Newt's rock 'n' roll weekend planner, Vancouver edition, February 13-15

Well, last week's Sammy Hagar-inspired debut of Newt's Rock 'n' Roll Weekend Planner did so well--obviously helping to pack Rogers Arena for last Friday's Tragically Hip show--that I've decided to do another one. So without further adieu...

Hell yeah! As you may have already heard, AC/DC announced a Vancouver show, and the Aussie earbusters are heading this way on September 22. "So Newt," you may well ask, "what the frig does that have to do with the rock 'n' roll weekend?" Well, for those who can't wait until fall for a serious blast of raunchy blues-metal, there's an AC/DC tribute band called Vancouver's Thunderstruck that's playing at a bar called Pancho's Top 40 Rock Club in Surrey on Saturday. Hey, these guys might not be as good as the real AC/DC, but at ten bucks a head ($15 at the door) they're a lot more affordable!

And while we're on the subject of tribute bands in the 'burbs, David Bowie fans might want to keep a heavily mascaraed eye out for A Night of Bowie-The Definitive Bowie Experience, which happens at the Surrey Arts Centre on Friday. According to the promo, singer Syl Thompson and his six-piece band promise a "near-Bowie experience". And unlike AC/DC, the Thin White Duke hasn't got any local dates booked, so there ya go.

Keeping with the tribute theme--not that I've got anything against original music, if it doesn't suck--my top choice for the R'N'RW would be the Zimmermen. "Who the fvck are the Zimmermen, Newt?," you may well ask. And I'll tell ya. They're a group led by shit-hot Vancouver music vets Lindsay Mitchell (the Seeds of Time, Prism) and Jim Foster (Fosterchild) that plays the music of Zimmerman, or Bob Dylan as he's sometimes called.

"We're not a tribute band in the conventional sense," says Mitchell in a paragraph that showed up on the Internet. "None of us is dressing up and pretending to be Bob. It's just six seasoned professionals playing Dylan songs with honesty, enthusiasm and respect."

Sounds good enough for me. Especially when I find out that--as well as Mitchell and Foster on guitars and vocals--the lineup includes keyboardist "Sneaky" Pete Sweetzir (Long John Baldry), pianist-vocalist Willie MacCalder (Powder Blues), bassist Leroy Stephens (Cement City Cowboys, Blue Northern), and drummer Leonard Saidman, whose last name rings a bell. The Zimmermen play Vancouver Fan Club on Friday, and they only want 10 bucks too.

I couldn't find any Zimmerman videos on YouTube, but here's one by Fosterchild, from the Year of Our Lord, 1977. Check out that guitar solo. Stand on it, Jimbo!

For those with heavier tastes in rock, the weekend also offers Crystal Pistol taking "a last stab at rock 'n' roll" with their final performance (heard that one before) on Saturday at the Rickshaw. Guests for the gig include Nim Vind, Danger Thrill Show, Bloody Betty, Starboys, the Toxiks, Glorywhore, and Smash Alley. Those are some rockin' band names.

You can get in the mood for Crystal Pistol by visiting the Rickshaw the night before for Pirate Fest 2015, a night of pirate-inspired metal headlined by Scotland's Alestorm, with backing by Swashbuckle, the Dead Crew of Oddwood, and Crackwhore.

Arrrr Billy: ever see so many bands with whore in the name? You'd get Crackwhore one night and Glorywhore the next. Hmm... might want to just try finding somebody nice, Billy. It's Valentine's Day weekend, don't forget.