Franz Ferdinand @ Commodore Ballroom -- March 26, 2025

Aside from a festival appearance in 2022, it’s been over a decade since I last saw Glaswegian rockers Franz Ferdinand in a proper venue. So I was very excited to see a pair of shows pop up in Vancouver at the legendary Commodore Ballroom, in support of their brand new album, The Human Fear.

Thanks to some trivia commitments, I got to the venue after the opening band, Telescreens, making my way through the packed room a few minutes before the theme song from The Naked Gun blared over the speakers and Franz Ferdinand hit the stage.

Frontman Alex Kapranos was joined by Bob Hardy on bass, Dino Bardot on guitar, Julian Corrie on keys, and Audrey Tait on drums, as they launched into “Bar Lonely” from their new album, playing an hour and a half set that spanned their entire career. From their self titled debut for the cheeky “Dark of the Matinee” to the appropriately sinister “Evil Eye”, up to “Black Eyelashes” which saw Alex bust out a bouzouki for the rembetiko-influenced song.

Other highlights included the raucous dance number “Michael”, the entire crowd softly singing along with “Walk Away”, “Audacious” with its slick riff, and of course, their smash hit “Take Me Out”. As soon as the familiar intro started, the crowd lost it & were singing along to every word; I can't remember the last time I saw an audience so in sync with the song being played, and I got chills as the entire room bounced.

They parleyed that energy into the synth banger “Hooked” -- my early fave off the new album -- before closing the set with the winding twists & turns of “Outsiders”.

But of course, they were soon back out for the encore, first fielding a request for “Jacqueline” as Alex stood alone in a single spotlight before everyone else kicked in. As the show came to a close, Kapranos introduced each member of the band, as one-by-one they started their part in the “This Fire”. The stage lights turned red and everyone cut loose, crowd included, as Alex lead one last singalong, and even got the dance floor to crouch down low before springing up as the song erupted into its finish (elder millennial knees be damned).

I've seen Franz Ferdinand about a half dozen times over the years, and each & every time they amaze me with how great they are, how much energy the whole band puts forth, and how Alex has the entire crowd in the palm of his hand for the whole show. I already can’t wait to see them play again.

setlist
Bar Lonely
Dark of the Matinee
Night or Day
Walk Away
Evil Eye
Do You Want To
Audacious
No You Girls
Build It Up
Right Action
Black Eyelashes
Michael
Love Illumination
Take Me Out
Hooked
Outsiders
(encore)
Jacqueline
The Doctor
Evil and a Heathen
This Fire

Said the Whale @ Hollywood Theatre -- March 08, 2025

Last year at the 10th anniversary celebration for their album hawaiii, Said the Whale teased the idea of an annual show. And always a band of their word, last night they returned to the Hollywood Theatre for a show they jokingly dubbed “SaidCon”. The night started with the band coming on stage and introducing the openers… themselves! as they started with three 20 minute solo sets.

Jaycelyn Brown was up first, opening with “February 15”, her track off the band’s latest album Dandelion. She previewed a few more songs, including an absolutely gorgeous song called “Duet of the Cardinals” and “The Bird”, which she had been working on for ten years(!) before finally finishing last week. She teased wanting to release a solo album of her piano songs, but joked she just needed a deadline. Maybe next year’s show?

Next up was Ben Worcester with a selection of rarities. He played a couple that hadn’t been heard live before, as his voice soared over the room with songs like “Big Sky, MT” and the b-side “Brother, Cousin, Kin”, before wrapping up his portion by inviting Tyler up to join him on “This Winter I Retire Lyrics”.

Tyler Bancroft closed out the solo sets, first joined by Jaycelyn for “99 to the Moon” and then a song for his kids, “Level Best”. He also went deep into the band’s catalogue for some old favourites, “Howe Sounds” and “Live Off Lamb”, and joked that “Cascadia” hit a little different now considering… everything.

Bancroft started “This City's a Mess” on his own, but was slowly joined by Jaycelyn and Ben, as well as Lincoln Hotchen on bass and drummer Spencer Schoening as the song burst to a wild finish, and they smoothly transitioned into the main set, immediately rocking out with “Camilo (The Magician)”.

The crux of this show was a fan poll the band put up weeks before the show, so people attending could vote on what they heard. They hit the #1 song early with an old favourite, “Black Day in December”, while occasionally referring to the poll throughout the night. Especially when it came time for the deepest cut, singling out a friend who has requested the intricate “Fucks to Give” late in the set.

The requests spanned their whole oeuvre, from the singalongs of “B.C. Orienteering” and “False Creek Change” to the raucous “Honey Lungs” and even Spencer taking the spotlight to play acoustic guitar and sing for “Seasons”. Other highlights included a couple of my personal favourites, the gritty & raw “My Government Heart” which I don’t think I’ve heard from the band in some time, and “Love is Art / Sleep Through Fire”, a chill-inducing live-show staple.

After the infectious “I Love You”, Tyler declared he had no use for the performative obligatory encore anymore (which, thank you) and announced they had a couple left and that was it — but would be around after the show to hang and chat — before going into a rarely played classic “Taking Abalonia” and ending off with the joyous “Goodnight Moon”, the entire room singing along.

I feel like there are very few bands that do as much for (and with) their fans as Said the Whale. Not just the fact that this show happened, but the poll to vote for the setlist, and the promise to mingle with the crowd after the show — luckily there wasn’t another event tat evening, unlike last year. I’m not sure if they’re going to continue this as a yearly tradition, but if they are, I know I’ll be there.

setlists

Jaycelyn Brown
February 15
Cassiopeia
Duet of the Cardinals
The Bird

Ben Worcester
Narrows
[New Song]
Big Sky, MT
Brother, Cousin, Kin
This Winter I Retire Lyrics (with Tyler)

Tyler Bancroft
99 to the Moon (with Jaycelyn)
Level Best
Broken Man
Howe Sounds
Cascadia
Live Off Lamb
This City's a Mess

Full Band
Camilo (The Magician)
Step Into the Darkness
Black Day in December
B.C. Orienteering
I Will Follow You
My Government Heart
Wake Up
The Reason
Loveless
Honey Lungs
Seasons
False Creek Change
The Light Is You
The Ocean
Everything She Touches is Gold to Me
Show Me Everything
Love Is Art / Sleep Through Fire
Fucks to Give
I Love You
Taking Abalonia
Goodnight Moon

Odds and Limblifter @ Commodore Ballroom -- February 21, 2025

It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen either Odds or Limblifter play live, so when the 90s Canadian alt-rock powerhouses joined forces for a show at the Commodore, I knew it wasn’t one to be missed.

Limblifter was the first of the co-headlining bands, with Ryan Dahle and Megan Bradfield joined by some familiar faces, including Jo Passed on keys & guitar and drummer Jeremy Taggart (or Our Lady Peace fame). Starting off with one of Ryan’s solo songs, “Chop Chop”, the set ran through the group’s entire catalogue and more; from the lead track “Vicious” off their debut album, to the raucous “Haystack Rock” off their newest, 2022’s Little Payne. Ryan’s distinctive voice rang out on “Wake Up To The Sun”, which had the crowd singing along, and one of my favourite deep cuts, “Alarm Bells”, a simmering slow-burn off their album I/O.

Part way through the set, Ryan invited a friend on stage for a mini-Mounties reunion, as he was joined by Steve Bays to sing “Tokyo Summer”, and then he deferred to Jo Passed to play his latest single “Weekend”.

After another one of my favourites, “Ariel vs. Lotus”, Ryan introduced a pair of Big Shiny Tunes, first “Tinfoil” and then dipping into another one of his other bands, the absolute banger “Remote Control” from The Age of Electric to another big singalong. After about an hour, they appropriately wrapped up with “Perfect Day to Disappear” — though they would not quite disappear for the night.

That set on its own would have been completely worth the show, but of course I wasn’t going to miss Odds. Craig Northey, Doug Elliott, and Murray Atkinson were joined by Kurt Dahle on drums, and launched into a few fan favourites, starting with “Make You Mad” and “It Falls Apart”, before Craig handed over lead vocals to Murray for one of my favourites, “Eat My Brain”.

With their trademark harmonies and deceptively dark songs, their set spanned their 30+ year career, from their debut album Neopolitan with “King of the Heap” to “Not a Lot Goin' On” (the first 28 seconds recognisable as the theme to Corner Gas) all the way up to “Walk Among the Stars” from their latest album Crash the Time Machine, a song that Craig dedicated to their friend Gord Downie.

After going all the way back to their very first single, the bouncy “Love is the Subject”, they brough out an old friend, Pat Steward to fill in on drums for “Truth Untold” — a treat for me, because two of my personal favourite Canadian drummers just happen to be Kurt Dahle and Pat Steward.

They wrapped up the set with the infinitely catchy “Someone Who Is Cool” before coming back for the encore, joined by Ryan Dahle for “Radios of Heaven” and then the rest of Limblifter and Steve Bays for their recently released collab single, “Listening Party”.

Fittingly, they finished off with “My Happy Place” (the closing credits song to Corner Gas!) and had everyone take a bow… but then I witnessed what may have been the rare legitimate encore as the crowd clamoured for more and the band scrambled back on stage for one last tune, “Jack Hammer”.

Sometimes you’ll catch a band who you haven’t seen live in a while, and they just don’t live up to the memories. But not last night. Odds are as good as they ever were, to say nothing of Limblifter, who very nearly stole the show going on first! It was fun to be reminded of just how many great songs both bands have managed to put out through the years, and see that they can still rock the Commodore.

Odds setlist
Make You Mad
It Falls Apart
Eat My Brain
Satisfied
Write It in Lightning
Staring at a Blank Page
King of the Heap
Nothing Beautiful
Anything You Want
Walk Among the Stars
Crash the Time Machine
He Thinks He Owns You
Not a Lot Goin' On
Mercy To Go
Love is the Subject
Truth Untold
Someone Who's Cool
(encore)
Radios of Heaven
Listening Party
My Happy Place
(second encore)
Jack Hammer

Limblifter setlist
Chop Chop [Ryan Dahle song]
Vicious
Haystack Rock
Subtitles
Screwed It Up
Wake Up To The Sun
Irrational Anthems
Alarm Bells
Tokyo Summer [Mounties song]
Weekend [Jo Passed song]
Ariel vs. Lotus
Up For Walking
Tinfoil
Remote Control [Age of Electric]
Perfect Day to Disappear

Joel Plaskett - One Real Reveal On Wheels @ St James -- September 20, 2024

Last year, Joel Plaskett hit the road for his One Real Reveal On Wheels tour, in celebration of the eponymous album, One Real Reveal. The tour hit a lot of intimate venues (even multiple dates in some towns, including the previous night in Vancouver at The Cultch) and along with a “no cell phones” rule in place, I was asked not to share much until the tour finished — which was originally going to be last December, but Joel had to postpone a few shows, and so the tour finally wrapped up in last night in London, Ontario

The stage at St James Community Square was adorned with two projection screens, flanked by curtains, and a big red armchair in the middle of the stage. With no opener, Joel Plaskett came out and took a seat, guitar in hand, kicking off with “Let Me Go, Jo” off the new album. From there, the first half of the show spun through songs new and old, as well as pictures and stories from Joel. He talked about everything from his past, to friends – those still around and those lost – to his wife, his songs, and stories about criss crossing Canada. The whole slideshow was not preprogrammed, but off the cuff from his cell phone (Joel acknowledging the irony) which meant that everything was off the cuff, and he could riff or even add photos and video in real time, ensuring every night would be unique.

Joel remained on the big armchair for the first set of the evening, heightening the intimate vibe of the show, switching between guitars, a bouzouki, and tenor banjo as he hit songs from the new album; the hazy “High Summer” and “Rainy Day Janey” which featured video backup guitar & vocals from some friends, including Mo Kenney. He also dove into his back catalogue, with favourites like “Absentminded Melody” or “True Patriot Love”, which had folks singing along, and a tribute to an old friend “Matthew Grimson Songs”. The set came to an end with the rollicking “Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’” which got boots stomping in the room.

The second half of the evening started as the screens flickered to life to show a live feed from backstage. Before the break, Joel asked for his friend Bill, and the video started with him playing piano while Joel recited “The New Joys”, a spoken word track from the new album. BUT, he got at least a few people in the crowd when, near the end, real-time-Joel took the stage providing layered vocals to pre-recorded-Joel.

With the armchair gone, the second set of the evening was a bit more lively, but still included more photos, banter, and storytelling. He set up “I'm Yours” with the story of meeting his wife, dedicated “Tim” to his lost friend Miniature Tim, and and wove some backstory into “Love This Town”. After dedicating “Soundtrack For The Night” to CBC’s Grant Lawrence, in the audience, he capped off the main set with a big singalong to “Nowhere With You”.

But he wasn’t going to fool the room again, and everyone knew he would be back, taking a request for “Extraordinary”, the first song to feature the record player on stage, as he dropped the needle to provide the backing instruments. After a couple more stories, he ended the night with two more big group singalongs, “Hey Moon (A Campfire Song)” and “Iona”.

I’ve always enjoyed shows in this format; acoustic or solo gigs with the performer just chatting with the crowd between songs. And it especially works when it’s with someone as charming and as good a storyteller as Joel Plaskett. He was candid, funny, and heartwarming – even explaining part of the reason for his ‘no cell phone’ policy is that the stories were meant for the people in the room – and I could have listened to him talk (and sing) all night.

setlist
Let Me Go, Jo
High Summer
Blind Spots
Breezy Jane
One Real Reveal
Absentminded Melody
True Patriot Love
Matthew Grimson Songs
Fall Guy
Rainy Day Janey 
Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’
[intermission]
The New Joys
Variations on a Theme
I’m Yours
Love This Town 
Tim
Soundtrack For The Night
Nowhere With You
[encore]
Extraordinary
Hey Moon (A Campfire Song)
Iona

Live Music Photography by Christine McAvoy

Sam Lynch @ Fox Cabaret -- December 04, 2024

Almost exactly a year ago, I saw Sam Lynch opening a show at the Hollywood Theatre for Hannah Georgas. I had seen her a few times before, but that night she previewed some new songs she had been working on for an upcoming album that really caught my ear. I made a mental note to keep a look out for it, and flash forward a year, Outline is in the world and Sam was celebrating with a show at the Fox Cabaret.

Unfortunately due to a busy evening, I missed opener Talel McBriar, arriving shortly before Sam Lynch took the stage. She was joined by some familiar Vancouver faces; Lilli Carr (guitar), Sean Wharton (keys), Joshua Contant-Perdue (drums), and Alex Maunders (bass), with Sam Davidson (clarinet) joining them later in the set.

Lynch talked about celebrating the new album, but also remembering the past and looking to the future, so the set started with some older tracks, kicking off with “Good Year” and a few others from her previous album Little Disappearance. Her indie-folk sound and captivating vocals driving songs like “Off the Rails”, and after a few, the band took a break for Sam to play a brand new tune on her own.

Then it was time to spotlight the new album, Outline, starting with “All the Life”. Sam’s emotions poured out on songs like the haunting “Hurt” and my favourite of the album, “Doing My Best”, which built to an ending that featured Lynch letting loose on vocals. Performing the album front to back, other highlights included the breathless “Getaway Car” and heartwrenching “Piece of You”, which lead into the final song of the album, “Moth” building to an intense finish.

The main set wrapped up with the simmering intensity of “Keeping Time” before Sam was quickly pulled back for one more. Joined only by the album’s co-producer Sean Wharton, she introduced the final song as one of his, a gorgeous tune that had their voices intertwining beautifully.

Throughout the show, Sam Lynch was very clearly grateful for the crowd — who were very attentive the whole show — and confessed that this was her first time headlining ever*. And after that show, it certainly won’t be the last.

(*in a full circle moment for me, the first time I saw her play was at the Fox!)

setlist
Good Year
Darkest Places
Off the Rails
Garden
[new song]
All the Life
Hurt
Doing My Best
Intermission
Getaway Car
Teeth
Piece of You
Moth
Keeping Time
(encore)
[Sean Wharton song]