On Tour: The Spill Canvas, Meg & Dia, PlayRadioPlay, Idiot Pilot,

"People Connecting through Music." – Nick Thomas of The Spill Canvas on the joys of Music, and its undiscriminating appeal.

The Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, BC was host to several indie rock bands for a night of catchy tunes, teenage angst, and teen spirit. The Spill Canvas headlining, with Meg & Dia, Idiot Pilot, and PlayRadioPlay! performed for an all ages show. The music was loud, the energy was high, and the turn out was good. The bands were entertaining on stage, even amid a cold and rainy day in Vancouver.

For most, if not all of these bands, online promotion is an integral part of building a fan-base. The savvy youth of today are only a click away from discovering new music, and if the music is good, it'll definitely catch on. The viral spread of information online is truly impressive. Bands crediting their success to sites like myspace is pretty common, and events like this, prove that the online effort has worked.

Sure most of the fans probably don't buy their music, and would rather "file share" with friends, but if they're willing to shell out the cash to see their favorite musicians live, at a price much higher then the cost of an album, then the musicians aren't really losing money. The merchandise sells, and people go to the concerts. And concerts are the best way to enjoy the music.

Meg & Dia, the sisters from Utah, were also a fan favorite and played several of their hits, as well as new never performed songs. The band was also featured in a local newspaper The Georgia Straight. Soundcheck The Spill Canvas played last, and rocked the hardest.

Check out these bands online:Meg & Dia, The Spill Canvas, PlayRadioPlay!, Idiot Pilot.

The Band's Visit

VIFF Screening: The Band's Visit (Bikur Hatizmoret), is a quiet and observant comedy, that feels genuinely human...

Vancouver International Film Festival

When I read online that The Band's Visit was awarded the Jury Coup de Coeur prize at this year's Festival de Cannes, I knew getting a ticket to see the film at the Vancouver International Film Festival would be well worth the purchase.

Winning an award at prestigious festivals isn't a bad thing, in fact it generates pretty big buzz for any film, and it's a good selling point to get viewers like me to see the movie. Being that there are so many movies at film festivals these days, one has to have a way to measure what's worth checking out, and what's worth avoiding completely. So I did, and I wasn't disappointed.

An Egyptian Police orchestral band arrives in Israel to commemorate the opening of an Arabic cultural center. Waiting at the airport, the Band soon realizes that their ride won't be showing up, so they decide to take a bus to the destination. Due to miscommunication by the mispronunciation of town names, the Band ends up in a small and sleepy town. It's late in the day, and the next bus won't be arriving until the morning. Practically stranded, they stay the night with some folks they meet at a small local eatery.

The awkwardness, of staying with strangers, is a humorous setup, but The Band's Visit, is more then just a funny movie. No, there is more to the film then jokes. There are dramatic moments in which we learn more about the characters, namely Tawfiq (Sasson Gabai) the Band Conductor. His strange relationship with cafe manager Dina (Ronit Elkabetz), are the main focus of the film, and it's really a joy to watch them. They have such a nice chemistry.

As the Band stays the night each going about their business, they learn a little bit about themselves by spending time with the locals, and by the time the night is over, life seems a little less clouded. The drama isn't forced, nor is it sentimental overkill either, it's just enough to humanize the characters.

The Band's Visit is Directed, and written by Eran Kolirin.

Related: VIFF screening: They Wait