LIVE at Squamish: The Zolas and the Dudes draw the crowds

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      The energy levels at the LIVE at Squamish festival doubled when the Vancouver band the Zolas hit the stage this afternoon.

      The upbeat vocals of guitarist Zach Gray and keyboardist Tom Dobrzanski had the crowd dancing, clapping, and singing along, as an inflatable shark and beach balls bounced through the audience.

      The band even invited up their parents, family members, and friends—including Ashleigh Ball of Hey Ocean! and members of We Are the City—for a sing-along during their last song.

      After a brief set of spoken word from Vancouver's Shane Koyczan, Calgary indie rock band The Dudes have now hit the main stage. An energetic crowd has again gathered in front as the band ups the rock quotient with songs including "Dropkick Queen of the Weekend", and antics including on-stage beer chugging.

      This evening's lineup also includes Black Mountain, Metric, and Weezer.

      Yolande Cole is filing her observations today from the LIVE at Squamish Music and Arts Festival.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      Doug Lemm

      Aug 21, 2011 at 11:52pm

      What a shame. Shane Koyczan reduces a rowdy audience to silence and receives a standing ovation using only poetry and all The Straight can say is "After a brief set from Vancouver's Shane Koyczan--". Every person I talked to said that he was clearly the highlight and he did it all without a backing band. Call me crazy but Shane Koyczan just took the word 'impressive' to a whole new level for me. I still can't believe he can't get any love from the media.

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      Charlie Smith

      Aug 22, 2011 at 8:24am

      Hi Doug,

      If it's any consolation, we've given Shane Koyczan a lot of coverage in our paper over the years. He even appeared on the cover.

      I was blown away by his performance at a fundraiser for the Persons With AIDS Society in April. I recorded videos and posted them on our site. You can see them here to gain greater insights into his abilities as a spoken-word artist:

      http://www.straight.com/article-386062/vancouver/videos-shane-koyczan-ro...

      Charlie Smith
      Editor
      Georgia Straight

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      Doug Lemm

      Aug 22, 2011 at 11:24pm

      Hey Charlie,

      I understand and I know that it's a "music" fest. I guess I just want the underdog to shine a little more these days. I've just never seen anything like him. Anyone that can reduce grown men to tears in a public forum clearly deserves some attention. I admit I was a skeptic but I quickly changed tunes after listening to him just once. Shane didn't even bother with the Olympics piece that people are still talking about. Mr. Koyczan kept it fresh and made this 31 year old and all of his friends cry. I've never cried with my friends. Shane Koyczan is amazing!

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      Duds

      Aug 23, 2011 at 9:11am

      The Dudes SUUUUCK!

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