Was out last night at a venue aptly titled.. Venue. The old plaza club on Granville. I was with a couple of friends to see Blitzen Trapper, originally scheduled for Dick’s on Dicks. Alas, that concert hall is no more. ‘Venue’ was ok, but obviously set up for a more dance club type atmosphere. The number of security/bouncers also would confirm this; rarely would you have even see more than a couple of these types at Richard’s, but they were all over the place last night.
Upon entering, we were patted down by one of these types, and he found a strange object in my pocket. He asked me to produce it, and I brought out the fishing lure that is attached to my key chain. A little symbol of my past career as a fishing guide. He commented that he thought it was a fishing lure, and I asked him if many people brought them in, and he said no. We had a little chuckle and I went in.
The show itself was pretty good. Blitzen Trapper played a varied set, with some stompers, some quieter songs, and even a little sub set where one of the lead singers did the ole folk combo of harmonica, acoustic guitar and singing. These guys had strong vocal harmonies. As my friend Johnny Slapshot observed, the sound of the Pacific North West that is coming up right now is inspired by Neil Young, The Band, and the Beach Boys. Good stuff.
After the first set finished, I decided to leave. I was bagged from ultimate earlier that night; but upon leaving I realized I was missing my car key. I had hired a car for the night, and had not attached it to my key set. I didn’t panic, but calmly considered my options. I wasn’t too worried about the outcome, though it would be a mild headache to take care of. First things first though, I scanned where we had been sitting earlier, and then headed to the front to see if there was a lost and found.
Sure enough, the lost and found had a key. The attendent was mildly perplexed when I responded to her question abou the type of car it was. On the key itself is a GM stamp, but I told her it was a Pontiac. Fortunately I was saved from explaining the relationship of Pontiac and GM as the bouncer who had patted me down earlier came forward and told her it was my key. Obviously it had fallen out while I was being searched, and he had picked it up. He recognized me immediately. I thanked him and was on my way. No panic necessary, and another instance of being friendly paying off with a quick resolution to the situation.
Oh, funny side note. A bunch of Yankees (or really ironic Vancouverites), started chanting ‘USA, USA’ in the break between songs at one point. A member of the band responded with, “Hey, we all live in cascadia man.” Another moment was when this same man asked the crowd about a roller skating theme night and if we had them in Vancouver. The crowd was a bit confused as to what to say, and I was too. I can’t remember seeing a roller rink in Vancouver, ever. The drummer stepped up and, with some vitriol, demanded an answer to his friend’s question, but nobody really knew.
