Last week, Vancouver drag performer-slash-musician Dust Cwaine released their sophomore album, Twin Lakes, and last night, they celebrated with a release show at the Fox Cabaret. Before the show, Dust promised a night of music and drag — with a meticulous schedule posted before hand, which I very much appreciated!

At 8p sharp, the evening’s host Acacia took the stage to introduce the festivities (and roast Dust) as she set the stage for a drag performance from Nora Vision and a couple songs from pop singer Connor Nelson, who was joined by Dust for the second.

After Acacia did their own drag performance, it was time for Dust Cwaine. Clad in their signature makeup & poofy dress, they were joined by Dana Oikawa (Guitar), Banafshe (Synth), Iris Yakamyshyn (Drums), and Nora Vision (Bass) whose last show it was with the band.

With a screen behind the band featuring a slideshow of images from Cwaine’s present and past, they kicked off with the title track to the album, “Twin Lakes”, named for the small town Dust grew up, setting the tone of incredibly catchy indie pop-rock songs written about childhood trauma.

The album as a whole was informed by difficult memories and emotions from Dust’s past, though they were able to switch effortlessly from joking between songs and then delving into deep subject matter, like “Tiger Lily,” which Dust described as an imagined letter written from their own mother. Other highlights of the set including the infectious chorus of “Burn After Reading”, the frenetic energy of “The Acolyte”, and the joyous T4T love song “Little Plans”.

The album wrapped up with a pair of absolutely heart wrenching songs, “Jupiter” and “Take My Stories” which finished with a text message shown on screen behind them — Dust explaining it was the final text their father sent before passing away — as they were emotionally drained, sharing a big hug with the band to cap off the first half of the night.

That alone would have made for an great night, but after an intermission Dust was back on stage to put the “party” in Album Release Party. They dubbed the second half a jam session, inviting up a stream of guests — including Steph Wall, Stanza Lune, Meredith Louise, and more — to join on some older songs like the nostalgia dripping “90’s Darling” and the soaring “Aliens in LA”, before wrapping it up with a huge singalong of Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero”.

I hasn’t had a chance to see Dust Cwaine perform before last night, and this show felt like the perfect introduction!

setlist
[album]
Twin Lakes
Burn After Reading
Violent Heart
Brooklyn
The Acolyte
Interlude
Tiger Lily
Starman
Little Plans
Jupiter
Take My Stories
[jam session]
Arcana
Shot in the Dark [John Mayer cover]
90’s Darling
Aliens in LA
Hearts in Atlantis
Hero [Enrique Iglesias cover]