Despite their weird name, Vancouver’s You Say Party! We Say Die! crafted an affable dance punk mix to a well-attended Paradiso last night (June 25). Led by vocalist and resident screamer Becky Ninkovic, who sounds like she was kicked out of the Go-Go’s to emerge as Joan Jett’s understudy, the band wielded through “Opportunity,” “Stockholm Syndrome, Pt. 2” and pronoun rich “He! She! You! Me! They! We! Us! Ok!,” as well as a dozen others from both 2006’s Hit the Floor! and their forthcoming LP, Lose All Time. While the hour-long set mostly blended together, You Say Party! We Say Die! performed with razor sharp tightness, cleverly making punk a little more danceable and straight dance a bit more angry. Plus, the crowd lapped up each note as if its life depended on it, turning a muddy Monday evening into a hipster dance party, complete with all those studded belts, cropped hair, and pretension one would expect in someone who shares the same predilection for four-on-the-floor dance as they do for punk. SHAIN SHAPIRO / PHOTOS BY SAM MIRLESSE
We asked: When throwing a dance party, which theme would you pick: disco or punk?
