Watching last Thursday night's Okkervil River concert at Richard's on Richards was like watching a really good Broadway performance.

It's an apt way to describe a show with music written like elaborate plots, full of twists, turns, evolving characters, and multiple climaxes. Frontman Will Sheff has been known to write wordy and elegant lyrics to paint pictures of people in shitty places in life. He also sings these words in a manner that can vary from a wild wail to a delicate down-tempo ballad.

This band's current tour promotes their latest album, the Stand-Ins, which is generally regarded as a sequel to their breakthrough fourth album, the Stage Names. (In fact, the nifty album art of both albums go together quite well.) But unlike typical Hollywood sequels, this album has given the band some staying power, being well received by even the most pretentious of music critics (i.e. Pitchfork). I was very eager to see how they'd translate their albums into a live show.

Forget Venice, forget the TIFF, even forget that snooty little French resort called Cannes, the Vancouver International Film Fest is here! 350 films from over 60 countries in 15 days, all in this wonderful city on the edge of the Pacific Rim. Just picked up my holy media pass the other day, so I'll be doing my absolute best to watch as many flicks as I can like Krisztina did last year. However I can't guarantee you anything, as there are only so many times I can come into work red-eyed and delirious from lack of shut-eye. The festival officially starts this Thursday, September 25th, so I guess I have my work cut out for me.

My picks of the fest (in a totally random order) are after the jump...

You might think a bare-footed, 42-year-old woman with wild-blond Medusa hair wearing a checkered, clown-like poncho and nothing else should be called a crazy.

Crazy, perhaps, but crazy in the best context possible. British singer Alison Goldfrapp along with her 6-person musical cohort held the audience captive throughout the medieval themed concert at the Commodore last Tuesday, belting out tunes from her latest incarnation, Seventh Tree.

Mubnii Morshed sent us a tip on the following event.

Sustainable SFU is hosting its 2nd annual SFU Sustainability Festival on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at Simon Fraser University's Burnaby Campus, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Festival is a student organized, volunteer-run event and its purpose is to promote sustainable lifestyle practices to an audience of SFU students and staff, as well as members of neighboring communities. The event will include live entertainment of local musicians, an eco-fashion show, a locally based beverage garden and more. We are also very proud to be presenting Boyd Cohen of 3rdWhale.com who will be announcing the winner of his international competition for the "greenest person on the planet" at the festival. Come find a way to get to the top of the hill and support this event!

Photo by WAXY. from the Beyond Robson Flickr Pool

So on the suggestion of a few buddies, and the venerable Jon Hilderman, I attended the Victory Square Block Party yesterday. T'was easy pickings for the cops, as the Pabst Blue Ribbon was out in full force. Quite the party-mix random party-mix of characters. I was even offered a plethora of illicit substances by random vagrants, all to enhance the experience for the complacent kids already under the influence. Check out this dope slideshow by dubesor from the event in question. It seemed a little tamer than previous years however, but nonetheless entertaining. The musical offerings from Vancouver's indie scene were excellent.

David Emerson, whose hair has turned whiter than white, will never cross that green carpeted floor again.

More Native artifacts stolen. Wooden ones this time. And a basket.

Local band Wintermitts will be releasing their new CD, Heirloom, at a little party right smack dab in the middle of Stratchcona at 1114 East Pender. They will be playing with Hannah Georgas and her Sisters as well as Adelaide, and they'll even throw in a duo dance party DJ set for good measure.

Check out their myspace site and have a listen.

Photo by Jen Gilecki