Red Room Punk

I've never been into the Red Room on Richards before, but it's quite the nice space if you survive that hidden step by the snack machine. It was even worth the over-priced pint of beer to see an exceptional lineup of three bands. Fun 100, The Tranzmitors, and headliners The Subhumans.

There are a couple things that I really like to see in a band that's new to me;

1. The members of the band appear to enjoy what they're doing more than anything else.

2. They are all really, really good at what they do.

Oh, there's the enjoying yourself and being really really bad, but that should be reserved for Karaoke Night.

Nobody appeared to be enjoying the evening nearly as much as the lead vocalist for Fun 100, who at times reminded me of a younger Nardwuar; unruly mop of hair and affection for the keytar really helping with the illusion.

Just before the set, I was over buying the trio of 45 rpm vinyl discs from the Tranzmitors' merch table, and I asked Jeff if they were actually going to play tonight. He laughed saying it was getting close, and they were excited that they might actually be able to play tonight, and later opened their set with "Now is about the time we'd get shut down." Thankfully there are no condos within range of the Red Room, so the show went off without any trouble.

The Subhumans were on their game as well, playing a great set, ending (of course) with the classic Fuck You. Wimpy was in much better vocal (and overall) shape for this show compared to the last time I saw them play at the Brickyard. A bit of old-school Vancouver punk rock, these guys are playing again because they enjoy it; not like many of the other retooled punk acts that have been popping up in the past couple years.

There's a new full-length album out this fall from the Subhumans, and the new pieces they played seemed to fit in just fine with the rest of their catalogue. Check out some of the songs from last year's EP over on New Music Canada.