Foo Fighters @ Rogers Arena -- 10/25/11

It was a close call; I almost didn't make it to this show, but last minute free tickets saved the day. It had been two years since I'd been to an arena show, and six years since a show at Rogers Arena -- when it was still GM Place  -- so it definitely felt weird to be there, but Foo Fighters are a stellar live band, and even though I haven't really gotten into the album there was no way I would pass up seeing the Fighters of Foo.

With the show's early start, we missed both opening bands -- which I am not too broken up about, since one was Cage the Elephant -- and got to the seats in the nosebleeds (but, hey: free) just in time for Foo Fighters to take the stage, kicking off with "Bridge Burning", the lead off song to the new album Wasting Light. The stage setup was pretty intense, with giant screen for all to see, monitors at the back of the stage and lights galore. The stage even served as a projection screen at times, lighting up in bright red with the Foo Fighters logo. There was also a protrusion for Grohl to sing, which lead to a runway up to another, small stage in the middle that he would make use of; most notably during "Stacked Actors" where Grohl, on the small stage, engaged in a guitar duel with guitarist Chris Shiflett, culminating in the smaller stage to rise up about twenty feet.
Early on, Grohl mentioned they no longer did two hour and fifteen minute shows... rather it isn't a rock show until it hits three hours, and that is nearly how long they played for. With a nice mix of their new album and old favourites, most of them getting tweaks and variations, but without being unrecognizable, and all sounded great -- even if he can no longer do that part in "Monkey Wrench" very well (you know the part I mean).
After ending with a face-melting "One by One", they made the crowd work for more, showing a video of Grohl and ace-drummer Taylor Hawkins in the back milking the crowd, and the encore began with Grohl on the small, raised stage with just an acoustic guitar. After a couple of sing-a-longs, he launched into "Times Like These" which started acoustic, but the band kicked in with full force half-way through for a chilling moment. "Dear Rosemary" segued into a cover of Tom Petty's "Breakdown", with Dave going off the stage and into the crowd to dance with a couple people before they ended the night, unsurprisingly, with "Everlong", and damn near every person in the arena singing along.

Admittedly, there was a bit of a disconnect being so far away from the stage and what was going on, but it was still a pretty fantastic show. Grohl is one of the best frontmen, with charisma to spare, hilarious banter and not a drop of arrogance on him. When he tanked us for coming, thanked us for letting him do what he loves, he was nothing less than genuine. And as long as they keep coming to town, I will keep attending their shows.

setlist
Bridge Burning, Rope, The Pretender, My Hero, Learn to Fly, White Limo, Arlandria, Breakout, Cold Day In The Sun, Stacked Actors, Walk, Monkey Wrench, Let It Die, These Days, This Is a Call, One by One.
(encore) Wheels, Best of You, Times Like These, Dear Rosemary (Break Down [Tom Petty cover]), Everlong.

The Zolas with The Liptonians and Hannah Epperson @ St James Hall -- 10/24/11

On the heels of the release of their split 7", The Zolas and The Liptonians have brought their western Canadian tour to an end with a pair of shows here in Vancouver. St James Hall was the site of their second show -- the first happening while I was otherwise occupied -- and was all ages, which meant a lot of teenage girls there to see The Zolas.
(If you even want to feel old, just go to an all ages Zolas or Said the Whale show)

First up was Hannah Epperson, armed with only her violin, loop pedal and soft, beautiful voice. I've seen her a few times before, but I am always taken by her masterful loops, building layer upon layer with just her violin. A few of her songs were just instrumental -- and were captivating on their own -- and when she added vocals, her voice matched the mood perfectly. She had the crowd completely enthralled, with dead silence for her while she was playing, breaking into cheers only when she was done each song.

The Liptonians were up next, launching into "You Know I Did", and their fantastic contribution to the split 7", "Destroy Destroy Destroy". Right off the bat they proved why their live shows have such a great reputation, with their incredibly tight sound and solid harmonies, and the show just got better from there. "Perfect Swimmers" was one of the highlights, a soft song that fit the venue perfectly, and had everyone golf-clapping along in lieu of their forgotten shaker, and one of my favourites, "Growing Old in the City", featured a garbage can lid and a cacophony of sound that swells to an insane climax. I am fairly certain that if I ever go mad, I want that song playing at the time.
After what seemed like not nearly long enough, they drew to a close with "March Back Into the Sea", starting soft and swelling to a great ending for the set. And I already can't wait to see them live again.

setlist
Terrell's Dream; You Know I Did; Destroy, Destroy, Destroy; Lesage; The Privatest Parts; Perfect Swimmers; Float On By; Growing Old in the City; Hey! Hey! Help is on the Way!; March Back Into The Sea.

And wrapping up the night was The Zolas. Or rather, The Zoliptonias, as Zach Gray's partner in crime Tom Dobrzanski couldn't make the tour, so Grey was backed by the five members of The Liptonians. It was really interesting seeing Zach with a completely different band, especially up to six members from the usual four, since it really rounded out songs; they had a great chemistry and the sounded fantastic.
Starting off the set with the dense and moody "Guest" "Cultured Man", the other song from the split 7", before getting a nice bout of recognition applause (or, shrieks given the demographic at an all ages show) for "You're Too Cool". The set featured mostly older songs, prompting lots of clapping and singing along, but also another new song, "Strange Girl", and after a raucous ending with "Marlaina Kamikaze" Grey came back out alone for just one more song, the soft "These Days", backing off the mic a few times, really taking advantage of the quiet crowd.
I feel a little weird saying it it was a fantastic set from The Zolas, given that really only one Zola was there, but it really was a great show, and was pretty cool to see the collaboration, and I kind of with The Zolas played as a six-piece more often.

setlist
Cultured Man; You're Too Cool; The Great Collapse; Marionettes; I've Got Leeches; Body Ash; Strange Girl; Marlaina Kamikaze.
(encore) These Days.

Big Sugar w/ Wide Mouth Mason @ Commodore -- 10/22/11

"To put it politely, we fucked some shit up".
That's what Gordie Johnson had to say early on about the previous night, the first of two sold out shows at the Commodore, and the kickoff for the Big & Wide tour, seeing Big Sugar and Wide Mouth Mason crossing the country "from island to island". It was also Big Sugar's first show in Vancouver since their farewell show eight years ago. I had been to that show and the return of the band, combined with Wide Mouth Mason, had me more than a little excited.

Wide Mouth Mason hit the stage at 9:30, starting off with an older tune, "Smile" before launching into one of my favourites off the new album, No Bad Days, "More Of It". The song's lyric "the only thing better than a good thing is more of it" was apt, with Shaun Verreault improvising "the only thing better than one band with Gordie Johnson, is two bands with Gordie Johnson", referring to his status as their new bass player.
The set was a split of new, like the sexy "Sweet Little Thing" -- with a little bit of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" slipped in -- and old, including the beautiful "Companion (Lay Me Down)", which they hadn't played live in years. As usual, Verreault was amazing on the guitar -- one of my favourites to watch live -- peppering solos throughout and being a captivating front man, getting the crowd into it and singing along, especially to their hits, their first big single, "Midnight Rain" and the song they ended the set with, the first song off their first album, "My Old Self".
It was a great set, definitely getting everyone excited for the night, and even though the amount of times I have seem Mason in the last dozen years is probably in the double digits, I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing them live, especially if they keep putting on shows of this quality.

setlist
Smile, More Of It, Midnight Rain, Get A Hold Of You, Go Tell it to the Waterfall, Shut Up and Kiss Me, Sweet Little Thing, Companion (Lay Me Down), What'd I Do, Why, My Old Self.

Then shortly after 11, the lights dimmed as Big Sugar hit the stage, over half a dozen members large. Aside from Johnson, there was the familiar faces of Garry Lowe on bass and Mr. Chill on harmonica, sax, melodica, and more, and new members Friendlyness on keys and "toasting", the drummer from The Respectables, Stephane Beaudin, and backup singer Meredith Shaw; as well as Shaun and Saf from WMM pulling double duty on rhythm guitar and a second, smaller drum kit respectively.
Any notions of rust on the band were immediately dispelled as their groovy bass lines and dirty blues rock burst forth, starting with "Work It Now" off the new album, Revolutions Per Minute. The first highlights of many came early on, with everyone singing along to "Diggin' a Hole" and one of my personal favourite songs, their incendiary version of "Dear Mister Fantasy".
The entire band had an unparalleled energy, especially Johnson, who had the crowd hanging off every word and note of the almost two and a half hour set, which was packed with songs old and new, and also included a few surprise guests. Canadian blues legend Colin James joined them for "Come Back Baby" and a twelve piece mariachi band, Los Dorados, came out for a couple songs, "Turn the Lights On" and "I Want You Now".
At that point the stage emptied for an acoustic song with just Johnson on guitar and Mr Chill on harmonica, before they brought the main set to an end with another one of my favourite songs, "All Hell For A Basement" and their rendition of "O Canada" -- ending with Johnson putting his double-guitar behind his head to play, proudly showing off the Canadian flag painted on the back.
They made us work for the encore, coming back out with the hemi-revving, tire squealing intro to "Red Rover" and an incredible extended rendition of "The Scene", with a little bit of James Brown's "Sex Machine" slipped in the middle.

It was, simply put, an unforgettable show, with Big Sugar reaffirming their status as one of Canada's best rock bands.

setlist
Work it Now, Diggin’ a Hole, Dear Mister Fantasy, If I Had My Way, Roads Ahead, Givin It Up For My Shugah!, Come Back Baby, Come A Little Closer… Now Come!, Kickin’ Stones, Empty Head, Counterfeit Wings (Are Some Jive Ass Wings), Little Bit A All Right, So Not Over, Better Get Used To It, I'm a Ram, Turn the Lights On, I Want You Now, Wild Ox Moan, All Hell For a Basement, O Canada.
(encore) Red Rover, The Scene.

Zeus @ Biltmore -- 10/21/11

Every once in a while, a show that I should be excited for just kind of sneaks up on me without fanfare. For some reason, this was one of those shows. Sure, I was looking forward to it; I had seen Zeus four times before and this, and it would be the first time seeing them headline a show (not counting the Bonfire Ball), but I was probably not as excited going in as I should have been.

Starting off the night was Daydream Vacation from Seattle; a collaboration between Smoosh and Head Like A Kite who were kind of a strange choice to open the show, with a strong electro-pop dancey sound. It wasn't bad by any means -- Asya from Smooth had a really nice voice and Dave was very animated, singing into a phone receiver and a few times jumping off stage and through the [light] crowd -- but it was just a bizarre fit. A lot of their songs had the same vibe, even the Neil Young cover they threw in, but it was still an upbeat and catchy set.

Vancouver's own Sun Wizard was up next, with their straight-ahead, throwback rock being more suitably paired with Zeus. I've seen them a couple times now, and they are an enjoyable band to watch at the time, but nothing overly engaging. They don't have too much of a stage presence and have a few really catchy songs, notably "World's Got a Handle", but a lot of them were also a little interchangeable. But again, it was a Perfectly Acceptable set and I wouldn't complain seeing them again.

Then it was time for Zeus. They mentioned early since there was a curfew, they'd keep the chit chat minimal and just play, blasting us with a straight hour of rock. The bulk of the set was off of last year's Say Us, but there were a few new ones, teasing the release of their album next March. Of the new ones, the do wop "Love In a Game" was probably my favourite.
Throughout the set there was lots of switching around with Carlin, Mike, and Neil swapping between guitars, bass, and keys, and all pitching in for vocals -- either main or chiming in for superb harmonies. And even though there wasn't much chatter, they still kept a captive crowd, getting the folks to sing along just by Carlin cupping his ear.
Other highlights were the intense ending of "The Renegade" with the band going absolutely nuts rocking out, and the stellar "The River by the Garden", during which Mike broke a string on his guitar -- and between songs, instead of standing around while he fixed, Carlin played a badass bass solo that launching into their great cover of Genesis' "That's All". They ended the main set with the new single, "Are You Gonna Waste My Time?" before coming back for a quick two song encore, capping off the night with the driving"You Gotta' Teller"

It was an amazing set, and I immediately realised why I should have been more excited -- and chastised myself for not. It is going to be tough to wait until next March for the new album, and hopefully they're back not long after that for another show.

setlist
[New Song], [New Song], Kindergarten, Greater Times on the Wayside, The River by the Garden, That's All [Genesis cover], How Does It Feel?, Heavy On Me, Marching Through Your Head, BBO(?), Love is a Game, The Renegade, Are You Gonna Waste My Time?
(encore) Hot Under The Collar, You Gotta' Teller.

Amplify! MDD Fundraiser w/ The Belle Game, Ruffled Feathers & Sidney York @ Railway -- 10/20/11

With Media Democracy Days coming up soon, it was time for the annual fundraiser show at the Railway. This year it featured a trio of great acts, fronted by lovely ladies, and even though the sound at the Railway was unusually wonky a couple times throughout the night (the sound guy showed up late, which could be a contributing factor) it was still a hell of a night of local music.

First up was Sidney York, with a set similar to the one she played last week. But even though it was familiar, it was no less fun. With six members packed on to the small Railway stage (a theme for the night), there wasn't as much room for moving around, but the whole band was brimming with energy.  The crowd was into it, too, clapping along for a few songs, including "Roll With Me" and the insanely catchy "Dick & Jane", and shouting & dancing along to "Mile High Love", which closed the set. Even when they toned things down for the heartfelt "Go Home, Atticus Jones", they were still captivating. As mentioned above, there were a couple hiccups in sound, but still a fantastically enjoyable set, and just added more reason for Sidney York being one of my favourite new artists this year.

The Ruffled Feathers were up next, who have been getting better and better with each time I've seen them. They started off starting of with "Home" kicking off a really fun set of their high energy chamber pop.
While Gina Loes handled most of the lead vocals, there were a couple songs where they traded off to other members; for "Lead Me to Destruction" Charley Wu took care of vocals and Andrew Lee handled them on "Rosin and Horsehair", which also saw Wu playing his mandolin with a bow. Both songs had their own uniqueness without betraying the overall sound of the band -- Wu's had a bit of a 50's vibe while Lee's had an almost spaghetti-western feel to it. They weren't the only ones, though, as throughout the set each member of the band got their own moment to shine.
Another highlight of the set was their latest single, "Blueprints for a Failed Revolution" from their forthcoming album Oracles. And if their set was any indication, is going to be a good one, which I am eagerly anticipating.

And wrapping up the night was The Belle Game, who kicked off with "Bloom" from their just-released EP, which started soft but swelled to a grand climax, setting the stage for their layered sound. They were occasionally joined by Andrew Lee on trumpet, doing double duty for the night (one day there will be a show where he plays in each band, mark my words).
Much like the bands before them, they two had a great energy and stage presence, even with a packed stage. Highlights of the set were the awesomely-titled "I Wish You Weren't Like A Dead Lover (Sometimes)", building up to a smashing ending, with singer Andrea Lo and guitarist Alex Andrews going nuts on a floor tom, and "Shoulders & Turns", where they urged people to get cozy and dance. They wrapped up the set with "Sleep to Grow", which had Adam Nanji taking his guitar into the crowd, and were called back for what may have been an actual legitimate encore of one final song. 

On any given night, any one of these three bands would have stolen the show and been well worth seeing on their own, and seeing them all together made for a grand show.