With apologies to Harlem Shakes and Tapes ‘N’ Tapes, the band I really wanted to see last night was Vancouver, BC’s Ladyhawk. They’d swung through twice in the past year, once opening for Say Hi To Your Mom, and the second time with Magnolia Electric Co, and each time I had some lame excuse, like I was tired and I had to work the next day or some combination of those two lame excuses. I was tired, and I had to work the next day, yesterday, too, but productivity be damned, I was going to get me some Rock ‘N’ Roll Music.

Ladyhawk’s all to brief set drew mostly from 2006’s most excellent self-titled release, and their recent 6 song 12″ ep Fight For Anarchy. Eight songs and less than 40 minutes is barely enough time to fully appreciate their repertoire of rompers, stompers, and sh*t kickers and wound-lickers, but those things happen. Especially when your the middle band on the three band bill. Both “War” and “If You Run” traded in some of that endearing trippiness from The Fight For Anarchy Recordings, for a more straight-forward rock sound. I’d imagine that it would be a little difficult to recreate the 48-hour drug and booze filled party (or recording session) that produced those songs on stage. “Came in Brave,” while big and ballsy on their debut disc, came across even bigger and ballsier than I’d expected. Bassist Sean Hawryluk led the charge with a thumpin’ rhythm and some old fashioned head bangin’, the kind of bangin’ that I hadn’t seen since the hey day of Dave Mustaine. The back end of the set featured two more strong numbers from the self-titled disc, “Dugout” and “My Old Jacknife.” Although, Hawryluk had to go to the emergency bass mid number, the dual guitar attack of Duffy Driediger and Darcy Hancock hit just at the right time to salvage a rousing take on “Dugout.” And talk about rousing, it seemed the boys were just hitting their stride with set closer “Jacknife.” We really need to get these guys in town for a headlining set.