The Best Revenge

They’ve got a dude by the name of Maxim Patrich on drums who thrashes out his white-knuckle rhythms with such force you’d swear he’s just a ball of pure kinetic energy. Mat Vass, meanwhile, plays the guitar like he’s challenged it to a knife fight in a dark alley. Evan Joel holds down the bass in a way that makes you think he was born with it in his hands while the mad man of the microphone, Pearce Donnelly, spits out tales of modern urban psychosis. It’s as though the Clash time-traveled into the future and through some fantastic accident wapped souls with The Hives. Seriously.

But they’re no one trick pony. From the gutter-disco anthem “She Talks to Ghosts” to the new-wave croon of “Letters From Japan” to the suicidal call to arms of “Young Nihilists’ Gun Club”, The Best Revenge have got more variety in their catalogue than a con man’s got sob stories.

And they’ve brought the raucous energy they’ve honed in house-parties and high-school shows to the best of Vancouver’s intimate venues. Whether it’s The Roxy or The Biltmore, The Railway or The Media Club, these four men come with nothing but their instruments and leave a crowd full of converts and a sweaty stage.