The Media Club
Vancouver, British Columbia
Two weekends ago marked the first time I walked out of a show out of displeasure. I don't count the time I left after the Constantines when they opened for the Weakerthans at the Palace in Halifax in 2009, for I had planned to see only the Constantines, whereas I actually wanted to see all three bands at the Media Club.
Formed twenty years too late and a continent too far away, borne directly of the melancholy pop of 1980s Britain à la the Smiths, Vancouver's Mode Moderne opened the show. Despite having formed in 2008 or 2009, I had only heard of them a couple of weeks prior to the show, although as a friend of mine tells me, they've been popping back up after a bit of a hiatus. And she's correct: I can think of at least four shows they've played/will play between September and October alone: the Victory Square Block Party on Labour Day and with Wild Nothing, Cult of Youth and, of course, the Fresh & Onlys.
Since last year, I've wished more Vancouver bands would play the exact kind of music Mode Moderne plays. Despite that, I found myself bored by their third song, and I'm not entirely sure why. Technically, they're good; there's absolutely no denying that. They were cohesive, and the acoustics were sharp, but they just lacked something. Singer Phillip Intile had all the right moves and mannerisms and all the right clothes, yet, I couldn't help but find his entire presentation affected - incredibly affected. Seeing Mode Moderne live was truly a confounding experience. All I can really hold against them that night is, as I've already said, that at least live, they just seem to lack a certain intangible that brings their technical soundness to life.
Next was San Francisco pop-punk trio Terry Malts, the band that sold me on this show over the cheaper five- (or did it dwindle to four-?) band bill featured at the Astoria that same night. Their debut album, this year's Killing Time (Slumberland Records), is a blitzkreig of punchy, uncomplicated-despite-containing-a-potential-athiest's-anthem, headbanging tunes. Simply put, and I say this with zero scrutiny, Terry Malts are the best Ramones rip-off band I've heard. At just over thirty-minutes in length, Killing Time lent itself to at least six rotations per day when I got it the week before seeing them.
Now, let me make this clear: Terry Malts definitely did not slouch at the Media Club. But as hard as a band tries, sometimes, it's just not enough to get all the cylinders firing. Maybe it was the lackadaisical, thinly packed audience, the failed attempt after failed attempt by two guys in trying to start a mosh-pit, or even the lighting under which both Mode Moderne and Terry Malts looked naked or exposed, but the atmosphere for what should have been a sweaty, in-your-face, sing-along dance-party just never coalesced. I think Terry Malts could sense so too, coming off with a soldier-on attitude, but again, like Mode Moderne, Terry Malts just seemed to have been off that night - missing something, not as punch as on record. Although, even as a lo-fi-lover, I did really appreciate being able to hear Corey Cunningham's surprisingly bluesy-toned guitar with clarity.
And then there were the Fresh & Onlys, a psychedelic garage outfit also from San Fran. I can't say much about them though, because I left the Media Club a few seconds into their fourth song (their third song was actually a bit catchy, but then they reverted right back to their grotty, more-psychedelic-on-record blues rock).
After a night of all-around flaccid performances, I left the Media Club with more than a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't a taste I'd experienced much, but it was almost sickening. A deep pressure sank into my chest as I thought about how I not only wasted three hours and $20 when I could have spent $8 and seen probably a far better show with more bands and how I may have to cut a show from my upcoming schedule to make up for the money I wasted at the Media Club. Hopefully, my second experience at the Media Club, which instantly had one of my favourite interior layouts of all the venues in Vancouver, will be more enjoyable with more worthwhile bands.
No comments:
Post a Comment