 | Steve Earle
with Allison Moorer
at the Centre for Performing Arts
Steve Earle has always maintained a huge popularity in Canada. He’s done this despite the fact he gets almost no airplay on Canadian Radio, save for his 2 singles from the late 1980’s, which still show up from time to time on country stations, or that horrible Jack FM...[more]
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 | Jason Collett
with Peter Elkas
at the Plaza
Not having heard Jason Collett’s solo music before, I had mixed expectations attending his concert at the Plaza. What I did know of Collett was that he’s a member of that grossly obese Broken Social Scene, the purveyors of over-indulgent, art school pretentiousness...[more]
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 | Wintersleep
with Ladyhawk
at the Commodore
Ladyhawk opened. They’re local. I think I have seen them before, but there’s something about them that doesn’t grab me and shake me around like a ragdoll exactly. They did have their moments though. I would keep an eye out for them. I need to see a full set maybe, as I missed the beginning strains of this one...[more]
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 | Marilyn Manson
with Ours
at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Who came up with this pairing? Way to go for Marilyn Manson picking up genius artists to bring on tour with him. I didn’t know how well someone like Ours would work with a Manson crowd, and to be sure, no one anywhere around me while I was making my way to the doors had the foggiest clue...[more]
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 | The Editors
with Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV
at the Commodore
I cannot believe it’s been three entire years since I’ve seen two of these three bands play. Some of you may recall my run-in with Louis XIV on their inaugural Vancouver stint...[more]
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 | Wilco
at Malkin Bowl
Wilco is such a feelgood band. I'm pretty sure everyone in attendance was just filled with glee over the show. It was long, it was fun, it was personable, it was cute, it was apt, and it was outdoors. All right, so the summer in Vancouver hasn't been exactly beach weather, and the audience here was covered in sweaters and jackets and blankets...[more]
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 | The Cribs
with Sean Na Na
at Richards
Now this was a far more rambunctious show than I'd anticipated. With Sean Na Na opening and nearly done their set when I arrived, I nonetheless was there in time to see them bring out The Cribs for a massive sing along...[more]
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 | Maximo Park
with Monsters Are Waiting and the Ooh-La's
at Richards
Monday is the new Saturday at Richards! I was surprised by the opening bands for Maximo Park tonight. I'm sure in hindsight I'd seen both names in passing, but until they were right in front of me, I forgot that both the Ooh-La's and Monsters Are Waiting were performing...[more]
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 | Silverchair
at the Commodore
It's been a long day already even for me. After a mild interview time snafu and a lot of listening to soundchecking crew goofing off on various keyboards and drums, a small pile of fans were herded in - contest winners for a soundcheck party...[more]
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 | Stars of Track and Field
with Mother Mother and the Cary Brothers
at Richards
Ah, how I've waited for this! The chance to see a proper club-ish Stars of Track and Field show. Any of you folks who've kept up with Cord over recent months will know we've become rather fond of this live-bass-free, aura-laden trio...[more]
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 | VirginFest 2007
at Thunderbird Stadium
Virgin Festival! Finally, Vancouver gets to be part of a multi-day musicfest. Okay, so it's not quite at the level of camp-out-in-the-boons-with-100,000-people, but it's still cooler than yet-another-Warped Tour or the somewhat strangely-run affair that is Arts County...[more]
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 | Cancer Bats
with Bleeding Through and The End
at The Plaza
Leaving the Arcade Fire show at Deer Lake Park, I could still hear the music even quite far from the venue. After a small stop for some Tim Horton's soup and annoying youth shenanigans at the neighbouring table, I found myself back at the Plaza Club for good old-fashioned hardcore...[more]
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 | Harry Connick Jr.
at The Centre
Harry Connick Jr. put on the best show I think I have ever seen. HCJ isn't my favourite musician of all time by any means, and while I like vocal jazz, it's most certainly not my top genre choice of music. But this show was top top top notch...[more]
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 | New Music West 2007 - Thursday
at various venues
New Music West! Another year has come and gone, baby, and I'm still here with all you indie bands trying to find the next few to fixate on. Really, that's the joy of this festival - it's no longer the media/label circus it once was...[more]
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 | New Music West 2007 - Friday
at various venues
Okay first of all, it's Friday! Weekend! Tonight's surely gonna pick up, right? Right?
One thing I must mention - where was the Big Bus in all this? It was there last year, and I heard it was supposed to be there this year, but I didn't see the fancy double-decker bus...[more]
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 | New Music West 2007 - Saturday
at various venues
Hey, look at that, it's Saturday and the evening's entertainment starts even earlier! Only in Vancouver, folks. The STone Temple was getting things rolling just after 6pm, presumably to have things wrapped up before 10 so they could get the money-making club kids into the room. First up here was Familia...[more]
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 | New Music West 2007 - Sunday
featuring Apostle of Hustle and Memphis
at The Red Room
I wonder on this night (though I wasn't actually clever enough to ask anybody) if
the opening band tonight actually played. I didn't think I arrived too late into the
evening, but Memphis was just hitting the stage when I got there...[more]
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 | Electric 6
at Richards
Oh my what a night. On the eve that our Vancouver Canucks NHL team scrambled their way into the second round of the playoffs, the city was in sufficient first-round mayhem as I trundled my way down to the bar where Electric 6 was playing...[more]
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 | Mew
at Richards
Mew gets creepier all the time. Perhaps just because this was their own show instead
of an opening slot, we got a chance to see more of the weird and spooky visuals than
before...[more]
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 | Lily Allen
and Badly Drawn Boy
at the Commodore and Richards
Look, people are going to shoot me for this I'm sure. But Lily Allen? Okay, she's adorable. I get that. And I get that she's personable...[more]
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 | Moneen
with Sparta and Attack In Black
at the Commodore
Attack in Black is one of my surprise new favourite of the year. I'm pretty sure I
have an album or EP of theirs or something kicking about, but I didn't know they
were this in-the-flesh neat. Killer, killer drumming...[more]
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 | David Usher
with NLX
at Richards
andBen Sigston
with the Parlour Steps and The Painted Birds
at The Red Room
After a pleasant interview with Natasha Alexandra of NLX, I settled in and hung about for an hour or so while the club doors opened and Alexandra got herself ready for her opening slot on this night. She deftly climbed the stage and settled in behind her piano...[more]
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 | Arts County Fair with Sam Roberts Band
at Thunderbird Stadium, UBC
andThe Frames
with Jets Overhead
at The Red Room
One of these days, I swear I will watch an entire Arts County Fair day. As it
stands, the event generally happens on a Thursday, the last day of classes for the
University year at UBC...[more]
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 | HelloGoodbye
at The Croatian Cultural Centre
Back to high school we go... a show at the CCC is an all-ages affair, and after
catching the last 30 seconds of Hush Sound (enough to figure out they have neat
haircuts and can be classified as 'popmo'...[more]
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 | Bacardi B-Live Concert Series
with The Crystal Method
at The Commodore
I didn't see much of this gig, and most of the time I was there, I have to be honest, I was consuming white grape juice and rum concoctions...[more]
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 | Pat Watson
with Dan Mangan
at The Gallery
What an unusual venue for a touring gig. The teeny little Gallery bar at UBC was a full house by the time I arrived. I'd like to say that meant a massive crowd, but it really didn't...[more]
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 | 120 Days
with Ratatat and Despot
at Richards
Mostly, this one's up as a gallery for 120 Days, but since this was a very highly-anticipated show for me, I will speak about it to a degree...[more]
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 | The Thermals
at the Media Club
Painfully average. It pains me to say it, but there is no description more apt for the The Thermals first ever Canadian show...[more]
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 | The Luna Riot
with Stereobuss and Marble Rye
at the Buffalo Club
Oh my what a collection of people in this room tonight! It's another one of those nights where it sort of feels like it's 2003, only now everyone's in different bands... nice to see everyone again though...[more]
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 | Sweetheart
with The Sessions, Elias and 7 Year Old Poets
at the Media Club
Seven Year Old Poets were on stage when I arrived. A smart-looking bunch...[more]
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 | Ryan McMahon
with Cory Woodward and Kerry ODonovan
at the Backstage Lounge
Clearly, this was meant to be a comedic night. On the tail of leaving the ridiculous Tenacious D concert, I ended up at the Backstage Lounge on Granville Island for a night of pretty acoustic type music...[more]
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 | Wolfmother
at the PNE Forum
Even more than the band and whatever it was doing on stage (when they finally got there), the most striking thing about this show was the audience! Am I just this out of touch?...[more]
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 | The Shins
with Viva Voce
at the Commodore
Viva Voce opened this show - the gal in the band would appear later onstage with the Shins, but in the meantime, this loud, boisterous duo from Portland was here to mildly ammend the White Stripes 2-person band configuration...[more]
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 | Gomez
with Ben Kweller
at the Commodore
Ooh boy, here we go! Ben Kweller! Having been absolutely titillated by the guy's last performance in Vancouver, I was really looking forward to this one...[more]
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 | Sparklehorse
with Attics and Cellars
at Richards
Approaching Richards this night, there's a scribbled green sharpie marker sign that
states the original openers would not be here for this show, and instead, local
openers would be taking their place...[more]
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 | Pete Yorn
with Aqualung
at the Commodore
I'll say right off the bat; I kind of have a little nostalgic love affair with Pete
Yorn...[more]
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 | Matt Mays
with Museum Pieces
at Richards
I came into this not knowing what to imagine or expect. In the days preceding the show, I started to get little tidbits of information about it...[more]
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 | Ladytron
with CSS
at the Commodore
Someone told me this show would be boring as hell. That was on second-hand information, but I was inclined to possibly believe him anyhow...[more]
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 | The Tragically Hip
at the Commodore
Anyone tired of the Hip yet?
If you said yes, I'm going to personally come over there and kick your ass.
The Tragically Hip, Canada's legendary, nation-defining rock band...[more]
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 | The Decemberists
at the Commodore
Two days of Decemberists! After a disappointing cancellation a month earlier, the
Decemberists returned to Vancouver to make up those dates...[more]
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 | We Are Scientists with Art Brut
at the Commodore
Oh Art Brut is so ridiculous, I love it. Getting there a bit too late to take
photos, they had the audience energized like mad ...[more]
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 | Sasquatch! Festival
at the Gorge at George
Holy moly moly. So much happened this weekend, I barely remember what I saw or how it went. Every year in George, Washington (yeah, that's George comma Washington), there's a wide-ranging spring/summer cusp festival called Sasquatch!....[more]
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 | The Boy Least Likely To
at the Plaza of Nations
How can I possibly express how much joy seeing this band play a show brings? There's absolutely no way - you just have to go see them....[more]
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 | The Cult
at the Plaza of Nations
The Cult have come a long way from white spandex and pirate shirts. A long long way. It's astounding how seeing a show like this can somehow restore your faith in the campy, outrageous world of rock...[more]
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 | New Music West Day 1 coverage
at various venues
Running all over town...[more]
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 | New Music West Day 2 coverage
at various venues
Again running all over town...[more]
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 | New Music West Day 3 coverage
at various venues
Guess what? Running all over town...[more]
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 | New Music West Day 4 coverage
at various venues
More running all over town...[more]
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 | New Music West Day 5 coverage
at various venues
Still running all over town...[more]
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 | New Music West Day 6 coverage
at various venues
Will I ever stop running all over town?...[more]
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Wanna see more? Hit up the 
