Michael Bernard Fitzgerald w/ Acres of Lions @ Performance Works -- 02/24/12

This weekend marks the seventh annual Winterruption Festival, a celebration filled with food and performance and arts and dance and music on Granville Island. And do they ever have some amazing music this entire weekend, with free shows during the day and a couple nifty looking double bills in the evenings, like Michael Bernard Fitzgerald with Acres of Lions last night.

Acres of Lions kicked off the night with fill-in-drummer Cody Beer joining Jeff Kalesnikoff on guitar and vocals, Tyson Yerex on guitar & keys, and Dan Ball on bass. They started with "Let's Get Sentimental" from their debut album, and the ridiculously catchy "Reaction" came early on in the set with Jeff  getting everyone to clap and "Ba Baa" along. They slowed down a bit for the Firefly-inspired "Best Day Ever" before rocking the rest of the set, with upbeat and infectious songs like "Kids" and "Closer", before ending with another slower one, the title track off their most recent album, Collections.
While they're not reinventing the pop-rock genre, their live show is just flat out fun; the whole band has a great energy and stage presence, immediately filling the dance floor and getting the crowd to sing and clap along to a few songs.

Not long after, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald hit the stage with a nice sized band including a horn section (whom he introduced as "The Horny Boys"), a pair of drummers, and more. He started off with "Movie Life" and his brand new single, "Follow", playing a good number of songs from his upcoming album and EP, both titled Yes; Side A and Side B respectively. The new stuff sounded much like you would expect, pop-ish with a hint of soul, and the full band gave it a nice, fleshed out sound. It definitely got me interested to pick up the album(s).
MBF also has a great stage presence, genuinely nice and humble, and an effortless charm. He did things like give out his phone number, so everyone could be "text friends" and when there was a bit of a delay, when he had to change and restring his guitar, he kept the flow going with his backup band playing, and then bringing a fan on stage to demonstrate CPR through dance (no, seriously).
Highlights of the set were the aptly named "Firecracker", which was one of my favourites of the night, and the older "Brand New Spaces", with everyone stomping & clapping along, and ending with a medley of top 40 covers including Sysco, Flo Rida, and LMFAO. And those weren't the only covers in the set, he had a few more throughout; Paul Simon's "The Obvious Child" early on, The Boss's "Dancing in the Dark" to end the main set and "Call Your Girlfriend" by Robyn in the encore.

Both bands of the night put on incredibly fun sets, and they were a perfect match for a night of good music. And speaking of another perfect match, I am definitely looking forward for Winterruption to continue tonight with Aidan Knight & The Belle Game at Performance Works.

Toque Sessions: Hey Ocean! @ CBC Studio 40 -- 02/23/12

The CBC Toque Sessions are in full swing, with a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, which are also being recorded for broadcast later of Radio 2 and their On Demand section (sidebar: check out the snazzy new CBC Music website).

I was tempted to pass on the Hey Ocean! session, as I had just seen them at Venue, but when I heard they would be running through their whole new album, Is, accompanied by a mini-orchestra of strings and horns, I knew I would have to go. It was a little less intimate than previous ones, as they had moved it downstairs into a bigger setting -- probably to accommodate said horns -- and was seated, but Studio 40 in the bowels of the CBC is a great place where I've seen some pretty amazing shows.

"If I Were A Ship" lead things off, staring with an orchestral build up, and lead into the undeniably catchy "Make A New Dance Up" and the single, "Big Blue Wave". The two Daves took over lead vocals from Ashleigh Ball;  Beckingham for "Islands" and Vertesi for "Jolene", the latter being reminiscent of Vertesi's solo material, and one of my favourites off the album.
The trio was backed, as usual, by Devon Lougheed on guitar, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, and Timmy "Boom Bap" Proznick on drums, the entire band was on top of their game, teeming with enthusiasm which helped people to be shimmying in their chairs to songs like the peppy and upbeat "Change". And, as to be expected, the orchestra gave beautiful depths to the songs, like the beautiful "Steady" and "(for) give", the prelude and buildup to the soaring "Give". They wrapped up the album with the heartbreaking "Last Mistake", but had one more song, a b-side that didn't quite make the cut called "Maps".

I've always been a sucker for an orchestral section, and if I had my way, most of the bands I see play live would be accompanied by at least a small one, so seeing shows like this are always a treat, especially when the band in question is as fun as Hey Ocean!.

setlist
If I Were A Ship, Make A New Dance Up, Big Blue Wave, Islands, Jolene, New Love, Bicycle, Change, Steady, I Am A Heart, (for) give, Give, Last Mistake, Maps.

Maurice @ Biltmore -- 02/22/12

It was the start of a busy streak of concerts last night at the Biltmore, with a couple Peak Performance Project alumni teaming up. One band who I hadn't seen since the showcases in September, regrettably, and another who I've seen a couple times since, but don't tire of seeing.

Starting off the night was Redgy Blackout, who put on a lively and fun show with their unique mix of indie rock, folk and pop. Both Scott Perrie and Jeremy Breaks have a great energy, especially during “Who Am I” -- the most upbeat songs of the set with a bit of a jazzy feel -- when Scott put down his guitar for a trumpet and was free to show off his dance moves.
They broke out a few new songs through the set, and another highlight was the beautiful "Alexandria" before they ended with a bang, another big, upbeat number, "Bottom of the Sea".

Library was up next, with some pretty middle of the road rock. They had an okay energy, but not much stage presence. And the songs were not bad, but a lot of them blended together. Even the cover of Springsteen's "Atlantic City" sounded pretty similar. It was nothing terrible, but nothing all that memorable, either.

And finally, Maurice hit the stage, including Jason Cook on drums (doing double duty, as we was with Redgy Blackout as well). They started the set off with the soaring "Big Country", getting the crowd into it. Even though it was a late start, they still managed to bring out the energy in everyone, and had a few people dancing up front, which is a credit to both their music and JP's great stage presence.
After a couple new songs, they slowed things down a little with the heartwrenching "Love Drug", featuring an electric violin, but then brought things right back up with the insanely catchy "Mistake", for which they were also joined by Stephanie Chatman on violin. The usual, and fantastic, cover of Fleetwood Mac’s "Dreams" made an appearance too, which segued into a little bit of both "Teenage Dream" and "Moves Like Jagger" at the end, awesomely and hilariously. And after the upbeat "All I Ever Wanted", they drew the set to a close with their version of Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party's "Robin", a fantastic song to wrap up the set with.

The Matinée @ Venue -- 02/18/12

One of my favourite things to come out of last year's Peak Performance Project was the discovery of The Matinée. I've always had a soft sport for roots-rock and alt-country -- which is odd, since I don't really like "actual" country music -- and I was won over by The Matinée two songs into the first time I saw them live. So there was no way I was going to miss their first show of the year, that was apparently also their first headlining show in Vancouver (which seems surprising).

Starting off the night was current Vancouver buzz band Good for Grapes. With over a half dozen members on stage, they had a rich, lush sound that was folky, with a little bit of a maritime edge to it.
Though there wasn't too much banter between songs, but they had a great dynamic and enthusiasm, especially the incredibly animated accordion player.
Their set seemed too short (also because I missed the first little bit of it) and I will definitely be looking out for them again, hopefully soon.

Washboard Union was up next, who, full disclosure, I had seen years ago as Run GMC and didn't really care for, so I had a bit of a bias going in. Their sound could almost be described as "shit-kicker country", with a very down-south and almost bluegrass feel. And true to their name, they had a washboard out for a few songs to accompany the banjo, fiddle and the rest. While it was a little bit too two-stepping-country for my tastes, they definitely were not bad, as they were all good musicians with great energy. And if the crowd stomping along was any indication, I may have been in the minority.

Not long after -- curfewed shows always run like clockwork -- The Matinée took the stage, kicking it off with "L'Absinthe", with the charismatic Matt Layzell giving us the back story mid-song to get the crowd riled up before "Sweetwater", which had everyone stomping and clapping along. They definitely know how to work a crowd, and they had most of the room in the palm of their collective hands from the beginning.
There were a few new songs throughout the set, including a soft one that had everyone gathered around one mic for group vocals, and one called "Scooterfruit" which was the exact opposite; a huge, rocking song that exploded into an amazing ending that sounded like the band was channelling The Who -- especially drummer Pete Lemon. That led into a pretty spot-on cover of The Tragically Hip's "Grace, Too" and they brought it all to a head with "The Road", with the usual insane drum breakdown seeing every member on drums, and ended with Matt Rose putting on a guitar clinic.
But of course, that wasn't the real end and they were back for one more, just for good measure to cap off the night before Venue was turned over to the shiny shirts for the night.

And the final tally at the end of their set was: three bras thrown on stage, and two pairs of comically oversized underpants.

Jordan Klassen @ Media Club -- 02/17/12

Over the last few months, two local(ish) bands have been getting some big exposure from spins on The Peak. The first is Bed of Stars, from Evan Konrad's collaboration with Neverending White Lights and their own single, and the other, Abbotsford's Jordan Klassen. So it was of little doubt that the CD Release show for Jordan Klassen's Kindness EP would sell out the Media Club.

First up, though, was Northcote, which was Matt Goud on acoustic guitar, kickdrum and harmonica -- sometimes all three at once -- backed by Blake Enemark (briefly of We Are The City) on electric guitar. He had a straightforward folk singer-songwriter sound, but he was elevated above the generic with both the songwriting and the emotion he put into the songs. His set was fairly short, and I regret not picking up a CD, as I would definitely like to hear more from him in the future.

Second up was Bed of Stars, for a more synthy, electronic pop sound. While they have definitely had a fair amount of hype surrounding them, I thought their live show was just okay. It certainly wasn't bad, but nothing really stood out as songs flowed together, and his vocals seemed consistent through each one. But that being said, I can definitely see promise in the band; it was only their third show ever -- and first with their new guitarist -- and I can see them getting a lot better. After a cover of Kings of Leon's "The Bucket", they ended with the highlight of the set, their single "Falling Apart", which Evan Konrad sent out to The Peak for supporting them, Klassen, and local music in general, and was the high

And finally, the stage packed for Jordan Klassen with over a half dozen musicians backing him, including some familiar faces; Indiana Avent, Jocelyn Price, and Ben Appenheimer. The inclusion of violin, cello, keys and more gave Klassen's folk-pop a grandiose and rich sound that was nearly too big for the Media Club.
He kicked it off with "Call and Answer" from the Kindness EP and "Piano Brother", which will be on his upcoming full length Repentance, both of which set the stage for the rest of the set with the symphonic rises and falls. Klassen had a great enthusiasm on stage, despite admitting he was a touch nervous at the sold out crowd, and barely having enough room to move around at times.
As the set went on, the musicians came and went, with as few as two people -- Jordan and his ukulele, with the cello for "Threads" -- but everyone was back for three huge songs to end the set, which were my favourites of the night. "The Horses Are Stuck" started soft and swelled a chilling chorus with everyone on stage providing vocals; one that I didn't catch the name of, which absolutely exploded into a cacophonous ending; and finally "Go To Me", the single from The Peak that blossomed to a grand climax to close out the set. He was back out for one more, though, a softer, slower song called "Ask Me Not, Astronaut" to send off the crowd into the night.

Overall, it was a pretty good night of music, and I already can't wait to see Klassen again, no doubt in a well deserved much bigger venue.