LOCAL EXPOSURE: Moderne art.

(Phillip Intile of Mode Moderne cupping his supple breasts. © 2010 Benjamin Luk.)

The 11th of June represented the start of a new season in the Vancouver music scene. With sunny skies and clear nights, there was no better time to be meandering in the streets seeing what's to be seen. If one happened to wander into Funky Winker Bean's on that night, they would have seen a bar bustling with musicians, partiers and the like. Funky's was hosting The Orpheans' EP release party, and there were great sounds to be heard by all.

But one sound stood out, and that was the sound of the synth-pop gothic wonder that is Mode Moderne. They took to the stage in a blur of black and white attire and wasted no time, jumping into the impressive "Radio Heartbeat", the first track off Ghosts Emerging. Evoking chills down the spine of every person who hears the fast-paced instrumentals coupled with the droning vocals and intense feeling, it was a spectacular opener. However, the band weren't content to just play their older, better known material. Utilizing one of the newer additions to the Mode Moderne canon, they graced their audience with the haunting "Rattle", a song that boasts a careening and optimistic refrain, enchanting their listeners. Vocalist Phillip Intile created the full experience of an emotionally-synthetic goth fantasy, all within a tight 35-minute set. With the night chiefly devoted to The Orpheans' EP release party, they played a short set that ended all too soon, leaving us thirsty for further indulgence in their synth-pop dreamscape.

If you haven't already picked up a copy of their 12" Ghosts Emerging, there is no record I would recommend more highly in the current Vancouver indie music scene. The sound makes you wary of your accidental time travel into some 1980s synth-pop arena, but you welcome it wholeheartedly. Mode Moderne renders its audience powerless, and desperately in need of more gothic drones to whisk us away into a surreal fantasy once again.

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Mode Moderne played Funky Winker Bean's on June 11th, 2010.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hospital stays and rehearsal days.

(Unlike the rest of The Best Revenge, I don't wear my sunglasses at night. © 2009 Jason Kazuta.)

Yup. We did it again. We disappeared off the face of the interwebs and because of that, both our readership and reputation has suffered. However, this time, we have a perfectly valid excuse. (We're full of them.)

First of all, I was recently in hospital. I won't go into too much detail, but it was definitely something more serious than a broken leg. In total, I spent three weeks on the inside, and motivation to stay on top of new music and go to concerts immediately ground to a halt. After all, I was more concerned about getting better. Things like The xx coming to town were the last thing on my mind. (I never liked them much anyway.)

But just when things seemed darkest, out came the light. Once I got better, my band The Best Revenge started making plans for an album. Since then, we've been practicing our asses off and sending off demos to industry types, and that's one of the reasons our humble little blog here hasn't been getting much attention. As for the rest of it, I could blame work or the lack of interesting new music, but that would be a lie. I got lazy. It's time I picked up the pieces and brought this blog back to its former glory.

So that's that. After nearly three years, we're still not dead yet. Enjoy the posts to come.

LIVE WIRE: Tech N9ne invites you to suck more than his tongue.

(Tech N9ne controls the power of Fire. With the rest of the Planeteers, global warming doesn't stand a chance. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

The crowd chanted "Tech N9ne! Tech N9ne!" as the number one independent rapper in the world sprinted onto the stage and gave his sold-out show at The Commodore Ballroom his trademark scowl. Shortly after, Tech's right hand man Krizz Kaliko joined him. The pair wore red prison jumpsuits sporting the infamous 6688846993 barcode. For those of you not familiar, if you look at the digits on a touch-tone phone, this is Tech's calling card (NNUTTHOWZE). Also, the sum of these numbers added together is 67, numerically implying that Tech is both good and evil. There are many rumours circulating about the significance of these numbers, though as Krizz Kaliko will tell you, "That's just Tech messing with you."

The atmosphere in the room was unlike any other hip-hop show. Aaron Yates (Tech N9ne) would say it's because, "We got gangsta motherfuckers, metal motherfuckers and all types of music lovers under the same roof." Part of the crowd wanted to mosh, another part wanted to crip-walk. Regardless of how you chose to move, if you were at Tech N9ne, you were having a blast.

(Tech N9ne explaining to the crowd how large his... well, you know. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

Opening with a song from Tech's 2008 album Killer, "Everybody Move" enticed an already enthusiastic crowd to get even more excited. Tech didn't play a lot of songs from his new album K.O.D. like most touring acts promoting a new album, and chose instead to play a barrage of classics, like "Einstein" from his 2001 album Anghellic.

As the show progressed, so did the crowd's interaction with Tech. One front-row female audience member had a surprisingly large sign for Tech reading, "Let me suck your tongue!" Tech responded by asking the young lady's age, to which he replied, "You're legal, baby! You can suck a lot more than my tongue!" This caused a flurry of objects to be thrown onto the stage, a joint and multiple bras among them. Tech further provoked the crowd with, "Bras are easy. I want to see some panties!" Within seconds, a black lace thong appeared onstage. Tech, ever the gentleman, picked up the thong laughing and said, "Damn! That's what I'm talking about!" Going in for a sniff, he then commented, "It don't smell bad!"

Tech N9ne's live performance brings an atmosphere that any concertgoer can respect and appreciate.

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Tech N9ne played The Commodore Ballroom on March 23rd, 2010. Special thanks to Live Nation.

LIVE WIRE: Tokyo Police Club arrests their audience.

(Tokyo Police Club keyboardist Graham Wright tickling his ivories. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

Just two days after completing the tracking on their forthcoming CD Champ, Tokyo Police Club couldn't contain their excitement to be playing in Vancouver during the closing days of the Olympic Winter Games. Despite the rain and February chill, the Newmarket, Ontario foursome took the stage Saturday night before several thousand fans and celebrants at Surrey's 2010 Celebration Site. Dedicating their set to Canadian curling gold medalist Kevin Martin, the band was ecstatic to contribute their small part to the Lower Mainland's biggest party ever, and the audience loved the nod to Martin and his team.

Schooled in punk, pop, surf guitar and grunge, TPC lit up their audience with clean and catchy guitar hooks and keyboards while still remaining lyrical through their signature uptempo hipster-friendly catalogue. Indie darlings for sure, TPC were able to break beyond to their diverse audience to build upon an already elevated and celebratory mood. New songs from Champ were well received while better-known tracks like "Your English Is Good" had the audience singing and dancing with hands and red mittens high in the air. TPC played like a house party band on fire; energetic, loud and full of smiles and heavy riffs from each of the four members.

(Dave Monks undercover as a nondescript black umbrella. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

Vocal lead and bassist Dave Monks, looking very fresh-faced and straight out of high school, danced and swung his bass around while keyboardist Graham Wright brought the humour, letting the audience know that he is single and looking.

Being new to Tokyo Police Club beyond radio singles, I was really impressed with the cohesion and skill of their playing and songwriting. The fit and finish of every song was that of a much more experienced group offering a great live experience for new fans or the many at the park not specifically there to see TPC.

With an audience high on gold medal victories and a band geared up to play in an Olympic host city, Saturday's Tokyo Police Club performance was well-timed and well-received. Indie pop, post-punk or garage - no matter how you might hear TPC yourself - they broke through the rain to bring an upbeat high-energy show that both satisfied fans and surely won new ones over.

(Josh Hook taking a break from shredding to pursue his true passion: tambourine solos. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

It was a truly arresting performance.

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Tokyo Police Club played the Surrey 2010 Celebration Site in Holland Park on February 27th, 2010.

LIVE WIRE: 54•40 honestly loves you all.

(The members of 54•40 like to stand really far apart when playing shows. They have boundary issues. © 2010 Robert Shaer.)

As 54•40 took the stage late Sunday night at Surrey's Holland Park, the 3000-strong audience was dizzy with anticipation. Few Vancouver-based bands can offer the same archive of material that 54•40 bring to the stage and we couldn't wait to hear our favourites played live one more time.

Brought to the Surrey 2010 Celebration Site for the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, 54•40 blew the tent up with what they're best known for: cranked amps, prominent guitar and Neil Osborne's iconic voice. With each song, Neil, Brad and the rest of the band reminded me and thousands of others how many 54•40 songs we've treasured for more than 20 years.

(Lead singer Neil Osborne seducing the crowd with bedroom eyes. © 2010 Robert Shaer.)

Song after song and hit after hit, from "Lies To Me" to the encore closing "Love You All", lead singer Osborne shot the audience smiles that seemed to say, 'I love that you still love our music.' As a band, despite lineup changes over the years, 54•40 has the stage presence of a mature and self-assured group, confident in their songs, musicianship and ability to connect with their audience. Bringing out many of their best-known songs, the quintet thrilled the audience with versions of "Baby Ran", "One Gun", "One Day in Your Life" and "She La", and when Osborne turned the stage microphones toward the audience during "Ocean Pearl", we tried to fill the night outside the tent with our collective voice singing along.

Following 1998's "Since When", Osborne intoned to the audience, "Don't be let down by tonight's hockey game," referring to Canada's 5-3 defeat that night to Team USA. "We're throwing the biggest house party ever, we invited the world and it won't be over 'til March!" Typically stoic bass player Brad Merritt started chanting "GO CANADA GO!" and the audience followed suit throughout the duration of "Casual Viewin'". If we weren't fired up then to be in that venue, to be Canadian and to be hosting the world for the Olympic Winter Games, we certainly were when that song came to its climactic finish and Osborne implored us to keep cheer alive.

(Osborne thinking and belching at the same time. © 2010 Robert Shaer.)

There is something truly genuine about the way 54•40 approaches their music. It's sometimes loud, and songs can mellow out with acoustic guitars and be brought to volume again with a simple bass chord and drum riff. But it's always honest, even when covering Bob Dylan's "Walkin' Down the Line". I had the sense, in the closing bars of "Love You All", that their last song choice was literally a thank you to fans who love that 54•40 still love to play.

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Robert Shaer is a Vancouver-based writer and photographer who is currently hungover. More of his work can be seen online at Robert's blog.

54•40 played the Surrey 2010 Celebration Site in Holland Park on February 21st, 2010.

LIVE WIRE: Igniting a fire inside.

(Davey Havok of AFI loves shoulder pads so much, he's got three on each side. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

Intimate might not be the first word that comes to mind when describing The Commodore Ballroom. It's really a matter of where you happen to be standing. And yet, AFI delivered such a tight set when they took the stage on Sunday, January 24th that intimate was the only word for it. It left me with goosebumps.

Donning a snazzy white suit, Havok hit the stage with a look of pure love and adoration for the 900 fans in attendance at the sold-out show. Opening with single "Medicate" from their latest album Crash Love, the crowd was immediately entranced, hanging on Havok's every word and singing along.

(AFI's Jade Puget, admiring his fingers. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

It's amazing that AFI has been able to maintain such a solid fan base after so many years in the spotlight. I remember listening to AFI when I was still in high school, particularly Sing the Sorrow in 2003. Apparently, the music gods were on my side that night; the band played six songs from that album, which made me a very happy concertgoer. "Leaving Song" was a personal favourite, with its jangly guitars and angsty emo poetry, and I ate it up.

Considering I haven't really listened to AFI since high school, the way bassist Hunter Burgan and drummer Adam Carson used their instruments to set the tone was phenomenal. They were so tight on the starts and stops, I couldn't take my eyes off the stage for one moment, despite some enticing drink offers from a table next to me. (Wait, I took the drinks. Who the fuck am I kidding?) Also, I mention this a lot in my reviews, but the sound quality was something to be appreciated. None of the instruments were fighting to be the loudest and Havok's voice could be heard clear as day from anywhere in the building.

(Why, yes, that is red nail polish on my thumb! Thanks for noticing, ThatRockBlog! © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

Before I knew it, AFI were playing their last song of the night and I felt like a teenager again. I didn't want the night to end and was reluctant to leave the venue, even long after their set closed. I haven't felt like that in a long time, and I really believe it will take a spectacular band just like AFI to make me feel like that again.

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AFI played The Commodore Ballroom on January 24th, 2010. Special thanks to Live Nation.

LIVE WIRE: The devil drives a rickshaw.

(DevilDriver frontman Dez Fafara was once aware of shampoo. That was 20 years ago. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

I'd made it very clear to my coworkers that I needed to be off work at a certain time. Of course, we close up shop late, which means I'm now driving like a madwoman to get to The Rickshaw by 10:30. I enter just in time to see DevilDriver start to play "Before the Hangman's Noose", their second song of the night. What I missed, apparently, was the drunken groupie flashing her rack before DevilDriver came onstage. We have pictures, technically. But we're a family website.

For non-metalheads, a name like DevilDriver might conjure up images of dirty underground venues and darkness. And though that's not far off the mark, DevilDriver's begun to establish itself in the mainstream market, with songs like "Devil's Son" and "Driving Down the Darkness" appearing on NBC's Scrubs, and other tracks available for download on Rockband.

(According to his neck tattoos, we might assume that Fafara gets his kicks on Route 66. © 2010 Dustin Wood.)

Frontman Dez Fafara got the crowd going rowdy and loud, screaming things like, "I want to see you all moving!" while using his middle finger to excess. His animalistic growls led an entire legion of crowd surfers and stage divers; more than I'd seen at a single show in probably my entire life. Along with bass player Jon Miller, drummer John Boecklin locked into intricate groove metal beats reminiscent of early Metallica. Finishing on "Meet the Wretched", it was a short but hard-hitting set, perfect for a post-work circle mosh.

Also, despite the size and age of the venue, the sound quality was fantastic. Hats off to the sound guy in charge of the mix.

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DevilDriver played The Rickshaw on January 13th, 2010. Special thanks to Live Nation.