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New Music West 2003
Vancouver
May 29, 2003
On a dreary Wednesday night in Vancouver, getting drunk and playing air guitar in the confines of your own home sounds pretty appetizing, but foreseeing industry keynote speaker Jason Miller speak of the sorry state live music is in, and how we could change it and get it back on track and into the right hands, and it all starts with getting out there and supporting it, was all it took for me.
Wednesday May 21, 2003
PERFECT STRANGERS THE PLAZA (11:00)
I caught wind of Perfect Strangers being added to Thursdays line-up at the Plaza, arrived early and caught the last three songs from opening act Peppersands, I haven¹t tired of "Win Big Lose More" yet and I¹m definitely a sucker for Citizen A, so all was good. Perfect Strangers hit the stage around eleven and performed a tight set of tracks from their debut disc with the addition of Zeppelins "Dazed and Confused." The lighting of the Plaza isn¹t geared for live rock, but the sound was incredible, lead singer Chrystal Oudijk¹s vocals ripped right through the sparse crowd as Seph, the perfect behind the strangers, Martin and his shiny Epiphone peacocked through the set. Good blues tinged rock by way of Joey¹s flanged chops, and a dash of sass and balls, made it well worth stepping out for the night.
Thursday May 22, 2003
KRISTY THIRSK - THE TONIC (8:00)
Armed with a groovy repertoire of pop-rock arsenal, Thirsk commanded her New Music West set with an intense precision and musical savvy. Thirsk played songs from her soon-to-be-released cd, tentatively called, "Souvenir", which was produced by Eric Rosse (Tori Amos, Lisa Marie Presley). Possessing one of the most enchanting voices in music, Thirsk seems poised to take her career into the stratosphere. A solid set.
80 PROOF YOB ROXY (8:15)
By the time local Southern trash rockers, 80 Proof YOB took the stage, I was already feeling a little nervous. I had just finished listening to two Yobers "the Holson Canadians", watching as I listened to one, as he poured two glasses of beer, guzzle the rest of the pitcher then proceed to guzzle the two beers he poured (this is going somewhere). Standing behind the mic stand, made of chain and a tire rim, is lead singer Action Jackson shouting "squeal like a pig." The band, a mix of cowboy hats, greasy hair and ball caps, kicked out AC/DC and ZZ Top riffs in pre-glam eighties songs like "Butts Up Kneelin." Strippers, the introduction of Wild Turkey to any willing participant, and the Holson Canadians, a group of 3 guys who don¹t mind getting on stage to shotgun a 15 pack of Molson Canadian during a guitar solo, and I digress. I reached for the bottle of Wild Turkey handed to me, took my ceremonial swig and now for better or worse, I¹m part of "the band."
Nashville Pussy with a blend of early AC/DC, not a pretty sight but a must see show for anyone who wants to see trailer trash up close.
FROM THE ICY COAST THE CELLAR (9:10 PM)
I¹m going on record, and I know it¹s early in the weekend yet, but "musically speaking" Seattle¹s FTIC are the band to beat. I got to the Cellar twenty minutes into From The Icy Coast¹s set (thanks to the aforementioned stripper) and was immediately taken with the atmospheric rock haze and look of the band (sensible Goth). A powerfully captivating and processed sound made up of spacey guitars, incredibly diverse drum beats, hammering bass lines, and delicious buzzing electronic effects topped only by Howie Sennet¹s captivating vocals filled the cool Cellars walls.
Friday May 23, 2003
UNION ONE - THE ROYAL (9:30)
Union One¹s claim to fame seem to be that they are on the roster of 604 Records, the record label of Chad Kroeger. They sure sound like Default/Nickelback/Theory of A Dead Man not that I have anything against these bands it¹s just a noticeable sound which fairly renders them as indistinguishable from one another. Union One have a definite stage presence but seem to be lacking in soul or real passion for their music. Frankly, I was bored.
ARTIST KEYNOTE CHAD KROEGER (Nickelback) COMMODORE BALLROOM (1:00)
For the amount of success Chad Kroeger and Nickelback have enjoyed, going from a seeds band to one of the largest selling acts in North America, I was somewhat uninspired by what Kroeger had to offer. Rob Robson interviewed Chad on a number of topics, and only two things stood out, one answer to a question regarding the internet and downloading music, "In the past, all it took to successfully sell an album was three good songs, and the rest could be filler, with the internet you can¹t get away with that anymore, people can hear the whole album THEN decide not to buy it." Another pertained to his drive to be a rock star, "Nickelback was on tour with a band in the US that had sold 70,000 copies, they had three shiny new buses and were headlining the show, while we had sold 450,000 copies and were driving a crapy old bus." It was the catalyst for Nickelbacks enormous success "I was pissed off, went home and just started writing song after song with nothing but stardom in sight." In far less words, Kroeger got to where he is based on hard work and a hard driving ego.
INDUSTRY KEYNOTE JASON S. MILLER (HOB) COMMODORE BALLROOM (1:30)
Jason Miller is here to save live music! Well not exactly but he gave everyone a taste of where this city once was, and where we are today, the rest is up to the music lovers in this city to fix it. A natural born promoter, the 33 year old has spent most if not all of his working life in the music industry, including four years in Vancouver. He went through a list of clubs, Hungry Eye, Starfish Room, Town Pump, which stirred up fond memories, as he told the grim tale of how few venues we now have, and more bands than ever fighting for our attention. In his own words "Things are (expletive) up now, what happened?" To many rules are ruining the music, people are freaked of lawyers and law suits, people can¹t promote the way they use to, promoters that gave a (expletive) are now gone from the market place. Consolidation, venue affiliation, homogenization, and corporate consumption are killing musics integrity. The good new folks, is if we work really hard, we can turn this whole industry back around again
PRIS THE ROYAL (8:00)
Pris got sings going early in the night with a super sonic set. Hot flailing drums and guitars, with songs packed with great sing along choruses, described as a crunchy pop sandwich on razor bread. Burke whom writes all the songs, sings all the songs, and plays all the instruments on the recordings laughs about the pop dictatorship he created, and enjoys the road with his good friends and killer musicians Ira Merrill, Steve Gayle, and Leif Anderson backing him.
IAN THORNLEY THE ROYAL (10:15)
The room at the Royal sweltered as the full house sucked all the sexy, heavy, bulging rock of Big Wreck front man Ian Thornley and his band. Thornley has paid attention to what turns an audience on, and overfilled the Royal with balls out melodic LOUD hard-rock riffs, pulling the Wreck tune "That Song" proved a good hand and had everyone chanting, well, "That Song."
Saturday May 24, 2003
JORDY BIRCH THE ROYAL (9:30)
Vancouver¹s Eclectic Jordy Birch fired up the fun machine Saturday night. Birch, a very sharp dressed man at the worst of times, dressed down for the twenty minute set in a green janitor looking outfit with a mess green ball cap, hell he still looked great, and the four tracks he performed with his band, it was a yummy taste of what we can expect from his forthcoming album.
SEKIDEN THE ROYAL (10:05)
Perfect pop can be made. From Brisbane Australia came Sekiden, a power pop trio that was so much fun I almost peed myself. Seja¹s electronic synthesizer made a sound not heard since the late 70¹s early 80¹s as the pigtailed blonde bopped up and down. Sharing vox and front stage was Simon, full of one liners, a great voice, and punk rock energy, and drummer Mirko who rocks the world. I was in a zone and had no control over my head banging, it was quite liberating really, and did I mention fun? Who else can do a song about some guy who invented the phone, and leave you screaming at the top of your lungs "Alex-Ander-Graham-Bell"
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