Glam Skanks, a collection of 4 young girls from LA, opened for Adam Ant. They looked like Jem and…read morethe Holograms but sounded like The Misfits. The music was very so-cal pop punk. Ali Cat was a very charismatic front women. Even if you weren't into the band the girls were entertaining to watch. The first time I saw Adam Ant was a few years ago. He didn't physically take the tour seriously, however, this time around he committed to a proper diet and exercise regimen. He was also full of energy, a fitting tribute to his former self. This isn't to say that I didn't appreciate the bouncy pirate the first time around (in effort to knock a show off my bucket list) but it's nice to see someone actually care about their own tour by getting in shape. This time around he played his Kings of the Wild Frontier album in full, one of the underrated alternative albums of the 80's. I came into the show with modest expectations. I walked away from the venue with my jaw to the floor. Much better than the first time I saw him. Adam is a very underrated front man. The singles were partially caked walked, however, the album tracks were the highlights. He was more emotionally invested in these songs considering he rarely gets to perform these songs. Even if you weren't familiar with the deep album cuts there was still something musically there for the casual attendees. It always intrigued and annoyed me that Adam in the early days of his career didn't bother to work the North American market yet he's selling out shows lately. Everyone, regardless of fandom level, enjoyed the show. There was an even give it take of energy that filled the room. Most of the audience participated in the pirate chants. The audience was very pumped up considering that most battled a bad snow storm to be at the show. We did after all earn the moment. His band are hired hands, no major players in the industry, however, I really enjoyed this touring band. They actually added something to the show. The double drums have always intrigued me. Each drummer was playing a separate part which was really cool. Added bonus was that the drumming wasn't click tracked which you don't see often. The sound mix was horrible, no different than any other show at The Vogue. The singing was in key. Lyrically unless you knew the songs the sound mix made it hard to decipher lyrics outside the chorus. The sound mix of the venue did noticeably wear down the audience after a while. There was no chemistry between Adam and his band mates. The audience interaction was also very minimal. Expected behaviour from Adam. I didn't pay to see Adam as a person but rather hearing my favourite album tracks played live. It was really fun to hear pirate punk anthems that felt more like a party than a nostalgic moment.

Truthfully I came here to see Metric but stayed due to credibility guilt. Everyone I told seemed…read moreupset that I was leaving after Metric, therefore, I stayed for 5 songs just to see what the hype was all about. I appreciate that they know how to get a crowd going and feel good, however, I was struggling to actually connect with the material. I did review their new album as part of "New Shit I Listened To" segment of my web zine. I blessed the album with 3 out of 5 stars. I was hoping to get something out of the new material live but it did little to convince me that I was listening to the best album of the year. I will give them production points. They used a really cool 3D stage configuration but did little of note with it. I knew that after 5 songs that they were just a one trick pony with the stage production. The band themselves, although charismatic, looked lost with the stage layout. Imagine Dragons are another one of those bands whose music works better in a club or small theatre setting. Fortunately they've grown in popularity that Rogers Arena was the logical booking. Maybe next time they should do 2 nights at the QE with the same production? Lady Gaga was successfully able to do this a few years back. There was a magic that seemed lost in translation in such a big venue. I got a better understanding of how they ended up in arenas, though I think the singer could do with more onstage charisma and the drummer could up his game more. The advantage of our seats was that we were able to spot some technical sound tricks otherwise missed by the general concert goer. Most of the drums were click tracked, the guitar notes were too clean that they sounded pre-recorded (even The Edge makes mistakes and we all notice) and the lead singer was only singing live 30% of the time (we were that close that we noticed synch issues). In retrospect it wasn't a bad show, it just wasn't the show for me musically.

The Sheepdogs have been on my bucket list for a while now, however, was never interested in the…read moreprice tag. It was free tonight and since I had a season pass, therefore, it paid for itself. The band lived up to the hype from everyone. They have a very nostalgic 60's rock vibe to them pulling the genre off really well. It was a respectable line between imitation and homage. Amazing musicians and very solid and clean. Not much in the stage banter department. They were more concerned about pulling off a solid perfect show.

The last time the Monkees played Vancouver billed as the Monkees was in 1968, therefore, I was…read moreseeing this show for the first time with everyone else. They were supposed to play the casino years ago when Davy Jones was alive, however, he had a completely different management than the rest of the guys and things went sour and the show never happened. They played a few times in Tacoma but that was a pain in the ass to get to. The show was everyone minus Mike Nessith and Davy Jones. Ratio wise it was still a closer reunion compared to Guns N' Roses. To entertain the audience they showed episodes of The Monkees in high def restoration from the new Blu Ray collection. For the first 3 songs it was cool to have some of the old Monkees clips shown on the screen as the band was playing, however, it got annoying real quick as I would've appreciated watching what was actually happening live. It was more likely implemented to distract the audience from noticing that there was no chemistry between remaining members on stage. Because of the clips on the screen the entire show was click tracked. They did manage to perform all their hits and some current singles in the 90 minutes. The personal highlight for me was The Porpoise song off Head, a song that the majority of early fans would prefer to dismiss all together. It was fun watching the divide by fans after the song based on the applause. It wasn't the best rendition of the song but they did the best with the little they had. Second highlight was dancing with Peter and singing at the top of my lungs the lyrics to I'm Not Your Stepping Stone. Overall even though the majority of the songs were phoned in I actually had a good time.

Biologically it's easier for me to appreciate music during reasonable hours of day, therefore, the…read moreafternoon show already won automatic points with me. This show was a series of 5 sold out home town shows. It was an all ages show with an even demographic distribution inside. The majority of those under 18 weren't taking the moment for granted that they got to experience a Commodore show on the last day of Spring break. They were very well behaved and respectful of the venue and those around them. I just wish that every Commodore show audience exercised that behavior. There was a charm watching these kids hug the rail with that spark in their eyes. It was nice to actually see above the audience's head instead of fighting for a view. K. Flay opened the show. Her music reminds me of a mix between Lights, Lorde and Charlie XCX. It was a good mixture of indie, synth and rock. She had a presence and charisma on that was very addicting to watch. She had a healthy performance confidence. After K's set I took advantage of the daylight filtering inside the club and explored some of the structural details that are often missed by the darkness. It also gave me a better view of the children's snack menu at the bar (no alcohol was served). Mother Mother mostly sang to backing tracks, however, the band's stage presence made up for it. It was interesting to see how arena pop rock works in a club. It was too polished and perfect that there were moments that got lost. I felt as though I was listening to the CD and not a live band. In spite of the two dimensional feeling of the show, I did enjoy myself very much. It was nice to escape into another world and not have to think about anything, a complete brain shut off. I appreciate that they're aiming to be that arena rock band, however, they're missing some steps in-between that they need to achieve first before getting to that milestone. The few older singles that were performed felt like the Mother Mother I first fell in love with, however, these moments were very few. More work needs to be done on the stage banter. I could feel the lead singer's awkwardness with the obligatory banter. It was painful to hear. I'm not ready to put these guys on my must see live acts list just yet but there's still some value in it for me to attend future live shows.

We hired an airwaves DJ to do our wedding reception in July 2014. The crowd was tough - with a…read morewide range of musical interests and tastes. There were a number of musicians and music industry people in attendance and we received a lot of compliments from our guests and hosts on the professionalism of setup, takedown, and music played by our airwaves DJ. Frankly, we couldn't have been more pleased with the sound, lighting, as well as the ability of the DJ to "read" a difficult and musically astute crowd. Thank you Airwaves!

They are very professional and really gospel in their performances . Nice organization. I like the…read morefact that it's a mixed race choir and they're doing really great vocally.

I ended up dancing the night away like a slut here on Saturday. I had a really great time, but…read morethere were a few things about this venue that weren't my favourite. First complaint - the bathrooms. This is not a change room, so why the heck is there a CURTAIN instead of a door to the two stalls in the ladies room? I'm sorry but whether you're hovering over the seat to pee, or hugging the porcelain goddess cuz you drank too much, you deserve some privacy while leaking those bodily fluids. At least if there's a door, you can knock, to see if anyone is in there, with a curtain, you're gonna tug on that shit and probably scar yourself for life when you see what's behind it. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." After you use those facilities, you're gonna love the sink even more. Its so tiny in the ladies room that if you are washing your hands, people can't even get in to the bathroom behind you. I know I got a fat ass and all, but this was kind of ridiculous. And lawd knows us ladies like to primp ourselves in the bathroom mirror, so try and bring a pocket mirror (they aren't just for railz bitches) if you plan on doin' any primpin'. Second complaint - the heat. There is zero air conditioning in here. As in none, nada, null and void. The promoters of the night actually brought in their own fans (lawd bless them) and it did help, but it was just recirculating warm air. For a venue this nice (minus the bathrooms) you'd think they could step it up a bit and have some A/C. Which brings me to the things I liked about the venue.... Cheap drinks! $8 for a double highball, call me SOLD! The space was really cool, I liked the different levels and dark corners to hide in, and the visuals looked great. I liked that the location was somewhat off the beaten club path, thus there were no creepers. The people who knew about this space and party were there for exactly that and there were no random granville street douchebags lingering nearby to buy you a drink. "GHB drinks on me!" All in all, I would totes go back to this place, but dress appropriately so I don't sweat my balls off. Oh wait, I don't have balls, I guess I already sweated them off, if anyone finds my balls let me know.

I went to an event here last weekend. I really liked the space but they need to work on a few…read morethings. 1) It was REALLY REALLY hot! Luckily I was not wearing very much - yay summer! I don't know how people who were fully dressed up survived. 2) They could not handle the demand at the bar. They need a beer/water station for big events like the one I attended 3) The bottled water was warm. This was pointed out to me by a friend. I used my cocktail cup and refilled at the sink with nice cold water from the tap. 4) Their beer selection is extremely limited. They should at least have cans of one local craft beer like Red Racer available.