We Are The World, We Are The Biltmore: Michael Jackson Tribute Concert @ Biltmore -- 11/25/15

November 28, 2015 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

David Vertesi and friends are at it again. The same folks behind 'The Biltmore Phil-harmonic' and 'Biltmore Over Troubled Water' -- tribute nights to Phil Collins and Paul Simon, respectively -- are back, this time with a night honouring the King of Pop. And like the other nights, it was all benefiting Sing It Forward and the St James Music Academy, leading up to the final Sing It Forward concert, this time TWO nights at the Vogue Theatre, January 14 & 15th.
The usual "house band" of Johnny Andrews on drums, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, Mike Young on bass, and Tristan Paxto on guitar were joined by Katie Schaan on backing vocals and Raphael Geronimo on percussion, with a rotating lineup of Vancouver singers to hit the highs (or attempt to anyway, in some cases).

The night started with some children from the St James Music Academy for an instrumental "Smooth Criminal" on violin, before the band took the stage. Like the other months, I won't give a song-by-song account, just some highlights with Christine McAvoy's photos below.

I hadn't seen Katie Schaan perform live in a long time, so it was nice to see her providing backing vocals all night, as well as belt out "The Way You Make Me Feel". If you're a fan of Bend Sinister, then it shouldn't be a surprise how good Dan Moxon was for his cover of "Smooth Criminal", Parker Bossley had the moves when he did "Rock With It", and Danielle McTaggert from Dear Rouge did a really fun "Billie Jean".
Lots of the performers were in costume, and there were even props, like when Hey Ocean! performed "Will You be There" and loosed a large inflatable orca into the crowd (sadly, the Biltmore ceiling is too low to reenact the famous ending to Free Willy).
The highlight of these tribute nights always seems to be Tonye Aganaba. She was on stage a few times, playing MJ to Chin Injeti's Paul McCartney, doing a beautiful "Man in the Mirror", but my favourite came early on as she and JP Maurice did an amazing "Beat It".
My other favourite performance was one I think should have ended the night (instead of the "better-in-theory" version of "We Are The World"); the lights dimmed and Zach Gray hit the stage in ghoulish makeup for a killer rendition of "Thriller", complete with dancers coming out from the back and into the crowd for the choreographed dance number.

And as the night ended, David Vertesi teased the next tribute night, for Hall & Oates, though didn't say when, so it sounds like these nights won't be slowing down any time soon. Who do you want to hear them do for a future tribute night? Let me know in the comments.
(Me, I suggested to Vertesi, in all sincerity, that they should do a "Weird" Al Yankovic tribute night. It would be amazing.)

Click through for a gallery of Christine's photos, and the full setlist!

The Biltmore Over Troubled Water: Paul Simon Tribute Concert @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 09/30/15

October 03, 2015 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

Just over a month removed from the tribute to Phil Collins, David Vertesi and crew were ready for another go 'round. This time, it was a tribute to arguably one of the greatest songwriters, Paul Simon. And, once again, it was all benefiting Sing It Forward and the St James Music Academy.
With the same backing band as last month -- Johnny Andrews on drums, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, Mike Young on bass, and Tristan Paxto on guitar -- there was a rotating selection of some of Vancouver's finest singers covering a range of songs from Paul Simon's oeuvre.

And like last month, it would be impossible to give a full rundown of the night, so I will touch on a few of the highlights for me. JP Maurice appeared a couple times throughout the night to sing a couple of my favourites from Graceland, the title track and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes". A really fun cover of "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" came from Parker Bossley. The unparalleled voice of Dawn Pemberton (deservedly) got the biggest ovation for the namesake of the night, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as the last portion of the night cranked out the hits one after one. And they wrapped up with a couple singalongs; Chin Injeti, joined by Tonye Aganaba and the surprise guest of the night Michael Bernard Fitzgerald for "Call Me Al", the entire room singing along; and then the stage filling with everyone who sang that night for the big finisher, "Cecelia".

Click through for a photo gallery of every single person singing onstage:

The Biltmore Phil Harmonic: A Phil Collins Tribute Concert @ Biltmore -- 08/12/15

August 15, 2015 by Kirk Hamilton in live shows

David Vertesi sure knows how to throw a hell of a party. Every year he and his lovely wife Ambrosia put together a show called Sing It Forward, to benefit the St James Music Academy. Now, about half way between the last one and the next one, Vertesi has organised another fundraiser, a tribute to the great Phil Collins.

With a backing band consisting of Johnny Andrews on drums, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, Mike Young on bass, and Tristan Paxto on guitar, there was a rotating cavalcade of singers covering the whole spectrum of Phil Collins' career; from his days in Genesis, to his solo material, to his Disney soundtrack.

And while it would be impossible to give a full rundown of the night, I will say a few of the highlights for me were Dan Moxon (and the rest of Bend Sinister on backing vocals) going "Against All Odds"; a surprise Shad covering Collins' cover of "You Can't Hurry Love" originally by The Supremes; a version of the Genesis song "That's All" by Willa, which rivalled Zeus as the definitive of that song; and, of course, "In The Air Tonight", as owned by Hey Ocean's own Ashleigh Ball.

Click through to check out photos from every single singer on stage: