Stop #1 : The Roxy for Sterr.













Contrary to what I might have thought, Sterr doesn’t completely suck balls. It’s nothing really original, but it’s pretty solid modern rock tunes that will fit well into the genre it seems to strive to be a part of. And those three guys better be brothers.

Stop #2 : The Cellar for Ben Sigston.













Whoa! I’ve been trying to see Sigston for a while and things always get in my way, but I had no idea he had such a cut + paste band from the Vancouver scene. Joel Myers on bass, Niko Friesen on drums (both those guys seem to play with millions of projects so that’s not surprising so much as just unexpected), and the stunner, Christian Thorvaldson, of Copyright fame, on guitar. I regret I didn’t recognize the other guitarist hiding in the shadows, but I wouldn’t doubt if he’s also an important mover and shaker in town. Sigston himself is an awesome performer. Friendly and open, his soft and accessible popfolk tunes are easy to get into. He’s pretty easy on the eyes as well. When I arrived, Sigston was on piano, but after that song, he got up, grabbed a guitar, and mentioned that he was supposed to dedicate a song to his brother, but said brother wasn’t even there. I suddenly notice that wacky contraption at Thorvaldson’s feet masking all his pedals. What the hell is that thing? It seems to be a Sigston family affair though, as when I arrived a group of folks who I would deem to likely be parents were coming in, citing themselves as “the Sigstons,” and on stage, the performer was smiling happily for photos taken by friends. How pleasant. It’s nice to see people who can interact with the crowd and not lose their musical concentration. During the set, someone noticed Dave (the missing brother) had arrived, so quickly a song was dedicated to him. It’s pretty fun to watch Sigston bop himself senseless while he plays the keyboard. Both feet off the ground at once, he stomps away audibly. What a joy to take in this performance.

Stop # 3: The Roxy for Submission.







This band might be a little much in the macho heavy rock band vein, but again, it’s not bad. If I were into this genre of music more, this would be a band I’d probably rather like. As it stands, the singer’s muscles scare the fuck out of me. The guys in the band have some very scathing sinister rock moves, so they’re at least interesting to watch as well.

Stop # 4: The sidewalk to contemplate the Media Club.
As much as I want to go check out some of the music there, it’s just too far a trek for the timing at this time of the night. But I’m sure Ben Rogers rocked theatrically, and Doubting Paris wore sandals and sounded like Coldplay.

Stop #5 : The Cellar for The Sessions.







Now that the confusion has washed over - At the end of Sigston’s set, he proclaimed that Whitfield was up next. That was untrue, as Whitfield was closing the night. But that threw the Sessions guys into a tizzy as they now had no idea who was to play. Was this their first show or something? They seemed entirely unsure what the hell was happening. As I was leaving the room to go over to the Submission set, an older woman (when I say older, I just mean not a twenty-something like the majority of the room - she certainly wasn’t old by any means) approached me and asked if I was a coordinator of the festival. I told her I was just a media member. So she asked me if I knew who was in charge. I said no, but did she have a question? She relayed her and the Sessions’ concerns over the set times, and I reassured her that Sigston had just made a mistake in his announcement. Relieved, she gleaned more information from me. “So they just go set up now? They just go up there? And announce themselves when they start?” Um, sure, I suppose. NMW is a stress for everyone.







The show here was running late though and was also quite packed for the Sessions’s set. They did finally go on, and did in fact start up by simply saying “We’re the Sessions.” A string of adjectives describes them best : fun, young, hot, energized, modern. The singer kept behind a keyboard all night, playing simple sustains that rode under the open guitars and drums. Skinny and tall fellows, the bassist looked like he would nearly whack his head on the ceiling if he were to stand up perfectly straight. Super-danceable, the band is cashing in on today’s synthrock movement and they’ll probably take it pretty far, considering the piles of saucy young dancing girls slinking about the room. I also noticed the drummer frequently sticking one arm straight up in the air for a couple beats. Well anyhow, the band was good and fun.

Stop #6 : The Penthouse.

I thought I was late for this one. The members of My Project:Blue, who were supposed to be the first band here tonight, were standing around on the sidewalk in front of the club. Well that’s not a good sign. I went inside to a completely empty room. Obviously nothing was going to be happening here for a while. Why are they pumping hot air into their washrooms though? Gross! This is a strip club! The last thing they need are humid, bacteria-inducing washrooms! Ew! Well anyhow, I wasn’t about to stand around here for a thousand years waiting for things to happen, so I backtracked.

Stop # 7 : The Buffalo Club.
Wow, it is empty and dead in here. Nothing will be happening for a while and it’s a band I’m pretty sure won’t be worth my time. On the way back down the road, I pass the New Music West/CFOX Big Bus. What a party - this year’s crazy double decker bus running between all the NMW venues had CFOX reps shouting through bullhorns sticking out of it, announcing what it was, and the people on board were cheering and carrying on. Yet even with this, the general population of NMW seems pretty lame and bare on the whole. Very few full rooms. The only thing that seemed at all like it might be a problem to get into was The Roxy on Thursday, and I think a big part of that line-up outside was just normal Thursday night Roxy patrons who probably didn‘t even have a clue New Music West was occurring. There’s always a line-up outside the Roxy. Dang. I guess it will take time for people to warm back up to the fest.

Stop #8 : The Cellar, still for The Sessions.
Yeah they were still on stage. Some people were getting bored with them, thinking all the songs were the same. I don’t necessarily agree, even though I missed a big chunk of them. One gal in the room said she thought the guitarist was trying too hard. I think he wasn’t trying hard enough - he looked completely disaffected up there. People were still dancing though and it was a million degrees in the room.

Stop #9 : Remaining at the Cellar for Whitfield.











Aren’t they suddenly stylish? With an album due out soon, these guys have kicked up their sound to a valiant and wonderful new level. They are vastly bolder and more accomplished than ever before. The new songs, style and performance of Whitfield are leaps and bounds above. They are truly poised to make a huge mark. Even Jobie Mallett’s stage presence between songs has pepped up. This is a far cry from their last NMW performance in 2004 where there was… well… me.. In the room to watch them, Mallett had just learned to play the piano to some of his songs, and they only had three people in the band. Shocking, the difference. And lovely to see. Keep an eye out for them - you heard it here first!

Stop #10 : The Penthouse for My Project:Blue.



Maybe I stayed a little too long at Whitfield’s set, but MP:B must have played a tiny set, because I got there in the nick of time to hear the last half of the last song in their set. Chad Blue was standing on the tip of the stage (which had removed its brass stripper poles for the festival, I might add - no shenanigans like a couple years hence sadly. But look out soon for Stripper Idol!) holding an acoustic guitar in the air. At least there were some people in the room finally. I wonder where they all came from. Weird. (PS : Yes that's an extra shot of Ben Sigston up there).

Stop #11 : Nester’s Market.
I need food. My tummy is grumbly from all this running around. I try to find something energizing and nutritious but all the food at Nester’s seems too challenging or overfilling to eat right now.

Stop #12 : Some crappy pizza joint on Smithe.
I caved in for a pizza slice and it was probably the worst cardboardy buck-a-slice I have ever had in my life. Not satisfying. Now I feel like crap.

Stop #13 : The Penthouse for Run Chico Run.



Realizing my co-conspirator was supposed to be on his way down to catch the last couple bands of the night, I headed back to the Penthouse to see what Run Chico Run was getting up to. The crowd here is finally worth it, though nothing like the last NMW Boompa Records showcase. How disappointing. I can never tell if I really like Run Chico Run or not. They are definitely inventive and unique. But it’s also really chaotic in the same sort of manic way that busker is who plays a dozen instruments at once, you know the one with the cymbals between his knees and the bell attached to his hat and a drum attached to his back that he plays by kicking out his leg, which has a string connected to a stick that hits the drum… and an accordian. There has to be an accordian. You know what I mean! It’s chaotic like that. It’s two guys, and the two guys know how to play every instrument known to man, but because they’re trying to fill the space of a whole band with only four hands, it just strikes me as noisy and messy. I mean I think that’s the point, but I can’t completely get into the random beats and scruffy chaos. They sure are funny though. They asked the silent crowd if anyone had a tambourine. Still silence. “Okay, you don’t have to answer just yet, you have a whole song to think about it,” the band responded. They talked about how they know there’s lots of industry in the room, and they might be thinking, okay, this band’s on a label, but you know, “ we’re here to get signed. And we’ll sign anything. Obviously! So get out your tambourines and contracts…” Funny. The song they played after they did that spiel was good. Great sounding synths and a bit more coherent than the rest of what I saw.

Stop #14 : The Media Club for pretty well nothing.
At that point I figured it would be a good time to try and crack the Media Club and see if I could catch some of Murder City Sparrows. Well, that show was also running later. When I got there, at the time MCS were supposed to be well into a set, the band before them was just finishing up. I didn’t even have enough time to snap a photo. So I guess that was Maurice. I was thinking the Media club would be a good spot because the previously-mentioned co-conspirator was Skytrain-bound for downtown, and the Media Club is close to Stadium Station, and then after watching a couple songs of MCS we could hightail it back to the Penthouse for the remainder of the Boompa stuff. Alas, I received a call stating that I would have no late-night companion that evening, and so, tired already and not so into just waiting around now for not much to happen, I ditched out on the remaining Boompa stuff and just went home to keep writing. My solace is in the fact that I have seen both Catlow and The Salteens before a number of times, which means I’m pretty sure they were great. But I may never know for sure…

Day 4 Band Count : 8

On To Day 5!

Elsewhere

By Andy Scheffler
Photos : Andy Scheffler
Published : May, 2006.