Black Rebel Motorcycle Club shows Vancouver what they’ve got
And what they’ve got is polished perfection

By Chloé Bach, Assistant Editor

Imost every weekend here
in Vancouver local concert-
goers line up on Granville

Street and slowly flood into what is
arguably the best live music venue
in town, The Commodore Ballroom.
This past Saturday night was no
exception. With the San Francisco-
based Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
ready to take the stage, hundreds of
audience members flocked to the
Commodore dressed up in their best
shades of black to see B.R.M.C. do
what they do best.

The Whigs, a trio from Georgia
that has been classified as “garage
rock” were put in charge of warming ©
up the crowd for the main act.
Typically, I am a big proponent of not
showing up to concerts until the main
act takes the stage because, well...
oftentimes listening to the opening act
makes me wish I was never born.

Thankfully, The Whigs didn’t
make me wish my parents had
never met. Their set was thoroughly
enjoyable and a perfect lead in for the
more polished B.R.M.C. They came
out and played a list of their very best
songs, performed for an appropriate
amount of time and didn’t try to act
like the rock stars that they’re not. So
not only did the opening act manage

to not suck, they were
actually really good.

At about 11 o’clock
Black Rebel Motorcycle
club took the stage. All
clad in dark colours and
leather jackets the group
managed to look very well
put together and maintain
a theme without appearing
totally contrived. So when
they hit the stage they
looked good and sounded
even better.

With a new album
hitting stores today
B.R.M.C. and six already
released had no shortage of §
material to share with the
crowd. Old and new, they
played it all, they played it
well, and they played it for

two hours. The show was absolutely
relentless, but well put together all the

same.

during which his vocal talents really
shone and even got his “Bono”
on, a.k.a. played the tambourine

“Really, the entire show was just excellent. The performers
were bang on, the venue was the best and, as usual, the people
watching couldn’t be beat.”

Singer and guitarist, Robert
Levon Been, was absolutely
exceptional. He played the guitar,
did an acoustic solo with his piano

(which ended up getting tossed out
into the audience anyways). And
after ongoing problems with former
drummer Nick Jago, they found one

   

 

hell of a replacement in Leah Shapiro
who drummed her heart out for the
entire set.

Really, the entire show was just
excellent. The performers were bang
on, the venue was the best and, as
usual, the people watching couldn’t
be beat.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s
newest album, Beat the Devil’s
Tattoo, has been produced by the
band’s own independent label,
Abstract Dragon, and hits the shelves
on March 9, 2010.

 

 

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