Shred Kelly Album Release @ Cobalt -- 03/31/18
With a brand new album out earlier this year, Shred Kelly ended off their Canadian tour in Vancouver, with a packed at the Cobalt (just a month before it's set to close for renovations... but also probably for good).
The Fernie band started off their set with a few songs from the new album, Archipelago, including "Don't Ever Look Back" and the title track, with the voices of Tim Newton and Sage McBride complimenting each other nicely.
With their high-energy "stoke folk", they quickly had the crowd dancing & jumping, so much so that the floor of the Cobalt was bouncing like the Commodore (which, given the state of the Cobalt had me a tiny bit nervous). "Stereo" showed off Tim's fast fingers on the banjo, guitarist Ty West breaking a string on "Rowed Away", and other highlights from the set included one of my favourites from the new album -- and the most upbeat sing I've heard about the inevitable heat death of the universe -- "Nova"; the darker and moody "Didn't Know"; and the giant singalong "I Hate Work", which was getting requests all night long, and in a nice cathartic moment had everyone shouting along to the titular chorus.
They wrapped up the main set with the frantic and tempestuous "Tornado Alley" before they were back out for a couple more, starting with a drum solo by new drummer Eddie Annett, then once again bouncing the floor of the Cobalt with "Die Trying" and "New Black" to round out the night.
Shred Kelly has an incredibly infectious energy as a live band. You can see each member having fun on stage, and that bleeds through to a crowd that can't help but sing, yell, dance, and stomp along.
setlist
Don't Ever Look Back
Archipelago
Stereo
Jupiter (Any Other Way)
The Bear
Nova
Rowed Away
Way Down
Sing to the Night
Going Sideways
Cabin Fever
I Hate Work
Didn't Know
Tornado Alley
(encore)
Die Trying
New Black