Trans-Canada Highwaymen @ Commodore Ballroom -- June 06, 2026

Ten years ago, four icons of CanCon alt-rock got together to form Trans-Canada Highwaymen. After some on and off touring and the release of Explosive Hits Vol. 1 — covering some late 60s and 70s Canadian classics — Chris Murphy (Sloan), Craig Northey (Odds), Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies), and Moe Berg (the Pursuit of Happiness) finally made it to Vancouver. And nothing was going to stop me from seeing them (not even a high school reunion).

With no opener, Trans-Canada Highwaymen hit the stage as each member took turn on vocals, starting with Page doing BNL’s “It’s All Been Done”, Craig with “Someone Who’s Cool”, Moe taking over on “Hard to Laugh” and Chris not doing a Sloan song, but Michel Pagliaro’s “Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy”.

That set the stage for the rest of the show with the four members trading off vocals, harmonizing with each other, and rotating around the stage; Chris drummed for most of the night, but each member took their own turn at least once. As well as their own hits, they got some classic covers from their album, and the “Theme from Trans-Canada Highwaymen”, an autobiographical song about the start of the band. All four members were clearly having a ton of fun as they joked and laughed with the crowd, constantly needled not only each other between songs, but even people not on stage when Chris made up a Smugglers song on the spot once they confirmed Grant Lawrence was in the crowd. 

Other highlights were classics like Seven Page rocking “Undun” from The Guess Who and Moe channeling Lifehouse’s “Pretty Lady”. For their own tunes, the crowd was singing along with songs like “Underwhelmed”, the eternally catchy “Jane”, and “She’s So Young”. Near the end of the set, Odds’ “Make You Mad” segued into something of a CanCon Medley, with each member taking turns singing lines from iconic Canadian songs including (but not limited to) The Tragically Hip, 54-50, Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Barney Bentall, BTO, Chilliwack, Doug & The Slugs, and wrapping up with the Sleep Country Canada jingle. 

The main set came to an end with me getting chills as everyone sang along to one of my favourite songs, “Brian Wilson”,  but the band was back out for a couple more. First Andy Kim’s “Rock Me Gently”, before one more Sloan hit “The Rest of My Life” and the song Steven, Craig, and Chris all credited as opening the door for them on the radio, “I’m an Adult Now”.

Page then said that was normally the end of their set, but they had one special surprise for us, introducing Geoffrey Kelly from Spirit of the West as they had the entire commodore singing (and jumping) along to “Home for a Rest” for one of the most fun endings to a show I’ve seen.

One of my favourite ‘unique concert concepts’ is a supergroup getting together and playing a bunch of their individual songs together. I’ve been lucky to see that sort of show a few times, and it could be recency bias, but this was definitely my favourite. It was a great night spending two hours with some incredible musicians celebrating song amazing Canadian music.

setlist
It’s All Been Done (Barenaked Ladies)
Someone Who’s Cool (Odds)
Hard to Laugh (The Pursuit of Happiness)
Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy (Michel Pagliaro)
Theme from Trans-Canada Highwaymen
It Falls Apart (Odds)
Jane (Barenaked Ladies)
Pretty Lady (Lighthouse)
Underwhelmed (Sloan)
Undun (The Guess Who)
Tonight Is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love (April Wine)
She’s So Young (The Pursuit of Happiness)
The Other Man (Sloan)
The Old Apartment (Barenaked Ladies) 
Make You Mad (Odds)
CanCon Medley
Brian Wilson (Barenaked Ladies)
(Encore)
Rock Me Gently (Andy Kim)
The Rest of My Life (Sloan)
I’m an Adult Now (The Pursuit of Happiness)
Home for a Rest (Spirit of the West)

Spencer Krug @ St. James -- June 05, 2026

Last month, Spencer Krug released his latest album Same Fangs, and has been on a tour throughout western Canada, culminating with a show here in Vancouver. And as soon as it was announced at St. James Hall, I knew that was the absolute perfect venue to see the prolific singer do a solo piano show.

Opening the night was Elbow Kiss, who was also featured on Krug’s new album. They took the stage alone with an acoustic guitar, starting with “No Way Around” as their lovely voice drifted through the room. Between each song, they told brief stories as introductions, evoking Garry Oak Meadow on “Palm of Your Eye” and the strange manifestation of “Josephine”. They wrapped up with their latest single, “Blue Ember”, and one more transfixing song I didn’t catch the name of, for a wonderful set.

Soon after, Spencer Krug took a seat behind the grand piano on stage. He quipped about starting a show being the hardest part before launching into “The Fog”, his fingers flying over the piano while his howling vocals filled the old church.

From there, he wove through his entire library, touching on releases under his own name like the piano variation of “How We Have to Live”, to when he was Moonface with the powerful intensity of “Barbarian I” and its sequel, and back through a few Sunset Rubdown tunes like “Us Ones In Between”. He even reworked the old Wolf Parade song “I’ll Believe in Anything”, giving it a heart wrenching piano version for its renewed popularity.

Near the end of the set, Elbow Kiss joined him for a few songs off Same Fangs, their voices intertwining beautifully on “Berserker Mode” and playing off each other on the gorgeous “Pinecone King”.

At that point, Krug noted it would be a great time for the encore, jokingly running behind the curtain and immediately reappearing for a pair of my favourites from any of his projects; first the haunting “City Wrecker” and then “Julia With Blue Jeans On”, which always floors me live, but even more so in this venue, as it built to a tear-inducing finish.

As the set was wrapping up, Krug self-effacingly cracked that he was always shocked people watch a man at a piano for so long. But I could’ve watched him play all night, and I don’t think I was the only one. For the whole show, the crowd was completely rapt; silent during each song and then exploding with applause once the final note drifted away, and giving a well deserved ovation once the show was done.

setlist
The Fog
My Puppeteer
How We Have to Live
Fast Peter
Barbarian I
Barbarian II
The Shadow
Us Ones in Between
A Day in the Graveyard II
I’ll Believe in Anything
Timebomb
Berserker Mode
Pinecone King 
”Encore”
City Wrecker
Julia with Blue Jeans On

Francis Baptiste @ Green Auto Pop Up Stage -- May 16, 2026

Last night, Francis Baptiste threw his long awaited album release show in celebration of last year’s Lived Experience in East Vancouver, as he hit the Green Auto popup stage with support from some hand picked local acts.

?NUMB?DAME? was already on stage when I got to Green Auto, swinging from the chaotic “i LOVE LESBiANS (Lesbian Lover)” to the (relatively) calmer emo bop “Goddess of the Moon Tattoo”, as well as an almost spoken word song in support of Palestine. The trio almost never took their collective feet off the gas before somehow cranking it up even more as the set ended with a screaming intensity of “GOOD LUCK (is for suckers)”.

Next up was Cara Bateman, bursting out of the blocks loud and fast with some more punk vibes, even while declaring “Punk is Dead”. She hopped off the stage to dance with the crowd for the first few songs, before talking about how she liked to change genres frequently and going into a couple grungier songs, telling the story of when “Joe Rogan Broke Up My Relationship”. Then she capping off the set with a slower piano balled, “I Wrote This for You” as she sat on the edge of the stage with her R&B-tinged vocals filling the room.

Following her was Vancouver’s self described #1 drag musician, Dust Cwaine, bringing a big energy as they started off with “Brooklyn” and weaved through some songs from their recent album Twin Lakes, from the incredibly catchy “Burn After Reading” to the heart wrenching “Take My Stories”. They also dipped back in their catalogue for the nostalgia-soaked “90’s Darling”, only causing me a little psychic damage when they asked who doesn’t remember that decade, and a good portion of the room cheered.
Part way through the set, Dust lead a singalong to Smash Mouth’s “All Star”, joking that anyone who doesn’t know the words needs to leave until the next set, before wrapping up with the T4T love song “Little Plans”.

And finally it was time for the man of the hour, Francis Baptiste, who took the stage backed by Rob Thomson on bass and Max Ley on drums, and exclaimed he was going to start at the end and launched into the final track of the album, “Mistakes for Two”. From there Francis ran through songs like the hard hitting “Locked in for Life” and ripping guitar on “Whole Wide World”, as he told stories about his past addictions and how they formed songs like “How Long is the Winter” and talking about being a single dad, lighting up every time he mentioned his son was in the room tonight to see him play.

After going back to his debut album Snəqsilxʷ (Family) for “River’s End”, he wrapped up the set by mentioning all the people he couldn’t get on stage who worked on the album, as the orchestral swells played on the backing tracks for the gorgeous “Kid on the Block” fittingly ending the set with the first song of the album.

I’ve been meaning to catch Francis play live since his album came out, so I was happy for a belated album release show, and especially that it was such a fun night with an eclectic selection of Vancouver bands!

Arkells City Takeover: Vancouver -- May 07 - 09, 2026

To celebrate their brand new album, Between Us, Arkells decided to stage a Western Canadian takeover with nine intimate shows in three cities; Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. They kicked it off with the very first venue they ever played here, The Penthouse (yes, that Penthouse), with another show at the Hollywood Theatre, and then the first venue I saw them play, the Commodore Ballroom (though, I’m sure they didn’t choose it for that reason specifically).

I wanted to make the hat trick of shows, but night two conflicted with Holy Fuck at the Pearl, so had a little Arkells sandwich, staring with:

Night One: The Penthouse

Opening the show for the first night was Ernesto Barahona, the ‘trombone DJ’. He promised to hype up the crowd with some party jams as he DJ’d a set that spanned from soul classics like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” to modern hits “Where Is My Husband!”. But the twist lied where every few songs he would bust out the trombone to play along. He also had the crowd singing along with “Psycho Killer” before ending the set with the biggest singalong to “Mr. Brightside”. It was a very fun opening set, especially in a venue like the Penthouse, with my only quibble being I wish he had played along on trombone to more of the songs.

After a brief break, and the owner of the Penthouse coming out to thank everyone for coming, “People Get Ready” by The Impressions blast over the speakers and the lights flashed red, transitioning first into a train crossing noise, and then “Next Summer” as Max Kerman, Mike DeAngelis, Anthony Carone, Nick Dika, and Tim Oxford took the stage.

They ran through the entire new album Between Us front to back, with highlights including the infinitely catchy “What Good?”, “Money” which had Max throwing Arkell Bucks out into the crowd (sadly, no one tried to tuck them back into his shirt), and the heartfelt “Desire’s Got Some Questions”

As ever, Max was an unstoppable force of energy, bounding around the stage, spinning around the pole, and even jumping into the crowd for “Ride”. Mike also made use of the catwalk, strutting up to shred on his guitar, but Anthony was the only other member to come forward, just for a brief moment at the end for a spin. Max also made sure to pause and tell the story of the first time they played in Vancouver, in that very room, not even realising it was a strip club until they were on stage & Max saw the pole.

There was a nice moment when, during “Two Hearts” Max noticed a couple people making a ‘hearts exploding’ hand gesture, and when the song ended he grabbed someone’s phone to get a video, getting the band to replay the chorus so everyone could mime along, as he hoped it would catch on.

Near the end of the album, Ernesto was back out to join on trombone for “What’s On Your Mind” and the album wrapped up with the ethereal “Escape Door” before a quick intermission from the band.

The second half of the night was a set of Arkells classics, starting off with the explosive “Come to Light” and not slowing down. They hit songs from their entire career, from the titular “Michigan Left” up to “Skin” off Laundry Pile, and even a deep cuts they haven’t played in a decade, “Coffee”.

Max introduced “And Them Some” as the most romantic song ever played in a strip club, before telling the story about how many people contact them saying it was the first dance at their wedding, then when he found out some people in the room used it as theirs, he got everyone to make some space on the floor so they could have another dance.

After the incendiary “Whistleblower” and a massive singalong to “Leather Jacket”, Max threw back to the first time they were on that stage, with hands down my favourite Arkells song, “John Lennon”, as the raw emotion pouring off the stage — and reciprocated, from the crowd joining in.

And of course what would an Arkells show be without a cover, as the wrapped up the night with The Boss’ “Dancing in the Dark”, Max once more wading into the crowd to sing with the packed room.

The band thanked everyone as “Pony” by Ginuwine filled the room, and despite the crowd chanting for one more song, it was clear they had left it all on stage already.
(And as someone that wants to normalize no more encores, good for them!)

Night Three: Commodore Ballroom

Ernesto once again opened the show with the same trombone DJ set, before the “People Get Ready” intro and Arkells came out to play through Between Us in full. They hit some of the same notes, Max wading out into the crowd for “Ride” and passing out their Arkell Bucks for “Money”, but also some new twists. A young girl joining them on stage for the latter, and thanks to their socials, the hand gesture for “Two Hearts” had already taken off. And being at the Commodore, they had more room to flex, musically and literally as Max used every inch of the stage. He also made sure to tell the sold out crowd how lucky we are to have the venue, and how much the band loves playing it.

Like with the Penthouse, there was a quick intermission after the album and they were back for a set of classics, starting off with another they hadn’t played in a decade, “Fake Money”. Incredibly, the second half of the night was almost entirely different across all three shows as they delved through their whole history, from “Past Life” off Blink Twice to a special version of Michigan Left’s “On Paper”, which started with the slow and moody ‘In the Dark’ version before bursting with energy.

Other highlights including the explosive “Relentless”, and the killer one-two punch of an old favourite “Oh, The Boss is Coming!” with everyone yelling along, and somehow upping the energy with “Knocking On The Door” as Ernesto rejoined them on trombone.

Their cover for the night was the Talking Heads classic “Life During Wartime”, and after a raucous “You Can Get It”, they took their leave, but the crowd was eager for more, even chanting “we’re not leaving”, which happened the previous night at the Hollywood as well. And so most of the band took back to the stage, except for Max who snuck out the side door and stood on one of the tables for an acoustic beginning to “Leather Jacket”, singing the first verse completely unamplified with the crowd joining in, only for the band to kick back in and Max to run back on stage, ending the night with a bang.

The last few times I’ve seen Arkells have been arena shows, and as much as they deliver in those big stages, there’s nothing like seeing one of Canada’s best live bands play one of Canada’s best venues (and also a strip club). They could have easily booked another big arena show and been done with it, but this city takeover created something special for the fans.

Commodore Setlist
Next Summer
What Good?
Ride
Money
Imagine Barcelona
Desire’s Got Some Questions
Universe Talking
Two Hearts
What’s On Your Mind
Rumour
Escape Door
[intermission]
Fake Money
Past Life
Relentless
Oh, the Boss Is Coming!
Knocking At The Door Ernesto
American Screams
Life During Wartime [Talking Heads cover]
Only For A Moment
On Paper
You Can Get It
(encore)
Leather Jacket

Penthouse Setlist
Next Summer
What Good?
Ride
Money
Imagine Barcelona
Desire’s Got Some Questions
Universe Talking
Two Hearts
What’s On Your Mind
Rumour
Escape Door
[intermission]
Come to Light
Michigan Left
People’s Champ
One Thing I Know
And Then Some
Coffee
Skin
Dirty Blonde
Whistleblower
Leather Jacket
John Lennon
Dancing in the Dark [Bruce Springsteen cover]

Holy Fuck @ The Pearl -- May 08, 2026

The last time I saw Toronto’s electronica band Holy Fuck live, I quipped that I hoped it wouldn’t be another seven years before I saw them again. The good news? It wasn’t seven. The bad news? It was nine. So when they released their new album Event Beat, I was thrilled to catch them on their return to Vancouver, at The Pearl.

Opening the night was Canterbury band Memorials, and while I only caught the last couple songs, the duo of Verity Susman & Matthew Simms had a high energy, experimental pop sound. The room was already packed with people dancing, and from what I heard they seemed like an excellent choice as opener.

After a quick (and busy) turnaround, it was time for Holy Fuck, with Matt ‘Punchy’ McQuaid & Matt Schulz on bass & drums, respectively, and Brian Borcherdt & Graham Walsh on literally everything else including (but not limited to) keys, synth, vocals, and pulling 35mm film through an old synchronizer.

The band kicked off with the intense beat of “Evie” off the new album, as they played in front of projected live footage from the show, sometimes distorted visions of them head on, and sometimes from the top-down camera’s above Brian and Graham’s gear, as if to prove they were playing live, which is the magic of the band. Everything heard in the venue is being done in the moment, as Brian and Graham especially are working their complex setups like mad scientists. At multiple points, Borcherdt grabbed a dinner knife to use on (I think) a lap steel guitar.

Their set weaved through songs old and new, with highlights being “Luxe” which grew to an intense finish and the ethereal “Elevate”, as the band let the music do the talking. They only pausing only a couple times for a quick thank you, letting the soul-thumping bass filled the room, the reverb-drenched vocals treated almost like an additional instrument instead of the focus, layering into the complex beats.

The main set drew to a close with a killer combo; one of my all time favourite songs “Lovely Allen” had a smile plastered over my face as it weaved through the soaring highs and lows of the song (and I wasn’t even the one who shouted “play it again!” before they finished). That lead to the otherworldly “Tom Tom”, with its renewed popularity thanks to it being the theme for the Flaxan army in Invincible, and then finally bringing the main set to a crashing close with the driving “Red Lights”.

There were still a few minutes before curfew though, so of course they were back for a couple more, Brian thanking everyone for showing up and dancing as hard as they were, as they played a couple more that erupted into distortion for a wild finish.

It’s always incredible to see Holy Fuck work their magic live, and I already can’t wait to see them again.