Vancouver gets a secret Alexisonfire show

After fulfilling the expectations of so many screaming high schoolers at the PNE Forum last night (November 28), Alexisonfire had earned every right to spending the rest of the night recovering from their high energy performance, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Perhaps it wast the band's love of Vancouver, or perhaps they felt they had to make up for the Olympic incident, but whatever the case, Alexisonfire decided that one show simply wasn't good enough for the night.

Heading down the street to Astoria, Alexisonfire and Vancouver's own 3 Inches of Blood were about to hold a secret show at the small Hastings bar, much to the delight of fans lucky enough to catch wind of the gig before it quickly sold out.

Roughly an hour after the end of the show at the Forum, 3 Inches of Blood took to the Astoria's cramped stage and assaulted the crowd with a setlist comprised of oldies, newies, and an inspired rendition of Blue Oyster Cult's "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll".

Next up was Alexisonfire—or Native American Spearheads as the poster would have you believe—and as the capacity crowd of roughly 200 rushed the stage and dance floor, and lead singer George Pettit shedding his shirt even before the first song, you could sense this would be a no hold's barred affair. And it was.

Alexisonfire—and Pettit especially—unleashed a performance that simply could not be done at a larger venue. Pettit spent half of the setlist in and amongst the crowd, losing his mic at several points with the crowd picking up all of his parts.

Ending with "Accidents", the band then said their farewells, and spent some time mingling with the crowd before finally calling it a night.

And while they may not be the kids that they used to be, they showed that for this performance, they were willing to fall back into old habits.

Alexisonfire at a secret show at the Astoria on Saturday, November 27. Meshellstabbie video.