Goodbye, Kids These Days.

Every now and then, a band you absolutely love - whose music has become so interwoven with your daily life that it becomes a part of you - finally calls it quits. It's usually because a band member moves, goes to school, or has a baby. But when it happens, it's a small tragedy in your life.

Perhaps you are lucky enough to console yourself by seeing their last show. Such was the case when I went to the Kids These Days reunion/farewell show at the Railway Club. They headlined, with offshoot bands Octoberman and International Falls opening respectively.

Octoberman started off the evening...

It was already a bittersweet evening knowing that this gig also marked the final appearance of the original lineup of Octoberman, as frontman Marc Morrissette and drummer Rob Josephson, both of Kids These Days, were relocating to Toronto - along with White Whale Records founder/Mohawk Lodge frontman/KTD member, Ryder Havdale.

International Falls, also reuniting after a stagnant period, took the small stage after a truly emotion-rich Octoberman set. They offset the weightiness, and the added anticipation of Kids These Days' set, by nonchalanty playing around with some of their own material. Sorry, no pictures of International Falls, which I now regret. I was never as big a fan of International Falls as I was of the other two bands of the evening, but that changed more than a bit at this show. Their positive energy was infectious and put me in the right mood for the band to follow.

Then Kids These Days, who had not played together since 2006, effortlessly jammed out their desperate final notes into the dark room and took their final curtain call. The experience was all over too soon, even though the music had gone on for hours. The evening left me with nothing but good memories of audience camaraderie and solid live melodies plastered in my head...all you ever hope for at a good gig - but exactly what you hope for when it's a favourite band's final show.

Kids These Days rocked their trademark epic live show out to its final bittersweet notes.

I walked home in the brisk July late night alone. I thought of all the great gigs I've seen Kids These Days play and felt happy to be one of the handful of people who got to witness the final chapter in one of Vancouver's best bands ever. I know, that's saying a lot, but it's undeniable.

Good luck in Toronto, Marc, Rob and Ryder. I know your respective tours will bring you around to Vancouver once again, but it will never be together as Kids These Days ever again.

And that makes me sad.