Limblifter @ Venue -- 09/27/12

Despite being a fan of the bands since the late 90s, I never got a chance to see Limblifter live before they disbanded, and for various reasons I always managed to miss Ryan Dahle's solo shows. Even when they announced their reunion and a show at NXNE, the weekend was just too hectic to see them. I thought maybe I was fated to never see the band live, but my luck turned around with the announcement of a Vancouver show. And it's not just a series of reunion dates; Dahle recently hinted that the band might just be releasing some new material.

It was also an added bonus to see Acres of Lions open up the show. The Victoria band isn't breaking down any barriers with their pop-rock sound, but they are ridiculously fun to watch live. The whole band is highly energetic, especially frontman Jeff Kalesnikoff, who got the growing crowd singing and clapping along throughout the set. Starting off with "Set Me On Fire" and "Kids" from their latest album, Collections, the band drawing the slowly-growing crowd towards the stage. They threw in a new song -- which I didn't catch the name of-- and wrapped up with the infinitely catchy "Reaction" and the much softer "Collections", both of which once again got the crowd involved.

Not too long, Limblifter hit the stage, with Ryan Dahle joined by Megan Bradfield and Brent Follett -- both of which were in the last incarnation of Limblifter -- and Sloan's Greg MacDonald. They started off with a bang, opening the show with "Vicious" and going on to play about an hour of material spanning the entire Limblifter catalogue.
While I can't compare them to their first incarnation, they sounded great; the four of them meshed well together and the songs were familiar, but didn't feel dated. Like they never missed a step.
There was lots of songs got 'recognition applause' -- a big bout of cheering one or two notes in -- throughout the night, like the soaring "Wake Up To The Sun" and staccato "Screwed It Up". Other highlights included "Fiercely Co-Dependant" from the last Limblifter album, I/O, and the earworm inducing "Chop Chop" from Dahle's solo Irrational Anthems.
They wrapped up the set with their biggest hit, "Ariel vs Lotus" and after being met with chants of "ten more songs", were back for the obvious encore. Starting with the soft and beautiful "Alarm Bells", they exploded into "Dominant Monkey" and "Tinfoil" to end off the night.

It was great to finally see them, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what comes out of the reunion.

setlist
Vicious, Cordova, Cellophane, Count To 9, Jumbo Jet Headache, Chop Chop, Wake Up To The Sun, Fiercely Co-Dependant, In/Out, Hotel Knife, Screwed It Up, I Wonder If, On The Moon, Perfect Day To Disappear, Ariel v Lotus.
[encore] Alarm Bells, Dominant Monkey, Tinfoil.


Steam Whistle Unsigned w/ Acres of Lions, Rococode & Familia @ Biltmore -- 07/26/12

For a while now, the Toronto microbrewery Steam Whistle has been hosting its Unsigned events in various Canadian cities. Each concert in the series features three Canadian artists -- the first Vancouver show back in January featured Treelines, The Ruffled Feathers, and Sidney York -- with all of the ticket sales going back to the arts community; in this case to Solidarity Rock which supports musicians in Cuba.

The first band up was Familia, who recently changed from a four-piece to a trio. The lead singer, Tamara Umlah, has a strong and soulful voice, but musically they have a pretty straightforward soul-pop sound. Even their cover of Cold War Kids' "Hang Me Out to Dry" sounded similar to the rest of their set. They weren't bad by any means, and a perfectly acceptable opening band.

Next up was Rococode who once again displayed their catchy alt-rock/synth pop sounds with great harmonies. There wasn't much banter through the set, instead just focusing on playing songs off of their debut album, Guns, Sex and Glory -- like "Empire" which always gets stuck in my head after seeing them -- as well as a couple new songs sprinkled in -- "Run Run Run Run Run" has a definite catchy edge. As usual, the band had a great energy, and they're always a pleasure to watch play.

And wrapping up the night was Acres of Lions. Unfortunately I only caught about half their set, since it was a bit of a late start, but they were on top of their game. An incredibly fun band to watch live, the four members were all oozing energy and enthusiasm, and had no problem getting the crowd to sing and/or clap along to songs like the nostalgic "Kids" or "Closer" (and, I can only assume, "Reaction" later in the set).
And, as a side note, the band was on tour at this point for over 150 days, and were by no means showing signs of slowing down.  A harder working band would be rare to find.

Despite the late start on a week night -- which isn't unusual for the Biltmore -- it was another great event, and I am definitely looking forward to another trio of bands for the next Steam Whistle Unsigned.

Toque Sessions: Acres of Lions @ CBC Studio 1 -- 03/09/12

The CBC Toque Sessions is a series of shows at the CBC Vancouver building, which are free to the public, and recorded for later broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and On Demand (check out the snazzy new CBC Music website).

There are still a few more left this season, but this may be the last one I attend, and if it is, Acres of Lions is a pretty darn good way to wrap up the series.
The show was seated, which gave it a bit of a subdued vibe since Acres are definitely not a "seated" band -- guitarist Tyson Yerex joked that it was like a kids birthday party -- but they still managed to give a good energy and fun set, with front man Jeff Kalesnikoff getting people to sing and clap along, and even get up for a couple songs. Jeff, Tyson, Dan Ball (bass) and Cody Beer (drums) were also joined by Kiana Brasset for some backup vocals, as well as violin on a few songs, both her voice and the strings adding a nice texture to their pop-rock sound.
Highlights of the set included the ridiculously infectious "Reaction", which was one of the songs to get everyone out of their seats; the heartfelt "Like a Drum"; and "This Was Not My Best Day Ever", a song inspired by Firefly, which started with just Jeff on an acoustic guitar, with the rest of the band slowly joining in.
They ended the set with the title track from their newest album, Collections, once again getting people up and a big stomp/clap going on to end off the set. 

setlist
Let's Get Sentimental, December, Forgive & Forget, Reaction, Working, Like a Drum, Closer, This Was Not My Best Day Ever, Kids, Collections.

Michael Bernard Fitzgerald w/ Acres of Lions @ Performance Works -- 02/24/12

This weekend marks the seventh annual Winterruption Festival, a celebration filled with food and performance and arts and dance and music on Granville Island. And do they ever have some amazing music this entire weekend, with free shows during the day and a couple nifty looking double bills in the evenings, like Michael Bernard Fitzgerald with Acres of Lions last night.

Acres of Lions kicked off the night with fill-in-drummer Cody Beer joining Jeff Kalesnikoff on guitar and vocals, Tyson Yerex on guitar & keys, and Dan Ball on bass. They started with "Let's Get Sentimental" from their debut album, and the ridiculously catchy "Reaction" came early on in the set with Jeff  getting everyone to clap and "Ba Baa" along. They slowed down a bit for the Firefly-inspired "Best Day Ever" before rocking the rest of the set, with upbeat and infectious songs like "Kids" and "Closer", before ending with another slower one, the title track off their most recent album, Collections.
While they're not reinventing the pop-rock genre, their live show is just flat out fun; the whole band has a great energy and stage presence, immediately filling the dance floor and getting the crowd to sing and clap along to a few songs.

Not long after, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald hit the stage with a nice sized band including a horn section (whom he introduced as "The Horny Boys"), a pair of drummers, and more. He started off with "Movie Life" and his brand new single, "Follow", playing a good number of songs from his upcoming album and EP, both titled Yes; Side A and Side B respectively. The new stuff sounded much like you would expect, pop-ish with a hint of soul, and the full band gave it a nice, fleshed out sound. It definitely got me interested to pick up the album(s).
MBF also has a great stage presence, genuinely nice and humble, and an effortless charm. He did things like give out his phone number, so everyone could be "text friends" and when there was a bit of a delay, when he had to change and restring his guitar, he kept the flow going with his backup band playing, and then bringing a fan on stage to demonstrate CPR through dance (no, seriously).
Highlights of the set were the aptly named "Firecracker", which was one of my favourites of the night, and the older "Brand New Spaces", with everyone stomping & clapping along, and ending with a medley of top 40 covers including Sysco, Flo Rida, and LMFAO. And those weren't the only covers in the set, he had a few more throughout; Paul Simon's "The Obvious Child" early on, The Boss's "Dancing in the Dark" to end the main set and "Call Your Girlfriend" by Robyn in the encore.

Both bands of the night put on incredibly fun sets, and they were a perfect match for a night of good music. And speaking of another perfect match, I am definitely looking forward for Winterruption to continue tonight with Aidan Knight & The Belle Game at Performance Works.