2011-04-30: Planking at the Spartacus anniversary

It's true! Everyone's favorite anarchist bookstore Spartacus Books is having a small anniversary party down at 684 E. Hastings, and a small number (possibly very small) of Planks will be down there at 6 to play some pseudo-political music. But you don't have to wait that long -- things kick off with a 10 am pancake breakfast, and there'll be other entertainment in effect over the course of the day including Katie and the Lichen, Anita Sparrow, and our friends in the Gram Partisans.

2011-04-29: Too Much Of A Good Time!

This show tonight is so packed, why complicate it with extraneous words? The Creaking Planks open at the Backstage Lounge (on Granville Island -- 1585 Johnson St.) tonight for three good sets of friends in the Knackers, the Whiskey Dicks, and of course Mezamazing. It's been too long since we've played with any of them, and here we get to play with ALL of them! The show kicks off at 8:30 pm, play running in the attached theatre permitting, and we'll be the first band up. Sometime well after midnight, the musical death march of joy will wrap up.

And isn't this a killer poster? Really, aside from Galiano Island, where we're concerned there are no competing places to hold a candle to being at this show tonight. Fortunately, we don't have to choose!

2011-04-24: Planks play second fiddle to Jason Webley and Maria in the Shower

Spring's coming up wonderfully strange all around! Building on past strengths, we're celebrating the return of the sun on Easter Sunday with the return of our friend Jason Webley, the mad genius behind the Monsters of Accordion tour, joining us and most of the merry minstrels of Maria in the Shower, again at the Grandview Legion Hall (2205 Commercial Drive) which we used to such good effect with them at last year's Accordion Noir Festival. This show, also, is presented by the weekly Accordion Noir radio show / podcast -- and what better way to celebrate the gritty, punky rebirth of accordion music also than with this over-the-moon lineup? Don't worry about Monday morning the next day -- that's EASTER Monday you're thinking of! After our show you can feel free to Morris dance and conduct pagan rites until you're satisfied with your Maypole's braid. And if your employer disagrees with us, uh, well then we'll have to have some harsh words with him. (Or her. But bosses are, by definition, The Man.)

Tickets are a steal at $15, and we'd like to thank our friends at the Work Less Party for helping to make this show possible.

Proving we don't have the market quite cornered on the goofy covers, here's an old Jason Webley chestnut you most likely won't be hearing at this occasion:

2011-04-08: Planks play at the Bootleggers' Ball

The jug band of the damned trades in our washtub bass for washtub gin (hm... tastes a bit... bassy!) at this speakeasy-themed benefit for the Vancouver Police Museum, "Vancouver's most arresting experience" (har har), celebrating their 25th anniversary. The museum itself is a very interesting piece of work, immortalizing our regional law enforcement AND lawlessness with all sorts of worrying evidence from local criminal acts throughout Vancouver's history. These folks also host the exciting "Sins of the City" walking tour, but I digress...

Friday night from 7 pm on, we'll be partying it up like it's 1939 at the Biltmore Cabaret (395 Kingsway) with the Vaudevillains squeezing the last drop of humour out of period material with their last gasps, and the easy-to-speak-about burlesque authorities Lola Frost, Darla DeVine and Lacey L'Amour.

Plus prizes galore from numerous generous sponsors! Tickets only available in advance! $40! More information at http://www.bootleggersball.ca/

It's gratifying to see how many folks over at Miss604, media sponsor of the show, agree that we're an excellent fit for its format. Wow, gosh! These people know about us! (Maybe they remember the coverage of our One Cool Word performance there?) In truth, we are an excellent fit for every format -- and any crying child who tells you otherwise is a dirty liar!

2011-04-05: Planks at CabaRadio 2nd anniversary broadcast

Sometimes, the opportunities come so close together there just isn't time to write them all up! Late the night of Apr 5th, a crew of five Planks , perhaps our biggest yet on the radio (including Dr. Stelhand's debut on the chacharangi and Ludwicka LePearl's debut on the beverage dispenser), joined Teddy Smooth and E-Roc (and practically a cast of thousands: Andrea Superstein formerly of the Marmaladies, Ligia Oancea, Jane Stanton, Suzy Shameless and Iona Beerwagon from the Terminal City Rollergirls, and Burgundy Brixx & the Purrfessor of Kitty Nights) to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of CabaRadio over at CiTR.

You can hear us here! Our first song, the Volga Boatmen birthday song, begins at 8:41 (CabaRadio enjoys great production values, and it enjoys them at its leisure), which we follow up with Psycho Killer at 9:40, our Kishka Anthem at 13:34, and Kiddie Closer again for kicks at 17:56.

Memories! Sights to rival the sounds from the CiTR lounge:

2011-04-02: Planks play at the Peculiar Poetry Cabaret!

You probably missed us March 12 playing an intimate acoustic living room set to celebrate a new line of Venus' vintage jewellery. That was too bad, but her works live on and you can find them online! Performances are ephemeral however, none more than poetry performances -- even the loudest among them often fly under the radar just outside the front door, while a jerk with a car stereo can be belt blocks away. Musicians, though, we straddle the line between poet and jerk, and tomorrow night we will be making a spirited ruckus on behalf of the quiet poets of page and slam, making our sound and fury to benefit the upcoming 1st annual Vancouver International Poetry Festival.

Joining us will be such mouthy titans as Al Mader, the minimalist jug band, as well as Barbara Adler of Fang and elder statesman of the harmonica beatbox C. R. Avery. Also on the bill are Lucia Misch, our friends in High Society, and even a very literary turn by our own Travis the Magician. (A wizard of words, perhaps?)

Admission runs on a sliding scale from $10-15.