Not counting their show at the Fox Cabaret last year (an intimate, one-off show where they were “warming up” the new album), it’s been over three years since the last time Said The Whale have done a proper headlining show in Vancouver. But with their new album As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide out, with their slimmed down lineup and newer sound, they hit the Vogue for a sold out, hometown show.

With them was Toronto band Fast Romantics. I got there a bit late and just caught the last few songs from the indie-pop band, including singles “Julia” and “Why We Fight”. The band had a good energy -- especially lead singer Matthew Angus who was bounding around when not on guitar -- and from what I saw were a perfectly fitting band to start off the night.

Soon after it was time for Said The Whale with the three members, Ben Worcester, Tyler Bancroft, and Jaycelyn Brown, dressed in crisp white shirts, and the rhythm section in darker colours. The look matched the lighting, as there was very little colour throughout the set, mostly just white spotlights, with the addition of a big wall of twinkling lightbulbs and flashing lights at the back of the stage, lighting the band from behind, casting shadows on the walls of the theatre, and adding mood and atmosphere to the songs.

They started off with the first single from the album, “Step Into The Darkness”, playing a range of new to old, like “The Light Is You” or the deep cut “A Cold Night Close To The End” off Islands Disappear; and from catchy and optimistically upbeat songs like “Confidence” to the heartwrenching “Emily Rose” (one of my favourites of the new album). The sold out crowd sang along to favourites “Camilo (The Magician)” and “I Love You”, and when the chorus for “I Will Follow You” came around, Tyler got everyone to sing loud, announcing they were filming the crowd and performance for a new video for the song.

After about an hour, Tyler introduced the last song as the heaviest of the night, the very personal “Miscarriage”, while the theatre fell silent (well, almost) for the absolutely heartbreaking song; as Tyler poured his heart out, I witnessed couples in the crowd hugging each other tight, and no doubt countless others were tearing up (I can guarantee at least one person was).

They finished by taking a bow and thanking the crowd profusely before leaving. I had heard from other cities that they were forgoing the tired “faux encore” concept, and that seemed to be the case as the lights came up and Semisonic’s seminal 90s classic “Closing Time” filled the theatre. But I would be surprised if most of the crowd even heard it, as the cheers and chants were drowning it out. The band returned to the stage and admitted it was a rare, true encore and everything from then would be unrehearsed. They satisfied the crowd with a few more old favourites, including “Emerald Lake, AB” and -- joking that they once again wanted to leave us with a downer -- the soft tearjerker “Curse of the Currents” as the crowd joined in to sing with Ben one last time.

I mentioned the other week how cool it is to see local band grow into bigger and bigger venues, and this was again the case with Said The Whale. From the first time I saw them at the Biltmore (with the unenviable task of following Karkwa, who had blown out the speakers) up to a sold out Vogue, I can’t wait to see where they go next.

setlist
Step Into the Darkness
More Than Ever
Heaven
Mother
Camilo (The Magician)
Realize Real Eyes
Confidence
On The Ropes
Out On the Shield
Emily Rose
Beautiful Morning
Resolutions
A Cold Night Close to the End
Big Wave Goodbye
The Light Is You
I Will Follow You
The Reason
I Love You
Lilac and Willows
Miscarriage
(encore)
Emerald Lake AB
Loveless
Curse the Currents