PHOTOS: Rich Aucoin @ Fox Cabaret - June 01, 2023
Rich Aucoin, with Petra Glynt
at Fox Cabaret
June 01, 2023
Rich Aucoin, with Petra Glynt
at Fox Cabaret
June 01, 2023
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
Skye Wallace made her long-awaited return to Vancouver last night, on the heels of her latest album, Terribly Good. In the midst of a cross-Canada tour, the Toronto singer came back to the city that was once her home, with a stop at the Fox Cabaret.
Unfortunately I missed the first opener, Nonarchy, arriving to the venue part way through Zoey Leven's set. I caught the last bit of her breezy, indie-pop sound on songs like “Closer” and “Gatekeeper”, an upbeat, jangly tune off their 2019 debut EP, Messy. The few songs I heard definitely made me want to keep an ear out for more in the future.
Not long after, Skye Wallace took the stage joined by her band; Devon Lougheed (guitar), Gina Kennedy (keys), Jenna Strautman (bass), and Chris Dimas (drums). She kicked off the hour-long set with a couple of older tunes, the darker "There is a Wall" and the raucous "Mean Song 2" before launching into new material off Terribly Good.
Highlights included "Everything is Fine", the self-convincing anthemic answer when asked how you’re doing; the gritty "Tooth and Nail", which slipped into a fun cover of The Watchmen's 90s hit "Stereo"; and "Keeper", a bittersweet number which she admitted was almost her first love song... until they broke up some time between writing and recording the song.
Part way through the night, Devon and Chris took a break while Skye introduced a song written about Angelina Napolitano, "Swing Batter". With just her playing electric guitar and Geena & Jenna on backing vocals, the song’s intensity, combined with Skye's incredibly powerful voice, sent chills & goosebumps throughout the room.
The set came to a close with the raw "Tear A Piece (Bite Me)" before finishing off with another cover, Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time". But after a moment the band was out for one last song, a favourite of Skye's dad (who was in attendance) "Reaper", an absolute banger which saw Skye hop off the stage and onto the floor to shred on guitar, while a portion of the crowd lost it in a mosh pit (which Skye had half-jokingly requested earlier in the evening).
As Skye Wallace mentioned a couple times during the show, she was incredibly excited to be back onstage, especially back in Vancouver, and especially at the Fox. But even if she hadn’t said anything, that excitement and energy was radiating off stage and through the crowd, for a great night of dark-folk-rock.
setlist
There is a Wall
Mean Song 2
Truth Be Told
The Doubt
Everything is Fine
Phantom Limb
Swing Batter
Keeper
You Left
Coal In Your Window
Tooth and Nail [w/ Stereo by The Watchmen]
Tear A Piece (Bite Me)
If I Could Turn Back Time [Cher cover]
(encore)
Reaper
It's been quite a while since Montreal's Plants and Animals last visited Vancouver, and with a new album The Jungle out at the end of 2020, we were due for a return. So I was pretty happy to see they would be doing just that, with a show at the Fox Cabaret.
I arrived just as opener Gus Englehorn was finishing up his set, but it wasn't long before Plants and Animals hit the stage, launching right into ”Faerie Dance”. Starting soft and building with an explosive energy, the song was a microcosm of the rest of the set, which ebbed and flowed with chill songs like ”Love That Boy” to the harder hitting ”Sacrifice” to the dense and swirling “Le Queens”.
With a strict curfew in place, the band didn't say much, singer Warren Spicer just taking to the mic a couple times to affirm how grateful they were to be there (and how he was happy with the Vancouver crowd not yelling at him & his haircut, unlike another city he did not name).
Other highlights included the simmering chaos of one of my favourites, “Feedback in the Field”, the title track from the new album “The Jungle”, and the raucous “House on Fire” which ended off the main set.
But they were quickly back for one more song, as they ran right up to 10pm with a fitting finale, the last song off The Jungle, “Bold”.
Even though they played for a little over an hour, the set still felt too short, and I definitely could have listened to the band’s lush sounds all night (thanks a lot, curfewed shows). And hopefully it won’t be as long of a stretch between their next show here.
setlist
Faerie Dance
We Were One
All Of The Time
Sacrifice
Love That Boy
The Jungle
Le Queens
Get My Mind
Feedback in the Field
In Your Eyes
House on Fire
(encore)
Bold
Shred Kelly
Fox Cabaret
November 08, 2019
Christine McAvoy Photography