there's lots going on at VIN HQ right now. vancouver summer (august???) is almost here and will hopefully dry the extended winter wetness to the bone. that's what i'm prayin' for anyways!@#$%!!! just returned from ballpark canada day festivities in grand forks B.C. w/ ashly ash, ford pier vengeance trio, and the mighty ladyhawk. w/ a torrential downpour the show's powerful opening act ("well played"), the crowd was slim, but certainly well charged and ready to cut loose. as the skies eventually cleared and night began to fall, i looked up at the moon and thought to myself, "this is how concerts should be!!!" definitely a far cry from the majority of sweaty-roofed vancouver venues and their sticky, oft-soulless confines. perhaps i was just feeling some international vibrations from heaton park in greater manchester where the stone roses were in the midst of a 3-night open air stand playing to 225,000 music maniacs??? it also took me back to an earlier outdoor concert experience, the first another roadside attraction tour, held in agassiz, B.C.. almost 20 years ago. ARA's 1993 edition saw the tragically hip, midnight oil, pere ubu, and world party ("is it like today"-era w/ chris sharrock!@#$%!!!) hit the stage w/ a most scenic mountain backdrop and hippie food vendors along with environmental/political stalls that merged the day's musical pulse w/ a greater awareness. it's still my measuring tape for what a concert can be. highlights of grand forks' canada day celebration, while not as ambitious in aim as ARA, was FPVT's ripping version of the beat's "save it for later," fresh material from ladyhawk (new album coming this fall on triple crown audio!!!), and a stocked beer garden in support of local ski hill, phoenix mountain. dancing in a soggy field w/ a lovely crew of locals was hella fun too. ok, the sun is out today, it's 11:21 am and i'm still in my PJs. gotta jet... PEACE
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