Destroyer @ Vogue Theatre -- October 26, 2025

It’s been a minute since the last time I saw Destroyer and I couldn’t think of a better venue for them than the Vogue Theatre, as they brought their new album Dan’s Boogie to Vancouver, wrapping up the North American leg of their tour.

I was also excited to see the opener Jennifer Castle, as I haven’t seen her play live in even longer (I think it was back when she still played under Castlemusic). She came out on stage alone armed only with her acoustic guitar and harmonica, and instantly drew the crowd in with her gorgeous voice on “Mary Miracle” and the title track to her latest album, Camelot.
Her soft vocals lilted through the rapt theatre for songs like “How or Why” and “Poor as Him”, engaging everyone in the storytelling of each. She moved over to the piano for her final two songs, “Monarch Season” and the heartbreaking “Please Take Me, I’m Broken”, to cap off an absolutely lovely set.

After a bit of a break, some funk music blast over the speakers as Destroyer took the stage, Dan Bejar with a six person backing band, as they launched into “The Same Thing as Nothing at All” from the new album. From there, Dan’s enigmatic music and performance took over the night, from new tunes like “Sun Meet Snow” building to a chaotic finish and “Bologna” which featured Jennifer Castle returning to stage on vocals, to favourites from their vast catalogue with the smooth groove of “Kaputt” and the sprawling “Rubies”.

Not unexpectedly, Dan didn’t say much throughout the night, just thanking everyone near the end, and he would often crouch down when not singing, as if to put the spotlight on the rest of the band. At one point JP Carter had an extended trumpet solo full of looping and distortion, and Bejar just sat on the stage watching in awe, like the rest of the audience. There were also a couple times where Dan had a cheat sheet for songs with denser lyrics, but it didn’t feel like a cop out; he almost used it as a prop, gesturing wildly like an incredulous writer who just pulled a sheet of paper from their typewriter.

After my favourite titled song off the new album, “Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World”, the set wrapped up with the haunting “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker”. But the band soon returned to get the crowd snapping along to “Travel Light” and finally finishing off with an old favourite, “European Oils”.

The only downside of the show, there were times when Dan’s vocals were a bit drowned out or low in the mix. But even with that, the Destroyer put on a fantastic show, as they always do.

setlist
The Same Thing as Nothing at All
It Just Doesn’t Happen
Times Square
Tinseltown Swimming in Blood
Bologna
Sun Meet Snow
Kaputt
Cue Synthesizer
The States
Rubies
Cataract Time
Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World
Suicide Demo for Kara Walker
(encore)
Travel Light
June
European Oils

The Beaches @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena-- October 25, 2025

It’s been incredible to see the meteoric rise of Toronto’s The Beaches. A couple years ago I was pleasantly surprised when they sold out the Orpheum, and now they’re playing their first arena-headlining shows with the No Hard Feelings Tour in celebration of their new album. The tour kicked off the previous night in Victoria before the band returned to Vancouver for a sold out(!) show at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

Opening the night was Valley, also from Toronto. I only caught part of their set, but they were more on the ‘pop’ end of the ‘alternative pop’ scale, with songs like “Baby is a Cowboy” which saw drummer Karah James on vocals, and singer Rob Laska getting everyone to join in on “Bop Ba”. They were maybe a little too pop for my own taste, but were definitely a good choice to warm the crowd up.

The stage was then set for The Beaches, as a voicemail played over the speakers — which would recur throughout the set to introduce other songs — and Jordan Miller, Kylie Miller, Leandra Earl, and Eliza Enman-McDaniel immediately rocked out with with “Last Girls at the Party”.

The first time I saw The Beaches, I was immediately taken by their energy, and a bigger stage just meant more. They made use of the space as the members all sang, danced, and/or shred back & forth and on the catwalk platform (well, Eliza behind the drums didn’t more around much, but still matched the rest of the band’s energy). They also included the audience, with Jordan giving an overshare and also inviting up a member of the crowd to do the same before “Did I Say Too Much”, and later making her way along the front row to sing directly to people, before bestowing someone a sash emblazoned with “Jocelyn” for the titular song.

Other highlights included the infectious “Fine, Let’s Get Married”, the simmering intensity of “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid”, and Leandra introducing “Lesbian of the Year” with a heartwarming story about coming out later in life and the advice she got from Tegan Quin, before a gorgeous performance with just her on keys and Jordan singing.

Late in the set they took a moment to thank long-time fans before ripping through a few older favourites like the “T-Shirt”, the crowd joining in on a certain anatomical lyric, and “Money”. And then the main set came to an end with the huge hit, “Blame Brett” as I got chills when the sold out crowd started singing along almost perfectly.

But of course they were back out for a couple more: one of my faves off the new album the acerbic “I Wore You Better”, “Sorry for Your Loss” dedicated to the LA Dodgers, and finally a reprise of “Last Girls at the Party” to bookend the set.

There are a lot of bands in Canada who feel like they are ‘arena worthy’, and it’s always great when one breaks through and fulfills that potential. Not that I had any doubts, but The Beaches were completely at home on the big stage, with a few thousand people hanging on their every note.

setlist
Last Girls at the Party
Touch Myself
Me & Me
Cigarette
Grow Up Tomorrow
Shower Beer
Did I Say Too Much
Fine, Let’s Get Married
Dirty Laundry
Can I Call You in the Morning?
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid
Everything Is Boring
Lesbian of the Year
Edge of the Earth
T-Shirt
Fascination
Blow Up
Give It Up
Money
Jocelyn
Takes One to Know One
Blame Brett
(encore)
I Wore You Better
Sorry for Your Loss
Last Girls at the Party (reprise)

the message left on one of the big screens at the end of the show

Yukon Blonde @ Green Auto -- October 24, 2025

I was surprised to realise that it’s been a few years since the last time I saw Yukon Blonde perform in a proper venue, only managing to catch them at festivals or popup shows. So of course when the band announced a pair of shows at Green Auto to celebrate their new album Friendship & Rock ‘n’ Roll, I wasn’t going to miss it.

I got to the packed venue as opener Janky Bungag was already playing, catching his song “Money I Can’t Spend”. With his country & blues soaked sound I got the sense of, while maybe not full on satire, there was just a little tongue in cheek. The music was played completely seriously, but had offbeat topics such as his love of “Vancouver Ladies” or “Cheap Cocaine”; the absolutely true tale of his ex with “Double D”; or the woes of “Third Wheeling in a Four-Wheel Drive”.
After the crowd joined in on a cover of Green Day’s “When I Come Around”, he finished with the insanely catchy “Denim on Denim” to wrap up a very fun set.

It wasn’t long until “No Matter What” by Badfinger blasted through the speakers, as Yukon Blonde hit the stage. They launched into the first few songs off the new album, starting with “Colours of My Dreams” immediately highlighting the impeccable harmonies of Jeff Innes, Brandon Scott, James Younger, and Graham Jones.

From there the set focused on new songs off the album, from Jones taking vocals on the incredibly smooth “Phaedra”, to Scott’s tribute to his bandmates with “I've Got Yours”, and the infectious “Adore You” lead by Younger, my early fave off the album.

They also delved back to some older favourites, the all-out rocker “Radio” was followed by the dancy vibes of “Saturday Night” with its extended synth breakdown, and they went all the way to their first album with “Rather Be With You”, where Jeff pointed out he could tell the long-time fans in the crowd by the immediate cheers as soon as the song’s distinctive beat hit (my own included).

They finished off the set declaring “I Wanna Be Your Man” but were back out for one more, the anthemic “My Girl” (appropriately enough) which had the sold out room singing & whoa-ing along.

Friendship & Rock ‘n’ Roll has been one of my favourite album of the year — a real return to form for the band — and I was so happy to see them in a venue like Green Auto. With a room full of familiar faces and a great night of tunes, the hometown show really lived up to the album’s promise.

setlist
Colours of My Dreams
Keep On Breaking My Heart
Phaedra
I’ve Got Yours
Confused
Love the Way You Are
Adore You
Let Your Body Move
One Of These Days
Rather Be with You
Here She Comes
Radio
Saturday Night
This Night
I Wanna Be Your Man
(encore)
My Girl

Great Lake Swimmers & Elliott BROOD @ Biltmore Cabaret -- October 23, 2025

Two Canadian folk rock powerhouses joined forced earlier this month on a jaunt through western Canada for The Ballads and Badlands Tour. And since Elliott BROOD is always a fun, raucous show, and the last time I saw Great Lake Swimmers was more than ten years ago when they played a secret show at the Vancouver Aquarium in front of the beluga tank (no, really!), I wasn’t going to miss it when they hit the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver.

I got to the venue just before Elliott BROOD was supposed to go on, and to my shock a Vancouver show was running early. But luckily it was still their first song, “Need to Know”, as the band joked they were getting a slow song out of the way first. And the trio of Mark Sasso, Casey Laforet, and Stephen Pitkin stuck to that promise, ramping up the energy with “Dig A Little Hole” and hardly looking back.

They hit songs off their recent dual EP project, Town & Country, like “Blueberry Wine” and a rollicking ode to Windsor, Ontario with “Rose City”. As well as digging back to some fan favourites, with people singing (or yelling) along with the breezy “Northern Air”, the soaring “The Valley Town”, and of course, the cacophonous “Write it All Down for You”.

The band whipping the crowd into a frenzy as they wrapped up their set with “Wind and Snow” once more getting everyone clapping along, a dedicated few in the crowd going for the entire song!

After a quick turnaround, Great Lake Swimmers took the stage, singer & guitarist Tony Dekker joined by Ryan Granville-Martin on drums & bass and Colleen Brown on just about everything, both chiming in on backup vocals as well. (I forgot Brown was with the band at the moment, so that was a nice surprise!)

The trio kicked off the set with the first three songs off the newly released Caught Light, starting with the gorgeous harmonies of “One More Dance Around The Sun”, and weaved through most of the album throughout the set; Tony’s soft voice filling the room on the title track and stellar “A Distant Star” being standouts. They also delved into the band’s two-decade history, with “Your Rocky Spine” which recently (finally) went gold, “Still” off the Lost Channels album, and even all the way back to the first release, with Tony playing “Moving Pictures, Silent Films” on his own.

The main set ended off with the classic “Pulling on a Line” and the crowd softly joining in on the chorus. At that point, I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication, but moments after they left the house lights went up… only for Tony to jump back on stage to say they had one more treat for the audience. That being both bands teaming up for a fun cover of “End of the Line” by Traveling Wilburys, which ended the night with one last giant singalong.

Seeing either one of those sets on their own would have been a good night. But putting both bands together, especially with them joining up at the end*, was quite the treat!

*and you know I consider ‘both bands jam together for a cover song’ one of the only acceptable versions of an encore!

Elliott BROOD setlist
Need to Know
Dig A Little Hole
Bird Dog
Owen Sound
Northern Air
Without Again
French Exit
Bluebird Wine
Rose City
C'Mon Let's Go
Stay Out
The Valley Town
The Banjo Song
Write it All Down for You
Wind and Snow

Great Lake Swimmers setlist
One More Dance Around The Sun
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
For You To Come Around
Changing Colours
Everything Is Moving So Fast
Caught Light
Your Rocky Spine
Moving Pictures, Silent Films
Youth Not Wasted
Endless Detours
Still
A Distant Star
Pulling on a Line
(encore; both bands)
End of the Line [Traveling Wilburys cover]

Amy Millan @ Fox Cabaret -- October 20, 2025

It’s been a long time since Stars singer Amy Millan released a solo album — sixteen years between Masters Of The Burial and the new I Went To Find You — and just as long since I last saw her play a solo show! So I was very excited for her to bring the beautiful new record to the Fox Cabaret in Vancouver.

Especially with the opening act of Zoon. I hadn't seen the project of Daniel Monkman live before, so I was eager to catch them as they took the stage alone with an acoustic guitar, backed with some drum loops. They announced that for reasons, they would be platying all new material, going into a set full of shoegaze vibes (or ‘moccasin gaze’ as they once dubbed it) and dreamy vocals.

Early on they broke out a Casio digital guitar, joking that this may be the first time in history someone has paired one with a harmonica, and kept a loose energy for the set, chatting about the new songs before each, giving the backstory behind “Government Food Rations” and the final song of the set, “Fend For Yourself Friday”. It seemed like their set flew by & ended all too quickly, and I would definitely like to catch them again.

Not long after, the sultry tones of Emily Haines came over the speakers as the entrance music for Amy Millan, backed by Chris McCarron & Stefan Schneider. She kicked off with Borderline off the new album, for a set that wove through her three solo albums and more.

Early on, Amy (good naturedly) chastised the crowd to let us know this was not a “talking show” and thankfully everyone complied. The only one allowed to chat was Amy, as she effortlessly joked, told anecdotes, and bounced off the crowd to give the show a warm, intimate feel. Her unrivaled vocals drove the set, with highlights including “Kiss That Summer”, oddly fitting for a rainy fall Monday, the lilting “Baby I”, and shortly after a quick rant about embracing mistakes to oppose the emotionless of AI, she had a false start to the ethereal “Untethered”, proving her point perfectly.

Part way through, the band took a quick break for Amy to sing her Stars song “Ageless Beauty” with the crowd joining in, followed by her bandmate Torquil Campbell joining in for one of my favourite Stars tunes, “I Died So I Could Haunt You”, pouring their all as it was the first time they had performed it in over a decade.  

Before launching into “Don Valley”, Amy announced it would be their last song, with a big wink, and outright said she would be forgoing the encore ritual (thankfully!) before ending the set with the gorgeous classic “Skinny Boy”.

I Went To Find You has been one of my favourite albums so far this year, and this show was such a fun, lively evening. I can only hope it’s not another sixteen years until Amy Millan’s next solo show!

setlist
Borderline
Bury This
Kiss That Summer
Wire Walks
Baby I
Overpass
Untethered
Murmurations
Ageless Beauty
I Died So I Could Haunt You
Make Way for Waves
Old Perfume
Don Valley
Skinny Boy