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Viagra Boys’ Live Show In Vancouver Is Just What The Doctor Ordered
The Swedish post-punk outfit delivered a stiff performance at the Rickshaw Theatre.
by Joshua Erickson
Photos by Darrole Palmer
- Published on
April 13, 2022
Vancouver, BC
Rickshaw Theatre
It was a Wednesday night but you wouldn’t have been able to tell based on the crowd at the sold-out Viagra Boys show in Vancouver on April 13. A diverse mix of young and old music fans came out to witness the antics of the Swedish post-punk band whose dynamic 2021 album, Welfare Jazz, made countless year-end best-of lists last year.
Starting punctually at 10pm, lead singer Sebastian Murphy strutted on stage like he already owned the crowd, and for the next 90 minutes he and his brutish bandmates would prove that to be true as they effortlessly worked the rowdy audience into a fury.
Within 30 seconds of opening song “Research Chemicals,” from the band’s 2016 debut EP, Murphy’s shirt was off and the mosh-pit was swelling. Tattooed from head to toe, the frontman worked out his demons with the crowd like a deranged preacher, and the audience ate up every moment of it.
Though the band did offer the crowd some moments of pause with slower songs like “I Feel Alive” and standout track “Just Like Me,” it didn’t bring down the momentum of their uproarious set. Drenched in sweat and beer by the end of the evening, Viagra Boys stayed hard all night long, leaving behind an excited and exhilarated crowd.
By Ben Boddez
The punk-rock quartet are still mostly in their teen years, but they’ve already conquered the world and continue to surprise listeners at every turn.
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As Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds prepare for their Wild God tour, the Australian musician and composer reflects on a year of musical highs, personal losses, and quiet triumphs.
