VIFF 2024 | Eiko Ishibashi Live x A 'Gift' Does Exist x Rio Theatre

"Water always flows downhill."

Vancouver International Film Festival

Commercial Drive—(October 1, 2024) Talented Japanese singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist composer Eiko Ishibashi performed her affecting live soundtrack score for VIFF Live's special presentation of Oscar-winning auteur Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's wordless Evil Does Not Exist companion film Gift at the Rio Theatre earlier this month.

SCREEN | Talking Heads Starts 'Stop Making Sense' x TIFF 2023

"Talking Heads was such a good band."

Toronto International Film Festival

A24's newly acquired, soon-to-be re-released 1984 seminal Talking Heads live rock documentary, directed by the late Jonathan Demme has been gloriously restored in sparkling 4K video optimized for IMAX screens. Long considered "the greatest concert film ever" made, Stop Making Sense's pulsating musical cinematic composition feels as energetic and rhythmically innovative as ever, nearly four decades later.

SCREEN | Questlove Remembers 'Summer of Soul' x DOXA 2021

"They call it freedom music, because it's what freedom feels like."

DOXA Documentary Film Festival

The Roots drummer Questlove (aka Ahmir Thompson) makes his directorial debut, remembering the landmark Harlem Cultural Festival, often called "Black Woodstock" because it took place the same summer in 1969 as the iconic music festival some hundred miles away, in the joyful music documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).

SCREEN | David Byrne Envisions An 'American Utopia' x TIFF 2020

"Same as it ever was!"

Toronto International Film Festival

Director Spike Lee translates a filmed version of musician and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne's acclaimed Broadway stage show American Utopia, based on his concert tour of the same name. Structured as a series of live song performances with one-man show interludes in between some of Byrne's greatest hits, the life-affirming musical is a testament to lyrical artistry and the blending of storytelling mediums.

SOUND | Best Coast x 'Always Tomorrow' x Venue Nightclub

Granville—(March 3, 2020) California indie rock duo Best Coast, made of up of the unlikely but endearing pairing of members Bethany Costenino and Bobb Bruno, came back to town after a five-year headling absence—Costenino noted on stage they'd returned to Vancouver in between to open for both The Pixies and The Go-Go's—to play Venue Nightclub touring in support of their brand new fourth album (and first in five years), the dreamy and self-referential Always Tomorrow.

SOUND | Childish Gambino x This Is America Tour x Rogers Arena

"I want you to get loose and weird."

False Creek—(December 7, 2018) Beloved rapper Childish Gambino (aka actor/filmmaker Donald Glover) finally brought his This Is America Tour—reportedly his last ever under this rap moniker—to Rogers Arena after previously rescheduling the final leg due to injury.

SOUND | Jay-Z + Beyoncé x On the Run II Tour x BC Place

"This is real life."

False Creek—(October 2, 2018) Powerhouse superstar couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé (aka The Carters) tore the roof off of BC Place Stadium on the final leg (and penultimate performance) of their rapturous On the Run II Tour on Tuesday night.

SOUND | Young Galaxy x 'Down Time' x Venue Nightclub

Granville—(April 4, 2018) Montreal electro pop outfit Young Galaxy performed live at Venue Nightclub to kick off their North American tour in support of their newly released sixth studio album—and first fully independent release—Down Time.

SOUND | Tennis Music x The Cobalt x Strathcona

Strathcona—(December 2, 2017) Denver-based husband-and-wife indie pop duo Tennis brought their trademark 1970s throwback aesthetic to The Cobalt in support of their latest EP, We Can Die Happy, and excellent fourth album, Yours Conditionally—both released earlier this year.

SOUND | Death From Above x 'Outrage! Is Now' x Commodore

Granville—(November 22, 2017) Hot off their third studio album, Outrage! Is Now, the newly renamed Toronto noise rock duo Death From Above—now sans "1979"—kicked off the Canadian leg of their North American tour at the Commodore Ballroom, coming home after travelling through the States.

SOUND | Arcade Fire x Infinite Content Tour x Pacific Coliseum

Hastings–Sunrise—(October 14, 2017) Arcade Fire finally made their long-awaited return to Vancouver—after a long seven-year absence—as the Montreal indie rockers hit the Pacific Coliseum live in concert for the Canadian leg of their Infinite Content 2017 Tour.

SOUND | U2 x The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 x BC Place

"So here we are again in this city we love, Vancouver."

False Creek—(May 12, 2017) Irish rock band U2 kicked off their global The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 in celebration of their seminal album's 30th anniversary after a week of rehearsals that rocked BC Place Stadium.

SOUND | Japandroids x Commodore Ballroom x Granville

Granville—(March 20, 2017) Monday night at the Commodore Ballroom was the hometown closer for the Japandroids rock duo's last show on the North American leg of their world tour supporting the release of their acclaimed third album, Near to the Wild Heart of Life.

SOUND | Japandroids x The Cobalt x Strathcona

Strathcona—(October 7, 2016) Night three of Japandroids' four-night, hometown residency showcase at The Cobalt was another warm-up gig to kick-off their upcoming tour and workshop new songs for their upcoming, but as of yet, unannounced, forthcoming new album and shake off some rust.

SOUND | Flight of the Conchords x Orpheum Theatre

Granville—(June 23, 2016) New Zealand folk rock comedy duo, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords hit the Orpheum Theatre for their only Canadian date on the Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords North American tour.

SOUND | Death From Above 1979 x PNE Forum

Hastings–Sunrise—(April 26, 2016) They've returned. Eclectic Toronto noise rock duo Death From Above 1979 teamed up with co-headliner Eagles of Death Metal (and opener Biblical) to kick off their nine-date Canadian tour at the PNE Forum deep in East Vancouver.

SOUND | Best Coast x 'California Nights' x Imperial

Chinatown—(June 3, 2015) California indie rock duo, Bethany Costenino and Bobb Bruno, better known as Best Coast came to town for a vibrant yet chill set at Imperial lounge to kick off their tour supporting their latest album, California Nights.

SOUND | U2 x Innocence + Experience Tour x Rogers Arena

False Creek—(May 15, 2015) On night two of U2's global kick-off to their Innocence + Experience Tour, the four Irish rockers continued to show fans everything they are made of musically inside a sold out Rogers Arena. The world tour (delayed after Bono's cycling accident) is in support of their thirteenth studio album, Songs of Innocence, among their most autobiographical albums to date after nearly forty years together. As a result, the show reflected many aspects of their (troubled) youths while paying tribute to their early musical influences.

CBC Radio x DNTO Live x Sook-Yin Lee x York Theatre

CBC Radio's DNTO Live in Vancouver hosted by Sook-Yin Lee at the York Theatre on Commercial Drive in Grandview-Woodland on March 25, 2015.



CBC brought their popular Winnipeg-based, Toronto-hosted DNTO (aka "Definitely Not the Opera") radio show to Vancouver for a special live show and taping. They brought me along for the ride as their local correspondent to share and document all the highlights from the night.

Concert: Death From Above 1979 x Vogue Theatre

Death From Above 1979 (first show) live in concert at the Vogue Theatre on Granville Street on January 21, 2015.



What a show. A positive "Trainwreck", if you will. Toronto dancer punk rockers, Death From Above 1979 (duo Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler), sweated out an intense, vibrant, and very, very loud set to a raucous, all-ages crowd of adoring fans at the Vogue. It was raw, visceral, and bordering on euphoric from the front row. My ears and head-shaking neck still ache (a good ache, mind you) from the rhythmic satisfaction of their pulsating sounds well into the night.