When it comes to Seattle hip hop, Macklemore has the Emerald City locked up. But for those with an ear to underground hip hop emanating from the Pacific Northwest, there’s a good chance Grieves has popped up on your radar at some point, proving that Seattle is much better at the urban artform than its rock-friendly reputation suggests.
The 29-year-old (born Benjamin Laub) is touring in support of his most recent recording, Together/Apart, his third in a deal with the Minneapolis label Rhymesayers. And like the most famous Rhymesayers rapper, Slug of Atmosphere, there’s an artistic integrity and verbal intensity to what Grieves gives his audience, and his concerts are must-see entertainment.
His six-date tour of Canada begins tonight in Victoria, a city Grieves visited twice previously on tour (Sugar in 2009; Lucky Bar in 2011). He’s branding his upcoming outing the Back on My Grizzly tour, and is “working on some new twists to some old songs for this tour,” according to his official Twitter feed. You’d be a fool to miss his appearance at the Upstairs Cabaret tonight, with sets in support from Sweatshop Union and Northwest Division.
Doors are at 8 p.m. Show is at 9 p.m. Tickets $13 (plus service charges) at Ditch Records and Lyle’s Place or online at ticketweb.ca.
For more information, go to grievesmusic.com.
Feeling miffed that you forgot to grab tickets to see Shaggy’s local debut at Club 9one9 on Nov. 23? Victoria’s Ska Society feels your pain, and has a cure for what ails you — more Shaggy.
The pop-dancehall hitmaker (It Wasn’t Me, Angel, Boombastic) has been booked for a second show at the Douglas Street venue. Tickets for the Nov. 24 performance are on sale now. They can be purchased for $35.95 at the Strathcona Hotel, Lyle’s Place, Ditch Records and ticketweb.ca.
Mikey Dangerous and DJ Anger will open.
From the minute he arrived in Victoria nearly a decade ago, Alabama native David Vest has been welcomed with open arms by the local blues community. Now, the piano player is crossing a milestone and wants everyone to join him for an all-star party.
Vest is hosting his 70th birthday bash Nov. 1 at Hermann’s Jazz Club, home to many of his local triumphs during the past decade. Billed as a “boogie-woogie blowout birthday show,” Vest will be joined at the event by drummer Damian Graham, among others. A “special mystery guest” is expected to appear.
Tickets are $20 at Lyle’s Place and Ditch Records. It is expected to sell out, following rave performances by Vest at the Vancouver Island Blues Bash and Victoria International Jazz Festival. For information, go to davidvest.ca or hermannsjazz.com.
Back when emo was king, few bands of the genre ever made it to Victoria. One of the biggest emo acts during the late ’90s was Dashboard Confessional, whose leader is righting wrongs and making his long-awaited local debut Nov. 25 at Club 9one9.
Chris Carrabba still operates Dashboard Confessional, but he is on the road with a new project, one that turns down the weepy diary entries for a collaborative stab at folk rock. Carrabba is joined in the group by mandolin player Suzie Zeldin, bassist Jonathan Clark and drummer Ben Homola.
Twin Forks released its first recording, a self-titled EP, in September. Tickets for the band’s Nov. 25 concert are available for $15.50 at Lyle’s Place, Ditch Records, the Strathcona Hotel and ticketweb.ca.
Kandle Osborne goes deep — as in six-feet deep — in her new black-and-white video for the song Demon.
The former Victoria resident drags a coffin through a strange town in the David Valiquette-directed clip, which ends with the Oak Bay High grad in the pine box herself.
The reverb-heavy Demon is the first single from her upcoming debut, slated for release on Dare to Care Records early next year. It will be Osborne’s first batch of new music since her critically acclaimed self-titled EP from 2011.
