First Taste Of Vancouver Seeds

So after missing quite a few bands I finally managed to get my self out to The Roxy to check out this years Vancouver Seeds 2011. Which for those who don't know is a contest pitting every local band against each other to rise to the top and whom ever wins receives a massive prize which puts them at a level to showcase themselves on a national level. Pretty cool.

Well getting there at 8pm it was completely dead. Just me and sound guy. After a quick walk down Granville and back by 8:30 the place was filling up quite nicely. Goes to show you what a difference 30 mins can make.

First up was Sharks On Fire. I kept hearing about this band and was excited to see them rock the stage. Well after a couple technical difficulties in the first song they settled into a tight groove and rocked out. First off.. they have the happiest drummer in the world. This guy looked as if he died and went to heaven. It was great seeing the whole band excited about being on stage. Everyone had huge grins and smiles and really made the crowd feel welcome. The singer made sure to acknowledge every single person on the dance floor. The energy was great. Great songs, great set, everything had a flow. The backup singer had some amazing vocals and was perfectly on pitch with harmonies and melodies. The singer ripped into his little keyboard like his fingers were on fire. Defiantly will go to another show!

Second up was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Bringing the heavy. Super tight band. Great stage presence. They moved all over the place rocking hard and headbanging. Only sad thing was the way it was mixed. The guitars were too quiet and all you could really hear was the drums and vocals with enough guitar to get pitch. But from their recordings i would have loved to hear the ground shaking palm mutes and screaming solos a bit more. While I'm speaking about that, blistering solos from their lead guitarist. You could barley hear it but you could see his fingers moving almost the speed of light. Lead singer played out to the audience the whole way through which was great even though a few times had a couple fail "clap your hands!" moments but still maintained his level of cool as this band shredded through their set. Tight band, Tight set, poor mixing. I want to see these guys at a grungier venue i bet it would be sick!!!! would love to be in a tiny little room with them all cranked up to max volume!

Calling All Wave finished up the night. This Nanimo band traveled far and brought their groupies. The usual wives/girlfriends, but that's about it. Which is almost expected from Traveling bands. But I remember last year when Dead Eyes Open played and packed the Bourbon. This was an older band, all looked around 30, maybe 35, so was playing a bit like "Been trying this too many times". But super tight band. The lead singer had the best vocals of the night, Perfectly in tune, hitting every note. But i guess that's expected when you don't move from in front of the mic stand. The lead guitarist played some great solos. Looking a lot like Jack Black trying to rock the stage for any rock fan he could see. Bringing a small crowd is fine, but they better rock out harder than any of the previous crowds to make up for it!

A little side note: I stood up front and center for all these bands, equally listening and enjoying the music. Usually headbanging or offering the band support. As being in a band i know the feeling of seeing at least one person headbanging to your tunes!

Now i was sad when Calling All Wave said "Who wants a free shirt!" and i yelled "I do!!!" but ignored.. and a bunch of random people from the band ran up and he gave it to them and watched as they returned to their seats. Sorry guys, play as hard as you like but respect your audience who is actually rocking out to you play.

But overall goodnight. Great bands. Cheap Drinks.

Stay Hammered