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.

Super Friendly Fest in Edmonton September 10th 2022 Day 1

Super Friendly Fest was a festival put on by Sea Change Brewery in celebration of their 5th Anniversary. Sea Shange is a craft brewery in Edmonton started in 2017. Sea Change is by far my favourite craft brewery putting out an amazing variety of beers. This festival was a two day festival held at Union Hall which is right across the street from Sea Change's Brewery. This festival was a punk and hardcore style of music fest. All the bands played indoors at Union Hall with local food trucks and merch booths and beer tents located outside. And luckily, the weather was awesome for the weekend. I went to this show with my buddy Nazz. Band Schedule.

Festival Grounds.

First band of the day was Penske File from Burlington, Ontario. Penske File.

Next up was Edmonton band Bad Buddy. Bad Buddy.

Vancouver band Rest Easy was up next. Rest Easy.

Next up was Edmonton band Fire Next Time. This was my fifth time seeing them play. They sounded great and were grittier then usual, with lead singer James Renton full of piss and vinegar and it was nice to see my friend Garrett back behind the drums. Fire Next Time.

Brutal Youth was the next band up. The punk band was formed in St. John's, Newfoundland but are now based in Toronto. I was really impressed with this band. Lead singer Patty O'Lantern, lol, what a great name, he really knows how to put on a performance and weras his heart on his sleeve. The band kicked ass. Talked to a couple guys from the band later in the evening, great guys. Look forward to seeing them again sometime soon hopefully. Brutal Youth.

I missed the next two bands Make War and Belvedere as it was time for a bite to eat and few beers in the parking lot with my buddy Nazz and catching up with some friends. After our break in the parking lot it was time for the reformed Edmonton hardcore band Compromise. Compromise has a notable history in paving the way for the Edmonton hardcore scene. Unfortunately the band lost two members of the band (R.I.P. Jordan Wodehouse and Daniel Langlois) in a vehicle accident in Alabama while on tour in 2002. Sadly that was the end of the band, until now. I wasn't sure how I felt about the reunion of the remaining band members and previous members performing again, but it seemed to go over quite well. I'm sure a lot of those in attendance never got the chance to see the band perform back in the day, but again there were a lot in the crowd that had. I'm sure this wasn't an easy show to do for those in the band. Actualy I know it wasn't easy for them, as I know most of the guys in the band. They pulled it off, but have to admit, I myself am just not so much into the music as much as I once was. Still a decent showing by the band. Compromise.

Next up was Orange County, California band Ignite. Ignite has been around since 1993 but now with a new lead singer Eli Santana, the original singer Zoli Teglas left the band in 2019. I thought they put on a great show, the crowd was into it, and by this time the venue was packed. A great set by Ignite!

Good Riddance was up next, another band from California (Santa Cruz). Good Riddance have been around since 1993. This was my second time seeing them live. The last time I saw them was in 1999. They too were quite good. Good Riddance.

Next up was The Flatliners a band out of Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Their show as well was very good. The Flatliners.

Winnipeg band Comeback Kid were up next. A great set by these hardcore veterans. Comeback Kid.

And to close out the first night of the festival was another band from Manitoba called Propagandhi. Another veteran punk band that has been around since 1986. I really enjoyed their set and thought they were a great way to end the day of music. Propagandhi.

Such a fun day of music, beers and hanging with friends that I hadn't seen in a while. A great festival, great bands, well organized and awesome crowd. A hell of a lot of fun. A big shout out to JFK for putting my buddy Nazz and I on the guest list for the weekend. Good times!!! T-shirt I bought at the show.