Damn that was a great night. SLIP~ons brought Vic Bondi and LiquidLight to town, and with local openers Cascade (the youngest of whose members was 17!), played an all-ages show in East Van. I did a couple of Straight features but there's more to come with Brock in a different publication... so I'm really, really excited to dig deeper into
the new EP. Here's
a clip I shot from the show (should be self-explanatory) of one of their new songs, "New Answers."
Cascade was onstage when we arrived and were very enjoyable, hard-rocking and enthusiastic and a musically perfect fit for the night. They had a guest vocalist join them for one song. Good young band!
Vic Bondi took the stage next, quipping something about going just like that "from kids to geezers," but there wasn't much geezer to be had. Incredibly passionate and politically-charged setlist, with a lot of Articles of Faith songs, but also one by Dead Ending ("All the Way Down").He kicked things off with "American Dreams" by Articles of Faith and ended with "What We Want is Free." It was mostly his most politically-charged music that he played--"Remain in Memory" was another one--though he did do (by request) "Getting Nowhere," my favourite song off The Ghost Dances. I happened to shoot a clip of it. And he also did "New Normal Catastrophe", which we talked about here (not my title: there was a ton of political protest last night).
Vic told a particularly funny story about members of Articles of Faith and Ron Reyes (then of Black Flag) making their way to a punk house and getting jumped by shitheels who had a crafty plan to get their beer. I can't do it justice but the punchline involved having to fight for your beer in Canada. He told a variant on the story here, but last night's was funnier (maybe because it was in-person).
At one point therafter, I saw Vic and Brock and James Farwell hanging out so I intervened to get a photo... later I sent Vic a note that Bison had recorded in Chicago and a link to my story about that...
...which put the idea in Brock's mind of getting a group photo with Vic, the SLIPs and LiquidLight, down from Portland. There were two people involved in taking it so not everyone is looking in the same direction for both images...! But I got a few variants.
I enjoyed LiquidLight a lot (as did Erika, who came with me, since it was my birthday; she got some great photos of her own, too). But I'm back to trying to defend myself against temptation: Must stop buying records. I don't want to learn of new good music!
This was their first show in Vancouver, I gather. Check'em out
here!
Then there was the SLIP~ons, who have reached a new peak of magnificence, but I've got nothin' exciting to add -- I put it all in
the Straight piece. I did shoot some video (also the show-closing
Nils cover). Mostly I just danced to "Greystone" and a couple of other songs, wondering if the SLIP~ons had secretly upped their game or something: I've always thought they were great, but last night they were greater. Really really happy to know these guys.
Brock told a story at one point about having originally planned to do the whole new EP in order: he remembered when the Doughboys opened for Husker Du, that the band had started that tour with the intention of doing all of
Warehouse: Songs and Stories in order but that by the time they got to Montreal, they'd changed their minds. But somehow in telling us that story, though he'd clearly begun it with the intent of switching things up, he decided they should just go ahead and do the whole new EP in order, regardless. So they did; plus "Heavy Machinery" and "Mosquito" off
their previous EP.
They tried to close the show at that point, but Brock had hinted that they might do a Nils cover, too, and... I mean, I bought Sell! Out! Young! when it came out, you know? I hope I didn't scream "NILS" too loudly at you, there, Brock... thanks for doing the song.
Incidentally, I finally just took the time to note that the yellow-cover version, which is what I used to have, was indeed the first pressing. At one point I sold all my records, when I was moving to Japan, so the version I have now is the red-covered one. I do not mind this at all (but the yellow is cooler).
But speaking of classic Montreal records, the one dumb thing from the night: as I said a few days ago on Facebook, I had a bizarre coincidence, the first part of which was that I had told Brock, having run into him at Red Gate last week, that someday I was going to have to buy a copy of the Doughboys' Whatever so I could get it signed; then (the second part) I went to Red Cat the next day and found the album just sitting there in the new arrivals bin. I had never seriously considered buying the album before, let alone told anyone I was going to, then suddenly: MANIFESTATION.
I don't believe in any of that stuff, really--"wish for it and it will come true" and all that magical-thinking bullshit--but I do still raise my eyebrows at a good coincidence. Since I've been hangin' round Exu Nazares a little, a lot more of those are happening to me...
The dumb part, though: having announced to Brock that I was going to get him to sign a Doughboys record, and then having GOTTEN that very record the next day, I forgot to bring it to the show!
Well, I got my new SLIP~ons EP signed, anyway. And I'm going to see the SLIPs again at the next possible opportunity, anyhow... What a great fuckin' band... what a great fuckin' night.
Now about that Vic Bondi show June 6th in Seattle...
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