Skye Wallace made her long-awaited return to Vancouver last night, on the heels of her latest album, Terribly Good. In the midst of a cross-Canada tour, the Toronto singer came back to the city that was once her home, with a stop at the Fox Cabaret.

Unfortunately I missed the first opener, Nonarchy, arriving to the venue part way through Zoey Leven's set. I caught the last bit of her breezy, indie-pop sound on songs like “Closer” and “Gatekeeper”, an upbeat, jangly tune off their 2019 debut EP, Messy. The few songs I heard definitely made me want to keep an ear out for more in the future.

Not long after, Skye Wallace took the stage joined by her band; Devon Lougheed (guitar), Gina Kennedy (keys), Jenna Strautman (bass), and Chris Dimas (drums). She kicked off the hour-long set with a couple of older tunes, the darker "There is a Wall" and the raucous "Mean Song 2" before launching into new material off Terribly Good.

Highlights included "Everything is Fine", the self-convincing anthemic answer when asked how you’re doing; the gritty "Tooth and Nail", which slipped into a fun cover of The Watchmen's 90s hit "Stereo"; and "Keeper", a bittersweet number which she admitted was almost her first love song... until they broke up some time between writing and recording the song.

Part way through the night, Devon and Chris took a break while Skye introduced a song written about Angelina Napolitano, "Swing Batter". With just her playing electric guitar and Geena & Jenna on backing vocals, the song’s intensity, combined with Skye's incredibly powerful voice, sent chills & goosebumps throughout the room.

The set came to a close with the raw "Tear A Piece (Bite Me)" before finishing off with another cover, Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time". But after a moment the band was out for one last song, a favourite of Skye's dad (who was in attendance) "Reaper", an absolute banger which saw Skye hop off the stage and onto the floor to shred on guitar, while a portion of the crowd lost it in a mosh pit (which Skye had half-jokingly requested earlier in the evening).

As Skye Wallace mentioned a couple times during the show, she was incredibly excited to be back onstage, especially back in Vancouver, and especially at the Fox. But even if she hadn’t said anything, that excitement and energy was radiating off stage and through the crowd, for a great night of dark-folk-rock.

setlist
There is a Wall
Mean Song 2
Truth Be Told
The Doubt
Everything is Fine
Phantom Limb
Swing Batter
Keeper
You Left
Coal In Your Window
Tooth and Nail [w/ Stereo by The Watchmen]
Tear A Piece (Bite Me)
If I Could Turn Back Time [Cher cover]
(encore)
Reaper