I Gave My Heart To Rock N' Roll

The Sounds w/ Foxy Shazam
October 26, 2009
Commodore Ballroom

Last night I finally had the chance to fulfil a dream I’ve had for the past six or so years: seeing the Sounds play a headlining show. As far as I know they haven’t played one here since I’ve been of age and the only time I was able to see them was at Warped Tour (and if you’ve ever been to Warped Tour, you know that barely counts).

The opening act was a band I’d never heard of called Foxy Shazam. They played that semi-ironic brand of late 70s/80s inspired rock (and they dress the part too) that I probably wouldn’t have taken seriously if I heard it on record first, but these guys put on a hell of a show. There were handstands, magic tricks, staged fights, high fives, people crawling across the stage, guitars thrown into the crowd, and at one point I’m pretty sure the signer ate a couple cigarettes. They definitely succeeded in getting everyone pumped.


[look at those fucking hipsters]

During the time between sets I realized this wasn’t going to be the most civil crowd. People were already shoving their way to the front and some girls got into a fight with a couple guys to the right of me and started smacking them in the head.

Finally The Sounds hit the stage and everyone went nuts. I could try and be objective here, but all I can really say is that they were absolutely amazing. Maja might just be my new favourite front woman (or maybe I‘ll call it a three way tie). She completely owned that stage. They played a pretty varied set that covered all three records. Highlights included “Seven Days a Week,” “Ego,” “Living in America,” and “Painted By Numbers” which was especially awesome live. There was also an incredibly off key “Night After Night” sing along where people pulled their lighters out. At one point Maja did a stage dive and crowd surfed over us. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I acted like a ridiculous fangirl when I got to grab her hand. It was like I was 15 all over again.



They closed the night with “Hope You’re Happy Now” and a pit opened up in the crowd. I can’t even remember the last time I was in an actual mosh pit, but I definitely remembered why I stopped putting up with that mess. Maja claimed we were the most energetic crowd of the tour and promised she wasn’t just saying that for the sake of saying it and said she'd tell everyone else. For once, I actually believed her because people were completely insane. There was a non-stop wave of crowd surfers and not enough security to catch them. I left the venue having accidentally ingested the hair of several strangers and covered in sweat that was mostly not my own, but it was absolutely worth it (even if I keep finding new places that hurt every time I stand up). If you’re even a casual fan and you haven’t seen The Sounds yet, what the hell are you waiting for?

Oh yeah, and on a completely unrelated topic, I should mention that we did get to see Jay-Z a couple weeks back and he was all inspiring and shit. Just sayin'.

'Cause we're so handsome, and we're so bored.

Bloc Party w/ Hot Hot Heat
April 26, 2009
Commodore Ballroom

I felt liked I’ve been waiting for this concert all my life. Well, okay, maybe just for the better part of five years, but close enough. Whether it was because I was underage, or just couldn’t get my shit together, every other time Bloc Party came though town I missed out so I was pretty pumped for this one.

I was extremely disappointed to find out Hot Hot Heat was opening. I was a little late (but not late enough) so I missed most of their set, but from what I did see not much has changed. This was my fourth (I think) time seeing them and they still didn’t impress me. I just wanted to hear Bandages, and they at least gave me that.

Bloc Party on the other hand lived up to my expectations. Even though it was a Sunday night the crowd was hyped and they absolutely killed it. They played a good mix of old stuff and new stuff and I got to hear all my favourites so I was satisfied. Not too much banter, but they did take a minute to call out Dave, a.k.a. “the guy in the bright yellow shirt“, and to ask what made the people on the balcony think they were so important.



I’m glad I got to see them in a smaller venue for my first time. It just wouldn’t have been the same at a place like the Orpheum. Also, I just want to say it was nice to be part of a crowd where singing (read: screaming, extremely loud and out of key) along was encouraged (unlike some shows that may or may not have been previously mentioned on this blog).

[Pictures again courtesy of my not-so-poseur friend]

Not Gonna Teach Him How To Dance With You

Mates of State w/ Black Kids
April 18, 2009
Commodore Ballroom

A little late with this post, but school has been kicking my ass, so I apologize to all of the people who don’t read our blog who I’m sure have been anxiously anticipating a new post.

I should mention the opening act Judgement Day. They weren’t exactly my thing, but they deserve an A+ for effort and ingenuity. They’re basically a metal band but they’ve replaced bass and guitar with cello and violin. Seriously, check it out.



It seems that a few more months of touring did Black Kids some good because they were better than I remembered. Though, it may have had something to do with the energy of the crowd because they sure knew how to party. They played basically the same set as back in October and it definitely went by too fast. I can’t wait until these guys put out another record so they can stay on stage for more than 45 minutes. Also, I’d like to mention that after attending what feels like a million shows, I finally caught a damn guitar pick. It was a serious personal achievement.

Between sets we actually got to say hello to Reggie at the merch table where he was taking some pictures with fans. Then we just hung out at the back of the dance floor where with the help of some Dre, Weezy, and Michael Jackson a little retro dance party broke out. People were pop n’ lockin’ and everything See:


[Apologies to the random strangers in this photo.]

Even though I was pretty excited to see them, by the time Mates of State took the stage I, as well everyone else there it seemed, was pretty burned out. It might have been a result of where I was standing, but the mix didn’t sound too great either. They still played a solid set though, but the highlight was definitely when they invited couples to slow dance on stage and one girl decided to strut her stuff to completely steal the show.

[And thanks to my previously mentioned poseur friend and her facebook for the pictures]

U guise are really good singers...

We went and saw the Bee-rilliant B-town for her I Am... tour which hit Vancuntver on Tuesday.

While our obnoxious singing/screaming, was met with some criticism, (not that we even care... -_-" <-- YES I TOTALLY JUST DID THAT), the most interesting experience/revelation of the night occurred when we found ourselves being annoyed as fuck at the people who only wanted The Queen B to do Single Ladies and If I Were A Boy the whole night: We'll be fucking snobs about anything. Even Beyonce.

While it was certainly not The Beyonce Experience, Beyonce indubitably bee-rought it (Sorry. Had too). Which only brings 2 complaints: WHY HAS RADIO NOT YET BEEN RELEASED AS A SINGLE and WHY HASN'T IT BEEN REMIXED.

C'mon hip hop stars. I know you waaaaaant to.

Missy Higgins @ The Commodore

Missy Higgins w/ Joshua Radin
November 1, 2008
The Commodore Ballroom

I hate boys at concerts. Okay, maybe I should be a little more specific because that sounded kind of sexist. I hate loud obnoxious boys who look like they are probably in a fraternity, who make multiple beer runs through the crowd and feel the need to stand in the middle even though they're all about a foot taller than everyone else there. Now, to the show.


Joshua Radin opened, and he sounded great, but I felt a little bad for the guy. He was up there by himself with just his guitar and the crowd was being ridiculously noisy. I was pretty close, and sometimes it was hard to hear him between songs. He pointed it out repeatedly too. It was a little awkward. For his last song, he just unplugged his guitar and microphone and sang it for the people up front who were paying attention. Sometimes I don't think the Commodore is a good place for quiet acts.


After what felt like an eternity and a Grey's Anatomy soundtrack or two, Missy Higgins finally came on stage. She played for a solid 90 minutes and sounded amazing. I'm always impressed when someone actually sounds better live than they do on record. She talked quite a bit, but it wasn't a problem. She was hilarious, talking about what she did for Halloween and telling us about a bad experience with some wine while in Italy. I was excited she played both “They Weren't There” and “The Special Two.” She pulled Joshua Radin out with her to sing a cover, which I thought was nice. Their voices go well together. She didn't bother with an encore, warning the crowd beforehand that she thought they were dishonest (I agreed. I hate clapping for 4 minutes knowing they're going to come back anyway, I've only ever seen one spontaneous encore). She ended with “Scar” and the crowd sang along.

Ya'll Are As Good As Your CD

Black Kids w/ The Virgins
October 11, 2008
Richard's on Richards

We showed up to this show a little too early. And by a little too early, I mean we were literally about the tenth people to walk through the door. That gave us a lot of time to people watch. Being a show featuring two blog buzz bands, I think you can figure out the general make up of the crowd. Mostly indie kids and quite a few, well, you know, plus a couple people who are probably just there because they heard a song on Gossip Girl (not that there's anything wrong with that). Five years later and "The OC effect" is still going strong, and I still don't know if that's a bad thing or not.


First up, looking like they came straight out of 1991, was The Virgins. They played an energetic set, and were kind enough to only make one pot reference (we get that shit a lot out here). For all you "the EP was better" types, I'll admit that they did benefit from being away from the gloss of the studio. They make the kind of music that sounds better a little dirty.


They might still be a little green on stage, but Black Kids sure know how to bring the party. As with the Virgins, they sounded a little better live than they do on record. They busted out essentially every song they've ever written, and ended the show at around 9:30. Yeah, I said 9:30.