Lori emailed us to share her relationship to the Kerrisdale Arena...

"I have an original poster advertising The Clash concert at Kerrisdale Arena June 26, 1982 which I was also fortunate to attend .  Myself and a few of my classmates skipped our Point Grey Aftergrad earlier in that same month that year to attend The Jam concert.  Such a phenomenal venue with a venerable history."

Red Robinson so kindly sat down with us to talk about his first hand experience with the concerts at the Kerrisdale Arena...

"In essence Bill Haley and the Comets in June 1956 was the first Rock and Roll show EVER in Vancouver!"

Thanks to Phil Mackesy for all his archival photo help!

A Vancouver journalist and historian emailed us about his own research in regards to the history of the Kerrisdale Arena. He met with us and shared what he learned and his own personal connection to the place...

"I grew up about four blocks away from the Arena and spent the first 25 years of my life in Kerrisdale, attending Quilchena Elementary and later Point Grey Highschool - so the rink was always a bit of a fixture in my days growing up there.
I remember very well how crazy it was when those concerts happened. There was real pandemonium some nights. And In so far as the concert history of Vancouver goes, those events were really unique. Beyond the fact that The Clash came to Kerrisdale (which alone is rather remarkable), but a number of people who worked putting on those shows went on to be very large players within the international concert industry. It’s quite something."

Alan has seen many bands in Vancouver over the years, and he is a huge fan of The Clash - he so kindly talked to us about The Clash concert he attended at Kerrisdale Arena in 1982:

" I don't remember the set list, I remember they had camouflaged netting all over the stage because it was the COMBAT ROCK tour...."

George Thorogood and the Destroyers album 'Bad to The Bone' was released less than a month before the epic Kerrisdale concert held on Sept 2, 1982

Ryan sent us this email:

"I was a teenager growing up in Powell River. I think it was a Labour Day Weekend show in the early 80's.

My older cousins and their friends in Burnaby took  me to the concert. I think I was easily one of the youngest people there -

I think I was going into grade 9 or 10. 

There were  a lot of bikers and to this day, I have not seen as much confiscated liquor as I saw that night for a venue that size. They had garbage cans by each door full of not just 12 ounce  mickeys  but 26ers ,  40's and 60 ounce bottles - you know the ones with handles.

We had our liquor in zip lock bags in our crotches so we got ours in fine.

I think No Particular Place to Go (Chuck Berry) was the last song of the third encore. Towards the end of the show (I was standing and  watching from the floor) ,  someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around expecting a biker telling me to move so his ol’ lady could see. Nope it was 3 older guys I knew from the area in Powell River where I lived.

They had been at Jacks Hanging Tree (now the Roxy) before heading to the concert.

One of the best shows I have ever seen."

Rocking and rolling through November 2016 to June 2017 artists Lisa g Nielsen and Rene Cherrie will fuse sound and image exploring the exciting history of Kerrisdale Arena.

Community members will be invited to collaborate with stories, vision, music, art and more to create an immersive video and sound installation within the Arena itself.  

Find Rene and Lisa creating real time in the Arena’s 'living room' or in their mobile projection/sound studio at other locations in the community. Connect with and track the progress on this website!