When Tom whispered to me in August that Slow (1985-1987) would be performing at the mid-November opening of the new Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, my eyes widened -- "Cool!" -- but I assumed it would be a surprise one-off.
Then there I was, at the Vorizo Cafe on Hornby Island in early November, looking for something non-electronic to read with my borscht, when I saw a copy of the Georgia Straight -- with Slow on the cover. And then last week, Taras Grescoe's email on behalf of the Globe and Mail asking what I remember of the band, but also of Vancouver.
As it turns out, this past month has seen a number of articles on Slow, who have officially reunited. Not only is the band writing songs and preparing a tour, its members are speaking clearly and critically about how Vancouver has -- and hasn't -- changed in the intervening years, that what is bearing bad apples today was but a neoliberal seedling in the early-1980s.
Below is a 1990 unplugged performance by the last reunited band to get my attention, the Cowsills (Barry, John, Paul and Susan), with John "Hal" Mackie on drums.
Here is what the Cowsills looked like lip-synching to the same song 21 years earlier (and yes, I am sure that is partly why the late Billy parted ways with the band to do his own beautiful thing):
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