Wide Mouth Mason & Odds @ Venue -- 10/01/09

By this point, I think I have probably seen Wide Mouth Mason in the double digits. Odds, however, I had almost never seen. When they were big the first time around, I wasn't really going to many shows, so I never had a chance to see them "back in the day". I did see them play a short set before the fireworks one day, but that was more like half a show... it doesn't count. For these reasons, I think was more excited to have them on the bill than Mason. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good WMM show, but I had already seem them once (and a half, as they did a fireworks gig too) this year already, and countless times before.

Starting off the night was Jordan Carrier, and he... sounded pretty much like you'd expect a modern day Fox Seeds finalist to sound like. The first song sounded downright schizophrenic and the rest of his set, he didn't really seem to have a style of his own, just a patchwork of other bands. He, and his band mates, were not bad, musically, but not captivating at all and I pretty much forgot about the entire set as soon as Odds came on.

Odds hit the stage not too long after Carrier was off and played through the first song, which I thought was kind of muffled. Though when they hit the stage, none of the mics were on, so I thought it was just the levels... then I thought something was odd when I noticed the flashing lights were not strobe lights, but above both emergency doors. And that the high pitch whining wasn't feedback, but an alarm. Turns out the fire alarm was going off, and due to this, the PA system shut off. So, consummate professionals as they are, Odds joked and riffed on stage, about how this was now a photo shoot and such, before realizing they'd have to take a short break for things to get sorted out. Luckily, it wasn't too long of a break and they were back out soon after. They played a good mix of their older hits and the brand new material, and they still knew how to work a show, especially lead singer Craig Northey. I am so glad that I got the chance to see them in the end. It may not be the original lineup, but they're still as good as they ever were. And it was just another reminder why Pat Steward is one of my favourite drummers.

Finally, Wide Mouth Mason was up, and they were as sharp as ever. Even having seen them so many times, they never cease to amaze me with the sheer energy of their live shows. As is usual for their shows, they focused a lot on their hits and faster songs, but there were a few older ones in there, as well as two brand new songs from the upcoming (eventually) new album. One they had only played a few times before, and one they hadn't played at a show yet. The latter had the great title: Stop Yelling and Kiss Me. There were some nice jam moments as well, like during This Mourning (I think) they broke it down, and at one point during Shaun's solo-ing, he noticed someone near the front taking a video and went to play right in front of them. I've seen him do similar things before, and it's just cool to see the band interacting with the fans, not just up there to play, get paid and go home. I've met all three members before, and they are all incredibly nice, so that's no surprise there.
For the encore, they came back out with Change, which saw Pat Steward and Craig Northey take the stage to help out. Change segued into a live WMM staple, a cover of Stevie Wonder's Superstition which had Steward take over for Saf drumming and Northey on vocals. THAT then segued into a really good cover of Billie Jean, before going back to Superstition for one hell of an ending to one hell of a show.

Aside from the mediocre opening act, the disrupting fire alarm, and one other incident* it was quite the excellent night of rock and/or roll.

*of all the shows I've been to this year... hell, of all the shows I've been to ever... the one show I almost get into a fight at is a Wide Mouth Mason show??? Bizarre.

Pink Mountaintops @ The Rickshaw Theatre -- 09/27/09

It's a shame when an otherwise awesome show get ruined by outside forces. Like shitty venues. If I never go back to the Rickshaw Theatre, it'll be too soon. Located just off Main & Hastings, the crazies were out in full force as we waited an hour after doors were supposed to open to be let in. Once inside, it was none too impressive. A converted movie theatre, it looked more like an old warehouse with a stage and seats. But who cares how it looks, right? As long as it sounds good? Well, no such luck in that category either. The sound was murky and echoy, and seemed to drop in and out. It didn't help that there was a myriad of technical problems, at least at the start of Pink Mountaintops set, and at one point a tech guy was fiddling with something mid-song, causing ear piercing feedback. I know Vancouver needs all the venues it can get, especially now, but.... no thanks.

But enough ranting about the venue, onto the show itself. The first of the all-Vancouveronian show was The Pack A.D., and boy, do they know how to put on a fucking rock show. The garage blues duo, consisting of singer/guitarist Becky Black and drummer Maya Miller, were all energy and blew the roof off (and given the venue, it wouldn't surprise me if that literally happened). The only reservation about them is a lot of their songs are kinda... similar; a fact they they jokingly acknowledge when introducing songs. I had heard a fair amount of them on CBCR3, but never really had any inclination to look into them any further. I'm not sure if that has changed, but I would probably not hesitate to see them live again.

And then finally, Stephen McBean and co. hit the stage as Pink Mountaintops came out. The Pack A.D. sounded okay on the sound system, with their minimalistic sound, but once you have six members on stage playing sweeping music, you definitely notice the faults. Despite all this, however, they still managed to put on a pretty great show. focusing mostly on the new album, Outside Love, they played a decent mix of old and new. A lot of the songs sounded a but edgier and more punched up live, but the slower songs, like Vampire, were appropriately (and beautifully) toned down. McBean didn't say much during the show, but it was hard to tell if that was his usual untalkativeness, or frustrations. He even managed to break three strings over the course of the set. It was probably due to his sheer awesomeness, but if I could find a way to blame it on the venue...
They played for about an hour and change, before coming back out for the obligatory encore of a couple songs. It was about as good a set as could have been done.

I know this review is mostly me trashing the Rickshaw, but man... it was pretty bad. I don't know if it was just the scope of Pink Mountaintops was grander than the theatre could handle, but considering their website boasts they are "a place with amazing acoustics and a top notch sound system"... mind you, it also lists "working bathrooms" as a feature, so....
I don't know how many shows they have had there before last night, so I am hoping it's just the kinks of a new venue, and that if they continue to hold shows there, they can get their shit together. But for now, I think I'll be staying away.

The Most Serene Republic @ The Biltmore -- 09/26/09

Three down, one to go. Last night was Arts & Crafts band The Most Serene Republic (the first non-Broken Social Scene related band on the A&C label) at the Biltmore.

Grand Archive was out first, and they were Perfectly Acceptable Music. Kind of a generic Seattle/Washington indie sound, to the point where I was not at all surprised when I found out they are on Sub Pop.
They started out a with a few softer songs, but as the set went on, they punched things up a fair amount. The highlights of the set would have to be the cover of ELO's Telephone Line and when a couple Most Serene Republic'ers (Most Serene Republicans?) joined them on stage for backup violin & tambourine on one of their songs. It was a decent set, and by no means bad, just a little bland and forgettable. Especially after the performance TMSR gave.

Shortly after (oh, curfew shows), The Most Serene Republic filled the small-ish Biltmore stage with seven members. Kicking off the set with Bubble Reputation, the first track from the new album, ...And The Ever Expanding Universe, they played a pretty good mix of old and new, off all three of their full lengths. They managed to take their incredibly grandiose sound and not lose anything in the translation from album to live show. There were some small differences, but for the most part it was spot on. The show was a much more lively and upbeat affair, as they stuck to most of their higher energy songs, not playing any of the instrumentals. Which makes sense, cos those are all slower songs, but I still would have liked to hear a couple. Heavens to Purgatory (my fave off the new album, perhaps) and the awesomely powerful gang vocals on Present to Future End were probably the high points of the set. They played for about an hour or so, then were back for the obligatory encore with one song before the 11pm curfew.
Their stage presence was pretty great as well. High energy and dancing around -- lead singer Adrian Jewett had moves that were not completely unlike Elaine's -- and they had a very good rapport with the crowd, as he coined the new Vancouver nickname "The 'Couve'". The introducing of some songs in random, funny voices, was pretty amusing as well. For some reason, I didn't think they would be so... funny!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the night, as the albums can be somewhat dense, and sounded like it could have been difficult to pull off live. But I guess I just underestimated their awesomeness, as it was one hell of a show.

Holy Fuck @ Venue -- 09/24/09

Just a brief aside before the review: the Final Fantasy show tonight has been cancelled due to Owen Pallett having a serious flu. This makes me incredibly sad, as it was the show in this stretch I was most looking forward to... :(
I hope he gets better soon and is able to reschedule... and on a day when I have no other show!
But anyway, on to the matter at hand:

There are two interesting things about my little 5 day stretch (of 4 shows, now). One is they're all in different venues. Tonight was the newly renovated Plaza Club, renamed The Venue, which is a ridiculously silly name. They've opened it up a bit more, especially downstairs, but the awkward general shape is still there -- it still feels like you're inside a ship -- and the sound is only slightly better than it was. The stage got a much needed overhaul, though. It's much bigger with better lights and a pretty nifty LED screen along the back. It's an improvement over the old Plaza Club, but it's still kind of a sub-par venue. It's good enough, but with some of the other, excellent, venues in the town, it's like eating at McDonald's when there is a Cafe Crêpe across the street.

The other interesting thing is the wide variety of music. Sure, they're all Canadian, and would all fit under the "indie" umbrella, but the bands sounds were about at the opposite end of the musical spectrum as last nights lineup. First up was Basketball, who I knew nothing about before the show. And I wish that were still the case. The best way to describe them would be Tribal Electronica, and they started out okay, but by the end it kind of devolved into pretentious noise, with all songs sounding... kinda similar. They had decent energy, with the lead singer jumping into the crowd a few times to sing and all three members jumping around switching instruments through most of the set, but were most certainly nothing I'm in a hurry to hear again.

Finally around 11, Holy Fuck hit the stage and... wow. They may be an electronica band, but this was no simple DJ set. They don't use any fancy tricks -- like looping, splicing or programming anything -- so everything was done live with the help of drums, a guitar, and two tables full of keyboards and other miscellaneous instruments... as well as non-instruments, like a 35mm film synchronizer. Having the show done this way, you almost get the sense that no two Holy Fuck shows will ever be alike. Sure, the songs themselves will always be the same, but the subtle nuances of them will always shift and change, just by the very nature of how they play live shows.
They went for a solid hour or so, just rocking out with limited breaks between the songs and not much by way of stage banter -- only speaking to us twice, to thank us and that sort of thing -- but they more than made up for it with the amount of energy they put into playing; an energy that overflowed off the stage and got damn near everyone in the place moving. They were less a band a more a force of nature. Case in point, they ended the main set with Lovely Allen, which was indescribably amazing, and had had everyone jumping. I would have been completely satisfied had they ended the night there, but they came back out for a couple more, leaving our already blown minds steaming piles of goo all over the Venue floor.

Simply put, I can not wait to have the chance to see Holy Fuck live again.
(also, I managed to snag a copy of that creepy-as-fuck poster for my ever expanding poster wall. huzzah!)

I will leave you with proof. This video was not mine, I take no credit for it other than finding it on the YouTubes and posting it here:

Basia Bulat @ St James Hall -- 09/23/09

With both Transmission and Rifflandia going on this week(end), it seems like a few of the artists involved in those festivals are making the short jaunt over for shows here. This probably helped create a record breaking five shows in a row for me (and seven in ten days). So screw Victoria, I'll have a festival of my own! I don't have a name for it (yet! Suggestions?) but it is bound to be legendary.

Opening the night was Woodpigeon. Or rather, Mark Hamilton (no relation) from Woodpigeon going it alone. Armed with just his guitar (and some backtracking and looping for a couple songs) he seemed a bit shaky to start, admitting "I am nervous because Basia Bulat is in the next room. She's probably just like 'pffft!'". Over the coarse of the half hour, though, he seemed to relax, and was only really showing nerves in the banter between songs. The music itself was solid. His light and sort of folksy sound was a perfect opening for someone like Basia and reminded me a little of a stripped down Sufjan Stevens or a less bizarre Grizzly Bear... maybe a little Iron & Wine-y (but not whiny). He also gets major "props" for not only breaking out a cover song in the middle of his set, but covering an ABBA song. I knew the band name from from R3, but couldn't think of anything from them before the show... but after the show, I have to say he won me over. At least enough to want to hear them as a full band.
Sidebar: They're playing as a six piece Saturday night at Little Mountain Gallery... shame I can't make it though, I wish I could.

After a short break, Basia Bulat hit the stage with band mates Allison “Wonderland” Stewart on viola and backing vocals and brother Bobby Bulat on drums. The one thing that struck me right off the bat is how tiny she is. I didn't realize she was so short, which made it all the more impressive that such a powerful voice -- which is even more amazing live -- comes from such a small stature. She started the set with The Pilgriming Vine, which began with just her & her guitar before exploding energetically half way through as the other two joined in. The high energy was kept up through the entire night, even during the slower songs. There was a good mix of old & new, giving us a preview of the album due out next January. Most of the newer songs were pretty high energy and a bit faster, and got me really excited for the new album... there was even a song where they added a distortion pedal... to the viola!!
The older songs were great, too, with the seated crowd bopping along to In The Night, I Was A Daughter and Snakes & Ladders, but the highlight of the show was most definitely Before I Knew, which saw Bulat take to the front of the stage with her ukulele and Allison for backing vocals and handclaps, and proceeded to sing the song with no amplification for her voice. That was a pretty amazing sight, and even though St James Hall is not very large, I have no doubt she would be able to pull that off at a venue of any size. It was a testament to the raw power, and beauty, of her voice.
Through the set, she seemed incredibly grateful to be there, and that the audience was there. It was her first Vancouver show of her own, and even if it was just the generic "[TOWN] is the best city to play in!" banter, she managed to sound incredibly sincere. She was charismatic and goofed off quite a bit between songs, joking about introducing her glasses too early in our "relationship" and her Beatles guitar picks... I'm not gonna lie, I think I developed a bit of a musician-crush on her last night.

I don't know why, but I wasn't really expecting anything from the show -- not low expectations, but rather... no expectations. I saw her once before, opening for Final Fantasy, but that was before I knew her, really, and since she was the first of three, the crowd was pretty noisy. (HATE) After the show, though, I was pretty blown away and now I can't wait to get my hands on the new album, and I really hope she is back for a tour then.

All in all, an excellent start to Kirkapalooza.
(ok, terrible name)