My roommate invited me to a last minute show last week downtown at the Clubhouse and I ended up having a wonderful experience. My first taste of local Vancouver talent for the New Year!
The Clubhouse was an awesome open warehouse space with a bar, stage with a back pew for sitting, along with tall bar tables for standing and a nice pool table off to the side of the stage.
I got to see Groceries, The Rambling Derelicts and The Prettys. We made it a bit late and missed WhisperDisco, but had a great chat with Darren out front while he had a smoke before going into the venue. I listened to them when I got back home and was thoroughly receptive to their vibes and was too bad I missed the set. But the rest of the evening was super enjoyable and kept me on my toes, grooving all night long!
Groceries came from Victoria and played a super vibrant set, I was entranced by their passionate vocals, and guitar flow, despite Rob saying afterwards that he was playing Code’s guitar and it was new to him, as the whole musical experience was new to me I didn’t mind or notice, I was enjoying every minute of it! There was such an elegant beauty in the balanced soundwaves, the performative dictation of lyrics accented by rich instrumental orchestration. Had a great chat with Leiv afterwards at the merch booth as well later in the night and was excited to hear more of their music to come.
The Rambling Derelicts was a force to be reckoned with! Psychedelic soul filled with intricate arrangements and power-tone vocality! Along with the projections, decor of the venue and overall musical experience I was thrust back into a flashback feeling of what it was like to be in the westcoast in the sixties. It was riot on the dance floor, great fuel for the fire of the vortex between audience, sound and stage. Performances tonight were on point, and after a hilarious dialogue at the length of bathroom line up and a quick game of pool, The Prettys were welcomed on the stage for their last show, my first experience of the band. It was unfortunate to be my last as well because they kicked ass.
The Prettys are explosive. Melodic harmony with spit-fire machine gun solos, fast-paced choruses and dance hall rhythms, saxophone belts to keep the feet tapping and body moving through to the end of the night. Playing through a set list of favourites across three albums, they were truly veterans of their craft having a good time on stage before calling it quits - their guitarist was moving to Australia - but having a blast til the very last note. As the crowd chanted for more, one more song, and a fury of applause and cheers, they strapped on their instruments and rocked my world by playing a cover of the Ramones’ Bonzo Goes to Bitburg with full force, the final bout of the Western before riding off into the sunset with prestige and honor. This was a shown not to be missed and I’m glad I took in every minute of it.