gomez
Friday saw Courtenay and I once again, at the old but beautifully revamped Commodore Ballroom to see one of our most favourite bands, Gomez.
This would have been the fourth time we have seen these English boys perform since we first discovered their music eight years ago in our Welsh friend's small Peugeot car, during a visit to Swansea, Wales
Now, it's a rare thing for the Welsh to speak highly of anyone or anything that is remotely related to the English, however Gomez seemed to have struck a different chord with Dan and Parker. It was the song Whipping Piccadilly that started our love affair with Gomez who seemed to use every oddball instrument under the sun to make their songs.
That trip to the UK was a memorable one for us, particularly in the end when our other friend Danielle, had decided to go to Amsterdam to stay with family, while Court and I had run out of money and were left without a place to kill time and rest our heads. We both shared my Discman and earbud headphones, as we sat out on the sidewalks of London and lay around on lawns of rowhouses with our all of our possessions beside us like a couple of hobos. We listened and sang along out loud to Weezer, Dixie Chicks and Natalie Merchant and vowed that the moment we landed back at home and got our hands on some money (with newly found jobs) we would both buy the Gomez album.
We've collected every album since and have seen them every time they've come to Vancouver, so in a sense they've become like old friends, and our little secret. With each show, their audience gets larger and larger and this time was no exception, but it's so hard to keep your mouth shut about something you love so much!
It's not often that the opener for the show is someone heard of en masse, but sometimes we get lucky. It was the second time we had seen Gomez perform that Jason Mraz had opened the night. At the time he was unheard of - but he was great and Court and I both went home with his album. This time around it was Ben Kweller. Court had never heard his music but I am a fan of his anyway and he deserves his own tour because he's so cool in his own right. He's an unlikely sex-god with his retro stylings and hair longer than my own, but he can play! And there's nothing sexier than watching a man on stage belting out tunes and jamming away. Ben has great charisma and it felt like a massive house party.
If they ever come your way, I'd suggest you go check them out - you're in for a good time.
