Go To This.

Hogan's Alley

The photograph underneath the title of this page is of Hogan's Alley.
Hogan's Alley was destroyed in the 1970s due to the construction of the Georgia Viaduct. This area was Vancouver's original black neighbourhood. Due to the high number of black porters working at the nearby train station, many families came to settle here.

Some people may remember a year or so ago when those flowers were planted in the park aside the bike path on Union St. just west of Gore, reading "Welcome to Hogan's Alley" in red.

If you try to research this area in any official records, you'll find that the history has all but been wiped out. This is a direct example of the gentrification that this city has undergone in the past 40 years.

More on Hogan's Alley:

Past Tense
Beyond Robson
Wikipedia


Also check out:

The Heatley Block Blog

Beer Is Cheaper Than Therapy

Super 8 Short Film by Ghost Taco

Last Shows

Saturday was the last MARGARET THRASHER local show before they go on to tour Europe and break up. Which is really a path that every band should take after sometime. Tour Europe and quit. Otherwise you stay together for the kids and end up like GREEN DAY (Dookie R.I.P.)

IMPOSSIBLE BABES went on around 10pm, if I remember correctly. The Secret Space was totally packed with kids from Winnipeg, Portland, and newly imported Victoria-ites. If you have yet to see the IMPOSSIBLE BABES, you're missing out. All three members live in the Alf House, one of the longest running punk houses in Vancouver history. I'm never good at describing the music of bands I like, so lets just say they're a rad live band and next time they play you should go.

DEAD DOGS from Winnipeg finally made it after their van broke down again just across the border. They were supposed to play a show a week earlier at the Alf House, but their van was broken down in Kamloops. The bass player, Scott, explained to me at some house party a couple nights later, how bummed he was that because of the van, they had to cancel shows that their friends had booked, and in turn those promoters were losing money on venues already rented, etc, etc. The drummer also had bronchitis the whole tour, so serious high fives for this band for being a bunch of troopers and putting on a shredding live show.

DEFECT DEFECT are probably one of the funnest bands to see live. Of course, they're from Portland, and it seems like any band that is born out of that little city is not only good, but really good, and fun to see live, and the dudes (gender non specific) are always some kind of rad. Maybe its just a Vancouver adoration for Portland thing. Or Maybe its true. Anyways, DD is comprised of members and ex-members of AUTISTIC YOUTH, PLAN R, THE OBSERVERS, BLOODBATH AND BEYOND and LAND ACTION. All of these from Portland. All of them some level of rad. The first time I ever saw Colin (vocals for DD) play was at the Alf House like three years ago and he hit me in the forehead with his forehead. That was when he played bass for the OBSERVERS. The first time I saw him sing with DD he hit me in the forehead with the microphone. Both times hurt enough to bruise me but not enough to quell my stoke-age for those shows. Audience interaction is key.

MARGARET THRASHER played the fucking Pussy Footers theme song! Shit, do you know how long I've waited to here that song again. Everybody was going off for the entire set. There was some amazing dogpile, kicks to the head, someone climbed on my shoulders and we paraded around and I couldn't tell who it was until after the set. Juls kept hurtling herself into the crowd and the microphone crowd was wrangling everyone like drunk cattle. If you never saw MT, you're bummed, because they're breaking up after the Europa Tour. So book your ticket to Germany now.


After this show I stumbled over to the Astoria where my friends Danny McCash and Dustin Bromley were DJing for Better Than Loneliness, which is a night they have every Saturday. Usually full of two thirds douchebag and one third rad friends that you're stoked to get drunk with, its an alright night if you have nothing better to do on a Saturday. Hence the name I suppose.
Anyhow, they packed up their Macbooks and mixers and Dustin drove us all to Prospect Point in Stanley Park to see SECRET MOMMY and BASKETBALL, who were also doing their last show before they all move to...Spain?

This show was promoterless and generator-powered and a fucking good time. It was dark except for a small spot of light by the sound equipment, so even if all your friends were there, you had no idea unless they were two feet in front of you. It went on until early in the morning and then everyone dispersed into the darkness to whine about cabbing home or try to crawl into some bush to pass out.

I got home at 7am and my mother, in town for the night, exclaimed later in the day,

"You came in at 7am! Were you awake that whole time?! How much beer did you drink anyway?"

And then I went to work, two hours early.


(P.S. This is my first attempt at any kind of show review, so bear with me, and any constructive comments are really, really welcome. xolegs)

(Pictures of Prospect Point show stolen without permission from Jessica Rosciglione)

Kelowna: Five Points

1. No Punks.

No punk music heard from any window or car stereo, not a party vest in sight. No good bands, no good venues, no well run, cheap booze cans that go to 4am. The kids that are around spray paint DK symbols on electrical boxes and still keep their shirts together with safety pins and SEX PISTOLS patches. Some call these people Mall Punks. Sometimes they party in Winfield at one of the raddest punk houses in interior BC, and listen to the HIPPIE CRITZ. The property has two houses on it, and the venue is called the Old Skinning Shack. Look up MR. AWESOME, who is not only a great songwriter, but a rad dude to party with and a crucial figure in the Kelowna punk scene.

2. Drugs

Whenever there is a surge is blowcaine use in Vancouver, chances are its happening in Kelowna as well. Friends from high-school are either doing copious amounts, or selling copious amounts. And no one has a number but if they get to the house in time to catch their roommate, then his ex-girlfriend's brother has a number of this guy, who used to be big into the club scene and so might be able to find someone.

But you just end up drinking Old Milwaukee and dragging couch cushions to the floor so your best friend from 2003, and some dude who's in some well known local band, and you, can get all sloppy, and you can listen to them complain about wanting girlfriends.

3. Parents

You kind of miss them when you're a five hour drive away and then you take a six hour bus ride, and realize there is a reason for this distance. After a day or two of them asking when you are going to sign up for that copy-editing course you mentioned once, six months ago, you feel like no amount of chain smoking and alcoholism could ever cure the amount of stress that their presence can induce.

4. Parents feeding you awesome well-balanced meals.

Totally Rules.

Until you can't stop eating because you've malnourished yourself on a beer/cheese/starch diet, and then your dad comments on how you shouldn't keep eating because it's unhealthy.

But all you hear is,

Hey Fatty Maybe Instead Of Eating So Much You Should Concentrate On Thinking About College.


5. Parties

All the parties are awkward amalgamations of kids you knew in highschool who have turned into hippies. Or hippies who know your old friends from highschool that are high on ecstasy. Or people high on ecstasy who you don't know who are way older and kind of have this Creepy Uncle effect on the whole situation. Mostly theres just lots of ecstasy.