It's been a busy year for Dear Rouge. After releasing their third studio album Spirit, they've played festivals, opened for Metric, and just finished a cross Canada tour with Hotel Mira, ending with a show at the Vogue Theatre here in Vancouver.

Unfortunately I missed the first opening set from Mauvey, arriving slightly before the intro of Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” rang throughout the theatre, signalling the entrance of Hotel Mira. Kicking off with “You Know Best”, the band played a selection off their latest album Perfectionism, as well as teasing some new tunes, and hitting older songs from the band’s previous incarnation, JPNSGRLS, like ”Southern Comforting”.

As ever, each member had a high energy, especially frontman Charlie Kerr, as he danced, gyrated, and even waded into the crowd on a few occasions. I don't think I've ever seen him stand still for more than five seconds while on stage.

Highlights including “Better on your Own” which Kerr dedicated to a recent breakup in the crowd, the raucous harmonies of “Jungle”, and the infectious “Fever Pitch”, where Charlie plucked a ‘Listen Bitch’ sign out of the audience for the chorus.

They finished it off with another old favourite, the frantic and chaotic “Oh My God”, and I’m willing to wager that it won't be long before the group is headlining the Vogue themselves.

The stage was dark and smoky when the members of Dear Rouge, all clad in black, came out. Interestingly enough, both bands started with the lead singer in a long black coat, which they doffed a few songs in -- though Danielle's outfit under the coat was much more sparkly than Charlie's undershirt.

Starting off with “Relationship Problems”, their hour-and-a-half set spanned their three album, from the frenetic “Boys & Blondes”; to the soft & tender “Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up”, which spotlighted Drew McTaggart's vocals; to the giant singalong for “I Heard I Had”.

Danielle McTaggart stalked the front of the stage for “Modern Shakedown”, and “Black to Gold” saw the stage bathed in an amber light. In fact, with the large rig behind then — that included a disco ball and big neon ‘Dear Rouge’ sign — the lightning did a great job setting the mood throughout the evening.

Near the end of the set, they were joined by special guest Jessia to duet with Danielle on the song “That’s It, That’s All”, before closing with the anthemic “Gimme Spirit”.
But of course, the group was back out with a couple more, ending the night with the incredibly fun and quirky “Meet Me At The Rio”, which broke down into a cover of Le Tigre's “Deceptacon”, before a big finish.

It seems like the last few times I’ve seen Dear Rouge — even going back before the pandemic — had been either as an opening band or in the middle of a festival, so it was nice to see them be able to spread their wings as the headliner. And then you add Hotel Mira into the mix, and it’s an fantastic double-bill spotlighting a pair of Vancouver’s hottest acts.

Dear Rouge setlist
Relationship Problems
Fake Fame
Live Through The Night
Boys & Blondes
You Rattle Me
Dream Dreamer
Modern Shakedown
Wanna Love
Life Goes By And I Can't Keep Up
Black to Gold
I Heard I Had
Facedown
That's It, That's All (Jessia)
Tongues
Gimme Spirit
(encore)
Stolen Days
Meet Me At The Rio (feat. Deceptacon by Le Tigre)

Hotel Mira setlist
You Know Best
Better On Your Own
This Could Be It For Me
Eventually
Everything Once
Son in Law
Jungle
The Eyes on You
Speaking off the Record
Southern Comforting
Fever Pitch
Oh My God