Feist @ Commodore Ballroom -- February 13, 2024

It’s been quite some time since I last saw Feist perform live, so I was very happy to catch one of her three(!) shows in Vancouver, at the Commodore, on the Multitudes Finale Tour.

Arriving to the venue, there was a small stage auspiciously set up in the middle of the Commodore floor, and a large sheet blocking off the main stage. With no opening act for the show, the lights dimmed and the sheet flickered to life, with a live feed from a phone camera. The POV shot went from the backstage area, came out into the main floor & through the crowd, eventually ending up on the small stage, as Feist spun around with the camera on the audience.

Before she could even say a word, the crowd sang her a happy birthday, as she gratefully launched into an acoustic “Century”. From there, she performed ‘in the round’, moving the microphone to face different parts of the audience, and hitting songs spanning her career; from the classic “Gatekeeper” to “The Bad in Each Other” about a dissolving relationship, and the haunting “Become the Earth” making incredible use of the vocal loops.

Between songs, Feist told stories and generally chatting with the audience for an intimate feeling, even choosing a “volunteer” from the crowd to be in charge of the camera, sill streaming to the screen at the stage. (Though it was soon clear that if the volunteer wasn’t a plant from the tour, it was an incredibly lucky choice).

After about an hour, Feist was handed a mystery notebook, which she started to read, spinning it into a spoken word poem. The poem transitioned into “I Took All of My Rings Off”, as she slowly weaved through the crowd toward the stage. Standing at the edge, the sheet dropped to reveal her band, backlit on a smoky stage, who instantly joined in for a hug swell to finish the song. And let me tell you: chills.

From there, the second half of the show kicked into gear, as Feist and her band cranked up the energy with “My Moon, My Man”, and another hour reminding the crowd just how many bangers she has. Highlights including an aptly named “A Commotion”, the frenetic “Sealion”, and “In Lightning”, the tempestuous opener from her latest album Multitudes. The crowd sang along to the jubilant “I Feel It All”, before the soft & heart wrenching “Let it Die”, as Feist capped off this portion of the set with a relaxed, fuzzed out version of “1234”, which then erupted into the upbeat singalong everyone knows.

Another curtain dropped and instead of leaving, the band milled around onstage, silhouettes projected while getting ready for the encore. Feist emerged from behind the sheet and once again went through the crowd, this time with a green sheet, creating some wild visuals on the returning live feed, for “Of Womankind”, and then coming back up to stand in front of the sheet for the beautiful “Love Who We Are Meant To”, as the screen followed along to handwritten lyrics in the same notebook as earlier.

The band popped back out to took a bow — including the volunteer, who was indeed part of the crew — with Feist proclaiming it was the best birthday a person could ask for. Either half of the night could have been a satisfying show on their own. But both halves together, with the fun production twists, and Feist's incredible songs & effortless performance, easily made this a high bar for every other show this year to try and top.

setlist
(acoustic)
Century
Gatekeeper
The Redwing
The Bad in Each Other
Forever Before
Become the Earth
Calling All the Gods
I Took All of My Rings Off
(band)
My Moon My Man
How Come You Never Go There
A Commotion
Hiding Out in the Open
Sealion
In Lightning
A Man Is Not His Song
I Feel It All
Let It Die
1234
(encore)
Of Womankind
Love Who We Are Meant To

Babe Corner @ The Pearl -- February 01, 2024

You know when you like a band, yet somehow just keep missing their shows? I can finally cross Babe Corner off that list. While I have seen them in a ‘free outdoor show’ setting, I somehow haven’t seen them in a proper venue (just missing tickets for their sold out album release show last year) until their headlining show last night at The Pearl.

I got there a bit late, missed the first act of the night, doohickey cubicle, arriving partway through Layten Kramer, as he and his band were rocking out with “Unravelled” off his latest EP, Eye to Eye.
From there they kept up the energy with “Strange Displacement” before capping off with “Slow The Time / Bend The Light”, a 7+ minute tune that ebbed and flowed, growing to a clattering guitar solo, before calming back down for band member Dougal Bain to pull out his violin.

Soon after, the members of Babe Corner took the stage; Lindsay Sjoberg on guitar & vocals, Haley Blais on bass, Lilli Carr on guitar, keyboardist Alli Deleo, and drummer Jessica Jones.
With their nostalgic dream pop (or “babe core”) sound, they hit most of their new album Crybaby, from the chill “Bianca” to the grittier “Summer Slaughter”. Lindsay’s soft vocals drifted through the room, often joined by harmonies from the rest of the band, a prime example being “Caught on the Double”.

Lindsay also joked with the crowd, and her bandmates, between songs, telling stories or trying to get everyone in the room to march to the rollicking “Bone Dry Dunes” — my favourite off the new album, and a highlight of the set, as well as the absolute earworm “Cigarette”, another song rich with harmonies.

After the melancholic title track, “Crybaby”, they ending the set with Chris Vanderkooy joining on guitar for the breeze & charming “They Don’t Love You (Like I Do)”. But of course, they were back for one more song, their recent collaboration with doohickey cubicle, the synthy and dancey “Corner Babe” to cap off the night.

Crybaby was definitely one of my favourite local albums from last year, so I was very happy to (finally) see them at a proper venue last night.

Hotel Mira @ Commodore Ballroom -- January 19, 2024

The very first time I saw Hotel Mira (back when they were still JPNSGRLS) they were the opener of three bands on a bill at the Commodore. Flash forward ten years, a name change, and a few albums -- and hit singles -- later, and now they are not only headlining the Commodore for the first time, but a sold out Commodore at that!

Thanks to an early show that evening, I missed the first opener Holy Felix, getting there to catch the tail end of Fake Shark. While the Vancouver band hasn’t always been my jam personally, I cannot deny they have a palpable energy for their fast-paced alt-rock. Especially singer Kevvy, who had the crowd in the palm of his hand, singing along to singles like “Fake Friends” and “Bummer Summer” off their recently released album Afterglow. They also ended the set with a surprise, Matt Webb from Marianas Trench to join in on “Loser”.

After a break, the lights dimmed and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” hit the speakers (crowd obviously singing along) as the members of Hotel Mira took stage; Mike Noble on bass & synth, Clark Grieve on guitar, drummer Cole George, and singer Charlie Kerr.

They started off with “King of the World” and “Alone in America” from their latest album, I Am Not Myself, for a set that weaved through that album as well as 2020’s Perfectionism. From explosive songs like “Everything Once” and “The Eyes on You”, to the harmonies of “Vampire” and “Jungles”, the band hardly let off the gas for their hour-long set.

And they were definitely a good companion to Fake Shark, because if anyone can match Kevvy's vibrancy, it’s Charlie Kerr. They got the crowd riled up and singing along with some hits, “Better On Your Own” and “This Could Be It For Me” early on, and it was clear everyone onstage was feeding off the sold out crowd, but especially Kerr as he waded into the audience for “Speaking Off the Record”, ended with him crowdsurfing.

They wrapped up the main set with the incredibly catchy & frenetic “Fever Pitch”, but were of course back out a few minutes later, first with the more melancholic “The Age of Detachment” before cranking the energy again while reaching back to the JPNSGRLS days for a perennial favourite, and one last singalong, “Southern Comforting”.

One of my favourite things about following local bands is watching them evolve. And it’s definitely been cool to see the lads in Hotel Mira go from opening slots and smaller, more intimate venues, to headlining a sold out Commodore (and beyond?)

setlist
King Of The World
Alone in America
Better On Your Own
This Could Be It For Me
Everything Once
Eventually
Amanda
Silver Lake
Mama
Vampire
Jungle
The Eyes on You
Speaking Off the Record
Dancing With the Moonlight
Fever Pitch
encore
The Age of Detachment
Southern Comforting

Kylie V @ The Pearl -- January 19, 2024

Fun story about Kylie V: about 6 years ago I went to a friend’s wedding, where she introduced me to her nibling who was just starting in music. We had a brief chat about local bands, and later in the night they went on to sing with the wedding band. Soon after, Kylie V broke into the Vancouver scene, and I’ve managed to catch them at a couple outdoor shows and as an opening act, but this was the first time I had seen them headlining. And not only that, it was also the first time making it to The Pearl, since the club had been rebranded from Venue!

Sadly I missed most of the opening bands, la lune and Dawson Gool (a little awkward when Kylie at one point joked they didn’t trust anyone that missed them), arriving just as the latter was wrapping up their final song.

Thanks to it being an early show, there was a very quick turnaround before Kylie V hit the stage, first accompanied by Nolan Fae for a brand new song, and then the rest of their band as they went into “On My Mind” from their first full length, Big Blue.

From there the set was a mix of older -- their soft voice floating through the room on title track, “Big Blue”, and the soaring, emotional “Runaway” -- as well as teasing some new material like “Crash Test Plane” and “Year of the Rabbit”, mentioning they were working on a new album.

Between songs, Kylie chatted, joked, and told the back stories of songs; from the funny (“Natural” inspired by a little too much Benadryl) to the more serious (the gorgeous song “Catherine” being written for one of their best friends).

After a cover of one of their favourites, “Is There Something in the Movies?” by Samia, and without bothering with the encore fakeout, Kylie wrapped u the set with another new song, “Lucky Streak”, which started chill before cranking up the enrgy, and was one of my faves of the set.

Even putting aside meeting them those years ago, Kylie V has genuinely become one of my favourite newer acts in Vancouver, and I am very excited to hear what they have cooking in the new year.

setlist
[New song]
On My Mind
Big Blue
Runaway
Crash Test Plane
Natural
Catherine
Anomaly
Year of the Rabbit
Is There Something in the Movies? [Samia cover]
Lucky Streak

Dan Mangan @ Vogue Theatre -- December 09, 2023

I’ve said it before, but there are some performers that just fit perfectly with certain venues, and Dan Mangan with The Vogue Theatre is one of those combinations. So it was great to see Dan finishing his Going Somewhere Tour — in celebration of last year’s album of the same name — here in Vancouver at the theatre on Granville street.

Unfortunately, I missed the opening act, Vancouver’s Noble Son, arriving to the venue a little before the lights went out and Dan’s voice was heard over the speakers, greeting people as he made his way from the back of the theatre down to the stage. Once there, he pulled out his acoustic guitar, and started the show off with a new Christmas song he wrote a few days before the show.

From there the first portion of the set was dedicated to requests fielded from his text line. “Jeopardy” was for someone’s birthday, his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” to celebrate an anniversary, and the always-heartbreaking “Basket”.

At that point, Dan was joined by his band — Don Kerr on drums, Jason Haberman on bass, and Mike O’Brien on guitar — for the rest of the set, as they conducting the crowd on the backing vocals for “Lynchpin”.

From his latest single about chasing fame, “Say When”, to the perennial favourites like “Road Regrets”, Dan spanned his career, as well as a range of emotions. From the high energy “Troubled Mind” to the (sadly) always-relevant “Post-War Blues”, like melancholic “Lay Low”, or the mournful “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)” a sweet ode to a lost friend.

The set started to wind down with the usual huge singalong to “Robots”, before Dan pulled out a special guitar adorned with some LEDs. The house lights went down and Dan was illuminated just by his guitar and a special “wizard stick” as he launched into “All My People”, prompting the crowd to sing along, as he hopped off stage and wading into the audience, as a surprise trumpeter played from the balcony. Dan stayed in the crowd for the final song of the night, once again leading the makeshift choir for “So Much for Everyone”, which has been Dan’s closer for a couple years now, and is a beautiful way to bring the crowd together and celebrate the communal feel of his shows.

Earlier this year Dan played a special solo show at the Fox Cabaret, and even though the sold out Vogue had about four times as many people, this show felt just as intimate. Between taking requests, telling stories between songs, and even chatting with the crowd at points, Dan has an uncanny knack to make any size room feel like a cozy show.

setlist
[Christmas Song]
Fool for Waiting
Jeopardy
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
There Is No Such Thing as Wasted Love
Basket
Lynchpin
Troubled Mind
Road Regrets
Cold in the Summer
Say When
Lay Low
Just Know It
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchison)
Easy
Post-War Blues
Fire Escape
Robots
All My People
So Much for Everyone