Last Friday night, there were good vibes all around for such a bittersweet evening. The Extaordinaires headlined at Kung Fu Necktie, and it was founding member and bassist Matt Gibson’s last show with the band as an official member. As you may have learned from our interview with Jay Purdy last week HERE, Gibson will be leaving The Extraordinaires to join Man Man for their next extensive tour(s) in support of their upcoming album Life Fantastic. However, there wasn’t any ill will as the rest of the band and Gibson played their hearts out alongside new bassist Adam Ravitz. In fact, it was quite touching to watch Purdy and Gibson’s interaction throughout the evening on stage which culminated in a loving embrace where they were locked shoulder-to-shoulder towards the end of the set as they sang “Warehouse Song” (which was rather fitting, especially for me, because it was probably my first introduction to The Extraordinaires’ music). Helping to celebrate this momentous occasion were former Dr. Dog drummer Juston Stens and The Get Real Gang (who served up a rollicking set and proved that their early studio recordings truly don’t do them justice) and Gold Crowns (featuring members of The Invisible Friends, Dark Horse and The Carousels, and Sweatheart). You can check out the rest of our pics from the evening HERE. (Photos by David Turcotte) – Q.D. Tran