Ah hell, sod it.

Really, all it is is the music of French 80s addict Anthony Gonzalez, aka M83. And it’s the kind of thing that brought joy to a sold-out theatre in Vancouver on a Friday night, causing drunken dudes to bro-hug and dance together, underdressed, backcombed downtown girls to sway and hipsters to punch the sky with happy.

The start included that furry, penis-nosed creature from the Hurry Up We’re Dreaming! album taking the stage, followed by the band segueing into – natch – “Intro” as longtime girl-voice Morgan Kibby stood in for Zola Jesus.  ”Graveyard Girl” came third, “Midnight City” later with all the laser-shot punctuation and a SURPRISE SAX SOLO! making everyone grin. “We Own the Sky” sounded thick and heady,  ”Skin of the Night”, delicate. And the bestest for nerds? Their remix of Daft Punk’s “Fall” from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack flooding into “This Bright Flash”? Oh yes…

Drummer Loïc Maurin once again held full court behind neon posts, whilst young guitarist Jordan Lawlor bounced around the stage. Kibby provided the requisite ethereal, and in the middle, le man, le myth, le LEGENDE, Anthony Gonzalez held court – sometimes on a Simian Mobile Disco-sized analog keyboard set up, sometimes on bass, sometimes facing Loïc with his hands clasped.

Ultimately, it was just a good, brightly coloured night of lights and layers. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go unwrap my limited edition No. 1028 “dandruff white” vinyl version of The Breakfast Club soundtrack that I got on Record Store Day, and think about unicorns. \m/

Was supposed to be at Justice. Wasn’t supposed to be riddled with the Black Death on the sofa. What kind of glow-stick-waving-youth-of-today begs out of a mega-dance show in Vancouver’s shittiest tin-can hangar so she can try to get over Germ Warfare Version 1,867 (this year)?

Nevermind. The BSR wants to bring you JUSTICE, AND SO WE SHALL BRING YOU JUSTICE via the lens of the magical photo-snapper Ashley Tanasiychuk (Format No Auto).

So how was it? I imagine it was bloody mental. Today, citing “irreperable damange” to his hearing, Mike Usinger at the Georgia Straight’s assessment was thus: “Do you know why the floor of the PNE Forum is a hot and sticky mess right now? If you guessed the sweat of the heaving dance floor, that’s partly right. It’s mostly though because Justice just melted the fucking brains of everyone in the place with a devastating ‘Phantom.’”

But not everyone was melted. Some were GLOWING. A tweet from Trevor at promoters’ Timbre Concerts err, highlighted this fact: “Someone send me a pic of the dude in the glow-in-the-dark fur coat. Some raver minks died for that to be so awesome.” (He went one better, here, by offering video. I can’t believe I missed THAT FUR COAT!).

Sounds fun, and deafening, Justice. But not as fun as being at home sick watching the 100th episode of Futurama. Yeah. Right. \m/

And where those sparks are reflected back at the crowd from the-hand-on-heart/heart-on-sleeve singer who tells you that he’s never had a bad show at the Biltmore Cabaret and how he can feel that love in the room and you believe him ‘cos he means it?

And how a voice can sound cloud-sized and enormous? And when the drums are so insanely tight, but the bass is fluid? And how “Idle Heart” starts you off,  ”The Reflection of You” begs you to dance, “Lovesick Teenager” has everyone bouncing,  ”You Do You” and “Dust Cloud” are trippy wonderful and “World of Freakout” makes you want to spin your arms?

And how you feel that the electro you’re hearing is likable and accessible and joyous and not perfect but perfect enough for tonight? And how afterwards, you thank Jon, Joe and Adam and they thank you for dancing in the front row?

Yeah, that. \m/

Thomas Dolby – electro early adopter, 80s hitmaker – is telling stories on stage from behind a basic keyboard set up and a chair with a

laptop. It’s the first time he’s been back to Vancouver in 24 years or so, and he’s a little wooden, a little hesitant up there on the stage of the Rio… but a LOT funny, dry of wit and, reassuringly, still a bit bonkers.

His merch girls are dressed as kinda-steampunks, his openers Aaron Jonah Lewis and Ben Belcher play bluegrass, and he’s got a converted tin contraption with his name on it – a “time capsule” in which you can lie and record a message to send to the future – parked out front. During “Spice Road” in the encore, he brought out a belly dancer. And for the final dumb classic “Silk Pajamas” he led the audience of primarly 50-something men in a clapalong. All so wonderful!

Also wonderful to learn: Thomas Dolby records in his backyard of his house on the East Coast of England. Not in a shed or cottage, but in a 1930s lifeboat that he bought on Ebay. It’s called the Nutmeg of Consolation, of course, and it’s solar- and wind-powered. The lifeboat makes sense, Dolby explained, because England will soon tip into the sea. “But the weather’s not always obliging,” he continued. “There’s not a lot of sunshine. So we often have to wait.”

Another gem: when Dolby was mixing the video for “She Blinded Me With Science” in 1982 he struck up an unusual friendship with one Michael Jackson, who was working on a little video for a ditty called “Billy Jean” in the studio next door. Michael suggested that Dolby – write a song and send it to him. He did, excitedly, and never heard back. “So I called him up on the number he gave me and asked him what he thought,” said Dolby. “Michael said he liked the drums. I was, uh, well, Michael, I rather quite liked the melody, is there anything else I can offer you? And Michael asked: ‘are you near Wales?’ And I said, ‘like the country?’ I’m about a 5-6 hour drive away. What do you need? And Michael said: ‘could you get me some ragwort for my llamas?’ and then hung up the phone. And that’s the last time I talked to Michael Jackson.” The song he sent to Jackson? “Hyperactive”. Brilliant.

The stories don’t end: Dolby talks about a trip New Orleans, and walking into the Maple Leaf Lounge where 15 brass players were on one stage and “generations of music came together in my mind.” He talks about how the song “Love is like a Loaded Pistol” came from dream in which he said Billie Holiday told him to write a song with the line, “this time it’s love”, and he thought “that’s a bit crap, innit?”. Or how “The Toad Lickers” came from a chat he had with Wade Davis, National Geographic’s “Explorer”, at a TED conference, naturally. Wade told Thomas about how some people actually did lick toads.

“So I wondered, ‘what kind of music would these guys listen to while licking toads? I figured it would be a blend of Appalachian bluegrass and hardcore techno.” Dolby then proceeded to take us through the layers of the song’s backbone: Imogen Heap, Natalie McMaster and “Loop 37B in Garageband.”

Oh, Thomas, it really has been too long. And despite a setlist peppered with a few sleepy tracks, there were myriad stand-outs. “Evil Twin Brother” with samples from Regina Spektor (and teen son Graham on drums!), “One of our Submarines” and “Europa and the Pirate Twins”rather quite charming. “Hyperactive” was goofy, as you’d expect. Hurrah!

And as for “She Blinded Me With Science”, his classic? Let’s let Dolby tell it: “I went back to the multitrack tapes from that time and was transported back to the day when Dr. Magnus Pyke – [a famous eccentric British scientist who tried to explain his world to the layperson via TV and panels] – came in.” Dolby explains he’d asked the “crusty old buzzard – he’s no longer with us so I can diss him now” to speak a line in the song, with mixed results. Pyke struggled with the line and the, err, mad scientist way Dolby wanted him to say it.

“So I gave him the line I wanted to him read, and he said, ‘It’d be a bit surprising if a girl blinded ME with science, wouldn’t it, Dolby?”

But they pressed on and Eureka! The song became a hit. When Pyke returned from a tour of the US, he complained to Thomas. “Your bloody MTV video is better known than my entire body of work. And people kept jumping out behind me yelling SCIENCE! Scared me to death.”

And with that tale, Thomas Dolby’s return to the stage just became perfect. \m/

Shoegazey artiste Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) performed on March 28 as part of the electro-experimental 3-D Music Fest, held at the always rad Waldorf Hotel. Okay, technically, he performed on March 29, hitting the stage at 12:30am, after half the crowd had thinned out, deciding it needed bed and hometime… but whatevs.

Kember’s a bit of  legend, a king of the aural equivalent of the hypnagogic state. He was one half of  Spacemen 3 (along with Jason “Spaceman” Pierce, now of Spiritualized), rode solo as Spectrum (“How You Satisfy Me” was an epic early 90s track) and collaborated with feedback wizard Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine in the project E.A.R (Experimental Audio Research). He’s also played with Dean Wareham and Luna (I chatted with Kember about the last time I’d seen them together in London in ‘95) and produced Panda Bear’s album Tomboy.

Want stoner soundscapes? He’s THE GUY. “It’s been a long time” the drawn, lone man with his boxes and knobs, said from the stage, and it has. After a DJ warm-up set that included Neu!, and that rad Anika cover of Yoko Ono’s “Yang Yang”, it was nice to trip out even further to the fuzzy wuzzy of Sonic Boom. Sorta paved the way for sleep. \m/

UK dance musician/producer Aaron Jerome (the mysterious man behind the mask of SBTRKT) made his Vancouver debut on October 25 at Fortune Sound Club and brought with him his singer sidekick Sampha, a chap who handled extra programming, steel drums and vocals, as the two-piece railed through a hybrid set of scattershot electro, house, dubstep, garage and smooth soul. Wearing the expected tribal masks (SBTRKT prefers to go “anonymous” in interviews so that folks focus the music, not the man, apparently), the duo’s set started out a mite glitchy. There were samples and beats going slightly awry, but it all warmed up nicely, as did Sampha’s strong voice.

And who knew Jerome was a decent drummer? He bashed out behind a kit for parts of the set and provided a wicked backbeat. Chicago house and soul are not typically on the BSR dance card – electro, D n’ B and techno, thanks! – but there were glimmers of that, in there as well. And the Drake/Little Dragon mashup remix of “Wildfire“? Excellent. So yeah, good to see the man behind the mask. \m/

This is Skrillex, aka Los Angelino Sonny Moore. Isn’t he fucking adorable?

If you wanna know how important Skrillex is to Dubstep (and more on the genre), watch this video. Possibly the best dubstep parody EVER. And if you dig, definitely check out Part 1. Equally lolz.

Yeah, Kurt WAS in the Foo Fighters!

We show up at the PNE Forum – which is, by far, among the worst venues in Vancouver. It’s basically an airplane hangar hive of scum and villainy, with benches rammed so close to each other you have to walk on the ledges to get out, and a huge pit where you can imagine livestock. The kids in the queue to get in are absolutely munted and finishing off spliffs. It’s Skrillex’s only all-ages show of this tour and the second night in Van ( DUBSTEP CENTRAL OF CANADA, yo), and every suburbanite is stoned, or drinking from a mickey. It’s chaos. We get frisked and the girls are asked to take their glow sticks off. The “IMPORT” Beer (Heineken) is $7.50. Where did they import it from? THE MOON?

And it’s insanely LOUD. And I’m no loud-concert pussy. I’ve survived Dinosaur Jr., Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky. THIS, this is facemelting. See?

CAUTION! WEARING STRIPEY HATS MAY CAUSE YOUR LIPS TO FALL OFF!

So we go in, find a spot. Kids are gurning, sweating, falling over, turning pink around us. This is what a nation of dubsteppers inside a warehouse looks like (as seen via my shitty point and shoot):

So we chill out, bob our heads to 12th Planet, who ’s got the kids going, and raising their lighters in the air while he bounces up and down waving his arms. It’s pretty straightforward dubstep: all whompwhompwhompwhompwobblewobble. Same with Knife Party – Gareth McGrillen and Rob Swire from Pendulum – who come on just before Skrillex. Their set’s good but a bit flatter, so we go out to the loos.

Oh yes. Let me tell you about the washrooms. Both of them. Well, actually six porta-potties and one set of women’s washrooms. FOR 2500 PEOPLE. Who are either drunk or “overhydrating” due to the crap Es they’re on. We end up standing in line for 45+ minutes and miss the beginning of Skrillex’s set. When I ask a security guard “How is this even legal?”, he replies: “Oh yeah, it’s totally against city bylaws.” Awesome. We head back in for Skrillex after celebrating two birthdays in the lineup, and go through the throngs of messy kids in fake black glasses.

That’s the little sprite in the middle, in the midst of a truly awesome white hexagon-columned stage set, upon which amazing Tron-like graphics and geometric shapes swirled. And despite a review the night before that sorta prepped me for a dull knobtwiddling exercise (Skrillex! Pressing Play on his MacBook!, Sonny Moore was megabouncing back there in his white mothership. The little alien has landed!

Looks really cool, right?

It was. The set list was equally blistering. Like, surprisingly so.

To wit: “I Wish You All the Luck of the World”, “Fucking Die”, “Kill Everybody, the punishing “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” (OHHHHHHH MYYYY GODDDDDD!), the call-and-response “My Name is Skrillex”, a ragga “Rude Boys,” and “DnB Ting”, “Rock and Roll (Will Take You To the Mountain)”, his remix of La Roux’s “In For the Kill” (what do you get when you mix a shrill singer with dubstep? MECHASHRILL), the really great sky-high version of Nero’s “Promises”,  a light remix of “Silver Dusk” (feat. Andre Visior) plus a cheese-tastic regular Skrillex-ed mix of Benny Bennassi’s “Cinema.” And more of course…

And while we were dancin’ away, we noticed Knife Party’s Gareth and Rob below us, taking pics with fans. Gareth was clutching a bottle of Patron, putting stickers on blonde girls’ boobs and taking pictures of them, while Rob stood there, nodding to their patron on stage…

So I go down to talk to Rob. And by talking I mean, I tap out a message on my cellphone saying that I didn’t want to shout in his ear but Nice one! for the set. He takes my phone from me and taps out: “Thanks ” and gives me the thumbs up. I like expeditious shmoozing.

Then it was back to admiring the set and the guy with the glasses. Best of the night? When he broke out ROBOTO SKRILLEX. Using  motion-capture technology, Skrillex’s robot friend appeared on the screen behind him, moving as he did.

Now, watch the video. Ignore the bombastic fuzz of the crap sound. And check out the cool mo-cap, especially around 0:25…

Fucking ace, right? First time I’ve seen mo-cap used in a gig and I always love me a first, so way to go Skrillex! Apparently 2 Many DJs have also used something similar (using Arkaos software), and it was mesmerizing. And when Ironman Skrillex started waving his arms…well, awesome.

So, yeah, Skrillex, you surprised me. Dubstep is still kinda ridiculous (sigh, find me the kids who know what drum and bass is), and you attracted a crowd of feral suburbanites tonight, but good on yer, man. I dig your anthemic trance touchpoints and that was a GREAT show. WOMPWOMPWOMPWOMPWOMP.\m/

Skrillex live at the PNE was brought to you by the letter D for Dubstep, and awesome dance promoters Blueprint Events. Reeeally wish I coulda shot this with a proper camera, but thanks!

Gah, I have no idea. Whatever. It’s totally 80s and it’s modern and isn’t it wonderful?

The stylish George Lewis Jr was in town last week (on tour with another amazing one-person nom de plume, Diamond Rings), and besides bringing his band to the local sushi joint (where we ran into ‘em), he brought a shit-hot custom Rickenbacker guitar, lots of compliments for Vancouver (calling us “sexy” and sounding pretty genuine about it) and heaps of lushness.

Check out the pics, have a listen to and/or download his latest track “Changes” below. Smooooooth AND SEXY, no?

The electro duo have a new album, called Trans-Love Energies, out September 26 . THIS IS VERY EXCITING. Particularly because the band have been talking about doing new music, for, oh, three or four years now. And it’s been a full SEVEN since their last album.

Also exciting is the fact that new single, “Your Loft”, features vocals from the otherworldly Torontonian, Katie Stelmanis from Austra. WHICH IS ALSO VERY EXCITING, because Austra is all kinds of great. The match sounds tremendous. Lightness into dark, good versus evil, you know, all the vital plot points.

My story about DIV goes back to ’94, with the release of their debut, Dead Elvis.  That CD was dusky, dub-y, dirty slow grind dance music for early mornings after wasted nights. I fell in love HARD when it was released: “Twist and Crawl” (with the English Beat’s Rankin’ Roger toasting on it) remains of one of fave songs ever, and “Dirt” features a brilliant sample from a guy on stage Woodstock, as its driving backbone. Dead Elvis holds up. It’s dark, primitive and fantastic.

Admittedly, I  fell a little out of love with subsequent DIV efforts over the years (though Scorpio Rising’s “Aisha” with Iggy Pop growls, was fab), but have always had nuff respec’ for Fearless’ sparse and edgy electro, no matter what.

So in ’96, I was ecstatic to hear of their impending arrival in Toronto. Fearless and Holmes brought with them 7 musicans, who crowded on a tiny stage at Lee’s Palace, and then blew the bloody doors off. One of those musicians was Ian Button, DIV’s longterm guitarist (formerly of Thrashing Doves) and now longtime friend of mine since that night. In my diary, I described that show as “stellar” and “throbbing”.

After the gig, me, Ian, a friend and Seamus the keyboardist, ran around trying to find rolling papers, then piled onto the tourbus and ended up in an all-back-to-theirs sort of scenario at the hotel for a full-room party. That night, an editor of the UK’s Mojo magazine, who was writing a feature on the band (back when magazine financed this kind of stuff, or, you know, paid writers), hit on me by asking me what my favourite sexual position was. Smooth, no? I declined to answer, and left alone at 4am.  But it was a ridiculously fun night. Button – who also recorded as solo artist Anthony Anderson – even wrote a song about it and called it “Ontario Skies”.

I wouldn’t see DIV again for about 5 years, when, in the middle of a tiny press conference and interview with them, I got word that my UK visa had been approved…thereby sidetracking me from the Scorpio release love-in. Shortly after I found myself celebrating with the band backstage after their show at the huge London room Ocean, and reminding drummer Simon of “that time back in Toronto.” Brilliant times, indeed.

So here we are 10 years on from that, and after a few fits and starts, there’s something new, something sparse and eerie from Death in Vegas. Trans-Love Energies seems to be, on first listen, pretty spacious. “Enforced Peace” sounds a bit chip-tuney and basic doesn’t it? But then it seems to fill out, burrow. DIV are always good to grow.

Have a listen to a couple of tracks here, plus a sampler from the album mixed by Fearless for BBC Radio 6, which is tasty. Track the album down from your favourite importers, sharpish.

It’s trippy, and it’s Death in Vegas. HAIL.\m/

Death In Vegas 2011 by Death In Vegas

Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre was electric on September 18, and not just ‘cos of all the blue energy domes in the audience. Akron’s biggest import, DEVO, were about to pop and lock on stage, and cycle through five album-oriented/ridiculous costume changes, throw out bouncy balls, call us Spuds, bring out Booji Boy to wax poetic about hanging out with Michael Jackson, jog on the spot, Whip It good and spin through a ton of their greatest new wave hits.

It was stupid, awesome fun punctuated by the fact that Mark Mothersbaugh seemed to like my camera and my side of the stage – stretching out over me many a time to either shake pom poms in our faces, stick mics in front of us during “Jocko Homo” (Q: ARE WE NOT MEN? A: WE ARE DEVO) or sing above us. Also brilliant? “Girl U Want” of course, “Planet Earth” and “Secret Agent Man”. Opener “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” also contained goodness as well as grey shell suits with matching Devo shoes (holy merch cross-promo). Extra points awarded for the truly driving “Uncontrollable Urge” and “Mongoloid”.

But the best and most punk rock moments of the night? Has to go to them four guys (plus drummer) who ripped off their yellow shell suits and chucked them in the audience. One pair landed on my head, and when I looked up, what did I see besides the crotch of some yellow pants that contained ACTUAL DEVO? Four old guys (plus drummer) in t-shirts and shorts, knee pads, and knee-high old man socks. *Shudder**Squeal*

Devo, you are patently absurd but you are all kinds of shades of fun. Satisfaction…achieved. \m/

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