Brandon Flowers plays the Vogue Theatre on Tuesday, September 8 behind his first solo album in eleven years, and Saturday, September 12 turns into the most crowded night of the fall so far: Weezer bring The Gathering to Rogers Arena with The Shins and Silversun Pickups, Squeeze headline the Queen Elizabeth Theatre alongside Adam Ant and Haircut 100, and Hieroglyphics take over the Commodore Ballroom. Cody Johnson fills Rogers Arena the night before, and The Charlatans UK land at the Commodore on Friday.
This week at a glance
- Monday, September 7 - Kamelot - Vogue Theatre
- Monday, September 7 - Altin Gun - The Pearl
- Tuesday, September 8 - Brandon Flowers - Vogue Theatre
- Tuesday, September 8 - Artemas - Malkin Bowl
- Wednesday, September 9 - Ryan Beatty - Vogue Theatre
- Thursday, September 10 - Bear McCreary - Rickshaw Theatre
- Thursday, September 10 - Dana and Alden - The Pearl
- Friday, September 11 - Cody Johnson - Rogers Arena
- Friday, September 11 - The Charlatans UK - Commodore Ballroom
- Friday, September 11 - Of The Trees - Malkin Bowl
- Saturday, September 12 - Weezer: The Gathering - Rogers Arena
- Saturday, September 12 - Squeeze, with Adam Ant and Haircut 100 - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
- Saturday, September 12 - Hieroglyphics - Commodore Ballroom
- Saturday, September 12 - Vieux Farka Touré - The Pearl
- Saturday, September 12 - Sasha and John Digweed - Malkin Bowl
- Saturday, September 12 - Pallbearer - The American
- Friday to Sunday, September 11-13 - Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Chopin and Tchaikovsky 4 - Orpheum Theatre
The full listing, with times and on-sale status for every show in the city, lives on our Vancouver concert calendar.
Shows we'd buy tickets for
Brandon Flowers, Tuesday, September 8, Vogue Theatre
The Killers frontman has not released a solo record since 2015's The Desired Effect, and THRASHER, out in August via Island, is a deliberate swerve. Flowers cut it at RCA Studio A in Nashville with producer Shawn Everett and a cast of players including David Rawlings, Bruce Bouton and Charlie McCoy, leaning into a country-western frame that has always been lurking at the edges of his writing. The tour that supports it is only seventeen North American dates, and it is playing rooms a fraction of the size of the arenas The Killers sell out here. Vancouver gets night five, two days after Portland and one before Seattle, in a 1,100-capacity theatre on Granville. Tickets.
Weezer, Saturday, September 12, Rogers Arena
Weezer: The Gathering is both the album and the tour, a 32-city arena run that opened September 8 in Sacramento and closes October 24 in Los Angeles. The supporting bill is the reason to arrive early: The Shins and Silversun Pickups are both on the whole North American leg, which makes this a three-band night rather than an opener and a headliner. Rivers Cuomo's band has been treating its own catalogue as a live archive for years now, and an arena show built around a new self-titled record is the closest thing to a reset they have attempted in a while. Tickets.
Squeeze, with Adam Ant and Haircut 100, Saturday, September 12, Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Three acts, one ticket, and roughly fifty years of British pop between them. Squeeze are touring Trixies, an album Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook built from songs they first wrote as teenagers in 1974, which gives the whole thing a neat circularity. Adam Ant and Haircut 100 are along for the full North American run, which began August 16 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium and wraps September 27 in Detroit. If you want the Queen Elizabeth Theatre seated and singing along, this is the night. Tickets.
The Charlatans UK, Friday, September 11, Commodore Ballroom
Tim Burgess and company are deep into a North American tour that started September 3 in Santa Ana and runs through late September in Brooklyn. Vancouver falls between Portland's Wonder Ballroom and Seattle's Showbox, which puts the Commodore squarely in the middle of the west coast stretch. Thirty-plus years on from the Madchester era, The Charlatans remain one of the few bands from that scene still writing new material rather than trading purely on the back catalogue, and the Commodore's sprung dance floor is a fair match for what they do. Tickets.
Cody Johnson, Friday, September 11, Rogers Arena
The first of back-to-back arena nights downtown, and a reminder of how far the Texas singer has come from the rodeo circuit. Terri Clark and David Lewis open, which gives the bill a Canadian anchor. Rogers Arena does not book country headliners often, so Friday and Saturday together make this the busiest weekend the building has had since the summer. Tickets.
Hieroglyphics, Saturday, September 12, Commodore Ballroom
The Oakland collective built around Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief and Casual is one of the longest-running independent operations in hip hop, and a Commodore booking on a Saturday is a real statement for a crew that has historically kept things close to the Bay. Worth flagging for anyone weighing this against the arena: the room holds roughly a thousand people, and Hiero shows tend to run long and loose. Tickets.
Vieux Farka Touré, Saturday, September 12, The Pearl
The quiet pick of the week. The Malian guitarist has spent two decades building on his father Ali Farka Touré's desert blues without simply repeating it, and his recent collaborative work has pushed him further into psych and jam territory. The Pearl is a good size for a band that plays with this much dynamic range, and it is the only show on Saturday's list that will not be competing for volume. Tickets.
Also worth your Thursday: Bear McCreary, Rickshaw Theatre
The composer behind Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead and God of War tours as a rock act rather than with an orchestra, which is a genuinely odd and enjoyable proposition at a room like the Rickshaw. If you have never seen a screen composer play his own themes through a guitar amp, September 10 is your chance. Tickets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest concert in Vancouver this week?
Weezer at Rogers Arena on Saturday, September 12, with The Shins and Silversun Pickups opening. Cody Johnson headlines the same building on Friday, September 11, with Terri Clark and David Lewis.
Where is Brandon Flowers playing in Vancouver?
The Vogue Theatre at 918 Granville Street on Tuesday, September 8. It is his only Vancouver date on the seventeen-show North American leg supporting THRASHER.
What is happening in Vancouver on Saturday, September 12?
It is the busiest night of the week. Weezer are at Rogers Arena, Squeeze play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre with Adam Ant and Haircut 100, Hieroglyphics headline the Commodore Ballroom, Vieux Farka Touré is at The Pearl, Sasha and John Digweed take Malkin Bowl, and Pallbearer play The American.
Scene in the Dark has covered Vancouver's live-music scene since 2010. Browse every upcoming show on our concert calendar.
