Dan Mangan @ Vogue Theatre -- October 03, 2025

October 04, 2025 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows, Show Review

There’s always something special about seeing an artist playing a hometown show, especially if it’s Dan Mangan, and especially if it’s at the Vogue. So I was excited to see him return to the venue in the midst of his Natural Light Tour for a sold out show.

Opening the evening was Bells Larsen, who took the stage along with an acoustic guitar, to “whisper sing” at us (his words).

He opened with “Blurring Time”, the title track to his latest album, and explained the concept; the album was recorded over the span of a few years, both before and after his transition as a trans man, effectively harmonising with himself.
Other songs delved deeper into this, like “Might” dealing with the uncertainty of how he would sound after, and some were about those close to him, like “My Brother & Me” about their rocky relationship (he made sure to note they were close now!)

The whole crowd was rapt, near silent during the songs and then exploding into applause after, and after about half an hour he wrapped up the set with the charming “People Who Mean So Much To Me”. It was a lovely set, and I am eager to see him again with a full band.

Not long after that, it was Dan Mangan time, as he was joined by his band, guitarist Mike O'Brien, bassist Jason Haberman and drummer Don Kerr. The stage was set to look like the cottage the album was recorded in: a fireplace, rugs & quilts strewn about, low lighting, and a recreation of the view they had each evening, as the curtains to a makeshift window were pulled pack to reveal a serene lake with the sun setting over the hills (a video, so we could watch the sun slowly go down).

Before starting, he explained how he wanted to make the hometown show special by playing the full Natural Light album front-to-back for the first half of the show, launching into “It Might Be Raining” and the crowd popping for the hometown reference.
From there he weaved through the album, from the touching “No Such Thing As Wasted Love” to the upbeat “Melody”, and my album standout, the melancholic “For Him”.
There was a strange occurrence part way through, when Dan stopped “Soapbox” after a couple verses because someone fainted. He made sure they got help, with a very cooperative crowd making space, and then restarted... only for another person on the other side of the floor to faint as soon as he did! Dan wondered if the song was cursed and if he should even continue, but at the insistence of the crowd — in particular the person who yelled “once more, with feeling!” — he finished it with gusto.
(And, to be honest, it was a little warm and stuffy in the packed venue.)

After finishing the album with a singalong to “Hit The Wall”, the band took a break while Dan did a few solo songs. First a song that always make me tear up, especially live, “Basket” as well as one my favourite deeper cuts, “Pine for Cedars” with its charming wordplay.

Then the band was back out for the gorgeous “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)”, before launching into raucous “Road Regrets”, Dan’s voice soaring through the room, and again on the (unfortunately) still extremely relevant “Post-War Blues”. They bounced from songs like the haunting “Lynchpin” to the frenetic “Troubled Mind”, before inviting Bells and his guitar back on stage for the perennial singalong “Robots”. With a handheld mic, Dan jumped off stage and into the audience to wade back and forth, getting everyone to join him for a big finish to the set.

Even after two hours(!) the crowd was still eager for more, and so a few minutes later Dan came back out, sheepishly admitting he didn't plan for an encore, but testing out a brand new anti-fascist song to wrap up the night.

I’ve said before how sometimes a band or musician will just fit a venue perfectly, and that's Dan with the Vogue. Before the show, I was talking with a friend about how many times I've seen Dan play there, specifically (nine, before last night) and Dan even mentioned it was his favourite venue to play in. I would happily see him play there as much as possible.

Dan Mangan setlist
It Might Be Raining
Diminishing Returns
I Hated Love Songs
Contained Free (Interlude)
No Such Thing As Wasted Love
Melody
My Dreams Are Getting Weirder
Soapbox
Cut The Brakes
For Him
Sound The Alarm
Proximity
Hit The Wall
(Dan solo)
Basket
Fool For Waiting
Pine For Cedars
(Full band)
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)
Road Regrets
Cold In The Summer
Post-War Blues
Forgetery
Just Fear
Lynchpin
Troubled Mind
Fire Escape
Robots
(encore)
[New Song]

Bell Larsen setlist
Blurring Time
514-415
Might
My Brother & Me
Night Bus
People Who Mean So Much To Me

Dan Mangan @ Vogue Theatre -- December 09, 2023

December 11, 2023 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows, Show Review

I’ve said it before, but there are some performers that just fit perfectly with certain venues, and Dan Mangan with The Vogue Theatre is one of those combinations. So it was great to see Dan finishing his Going Somewhere Tour — in celebration of last year’s album of the same name — here in Vancouver at the theatre on Granville street.

Unfortunately, I missed the opening act, Vancouver’s Noble Son, arriving to the venue a little before the lights went out and Dan’s voice was heard over the speakers, greeting people as he made his way from the back of the theatre down to the stage. Once there, he pulled out his acoustic guitar, and started the show off with a new Christmas song he wrote a few days before the show.

From there the first portion of the set was dedicated to requests fielded from his text line. “Jeopardy” was for someone’s birthday, his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” to celebrate an anniversary, and the always-heartbreaking “Basket”.

At that point, Dan was joined by his band — Don Kerr on drums, Jason Haberman on bass, and Mike O’Brien on guitar — for the rest of the set, as they conducting the crowd on the backing vocals for “Lynchpin”.

From his latest single about chasing fame, “Say When”, to the perennial favourites like “Road Regrets”, Dan spanned his career, as well as a range of emotions. From the high energy “Troubled Mind” to the (sadly) always-relevant “Post-War Blues”, like melancholic “Lay Low”, or the mournful “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)” a sweet ode to a lost friend.

The set started to wind down with the usual huge singalong to “Robots”, before Dan pulled out a special guitar adorned with some LEDs. The house lights went down and Dan was illuminated just by his guitar and a special “wizard stick” as he launched into “All My People”, prompting the crowd to sing along, as he hopped off stage and wading into the audience, as a surprise trumpeter played from the balcony. Dan stayed in the crowd for the final song of the night, once again leading the makeshift choir for “So Much for Everyone”, which has been Dan’s closer for a couple years now, and is a beautiful way to bring the crowd together and celebrate the communal feel of his shows.

Earlier this year Dan played a special solo show at the Fox Cabaret, and even though the sold out Vogue had about four times as many people, this show felt just as intimate. Between taking requests, telling stories between songs, and even chatting with the crowd at points, Dan has an uncanny knack to make any size room feel like a cozy show.

setlist
[Christmas Song]
Fool for Waiting
Jeopardy
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
There Is No Such Thing as Wasted Love
Basket
Lynchpin
Troubled Mind
Road Regrets
Cold in the Summer
Say When
Lay Low
Just Know It
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)
Easy
Post-War Blues
Fire Escape
Robots
All My People
So Much for Everyone

Haley Blais (and friends) @ The Wise Hall -- April 14, 2023

April 16, 2023 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

Ever since Haley Blais released her debut album Below the Salt a few years ago, I've been wanting to catch her live, but aside from a pandemic-era livestream from the Fox and a quick set at Constellation last year, I hadn't really got the chance. So I was happy to fix that this past Friday, with a show at the Wise Hall. It was a rare seated show for that venue, but during her set Blas quipped “I refuse to believe we can enjoy anything standing up” and I can't disagree with that.

Unfortunately I ran late and missed the opener, Troll Dolly, arriving shortly before Haley Blais took the stage with her backing band, comprised of a few familiar faces; Sam Lynch, Lindsay Sjoberg, Graham Serl, and Alex Maunders.

They started off the set with the chilled out “Rob the Original”, and weaved into a few more from her current catalogue, including “Survivor's Guilt” -- with the first guest of the evening, star of the video Jake Pascoe coming out to dance & accompany on the vibraslap -- and “Firestarter”, my favourite from her debut album, a song that starts slow and soft, building to a crescendo with Blais' voice sending chills and giving goosebumps.
Throughout the night we were also teased with a number of new songs from an upcoming album, like the groovy “Matchmaker” and “Cabin”, a more rocking number that once again showed off Haley's vocal range.

Leading up to the show, Blais had promised ‘special guests’, and delivered when she ceded the mic to her friends and peers, to put the spotlight on them. Mid-way through, Lindsey took centre stage with other members of Babe Corner out for the title track off their recently released album Crybaby; Maunders played a track from his solo project; and Dan Mangan surprised everyone with “Just Know It”, all backed by Blais on vocals.
Then near the end of the set, Blais brought out Jonathan Anderson and David Vertesi to play on one of her new songs “Reset Button”, before Vertesi went into into one of his songs, “My Parents House”, and finally Sam Lynch performed a beautiful new song that I didn't catch the name of.

After a good hour and a half, they brought the set to a big finish with a singalong to “Coolest Fucking Bitch in Town”, Blais conducting the crowd to chant the lyrics as the song wrapped up. But the sold out hall wanted one more song, and Haley indulged, coming out alone to start an older track “Small Foreign Faction”, before the rest of the band joined her and everyone let loose to cap off the night.

Leading up to the show, I had no idea who or what the “and friends” would entail, so the format of the show was a very pleasant surprise, and made for one of the most unique and collaborative shows I've seen in some time. It's rare that you see someone use almost a third of their set to let others shine, and the talent on the stage had the sold out hall rapt all evening. The crowd was (mostly) silent in all the right places, hanging on everyone — especially Haley Blais' — every note.

setlist
Rob the Original
Survivor's Guilt
Matchmaker
Be Your Own Muse
Firestarter
Crybaby (Babe Corner)
This Time (Maunders)
Just Know It (Dan Mangan)
[New song?]
Body
Reset Button
My Parents House (David Vertesi)
[New Song] (Sam Lynch)
Cabin
Coolest Fucking Bitch in Town
[encore]
Small Foreign Faction

An Evening with Dan Mangan @ Fox Cabaret -- February 03, 2023

February 04, 2023 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

As much as I want to see musicians that I love get huge, blow up, have lots of success... when they do, there's a small (selfish) part of me that misses seeing them play intimate venues. Which is why it's great when someone like Dan Mangan decides to play somewhere like the Fox Cabaret. Part of a series of acoustic shows, tickets sold out in minutes for this hometown Evening with Dan Mangan.

With Radiohead playing over the speakers, the lights dimmed as Mangan took the stage alone, armed only with his acoustic guitar. Starting off with “Just Know It” from the new album Being Somewhere, and driving back to “Road Regrets” as Dan’s gruff voice filled the room, the night was not only intimate, but a little interactive as well.

He chatted with the crowd between songs, telling stories, and taking requests for the bulk of the set. From the classic wordplay of “Pine for Cedars”, to deep cuts like the frantic “Mouthpiece”, “Unnatural Progression” from his very first release Postcards and Daydreaming, and even his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, he hit requests from throughout his oeuvre.

Dan also debuted a new song, a clever tune about vampiric and parasitic people (I'm going to guess called “Vampire”?), with other highlights including the frenetic “Troubled Mind”, the melancholic “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)”, and “Sold”, with clap-a-long ending that's foolproof against people who may lack rhythm.

After the always-heartwrenching “Basket”, Dan started to draw the set to a close by wading out into the middle of the cabaret with his giant light fixture for a couple of singalongs. First the perennial favourite “Robots”, and finally ending the night as he's been wont to do for the last few years; the collective voices of the entire room supporting him on “So Much for Everyone”.

And that same crowd hung on every note Dan played throughout the night, with virtually no chatter during his songs. I’ve often said that Dan Mangan has a knack for making shows of any size feel intimate, but seeing him play a show like this again, after so many years, was truly something special.

setlist
Just Know It
Cold in the Summer
Road Regrets
Lay Low
Tina's Glorious Comeback
Jeopardy
Mouthpiece
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
Easy
New Song (Vampire?)
Pine for Cedars
Troubled Mind
Unnatural Progression
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)
Lynchpin
Fire Escape
Sold
Basket
Robots
So Much for Everyone