3am Mixtapes: Episode Seventy Three: Searchlight (with Chersea)

Each week on the 3am Mixtapes podcast, I will share with you the Top Six Songs of a certain subject. The topics can be as general as best Australian bands. Some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Bands with a Fiddle. 

This week I have a special guest cohost, Chersea, who is a part of this year's CBC Searchlight competition, and so we chatted about our Top Six CBC Searchlight Songs!

***Even thought Chersea is in Searchlight, and I & this blog have a history with CBC & Searchlight, this particular podcast is not affiliated with the CBC in any way and the opinions expressed therein are solely the property of 3am Revelations Inc. (unless you want them to, CBC, then call me)***

Shine the spotlight on:

Never Wanna Go Back by The Weakness (vote for them here)
Lose Control by Catlow (vote for them here)
It Goes Around (Psilocybin) by Conroy Ross (vote for him here)
Salty Dog by The Vaudevillian (vote for them here)
Slow Virgil by Hash Jesus (vote for them here)
The Wolf by Chersea (vote for her here)

Any questions or comments or waffles or criticisms or suggestions for future themes are welcome!

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North by North East: Saturday

Saturday was the day I was looking forward to most for NXNE. It was the day packed with seemingly everything I wanted to do, and while I had to sacrifice some things (missing Limblifter was a bit of a blow) it still ended up the best night of the festival.

It started off with the second annual CBC Radio 3 Listener Picnic, with R3 listeners descending upon Trinity Bellwood park to hang out and meet up -- many meeting for the first time outside the internet. Portage & Main, Zach Gray & Adrian Glynn (who prefer to be called "Emperor of the North, aka Murder on the Canadian, aka The Caboose Boys" for branding purposes and who climbed a tree to play above everyone), Jeremy Fisher, Ian Foster, and The Matinee all played short, acoustic sets to the gathering of R3 listeners and hosts Grant Lawrence and Craig Norris.

Later on it was more free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square. One of the bands I was most interested to see was of Montreal, since I had never had the chance to see them live but heard many good things. They took the stage in costumes and a bit of makeup, starting off with "Suffer For Fashion", living up to their reputation of an eclectic live band with an incredible stage show that features not only the band in costumes, but random others as well, and even short "dramatic scenes" being played out on stage. And not only were the theatrics fun to watch, but the music was solid as well. Kevin Barnes' distinct vocals filled the square, and their energetic and psychedelic pop got the rapidly expanding crowd moving. The too-short-set wrapped up with the manic "She's A Rejecter" and a couple costumed people leaping into the crowd and surfing almost the entire way to the back.

Next up was a band I had heard a lot about, but not much from, Portugal. The Man. I don't know if they lived up to some of the buzz I had heard, but they were a solid and enjoyable live band. A little more subdued rock than the bombastic sounds of the bands that preceded and followed them, with a hint of southern rock in their sound. The set started out good, but by the end it got a little repetitive; they were all excellent musicians, but the set seemed to drag a little, the songs a little samey, and there wasn't much banter or talk between songs, just some mumbled thanks and muttering their name. Aside from their own songs, they had not one, but two Beatles covers in their set, with a pretty good cover of "Helter Skelter" and some of "Hey Jude" in their last song, to get the people in the square singing along. Maybe it's because they were sandwiched between two extremely memorable live bands, but nothing in the set really stood out for me.

Yonge-Dundas Square got more and more packed as it came time for The Flaming Lips. They went on almost half an hour late, which had me getting a little anxious, but as the band emerged from the screen and Wayne Coyne got in his giant zorb to crowd surf, the feeling was a little relieved, and as they released the huge balloons and shot loads of confetti into the air, it was like nothing else mattered.
Starting off, after the crowd surfing, with "Worm Mountain" and a massive sing along to "She Don't Use Jelly" and "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song", the show consisted of the usual amazing sights of a Flaming Lips show. Dancers on either side the the stage, Wayne Coyne shouting/singing through a megaphone, giant hands that shoot lasers and much more.
There was also a very emotional moment mid way through the set, when Wayne paused to speak sombrely about that days stage collapse, which caused the death of a Radiohead crew member and the ultimate cancellation of that show. In sign of respect and solidarity, they covered "Knives Out" and then dedicated a very, very emotional and beautiful "Waiting For A Superman" to the friends and family of the man who lost his life, with Wayne visibly tearing up during the song -- and I'm sure some others in the crowd as well.
There was, however, a bit of a disconnect as the show went on; the square was packed shoulder to shoulder, and the heat was clearly taking its toll on people as there was a span of about twenty minutes where five of six people were being pulled out of the crowd for fainting -- and that was just near me. As amazing as The Flaming Lips are live, you just can't get as into the show when you start to worry about your safety, and the safety of those around you. So while it was still an extremely difficult decision to make, I ended up leaving a couple songs early to make sure I got in to see the next show on my must-see list.

And that act next on my must see list was Matt Mays at Lee's Palace. Having not seen the shaggy Dartmouth rocker in over two years, this was one of the sets I was most excited about for the entire festival; and judging by the size of the crowd, I wasn't the only one. Mays and his band started off with a handful of new songs, which sounded amazing and made me incredibly excited about the new album -- which he didn't go in to detail about. They sounded like you'd expect from Mays, but fresh, not a rehashing of old material, with a couple really standing out. Unfortunately, I didn't get names of any of the new songs, but they got me very excited for the inevitable new album.
After jokingly apologizing about playing only new songs to start, he played a couple songs solo, including "Travellin'", which had a chill-inducing moment -- despite the heat of the venue -- when the rest of the band kicked back in and nearly the entire packed venue sang/yelled along to the chorus.
From there he played a good number of songs from all four of his albums, rocking out to songs like "Tall Trees" and "Rock Ranger Records" and lots more singing along, especially to the ode to his hometown, "City of Lakes", and "Cocaine Cowgirl", which ended the set. But of course, the crowd wasn't having any of it and they were out for the usual encore, first covering The Boss' "Glory Days" and then ending the night with not only one of my favourite Matt Mays songs, but one of my favourite songs period, "Terminal Romance". The raw emotion and heartbreak of the song poured out of Mays, and the emotion in the crowd was palpable. It was pretty much the perfect ending for the night, and as much as I love Matt Mays, I never would have thought on a day where I was seeing both of Montreal and The Flaming Lips as well that his show would be the best of the night.

Tracks on Tracks: The Fourth Day

Sioux Lookout was the site of the beginning of day four, the final full day on the train. Chris Ho performed a "Sunrise" Platform show, which I missed due to sleep.

The day seemed a bit slower as people were, I'm sure, nursing the cinematic aftereffects of alcohol, and the acoustic shows of the day started with Emperor of the North, the combination of Zachary Gray and Adrian Glynn. They traded off songs, playing a couple of Glynn's songs and a couple new Zolas songs before ending on a Leonard Cohen cover, "Show Me The Place" off his new album.

The Belle Game was next up, in the very last car, the Park Car. Their set wasn't quite as acoustic as a couple days before, when they blew a fuse. The played some old and new stuff, brought up Sheryl and Krista from Sidney York to back them up on oboe and bassoon for "Sleep to Grow" and they ended off with their brand new song, "Wasted Light"

Maurice and Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party were both supposed to play acoustic sets as well, but the timing didn't work out, and everyone packed the Green Couch car for one last all night party. Emperor of the North (aka Murder on the Canadian) started it off with a similar set to earlier in the day. "Oh My World" was a great song, with the two of them percussing by hitting their guitars and clapping, and the dynamic and banter between the two was amazing, and I'm a little sad that it looks like their collaborating is going to be a one-off thing for the train.

Adaline was next and, aside from some technical problems throughout the set, rocked a dance party in the car. She seduced everyone with her sexy electro-pop sounds and sultry voice, and enlisting in the help of Mike and Pete from The Matinee (two of the hardest working musicians on the train) for a couple songs too. 

Then after some time for setting up, The Belle Game played their first full on electric show. Joined again Krista and Sheryl from Sidney York to fill out a few of their songs, their grand sound filled the car and kept the dance party going. They played a few new songs, and ended off with the huge "Sleep to Grow"

And finally, the last "official" show on the train was Bear Mountain -- the side project from Ian Bevis from TLGLTP-- wrapped up the night for some more dancing, but people were already starting to be strewn out the cars. There was an acoustic jam session with members of Shred Kelly and Portage and Main in one direction, and in the other The Matinee managed to get Grant Lawrence up for a rendition of The Smugglers' "Rosie" (which I regrettably missed!)

It sounds cheesy and cliché to say, but this train ride really was The Trip Of A Lifetime. There were a few hitches that they hit along the way; staff and other passengers not fully aware of what was going on being a big one, and there was the occasional miscommunication, and scheduling issues. But those are all first year glitches that hardly spoiled the experience, and will be smoothed out now that they know what the whole trip entails. And I sincerely hope that it is something that will happen on a yearly basis. I know I'm already saving up for next year.

Tracks on Tracks: The Third Day

We pull in (and out) of Saskatoon as day three began with more bustle in the morning, until the next stop in the small town of Melville, Saskatchewan where there was to be a platform show. The train was running late, however, so there wasn’t chance of a full show, but they opened one of the doors on a baggage car for newly acquired Shred Kelly to play a whirlwind set for nearly the whole town, including The Mayor!

The afternoon saw more cabin shows with Portage & Main and The Matinee, both stripped down. Portage took advantage of the setting and played some of their slower songs, like “Rocky Mountain Wanderer” (despite being in the middle of the prairies) and The Matinee crammed into the back of the Park Car, at the very end of the train. They had some assistance from Kiana Brasset on violin (and Grant Lawrence on woos) as they serenaded the car in front of the vast prairie landscape disappearing behind them.

The scheduled show at the Forks in Winnipeg didn’t quite go as planed. The train rolled in late making a much more rushed than anticipated; instead of the two-hour show, we were only in town for less than half an hour. Chris Ho played a few songs, followed by an obligatory set from the appropriately named Portage & Main, including their rocking (and train themed) newer song “Sweet Darlin”  It was then a game of hurry up and wait as we rushed back to the station but the train still wasn’t quite ready, so there were a few impromptu songs in the station; first Zach & Adrian, then Maurice and finally Lindsey Bryan.

We pulled out of The Peg and it was right back to the music with Shred Kelly rocking their self proclaimed “stoke folk”. Their great energy and enthusiasm was bolstered by co-vocals from the lovely Sage McBride and the blurry fingers of Tim Newton’s banjo picking, breaking a string in the middle of the set – which was immediately re-strung as the drummer and bassist filled the potential awkward pause. The wrapped up their set with “Tornado Alley”, which built to a huge, amazing ending.

Portage and Main was up next for another full out rock set, backed by Pete and Mike from The Matinee on drums and bass respectively. The banter between John and Harold was their usual self-deprecating joking; playing off each other well and the aforementioned train-themed “Sweet Darling” nearly blew the roof off the train car. They ended with a massive sing along to “Oh Caorlina” with the entire car belting out the chorus.

And The Matinee closed out the night in a way only they could, with another all out rocking set. They shook the train car as everyone stomped along to “L’Absinthe” and  “The Road”, using the walls of the train and random instruments for the usual drum breakdown, but they were urged back for one more, a cover (their third of the night) of Tom Petty’s “Running Down A Dream”



There were a few more scheduling glitches and some miscommunication the third day, and an illness that may have sidelined Sidney York from the rest of the train, but beyond that, it's still been one heck of a trip!

Tracks on Tracks: The Second Day

Day two began somewhere in the middle of BC, with some people decorating the Green Couch car and interviews aplenty as the Green Couch people and Grant Lawrence from CBC Radio 3 talked to a few of the bands.

The first performance of the day was in the afternoon, Chris Ho in one of the train cars as we were pulling in to Jasper. Chris was joined by Kiana Brasset and a couple other bandmates for a stripped down, but upbeat folksy set. After a few catchy songs, he wrapped up with an appropriate cover of a certain Aidan Knight song as the train pulled into the station.

The stop in Jasper featured a couple more platform shows as they got the green couch off the train for The Matinee and Sidney York to play a pair of acoustic songs each in the rain. The Matinee went with “L'Absinthe “ and “Sweet Water”, getting a lot of the passengers in the station stomping, and Sidney York got people bopping along to “Mile High Love” and “Dick & Jane”

Back on the train, car shows started back up with Adaline. Due to some technical problems, she didn't have a keyboard this time, but an acoustic guitar. She was a little nervous to just be playing on guitar, but soldiered on like a pro. Part way through her first song, a voice from the back of the car joined in, a voice belonging to Adrian Glynn, who joined her for the rest of the set. They harmonized on some of the songs they had worked on in the past, some of Adaline's and even one of Glynn's, and for “Whiter/Straighter” they went a capella and got those with rhythm in the car to snap and clap along.
With the intimate space of the last car on the train, and the beautiful scenery disappearing into the distance right behind them, it was a pretty amazing set, and definitely one of my favourites so far.

After some (delicious) dinner, Sidney York and The Belle Game were playing in a different car – they had four cars total set up for live shows; three smaller and more acoustic and one main Green Couch Car.
Sidney York had the full band set up, and a lot of the folks who were on the train not knowing about the project happened by, and it seemed like a good number of them were won over by their enthusiastic and infectious indie pop. Even in a confined space, Brandi was bouncing up and down behind her keyboard and the band was rocking the train.

The Belle Game was next, but as they were literally two notes in they blew the fuse, rendering half their equipment powerless. But they rolled with the punches and played an entirely stripped down set instead. “Sleep To Grow” started the set, and they were joined by the lovely ladies of Sidney York to add bassoon, oboe and french horn to the grandiose ending of the song. They were only able to play a few songs, due to the power issue taking up most of their time, but it was really cool to see them that basic. So far two of the best performances were born from equipment failures.

Later on in the night was a full set from Maurice in the Green Couch car. People packed in, sitting on the floor for more of a rocking set from JP and his band, as opposed to the platform show from the day before. He played for about a half hour and ended with his cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", slipping in a couple fun top 40 songs; "Teenage Dream" and "Moves Like Jagger", all of which had everyone singing along as the train pulled into Edmonton and picked up the last of the bands, Shred Kelly.

And the day wrapped up, music-wise, in the best way it could have; a Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party. It's nearly impossible to describe the events of the set, but the Green Couch car was absolutely packed with people -- many of which were, in fact, topless by the end of the set -- and everyone jumping and dancing, shaking the car to the bands incredibly fun dancey pop sounds. There was a lot of singing and clapping along to songs, like their self titled "Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party", and they were even called back for one more song, a slower, quieter one to wrap up the night.

Tomorrow is another packed day with shows on the train from Shred Kelly, The Matinee, Portage and Main, a stop in Melville, SK and the big free show tonight at Winnipeg at the Forks; the only actual-venue show of the trip!

Tracks on Tracks: The First Day

After months of build up and hype, Tracks on Tracks is finally upon us. The brain child of Green Couch Sessions, with a lot of help from both VIA Rail and CBC Radio 3, sees eleven musical acts hop aboard The Canadian, with a whole bunch of music fans, heading from Vancouver to Toronto and rolling in to the city just in time for North by North East. 


The first night was simple enough, starting at the Pacific Central station as bands slowly filtered in, with a couple platform shows. 

Adaline was up first, performing solo but still managed to keep her electro-pop energy. Playing keys, she also had her drum and bass backtracks present, giving her a full sound. Her strong voice filled the platform, and even though she was a bit quiet, she still . And she ended up winning over a lot of the, er, older folks... that had no idea what they were in store for on the train.


Next was Maurice, who was joined by fellow Victoria musician Lindsay Bryan and Kiana Brasset joined him of violin for a couple songs. His more relaxed, acoustic set suffered a little more that Adaline’s from the low volume, especially with the bustle of more and more people showing up. But songs like the insanely catchy “Mistake” and “All I Ever Wanted” still grabbed people's attention.


And then finally, everyone boarded the train and it pulled away from the station, slowly taking us from Vancouver to Toronto. The first night was a little subdued, likely due to the fact that we left at 8:30, and everyone was still settling in for the night. But today we'll see shows from Chris Ho, Adaline, Sidney York, The Matinee, and The Belle Game, as well as a stop in Jasper, AB.

2011 CBC Radio 3 Bucky Awards

Today CBC Radio 3 announced the Bucky Awards Long List, honouring the very best in Canadian music for the past year. Each category in the long list has seven nominees and by the end of the week, fan voting will whittle each category down to five to form the shortlist. Voting will be open until November 27th at midnight (PST) and the winners will be announced by Grant Lawrence at the big Bucky Awards extravaganza, on Wednesday Dec 7th at 11am (also PST).

The nominees (with my pick[s] **'d) are these:

UPDATE: They cut down the categories to a short list of five:

DOUBLE UPDATE: Winners in bold! Awards for some, miniature congratulations for others!

Best Song
**Dan Mangan - Rows of Houses
**Mother Mother - The Stand
**Hey Rosetta! - Yer Spring
Austra - Lose It
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp
Young Galaxy - We Have Everything
D-Sisive - No More Words

Most Canadian Song
**Elliott Brood - Northern Air
**Library Voices - The Prime Minister's Daughter
Joel Plaskett - On The Rail
Ohbijou - Niagara
Harlan Pepper - Great Lakes
Will Currie and The Country French - Tommy Douglas
The Warped 45s - Grampa Carl

Best Vocals
Austra - Lose It
**Imaginary Cities - Ride This Out
**Elliott BROOD - If I Get Old
Kathleen Edwards - Change the Sheets
Jenn Grant - Getcha Good
K-OS - Holy Cow

Sloan - Follow The Leader

Best Live Act
**Arkells
**Rich Aucoin
**Library Voices
The Sheepdogs

Fucked Up

Braids
Kid Koala

Best Reason To Learn French

Coeur de pirate - Adieu
**Jill Barber - Dis-moi

Galaxie - Piste 1
Les Breastfeeders - 400 Miles
Malajube - Synesthésie
Philémon Chante - Dors poupée dors
Jesuslesfilles - Mercredi

Best New Artist

**Braids

**Imaginary Cities

AUSTRA

shimmering stars
The Barr Brothers
Louise Burns
Little Scream

Best New Band Name

Oh No! Yoko
**Rococode
HONHEEHONHEE
Purity Ring
Grimes
Odonis Odonis
Teen Daze

Best Lyric

“Soon you're 33 / And everything you tried to be / Is pulled apart by fear and greed.”
**Hey Rosetta! from Welcome
“No I’m not here waiting on anyone… especially not Jessica.”
**We Are The City from Happy New Year
“It’s like paradise spread out with a butter knife.”
**Mother Mother from The Stand
“If you only got one leg then shake it / If you don’t wanna smile then fake it / If you got a potato, bake it.”
SOCALLED from Work With What You Got
“Barbra Streisand.”
Duck Sauce from Barbra Streisand

“Tchaikovsky and Mozart, Debussy and Brahms / If born at the right time would've driven TransAms.”
Snailhouse from Airwaves

“Speaking of Adidas, maybe one day you’ll carry my fetus / If he has your genes he'd be a genius / Even as son or a daughter hotter than Phoenix.”
Cadence Weapon from Baby I'm Yours (feat.Shad)

Sexiest Artist

**Dan Mangan
**Sam Roberts
Handsome Furs
Emm Gryner
The Pack A.D.
Alanna of Bonjay
Dirty Beaches

Best Video

Said The Whale - Lines
New Pornographers - Moves
Hollerado - Good Day at the Races
Born Ruffians - The Ballad of Moose Bruce
Arkells - Kiss Cam
Chad VanGaalen - Peace on the Rise
Destroyer - Savage Night at the Opera

Fan of the Year
Russ "CDNz1" Gordon and Cathleen "cathyort" Hagan

Lifetime Achievement Award
Ian Blurton

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.

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.

CBC Radio 3 Searchlight 2011

So CBC Radio 3 released the long list for their latest Searchlight contest today, which is for Canada’s Best Music Website. And guess who is on it? That's right, your friendly neighbourhood 3am Revelations. You can find out more information, or see the near-150 sites nominated by clicking the fancy pictographic they supplied, or go directly here and vote. There are a lot of amazing sites on the list, so I won't be terribly offended if you don't vote for me. But on the other hand, it would be all sorts of awesome if you did.


And just so this isn't completely self-serving, here is the brand new We Are The City song, from their upcoming EP High School, released by Adventure Boys Club. It's a pretty darn nifty song, and makes me quite excited for March 22.


Download Happy New Year

CBC Radio 3 Listener Co-Host Initiative

Regular readers (all 5 of you) should know my love of CBC Radio 3. [Almost] every week, Craig Norris does the "Listener Co-Host Initiative" and a different fan/listener/R3-blogger gets to host the show with Mr. Norris. This week, I had the honour and pleasure of doing so. I got to pick some of the playlist, so look for some west coast favourites like Dan Mangan, Said The Whale, The New Pornos (and various members), Aidan Knight, Brasstronaut, The Zolas and We Are The City (who I gushed about a little too much, possibly) as well as great acts from all across the country; The Tom Fun Orchestra, The Dears, Karkwa, Matt Mays, Charles Spearin and many more! I also tried to include a few acts that I think are vastly underrated, like Black Diamond Bay, Wil, Black Hat Brigade and Valleys.
Hope you can tune in to check it out, 7-11am (pacific time) tomorrow (Thursday) morning! If you do, be sure to say hi on the blog!

Dan Mangan (w/ Fanshaw) @ CBC Studio 1 -- 02/26/10

I have been incredibly fortunate with Dan Mangan shows. Aside from the fact that I've only seen him twice, the first time was his fantastic CD release party at the Cultch, which included him & his band, of course, but also an orchestral section and Shane Koyczan. Something, he confessed, that would probably never happen again. This time, he played a CBC Radio 3 sponsored show, going out live (and probably online in the near future) in Studio 1 at the CBC headquarters. The room couldn't have held more than a hundred or so people, so it was a very intimate setting.

First up, though, was Fanshaw. I saw her at the Mint Records X-Mas Show, and really liked the set, especially her voice. Simultaneously soft & powerful, Olivia Fetherstonhaugh (formerly of The Choir Practice) has a voice that commands attention even at a whisper. The three piece -- Oliva on guitar accompanied by bass & drums -- alternated between upbeat and down tempo songs, and even alternated members, with some songs being just Olivia, and one adding a french horn.
The set ended with a duet between Olivia and her drummer, who took over guitar duties, covering "Love Hurts". While they may not get points for originality (how many times has that song been covered?) it was a pretty damn good cover of the song, with their voices blending together really well. I've been idly looking for the album, Dark Eyes, which came out about a month ago, but I think after last night I am going to have to start seriously looking for it.

Between sets, Lisa Christiansen briefly interviewed both Olivia & Dan, and also gave out some prizes with trivia.

At 8 sharp, Dan Mangan took the stage with his backing musicians... a trio of horns & a trio of strings. He started off with "Sold" before going into "Fair Verona", which was already one of my favourite songs, but absolutely amazing with the horns & strings. And considering he mentioned they only had two rehearsal sessions together, it was pretty great. There was also the usual humour thrown in, cracking jokes between songs. I once likened Mangan's stage presence to that of Joel Plaskett, not only with the effortless stage banter and humour, but also using that to create intimacy in the set. Even if it wasn't already a small room, Mangan is able to make it seem like he's just a pal, playing in your living room. The highlight of the set would have to be "Basket", which just bled raw emotion. It was incredible and managed to give me chills; and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few tears rolling down cheeks by the end of it. He "ended" the too-short-set with "Robots", with of course everyone singing and clapping along. There was a vaguely awkward moment as he wandered off, then back on for the requisite encore, asking the members of Fanshaw to lead the crowd in the background ooo-oooh's for "So Much For Everyone"
With just the orchestral section and Dan Mangan, it was an incredibly rich and beautiful sounding show, which was improved upon immensely with the intimacy of the room. I think I might just be slightly disappointed next time I see him live, since I am pretty sure shows like this will never be repeated. Luckily, it'll be up soon enough on R3 for repeated listening.

Setlist:
Sold, Fair Verona, The Indie Queens Are Waiting, Road Regrets, Et Les Mots Croisés, Pine For Cedars, Tina's Glorious Comeback, Basket, Robots. (encore) So Much For Everyone.

The other thing I noticed about this show was how awesome the crowd was. Maybe it is because they all knew it was going out live, but everyone was incredibly respectful while both Fanshaw and Mangan were playing. Don't get me wrong, between songs and everything, people went nuts -- Dan got a standing ovation at the end -- but while they were actually playing/singing, the crowd was silent. It's been a while since I've been to a show and someone wasn't incessantly chatting the whole time... I kind of wish all shows had crowds like this.