Amanda Palmer plays for free in Vancouver

If you’re totally bummed that you slept on getting tickets for Amanda Palmer’s mega-sold-out show at the Vogue tonight with Neil Gaiman, you should be. The sometimes-Dresden Doll’s 2008 Vancouver appearance at Richard’s on Richards was one of the dark-horse highlights of 2008.

The question is the, how exactly do you get an up-and-close look at Palmer today? Do you stand in the urine-soaked alley behind the Vogue, hoping the doorman will reward your bravery for going sans-gas mask by sneaking you in? Do you put on your best bowler hat and vaudeville makeup and do a soft-shoe on Granville until someone is impressed enough to dump their date for you? Do you forgo eating for the next week and pony up for tickets on StubHub?

While you are weighing the pros and cons of all those options, none of which are a sure thing, why not guarantee a sighting by heading down to Gastown’s John Fluevog Design Studio (65 Water Street) today (Sunday) at 2:30 p.m.? That’s when Palmer will be on site, ukulele in hand, to perform for the faithful. A long-time supporter of John Fluevog Shoes in Boston, the singer is rumoured to be talking with the iconoclastic local designer about a shoe collaboration.

In addition to a performance by Palmer, today’s Fluevog event will also see a pair of VIP tickets for tonight’s Vogue show auctioned off, the proceeds going to the organization Vermont Recovery. Which, you have to admit, is better than the proceeds goings to some scumbag scalper or having to lurk about in a piss-scented alley.