Matthew Good @ Vogue Theatre -- 12/03/11

Full disclosure: Matthew Good is one of my all time favourite musicians. I have been following him for over a decade, since the Band days, and have seen him live at least once a year for the last seven years. That being said, I don't think this post will be bias because of that; rather I think he is my favourite because he puts on shows like this.

Opening the show was Daniel Wesley who I "unfortunately" missed -- I've never really been a fan, and have seen him before live so I wasn't too broken up about arriving after he played.

As it was time for Matthew Good to take the stage, the lights dimmed with only two floor lamps on either side for illumination, and Matt Good in near complete darkness, with Anthony Wright on keys for a stripped down, acoustic version of the normally orchestral "While We Were Hunting White Rabbits". Earlier in the week Good had mentioned on his social medias that he was coming down with bronchitis, but not only would he not be cancelling the remaining shows, he would be going all out, as he usually does on the last shows on the tour. And did he ever. Were it not for a horse speaking voice (and some coughing) I never would have been able to tell, as his voice soared over the beautiful piano for the opening song. If concerts are all about creating "moments", this was definitely the first of several.

The rest of the band came out, launching into "The Boy Who Could Explode", for a set that mainly focused on the new album and Good's solo career. There were the usual older ones, though; "Apparitions" and "Hello, Time Bomb" got huge recognition pops, Good stepped off the mic for the crowd to sing part of "Load Me Up" and the sheer emotion of "Weapon" gave chills. Other "moments" throughout the set included the goosebumps-inducing epic instrumental ending of "Shallow's Low", building in intensity as each band member came in, and "Zero Orchestra" an energy-filled and punchy new song that is one of the best of Good's catalogue.
There wasn't much of the usual banter, likely due to the bronchitis, which is a shame, since despite the heavy material in his songs, Good is always funny and a great story teller on stage. He also melted into the background several times, to let his band -- which included old MGB member Ian Browne on drums -- have the spotlight. Especially guitarist James Reid, who at one point tossed his hat off stage for a killer solo, only for it to be tossed back on stage and land almost perfectly on his head.

The set ended with the title track and final song off of Lights of Endangered Species, but everyone knew it wasn't done, and and during the encore break the crowd spontaneously broke in to the opening chant to "Giant", only for the familiar "K-I-C-K-A-S-S, that's the way we spell success!" and accompanying clapping to blast out of the speakers moments later as the band came back out and launched into the song. After epic "Champions of Nothing" and unreleased b-side "Hornets", the two hour set came to an end perfectly with "Set Me On Fire".

As mentioned above, I have seen Good over a half dozen times, in venues ranging from a couple hundred to a couple thousand people, and while I am not sure if this was my favourite Matthew Good show, it definitely ranks up there, and definitely will make an appearance on any inevitable best-of-2011-concerts list. It was an amazing show, and reminded me why he was one of my favourites.
As if I needed a reminder.

setlist
While We Were Hunting Rabbits; The Boy Who Could Explode; What If I Can't See The Stars, Mildred?; Zero Orchestra; Born Losers; It's Been A While Since I Was Your Man; Shallow's Low; Load Me Up; Hello, Time Bomb; The Future Is X-Rated; Non Populous; Apparitions; Weapon; Lights of Endangered Species.
(encore) Giant; Champions of Nothing; Hornets; How It Goes; Set Me On Fire.

The Second Annual Movember Mo-Off @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 11/30/11

As November draws to an end, so too do the lifespan of many men's nose neighbours. Of course I mean the moustaches sported for Movember, to help raise awareness for prostate cancer. And to end off the month with a bang was the second annual Movember Mo-Off, the brainchild of Savannah Leigh Wellman. As well as three pretty kickass bands, there were prizes for best 'stache, a barber station to shave (or just trim) the cookie dusters with before and after photos, a photobooth, moustache shaped cookies and lots of mustachioed men in attendance; to either the chagrin or delight of the ladies.

The first band of the night was Redbird, with a mix of songs off their debut EP, We're All Friends and Lovers Until it Falls Apart, and newer ones. I've mentioned before my soft spot for female singers with a strong voice and a little bit of a roots bent (an affliction I blame on the likes of Neko Case) and Savannah's great pipes and beautiful songwriting definitely fit that mould. The guitar riff on "Therein Lies The Grey" will get stuck in your head for days and "No Game" contains one of my favourite lyrics of the year, "My subtlety sabotages me / so please read between the lines".
Another highlight of the set was a new songs which I didn't catch the name of, but saw the band rocking out a little harder than the rest, with a great solo from guitarist John Sponarski.
Redbird has definitely been one of my favourite new bands this year, and I was glad to be able to see them one more time before years end.

Next up was another favourite new band, and a double shot of Sponarski with Portage & Main. They were fresh off a tour with Treelines, which would explain three quarters of the band joining John, Harold Donnelly and Georges Couling; Matt Kelly on pedal steel, Steve Lockhart (with his usual enthusiasm) on bass and Grant McKinnon keeping things incredibly tight on drums. It probably helped that they had spend the previous two weeks playing together, but as a whole they meshed phenomenally well, and it was probably the best set I've seen from P&M this year (and I've seen them a few times).
Highlights of the set were the fantastic harmonies of the catchy "What Have I Done" and the intense "Tonight pt 2", plus a new song, a complete rager, revelling in dirty southern rock. They rounded out the set with my favourite of theirs, "I'd Never Climbed A Mountain" which builds to a soaring ending, and finished in their usual way, with the great singalong "Carolina".

Finally, wrapping up the night was a band I have seen thrice in the last two weeks, The Matinée. And even thought it was the third time, it still felt fresh, as they did a good job of changing up their sets; most of the songs were the same, but they would throw in different touches, like a bit of "Another Brick In The Wall" slipped into a song and a cover of Ryan Adams' "Let It Ride". They were missing keyboardist Dave Young, but were still firing on all cylinders, with their usual blend of folk, roots and rock and great energy & presence, especially lead singer Matt Layzell (even with his self-described creepy moustache).
They didn't end up starting til around midnight, so the weeknight crowd had thinned out a little, but as soon as they kicked off with "Let Her Go", everyone there was into it, with the usual clapping/stomping break in "Sweet Water" and singing along to "Rocking & Rolling". After the great drum breakdown in "The Road", that has each member bashing on various drums, they ended the night with "Stomp", which starts with Pete Lemon shining on drums and builds to an insane climax, featuring one of many face melting guitar solos from Matt Rose.

Not only was it a night of three killer bands, but they ended up raising over $1,500 for Movember. I'd say it was a huge success.

2011 Grey Cup Festival @ PlayNow.com Stage -- 11/26/11

I'm no football fan, so for me the best thing about Vancouver hosting the Grey Cup is definitely the free outdoor music. Over the weekend there has been a ridiculous amount of great local bands playing at a free outdoor stage just outside BC Place. Friday saw Rococode, Bend Sinister, Kyprios and The Dudes, among others, but the lineup Saturday night was just stellar. Sponsored by The Peak, it started with TV Heart Attack and The Boom Booms, both of which I missed, and then just ramped up from there.

The first band I caught was The Belle Game, getting there a song or two into their set. As per usual, they had a great stage presence, with members, including sometimes-member Andrew Lee on trumpet, dancing and even braving the rain and coming right out to the front of the stage a few times -- at their own risk of falling. Highlights included "I Wish You Weren't Like A Dead Lover (Sometimes)" and "Shoulders and Turns", which saw tour-mates Hey Ocean! joined them for the cacophonous ending (and also guitarist Alex Andrew's random dance break).

Next up was The Matinée, fresh off their big Peak Performance Project show and BCCMA appearance. Kicking things off with "L'Absinthe", they immediately won over the gathering crowd with their collective charisma, getting everyone to forget about the cold and rain, if only for a moment, while clapping & stomping along to "Sweet Water" and singing to "Rocking and Rolling", one of the highlights of the set.
"The Road" was another highlight, especially with the amazing drum breakdown, and it was fun to see them slip in little bits of covers to their songs, including Neil Young's "Old Man" in "Let Her Go".

The last time I saw The Zolas, a month ago, the band was comprised of Zach Gray backed by The Liptonians, but they were back to the usual lineup with Tom Dobrzanski on keys, Henry Alcock-White on bass and Niko Friesen on drums.
Starting with "You're Too Cool", they were as energetic as ever, with some great banter from Gray; at one point someone threw on Oh Henry bar on stage, so Zach responded by tossing out some chocolate he had in his pocket... and then some carrots that were in the other pocket. The set included a couple new[ish] songs, "Guest" "Cultured Man" of their recent 7" and "Strange Girl", which had short, kinda-rapping verse from Gray, and they brought their portion of the evening to an end with a bang, with "Marlaina Kamikaze".

As the cold picked up and the rain died down a little, Hey Ocean! hit the stage next. Their newest single "Big Blue Wave" started the set, which consisted mostly of their new material from their as-yet-unreleased album -- unless you happened to be at a show on their recent tour, or there last night, where they were more than happy to hand out copies.
Among the new songs, "Make A New Dance Up" was definitely the most catchy, and there were a few older ones as well, including "Fish" with the adorable Ashleigh Ball dancing out at the front of the stage, as well as their great cover of "Be My Baby" -- which had everyone, including the entire Belle Game out huddled around drums at the end. After a couple slower songs, one of which dedicated to the memory of Randy Ponzio, they wrapped up the set with "A Song About California".

And finally, wrapping up the night was Said The Whale just as the rain was letting up -- which had Tyler slightly sad, since they went out and bought 50 ponchos for people and wanted to toss them into the crowd.
They started off with an older, rarely played song "Wanting like Veruca", and had a few other older tunes throughout the set, including "Live Off Lamb" which Tyler said they hadn't played in four years. But as well as the old, there was new, with a few songs from their recent EP and upcoming album; the insanely catchy "Lines" and the intense "Big Sky Montana" being two highlights.
There was also a funny moment during "BC Orienteering" when Ben forget some lines, first asking the audience to help, then trying to catch up until Jacelyn stepped up like a champ to finish the verse; which wasn't the only time the keyboardist stepped up for a larger vocal roll, including one of the newer songs.
There was also lots of singing along throughout the set, especially for the closing pair of songs, "Camilo (The Magician)" and "The City's a Mess"

Any one of these five bands I would see on their own without hesitation, and putting them all together -- for free, at that -- was absolutely worth braving the elements to see.

Maurice with Ciseaux @ Media Club -- 11/25/11

It was an insanely busy night in shows last night, and I ended up at the Media Club for a bit of an island invasion, with a couple bands full of islanders descending upon Vancouver.

First up was Ciseaux, the newly named band of Katie Schaan. I had seen her a couple times this year under her own name and playing solo, but this was the first time with a full band, which included one of Aidan Knight's Friendly Friends, Olivier Clements on trumpet; and it was definitely the best I've seen from her. They opened with "The Ocean" and right off the bat I remembered how floored I was by her incredibly powerful voice, which was the focus of a lot of the songs.
When I saw her the first time, I [half] joked that all her songs seemed to be about boys she had crushes on, but judging by the new songs she was playing -- which made up the bulk of the set -- she's really spread her wings as a songwriter. And the new songs sounded pretty great, with the best being the final song, the dancey and disco'd up "Dance Card" which saw the incredibly bubbly Katie come out from behind the keys and out in front of the stage to dance, drawing the crowd up to the stage to do the same.
I really enjoyed the full band sound, and am definitely looking forward to the new album.

Next up was Stellar Radio Choir, who had a lot more of a rock sound, with a grunge or garage feel to it. That gave it a very 90s vibe, but without feeling rehashed or dated; I felt that they were kind of to the 90s what The Sheepdogs are to the 70s. The trio had a basic guitar/drums/bass setup, with some pretty great harmonies, which saw the drummer singing a lot of the time, and a decent stage presence, though not much banter. They had a pretty cool sound, and while nothing really jumped out at me, I enjoyed their set and wouldn't mind catching them again at some point.

And finally, rounding out the night was Maurice, who was joined by Mike Edel on bass and Vince Vaccaro on drums. Given the calibre of artists on stage, it was no surprised they meshed really well, and JP Maurice had great stage presence, full of raw emotion. Highlights of the well-crafted set were the insanely catchy "Mistake" and "Big Country", which saw the band jump into the crowd to sing; first unamplified, which didn't quite work since it was still a little loud in the venue, but once they grabbed a mic, it sounded great -- especially everyone joining in on the chorus.
After an awesome, intense song that I didn't catch the name of, he ended the set with his brilliant cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" -- which at one point hilariously segued into "Teenage Dream" -- inviting everyone to join him on stage, from members of the two previous bands to random other people.
I really enjoyed the set and am already looking forward to the next time he'll be playing.

Imaginary Cities @ Biltmore -- 11/24/11

Come the end of the year, when it is time to make lists and all that, I am certain that one spot on the list will be taken by Temporary Resident, the debut album from Imaginary Cities. I had seen them live earlier this year at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, and even thought I saw them four separate times, it was never for long enough, so I was eager for a headlining show of their own; which turned out to be their first headlining show in Vancouver.

They brought Toronto's The Coppertone along with them to open the show, who had a very blues rock feel to them, with Amanda Zelina's strong, smoky voice complimenting the loud, driving guitar very nicely. There was a good energy to the set, with most of the songs having the same electric-roots feel -- though there was a moment mid-set where they took things down for a moment for a slower, ballad-y number.
They had a good presence while playing, but for the most part there wasn't much banter, with the bass player doing most of the talking -- and his killing time while Amanda changed strings only bordering on awkward. Ultimately, I quite liked them, and would definitely be interested in checking them out next time they're through town.

Not long after it was time for Imaginary Cities, as they hit the stage starting with the lead track of Temporary Resident, "Say You". Marti's voice was, as ever, superb and hypnotic with Rusty on top of his game as usual, to say nothing of the rest of the band. Early on in the set they hit one of my favourite songs of the year, "Ride This Out", starting soft and building to a frantic ending, and after a magnificent cover of Cake's "Mexico" they slipped in some new songs. The new stuff was distinctly "Imaginary Cities" but also showed growth, making me very anxious for what's next from the band.
They teased an end of the set with the insanely infectious "Hummingbird", with the packed Biltmore clapping along, and were back out for another pair -- "the only other two songs [they] knew" -- with "Don't Cry" and the most perfect way to end off, the beautiful "That's Where It's At, Sam".
A fantastic set from the band who meshes so well together you would hardly knew they are still in their infancy. Though practically non-stop touring for the last few months definitely helped with that, and as if there was any doubt, this show cemented them as one of my favourite new bands of this year.

setlist
Say You; Marry the Sea; Temporary Resident; Ride This Out; Cherry Blossom Tree; Where'd All the Living Go; Mexico [Cake cover]; [Turning of the Tide?]; [Bells of Cologne?]; [Water Under the Bridge?]; Hummingbird.
(encore) Don't Cry; That's Where It's At, Sam.