by Andrew Morrison | The next cool thing is a weird one. I doubt Scout readers feel as if the Granville Street Entertainment District is currently running a surplus of redeeming qualities. Sure, there are a handful of original, interesting outlets of independence and engaging festivals, but come nightfall they are too few and far between. On most evenings, the GED becomes a gong-show; a merry-go-round of idiocy that quickly coalesces into a whirlwind of Jersey Shore awfulness. And if left unchecked by reason, taste, and the VPD, things can accelerate into a raging tornado of slurring, hyper-aggressive behaviour. And it all too often does. In these moments you’ll find the Lower Mainland’s very worst fighting in fast food joints, shooting at bouncers, and just randomly doing their shirtless best to give our city a bruise. Even celebrities get in on the assholery. So what is the Granville strip doing on this list of cool things? Well, after the sky train and the buses have shuttled all the wannabe gangster fuck ups back home to Mom, the bars close, the paramedics and cops remove their gloves and turn off their sirens, and the city finishes its job of hosing down the many blocks between Georgia and Drake (a job that should be given to the 1990’s city councillors responsible for the “social engineering” mess), a startling peace descends upon the scene. Within two hours of last call – which is about two hours before dawn starts to break – it truly does go from a reeking red zone of McDonald’s puke and steroid back zits to a quiet candyland of humming neon and tranquil stillness. Enjoying it is really worth staying up (or rising) for, if only once.
Agree 100% It’s not a good vibe at all these days. Were the fun people at? We were them.