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...
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...
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...
The Cobalt
Feb 29th, 2008
If Vancouver were a jungle and we were all chimps, Todd Serious and Chris Rebel would have their own separate little bands. Chris’ pack would be more violent and smaller, and would conduct raids into Todd’s...
Agent Orange, China Creeps, Life Against Death, Plus Perfect
The Cobalt, Sun Feb 22nd
It’s not very hard to be the hot ticket on a Sunday night, and when Agent Orange was in town what would you rather be doing? Watching some ‘Simp...
As I Lay Dying / Misery Signals / August Burns Red / Evergreen Terrace
Croatian Cultural Centre, Tuesday April 29th
Until this impeccably brutal show, I believed the Croatian Cultural Centre was to be avoided at all costs, but the na...
Sleep and Black Wizard, Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver February 7th 2015
While there has been much to enjoy with the spate of band reunions in recent years, (how many fans have had the renewed opportunity to witness performances by Carcas...
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...
To understand the resurgent popularity of thrash metal among a new generation of fans one need look no further than Brazilian thrash stalwarts Sepultura.
White Lung/Crystal Antlers/Fucked Up @ Richard’s on Richards September 7th 2008
The sparse crowd was bewitched by the androgynous shrieking of White Lung’s Mish. As our ears would testify, there may have been no sound check and we we...
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...
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 ...
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...