Yeah, yeah. So I didn't go see Arcade Fire in May: let the scenester gods blast me now. Even though they're a live band that actually lives up to the hype, I couldn't be arsed to pull myself all the way out to Deer Lake Park for the pleasure. At the time I was also intrigued by opening act St. Vincent, but I'd only heard her pre-release "Now. Now." and really didn't think that was worth making the trek to Burnaby either. (Getting on the Skytrain really kills the mojo.) Anyway, it turns out I missed something special; not only was Arcade Fire predictably fabulous, but St. Vincent (a.k.a. Ex-Polyphonic Spree's Annie Clark) actually won the hearts of the crowd, including that of a discerning friend who vowed he'd go see her headlining show in a heartbeat.

Well, whaddyaknow, she's back now with her own gig this Monday, July 30th, at the Lamplighter (210 Abbott Street). And now that her debut album Marry Me is finally out, I have the opportunity to go beyond "Now. Now." and see if she's actually worth the buzz.

Stilt walker crazies at the Commercial Drive Car-Free Festival

There's never enough time on weekends, but the lack of sleep I've had in the last month is an indication that, yes, my friends, summer is kickin' it up a notch -- even if the weather's gotten a little grey in the last couple of days. Street party action continues this weekend with Saturday's festival to celebrate shopping on the Canada Line (whether you wanna support the line, or shopping, or not) and Sunday's 2nd installment of the action-packed Commercial Drive's Car-Free Festival.

Photos courtesy of BLIM (left) and louder (right), from the BeyondRobson flickr pool

Blim Arts Society (197 East 17th Avenue at Main Street) is keeping busy this weekend with a couple of events catering to the activist and gourmand. Tonight's Friday film screening involves two politically charged films about the Berrigan Brothers, which will surely get you charged up for Saturday afternoon's Fish Party, Blim's nod to Baja cuisine, partying, and the fine art of tortilla making. Why no one has thought of this combination beforehand is beyond me.

My plans for Sunday afternoon involved heading to a BBQ near the Drive, but being the good ADD candidate I am, I thought I'd make a quick stop at the Community Arts Workshop's 14th annual Alice in Wonderland Festival + Mad Tea Party at Trout Lake. I only planned on staying for a wee bit -- after all, I had places to be (some would say I was "late, late for a very important date"). Besides, from afar this seemed like a family event, and I had my doubts about roaming around kid territory all by my lonesome.

Wintermitts see, hear, smell, and fondle no evil (and get ready for this Saturday's CD release soiree)

Any band that takes their name from a Julie Doiron song could win my heart before I got anywhere near the "play" button. But Vancouver's own Wintermitts slapped me in the face and got me past that superficial bond, catapulting me to dreamland with their sometimes sweet, sometimes blue, sometimes I-wanna-be-in-Paris-sucking-face-with-a-stranger brand of bilingual indie pop. Punctuated with a ragtag family of fringe instruments -- accordion, glockenspiel, and harmonica -- the band's pared down simplicity takes me back to a good ol' mid-'80s summer of innocence. Or winter, as it were.

The Grand Trine live at Seb's and get ready for a gig this Saturday at Casa del Artista.
Picture by Ian Joyce.

A couple months back I got my mariachi on with Mariachi Flores de Alegria, Canada's only all-female mariachi troupe, at La Casa del Artista (150 East 3rd Avenue @ Quebec). A few weeks later, I bump into them busking at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and then just last week, again, rehearsing in a parkette near Telus World of Science. Turns out these girls are everywhere, and are involved in a number of musical projects within the city. For the sake of this post, let's focus on a side project of one member, trumpeteer Melissa Hammer, who plays a regular gig with another all-girl ensemble, jazz outfit The Grand Trine.