The Junos, recently reduced to a punchline on 30 Rock, have rid Vancouver of its “no-fun image,” proclaimed a banner headline in the Vancouver Sun this morning, evidencing the “screaming fans who lined the red carpet show.” For many of the city’s music fans—and pro-fun activists—that was a tough headline to swallow. Several live music venues, including the Peanut Gallery, Sweatshop and the Emergency Room, have closed recently, the result fines and illiberal liquor and noise bylaws.. And music nights at the Wired Monk coffee shop and Hoko Sushi and Karaoke Bar have been canceled because of pressure from city officials.
So as live music slowly dies in Vancouver, the Junos arrive. Last night’s award winners, including Nickelback (Album of the Year, Group of the Year and Fan Choice Award), were paraded backstage to the media room at GM Place. “Oh, good: a roomful of people we hate,” mumbled Mike Kroeger, Nickelback’s guitarist, upon entering the media room. His brother took over from there: “We are a very mainstream band that’s not popular among the press,” explained frontman Chad Kroeger. “Sam Roberts for example, is more of a critics’ darling. We are a mainstream band—but that’s OK, because our fans like that kind of music.” (Roberts, a Montrealer, named Artist of the Year, is also a fair bit more charming.)
A few more scenes from backstage: