The weekend in review

It's been a fun, music-filled summer weekend!

On Friday, China Syndrome played a song off their previous album, "Let's Stay At Home and Let It All Hang Out." I'd forgotten how funny that song was, but I didn't manage to shoot video. I did shoot two clips of David M. at the Small Salute to David Bowie at Music Madhouse Records, here and here. It was great, as usual, with Ozzy and his ball merrily upstaging David throughout. I'm not sure about the mashup between "Starman" and "Over the Rainbow" - it was a little jarring, frankly - but "Andy Gorgo," one of the new additions, was a hoot. Does this look more like a Pringles can or a PEZ dispenser, to you? (Art by David M., of course).

And Music Madhouse is a fun little shop; they have your typical decent used record store stock, nicely presented, with lots of cool decorations (Skittle shoes?) and plenty of local music. It wasn't the sort of place you can get super deals - Rob knows his stuff - but there's probably plenty of cool finds, and the prices were reasonable (I grabbed a Humble Pie live at the Fillmore for $20). It's nestled in the heart of an apartment complex near Lougheed Mall, on no beaten track whatsoever, but once you know how to get there it's no problem. It makes Apollo Music in Coquitlam seem positively normal as far as record-store locations go, though - and of course David was most amused by how hard it was to find; it's his kind of place. There's even a pub in the same complex, apparently with no storefront whatsoever - we entered through something labeled "Emergency Exit Only."

 Music Madhouse's proprietor Rob, photos by Allan MacInnis; all others below by Erika Lax

I also shot video of the Pointed Sticks, here, dedicating a song to their friend from New York, Jack Rabid. But I haven't much to say about the show. It was fun to meet Jack, and to chat a bit with Joe and Laura Keithley, and see my friends Liz and Blake and Bev - the last of whom Erika and I took to the Spaghetti Factory - but it was more social than anything. Tayt Modern and We Found a Lovebird were fun (the latter doing a radical reworking of Slow's "Have Not Been the Same," which I've heard no one cover before, ever). It was a strange little venue, a half-lovely hall that seemed equally suited to weddings and livestock auctions, striking notes both ornate and mundane, depending on where you looked. I think they might do a lot of dinner theatre or something. Ian Tiles apparently had a hand in my Reid Fleming t-shirt - more on that later, I think; he's going to be involved in booking other shows there this summer and fall, so...

Anyhow, let the music roll on, I'm back to work this week, kinda, and may not be blogging so much this next while, though I do have a few projects on the go, so who knows...