. Friday, January 30th IMU presents FREEFLOW, RETURN OF THE STERN & DISPELL @ The Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir / Show 9:30pm

FREEFLOW - Combining dynamic, rhythm-fused soul with funk, reggae, rock and electronica, Freeflow creates something that's wholly original -- music for and of the people. Their electrifying live shows deliver ass-shakin' grooves that have turned many a sold out crowd into frenzied disciples while getting even the most jaded club hoppers jumping around. RETURN OF THE STERN has been bringing their captivating, groove-based music around town for the past 4 years. Playing a combination of originals and covers, they've garnered attention for their honest, fresh and fun approach to funk-jazz. DISPELL - Fronted by talented and enigmatic singer Laura Kelsey, Dispell blends jazz, funk and blues rock into original songs and selected covers. Featuring alumni of Stabilo, Sain Arden, Freeflow and others, they've played thousands of local shows, tours and festivals between them.

ICONIX - A fun, energetic and unique 6-piece band for all occasions, IconIX has been rocking audiences for the past 4 years with 4 decades of your favourite tunes ranging from rock and pop to alternative and dance music. WHITE BLOOD CELLS is a Vancouver-based tribute to The White Stripes, one of the leading bands of the post-2000 garage rock revival. Intensely executed with heavily distorted power chords blasting a blasphemous noise, White Blood Cells honour the spirit of the Stripes with their explosive, minimalist, authentic blues rock. COLOURSURROUND - Formed by three strung-out corporate dudes in suits who desperately needed an outlet, Coloursurround creates escapist music inspired by otherworldly bands such as Pink Floyd, Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, Dandy Warhols, Radiohead and Jeff Buckley. CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TOP

CRAZY DIAMONDS are serious about honoring the music of PINK FLOYD, delivering a powerful, authentic live show that presents the best of the Floyd's mindblowing, psychedelic music. In the few years they've been together, Vancouver's one and only Pink Floyd tribute act has built up a growing fanbase by playing clubs like The Media Club, Railway Club and Backstage Lounge. CLAPTON'S BLUES POWER follows Eric Clapton's musical journey and rise to the pinnacle of rock history, playing songs from his early years with The Yardbirds, classics from rock's first supergroup Cream, and the best of his solo career. They strive to recreate the riffs, harmonies and feel of a blues guitar legend who played alongside some of the greatest musicians of his era. CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TOP ________________________________

A One Night Only Valentine's Day Reunion Extravaganza showcasing Crystal Pistol's final performance, giving folks something to hate again... cause everyone hates you when you love rock 'n' roll! Featuring a plethora of local talent, this night will be a legendary send-off for one of Vancouver's most unforgettable bands! CRYSTAL PISTOL - Reuniting for one night only, Crystal Pistol made a name for themselves as a hard rock freight train with jet engine guitar, air-punching anthems and stadium-sized choruses. One of the hardest-partying live acts in the city, they were sure to combust, but now you can relive the legend that saw them featured in Bruce McDonald's "Love Crimes of Gillian Guess", touring Europe and releasing an acclaimed album via Universal-distributed Alert Records. Tapping the energy found in classic GnR, Motorhead and Stooges, "Let's Rock" takes on Commandment proportions with Crystal Pistol!

NIM VIND invites listeners into his dark and stormy world with smooth baritone vocals soaked in mental patient poetry, skillfully driven by throwback guitar riffs, monstrous bass grooves and pounding drum beats. Fresh off a North American tour supporting Gary Numan, Nim and his band of real life brothers deliver sci-fi horrorpunk that inhabits a void bridging Bauhaus, The Doors, David Bowie and Edward Scissorhands. Featuring the Todd Rundrgen-mixed "Astronomicon", his new album Saturday Night Séance Songs just won Album Of The Year at Rue Morgue, the world's biggest horror movie mag!

JAPANESE COWBOY - Renowned for spawning ingenious creations of bad taste and dizzying chaos, Japanese Cowboy definitively delivers the innovative meta-rock stylings of WEEN. Ween's incredible musical diversity, reckless experimentation and cheeky humour has traversed almost every genre in existence, brilliantly blended with genuine rock'n'roll excitement. RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM (Tom Petty Tribute) - Mark Ingram started Runnin' Down A Dream in 2009 as a way to introduce new fans to the music of one of the greatest songwriters in rock and roll while entertaining existing fans with familiar hits and standout rarities. This kick-ass band of experienced musicians will blow you away with their high energy takes on classic Tom Petty songs like American Girl, Free Fallin' and Mary Jane's Last Dance, not to mention a song or two from the Traveling Wilburys, Mudcrutch, and Petty's Live Anthology.

The ELEVEN TWELVES - Full of fuzzy guitar riffs, soaring harmonies, manic drumming and vintage transistor organ, The Eleven Twelves specialize in playing '60s garage-rock. With a focus on the legendary NUGGETS compilations, they also play obscure gems and one hit wonders from the psychedelic era, capturing the raw energy and youthful spirit of the bands that influenced a generation.

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TOP

________________________________


. Saturday, February 28th MU presents WARLESS, DISPELL & guests @ The Fairview, 898 West Broadway . Show 9:30pm / $10 cover

WARLESS - A furiously fun, reggae-tinged musical hybrid dance-a-thon that beams positivity through intimate stories of the beautiful west coast. Powerfully rooted in funky beats and ripping guitar licks, Warless will get you moving and grooving with their socially conscious sound.

DISPELL - Fronted by talented and enigmatic singer Laura Kelsey, Dispell blends jazz, funk and blues rock into original songs and selected covers. Featuring alumni of Stabilo, Sain Arden, Freeflow and others, they've played thousands of local shows, tours and festivals between them.

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TOP

________________________________


. Saturday, March 7th IMU presents CHINA SYNDROME Album Release w/ DANNY ECHO, BLACK, RED & BLONDE + The SPHERES @ The Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir / Show 9:30pm

CHINA SYNDROME is a melodic rock band from Vancouver who combine driving pop hooks in the vein of XTC and Teenage Fanclub with liberal dollops of classic rock influences augmented by angular funk grooves, psychedelia and other aural surprises. Their new album "The Usual Angst" was recorded and produced at Vancouver's JC/DC Studios by David Carswell (New Pornographers, Tegan and Sara) and praised by The Georgia Straight as "infectiously jangly" with "fantastic, hooky guitar".

DANNY ECHO reverberates with all that is melodic, all that is catchy and all that is rock and roll. They've taken their songwriting, recordings and live shows to the next level with smoke machines, video projections, smoking guitars and fire extinguishers enhancing the visual appeal of Danny Echo gigs. Their hook-filled tunes have been implanted in numerous media outlets including Cold Squad, MTV, MuchMusic, CBC and The Peak FM.

BLACK, RED AND BLONDE - Dedicated to keeping great guitar-based rock and roll songs alive, Black, Red And Blonde is a five-piece Vancouver-based rock outfit. Frontman Mark Ingram and veteran lead guitarist Guenter Schulz deliver songs from artists including Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Black Crowes, The Who, Tom Petty and Steve Miller with such intensity that people are compelled to hit the dance floor.

The SPHERES could be described as alternative, or post-alt, or maybe neo-contemporary. Or future retro-ism -- what people fifteen years from now might imagine music sounded like today.

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TOP

________________________________


. Saturday, March 7th IMU presents FEMME ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin Tribute featuring Rachel Davis, STONE COLD CRAZY Queen Tribute & SEARCH PARTY @ The Fairview, 898 West Broadway . Show 9:30pm

FEMME ZEPPELIN (Led Zeppelin Tribute featuring Rachel Davis) - Born in LA, Rachel Davis started playing music in front of audiences when she was 7, busking on the streets of Peru. In 2010 she formed Rachel Davis And The Banned with some friends of considerable talent, showcasing her powerful vocals and near 5 octave range. Don't miss her dynamic interpretation of Led Zeppelin classics, delivering their essential songs with fiery and impassioned fervour! STONE COLD CRAZY is Vancouver's foremost tribute to legendary UK rockers QUEEN, capturing their spirit, spectacle and songs with power and grace. Taking their mutual love of all things Mercury into the hearts and minds of Vancouver's classic rock fans, they skillfully deliver quintessential Queen from throughout their chart-topping career. Stone Cold Crazy is excited to introduce the gender-bending performance of singer/pianist Tania Gosgnach, channelling the legendary Freddie Mercury. Come and get your Queen on!

The UNKNOWN SOLDIERS come amazingly close to replicating the music of THE DOORS note for note while capturing their raw energy through each band member's interpretation, combining to deliver a groovy reproduction of a live Doors show that keeps audiences in a head-bobbing, toe-tapping trance. Their singer's Morrison-esque look, vibe and baritone voice combine with swirling organs and deft musicianship to captivate and transcend time and place, allowing audiences to be transported back in time to experience a taste of live shows that are now a part of rock mythology. GENERATION WHO - From hungry young artists in the mid-'60s to arena rock royalty of the '70s, The Who has constantly changed and reinvented itself. Generation Who showcase material from the legendary band's expansive catalogue and put on rousing performances on-stage. Brilliant, inspired and in top form, expect Generation Who to rock you with The Who's musical legacy!

RUDE CITY RIOT - Contagious melodies, smart lyrics, tight grooves and a wailing horn section keep the dance floor packed and the crowd singing along. With a strong reverence for the mighty ska tradition and influences ranging from punk to reggae to soul, Rude City Riot is set to make their mark on the ska community! The HANG-TEN HANGMEN travelled back in time from another dimension to learn how to play surf-rock in the 21st century, influenced by The Ventures, The Beach Boys, Link Wray, Dick Dale, The Astronauts and Los Straitjackets! The CAVELEROS - Based out of Victoria, The Caveleros are three highly talented musicians who can play anything from rapid fire rockabilly surf instrumentals to atmospheric border town instrumentals of the American Southwest. Listening to them is a melodically and rhythmically engaging, exciting and infectious musical experience.

SISTER SABBATH is different from other Black Sabbath tribute bands, a force to be reckoned with boasting a female singer who covers all the eras of Sabbath with ease while wearing a psychotic nun's outfit. Their set list covers every angle of the band's vast career from their biggest hits to underground favorites, with an entertaining stage show featuring some of the city's finest musicians MAIDEN BC - BC's premier Iron Maiden tribute band, Maiden BC celebrates a band who have been giving their fans great music since the '80s while continuing to sell out large stadiums around the world. Starting with the debut album, Maiden BC powers through all the classics that made Iron Maiden who they are today. CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TOP ________________________________