Shows of September

I'm going to try a new thing here, where on or around the first of every month, I'll do a little blurb about the upcoming shows I am stoked about that month.
So for September, the top three shows I am most looking forward to are:

Explosions in the Sky.
These guys are firmly in my top three must see live bands, and I am so very excited by their impending show, on the 9th at the Vogue Theatre. Words can not express how much I want to see them, so instead, see this video. If you don't even have an inkling to see them live after that... I don't even know what to say.


Karkwa with Aidan Knight & The Belle Game.
 I am so glad the Polaris Prize winning band is back, as both times I have seen them have been incredible. They're at the Biltmore (where I am pretty sure they blew a speaker the first time I saw them) on the 20th, and supporting them will be none other than Victoria's Aidan Knight, who is always great live, and whose Karkwa-love rivals mine. And if that wasn't a stupendous enough double bill, The Belle Game will also playing.

Broken Social Scene.
I've seen them in a small venue during the Olympics and a large outdoor part co-headlining with Sam Roberts, and places in between, and they always put on a mind-blowing show. Now they're hitting up Malkin Bowl -- which is one of my favourite venues here -- on the 24th. You may never know who, exactly, is going to show up to be in the band; but you always know it's going to be one hell of a show.

Other shows going down I am excited about are the back to back Hollerado and Library Voices shows -- 21st at Venue and 22nd at the Biltmore, respectively. Been too long since either has been here, and both are incredibly fun and lively bands with great live shows.

And then, of course, there are the Peak Performance Project showcases. Running every Thursday for the next five weeks, they're a chance for each of the top 20 bands to show what they have. Each show is at the Red Room, and the lineups consist of:
8 - The Never Surprise, Hilary Grist, Jasper Sloan Yip, The Belle Game.
15 - Avairis, Fields of Green, Acres of Lions, Current Swell.
22 -The Oh Wells, Ashleigh Eymann, Sex With Strangers, The Boom Booms.
29 -The Matinee, Redgy Blackout, Behind Sapphire, Treelines.
With Lindsay Bryan, Maurice, 41st and Home and Rococode taking place October 10th.

So that's it. That's what I am looking forward to. See you there?

The 2010 Polaris Music Prize goes to...

Les Chemins De Verre by Karkwa!
Anyone who follows the blog closely (both of you), or people who follow me on the twitters, or see my ramblings on the CBC Radio 3 blog should have an idea of how ecstatic I am right now. This has been one of my favourite albums so far this year, and I have been a huge fan of Karkwa in general since I first saw them live. I fell in love with this album immediately, and it has done nothing but grown on me.
The last few years of Polaris had, to be frank, left me wanting. So even though I very much wanted Karkwa to walk away with the prize (the only person I would be okay beating them would be the Nice, Nice, Very Nice Mr. Dan Mangan), I did not think in the least that they would be the recipients of the $20,000 prize. I have never been so glad to be proven wrong. But I feel that I am just fanboy-rambling now, so I'll wrap it up.
The best thing about this? Now people outside of Quebec know who they are. And deservedly so.
Oh, that, and hopefully now they'll tour a little more, and come back to Vancouver for a show.

For previous blog posts about Karkwa, see:
Review of the album.
Initial impressions of the title track.
A free live show during the Olympics.

Thank you, Polaris Music Prize. You and your grand jury have chosen, what is in my humble opinion, the best album.