live action Archives - Page 8 of 9

pemberton 2008

by Miné Salkin | Jul 30, 2008 | live action

In many ways, this year’s Pemberton festival turned all of us concert-goers into experimental subjects for how a festival should be organized. During the past week, I’ve read several reviews in many of the local papers, but none of which captured the entire sentiment of the three-day gongshow than the headline for the 24hrs magazine which read: “traffic, dust, fun,” succinctly describing the order of the weekend’s most memorable elements.

After waiting in line for about 14 hours in a hot, inland dustbowl, I finally caught the Metric show on Friday afternoon. Emily Haines was decked out in a shimmery, almost space-age sliver minidress that reminded me of a futuristic Kubrickian vision. Later on that evening I enjoyed Wolfmother’s metallic rampage as the band ravaged Zeppelin’s hits and left the crowd begging for more distorted violence. Come nightfall, the Mount Currie stage ushered in Nine Inch Nails, the day’s headliners, and the shit hit the fan. I was about 40 feet away from the mosh pit but still got tossed about and burned by rogue cigarettes as the show peaked at “Closer.”

epitome shot

On Saturday morning we had a lovely omelette breakfast at the campsite and went back to see Black Mountain, The Tragically Hip and of course, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. During the show, Gordon Downie during entreated the crowd to his iconic shifty-eyed, but strangely friendly smiles while pretending to be an ape who didn’t comprehend the electronic capacities of his own microphone. Tom Petty at twilight was smooth and enchanting as the crowd metamorphosed into middle-aged rock veterans who didn’t have the heart to block your view of the stage. The Flaming Lips showed up with these big fucking balloon things full of confetti that complimented the band’s eccentric lyrical component. To add to the confusion, they had a chorus of Teletubbies on the left side dancing and singing, a bizarre combination of weird music and even more strange scenery to make a fantastic show. The verdict? Black Mountain offered far more energy live and attracted an exodus of smelly but chill hippies and modern bohemians. Man I just love that stuff way too much.

The downside of this all is that I had to leave and miss the entire last day due to complications and major pooning out by some of my companions. I don’t have anything else left to say except that getting to and from the show was a fucking nightmare, but the music was fabulous and a remedy for it all. If Pemberton hopes to be an annual event it better shape up its over-idealistic view of checking 10,000 people’s personal bags to see if they snuck in booze after they’ve been waiting around for hours. You just can’t treat people like that.

the dandy warhols at richard’s on richards

by Miné Salkin | Jun 18, 2008 | live action

the dandy warhols
richard’s on richards
june 18.08

Yes! Everytime the Dandy Warhols come to the city there’s a definitive buzz of excitment amongst the local hedonists and Vancouver hipster bohemians. Announced less than two weeks before the show, The Dandys decided to play four additional shows as a prelude to their world tour which begins in less than a month from now. Come September they’re releasing their seventh studio album Earth to the Dandy Warhols, which every rock-alternative music fan desperately needs to acquire.

Prior to the show, there was a bit of disappointment as the venue was changed last minute from the opulent setting of the Vogue theatre to Richard’s on Richards, however this proved to be a massive improvement in the end considering the intimacy that was produced by the bar’s compact space. Four rows away from Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s feet could feel the hot sweat and breath of the Oregon quartet as they ripped the stage with new unreleased songs. The show started up with an energetically charged performance of “Wasp in the Lotus,” a new Dandy’s classic with their trademark bubble-gummy completely enveloping guitar-heavy chorus. Amongst a set list of new songs, the band also rocked out to their older tunes, such as “You Were the Last High,” “Country Leaver” and of course, “Bohemian Like You.”

Aside from their infectiously energetic musical performances, the attitude of the quartet is a cornerstone of their image as mid-90’s veteran alt-rockers who are still going strong. Courtney’s pouty lips and sultry swagger give the frontman an heroin-chic edge and a hard-to get attitude that leaves everyone wanting more. Lead guitarist Peter Holmstrom always starts out looking dark, sharp and shifty and ends up with mascara sweat all over his eyes.

The bottom line: The Dandy Warhols are fucking cool. They always leave us wanting more and they know it.

you, you’re a history in rust…

by Miné Salkin | Oct 29, 2007 | live action

The album

do make say think

monday october 29
commodore ballroom

By hearing their ambient music, this seemingly nonsensical phrase can only be fully illuminated.

Despite shiny discoballs and incessant smoke machines perforating their otherwise introspective sound, Do Make Say Think delivered some of the most beautiful and transcendental sounds over the hollowed out venue.

Maybe it was the haze from the smoke generator, or perhaps it was the atmospheric red lighting that coated the walls and surfaces, but honestly this was the unlikiest spiritual experience in the middle of Vancouver downtown.

Despite their downtown Toronto urban origins, Do Make Say Think can reduce everything down to a gorgeous organic texture that makes you believe that music is a naturally occuring substance. Although their live shows have evolved into more calculated, tight arrangements and sets, Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit entreated us to godlike euphonic improvisation between classic songs such as “The Landlord is Dead,” and “Auberge the Mouton Noir.” Indeed, with a concept so abstract, this group defies almost all typical musical conventions by seeming natural and uncalculated, but perfect in all the ways of beauty that are too incomprehensible to articulate. (Even their name reduces all of life in four words…)

Well, I dunno. Maybe I’m just a sucker for vintage Gretsch guitars and strings and saxophones, but when you hear them all in perfect relation and proportion to another like that you’ve got to appreciate the fact that something far more significant is going on.

I didn’t take acid before doing this show, but in all honesty it felt like it. I still don’t really know what happened that night, but the new album creates synesthetic euphoria. Tracks like “The Universe!” and “Executionary Blues” point to that unusual, yet mundane beauty in the minute details of life that is often overlooked.

broken social scene

by Miné Salkin | Oct 25, 2007 | live action

thursday october 25

Kevin Drew had the sniffles, but didn't let that get him down

@ commodore ballroom

Arts&Crafts veterans Broken Social Scene paid a little visit to Vancouver and played some beautiful music that night.

The last time I had seen them was a couple of years ago, and the two experiences to me proved the total dynamic and originality of sound that only the 19-person Toronto-based group can shape.

Kicking off their North American tour that night, the show was testosterone-charged set which only could have been induced by Kevin Drew setting up a competition for who could go the longest without taking a bath. Well, actually that was a direct stab at Justin Peroff, who was sweaty beyond belief and spraying it around by shaking his beard all over the place.
Playing a set list of their most recent album, Justin Peroff, Brenden Canning and James Shaw from Metric blasted their tunes distortedly charged and ultra-masculine sounding. There was also some fun sampling with a 30 second stab at “Love and Mathematics,” but Canning didn’t remember the bass part for it so they stopped and played “cause = time” in a way that couldn’t be larger or louder. Even Andrew Kenny from The American Analog set tagged along and treated everyone with the soft Texas-indie sounds of “Hard to Find.”

I felt bad for Kevin, who was hopped up on Sudafed and suffering from copious amounts of phlegm, but he gave it his all and wailed through a rocked-out version of “Lovers’ Spit,” and gave a supersexy throaty texture to the highest frequencies of “Superconnected.” I also particularly enjoyed James’ frantic gyrations; for some reason he’s the only person I’ve ever seen who can make those range of movements look good.

Actually, I’d venture to make the claim that Broken Social Scene can make anything look good, even influenza. But who am I to say?

Smashing Pumpkins Blaze the PNE Forum

by Miné Salkin | Sep 25, 2007 | live action

After a close friend described the current state of the Smashing Pumpkins as “washed out,” I was ready to defend the quartet despite their ostensibly lengthy, experimental, and not always well-received musical ventures.

Corgan: he

Why does everyone always make fun of Billy Corgan? Outside of his mass of supporters, I’ve heard people describe him as “that awkward bald guy”, with his “whiny sad voice,” who takes himself way too seriously. But let’s face it, there’s a reason why the Pumpkins have been around since they formed in Chicago 1988. Aside from his musical talent, Billy Corgan represents the most unlikeliest celebrity in the same spirit as Trent Reznor defiles the machine of commercialized music; he may be a musical God, but at least he tries to overcome it by staying humble.

The show ultimately proved that – the set was a well-balanced blend of all the best aspects of their career. Starting off with an explosively energized performance of “Doomsday Clock,” the debut track from their latest album Zeitgeist, the band rocked out with “Zero” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” among other quintessential Pumpkins tunes. It was the best of the past and the present, from “Down” and other Rotten Apples songs, and surprisingly enough, “To Sheila” and “Ava Adore” from their most radically experimental album Adore. While Corgan was missing his iconic Zero shirt, his long-sleeved stripes made us all remember the heavy psychadelic roots of the band. In humble appreciation, the band dedicated “1979” to Canada for being the world’s #1 fan – a sweet touch indeed. I also particarly liked the fact that James Iha and D’arcy were replaced by but another female bassist and asian guitarist. Did he think nobody would notice?

Now for something a little more substantial. Zeitgeist as an album explores many conceptions of nationality – particularly in reference to the band’s good old homeland, the United States, and the alienation that surrounds an individual when being attached to certain values and meanings simply based on their locality. It’s for this reason that the album in and of itself is so monumental: at all points in history there is indeed a “spirit of the time.” Hegel described this as a single historical figure who represents all aspects and values of that time, and eventually when such meanings are overturned, another Zeitgeist comes to be. Tracks such as “For God and Country” look at this phenomenological dialectic and describes how everything – including music is a subject to this temporality. At the end of the set, Corgan came out by himself and quite candidly laid bare his appreciation for the fans in Canada, who kept the Pumpkins at #1 on the charts when they were #2 in their own country. This is all making sense.

the brian jonestown massacre

by Miné Salkin | Sep 9, 2007 | live action

I am deeply apologetic to everyone who couldn’t make it to see the Brian Jonestown Massacre show at the Commodore Ballroom on September 8th. Even if you aren’t a fan, or have ever heard of their music, that night will forever go down in history as possibly the last group’s venture above the border.

For those who haven’t heard of the BJM, they are the lesser-known musical rivals and lovers of the Dandy Warhols, who altogether pick apart social mores and fashion bubble-gum tunes to reflect modern-day trendy, social indoctrination. Being an existential pessimist I was hyped up on seeing the quintet rock out only two months after seeing the Dandy Warhols in the flesh.

: they

Needless to say, the set was doomed from the very beginning. I have to say a word or two about how Icaught the end tail of the second opening band, The Hugs, only to find them to be a group of 18 year-old boys with peach fuzz and shitty guitars (never buy an Epiphone) that wouldn’t hold a tune. To be honest their set was a cacophony of angsty unsophisticated, and technically defunct tunes.

At that point I wasn’t too upset though, considering that the BJM was finally going to come on. But no. Those arrogant, but brilliant agents of musical genius didn’t come on until nearly half past 11, at this point causing mutinous stirrings in the crowd. One guy behind me yelled obscenities at the band, causing me to spill my beer all over another girl’s ankles. Shit. They finally started playing, opening up with a transcendent, psychedelic jam which bled into “Who?” from their albumTake It From The Man! Even though the music started flowing gorgeously, lead singer Anton’s back to the audience was an ominous foreshadowing of the aggression soon to come.

Contrary to what you, dear readers, may imagine to mediate the crowd’s tension, the music only exacerbated the feeling of getting ripped off at this show. Anton kept stepping backstage,leaving the rest of the band to hold down the situation by playing the same bleeding four chords for ten minute intervals. Anton, I love you, but why do you love the heroin so much? Anton comes back onstage and declares what a beautiful place Vancouver is, clearly getting increasingly fucked up as the night goes on.

At about ten minutes to one, some guy in the crowd threw a beer bottle at Anton’s back, causing him to scream death threats into the microphone, his middle fingers flying around. At this point the band left the stage, most likely the last time to present themselves on the Canadian concert scene indefinitely. But shit, you could taste the hatred and Anton’s wounded ego, who screamed at us all that we should all “humble ourselves.” Don’t misconstrue this, but this show was so bad that it paradoxically was so good; just don’t do heroin, OK kids?

« Older Entries

Next Entries »