Best Shows of the Year: The Courtneys at the Biltmore Cabaret, August 17

I love the Courtneys, but as much as it hurts admitting it, they sound shitty almost every time I see them. Not on August 17 though. They couldn't have been more bang-on. Moreover, the show contained some of my favourite concert moments of the year: Nü Sensae drummer Daniel Pitout guested on the skins for one song and pounded out the most intense version of "90210" I've heard; I didn't know the song could sound so good that fast. Even Courtneys drummer/singer Jenn Twynn Payne shouted, "Too fast!!" with a laugh. The giggles continued when, during the same song, Hockey Dad Records founder and B-Lines singer Ryan Dyck paraded Payne around the Biltmore on his high shoulders, nearly smashing her head into the ceiling several times. Yet Jenn sang on. Trooper.

Speaking of Pitout, I have to note that he claimed yet another one of my top concert moments this year when he marched onstage during B-Lines, mic in hand, and launched into a SCORCHING version of "Busy Man".

The Courtneys FEAT. Daniel Pitout - 90210 at the Biltmore from The Courtneys on Vimeo.

The Courtneys Feat. Daniel Pitout (Nü Sensae) and Ryan Dyck - "90210"

The sound quality in this video is shit, but after having seen Nü Sensae's Daniel Pitout drum on the Courtneys' "90210", I will never listen to this song the same way again. Can Daniel play on all of the Courtneys songs from now on? And B-Lines'/Hockey Dad Records' Ryan Dyck almost dumping JTP on her head and smashing her against the ceiling - best Courtneys show I've ever seen no question:

The Courtneys FEAT. Daniel Pitout - 90210 at the Biltmore from The Courtneys on Vimeo.

Punk Music and Barbecue

With the exception of Cult of Youth, this must have been one of the most skull-crushingly awesome shows in a LOOONG-assed time. Scarcely a more stacked line-up than this. Don't know how I missed this one.

Friends in Montreal!

Can you keep your eye out for this poster? Will pay postage/etc! Do I even have friends who will be in Montreal before New Year's? :/

Van Rules Pitchfork

White Lung is the latest band to be profiled in Pitchfork's weekly(?) "Rising" feature. Also, today, the Fork reviewed Nü Sensae's new album Sundowning (Suicide Squeeze), giving it the same score as White Lung's new LP Sorry (Deranged Records). The two best Van bands considered on equal footing by the greater masses? Pretty fucking sweet! Click here to read PF's article/interview with White Lung.

Ian MacKaye, Calvin Johnson, Nü Sensae and the Evaporators, and I'm Missing Most Or All of Them

Talk about missing the opportunity of a lifetime. I am missing this FREE workshop because I only found out about it yesterday when I ran into someone at the grocery store I recognized from the Calvin Johnson house-show a couple of months ago. I would give anything to see Ian MacKaye speak and Calvin, Nü Sensae and the Evaporators play ... Can't afford anymore sick days at work, unfortunately, and registration for the workshop closed yesterday, though there's an ever-so-slight chance I may be able to catch Calvin's set at the very least. It took me until this morning to be able to bring myself to read the full event description. The relevant parts highlighted below:

A Free Weekend of Workshops led by Local Experts in a Variety of Indie-Music-Related Fields!!!

with Keynote Speaker: Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat)!!!

and a Saturday Night Rock Show Featuring: Calvin Johnson, Thee Evaporators, Nu Sensae, and The Bank Dogs!!! Doors open at 7pm! Show at 7:30!

Come learn about all aspects of D.I.Y. music-making , including production, promotion, organization, and networking. Ever wanted to book a tour? Make your own t-shirts? Build a distortion pedal? Shoot a video? Whether you're a musician, artist, organizer, music-lover, or just an overall cool cat: meet new people! Learn from THE BEST! Witness history in the making! And rock hard!

- Find out how record labels work from the staff of K Records, Mint Records, Student Loan Records, Hockey Dad Records and more!
- Get interview tips from Nardwuar the Human Serviette
- Learn about music theory from members of the SSRIs
- Discuss the perils of ageism with members of Safe Amp and the Vera Project
- Discover how to make effects pedals with Julian Marrs of Marrs Pedals

FULL STREAM: Nü Sensae - Sundowning LP

Click here to listen to Vancouver punk trio Nü Sensae's just-released Sundowning LP (Suicide Squeeze Records, 2012) via AOL Spinner. Also, nice to see them getting coverage from SPIN Magazine (which briefly profile's the band in its "5 Best New Artists for August '12"), Spotify, Fader and AllMusic.com, my favourite site for album reviews and musician-info. World, if you're not ready for Nü Sensae, get ready.

The Second Best Five Bucks I've Ever Spent

August 3, 2012
Antisocial Skateshop
Vancouver, British Columbia

The best being my leather jacket.

Last night was Nü Sensae's record-release show at the Antisocial Skateshop celebrating their new LP Sundowning (Suicide Squeeze, 2012). Also featured on the bill were Nü Sensae's good friends White Lung who themselves recently released a new album titled Sorry (Deranged Records, 2012) which you can listen to in full here. 

Despite "strict" time-constraints (the bands stressed on their Facebook event page that the set times were rigid due to the 11 P.M. curfew), White Lung took their time taking the stage, or floor, rather. Had they known they were in store for the bass amp's power cutting off two or three times at the beginning of their set (the first time within seconds of their first song), perhaps they would have been more punctual. Even by the second power-failure, the treat of free booze (while quantities lasted) seemed to have been inadequate in quenching the growing audience's thirst for high-velocity punk rawk, especially after White Lung teased the audience by having appeared to have launched into their first ripper ... as a soundcheck.

Although lead-singer Mish Way's mic could have been louder, the band sounded great. They tore straight ahead through their thirty-ish-minute set with everyone in the band sounding bold and clear on their way to the finish line: Kenneth Williams' jagged guitars punctured through the destructive maelstrom of sound while Grady MacIntosh fired relentless volleys of thuddily palpable bass notes, and Anne-Marie Vassiliou tamed the chaos into some kind of order as best as she could with her merciless, thunderous, mechanically precise drumming.

Having been my first "real" punk show where all of the focus was on Nü Sensae and White Lung (rather than on them merely as openers or parts of a festival line-up), I was slightly disenchanted by the crowd's docility during White Lung. I'd expected the crowd to have been pretty crazy, given that most of the people there, I assumed, were going to have been the bands' equally rowdy punk friends and the "real" punks who go to these sorts of shows as a religion. Admittedly, I was a part of the "problem," as I didn't move much during White Lung either, as much as I liked them.

The mood totally changed when Nü Sensae came on, however. I and pretty much everyone else who was into it got into it. Before I knew it, without even having been really conscious of the fact, I'd somehow found myself standing right in front of singer/bassist Andrea Lukic. I stood so close to her, I could have sang into her mic without leaning in, and believe me, the temptation was almost overpowering. More than a few times, I and the people around me nearly knocked over her mic-stand. I, or more likely one of the guys next to me, actually unplugged her peddle by kicking it, an accident unrelated to a handful of us slipping on beer and falling onto the floor; yeah, there were more than a few cans of beer flying and spraying around last night; I caught a few on the shoulder and chest but remained unscathed thanks to the moderate protection afforded me by the carapace that was my jacket.

Nü Sensae get better every time I see them. Even more than at the Khatsahlano Music + Arts Festival did their songs sound more developed and progressive, with the inclusion of some extended jams, instead of just like relentless deluges of sound. Unfortunately, unlike last time at Khats, Andrea's vocals did not soar above the rest of the band and carpet-bomb us with shrill cries, feral growls or Serengeti-an roars. I guess the complaint is somewhat moot, though: when one stood as close to Andrea as I did, I guess her mic volume didn't matter that much.

Though I escaped the show without any cuts, bruises or scrapes this time, I hadn't moshed that hard since Les Savy Fav or maybe Andrew W.K., although I'm reluctant to count Andrew W.K., because that was more like fighting for my life rather than having a good time. That said, it was a total mistake to have worn my aforementioned leather jacket, as I sweltered, stuck, dripped and soaked with sweat (and a little booze) like never before; who'd have thought, on a hot summer night, crammed amongst a hundred or so living bodies in a relatively tiny skateshop? I probably would have had more ease escaping a straight-jacket than taking off my leather jacket.

And that was the night I vowed to never miss either Nü Sensae or White Lung again - unless they're supporting some crappy, over-priced bands.

Also, I'm starting to recognize too many people at shows ...

2012 Khatsahlano Music + Arts Festival Recap

Nü Sensae shred and pulverize the Maple Stage 

July 21, 2012
West 4th Avenue, between MacDonald Street and Burrard Street
Vancouver, British Columbia

The 2012 Khatsahlano Music + Arts Festival, Vancouver's largest free outdoor music event of the year, took place the Saturday before last. With over forty mostly local performers featured between ten blocks on West 4th Avenue, I did my best to catch all of my favourite bands, and that I did with surprisingly few conflicts.

The festival ran from 12 P.M. to 8 P.M., but the day began for me with Juvenile Hall, a three-piece pop-punk band that takes cues from the Ramones (obvious by the bassist's T-shirt) and Shonen Knife (based on JH's sound alone). Catchy songs about candy, love and getting high delivered with more chops than the typical pop-punk band made Juvenile Hall one of the top highlights of my day. And they gave away free buttons! Chyeah!

Next up on the same stage (the Yew Stage) were Weed, my most anticipated band of the day. That this was my first time seeing them after having missed them three times, I was pretty damned stoked. However, Weed were also the most disappointing band of the day for me. Not only did they play the shortest set out of everyone I saw at the festival, and they didn't play "Eighty," one of the top two songs I wanted them to play, but the live versions of their other songs all kind of sounded the same. Weed did live up to the ubiquitous description of them as grungy sludge-pop, though: they layered everything on thick, particularly Hugo Noriega's slabs of fat bass. That said, Weed were one of the last bands I expected to see a couple of toddlers dancing to in the front row. Weed couldn't have possibly been good for the kids' ears: Weed were possibly the loudest band I heard at Khats, unless my ears had adjusted to face-melting levels of volume by the time I saw Nü Sensae.

The final band I saw at the Yew Stage, immediately following Weed, were Peace. I'd looked forward to Peace's unconventional, danceable, Q and Not U-style rhythms and melodies, but Peace were more post-punky live than on record. And singer "Lt." Frank Dickens' vocals sounded much plainer live. Peace were still pretty good, though, as I do love my post-punk; they just weren't entirely what I'd wanted.

Finally moving from the Yew Stage, I saw possibly my favourite Van-band, punk trio Nü Sensae. They were exceedingly better than the first time I saw them, when they opened for Best Coast at the Biltmore at the end of May. Maybe it was a difference in sound systems, but at the Biltmore, while Nü Sensae were good, pretty much every note in every song sounded indistinguishable. This time, however, each song actually stood out, the band was clear, and they didn't seem to just blitz through their set. I didn't keep track of the time, but I was surprised by how long it felt like they played - much longer than their Biltmore set felt. Maybe their new songs are just more dynamic - fleshed out - and kick more ass, and that's why they stood out. And despite bassist/singer Andrea Lukic's initial mic problems (her mic was initially so low, she was completely inaudible), her screaming seemed even more eviscerating than ever. Nü Sensae were definitely my favourite performance of the day.

The final band I saw at the Khatsahlano Music + Arts Festival was indie pop-rock band Pleasure Cruise. Like Peace, I'd looked forward to them quite a bit, but also like Peace, vocals were not Pleasure Cruise's strong suit live. Otherwise, Pleasure Cruise were pretty on the ball: fun, rocking, and they seemed like nice people, constantly joking with the crowd and even giving a shout-out to Nardwuar who was in the crowd. And they played a Misfits song. How rad!

So, I missed all but two of the High Drops' songs; Capitol 6 seemed to have either been taken off of the festival's line-up, were poorly advertised or, despite having played the Khats Fest launch party at Zulu Records back in May, were never scheduled to play, and the Dirtbombs-evoking Ballantynes who are just GOD-AWESOME were moved to a timeslot that conflicted with some of the other bands I wanted to see, but my first Khatsahlano Music + Arts Festival could not have been through and through funner. Forty bands over eight hours, I was bound to have missed some things. And it was all free, so how can I really complain?

The Only Place For Me

May 23, 2012
The Biltmore Cabaret
Vancouver, British Columbia

After having missed Vancouver punk trio Nü Sensae three times, I finally got to see them when they opened for Best Coast at the Biltmore Cabaret. Although Nü Sensae's set only lasted twenty minutes, drummer Daniel Pitout looked like he was convulsing after the first song. The intensity with which he and the rest of the band played is why I for once, reluctantly, kept my earplugs in for more than a few seconds; in fact, I kept them in for the entire set. It was definitely a smart move, because when I took them out for a second to hear how loud Nü Sensae were, I felt like I'd been cast into the first level of Hell (the deeper levels being reserved for heavy- and doom-metal - truly Satanic shit).

Unfortunately, yet unsurprisingly, to say the plugs took away from Nü Sensae would be an understatement. I tried only wearing the plugs halfway in, and even then, I could hardly hear Andrea Lukic's blood-curdling, Kim Gordon-like screams. I realize it seems stupid to complain about earplugs taking away from shows, but I really wonder what the point of going to shows is if one can hardly hear anything. Maybe I just need to find less-isolating earplugs - or stop caring even in the slightest about my body's well-being.

After the snarling punk of Nü Sensae, another trio, Portland, OR's Unknown Mortal Orchestra, took the stage and delivered hands down the worst performance I'd ever seen. They weren't bad at their instruments, but they weren't interesting in the slightest either; I could not have fathomed more generic indie music. Until UMO, Oh Land and Dan Sartain were the worst bands I'd ever seen, but to Oh Land's and Dan's credits, they were just boring; UMO were so annoyingly bad, I couldn't even bring myself to pretend I was into them. I frequently scanned the floor behind and beside me, I was so bored, and was shocked to find people actually enjoying UMO. That, or there were far better actors than me at the Biltmore that night. I thought my eyes were going to become stuck behind my head, I rolled my eyes so much during UMO.

As excruciating as UMO were, Best Coast were completely worth the seemingly endless torture. Although now a fleshier four-piece featuring new guitarist/bassist Rafe Mandel and Brett Mielke replacing Ali Koehler on drums, I couldn't tell much of a difference from the last two times I saw Best Coast. Despite a few slightly missed cues between frontperson Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno (also on guitar and bass) and minor malfunctions with Bobb's amp during the encore, Best Coast still put on an all-around solid performance.

In typical Biltmore charm, I stood so close to Bethany, at near-eye-level, that I could have hugged her just by sticking out my arms. But that would have been getting a little too personal, so I settled for snatching her second bottle of water; I'm now two-for-three in snatching Bethany's water at Best Coast shows (someone snatched her first bottle before the encore, prompting her to ask, "Who took my water?" when the band returned to the stage. So, I decided to wait until the band was done for sure to make my move).

Bethany's bottle of water in one hand and Best Coast's set list in the other, and that was another show marked off of my calender - another ripped ticket stub in my desk drawer. And speaking of set lists, that Nü Sensae had theirs scrawled on a piece of bent cardboard was funny in its DIYness. I would have snatched it, but I didn't know where I'd keep it. It would have kind of detracted from my bedroom set list wall, even if I taped the cardboard flat. Also, I didn't want to keep that piece of cardboard on me the entire show.

Click here for more photos of Best Coast, and click below to watch a video that must have been taken by the person who stood right beside me, because the video shows pretty much the exact view I had:

Someone Remind Me To Bring Earplugs Tonight

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, baby. Stoked:

Holy Fuck-Crap

Long-buzzed about Vancouver punk trio Nü Sensae is opening for Best Coast in a couple of weeks. I'll finally get to see Nü Sensae after having missed the band several times: