Weekend on the Wet Coast

I am presently in my hometown of Vancouver soaking up rays of precipitation. If there's one constant in Vancouver you can count on it's a sea of cumulonimbi and resultant damp clothing.Luckily when the 1st set of bands visited Vancouver in May the weather was a bit chilly but clement with minimal rain. I'm hoping for nice weather again when the tour flows through Vancity in 4 weeks. Last night was my med school reunion. It was great meeting up with old friends. I've been terrible at keeping in touch after moving to Toronto 10 years ago but these classmates were like family for 4 years so it was fun catching up. Most everyone looked identical to their selves 10 years prior, but I know I gained a shitload of weight in the interim. They should have have made it an 8 year reunion b/c up until 1.5 years ago I was playing bball, vball and going to the gym quite regularly. A few of my classmates will even come to the show @ the Biltmore on Oct 14. Even though they have no previous exposure to Japanese music and aren't necessarily fans of indie music, they'll be there for support. Thanks guys!

Yesterday, I drove around to a few places to drop off flyers. I stopped by Red Cat Records and picked up a couple of CDs. I figured I'd pick up some CD's by local bands to support Vancouver's scene. Ended up with FROG EYES' latest "Paul's Tomb: A Triumph"

and

SSRIs "Effeminate Godzilla-Sized Windchimes"

I haven't had the time to listen to either CD fully but I'll add them to my Ipod for my flight back to Toronto. SSRIs sound similar to a hybrid of Montreal's Think About Life and Japan's ミドリ though missing the extreme noise and insanity that make ミドリ so awesome.

FROG EYES with their ties to Spencer Krug and Wolf Parade don't need much of an introduction. Also, they're based out of Victoria, not Vancouver but that's close enough. I've been neglecting the awesome music coming from my home country so I thought I should reacquaint myself with some new music by Canadaian artists. Everyone and their honey badger has been gushing over the new Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene albums but I thought I'd check out some lesser known gems. I'll edit this post with proper reviews later.