A Celebration Of The Life Of Ben Sir (Worst Days Down) in Edmonton January 18th 2025

  Last Saturday New Ground Booking and Concert Works presented A Celebration Of The Life Of Ben Sir at the Starlite Room in Edmonton. This was also a record release show for Worst Days Down album "Stay Innocent".

 For those that don't know who Ben Sir was, he was an Edmonton musician who fronted the band Worst Days Down. He was also a bartender at The Buck on Whyte Avenue. Sadly Ben passed away in April of 2023 in Vancouver. Ben was an absolutely amazing human being. I first met Ben when I saw him do an afternoon solo show at the Pawn Shop in March of 2012. Ben and four other artists played that afternoon, with Ben being my favourite of the artists that played. I got talking to Ben after his set and instantly felt a connection with the man. Not only did his music strike a chord with me, but so did his kindness, demeanor and generosity. At that show Ben gave me a CD he had recorded as Worst Days Down and a t-shirt all for free. You just felt like you got sucked into the orbit of Ben. It was about a year later that I visited a new bar on Whyte Ave. (The Buck) and met Ben again bartending there. We got talking and he had remembered me from the show. My Cuz and I would visit the bar every once in a while and every time we did, Ben always served us a free pint of beer and took the time to chat. Lots of times we would just go there for one beer and end up staying for more then just the one as it was always fun to talk with Ben and just hangout and talk music and what he and his band were up to. Eventually I got out to see him perform solo shows and shows with his excellent band Worst Days Down. After years of this, I got to see how Ben treated everyone, he was just the coolest most down to earth guy. No wonder he had such a great following in Edmonton and beyond.

A picture from the first time I saw Ben perform (far left) in March of 2012.

  

A picture from the last time I saw Ben perform, December 26th, 2022. Performing with his brother Ethan.

 Anyways, last Saturday my buddy A-Bomb and I went to the Celebration Of The Life Of Ben Sir show. This show had an early start as there were nine bands on the bill. We got there a little late, missing the first two bands. All the bands and artists on the bill had a connection with Ben. I wasn't sure how this show was going to be, was it going to be sad and heavy on the heart. It had it's moments but for the most part it was a celebration of Ben Sir. Some great stories about Ben and a shit load of bands. Most of these bands I had never seen before, but that didn't matter as I was there to celebrate Ben.

 The first band we caught was Edmonton band Medical Pilot. I had never seen them before. They had an alt 90's kind of sound and were alright.

Medical Pilot.

 Next up was KJ Jansen of Calgary band Chixdiggit. KJ did a fun solo acoustic set playing such songs as "Spanish Fever" and "I Wanna Hump You". KJ had the audience singing along to these two songs. KJ's set was fun with some good stories about Ben.

KJ Jansen.

 Next up was Chris Cresswell of the Toronto band The Flatliners. I'm not familiar with his music but have to say I enjoyed his solo set very much, and again some great stories about Ben. By the time Chris hit the stage the venue was packed. With the weather outside being near minus 30 degrees Celsius, it was good to see so many people out at the show.

Chris Cresswell.

 Next up was the Vancouver band Schedule 1. I was ready for some loud music after two acoustic sets. But have to say Schedule 1's post-punk style of music wasn't much to my liking.

Schedule 1.

 Next band up was the Edmonton punk band Choke, who has been doing shows off and on for the past couple years. A band that has been around since 1994. I don't know much about them but thought they were alright.

Choke.

 Next up was the punk band Strike Anywhere from Richmond, Virginia. Again, another band I didn't know much about until I heard the line up for this show. I had heard the name for years but had never listened to them before. So, of course I listened to a few albums before the show and thought they were alright. Live they were pretty good, high energy, political slant to there lyrics. Overall I liked them.

Strike Anywhere.

 It was finally time for the headliners Worst Days Down, of course this was going to be a whole lot different without Ben Sir fronting the band. This show was the album release for the album "Stay Innocent" that Ben and the guys were putting together before his passing. they only had three songs recorded which are all on this album, but there is some demo versions of some older songs and such as well.

 For the live gig this night, Ben's brother Ethan (Henry Sir he also goes by as a stand up comedian) was sitting in on guitar and vocals. I can't imagine how hard it was to play and sing these songs for all the members in the group. But they pulled it off very well, with guest vocalists through out the hour long set.

 Worst Days Down opened their set with the song "Fumes" from their album Elsewhere with Ethan on vocals. What a heavy song to open with, had me tearing up a few times during this song. The lyrics just have a whole different feel to them now. But they pulled it off very well. I wish I knew the names of all the guest vocalists through the set, but I don't. One of the guests was a gentleman by the name of Ben Olson , he was great, as all of them were, but I really liked his energy and vocal style. Chris Cresswell joined the band for the song "A Song For David" that hits hard as well. They also played a couple of the new songs "Stay Innocent", "Carrol And Cordova" which was amazing. And to end the set it was just the band with Ethan on guitar and vocals belting out the song "Entropy", again from the album Elsewhere. They fucking rocked this one out, indeed there were some heavy hearts in the city again. Nice to see that even almost two years after your passing Ben, you are still bringing people together through music and with the crowd that showed up, how awesome of a person you were. We miss you Ben Sir!!!!

Worst Days Down.

 All proceeds from this show went to two causes that meant a lot to Ben.

The iHuman Youth Society and Save the Manatee. And anyone that knew Ben well knows how much he loved Manatees.

Pin I bought at the show.

T-shirt

The Worst Days Down album "Stay Innocent".

 Last but not least, checkout Ben's brother Ethan aka Henry Sir's stand up comedy by clicking here.

December 27th

 It took until last year 2023 to see a show on December 27th. And the show I saw was comedian Henry Sir perform at 9910 in Edmonton. This show was a night of Music, Comedy and Brotherly Love. Henry is the brother of Ben Sir the lead singer and guitarist in the Edmonton band Worst Days Down who passed away in April of 2023. A fun night of laughs and music, with Henry sitting in with members of Worst days Down doing a few songs.

December 26th

  

 On December 26th, 2022 I saw Ben Sir of Edmonton band Worst Days Down perform with is brother comedian Henry Sir at the Underdog (Blackdog). A very fun night of comedy and music by these two brothers. Sadly this would be the last time I saw Ben Sir perform as he passed away in April of 2023.

In concert news... On Saturday January 18th 2025 there will be a Celebration of the life of Ben Sir concert held at the Starlite Room in Edmonton. It will be a concert with a bunch of bands and solo artists with Henry Sir fronting Worst Days Down playing some songs, as it also the Worst Days Down "Stay Innocent" Record release. An album that was in the making before the passing of Ben Sir.

March 17th

                                          

 It was on March 17th, 2012 that I went to this free afternoon show featuring local Edmonton musicians Ben Sir (RIP) of Worst Days Down, James Renton of Fire Next Time, Ian McIntosh of Owls By Nature and a few others. This show was at the Pawn Shop on Whyte Avenue. This was my first time seeing all these artists perform. It was at this show that I started a friendship with Ben Sir that lasted until last year, as he passed away in April of 2023. Ben you are missed, thanks for the awesome music!

Henry Sir Live in Edmonton December 27th 2023

 On Wednesday night Cuz and I went to the Henjamin show at 9910. This was a show of comedy, music and brotherly love as the poster says. Henry Sir was the host and headliner of this show, a tribute to his brother Ben Sir, who sadly passed away in April of this year. Ben was the front man of the Edmonton band Worst Days Down, not only was I fan of his band and music, but I got to know Ben and considered him a friend. It was last year on Boxing Day that Ben and his brother Henry did a show together at the Blackdog in which I had gone to. It was a tradition that they had started, last year was the second year of doing the show. Unfortunately that was the last time that I saw Ben.

A picture from last years show.

 So when this show was announced, there was no doubt that I wanted to be there. Henry Sir is a comedian based in the United States and is one fucking funny man. I loved his stand up routine he did at last years show, that I didn't wan to miss him this year. And this show was all in support and in memory of his brother Ben Sir. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was going regardless.

 The small intimate venue of 9910 was packed for the show and all proceeds from ticket sales went to the charitable organization Little Warriors. Also at the show there was a draw for some Hot Water Music and Flatliners merchandise (records,t-shirts and tote bag) that cost $20 to enter with all the money going towards the pressing of the Worst Days Down album that was recorded before the passing of Ben. Flatliners and HWM were two of Ben's favourite bands, with both bands donating the swag. And from what I have heard, enough money was raised to press the vinyl for release. Can't wait to hear the music and get a copy of this EP.

The evening started with Ben's Dad thanking everyone for coming to the show and supporting the family. Then it was Henry that came on stage and made a small speech and introduced the first comedian of the evening Bobby Warrener originally from Sylvan Lake, Alberta now based out of Vancouver. His stand up routine was excellent and got a lot of laughs. 

 Next up was Edmonton comedian Brent Ayton whom was also fucking hilarious. He too had the audience in stitches. I had never heard of either comedians before but would surely check them out again.

 In between comedians Henry would do a little stand up comedy and play a few songs on the acoustic guitar (the man is super talented) and the songs were hilarious as well.

 Closing out the night Henry brought out Ben's band members from Worst Days Down and joined them in playing two of their songs from Worst Days Down album Elsewhere. An album that is so damn good. The two songs they did were "Fumes" which really hits home and the song "A Song For David", again, another song that will make you tear up. To listen to them two songs, click on the song titles. Henry says he is no musician but I would beg to differ, I thought he did a great job on the songs. It was nice to see the members of Ben's band back on stage performing. That couldn't have been easy for any of them. They then closed the night out with a song by The Replacements, another of Ben's favourite bands.

 My only complaint about the night is that Henry Sir didn't do a stand up routine, as the man is fucking hilarious. But between acts he did do some funny songs and comedy. To read Henry's post about the evening click here.  I highly recommend looking into comedians Bobby Warrener, Brent Ayton and Henry Sir. All and all my Cuz and I had a lot of fun at the show. We miss you Ben!!!

 A few pictures from the evening.

Henry Sir will be performing at the Downtown Edmonton Community League (10042 - 103 st. NW) as part of the Winterruption YEG Festival. Passes for the festival are available here or get tickets for Henry's show here.

Ben & Henry Sir at The Underdog December 26th 2022

This is another hard review to do, as it was only 4 months later that Ben passed away (April 2023). This show I believe was the second time that Ben and Henry performed on Boxing Day, making it a tradition that sadly won't be happening anymore. Ben of course is or was the lead singer and guitar player and songwriter of his band Worst Days Down and his brother Henry (Evan) Sir is a comedian. I had never seen Henry perform, so I was looking forward to seeing this show. I've been following Henry on Instagram for a while now and thought I need to see him as all his clips on Instagram are awesome. And Ben, well he is a friend and a very talented musician. The show was only about an hour long with both brothers performing, with Henry starting with a 15 minute set of stand up comedy that was fucking hilarious. He had the crowd in stitches. I had tears rolling down my cheeks I was laughing so hard. Ben then played a couple of songs and then the both of them playing a couple cover songs together. There was some good banter between the two of them. Just a really fun evening, just wish it was longer. A good turnout for the show even on Boxing Day. I got to talk with Ben before and after the show, and of course getting a huge hug and embrace from him, because that's the kind of guy he was. Just an awesome man. He introduced me to his brother whom also is a very nice gentleman. I was hoping this would become part of my Xmas tradition getting to see these guys play together every year on Boxing Day. If you get the chance to see Henry Sir perform, I highly recommend checking him out. This was the last time I got to talk to and see Ben Sir. Miss you Ben. Rest In Peace my friend!

Dave Hause Live in Edmonton October 21st 2022

I really wish I had kept up with my blog as this is a hard show to write about. I was excited about this show when it was announced as I am a big fan of Dave Hause and to see him play a solo show in an intimate venue like The Buck was going to be super cool. Then when they announced that Ben Sir was opening the show, I was super excited as it had been a few years since I have seen him play solo or with his band Worst Days Down. This was going to be a great show. I went to this show with Cuz.

Cuz and I got to the show a little late therefore missed the first act Mylz. But we were damn sure to be there in time to catch Ben Sir. Ben had moved to Vancouver in the spring and hadn't played a show with his band Worst Days Down or solo in almost three years, so this was going to be a treat to see him perform again. Before he played I had a quick chat with him and as always got a big hug from Ben. Ben played solo for this show but did have another gentleman on guitar kind of playing in thebackground with him. He said he was a bit nervous, but looking forward to finally hitting the stage again. Ben's set was about a half hour long with him playing mostly new songs, which was super cool to hear. He did play one song from his Worst Days Down album Elsewhere, a song called "Fumes". The last song of his set was a new song called "Songs Written By My Friends", a great song that has lyrics from, like the title says songs his friends wrote, in the lyrics are snippets of lyrics from bands like Fire Next Time, Audio/Rocketry, Misery Signals among others. So fucking good! While Ben was introducing the song, he talked about how it was a tough song to write mentioning that he had lost friends to suicide, overdoses over the past three years. Ben actually broke down twice talking about it. Which had many in the audience tearing up as well. And members of the crowd cheering him on and yelling "you got this" it really was a touching moment. I talked to Ben after the show telling him how strong he was to get through that introduction and singing the beautiful song. H said he was a bit embarassed that he broke down on stage. I myself,like many others that were there told him there was nothing wrong with breaking down when something means so much to you. Of course Ben gave out solid hugs to us all. Now the part that really makes this so hard to write about months after the show, is that Ben Sir has since passed. Ben passed away April 22nd 2023 at the age of 38. So fucking sad, such a nice man and so talented. Rest In Peace Ben Sir! You will be missed, but thankfully you left some great music behind for us to listen to and some great memories. Ben Sir Setlist from this show.