Road Regrets

I'm very, very jealous that Mr. Jonathan Taggart gets to tag along on a short jaunt out to the Praries and back with Dan Mangan and Aidan Knight. Logistics and van-space left me in Vancouver instead of on the Zolas/We Are The City tour, so I'm even more jealous.

Anyways, Jon's going to be photo blogging along the way: http://jonathantaggart.com/blog/?p=255 and it will be co-posted on regulars VIA!, NXEW and Soundproof.

If you mosey over to Dan's website right now, you'll see this post about his performance in Los Angeles with my photo from Junofest:

"Everyone Should Come Play In Here...

...the lighting is AMAZING."

I've come to realize that clothing stores know how to light their merch.
Thus, put a musician in the store and the lighting is already set to Amazing.

This was the case at the Sitka store on 4th Ave in Vancouver when Aidan Knight came back into town to play. (There was also art on display and an open bar, which made me miss Toronto art openings pretty bad.)

Here are the shots (many familiar faces in the audience):

Catch Up/Wrap Up!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've blogged...but it makes sense given that I shot 5 shows in 6 days and then flew to Ontario for Christmas.

So to sum up my last days in Vancouver before Christmas:

Saturday the 12th:
Aidan Knight @ The Media Club, where I finally met/got to hear the WONDERFUL Jody Glenham



Monday the 14th:
The Aidan Knight Experience continued with a show at the Biltmore, where We Are The City also came to support. Very nice guys. And THEN I ran (and taxied) as fast as I could The Media Club, but still missed Dave Vertesi's set...my friend and fellow photographer Mark Cohene was having an art show that night. After I checked that out, I went and relaxed for the rest of the night at the Racoon's Christmas Party:





Tuesday the 15th:
Racoons @ Fortune! See post.

Wednesday the 16th:
DAY OFF! zzzz.

Thursday the 17th:
Ridiculous spandex suited Topless Gay Love Tekno Party took over my 2nd home (aka the Media Club)(with opening act For British Eyes Only) and a giant dance party began, which led to my going home covered in sparkles and confetti...




Friday the 18th:
The Zolas & Hey Ocean at the Vogue. I seriously love the lighting in this venue. My favourite part of the evening was getting access to the closed off balcony to take some shots, and then taking a 2 minute dance break...which amused me because only the band could see me. Dave-O even waved...







Saturday the 19th:
NIGHT BEFORE MY 8AM FLIGHT!
I was once again at the Media Club (they're so good to me) for Undercover Brothers...a selection of cover/tribute bands, of which I caught Neverland (Michael Jackson) and Wheezler (Weezer). It was great fun and I even cut my knee wide open:






Longest Post ever! Hope you liked all the shots.

Knight-Timing

(oh puns. I blame you Dan Mangan...)

The overly talented, and all around nice guy, Aidan Knight had his (self-proclaimed) first real Vancouver show, and it was not by any means, a small one:
Opening up for Patrick Watson at the 1000+ seat Vogue Theater in Vancouver.

The reception he received was incredible and you could even hear people singing along to Jasper, which he closed his set with.

You'll see Aidan on my blog a lot in the next little while, as he has 2 more shows in Vancouver this week! In the meantime listen to Aidan...right now!

Here are some shots, but to see more of Aidan and Patrick Watson go here: www.mcavoy.ca/theVogue

Dan Mangan Live @ The Cultch - Videos

"Robots"


"So Much For Everyone"


"Et Les Mots Croises"

What Darlings, The O'Darling...

Busy busy busy for a Sunday evening in Vancouver.

First I headed to the Railway to see Matt Epp perform again. He was just as great as the night before and I'm glad I went! Had to miss
Ann Vriend to jump over to the Media Club for show #2...




By the time I got there I had missed Benny Schütze, Said The Whale, Aidan Knight and only caught the last song by Hey Ocean!... From what I hear it was a free-for-all of Vancouver's indie music scene. Dan Mangan was in the crowd and got called on stage, performed two songs and then it was on to the main act...
The O'Darling.

They are a pretty amazing band...apparently originally from Victoria, but based in Toronto now. They had the entire crowd on their feet, many of them dancing. Aidan joined them on stage for a few songs too. I'm excited to see him perform at Dan's CD Release show on Friday. By the end of the evening most everyone's facebook and twitter statuses changed to praise for the band and the evening.
Here are some shots from the love-fest at the Media Club:

Northern Salmon Keep It Real

...as Mr. Knight says.

During my Victoria trip, I went with Jon, his brother and his mom to Goldstream Park. The park has a stream that salmon spawn in, and then die. It was one of the weirdest sights I have ever seen. Hundreds and hundreds of salmon floating in the stream...lying on the shore...
Here, look for yourself (though you will not have the same effect as seeing it in person and smelling the smell!):