Kick in the Eye's Performance Diary

UPCOMING:

Thursday, November 9th 10pm at THE LAMPLIGHTER (Vancouver, B.C.) with Big John Burke and Pat Chessel

PAST PERFORMANCES:

Friday, February 24th at THE MAIN (4210 Main St, Vancouver).

Friday, November 4th at THE MAIN(4210 Main St, Vancouver) with The Psychic Cowboy The music starts at 10, and there's NO COVER CHARGE --just a lot of great Greek food and fun. Come with open ears for The Psychic Cowboy's colourful narratives. We guarantee you'll be smiling about all his silly characters. Also, on our PICKS page, you'll find a Psychic Cowboy CD review.

Sat. Sept. 10 & Sun. Sept. 11 at MAPLEWOOD FARM.  We learned a bunch of children's songs for this show. They were so fun to play. Just to give you an idea what you may have missed, here's the set list: "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis, "Octopus's Garden" by the Beatles, "Three is a Magic Number" from Schoolhouse Rock, "Popsicle" by Han and Dean, "Boris the Spider" by The Who, "The Fly That Rode From Buffalo" by Southern Culture on the Skids, and "The Hockey Song" by Stompin' Tom.

Saturday, August 6, 2005 at THE MAIN with ROYAL GRAND PRIX Fun and funnier! We debuted a brand new tune called "Special Kind of Music" which we'd written the day before. This song is a shuffle / boogie that lists our influences in a series of hilarious rhymes. It's a riot to play!. You can look forward to this track on the new LP.

Saturday, July 30, 2005 at THE MEDIA CLUB with GEORGE LEACH Lots of blues rock rhythms courtesy of Fireball Productions. Good stompin, partyin' music, perfect for going out and dancing to.

Saturday, June 4, 2005 at THE PIC with NO-FI SOUL REBELLION Thanks to Frank Yahr of Rumbletone for setting this one up. It was really a lot of fun. I have to laugh, though, at the stand offish nature of the Vancouver indie scensters. I noted the "tough crowd" after we played, and then it was laughable to see the lot visibily back up ten feet when the in-your-face headliner took to playing. Washington's NO-FI SOUL REBELLION consisted of a husband and wife team. They play with recorded background music. At least the guitarist plays. The bass playing wife mimes the songs, grooving incessantly and grounding the act in the center of the floor BELOW the stage. The guitarist screams into the mic, stalking down every member of the crowd to sing with and play for. This is a real merging of band and audience which probably works well in places other than NO-FUN town. Here, sure, everyone tried to have fun, and but you could see a lot of people thinking, "Is this for real?"

Saturday, May 21, 2005 at RIME with THE HIGHBALLS Playing live doesn't get any better than playing with Rob and the gang. At one of these shows, you can always expect a high-spirited, hilarious night.The restaurant had a Turkish feel and was even decorated with huge plush couches for people to watch the show on. Go check out the RIME Restaurant and be sure to try the Turkish Chicken Entree. It's one of the best dishes in town.

Thursday, December 14th, 200411pm at THE PICADILLY PUB (Pender St, Vancouver) with THE BURNETTES. The night could have been better attended but the music couldn't have been better. The Burnettes play straight out rock and roll with no frills or gimics. They were a great group and we were really happy to meet them.

Thursday, December 14th, 2004 8pm at A PIECE OF CAKE (Lonsdale Blvd, North Vancouver) with LOTUS. Thanks to the PSYCHIC COWBOY for inviting us to this fundraiser. We were fortunate enough to have our photo published by the local newspaper. They said people enjoyed our "off-the-wall tunes."

Saturday and Sunday December 11/12, 2004 at MAPLEWOOD FARMS (405 Seymour River Place, North Vancouver) We played from 10:30 to 11:30 in a livestock barn, singing traditional Christmas carols and even some of our original holiday numbers. This show was a lot of hard work, learning all those Christmas songs, but well worth the effort. Thanks to the North Shore News for the photo that appeared in the next week's newspaper.

Friday, November 6th, 2004 at THE MAIN (4210 Main St, Vancouver) for ROB'S ART SHOW. The best gigs are always the ones at which we feel honoured to play. Rob from the Hard Rock Miners is one of the best musicians in the city, so when he asked us to entertain him and his friends at at his art show after-party, we took it as a major compliment. There is nothing quite like support from those you look up to. On that note, we felt a little ashamed to find out that the art show preceding our gig was none other than "Rob's Art Show". Yikes!. Why didn't we know this? How could we have been so oblivious? Why weren't we at his show buying one of his stellar pieces? Of course, Rob's art! His posters are original pieces made from bamboo and wood - wicked, rockin' designs and stenciled lettering. We've got past posters, from gigs with the Hard Rock Miners, on our wall at home and they are the best we have. They've totally got that ultra-cool DIY vibe. Anyways, he sold all of the pieces and we are still kicking ourselves for that mistake. Oh yeah, the show was held at RED CAT RECORDS, only the best indie record store in Vancouver. So, as you can see, we totally missed out. But, that being said, we were still there at THE MAIN. Plus, we got to play for a bunch of people we totally respect and admire. We hope that came across on the stage and we think it did because we had such a great time.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Thursday, October 14th, 2004 9pm at THE MAIN (4210 Main St, Vancouver)

Saturday, July 10, 2004 10pm at THE RAILWAY CLUB (Dunsmuir and Seymour, Vancouver) with headliners THE HARD ROCK MINERS. Thanks to the Hard Rock Miners for setting up this great show. We had a lot of fun. We love playing with bands that we really respect.

Thursday, June 24th, 2004  9:30pm at CENTRAL CITY BREWING in Surrey (13450 - 102nd ave and King George Highway) for their Summer Rhythm and Brews Talent Quest. We really appreciate all the support from friends and family. We had some equipment troubles and the sound guy didn't bother to set things up until we had already started. The stage is really strangely situated. We played on the lower floor to just a few tables looking down at us. The rest of the bar can only see you on TV monitors. Yuck! 

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2004  8:00pm at THE YALE  - Vancouver's Home of the Blues (1300 Granville St, Vancouver). This show was part of the Yale's emerging talent night and we felt really honoured to be playing one of the great classic blues stages in the world. Our type of blues rock didn't really suit the place though. The Yale has a lot of really schmaltzy blues acts that play there regularly. I would never go to the place if I didn't know of the act. The house bands are usually just that terrible.

Saturday, June 12, 2004 THE MEDIA CLUB (695 Cambie St, Vancouver) Some of Vancouver's finest acts rocked out seventies style as part of "Jukebox Heroes II". Kick in the Eye played a little AC/DC (The Jack), a little T-Rex (Raw Ramp), and some Neil Young (Powederfinger).  Thanks to our good friend Brian Jensen for filling in on drums.

Wednesday, June 9, 2004 9:30pm at THE RAILWAY CLUB (Dunsmuir and Seymour, Vancouver) with headliner Rich Hope. Word had it that this was going to be a bluesy "way out Wednesday". They were right. Rich Hope and the Evil-Doers played some great country-blues-rock. Rich Hope is one of the best talents around Vancouver. Thanks to Frank Rumbletone for setting up the show.

Saturday, May 22, 2004 10pm-1am at THE MAIN (4210 Main St, Vancouver) with LOTUS. Come for the delicious food and stay for the best in BC entertainment. As one East Coast fan put it: "I've been waiting to hear some music like this on the West Coast!" Music like what? Foot-stompin', toe-tappin', down home, honky-tonk, beach rock! This was our pitch, but it turned out to be much more than just a pitch. Folk on Main Street did come out  for the food and dog-gone it if they didn't stay 'til closing time! Thank you to patrons and staff for all the kind compliments.
 
Wednesdays 8pm-8:30 at the COTTAGE BISTRO (4468 Main St, Vancouver) 
Kick in the Eye hosted the open mic at the COTTAGE BISTRO from Jan to Apr. 2004. We had an excellent time, due, in large part, to the owner Eugene Dong, who is a huge supporter of local music. Without him, there'd be a void in the city. The music scene in Vancouver is very cliquey, so without the open arms policy of the BISTRO, many newcomers would be destined to obscurity. Here you don't have to be a scenester to hit the stage on Wednesday nights and feel appreciated.

Tuesday, April 26th, 2004 9:30pm at the MEDIA CLUB (695 Cambie St, Vancouver)
We played with JOEY and Elbore James. Elbore James played blues covers, and maybe even a few originals, in the Texas style. Joey has some of the best original songs you are likely to hear in any part of the world. A little Split Enz, some Police, the Beatles and the Stones. Mix 'em up and serve it as Joey. It's great stuff for the ears. 

Tuesday April 13th, 2004 10pm at TORNADOE JOE'S (45844 Yale Rd. Chilliwack, BC)
If you haven't heard headliner JOEY  from the Valley, you are missing out. Check the MEDIA CLUB listings for JOEY and then go see these quirky alt-rockers rock out!

Thursday April 8, 2004 7pm at NORTH SURREY SECONDARY SCHOOL as part of "Celebrating Canada" Night. Students performed dances, songs, and fashion displays to represent their cultural heritages. Kick in the Eye played to simply represent "Canada". "My Home on the Fraser"  and Stompin' Tom's "The Hockey Song" were crowd pleasers. The extensive international food buffet was the highlight of the evening, with foods ranging from Afganistan to Zimbabwe. For only five dollars it was an unmatchable evening of food and entertainment.

Friday March 26th, 2004 10 pm at the THE MAIN (4210 Main St, Vancouver) with special guests The Champions. (Read the review of The Champions CD on our PICKS page.)
This gig rocked. No wonder Main Street is building a kick ass, grass roots buzz. Thanks to Ida from the Main for booking us the show. 

December 23rd, 2003 9pm at the MEDIA CLUB (695 Cambie St, Vancouver)
Jingle, jangle, jingle. We played Brenda Lee songs: "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus" and "Papa Noel". It wasn't snowing but we were "hopin' for snow".

December 20th, 2003 9pm at the OUR TOWN CAFE (245 East Broadway, Vancouver)
We opened for Marq DeSouza who regailed us with a performance of "Hit Somebody" by Warren Zevon. "What's a Canadian farm boy to do? What else can a farm boy from Canada do?" Apparently either "hit somebody" on the national ice rink, or "hit somebody" with an awesome song in a local cafe. We had some Aussies buy our disc so that they could take a little "Home on the Fraser" home with them!

Thursday December 4th, 2003 10pm at THE PICADILLY PUB (Pender St, Vancouver)
We played with a magician named David and an indie singer-songwriter named Aaron Ritchie.

Wednesday, November 25th, 2003 11pm at the GREEN ROOM (695 Cambie St, Vancouver) We had the whole place dancing! All six of them..

Friday, November 7th, 2003 at the ANZA CLUB "Girls for Cash": The Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash Tribute. - 9pm
There's nothing I enjoy more than watching the booking agents/promoters gettin' down to the music. So, I have to say the highlight of my evening was watching Frank Yahr from Rumbletone and Mark Bignell from Radio Bandcouver, getting down and dirty on the dance floor. It warms my heart to the extreme to see people enjoying music as much as myself. Another perk to the evening was meeting Keith Rose from The Hairy Balls / Hard Rock Miners. This guy is an honest hoot, and he plays some wicked -- too  wicked -- bass guitar. The band adopted the Mexican Mariachi persona -- with accents and (some kind of) costumes and everything! -- and rocked it up for the ultimate Carter/Cash wedding in the sky. Their set was nothing short of funny and fantastic. We also must pay our respects to Linda McCrae and Cheerful Lonesome. I wake up every morning with their rendition of "Train of Love" ringing in my head. Absolutely brilliant, girl!

Wednesday, November 5th, 2003 at the SFU PUB (Simon Fraser University Campus) - 8pm
Big thanks to Mr C, Lisa, Marta at the Beehive Collective for having us on their radio program. Their show is on CJSF Tuesdays at 10pm; we got to play a few songs live in the studio and promote the performance the next night. The turnout wasn't that great but we sold a couple of CDs, so that made up for it. Thanks to Julian and Christina at CJSF for inviting us and putting on the gig.

Friday, October 31st, 2003 HALLOWEEN CD RELEASE PARTY at the COTTAGE BISTRO (4468 Main St., Vancouver) with special guests: Marq DeSouza, Steve Rocks, O&V, and Nicole Steen (ex-Coal).
As far as CD release parties go, this one was pretty lame. Why? Let's just say the crowd was pretty sparse. We did, however, have some honoured members in attendance; and, we had some once-in-a-lifetime performances go down. For example, O&V played "Bela Lugosi's Dead" -- absolute music to our "Kick in the Eye" ears. (Bauhaus, anyone?) They also did some Cure ("Lullaby") and Radiohead. Marq DeSouza and his entourage dressed up in full KISS make-up, blood spewing from mouth and everything! Nicole Steen was the perfect "La Senorita Muerta Loca", singing the haunting songs of the undead. Steve Rocks rockin' acoustic punk was was as refined as I've ever seen, and he took pictures! So, in retrospect, now I have to say: "lame"? No way. It's all about the music, baby. And the Kick in the Eye's Halloween Good Time Music Festival was where it was at this Halloween.
 

Friday, September 26th, 2003 8pm at the GREEN ROOM (Cambie St, Vancouver) with O&V, Steve Rocks, Speed To Kill, retrograde, Superbeing,Yoko Casionos, Maplewood Lane and Angie Inglis. Big time thank you to Ted and Cindy from O&V for putting on a really successful show. Well, the joint was a-rockin'; goin' round and round. With so many bands on the bill, there was a revolving door of audience members. The "Independent Musicians Unite" (IMU) concept is truly great. Mix in some lesser-knowns with the radio-friendly up-and-comers, promote the heck out of the show, and you've got IMU Fest. There's bound to be more of these things, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Sunday, October 12th, 2003 11pm at the RAILWAY CLUB (Dunsmuir St., Vancouver) with Steven Drake (ex-Odds)
A quiet Thanksgiving Sunday at the Railway Club. A bountiful harvest of talent. Though it was just Steven Drake and his ukelele on stage, it was no "just Steven Drake". This is THE guy of Odds fame. We, of course, had him sign our poster and sat back in appreciation of his jazz and country inspired solo act.

Wednesday October 8th, 2003 9pm at the BRICKYARD with MR. AIRPLANE MAN and Honeycow
Gotta love Steve from Fireball Productions for scheduling such great shows. Really, he's introducing us to some of the hottest new American bands. Now we're huge Soledad Brothers fans; I can't believe we met them, and played with them. Mr. Airplane Man is another act that, after having played with, we're like, "Wow. Cool. So cool; we played with these gals?!?!" When we were in high school and college, we were so up on these things. What happened? Now we're so busy payin' our rent and keepin' our band above water, we have little time for other bands. Mental note: make time. Mr. Airplane Man was truly great. There was nothing jarring or pretentious about seeing two white girls play Howlin' Wolf tunes and the like. No juxtaposition whatsoever. It's in their blood and it's comin' out. That's all there is too it. These gals played with heart and intensity, and they played the real deal: old blues music, with slides and riffs and stomps and grit -- blanketed with just enough modern noise and attitude to knock out even the Vancouver scenesters. Honeycow was a knockout too, as far as I'm concerned. I was not expecting such original, rippin' rock from a local gal. (And I know that's a bit of a slam to most everyone else, sorry.)

Friday, September 5th, 2003 10pm at the ANZA CLUB (Vancouver) with the Beekeepers, Something about Reptiles, and Golden Wedding Band
Outrageous. This show was simply outrageous. Scheduled to record Garage Sale: Big Time! in the studio next day, we missed the headlining act. We did get to see the Beekeepers knock out the full house with their catchy, witty pop, and Something about Reptiles mesmerize with their Ukrainian gypsy music, and their outrageous costumes. They not only wear costumes themselves, but they provide a "Tickle Trunk" for the crowd's enjoyment. Our drummer, Terry Charlie, played this gig, and I must say, he looked striking in the red Southern Baptist Preacher's dress. Funny, the following month, I saw a blue feather on the Railway Club's stage and said, "Something About Reptiles" musta been here. Sure enough, they were!

Friday, August 29th, 2003 8pm at CAFE DUEX SOLEIL (2096 Commercial Drive,Vancouver) with The Neins.
For this show, we were forewarned: play your set quietly; the neighbours complain consistently -- a nice bit of foreshadowing to the Vancouver city clampdown on amplified music. (The municipal enforcers are currently turning a blind eye to the amplified music violators until the bylaw is revised. The error of their blind, blanket policy was pointed out quite nicely, I think, when during a city hall session, one objector to the bylaw pointed out that even the councillors were being amplified. Indeed, they were using mics.) Ironically, The Neins is a band all about subtlety. Though they have six members and can riff with the best of them, their vibe is loungy. The play a Cake-tinged, Penny Lane era Beatles-inspired style of music with all the melodic and dramatic intricacies you could hope for. The Neins are one of our favourite Vancouver bands. The vocal interplay between the male lead singer and the two female back-ups is hooky and cool. I am in awe and envy of the bass player. And a band that can fit a trumpet player so effectively into the mix deserves kudos, and deserves your presence at their next gig. Support this band.

Wednesday August 20th, 2003 9:30pm at the BRICKYARD (315 Carrall St, Vancouver) with Notes from the Underground and The FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS ("It's Function over Form, with heavy emphasis on the Fun.")
Last year, we played with Tommy Stewart of TROOPER fame at a local jam night. He offered to play drums for us anytime, so we finally took him up on the offer. It was very exciting and we sounded pretty good considering it was our first time on stage together. We also found out that a couple of members of the middle band, Notes from the Underground, are Kick in the Eye fans -- and even on the fanclub! It was a great atmosphere to play in, despite the lack of a crowd. The bands always seem to give their all here. This time, that meant a wall of heavy sound. Notes from the Underground had some great melodies -- vocally and instrumentally. They were very loud, though, as were the Fatal Flying Guilloteens. I'd alter their above review to read: "fun, with the emphasis on heavy" instead of "heavy emphasis on the fun". Heavy, yes, nevertheless still fun enough to listen to us sing the praises of a Canadian these Americans should know about if they're askin' us about Canada. I wonder if you can get any Stompin' Tom in Houston? Big thanks again to Steve from Fireball Productions and Estrus Records
for sending up the American talent.

Monday August 4th, 2003 2pm at Waterfront Park, North Vancouver (one block west of Lonsdale Quay)
Number one thing to bring to outdoor performances: sunblock. Ouch. It was a fun day hanging out at Waterfront Park. The turnout wasn't quite what the organisers had hoped for but it can only get bigger next year. The mainstage acts were really diverse including Zox of the Forest (children's entertainer) and Lotus (hydroponic folk). The last act of the day was Kurdish dancing. They danced for an hour straight in the blazing sun. Talk about a recipe for sunstroke.

Thursday July 31st, 2003  8pm at the COTTAGE BISTRO (4468 Main St, Vancouver)
Kick in the Eye's Summer 2003 Good Time Music Festival with Orchards and Vines, The Psychic Cowboy, Marq DeSouza, Steve Rocks, Brian Jensen and The Pretty Sad Band.
Big time thanks to all the musicians who came to play. All the acts put on a really good show. The highlight of the night for us was the Psychic Cowboy. It was a rare treat since he almost never performs live. He played some new originals which is always ear-candy for us. Luckily enough I had my tape recorder going. Now I won't have to listen to his CD for the ten thousandth time. We had to cut our first set a little short to accomodate all the acts but its always best to leave 'em wanting more anyways. Our last set included some early folk songs like "You Are My Sunshine" and "Goodnight Irene", and even Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre" which is actually a great bar room song to sing. Everybody just loved singing it! We will have to do it more often.

Saturday July 26th, 2003 9:30pm at the BRICKYARD (Vancouver) with the SOLEDAD BROTHERS, The Kickass, and Valient Thorr. What an amazing show! Though the acts were diverse, each and every band tried to "raise the bar" in terms of musicianship, presence, energy, and songwriting. I've never seen rock and roll played with such vigour and heart. We started out the night with our west coast rockabilly at 11pm. North Carolina's The Kickass came next and played heavy intrumental music. When we say heavy we mean really heavy. Their album is called Death Metal is for Pussies! You would think a group like that would have attitude to spare. Nope, just nice guys playing the music they love and having fun doing it. Valient Thorr followed them with some high energy garage rock ala The Stooges, MC5, and the New York Dolls. They have a really great stage presence and actually spent half the time on the floor with the crowd. Not too pleased with their showtime, the headliners, Soledad Brothers, came on around 2am and played great bluesy rock and roll in the old sense. This defintely isn't the kind of blues you would hear at the Yale, or at any of those generic blues joints patronized by rich white people. This stuff's got soul: gritty and raw blues played with power and heart.  The Soledad Brothers are from Detroit and are part of the blues rock scene that the White Stripes "lead". Their first album is produced by Jack White and is really worth picking up. They had some nice things to say about us and we did about them. We've got the same roots, I think -- and the same devotion to a great song. It's really refreshing to find some good down-to-earth, play-with-all-your-heart acts to see and hear.

A big thanks to Steve at Fireball Productions for putting together a kickass show! Check out his up-to-date site for some really cool gigs. (Note Wed. Aug. 20th when Kick in the Eye plays with The Fatal Flying Guillotines.)

Saturday July 26th, 2003 5 pm at the CATES PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL (Deep Cove Daze) North Vancouver, BC. God couldn't have squeezed the shit screws any tighter than on this day. The traffic was horrendous, even more so than usual. We got to the festival somewhat late, and were shocked to find out that the organizers didn't have a backline for us. The show must go on, so we hit the stage as a duo, and just went on like nothing had even happened. As if the stress wasn't enough, we had to play under the blazing sun in 30 degree heat. It's a good thing we've got that beautiful BC ocean breeze to keep everything cooool. Pictures on the way...

Tuesday June 24th, 2003  9pm at the RAILWAY CLUB (579 Dunsmuir, Vancouver) with Edmonton Block Heater and The Neins. Thanks to everybody that came to the show. The Neins were a pretty interesting band. They sounded like a mix between Penny Lane-era Beatles, Cake, and Split Enz. Edmonton Block Heater played Canadian rock and roll ala Neil Young. The last song of their set called "Cube Vans, Cabinets, and Hoodies" was really cool. Then mention all sorts of indie band experiences including blowing out eardrums, selling t-shirts, and playing to oh-so dreaded baseball teams. A decent night of music thanks to Frank from Rumbletone Productions.

Tuesday May 6th, 2003  8pm at the COTTAGE BISTRO (4468 Main St, Vancouver) with Orchards and Vines, The Psychic Cowboy, Marq DeSouza, Iain Fisher, and Jonah and Amy.
You'd think a metropolitan city like Vancouver'd have some good-vibe hangout for musicians. The Cottage Bistro seems to be it! Everybody leaves their attitudes at home, and comes ready to relax, socialize and soak in the ambience. The Bistro is a cosy place, and artsy, in a subtle, earnest kind of a way. It's its hard to pin-point what exactly causes this comfortable atmosphere; really, there are a number of factors to consider. The setting: the bands play against a wall that's thickly painted in a luscious dark red, and they're framed by two deep orange velvet curtains. Cool... The small, flickering candles at each table complement the scene, and the people perfect it. This is the kind of place where strangers actually take the time to be nice. The owner, Eugene, bustles around in the background in his courteous, friendly, and funny way. The music: let's just say that Eugene appears to really enjoy good, good-time music. Come take a look at the photos of legendary past performers that line the back wall. On our night, the music was smokin'. So many great acts on one stage in one night! It was awesome. Marq DeSouza rocked out on some classics -- which sound better than ever with bassist Mark Haney. O&V was captivating, and wowed the crowd with their gothed-up version of "Rebel Yell". The balladry of Iain Fisher was old-world eerie, and thoroughly charming. Brian Jensen entertained us with a couple of catchy, country-tinged originals. Jonah and Amy, brand-new to the scene, announced a possible name -- The Pretty Sad Band -- and played a few Blue Rodeo tunes. It's always nice to see new acts take the stage. Speaking of new, we had never heard the Psychic Cowboy live, until this night. After hearing his CD Under the Influence, we were sooooo excited, and just couldn't wait for May the 6th to finally arrive. The Cowboy did not disappoint. He played three tunes that we had never heard! (Off his new album?) He comes off as so unassuming: his guitar is catchy, but quiet; his voice is clear, but soft. His style is so understated, but the audience can't take its eyes off him -- or actually, its ears off him. His lyrics are nothing short of brilliant. At first, they are funny, and you can't help but listen. Consider one of his topics that night: nose-picking. After he sings a couple of lines, though, you're hooked on the wit behind the words. You find yourself stretching your ears and brain around each and every syllable, while tappin' your toes. Everyone I talked to after talked about the Psychic Cowboy. Finally, Kick in the Eye -- that's us!-- rocked pretty hard that night. Lotus' harp player, Andrew, graciously took the stage with us for a few bluesy tunes. We also added four new original songs to our sets; we're getting them battle hardened for the studio. If you want in on the battle, or in on the whole Cottage Bistro scene, come out one Wednesday night. The band, Lotus, hosts a great jam night. Come out any night for that matter. Make room for a bite to eat too. (This is one of my goals. I haven't really perused the menu, yet. I've smelled, tasted, and seen a couple of dishes. The Home-made Garlic Potato Chips were particularly compelling. I can't wait to go try 'em out.) Anyway, I hope I've convinced you that this place is a lot of fun, because I hope to see you there!

Thursday Mar 27th, 2003 10 pm at the MARINE CLUB (573 Homer St, Vancouver) with LOTUS.
The Marine Club is going the way of the Dodo Bird. Marian swears she will never set foot in the place again. For a more complete review you can go read the Marine Club review below. That pretty well sums it up.

Thursday Nov 21st, 2002 10pm at the COTTAGE BISTRO (4468 Main St, Vancouver) with Marq DeSouza
This Main St. hangout is a classic, blues/jazz joint with a lot of personality. The manager greets you at the door, the band nods from the stage, and the appreciative crowd seems pretty cool too. We have fun playing here. Many of the patrons passing through are musicians themselves or enthusiastic music lovers. All this makes for a really great vibe. At the end of the night, the bartender passes the hat around for the musicians, so be prepared to part with a toonie or two, 'cause the bands are usually really good. Of special note is the Wednesday night jam hosted by Lotus. Man, do they know how to host. If you're a musician, they'll show you how to sign up right away, they'll hoot and holler during your set, and if you're a lady musician, they may even treat you to cheesecake!  If you are lucky, you may also catch a glimpse of the one-of-a-kind Steve Rocks. (Be sure to request "Animal Farm"; it's an instant classic.)

Friday Nov 8st, 2002 10 pm at the MARINE CLUB (573 Homer St, Vancouver) with Mermaid Engine.
This was a good show. We were comfortable and relaxed, and therefore, were really able to enjoy performing. We have a new outlook on playing recently. We are coming to the realisation that our job, as artists, is to perfect our art: to craft songs, and to perform them brilliantly. For years now -- in this part of the world anyway -- the musician's job has not been to entertain the crowd; instead, the musician's job is to "put asses in seats". For the indie musician with no "real" exposure, this works just like a high school popularity contest: bring all your personal friends! And because most artists are introverts, this role of "most popular kid in school" goes contrary to their nature. Indeed, it goes against ours. Nevertheless, we have spent a year learning how to promote, and then doing so with varying levels of success. We are certainly going to continue promoting our gigs, but this will no longer be the focus of our efforts. How many Vancouver musicians out there spend their precious moments before their own show with their eyes glued to the door? I, for one, am sick of it. Our focus should be on our craft! This night, at the Marine Club, I feel it was. I didn't feel as if the staff was scrutinizing us for our ability to "put asses in seats". Instead, I felt our ability to "get asses on the dance floor" was being appraised. Fair enough. We can entertain. The audience was attentive and appreciative, and we've been tenatively asked back as an opening band for a bigger act. Yes! This is how the business should work. Help the talented indies get exposure, so that popularity can be based on real fans, and not on personal friends.

Friday Nov 1st, 2002 10 pm at the PURPLE CRAB (3916 Main St) with Willy Krueger
Of course, most people are partied out after Halloween -- which, by-the-way, is now the No.2 most popular night for drinking next to New Year's! -- and so, the people were few and far between this night at the Purple Crab. We will say, however, that Willy Kruger is not only a very accomplished musician and songwriter, but he is also a super nice guy.

Saturday Oct 19th, 2002 9pm at CARNEGIE'S (1619 West Broadway)
Thank you Mark Bignell of Vancouver's Coop Radio 102.7 FM! Thanks to your efforts, more and more venues are warming to the idea of live, original music. Carnegie's is a case in point. I love the idea of wandering in for a pint and some tunes -- no cover charge. Real music for free. Maybe save your money for dinner; the fresh, fragrant aromas wafting through this restaurant lead me to believe that the meals must rival those of the exceedingly popular Earl's next door. As we played to a sparse crowd that Saturday night, I just couldn't help wondering why some of the patrons next door couldn't just peek in. On stage, we had a lot of fun playing with Vancouver drummer Jonah. We saw a few toes tappin' and booty's shakin', but not on the dance floor. Some people are so shy.

Sunday Aug 4th, 2002 4pm-5pm at the Harmony Arts Festival: Youth Rock (15th Ave and Argyle St., Vancouver, BC)
We haven't played outdoors in some time, and it sure was fun. The line up was: Cellar Door, Kick in the Eye, Porn on Beta (who, incidentally, play great 80s goth-style electronic music), and Joanie Loves Chachi. It was nice of Jones Soda to offer free refreshments to all in attendance at the park. The festival was very well organised, and it was great to see our "West Coast Rockabilly" draw in the West Vancouver crowd. People of all ages were dancing around, despite the fact that it started to rain -- ironically, during the song "California". It stopped soon enough, though. This was a relaxing gig to play, and it was nice sit back afterwards and take in the view, the fresh air, the pop, and the tunes. Don't miss this festival next year!

Wednesday July 24, 2002 10pm-midnight at Syd's Place (First Ave, Mission)
Mission has some people that really appreciate music. We had a great time playing for them. New owners have taken over the place and are intent on creating a cool atmosphere for residents. Wednesday is their $4.99 Steak Special night, and it sure is special! The fresh veggies and steaming baked potatoe were just as good as the steak and garlic bread. We felt well taken care of at Syd's: nice, personal service, and huge bowls of free pretzels a la Bill Graham. It's the little things that matter. The owner videotaped our performance personally. Cool vibe! Good music! Kinda like Mission's own Fillmore West. Go check it out!

Friday July 5th, 2002 9pm-10pm at Damoe's ( 317 East Broadway,Vancouver )
Co'op Radio's (CRFO 102.7) Mark Bignell is doing a great job trying to revive live music in Vancouver. His latest discovery is a litte bar/eatery called Damoe's. It's small, so the place fills up fast, and they have great food and drink specials. (The chicken burger with Camembert cheese was the best ever! Mmmmmm... cheeeezzzyy! And we just couldn't stop pounding the pints of  $3.50 Scottish Ale.) Don't go simply for the food and drink, though! Come for the tunes. We chose to play as a duo because of the size of the place, but Waltz Darling was a full-on, four piece. They had the place packed and did not disappoint. Party on!

Thursday June 6th, 2002 10pm-11pm at Healey's (178 Bathurst St, Toronto)
Our showcase at Healey's was arranged as part of  NXNE 2002. We had a blast! While, at first, we were nervous about getting a drummer from Toronto to join us onstage, drummer Kevin Sommerville turned out to be amazing! We had so much fun partying with him and the NXNE staff. It seems that everyone loves BC. The band on after us, Better Off Dead, was so cool. Lotsa folk were jivin' to their bluesy, swing tunes. We remembered our enthusiastic supporters at NewMusicWest, and our encore, so we screamed loud for these guys. It was funny to see them scrambling to find another tune to play. We also got the see the legendary Jeff Healey live. Healey's is Jeff's own bar and he performs there every Thursday evening. The place is brand new and it's decorated with pictures of Jeff Healey with various Blues Gods. He's even got his own Red Ale which is quite delicious. We had a lot fun that night.

Our trip to Toronto, as a whole, was great, and just got better and better. Our hostel, Canadiana Backpackers, was a lot of fun. The World Cup was on, so the lounge was a cool meeting place for travellers of every nationality. We met people from Singapore, Japan, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, America, and of course, Canada. For two of our three nights, we had our own private roof-top patio -- in the middle of Toronto! "This is the life!" Our day trip to Niagara Falls on the Magic Bus was better than we could have ever imagined. Jeff, the driver of this psychedelic party bus, who also happens to be an ex-Vancouverite, selected the perfect music to match the different stages of the trip. For example, Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again", turns into the Monty Python cheese shop music -- which increases in tempo as we get closer and closer to the majesty that is Niagara Falls -- and culminates in the epic Conan the Barbarian theme music. As we leave the site of the Battle of 1812, Jeff pops on the William Wallace / Braveheart speech, music, and battle sounds, and follows this up with John Lennon's "Imagine". All this, plus historical tour banter and tips on what to see and how to save money in Niagara Falls (which is very expensive). On the more costly side, we had the best meal of our lives at Toronto's 360 (Revolving) Restaurant on the CN Tower. We have been to the revolving restaurants in Vancouver (okay) and Edmonton (horribly small portions), but neither compare to the 360. The highlight for Marian, cheese lover that she is, was the English Shropshire Blue Cheese with Walnut Toasts and Blackberry Jam -- so Upper Canadian! Also, it may interest Vancouverites to know that Toronto has an equivalent to the Captain (the "Aye Aye and Good Bye" guy). His name is Captain John, but instead of owning a pawn shop, this guy has a restaurant on a boat in the Toronto harbour! While walking up to the restaurant, we saw a giant poster of the two Captains and were told by a transient Torontonian that "this is the best restaurant in the world". We entered nervously, but soon learned that Captain John, in conjunction with the food bank, provides special occasion meals to the homeless. We had the fabulous Friday night lobster special, and we felt nourished and refreshed. We actually found this restaurant after a long trek to downtown Toronto's one and only liquour store, and noticed that a number of diners had also doubled up their trip with a stop for al-kee-hol too. Do the same, or you'll regret it. Beers in the entertainment district are around $7 a pint, and the beer and wine/liquor stores are unreasonably few and far between.

Finally, we found it interesting that Toronto smells like garbage, but also does a first class job of recycling. The people we met there were the friendliest in the world. (Oh yeah, and to cap it all off, we sat next to Stompin' Tom's neighbour on the flight back to Vancouver. How perfect is that?)

Friday May 10th, 2002 9:00 pm-10pm at the Marine Club (573 Homer St, Vancouver) Phone: 604.683.1720
Our showcase at NewMusicWest 2002 rocked! We were pushed back until 10pm, so some people missed our show, but the turnout was way better an hour later. As always, we had a great time playing with Marq DeSouza on drums. The highlight of our night was a hometown supporter. He was glad to see us at his favourite big city haunt. Small town folk are always appreciative and LOUD, and he personally made sure we received an encore. Special thanks to Andy Scheffler for taking some great photos, and to our number one fan for recording the show.

Sunday April 28, 2002 8pm-11pm at The Main (4210 Main, Vancouver ) Phone: 604.709.8555  This will be our first ever performance without a drummer or a drum machine of some kind. Friends said it sounded good. It was an oppurtunity to practice our acoustic set before we start busking around Vancouver. Marq DeSouza, of celebrated local band Solarbaby, came up and played a few requests and even Mark Bignell, host of CFRO 102.7's Radio Bandcouver, got in on the action: he scratched to our version of Hank Williams "Move it on Over." Thanks to The Main for the great meal! This place has great food and even better prices. Stop in if you get the chance, you won't regret it.

Friday April 26, 2002 10pm - 12 am live and on the air with Mark Bignell of CFRO Co-op Radio 102.7FM. We played mostly originals on Radio Bandcouver. Mark Bignell showed up an hour late for his program so that threw us off a little. We appreciated the oppurtunity to perform live on the air and any experience is good experience, right? We got the chance to play one of the best local artists Vancouver has to offer: Gerald Charlie. It may have not been the best program to showcase his song, but we were happy to give him any exposure we could.

Sunday April 21, 2002 3pm - 5pm live and on the air with Jeff Gray of Blood on the Saddle CITR 101.9FM. We had a great time and it was neat to be "behind the scenes" of our favourite radio program. We played some classic country covers and hope everybody who was tuned in enjoyed our take on those songs. Check out our PICKS section for our original review of the program.

Thurs April 18th at The French Quarter Pub ( 925 Brunette, Coquitlam) Phone: 604.526.2324
This place sucks and the regulars that go there are fuck wads. Thanks to anybody who came to see us. Please please please don't ever spend any money there. Places like the French Quarter are a detriment to local music.

Friday / Saturday March 29 / 30 7 - 11:30 pm at Nix Pub (7610 Kingsway [& 14th Ave] Burnaby) Phone: 604.521.4611
Although Friday's turnout didnt go as well as we expected, Saturday night made up for it in spades!  It was Donnie's brother's birthday Saturday night so that was twenty people there. Then anyone coming in to get something from the Beer and Wine Store (which is located right inside the bar) stopped and stayed to watch the band. One group of people started dancing before they had even ordered a drink. At their request we did a country-fried version of "Here comes Peter Cottontail" and Marian wore the bunny ears they had brought. The dance floor was packed most of the night, proving that our super-charged boogie could get 'em movin any time, any place! If we sounded good it was mostly due to our drummer Marq DeSouza of Solarbaby. He kept up all weekend and sounded tight for only having had one practice with us. Special thanks to one of our fans, who took some great pictures and even recorded a few sets.
 

Thursday March 21 -  9:00pm  - 1:00am at the Balmoral Hotel (159 E. Hastings St.)
Well folks, Kick in the Eye has played its last gig on East Hastings -- ever! And for those of you musicians, foolish enough -- like us -- to think that playing these shows is GOOD experience, think again. After playing ten gigs, at two different hotels on East Hastings -- including a marathon New Year's Eve gig which lasted from 9pm-4am (a favour to the owners when the other band got too drunk to play) -- we have learned the error of our ways. Indie and cover bands out there: please learn from our example. If you decied to play at  The Astoria, The Balmoral, The Regent, or the Cobalt, be prepared. You will be expected to bring your own PA system, you will have to play a long time (three 45 min sets and one 1 hr set), you will get paid less than minimum wage, you will be expected to play whenever asked -- no matter how last minute, and you will not be able count to on scheduled bookings because the owners make last minute changes and go on firing sprees, showing no gratitude or appreciation. These places are bad, bad, bad. While we liked some of the people we met at our shows, and signed some valuable fans onto our fanclub, the owners were supremely disrespectful, and we ended up getting very sick each time we played -- physically and mentally.

1st Sunday of every month: CAMEO Fraser Valley Musician's Showcase 7:00pm at the Elk's Hall in Mission.
Although we can't guarantee we'll be there for each showcase, we do attend the majority because they are so good. Mission resident Ron Hughes has put this activity together simply because he is such a music lover and he recognises that there is talent in the Valley. The last CAMEO showcase we attended was in January. The turn out was great: standing room only for a while. We got to see Randy "Elvis" Friske, his brother, his dad, and his eleven year old daughter. His dad yodelled, so we were thrilled. The daughter was amazing. Marian has a voice like a twelve year old Brenda Lee; this eleven year old has the voice of a veteran Brenda Lee. We have never heard a voice so deep and loud. We were also surprised to hear a great original classic rock band. They're so new, they haven't decided on a name yet. They have cool, catchy songs, and the singer/bassist has a voice uncannily similar to Marq DeSousa's from Vancouver's Solarbaby. We'll let you know more about this band as things develop for them. Or you could check them out for yourselves at the monthly CAMEO Showcase.

Every Sunday 3:30 - 7:30pm Maple Ridge Hotel 20690 Lougheed Hwy.
We attend this country jam session every now and again. Playing here helped us prepare for our CD EP. The place is ALWAYS packed -- so it sure beats playing to empty indie venues in Vancouver (see Marine Club review below). The average age of the patrons is fifty, so when we play old country, they get it. Sometimes when we walk through the door we are greeted with, "Ooh, young blood!" People here are very expressive. At one show, a woman booed and gave us the big thumbs down. (Come on lady, we're just jamming.) But during that same song, one guy got up to boogie, and even shook his bare butt in the air! We feel very welcomed here. We always get our turn on stage, and the house band never fails to thank us and present us with drink tickets. It's great to see the other musicians perform; the level of talent here is quite astounding. So, if you are every passing through on a Sunday afternoon, be sure to drop in.

Monday Dec 31, 2001- New Year's Eve with Latin Union 9:00pm  - 4:00am at the Balmoral Hotel (159 E. Hastings St.)
What can we say? It was New Year's; we rocked; everyone had a good time; and, of course, some people had too much of a good time -- including the second band that was supposed to play half the night. Latin Union played one outstanding set, but fizzled out on over consumption of cheap tap beer while we played. We really wanted to see them play again, and we did again for about twelve minutes. But for their second set, the third member was gone (Quit, drunk, fired...? We weren't sure), and after eleven minutes the guitar played just walked off the stage, leaving the last guy looking at the clock and attempting to play drunkenly alone. It was an entertaining disappointment. We had to pick up the slack, so we played for a half an hour every hour from 10pm until 4am. It was quite a night to say the least.

Friday / Saturday Dec. 21 / 22, 2001 9:00 pm at the Balmoral Hotel (159 E. Hastings St., Vancouver) Phone: 604.???
Our first weekend was so successful, that we were asked back for both this weekend and New Year's. We put up posters around town and were happy to see people back. Playing these long nights is really making our band tight!

Friday / Saturday Dec 14 / 15, 2001 9:00 pm at the Balmoral Hotel (159 E. Hastings St., Vancouver) Phone: 604.???
We got this gig through our friend Gerald Charlie. Hopefully you've seen him playing around. He is one of our favourite musicians and a great inspiration. Check out him and his band, Gerald Charlie and the Black Owl Blues Band, whenever you get the chance. We met an enthusiastic audience of regulars at the Balmoral. It's nice to play for people who get what you're doing, and where you're coming from. It's a unique atmosphere though. It's on the corner of Main and Hastings, and is a meeting place for First Nations residents and out-of-towners. There were also a lot of old-timers there. The highlight of the show was when carver/country singer Bernie Williams and the Balmoral Hotel owner joined us on-stage for "You Are My Sunshine".

Friday Nov 30th, 2001 10:00 pm at the Highland Pub (located on the Simon Fraser University campus) Phone: 604.936.0895
This was one of our favourite shows to date. The folk at cjsf set it up as part of an indie band showcase, and they did a really good job. People were dancing in their seats and cheering during our sound check, so we knew we were in for a good night. We were right. The dance floor was full from the first song! We learned here that people can swing dance to our music, so all you swing dancers: Come On Out! Cover was by donation and went entirely to the band -- which also got complimentary nachos and beer. We will be playing here again, when university activities resume in the new year.

Sunday Nov 18th, 2001   9:00 pm at Duke's Pub (41582 Yale Rd W, Sardis) Phone: 604.823.6431
We had fun at this show because we were treated to some down-home country hospitality. Everybody in the band got a steak dinner and beer. Sure we weren't paid much, but everyone at the show -- including us -- had a good time.

Thursday Nov 15th, 2001 10:00 pm at the Marine Club (573 Homer St, Vancouver) Phone: 604.683.1720
To be honest, this show was a disappointment -- although not an entirely unexpected one. We did do some poster and handbill promotion for this gig, but no one went for it. In our opinion, it's true, Vancouver is a NO-FUN city. We've seen bands play these indie club shows before and it's always the same thing: the band's friends and family show up,  pay an over-priced cover charge, pay for over-priced beer, and see a band they've seen play a dozen times before. The fact of the matter is, who in their right mind is going to pay to take a chance on an unknown band, when the majority of unknown bands brought into these clubs suck? These bands are not brought in because they play good music. Who cares about good music these days? Certainly not the business-minded club owners; certainly not the media saturated general public. Who cares? We care, so the few strangers that walked into the Marine Club that night, did get to see a good band, and they did get to boogie in their seats and on the dance floor. Does that mean we'll be asked back? You do the math.

Thank you to all staff at the pubs and clubs we've played, and thank you to the fans and folks who came out and boogied down.