Last Night At Sea

Did a show last night with the fine folks from Pepper Sands and The Februarys. It was quite special for me as the Pepper Sands are one of my favourite bands. I first saw them open for MG at the Commodore 6 yrs ago and have been hooked to their music ever since. I've seen them several times now over the years so it was really neat to do a show with them last evening. Their pop-rock riffs and melodies are just so infectious and they have such great energy onstage. Looking forward to working with both bands again in the future.

Coachella Bound

Ticket confirmed.....Going to COACHELLA!!!

I will burn all this...

Went to see Marianas Trench last night at the Plaza Club. It was an all-ages show at the venue...which always makes things interesting. Props to those offering live music to the all-ages crowd in the city as it's become a very limited scene...especially with the closures of the Vogue and Mesa Luna...amongst other recent and upcoming venue closures. I might be helping to put on some more all-ages shows in the future...so we'll see how that works out.

It was kinda weird though walking around the Plaza and seeing 13yr olds at the venue for the show. The Trench do seem to have a pretty young fanbase.

Two things you'll repeatedly hear at all-ages shows:
1)Oh my god! I love this song!
2)Oh my god! This is the best concert ever!

...funny stuff.

Marianas Trench had a great showing with their powerful harmonies once again...plus we scored some sweet Moderne Burger action before the gig.

***

Coachella!?!

If you find me, hide me, I don't where I've been

Emily Haines and The Soft Skeleton played the Commodore Thursday night. They had a seated dance floor in place for the evening to give it more of an intimate theatre feel.

Opening the night was Tall Firs. The Brooklyn three piece recently won a contest by beating out over 300 solo artist and band submissions to open for Emily on her North American tour. I thought the guys did an okay job and their sound grew on me with each passing song.

Emily Haines and The Soft Skeleton took the stage, opening with Our Hell followed by Doctor Blind. Hanging behind Emily and her piano was a screen that would feature interesting clips from filmmaker Guy Maddin throughout the set.

It was a nice change to be seated for the show at the Commodore...in an attempt to get a different feel and atmosphere of the music being performed for the evening. Though most of the audience welcomed this arrangement, the constant talking and sound of bottles colliding with canvas were clearly audible through the entire performance. I must say it's kind of hard to have a silent show when there's a bar present in the room. Ms. Haines addressed those that were constantly talking through the set...mentioning that it doesn't hurt her, but those who paid their hard earned money to come see the show, then choose to talk throughout it.

Emily and company ran through all the songs on her debut solo album, and in pretty much the same order of the LP tracklisting in her 1hr performance. Favourites of mine from the evening included Crowd Surf Off A Cliff and Reading In Bed. For the encore, she came back out and did a solo rendition of Neil Young's Expecting To Fly.

I am not bound by my secret anymore

Jack and Coke.....Please take off your coat

Went to see Augustana play last night. I headed straight to the Commodore after dance class, but had to miss the opening act Vega 4. Some friends said they did a good job with their set.

It didn't make much sense for HOB to book Augustana at the Commodore, considering they've had little to no exposure through any media outlets in the city...radio, t.v., newsprint, online, etc. In addition, it was also their first headlining tour and only their second time performing in Vancouver...having opened for Snow Patrol last September. All this clearly reflected in the attendance for the evening, which was just over 200 people. This was the first Commodore show I've attended where the balcony was closed off and not needed for the night.

Despite the small turnout, which is no fault of the band...they simply arrive in town to play the show they're booked for...I thought Augustana put on a pretty good set filled with their catchy pop-rock riffs and killer melodies.

The San Diego natives opened with Stars And Boulevards and Hotel Roosevelt off their debut LP. This was followed with an upbeat and rockin' version of Bullets, which got the crowd moving in unison. Singer and guitarist Dan Layus has such a strong voice that can stretch for miles.

They played a few new songs for us, including one called Devil's Blue Eyes that Dan performed solo acoustic....wow, that one was completely haunting. Seeing the mandolin onstage meant Sunday Best, which is my absolute favourite of theirs. For Boston, they changed up the lyrics and had a really nice outro. Coffee And Cigarettes was a definite highlight as well.

Set lasted 1hr 15mins.

Aqueous Transmission

Went to my first show of the year Friday night...monkey off back. I wasn't scheduled to go see Incubus, but as luck would have it, I found a Row 4 ticket about 2hrs before the show started...so I said "What the heck, let's giv'er"...and found myself at the QE Theatre shortly afterwards. Besides, how can I turn down a night to rock out?

Albert Hammond Jr. opened the show. It was interesting to watch the guitarist for The Strokes assume the frontman position. It's also the first time I've seen Hammond talk onstage, as he pulled out some witty banter with the audience throughout the set...he usually keeps to himself onstage when he's the guitarist for the New York five piece. His vocals were okay and a few of the songs were somewhat catchy. He's still very much in the development stage of his side project, so we'll wait to see how things progress over time.

Incubus took the stage to an excited sold out crowd at the QE Theatre. This was my first time seeing them again in over 4 years...the last time they played Vancouver was back in 2002 on their Morning View Tour. Friday night was also the first stop on their North American Tour for 2007.

The California quintet kicked off their set with the first two tracks from their new album. Stellar came next, exploding like a giant ball of energy. Brandon Boyd has some pretty strong vocals with a unique texture and range that separates him from a lot of modern rock singers. Guitarist Mike Einziger is fun to watch as he rips through his well structured riffs...he sure likes using his Fender Jags.

The new songs translated well live, especially Anna Molly, Dig, and Rogues. I love the turntable bit by DJ Chris Kilmore in Wish You Were Here. Brandon and Mike did a two song acoustic portion for the set, playing New Skin and Drive...Brandon mentioned it was their first time playing New Skin live in over 10 years.

Sick Sad Little World featured Boyd putting on these black gloves with lights on them. He used it to shine them on himself, Mike, and the crowd...it was pretty neat. They also had a sweet extended intro for Megalomaniac. Overall, the night was entertaining and turned out pretty well in the end.

Set lasted 1hr 30mins.

Setlist:

Quicksand
A Kiss To Send Us Off
Stellar
Nowhere Fast
Anna Molly
Wish You Were Here
Out From Under
New Skin
Drive
Earth To Bella Pt. 1
Redefine
Sick Sad Little World
Talk Shows On Mute
Rogues
Dig
Megalomaniac

Echo
Blood On The Ground
Earth To Bella Pt. 2