Portage & Main with Julia & Her Piano and Ma Petite @ Nyala -- 07/22/11

It may seem like an odd place for a show, in an African cuisine eatery, but Nyala on Main St hosted some local bands on Friday night that were bound to be a good time.

Up first was Ma Petite, the new project from Aussie-transplant Indiana Avent, which consisted of a few familiar faces, like Treelines' Matt Kelly on keys and banjo. It was the first show for the band, who had an adorable folk pop sound. Avent has a really nice voice, and is a great storyteller as well, with many of the songs full of charm; like "Man About The Moon" and my favourite from the set, "I Like That You Like Books". They also threw in a cover of AA Bondy's "Oh The Vampire"
The set was really intimate and relaxed, with Indiana joking with the band and the crowd throughout the set, but as was the case for the rest of the acts, the sound wasn't the best, which was understandable since it was a restaurant first and venue second. A really good set though, and I am definitely interested to hear more.

Next was Julia & Her Piano, which was not just Julia MacDougall and her piano, but also Andrew Lee (who plays in all the bands) on trumpet. It was her last show here in a while, since she's moving away, and much like Ma Petite, it was pretty intimate with lots of charmingly awkward banter -- the bulk of it being aimed at humiliating Andrew through various stories, which were pretty hilarious; the two play off each other very well, both in song and repartee.
Driven by her piano (obviously) and her strong voice, Julia's music is incredibly catchy folky-pop, with "When The Birds Come Out" and "Some Summer Night" being a couple stand-outs, as well as a new one that she ended the set with, called "Oyster Babe".

And closing out the night was an acoustic set from Portage & Main, also joined by Matt Kelly on pedal steel. They initially had a member on the upright piano that was there, but they quickly found it was not ideal, and switched to the keyboard. As seemed to be the theme of the night, their set was the most laid back I have seen them, with lots of joking and chatting between songs, which was great. It definitely helped that it was a small room with many people who knew each other.
I've see Portage & Main a couple times so far this year, but this was the first acoustic set, and the songs translated perfectly, especially "What Have I Done" and one of my favourite of theirs (or, as they jokingly pointed out, the one I always say "sucks the least") "I'd Never Climbed A Mountain". They, too, slipped a cover into their set, The Stones' "Dead Flowers" and ended with "Carolina", getting everyone to sing along.

As mentioned above, the sound wasn't the best, but I have definitely heard worse, and it was an especially fun night of local talent.

setlist
Nothing (Take What You Need), What Have I Done, I'm Going Down Tonight, Follow Me My Love, When You're Gone, Dead Flowers [Rolling Stones cover], Rocky Mountain Wanderer, I'd Never Climbed a Mountian, Carolina.

Winning America

When Said The Whale headed south for small American tour on the way to the final destination, legendary SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, they didn't just bring their determination to break into the elusive American market, they brought a film crew too.

I had the chance to see the documentary last week, and it is a lot more fascinating that I thought it would be -- it's not just another generic "watch a band as they tour" film, but rather a [sometimes brutally] honest look at what it takes for a band -- not just a Canadian band -- to "make it" in the States.

Going from interviewing members of the band in their day jobs to their final show at the China Cloud; their unfortunate robbery in California to playing shows at SXSW in parking lots and record stored for five people; and the infamous Mustard Incident, and it all comes together to end with-- you know what? You'll just have to find out for yourself.

Winning America air on CBC BC tomorrow night (Saturday the 23rd) at 7pm, and rumour has it that it will be streaming for the rest of Canada, America and the World soon after.

41st & Home EP Release Party @ Biltmore -- 07/18/11

It's always interesting to watch the progression of a band. The first time I saw 41st & Home was at their CD release a little over a year ago. I honestly didn't even know who they were -- I was just going to see Aidan Knight and We Are The City -- and I thought their set was okay.
Between that show and now, they took place in last year's Peak Performance Project, had some minor lineup shakeups, have been selected again for this year's PPP, recorded a new EP, and just gained a lot more experience in general.

First up was Young Liars, who had all the synth on stage with them. Their set was full of upbeat and poppy synth driven songs-- unsurprisingly -- which were good, but seemed to all kind of blended together, without much variation. Despite that, and a bit of a lack of stage presence, they were still entertaining, and a perfectly good choice to open the show.

Oh No! Yoko was up next, who I have heard a lot about to be the next big "it" band. And when I saw them the first time, I thought they definitely had potential -- and still do -- but while their hype have grown massively since then I don't think their talent has caught up to it just yet.
They were joined by Evan Konrad of Bed of Stars on guitar, and they really do put on an energetic live show with some catchy pop-rock, but, much like Young Liars, they didn't seem to have too much variation or depth. Aside from one slower, quieter song, a lot of them bled together, ending and starting abruptly. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the band, but I sometimes feel like I am one of the few people who haven't bought into the hype, I just don't seem to think they're as utterly amazing as many others seem to.

And finally, it was time for 41st & Home. They took the stage with faces painted, and joined by some friends; Andrew Lee playing trumpet and Christine McAvoy on saxaphone for a few songs. The band has gotten leagues better in the last year -- I'm sure in no small part due to the aforementioned Peak Performance Project -- and it showed right off the bat. Some of their songs still follow the "rise to a grand climax" structure, but their newer stuff especially is a bit more varied. They started off the set with the first couple tracks from their new Raised By Wolves EP, the instrumental "Summons", during which Thom broke a string on his guitar, which led into the handclapping "Modern Medicine". There were some feedback problems during the first few songs, but those were sorted out and not terribly distracting.
Mid way through he set they had even more friends join them when members of The Belle Game and The Ruffled Feathers came out for backup vocals on the intense "Wilderness Eyes" (which was one of the few times Andrew Lee was not on stage, despite the fact that he plays for all three bands sharing the stage) and later for some extra drumming, on the floor in front of the stage, for "Gorbachev". Other highlights were the always grandiose "Eva" and "Hummingbird", which had a very dynamic and intense ending, which was definitely helped out and given depth by the horns and sax backing the band up.
They also brought back the "Tuning Jazz" when Thom needed to tune his guitar, instead of standing around in awkward silence, or try to talk and tune, their keyboard player Patrick played some smooth jazz until Thom was ready to go. They ended the set with the title track, and last song, from the EP, without bothering with the whole faux-encore, which always makes me happy, when bands play straight through through to the end.

They put on a really fun and energetic show, and it's been pretty cool watching them progress as a band. Hopefully they will continue this upward progression to their next full length.
And, hey, they got to play last at their own CD release this time!

setlist
Summons, Modern Medicine, Memory Boy, Great Bear, Wilderness Eyes, Hummingbird, Sleeper, Eva, Gorbachev, Raised by Wolves.

Vancouver Folk Music Festival: Day Three -- 07/17/11

Well, Sunday was the final day of the 34th Vancouver Folk Music Festival (see days one and two here).
Luckily the weather decided to be somewhat cooperative, and the rain held off for most of the day. I've heard it was the first VFMF in 15 years that it wasn't a scorching hot weekend, though to be honest I would prefer a little overcast and rain to that -- though I am sure I'm the only one.
But enough about the weather, and on to the music. Sunday was filled with workshops, which are bands/artists sharing the stage to jam together, and a few shows in the evening.

The day started with an 11am workshop called "Independently Minded", with Kathryn Calder, Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band and Imaginary Cities, which was without a doubt the best workshop I had seen all weekend. There was lots of jamming and collaboration between the musicians on stage, with the members of The Weakerthans basically playing backup for both Bryson (obviously) but also Imaginary Cities. Calder also jumped in often, at the very least on a tambourine.
Each band played three songs; Kathryn threw in a new song, Jim Bryson's "Decidedly" sounded great, and everyone pitched in to help Imaginary Cities end the workshop with "Hummingbird", which was spectacular.

The next workshop was also up there, in terms of collaboration and sheer fun. "All Fired Up" consisted of Danny Michel, The Burning Hell, Imaginary Cities (again) and Jason Wilson Band. I wasn't too hyped on Jason Wilson Band, they had a bit too much of a Dave Matthews vibe, but the others were pretty great, with members of The Burning Hell being really good about jumping in, much like yesterday. Again, "Hummingbird" was a highlight, and even though it was the fourth time I had heard it that weekend, it didn't get old. The Burning Hell ended their last song with a little bit of "In The Air Tonight" slipped in, and the group finished off the workshop with a pair of covers. First Jason Wilson Band with  "54-46 Was My Number" by Toots & the Maytals and then Danny Michel with Los Lobos' "Life Is Good". Both had near everyone on stage join in, and the ending of "Life Is Good" had the crowd join in on clapping and "Ooh la la", with everyone leaving the stage, resulting in the crowd keeping the song going strong for a couple minutes after they were done.

The third workshop of the day was a "secret" one, in that it wasn't listed in the program, but was on the online schedule. It featured Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three, Wendy McNeill and Elliott BROOD, and seemed a bit shorter than the others, with each band only playing a couple songs. LaFarge was pretty fun, with a crazy washboard player, and McNeill was good as well, but the best part of the set was everyone joining Elliott BROOD for "Miss You Now".

It wasn't long after that that the evening shows started, with Kathryn Calder kicking off the night on Stage 3. Even though I'd seen her a couple months ago (and that morning at a workshop, for that matter) I was still excited to see her play a full set with her band, and she did not disappoint. Even after she mentioned it not raining, only for a trickle to start, as if on cue.
But despite the sogginess, her set was really fun, especially with such energetic and upbeat songs as "A Day Long Past Its Prime" and "Follow Me Into The Hills", and one of my favourites of hers, "Castor and Pollux", which ended the set.
There were also a couple new songs, "Turn A Light On" and "City of Sounds", teasing a new album out in October, which I am eagerly anticipating.

setlist
All It Is, Down the River, Slip Away, A Day Long Past Its Prime, If You Only Knew, Turn A Light On, Follow Me Into the Hills, City of Sounds, Arrow, Castor and Pollux.

Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band was up next, staying on Stage 3. They had a bit of an awkward introduction, and at one point there was a holler for "Tournament of Hearts", so I don't think some people (including the emcee) really "got" the concept behind members of The Weakerthans as Jim Bryson's backing band, but that didn't diminish from being a fantastic set. As well as The Weakerthans, Rusty Matyas from Imaginary Cities was also playing with the band, on keys, guitar and trumpet.
I had seen hints of it during the workshops, but the full set proved what a great storyteller Bryson is, and what an engaging frontman he is, especially when backed by a group of musicians that talented.
A few of the highlights from the set were "Decidedly" and "Up All Night", both really fun songs, as well as "Freeways In The Front Yard", which had Jenny Whiteley out for vocals. The last song of the night, "Wild Love", was probably the most energetic of the set, (finally) getting people to their feet and ended with a bit of CCR's "Proud Mary", getting the crowd to sing along. As it came to a close, members of the band left the stage one by one, with Bryson "firing" them, leaving just him.

There were a few more acts after, on both Stage 3 and the main stage, but at this point everyone was pretty beat, and we figured there wouldn't be a better way to end both the day and the festival than with Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band.

So overall, I would say the weekend was an incredible success; I am so glad I got the chance to finally go to the Folk Fest, weather be damned. I wish it had been scheduled a little differently; there were times where three things I wanted to see happened at once and times where there was nothing I wanted to see for a couple hours... But I think there was only one person that I completely missed, everyone else I was able to catch in some form or another, either a full set, a workshop or a tweener.

Now, who's ready for next year?

Vancouver Folk Music Festival: Day Two -- 07/16/11

It was a little rainy for day two of the Vancouver Folk Music Fest, (see day one here) but it was just a little wet, it was still good, and the day started early with an 11am workshop. The workshops consisted of three or four bands on stage at once, playing each one of their songs, with the chance for others to join in and jam with them. Sometimes they did that, though sometimes it just ended up being each band playing a song individually.
And again, I will attempt to keep things as brief as I can, but this was probably the most packed day, so no promises.

First workshop was the "Sounds Of Home" with Joel Plaskett, Jim Bryson, The Burning Hell and The Dardanelles, moderated by Joel, who started things off with "Love This Town". They went down the line and each played three songs, with others occasionally joining in. Though the joining in didn't happen too often, but the best at it was members of The Burning Hell, especially their baritone sax. I hadn't seen Jim Bryson live before, but he was pretty good, especially "Metal Girls" (but more on him in day three) and The Dardanelles were definitely a maritime band, with a couple sea shanties. It was a pretty fun workshop, but it would be overshadowed by the two the next day (ooh, foreshadowing!).

The next show for me was one I was looking forward to the most, Imaginary Cities playing a full set. They went on a little late due to some technical problems; which seemed to be persistent on Stage 3, where I spent most of my time at the festival, but with the sheer amount of things on stage for the weekend and the required quick turnarounds, it was forgivable.
They started off with "Say You" and played most of the songs off their amazing debut Temporary Resident. Marti's vocals were amazing live, and Rusty was as great as you would expect.
Highlights were "Ride This Out", one of my favourite songs this year, which starts mellow and then explodes, and the climactic "That's Where It's At, Sam" which ended the set. "Hummingbird" was also fantastic live. It was an incredibly fun set, and I was so glad to have seen them play a full set during the festival.

setlist
Say You, Marry The Sea, Ride This Out, Cherry Blossom Tree, Calm By Storm, Temporary Resident, Where'd All The Living Go, Hummingbird, That’s Where It's At Sam.

Soon after, the evening shows started with Danny Michel at Stage 3. I wasn't overly familiar with his stuff, but he won me over in his first song with some cool looping, which I am a sucker for.
He was really fun to watch live, and even if he hadn't told a story about finding one of Paul Simon's apples and trying to plant a Paul Simon Apple Tree from it, I would have been able to tell his influence on Michel.

There were a few songs I recognized through the set, "Maybe You Can In Your Heart", "Feathers Fur and Fin" and "Who's Gonna Miss You", and he brought the show to an end with some more looping -- after having a couple problems with the pedals, but his persistence paid off -- and then some awesome use of sound effects off his iPod, which is hard to describe but awesome to hear.

After him was The Burning Hell again, but this time for a full set of their own. They are a pretty hilarious band, but not in the "novelty song" kind of way, more like clever lyrics and storytelling. Two great examples of that would be "Flux Capacitor", the title track from their new album, as well as "Dance Dance Dance" which had its very own disco break. They also have an incredibly upbeat, folk rock sound, and the combination of both those factors make for an undeniably fun set.
They wrapped up with "It Happens In Florida", an interesting spin on a love song with lyrics like "Love, it’s like a newborn child: seems interesting when it’s young, gets pedestrian after a while", and at the end, lead singer Mathias (and his big bushy beard) was getting the whole crowd to sing along.

Next up was [the legendary] Buck 65, who I had never seen before, so was really interested to see. He had a laptop and turntable and nothing much else on stage, aside from a music stand which he read lyrics to a couple songs off of, and was joined by Marnie Herald for backup vocals, especially for a lot of the songs from 20 Odd Years. The songs were not quite the same without the likes of Jenn Grant and Nick Thorburn, but she did a really good job regardless.
Buck was really energetic and fun to watch, dancing around and hamming it up for the children in the crowd, especially during "BBC", and he was also a great storyteller -- which makes sense with his CBC Radio 2 show Drive -- as he told a tale of going to not just the wrong venue, but the wrong city to play a show in Sweden.
Some other highlights from the set were "Indestructible Sam", which had Emily Wells join him on violin, the incredibly fun "Zombie Delight", which is about exactly what the title implies, and a bit of an experiment... He mentioned he played a festival recently at the same time as John Fogerty, so as a kind of "thanks" to the people watching him, he used "Run Through The Jungle" as the musical bed for "Wicked & Weird", which was pretty amazing. He put on an incredibly fun set, and I would definitely see him live again, given the chance. (Unfortunately, I had to miss his workshops the next day)

Finally, closing out the night was Elliott BROOD. It had been a long time since I had last seen them live, and I was definitely excited to hear their new stuff. And the "death country" trio did not disappoint. Even though there was a couple times that Mark looked frustrated, the band sounded absolutely great.
The awesome instrumental "Chuchwagon" and the new single, "Northern Air", just one of the few new songs they threw into the set, were both a few of the highlights, as well as the bands intense energy. Mark and Casey, who share guitar and vocals, and Stephen on drums all had an incredible energy to them and are amazing to watch live.
After everyone sang along to "Oh Alberta", they handed out the trademark tin pans and wooden spoons -- and after seeing them live thrice before, I finally got one of my own -- to bang along to "This Valley Town", and then for the big finale of "Write It All Down For You" with the whole crowd banging and shouting along to the HEYHEYHEY!'s.
But of course, that wasn't the end, as they were back out for one more, the soft -- or as soft as the Brood can be -- and beautiful "Miss You Now". An amazing set, and definitely one of the highlights of the whole festival.

Well, that's two days down and one to go, with the last day consisting of two absolutely amazing workshops, and a couple other great concerts by Kathryn Calder and Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band.