Skye Wallace w/ David Newberry @ Rickshaw Theatre -- 06/26/16

Sometimes you just have to go to a venue you don't like to see a couple musicians you do. Skye Wallace and David Newberry just finished touring the country, bringing things back to Vancouver for a show at the Rickshaw. 

I missed the first set of the night, from Wishkicker, arriving shortly before David Newberry hit the stage. He opened with "We Were Honest Once", the first song off his latest album Replacement Things. His folk-bent indie rock filled the theatre, with highlights of the set included the driving rock and pleading chorus of "Coyote", and the upbeat "Aftermath".
Part way through the set, most of the band took a break as David was accompanied only by Nathan Shubert on keyboard, as he perched on the edge of the stage, pouring his heart out for the beautiful "Freddie Murcury". It wasn't long after that before he closed with an older song, "Easter", from his cheerfully named album No One Will Remember You.

Joined by a solid backing band including Wynston Minckler, Alex Hauka, and Kenton Loewen (who was also drumming for Newberry), Skye Wallace rocked the set open with "Guiltiest Hymn" which I think (hope) is on her upcoming album Something Wicked due out in the fall. The uproarious song, along with the next one "Ain't It Hell", gave credence to Skye's nickname as the Queen of Dark Folk. 
Skye also brought up a couple special guests during the set; first Jody "Miss Quincy" Peck on guitar for a couple of songs, including my favourite of the set, the frantic bluesy "Blood Moon". And then later in the set, violinist Devon Kroeger hopped on stage to add some strings to songs like the haunting cover of Timber Timbre's "Lay Down In The Tall Grass". 
As the set drew to an end, Skye closed with "Klondike" a song that built to a soaring ending, followed by "Scarlet Fever", which she prefaced as being "part two" to the song. It was a nice one-two punch to end off the night. 

I've been to a few shows recently with a strong pairing of musicians, and I can't think of many better ways to spend a Sunday evening than watching Skye Wallace and David Newberry performing. 

David Newberry album release show @ Hindenburg -- 09/13/15

Celebrating the release of his brand new album Replacement Things, David Newberry (who recently relocated to Toronto) returned to Vancouver and brought some friends along, for a show at the Hindenburg. One of which was The Nautical Miles, who I unfortunately missed.

The first band of the night though was The Wild Romantics, and coincidentally enough, the last time I saw them was at the Hindenburg where they upstaged another band on that band's album release show.
The spot-on harmonies of Aleisha Kalina and Evan Miller were on display for songs like "A Monday In May" and the rest of the band drove their rockin' sound for new songs like the title track to their upcoming EP, "She Could Tell". 
My favourite song of the set was the gritty, badass "Fist Fight" culminating in a literal guitar duel between Evan and guitarist Rory Froese. And the final song which was the best showcase of the incredible chemistry between Alisha and Evan, as they each grabbed their microphones, locked eyes while singing, coming together forehead-to-forehead, and even swapping mics on the fly. 

Up next was the man of the hour, David Newberry. He started with an older song, "So It Goes", joined by Corbin Murdoch of The Nautical Miles on backing vocals, the first of a few guests he would bring up throughout the set. From there he focused on the new album, with the lead track "We Were Honest Once", also bringing up his friend and frequent collaborator JP Maurice joined the band for backing vocals on "Coyote" and stuck around for a few songs. 
A couple highlights of the set included the powerful and haunting "Lost in Content", and an incredibly intense song where he was joined again by JP, as well as Alisha & Evan of The Wild Romantics; especially when he hopped off stage and got down on the floor with a politically charged monologue, of sorts, inspired by the ImagineOct20th movement. 
He ended what seemed like an all-too-short set with the upbeat and rollicking "Aftermath", leaving everyone wanting more, literally chanting his name. 

The songs from the new album were well crafted and catchy, but I think one of Newberry's greatest strengths is in his lyrics. And every time I had seen him prior, it was at shows not conducive to listening to lyrics. Luckily, this time the atmosphere was better for that sort of thing, and combined with the fact that I made time to listen to the album earlier in the day, this was the best set I had seen from Newberry.