Sigur Rós with Wordless Music Orchestra @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre -- Nov 12, 2025

Sigur Rós is one of my all time favourite bands. I’ve always been a sucker for strings in music. So when the Icelandic band announced an orchestral tour with Wordless Music Orchestra a couple years ago and there was no Vancouver date, I made the trip down to Seattle for what ended up being one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. And when they finally announced a Vancouver stop as part of the final leg of this tour, I knew there was no chance I would miss it.

With no opening act for the night, the show started promptly with Wordless Music Orchestra filling the stage, followed by the conductor Robert Ames and the members of Sigur Rós. They started with a swell of strings for “Blóðberg” and the horns chimed in after on “Ekki múkk”, with a set that spanned from the winding epic “8” off their latest album Átta, all the way back to the title track for their first album Von, Jónsi’s voice — somehow fragile and powerful at the same time — filling the theatre.
I felt on the verge of tears for most of the first half of the show, then the floodgates opened for “Starálfur”, the ebb & flow of the song building in intensity, only to drop to a soft hush, and then come crashing back in for a cathartic release. After a couple more songs, they ended the first half with “Varðeldur” and took a short intermission, perhaps for everyone to recover emotionally.

The second part of the evening started with a pair of songs from their untitled ( ) album, the haunting “Vaka” and the dancing piano of “Samskeyti”. As the set built with songs like the beautiful “Skel”, it felt like the more hopeful and uplifting half of the show; the ethereal “Sé lest” erupted into an almost ‘oompah’ sound heavy on the brass, and the soaring, grandiose finish to “Ára bátur”, both songs getting incredible reactions after as the sold out crowd was in awe.
With everyone primed, they launched into “Hoppípolla”, a rich and joyous song that once again had tears flowing, as each section of the orchestra came in perfectly & the lights danced across the stage making an indescribable climax to the show. And for the denumount, the band took their leave for the orchestra to finish with “Avalon”, as the audience erupted into the one of the longest sustained reactions I’ve seen, the band returning to stage twice to bow & thank everyone, both in the crowd and on the stage.

Going into this night, there was a small part of me worried that I had built up their Seattle show in my head too much. But I’m happy to say I did not, that the band and orchestra managed to live up to those expectations, and this is a show I will never forget.

setlist
Blóðberg
Ekki múkk
Fljótavík
8
Von
Andvari
Starálfur
Dauðalogn
Varðeldur
[intermisson]
Untitled #1 (Vaka)
Untitled #3 (Samskeyti)
Ylur
Skel
Untitled #5 (Álafoss)
Sé lest
Ára bátur
Hoppípolla
Avalon

PHOTOS: Hollerado @ 102.7 The Peak - November 03, 2025

Hollerado
102.7 The Peak
November 03, 2025

Photos by Christine McAvoy

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