Wide Mouth Mason @ The Roxy -- November 30, 2023

A couple months ago, iconic Canadian blues rockers Wide Mouth Mason released their latest album, Late Night Walking. They then hit the road, with a run of Canadian dates that including a show in Vancouver at... the Roxy.

With no opening band for the evening, Shaun Verreault and Safwan Javed hit the stage, joined by bassist Reed Shimozawa, to start off with “Habitual” and from there ran through their deep catalogue. From my favourites off the new album, like “Unshoot a Gun” and gritted-teeth bitterness of “You Pushed Me” to classics like “Smile” and “Why”, which had the bar singing along.

Throughout the set, Shaun switched back and forth between guitars and pedal steel, showing off his “Tri-Slide” technique (joking that when playing, one hand looked like Edward Scissorhands, and the other like C3PO), and often songs burst into solos and jams, where Shaun could prove himself as one of the best guitarist in the country, hands down.

Other highlights included “Sugarcane”, which features a little bit of the Stones’ “You Can't Always Get What You Want” slipped in, and “This Mourning”, which surprisingly had a little bit of Blackstreet's “No Diggity”; as well as the softer “Long Distance Love”, an older song that Verreault wrote while going cross country on a train, and re-recorded for the new album.

The trio brought the main set to an “end” with the gloomy “Midnight Rain” and a huge blues jam “Mary Mary”, but (thankfully) didn't bother with performative encore. Shaun just asked the crowd to pretend they went away for a moment and came back, before finishing off with another old favourite, the raucous “My Old Self”.

Even though I've seen Shaun play some solo shows over the past few years, it had been nearly ten years(!) since I last saw Wide Mouth Mason live. And in that time, they hadn’t lost a step, having as much energy as ever, refining their sound.
Before the show I was thinking that they are one of the longest running bands I’ve consistently been a fan of (as opposed to other bands from the 90s, which I’ve kind of fallen off & stopped following) and this show was a great example of why.

setlist
Habitual
You Pushed Me
Bodies in Motion
Every Red Light
Only Child
Unshoot a Gun
Smile
Long Distance Love
Why
Get a Hold Of You
This Mourning
Companion (Lay Me Down)
Obvious
Minus Two Minutes
Sugarcane
Midnight Rain
Mary Mary
("encore")
My Old Self

Tim Baker @ St. James Community Square -- Nov 24, 2023

With the release of his recent EP Along the Mountain Road, a companion to last year’s The Festival, Tim Baker announced a string of solo shows across the country, including a pair of Vancouver shows at St. James Community Square. Both sold out almost instantly, surprising no one, and I was incredibly excited to see the former Hey Rosetta! frontman in the former church, a gorgeous venue that I hadn’t seen a show at in something like ten years.

Opening the show was Matt Holubowski, the singer from Hudson, Quebec alone on stage with just an acoustic guitar, strumming while his captivating voice filled the room.

Highlights of his set included the gentle “Around Here” and “Dawn”, a song inspired by Homer’s Odyssey. He mentioned part way through the set that some of the acoustic songs sounded a bit different than on the album, punctuating that by telling a story about getting the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra to perform on his latest album, Like Flowers on a Molten Lawn, then launching into “Sandy Cove”.

He finished off his set with an ethereal song, “Exhale/Inhale”, and I doubt I was the only person in the room to think I needed to listen to that latest album as soon as I could.

It wasn’t long before Tim Baker took the stage, starting off with a new (I think), Christmas-y song on the grand piano, before switching to keyboard for “Pilgrims” and then “Songbirds” on guitar. He jumped between instruments for the rest of the show, while chatting with the rapt audience, telling the stories behind the songs, or just joking around.
And the audience was so attentive, that even when joining in on songs — a low rumble of feet hitting the floor, or softly singing along with the chorus of “Someday” — it may have seemed quiet or timid, but I think it was more that everyone was just in reverence of the St. John’s singer.

Baker played mostly from his solo albums, from the upbeat “The Shield”, to the incredibly crushing “Eighteenth Hole” performed beautifully on the piano, and even the looped beats of “Jungle Suite”, which allowed Baker to dance a little, showing off his best lounge singer and soft-shoe moves on stage. But he also broke out a few Hey Rosetta! tunes, quipping he’d play “old songs in ways no one ever asked to hear them”; the banjo came out for one of my favourite deep cuts, “Red Song” as well as “Kintsukuroi”, and a jaunty version of “Red Heart” saw him playing the keyboard with one hand, and grand piano with the other(!)

After a rousing “All Hands”, the crowd gave a standing ovation, and he returned, appropriately enough, with “Don’t Let Me Go Yet”. Finally, he capped off the evening with literal bells on, for the holiday song, “Carry Me Home”.

Tim Baker has an effortless charisma and charm, which often comes through in his shows with a full band, but that was never more apparent than during this solo show. Alone on stage, in an intimate venue, with an enchanted audience, made for an incredible night.

setlist
[new song]
Pilgrims
Songbirds
Someday
The Shield
New Key
Eighteenth Hole
[new song]
Red Song
Kintsukuroi
Red Heart
Dance
Jungle Suite
Pools
All Hands
encore
Don't Let Me Go Yet
Carry Me Home

The New Pornographers @ Commodore Ballroom -- November 14, 2023

Earlier this year, The New Pornographers released their ninth(!) studio album, Continue As A Guest, and have hit the road to celebrate, with a stop at their old stomping grounds, the legendary Commodore Ballroom.

The band hit the stage with Carl Newman simply declaring “We're from here!” before going into “Marie and the Undersea” from the new album. Kathryn Calder’s incredible vocals drove the song, harmonizing with Newman and Nora O’Connor (substituting for the missing Neko Case).

From there they continued into a hour-and-a-half set that spanned their entire oeuvre. From the smooth groove of “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies” and self proclaimed ‘weirdo psyche country number’ title track “Continue As A Guest”, to the explosive energy of “Dancehall Domine” and the dizzying “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism”.

A few times throughout the set we were treated with an appearance from Dan Bejar (a benefit of the group’s Vancouver shows: even when Dan isn’t touring with them, he often drops in). First for “Ballad of a Comeback Kid” and then later for “Testament to Youth in Verse”, building to the grandiose finish with the crowd joining in on the chorus of “No No No”.

They were also joined by Macie Stewart from the opening band Finom, accompanying on violin for a few songs. Including an absolutely gorgeous version of the already-heartbreaking “Adventures in Solitude”, starting gentle with Calder’s fragile vocals before swelling to a swirling climax.

After a pair of raucous, crowd-favourites — “Use It” and “Mass Romantic” — the main set came to a close… though before they even left, Carl joked “You know how these things work.” And so of course, mere moments later they were back for more. The encore included a couple of my favourites, starting with Bejar out one last time for “Myriad Harbour” and then capping the night off with both members of Finom joining on “The Bleeding Heart Show”. From the soaring vocals to the phenomenal drums, it’s not just one of my favourite New Pornos songs, but among my top songs of all time.

The New Pornographers were one of my “entry” bands into the world of Canadian indie rock, nearly 20 years ago now. I’ve seen them play more than a dozen times, and even with the various personnel changes, they always put on an incredibly fun show, and last night was no different.

setlist
Marie and the Undersea
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
The Laws Have Changed
Really Really Light
Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile
Ballad of a Comeback Kid
Cat and Mouse With the Light
All the Old Showstoppers
Continue as a Guest
Adventures in Solitude
The Jessica Numbers
Last and Beautiful
Champions of Red Wine
Pontius Pilate's Home Movies
Angelcover
Dancehall Domine
Testament to Youth in Verse
Use It
Mass Romantic
(encore)
Myriad Harbour
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
The Bleeding Heart Show

The Beaches @ Orpheum Theatre -- November 12, 2023

Hot off the release of their second full-length album Blame My Ex -- and a featured spot at The Jonas Brothers concert the previous night (no, really) -- The Beaches returned to Vancouver for a sold out show at the Orpheum.

Unfortunately I missed the opener, Beach Weather, arriving just before the members of The Beaches, Jordan Miller, Kylie Miller, Leandra Earl, and Eliza Enman-McDaniel, hit the stage. They kicked off the set hard with three of my favourites; “Kismet” off the new album, before ramping into the gritty “T-Shirt”, and the frenetic “Me & Me”, another of my picks from Blame My Ex.

From there, they barely slowed down for the next hour-plus, their infectious energy pouring off the stage as the lights behind them danced to their catchy alt-rock. Even on the downbeat songs like “If A Tree Falls”, the entire theatre was rapt by Jordan Miller’s voice, and the band’s impeccable harmonies. Other highlights included the hard-hitting “Let’s Go”, “Everything is Boring” with its simmering intensity, and the sultry “My Body ft Your Lips”, which also featured a couple members of Beach Weather joining them onstage for the duet.

They finished off the main set with their latest smash, “Blame Brett”, and the entire crowd shouting the chorus. And when I say ‘singing along’, I mean the crowd was perfectly in sync with the song; a rare feat even in a small venue, let alone a sold out Orpheum, a testament to the song’s relatability (and catchiness). But of course, they were quickly back for another pair of songs, first “Edge of the Earth” before capping off the night with “Money”.

I've seen The Beaches a couple times before, but just as an opening act, and a free outdoor show. Both of which were great, but definitely paled in comparison to this night. Multiple times throughout the show, they expressed how excited they were to be playing the west coast in general, and the Orpheum specifically, and that excitement permeated through the sold out crowd for a really fun show, among the best I’ve seen this year.

setlist
Kismet
T-Shirt
Me & Me
Grow Up Tomorrow
My People
Desdemona
My Body ft Your Lips (ft Beach Weather)
Cigarette
Fascination
Back of My Heart
Shower Beer
If A Tree Falls
Kinkade
Want What You Got
Let’s Go
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid
Everything is Boring
Blame Brett
(encore)
Edge of the Earth
Money

Spencer Krug with Carey Mercer @ Fox Cabaret -- October 18, 2023

Hot off the release of a new album, I Just Drew This Knife, Spencer Krug returned to Vancouver alongside the album’s contributors, Eli Browning and Jordan Koop, for a rainy Wednesday evening show at the Fox Cabaret.

Opening the night was Krug's long-time friend, collaborator, and sometimes-bandmate, Carey Mercer, doing a solo set. Mercer started with a land acknowledgement -- and also acknowledging just everything going on in the world right now -- before delving into “Sound Travels From the Snow to the Dark”. From there he went through a selection of Frog Eyes songs, from the chaotic “Rainbow Stew” off the latest album The Bees, to “Bushels” from Tears of the Valedictorian, his distinctive voice filling the room.
Mercer also teased a few new songs, one which didn’t even have a name yet, as the growing crowd was rapt. One of the more attentive groups I've seen for an opener in some time.

Shortly after, Spencer Krug hit the stage alongside Browning & Koop, and kicked off with “God Knows Why This Is Where I Love You” from I Just Drew This Knife. They played just about the entire new album throughout the show, including the opener “Cry All Day”, their self-proclaimed weirdest, “Taxi After Taxi”, and “Nostalgia Is The Rose”, one of my highlights from the new release. Krug also slipped in a couple other songs from his recent solo albums, like “Slipping In and Out of Thee Pool” and “How We Have to Live”.

Throughout the show, Krug chatted with the crowd, sincerely thanking everyone for coming, but also self-deprecatingly joking he wasn’t a ‘guitar guy’ and admitting that, since the tour had just kicked off, this was only the second time the trio had played together onstage. And you would barely have noticed the fact... had it not been for a bit of a technical malfunction. Partway through the set, there was a catastrophic failure with the drum loops on the laptop, causing the set to come to a halt. But Krug eventually proclaimed “We’ll just fuckin’ figure it out” as they went into “Fading Graffiti” to continue on. There were a couple more hiccups with the laptop as the set went on, but the trio didn’t let it phase them too much, going through a few more from the new album, capping off my other favourite from the release, the soaring “Something About The Real World”.

I’ve seen plenty of shows before where things go wrong, and there are usually two things that will stop things from spiralling into disaster: the band keeping their cool, and the audience being patient. Luckily, this show had both of those in spades, so it only ended up a hiccup in the show. Krug didn’t let his frustrations affect the rest of the set, and everyone in that room was just happy to hear him play.

setlist
God Knows Why This Is Where I Love You
Cry All Day
Orcas
Taxi After Taxi
For Fear That Songs Come True
Slipping In and Out of Thee Pool
My Muscles Are Fine
Fading Graffiti
River River
How We Have to Live
Nostalgia Is The Rose
Love Song
Something About The Real World