Punk vs Roots vs My Cold, plus Rob Frith in the news!!!

It's funny: twice now, Erika and I have failed to catch COVID off each other -- once her managing to avoid a case I had, once me managing to avoid a case she had. But I've definitely caught her cold this week  -- one of the first times in recent memories where I HAVEN'T worried a cold was COVID; it's just a cold, but it's still annoying, and -- having watched her progress through it all week, or, I guess having watched it progress through her, it has now definitely spread to me. I might be recovering, but who knows? My cough only just turned productive this morning, and between that and some Nin Jiom in a tea with honey and lemon, I'm starting to feel a BIT better... but I still think I might elect to stay in tonight... 

You shouldn't, though. You should go out -- go see a Quebec hardcore band, maybe? Tonight's gig at the Red Gate is going to be a smasher. It's also going to be packed and very loud. Puffer bandcamp here. 

Packed and very loud -- with a $30 at the door cover -- might be a bit much, however, if you're old, tired, and broke like me... 

Digression: what's that corny old Triumph song, "Magic Power?" With the "I'm young, I'm wild, and I'm free" line? (I had Allied Forces back when I was 13, actually. I'm a bit embarrassed that I can still enjoy this song). Maybe the lyrics could be rewritten, do a song called "Tragic Power" with the line changed to "I'm old/ I'm tired/ and broke..." Rhyme it with something about life being a joke... but it's not funny... I'm sore... I'm sick... I'm tired of the constant barrage of terrifying news... the world's a mess, and I need a vacation... or at least a few more hours' sleep...

HOWEVER, there's another cool gig tonight more appropriate to my condition: the Gravel-Aires. Mark hasn't gotten back to me yet re: my email interview questions, and who knows if he will -- maybe he's agonizing over getting everything just right, or maybe he's busy preparing for the show elsewise -- but his band is playing a roots music gig tonight at the... Dayton Boot Factory? Who the hell puts on gigs at a boot factory, and why does this seem like such a great idea?

Who knows, maybe I'll have an "Introducing the Gravel-Aires" post up later today... 

But in other news: I love, love, love that Rob Frith has a) found a rare Beatles demo and that b) he's offered to just give it FOR FREE to Paul McCartney, on the condition that he comes collecting it in person. I don't know my Beatles that well but this is a delightful local story, so much so that Rob's in the news over it (not every day you see that). 

I do have questions, however: the Decca demos apparently have been long bootlegged and available in some form or other -- there's even stuff on Youtube from the sessions -- so what exactly *IS* the tape in question? How many copies of the Decca demos were made? What's the cash value? One copy of the tape, described as the "original safety master" on the Wiki, sold for 35,000 pounds to a Japanese collector in 2012 (missing five of the songs from the session, so there's some dispute about what that tape actually was). There is also an "original master tape" that has unknown whereabouts, in addition to copies and copies of copies and so forth. 

Whatever exactly it is, I hope that Sir Paul gets the news and comes to town. Rob should make him do an in-store!!! 

Heheheh. 

Martha Wainwright news: on 20th anniversary of her first album and its vinyl debut

Here's a surprise; I'm a big fan of Martha Wainwright's first album, first released on CD in 2005. 

Historically, mostly I've been a Loudon Wainwright III man, to be honest; I have about eight albums by the man, Martha's father, all signed by him at a Rogue Folk concert a few years ago. I can probably recite at least half of "Road Ode" from memory, so that when I hear Martha Wainwright reference Oprah on her song "TV Show," I think, "Huh: like father like daughter." I have never investigated Rufus; his work is simply unknown to me. I've owned some Kate and Anna McGarrigle, but I don't "know " it -- mostly I know their version of Wade Hemsworth's "The Log Driver's Waltz," the animation for which I've been known to use in ESL classrooms. I think she has other family members who perform (there is a lot of music among her people) who are also unknown to me... Roches, or something... But in fact, I think I listen more to Martha's first album than I do to anything by her Dad, these last couple of years. 

It hadn't been the plan. I took Erika to see her at the Imperial a few years ago (missing out on a Lee Ranaldo show down the street at the Fox!) and was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. Martha was smart, witty, wry, and kept doing this weird thing with her leg, kinda twisting it out to her side to ease pain in her hip or lower back, like some sort of auto-chiropractic dance move. She kept up a fair witty banter, as well, though I seem not to have taken notes of any of it. But I love a performer with a quirky stage presence. And there were a couple of songs where I was asking Erika afterwards, "What album was that off?" 

They were songs off her first album, which continued to grow on me when Erika played the CD in the car -- "Far Away," "Factory," "Ball and Chain," "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" -- all sinking deep hooks. I haven't really cottoned onto some of the other female artists and female-fronted bands that Erika has had on heavy rotation -- I don't really need to spend time with Dido or Adele or Florence and the Machine -- but three of her favourites that have really grown on me are Alabama Shakes, Frazey Ford, and, believe it or not, that first Martha Wainwright album. 

It's brilliant. Unconventional song structures, prickly lyrics and ethereal background vocals all tied to a sort of dark, swirling European romanticism -- I actually have it on my phone; it's a great headphones record, highly crafted, but full of emotion. My only complaint is, it never came out on vinyl. 

That changes as of tomorrow. Martha Wainwright, by Martha Wainwright, will be on sale as of March 21st, and available exclusively at merch areas on her North American tour -- until April 4th, when Cadence will be distributing it to retail stores in Canada. May 23rd, PIAS will pick up distro in the UK, Europe, and the USA, and on May 27th, the UK tour will start, again with the vinyl available on merch tables. There will also, I am told, be a 2CD set, remastered at Abbey Road, with an extra disc of outtakes and demos. 

From Martha Wainwright's publicists, we learn, also, that

Martha digitally released a previously released 10 song record called Ground Floor this past January. It was the very first set of recordings she released back in 1997 that were originally available as a 10 song cassette that she only ever sold at shows and have become collectors items of sorts among her super fans. She is also pressing 250 cassettes of this release and will be selling it at all the shows (or until they sell out). 

Her vision with these extra releases of Ground Floor and the bonus disc of B-side’s, etc. is that it all ties into the same period of her as an artist and the build up to the release of her debut record. It will also be good to have it all available digitally worldwide as it’s all only been released in a hard to find format.

At present, it appears there are only side-of-stage options for the Shadbolt Centre concert on April 6th; not sure how competitive it will be to get those -- you seem to have to phone the Shadbolt to get them, which is puzzling -- but Martha Wainwright also plays Sidney, for my island friends, the next night, at the Mary Winspear Centre. Her complete list of tour dates is here. Here's hoping we'll see her at one of these shows, or at least manage to snag a record! 

Blood Moon: the cat's first lunar eclipse, March 2025

Walking home from checking out Caveman and the Banshee at the Biltmore, I took a couple of snaps of the moon. It didn't look at all red, but was there a faint sliver missing from the top right? Of course it did not show in the photos that I took, but the sky looked pretty cool, regardless. 

I joined my wife for the second half of The China Syndrome, the superb 1970s nuclear disaster film that, along with Missing and Save the Tiger, marked a terrific run of serious mid-career films from Jack Lemmon,  along with Missing and Save the Tiger. I first saw this film first run in a movie theatre, I guess at age 11, and have seen it twice since. Erika had forgotten that I had shown it to her before (at least until the scene where they showed the inside of the control room); but I was pleased to see that she kept it on after we interacted about it via text -- it was still playing when I got in. (Sorry, Bob Log III, but I had had a full meal with Caveman and the Banshee, was tired from work, and preferred the idea of being home with my wife to seein' you!). 

More to come on Caveman and the Banshee, methinks. But Bob, you sure had some cool street art up outside the Biltmore! Way to do a tag! 

But that was awhile ago -- let's get back to the Blood Moon: having finished the film, my wife went to bed -- she's not feeling that hot -- while I stayed up to look at my photos of the band and look over my notes, when I noticed, hey, the moon was now like a sliver in the sky, with a definite red hue. I tried to photograph it from the window, but cell phone cameras and moons are seldom friendly -- you could see the red hue, but that was about it.  

Flash forward half an hour: with my wife now sleeping and a volley of email interview questions sent off to Caveman and the Banshee, I started to put on my shoes, the better to see the moon, without having to lean out an open window whilst cock-blocking the cat from trying to leap out (he loves open things). But Nicholas -- who is a very carrier-friendly guy -- sensing that I was about to go outside, actually walked over and got in his kennel, as if to say, "Take me with you?" So I did. I tucked in his tail, closed the door behind him, and hefted all fifteen pounds (14.5 pounds of him, plus the kennel) down the stairs to sit on the curb and contemplate the night sky from safety. 

He was more interested in sniffing in a downwards direction, to be honest. I'm not sure he could tell that the moon was different -- I tried pointing it out to him, tilting the camera upwards, but he doesn't really have much interest in human language. Still, I posed with him for a couple of pictures.

Then I carried him upstairs, my arm starting to feel his weight, and sat down to write this. Midway through, he reminded me that I hadn't given him his nightly can of wet food (Fancy Feast chicken florentine, mixed with a bit of warm water, to make it easier for him to lap up; he likes it wet!).

The moon is no longer visible from my window, but I got the idea. This might have been my first Blood Moon, as well as Nicholas'. 

But the bed is calling to me. Hope you had your own cool moon experiences.  G'night. 

From Bob Log III to Oneida, plus ARGH!! at the End Times Garage Sale: Cool stuff this weekend

ARGH!! in Hunter S. Thompson mode, soon appearing at the End Times Garage Sale, more on which below!

The weekend, for me, will kick off, at least if all goes to plan, with Bob Log III tomorrow at the Biltmore. He does somewhat unhinged, shit-hot one-man-band slide guitar stuff while wearing a mic'd helmet, which apparently he will lift occasionally to sip whiskey that he has invited ladies to stir with their breasts ("Boob Scotch"). Nanaimo's Caveman and the Banshee open; they were pretty darn entertaining the other week at Green Auto, where the Banshee had no idea I was "some sort of journalist" (?) when she sat on me; I gather that sitting on Bob Log III is also something that may happen. There will certainly be other hijinks -- I expect something equal parts silly and high-energy, and presume there'll be some kickass slide guitar along the way. I have not seen Bob Log III before, and it's been awhile since he's been this way, so... here's your chance... 

There's also some new Caveman & the Banshee merch, apparently, but I'm not altogether sure what this is. Fun art, though! Should be a perfect opening act.

...then Friday I got nothin'. I'm not going to the sold-out Punkstravaganza at the Rickshaw, and it sounds like, if you don't have tickets already, you won't be either (unless they release a few at the door? Good luck! The Real McKenzies, I bet, will be quite the thing this year, given how astonishing The Enigmas were at Ronfest). But there's lots else you can find on This Week in Vancouver on Instagram. I have no opinions worth noting. 

Saturday, if I weren't going to Martin Howse (see previous post), I'd be torn: people with a taste for punk, avant-punk, and other non-mainstream, high energy musics might consider Ivan and the Tax Evaders at the Grey Lab, The Hairy Cherries at Green Auto, Computer at the Cobalt, or M01E and Shearing Pinx at Red Gate. No shortage of choices there.  People wanting something rootsier would be advised to check out Rockabilly Roundup with Paul Pigat at the Heatley or Stephen Fearing (of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) at Mel Lehan Hall.  

Sunday is clearer: Oneida and Kinski at Green Auto. I am really enjoying Oneida's new album -- playing catchup, because they aren't a band I've paid much attention to before now (I think I've seen Kinski twice, however, and enjoyed them both times -- though it's been quite awhile!). Both are bands for people who like rock that isn't afraid to colour outside the lines. 

The other big event on Saturday is not one I will be at, I don't think -- other commitments -- but the End Times Garage Sale will take place on Main Street and include the art of ARGH!!, previously interviewed by me here. He's assembled various posters for the event, which is described on Facebook as a "market focused on local art, music culture, handmade crafts, vintage items, and curated thrift." ARGH!!'s show -- assemblages, collages, paintings, cartoons; I'm not entirely sure -- will be "fear & loathing in america 2025: remembering hunter 20 years gone." Hard to believe that Hunter S. Thompson -- political commentator, drug enthusiast, and the King of Gonzo Journalism -- died that long ago! 

buffalo dick

fear & loathing in jelly stone park

bring me the head of hunter thompson

i am not a crook

tripping & lusting where the buffalo roam

mm jfk usa r.i.p

americana aquarium

Martin Howse in Vancouver

There is more stuff than I can handle coming down the chute, but read here for a feature about Martin Howse -- a very interesting avant-gardist performing a Vancouver New Music event this Saturday (their page on him here, tickets here; it's called Parallel 07). He's in town doing workshops starting tomorrow (think the registration is closed) as part of the buildup to the event -- friends of mine are participating. Some of the areas of interest that may be explored by Howse and workshop participants include (quoting): 

the technological encoding of human speech (compression, glitches, artificial synthesis).

physical transformations of concrete physical models of speech-producing apparatus

physical transformations of algorithmic and electrical models of vocalisations

transformations of movements of air, light, crystal and particles under vocalising breath and utterances

changes of state (steam, freezing, condensings) provoked by energetic processes within and outside these apparatus

“throats” moulded in earth or clay and washed down, eroded, or crystallised, placed in a stream

If I had the wherewithal I'd have asked one of those friends to write about it -- it's outside my wheelhouse, these days, but anytime I've heard Howse's work described, it's very compelling (no idea what it sounds like, though!). Just going to go to the performance on Saturday! PWYC sliding scale...

Nick Lowe y Los Straitjackets live at the Vogue, March 9, 2025

This is a slightly tinkered-with cut-and-paste of what I already wrote on Facebook, but it will suffice!

Nick Lowe y Los Straitjackets tonight were quite marvelous, in a restrained, mature, but very enjoyable way. While I love some of his peppier numbers -- like "Tokyo Bay" and "I Knew the Bride" -- tonight, for whatever reason, the slower, quieter songs were the most moving, most engaging, like "Blue on Blue," "House for Sale," a positively plaintive "(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding," "Lately I've Let Things Slide" and a final solo encore of "Alison" that held a 4/5ths-full Vogue in rapt attention....

I learned three things about the Vogue tonight: 1. That the balcony seats, which I usually avoid, are in fact roomier in all directions, so you aren't butt-up to the butt of the person next to you and your knees aren't pressed into the back of the seat ahead -- you can even manspread a bit (if you're a man? Does one womanspread? It sounds a bit indelicate... I propose the term "transpread" for non-binary folks who like their legs wide... in any case, you have a bit of room to move out, and maybe more seating options to boot); 2. that the audience up there (at least tonight) actually didn't talk much -- they listened pretty attentively, unlike the lower echelons, which were pretty darn chatty (I won't name names); 3 that if a guitar has a lot of reverb on it, that reverb will fill the balcony space in marvelous ways during solos, which actually was value-added (especially for "Blue on Blue," which sounded just gorgeous). I was down front for a bit, then spent a few songs in the lower level seats, but to my surprise, enjoyed myself in the balcony the most!

And while I was initially disappointed at the move from the Biltmore to the Vogue, when you saw how many people were at the Vogue, you could understand. The Biltmore never made sense, but that was what appealed to me -- seeing this world-class band in a smallish venue (note: the Minus 5 are coming there soon). I figured it would be harder to run from requests to sign records at the Biltmore, too (the Vogue has a huge backstage area into which the band can retreat; I didn't bother to see if they'd come out). 

But Mr. Lowe was ever the gentleman, very polite and even a bit chatty at times, his singing gorgeous and his delicate, gestural strumming quite magical to watch; while Los Straitjackets, during their solo portions (at the start of the two encores, and once in the middle of the main set) did a couple of marvelously fun covers, like "My Heart Will Go On," "Venus," and.. was that the National Geographic theme they covered, or did it just sound that way? (Tony Lee says it was The Magnificent Seven theme!). Lowe got standing ovations at a couple of points (at least from a balcony POV) and was very appreciative (and also grateful that it was the last date in his west coast tour -- he told us how happy he was that their next stop was the airport, which I think I caught in the clip I posted above, but if not... that was the context).

 
I have now seen Mr. Lowe twice, and been very satisfied (even got to see him sing with Elvis Costello a couple of years ago... someone else I'd like to see twice!). I don't know that our paths will cross again, but I'm happy to have both Indoor Safari and The Convincer (which is where the song in the comments first appeared) in my collection, even if I didn't get them scribbled on... and I'm delighted that the song he played, when my camera was rolling, was precisely the song I had hoped to get on video. It's a good one! Thank you, Mr. Lowe! 

Sudden Darts at the Princeton -- and I, Braineater at Chez Cummins: a solid Saturday of show options!

(NOTE: THREE ADDED VIDEO CLIPS AT THE END from the shows written about here)

When I sat down to interview John Werner for the Georgia Straight a few years ago, I didn't realize the half of what he'd done. I think I knew he was the brother of former Skulls member Simon Werner (the Skulls being the immediate precursors to DOA); and I had certainly seen him providing, with Taylor Little, a steady platform for Chris Arnett's furious guitar onslaught with the Furies (Vancouver's first punk band, albeit the Lou Reed-meets-garage version of punk; see here for more, and may they ride again soon!). But even though I knew a little Theatre of Hate, I don't think I realized until a few weeks before the interview that John was in the Pack with Theatre of Hate/ Spear of Destiny frontman Kirk Brandon, or that he had been involved in the writing of a prototype version of "Legion," my favourite Theatre of Hate song (the last two links are to the two different versions, if you want to compare!). And did I know that he had been in the Straps, a proto-psychobilly UK band? Nope! Did I know that he had spent some time in the States as frontperson of a rootsy/ country project? That he played bass in the Graham Brown Band? ...actually, I might have known that last one, not sure; I've certainly seen him with them since. Mostly I just I knew him as a man of style and wit, a skilled punk bassist with better-than-average taste in clothing (always good hats!) and would say hi to him if I ran into him around Main Street; doing that article was a real education, and not just for the people who read it!

Sudden Darts L-to-R: Don Betts, George McWhinnie, John Werner, and Scott Fletcher

Anyhow, I must have impressed him with that piece, because John asked for a contribution to the website for his new band, Sudden Darts, playing this Saturday at the Princeton. I still haven't SEEN Sudden Darts -- and my impression of them is maybe that they are more roots-oriented than psychedelic (which is how Art Perry describes them), though maybe with a Paisley Underground vibe overlaid -- but I've enjoyed their songs (such as "Stop and Smell the Roses" and "Strange New World"), and am happy, after years of seeing John in a support role, that he's stepping into the foreground and singing his own songs! Saturday's show at the Princeton will feature a host of guests, more on whom below. The night is kicking off around 9 with a set by the Gravel-Aires,  with Sudden Darts doing the first of two sets at about 10:15 and closing the joint. Finally I get to see Sudden Darts! Yay!

John tells me that the album release, on CD and streaming, will be May 28th, with a different take on "Strange New World" than you hear on the video (that song will be released March 31st); I know that he'd like to see vinyl made but it will depend on how things go ("our budget is limited"). Personally, I'd love vinyl with a cover as fun as that -- shamelessly loud, playful, and designed by Werner himself and his partner Rebecca, with help from a graphic artist they know. The logo was designed by Shon Midnite and the cover art includes a few references to the songs on the album, like a "herald rabbit" -- a Lewis Carroll reference -- which connects also to the song "Down in the Rabbit Hole." John tells me that the band is "getting a bit rockier from live playing," and getting "very positive audience reactions," as well as phone calls to join other bands on this-or-that bill. Sounds like things are going well!

John Werner with the Furies at Richards on Richards, Feb. 10, 2007 (billed with DOA and the Rebel Spell -- first time I saw either band!); photo by bev davies, not to be reused without permission

So what about the name Sudden Darts? It's no reference to the UK pastime of "dart culture," which Werner tells me he knows naught about ("Sorry, we don't play darts"). He illustrated it to me once when we bumped into each other shopping for books, explaining that the name pays tribute to an eccentric way of Simon's of greeting someone, jabbing them in the chest and proclaiming, "sudden darts!" -- which I'm glad John spared me the full force of, as "Simon's Sudden Darts game was always played with the index fingers, and always as rapid and painful as possible!"

Any other news from John? He tells me that he and his partner of five years, Rebecca, are "going strong," and bought a "lovely old house" in New West; that Sudden Darts "keeps developing creatively and intuitively," with all members really enjoying the experience; and further, that he is "still playing regularly with Graham Brown Band, and about to release a new record. Just did another tour with the Pack in August/September 2024, with Danny Farrant of the Buzzcocks on drums. It went very well, great crowds and responses. We played the opera house at Rebellion Festival to about 1000 people. And we sold out the 100 Club in London on a Sunday night. Then in February we got some sad and tragic news - our brilliant guitarist Woz Wilson died fairly suddenly of cancer. So right now, the Pack's future is uncertain."

This is sad news -- I had secretly hoped, having seen Spear of Destiny and Theatre of Hate, that maybe some version of the Pack would make it to Vancouver. As for Sudden Darts, however, John tells me that for the first set at the Princeton, "we will play our regular songs, and maybe a new one. For the secnd set we have Al Mader, Graham Brown, Joe Burke's Community Standards, and Shelley Preston. Towards the end, Sudden Darts will play two or three brand new, never played live, originals, 'She Feels My Pain,' 'Something's Happening,' and 'I Spent a Dream With You.'" I'm looking forward to seeing them for the first time...

...But I'm also glad they're playing late, because hey, look, Jim Cummins is having an art show at his house, where there will be another chance to see the newest incarnation of the Braineaters (AKA I, Braineater). I'm working on something with Jim at the moment for a certain US magazine, which I have not yet transcribed, but I had a great time wandering around Cummins' space last art show, and assure you that the prices that day were shockingly reasonable -- and that the new band, who I've seen twice now, is very much in the vein of classic Artist-Poet-Thief Braineater, with plenty of songs from that era in the set (and some new ones, like the funny little bunny one... I forget the title... "Bunny," perchance?). The band had done some demos already but are going to re-work them in June at Rain City Recorders for a new album. Jim tells me he has "a few more tricks" up his sleeve, as well, but, like I say, it's gonna be in a magazine, so... more to cum, so to speak... 

Anyhow, I think the timing will work to do the whole Braineater show, then make the Princeton for the whole Sudden Darts show. Can't beat that. There's probably other cool stuff going on in Vancouver on Saturday -- like Devours at the Rickshaw, if that's more your scene (subject of a guest blog post here) -- but these are my picks. Maybe I'll see you there... 

POST SHOW UPDATE: the new Braineaters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UyIc9A-7ag

Sudden Darts new song "Aisha" with Shelley Grace Preston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmHApnNJrRY

"Stop and Smell the Roses" live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZk-tX2qw6Q&t=6s 

And the Gravel Aires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8crbkzqAcuo

Punk Rock Toilets 2: The Heatley

 The Heatley is by no means a punk club, but it has a pretty goddamn punk rock toilet! Art in top pics by Ola Volo.

Punk rock toilets: the Red Gate

 I love a good punk rock toilet. The Red Gate has two awesome ones. I made people wait while I took a few pictures (but I was fast about it, and, uh, some of these I was seated for!).

Rong was great tonight too!