First he brought you your RDA of vitamins and minerals as the co-founder of Happy Planet Juice. Then he brought you bike lanes as the Mayor of Vancouver. Now he’s bringing you block-rocking beats as a club DJ. Wait, what?
That’s right, Mayor Gregor Robertson temporarily traded in his tux for some turntables at the anniversary party of one of Vancouver’s favorite Saturday night parties, Glory Days at the Biltmore Cabaret.
Photo via the Straight
Well… how about that. Attendees said the Mayor actually knows his stuff, too – if the whole politics thing doesn’t work out, Gregor has a bright future ahead of him as a club DJ.
Were you there? Do you regret missing out? Let us know in the comments section below!
After a couple of decades of sold-out arena shows, Pearl Jam have stretched the definition of the term “alternative.” It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t know who they are, and of those people, it’s harder still to find someone who doesn’t enjoy hits like “Even Flow.”
The band is touring now, with a show at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum scheduled for September 25th. In the mean time, download their new track, “Ole,” here.
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding, the City of Vancouver is hosting a free, weekend-long party and music festival featuring a boatload of Vancouver musicians. Some of them have been famous for decades, others are underground artists with a cult following, but all of them are well worth checking out.
Here’s a few we’re particularly excited for.
Mother Mother is a power-pop group from Vancouver, but frontman Ryan Guldemond’s distinctive voice, as well as the slightly morbid nature of their songs, sets them apart from other indie bands. Excellent musicianship, intricate vocal harmonies, and catchy songs make them a perennial favorite.
Check out their track “Arms Tonite” for an idea of what they’re about. Like many bands, their live show is better, but this track is pretty great.
Fond of Tigers won a Juno Award in 2010, but they’ve also won the hearts and minds of listeners unafraid of getting a little weird. Consisting of founding member Stephen Lyon and a host of extremely talented supporting musicians (two drummers! TWO!), the group plays music which oscillates wildly between jazz and indie rock, between dreamy guitar noodling and furious cacophonies. While their songs are tricky to sing along with, Fond of Tigers are well worth seeing for the immense skills of their members.
Listen to “Soheb,” a track from their latest album:
The New Pornographers are accessible, fun, and have released a string of great albums showcasing songs packed full of hooks which wouldn’t be out of place in a Beach Boys or Beatles song. The band is sort of an indie-rock supergroup (the band includes A.C. Newman, Neko Case, and Dan Bejar, the founding member of Destroyer), but are world-famous on their own.
With Usher’s Vancouver concert coming up so soon (May 25 at Rogers Arena), now’s the time to relive some of Usher Raymond IV’s (neither Usher Raymond I, II, III, or V has a singing career… yet!) greatest hits.
Back in 2001, “The Middle” was my jam. Jimmy Eat World had just come out with their breakthrough album Bleed American, and the song was everywhere. It was great. The lyrics were sort of sad in an uplifting way, the hook stayed catchy no matter how many times it was played on the radio, and the guitar part was enough that I, along with millions of other high school kids, could pick out the simple chords on our cheap knockoff Stratocasters.
Then Jimmy Eat World kept releasing good albums, like 2004’s Futures and 2007’s Chase This Light (their highest charting work to date), and managed to avoid being stuck with the label of “that band that does that ‘Middle’ song.” Their latest album, Invented, was released in September 2010, and the band went on tour in support of it, playing shows worldwide as well as festival dates at Coachella, Soundwave, and an upcoming headlining gig at Reading and Leeds.
The band plays the Commodore Ballroom on May 21, and there are a few tickets to the Jimmy Eat World Vancouver concert still available at ShowTimeTickets.com. They’ve been touring for well over a decade, so they’ve had plenty of time to hone their stage act. Anybody else thinking of going? Seen them live before? Let us know in the comments section!
