Burger Records’ travelling music festival hit Vancouver’s Rickshaw Theatre on February 22nd and 23rd. The lineup featured eight all-girl or female-fronted bands in a high energy celebration of female badassness. With the majority of major festivals featuring predominantly male acts, this gathering of girl punk rockers was more than welcome, even if it was on a smaller scale. Night one of Burger-A-Go-Go featured The Flytraps, Feels, Death Valley Girls, and finally The Coathangers.
It took me a while to find the venue, but I immediately knew I was at the right place after seeing bright, red lights coming through a doorway – which is completely fitting for Red Gate. It’s a large space that has graffiti and stickers all over the walls, and comfy couches which make it a nice space for people to mingle and relax in between acts. The red lights, alongside the alternative backdrop, set the stage for a very laid-back, chill night.
Fans of American indie rock band, Hippo Campus, gathered at Imperial Vancouver on January 18, eagerly anticipating to hear some music.
The bands performing for the night were Club Sofa, On Planets, Schwey, Dead Soft, and of course, Peach Pit.
The first act I saw was Tomato Tomato. This husband and wife duo can really hold a show. With Lisa on the washboard and John Mclaggan with his guitar, it’s hard to decide which one I liked better. When this two-piece band got together, their sound filled the main stage just as well as any other. They effortlessly kept in harmony. Appreciated by attentive sitters and active dancers, Tomato Tomato navigated their set well and maintained a positive, reactive crowd.
As irrelevant as it may seem, the first thing that struck me when Teenage Fanclub took the stage was their age. They looked like a band made up of your friends' dads. Not that it matters, but certainly most of the working bands, especially those frequenting smaller venues like The Rickshaw are made up of young people.
When I heard that Two Door Cinema Club would be headlining in Vancouver, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Like many fans who played the band’s first two albums Tourist History and Beacon
Every once in a while, I’ll hear a song in a totally unexpected environment that immediately grasps my full attention, and demands that I discover where it came from, so that I can listen to everything else ever created by that artist. This was how I came to love Joel Plaskett. It was Summer 2007. I was moseying around a Foot Locker in the sweaty depths of the Eaton Centre in Toronto, looking for a fresh pair of kicks, when I heard “Fashionable People” filling up the room with its peppy, infectious verses and hooks.
Entering the doors of Biltmore Cabaret, little did I expect it to be so cozy and people so friendly. Laughter and talks were heard from every corner. Occupying the biggest booth was the most-wanted band of the evening, The Courtneys, were selling their cool merchandise: pins, t-shirts and hoodies.
