Two hours of exceptional pop-punk tunes later, I felt as though I had been brought back to those awkward forgotten teenage years I had spent listening to part of the make-up of my high school soundtrack.

Their on-stage banter never ceased to amaze me, or entertain the crowd singing along to each and every song, as the reunited trio fell back into their old dynamic groove.

Their 15-plus set-list comprised of everything from First Date, the Rock Show, Man Overboard, Dammit, and Feelin’ This. Including the more mellow hits Adam’s Song, Stay Together for the Kids and I Miss You.

After their set was through, the encore commenced with a death-defying Travis Barker solo on a rotating and suspended platform absolutely destroying his drum-set, in the figurative sense. How that man was one of only two survivors of a devastating plane crash last year, and returned to the music business so quickly, I will never comprehend.

Travis Barker's Flying Drum Solo

The Californian trio then returned to the stage in their entirety and completed the night with their three-song encore, leaving me completely satisfied and yearning for them to get started on their next album. Their 4-year hiatus clearly did some good, as Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker eased right back into their old synergy, exactly where they left off.

What was expected to be a casual afternoon on the Canoe Club patio to celebrate Matt & Jonathan’s Birthdays, Lea’s return, and Linda’s departure to her homeland of Belgium, soon turned into many hours at various patios and concluded with Starfleet-uniform-clad company at Big Bad John’s.  That guy was certainly interesting…

Within half an hour of waking up still reeling, I threw together two small carry-on bags and hopped on the bus out to the Vancouver Island Tech Park.  I met Dylan at his office where we caught a cab to Victoria International airport… and off we were to San Francisco, California, USA.

Dylan had been invited to the first annual Atlassian Summit from Sunday evening through to Tuesday, and with direct flights lasting a mere 2 hrs 14 mins, I decided to play tag-along with my favourite travel partner.  We made arrangements to go the Thursday before his conference began in order to scope as many sights as we could of the big city on the bay for our 6-day vacation down south.

Well Hello, San Francisco…

Upon first arrival we caught the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) from San Francisco International airport to downtown on Montgomery Street, then hiked 4 blocks to our home for the week, the Hotel Triton, located directly across from the gates of Chinatown.  We then wandered to SOMA (South of Market Area) to catch a Canadian punk rock band from my hometown of Winnipeg, MB- Propagandhi.

The venue was wicked, and in it’s day Slim’s Bar has hosted some awesome shows, including NOFX’s 25th Anniversary gig this past February.  The two opening bands mellowed out the crowd, which is the opposite of what should have happened, before Propagandhi hit the stage.  By the time they came on the place was packed tight and scorching hot.  They played for over 90 mins. and pulled off a remarkable set-list comprised of mainly their latest release- Supporting Caste- as well as a number of memorable oldies from Potemkin City Limits and Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes.

Propagandhi was the perfect cap to our first night in San Francisco, next time they tour up north in the BC vicinity I will undoubtedly try and attend.  After the show we grabbed a quick cab back to the Hotel Triton to crash, in order to see what the hilly city had to offer us the next day.

It’s Tough Being a Pedestrian…

Friday night after the game, we ventured out of James Bay and braved the mean streets of Victoria’s downtown core, with all it’s flagrant criminals up to no good, to catch Gob at Lucky Bar. The show was extremely impressive and the full review follows, but I first need to vent about this jaywalking crack-down debacle of recent headlines.

Twice in the last few weeks I have been harassed by drivers of vehicles who somehow felt compelled to make me believe I was in the wrong for having them stop for a pedestrian… at a crosswalk. Long after I had cleared it and reached the other side of the street, one driver even yelled out the standard and uninspired “Why don’t you look both ways before crossing?” Yes I looked, both ways, a few times over.  Just as I would if I may be crossing the street when it is clearly safe outside of the crosswalk confines.

In fact using my best judgment and crossing mid-block- while keeping a watchful eye out for side-street on-coming traffic, parked cars that may pull-out, cyclists and motorcyclists- often seems safer than the legal but much more limited alternative. Very limited, and did I mention time-consuming? I would have to add another 4-6 mins. onto my work commute to cross only where permitted, and subtract a possible few years off my life with the way some people drive.

From cell phones and iPhones, to life stresses on the mind, to being generally busy. Most people these days simply cannot be trusted to get behind the wheel with their thoughts riding shotgun. Likewise for some people on foot, possibly?  I hate to seem biased, so I’m open to hearing the point-of-view of a driver.

And yes, we jaywalked on the way to Gob…

For $15/ticket- a small and worth-while charge for a set of 3 bands- we were fortunate to catch the event live at Lucky Bar this past Friday, February 27th.

Due to the hockey game we showed up after the first band and made it for my clean-slate, first-time-listen to Vancouver’s Carpenter.  They played an impressive set pulling material from last springs Law of the Land.  The fast-paced and positive punk tunes got the energy flowing in the small venue.

Sometime after midnight Gob hit the stage, and the veterans of the evening did not disappoint.  They are well-seasoned, as evident by their flawless run through better-known hits and some newer material, throwing down a superb set-list of songs from the span of their 15 year career. They could easily fill the slot of opener to larger more popular punk acts in bigger arenas. A bold statement, maybe, but I stand by it.

On the way out the door I picked up a re-usable cloth Carpenter’s bag, while the guys from the band and Gob hung out greeting the crowd.

A great night over-all, I would recommend checking them out if you get the chance.

In the past 3 weeks I’ve been to 4 concerts in as many cities. Radiohead in Vancouver, Beck in Victoria, Pennywise in Amsterdam, and finally, Metallica in Berlin. Now it was my very first Metallica concert, Dylan’s second, so it was truly something special. But it wasn’t an ordinary everyday show for them either.

Friday, September 12th was also the release date for their newest album (in about 5 years), Death Magnetic. They chose to launch the album, and open the brand new O2 World Arena here in Berlin. To top it all off it was one of two charity shows (the next on Sept. 15th in London) for only €10!

Metallica @ the O2 Arena in Berlin

Metallica opened with a string of a few new tunes before turning out the classics like Of Wolf & Man, The Thing That Should Not Be, Wherever I May Roam, Blackened, Frantic, Until it Sleeps, Master of Puppets, One, and so, so many more for an amazing two hours. The masters of metal then mixed in quite a few newer songs throughout, including the singles Cyanide and The Day That Never Comes. They ended it all with Jump in the Fire, right before Seek & Destroy. Pardon the French I picked up earlier this trip, but holy shit- that was unreal! Their stage presence is incomparable and their energy unmatched.

Now that my ears are ringing and my neck oh-so-sore, some sleep must be had. Tomorrow we will see as much of big beautiful Berlin, Germany (population 3 million) as possible during the day.

As for tomorrow night we are jet-setting to the southern isle of Crete, Greece for about 5, 6 days, we’ll see! I can’t wait and could really use the sunshine, sand and sea.

This evening we were privileged to be at the last show on Pennywise’s European tour- something they made very clear they were extremely stoked about as well.

They played at a venue that was previously an old factory. These days the Melkweg houses multiple rooms in it’s various areas for cinema, dance and theatre productions, art and photography exhibits, and- in the “the Max” area- concerts. It’s one of the two concert halls under the same roof and has standing-room-only anywhere you’d like- balcony, bar stool, steps or floor (with no barricade between crowd and stage) for a mere 1,000 people. The sound was within it’s tightly enclosed brick walls was pretty impressive.

A Wilhelm Scream opened with huge energy. Shortly after their brief set Pennywise took over with a wide range of old and new. From Broken, Living for Today, Pennywise, Perfect People, One Reason, Society and of course ending with Bro Hymn.

Now, I’ve seen Pennywise before in a way, though I don’t think I’ll count it, as it was at Warped Tour a few years back. And I recall listening to them (only, I know) around 10, maybe just under a dozen or so years ago… That made me feel a little old! Their experience and that venue this evening made for an amazing show here in Amsterdam.