3am Mixtapes: Episode Twenty Five: Ninth 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 like best female vocalists. Or some might be a little more... specific. Top Six Bands With Unusual Instruments.

This week, we shall take a look at the Top Six Track Nines! "Why," I hear you ask (even though we are using text based communication right now)? Well, the simple answer is "why not?"

This week on the playlist:

"Poor Ol Broken Hearted Me" by The Trews
"Lesage" by The Liptonians
"Agoraphobe" by Ryan Dahle
"I Remember" by Damien Rice
"I Still Remember" by Bloc Party
"Spitfire" by Wil

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

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Best of 2011: Albums: Haiku Edition

Okay, so I definitely fell behind this year when it came to album posts and reviews. But that's not going to stop me from subjecting you to yet another Best of 2011 list, which will be my favourite albums of 2011, in -- what else? -- haiku form. It's actually going to be less of a "best of" and more of a "personal favourite". I completely acknowledge that there may have been, technically, better albums this year; but some of those "better" ones I just couldn't get into for some reason *cough*Feist*cough*
So here it is. While the list is not numbered, it is in a vague order of "least-best" to "best", and I've included EPs as well as LPs because why not, that's why.

The King Is Dead by The Decemberists
Back down to basics
Strong songwriting from Meloy
As you would expect

Diaper Island by Chad VanGaalen

Refined and focused
Soaring vocals, instruments
On top of his game

Days Into Years by Elliott BROOD

Suitably toned down
War memorial inspired
Brilliant songwriting

Portage & Main by Portage & Main

A solid debut
Strong folk rock, heartfelt lyrics
Great blend of voices

Eureka by Mother Mother

Infectious and fun
But not without some darkness
Stellar shared vocals

Orchard by Jess Hill

Incredible voice
Beautiful and haunting songs
Mesmerizing folk

Michigan Left by Arkells

A bit more polished
But still more fun rock and roll
A strong follow-up

The Whole Love by Wilco

More adventurous
Bookended with two great songs
Their best in a while

Let's All March Back Into The Sea by The Liptonians

Cacophonous sound
A whole host of instruments
And clever lyrics

Summer of Lust by Library Voices

Energetic songs
Sharp, intelligent lyrics
Pop at its finest

No Bad Days by Wide Mouth Mason

Six years since their last
New bassist Gordie Johnson
Haven't missed a step

We're All Friends & Lovers Until It Falls Apart EP by Redbird

Strong, lovely voice
Coupled with great songwriting
Wonderful debut

Seeds by Hey Rosetta!

Heartbreaking lyrics
Symphonic and grandiose
Complex yet catchy

We're All Dying To Live by Rich Aucoin

Highly ambitious
Perfect, cinematic flow
Brilliantly unique

Apocalyptic Radio Cynic by Sidney York

Insanely catchy
Clever, sexy, sometimes dark
Power-pop with depth

Temporary Resident by Imaginary Cities

Take one stellar voice
One stupendeous musician
For near perfect pop

Kaputt by Destroyer

Rich, dense, and jazz-y
Lyrically ambiguous
Very beautiful

Oh Fortune by Dan Mangan

Darker and more dense
Rich music, poignant lyrics
Exponential growth

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Explosions in the Sky

Crashing crescendos
Breathtaking rises and falls
Far beyond "epic"

High School EP by We Are The City

More going on here
Than most have in a full length
Nearly perfection

Degeneration Street by The Dears

All-star Dears line-up
From the brink of destruction
Better than ever

Lights of Endangered Species by Matthew Good

Full of emotion
Amazingly orchestral
A career highlight

The Zolas with The Liptonians and Hannah Epperson @ St James Hall -- 10/24/11

On the heels of the release of their split 7", The Zolas and The Liptonians have brought their western Canadian tour to an end with a pair of shows here in Vancouver. St James Hall was the site of their second show -- the first happening while I was otherwise occupied -- and was all ages, which meant a lot of teenage girls there to see The Zolas.
(If you even want to feel old, just go to an all ages Zolas or Said the Whale show)

First up was Hannah Epperson, armed with only her violin, loop pedal and soft, beautiful voice. I've seen her a few times before, but I am always taken by her masterful loops, building layer upon layer with just her violin. A few of her songs were just instrumental -- and were captivating on their own -- and when she added vocals, her voice matched the mood perfectly. She had the crowd completely enthralled, with dead silence for her while she was playing, breaking into cheers only when she was done each song.

The Liptonians were up next, launching into "You Know I Did", and their fantastic contribution to the split 7", "Destroy Destroy Destroy". Right off the bat they proved why their live shows have such a great reputation, with their incredibly tight sound and solid harmonies, and the show just got better from there. "Perfect Swimmers" was one of the highlights, a soft song that fit the venue perfectly, and had everyone golf-clapping along in lieu of their forgotten shaker, and one of my favourites, "Growing Old in the City", featured a garbage can lid and a cacophony of sound that swells to an insane climax. I am fairly certain that if I ever go mad, I want that song playing at the time.
After what seemed like not nearly long enough, they drew to a close with "March Back Into the Sea", starting soft and swelling to a great ending for the set. And I already can't wait to see them live again.

setlist
Terrell's Dream; You Know I Did; Destroy, Destroy, Destroy; Lesage; The Privatest Parts; Perfect Swimmers; Float On By; Growing Old in the City; Hey! Hey! Help is on the Way!; March Back Into The Sea.

And wrapping up the night was The Zolas. Or rather, The Zoliptonias, as Zach Gray's partner in crime Tom Dobrzanski couldn't make the tour, so Grey was backed by the five members of The Liptonians. It was really interesting seeing Zach with a completely different band, especially up to six members from the usual four, since it really rounded out songs; they had a great chemistry and the sounded fantastic.
Starting off the set with the dense and moody "Guest" "Cultured Man", the other song from the split 7", before getting a nice bout of recognition applause (or, shrieks given the demographic at an all ages show) for "You're Too Cool". The set featured mostly older songs, prompting lots of clapping and singing along, but also another new song, "Strange Girl", and after a raucous ending with "Marlaina Kamikaze" Grey came back out alone for just one more song, the soft "These Days", backing off the mic a few times, really taking advantage of the quiet crowd.
I feel a little weird saying it it was a fantastic set from The Zolas, given that really only one Zola was there, but it really was a great show, and was pretty cool to see the collaboration, and I kind of with The Zolas played as a six-piece more often.

setlist
Cultured Man; You're Too Cool; The Great Collapse; Marionettes; I've Got Leeches; Body Ash; Strange Girl; Marlaina Kamikaze.
(encore) These Days.

Shows of October

Well, I did this last month, so let's try it again, shall we? Here are some of the shows I am excited about in the month of October. It's a pretty stacked month, with lots of great shows announced so far (with a few conflicting ones, too).

Big Sugar with Wide Mouth Mason at the Commodore on October 21st & 22nd.
Top of the list would have to be this show, no question. I was at the Commodore eight years ago for what was, at the time, Big Sugar's final Vancouver show and it was phenomenal. I was thrilled when they got back together, and when they announced Wide Mouth Mason -- who Gordie Johnson now plays bass with -- would be opening? well, their show at the Yale in January has probably been one of my favourite shows of the year, so that's just extra added awesome.

Chad VanGaalen at the Rio Theatre on October 15th
Even though Pop Okanagan is happening this same weekend, I am pretty sure seeing CVG live trumps an entire festival. It will be two years to the day (and, in fact, at the same venue) since I last saw him, which is far too long. (Accompanied video not mine, was taken from the last show, with Julie Fader on keys)

Kathryn Calder at the Biltmore on October 27th
Even though I've seen her a couple times this year, Calder is always incredible live. Her new album is out soon, and I am very much looking forward to seeing her live again.

Dominique Fricot with Sidney York at the Electric Owl on October 14th
Ten and a half months. That's all it took between seeing him at One Night Stand and finally seeing him perform his own material. Which is inexcusable. And of course, there's Sidney. The only time I've seen her was at a venue with sub-par sound, so I am very excited to see her somewhere that will sound good.

And the conflicts? That lies with the aforementioned Big Sugar/WMM show as well as:
Sidney York with The Ruffled Feathers & The Belle Game at the Railway on October 20th.
Zeus at the Biltmore on October 21st
The Zolas & The Liptonians on October 20th at the Electric Owl and October 24nd at St James Hall
So. There's all that. Zeus is a fantastic live band who haven't been here since the (incredible) Bonfire Ball tour. The Liptonians blew me away live earlier this year, and pairing them with The Zolas is perfect. And the show at the Railway has just an excellent lineup. There could be a way to see all the shows, but it might be tough!

Oh, and there's the last Peak Performance Project showcase with Maurice, Lindsay Bryan, 41st & Home and Rococode on the 6th at the Red Room well as Danny Michel with Jody Glenham at the Biltmore on the 13th, which should be fun, and of course, the Foo Fighters at Rogers Arena on the 25th. But as much as I love the Foos, and as great a live show as they put on, I have a feeling I won't be able to make this show unless I somehow get press, or win tickets...

Whew. That's a lot of shows.

3 Minute Revelations: Let's All March Back Into The Sea by The Liptonians

Combining my joy of production with my false sense of smug superiority in telling you what you should like* -- and since I've clearly failed at keeping up at full album write ups (the last one being over six months ago... yipes) -- here is another instalment of 3 Minute Revelations**

Slowly but surely, catching up on on 2011 albums. At this rate I'll be done... by this time next year! It took a few listens, but this one has grown into one of my favourite albums of the year, so far.

Here is the Let's All March Back Into The Sea by The Liptonians

Download

*please note blatant sarcasm.
** subtitle: Kirk Takes Three Minutes of Your Life and Awesomes It Up.

The Liptonians w/ Rococode and Jean-Paul De Roover @ Joe's Apartment -- 04/08/11

After hearing phenomenal things about The Liptonians live show, and with the album growing on me the more I listen to it, I was ridiculously excited to see them for the first time last night. Especially with Rococode opening. And I'll get to that in a moment, but first, a bit of a rant...
This was the second time I have seen a show at Joe's Apartment, and I'm starting to form an opinion on the place. The sound is decent enough, but what really bugged me was the TVs. It was cool before the bands were playing, when Indiana Jones was on, but then they didn't turn the movie/screens off when the music starts. And then when they switch to dumb comedies after Indy? It's hard to keep focused on the bands when there is slapstick comedy and nudity and Borat happening on screens right next to the stage, right next to performers heads sometimes. It actually seems a little disrespectful to the bands.
But I digress, on to said bands.

Starting off the night was Jean-Paul De Roover. He took the stage alone but was soon joined by himself, with liberal use of looping. At first I thought it would get a bit much, but used more than just the guitar, adding elements like synth and even some vocal work as well. It's always cool to see people looping that masterful, so it was a fun set to watch, and his songs were pretty catchy. While I wasn't necessarily blown away, I wouldn't mind seeing him again next time he's through town.

Next up was Rococode, and I was a little surprised to see the full band, as I was under the impression it was an acoustic set (see above poster). But I was in no way disappointed; I've seen them a few times in the last few months, and am continually impressed. There was a bit more banter and chatting in between songs than previous sets, but they were still content to let most of their songs do the talking, including the incredibly infectious "Empire" -- which always gets stuck in my head -- the haunting "Dreams" and the first single from the upcoming album, "Weapon", which is already getting some radio play. They brought the set to an end with a song I didn't catch the name up, but came to a bombastic finish, for a great ending to the set. I am definitely looking forward to the new album with each time I see them live.

And finally, it was time for The Liptonians. The first thing I noticed was no actual horn section, but they had it covered with canned horns. The second thing was all the hype about them being a fantastic live band was completely true. They played a sort of condensed version of their album, started off with their lead single "You Know I Did" before going into two of my other favourite songs on the album, one being the raucous "Growing Old In The City", a fantastic song live, which included a garbage can lid being played. The combination of the band's great chemistry, nailing the harmonies, and stage presence, getting the crowd to clap along for "Perfect Swimmers", helped them command the stage from beginning to end.
The set came to a close with the beautiful "Lesage" and the album closer, "Let's March back Into The Sea", as they played right up to the curfew with no encore.
Which leads me to my only complaint, other than the lack of live horns, which would be that the set was way too short! They only played for about half an hour before getting cut off by the curfew so the shiny shirts could take over the place. I can only hope that sooner rather than later (and at a better venue) they will march back into Vancouver.

setlist
You Know I Did, Hey! Hey! Help Is On The Way!, Growing Old In The City, The Privatest Parts, Perfect Swimmers, Lesage, March Back Into The Sea.