Music Waste sees new blood
By Gregory Adams
This year’s edition of Music Waste, which ran June 4 to 8, saw local music fans descend on venues like Hoko’s, Pub 340, and the Astoria to check out the latest punk, folk, and experimental-noise acts Vancouver has to offer. Festival organizer Cameron Reed said venues were busy, and he was excited by the number of unfamiliar faces he saw in the crowds. “People that aren’t going to local shows all the time were coming out four nights in a row,” he told the Straight. “It [Music Waste] is about introducing more people to the local scene and hopefully making an impact so that they’re going to shows after Music Waste.” With no major mishaps and little to complain about—“One venue didn’t have enough five dollar bills for our float,” Reed joked—the only thing left is to start planning the 2009 edition. Organizers are already thinking about bringing Vancouver’s art community into the event. Next year’s tentatively titled Art Waste will see a similar setup of several gallery exhibitions opening nightly, adding a little outsider culture to the usual club-hopping affair. “There is so much crossover with artists and music,” Reed explains. “It’s not that the bands aren’t interesting enough, we just want more mediums involved. It’ll be good for the festival and for the creative community.”
