Classic Lineups

I used to drool over old 80's gig flyers and posters from California with lineups of legendary punk bands. All these amazing bands playing the same show. Check out these bills!

I grew up in Vancouver and was lucky to see D.O.A. and Nomeansno fairly often in the 80's and onward. They'd share the same stage all the time. At the time I didn't fully realize how classic that lineup was. Here's a show that slipped by me back in the day. Talk about a bill! D.O.A., Nomeansno and Slow all in one night. Damn!

I recently saw D.O.A. in Cumberland on their "last" tour. Great show by Joe and his boys. Nomeansno is playing a handful of B.C. shows in late February and early March. Go see them if you can. Still an amazing live show.

Joe

It's been 10 years since Joe left us. We miss him. Here's a pretty good blurb from the BBC.

Photo by Eric Rife

Refused

I'd been waiting for this all summer. As far band reunions go, Refused had to be the most unexpected and welcome one I could dream of. Worth the wait. One of the best shows I've ever seen! Oh yeah - and The Bronx opened too!

Refused, Vogue Theatre, Aug 27. Photo Mel Reid.

fIREHOSE

Crawford + Hurley + Watt = fIREHOSE.

I finally got to see fIREHOSE a few nights ago! Bellingham was as far north as the tour came, so that's where I was on Monday. This was stop 4 on the tour and the band was sounding great. Lots of smiling faces on the floor and the stage. Check out Watt's Tour Diary here.

fIREHOSE!

Check it out: fIREHOSE are getting back together and playing shows in April! Missed seeing them back in the day. Never thought I'd get another chance. This is the best news I've had all year! See you in BHam!

fIREHOSE 2012 Tour Dates:
04/05 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
04/06 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
04/07 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
04/09 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo House of Music
04/10 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
04/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
04/12 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Historic Coconut Grove Ballroom *
04/13 – Fresno, CA @ Fulton 55
04/14 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/17 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
04/18 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre *
04/19 – Tucson, AZ @ Plush
04/20 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival

* = w/ M. Ward

Red Fang

Red Fang make videos that are worth making. I love this.

NMN

One of the first punk shows I saw in Vancouver when I was growing up was a bill with Nomeansno. I guess I got hooked from the start. Being from Victoria, they played in Vancouver fairly often and I would go and see them every chance I could. Fast forward 20 something years and not much has changed aside from the frequency they play in Vancouver. The band played a Canada Day show recently and I made the trip to the city to see them one more time. They put on a great show as always. Making music together for over 30 years now the Wright brothers continue to write new material and tour it around the world. Here's a poster from the first show I saw in '85 and the last one a few nights ago.

Joe

I miss Joe Strummer. He passed away 7 years ago today and the world is a bit smaller without him. He had so much left to give. This is a shot from a performance he gave in San Diego with the Mescalaros the summer before his death. I was lucky to be there that day.

Here's a shot from The Clash tour in 1984. One of the first concerts I went to. It wasn't the original lineup, but it was still Joe & Paul doing Clash songs.

Gone but not forgotten.

NMN

Nomeansno at their peak from back in 1990. I've seen this band live more than any other since I started going to shows in the 80's. They're still at it too - touring right now, playing new songs. This era of the band with Andy Kerr on guitar has got to be my favorite though. This footage is from one of the two shows taped in Europe for the Live & Cuddly record. For years I pictured what that concert must have looked like and then last year these clips started appearing on youtube synced with the audio from the record. You can't really see much of John Wright's drumming here but his skills are amazing. If you're anywhere near Tacoma or Bellingham this weekend go see them. They're getting pretty old (hell, Rob is old in this video), but they still rock out.