I'm Back!

and I've been back for almost two weeks, I've just been extremely lazy when it comes to blogging. I spent a wonderful four days visiting my long-time best friend in Kelowna, BC.

Unfortunately I did not take many pictures from my awesome weekend at Break Out West video, however I did take a number of videos on my cell phone from a few of the shows I saw. BUT they are not uploading properly so whenever I figure that out I WILL post them.

My first night in "Kelownafornia", Jess and I grabbed a few beers at Doc Willoughboy's. When I realized that Jess was drunk off of barely half a beer, I knew it was going to be a good night. We caught one song from Jess Hill and then headed to Habitat for 41st and Home's set. I had found out about this Vancouver band from CBCradio3 as well as 100.5 The Peak fm because they were competing for the annual Peak Performance Project. I had never seen this band live before and was quite blown away by how good they sounded. They even did a cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway". Super unfortunate that whenever I hear that song I instantly think of that awful Rascal Flatt's cover or my High School graduation. However their version was slower and this may sound odd but it was also kind of sexy? Ya sounded just as weird as I thought it would but yes, sexy!

Like I previously mentioned, I was impressed with their set and wanted a physical copy of their music. So I bought their album "Left in Places" and I have literally falled asleep listening to it every night since I've been home. I urge you to check them out. http://www.myspace.com/41standhomemusic

After that show we walked to "Cush" to catch the first of two We Are The City's shows taking place over the weekend. I had first seen/heard of this band over the summer when they opened for Said the Whale at The Park Theatre. Adam and I walked in half way through their set. At the time we walked in they were talking about Aidan Knight and being knighted and it was honestly one of the funniest conversations that I had ever heard. Then they played a song and about a minute in, Adam and I turned to each other and I believe we lipped the words "holy shit". I don't even recall talking to one another until their set was over. We were beyond impressed by how fucking awesome this band was. They had a few technically difficulties through out their set but it honestly didn't matter. Their sound was so different and once again this is going to sound weird but it was beautiful. Their songs were beautiful, I could almost say "pretty" but that just sounds way to feminine for a band consisting of three 20 year-old dudes.

Even their merch was awesome. They had t-shirts with a silk-screen of Yoda and underneath in bold letters it said; "The City We Are". I couldn't get over how clever it was. After this show in the summer I went home to find out more about this band and much to my surprise, I discovered that they were from Kelowna! I instanly told Jess but she honestly couldn't have cared less. I wanted her to have the same liking for this band that I did, shit I want everyone to! I honestly think that they're THAT good.

Anyways, I'm getting way off topic. Point is, I wanted Jess to see that Kelowna had a great music scene and after We Are The City's first song on Thursday night at Cush, she believed me.

http://www.myspace.com/thecitiesmusic

After We Are The City is was back to Habitat to see Said the Whale's set. Said the Whale is truthfully one of the best live bands I have ever seen. I've now seen them 3 times this year and it's been pretty much the exact same setlist everytime , same somgs , same order but everytime I hear it, it feels new and fresh so I don't mind.

However, this time they told the audience that they were going to play their set backwards. Therefore they played their hit "Camilo" second. After they played it, Tyler worried that they might have made a big mistake by playing that song shortly into the set. Jess enjoyed it. She was quite sleepy and not to mention slightly drunk. I didn't want her to fall asleep during one of the best bands she was going to see all weekend. She fought hard to stay awake during Said the Whale and I'm proud of that.

As always, Said the Whale were awesome and the show was easily one of the most packed all weekend. Although they played their set backwards they still ended with their usual encore song, "Curse of the Currents". The room was insanely quiet and with about 30 seconds left of the song, sleeping Jessie's cell phone rang. Yep, lady gaga ring tone and all. It was one of the most embarassing but hilarious things I have ever witnessed.


This is not my video but it is in fact from the show that we attended. Although I don't think you can hear Jess's phone going off. Regardless, enjoy!

Friday we checked out Acres of Lions, Kelowna's Treelines, We Are The City (yes, again), and The Dudes. All these bands put on awesome shows. It was so cool to see such good bands sound even better lives especially Acres of Lions and Treelines.

We must have waited in line at Doc's for over an hour and half to see The Dudes and they were definitely worth the wait. We hardly missed any of their set considering they played for over 90 minutes. Both the upstairs, downstairs, and the stairs of Doc Willoughby's were completely packed. I must have had at least a drink and a half spilt on me. We peaced out early because I was exhausted but the next day we found out that we missed them covering Bob Dylan and Motley Crue. Shucks!

http://www.myspace.com/wearethedudes


The Dudes' music video for "Girl Police" . Jess is a big fan of this song because she gets a name drop in it...well her name is dropped but it was written about her. Also check out the song "Mr.Someone Else" it's my fav of theirs.

Jess and I kicked off Saturday with Royal Canoe at Habitat. Royal Canoe is fronted Matt Peters (The Waking Eyes) and are obviously therefore from Winnipeg. They were much better than I thought they would be and their set was super fun. I was super stoked to see a band from Winnipeg representing so hard on stage.

After Royal Canoe, Jess and I stuck around to watch Library Voices play a few songs and then it was off to Doc's again to see The Zolas. I knew the line would be ridiculous for them so thankfully we got there early, although we still waited a solid hour. However, the wait wasn't all so bad, a dude from the band Volcanoless in Canada whipped out his acoustic guitar outside and starting playing "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire.

http://www.myspace.com/royalcanoe

Seeing The Zola's last was certainly a rad way to end my short trip to see my best friend. I heard that they were a treat live and they certainly were!


Obviously not from Break Out West but still a super cool video featuring their song "The Great Collapse" done acoustically.

This post is getting lenghty, so I'll make this brief; although my trip was short, it was still one of the best times I have ever had. Jess and I could have sat around, ate sushi, and have a Freak & Geeks marathon (exactly what we did last time I was in BC) and I wouldn't have mind. This is lame and cheesy as hell but I miss her so much and just getting to actually hang with her is good enough for me, adding great, live, Canadian music to the mix is just the cherry on top of ....you get where I'm going with this.