty minimal. The party itself consisted of a couple of Wii/Guitar Hero/PS3/etc booths. In retrospect the costumes in general were pretty average. The constest eventually came down to a zombie nurse and some alien from Mass Effect, with the latter being the winner.


The concert portion of the event featured the music of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with co-founder Tommy Tallrico MC'ing the event. The event was fairly well put together and played out much like a variety show. While music was a primary component of the show, there were many interactive segments interspersed throughout to keep the audience entertained.

The program began with an old school games medley consisting of about 20 games from Pong to somewhere around the 8-bit era. The rest of the program focused many on music from games from the late nineties and beyond. Several of the pieces, in particular used the talents of the Vancouver Cantata Singers quite nicely. In particular, Civilization 4 seemed to almost uplift and awe the audience. Other pieces were almost forgettable, falling into the "epic movie soundtrack" realm.

Interspersed between the tracks were two interactive moments. The first featured a rather large gentleman, forced to wear a shirt several sizes too small, playing interactive Space Invaders. The second was a twelve year old in a Guitar Hero: Aerosmith contest. Both were unsuccessful, but received consolation prizes (actually the latter got it anyway). Perhaps the most impressive pieces were done solo by pianist Lee Ann Leung, sister of Martin "the Video Game Pianist". Her 10 song Final Fantasy medley was stunning. Other notables: The Vancouver band Splitting Adam played live, accompanying the orchestra, to Need for Speed: Undercover. A remix of SSX Tricky was played with the original composers/music directors. The night ended with two crowd pleasing encores, "One Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy 7 and Castlevania Rock.

Despite the charming evening of music, I did have one major gripe. There was a lot of wasted time. All the interactive segments, song introductions and MC banter ate up a lot of time. In fact, one of the segments was a impromptu filming of a video game review of the TV show "Reviews on the Run". While all of this lead to a more polished and well paced show, one could not help but wonder how many more songs could have been added to the setlist.

Setlist
01) Intro/Symphony warm up
02) Classic Arcade Medley
03) Metal Gear Solid
04) God of War
05) Space Invaders
06) Need for Speed: Undercover
07) On My Own
08) Civilization 4
09) Final Fantasy Piano Medley `
10) Metroid
11) Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
---------------------------------------
12) Intros/Electric Playground Segment
13) SSX Tricky Remix
14) Kingdom Hearts
15) Warcraft
16) Starcraft 2
17) Super Mario Brothers
18) Mario Piano Medley
19) Tetris Piano
20) Guitar Hero Challenge: Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
21) Halo
---------------------------------------
22) Final Fantasy 7: One Winged Angel
23) Castlevania Rock


$65/$80

05.06.2008 Progressive Nation Tour 2008

Progressive rock as a genre has often been seen as either much too complex or much too geeky for the average person. Perhaps it is because of this that promoters have shied away from bring such acts to Vancouver. Dream Theater has always stated that most cities that they do not tour in is due to the fact that there is no market for them to play for. I find that hard to believe as evident by the amount of props my friend once got when he wore his Dream Theatre shirt to a Joe Satriani concert. A casual observer would have guessed he was a rockstar due to the amount of times he was approached by fellow DT admirers.

The first act was North Carolina's Between the Buried and Me (I was too late for 3). Previous stints have seen them in Vancouver touring with the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan and Darkest Hour. Tonight had a much bigger venue and larger audience. Stage presence was rather subdued even by prog standards. Other than singer, Tommy Rogers, the rest of the band were content to gazing at their fretboards, which is understandable considering the complexity of music. Musically the setlist was comprised of 2 songs and snippets, all from their latest release "Colors". True to the spirit of the tour, both songs clocked in at well over 10 minutes with the country section of "Ants of the Sky" getting the biggest reaction. They even ended the set with the drummer hitting a giant gong.

setlist
Ants of the Sky
White Walls

After a brief change, Opeth took the stage to probably the biggest ovation of the night. The Swedish melodic death metal wizards played an hour of new and old songs and even one off their upcoming album. In between songs, Mikael Akertfert..(sp?) the lead singer, kept the mood light with some witty banter. His voice was spot on as he transitioned flawlessly from a soulful serenade to a demon-like growl (I'm only being half sarcastic). The inclusion of Wreath and Master's Apprentice made their set quite memorable. Wreath, I believe, has not made it to the setlists since the 'Deliverance', if at all. The new song 'Heir Apparent' was similar to the newer material mixing heavy riffs with piano parts. I don't think I was completely sold on it. One other note, the mix coming out of the PAs sounded awful.

setlist
Master's Apprentice
Baying of the Hounds
In My Time of Need
Wreath
Heir Apparent
Drapery Falls

Dream Theater ended the night and proved to be the headliners of the night. Even their stage setup/show was far and beyond any of the previous bands. After almost 10 minutes of intro music (they did play 'Also Sprach Zarathustra live), the band went straight to work plowing through a wealth of material culled from most of their career. Musically they were in top form with plenty of shredding as well as a couple of surprises. At one point, keyboardist Jordan Rudess came out with a giant keytar and traded solos with guitarist John Pertucci. The band even acknowledged the fact that they have not been to Vancouver on several occasions. There were some disappointments however. The setlists during this run weren't as random as during most DT headlining dates, although given the nature of the tour, acceptable. After a couple minutes break and a short but humorous video featuring DT music and a hacked Mario Brothers footage, the band came back out to finish up with an encore medley. Hopefully this isn't the last time Dream Theater is in town. The demand certainly is there.

Theme from Psycho / Intro Tape / Also Sprach Zarathustra
Constant Motion
Panic Attack
Strange Deja Vu
Through My Words
Fatal Tragedy
Erotomania
Voices
Foresaken
As I Am
Ministry of Lost Souls
Take The Time
-----------------
Dark Nintendo Night
Shmedley Wilcox
i) Trial of Tears
ii) Finally Free
iii) Learning to Live
iv) In the Name of God
v) Octavarium

$60/$60

04.17.2008 Metric / The Clips

The last time Metric played a headlining show in Vancouver was about 2 years ago. In that time lead singer Emily Haines put out a solo album and the band re-released their indie album. A live DVD effort was also put forth. This night however was billed as 'Road Testing New Songs' or something to that effect. The result was mixed.

One thing that looked different was the Commodore itself. Two large projector screens look to have been installed as well as an in-house video crew. The footage was mixed on the fly and put on the screens much like it would be in a larger stadium show. This seems over kill in a smaller venue like the Commodore, but I suppose the vantage point for some areas are poorer than others.

Local indie band the Clips opened the show. As an opening band they were not bad. Their drummer interestingly enough plays in profile on the right side of the stage. Musically, they were ok. I don't know why, but if anyone has heard the extended jam that Metric used to do at the end of 'Dead Disco' a couple of years ago; thats what it reminds me of. I think I'll have to see them again to form a better opinion. They did have a decent live show.

After about half an hour, Metric stormed the stage, immediately starting off with their Freddie Mercury inspired 'Freddie'. It was also the first of a couple new songs to be played. The night's setlist consisted of old and new songs, roughly 80 minutes total. Performance-wise, the band was in top form. It was fairly evident that the band was eager to play after some time in the studio. Emily Haines, in comparison to Metric's previous Vancouver shows, was particularly talkative. Tonight's show was refreshingly full of stage banter. The last 3 times I saw Metric, I think she had a total of a minute's worth of small talk for the crowd.

The biggest disappointment about the show was that for a show that was billed as playing new songs, they only played 4 of them. Which isn't all that special relatively. I've seen the Blood Brothers play practically their entire new album during one of their similarly named tours. I believe Wolf Parade played 5-7 new songs and they didn't even announce it. The new songs that they did play were on the whole pretty good. None strayed too far from the rock synth hook Metric formula, but all were solid numbers. If anything the new songs seem to lean more towards a mainstream line than past efforts. Other notables: 'Rock Me Now' was extended with a crowd participation section. 'Calculation Theme' was nice to hear, although I prefer it without the added drums parts. 'Live It Out' was done with just Emily and guitarist James Shaw. The result was ...interesting. The night ended with another new song, Stadium Love, which was a little to crossover radio for me. However that's in line with the direction that they seem to be heading - ie: maybe they want Feist dollars.

Freddie
Poster of a Girl
Dead Disco
Cupid and Psyche
Empty
Hustle Rose
Satellite Mind
Rock Me Now
Calculation Theme
Combat Baby
Live It Out (acoustic)
---------------
Monster Hospital
Stadium Love

$30/35 SOLD OUT

04.06.2008 Black Mountain / Green Hour

In terms of Vancouver and psychedelic rock, there really is no one better than Black Mountain and their collective offshoot bands. Headed up by guitarist Stephen McBean, the Vancouver 5 piece normally has the vocal duties split between the aforementioned McBean and Amber Webber. Interestingly enough, 3 of the members work for Insite, an organization that aids the less fortunate residents of the Downtown Eastside. Tonight was the second night of back to back Vancouver shows; they played the Commodore the night before. Despite being an all ages show, the crowd was made up of mostly university aged kids and older.

The first act of the night was actually Black Mountain's merch guy (I forgot his name). Playing in front of a handful of attendees, he played with just a guitar and his voice. Even with the limited crowd you got the sense that he was pretty talented. At times his singing reminded of Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, during the quieter songs. After 3 songs he left.



Vancouver's own Green Hour played next. Musically, they were quite proficient. Their vocals were didn't seem to fit to well with the music however. Their stage attire, 1960's hippie(?), was a little grating. I'm not even sure what to think of the psychedelic visuals they were using. Personally, I was never a big fan of the whole 1960-70's revival. It was almost pretentious.

Black Mountain ended the night. They began the set with the demure 'Night Walks' from their latest effort In the Future. Then quickly jump started the set with their single 'Stormy High'. The set was drew almost equally from their two releases. For the most part, the band was quite enthusiastic. Even having to replace their snare drum in between a song did not seem to phase them. Some songs such as 'No Hits' were drawn out, showcasing some of their more experimental side. A two song encore ended the night; 'No Satisfaction' and 'Don't Run'. Not a mind blowing performance, but very good by most standards.

Setlist
Night Walks
Stormy High
Angles
Wucan
Queens
Druganaut
13 Walls
Evil Ways
Tyrants
No Hits
=======
No Satisfaction
Don't Run our Hearts around

$15/$20

10.15.2007 Stu Hamm Clinic

Most people who have seen Joe Satriani or maybe even Steve Vai in his heyday, have probably came across the incomprable bassist known as Stu Hamm. Known worldwide for his stellar technique and tapping/slapping skills, he also has his own line of basses via Fender - the Urge and Urge II. Currently he has been putting on a lot more clinics, in particular ones put together by his new amp sponsor Hartke. Why it is out in North Delta (1/2 hour away from Vancouver) is beyond me.

This particular clinic was actually more of a showcase than a clinic. The format consisted of about half the time Stu soloing and the other half him telling stories. Like most polished performers, even his clinic had a program. He would start each song or piece with a backing story many of which are derived from his life. Many a personal tidbits and anecdotes were thrown in as well. The pieces he played, were drawn from throughout his career. Early in the set, he played a sparkling rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" which would morph in and out of "O Canada". Songs were inspired by many areas of his life: songs of scorned love "Ann You bitch, I never want to see you again", the time he spent in Mexico "Tia Extrano".

Other pieces were covers arranged on the bass, including Abbey Road/Moonlight Sonata, the original Star Trek and a Led Zeppelin song that escapes me. Perhaps the biggest suprise was how funny Stu was. The whole evening was pretty light hearted, with many joke and even a couple of jabs towards other bassists. Jeff Berlin in particualr. Not to disappoint, Stu also played the staples of his playing, "Linus and Lucy" and "Country Music".

Stu ended the evening with a pretty uneventful Q&A and signing.


$20/$0 - did I mention this was free?

09.24.2007 Dub Trio

To be honest, this really isn't a show that I was really expecting to go to. (fuck you billy corgan) Fortunately, Dub Trio is a pretty interesting band. Combining elements of rock, punk, metal and dub, the band plays a very intricate yet colourful blend of instrumental music. All three of the musicians are beyond talented, even behind all the samples and the plethora of pedals and effects. The songs were fairly well written and the different influences in their music flowed seamlessly, not unlike Secret Chiefs 3. Not necessarily my sort of thing, but the crowd seemed to be into them. Helmet followed, but I didn't go, I had a early drive the next morning...