I wasn’t in the jolliest of moods, since for one darn thing, my thumb was sore from a red poppy pin wounding from the Orpheum Remembrance Day Concert earlier that day (a sea of white and grey hair, but a deeply poignant show of war vets, marching bands and swing dance). The other darn thing was the drive on the UBC highway was something out of horror flick—torrential downpour and one lonely man taking the fearsome hour walk of darkness, his face spectre-like in the headlights. But Meligrove Band and The Golden Dogs changed that entire haunted Novemberous mood.

The show was relocated from the Pit to the Gallery due to the surprisingly mere 40 pre-sold tickets, but it made for a nice intimate soirée. The Golden Dogs opened the night (The Junction, who regularly open on the tour, had their van break down in Edmonton). The Golden Dogs were buckets of pure energy and good-spirited shouting. They have an unpretentious glitz about them, which consoles me since lately everywhere I turn seems to stink of hipness. The sitting crowd pushed their tables aside, got up and started a fun little dance party. Between tambourine and putting up cute laminated signs of each song name, Jessica Grassia played the piano so hard it made her head bang. It was such a dance frenzy you wouldn’t have even noticed if Denise Richards was chucking laptops across the bar hitting old ladies in the head. The Golden Dogs are the kind of band that I would advise not doing drugs to see—they are intoxicating enough.

Meligrove Band was everything I wanted out of four guys rocking super hard. At times everyone was dancing so madly that you hardly noticed that the whole song was instrumental, which may have been in part to singer Jason Nunes’ case of strep throat. Nonetheless, the guy is also a powerhouse on the guitar and piano. And like the Golden Dogs, Meligrove retains an unsnobbiness while producing a sophisticated aura.

Hats off to a killer show. I even signed both bands’ mailing lists, which is rare. I left feeling like I could dance till dawn, despite my thumb and the beastly weather. Both bands were deeply impressed with the enthused and dancy Vancouver crowd, being used to pensive indie kids with folded arms. I was proud of us too.