This show Wed 4 May – Eddie and The Hot Rods was attended by approximately 50 people, which is pathetic considering the stature this band deserves.

They were the essential link between pub rock and punk rock in the UK in the '75-'77 period. I have to admit I wasn't sure I was going to attend myself but am glad I did as it was a great show by a band that, if there was a punk rock hall of fame, would surely be among the first inductees.

Mon 21 Apr – Handsome Furs

Things didn't get going until sometime after 10 with the support band. Didn't catch their name. Actually moved to a part of the bar as far away from them as I could possibly get, as their opening number featured a very loud bass sound generated from some electronic device hidden under the drum kit that was making my ears feel funny.

I felt more comfortable when the Handsome Furs took the stage. I kind of wonder why there is so much interaction with the drum machine when surely it is or could be all…

Sat 2 Feb – From the Jam, Hugh Cornwell

Billed as two thirds of The Jam, it consisted of the original drummer and bassist, plus a couple of other guys to fill in for Paul Weller on vocals and guitar duties. I wasn't expecting this to be all that good because, after all, it can't really be the Jam without Paul Weller, but it turned out to be a great show. The band really seemed to feed off the energy of an adoring audience very many of whom looked old enough to have been fans since 1977.

I had…

Thu 24 Jan – The Bravery, Switches
My third time seeing the Bravery, the first two times was at the Commodore - curious why they're now playing the smaller Richards on Richards. As always, they always put on a good show.

I often don't like the support acts at gigs I go to, but the Switches were an exception. Never heard them before, they have some really good songs.

Fri 7 Sep – Spoon

Good show. The opening act was Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. Straightforward but hard-driving blues, very well executed. Not exactly what I was expecting as an opener for Spoon, but they were very good and well received by the audience. Leader Joe Lewis has a good voice for blues, reminiscent of James Brown I thought.

Spoon leader Britt Daniels walked past me at the bar a couple of times, but his appearance is a bit non-descript so I think I was the only one who noticed. On stage though, he has great presence and…

Sat 12 May – Teenage Head

This was a very good show. Those who arrived early had to wait outside for a while until the soundcheck was finished , entirely the band's fault for starting late. Even the support band The transmitters seemed to be waiting outside. It turns out, they were very good. I think they said they have an album out on Stiff Records soon, and they would fit in very well with that labels original roster - excellent short sharp new wave influenced songs.

When Teenage Head hit the stage, all was forgiven (i.e. the line-up outside)…

Tue 24 Apr – The Walkmen, Kaiser Chiefs, The Little Ones

Good show, almost as good as the Electric Six the previous night. I believe the Kaiser Chiefs are fans of sport (being named after a soccer team) and they got the crowd going in a chant for the Vancouver Canucks who had advanced to the next round of the NHL playoffs the night before by beating the Dallas Stars. The band members seemed to get a kick out of the audience's show of support for the local team.

A mostly young crowd, but with a surprising number of older…

Mon 23 Apr – Electric Six, Test Your Reflex
The Electric Six jokingly referred to themselves as "Vancouver's Premier Party Band" during the course of this show and, despite the fact that they are from Detroit, I have to agree. If you are a fan of really good rock and roll, you really should've been at this show. They were here six months ago and promise to be back in another six months.

Last time they were missing their keyboard player because he was denied entry to Canada. This time they were missing both the keyboard player and one guitar…

Tue 17 Apr – Social Distortion, black halos
Support bands were I Hate Kate and The Black Halos. Both were pretty decent though the lead singer of the Halos is hard to take seriously - he's like a cross between Stiv Bators and Pee Wee Herman. To his credit, I'm pretty sure most of the humour in his performance is intentional.

Social Distortion were on form, playing the second of two sold-out shows. I was just to the left of the very active moshing area and so had a pretty good view. I was a bit disappointed that some…

Friday night, Hillary Bar, Sukhumvit Soi 4, Bangkok.

The place was packed, he has some very enthusiastic fans. Sek Loso is one of the only Thai rock musicians with the style and substance to make it outside of Thailand. Apparently, Noel Gallagher of Oasis is a bit of a fan. Sek did a cover of Wonderwall during the show.

Most Thai pop and rock musicians have a strong tendency to concentrate on sappy ballads, and it is rare for someone like Sek Loso who doesn't try to pander to a mass audience to succeed. Instead he relies on actual talent…