The Best Shows Hitting Vancouver May 2018

Cali classics, a country queen and thrash metal are among the amazing acts coming to town this month

1. I Mother Earth and Finger Eleven at Commodore Ballroom – Wednesday, May 2

I find it incredibly difficult to believe that I Mother Earth released their remarkable debut, Dig, a quarter century ago. I mean, I remember it like it was only yesterday, and I was just 20-something yesterday, right? RIGHT?!? Well, at least they’re going to celebrate this momentous achievement by bringing us kids back to test the resilience of the legendary hardwood at the fabulous Commodore, along with their equally youthful compatriots Finger Eleven. What’s especially sweet about this gig is the utter lack of price-gouging here. For a mere $45, you get yourself in the door to see two supercool bands in all their electric glory. But (get this!) for only 20 clams more, you can slide in early to check out an exclusive acoustic set along with a Q&A session. Are you kidding me? Why are you not clicking this ticket link right now?
Tickets from $45

2. Shania Twain at Rogers Arena – Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6

Life’s about to get good as Shania Twain rolls through town for two nights only. In case you didn’t already know, Canada’s undisputed queen of country is also the best-selling female artist in the genre’s history. If that don’t impress you much, take into consideration she’s sold over 100-million records worldwide, securing a pretty comfortable seat among the best-selling music artists of all time. Not too shabby for the Timmins girl who started singing in bars at the tender age of eight. While I’m not exactly a fan of contemporary country music, I’ve seen Shania live, and she’s the exception. You don’t have to love the genre to love this lady. And, really, how can you look at this woman and not want to shake Mutt Lange by the shoulders while screaming, “What were you thinking?” (Don’t you want to do that? Line starts behind me. I’ve got first dibs.)
Tickets for Saturday from $95 and Sunday from $59

3. Eagles at Rogers Arena – Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11

After various breakups, reunions, lawsuits, hell-freezing-over and the untimely passing of Glenn Frey, the Eagles once again return to our fair city for another two-night stand. Last time we saw them here in 2013, they filled the arena with an impressive setlist covering the band’s entire history. This time, expect a similar set of your all-time favourites from the Cali rockers, along with the addition of both blue-eyed country-soulster Vince Gill and Frey’s son Deacon filling in for the band’s dearly-departed founding member. Don Henley’s kid Will will likely take the stage as a touring guitarist too. I’m not entirely sure how many guitarists it takes to play an Eagles song, but—clearly—it’s a bunch! If you want to scoop up tickets, don’t waste your time “out ridin’ fences.” Get ’em now ’cause they’re almost “already gone.”
Tickets for Thursday from $139 and Friday from $69

4. P!nk at Rogers Arena – Saturday, May 12

Originally marketed as a party-starting pop sensation, P!nk didn’t really hit her stride until penning her brilliant and oh-so-controversial feminist rant, “Stupid Girls.” Since then, she’s been using her powerful voice both on and off the stage to offer a far more welcome representation of female empowerment than any gratuitous Kardashian Instagram post ever could. Not only that, but—unlike contemporaries, who trick award-givers into believing they have some sort of indubitable talent (I’m not naming names here, although one could possibly rhyme with Sailor Drift)—this woman can sing, and she can do so without missing a beat, twirling suspended upside-down hundred-some-odd feet in the air! Unsurprisingly, face-value tickets for this show were swept up within seconds of their on-sale launch, so you’ll unfortunately have to contend with the Ticketmaster “Verified Resellers” on this gig. Get that plastic ready for a workout!
Resale tickets from $250

5. Slayer at Pacific Coliseum – Wednesday, May 16

I’ll go ahead and say it: much to the dismay of my metalhead friends, I’m simply not a Slayer fan. However, I have seen them about half a dozen times. Why? Because they always seem to come to town with other bands I actually like! Being that I’m usually hanging around the concourse when the Bay Area thrash legends are on stage, I’ve noticed a very odd phenomenon among their so-called fans: an awful lot of them also wander around the concourse, usually waiting in line to get beer (or waiting in line to get rid of their beer) and just randomly blurt out “SLAAAAAAAYERRRRR!!!!” at the top of their lungs while comparing homemade razor-slashed logo tats. Hey! Whatever floats your boat. Telling you right now though, my favourite artist comes to town… I can guarantee my eyes and ears are locked on the stage, I am not thirsty, I am more than capable of holding my bladder for extended periods, and I can show you my tattoos later. Anyway, these guys will be hitting the rink on Renfrew with some heavy support from the likes of Lamb of God, Behemoth, Testament, and—the reason you’ll likely see me there—Anthrax. You’ll know where to find me when Slayer’s on.
Tickets from $94.55