Busy awesome week, cool. I'd really like to thank Caroline Williams for allowing me to put her art on my website this week. Her page is likely to grow substantially over the next while as we still have tons of stuff to put on it. She's really been trying hard to make a living off of her art, and I think she's going to make it. Her portrait of Jesus Christ proclaiming "I am a believer, of course, but I am not a Zealot" was on the cover of Terminal City around Christmas time of last year. 
August 2, 1998The people at Music Waste are gearing up for their festival September 10, 11 & 12 and are still looking for bands to apply. Applications are postered all over Vancouver and available in many bars including the Railway Club so get to it and apply before the deadline of August 7.
This week is gay pride week all over the world I suppose. I apparently wasn't aware of it but still attended shows in the genre. My worst gay pride parade experience happened in San Francisco in 1996. Uneven Steps had finished their tour and were caught in the inevitable traffic jam and couldn't find a way around it. I finally got frustrated and rolled down my window and yelled "I'm straight and I just want to get out of this town!"
Last year I caught Veda Hille at Gay Pride day here in Vancouver. She was doing her solo acoustic thing. I love her any way you slice her. I think she just finished a tour with Holly Cole (who's new album Dark Dear Heart has the best vocals I've heard from her - less sachirine more sexy and/or warm). Veda was complaining that she had just done a whole pile of 30 minute solo sets and was so happy to be back at the Railway Club with her band to do a full length show. She then made references to Holly Cole so I am assuming... The first thing I noticed about this particular gig was that the sound was awesome. The drums were miked just a bit louder than usual and Ford Pier's guitar was especially crunchy. (More on Ford in a minute). Veda has died her hair kind of purply and looked especially intriguing. I was really tired and could only make it through one set, but as usual, I left very entertained. I've seen Veda about 10 times now and all I can say is that she continues to expand dynamically in ways that keep me sucked in. I will eventually post my review of one of her shows that was published in the discorder, but not today. Here's what I wrote to a friend on the last Ford Pier gig I attended:
Problematics were interesting. Quirky riffs and quirky catchy singing sometimes, sometimes instrumental over guitar, an arp synth and cheesy old school drum machine. Brad is influenced a lot by the Residents and Snakefinger. Brad plays guitar and Eric handles the drums machine and arp. I could only make it through one Ford Pier set even though I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of bar chords with tons of vocal melody. Ford has a pretty amazing voice almost bordering on totally awesome in a Janis Joplin way at times. I think he's been practicing his vibrato a lot. The roots roundup (Keith) bass player (also Neko Case, Royal Grand Prix and piles of other bands) was great and Rob Macnalty? drumming was at times awesome and other times lacked punch. He also plays in Royal Grand Prix and was the first drummer in Sarcastic Mannequins before Brad and the second drummer for Knock Down Ginger after Eric.
I wanted to go to see a band I'd never heard of on Friday so I went to Cafe Deux Soleils and caught Ember Swift from Toronto. I guess it was fitting to be one of the few straight men at this show for me. Ember really has a powerful voice and started this show singing solo with no accompaniment (I can't spell the word you know I should have used here and can't find it in the dictionary). Her band consisted of a keyboard/violin/bass player, a trumpet/other various horn player, drums, and Ember on acoustic guitar/vocals. Lots of jazz and folk influences, but they seemed quite original to me. One of the attendees who has seen her in Toronto a number of times mentioned that she was a little like Ani Defranco (spelling???) Ember is also an amazing piano player, and while I enjoyed her guitar playing (especially the intensity/dynamics of her strumming), I'd love to see her play more piano. I bought her latest album and will be reviewing on this site later.
Saturday night, I went to Canadian rock icon Carole Popeat the Railway club. I remember her mostly for accepting a Juno on behalf of Bruce Cockburn (one of my all time heros) where she pronounced sarcastically that "Bruce would like to thank gaaawwwdd" I didn't know she was gay. My friend Joe reminded me about just how much I really am just a hick from Prince George. I was lucky enough to have some older (than me) womyn join my table (I was sitting alone). I like older women a lot, I have to admit, womyn or women. I told the one young lady Lee who was close my mother's age that I went to a lot of shows, so she asked me who. I told her that I'd gone to a "dyke" show last night (young lesbians usually dress the part, but this lady seemed straight to me until I watched their little drama unfold). Felt kinda silly, oh well. She was cute anyway. They were talking about how KD Lang had broke at the Railway Club, so I put in a plug for Veda Hille, cause she's the next person that's gonna be huge that will say they broke at the Railway Club.
The back up band for Carole Pope was Bocephus King (pronounced "Bo-see-fus" I think). The vocalist owes a bit to Tom Waits, but actually sings a little better than Tom. I am not sure if that's good or bad. At times they sounded like Little Feat. Excellent stage presence; really easy to dig; the audience seemed to eat it up. I actually went to the show partly to see them because I'd really enjoyed them at the Anza club about six months ago. I'd love to see them on a bill with the Molestics.
I am not sure, but it sorta seems like Carole Pope has relocated to Vancouver. Her bass player is what's her name (this is my web site so I can be lazy and not find out) from Spirit of the West who recently went solo. I didn't take long to figure out Carole was gay after they started playing. She's got personality to burn and is still kinda cute with all that charisma and the sexy lines of age on her face. "This song's about eating pussy". The other womyn Susan who sat with me said she saw Carole pre-Rough Trade in 1974 in Toronto. Cool. It was nice to be the young one in the crowd for a change. The band has a great groove to match the sultry Carole. I liked it when the guitar player went off into space-like pyrotechnics. Not a wanker. Linda McRae that's her name isn't it (spelling???), plays groovy bass with her fingers and the drummer I don't really remember but didn't detract - the groove was great - I am not a tape recorder. It was kinda all Carole in a way but kinda not. She made jokes about "oh it's not that song already is it?" (high school confidential....). It rocked anyway. I hope she plays more shows at the Railway and who knows maybe someone can schmooze her into playing Music Waste. She ended the set short announcing "those are all the songs we know". I think it was the band's first gig together. I am glad I was there.
...gotta go fold my clothes at the laundry mat.
Going to San Francisco on Thursday to play a few shows and enjoy the nuptial's of Deanna and David in Lake Taho, will talk to you in two weeks....Evan
