3am Mixtapes: Episode Sixty Five: Title Tracks

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 banjo songs, but some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Songs Over Twenty Minutes Long. 

This week is a pretty simple concept, it's the Top Six Title Tracks!

Check it out:

"Sing to the Night" by Shred Kelly
"Club Meds" by Dan Mangan + Blacksmith
"Seeds" by TV On The Radio
"Whipping Boy" by Miranda Mulholland
"Foxtrot" by Jasper Sloan Yip
"No One Is Lost" by Stars

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

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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.

Jasper Sloan Yip @ Performance Works -- 02/26/12

The seventh annual Winterruption Festival wrapped up yesterday on Granville Island, and the festivities included a pair of free afternoon shows from Vancouver's Jasper Sloan Yip; an early electric and an acoustic one almost right after.

I caught the earlier electric set, where the crowd was a bit subdued, being an early afternoon show. But the barefoot Jasper kept a good energy and stage presence, telling stories and bantering with his violin player and partner Stephanie Chatman, joking after one song's false start that "in music, as in life, she is right".
And Jasper's energy definitely came through in his music, with his upbeat and dynamic folk rock sound. Highlights of the set included the infectious "Kiddo" and a great cover of  Wilco's "Jesus, Etc". And the Wilco influence shone through later on for my favourite of the set, "Horseshoe"; particularly on the guitar, with Yip channelling a little bit of Nels Cline. They ended with "Foxtrot", preceeded by Jasper reading a bit of the wikipedia definition of the term, stating that is how he wanted his music to one day be. Which he is well on his way to.

It was a nice way to wrap up a great weekend of music, and I have no doubt that next year, Coastal Jazz will be able to top it.

Shows of February

It's the first of the month, which means a) your rent is due, and 2) I'm going to post a quick look at some of the shows I am excited to see this month. After a slow start to the year, this month is packed, so let's get to it.

Wilco at the Orpheum on February 5th.
This is the show I am most excited about. I am ashamed to admit I have never seen Wilco live and after The Whole Love, which was one of my favourite albums last year, there is little chance I am going to miss this show.

The Matinée at Venue February 18th
Even though I saw them four times in the sopan of a couple months last year, none of them were their own headlining shows, so I am more than a little excited for this, which is bound to be a boot-stompin' good time. They're also joined by current buzz band, Good for Grapes and Washboard Union (formerly Gun GMC)

Winterruption February 24-26 at Performance Works
This is going to be a good weekend. Starting off with Michael Bernard Fitzgerald with Acres of Lions on the Friday night. Then another beauty of a double bill with Aidan Knight and The Belle Game Saturday, and wrapping it up with Jasper Sloan Yip for a couple of shows on Sunday.

Saturday the 25th also sees a music event, not a concert but a screening and listening party for the new Said the Whale. They've teamed up with Amazing Factory to make a video for each song for their upcoming album, Little Mountain (think High School) and they'll be screening the entire thing at the Rio Theatre. And they promise it'll end in time to head over to Performance Works.

CBC Toque Sessions
The Toque Sessions return this year, which are some free shows at the CBC, it runs through the next couple months and has some excellent acts. This month we've got Yukon Blonde (3rd), Mother Mother (10th), Rococode (17th), Hey Ocean! (23rd), and a bunch more. Check the link above for the full lineup and how to attend.
And Hey Ocean! has another show lined up, with Elias opening for them, at Venue on the 10th (on the same day as Mother Mother! Oh noes!)

Whether you care about Valentine's Day or not, the Sweetheart Serenade at the Rio Theatre is worth checking out. It'll feature stripped down performances from Zachary Gray (The Zolas), Tariq Hussain (Brasstronaut), Harold and John (Portage and Main), Spencer Schoening (Sunny Pompeii), and Hannah Epperson.

There's also Maurice & Redgy Blackout at the Biltmore on the 22nd, Jordan Klassen with Bed of Stars and Northcote at the Media Club on the 17th (which is conveniently after the Rococode Toque session ends), and I am sure a few others that I am missing -- let me know in the comments!

Whew!

Peak Performance Project Showcase #1 @ Red Room -- 09/08/11

The Peak Performance Project is a multi-year contest in which The Peak, along with Music BC, picks 20 BC musicians/bands a year and makes them stars. The first year was won by We Are The City, and last year, Kyprios, with a ton of great bands and artists included as well.

Part one of the project was a rock & roll boot camp where they went on a week long retreat where industry pros helped them refine their craft. Phase two is a series of shows at The Red Room, four artists a night for five weeks, each playing a 45 minute set. In the last two years, the bands would all have to learn and play a cover of a classic Canadian song, but this year they will all be playing the songs they wrote about Vancouver for the Vancouver125 celebrations. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed about that, because one of my favourite aspects of the showcase series last year was seeing which song they picked and how they interpreted it. But I am sure their Vancouver songs will be great.

Kicking off the whole series was The Never Surprise, joined by drummer Neko Friesen and Robbie Driscoll on bass -- both of which have played with just about all the bands in Vancouver. They started the set with some slow, folk-y songs, but as the set went on they picked up the energy a little. There wasn't too much banter, aside from some gratuitous "thank yous", but they all seemed confident from the start, which just grew as the set went on. A little bit of feedback struck them early on -- that actually persisted throughout the night -- but it was played it off quite well. They wrapped up the set with their Vancouver 125 song, which was probably the most energetic one they had. They were the crowd into it and clapping along, and it was definitely a good ending song.

Hilary Grist was up next, keeping the mood somewhat mellow with her singer/songwriter folk-pop style. Musically, I thought she was okay; a nice voice and catchy songs, but nothing that really stood out or that I hadn't heard before. But she did have a fantastic energy and stage presence. Coming out from behind the keyboard, singing at the front of the stage, she was great and getting the crowd into it. As the set went on there was a couple of nice moments, with the whole band came up to the front for a soft, cute song and one song consisting of a good sized brass section. She ended her set with a song that started off with just her, then the band joined in, then her large brass section came in as well, for a big ending with the crowd singing and clapping along.

Following her was Jasper Sloan Yip, who I had heard a few songs from, but for whatever reason had never seen him live or delved deeper into his work. But that will have to change, because he put on a thoroughly enjoyable set with a bit more rock in his folk, and a nice balance of slower songs and fun, catchy upbeat ones. Yip had an effortless charm to him, and he & his band all had a good presence on stage, and great chemistry, playing off each other really well. I also loved the addition of the strings, especially violin, to the songs, giving them a nice depth. He, too, ended with a big, grand, clap-along song -- which was a fun song, but had me wondering a little if someone told all the bands at bootcamp that was a good way to end a show.

Wrapping up the night was The Belle Game. I've had the chance to see their big, chamber pop sound a few times in the last couple months, and this was probably their best show I have seen them play. While they have never been lacking energy, this set had an abundance of it, with the members moving around more, being more dynamic. Members of the band would come up front and centre to show off, notably Alex Andrew on guitar and trumpetite Andrew Lee (on loan from The Ruffled Feathers) blowing his heart out for a couple trumpet solos, and a really good intensity from singer Andrea Lo.
And they also had a big, bombastic ending to their set, wrapping up the first night of the showcase shows with a bang.

Definitely a fun night, and a great start to the showcase series, which runs for the next four Thursdays at the Red Room. Next week we'll hear from Avairis, Fields of Green, Acres of Lion and Current of Swell