Royal Canoe @ Waldorf -- 05/22/12

It's only been a couple months since the last time Royal Canoe was through town, but I was blown away both times I had seen them previously, and despite some other shows going on that night, it was a pretty easy decision. Plus, I still hadn't been to see a show at Vancouver's Waldorf Hotel, strangely enough, so it seemed like a good show to break in the venue.

Opening the night was the lovely looping violin of Hannah Epperson. She immediately grabbed the crowds attention with her amazing layered soundscapes and a soft but captivating voice. Her set included a Beirut cover, "My Night With the Prostitute from Marseille", as well as her own material, the intricate "Murder of Crows" and "We Will Host A Party", which she closed with, and was probably my favourite of the set.

Not long after, Royal Canoe packed the stage with six members and their assortment of instruments; two drummers, several keyboard and a ton of synth and pedals to create their unique and layered synth-pop wall-of-sound. The band has managed to hit that sweet spot with songs that are dense and complex, yet undeniably catchy and accessible, and their live show is incredibly refined and tight.
They started off the set with "Today I'm A Believer" and the infectious "Hold on to the Metal" off their most recent EP, simply titled Extended Play. Highlights throughout the set included "Dumb Waiter", off their debut album Co-Op Mode, and the dark "Nightcrawlin'", which ended the set with Matt Peters' vocals filtered to give himself deep, almost demonic tone. After tremendous applause, they were back out for one more, "Dear June", which starting soft then exploding into a frantic and explosive ending; a perfect way to end off the night.

Every time I see Royal Canoe live, I am more and more impressed by them, and they are definitely one of the most unique -- and best -- live acts touring Canada right now. It was a great night of music and even the noise bleed from whatever event was happening upstairs couldn't detract from it.

Sit Down, Servant!! with Shaun Verreault @ Cellar -- 05/19/12

It shouldn't come as a surprise to say I am a big fan of blues- and roots-rock, and two big factors in that are Big Sugar and Wide Mouth Mason. I've been a fan of both bands since the 90s; through Big Sugar's breakup, Grady and their recent reunion and WMM's recent loss of their bass player (whom they replaced with Gordie Johnson). So when the two were brought together -- in a way -- there was no way I was going to miss it.

First up was Shaun Verreault, of Wide Mouth Mason, taking the stage alone for a solo set consisting of a few of his own songs as well as some WMM tunes, some in "different clothes" as Shaun put it, with different variations or interpretations of the songs, like giving "Why" more of a blues vibe.
Shaun showcased his amazing talent with a liberal sprinkling of solos throughout the set, but never crossing that line into guitar-wankery; the extended solo in "Catch My Death" was especially hypnotizing. It's always amazing to watch him play, as he just makes it look so easy, coaxing the music from the guitar, rather than playing it, and he's got a great stage presence. I probably could have watched him play for another hour.

Soon after Gordie Johnson and current Big Sugar drummer, Stephane Beaudin took the stage as Sit Down, Servant!!, with Johnson not only on guitar, but also playing synth pedals with his feet. They had a definite blues-rock sound, emphasis on the bluesy vibe with some soul and even a bit of gospel thrown in. As well as their own songs there were some blues and spiritual standards and a few covers, including Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman" -- which Big Sugar covered on their first album.
Throughout the hour and a half set, Gordie broke out the slide guitar for a few songs, showing off his own phenomenal guitar skills, and pulled up a some friends on stage; Shaun Verreault for a few songs to play guitar or sing, and Rich Hope up to sing on a song he co-wrote, and they both returned for the last couple songs in the encore. Other highlights included the country-twanged "Don't You Miss Me When I'm Gone", which ended off the "main" set and the upbeat "If You Think Your God is Dead".

Both Gordie and Shaun are incredible musicians, and are absolutely amazing to watch live. And since the Cellar isn't that big of a venue, it lead to a great, intimate night of music.

The Mocking Bird @ The Media Club -- 05/18/12

One of the first shows I saw this year was the CD release show from The Mocking Bird, the new project from Vancouver's Bob Kemmis, and turned out to be an excellent show. So given the opportunity to not only see them again, but also a redhead with an amazing voice as one of the opening acts, I had to take it.

The lovely Ali Milner was started off the night, with just herself behind the keys for "According to the New York Times", before the rest of the band kicked in half way through the song. Her upbeat, jazzy sound was driven by her incredible & soulful voice, and Ali was a natural performing, with an effortless charm and great stage presence.
Highlights included "Don't Forget To Call Me" and "I Want To Be Loved By You", as well as a few brand new songs, one of which, the high energy "Waiting", was my favourite of the set, and a couple covers; Shania Twain's "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under" and the final song, a fantastic version of the Rolling Stones' "Gimmer Shelter", which ending with each member leaving the stage one by one until only drummer Richard Brown was left.

Next up was The Never Surprise,  the duo of David Gaudet and Nick Eakins joined by a few familiar faces; Niko Friesen on drums, Robbie Driscoll on bass and Andrew Braun on keys. Starting off with the catchy "Sun Goes Down", the set was full of their smooth, indie-folk sound. I have seen them a few times before, but this was the first time where they added keys to the mix, and it helped flesh out their sound exponentially. The band also had a great presence, though there wasn't much between songs -- though David did joke at one point they were working on their banter.

And finally, The Mocking Bird hit the stage, a little after midnight. Joining Bob Kemmis -- all in matching shirts -- was a great assembly of talent, including Erik P.H. Nielsen on bass (who also played with Ali earlier), Pat Steward on drums and Shaun Verreault on guitar. There was also a small horn section on a few songs, packing the small stage at the Media Club with nearly a dozen musicians.
The set started off with "Grace", the first song off of No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, which immediately set the tone for the ridiculously catchy, roots-rock, with great and clever lyrics. Other highlights were the insanely catchy "Where's Your Get Up?" and the dark "Love You Hated Him" which built to a huge ending.
Once again, Kemmis was a great stage presence, with a charm and sense of humour that was evident in both the songs and banter, and the combined talent and experience on stage came together for a fantastic band.

Unfortunately, due to the set starting after midnight and transit cutting off at 1, I had to run and miss the tail end of the set, which I hate, but aside from my pet peeve of shows where the headliner ends up going on at almost 12:30, it was a pretty great show; a night full of excellent local musicians.

Tracks on Tracks Launch Party @ Electric Owl -- 05/09/12

Vancouver's Green Couch Productions have been hard at work lately, partnering with VIA Rail and CBC Radio 3 for Tracks on Tracks, taking music fans across the country on the rails. Starting from Vancouver, the music train will be heading east, picking people up along the way, and pulling in to Toronto just in time for NXNE.

Not only will the train be packed with music fans, but bands as well, playing acoustic sets on the train and a few electric platform shows in select towns. Green Couch hand picked a few bands to make the trip; Adaline, The Matinée, Portage & Main, Maurice, Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party, and The Belle Game, and listeners of CBC Radio 3 took part is a giant online poll to select the final three; Chris Ho, Shred Kelly and Sidney York. And if that wasn't enough, CBC Radio 3's own Grant Lawrence will be making the trip, broadcasting his show from the rails.
And to start things chugging along, they threw a fund raising launch party at the Electric Owl.

Kicking off the night was an acoustic set from The Matinée. Matt Layzell, Matt Rose, and Geoff Petrie atop stools started off with their usual opener, "L'Absinthe" and Layzell monologuing in the middle of the song about the story behind it, and their excitement for the train. The short set also included a few new songs, including "Young & Lazy", which had the band channelling some heartland-rock for an amazingly catchy song. After a couple more, including a cover of Ryan Adams' "Let It Ride", they brought their set to an end with the rollicking "Sweetwater", which is going to be a fantastic sing-along song for the train.

Next up was Good for Grapes, filling the stage with people, and instruments like horns and keys and an accordion. Despite being from Vancouver, they have a very Maritime-folk sound, with that clear Celtic influence. They began with an instrumental, an intense sonic assault, and they didn't let up for the rest of the set. Even though there wasn't much banter or talking, the young band had a fantastic energy on stage  -- especially the accordion player, who couldn't stand still for a minute and was hollering the lyrics without a microphone. While the set felt like it may have gone on a little long, it was still highly enjoyable and their enthusiasm was very infectious.

And wrapping up the night, Portage & Main, another band will be making the trip on the train, and were visibly excited for it. They kicked off the high energy set with the opening two songs from their self titled debut, "Nothing" and "What Have I Done?", and were firing on all cylinders from the beginning. It's hard to imagine they've only been a band for a year, as John Sponarski and Harold Donnelly have such a great chemistry together, playing off each other (both musically and personality-wise) perfectly.
One of the highlights of the set was definitely "Sweet Darling", a fantastically intense and raw dirty blues-rocker, and they wrapped up the night with their usual set-enders; first "I'd Never Climbed a Mountain", which starts soft and builds to a great intense ending, followed by the bar-room sing-along "Carolina".
If this night was any indication, the train trip is going to be a hell of a ride.

If you want to help support Green Couch, you can do so at their IndieGoGo page; donations will grant you everything from a simple "thanks" to t-shirt to postcards from the road to associate producer credits for the film.
And, most exciting of all, if you're not on the train you'll be able to live vicariously through this blog. Because I will be. And I'm sure I'll be bringing updates from the rails, whenever possible.

beekeeper @ Media Club -- 05/05/12

A couple months removed from the release of their latest 7", beekeeper returned home and gathered some friends to swarm the Media Club for their official release party.

Starting off the night was Fine Times, with a strong synthy-pop sound (one member even had a tower of keyboards almost as tall as he was). While the set started off a bit slow, they picked up momentum as they went, songs getting more and more catchy. Despite the awkward pauses and silence between songs -- and general lack of stage presence -- they put together a pretty entertaining set and I wouldn't mind catching them again sometime.

Next up was the first -- and likely last -- show from Brother Act, a band consisting of a few familiar faces. Led by David Vertesi and Shad, and backed by Devon Lougheed, Peter Carruthers, and Johnny Andrews, their set was brief, with only four song set of sloppy garage rock and purposefully rough vocals from Vertesi; a real contrast to his usually smooth baritone. With fun titles like "Men In Love Are Like Old People Trying To Use Computers" and smiles plastered over all the musicians faces, you could tell they were having a blast on stage, and that enthusiasm was definitely picked up by the crowd.

Next up was The Belle Game, the six members -- seven, when joined by Andrew Lee on trumpet -- crammed onto the Media Club stage for a set of mostly new material. The new songs definitely had their usual grandiose sound, but also showed growth from the band. Highlights included an amazing showcase of Andrea Lo's powerful voice, "River", and "Sabbath" which had a little bit of Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River" snuck in. Another new one was spontaneously renamed "Denim and Leather" and the band ended with a couple familiar songs, "Left This Place" and "Sleep to Grow", which built to an explosive ending.

And finally, wrapping up the night was the sometimes incomprehensible, often catchy, and always fun beekeeper. The trio of Devon Lougheed, Luke Cyca, and Brandi Sidoryk have a great, high energy (with Devon jumping around so much he had to enlist the audience to borrow a belt) and their songs are rarely straightforward; not going just from point A to point B, but rather following Devon's manic energy all over the map. Songs like "Table and Bed" and "Pinwheel Revolution" both have halting, alternating or even overlapping vocals and "Pets Eat Their Masters" showcases the band's 90s influence.
Other highlights from the set include the title track for the new 7", "Take Me Back (To The Place)" which name drops some Vancouver landmarks, and the finale to the set, where they asked for as many people as possible to jump on stage for a giant "family photo", something Devon mentioned they had been doing on their previous tour, and couldn't wait to try it out at home.

And the "family" theme was pretty fitting for the night. With a lot of familiar faces both on stage and in the crowd supporting their friends, there was a lot of love and friendship buzzing through the room, and that made for a fun night of music.