Everytime the Headstones announce tour dates you can hear the West Coast fans scream “Come to Vancouver!” and up until now their pleas have gone unrewarded, well not this time as the band are set to return to the famous Commodore Ballroom making those fans wishes come true.
The last time the band played there was 2011 having just reformed after their break up in 2003 in which time band members Hugh Dillon, Trent Carr, Tim White and Dale Harrison went their separate ways and pursued their own interests with Dillon coming to the forefront as not just a talented musician and songwriter but also getting great notoriety as an actor, which landed him major movie roles and a number of smash hit TV series not only in Canada and the US but worldwide.
While filming one of those TV series (Flashpoint) Dillon received a phone call from former band member and co-writer of the band’s first hit record “Cemetery” Randy Kwan explaining that he as Hugh puts it “had good news and bad news” the good being he had a young son, the bad being he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and like most musician had no life insurance.
Wanting to help and with Randy’s words that life was too short for pettiness and that the guys were bloody good at what they did and it was a shame to let it go, phone calls were made and the guys agreed to play some benefit shows, two in Vancouver being the first on the list which even after an 8 year absence sold out within hours and the rest as they say is history with regards to Headstones 2.0.
So on 27th November the Commodore will once again rock out to the sounds of Tweeter and the Monkey Man, Three Angels, Cubically Contained and of course Cemetery.
And to add to the excitement the band have just announced four new dates one of which after a long wait of 13 years sees this tour kicking off in Victoria on 26th November the night before the Commodore at the Distrikt which was (formerly Club 9ONE9) making sure fans really have the chance to get to a show in British Columbia.
The second new show is on the 28th November and has the band heading up and moving out back into Calgary a city they last visited in 2014 for their sell out show which was then at Flames Central, this time it sees them set up shop at Marquee Beer Market and Stage a relative new venue, lets hope this time unlike the last venue their security isn’t dressed in big hats and cowboy boots and when they see female fans having hassle they deal with it.
Not to be out done the East Coast will also get 2 shows, the first in Barrie at the Ranch on 4th December. This is the same venue I went to the very first time I flew across the pond in 2013 to see the band play live and the first time songs off their then new album Love & Fury were aired in public, as much as I loved this show the venue’s sound system didn’t do the band justice and I hope that this time around it’s rectified.
And finally the bands live shows for 2015 come to an end at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto on 11th December leaving the guys with some well earned time off and fans eagerly awaiting for the new vinyl single “Fuck It” to drop into their Christmas stockings, and me heading back home to the UK knowing full well that I will hopefully being doing this all again in 2016.
If you want to go to one or all of these awesome shows you can obtain tickets via the links below:-
VICTORIA – http://www.ticketzone.com/wafform.aspx?_act=eventtickets&_pky=307711
VANCOUVER – http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004F329FF6699A SOLD OUT
CALGARY – http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/978939
TORONTO – http://www.ticketmaster.ca/headstones-toronto-ontario-12-11-2015/event/10004F4EE9488C84?
BARRIE – http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/10196
[Tweet “@realhughdillon @theheadstones set for long awaited return to Victoria and The Commodore Ballroom Vancouver with Calgary, Toroto & Barrie throw into for good measure”]
All photos copyright Karon Hagon