“I don’t think we ever could have foreseen that we would carry it on for this long,” says Bob Sumner, chuckling.
The co-founder and co-namesake (alongside sibling Brian) of Vancouver roots-rock band the Sumner Brothers is talking about A Sumner Brothers Christmas XI, the upcoming 11th edition of one of the city’s most enduring – yet least known – holiday celebrations. Beginning in 2005 at the ANZA Club, the combination multi-band concert and unhinged seasonal brouhaha has since relocated to the WISE Hall, the Biltmore, and the Rickshaw. This year, it takes place for the first time at Main Street’s Ellis Building alongside the popular Eastside Flea, the fortnightly artisan/vintage market that helped revitalize the previously moribund, century-old storefront.
The Eastside Flea unwittingly revitalized A Sumner Brothers Christmas, as well. If not for an uncannily well-timed intervention, the event likely wouldn’t have returned this year. “About three or four months ago, my brother sent me a text, out of the blue, and said, ‘Think about it. Don’t make any rash decisions, but maybe we should quit the annual shows and just focus on art: music videos and songs,’” Sumner recalls. “I agreed, and then literally the same day, one of my good friends, who helps run the Eastside Flea, sent me a text that said, ‘Let’s do the Christmas show here [at the Ellis].’ I thought that was an awesome idea.”
The Ellis’s generous dimensions mean the Flea will be going on simultaneous to the Sumners’ festive blowout, which this year includes 10 other local musical acts, a DJ, food and drink, and the perennial “Santa photobooth,” in which attendees can be snapped for posterity alongside an unconventional-looking – and reliably plastered – Kris Kringle. “We’ve grown up a little bit,” Sumner says of the band’s onstage imbibing, “but Santa still gets drunk every year. People love that.
“The reason we continue to do this, and why I’m so glad we’re still doing it, is because it’s such a communal event,” he adds. “These last few years, we’ve taken all the money we make and… there’s a family that a friend works with in the Downtown Eastside, and they’re poor. Our friend just goes and does Christmas shopping for them.
“It’s almost to a point now where, if we didn’t do it, we’d be disappointing a lot of people – and ourselves.”
A Sumner Brothers Christmas XI and the Eastside Flea take place on Friday, Dec. 16, at 1024 Main, 6-11pm (bands start at 8). Admission $5-$10 (sliding scale) at the door.
