If you managed to find the unmarked basement door into the gas-chamber-esque venue this past Saturday night for a little post-election fun, consider yourself lucky. Not only did you get to enjoy the bodacious bohemian riffs and not only did you have access to free BR stickers, but you also had the once in a lifetime chance to meet your most cherished idols: us.

However, this almost didn't happen...

Huzzah. We pulled it off. Change has come to America. Yes we can... party. For the first time in like forever the good guys won. Obama, Gregor, Beyond Roson. OK I'm geting carried away, I must have taken the hyperbole pills by accident. But still, considering DiMetric was shut down the night before, Kristin, Ryan, Duran, Ami, JZ, Jen, Jon, et al. rallied the base and pulled off an improbable victory. We called upon the grassroots, and Edo and the Peanut Gallery came to the rescue. The turnout was staggering. OK that's enough mixed metaphors, but seriously, who actually shows up when the poster tells them to? By 10 came around, Gang Violence had broken the ice, Hot Panda had melted it, and The Bicycles were in gear. It had become apparent that we were way over capacity. Old Sean Orr McMean Face stepped in and had to start turning people away (sorry!).

Update:
TONIGHT'S SHOW MOVED TO PEANUT GALLLERY !!!!
436 WEST PENDER ST
USE BACK ALLEY

DOORS 8PM

We're going all out for our first ever party: we're bringing Women from Calgary. Sorry, I had to. But anyways, the JagJaguwar blog-stars will be headlining our municipal election special joined by Toronto's The Bicycles, Edmonton's Hot Panda, and locals Gang Violence and The Clips. I know, right? We don't even have to advertise for this show. In fact, we don't even have to tell you that you get one free beer per entry thanks to the readers who vote for us. We don't need to tell you that Gang Violence is one of Vancouver's best new bands. In fact, just don't come. Admire the poster from afar, but curse that the show is all the way in East Vancouver.

Before folk singer and songwriter Ray LaMontagne came to town, I was wondering how the brighter moods of his new album, "Gossip in the Grain," would affect his tour.

On Saturday, LaMontagne answered this question by taking the Vogue by storm with the high-energy, Motown-flavor of "You Are the Best Thing." The crowd responded with equal enthusiasm as they grooved to the beat. Ray continued to permeate energy into his next number, "Hold You in My Arms." While it may have seemed that the tone of the concert didn't make it easy for fans to sing-a-long, nothing could stop the die-hards from mouthing the words they knew so well. Ray is not one to talk much between numbers, but when a guy yelled out "I love your beard!" his quiet humor had the hall laughing with the quiet response, "uhhh, thats nice...but a little creepy."

The small size of the sold-out venue made for a more intimate experience as Ray played his first slow song "Let it be me." The soulfulness that LaMontagne pours out comes as a surprise when I see the shy and unassuming bearded man in person. While the lights rarely shone on Ray, he exposed himself in a different, more personal way. His throaty voice often seemed to vocalize his innermost thoughts and emotions. LaMontagne was able to muster passion from his whole body as he romanced the audience with the troubled words of the love songs, "I Still Care for you" and "Burn."

I was hoping that the drizzly Friday night on November 7 wasn't an indication of what I could expect from the Secret Machines and their new self-titled album. As I waited outside Richard's on Richard's for the doors to open into the dry sanctuary, people who knew the Machines (including myself) were asking one question: "Are the Secret Machines the same band without front man Benjamin Curtis?" The answer was an overwhelming YES.

Yelle didn't have to sing in English for me to understand what they're all about: dance, dance, and more dance. Hailing from France, the three-piece band consisting of Yelle, Tepr, and Grand Marnier commandeered the Commodore Ballroom on October 29th.

I wasn't expecting a lot out of this show. Lykke Li had sold out Richard's on Richard's, and the scalpers outside the Commodore foreshadowed a poor turnout. Although the show did not sell out, the crowds that arrived after the opener, Passion Pit, were instantly grabbed by Yelle's driving beats and spectacular lights.