28 April, 2006 (Friday)

Ferry return to Vancouver. Big White following. Franz Ferdinand in concert.

After heartfelt goodbyes we headed back to the ferry station at Swartz Bay and then into Vancouver.

The Samesun was near capacity so our group was split into gender-based dorm rooms. As we arrived we found that a lot of Big White had not moved on; Nick from Retail was there, as was ex-Sam's Sarah (again) and Christie (sans Aaron). Lauren and Emily latched onto John A, spending their last evening out together before going their separate ways, Sean and I had tickets to Franz Ferdinand.


Franz Ferdinand in Concert
Venue: Paciic Coliseum, in north-eastern Vancouver
Capacity: In excess of a couple of thousand. The gig was apparently sold out, but there were more than a few scalpers out the front with 'extra' tickets.
Ticket price: $45 after tax for a seated ticket. About $65 for general admission.
Crowd: A relatively young set of fans, with most between 14 and 16 years of age.
Line-up: The Cribs, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand.
Review: Our tickets originally sat us 3/4 to the back of the auditorium. The sound quality wasn't bad, but the bands looked like ants from our position. Between Death Cab and Franz I got a call from Julie (Precious' friend who came to Whistler) who was at the gig. She said that there was plenty of room just left of the stage. Sean and I ran down and found ourselves some seats two rows from the front. Bonus!

The Cribs
The Cribs sounded good, if a little fuzzy. Nothing spectacular from them, but a solid rocking set.

Death Cab for Cutie
Against a backdrop of mushroom like houses with flashing lights, Death Cab gave a nice set, filled with their softly spoken words, melodic accoustic melodies, broken by upbeat chords. Some of the intonation sounded blurred from where we were sitting, but the crowd got right behind them with lots of 12-year-old girl screams.

Franz Ferdinand
Franz put on a energy packed set of old favourites, best hits and new pieces from their latest album. They were fast and hard and sometimes a little out, but fun. There were plenty of solos to be had, featuring each of the 5 members, as well as fun on-stage antics. "Darts of Pleasure" had members of Death Cab running around the stage in Gorilla suits. The last piece, "Outsiders", had members of both support bands out with drums banging away a heavy beat. At the end of the show the band pulled apart the drum kit, leaving the stage in a mess of fallen high hats and scattered drum parts.

From the second row it was a great view. Much better to see the band members up close. The band's energy onstage was contagious, with our part of the audience bopping away to the beat. The mosh pit looked very well behaved, well compared to some Sydney crowds I've seen.

Overall it was a great night. Both Sean and I came out with big grins on our faces. The main gripe that I had was that the tour t-shirts that they had on-sale were all pretty awful. Invest in some decent graphic designers guys! Julie invited Sean and I back to some houseparty in the 'burbs, but we demured on the grounds that we needed to see Emily off properly. Out and back to the Samesun by quarter to midnight.