Whatever state the music and DIY scene is in Vancouver, Canada, I am unclear of what it would be. One night is hardly enough to really investigate it thoroughly but from what I gathered, things are pretty underground in regards to shows put on.

If there are any public spaces that put on events usually they tend to not run for long since they become shut down. Not knowing the specifics on these places, whether they are mostly word of mouth or places attempting to be legitimate all-ages spaces, in certain cases they will be shut down by whatever the Canadians address as fire marshals. So what you get are spaces that inconsistently put on shows, where this inconsistency is a show out on once, twice, or three times within the span of six months. Imagine four spaces doing that kind of thing in a year.

This doesn’t at all mean that Vancouver is doomed and devoid of live music. You can have house shows as much as you’d like as long as the neighbors don’t make a fuss. It’s the same here in the states.

The Shed is a… Shed. It sits in a fairly small back yard overshadowed by an incredibly large three story house surrounded by homes similar in size. It’s about the size of half a small garage with a wooden support in the middle. You walk in, the band is playing on the left side of you toward the back and- depending on who is playing- you might have to step over some people, sit down or wait for a space to clear on the sofa. Since the Shed is in a residential area the residents that run it probably keep the shows pretty quiet.

The acts that played before fit that quiet motif but iji doesn’t. I haven’t seen it and I would find it interesting to watch but not for this night. When they started everyone was outside cooling off and chatting. It became very hot inside of the Shed from all of the folks watching the band from before but it was probably going to become more heated from the mega rock band, iji, performance.