Tim Baker @ Commodore -- 06/01/19

When Hey Rosetta! broke up a few years back, to say I was sad was an understatement. They were among my favourites, and always blew me away with their live shows. A few times even overshadowing the band they were opening for. So when frontman Tim Baker announced his solo album Forever Overhead, and subsequent Vancouver stop on his tour, I was equal parts excited (for the new music) and nervous (it wouldn’t live up to the full band).

Sadly I missed both opening acts, Titus Calderbank and Charlotte Cornfield, getting to the Commodore just before Tim Baker took the stage, joined by his backing band. He started off on the piano with a couple songs from the new album, including the melancholic “Dance”, before jumping to guitar, and even banjo, rotating through the three instruments throughout the night. His unmatched voice went from emotionally fragile lows to passionate soaring highs on songs like “Pools” and the absolutely heartwrenching piano-driven lament “The Eighteenth Hole”. Baker also brought out some Hey Rosetta! favourites, with stripped down versions of “Welcome”, which sent chills throughout, even without everyone singing along; the breathtaking “Bandages”; and the deep cut “Red Song”.

Near the end of the set he invited a few people on stage for the appropriately named “All Hands”, including Charlotte Cornfield, members of Yukon Blonde & Said the Whale, and Dan Mangan, who all lent their pipes to backup vocals — Mangan even taking over for a verse. Baker joked that for some reason, they still had a song after that, ending the main set with “Don’t Let Me Go Yet”, another apt song which was written in the waning days of Hey Rosetta.

Of course, he was out for the encore moments later, taking the piano once again for “Two Mirrors”, which featured one of my favourite (but weirdly specific and somewhat rare) things to see live. Halfway through the song, Baker lost his place simply because he was so surprised at the audience singing along. The song was so new, and it had never happened before, he said, before quickly regained himself and nailing the rest of the song. Finally, he finished off with another gorgeous Hey Rosetta, song, “A Thousand Suns”, before once again thanking us for coming, visibly overwhelmed by everyone’s support.

But, that support did not end there, as the crowd was relentless, continuing to clap and cheer and stomp (and I think a few people even singing) which prompted what I think was a rare legitimate encore. Baker came back on stage, alone at first, for the perennial favourite “Red Heart” before being joined by everyone else that was on stage that night, singing along for a moment I won’t be sure to forget any time soon.

Any worries I had about Tim Baker not living up to the Hey Rosetta live shows were almost immediately quashed, and this show is bound to be one of my favourites & most memorable come the end of the year.

setlist
Dance
Strange River
Hideaway
Kintsukuroi
Spirit
Pools
Welcome
The Eighteenth Hole
Red Song
Bandages
Our Team 
All Hands
Don’t Let Me Go Yet
(encore)
Two Mirrors
A Thousand Suns
(real encore)
Red Heart

Spencer Krug @ The Lido -- 05/02/19

One of my favourite shows in 2016 was a super intimate show from Moonface at a bar two blocks from my house, The Lido. Jump ahead 3 years, after the release of his latest album -- and now just going under his own name -- Spencer Krug returned to The Lido to kick off his tour.

Accompanying him was Light Conductor, the duo of Jace Lasek (Besnard Lakes) and Stephen Ramsay (Young Galaxy) joined by a third member, whose name I didn't catch -- in fact they didn't say anything, up to and including the name of their band, until a single "thanks" at the very end.
Their moody synths were very fitting with the psychedelic background projections The Lido usually has, as their instrumental washed over the growing crowd. Almost entirely instrumental, with very few breaks between songs and picking up intensity as they went. Just a I thought the set was going to go on too long for their type of instrumental, they shifted gears and, with a few lights that changed exactly on the beat, pulled out some guitars and for a song with all three chiming in on vocals.
It seemed the perfect music to listen to through headphones, close your eyes, and just drift off into space (how altered your state is while doing this is up to you).

Not long after, Spencer Krug took a seat behind the piano and launched into a new song (that you can find on his Patreon) called "Fading Graffiti". From there he played a range from brand new ones, to the latest Moonface album, to old favourites, and even a few other treats like the Sunset Rubdown song "Us Ones In Between".
His distinct voice and gorgeous piano transfixed the crowd packed in the back of The Lido, with highlights including a stripped down version of “Yesterday's Fire”, one of the songs from his collaboration with Siinai; the intense one-two combo of “Barbarian” and “Barbarian II”; the haunting “City Wrecker”, and the absolutely heartbreaking "Julia With Blue Jeans On", one of my favourites, which ended the main set.
But he was drawn back out by the crowd, mentioned that his pal and collaborator Dan Bejar was in the crowd somewhere* and dedicated the Swan Lake song "All Fires" to him to end off the night.
*(just before this, I had noticed he was standing right next to me and was trying to keep my cool)

Unfortunately, as much as I like The Lido, it has a bit of a dark side as a music venue. Since it is still very much a small(ish) bar, and the shows there are usually free, you have the section in the back packed with people at attention, but then also... the rest of the bar. Throughout the set you could hear chattering from the other side of room, as well as the usual bar sounds of glasses clinking and cash being thrown around. To the point where Krug even mentioned and joked about it, and went to far as to apologise.

BUT, with all that aside, it was still a great show. It was intimate and beautiful, and I wouldn’t hesitate to see him there (or anywhere, really) again.

setlist
Fading Graffiti
Yesterday's Fire
Barbarian
Barbarian II
River River
The Cave
Us Ones In Between
[New Song]
Minotaur Forgiving Knossos
Running In Place With Everyone
City Wrecker
Julia With Blue Jeans On
(encore)
All Fires

Metric & July Talk @ Pacific Coliseum -- 04/18/19

I’ve said before that it’s hard to get me out to an arena show, and someone must have heard that and accepted the challenge, because I wasn't going to miss the combination of Metric and July Talk at any venue. Especially after they added Murray A Lightburn to the bill for what I had (probably ad nauseam) been calling the best three-act bill I had seen in a long time.

Murray A Lightburn was out first, taking the stage with just his guitar under a single light. It was kind of surreal seeing a singer for The Dears on this type of stage, only weeks after seeing him do the same at The Fox, but...

Starting with "Belleville Blues", Lightburn playing a short set of acoustic material, both his solo songs from the latest album Hear Me Out, like the gorgeous “Centre of my Universe”, as well as a few Dears songs, like the powerfully emotional "There Goes My Outfit" from Gang of Losers.
After joking that he hoped he wasn't boring the audience -- the growing crowd responded with a supportive cheer -- he finished off the set with "Fan Fiction (Ballad of a Genius)" which he made sure to point out was NOT autobiographical, and then "When They See Me", which was.
From a selfish point-of-view, I would rather see him play at venues like The Fox any time, but he somehow translated that intimate performance on to the big stage.

Next up was July Talk, who were under a large, inflated, illuminated moon balloon, and behind a giant, circular projection screen (also a moon at times, but used to play video clips as well). Leah Fay gave the introduction, acknowledging they're on unceded territory, and thanking everyone for being there.
They started the set off with a bang, first with "Headsick", then going right into "Guns + Ammunition", getting the crowd to “woo-hoo-hoo” along with them. The whole band has a fantastic stage presence, but especially the chemistry between Leah and Peter Dreimanis. Not only how their sweet + sour voices intertwine, but their playful interactions on stage. The way they interact and bounce off each other (sometimes literally) is off the charts.
They also got the crowd involved, getting people to sing along to “Summer Dress”, and during a new song — introduced as being about toxic masculinity (I think called “Pay For it”) — Fay went right up to the crowd and sang to the people up front. And that wasn’t the only new song, as they previewed a few, including a more upbeat sounding — if not lyrically — “The News”.
As they brought the set to an end, they somehow managed to ramp up the energy even more, with the raw intensity of “Beck + Call”; one of my favourites, the steamy "Lola + Joseph"; and finally the haunting “Push + Pull”.
I could have left right then and been completely satisfied with the evening, but if anyone could successfully follow July Talk...

... it would be Metric. The set started off with a dark stage, only a single, thin LED strip with smoke, creating an appropriate effect for a song entitled "Twilight Galaxy". Unfortunately there was a bit of an awkward pause after the first song, as I believe they had to deal with some technical issues with a guitar... but they got the momentum back with the dance-y "Synthetica".
As usual, Emily Haines was a dynamo on stage, hardly standing still, her incredible voice ringing through the arena, and I always seem to forget just how good Jimmy Shaw is on guitar, to say nothing of Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key on bass & drums. Highlights from the set included songs from the new album, like the title track “Art of Doubt” and the bombastic “Dressed to Suppress", as well as older favourites like “Gimme Sympathy”, which got every last person in the stands on their feet, and the frenetic “Gold Guns Girls” which ended off the main set.
They returned for the encore, Emily, James, and Joshua standing shoulder to shoulder at the front of the stage to go into "Dark Saturday" before ripping through a few all-time hits, like "Monster Hospital"; one of my personal favourites, The Clash At Demonhead “cover” of "Black Sheep"; and "Help, I'm Alive", which once again had the arena singing along. That could have ended off the set, but they still had one left in the proverbial tank, leaving the arena with "Now Or Never Now" off the new album.

Going in to the show, I was very excited, and everything pretty much lived up to my expectations. Both Metric and July Talk are among the most high-energy bands working and absolutely felt at home on the stage. Plus it was a great joy to hear the more stripped-down Lightburn in a setting like that as well.

Metric setlist
Twilight Galaxy
Synthetica
Risk
Breathing Underwater
Art of Doubt
No Lights on the Horizon
Cascades
Dress to Suppress
Love is a Place
Underline the Black
Gimme Sympathy
Sick Muse
Gold Guns Girls
(encore)
Dark Saturday
Monster Hospital
Black Sheep
Help, I'm Alive
Now Or Never Now

July Talk setlist
Headsick
Guns + Ammunition
Now I Know
Pay For It[??]
Summer Dress
Still Sacred Can Fall[??]
The News
Pretender
The Garden
Touch
Beck + Call
Lola + Joseph
Picturing Love
Push + Pull

Murray A Lightburn setlist
Belleville Blues
Centre of my Universe
I Give Up
Ticket to Immortality
There Goes my Outfit
Fan Fiction (Ballad of a Genius)
When They See Me

Murray A Lightburn @ Fox Cabaret -- 03/07/19

If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you may know that The Dears are one of my all-time favourite bands. So of course I was looking forward to seeing singer Murray A Lightburn, hot off his brand new album Hear Me Out, return to Vancouver for a solo acoustic show at the Fox Cabaret.

Opening the night were a couple local acts, starting with Sam Lynch, who first took the stage alone with her guitar before being joined by Steph Chatman on violin. Her voice lilted over her soft, singer-songwriter vibes, and while some of the songs kind of had a similar feel to them, the standout of the set was the last song, which I didn’t catch the name of, but had a bit more intensity than the rest.

Next up was Jenny Banai, who I've been meaning to see perform for a while. With a darker, alt-folk sound, a lot of her songs simmered with intensity as her voice burst through. Highlights included the title track for her upcoming album, "Couch Walker", and "Water" building to an intense ending, with Banai's vocals looping over themselves. She also finished with another brand new song, which had me looking forward to the new album.

It wasn't long after when a besuited Murray A Lightburn approached a single microphone at the front of the stage, acoustic guitar in hand, and started with the gorgeous "Bellville Blues" from the new album. I've always thought Lightburn has one of the most powerful, emotion-filled voices in Canada, and it was immediately apparent on songs like heartfelt "Centre of the Universe" and "Anew".
The intimate evening also featured Murray telling a few short stories behind some of the songs, mixing in his self-deprecating humour with picks from not only his solo albums, but also a few favourites from The Dears catalogue ("favourites" being code for "the easy ones" he joked). "Lights Off" and “Ticket To Immortality” gained new life stripped down acoustically, and he poured his heart out on "Warm and Sunny Days" before shifting back to solo material, bringing the main set to a close with “When They See Me".
After making the audience work for it, he was back out for a couple more, starting with the backstory to “Whites Only Party”, where it was suggested he change the name, but Murray thought it was too funny to change — doing something others perceive as ill-advised because you think it’s amusing is something I can deeply relate to. And then capping off the night with one that ranks high on my nebulous "favourite songs" list, the heartrendingly powerful "You And I Are A Gang Of Losers". From the opening chords, I had a huge smile plastered on my face, and as Murray belted out the chorus there may have been a tear or two.

I couldn’t think of a better way to end the night, and before Murray left the stage, he thanked everyone profusely for coming. He was clearly extremely grateful for everyone showing up, and by the reaction from everyone in the room, the feeling was more than mutual.

setlsit
Belleville Blues
Centre of My Universe
Anew
I Give Up
There Goes My Outfit
Ticket to Immortality
Lights off
Warm and Sunny Days
Mass:Light
Fan Fiction (Ballad of a Genius)
When They See Me
(encore)
Whites Only Party
You and I Are a Gang of Losers

PHOTOS: Partner, Dude York @ Fox Cabaret - February 20, 2019

Partner, Dude York
Fox Cabaret
February 20, 2019

Christine McAvoy Photography