The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Commodore Ballroom -- February 17, 2024

Hot off the release of last year’s album, The Rise & The Fall, The Rural Alberta Advantage returned to the Commodore at Vancouver for a packed, Saturday night show.

I missed the opener for the evening, Mariel Buckley, arriving shortly before the screens around the room blinked to the RAA logo, and the tail end of “FGSH” blasted over the speakers, as the band took the stage. Singer & guitarist Nils Edenloff asked if everyone was ready to rock on a Saturday evening -- including the crowd, but also his bandmates Amy Cole on keys and vocals, and drummer Paul Banwatt, as they launched into “CANDU” off the new album.

The set ebbed and flowed, building with energy as the band with songs like the slow burn of “Don't Haunt This Place”, and “Vulcan, AB”, which had the crowd singing along. The explosive midpoint climax was the perennial favourite “Stamp”, one of many songs that showcased Paul’s absolutely bonkers drumming.

After that, the band eased off a little as Amy and Paul took a brief break for Nils to play “Two Lovers” solo, just his acoustic guitar and distinctive voice filling the room. From there they slowly built back up, hitting songs from all over their career, from the aptly titled “Edmonton” off their debut Hometowns, to the burning intensity “White Lights” off The Wild, and of course their latest, with the frenetic “Plague Dogs”.

They brought the main set to a close with an absolutely chaotic finish to “Terrified”, featuring the crowd joining in on the backup WHOA-OO-OOHs. And once they left the stage, the audience continued to sing, so the band returned and re-join for a brief reprise. With only a few more songs left, the trio finished off with one last song about their provincial namesake, a classic “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge” to cap off the night with a huge bang.

I’ve seen The Rural Alberta Advantage a handful of times now, and every time I do, I’m somehow still amazed that “just” a trio has such a big live sound, with fantastic intensity and raw power. At the end of the set, Nils drove home that this was a singular moment we were all sharing, and I would be more than happy to share more moments watching The RAA play.

setlist
CANDU
Bad Luck Again
Don’t Haunt This Place
Three Sisters
Four Night Rider
Tornado ‘87
Vulcan, AB
AB Bride
Drain the Blood
Stamp
Two Lovers
Don’t Wake Up
White Lights
Plague Dogs
Edmonton
Frank, AB
Brother
Terrified
(encore)
Terrified (Reprise)
In the Summertime
Runners in the Night
The Deathbridge in Lethbridge

Feist @ Commodore Ballroom -- February 13, 2024

It’s been quite some time since I last saw Feist perform live, so I was very happy to catch one of her three(!) shows in Vancouver, at the Commodore, on the Multitudes Finale Tour.

Arriving to the venue, there was a small stage auspiciously set up in the middle of the Commodore floor, and a large sheet blocking off the main stage. With no opening act for the show, the lights dimmed and the sheet flickered to life, with a live feed from a phone camera. The POV shot went from the backstage area, came out into the main floor & through the crowd, eventually ending up on the small stage, as Feist spun around with the camera on the audience.

Before she could even say a word, the crowd sang her a happy birthday, as she gratefully launched into an acoustic “Century”. From there, she performed ‘in the round’, moving the microphone to face different parts of the audience, and hitting songs spanning her career; from the classic “Gatekeeper” to “The Bad in Each Other” about a dissolving relationship, and the haunting “Become the Earth” making incredible use of the vocal loops.

Between songs, Feist told stories and generally chatting with the audience for an intimate feeling, even choosing a “volunteer” from the crowd to be in charge of the camera, sill streaming to the screen at the stage. (Though it was soon clear that if the volunteer wasn’t a plant from the tour, it was an incredibly lucky choice).

After about an hour, Feist was handed a mystery notebook, which she started to read, spinning it into a spoken word poem. The poem transitioned into “I Took All of My Rings Off”, as she slowly weaved through the crowd toward the stage. Standing at the edge, the sheet dropped to reveal her band, backlit on a smoky stage, who instantly joined in for a hug swell to finish the song. And let me tell you: chills.

From there, the second half of the show kicked into gear, as Feist and her band cranked up the energy with “My Moon, My Man”, and another hour reminding the crowd just how many bangers she has. Highlights including an aptly named “A Commotion”, the frenetic “Sealion”, and “In Lightning”, the tempestuous opener from her latest album Multitudes. The crowd sang along to the jubilant “I Feel It All”, before the soft & heart wrenching “Let it Die”, as Feist capped off this portion of the set with a relaxed, fuzzed out version of “1234”, which then erupted into the upbeat singalong everyone knows.

Another curtain dropped and instead of leaving, the band milled around onstage, silhouettes projected while getting ready for the encore. Feist emerged from behind the sheet and once again went through the crowd, this time with a green sheet, creating some wild visuals on the returning live feed, for “Of Womankind”, and then coming back up to stand in front of the sheet for the beautiful “Love Who We Are Meant To”, as the screen followed along to handwritten lyrics in the same notebook as earlier.

The band popped back out to took a bow — including the volunteer, who was indeed part of the crew — with Feist proclaiming it was the best birthday a person could ask for. Either half of the night could have been a satisfying show on their own. But both halves together, with the fun production twists, and Feist's incredible songs & effortless performance, easily made this a high bar for every other show this year to try and top.

setlist
(acoustic)
Century
Gatekeeper
The Redwing
The Bad in Each Other
Forever Before
Become the Earth
Calling All the Gods
I Took All of My Rings Off
(band)
My Moon My Man
How Come You Never Go There
A Commotion
Hiding Out in the Open
Sealion
In Lightning
A Man Is Not His Song
I Feel It All
Let It Die
1234
(encore)
Of Womankind
Love Who We Are Meant To

Hotel Mira @ Commodore Ballroom -- January 19, 2024

The very first time I saw Hotel Mira (back when they were still JPNSGRLS) they were the opener of three bands on a bill at the Commodore. Flash forward ten years, a name change, and a few albums -- and hit singles -- later, and now they are not only headlining the Commodore for the first time, but a sold out Commodore at that!

Thanks to an early show that evening, I missed the first opener Holy Felix, getting there to catch the tail end of Fake Shark. While the Vancouver band hasn’t always been my jam personally, I cannot deny they have a palpable energy for their fast-paced alt-rock. Especially singer Kevvy, who had the crowd in the palm of his hand, singing along to singles like “Fake Friends” and “Bummer Summer” off their recently released album Afterglow. They also ended the set with a surprise, Matt Webb from Marianas Trench to join in on “Loser”.

After a break, the lights dimmed and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” hit the speakers (crowd obviously singing along) as the members of Hotel Mira took stage; Mike Noble on bass & synth, Clark Grieve on guitar, drummer Cole George, and singer Charlie Kerr.

They started off with “King of the World” and “Alone in America” from their latest album, I Am Not Myself, for a set that weaved through that album as well as 2020’s Perfectionism. From explosive songs like “Everything Once” and “The Eyes on You”, to the harmonies of “Vampire” and “Jungles”, the band hardly let off the gas for their hour-long set.

And they were definitely a good companion to Fake Shark, because if anyone can match Kevvy's vibrancy, it’s Charlie Kerr. They got the crowd riled up and singing along with some hits, “Better On Your Own” and “This Could Be It For Me” early on, and it was clear everyone onstage was feeding off the sold out crowd, but especially Kerr as he waded into the audience for “Speaking Off the Record”, ended with him crowdsurfing.

They wrapped up the main set with the incredibly catchy & frenetic “Fever Pitch”, but were of course back out a few minutes later, first with the more melancholic “The Age of Detachment” before cranking the energy again while reaching back to the JPNSGRLS days for a perennial favourite, and one last singalong, “Southern Comforting”.

One of my favourite things about following local bands is watching them evolve. And it’s definitely been cool to see the lads in Hotel Mira go from opening slots and smaller, more intimate venues, to headlining a sold out Commodore (and beyond?)

setlist
King Of The World
Alone in America
Better On Your Own
This Could Be It For Me
Everything Once
Eventually
Amanda
Silver Lake
Mama
Vampire
Jungle
The Eyes on You
Speaking Off the Record
Dancing With the Moonlight
Fever Pitch
encore
The Age of Detachment
Southern Comforting

July Talk @ Commodore -- March 29, 2023

Ten years ago (almost to the day!) was the first time I saw July Talk live, on stage at the Commodore, opening for Matt Mays. I was instantly won over by the band and have been a fan ever since. Flash forward to now, and the Toronto group returning to the legendary Commodore Ballroom, for the first of two Vancouver shows in support of their brand new album, Remember Never Before.

First up was Oshawa duo Crown Lands. I got there a song or two into their set, immediately struck by the hard rock licks and power vocals, much stronger than you would expect from a two-piece. Their songs were punctuated by extended instrumentals, as guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Comeau ripped some solos on his double guitar — and even breaking out a double acoustic for a couple songs. Highlights included their latest single, “Lady of the Lake”, and a song I believe was called “End of the Road” which was about the Highway of Tears and dedicated to Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Two Spirit individuals.

They also looked the part perfectly, both clad in black, but especially singer & drummer Cody Bowles, who came to the front of the stage for a song showing off their sparkles, fringe, and half-cape, looking the picture of a glam rocker.
The pair definitely did a great job of setting the stage for what was to come.

Not long after that, July Talk hit the stage, comprised of guitarist Ian Docherty, bassist Josh Warburton, drummers Danny Miles & Dani Nash, and of course, singers Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay.

Starting off hot with the first song off the new album, “After This”, the band burned through an hour and a half, touching their whole catalogue as the set ebbed and flowed. They built with a barely-contained restraint on songs like “Human Side”, crashing with the cacophonous “Johnny + Mary”, then pulled back to the simmering intensity of “Repeat”, drawing the crowd in with every song.
Other highlights included the frenetic “Summer Dress”, “Picturing Love” and “Certain Father”, my favourite off the new album — even if Spencer Krug wasn’t in town to provide his collaborative vocals.

The energy flowed off each band member, especially Leah and Peter, who playfully bounced off each other; both vocally, their ‘sweet + sour’ voices contrasting & complimenting, but also physically. They barely stood still for a moment, with Leah stalking the stage, and Peter even leaping into the crowd to surf while playing guitar, for the raucous “Guns + Ammunition” as the crowd sang along.

The main set came to a close with the final song off the album, “I am Water”, followed by the haunting “Push + Pull”. But as the crowd chanted for “one more song”, Peter took the stage alone, singing the intro to “Raw” with no accompaniment before the band joined him. And finally, they finished off the night with one of my faves, the sexually charged “Lola + Joseph” and one last big singalong to “The Garden”, an explosive song from their first album.

Since that first time opening for Mays, I’ve been able to see July Talk about a half dozen times, in venues, outdoor festivals, and even an arena show. And every time, they put on an incredible, exciting live show that will leave you spend. They’ll be back at the Commodore tonight (March 30) for a second, sold out show… but hopefully they’ll be back again soon.

setlist
After This
Now I Know
Human Side
Certain Father
Pay For It
Beck + Call
Picturing Love
Good Enough
Identical Love
Guns + Ammunition
Johnny + Mary
Repeat
Summer Dress
G-d Mother Fire
When You Stop
I Am Water
Push + Pull
(encore)
Raw
Lola + Joseph
The Garden

PHOTOS: Hollerado @ Commodore Ballroom - November 02, 2019

Hollerado
Commodore Ballroom
November 02, 2019

Christine McAvoy Photography