Showing 1-19 of 19 results
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Anza Club
Local alt-music acts favor this homely, grunge-chic venue that has the ambiance of a worker's club without the edge. Like at an eclectic community hall, there's an odd roster of quiz nights and darts events where you can meet and greet the locals, but there's also some fun grassroots music, including local punk and garage bands and the regular Monday night bluegrass evening.
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Backstage Lounge
This lively, newly smartened Granville Island hangout has been a mainstay of the local night-out scene for years, with daily booze specials, DJ-led dance nights and a great chill-out patio drawing the regulars. The live music - usually Wednesday to Saturday - is generally of the upbeat local band variety, with West Coast Wednesdays showcasing two or three of the best.
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Café Deux Soleils
A neighborhood hangout for the Drive's artsy bohemian bunch, this ramshackle gallery-like coffeehouse hosts poetry slams, open mike nights and live music almost every evening. The eclectic roster of tunesmiths includes singer-songwriters, folk doyens and world music performers, which sound increasingly good as you down the regional beers on offer.
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Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club
A convivial restaurant venue - think quality pastas and pizzas - with a surprisingly strong roster of nightly mainstream jazz, this popular Yaletown haunt is an ideal spot if you're hungry for dinner and a show. House pianists and trios make up the early part of the week, while Fridays and Saturdays are reserved for visiting big acts and Sunday is the regular blues night.
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Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club
A serious muso venue where you're required to keep the noise down and respect the performers on the tiny corner stage, this subterranean 70-seat resto-club is as close as you'll get in Vancouver to a classic jazz venue. Known for showcasing hot local performers, as well as some great touring acts, this atmospheric spot lures aficionados from across the region with its mix of mainstream and edgier fare.
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Cobalt
Vancouver's punk, hardcore and metal fans have made the grunge pub Cobalt their home in recent years. Don't be put off by its dodgy downtown Eastside location: there's a welcoming, if mostly black-clad, crowd. The music - thrashed out by bands such as The Fiends, The Pissups and Malhavoc - is of the blistering, ear-bleeding variety and is scheduled Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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Commodore
Up-and-coming local bands know they've finally made it when they play the city's fave mid-sized music venue, a lovingly restored Art Deco ballroom that still has the bounciest dance floor in town - courtesy of stacks of tires placed under its floorboards. If you need a break from your mosh pit shenanigans, collapse at one of the tables lining the perimeter, catch your breath, grab a beer and then plunge back in.
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Commodore Ballroom
Up-and-coming local bands know they've finally made it when they play the old Commodore Ballroom, now managed by the House of Blues entertainment group. The club also books international touring acts, and on disco nights its big bouncy dance floor gets packed.
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Fairview Pub
Like a neighborhood pub that time forgot, the Fairview is a great little laid-back joint if all you want to do is grab a few beers, nosh on some chicken wings and catch some great blues licks. The regular house band hits the stage on Thursdays with a rumbling back catalogue forged from 12 years on the road. Most Fridays and Saturdays there's an eclectic roster of music, including jazz, funk, retro and rock and roll.
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Jericho Folk Club
Hosted by the Jericho Folk Club in this convivial beachfront sailing center, local folkies stage their regular Tuesday night event, kicking off with a fun jam session. The evening then moves on to an open-mike hour - make sure you bring your tambourine - and concludes with a headline act that's guaranteed to have your toes tapping.
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Jupiter Café
Another lounge that likes to add a laughter track to tackle the Monday night blues, the upstairs Jupiter Café offers a regular comedian-hosted improv night. Reflecting its neighborhood, expect plenty of naughty gay-themed jokes to keep the locals giggling. If you just don't get it, drop by on Thursday instead when it's live jazz night.
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Main On Main
Complete with a restaurant serving good Greek comfort food, the warm and welcoming Main is one of Vancouver's liveliest folk and roots music venues. Professional performers - usually heartfelt local soloists or guitar-wielding singer-songwriters - hit the stage Thursday to Saturday, delivering an ideal accompaniment to your souvlaki or moussaka.
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Media Club
This intimate, dimly lit indie space tucked underneath the back of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre books inventive local acts that mix and match the genres, so you may have the chance to see electro-symphonic or acoustic metal groups alongside power pop, hip-hop and country bands - although probably not on the same night. A great place for a loud night out, this rivals the Rail for catching up-and-coming Vancouver bands.
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O'doul's
Free nightly jazz attracts locals and visitors to the Listel Vancouver hotel's laid-back resto-bar, a romantic, ambient-lit venue showcasing hot soloists, trios and quartets from the city and beyond. The focus is mainstream, but there's always a great buzz here during the Jazz Festival, when performers drop by to jam into the wee hours.
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Pat's Pub
Saved from gentrification by its grungy location - the downtown Eastside is unlikely to see a rash of swanky cocktail bars anytime soon - the reinvented Pat's Pub used to be one of Vancouver's most happening jazz bars (Jelly Roll Morton was a regular early performer). Now focusing on indie rockers (mostly on Fridays and Saturdays), you can usually expect two or three bands to blow the roof off while you sup on your brewpub Classic Lager.
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Railway Club
The old-school Rail is great if you just want to grab a beer in a trad-pub setting, but what really makes it special is its enduring commitment to the indie music scene. Its little stage has seen dozens of rising stars kick-start their careers and it's still the best place in town to catch passionate, consistently high-quality acts, ranging from folk to metal to bluegrass to polka. If you don't like what's on, just slink to the back bar.
There's no cover charge before .
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Rime
Presenting a diverse grab-bag of musical genres but focusing on jazz and roots, this warm and welcoming venue is a truly happening little joint. Sunday is artist-in-residence night, when a regular celebrated jazz exponent holds court, while the rest of the week ranges from folk to bluegrass and back again. There's a good Mediterranean bistro menu, too.
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Wise Club
This comfortably grungy former church hall is a friendly neighborhood gem that's close to the heart of in-the-know locals, who flock here to catch folk and ska bands and dances that remind them of the youth club discos they used to attend. A great place to mix with cool East Vancouverites, the bouncy floor here brings out the mosh pit desires in the most reluctant of dancers.
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Yale
A sassy unpretentious joint with a large stage, a devoted clientele and a beer-sticky dance floor, the Yale is the city's best blues hangout. Photos of Koko Taylor, Junior Wells and other stars who've played here adorn the 19th-century, brick-built interior, while latter-day regulars include Jim Byrnes, who holds court here like a king. Drop by on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for free-entry jam sessions.
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Showing 1-19 of 19 results
