CBC Music Festival @ Deer Lake Park -- 06/14/14

Last year the inaugural CBC Music Festival took place at Echo Beach far away in time in Toronto, but this year they decided to take the show to Vancouver -- or more specifically, Burnaby's Deer Lake Park. And a little bit of rain couldn't keep people away for a day included dozens of musicians and CBC personalities, from Radio 3's Grant Lawrence, to Radio 2's Tom Power and Rich Terfry (aka Buck 65, who also performed a DJ set), Radio 1's Jian Ghomeshi, and more.
The Irrelevant Show was also there to do a live taping, and the music was spread across two stages, the main stage by the lake and a smaller "garden" stage off to the side.


Some of the early music in the day included local up & coming Wake Owl and the winner of the CBC Music Searchlight competition for "best new band", Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk, but the first act that I caught was Vancouver's own Hannah Georgas on the main stage. The half-hour set ranged from "Shortie" which got people moving in the misty rain (one girl in the audience loudly proclaiming it was her jam) to the other end of the spectrum, the softer and touching "Ode to Mom". And as the set came to a close with "Waiting Game", Hannah's voice single-handedly beat back the clouds, and held off the precipitation for the majority of the day.


Next up on the main stage was the pride of Hamilton, with the well-earned reputation as one of the countries best live band, Arkells.
They teased their upcoming new album by leading off with a brand new song, "Come To Light", but aside from that and the slow-burning jam "Never Thought That This Would Happen" they stuck to older material.
"Oh, The Boss is Coming" had Max whip the crowd up with a singalong, and "Pulling Punches" featured an aces piano solo from Anthony Carone on keys.
And as is Arkells way, they slipped in some brief covers; a dash of Al Green in "Michigan Left", and part of Shad's "Rose Garden" during "Book Club" (specifically, the hook reminded Max of the weekend's weather: "There's gotta be some rain sometimes"). They invited a special guest on stage for a full-blown cover, Talking Head's "Psycho Killer" with Arkells fronted by Jian Ghomeshi.
Early on, lead singer Max Kerman mentioned it was their job, as an opening band, to pump the crowd up and that is exactly what they did, ending their explosive set with "Whistleblower"


The festival ran like clockwork, and almost immediately after Arkells ended, The Belle Game started on the Garden Stage. It was a change of pace from Arkells' high-tilt rock to their darker and moodier indiepop, but they still got people moving, starting off with the groovin' "Wasted Light".
The all-too short set included a new song, possibly called "Mess Around", which they have played a few times before and it has always amazed me, and of course Andrea Lo's powerful voice filled the park on songs like "River". They ended off as they usually do, getting people dancing with "Wait Up For You" building into a fantastic ending of duelling guitars.


Back again on the main stage, Searchlight winner Lauren Mann (who had "never played for this many people") was briefly out to perform her Searchlight winning song "I Lost Myself", before what was was essentially the debut of Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. Aside from a small UBC show, Dan hadn't played in his hometown in about a year and a half, and this was the unveiling of his new band, Blacksmith. The members were largely the same; the usual faces of Gord Grdina, Kenton Loewen, John Walsh, among others, but the new name signalled a new direction in his music, with the writing process being more collaborative.
And based on the new songs -- "Mouthpiece" and one I didn't catch the name of -- it is a great new direction. Both new songs were very intense, dense and layered, but still felt very "Mangan". It seemed like the natural progression for Dan, judging by the last couple albums.
While there were only couple brand new songs, the "new sound" was very much spread across their entire set, through the older songs. "Post-War Blues" started with a swell of instruments before the passionate song swelled to its explosive climax, and "Sold" was slowed to a calmer pace.
Part way through the set the band took a break for Dan to perform the heartbreaking "Basket" alone, and during the usual massive singalong to "Robots", he spotted a couple of girls with cardboard robot heads in the crowd and invited them on stage.
They wrapped up the set with "Rows of Houses" which built to a chaotic display that, once again, got me really excited about the sum of Dan Mangan + Blacksmith.


As his set wrapped up, Dan urged everyone to head over and see Chad VanGaalen, who was headlining the Garden Stage for the day. Of all the bands playing, I was most excited to see CVG, as I hadn't seen him live in a couple of years (and also I was interested to see how he would be in a big festival setting).
As Rich Terfry made his introduction, Chad played drums behind him before being joined by his two bandmates for the first song of the set, "Cut Off Your Hands" -- also the lead-off track to his new album Shrink Dust. "Where Are You?" was a little more bass-y than the album, and ended with CVG pulling out his saxophone for a jazz-influenced jam ending, before picking things up with a couple of more punk-ish songs. "Poisonous Heads" ending with Chad shushing the crowd and indicating for a bass solo... only for his bass player to decline and Chad take the bass and perform the solo himself.
Once again feeling way too short, he came to a close with "Hangman's Son" for yet another excellent set.


I could have left right there and it would have been a day to remember, but there were still a couple acts left. While I have have never really gotten in to Spoon, I had heard nothing but good things, so I made sure to stick around for them. And despite only knowing a couple songs -- "Don't You Evah" and the fun and bouncy "Underdog" -- they put on a very enjoyable set. Lead singer Britt Daniel had a great presence, and the whole band was incredibly tight. It definitely made me want to delve into their six-album history.

After a DJ set from Buck 65, Tegan & Sara took the stage, but I've never been much of a fan, and the rain had come back with a vengeance, so I decided to beat the inevitable rush of leaving traffic and take off early.

In all it was a fantastic festival -- I can't remember the last time I saw so many excellent sets in a row -- and I really hope CBC gets enough support to continue the festival every year, be it in Toronto, Vancouver, or if they decide to move it around the country.


setlists

Hannah Georgas
Robotic, Somebody, Shortie, Enemies, The Deep End, Ode To Mom, Waiting Game. 

Arkells
Come To Light; Ballad of Hugo Chavez; Michigan Left; Never Thought That This Would Happen; Book Club; Oh, The Boss is Coming!; Kiss Cam; Pulling Punches; Psycho Killer [Talking Heads cover]; Whistleblower.

The Belle Game
Wasted Light, Keeps Me Up At Night, Little Wars (Causing Your Trouble), [new song], River, Wait Up For You. 

Dan Mangan
Oh Fortune; About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All; Mouthpiece; [new song]; Post-War Blues; Basket; Leaves, Trees, Forest; Robots; Sold; Rows of Houses.

Chad VanGaalen
Cut Off My Hands, Where Are You?, Burning Photographs, Poisonous Heads, Peace on the Rise, Hangman's Son.

Toque Sessions: Hannah Georgas & Ryan Guldemond @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/28/14

For a fifth year, the CBC Toque Sessions return to CBC Vancouver. The sessions are a series of free shows featuring some great local talent, running through the end of February, and are recorded for later broadcast of CBC Radio 2, and streaming on CBC Music.

The final toque session of this year was hosted by Radio 3's Grant Lawrence, and featured the musical union of Hannah Georgas and Ryan Guldemond. The two friends are frequent collaborators, and recently recorded a handful of songs for CBC Music titled the Love Motel Sessions, appropriately titled for a collection of songs about love recorded in a... "charming" motel.

They were joined onstage by Ryan's Mother Mother bandmate Ali Siadat on drums, for an intimate and spontaneous hour of music; partially due to the small and attentive crowd, partly due to Hannah returning from European tour the previous day, as Ryan admitted they hadn't rehearsed much but wanted to capture the moment live. He was also taking the opportunity of the intimate show to pontificating on life between songs; on doing what you want as opposed to what you should, why not to retell stories, and needing to point out the elephant in the room (and "make a piano out of its tusks"). Every time I've seen Ryan perform -- especially solo shows -- he is very weird enigmatic with seemingly stream-of-consciousness stage banter, but always interesting nonetheless.

They started off with Hannah's "Robotic" and "Fantasize" and traded off throughout the set. Ryan's songs were about various stages of love, from his own lovelorn "Academe", to Mother Mother's deceptively charming "Love It Dissipates". He also dazzled with his amazing guitar chops, effortlessly throwing in jazz or blues riffs to songs.
Hannah's amazing voice lent power to the simplified songs, hers going from the gorgeous and heartbreaking "Ode to Mom" to the vitriolic "Millions", that didn't lose an ounce of attitude when stripped down.
A cover of The Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love" wrapped up the set, but the pair was coaxed back on stage by Grant for one last song, a beautiful version of "I Melt With You" by Modern English.

One of my favourite things about the Toque Sessions is when they do more unique shows, more than just "here's a band, watch them play". Things like putting together two musicians that play off each other, and this was a perfect example of that. It was a captivating show and all three musicians on stage had great chemistry together, especially Hannah & Ryan.

setlist
Robotic, Fantasize, Academe. Love It Dissipates, Enemy, Happy, Ode to Mom, Millions, Alone And Sublime, I Go Hungry, Bye Bye Love [Everly Brothers cover]
(encore) I Melt With You [Modern English cover]

Toque Sessions: Said The Whale Remixed @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/20/14

For a fifth year, the CBC Toque Sessions return to CBC Vancouver. The sessions are a series of free shows featuring some great local talent, running through the end of February, and are recorded for later broadcast of CBC Radio 2, and streaming on CBC Music.

A lot of times the powers that be at the Toque Sessions try to bring something different to the shows, and this was perhaps the most unique one I have seen so far.

Said the Whale bass player Nathan Shaw -- who also makes electronic beats under the name Elkali -- remixed nine of the songs from their most recent album hawaiii, turning their indie-pop jams into electronic soundscapes, and the band performed them live.
Flanked by two screens alternately showing CBC stock footage of Vancouver and soundwaves of the live music, the band took the stage with no guitars, no drums; just keyboards and synth, with Nathan in the middle of it all, orchestrating the whole thing from his laptop and sampler.
Admittedly, I am not always a fan of electronic music, but after seeing the Whales several times live over the years, I was definitely intrigued by this one-time event.

With a variety of electro-sounds, from house and trance, to club bangers, to dubsteppy bass drops, tracks flowed into one another for a seamless half-hour set. "On The Ropes" had a dreamy quality, and could have been the music for an underwater Mario level; "Resolutions" sounded closest to its hawaiiian counterpart to start, but soon morphed into twitchy vocal samples; "Oh K, Okay" was filled with a stuttering drum beat; and probably the most different of the songs, "I Love You" ended the set, starting a little ethereal before ending with more of a dubstep beat.

A lot of musicians say stripping down their songs down to an acoustic version is a good exercise, but I think the same thing could be said for remixing and performing them in this fashion. It was a completely different take on the songs, and even talking to a couple band members after the show, they said they had an absolute blast figuring it out.
So while I'm not sure this is something I would want to see Said the Whale do more than once, it was a really cool show and an interesting experiment.

tracklist
More Than This, On The Ropes, Resolutions, Safe To Say, Mother, Oh K Okay, I Could Smoke, The Weight of the Season, I Love You. 

Toque Sessions: The Belle Game @ CBC Vancouver -- 01/24/14

For a fifth year, the CBC Toque Sessions return to CBC Vancouver. The sessions are a series of free shows featuring some great local talent, running through the end of February, and are recorded for later broadcast of CBC Radio 2, and streaming on CBC Music.

The second session of this year (and the first I saw) was hosted by Radio 3's Lana Gay, and was one of my favourite new bands from the last few years, The Belle Game. The last time I saw them was a few months ago at a sold out Vogue Theatre, so going from that to a room with less than 200 people was a nice treat.

They kicked off the set with the haunting "Traditional", one of the tree title tracks for their recent album Ritual Tradition Habit, before launching into "Wasted Light", their lush, atmospheric pop swirling around the room. The seated audience was soon on their feet for the more energetic "Blame Fiction", and Andrea Lo's always powerful voice floored the room on songs like the dark "River".

The highlight of the set was a new, as yet untitled song, that absolutely blew me away. It started slow and haunting before building to a gorgeous and soaring climax. The song had something of a Broken Social Scene vibe to it (the bend recently completed a residency at the the Banff Centre for the Arts with Kevin Drew & Charles Spearing) and if it is any indication of their new stuff, I can't wait to hear more.

Near the end of the set the band was joined by Louise Burns for a couple of songs; a pretty cool cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", and the final song, ending the set as they usually do with the raucous "Wait up For You". Burns' voice blend in perfectly with the bands' sound, for a great ending to a pretty fantastic Toque Session.

setlist
Tradition, Wasted Light, Keeps Me Up At Night, Blame Fiction, Little Wars (Causing You Trouble), [Untitled New Song], Bruise to Ash, River, Love Will Tear Us Apart [Joy Division cover], Wait Up For You.

Phildel @ CBC Vancouver Studio 700 -- 11/18/13

One of my favourite musical discoveries this year came from the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. On the last day, I went to see a workshop with Justin Rutledge, Del Barber, Cold Specks, and a singer from the UK that I had never heard of, Phildel. Her handful of stripped down songs impressed me so much that I immediately picked up her album, The Disappearance Of The Girl, and it has been in heavy rotation ever since.
I was sad to have missed her actual performances that weekend, so when the Folk Fest announced they would be presenting a show in Studio 700 at CBC Vancouver with her headlining, I knew I couldn't miss it.

As an added bonus, opening up the show was Vancouver's own Jasper Sloan Yip. Joined only by Alex Hauka on cello and Stephanie Chatman on violin (and sometimes vocals), Jasper played more of a stripped down, acoustic set for the attentive crowd.
From "Athens", which was about a particularly bad day in Greece (and was also, as he introduced it, played as part of a "sad song competition") to the more upbeat and catchy "Show Your Teeth", Jasper wove through a series of ups and downs, with songs mostly about love and/or heartbreak.
He wrapped up the set with the title track to his newest album, Foxtrot, a beautiful duet with Chatman, her soft voice blending nicely with his.

Her band -- drums, bass, and synth -- took the stage and started the opening notes of the title track to her album, "The Disappearance of the Girl" before Phildel emerged from the back. The dark, ethereal pop was punctuated by Phildel's amazing, hauntingly beautiful voice, dipped in just the right amount of reverb, and the music all clearly came from deeply personal places. She gave backstory to many of her songs; the sinister song "The Wolf" was written in response to her extremely religious step-father who banned music when she was a child; "Holes In Your Coffin" is something of a revenge song after a betrayal; and the emotionally devastating "Funeral Bell" -- which I am sure caused more than a few teary eyes -- was written during a nervous breakdown.
She also had a very engaging stage presence, the intensity of her performance contrasting with her almost soft-spoken nature while telling stories between songs.
After her last song, "The Glass Ghost", the title track to her upcoming EP, the crowd gave a much warranted standing ovation. She was clearly moved by the response, and sat down at the keys for one last song, the beautiful "Comfort Me".

It was a perfect setting as well, a nice intimate studio with a very captivate and quiet crowd. The show marked the end of her current North American tour, but I am already hoping that the singer manages to make her way back here sooner rather than later.

setlist
The Disappearance of the Girl, Storm Song, Mistakes, Union Stone, Afraid of the Dark, Beside You, Celestial, The Wolf, Holes In Your Coffin, Moonsea, Funeral Bell, The Glass Ghost.
(encore) Comfort Me.

Toque Sessions: beekeeper hearts Sidney York @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/28/13

Now in their fourth year, the CBC Toque Sessions is a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, featuring some great local talent, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio and CBC Music.

Hosted by CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence, this was a unique session, titled "beekeeper hearts Sidney York", with the "sibling bands" sharing the bill. Aside from being often tour-mates, the two bands also share members; Brandi Sidoryk is the voice of Sidney York and the bass of beekeeper; Luke Cyca keeps the rhythm on drums for both bands; and beekeepers's Devon Lougheed not only plays guitar with Sid occasionally, but also produced their upcoming album. 

Sidney York started the night with their unique indie-pop, with three classically trained musicians and including an oboe & bassoon, two instruments you rarely see outside an orchestra. They kicked off with the upbeat and poppy "Mile High Love" and got the crowd clapping along to the infinitely catchy "Dick & Jane".
As always, so much energy from the three ladies -- Brandi Sidoryk, Sheryl Reinhardt, and Krista Wodelet -- especially Brandi who, when not behind the keyboard, bounces around the stage.
The set also included a few new songs off their upcoming album, Hearts, which saw Devon out to join them on guitar.
Since they joined Brandi to make the group a trio, Krista and Sheryl have gotten much more comfortable on stage, and are fully integrated into the new songs, as opposed to just playing on the songs Brandi had written for the last album. A love song to technology -- as it was introduced -- "Electrolove" saw all three of them played the same keyboard, and Krista had more prominent vocals on the newer songs. After the synthy title track "Hearts", they wrapped up their half of the show with another new one, "Want You Back", a rich and lush song that had me hooked, and definitely looking forward to the new album.

setlist

Mile High Love; Dick & Jane; Doctor Doctor; Math and Fractions; Electrolove; Hearts; Want You Back.

After a brief break, the pre-recorded "Bad Advice Hotline" sounded through the studio (giving apt advice like "if you get confused, just nod") and beekeeper took the stage, launching into "Table & Bed". Their frantic, poppy math-rock can be hard to pin down, with songs routinely changing tempo, key or even time signature, but they're also ridiculously fun and unique. The songs have boundless energy, which comes from all three members, especially from Devon, who hardly stood still all night; even performing a high flying leap off an amp during "I Don't Need Hope, I Need Whiskey" -- which he admitted proved dangerous at a recent show.
They did bring it down for one calm song in the set, the low key "Drownings" saw just Devon on guitar with Luke and Brandi coming to the front of the stage for backup vocals. But they swung the energy right back as the remaining members of Sidney York came on stage for the kazoo solo (yes, kazoo solo) in the catchy-yet-out-of-left-field country swerve that "Oh Hi!" takes, and Krista & Sheryl stayed on to add their bassoon and oboe to the next couple songs.

They wrapped up the night memorably as every members from both bands took the stage for a gorgeous cover of "Your Ex-Lover is Dead", originally by Stars.

The show was a great addition to the pretty stellar lineup of CBC Toque Sessions this season. And as they draw to a close, I am hoping that next winter will see another round of great bands as the Toque Sessions continue.

setlist
Table & Bed; Sudden Cuckoo; It's the Blood; I Don't Need Hope, I Need Whisky; Drownings; Oh Hi!; Good News; Spider Webs/Insect Eyes; Your Ex-Lover is Dead [Stars cover].

Toque Sessions: Odds @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/21/13

Now in their fourth year, the CBC Toque Sessions is a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, featuring some great local talent, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and CBC Music.

Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, Vancouver's own Odds took to the stage in Studio 1 on the eve of the release of their new EP.

The set had a bit of a false start -- after they kicked off with "It Falls Apart" they had to pause for a moment to figure out some power issues -- but they were right back into it with "Make You Mad" and a couple other older songs before debuting the new EP, The Most Beautiful Place On Earth. 

The first of three planned releases this year, the new songs proved they haven't lost a step; amazingly catchy power-pop-rock with clever lyrics and a little bit of darkness hidden behind sweet melodies. The title track, poking fun at BC's licence plate motto a little, and the slightly cynical but rocking "Took A Long Time (To Get To I Don't Care)" were a highlights from the five new songs. 

Craig Northey, Doug Elliott, Pat Steward, and Murray Atkinson all had a great stage presence, the four members chiming in with jokes and stories between songs, and a fun energy while playing. Aside from the solid harmonies on songs like "Satisfied", on a couple songs Craig handed off lead vocals, with Murray singing "Eat My Brain" and Doug taking over on "The Truth Untold".

They ended the set with the infinitely catchy favourite "Someone Who Is Cool", but didn't even have a chance to leave the stage before the encore. After some more joking around, they replayed "It Falls Apart", due to it not being recorded earlier and finished off with a couple older tunes, capping off the evening with "Fingerprints" from their second album Bedbugs.

They are a really fun band and put on a great live show, as you might expect from a veteran band, but it was made even more impressive when they admitted Craig was just getting over laryngitis -- though it was hardly noticeable, mostly just when he was chatting between songs. They did tease more new material this year and I, for one, am definitely looking forward to it, and hope they do some more touring as well.

setlist
It Falls Apart, Make You Mad, Satisfied, Write It In Lightning, Anything You Want, Most Beautiful Place On Earth, High, Took A Long Time (To Get To I Don't Care), Cardboard Box of Dust, Nothing Beautiful, Not A Lot Going On, Mercy To Go, Eat My Brains, Someone Who Is Cool.
(encore) It Falls Apart, The Truth Untold, Fingerprints.

Toque Sessions: We Are The City @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/15/13

Now in their fourth year, the CBC Toque Sessions is a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, featuring some great local talent, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and CBC Music.


One of the Sessions I was most looking forward to this season was We Are The City. Andy, Cayne, and David (back after a brief sabbatical front the band) have just put the finishing touches on their new album, and they decided to debut it for the crowd in Studio 1 of CBC Vancouver. Rolling out the new album front-to-back, it was the first time most of these songs were being performed for an audience.

Bursting to life with a chaotic cacophony of drums, the album was far more rich and layered than you would expect from just three musicians, with the intricate songs ranging from soft and slow to energetic and rocking -- sometimes even within the same song. It was as far a leap ahead of the High School EP as that was from their debut, In A Quiet World.

Some songs that stood out were a spacey and nostalgic (lyrically, not musically) song possibly called "Home Videos" and another possibly called "Shooting Star" which saw Cayne on a grand piano. But the last couple songs were my favourites; first "Baptism" which wove from great three part harmonies to dense and breathtaking guitar riffs, and then the final song, "Punch My Face" which starts with just Cayne on the piano -- absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking -- before building to an intense wall of sound to close out the album.

For the most part, the band stuck to playing, but they paused a couple times to chat with the crowd. In true WATC fashion, they rambled on entertainingly, interrupting and interjecting into each others stories. Their banter has never felt like practiced "stage banter", rather a couple friends just telling stories and joking around, making you feel that these are a bunch of guys you want to hang around and talk to about celebrity spottings or Community.

The first time I saw them a few years ago I was impressed, and they've only grown exponentially. If this performance was any indication (and why wouldn't it be?) their new album is going to be incredible, and it is definitely one of my most anticipated albums of the spring.

Toque Sessions: The Matinée @ CBC Vancouver -- 02/01/13

Now in their fourth year, the CBC Toque Sessions is a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, featuring some great local talent, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and On Demand.

There have already been a few so far, but the first one I attended this season was The Matinée, which is pretty darn good way to kick the series off.

Playing down in Studio 1, it was a seated event which made for a bit more of a relaxed, laid back atmosphere for the band, and they were able to play some lighter songs that they may not have worked as well in a noisy venue. They started the set with one such song, "The Sinking Of The Greenhill Park", but they didn't keep the whole set mellow, breaking out out their anthemic single "Young & Lazy" early on, and they had the crowd clapping and stomping along to songs like "Sweetwater" and the drum breakdown in "The Road", which ended the set.

They previewed almost the entirety of their upcoming album, We Swore We'd See The Sunrise, which is out later this month, with songs like "Who Stoned the Roses" and "This Town" being among the highlights; the former showing off the band's harmonies, and latter their encore song which built up to an explosive and intense ending.

As usual, there was a great energy from the band. Lead singer Matt Layzell has fantastic charisma, but also the ability to melt into the background and give focus to the rest of the band, be it Pete Lemon's drumming,  Geoff Petrie breaking guitar strings, Mike Young who was simultaneously playing bass and keys at one point, or Matt Rose's guitar shredding.

The show was a great teaser for the album, which has been one of my most anticipated albums for the beginning of the year, and I can't wait to hear it.


The Toque Session are running throughout the month, and there are some great looking shows: a Light Organ Records showcase, Jill Barber, We Are The City (playing their new album front-to-back), Odds, a beekeeper + Sidney York mashup, and Dear Rouge. They are all "fully booked", but there is always a rush line, so if you show up early enough there is a good show (but no guarantee) you'll get in.

setlist
The Sinking Of The Greenhill Park, Let Her Go, Young & Lazy, L’Absinthe, On Our Own, Losers, Let it Ride [Ryan Adams cover], Sweetwater, Who Stoned The Roses, December Slumber, The Road.
(encore) This Town

Toque Sessions: Acres of Lions @ CBC Studio 1 -- 03/09/12

The CBC Toque Sessions is a series of shows at the CBC Vancouver building, which are free to the public, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and On Demand (check out the snazzy new CBC Music website).

There are still a few more left this season, but this may be the last one I attend, and if it is, Acres of Lions is a pretty darn good way to wrap up the series.
The show was seated, which gave it a bit of a subdued vibe since Acres are definitely not a "seated" band -- guitarist Tyson Yerex joked that it was like a kids birthday party -- but they still managed to give a good energy and fun set, with front man Jeff Kalesnikoff getting people to sing and clap along, and even get up for a couple songs. Jeff, Tyson, Dan Ball (bass) and Cody Beer (drums) were also joined by Kiana Brasset for some backup vocals, as well as violin on a few songs, both her voice and the strings adding a nice texture to their pop-rock sound.
Highlights of the set included the ridiculously infectious "Reaction", which was one of the songs to get everyone out of their seats; the heartfelt "Like a Drum"; and "This Was Not My Best Day Ever", a song inspired by Firefly, which started with just Jeff on an acoustic guitar, with the rest of the band slowly joining in.
They ended the set with the title track from their newest album, Collections, once again getting people up and a big stomp/clap going on to end off the set. 

setlist
Let's Get Sentimental, December, Forgive & Forget, Reaction, Working, Like a Drum, Closer, This Was Not My Best Day Ever, Kids, Collections.

Last Night In Music: Adaline, Ma Petite and Sidney York -- 03/08/12

Okay, it was a bit of a busy night last night, with about a half-dozen shows worth seeing. Islands at the Rio, the Evolution1079 Birthday party at the Railway and Ruffled Feathers out at UBC were all among them, as well as three other shows I wanted to see. So how did I decide? Well, I didn't. I saw them all. So to paraphrase another blog's title, here is Last Night In Music. (Which also ended up being an accidental celebration of International Women's Day)

The first stop was at CBC Vancouver for the CBC Toque Sessions. The series is just about wrapping up, but there are still a couple more to go. The shows are free and are being recorded for broadcast later of Radio 2 and their On Demand section (sidebar: check out the snazzy new CBC Music website).

The former Vancouverite -- now Toronto resident -- Adaline was back in town with her sexy electronic-pop sounds, joined by her backing band and occasionally a small string section, which included Hannah Epperson and Michelle Faehrmann.
The set kicked off with the energetic "Rebels of Love", and went through most of her new album Modern Romantics.
Adaline was all over the stage throughout the set, behind keys and synth and even coming right up to the front, and "threatening" to come down and sit on the laps of the front row. Her great stage presence and confidence was only overshadowed by her incredibly powerful voice, most apparent during the slower "Cost Is Too High", which was a more stripped down song with just her brother on the keyboard backing her, until the strings swelled up at the end.
There were a couple snags in the set, but she rolled with them quite well; at one point when the electronic track failed to kick in at the beginning of "Sparks", she just continuing with different lyrics, jokingly dubbing it the "Screw Up Song". But that aside, it was a very entertaining set, with other highlights being the raw "Lovers Collide", the raucous "Stereo", and "The Noise", a moody song that closed the set.

setlist
Rebels Of Love, Wasted Time, That's What You Do Best, Keep Me High, Say Goodbye (I Won't Even), Stereo, Lovers Collide, Chemical Spill, Sparks, Cost Is Too High (Not To Love), The Noise.

---

After a quick bite the next stop was to the Media Club for Jamison Troy's CD release show, to catch the adorable Indiana Avent as Ma Petite. First up, though, was Two Bicycles, another project from Teen Daze's Jamison. They had a bit of a chill, almost folk-ish vibe, with a prominent saxophone to round out the sound. Some of the songs were a bit similar, but the short set was pretty good, and I wouldn't mind catching them again in the future.

Soon after, Ma Petite hit the stage, Indiana joined only by Ben Appenheimer on stand-up bass. The minimalistic folk-pop set was driven by Indiana's lovely voice and her fun songwriting, with songs like my favourite of hers, "I Like That You Like Books"; "Mittens", about the Australian's first Canadian winter;  "Adventure Wednesday", which is about exactly what the title implies; and the birthday song for "Benny Apples". Indiana was also really talkative on stage, chatting with the crowd and introducing each song, getting people to come fill the empty gulf in front of the stage and leading a sing along for the end of "Man About The Moon".

setlist
Morning Song, Lonesome, Adventure Wednesday, Mittens, How to Make a House a Home, Benny Apples, Man About the Moon. I Like That You Like Books, Two Big Thick Ruffled Coats.

---

And then as soon as Ma Petite ended, it was a rush to get over to the Biltmore in time for Sidney York. Though my timing was perfect, as they hit the stage mere moments after I walked in the door (clearly they were waiting for me).
The normal trio of lovely ladies -- Sheryl Reinhardt on oboe, Krista Wodelet on bassoon and of course, Brandi Sidoryk on keys, french horn, ukulele and vocals -- were joined by Luke Cyca, Colin McTaggart and Neil Dorin something on drums, guitar and bass, respectively, but it was the girls who really stole the show. I've been able to see Sidney York more than a couple times in the last few months, and I think it's safe to say this was the best set I've seen from them.
There was an incredible high energy from the three of them; Sheryl and Krista ran through the crowd clapping at the start of "Dick & Jane", and Brandi was exploding all over the stage the whole night, even bouncing with energy when just sitting at the front of the stage, with people from the crowd joining her for "Roll With Me". Brandi also did a great job of talking and joking with the crowd, acknowledging the intimacy of the show, and even mentioning "fun facts" about specific people in the audience she knew.
Other highlights were the dark "Math & Fractions", the softer and heartbreaking "Go Home, Atticus Jones", where the boys took a break, and "Mile High Love", which ended the set with a bang.

setlist
Tea As It Should Be, Math & Fractions, Cold In Here, Apocalyptic Radio Cynic, Go Home Atticus Jones, Dick & Jane, Doctor Doctor, Roll With Me, Mile High Love.

Despite some timing worries for the latter two, pulling off the triple-show went off without a hitch (though I was sad to miss some of the others on both later bills), and though it was a bit of a hectic night, it was three somewhat different shows to make a pretty great night of music.

Toque Sessions: Hey Ocean! @ CBC Studio 40 -- 02/23/12

The CBC Toque Sessions are in full swing, with a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, which are also being recorded for broadcast later of Radio 2 and their On Demand section (sidebar: check out the snazzy new CBC Music website).

I was tempted to pass on the Hey Ocean! session, as I had just seen them at Venue, but when I heard they would be running through their whole new album, Is, accompanied by a mini-orchestra of strings and horns, I knew I would have to go. It was a little less intimate than previous ones, as they had moved it downstairs into a bigger setting -- probably to accommodate said horns -- and was seated, but Studio 40 in the bowels of the CBC is a great place where I've seen some pretty amazing shows.

"If I Were A Ship" lead things off, staring with an orchestral build up, and lead into the undeniably catchy "Make A New Dance Up" and the single, "Big Blue Wave". The two Daves took over lead vocals from Ashleigh Ball;  Beckingham for "Islands" and Vertesi for "Jolene", the latter being reminiscent of Vertesi's solo material, and one of my favourites off the album.
The trio was backed, as usual, by Devon Lougheed on guitar, Andrew Rasmussen on keys, and Timmy "Boom Bap" Proznick on drums, the entire band was on top of their game, teeming with enthusiasm which helped people to be shimmying in their chairs to songs like the peppy and upbeat "Change". And, as to be expected, the orchestra gave beautiful depths to the songs, like the beautiful "Steady" and "(for) give", the prelude and buildup to the soaring "Give". They wrapped up the album with the heartbreaking "Last Mistake", but had one more song, a b-side that didn't quite make the cut called "Maps".

I've always been a sucker for an orchestral section, and if I had my way, most of the bands I see play live would be accompanied by at least a small one, so seeing shows like this are always a treat, especially when the band in question is as fun as Hey Ocean!.

setlist
If I Were A Ship, Make A New Dance Up, Big Blue Wave, Islands, Jolene, New Love, Bicycle, Change, Steady, I Am A Heart, (for) give, Give, Last Mistake, Maps.

Toque Sessions: Rococode @ CBC Studio 700 -- 02/17/12

The CBC Toque Sessions are in full swing, with a series of free shows at the CBC Vancouver building, which I believe are being recorded for broadcast later of Radio 2 and their On Demand section (sidebar: check out the snazzy new CBC Music website).

Last night they had Rococode in the studio for some indie pop goodness. The quartet of Laura Smith, Andrew Braun, Shaun Huberts and Johnny Andrews has been taking Vancouver by storm for the last year, and they now finally have their album, Guns, Sex & Glory out on Head in the Sand records.

Starting off, after a small hiccup, with "Weapon" they played an hour set which included songs off their aforementioned album, as well as some new ones, with "Riot" being a definite highlight. The band, and especially their harmonies, have always been incredibly tight, and there was no exception here. They've also gotten more into the habit of banter; introducing songs and joking with each other and the crowd.

Another highlight of the set was "Empire", which never fails to get stuck in my head, and after the haunting "Ghost I" and "Ghost II" they wrapped up with one of my favourites of theirs, "Blood", which built to an explosive ending, a perfect finale for the set.

It's always fun seeing Rococode, especially for something like the Toque Sessions. I am definitely looking forward to the sessions for Hey Ocean!, Acres of Lions and Adaline in the coming weeks.

setlist
Weapon, Death of a Payphone, Run Run Run Run [Run Run], Tina, Riot, EJ(ay), Concentrate On Me, Dreams, Empire, Ghost I, Ghost II, Blood.

Toque Sessions: Yukon Blonde @ CBC Studio 700 -- 02/03/12

The CBC Toque Sessions have returned for another year with some pretty swell artists rounding out the lineup. It's been going on for a couple weeks now, but the first one I've been able to catch was last night, and I can't think of a better way to kick it off than with Yukon Blonde.

Joined by Matt Kelly on keys and guitar, the Kelowna quartet opened the set with a pair from their recent EP Fire//Water, first the mellow "Choices" before cranking up the energy with the undeniably catchy "Fire". From there they went on to play their entire new album, Tiger Talk, front to back. Not due out until March, it was a nice preview of the album which features the same high energy rock you'd expect, but definitely showed growth from the band. They still have incredibly energy and spot on harmonies, with a strong 60s and 70s influence -- but without making it sound contrived -- and have done nothing but get better. And they've always had a great stage presence while playing, but their banter is improving as well, with lead singer and guitarist Jeff Innes even hanging a lampshade on one awkward silence, joking about it with Brandon Scott.
The whole set was incredibly tight, and highlights included "Radio", which I am already calling to be on my best-songs-of-2012 list, "Sweet Dee", the dynamic ending to the album, and "School Kids", another from the recent EP which they hadn't played live before, that wrapped up the set.

While I liked their self titled first album, I've always thought it fell short of their amazing live show; hopefully Tiger Talk will capture that energy, and after hearing the album live, my anticipation for it has doubled.

setlist
Choices, Fire, My Girl, Radio, Stairway, Iron Fist, Oregon Shores, Six Dead Tigers, For LA, Breathing Tigers, Guns, Sweet Dee, School Kids.

Dan Mangan @ CBC Studio 40 -- 09/17/11

Gearing up for the release of his new album on the 27th, Dan Mangan took over Studio 40 at CBC Vancouver for a special unveiling of Oh Fortune, broadcast live on CBC Radio 3. Hosted by R3 announcer Lisa Christiansen, they started by requesting no applause between songs, and Dan explained that he wasn't going to be talking, just going to go straight through the album, with all the transitions between songs intact.

Joined by his usual cohorts, Kenton Loewen on drums, Johnny Wah on bass and Gord Grdina on guitar, they were also had keys and a section of strings, horns and woodwinds to round out the sound. Starting off with the awesomely-named "About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All", they immediately made use of the awesome expanded instrument section, with a song that made me want to learn to waltz. "Post-War Blues" is a song I had heard live before and loved, but after hearing it on the album -- and especially last night -- it has quickly one of my favourite Mangan songs, driving to an explosive and emotional climax.
The rest of the set was a range of emotions from melancholy "If I Am Dead" to a little more more upbeat with the title track, "Oh Fortune" and "Daffodil", which despite still being emotional, still had Dan's sense of humour with at least one pun in the lyrics. On the surface, the album sounds very different from Nice, Nice, Very Nice, but is still very distinctively "Dan Mangan".
As the album drew to a close, they ended with the question-only song, "Jeopardy", and then the audience finally got to show their appreciation. There was a bit of banter, and Dan tossed some (very un-aerodynamic) t-shirts into the crowd, but they weren't done yet, as he played a few older ones. The ending of "Sold" has most people clapping along, and he brought the whole evening to a close, unsurprisingly, with "Robots", coming out into the crowd for everyone to sing along to the end.

It was a fantastic show, and as a person that always listens to albums front to back, it was an amazing experience to see pulled off live. Even though I have had the opportunity to see Dan Mangan live several times now, he never fails to wow me with his live performances.
And if you missed it, don't worry; it will soon be rebroadcast on the CBC as well as put out as a podcast soon enough.

setlist
About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All; How Darwinian; Post-War Blues; If I Am Dead; Daffodil; Starts With Them, Ends With Us; Oh Fortune; Leaves, Trees, Forest; Rows Of Houses; Regarding Death and Dying; Jeopardy; Sold; Some People; Robots.

Dan Moxon @ CBC Vancouver -- 07/29/11

The Musical Nooner free concert series at CBC Vancouver is back. Well, it's been back for a while now, but despite wanting to see a few of the previous acts, today was the first day I was able to go check it out.

And it was a good day to do so, to see Dan Moxon (of Bend Sinister) fame with a baby grand piano on the outdoor stage, backed by drums & bass. On his own, he was much more mellow -- and a bit more folky -- than the intense energy of Bend Sinister, which gave a great spotlight to his talent on the piano and incredible voice. The set consisted of a good mix of his own songs, some covers, and a couple Bend Sinister songs. Paul McCartney's "Every Night" was covered early in the set, and there was also a slowed down and much more calm version "Julianna", which is one of my favourite BS songs, which was really cool.

Part way through they took a short break for Radio 3 host Lisa Christiansen to interview Dan, before he was back into it with David Bowie's "Starman", "Long As I Can See The Light" by CCR and a few more original., including a couple I really liked, "You Remind Me Of A Girls I Once Knew" and "New Year's Day".

The set came to an end with "All The Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople, then another Bend Sinister tune, "Don't Let Us Bring You Down". It was actually the second time for that song, since the show was being recorded and fire trucks went by when he played it earlier -- but, of course since the universe has a sense of humour, at almost the same point in the song, police went by, sirens blaring.

It was a really cool show, and I love the concept of the free outdoor nooner shows, so I will definitely have to be back for another. And with upcoming acts like Louise Burns, Sun Wizard, Kathryn Calder & The Crackling... how could you stay away?

Winning America

When Said The Whale headed south for small American tour on the way to the final destination, legendary SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, they didn't just bring their determination to break into the elusive American market, they brought a film crew too.

I had the chance to see the documentary last week, and it is a lot more fascinating that I thought it would be -- it's not just another generic "watch a band as they tour" film, but rather a [sometimes brutally] honest look at what it takes for a band -- not just a Canadian band -- to "make it" in the States.

Going from interviewing members of the band in their day jobs to their final show at the China Cloud; their unfortunate robbery in California to playing shows at SXSW in parking lots and record stored for five people; and the infamous Mustard Incident, and it all comes together to end with-- you know what? You'll just have to find out for yourself.

Winning America air on CBC BC tomorrow night (Saturday the 23rd) at 7pm, and rumour has it that it will be streaming for the rest of Canada, America and the World soon after.

Jill Barber @ CBC Studio 40 -- 02/16/11

The first, and only, time I saw Jill Barber live was almost exactly one year ago, at a free Olympic show. And to be quite honest, I kinda fell in love with her a little at the show (don't tell Grant). So I was glad to find out she would be taping concert for both CBC Radio & Television, and it would only cost an email to get in.

The stage in CBC Vancovuer's Studio 40 was quite fancy, and the band dressed to the nines to match. Barber was not only debuting songs from her upcoming release, Mischievous Moon, but also singing a few songs en français. The new songs definitely had me looking forward to the album, and her jazz influence and sultry voice made me feel like I should be wearing a suit, at a table in a dimly lit room, with a glass of fine whiskey -- though only one third of that was true, sadly.

Aside from small flubs at the beginning of a couple songs, the band was great throughout the night, with a nice variety of strings, brass and a grand piano, and Barber's captivating stage presence. As well as the new songs, there was some old -- "Chances" got some "recognition applause" at the beginning -- and also a cover of Charles Aznavour's "Plus Bleu Que Tes Yeux".
Some other highlights were "Ashes to Ashes", which started with just her and a guitar, until the band kicked in near the end with an incredible and grandiose ending. The new single, "Tell Me" was great, and was repeated in French after a quick pause for a tape change in the cameras.
As the set came to an end, Jill told the story of a dream she once had, and the song it inspired. As she told the story, the band played under her narration, giving it a very noir feeling. It was a really cool intro that led straight into the great "Oh My My", which had everyone clapping along.

That "ended" the set, but she was back out with appropriate songs for the encore, "Leaving You" and "One More Time". Leaving us with the lyrics "If you don't mind / Just before you go away / Won't you kiss me / One more time", I wouldn't be surprised if about half the room left the night having kinda fallen in love with her a little.

We Are The City @ CBC Vancouver -- 07/16/10

I am really starting to like this Musical Nooners free concert series that the CBC is putting on. Last week there was a surprise kick-off of the Malahat Revue tour, and today was a spontaneous We Are The City performance! The shows take place at the outdoor plaza at the CBC Vancouver building, and it looks like it will be running every weekday this summer.

They started playing to somewhat of a small crowd, but as the hour went on, more and more people came over to form a decent sized crowd, for a weekday noon show. Especially one that kind of sprang up at the last minute. As well as their usual assortment of songs from In A Quiet World, they threw in some new songs; "The Birds" (which I got a decent video of) and a couple others, which I have seen before but still have never managed to get the name of. I call them, based on the lyrics, "Take It From Me" and "Morning Song".

They also had some tales of adventure to share. Near the end of the set, Cayne & Andy told a story about going home in Kelowna, just a few weeks back. They were playing with airsoft guns when some hooligans (one of which they later learned was nicknamed "Stabby Steve") came and assaulted them for the guns, giving Cayne a black eye and pummelling Andy. To quote VIAindie: "Who would beat up the nicest people ever!? Grr."

They ended the set after the story with a my two favourite songs of theirs; "Astronomers", which is always explosive live, and the more mellow "April", which was a great way to end a sunny afternoon show.

And if you missed them today, fear not! They will be playing tomorrow with another stellar band Brasstronaut at the Surrey Fusion Festival, at 6:30pm. For free!

setlist
Intro; Feel Is A Word; There Are Very Tiny Beasts In The Ground; The Birds; [Take It From Me]; There Are Very, Very Big Lights In The Sky; [Morning Song]; Peso Loving Squid; Time, Wasted; Astronomers; April

The Malahat Revue w/ Said The Whale, Hannah Georgas, Aidan Knight & Jeremy Fisher @ CBC Vancouver -- 07/07/10

For a few years now, my "dream show" has been one where three or more related bands join forces on stage to play their own, and each others, songs. That dream was fulfilled last year when Monsters Of Folk (consisting of Yim Yames [My Morning Jacket], Conor Oberst [Bright Eyes] and M. Ward [M. Ward]) did just that superbly. And then it was perfected with this years Bonfire Ball with Jason Collett, Zeus and Bahamas. Of course, since a lot of the bands in Vancouver are so intertwined, it was only a matter of time before they tried something like that. The Malahat Revue sees Said The Whale, Hannah Georgas, Aidan Knight and Jeremy Fisher combine their musical might for an eight show bike tour of Vancouver Island and then back here for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Initially I was disappointed that there would be no Vancouver date other than the VFMF, as I would love to go, but am too monetarily challenged. Luckily, not two days ago, they announced a surprise show in front of the CBC building downtown to kick off the tour. And the best part? It was free!

As it was a free afternoon show, it was somewhat short, lasting about an hour, but they got trough about a dozen songs. Kicking things off with "False Creek Change", they hit at least three from each act. Aidan's "The Sun" was a perfect song to be played on such a nice day, and "The Light Is You" was highly energetic, and had at least a few people dancing. Mostly, though, the [generally younger] crowd was content to bask in the sun and the sounds on the patch of grass. "Camilo (The Magician)" had Hannah joining in on vocals, which was an interesting twist on the song and the set ended absolutely perfectly with Knight's "Jasper".

Seeing as many of them had played together before, I don't think it's any surprise how great they all meshed on stage, and if this is how well they play together at the beginning, I can't imagine how they'll be by the end of the tour. Unless they're too exhausted from all the cycling...
I think now I'm even more jealous of those who will be in attendance at the VFMF, as they will no doubt be playing a longer set, too. But I guess some Malahat Revue is better than none!

In the introduction to the show, the emcee mentioned that the CBC was recording the broadcast to be released online, which will be great for anyone who happened to miss it due to pesky things like work. And I snagged a few videos; the first one at the top being "The Light Is You" and "The National", and the second is the big finale, "Jasper". "False Creek Change", "Let's Talk" and "BC Orienteering" can be seen here.

Malahat Revue setlist:
Flase Creek Change [StW], Let's Talk [HG], BC Orienteering [StW], The Sun [AK], All We Want Is Love [JF], The Deep End [HG], Land's End [AK], Cigarette [JF], The Light Is You [StW], The National [HG], High School [JF], Camilo (The Magician) [StW], Jasper [AK]