"Hell yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" | Eagles of Death Metal @ Commodore -- 07/20/09

I have to admit, I think I like Josh Homme, as a musician, individually more than I like any one of his actual bands or projects. Eagles of Death Metal was kind of a spontaneous show, and while I like the band, I haven't delved too much into their works. I knew, however, that with the inclusion of Homme, it would, at the very least, be decent and worth seeing. Of course, seeing as a main reason I was going was to see Homme, it naturally follows that I find out right before the show he's not touring with he band. Ah well.

The opening band was Flash Lightnin', who I had actually seen earlier this year opening for Sebastien Grainger & The Mountains. Here is what I had to say about them then:

The opening band, Flash Lightnin', hit the stage around 9:30 and played a surprisingly long 50 minute set for an opening band. Even though the place was still a little sparse when they went on, they seemed to captivate most of the crowd and get them pumped. Not quite everyone, though. While they were technically proficient, they sounded a little like an AC/DC cover band trying to break out on their own. Each song sounded a little too similar and high, screamy vocals and power chords and guitar solos sprinkled WAY too liberally throughout... I don't dislike guitar solos, but when every song has one -- and especially when one song has TWO of them -- they kind of lose their specialness. They also reminded me quite a bit of Wolfmother and Ladyhawke, so much so that I would have almost expected their name to be Tigerneice.
(note: i am so starting a classic rock ripoff band and calling them Tigerneice.)
They were not necessarily bad, but rather a Perfectly Acceptable Opening Band. Nothing I'm terribly interested in hearing more of, though.

Much of that still applies. They played about 40 minutes this time, and seemed to throw in some ZZ Top with their AC/DC. In fact, while decent musicians, they had absolutely nothing original; just a patchwork of other, better bands. As as for the solo issue, a tally was kept. Ten. (And a half). In a 40 minute set, they had ten guitar solos. Only two songs did not have one, and that was made up by the fact that one of the songs had two. I like guitar solos as much as the next person, but that was a little much.
(Also, the "Hell yeah" count was, I think, four)

Then it was time for Eagles of Death Metal who were, as predicted, without Josh Homme. A slightly disappointing turn of events, but even a few songs in it was forgotten, as regular Queens of the Stone Age drummer, Joey Castillo, did a damn fine job. While the band is by no means a joke, there is equal parts ironic parody and total sincerity of the whole 80's glam-rock & cock-rock scene, at least in their on stage performance. With lead singer & guitarist Jesse ‘The Devil’ Hughes grooming his awesome 'stache on stage, strutting around like he owns the place (and, for at least two nights at the Commodore, he did), coming out for the encore in his best tuxedo.... t-shirt, and going through at least a half dozen pairs of giant cop shades, everything they did was with genuine enthusiasm and energy. And beneath the smirk you can tell he loves being on stage.
They were no slouches musically, either. The entire set was tight and punchy, starting on a high and never let the 'balls to the wall' energy drop. Throughout the show they even threw in some pretty cool covers, too -- which is a practice I think all bands should partake in. Live covers are always fun. There were a couple, with Stuck In The Middle With You (Stealers Wheel) in the main set and Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones) in the encore.

I have to add one thing, though... for the last half of the set, there was a bit of a distraction. Two people, pretty much right in front of us, decided to use the Commodore as their own personal fuck-pit, with sloppy makeouts and dry humping and gratuitous grinding and pretty much the most disturbing thing you can think of... especially cos neither of them were anything remotely resembling attractive. Even worse was when she was dancing on the tables (miraculously, without it breaking) and he pulled up her skirt. Even worse was when the pale scrawny, afro'd white boy took off his shirt. Even worse when they came up and sat at the table right next to us. I saw it, and now I wish I could un-see it.

Despite that unpleasantness and the Homme-less-ness, it was a pretty damn good show, and I don't think I would hesitate to catch them again live.

Joel Plaskett Emergency @ Fusion Festival -- 07/18/09

Despite the fact that it was in Surrey... how could one possibly pass up a free Joel Plaskett Emergency show? (Well, apparently people can, but that's besides the point.) And Said the Whale playing as well??? So, I braved the mean streets of Surrey for what is apparently Canada's largest multicultural festival, the Fusion Festival.


I will admit, the last time I saw Said The Whale live, I was slightly disappointed. I like their radio songs, heard on The Peak and Radio 3, but the show I saw a while back at the Biltmore had two specific drawbacks. Not only did they had the unenviable task of following Karkwa, but I am pretty sure that Karkwa blew out a speaker during their set, so when Said the Whale came on the sound was... not so good. But I was determined to give them a second chance, since I had been told from several people that was not the best representation of their live show. And I am ever so glad I did.
They hit the stage at 7 and only ended up playing for half an hour or so, but damn what a show. High energy and dynamic, they played the favourites as well as some new songs, including one to be on their next album, which featured another Vancouver musician Hannah Georgas on guest vocals. The Magician (Camilo), off their new vinyl EP, was probably my favourite of the set, as it is an insanely catchy song, as well as a great showcase of one of the bands strengths, the harmonies between vocalists/guitarists Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft.
And so, in the end, they won me over. I am sorry for every doubting the fine folks of Said The Whale, and I am now quite excited for the new album in October.

After a short break Barney Bentall & The Grand Cariboo Opry [sic] came on and, well, they sound exactly like their name implies. I don't know too much of Bentall, other than that one song, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the whole set was a little too... Nashville. Not just their sound, but even the way they dressed, everything seemed to come straight out of the Grand Ole Opry. Which, I am sure is what they were going for... They were all fine and capable and excellent musicians, just not quite my speed. To end the set, they had Joel Plaskett come out and sing a song with them, which was pretty cool.

And then shortly after 9, Joel Plaskett Emergency (including Peter Elkas!) came out, and rocked. The fuck. Out. His show a couple months back, for the tour to support Three, was one of my favourite shows this year, but was billed as a solo, Emergency-less show, with just him, his father, and Ana & Rose. That night was a bit more mellow, and this show, with the Emergency, seemed like a fantastic companion to it. With unparallelled enthusiasm and energy, you can really tell how much you can tell he just loves to be on stage. His liveliness, the sheer force he emits just by being there, and not to mention all the little asides and stories he throws into his songs, in the intros, mid song, changing things up and joking around, all go toward showcasing how much of a presence Plaskett has on stage, with a band or without. The set was just more proof how Plaskett is one of this countries the best live acts.
They hit mostly from the Emergency albums, with a few from Three; starting off with the Whitefang version of Work Out Fine, getting everyones psyched, and not letting the energy drop for the next hour and change. Mid way through, half of the band took a break while Plaskett and Elkas did one of my favourites from Three, Rollin Rollin Rollin, then Elkas took a break as well for Joel to do the newly reworked Love This Town (now with 75% less Kelowna-hatred). The band members came back for Nowhere With You, which had many people singing along and A Million Dollars before they ended the "main" set with the fantastic Wishful Thinking, even throwing in a guitar duel mid-song with the amazingly talented Peter Elkas. After only a few minutes they came back out and Plaskett took a seat at the drums for Fashionable People to end the night on an incredible high.

Yet another fantastic show, not that I expected anything less from Mr. Plaskett, and it was nice to see I was wrong about Said The Whale the first time around.

Destroyer @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 07/17/09

It was night two of the Dan-Bejar-Fest, having seen him contributing to The New Pornographers (while opening for Death Cab) the previous night. I had seen Destroyer a couple times prior, once at a sold out show at the Commodore and once as part of the Stanley Park Singing Exhibition at Malkin Bowl and so I was actually a little confused as to why they would play the Biltmore, a venue that holds less than 400 people... but since I enjoy the place so much, I didn't think too hard about it.

The first band of the night was Attics & Cellars and the best way to describe them is a five-piece Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett, not Squaresoft). They had the same kind of light and strings-y sound, with the band consisting of a couple violins, cello, drums & on keyboard and vocals was Jason Zumpano, a Vancouver musician who has worked with the likes of Carl Newman (in one of his pre-New Pornos band) & Destroyer. They had a very interesting set, in that as soon as the curtain opened, they started playing, and did not stop until they were done, half an hour later. It was either one really long song, or they just flowed everything together extraordinarily well. That's not to say it was repetitive or anything, as there were distinct differences between songs, but I don't think I've ever seen a band just play a solid set like that. At the end they just announced their name and left the stage. It was not only really interesting, but quite good as well. I don't think I saw an album there for purchase, but I really wish I had been able to pick one up. I can't wait to see these guys again.
(I also just found out, in doing my "research" after writing this, that on the cello is none other than Megan Bradfield, who I am of fan of and has worked with such artists as Limblifter, AC Newman, The Awkward Stage, and Matthew Good!)

Second up, hitting the stage around 10:45 (in contrast, that was about the time the previous nights show was ending) was another Vancouver band, The Shilohs.They were... fine. Maybe a on the bland or generic side. They had the whole blues-rock thing going, and while there was certainly nothing wrong with them, it was nothing I haven't heard other bands do better.

And finally, going on at around quarter to midnight, was Destroyer. Or rather, I should say Dan Bejar. He took the stage alone and with an acoustic guitar and proceeded to play what was pretty much an acoustic set! I wasn't sure how a lot of his songs would work that way, as some songs can be quite dense, but I should have known better than to doubt Bejar. There were, obviously, subtle differences in the songs, but everything turned out great; even things like the piano heavy European Oils (a song that I had not seen him do live before!) sounded completely natural and fantastic. I have often proclaimed my opinion of Bejar as a musical genius (albeit one that may border on insanity), and seeing him solo on stage was just further proof of that.
Playing a great range of old and new songs -- and even throwing in one of his New Pornographers contributions, Streets of Fire -- he seemed very relaxed and almost as if he was making the set up as he went along. At one point he stopped and asked for requests, saying he would play "anything". Since he is notoriously shy or untalkative, though, he didn't say too much, rather was just content to play. He was on for just shy of an hour before his "encore" of a couple more songs than taking off into the night.

Another fantastic night of music, with the discovery of Attics & Cellars, and a great surprise to see Bejar acoustic, since I was naturally expecting a full band to be with him. Especially in a setting that intimate. Now it makes sense why the show was at the Biltmore, since I don't know how well that type of show would have worked at a bigger venue.

"We're a part of you, and you're a part of us." "Whether you like it or not!" - Death Cab For Cutie & New Pornographers @ Pacific Coliseum -- 07/16/09

What is it with Death Cab picking awesome touring mates? I like them well enough, but both times I've seen them live, I've been going more for another band. The first time it was Franz Ferdinand, and this time? The New Pornographers. I like Death Cab well enough, but I am not sure I would have paid as much to see just them at a place like Pacific Coliseum, so I am glad they have been playing with some great bands.

Bands like Ra Ra Riot, who hit the stage promptly at 7. My friends description of them as "like Hey Rosetta!.... but really not at all" was surprisingly apt, even if the only similarities between the bands are the inclusion of a cello & violin to add a great depth to their sound. One that is an incredibly catchy indie pop-esque sound, almost bordering on twee-pop. With six members on stage, they never felt to cluttered and had a pretty good stage presence, if maybe looking a little out of place playing a stadium show. They seem like they would be much more comfortable playing smaller club venues. It was a pretty good set, though, and made me want to search out and get their new album (which, fun fact, I am listening to as I write this very sentence). Hopefully they're back soon enough for a show of their own, since I would really like to check them out more.

Next up, right at 8 (the only good thing about curfew shows is the strict timetable) was The New Pornographers. This was my fourth time seeing them live -- having seen them once a year since '06 -- and... I don't want to say the worst, because that implies it was bad, but it was the least good. It was still a great set, but just because it was at the Coliseum, which is not a great venue, and because they were opening, the set was all too short. But again, it was still a damn good set! They opened with My Rights Versus Yours, with all the regular crew on stage, sans Neko Case (who is touring on her own, in Michigan last night), though Kathryn Calder did her usual superb job of filling in for all of Case's vocals.
Before the show, I was really hoping that Bejar would make an appearance, since Destroyer would be playing a show the next night at the Biltmore. And of course as soon as the first song ended, Bejar popped out from backstage and they launched into Myriad Harbour!
The 50 minute-or-so set consisted of a fair amount of new and old, hitting at least one song from each album, which was really cool. I wasn't sure how they would structure their setlist, due to opening for someone like DCFC, but I am glad they went with the list they did. I was especially thrilled that they played Testament To Youth In Verse, as it's one of my favourites of theirs, and for some reason I thought they would not.
Newman was in fine form, too, crowd banter-wise. He expressed enthusiasm for playing at the Coliseum, saying his first show was when he was 9, seeing Rod Stewart there ("back when he was awesome"), then occasionally interjecting between songs what other acts he had seen. He seemed genuinely thrilled to be playing there, as did the rest of the members.
They finished off the set with another of my favourite songs, of all time, not just Pornos, The Bleeding Heart Show, which never fails to leave me awestruck, especially at Kurt Dahle's drumming. The man is a fucking maniac.
I managed to keep track of their setlist, which was:
My Rights Versus Yours, Myriad Harbour, The Laws Have Changed, Use It, Jackie Dressed In Cobras, All The Old Showstoppers, Challengers, The Spirit of Giving In, Mass Romantic, Testament to Youth In Verse, Sing Me Spanish Techno, Bleeding Heart Show

At that point, I could have gone home happy, but there was still Death Cab for Cutie to go! Hitting the stage at about 9:15, they played just about an hour and a half, right up until curfew. Again, I fully admit I was going to see The New Pornos, so Death Cab was almost like an added bonus. They are really good live, playing as tight as you would expect a band that has been around for as long as they have. Though, maybe a little on the stiff side, but you can still tell after all this time, they're not just going through the motions, rather they still enjoy playing.
Their set also consisted of a good number of new and old, starting off blasting through a half dozen songs before introducing themselves, then right back to the music. Gibbard and the rest were pretty quiet through the night, just letting the music speak for itself. The one story he told was their first meeting with The New Pornos, 9 years ago, where the members of Death Cab drank all their beer.
They hit all their big songs and hits, too, but saved them for later in the show and/or the encore. My favourite would have to be I Will Possess Your Heart, or more specifically, the introduction to the song, 4 minutes or so of instrumental, which is my favourite bit of any Death Cab song, I would say.

Even though it was at the Pacific Coliseum, which is usually a sub par venue at best, it was still a pretty damn good show and with three great bands, definitely worth the money. I was kind of hoping for some sort of New Porno + Death Cab (New Pornographer for Cutie?) jam up, but those [almost] never end up happening, so I wasn't too disappointed. A great way, also, to kick off my streak of 5 concerts in 6 days...

High On Jackson Hill by Immaculate Machine

I am going to admit right off the bat, this was a hard album for me to review. I have loved Immaculate Machine since the moment I saw them open for the New Pornographers (even before knowing about the two bands connections) and was eagerly anticipating High On Jackson Hill. But after digesting it, I almost can't help but almost feel that it is a transition album. Just after it came out, drummer Luke Kozlowski left the group and they picked up a couple new members.
The album itself also feels... off. While the previous three LPs all felt balanced, this one feels very Brooke-heavy. Which, don't get me wrong, isn't really a bad thing. I like Brooke Gallupe. He is a talented musician, a very fine songsmith and his voice on this album is better than it's ever been. But it was the interaction with him and Kathryn Calder (part-time New Pornographer and long lost niece of Carl Newman) that made me love the band. It's the reason why Dear Confessor is among my favourite songs. The way their voices intertwine, and how the verses play off each other... I find this album does not have nearly as much as that, with most of the time Calder being backup vocals. Heck, even the awesome painted fold-out poster (done by the new bassist and sister, Caitlin Gallupe) that comes with it only contains Brooke amongst the trees.

That being said, the album does succeed in being quite versatile. Don't build A Bridge is a great opening track and does have a fair amount of duelling vocals, while the next two songs are more individual with Gallupe's Thank Me Later and You Destroyer, the only track with a strong Calder focus; a very laid back and folksey number that comes together seamlessly. Sound The Alarms is the first single and can only be described as anthemic, with more great contrast between their voices. The next few songs are almost all Brooke, with He's A Biter rocks it out while I Know It's Not as Easy is Brooke's chance to give in to his folky side, almost a companion to You Destroyer. Primary Colours then brings everything back for the most lavish track on the album, with scant R&B influences and sing-along chorus. Neighbours Don't Mind reminds us they haven't forgotten how to crank it up. It also almost sounds like a counterpart to Nothing Ever Happens from the last album, Fables. Compare the previous song about being stuck in a crumby apartment: "or else we get it much too loud / the neighbours bang the walls and shout" with the new songs: "But the neighbours won't mind if we turn it up a little"
If I Know It's Not as Easy was a companion to You Destroyer, then And It Was is the culmination of both the songs, a soft and heartbreaking duet between the two vocalists, the first chorus belonging to Brooke, the second Kathryn and them sharing the final one.
Brooke takes centre stage again with You Got Us Into This Mess before the album closes with two of my favourites from it, the awesomely titled Only Love You For Your Car which is a great poppy and bouncy tune. Luke's main contribution to the album, Blurry Days, seems an odd choice for closing the album, however, since it is probably the song that most reminds me of prior albums, with all three members seemingly working as one unit. It almost seems like a "goodbye" to the old Immaculate Machine.

One major reason -- aside from laziness -- that I review albums month(s) after they are released is to give me time to be with the album, so I am not just making snap decisions. Had I reviewed this just after it came out, I would have been much more harsh on it. Since I have given it time, it has grown on me. I still think it is not the strongest Immaculate Machine album, but I also think I would have liked it a lot better had it been a Brooke Gallupe solo project. I know that he was doing some solo shows before the album came out, and with Calder busy with the New Pornographers, it is no surprise he took centre stage for the album. It is a very solid album, and shows a vast amount of growth in the band, in Gallupes songwriting abilities and their ability to pull off any style they try. And I want to reiterate again, it's not that I don't like Brooke, or that I like Kathryn better. If the album were more Calder-heavy, I would like to think I'd have the same reaction. For me, Immaculate Machine works -- or worked -- better as a unit.

For all my complaints, though, I really did like the album. And while I may miss the "old" Immaculate Machine, I am very intrigued in seeing how the band grows, as this albums proves anything they decide to tackle will, if nothing else, be interesting and compelling.




Download And It Was


Download Only Love You For Your Car


Download Blurry Days

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