The Best Shows Hitting Vancouver in November 2022

From a legendary '90s jam band to one of today's hottest female rappers, it's all happening this month

From a legendary ’90s jam band to one of today’s hottest female rappers, it’s all happening this month

1. Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets at The Centre – Tuesday, November 1Nick Mason's Saucerful of SecretsDopefish, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

I don’t know what it is, but it always seems as if drummer Nick Mason makes deliberate plans to tap through town not long after Roger Waters leaves his indelible stamp on our city (like he did back in September). That’s great news for fans of the legendary Pink Floyd, as it feels like a double-shot of proggy excellence has been bestowed upon us (although I’m personally still waiting for David Gilmour to somehow make an appearance, but that’s probably just me). If you’re looking for a slightly kinder, gentler version of the band and you’re interested in revelling in some early psychedelic goodness without taking on the bombast of heavy political overtones hammered into your consciousness, this will be the preferred Pink performance for you to absorb into your Floydian soul.
Tickets from $77

2. Dave Matthews Band at Rogers Arena – Wednesday, November 2Dave MatthewsSanjay Suchak

I’m aware there’s a fair contingent of jam-band followers in my reading list, so I’m sure some of them are pretty excited to witness the long-awaited return of the Dave Matthews Band to our shores. It’s been seven long years, which is really nothing considering there was a 12-year stretch of absence prior to that! Must’ve been something we said, but at least I’ve never heard anyone complaining about these guys repeating the same thing over and over every night (don’t get me started on the bands that do). If you’ve been to a DMB concert before, it really doesn’t matter. Go see them again, because you’ll never get the same show twice. It’s what they do.
Tickets from $58.95

3. Lizzo at Rogers Arena – Monday, November 7LizzoAB+DM

What’s the deal with all these people losing their minds over Lizzo playing a crystal flute? Yeah, I know, it belonged to former president James Madison about two centuries ago, but it’s not like he’s around to say anything about it, and she got permission. It’s a flute! Why are you mad? Calm down. You’ll be fine. If the playing of antique wind instruments doesn’t offend you (and really, why should it?) and you want to check out the confident 34-year-old personality as she raps, sings, twerks and, I guess, flauts, her way around the stage with all the humour, swagger and positivity afforded to her, then you better get on this link ASAP because she’s one popular lady right now.
Tickets from $116.85

4. Three Days Grace at Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Tuesday, November 8Three Days GraceThree Days Grace

If I were to ask you who holds the record for most No. 1 Mainstream Rock Songs on the Billboard charts, which band would you come up with? Van Halen? Foo Fighters? Metallica? No, you’re just wrong. Turns out it’s Shinedown with 18 hits, but Ontario’s own Three Days Grace are nipping at their heels with 17. Actually, TDG holds the record for the most cumulative weeks at number one with a grand total of 92. Really? Yes, really. As it stands, I would not be around to compose this blurb if I were to find myself in a life-or-death situation attempting to name even one of those songs without the assistance of Google. Good thing there’s Google and an even better thing is that this gig is a triple-bill, featuring Mexico’s hard-rocking sisters The Warning and Oshawa’s alt-rock duo The Standstills.
Tickets from $49

5. The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction at Rogers Arena – Friday, November 11Smashing PumpkinsFacebook/Smashing Pumpkins

Ask some of the people who know me well: I was actually somewhat excited when the announcement came down that The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction were making a tour stop in our city. Why is that? Am I a fan of Chicago’s alt-shoegazers or L.A.’s neo-psych rockers? No, I am absolutely not. I can’t listen to either one and I will slam that tuner button so hard when one of their songs comes on the radio that I’m pretty sure I’ve sprained an appendage or something. But Dave Navarro plays guitar for Jane’s, and that’s really all you need to know. I’m not legally blind, but I do own earplugs. Problem is Dave has bowed out of the entire tour thanks to a never-ending bout with long COVID. So, if Dave matters to you, you will be joining this girl as one who is not attending. But if you’re a fan and you couldn’t care less who mans the six-string, then by all means, get on that ticket link.
Tickets from $68.30 

6. Bryan Adams at Rogers Arena – Saturday, November 12Bryan AdamsBryan Adams

OK, let’s try this again because I sometimes sound like a broken record when it comes to artists hitting our town after getting cancelled time and time again. Turns out Bryan Adams was cancelled not once, but twice, during the pandemic. The first occurred back in 2020 due to a figurative misunderstanding when he voiced some words relating to bats. Listen closely: Adams is vegan. It wasn’t what you thought it was. Calm down. The second cancellation happened when the provincial government effectively quashed his New Year’s Eve show by bringing venue capacity down to the point of really no point. So now that things have evened out a bit and we can all gather in large groups if we’re willing, it’s finally time to get your wallet out to catch North Van’s favourite award-winning Officer of the Order of Canada singer/songwriter/producer/photographer/activist/vegan/philanthropist and former Tomahawk dishwasher as he makes his long-awaited hometown return on his So Happy It Hurts tour. Don’t delay. Do this now before another cancellation occurs.
Tickets from $97.40

7. Katatonia at Rickshaw Theatre – Saturday, November 26KatatoniaEster Segarra, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Formed back in 1991 as an outlet for the founding duo’s love of death metal, Katatonia has come a very long way in their ever-changing evolution to form more of a contemporary-progressive soundscape. The outfit still sees themselves as a metal band, but definitely one without boundaries and limitations to their sound. So while the former chunk of the band’s discography is bound to hit you with some extremely dark gloominess, the latter end will soften the blow with a more emotional yet prog-tinged professionalism in their instrumentation that is no less moody. Don’t miss your rare chance to see Stockholm’s masters of melancholy in an intimate and unvarnished venue before the big business music industry finally starts taking notice of this perfectly unpolished gem.
Tickets from $45