Royal Unicorn Cabaret
April 25th, 2008
A pointless evening, overall; I came for Black Betty – Black Betty did not come! Ana was sick. They were replaced by the comparable, admirable Hezzakya, with huge double-stacks of amps-amps-amps ...
Nomeansno at the Royale Banquet Hall
April 3rd By Allan MacInnis
Tom Holliston of Nomeansno is a baseball fan, so it was fortunate for him that the band’s recent Japanese tour - only their second in their 30 year history - took plac...
I entered Pat's Pub on Friday March 12th in the year of our lord 2010 to experience Motorama for the first time. There were three bands in the evening and Motorama opened. When I say opened, I mean OPENED. This power trio of punk dug int...
To understand the resurgent popularity of thrash metal among a new generation of fans one need look no further than Brazilian thrash stalwarts Sepultura.
Fri Jun 20th, 2008
I played an acoustic show with Rich last summer at Hoko’s on an invitation from Ryan of Collapsing Opposites. Rich was touring on his bicycle from his hometown of Halifax to raise money for the Childhood Cancer Founda...
Valley brought their ‘Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden’ tour to The Ale House on November 7
The Sweatshop, June 22nd
I walked into the dimly-lit Sweatshop to catch the tail end of System Shit’s wonderfully sloppy set. Who would have thought that a punk gig would start at 7pm? Fear of Tomorrow hit the stage and began to sonica...
Dick's On Dicks, Wed.June.18th
With the 2008 Vancouver International Jazz Fest getting under way, the illustrious Commodore Ballroom is pretty well taken for a month or so solid at this time every year. As such, I was not so much surpris...
Yowza! Saturday night was a melting pot of birthdays, friends, and 4 of Vancouver’s finest bands all under one small jam-packed roof. Getting over the ridiculous layout of The Railway takes some time getting used to if you’re not a regu...
Nervous Fellas with Deadcats and Swank
June 20th, The Rickshaw Theatre
By Allan MacInnis
I remember witnessing a leather-jacketed rocker viciously take to pummelling a much smaller, dreadlocked kid at a Reverend Horton Heat show a few...
The Manglers and The Engimas at the Bourbon, January 8th
The Sick Sick Sicks, Gnash Rambler, Little Guitar Army at The Railway, January 10th
By Allan MacInnis
Nothing like a good cover tune to make a great live show even better. Case i...
Victoria’s Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra recently played Upstairs Cabaret here in their hometown of Victoria with locals Compassion Gorilla and Carousels opening up. There was a strong sense of community and no shortage of dancing at the ...