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Please help me find music in victoria


larry_llama

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Is it just me or is there a lack of decent live stuff here? I'm used to the pepper jack cafe in hamilton where there's always something good going on. Any tips about where to go in victoria for something at least slightly jammy (like, not straight blues or cover bands) would be much appreciated! show me the way!

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ps: also whats up with there always being a cover charge in this town for even the shittiest bar-band? isnt the price of beer enough admission charge for background cover tunes? are there any places here where you can jsut walk in and check out even a solo guitarist, drink a beer and take off without getting nabbed for $5? maybe i just don't know where to go. part of the problem is the monday magazine show listings are a bowl of crud

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I'm not from Vic, but the cover charge for shitty bands seems to be an island tradition. I have heard that there are awesome bluegrass jams once a week at some bar but the name escapes me. If all else fails you can drive up to Duncan to the Duncan Garage Showroom. They always seem to have something good going on.

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  • 3 months later...

And if you don't mind a little drive, of only about 25 minutes I believe, Don Ross is playing in Duncan on February 10.

He is arguably the greatest living guitarist in the world, at least on acoustic. I'll be seeing him in Hamilton this month.

DJMelbaToast, if you don't know of him, go! You may remember seeing Don Alder at Bonfire Fest. He is much like Don Ross, but also reveres him the way millions of us do. Don Alder actually has a song on his disc called "DR DR", which is short for "Don Ross Don Ross".

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Yeah, I got to interview Don Alder at Bonfire and he couldn't say enough good things about Don Ross.

Don't know if it's in the cards though. I'm going to Ratdog next month and am going to try hit Jimmy Swift Band next week. That's a pretty full scheduale for me these days, haven't been to a show since Slammin Jack's Last Schmaltz.

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Who says the music-scene is dead in Ontario? I can only speak for the GTA, and surrounding area like Hamilton, but I have to pick and choose the shows I attend, mainly because I would otherwise be seeing five bands per week, every week.

I think that if you have an interest in a wide array of different styles of music, there is almost no end to what is out there in this neck of the woods.

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Thats exactly what Im saying, but I was leaning more towards the, uh-oh, here it is, Im going to use the J word, Jam Bands. Around here we get to see these types of bands all the time and start taking them for granted. Then you go out west and wait for them to tour cuz hardly any band out there is doing the same kind of thing, and if they are, they're in Vancouver and dont frequent the Island all that much. If that makes any sense.

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heh! i wish you were right beats. i was lucky enough to spend five years in vic and i have to say, i was always jonesing for live music there.

i did get more interested in electronica, and if you're at all into that then 'hush' is a great place to go, i have many fond memories of that place.

'steamers' had cool shows as did 'lucky' - not sure if lucky is still around but it was a neat, funky little spot with live acts to suit many different musical tastes. lucky is right downtown, close to the harbour.

have you been to pagliacci's? it's a really yummy italian restaurant, also right downtown. they have live music some nights, later in the evening. my old guitar teacher used to play there. they used to do lots of fun swing-y stuff, worth going in for dinner to catch some of that.

keep your ear to the ground for 'the bills' as well. they are a very, very talented bunch, lots of bluegrassy songs.

although i missed seeing live music when i lived in vic, i looooved living there. have fun :)

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Victoria is awesome, last time we were there (2 months ago or so), my girl accidentally left her bag in a shady looking pizza joint at 3am... inside the bag was: my digital camera, my video camera, my MD recorder, my phone, her phone, both our wallets and other assorted valuable things. We raced back around 4:30am - the owner was just leaving but he recognized us (from our drivers' licences), re-opened and gave us the bag back which was untouched. I almost cried like a little girl.

larry_llama - definately come on out this Friday!!

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