Yukon Blonde w/ The Zolas @ Commodore -- 12/05/18

It was a cold Wednesday night when a pair of local powerhouses came home to the Commodore, on the final leg of their tour together.

Opening the night was The Zolas, kicking things off with a brand-new song -- possibly called "Transition" -- that, if not their next single, is going to be the fan-favourite-deep-cut off their next album. From there, they sprinkled in a few more new ones, including their latest banger "Bombs Away", which I don't quite think you can call an "ode" to Vancouver, and "Energy Czar" (or "Energy Song", I couldn't quite make it out) singer Zach Gray joking it was yet another post-apocalyptic song from the band.

And of course, there were old favourites for fans to sing along to; during "Ancient Mars" the crowd visibly overwhelmed the band, as Zach had to paused for a second before starting the next verse, the crowd joining in.
As the set came to an end, they clearly wanted to get in as many hits in as they could, with a medley of "Invisible" transitioning into "Strange Girl", and then "Knot In My Heart" at which point Zach split the room, half singing the latter and the other half the chorus of "Marlaina Kamikaze".

Finally, to finish off the set, Zach jumped into the crowd for a beautiful singalong to "Escape Artist", cell phone flashlights dancing above him and throughout the crowd like fireflies, before capping off the set with a bit of a cover of The Pixies' "Were Is My Mind?" and finally, the bouncy "Swooner" (literally bouncy, with the crowd jumping on the Commodore's flexible floor). 

Honestly, if that was all, that would have been a worthwhile show. But as Zach reminded us, we still had more to come!

It wasn't long after that before the familiar horns of "YMCA" filled the room and Yukon Blonde (literally) danced their way on stage, launching right in to "Too Close To Love", the lead track off their latest album Critical Hit.

Focusing mostly on the new album, they hit songs like the pulsing "Emotional Blackmail", and "Summer in July", singer Jeff Innes joking it was a song for sad people only, and half-heartedly childing people when he saw smiles in the crowd. Jeff and Brandon Scott's voices blended as flawlessly as ever, with pretty much the entire band backing them on most songs, James Younger even taking over lead vocals on the sultry "Cry".
Other highlights included one my my personal faves, the full-out rocker "Radio" that broke down into a psychedelic interlude before ramping back up, and into the insanely danceable "Saturday Night".

They brought the set to an end with some of their "Favourite People", but of course were back out a few moments later. First, for a fantastic, slightly stripped down (but not quite acoustic) version of "Loyal Man", a song that they introduced as not being able to play often. And they capped off the night in the best possible way: inviting The Zolas back out onstage for a big group singalong cover of "Handle With Care" by The Traveling Wilburys, finishing with both Zach and Jeff surfing through the crowd.

(As a small aside, as much as I'm "over" the whole encore concept, I do love it when bands do stuff like this when coming back out -- stripped down songs, fun covers, jamming with the opening band, etc -- instead of just "and now here's our hit".)

I've seen both of these bands dozens of times over the years, and this may well be the best I've seen either of them, but especially Yukon Blonde, who were firing on all cylinders.

Oh, and check out Christine's photos from the night here!

Yukon Blonde setlsit
Too Close To Love
Emotional Blackmail
Cry
Love The Way You Are
Dear Nancy
Summer in July
This is Spain
Rather Be With You
The Bluffs
Radio
Saturday Night
Feeling Digital
I Wanna Be Your Man
Favourite People
(encore)
Loyal Man
Handle With Care [The Traveling Wilburys cover]

The Zolas Setlist
Transition[?]
Molotov Girls
Bombs Away
Ancient Mars
Observatory
Get Dark
Energy Czar[?]
Freida On The Mountain
This Changes Everything
Invisible -> Strange Girl -> Knot In My Heart -> Marlaina Kamikaze
Escape Artist
Where Is My Mind? [The Pixies cover]
Swooner

Dear Rouge @ Commodore -- 11/09/18

With their brand new album Phases out earlier this year, Vancouver’s Dear Rouge returned home for one of the last stops on their album release tour, and they brought some friends along with them.

Starting off the night was Blonde Diamond, who have consistently been one of my favourite new bands in the last couple years (though this was actually my first time seeing them since they officially changed their name from Youngblood).
They kicked off with the sultry “Wildest Ride” from their latest EP Fantasy Love, singer Alexis Young stalking the stage. They played a quick set of a half dozen songs, including the dark “Better When You're Close” and “Easy Nothing” which closed their set erupting into a chaotic swirling of synths.

Modern Space was up next, their five members (save the drummer) clad in all-black, including leather jackets for each. Their set was full of catchy and upbeat indie-rock, with a good energy from the band, especially singer Sean Graham. But if I’m being honest, none of the songs really stood out, or stuck with me. Maybe they’re just one of those bands you have to be a bit more familiar with before seeing them live, because even so, they were a strong opener and definitely did a good job keeping the crowd hyped up for the night.

And finally, after the lights dimmed and some Purity Ring blasted through the ballroom, Dear Rouge arrived. Backlit by large LED light rig behind them, Danielle and Drew McTaggart’s silhouettes danced in the smoke on-stage as they started off with “Wicked Things”, the first track off the new album. From there, they reminded us how many singles they’ve had over the last few years with the next few songs, the crowd immediately singing along for “Live Through The Night” as they built the energy through songs like the soaring “Stolen Days” and the incredibly dancey “Motion”.

Part way through the set, Danielle donned a sparking fringe jacket for “Black To Gold”, flowing off her arms and sparkling like tinsel, blowing in the the fan at the front of the stage (or perhaps from her own radiance). They were also joined by surprise guest Steve Bays for vocals on “Flashes”, and after a bit of a cover of “Edge of Seventeen” led into “Little By Little”, the closed out the set with the frantic “Boys & Blondes”.

But of course, they were back for a couple more; once again getting everyone to sing and clap along, this time to “I Heard I Had”, before the moody “Chains”, and leaving everyone off with the raucous “Modern Shakedown”, a good hour+ after they first took the stage.

Dear Rouge is one of those bands that, every time I see them they seem to just get better and better. They have an excellent stage presence, especially Danielle who just radiates fun and excitement as she dances around stage, and I look forward to seeing where they go from here.

setlist
Wicked Thing
Live Through The Night
Stolen Days
Tongues
Motion
Kids Wanna Know
Wanna Wanna
The Clearing
Black To Gold
Best Look Lately
Flashes
Edge of Seventeen [Stevie Nicks cover] -> Little By Little
Boys & Blondes
(encore)
I Heard I Had
Chains
Modern Shakedown

The Protomen @ Rickshaw Theatre -- 10/05/18

If you’ve talked to me in the last week or so, there’s a good chance I’ve been spouting off how much I was looking forward to seeing The Protomen this weekend. The last (and only) time I had seen them was over three years ago, so I was eager for them to come back.
As you may have guessed from the name, the Nashville band is known for their rock operas loosely inspired by the Mega Man series, with an absolutely incredibly live show that was enough to bring me out to… let’s just say a venue that’s not quite my favourite to hear shows at.

After a couple openers I sadly missed, a man in a silver robotic mask named K.I.L.R.O.Y. took the stage to introduce the band and hype up the crowd, proclaiming The Protomen were here to fight for us, if we were here to fight for them (the audience raising their fists with a resounding ‘yes’). Everyone was already 100% into the show before the rest of the band even took the stage, let alone before they kicked off the set with “Hope Rides Alone”.
Introducing us to the year 200X, the song saw lead singer Raul Panther III donning a Proto Man-coloured helmet and arm cannon for the song, and he would later wear a similar Mega Man-inspired helmet for “The Will Of One”, to signify character changes in the narratives. Dealing with the conflict between Mega Man and the evil robots controlled by Dr. Wily (from their first, self-titled album) or the backstory of Dr. Wily and Dr. Light (the followup, Act II: Father of Death), the songs wove a narrative of a post-apocalyptic future controlled by the robots created by a madman, and how it came to be.

But, as I’ve said before, all the gimmicks in the world can’t help a band if they can’t back it up musically, and The Protomen absolutely brought it with their prog-tinged rock. The crowd chanted along as the chorus of ‘citizens’ on the powerfully emotional “Father of Death”, and “Hold Back The Night“, saw Gambler Kirkdouglas taking over vocals, her incredibly powerful voice filling the theatre.
The set also featured a couple new songs, teasing the long-awaited next chapter in the trilogy, which from the lyrics I could gleam seemed to be the triumphant return of Mega Man for a climactic battle? In any case, they seemed perfectly fitting for an epic third act to the story.

After the intensely tragic “The Fall”, they fittingly brought the main set to an end with a cover of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”. But it was obvious they would return, as the crowd chanted PRO-TO-MEN and K.I.L.R.O.Y. came back to introduce them once more, for an encore that somehow managed to surpass the energy of the last hour, both on and off stage. First with “This City Made Us” and finally ending with “Due Vendetta”, the crowd chanting along to the various evil robots named in the song.

Both times I’ve seen them play live now, the crowd has been among the most energetic, enthusiastic, and intense crowd I’ve seen, and the band clearly feeds off that energy and redirects it tenfold. No doubt this is going to be among my favourite shows by the end of the year, and I hope it won’t be another three years until the next time.

Royal Canoe w/ Begonia @ Fox Cabaret -- 9/18/18

A few months ahead of the release of their brand new album, Royal Canoe hit the road, with the first Canadian stop of the tour happening in Vancouver, at the Fox Cabaret.

Opening the night was fellow Winnipegger Begonia, who instantly captivated the room with her stellar vocals. She ranged from the soft and heartfelt “Hot Dog Stand” to the intense power on “Fear”, the title track for her upcoming album, and my favourite of the set.
Between songs, she was funny, charming, and a little self deprecating while chatting with the crowd, telling stories about the songs and how they came to be (especially before the aforementioned “Hot Dog Stand”). Other highlights included the infectious bass groove of “Juniper” and the soaring “Out Of My Head”, which ended the set.
If the crowd reaction was any indication, just about every single person in that room that did not know her before was an instant fan -- I overheard more than a few people around me as soon as it was over.

Not long after, the members of Royal Canoe took the stage one at a time to kick off with the distorted vocals and slow groove of "Nightcrawlin’”, for a set featuring old favourites and a preview of new tunes. “Rayz” -- the lead single from the upcoming album Waver – spotlighted the groups stellar harmonies, and another new one, “What’s Left In The River” built to an insane and chaotic ending.
They snuck a little bit of Nirvana’s “Lithium” into “Love You Like That”, and most of the packed theatre was singing along to the contemplative “Exodus of the Year” and the bombastic “Bathtubs”.
The set came to an end with “Lies”, another song that built to a swirling cacophonous finale. But they weren’t gone for long before returning, inviting Begonia back on stage for the song they released together last year, the funky dance-jam “Fussin’” to cap off the night.

I’ve said before (repeatedly) how Royal Canoe is one of my favourite bands to watch live, and even with the loss of one of their two drummers, they haven’t missed a beat. Their interesting and unique blend of influences create a sonic force that is unmatched.

setlist
Nightcrawlin’,
Walk Out On The Water,
Spin Cycle,
Love You Like That (w/ Lithium [Nirvana cover]),
Peep This,
I Am Collapsing So Slowly,
What’s Left In The River,
Button Fumbla,
Rayz,
Exodus Of The Year,
77:76,
Bathtubs,
Living A Lie.
(encore)
Fussin’.

We Are The City @ Vogue -- 09/16/18

As this year’s Westward Festival wrapped up on Sunday, there was one more show I was eagerly anticipating: We Are The City headlining the Vogue Theatre. Especially since the band is just ahead of a brand new album (or two) and were promising to tease some new songs.

Unfortunately, I was running late, and got to the Vogue literally just as The Tourist Company was finishing their last song. But the second opener of the evening was Common Deer, who I had heard a few songs from on CBC Radio 3, and had been meaning to check out more from.

With vocals split between keyboardist Sheila Hart-Owens and Graham McLaughlin, who switched between guitar and violin throughout the set, their orchestral pop rang through the theatre. Songs ranged from the slower and haunting “Damages”, to the soaring and anthemic “Wait!”, and the rapid-fire vocals on “Mistakes”. They ended with “Fuckboi”, introduced as a song about, well, I think you can figure it out. The band had a good stage presence too, combined with the catchy songs made for a strong opener, and I am interested to see more from them in the future.

Not long after that, the whole stage went dark, before a single fluorescent tube of light flickered on, Cayne McKenzie holding it over his head for a creepy sounding intro song -- and a little creepy looking, with the light illuminating just his arms + head -- before he was joined the rest of We Are The City, by Andrew Huculiak and David Menzel as they burst into the gorgeous “Baptism”.

They ran through some old favourites, like “King David”, Cayne letting the crowd sing the chorus. “All My Friends” transitioned into “Happy New Year”, and that in turn segued seamlessly into Andy taking over vocals on “Dark/Warm Air”, going right into the audience before getting back on the drums for the song’s bone-rattling finish.

Among the new songs the trio played were the aptly-titled slowburner “Mid-Tempo Drama”, a gorgeous piano-driven song that I believe is called “Dark Horizon” and immediately became my new favourite WATC Song, and an absolute banger “Killer B-Side Music”, which saw the band at their most raw and explosive.

They played right up to the curfew, finishing off with the first single from the upcoming album, “When I Dream, I Dream of You”, not bothering with the whole faux-encore deal, for a fantastic ending that had the audience clamouring for more (Andy had to return to the stage to explain that had to be it, and we all had to get going to make room for the late show that evening).

I’ve seen We Are The City play live many times, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them as comfortable and effortless on stage as they were this night; Cayne’s dancing flourishes when not at the keyboard, Andy playing drums so hard he was frequently standing up, and even needed to swap out his stool, and David front and centre ripping on guitar. Even when chatting with the crowd, they were as much joking to each other as talking to the audience.

Their new album, At Night, is coming out in a couple weeks -- plus they’ve even hinted at a second new album before the end of the year -- and based on what I heard last night, I couldn’t be more excited to hear more.