The latest jewel in the crown on downtown Nanaimo's Renaissance, The Old Station City Pub, opens on July 17 at the old Pressroom site on Skinner St.
"Entertainment will be one of the many things we will be known for," says manager Brad Knight. But the food and the service will be the shining glory.
It's something people have been looking for in the downtown core, he says, "A higher-end pub with finer beers and finer food in a finer place... A vibrant hotspot for people to come." Build it and the hip will follow.
To mark the occasion, the pub hosts singer/songwriters Matt York and Syd for an acoustic show on July 18. York explored music from an early age in an Oakville ON family where it was second nature. He began writing his own material at the age of 16. Under the influence of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and The Beatles, Matt York became a songwriter's songwriter.
Touring sea to sea, playing venues large and small York has gained a reputation as one of sa国际传媒's up and coming artists.
While he's logged nearly a decade on the road, it was only this year that York made it to the West Coast to play.
"I really enjoyed coming to Vancouver Island," he says, "Audiences are lot more receptive to new music, a lot more laid back than crowds in Toronto."
Playing live, either solo or with a full band, is his passion: "I love it, I really really enjoy it," York says.
He's learned to read the crowd, rolling with their vibe, willing to change the set list on the fly or incorporate more solos if that's what people seem to be into.
"The evening will bring surprises, I'm sure," York says of the July 18 show.
Sharing the stage is L.A.'s Syd whose sensibilities run a little more to pop with influences like Dashboard Confessional and Coldplay. Influences include the range from Death Cab For Cutie and blink 182 to John Mayer and Fiona Apple.
Live shows have also been the cornerstone of his career: "Touring has been a huge part of my life since college," Syd says.
While the big sound of playing with a full band is fulfilling in large doses, in smaller doses he enjoys acoustic tours like this one that will take him across sa国际传媒 for the first time.
It's a challenge to pare down the arrangements for a single performer, a challenge he enjoys along with the intimacy of traveling with another solo performer to bounce off.
When Syd met York on a previous tour he was blown away by York's talent and generosity of spirit so they made plans to hook up and strut off across this country. Judging by the glorious praise they heap on one another during our interviews, it's bound to be a sonic love-in.
York and Syd will play individual solo sets and then hop up together for an in-the-round type of performance playing alternately, feeding and riffing off each other.
Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets are $10 at the door or online at www.harbourliving.ca.
You'll find their web sites, including lots of music, up at www.matt-york.com and sydband.com. Check them out on myspace.com too.
- With over a decade in the trenches of the music industry, we're reasonably sure Alexandria knows what she's talking about: e-mail at