January 16th

  My ticket stub from the January 16th, 2015 Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms solo show at The Buck in Edmonton. Opening the show were Edmonton bands Worst Days Down, Old Wives and James Renton. A great bill and show.

Dave Hause Live in Edmonton October 12th 2024

  

 Well stupid ass me totally forgot to write a review for the Dave Hause show that Cuz, A-Bomb and I went to on October 12th at The Buck. This would be my 4th time seeing Dave Hause in concert.

 The first artist of the night was Ryan Dix of the local band Old Wives doing an acoustic set. Sadly we only caught his last song which was a Joel Plaskett song, can't recall what song it was but he did a great job of it. The show was an early start and we were having a few beers before showtime and got there late.

Ryan Dix.

 Next up was Garrett Dale. I had never heard of Garrett before and after some research I learned that he was in a punk band from Oklahoma City called Red City Radio, again another band I had never heard. Seems that Garrett now calls Edmonton home I believe. His 30 minute set was alright, but after a while I started losing interest in his yelling more then singing. My buddy A-Bomb really enjoyed his set, myself not so much.

Garrett Dale.

 

  Headlining the night was Philadelphia singer/songwriter Dave Hause. I was hesitant about going to this show at first as I didn't much care for his last album Drive It Like It's Stolen. But a few days before the show I picked up tickets thinking and knowing that Dave has always put on a great show. Am I ever glad I did go, it was a great show, with Dave playing a 70 minute solo acoustic set. My favourite album of his is the 2017 album Bury Me In Philly and was really hoping to hear some songs from it.

 Now this show was almost a month ago, so the memory might not be all that accurate. Dave did probably about five songs songs from the Drive It album, opening the show with "Tarnish" from said album. From all the songs he did from that album, they certainly sounded better live and I was surprised by how good of response he got from the crowd. The audience at this show know their Dave Hause, with everyone singing along. The one song he did from that album, a song called "Damn Personal" my favourite from the album he dedicated to Ben Sir who opened for Dave the last time he played here. Ben Sir was the lead singer of the Edmonton band Worst Days Down who sadly passed away in April of 2023. That songs really it the heart and relatable with the death of Ben. I know I shed a few tears during the song as I am sure there were a few more that did as well.

 Dave also did a couple of songs from his old punk band The Loved Ones, one of them songs I know he did for sure was "Pretty Good Year". Another stand out song performed that evening was "Autism Vaccine Blues" from his 2013 album Devour. He also did quite a few songs from his album Blood Harmony including "Gary" which is a great song from that album and "Northstar", I know there were more but I can't recall the song titles. It wasn't until the second encore that Dave finally did two songs from Bury Me In Philly, them songs being "Dirty Fucker" and "With You" to close out the night. What an amazing show this was and the show has made me give the Drive It album a few more spins which has now grown on me. Good times!!!

Dave Hause.

T-shirt.

Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms Live Jan.16th 2015

On Friday night my Cuz and I went to the Brendan Kelly show at the Buckingham here in Edmonton. Brendan Kelly is a member of the Chicago based band The Lawrence Arms. I know very little about the band, but my brother has mentioned being a big fan of them, so I took my brothers advice and figured I would checkout this show. As well, the three opening bands all being local bands were bands I was familiar with, that and I like the venue. So it was off to the show we go.

First act of the evening was James Renton lead singer and guitar player of the band Fire Next Time. This was my third time seeing James play solo, and the previous times I had seen him he was amazing. So I was looking forward to seeing him again, has it had been a few years since the last time. I had hyped him up a lot for my Cuz, but sadly on this night James seemed off for some reason. Too drunk or not drunk enough, I'm not sure, though I would lean to the not drunk enough. I was surprised by how packed the venue was already for the first act. James came off as angry on this night, he played some stuff that I wasn't familiar with. So that might have had something to do with it. He messed up the start of a couple of songs, and had to start over. His half hour set was alright, but have definitely seen him put on better shows. The last song of the night "Rosewood Jesus" was fucking awesome, just wish the rest of the set had been as good. Nonetheless, still a musician well worth checking out.

James Renton.

Next up was the pop punk band Old Wives. They play a 90's style of pop punk, remind me of bands from the Fat Wreck Chords label. Just not my thing, the music felt dated to me. So didn't much enjoy their set. I do have to say though that there drummer was kick ass.

Old Wives.

The last local band of the evening was a band lead by Ben Sir called Worst Days Down. This was my first time seeing this band live, and they didn't disappoint. They rocked the hell out of the Buckingham. Great energy and vibes from this four piece, great lyrics and great music. They remind me of a mix of Vancouver band Carpenter, Social D and Gaslight Anthem with way more edge. Loved their set.

Worst Days Down.

Headliner of the evening was Brendan Kelly from the band The Lawrence Arms. This was his second time playing the Buckingham apparently. They flew him up for this show and then the following night he was playing in Calgary.

The place was super packed by the time Brendan hit the stage with the crowd seeming pumped about his show. I just wish I knew his music better. The crowd was singing along and getting right in to it. For the first time hearing his solo show I have to say he was quite good. His singing was great and his playing was good as well. Wish I could tell you more, but I can't. I will say that I will be picking up some of his music in the near future. All and all a fun night of live music. Good times!!!

Brendan Kelly.