The Residents and Eskimo; Zappa Nite at the Rickshaw; GWAR; Cat Ashbee photography show; Mr. Chi Pig; and some other things to know about

Mr. Chi Pig by Cat Ashbee, not to be reused without permission

What follows is a three-part preview of things happening, involving the Residents (in town January 2026, but buy your tickets here), Zappa Nite (tonight at the Rickshaw), and Cat Ashbee's photo show (free, but event details here; it starts at 6, so you have plenty of time to do that and make the Rickshaw). 

1. The Residents Return to Vancouver with Eskimo

The Residents are returning to Vancouver, you know this, right? I do not actually know who will be doing what this time, in fact (because how the hell do you tour Eskimo?); but one of their known collaborators, who continues involvement with recordings, will not be here. I'm going to interview him anyway! He is the guy in the picture below who is not me or Bob Hanham; I hope he will still talk Doctor Dark with me, where he is in fact credited (but not as a musician). I hope I am allowed to say this (the veil of secrecy and obfuscation must be thick indeed if you don't know if you're allowed to say who is not going to be here). Photo by Graham X. Peat. 

Photo by Graham X. Peat

But I'll be talking to him anyway, because I have an excuse and I want to hear about other projects he's been in. He's got stories. See if you can spot that guy in this photo! 

Or this one:

I don't have a photo of him playing bass with FEAR, but he did, briefly, and is even on a 7", if I recall correctly, much to the chagrin of Flea, who was also in FEAR briefly, but did not get on a record. There's a story there. He told it to Bob and I, but he didn't want me to record it when he was last in town, wanted to do a proper interview. So I'm going to do one! 

Note: my saying he will not be here is not a clever way of telling you he really will be here. He won't be here! (Unless I am being lied to, but I don't think I am). Leave your Doc at the Radar Station that you wanted to get signed at home. That's what I'll be doing! 

Of course, the Residents may have even cooler collaborators involved for the Eskimo tour, except I have no idea who that might be, or if even a band is planned. The album Eskimo is one of the strangest records out there, weird soundscapy stuff with muffled chants and things like walrus cries. Will they have a walrus onstage? I doubt that too, but maybe there will be someone in a walrus costume? I do not know, but how do you stage "The Walrus Hunt" with no walrus? 

I would hasten to say, however, that people who are bristling with offense at their use of the word "Eskimo" need to be aware that the album is a complicated affair, and one that requires some sense of humour and critical reflection. It is actually a project I spoke to Hardy Fox about, who is now publicly acknowledged as having been a member of the Residents. I was lucky enough to speak to him on a past tour, and did talk Eskimo with him. 

Excerpt: 

ALLAN: In terms of projects where they built their own instruments – Eskimo is one, right?

HARDY: Yeah, but Eskimo has got an awful lot of lying in it. They claim that they play with frozen fish, and they didn’t do that.

ALLAN: But they do have some invented instruments on that? Can you give me an example?

HARDY: They have some specially tuned, sort of marimba-type instruments that they built for the tuning that they were using for that album, only because they needed those notes. They’re actually wooden, a wooden instrument, but they claimed that they’re played on bones. They’re not played on bones. You know how it is with mythology – you gotta say what sounds pretty interesting, where the reality is pretty boring.

ALLAN: Were there ever any Inuit reactions to Eskimo?

HARDY: There was – we got very positive reactions, even totally acknowledging that the term “Eskimo” is somewhat insulting… The people that we heard from – I mean, there may have been people who were insulted, but the Inuit people that we heard from loved it, because they really understood that it was totally fictional. It’s an invention of the fantasy concept and the romance of being an Eskimo, not of being an Inuit, because Inuit life isn’t like that at all. Inuit life is much more boring than that, as far as we were able to tell, when research was being done about Inuit – it’s not the most exciting world to live in.

ALLAN: Was there ever any attempt to mount a show of Eskimo up there?

HARDY: No. There’s never been a show of Eskimo. There was work on one – a show was designed, but it was designed for an opera stage. It was a big production – it was an opera, basically. It was for a festival in Germany decades ago, and basically it didn’t get funding, so it never happened. 

 

I'll be talking to a representative of the Cryptic Corporation about that too. More to come! 

2. Zappa Nite at the Rickshaw (tonight!) 

I talked with Blair Fisher of Zappostrophe' about the word "Eskimo", which you see in the Straight piece, but also asked about the Residents' upcoming show. With Zappostrophe' omitting the word "Eskimo" from "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow," what did he make of the Residents' touring Eskimo? 

Actually, I was not familiar with this album. I have had a quick listen to it an I find that there are no ‘lyrics’ per se - just distorted chanting and vocal effects. In other words, the word Eskimo is never spoken, it is only on the title. I confess I didn’t listen to the whole thing, but that is the impression I got from perusing each track. It is more of an abstract soundscape and is a very interesting concept - certainly one that I think was done in good faith and not intended to be in any way insulting to the Inuit.

Also I totally understand a band wanting to tour a 45 year old album and not change the name.

But between my interactions with Blair and the present piece of writing, I have learned that in fact the Residents, too, are drawing heat for their use of this word (which, contra Blair Fisher, was not a racial slur per se, but is imply objectionable because it was "a colonial name imposed by non-Indigenous people." Which is actually fair enough -- I would not refer to an Inuit or Yu'pik person with this word! But I also don't know that we need to strike it from the human vocabulary altogether). This also will be discussed with the representative of the Cryptic Corporation. 

Meantime, if you somehow do not know the Zappa album pictured above, this is absolutely the best place to start for a taster of what's going to happen tonight at the Rickshaw. There are LOTS of periods of Zappa, but by far the top three that any Zappa noob who likes creative rock should begin with are Apostrophe (my personal favourite), Over-Nite Sensation, and We're Only In It for the Money. If you want to get into the richer 70's fusion-y Zappa, I myself favour Hot Rats and Waka Jawaka, while I believe the Zappostrophe' people  have a thing for One Size Fits All. All of these are top-shelf Zappa and lacking some of darker (and more obnoxious) lyrical content of later Zappa, which Blair alludes to. 

The thing I found about Zappostrophe'; it really, really enriches your appreciation of Zappa to see his music played live. I am sure all three bands do this very, very well; tonight at the Rickshaw will be marvellous, I am sure, even for a Zappa noob. Event listing here. 

3. Cat Ashbee photography show! 

I interviewed Cat Ashbee, Vancouver photographer extraordinaire, about the art show opening tonight (and continuing tomorrow) at some length for the Straight; see here. But in fact there was lots I did not use! Here are some outtakes of some interest!

All photos in this section by Cat Ashbee, not to be reused without permission

ALLAN: Mr. Chi Pig's birthday was just a couple of days ago. Tell us your history with him? What were the high points of knowing him? How far back did your history with him go? Do you have a favourite photo of him? Did you ever find yourself on his bad side? You go back with a few other local musicians; who else has been particularly important to you on the Vancouver scene? 

CAT: Well that is the perfect question because you hit all the marks of my relationship with Chi Pig. He is literally the reason I got into live music photography. I was obsessed with SNFU growing up in a small town outside of Edmonton in the 90’s and would get my mom to drop me off in the big city to see them every time they played an all-ages show. As an adult I reached out on MySpace to the guitarist at the time, Ken Fleming, and asked if I could photograph an upcoming show. I had never photographed live music before that and it was the days of “no cameras” at every venue and camera phones were a new concept. That night I met and started the friendship with Chi. We were always like two kids giggling in the back seat of the car about terrible puns and dumb jokes. High points were when SNFU were playing a show because he was in his element and was his most jovial self. Getting me up on stage with him to hold the cowbell for Jon Card (RIP) while Chi changed the words from “She’s not on the menu” to “Cat is on the cowbell” was something my fifteen year old self would have never believed. Taking Vinnie Stigma of Agnostic Front to meet him was one of the best nights of my life. I was working with a record label that brought the New York Hardcore godfathers to Vancouver and I was asked to take the band out for dinner. We chose The Cambie because it was next to Pub340 where Chi Pig was celebrating his 50th birthday. Vinnie and Chi in a room together was insane. I am amazed they didn't rip open the fabric of existence that night with their banter.

CAT (CONTINUED): There were definitely low points with Chi as well. If he was having one of his bad days, he could be harsh. He kicked my car once and dented it for no real reason other than he was in a bad mood, but days like that were not too frequent. He could lash out like a spoiled child at times. Lowest point but for another reason was visiting him in the hospital as he was on his way out. I brought him a MAD magazine and some felt markers and watched all 80 pounds of him throw up in a garbage can in agony for an hour. Despite all his ongoing suffering, he could really shine for all his fans and friends.

My favorite photograph of him is the photo shoot we did for Skull Skates. The “Have You Seen Him” homage to the Bones Brigade skateboard video “The Search For Animal Chin”. I shot that on my birthday, the unfortunate December 26th, and the whole day was nothing but perfect. We were both in our best form and that day was sacred. You can imagine my thrill every time I see someone in that shirt with my photo on it, or looking at the skateboard deck that it’s printed on. Total career highlight for me as well, having a graphic on a Skull Skates deck!!

ALLAN: Do you have particular history with Andrea or Rot N. Hell? How many pieces will each of you have on display? Do you have a favourite of the images you've sent me, for each?

CAT: I met Rot N Hell at a punk show and we immediately connected. I soon found out he was grasped in the GWAR tentacles as well and had made an art car that was GWAR themed. Punks and artists have probably seen him driving one of his head-turning art cars at some point. The heavily modified Honda in the D.O.A. video “I Live in a Car” is a Rot N Hell masterpiece. Seriously, go watch that video as Rot himself co-stars and gets chased around and ticket-slapped by Burnaby Councillor Joe Keithley, aka Joe Shithead, playing a police officer. While he won’t have an art car parked in the gallery for our “Broken Pieces” art show, he will have a multitude of his always-controversial punk political pieces. He can curate creepy objects into some stunning sculptures and his paintings and two dimensional work are real conversation starters. …or enders, depending on the company. In the 90’s Rot did a lot of poster art and a fanzine called GEE-ZUS and has some of his original pieces of this bit of history on display at our show. My favorite of his works is the recent series of political Wacky Packages pieces. Complete with sets of trading cards that will be available to buy. 

CAT (CONTINUED): 

He will have a lot of his sculptural pieces on display as well.

I met Andrea through Rot when she needed a professional portrait for an art gallery show. My partner, Joe, did the session and we went to see the gallery event. Being face to face with her work for the first time in a prestigious gallery, I knew I was in the presence of greatness. Andrea is a former tattoo artist and severely talented painter. I could call her oil paintings surrealist fantasy gore? It’s hard to describe and best seen in person. One of the catalysts for our Broken Pieces exhibit was to be able to show what we want and not what a gallery would choose. Her series that we are displaying is called “Gutted” and is all the right kinds of disturbing.

CAT (CONTINUED): Andrea pitched the idea for this show and I am beyond honored to share a wall in the legendary Parker Street Studios with two insanely talented artists and friends.

My pieces are some of my favorite photos that really lose their effect when viewed on a phone screen. They need to be seen large and have you spend some time with them. My chosen photographs tend to leave viewers with concerns for my asbestos exposure and up to date tetanus shots. It highlights my aforementioned obsession with decay, destruction, isolation, and abandoned and liminal spaces.

ALLAN: Is anything happening on the 24th in terms of musical performances? Anything else I should mention?

CAT: We decided to put the focus on the art and just have a playlist on a speaker. Hoping it accents the weekend of people out and about taking in shows and events elsewhere and becomes a stop in and hang out for friends and admirers of weird art. “Broken Pieces” fits nicely into the season for people to stop in for this FREE event and can be an addition to a Friday night outing to Fright Nights or a slasher movie or some live music. Or the following Saturday between hangover Caesars and a pumpkin patch.

The large pieces are for sale but we will have budget-friendly things as well. I am stocked with books and had my logo made into patches that will be available. We have prints of our work as well.

Here’s my elevator pitch: The famous Parker Street Gallery agreed to let three weirdos take over room #102 for a couple of days and fly our freak flags up the pole.

We will be there, to comfort the disturbed and make your skin crawl, Friday the 24th from 6-10pm and Saturday the 25th from noon to 4.

I dusted off my hundred year old tuxedo coat for this!

Cat with Bonesnapper of GWAR

CAT (CONTINUED): Here is a bonus story that I remembered as I was going through photos this weekend: One of my most memorable GWAR moments was back when Dave Broke was still alive and fronting the band (as Oderus Urungus, of course). It was one of the rare nights where security did not kick the photographers out of the pit after three songs, as is the industry standard, and I was allowed to shoot the full show. Back then there was not the coverage there is these days. The few photographers there that night left quickly to dry the fake blood, spew, and spray from their camera gear and escape the madness. If you haven’t seen a GWAR show, a big part of the performance is unloading tanks and tanks of pressurized dyed water into the crowd like a highly exaggerated bloodbath. Usually from the neck of a decapitated politician or public figure, or the arm stumps of a mutilated creature, or the massive phallic swinging shaft between the legs of Oderus, adorably named his Cuttlefish Of Cthulhu. 

CAT (CONTINUED): On that particular night, Dave (Oderus) kept looking down at me, chuckling at my enthusiasm and getting body drenched between taking photos with my dripping wet camera. He gestured at me as if to say “you can grab my cuttlefish if you want”, as it streamed like bloody piss into the fans. Instead of playing firefighter as I am sure he intended, I cradled it up lovingly and stuck it right into my mouth. That cold musty fluid flooded out both nostrils and my mouth as I staggered back laughing and coughing. I was sick for weeks after from a sinus infection. Worth it.

GWAR tickets for sale here. I'm sure Zappa would approve!

Blothar by Cat Ashbee, not to be reused without permission! 

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Reimagined, night two at the Kay Meek Centre

Note: I felt duty bound, sitting up front, to shoot a couple of videos, but my phone maxed out after two: Joel Plaskett and Shaun Verreault. 

 In reverse order (mostly): 

Selfie with Erika at the end of a marvelous night:

The big bow:

The closing number:

From right... Dawn, Lindi, Shaun... and...?:

Boys club: Joel, Chuck, Steve:

This one has Mercy:

The red boots weren't extroverted enough:

Theresa, I think! (Of Pony Gold):

Erika thinks Steve looks a bit like Jesse Plemons with the 'stache:

Dawn from the other side: 

Backstage with Regina: 

Dawn again!:

Chuck telling the audience to invest in Lucinda Williams records:

Shaun:

The Eisenhauers:

Pony Gold:

Final stop on a record quest, en route to West Van, looking for a Shot of Love: Dale tells me to look up Dylan footage with Spooner Oldham. I tell him to look up Dylan footage with Chalo ("Charlie") Quintana, who lived in Vancouver for a long while...:

 

At Painted Lady, where I get an upgraded Saved (my old one was hole-punched):

Most Slow Train Coming copies out there have ringwear and so forth; this one at Highlife was the best I found. But I got my old seam-split copy signed... I got a few signed for friends:

The second night was, as I suggested in part one, the more polished and perfect; or maybe it's just that our expectations were adjusted; we knew what to expect and how to enjoy it! We ended up with an accidental upgrade, because the couple in F1 and F2 (our actual seat numbers) had been displaced from F5 and F6 by other people and the show was just starting, so a major shuffle was out of the question. "It's okay, we can just sit down here" (gestures at A1 and A2). I guess no one had reserved them! So: front row seats, a backstage chat with Regina, and a very happy wife. You can see her in the bottom corner while Dawn is doing "Metal Firecracker." She loved it! (And so did I).

Regina was a wonderful interview, but I'm going to hold on to that for now, to see what happens with the folk fest...! Meantime, mission accomplished:

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Re-Imagined: a night of surprises and delights

That was a marvelous night! 

I'm speaking, of course, of the Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Reimagined concert at the Kay Meek, which I wrote a well-received preview of here. For those who missed it, it repeats again on October 18th ("today" for some people reading this), and I do urge your attendance, because great as last night was, tonight's will be the more fully-realized, more confident set (tickets are still available, but not many!). The first night, taking place after one mere day of rehearsals, is fresher, maybe, more exciting, more dramatic, since it's the band's first time doing this material before a payin' audience; but the second night, now, will be informed by the experiences of the first. It's basically like everyone's had one more day to rehearse, but in the highest-stakes context possible: last night might have been the braver night, but tonight, they're coming to the material as salty, seasoned, tested-and-true warriors who know they can pull it off. 

Another, weirder way of putting it: tonight will be the first time in history that this group of musicians has played this body of work in front of an audience for the second time. Given that, as I say in the Straight piece, the folk fest follow up is not by any means a given, it may also be the last time, and almost certainly the last time with exactly this permutation of musicians. So that's going to be a special thing. I wonder how many people go both evenings? Tonight will be the first time I've done that -- there were two great seats up front, and I pulled the gun without even waking my wife to check. I sure hope she doesn't mind! (If she does, some lucky friend will be getting a phone call from me!). 

Damn was that a groovin' night of Lu, both on and off the album in question; I don't want to spoil anything, but the addition of a horn section to most of the songs meant we were getting the most soulful ("Shoals-ful?" Can I get away with that?) readings of Lu's catalogue imaginary. It's not exactly an unheard-of direction to push Lu's music, especially if you consider the Southern Soul album in the Lu's Jukebox series, but Dawson and Black deserve abundant credit no less for choosing that direction, especially given the readings of "Can't Let Go" by Dawn Pemberton, pictured above (who suddenly I'm enormously proud to have interviewed in my preview, because wow) and "Right In Time" as done by Regina McCrary. The night was full of high points, but surely these two songs were the highest?

True confession: I did not know Regina McCrary or the McCrary Sisters before this weekend. I mean, whattaya want from me, I'm just an old punk! But here's an interview about McCrary singing with Dylan during his Christian years. Reading it makes me want to track down the vinyl of Trouble No More and pester McCrary to sign it. I do have Saved and Slow Train Coming, but not the live album, which now seems a terrible oversight on my part as a collector, given that I actually love Dylan's Christian period, in terms of the passion of his delivery, and think some of the songs from it, especially "Gotta Serve Somebody," stand as the best things he did in the 1970s (that's a link to a performance with McCrary on it!).

(Actually, I bought that album on CD, but traded it with Bruce Stayloose for something else, because I wanted it on vinyl, then I never got around to it. Dumb!). 

And while we're talking about Ms. McCrary (spoiler alert! You're going to find out what her second song was! Though -- hint, hint -- it won't come exactly as a surprise), I have a question that contains elements of a confession: Did everyone but me realize there was an allusion to snake handling in "Get Right With God?" Given that I once wrote a term paper on the topic, you'd think I would have noticed the opening lyrics, or at least remembered them ("I would risk the serpent's bite/ I would dance around with seven/ I would kiss the diamondback/ If I knew it would get me to heaven"). Suddenly I have two things to ask Lu about, if ever I get to talk to her: Don Todd and snake handling...

Writing about the rest of the night feels like it should come with a spoiler alert. I don't even want to tell you what Shaun Verreault, of Wide Mouth Mason -- another artist whose music I have completely ignored before this weekend -- did for his second tune. Like, seriously, stop and skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know, because otherwise, you might be able to guess what it was, even if I don't tell you; it was an amazing reading of a very relevant, very topical song, which I did NOT expect anyone would play last night, and in fact did not even remember existed in Lu's catalogue (click here if you were there and don't know that tune, or can't bear the suspense; it was written by Lu about exactly the person it seemed to be about). It was so powerful it bled over onto Lindi Ortega's follow-up (especially given her sassy red boots) and made her song seem topically-charged, too. 

Not only did Verreault score the high watermark in terms of topical impact, he and Dawson's interplay during that song had me flashing back to watching Lou Reed and Mike Rathke leaning into and playing off of each other in Tokyo, when I saw Lou on the Ecstacy tour. You always know amazing things are going to happen when two guitarists stop facing the audience and start facing each other. So it wasn't all about horns and soul; there was some meaty rock guitar to the night, as well. 

The other real surprise was Joel Plaskett doing "I Lost It," which is actually something he has covered before; he had a bit of an advantage there (nice of Dawson to assign him a song that was already in his repertoire!). But everyone was wonderful in different ways. In particular, the Eisenhauers (whose female vocalist reminded my wife and I of Dolly Parton), island duo Pony Gold, and Mercy Walker (the most wonderfully-named performer of the evening!) all were locals who I'll keep an ear out for. Mercy was the only one who confessed, rather sweetly, to being a bit nervous (and also the only person who said hi to her Mom from the stage). I'm guessing Mercy was the youngest person to perform last night; with her blessing, I've put one of her songs on Youtube, the only thing I shot video of, and a shitty video it is indeed, shaky and out of focus and all (there's a better clip of her doing one of her own songs at the Anza, here). But sometimes with a night like this, that's what's left -- a shittily-recorded Youtube video of a splendid moment. You really actually HAVE TO BE THERE, which... did I mention there were tickets still available?

If I had one quibble -- and alas, I tried to communicate this to him afterwards, which was a bit more awkward than I expected -- I actually would be more excited to hear Chuck Prophet, yet another person I had not been paying attention to before this weekend, playing his own songs than doing Lucinda Williams covers. I had a couple of Green on Red fans come out of the woodwork at me on social media, expressing amazement and enthusiasm that he was in town; they're champing at the bit for him to come back and play a full show here. I'm actually more of a Dream Syndicate man, myself (there's are a couple of overlaps between those bands), but if there'd been Chuck Prophet albums on the merch table, I'd have grabbed one, but actually being a Chuck Prophet fan is probably NOT the best reason to pull the gun on a ticket.  For whatever reason, though I was content to hear Verreault and Plaskett do covers -- I'm not going to even look for Wide Mouth Mason records today -- Prophet is a songwriter I'd like to get to know from his own music, not cover tunes, however well-executed, so last night left me with an itch that did not get scratched, there. 

...and that's all I'm going to tell you about what to expect tonight. I've said too much already.  Boy I hope my wife isn't annoyed that I bought us tickets for tonight, too. There were two! Aisle seats! Up front! HOW COULD I NOT????

See you there? (There are fewer than 20 seats left as I re-type this, and it looks like there's a discount rate for people under 30, which there really were NOT many of last night...).

PS, Erika is delghted, so no calls to friends will be made. And hey, look at that, Regina McCrary is on BOTH Slow Train Coming and Saved, but under another name! Looks like I have something to get her to sign after all...! (Oh shit, she's on Shot of Love too... I don't have that... gotta call the record stores again... dammit...).

I Love The Good Mother: Diane Keaton, Roger Ebert and a misjudged masterpiece

Remember how you could write into Roger Ebert with a film-related question? I think I did twice. One time it was a Cassavetes question, and he wrote back to say he did not know the answer, but suggested I ask Ray Carney, which I did, and which led to an interesting brief correspondence between Carney and myself. I forget the exact question -- I think it had to do with the odd number of films John Marley and Lynn Carlin appear together in, but the answer or the fine details escape me. I got some inscribed Ray Carney memorabilia out of it (!). I think I sent him a Love Streams item he did not have (I *added* to his hoard).

So thanks, Roger, for that!

The second time I wrote Roger Ebert, I think, was to ask if he ever considered writing a book about times he got it wrong. He did seem now and again to be able to acknowledge fallability. And lord knows all of us can get something wrong now and then! I wasn't meaning it as a criticism, but he didn't respond to that one. Maybe my question came too close to the "Brown Bunny/ colonscopy period" ("we've had quite enough of that, thanks!"). 

I didn't actually care about that, to be honest, though I thought he handled it all (that is, Gallo) with panache and intelligence, kinda. No, he got that one free; instead, my case in point was a Diane Keaton feature film called The Good Mother. Boy he got that wrong!

And what's interesting is to see -- sympathetically -- just how BADLY he gets it wrong, and how. He's judging the film against the standards of a women's weepie or something, against Hollywood formulae, when it needed to be judged against the standards of Ingmar Bergman or Shakespeare or AT LEAST FUCKING FASSBINDER FOR FUCKSAKE, you know? (I did not write that part to Ebert! I was much more polite). But Fassbinder told as a contemporary child custody case. 

It's really a film about cultural values in conflict, and... I'm not even really sure how to sum it up. It's a film about the dangers of not sticking up for ones values, an everyday tragedy. Just another story about how fear eats the soul. 

It's an astonishing film, and a great adaptation of the novel (which I also read and also admired; even as a kid, I had a love for dramas like this, or say, Ordinary People or The Big Chill, both of which I also saw first run and admired in different ways). The Good Morther is a film that has been widely underestimated. It is only a little bit less grim than Dancer in the Dark, and may not to be everyone's taste, but it is not answerable to the formulae that Ebert expected it to follow! 

I may have accused Ebert of damaging its reputation a little, in fact. But like, that's a whole book to be written: the HOW DARE YOU "fan" mail. Weirdos. He must have drawn a few, and maybe I made it into his "weirdo" file.  Hell, even I have a weirdo or two. There's a country song there for ya: "Everybody's friend is somebody's weirdo, and Everbody's Weirdo is somebody's friend." 

Anyhow, I didn't bug him after that, though I would have welcomed his response with fondness; I meant no ill will. I hope that was clear! It would have rocked if he'd watched the film again with my guidance and "got" it. He missed out.

And the film is also the greatest thing Leonard Nimoy ever did. Not the most popular, but it's a terrific piece of cinema. The whole cast is great. Jason Robards, Ralph Bellamy, Teresa Wright (gotta look her up), Joe Morton, other familiar faces, plus apparently Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are extras in it (?! I just showed the film to Erika and I think we found Affleck but good luck on Damon. Now I have something to ask the guy if I ever run into him). 

And it's a side of Liam Neeson you don't see much of these days, either (maybe his best work, too? It is a film his fans would find very interesting, a challenging role).

Proud to have seen it first run. Have seen it a couple times since, and Erika and I just watched it in Ms. Keaton's respect tonight. If I'd ever interacted with her, I'd have asked about this movie. She's great in it. 

She had guts, took gutsy, interesting roles. This is the best one I've seen, but it raises some challenging questions. The best works of art tend to do that. My respects, Ms. Keaton. Thanks for having the guts.   

Lene Lovich, Royal Strays, Tranzmitors, and Night Court: a spectacular Saturday in Vancouver

Lene Lovich by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

Fabulous two gigs on Saturday, though the high point for most folks -- Lene Lovich's return to Vancouver -- was entirely missed by me. Bob's photos are fascinating, and I'm happy that he got to get his ticket signed, from a show some 35 years ago. May I never come to regret my decision to skip her performance! 

Actually there was a lot I skipped on Saturday: there were at least five noteworthy shows going on, with stuff by bands I have enjoyed or at least heard about at the Red Gate and LanaLou's and the Astoria, but I was already double-booked by the time I heard about most of those - triple booked if you count visiting the island for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday and having to commute back by bus and ferry and train and bus again... 

Royal Strays L-to-R Don Binns, Ani Kyd Wolf, and Don Short. All photos by me except as noted, none to be reused without permission!

Things started for me at the Rickshaw for Royal Strays. Barely caught Hausplants! Heard good things afterwards, but with Bob and I commuting in from the island, we had only just got in the room and gotten our merch sorted and they were done. No photographs, no memories; sorry! Then it was saying hi to Ani as she made a quick dip into the crowd to hug friends. 

(taken by Dave Bowes)

I had actually picked up two of Lene Lovich's most famous albums as homework, and had intended at some point to see her set. But it soon developed that I wasn't going to be able to stay: not only did I want to reward my work as a writer by seeing two of my favourite local bands, the Tranzmitors and Night Court, but I also am doing some non-local press for the latter band and wanted to get fresh photographs. Rather than trying to cram Lovich into my head, I simply gave the albums to Bob and left him to see her...

But I'm so glad I got to see Royal Strays' first concert ever. Ani Kyd Wolf was in peak form, returning to a Vancouver stage after a ten year absence, doing a darkly folky, but sultry and sensual, highly unique alt-lounge act, I guess you could call it, with two members of Sons of Freedom, Don Binns and Don Short. I'd interviewed the three for the Straight, and am gratified to see my article in the number three slot on their website today. 

Ani's voice was gorgeous and her movements captivating. I'd last seen her (Lou Reed tribute nights aside) belting out grungy punk, sharing the Rickshaw stage with Jello Biafra and a reconstituted version of her band Fuel Injected .45; I've heard her do other things, as well, but I have not seen these things presented live; I've actually spent more time, I think, seeing Ani  in social contexts, or interviewing her, than I have on seeing her perform (!). Royal Strays makes music that requires a fair bit more vulnerability and nuance than your average punk song, or even your above-average punk song, so I actually wasn't entirely sure, especially given her long hiatus, what to expect. Ani quickly confirmed that she is astonishing, an under-sung Vancouver powerhouse who I hope will play here more often. She's also a very nice person! She had fun passing down printouts of lyrics into the audience as she finished a song, but I didn't notice her consulting any of them while she performed...

Don Binns wore the most hats of the band members, shifting effortlessly from acoustic guitar to keyboards to bass. I think I'm accurate to say that the vision for Royal Strays began with him, but quickly became a collective venture. That was the impression I received from talking to them, anyhow. I shot a clip of "Sinister Campfire," a song the title for which came from the band, maybe Ani, remarking that the music sounded like a sinister campfire song. It kinda does! That was the one that most reminds me of the Swans' The Burning World. Ani could totally own a song off that album, if they were to cover one, but they hardly need the material, as their new album is great. Hope Royal Strays plays again soon!

I suspect I may have been the only person in the Rickshaw on Saturday who left before the headliner. Seeing Bob's photographs makes me question the wisdom of that -- especially the hooded figure Ms. Lovich cut at the start of her set, full-on Bene Gesserit in its impact. I mean, I've seen the Tranzmitors and Night Court a dozen times each, and I will doubtlessly see them again, but I've never seen anything quite like this: 

Lovich lost some of the costume as the night progressed but clearly still cut quite the figure. It's interesting to me that she's done little to disguise her age (she's 76). I'd just seen Cyndi Lauper, a couple of months ago, and Ms. Lauper does a fair bit to deny/ conceal that she's 72, striving to create the illusion of some timeless, ageless girlhood. Which I don't mean to criticize: she can present however she likes. But to me, it's more interesting to see an older woman who presents as an older woman, but who still makes a vivid visual impression. I mean, talk about advanced style...

Lene Lovich by Bob Hanham, not to be reused without permission

But what can I say: I did what I did: I took a taxi to Green Auto almost as soon as Ani left the stage, to catch one half a song by a Quebec power pop unit called Danny Laj and the Looks. I even got a photo or two, but though I enjoyed the half song I heard, I resolved to think no more about them and not buy their album because I just cannot follow EVERYTHING that happens...! (If I wasn't deep in a hole this month I'd have grabbed that record for sure). 

Tranzmitors did a killer set, as always, of which I shot two songs. One of the very best (and best-dressed!) bands in Vancouver, whom I first saw in 2007, back when they had a keyboard (!). It is mildly weird that our city should be home to a Mod revival survival of this caliber, but why ask questions when you can DANCE? 

Maybe that is why I have not done them justice yet, interview-wise, but they do have a new album in the works for next year, so there will be chances! Much of their set was off that upcoming album, I gather. I only knew "Teen Man" and "Dancing in the Front Row" as older tunes, in fact -- the set's closers. Much that they played was completely unfamiliar to me, but still, of course, catchy as all get-out. 

Night Court was equally terrific, if harder to pin down; people who strive to put bands into genre-boxes will find them a bit of a challenge. The Straight thing I did (#7 today) looped in Guided by Voices and Fugazi and... I dunno what Circus Lupus sounds like, but I bet Night Court doesn't sound like them either, much. They master the art of being wholly unique while seeming totally familiar, and it was a real treat to see Jiffy liberated (mostly!) from bass duties, so he could make maximum use of both hands. He should injure himself more often!

I jest..l.  but it was great -- he is a terrific frontman; a lot more of his character comes through when he is not slinging an instrument, is freer to move around and gesture. It was like the show where Art Bergmann was forbidden by his band to play guitar, and we could see how expressive his hands could be. It might have pissed Art off, but it was a rare experience for his fans! 

My best photo of the night was probably this one of Dave-O, though: 

It was over all too soon. I chatted with Adam and Talesha, who had both come to the show, then met up with Bob at the bus stop. He told of how he chatted with a couple from California who had followed Lovich up here, and of how she had been very friendly and approachable, signing things for fans, even though she had no merch to speak of.

Me, I got my Nervous Birds scribbled on. Whether I made a duff call or not, I'll never know, but I sure did enjoy my night; it was one of those great nights of local music that sustains me, makes me want more -- the first gigs I've really enjoyed in awhile, having overextended myself a bit recently. It really does help that I interviewed the artists, too, and that they're such nice people.... and part of such rich scene that we have in this city. Nights like this, you can almost forget how totally fuckin' apocalyptic our times seem for a few hours..

...Almost. Jiffy wore an uber-political t-shirt (that's a Tesla truck on fire); there was a striking bit of political graffiti (a sticker, actually) in the bathroom, reading "Charlie Had It Coming"; and I could not resist the newest Night Court t-shirt design, which I guess is only "political" in the broadest possible sense. But now I have two Night Court t-shirts with X-ray themes, and signed copies of everything they've put out on vinyl (I do not have their cassettes and I gave my Nervous Birds CD to Bob).  

We will now endeavour to take somewhat of a breather from gig-going, though next weekend, there's the Jason D. Williams gig, with Supersuckers opening, and the debut performance from the new collab between Billy Hopeless and Philly Roach, And then there's Big Top's return, November 1st, doing a live score for a fabulous Lon Chaney movie... then the Dream Syndicate! 

More to come on that last, and maybe some of the others (I wonder if Supersuckers will be familiar to me at all? I last saw them about 35 years ago at the Cruel Elephant, I think, before they started to add rootsy elements to their music. Enjoyed them at the time. Maybe it's time to give them another chance? 

And Jason D. Williams is terrific. I saw and photographed him last year. Even Jerry Lee Lewis would be impressed.

Sorry to have crapped out on ya, Ms. Lovich! Thanks for stayin' weird. The world needs more of it!