Parts and Labor were playing the Media Club in Vancouver last night, and I was a mere 2 blocks away at the Railway. 2 measly blocks. I would've liked to show some support to Whiney but, I mean, goddammit, it was WRECKLESS ERIC...

Wreckless Eric hadn't been to Vancouver since 1978, so this was a totally unexpected treat. It was a solo show - just Eric and his guitar - but what an awesome show he put on. The highlight for me was a 10+ minute rendition of "Reconnez Cherie" (lengthened to include Eric's hilarious reminiscence of the genesis of the song), but he also played "The Whole Wide World" and even dusted off a few songs from his Big Smash album that he'd never played live before (he was playing in conjunction with the Big Smash Film Festival, and said he felt he at least owed the organizers a tune off the album). He told stories and read selections from his book, then got straight back to rocking. Of his newer stuff, the song "33s and 45s" (off 2004's Bungalow Hi) was a stunner, made all the more intense by Eric's refusal to cut his set short at the behest of club management. He even chastized the club folks ("there seems to be a bit of trouble out there, but I'm not leaving, you can cut the power, do what you want, do your best, I'm not leaving") without skipping a beat or missing a chord.

And Eric's old labelmate Elvis Costello was in town with his Krallfriend for some cancer fundraiser, so there was a bit of buzz that there might be a special guest showing up, but that just turned out to be an unfounded hope. The night was all Eric's.

Before the show, Eric was ambling around the club and he seemed so unassuming. He's so slight of stature, and with the passing of the last 30 years he resembles a kindly old uncle more than anything else - but once he got on that stage he absolutely OWNED the place. The little dude is INTENSE. It was another one of those rare events that I felt privileged to have witnessed.

If you get a chance to see him, grab it. Just don't forget to apologize to any Obner/CMJ bands you might slight in your decision.

How many of those films did you end up catching, Rads?

The fest is still going on. Some genius programmed the Ronnie Lane doc to play the same night as the Wreckless Eric gig, so I'm gonna have to get that one on DVD.

Right now, my score for flicks seen stands at 0.

Awesome. Was thinking of him today - got a totally random email from someone I haven't seen in six years who has evidently been in tahiti all this time.