Shred Kelly @ Electric Owl -- 03/14/15

Celebrating the release of their third album, everyone's favourite ski bum band returned to Vancouver this weekend, bringing their "stoke folk" sound to the Electric Owl.
Opening the night was fellow Peak Performance Project '014 alumni The Wild Romantics.
I had only ever seen them as a duo, the couple Aleisha Kalina and Evan Miller crafting fine folk tunes, but this time they were armed with a full band. And with the full band was a much more rock 'n' roll sound. Their voices came together harmonizing on songs like "A Monday In May", and my favourite of the set, a bit of a sassy song with a bite, "Who You Fooling".
Aleisha and Evan also had a good stage presence, especially as the set went on. They seemed comfortable enough at the beginning, but by the end they were getting more and more playful, leaning on each other and sharing a microphone, and both of them even getting right into the faces of the crowd (literally).
I think they are still a relatively young band, only a couple years old, but they're already off to a pretty good start.


Shred Kelly hit the stage not long after, the five-piece Fernie band started off with a song that encapsulates the band perfectly; Tim Newton slowly plucking his banjo until he picked up the pace to a blurry hand, joined by Sage McBride's lovely voice, the song building to raucous ending. It is a trait shared by many Shred Kelly songs as both the songs and the band exploded off stage with ridiculous amounts of energy. And the Saturday night crowd was more than happy to reciprocate; people dancing and stomping and clapping, even a little crowd surfing, and no less than two rounds of shots and a round of beers was sent up to the stage.

Pulling songs from all three of their albums, highlights included the softer and haunting "Ghost Inside My Head", the frantic "Cabin Fever", and my favourite off of  Sing to the Night, "Stuck Between", a bit of a darker song with Sage's powerful voice filling the room. And somehow the band managed to top the energy of the night with the last three songs. The tumultuous "Tornado Alley" lived up to its title; the ridiculously catchy "The Bear", with an impressive run on the keys from Sage and an even more impressive drumming from Ian Page-Shiner; and the huge "Sing to the Night", the voices of Tim and Sage blending together better than ever.

For the encore, they first warmed up everyone's vocal chords with the soft and beautiful "Jewel of the North" before one of the most cathartic singalong songs, "I Hate Work". And as everyone chanted along to the title, the band segued nicely into Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend", during which they split the room for the singalong: one half of the crowd singing along with Sage "Everybody's working for the weekend" and the other half with Tim, chanting "I Hate Work". 


When I first saw Shred Kelly, on a train car in Melville, Saskatchewan, I was suitable impressed. And in the few years since, they've barely slowed down -- touring, recording, taking part in the Peak Performance Project -- and have just gotten better and better.


setlist
Let It Go, Cabin Fever, Start Again, New Black, Leaving Town, Ghost Inside My Head, White River, Rowed Away, Time Is Passing, Stuck Between, Family Oh Family, Tornado Alley, The Bear, Sing to the Night.
(encore) Jewel of the North, I Hate Work (mashup with Working for the Weekend [Loverboy cover])

Zeus @ Electric Owl -- 09/13/14

The very first time I saw Toronto's Zeus, they were opening for Jason Collett (as well as acting as his backing band) at Richard's on Richards, and played to about 10 people. It was an early show that no one knew was early, so they got shafted. Luckily I've seen them more than a couple times in the six years, and three albums later, they are playing to packed venues like the Electric Owl.


Toronto's The Elwins opened up the show, with their upbeat and bouncy indie-pop songs. The sound wasn't great for them at the beginning of the set, which I think really hurt -- their precision pop and harmonized vocals lose a lot with poor sound quality -- but it evened out a little as the set went on, and the crowd slowly migrated towards the stage, pulled in by the band's exuberance.

They teased the crowd with some new songs, as well as songs off And I Thank You, highlights including the ridiculous catchy "Stuck In The Middle" and a cover of Beyonce's "Countdown", which they put their own spin on and had the crowd counting down along with them. The wasn't the last crowd participation, though, as for "Forgetful Assistance" the mustachioed guitar/keyboardist Feurd Moore conducted the crowd to clap along, and even hopped off the stage among the people at the front, hugging a few, and handing off the tambourine before taking place.

It was a really fun set, and hopefully next time they're back, the sound will be better.


And then, making their return to their Canadian home soil, after a few days in the USA (or "ew-sa", as they said) was the mighty Zeus. With Rob Drake on drums, Carlin Nicholson, Mike O'Brien, and Neil Quin all cycled through guitars and bass and keys, taking lead vocals for different songs, as well as providing perfect harmonies. They were also joined by the newest member of Zeus, Jason Haberman (not Collett as some places have been reporting, and they were quick to point out) previously of Yukon Blonde, on various instruments.

Right away they launched into "Bonnieview" from the new album Classic Zeus, and as soon as they started, their talents burst through. Each member is an amazing musicians with a great presence, and they were blown away by the crowd's reaction to them, which just fuelled their passion even more.

From the hip shaking groove of "Love/Pain", to the explosive rocking and beautiful harmonies of "The Renegade", to the softer and heartbreaking "One Line Written In" and everything in between, the hour-plus set ran through all three of their albums pretty equally. The energetic crowd also joining in, clapping along and singing the ooo-aah-ooo's of  "Strong Mind" before the band brought the set to an end with "27 is the New 17", Rob Drake coming out from behind the drums for the first time and picking up a guitar, for Carlin to take his place, before chants of "ZEUS! ZEUS!" brought them back out for a couple more.

Any remaining faces left unmelted were taken care of with an absolutely incendiary and rocking "You Gotta Teller" -- definitely the best song of the set -- before the capped off the night with and a bit of a rarity, the title track to the Hot Under The Collar 7".

It's always amazing watching them play. Each member has the songwriting and musical chops -- as well as on-stage presence -- to be a fantastic frontman of their own band, and with their powers combined, they are a band unparalleled.

setlist
Bonnieview, Heavy On Me, I Know, Love/Pain, The Renegade, Anything You Want Dear, You Could Have A Lover, Are You Gonna Waste My Time?, First One In, One Line Written In, I Miss My Friends, Strong Mind, 27 Is The New 17.
(encore) You Gotta Teller, Hot Under the Collar. 

We Are Scientists @ Electric Owl -- 05/02/14

"...hopefully we convinced them to not wait another four years for a show." was the last thing I said in the blog post the last time We Are Scientists came through town. In 2010.
So I guess not, but the New York three-piece -- one of my favourite bands to come out of the indie rock boom of the mid-00's -- hit the Electric Owl in support of their newest album, TV En Français.

First up was Scottish trio Paws, for their first time in Vancouver (but they had heard good things from their European tour mates, a local band you may have heard of named Japandroids)
They started hard and fast, and barely slowed down for their half-hour set, with a noisy sound was definitely giving off vibes of 90s alt-rock and grunge, as they thrashed around stage with reckless abandon.
Songs came in short bursts of energy, ending abruptly more often than not, with almost a sense of urgency. The only one that seemed out of place was a bit of a mellower song, which was very obviously written as "the single" even without them introducing it as such.
They put on a really fun set, and I would definitely catch them again if they come through to tour their brand new album Youth Culture Fever. 

Thanks to the curfew on the show, it was not too long after when REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You" blasted over the speakers as the three members of We Are Scientists took the stage.
They kicked things off with a signature tune "Return the Favor", for a set spanning all four of their albums. Their ridiculously catchy indie-rock had people singing along to old favourites "After Hours" and the explosive "Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt", as well as songs from the new album like the fast-paced, riff-tastic "Dumb Luck".
The humour of Keith Murray (guitar and "golden pipes") and Chris Cain (backup vocals and "bass guitar instrument") also shone through in their banter, with great back and forths, and off-the-cuff humour. It was pretty clear that after over a dozen years of being a band, they still have fun on stage and with each other. They also paused part way through the set to wish drummer Keith Carneage a happy birthday, complete with a cake being delivered and the crowd singing.
As "Impatience" brought the main set came to a close, they were back out with "Dinosaurs" which erupted into an intense ending of shredding guitars, and they wrapped up with the familiar frantic cymbals opening "The Great Escape", from their breakthrough album With Love and Squalor, for another big singalong to end things perfectly.

Sometimes the Electric Owl can be a little hit or miss with their sound, and while it was not bad last night, I found that a few songs in the set were just a little too loud; sometimes drowning out individual members of the band or just being too harsh. But that aside, We Are Scientists definitely still puts on an incredibly fun show; they are a tight band with genuinely funny banter, and songs that will be stuck in your head for the next week.
I can't wait for them to be back in 2018.

setlist
Return the Favor; After Hours; Dumb Luck; Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt; Nice Guys; Sprinkles; Lousy Reputation; Lethal Enforcer; Textbook; Take An Arrow; Chick Lit; Rules Don't Stop; I Don't Bite; Make It Easy; Impatience.
(encore) Dinosaurs; Slow Down; The Great Escape.