Black Mountain @ Vogue Theatre -- 03/10/17

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I never knew how much I wanted to see Vancouver psych rockers Black Mountain at a soft-seat theatre venue until this show popped up. It's been nearly five years since the last time I saw them live, so I probably would have been excited wherever they played, but the combination of their soaring sounds with the Vogue sounded like a great match. 

First up was Dutch duo zZz (pronounced exactly as it looks). I caught the last half of their set, with Daan Schinkel on organ & synths and Björn Ottenheim with drums & vocals making more noise than you would expect from two people. Björn's Billy Idol-esque yelps and the fast fingers of Schinkel created a cacophony of sound, with crashing drums and swirling synth through their set. They were definitely a strong choice to warm up the crowd.

From there it was a bit of an odd shift, as Destroyer was the other supporting act... but not full band Destroyer, just Dan Bejar alone with an acoustic guitar. Which was definitely a bit weird between the two other heavier acts, and I think a few people in the crowd were taken aback (at the very least, the guy behind me was). That being said, I always enjoy Destroyer, full band or acoustic, and it was nice to see him in a venue like the Vogue. 
Bejar is always a little enigmatic on stage, and this night after every song he would step back from the microphone, take a bow, crouching down for a sip of whiskey, a sip of beer, then right back to it. He talked to the crowd a few times, thanking everyone and introducing songs, but mainly just ran through his vast arsenal; from older songs like "Watercolours Into The Ocean" and "English Music", to newer "Times Square", and even a few that I think were brand new. His unique voice trembled through the room with his occasionally-poetically-dense, occasionally-la-da-de-dah lyrics serenading. I think in the end there ended up being a mix of those who knew and appreciated the Vancouver mainstay, those who were won over, and those who were just confused by the main with an acoustic guitar opening for Black Mountain.

But speaking of them, it wasn't long after that before it was time for Black Mountain. Stephen McBean and Amber Webber took the stage at first, starting the older, eponymous song "Black Mountain" as the rest of the band joined them, before blowing the roof off with one of my favourites, the bone-shaking, tempestuous "Stormy High". The first half of the set actually featured a fair amount of their '08 album In The Future including the moody "Queens Will Play" showcasing both McBean's guitar shredding and Amber's powerfully haunting (and hauntingly powerful?) voice. 
Of course, they also delved into more tracks from their newest, the appropriately named fourth album IV. Highlights including "You Can Dream" and "Space To Bakersfield", the ten-minute song taking an entire theatre's collective breath away to end the main set.
Though they didn't even leave a pretense of the show being over, with the guitars still reverberating as the crowd started stomping in unison for the encore. Obviously they obliged, back out with the absolutely intense "Mothers Of The Sun", finally wrapping up after a good hour and a half with "Mary Lou" twisting and turning to an astonishing finale. 

Maybe it's because, even as a local band, they don't play all that often, they don't over-saturate themselves, I always forget just how incredible they are live. Their intensity and raw power is hard to match, and especially in a venue like the Vogue, they shone bright. 

setlist
Black Mountain
Stormy High
Florian Saucer Attack.
Angels
Queens Will Play
Tyrants
You Can Dream
Line Them All Up
Rollercoaster
Wucan
Space To Bakersfield
(encore)
Mothers Of The Sun
Mary Lou

Black Mountain @ Waldorf -- 08/25/12

It's been a long time since I last saw Black Mountain (almost exactly a year) so I was more than a little excited to see Vancouver's psych-rockers at the Waldorf's Outdoor Summer Concert. Joined by a returning Ladyhawk, Basketball, Toronto's Quest for Fire -- who will be touring with Black Mountain -- and Von Bingen, they packed the Waldorf parking lot for an evening of rock.
Unfortunately I was off earning some money, so I missed the bulk of the show, arriving mere moments before Black Mountain hit the stage.

Right out of the bat, Steve McBean broke a string on the first song, and the intensity of the show didn't let up from there. Launching into "Tyrants" early on, the eight minute song ebbs and flows from ear shattering, head banging guitars and drums to the powerful beauty of Amber Webber's voice; and mirrored the structure of the set, which flawlessly went between straight ahead rockers like "Old Fangs" and the calmer moments, like McBean grabbing an acoustic guitar for "Buried by the Blues".

Other highlights of the set included "Angels" -- which McBean dedicated to his mother who was wed at the Waldorf years ago -- and the moody "Queens Will Play", that was yet another great example of Webber's strong and haunting voice.

The climax of the set was the explosive "Stormy High" and they ended with "Don't Run Our Hearts Around" from their first, self titled album. But they were, of course, back out for a few more including the driving "Let Spirits Ride" and finishing off with "Roller Coaster"

Maybe it's because they don't play all that often -- they don't over-saturate themselves -- I always forget just how incredible they are live. McBean amazing shredding, his & Webber's voices blending so well together, and Joshua Wells' wailing drumming; they're all factors that make Black Mountain one of Vancouver's best, most intense, and ass-kicking-est, bands to see live.

Live at Squamish: Day Two -- 08/21/11

The first day was down and a huge success, but second day of Live at Squamish was the one I was most looking forward to, packed with excellent bands all around. But before I get to it, I just wanted to make note that I love how the festival booked local bands. A good chunk of the people playing during the day were local independent artists, and when you have a festival that boasts 9000 people a day, that's some great exposure for people who deserve it.

The first act I was excited to see was Brasstronaut, playing the Stawamus Stage. They played a fairly short set, starting with "Slow Knots" and with a few new songs in there; one named "JT", which had a phenomenal and spacey instrumental ending, was dedicated to John Wah's year old kid, who was attending his first festival. They ended with an energetic "Lo Hi Hopes", giving the day a good start.

Panda Watch. And by Panda Watch, I mean Said the Whale
Bend Sinister was up next on the main stage, but I sadly missed them to head to the Giribaldi Stage to catch first Shane Koyczan doing some slam poetry – he was doing short in-between sets at various times all weekend – and then the enigmatic Panda Watch. For the weeks leading up to the festival the question Who Is Panda Watch? was on people's lips, and while there was some who figured it out, others had no idea that it was actually Said The Whale (I knew a month or so ago, and it was a tough secret to keep).
After setting up and coming out with creepy looking panda masks, they played an instrumental intro before ripping off the masks and revealing themselves to play a set of all new songs, which sounded pretty great.
A couple really stuck out, including the closing song which was a love letter to their fans, a "Ben-song" which may may or may not be called "True Love", and the aptly named "Hurricane Adele", as it was a complete force of nature. One of my favourite sets of the weekend, and I am definitely looking forward to the album.

The Zolas, with guest Ashleigh Ball
After the Whales, it was back to the Stawamus Stage for another Vancouver band, The Zolas – who actually started early (which was frustrating since I ended up missing half the set). They were as energetic as ever and looked like they felt right at home up on the main stage. Before they went into "Pyramid Scheme", Zach called up Hey Ocean's Ashleigh Ball for vocals, who was then seen sprinting through the field to leap (almost literally) on stage. "You're Too Cool" had a good sized sing-a-long going, and for the closing song, "Cab Driver", they brought their parents out for some backup vocals and dancing.

The Dudes were up next, though I only saw part of their set to recharge in the media tent and wander around to look at some of the other exhibits, like the artisans market and silent disco. The Dudes are a fun band live, no doubt, but I wouldn't say I'm too big a fan of them; a lot of their songs sounds kinda... samey.

Black Mountain did not run our hearts around.
It's weird to admit, but I almost forgot to be excited for Black Mountain; there was just so much going on. But as soon as "Old Fangs" hit, I remembered how absolutely amazing the band is live; Amber Weber's hauntingly powerful voice, and Steve McBean's incredible shredding – especially on "Tyrant" – which could only be described as "face-meltingly astonishing". From the fast and frantic "Let Spirits Ride" to the relatively mellow "Roller Coaster" and the building intensity of "Queens Will Play", Black Mountain was without a doubt my favourite set of the festival.

Though there was a strange and awkward moment near the end of their set. As they were wrapping up with "Don't Run Our Hearts Around", an overzealous stagehand walked in front of the band, mid-song, to tell them it was time to wrap it up. Definitely an unnecessary and unprofessional touch.

Soon enough it was time for a second dose of Metric, after their acoustic set the previous day. And it was definitely quite a contrast to that, especially in the level of intensity from Haines; she was back and forth and dancing, a ball of energy that hardly stood still for a minute. They kicked off with "Black Sheep" (which had me momentarily thinking "Envy Adams??") and blasted through a good chunk of their catalogue. Older songs were spiced up a bit, with "Empty" featured a few lines of Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)". "Sick Muse" and "Dead Disco" were a couple more highlights before they ended with "Stadium Love"

Shake your head it's Metric
And wrapping up the festival on the main stage was Weezer. I am not going to lie, I have never been that big of a fan of Weezer, so as far as I was concerned the festival ended with Metric. But I stayed to catch a few of their songs before heading out to beat the rush down the Sea to Sky. They started with "Surf Wax America" and a couple songs in played a cover of Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks". They certainly have their fans, but to me they seemed to be going through the motions a bit, and there wasn't much that compelled me to stay.

All in all, I would say it was a fantastic weekend. They streamlined a lot from the first year, and I love that they included the Green Couch stage, even though I didn't get a chance to see as much as I would have liked on it. And while I liked the headliners better last year, I think they had a stronger all-around lineup this year. One thing I did like better about last year that it was on the long weekend, giving people more time to decompress after, but aside from that, I would say the second year of Live at Squamish was a triumph, and I already can't wait to see what is in store for next year.

Black Mountain @ Commodore -- 11/30/10

Black Mountain came home as the interestingly named "Dropout Boogie Tour" descended upon Vancouver for its first of two shows last night.

The Black Angels opened the night, who had a very much psychedelic rock sound and were a good choice for touring with Black Mountain. Though while they were a good band, musically, there wasn't very much by way of a live show. All their songs kind of blended together, and by the end of it, I found myself spacing out a little. Maybe it was just that I was over tired, but I was in a bit of a trance-like state by the end of their hour long set. They also didn't have very much by way of banter or stage presence, so that didn't help. It seemed like they were there, they played, they left. They were by no means bad, were quite talented musicians, just not very... exciting to watch live.

After that, I feared that maybe I was too tired for the late start -- it was past 11 when Black Mountain took the stage -- but after the taped chanting intro as the band took the stage, the opening burst of "Wilderness Hearts" let me know I would be enrapt the entire show. From there they just exploded with "Let Spirits Ride", and didn't look back. Every song was as grandiose as the last, as the perfect blend of Stephen McBean and Amber Webber's voices and McBean's insane guitar work filled both the explosive highs and intense lows of their songs with energy. The set balanced almost perfectly; "Tyrants" was a drawn out epic, "Sadie" brought the set down for a brief calm moment, before the one-two punch of "Druganaut" and "Stormy High" brought things to a chaotic crescendo.
There wasn't much by way of banter; the notoriously shy McBean didn't say much, just a couple thank you's, leaving most of the chatter to Weber and drummer Joshua Wells. But where they connected was the music, and their stage presence.
After the main set ended with "Don't Run Our Hearts Around" they came back out for the encore to play a pair; the fantastic "The Hair Song" and "No Hits", which saw The Black Angels join them on stage. There were, though, two disappointing omissions: no "Evil Ways" or "Bright Lights". Granted, the latter is a 16 minute epic, but it was still a little disappointing to not see.
Despite that, the band proved they have not lost their edge, rather sharpened and honed it to become one of the best Vancouver has to offer.

setlist:
Wilderness Hearts, Let Spirits Ride, Wucan, Tyrants, Buried By The Blues, Sadie, Angels, Druganaut, Stormy High, Old Fangs, Roller Coaster, Don't Run Our Hearts Around.
[encore] The Hair Song, No Hits.