MUSIC: The Daniel Cook Trio
Where: Brentwood Bay Village Empourium, 7103 W Saanich Rd.
When: Friday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Sold out
Why: Daniel Cook will be busy on several fronts in the coming weeks, with a series of concerts in support of two new albums of original roots music he’s recorded. Tickets to his show Friday have sold out, but there’s plenty of other avenues to explore for fans of the guitarist, a Victoria favourite known for myriad musical projects.
In addition to having new albums for purchase — which includes guests ranging from Steve Dawson and Adrian Dolan to Valdy and Geoffrey Kelly from Spirit of the West — Cook will be back on stage April 15 with his band, The Radiators, at the Saturna Lighthouse Pub and April 23 at The Loft Pub in Victoria. Don’t miss him.
BEER: The Ultimate Craft Beer Quiz
Where: Fernwood Inn, 1302 Gladstone Ave.
When: Thursday, April 7, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $15 from victoriabeersociety.com
Why: The ever-popular Victoria Beer Week has some interesting programming on deck through the weekend, some of which has already sold out. Good news: Tickets are currently available for The Ultimate Craft Beer Quiz, during which registered teams of up to six people will battle beer experts Rob Mangelsdorf and Joe Wiebe for bragging rights and prizes, but they won’t last long.
Hosted by Quiz This host Benji Duke, the beer-themed trivia showdown will be a raucous one, both for those competing and guests simply taking it all in.
MUSIC: PUP with Pinkshift
Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates St.
When: Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, 8 p.m. (doors at 7)
Tickets: $30 from admitone.com
Why: PUP — an acronym for Pathetic Use of Potential — has never taken the easy path to success, but the hard-charging Toronto band would rather succeed on its own terms than win without really trying. On their fourth album, The Unravelling of PupTheBand, the group approached the project with maniacal glee, working with a loose lyrical approach structured around rock ‘n’ roll as corporate greed.
Though the recording closes with the song PUPTheBand Inc. Is Filing for Bankruptcy, PUP sounds positively inspired, and has fun skewering the very industry its relies upon to succeed. Those attending the band’s two shows this weekend at the Capital Ballroom can expect a sweaty, bloody, tangled mess — which is never a bad thing, where rock ’n’ roll is concerned.
