Defektors… Aug 14

Defektors
with B-Lines, the New Values, and Dichotomy
at the Honey Lounge, August 14, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

Chad Loewen’s inebriated dicking around seemed like a detractor in the moment, but really, it defined Dichotomy’s sound. Beats are non-existent, relentless runs of snare/hi-hat/kick smashes surrogating. Screams were squeezed through the sound system, coming out as bursts of white noise. The bass parts were ripped off from an alternate Ramones who went hardcore after Leave Home. Over top of all of it, Mister Loewen layered shitloads of feedback and distortion on his scrappy chords, before fucking around for 10 minutes, alternately annoying and entertaining. Did I like them? I have no idea.

B-Lines… July 19

B-Lines
with White Lung and Chris-a-riffic
at the Chez Nous Ballroom, July 19, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

Chris-a-riffic opened the loft with his insistence that everyone was going to hate him and the idea of him opening for B-Lines and White Lung was ridiculous. He followed it up with a short set of delightful pop. The piano teacher neglected his casio, relying on a floor tom, some A Capella percussion, and audience participation to grind along beneath his clever lyrics and endearing voice.

Tranzmitors… March 8

Tranzmitors
with Dateless, the Spinoffs, and B-Lines
at Pub 340, March 8, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

B-Lines are victims of school and jobs. Norm’s last show was a spastic showcase of why they deserve to trash punk houses inter-continentally. It was brief and sloppy, and maybe the wildest I’ve seen them play. Ryan keeps getting more comfortable, scaling the balcony, swinging the mic, and smashing light-bulbs. Everything was on overdrive, and broken glass suited the attack of a band on its way to being one of Vancouver’s most exciting.

Walls… Feb. 16

Walls
with High Jinks, B-Lines, Ghost Dance, and War Hero
at Casa del Artista, February 16, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

War Hero are obvious teenagers. There’s no reason that their hardcore-with-too-much metal isn’t on its way to being good. They were trying really hard, and if they cut back on distortion, the song about skateboarding was approaching enjoyable straight-forward punk.

You Say Party! We Say Die!… Jan. 25

You Say Party! We Say Die!
with the Doers, Fake Shark Real Zombie and i/i
at Ukrainian Hall, January 25, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

Are there still all-ages shows in Vancouver? The Emergency Room doesn’t count; letting anyone in doesn’t make it All-Ages. Kyle and Kohl’s final show reminded me that I really do hate teenagers. The media glorifies us, but really, we’re idiots.

The Evaporators… Jan. 25 & 26

The Evaporators
at HMV, January 25, 2008
The Evaporators
with B-Lines, the Elixxxers, and Lala
at Seylynn Hall, January 26, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

HMV is a great venue when you like luring kids past endless piles of over-priced CDs.

Stamina Mantis… Jan. 19

Stamina Mantis
with B-Lines, Nü Sensae, and Stuffed Animals
at the Astoria, January 19, 2008
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

High-school two-pieces are an excuse to not know songs. It’s kind of the same thing when people grow up.

Stolen Bicycles Gang… August 17

Stolen Bicycles Gang
with the Public or the Press, and the Bloggers
at Hoko’s, August 17, 2007
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

You Say Party! We Say… seriously, making fun of their name is so passé. We all know it sucks. Everyone on The Internet is having a field day with it among their reviews of Lose All Time (the consensus: it’s not very good). Anyways, they played a “secret” show ten minutes away from my house. A secret leaked to all the hundreds of people on Franklyn Currie’s mailing list, and those people smart enough to realize there was a reason that YSP’s members had all RSVP’d on Facebook. I knew about it, but I also knew the Bloggers were playing at Hoko’s. I could spend a couple dollars on coffee and watch dance-punk with some school-mates, or I could pay $16 for a round bus trip to Vancouver, run a kilometre and a half, and pay another $7 to be just in time to see a show with only three bands.

Music Waste… June 1-4

Music Waste
2006
in Vancouver, June 1st to 4th, 2006
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

Fun 100… May 4

Fun 100
with Novillero, STICKS, and Juryrig
at Video In, May 4, 2006
Reviewed by Stephen Jersak

After 124 days (since the beginning of the year), Fun 100 is finally playing an all ages show in Vancouver. Kyle and Kohl usually put on good shows, and this one is no exception.