The Protomen @ Rickshaw Theatre -- 10/05/18

If you’ve talked to me in the last week or so, there’s a good chance I’ve been spouting off how much I was looking forward to seeing The Protomen this weekend. The last (and only) time I had seen them was over three years ago, so I was eager for them to come back.
As you may have guessed from the name, the Nashville band is known for their rock operas loosely inspired by the Mega Man series, with an absolutely incredibly live show that was enough to bring me out to… let’s just say a venue that’s not quite my favourite to hear shows at.

After a couple openers I sadly missed, a man in a silver robotic mask named K.I.L.R.O.Y. took the stage to introduce the band and hype up the crowd, proclaiming The Protomen were here to fight for us, if we were here to fight for them (the audience raising their fists with a resounding ‘yes’). Everyone was already 100% into the show before the rest of the band even took the stage, let alone before they kicked off the set with “Hope Rides Alone”.
Introducing us to the year 200X, the song saw lead singer Raul Panther III donning a Proto Man-coloured helmet and arm cannon for the song, and he would later wear a similar Mega Man-inspired helmet for “The Will Of One”, to signify character changes in the narratives. Dealing with the conflict between Mega Man and the evil robots controlled by Dr. Wily (from their first, self-titled album) or the backstory of Dr. Wily and Dr. Light (the followup, Act II: Father of Death), the songs wove a narrative of a post-apocalyptic future controlled by the robots created by a madman, and how it came to be.

But, as I’ve said before, all the gimmicks in the world can’t help a band if they can’t back it up musically, and The Protomen absolutely brought it with their prog-tinged rock. The crowd chanted along as the chorus of ‘citizens’ on the powerfully emotional “Father of Death”, and “Hold Back The Night“, saw Gambler Kirkdouglas taking over vocals, her incredibly powerful voice filling the theatre.
The set also featured a couple new songs, teasing the long-awaited next chapter in the trilogy, which from the lyrics I could gleam seemed to be the triumphant return of Mega Man for a climactic battle? In any case, they seemed perfectly fitting for an epic third act to the story.

After the intensely tragic “The Fall”, they fittingly brought the main set to an end with a cover of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”. But it was obvious they would return, as the crowd chanted PRO-TO-MEN and K.I.L.R.O.Y. came back to introduce them once more, for an encore that somehow managed to surpass the energy of the last hour, both on and off stage. First with “This City Made Us” and finally ending with “Due Vendetta”, the crowd chanting along to the various evil robots named in the song.

Both times I’ve seen them play live now, the crowd has been among the most energetic, enthusiastic, and intense crowd I’ve seen, and the band clearly feeds off that energy and redirects it tenfold. No doubt this is going to be among my favourite shows by the end of the year, and I hope it won’t be another three years until the next time.

Royal Canoe w/ Begonia @ Fox Cabaret -- 9/18/18

A few months ahead of the release of their brand new album, Royal Canoe hit the road, with the first Canadian stop of the tour happening in Vancouver, at the Fox Cabaret.

Opening the night was fellow Winnipegger Begonia, who instantly captivated the room with her stellar vocals. She ranged from the soft and heartfelt “Hot Dog Stand” to the intense power on “Fear”, the title track for her upcoming album, and my favourite of the set.
Between songs, she was funny, charming, and a little self deprecating while chatting with the crowd, telling stories about the songs and how they came to be (especially before the aforementioned “Hot Dog Stand”). Other highlights included the infectious bass groove of “Juniper” and the soaring “Out Of My Head”, which ended the set.
If the crowd reaction was any indication, just about every single person in that room that did not know her before was an instant fan -- I overheard more than a few people around me as soon as it was over.

Not long after, the members of Royal Canoe took the stage one at a time to kick off with the distorted vocals and slow groove of "Nightcrawlin’”, for a set featuring old favourites and a preview of new tunes. “Rayz” -- the lead single from the upcoming album Waver – spotlighted the groups stellar harmonies, and another new one, “What’s Left In The River” built to an insane and chaotic ending.
They snuck a little bit of Nirvana’s “Lithium” into “Love You Like That”, and most of the packed theatre was singing along to the contemplative “Exodus of the Year” and the bombastic “Bathtubs”.
The set came to an end with “Lies”, another song that built to a swirling cacophonous finale. But they weren’t gone for long before returning, inviting Begonia back on stage for the song they released together last year, the funky dance-jam “Fussin’” to cap off the night.

I’ve said before (repeatedly) how Royal Canoe is one of my favourite bands to watch live, and even with the loss of one of their two drummers, they haven’t missed a beat. Their interesting and unique blend of influences create a sonic force that is unmatched.

setlist
Nightcrawlin’,
Walk Out On The Water,
Spin Cycle,
Love You Like That (w/ Lithium [Nirvana cover]),
Peep This,
I Am Collapsing So Slowly,
What’s Left In The River,
Button Fumbla,
Rayz,
Exodus Of The Year,
77:76,
Bathtubs,
Living A Lie.
(encore)
Fussin’.

We Are The City @ Vogue -- 09/16/18

As this year’s Westward Festival wrapped up on Sunday, there was one more show I was eagerly anticipating: We Are The City headlining the Vogue Theatre. Especially since the band is just ahead of a brand new album (or two) and were promising to tease some new songs.

Unfortunately, I was running late, and got to the Vogue literally just as The Tourist Company was finishing their last song. But the second opener of the evening was Common Deer, who I had heard a few songs from on CBC Radio 3, and had been meaning to check out more from.

With vocals split between keyboardist Sheila Hart-Owens and Graham McLaughlin, who switched between guitar and violin throughout the set, their orchestral pop rang through the theatre. Songs ranged from the slower and haunting “Damages”, to the soaring and anthemic “Wait!”, and the rapid-fire vocals on “Mistakes”. They ended with “Fuckboi”, introduced as a song about, well, I think you can figure it out. The band had a good stage presence too, combined with the catchy songs made for a strong opener, and I am interested to see more from them in the future.

Not long after that, the whole stage went dark, before a single fluorescent tube of light flickered on, Cayne McKenzie holding it over his head for a creepy sounding intro song -- and a little creepy looking, with the light illuminating just his arms + head -- before he was joined the rest of We Are The City, by Andrew Huculiak and David Menzel as they burst into the gorgeous “Baptism”.

They ran through some old favourites, like “King David”, Cayne letting the crowd sing the chorus. “All My Friends” transitioned into “Happy New Year”, and that in turn segued seamlessly into Andy taking over vocals on “Dark/Warm Air”, going right into the audience before getting back on the drums for the song’s bone-rattling finish.

Among the new songs the trio played were the aptly-titled slowburner “Mid-Tempo Drama”, a gorgeous piano-driven song that I believe is called “Dark Horizon” and immediately became my new favourite WATC Song, and an absolute banger “Killer B-Side Music”, which saw the band at their most raw and explosive.

They played right up to the curfew, finishing off with the first single from the upcoming album, “When I Dream, I Dream of You”, not bothering with the whole faux-encore deal, for a fantastic ending that had the audience clamouring for more (Andy had to return to the stage to explain that had to be it, and we all had to get going to make room for the late show that evening).

I’ve seen We Are The City play live many times, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them as comfortable and effortless on stage as they were this night; Cayne’s dancing flourishes when not at the keyboard, Andy playing drums so hard he was frequently standing up, and even needed to swap out his stool, and David front and centre ripping on guitar. Even when chatting with the crowd, they were as much joking to each other as talking to the audience.

Their new album, At Night, is coming out in a couple weeks -- plus they’ve even hinted at a second new album before the end of the year -- and based on what I heard last night, I couldn’t be more excited to hear more.

Poppy @ Vogue Theatre -- 09/14/18

The Westward Festival returned for its second year this weekend, and one of the acts I was most looking forward to this year was internet sensation Poppy. Co-created by Titus Sinclair, the series of strange videos with the character Poppy (like her interviewing a plant) swept the internet before it turned into a full fledged music project, with Poppy.Computer released last year, and the upcoming Am I A Girl? coming out at the end of October.

It was an early show at the Vogue Theatre, and with a bare, all-black stage, Poppy came out with an ornate dress and two backup dancers, starting with a newer single “In A Minute”, before going into “My Style”. On the surface, it seems like your run-of-the-mill pop music, but when she sings “Bath salts, start a cult, I'm so adult / That's my style” and a chorus that includes the line “Poppy will break your neck” you know maybe there’s something a bit more sinister behind it. “Bleach Blonde Baby”, which is about being born absolutely “perfect”, and her upcoming single “Fashion After All” both seem as subversive as they are catchy.

Or, maybe I’m just looking too deep into a well-crafted YouTube character which consists of weird videos and fun & earworm-y (if strange) pop music, with songs like the frantic “My Microphone” which had both Poppy and her backup dancers searching the stage and the audience for her microphone (a few people in the front even had fake mics they passed up front). Throughout the whole set, Poppy and both of the dancers were going back and forth on stage, hardly stopping or pausing even for a moment.

Every few songs (during costume changes) they played some of her bizarre non-music videos, like the “advertisement” for Doritos and Monster Energy, or Poppy conversing with her bunny ring about happiness. Not to mention all her crowd banter was ‘in character’, with her voice being a little more unnerving than I expected when hearing it live.

After one last video, she returned to the stage for the final song, the synth-driven “I’m Poppy”, with the 45 minute set going by in a flash, and the crowd cheering for an encore (which, as the house music came up and the stage techs started clearing the stage, was clearly not in the cards).

I did think maybe there would be more of a ‘stage show’ aside from the two dancers and large screen, but it’s also possibly that it just wasn’t feasible due to the time constraints of being an early show with a curfew, with another show playing later that night for the Westward Festival. But aside from that, it was just about exactly what I wanted it to be; ridiculously catchy pop music with a weird and even somewhat unsettling undertone.

setlist
In A Minute
My Style
Money
Time Is Up
Fashion After All
Bleach Blonde Baby
Interweb
My Microphone
I'm Poppy

Portugal. The Man & Broken Social Scene @ Deer Lake Park -- 09/01/18

It was a little over a week ago that I sat with about 75 other people in The China Cloud, watching Kevin Drew play an intimate acoustic show. And this past weekend it was almost the exact opposite, with Broken Social Scene co-headlining Deer Lake Park alongside Portugal. The Man. Despite not being super familiar with Portugal. The Man, I had heard they're a fun band to see live, plus I was also excited for the band starting off the whole evening.  
 
That opening act being Vancouver's own Youngblood -- who I had coincidentally also seen play a bit of an intimate show, just days after Drew, at Blue Light Studio. They played a short set, but definitely got the crowd excited, as a growing group gathered at the front of the stage to dance. They played a handful of songs, like the title track to their last EP Feel Alright, and ones from their upcoming release, including the dark and sexy "Better When You're Close", Alexis Young's voice sailing through the park. 
I said last week that Young has a captivating stage presence and that absolutely translated to the large scale, and I would not be at all surprised to see them playing Deer Lake again in the future. 
As an aside, this was the band’s last show as Youngblood… but don’t worry, it’s only because they have recently changed their name to Blonde Diamond (no doubt to make it much easier to find them). 
 
Shortly after, the stage filled with Broken Social Scene, seven members large with a few others rotating on & off throughout the set. They kicked off with the older "Cause = Time", before going into crowd favourite "7/4 (Shoreline)" and the newer "Protest Song", which featured the stellar vocals of Ariel Engle. Engle, Kevin Drew, and Brendan Canning switched off on main vocals during the set, with just about everyone else contributing as well, as members rotated around and switched instruments; drummer Justin Peroff may have been the only one to be in the same spot all night.
Highlights included the soaring "World Sick", "Hug of Thunder" with its simmering intensity, and "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl", where they invited out Katrina & Andrea from Belle Game to help out on vocals, for a song that gave me chills (unrelated to the setting sun). It’s one of my personal favourite songs, and clearly I’m not alone with the amount of people singing along. 
They were about to end off with the boisterous "Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)", but when they figured there was time for one more, burst into "KC Accidental" to cap off their set. 
I've seen BSS at least half a dozen times now, and they never fail to put on an emotional and impactful show, and Deer Lake Park is a near-perfect setting for them. 

Before Portugal. The Man hit the stage, Zach Carothers came out and talked a bit about how they were from Alaska and wanted to respect the first people here, and not content with merely acknowledging they were playing on unceded territory, they brought out some members of the Squamish Nation, for a nice little ceremony before getting started.

From there, the giant screen behind them blinked to life, and up popped the following message:

It was that point which I decided to stick around for the whole thing, because at the very least I knew I was going to like their sense of humour, and stage show. And, true to their words, they were pretty silent for the first hour of the show -- and even then, didn't talk too much, just the usual 'Thanks For Coming' and all that.  
They started off their set with a video clip of Bevis and Butthead ripping into their video for "Feel It Still" before launching into some riffs from "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and a bit of "Another Brick In The Wall", then transitioning into their own song, "Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue".
 
From there, their songs flowed into each other, a lot more raw than I was expecting from mostly knowing the single. Standouts included the anthemic "Live In The Moment", the bombastic "Holy Roller (Hallelujah)", and "Atomic Man", which featured a little bit of "Gimme Shelter" slipped in (a few songs featured bits and pieces of covers throughout the night). 
 
As with the first graphic on screen, the band had a great sense of humour and self-awareness throughout the set, with the screen displaying messages like (Real Bands Don't Need Singers) right before an instrumental song, the courteous notice (We are Portugal. The Man. Just making sure you’re at the right concert) and, near the end of the set, (Don’t Worry, we are playing that song right after this) before the insanely catchy single "Feel It Still". Even during that song, the words (Your mom loves this song) flashed on screen as an entire lawn full of fans sang and danced along.

They didn’t bother with the encore fake-out, saying they were just going to stay and play right up until the curfew, ending off the set with "Sleep Forever" which wrapped up with a medley of Beatles songs, "Live & Let Die" and "Hey Jude", leaving the crowd singing along one last time. 

All in all, it was an incredibly fun show from a solid lineup of local, Canadian, and international musicians, and the perfect way to kick off the beginning of the end of summer.