Rich Aucoin @ Fox Cabaret -- October 03, 2024
This too shall pass, all good thing must come to an end, and other such clichés.
I say this because Rich Aucoin is now on the last tour of his legendary parachute show. A few years ago, Rich announced he would be winding down this version of his live show, now its finally happening. And anyone who’s seen a Rich Aucoin post on this blog before will know how fun they are, so of course there was no way I was going to miss it.
With no opening act, the night started with Rich announcing the plan; first a Synthetic Set, comprised of songs off his latest series of albums of the same name, followed by an intermission, and then the Classic Set.
So it began with Rich behind his synth, trippy patterns flashing on screen behind him, as he started off with “Release”, and then wound through tracks from his Synthetic albums. The instrumentals zipped from dizzying highs to glitchy breakdowns, Rich rarely breaking between songs as they lead seamlessly into each other, whipping the crowd into a dancing storm.
During the break, a photo montage filled the screen, reminiscing of the last decade-plus of shows, accompanied by songs like “Good Riddance”, before a ten minute countdown hit to hype everyone up.
As the timer ticked down to zero, the show began with the usual “trailers”, a series of fun clips, memes, viral videos, and old school Canadiana (House Hippo, anyone?) before the audience summoned the narrator — David Attenborough this year, although past narrators Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Caine made cameos. With all that excitement building, it was time for the Feature Presentation, as the opening credits hit, shouting out people in the room with fun facts attached, staring off with Rich telling us we need a “New Nostalgia”.
From there, Rich — joined by phenomenal drummer Tony Dallas — blasted through a set of his high energy, incredibly fun, and often thought provoking tunes, spanning his entire career, from “At War With the Cynics (An Opening)” to “Kayfabe” and everything in-between. He squeezed in as many songs as possible, even doing mashups and medleys, pairing songs with thematic similarities, like “How it Breaks” & “Watching, Wishing, Waiting” or “Four More Years” & “Want to Believe”. Throughout the whole show, the crowd sang with no reservations, as he conducted everyone to shout along with “Undead” and “Brian Wilson is A.L.i.V.E.”, the big screen almost always including lyrics.
Along with those lyrics, the screen behind Rich also featured a selection of visuals, from static images to his music videos, to thematically appropriate clips. He even harkened back to some of his early shows while showing parts of How the Grinch Stole Christmas syncing up to songs like “10,342 Cuts for the US (An Exploding)” from his Personal Publication EP, written to sync up with the animated classic.
As usual, Rich was teeming with energy. When not behind the synth he was bounding across the stage, and often into the crowd to sing with everyone (it’s no wonder he’s retiring the show, I was exhausted just watching!) And the crowd was very much reciprocating that energy, no more evident than during “Are You Experiencing?” as the parachute came out for everyone to dance under, while screaming along “When you give it all up, you get it back”.
The set came to a close with perennial (and personal) favourite “It” but Rich had one last surprise, leaving everyone with a singalong to another fun mashup. But this time not any of his own songs; the tune of “Stand by Me”, accompanied by the lyrics to “All Star”.
And so the set came to a close, with Rich in the middle of the crowd, promising that even though this era is coming to an end, he would definitely be back in a new form, be it his synth show or a brand new experience.
And I can’t wait to see whatever it is.
PHOTOS: Rich Aucoin @ Fox Cabaret - June 01, 2023
Rich Aucoin, with Petra Glynt
at Fox Cabaret
June 01, 2023
An Evening with Dan Mangan @ Fox Cabaret -- February 03, 2023
As much as I want to see musicians that I love get huge, blow up, have lots of success... when they do, there's a small (selfish) part of me that misses seeing them play intimate venues. Which is why it's great when someone like Dan Mangan decides to play somewhere like the Fox Cabaret. Part of a series of acoustic shows, tickets sold out in minutes for this hometown Evening with Dan Mangan.
With Radiohead playing over the speakers, the lights dimmed as Mangan took the stage alone, armed only with his acoustic guitar. Starting off with “Just Know It” from the new album Being Somewhere, and driving back to “Road Regrets” as Dan’s gruff voice filled the room, the night was not only intimate, but a little interactive as well.
He chatted with the crowd between songs, telling stories, and taking requests for the bulk of the set. From the classic wordplay of “Pine for Cedars”, to deep cuts like the frantic “Mouthpiece”, “Unnatural Progression” from his very first release Postcards and Daydreaming, and even his cover of Neutral Milk Hotel's “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”, he hit requests from throughout his oeuvre.
Dan also debuted a new song, a clever tune about vampiric and parasitic people (I'm going to guess called “Vampire”?), with other highlights including the frenetic “Troubled Mind”, the melancholic “In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)”, and “Sold”, with clap-a-long ending that's foolproof against people who may lack rhythm.
After the always-heartwrenching “Basket”, Dan started to draw the set to a close by wading out into the middle of the cabaret with his giant light fixture for a couple of singalongs. First the perennial favourite “Robots”, and finally ending the night as he's been wont to do for the last few years; the collective voices of the entire room supporting him on “So Much for Everyone”.
And that same crowd hung on every note Dan played throughout the night, with virtually no chatter during his songs. I’ve often said that Dan Mangan has a knack for making shows of any size feel intimate, but seeing him play a show like this again, after so many years, was truly something special.
setlist
Just Know It
Cold in the Summer
Road Regrets
Lay Low
Tina's Glorious Comeback
Jeopardy
Mouthpiece
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [Neutral Milk Hotel cover]
Easy
New Song (Vampire?)
Pine for Cedars
Troubled Mind
Unnatural Progression
In Your Corner (For Scott Hutchinson)
Lynchpin
Fire Escape
Sold
Basket
Robots
So Much for Everyone
Skye Wallace @ Fox Cabaret -- November 09, 2022
Skye Wallace made her long-awaited return to Vancouver last night, on the heels of her latest album, Terribly Good. In the midst of a cross-Canada tour, the Toronto singer came back to the city that was once her home, with a stop at the Fox Cabaret.
Unfortunately I missed the first opener, Nonarchy, arriving to the venue part way through Zoey Leven's set. I caught the last bit of her breezy, indie-pop sound on songs like “Closer” and “Gatekeeper”, an upbeat, jangly tune off their 2019 debut EP, Messy. The few songs I heard definitely made me want to keep an ear out for more in the future.
Not long after, Skye Wallace took the stage joined by her band; Devon Lougheed (guitar), Gina Kennedy (keys), Jenna Strautman (bass), and Chris Dimas (drums). She kicked off the hour-long set with a couple of older tunes, the darker "There is a Wall" and the raucous "Mean Song 2" before launching into new material off Terribly Good.
Highlights included "Everything is Fine", the self-convincing anthemic answer when asked how you’re doing; the gritty "Tooth and Nail", which slipped into a fun cover of The Watchmen's 90s hit "Stereo"; and "Keeper", a bittersweet number which she admitted was almost her first love song... until they broke up some time between writing and recording the song.
Part way through the night, Devon and Chris took a break while Skye introduced a song written about Angelina Napolitano, "Swing Batter". With just her playing electric guitar and Geena & Jenna on backing vocals, the song’s intensity, combined with Skye's incredibly powerful voice, sent chills & goosebumps throughout the room.
The set came to a close with the raw "Tear A Piece (Bite Me)" before finishing off with another cover, Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time". But after a moment the band was out for one last song, a favourite of Skye's dad (who was in attendance) "Reaper", an absolute banger which saw Skye hop off the stage and onto the floor to shred on guitar, while a portion of the crowd lost it in a mosh pit (which Skye had half-jokingly requested earlier in the evening).
As Skye Wallace mentioned a couple times during the show, she was incredibly excited to be back onstage, especially back in Vancouver, and especially at the Fox. But even if she hadn’t said anything, that excitement and energy was radiating off stage and through the crowd, for a great night of dark-folk-rock.
setlist
There is a Wall
Mean Song 2
Truth Be Told
The Doubt
Everything is Fine
Phantom Limb
Swing Batter
Keeper
You Left
Coal In Your Window
Tooth and Nail [w/ Stereo by The Watchmen]
Tear A Piece (Bite Me)
If I Could Turn Back Time [Cher cover]
(encore)
Reaper