Sat 8 Sep – Chelsea Wolfe, Crypts
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Chelsea Wolfe
Biltmore, Vancouver, BC, September 8
By Alan Ranta

Northern California's Chelsea Wolfe won't be playing venues like the Biltmore much longer. If her early show this evening is any indication of the direction of her music and her band, she is a festival headliner in waiting, a complicated anomaly finding her voice as an artist and blossoming exponentially with each recording and performance.

Wolfe slunk onstage in what looked like a black and white funeral shroud and addressed the mic, surrounded by Ben Chisholm on keys and…

Thu 6 Sep – Swans, Xiu Xiu
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Swans / Xiu Xiu
Venue, Vancouver BC September 6
By Alan Ranta

Jamie Stewart is a weird guy. Representing Xiu Xiu solo this evening, Stewart writhed on his stool as he manipulated the assorted synthetic and organic instruments in his reach. He has a theatrical delivery, expelling his mostly incomprehensible lyrics from his tortured soul, yet, when he finished, he didn't say a word to the crowd. He just wiped the sweat from his brow and started unplugging his gear, leaving you with quite the uncomfortable feeling in your…

Mon 27 Aug – Sandro Perri, The Abramson Singers
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Sandro Perri / The Abramson Singers
Rickshaw, Vancouver BC August 27
By Alan Ranta

The Abramson Singers represented East Van as a quartet this evening. From her stable of frequent collaborators, principal songwriter Leah Abramson was supported by renowned drummer Dan Gaucher (Fond of Tigers, October Trio), jovial upright/electric bassist Patrick Metzger and Tim Tweedale on lap steel (who both played with Headwater and Elena Yeung). Metzger seemed particularly stoked on life, as he claimed to be the group's hypeman, for which Abramson…

Sat 14 Jul – The King Khan & BBQ Show
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The King Khan & BBQ Show / Dead Ghosts
Biltmore, Vancouver BC July 14
By Alan Ranta

Vancouver troglodytes (meaning fans of the Troggs) Dead Ghosts seemed rather unsure of themselves as they set up and tuned between songs. Lead vocalist Bryan Nicol noted that they play a short set with really long breaks in between, as he apologized and tweaked the sound. The rock gods weren't terribly kind either as Drew Wilkinson broke two strings on lead guitar in one track, forcing Nicol to…

Sun 15 Jul – Melvins, RETOX
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Melvins Lite
Venue, Vancouver BC July 15
By Alan Ranta

As one would expect, Melvins Lite wasted no time showing that they were still quite heavy. After an intro of "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath, Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas) droned repeating figures on his upright bass, soon joined by Dale Crover sparsely working his drum kit, and eventually the striking figure of Buzz Osborne, adding extended technique on guitar. Together, they crept slowly towards a plateau for five minutes or so. By the…

Mon 2 Jul – El-P, Killer Mike, Despot, mr muthafuckin exquire
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El-P / Killer Mike
Fortune Sound, Vancouver BC July 2
By Alan Ranta

Considering his choice of profession, Killer Mike is a confusing figure. The portly Atlanta gentleman is a performer, yet he's so out of shape that he can't do his job all that effectively, not that he attempts the kind of cerebral tongue twisters that would make him the Babe Ruth of rap anyway.

Mike drops words out of his flow here and there when he runs out of breath, which wouldn't be…

Thu 28 Jun – Kid Koala's Space Cadet Headphone Experience
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Kid Koala
Performance Works, Vancouver BC June 28
By Alan Ranta

Playing his third consecutive sold-out "Space Cadet Headphone Experience" show in two days, Kid Koala (aka Eric San) appeared calm and satisfied in front of three turntables, pedals, organs and a $150,000 Steinway piano. San informed us that this sit-down space-pod gallery event was six years in the making, a finally realized idea he had after being sick of always standing around at shows, though the reason for the headphones could be traced to him…

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Ty Segall Band
Slaughterhouse
By Alan Ranta

Ty Segall gets around. Since 2005, he's played drums and guitar for Epsilons, Party Fowl, the Traditional Fools, the Perverts and Sic Alps, collaborated with White Fence and Mikal Cronin, and released half-a-dozen solo albums while constantly touring. Indeed, Segall's barrage of fuzz and thrashy exuberance is road-tested and true. Slaughterhouse sees Segal take his touring band of Cronin, Charlie Moothart and Emily Rose Epstein into the studio, and the results surge with the crackling, raw power of their notorious live performances. The album's…

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Neneh Cherry & the Thing
The Cherry Thing
By Alan Ranta

In one corner sits Neneh Cherry, a Swedish-born singer with a penchant for hip-hop who refused to be pigeonholed in the wake of the instant fame she gained with 1988 hit "Buffalo Stance," subsequently collaborating and experimenting in any direction her muse led. In the other corner are Scandinavian trio the Thing, noted for absorbing the work of disparate popular and underground worldly influences into their distinctive, convention-defying free-jazz repertoire. Together, they tackle such diverse subject matter as infamous hip-hop duo Madvillain,…

Fri 15 Jun – Primus
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Primus
Orpheum, Vancouver BC June 15
By Alan Ranta

Lord only knows what prompted the fabulously appointed Orpheum, home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, to book "an evening with" such an surreal alternative rock band as Primus. The band's faithful were on their feet throughout the show, chain-smoking joints, standing on seats, and screaming expletives and classic "Primus sucks" jeers, with several bad eggs aggressively shoving security while being escorted out. Yet, for all the nervous energy and seething anxiety of the crowd, Primus's performance itself was more suited to…