Sometimes you think about a thing—and then it just starts showing up everywhere. Like when you suddenly crave sushi and your friend randomly sends a text about going to Commercial Drive. Or when you hear “The Weight” for the first time in months, and the universe answers back with a live tribute show for The Band happening right down the street.

That’s the kind of small, cosmic coincidence that seems to orbit around The Band, one of the most mythic Canadian-American acts in rock history. And last night, the Rickshaw Theatre proved that legacy still hits hard with The Last Waltz: A Live Tribute to The Band’s Farewell Concert, performed by Chest Fever and a few of Vancouver’s finest.

For anyone unfamiliar with the backstory, The Last Waltz was The Band’s epic 1976 goodbye concert, captured in all its glory by none other than Martin Scorsese.

It wasn’t just a show—it was a full-on rock mythology moment. The Band invited half the musical universe: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, and like ten more legends. Fast-forward to 2025, and Chest Fever—named after a track off Music from Big Pink—has turned that farewell into a touring tribute that feels more like a revival than nostalgia.

The San Diego-based group has built a devoted following by doing something rare: playing The Band’s catalogue with reverence and raw, live-wire energy. Their Rickshaw performance of “Up on Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “The Weight” landed somewhere between faithful cover and full-body possession. Closing your eyes, you could honestly forget you weren’t at Winterland Ballroom in 1976.

Backing Chest Fever were some heavy hitters from Vancouver’s roots and Americana scene: Scott Smith, Mercy Walker, Bruce Coughlan, Emmett Jerome, Marin Patenaude, and more. Each guest brought their own local flavor—especially Paul Pigat, who not only slung guitar like it was an Olympic sport but apparently also builds his own custom axes. (Because of course he does.)

The crowd was an amazing mix of generations: vintage Band t-shirts brushing shoulders with folks who probably discovered “The Weight” from a TikTok sound. By the finale, everyone—boomers and Gen Z alike—was singing like they’d just learned music was invented that night.

So yeah, maybe Miller from Repo Man was right about “the lattice of coincidence.” Maybe it’s not random after all. Maybe we’re all just part of one big cosmic jam session—one that sounds a whole lot like The Band on a perfect Saturday night at The Rickshaw.