It doesn’t look as though going to a Canucks game will make my “Cheap Fun” or “Cheap Things to Do” list anytime soon. At the beginning of the pre-season Canucks blogger (and podcast co-host) J.J. took a look at the price leap for tickets.

The Vancouver Canucks posted their single-game ticket prices on their website today… I’ve taken the liberty of comparing this season’s prices to last season’s:

…Canucks fans can’t be too happy with this increase, especially one that averages in double-digit percentages. Including service charges, the cheapest tickets – yes the cheapest – will now cost more than $100 for a pair. [Canucks Hockey Blog]

At this point, family nights with the Memorial Cup Champions do seem a little more tempting but there are other options. You could wait until the puck drops at GM Place, then “independent ticket brokers” on the street will start selling for $20/seat if you don’t mind missing some action on the ice. Or you could just watch Hockey Night in Canada… oh… wait.

So Canucks fans, are high ticket prices and $8 sippy cups of Molson Canadian going to stop you from attending games? Or is it just a part of growing up as a team?

Update 2011: Billboard has named The Commodore Ballroom one of the Top 10 Most Influential Clubs in North America.

Last night we went to see They Might be Giants at the Commodore to round out John‘s Birthday-week celebrations. It was a really great evening and the atmosphere was so relaxed, whimsical and pleasant with TMBG’s music keeping the people dancing in all kinds of silly ways.

I started to think about all the shows I’ve seen there before… a couple concerts and even an Oktoberfest came to mind. We were backstage once when we interviewed Keeley from Sparta and it just seems like everyone, no matter where you go, has heard of the legendary Commodore Ballroom.

In 1929 the Commodore Cabaret opened its doors, only to have them shut briefly month later during the Depression.

What was supposed to have lured customers away from the Hotel Vancouver and its booming ballroom business ended up sitting dark for half a year. In November 1930, local nightclub pioneers Nick Kogas and Johnny Dillias became convinced they could make a go of it, reopening the club and officially beginning its run as a live venue with dinner and dancing every Saturday. [The Georgia Straight]

My Opa, Granville Street in 1956

It reopened and soon became the place to be for fox trotting, waltzing, jazzing and rock n’ rolling nightlife in Vancouver until it closed down in 1996. Many feel this left Granville and Vancouver’s club scene without a heartbeat.

I remember that the dance floor was so famous for its ‘bounce’ that when they remodeled in ’96 they sold off the pieces that were being replaced. Apparently the secret ingredient for the old floor was tires stuffed with horse hair, you know for that extra hop. It reopened all shiny and ready for the new millennium in 1999. Since then its hosted countless monumentally important rock, punk, folk and musical acts. Also, in 2004 for the 75th anniversary Tom Waits played his first club show in almost 30 years (I believe Adam was even at that show…)

The bowling alley underneath it is pretty great as well, the only place downtown where you can get a drink and play some good ol’ 5-pin. It’s Canada’s oldest bowling alley and …”from opening day until [director] Frank Panvin’s death in 1962, the only time staffer Mitz Nozaki spent away from the alley was when the Canadian government interned him at Shuswap Lake with other Japanese Canadians during World War II” [Vancouver History]. That’s a whole other chunk of West Coast history there though.

Photo credit: Vancouver Infocenter

Sometimes it seems as though Vancouver is such a glistening, glossy, newly unwrapped city of glass. Uncovering pieces of history, especially those tidbits that still have something to show us today, really gets me excited about the city. Sure, it’s not like when I was in Cambridge and I could look down at route markers from the 1700s on the side of the road, but it’s something.

It may take a rousing rendition of Particle Man by John, John, Dan, Dan and Mike to get me thinking about some pretty cool cultural history of this metropolis, but it’s definitely something I’d like to experience more often.

To continue the “Best of 604” I’ve put together a hodge podge of some more things I like and would recommend. This isn’t to compete with any other list, this is simply my spin on things as these are people, places and things that I personally find pleasant. With some help I hope to cover a different spectrum, all inclusive of the entire “604“.

Downtown:

Metro Vancouver:

The “Best of 604” will be an ongoing series, so watch for more posts in this category.

Several months ago I had a big special announcement on the site that Michelle would be joining the cast of Miss604.com. Since then she’s finished writing her novel, has been in editing stages, traveling across the country and world and will finally be back in town this fall to teach a course at SFU. ...So I guess I can forgive her for the lack of contributions so far.

Michelle is leading a course on the basics of journalism – how to put together a story and have it published in a newspaper. Sure it may be sort of odd for a blogger to promote mass media in this form but Michelle is good people, and I’ll always promote good people, especially those who know their sh*t. This is the girl who was in Seoul just visiting family last year and by working her journalistic mojo, ended up having an article published in the Korea Herald.

Her course is only 4 sessions long and begins October 15th. She’s looking for a good turn out so if you have an interest in breaking into the biz and getting published, I highly suggest you speak with Michelle.

Introductory Level – Basics in Journalism: How to Break In – This course will cover the fundamentals of the field. Topics include developing ideas, pitching them to the right audience, interviewing, structuring a story, writing and editing, and finding a job. You will write basic news stories, profiles, arts reviews and obituaries. Assignments will be discussed in class and may be submitted to local outlets for publication. The final class will simulate a real-life working day in a newsroom, from assignment to deadline.

Michelle Kim is a journalist and writer. She has worked for numerous media outlets around the world including the BBC in London and the Korea Herald in Seoul. In Canada, she has contributed to the CBC and the Globe and Mail. Her first book for middle readers, La-La Joy, is forthcoming. [SFU – Downtown Campus]

If you do sign up for the class, let her know you came from my site… then maybe she’ll write me another guest post when her novel comes out and it’ll be all like famous and stuff.

Here is where we insert the mandatory “John is great and I love him now I’m going to make all my readers cry by being SUPER sappy but he won’t be impressed by just a blog post so maybe after I write this I’ll go make him coffee and bring it to him topless”. You know, how it usually goes, right?

Well, I don’t really have anything prepared but we have been celebrating all week. I’d say it kicked off with attending another Canucks game last Wednesday where the guys beat the crap out of Calgary in John’s honor. Then on Thursday, Matt Good played an amazing show, that was super nice of him to do for John as well.

Friday we took it easy but I’m pretty sure the good folks at Mui Garden made our curry extra yummy, just for John’s birthday.

Saturday we had a whole bunch of great people over, just to celebrate the guy (man he must be pretty great, getting all this attention and stuff, eh?): Jennie and Amber from Pittsburgh (who were here on Thursday for Matt’s show), Dan from Toronto, an appearance by David and Pam, Corinna and Adam, John Biehler, my sister Jenny, my brother James, Sean, Tanya, Craig, Todd and my vixen in crime, Keira.

Yesterday afternoon we had a lovely lunch at my mom’s, just for John, followed by gifts and cake galore.

Today, September 24th is John’s actual birthday and his last birthday of his 20s… I guess the fun stops here eh? Hardly. We’re going to have a nice dinner tonight and hopefully see the Carlsons and Dave later on. Oh, but that’s not all. I also got us tickets to They Might be Giants tomorrow night, who will play a special show at the Commodore, just for him (and 1,000 other people) which should round out the birthday week rather nicely.

I know John really misses his family, especially around this time of year (it was just his God Son’s birthday too) and after doing a live online fantasy draft with some of his friends from back-home on Saturday, I know he’s really missing a ton of people right now.

Sometimes I forget what he gave up just to come up here and be with me. House, car, job, and while all of those are material things he did start back at square one when we moved in together. We don’t have a car and he didn’t have a job for 18 months (thanks Canadian Immigration!). Also, even though they still communicate and we’re hoping to visit soon, he did give up his weekend drives back home to visit his family, his annual camping trip with Kris, and nights out in Iowa City with D. Sure we keep busy, have a great circle of friends and a phenomenal support system from my loving family, but he did relocate, readjust, realign his life, all for the sake of seeking out something that was missing. I suppose that’s where I fit in. I don’t mean to sell myself (or Canada) short, but it was quite the leap and jolt to the system, it still is.

John’s determination, strength, and support of me when I would crumble from all the pressure we’ve been under for the last two years, is amazing. He fell in love with Vancouver but I’m even more happy, every day, that he fell in love with me. From our early morning walks through Stanley Park, playing Scrabble online on our laptops from opposing ends of the couch, to coming home on a Sunday evening and eating leftover ice cream cake while watching miscellaneous Discovery Channel shows. He keeps me active, on my toes, tries my knowledge, tries my patience, and makes me whole. I think everyone’s pretty impressed at how we both found someone just as utterly geeky as the other.

Happy Birthday John. There, I’ve done it, I’ve started to cry while typing this post and now you’re going to call me a wussy. I’m going to wipe my tears and run into the bedroom to pounce you awake, then you can wipe the tears from my face and give me a kiss – even though it’s your birthday and your special day, that’ll make me feel like gold.

For anyone else who can’t run in and pounce John and wish him a Happy Birthday – although he’d probably love it if Muffin did that – perhaps you could please sponsor him for the Run for the Cure next Sunday. My donations are all filled up but he still needs a hand reaching his goal. You can click here to sponsor his run.