2010-12-19: Creaking Planks at Memewar launch

The jug band of the damned shows its meagre warm and cuddly festive side as we help to celebrate the launch of the 12th issue of Memewar Magazine. We're on from 9:30-10:30 pm at the Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street at Seymour (upstairs).

2010-09-07: Creaking Planks back at the Railway Club for more Memewar

On short notice all around, en lieu of visiting Gibsons again (RIP Wild Bistro! And too darn bad we missed the Gumboot train) we're joining our good friends at Memewar Magazine for another 'do celebrating their rag down at the Railway Club, (579 Dunsmuir Street, upstairs) with the Jeremy Braax Band, Brent Lawrence, and our new best friend for the next week, California's Uni & her Ukulele. (Stay tuned for more information about further upcoming shows with her, and for an account of our adventures in California!)

Things have been so hairy in the coming and going (everything except for Blackbox Squeezebeard, that is) we've even had a few good times come up on us so suddenly we didn't get a chance to talk them up here -- times like last week's other Railway appearance, at Redrick Sultan's tour send-off Aug 29th, the killer Steinberg summer party at the end of July, and our last intersection with our Memewar friends, playing a set of songs about cryptozoology to kids at the CNIB camp on Bowen Island. How awesome is that?

And then of course there's the Accordion Noir Festival coming up in a couple of weeks... but one post at a time, friends!!

2009-11-05: Memewar issue launch at the Railway Club

Celebrating the 10th issue of Memewar Magazine (on the theme of "Adaptation") at the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir) with the Planks at midnight and other musical acts Wintermitts and MT-40 as well as readings from Neil Rayner and Maria Lénàrt -- and the thrilling conclusion to Thor Polukoshko’s multimedia post-modern advertising genre mash-up Cereal Junkies!

Doors at 8:30; $10 admission includes a copy of the magazine.

2009-05-20: Savor at the Heritage Hall, then the "Spring Fling" One Cool Word launch at the Biltmore!

It's an improbable and, quite frankly, somewhat foolish weeknight twofer from the Creaking Planks... but with this many good causes at classy venues, who are we to turn down the invitations to make our unmistakable mark?  Starting the night, The Neighbours Organic Weekly Co-operative (NOWBC) hosts a benefit for the CityReach Care Society's "Food for Families" project.  As well as a potluck dinner and fabulous prizes, the evening presents a slate of performers (kid-friendly up 'til 7:30 pm):

• 6 p.m. D'Arcy Stainton, children's performer


• 6:45 Lily Jo


• 7:00 Melodious Mandolins


• 7:45 Friends of Thieves


• 8:30 Creaking Planks


• 9:15 Yer Blues

and here's its poster!

But by the end of that line-up, we'll already have shuffled up Main Street to help celebrate the launch of One Cool Word magazine's 13th issue (you remember, they presented our pal Bob Uker back in issue #5 in Spring 2007) at the Biltmore Cabaret (395 Kingsway)! (keep an ear open for the rendition of Dead Man's Pants from our demo on the accompanying CD!) Here are the rough plans for THAT night...

• 9:30 The Contemporary Lovers


• 10:20 Creaking Planks


• 11:10 Analog Bell Service


• 12:00 Fur Bearing Animals

plus …and special guest models from Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School!

And here's its poster!

Update! April Smith of AHA Media (backing up Rob "The Delete Bin" Jones' report for Miss 604 -- whew, what a tangled web! -- where we are described as "jug band music as played by Tom Waits’ feral stepchildren") caught us out at the Biltmore and posted a couple of videos of us on YouTube (as well as a schwack of photos from the whole evening on Flickr)!

Here we are performing Creep...


... and here's our Psycho Killer! The classics always have something new to offer upon revisitation.

2009-02-19: Memewar Launch "Gods and Idols" issue at the Railway Club

We had so much fun with the crew of Memewar magazine at their last release party that they invited us back.Here's it's poster:

As you can see, once again it's at the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir Street at Seymour, upstairs), and we're being joined by readings from the magazine (and its "Gods and Idols" theme) from C.J. Leon, Rhoda Hodjati and Tony Power and music from Wintermitts and Victoria's Ballgag 'n Chain Gang... and something involving the Vancouver Cantata Singers.  Admission gets you a copy of the magazine (it's a great business model -- each party's cover pays for the subsequent issue, whose release party pays for the subsequent issue... and so forth).

Next up we've got a private engagement on the 27th (then see how fast we can peel off to catch Geoff Berner's CD launch at the Biltmore!), but stay tuned for another Planky evening at Cafe Montmartre Saturday February 28th!

...

And here we were!

Photo by Missy Clarkson

2008-10-09: Planks at Memewar Issue #7 launch at the Railway Club!

The Planks are buffing their splinters for a filthy, filthy return to the Railway Club (579 Dunsmuir Street at Seymour, upstairs) for the third time in two month (and the second time this week! a big change of pace from the nearly two-years' gap prior!)  Hopefully things will be almost-but-not-quite as off-the-hook as last week's show, at which we took the stage of the sold-out Railway Club an hour late (Geoff Berner was well in his element -- some kind of formaldehyde, I think -- and on top of his game can halt a 10-piece band in its tracks with a well-timed anecdote!) well after 1 am.  An hour later they didn't want to let us leave the stage, though we'd exhausted the set.  Roar! Finally, the crowds were beaten back by urging them to become members of Co-op radio and to revisit us six mere days later... at this occasion!

This time we're all playing our hearts out to celebrate the launch of issue #7 of Memewar Magazine, with its focus on censorship (The Song Of The Count: censored!) and obscenity.  (And really, what could be more obscene than a nerd on a squeezebox plaintively crooning songs about explicit matters of sexuality?) Also in the upcoming issue you may find an advertisement for our upcoming album release! (No, this isn’t it.) Other performances will include the Girls on Top burlesque troop (there are two words that don't go together well!), an erotic poetry slam courtesy of R.C. Weslowski, C.J. Leon, Fernando Raguero and Jane "Break Your Freak" Panek with accompaniment from her companion (hm, or not!)  There will be guest readings from the issue, possibly recited by acclaimed pottymouths Elaine Miller and Nathaniel Wolfe, and more musical performances from Bells Clanging and the Barcelona Chair, who will be surrounding our 11:15-starting set like a splinter sandwich.The show starts at 8:30 pm (your $10 admission gets you a complementary copy of the magazine!) and further boasts "more Cereal Junkies" (?!) and naughty prizes!

(And then we're off to HPVII!)