Dan Mangan + Blacksmith @ Vogue Theatre -- 03/14/15

Not counting a couple festivals and secret shows, it's been a little over two years since the last "proper" theatre show from Dan Mangan in his hometown of Vancouver. Since then he has not only released a new album, Club Meds, but also "re-branded" a little bit. The new album was much more of a collaborative effort with his long time band members -- Gord Grdina, Kenton Loewen, and John Walsh -- and so Dan wanted that to be reflected in the name. And such, the folksy strumming of Dan Mangan has turned into the psychedelic rock of Dan Mangan + Blacksmith. And together with members JP Carter and Tyson Naylor, the band hit the Vogue Theatre to end off their tour with a pair of shows at the Vogue Theatre.


Starting the night was a very short set from Calgary's Astral Swans. Matthew Swann was on stage for about 15 minutes, alone with his guitar (and a bit of a nervous energy) playing songs off his album All My Favourite Singers Are Willie Nelson, which was released on Madic Records, a label Dan started specifically to release this album.
Songs like "You Carry A Sickness" and "Attention", were powered by his haunting voice, and in keeping with the name of his album, he also did a cover of a Willie Nelson song, "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain". It sounding somewhere in between the psych-folk of the rest of his set, and the country twang of Willie.
It was a short but sweet set.


There was almost no changeover time before Hayden came out with his band. Honestly, I never really got into Hayden's music and the only other time I had seen him live was a set at the Vancouver Folk Fest main stage, the bright and sunny beach not really a good setting for the sadder songs he was playing. So I was interested in seeing him play in what was certainly a more suitable venue.

The set was a collection of alt-rock songs, many of which started softer before building to an intense ending, that spanned his career, going back to the 90s. At one point the band took leave for Hayden to play the heartfelt "Bad As They Seem", off his debut album Everything I Long For.
Hayden also went from guitar to take a seat behind the keys for "Bass Song", one of the highlights of the set for me, which built into an absolutely chaotic ending. Other highlights included the set-ending "Dynamite Walls", and "Hollywood Ending", where they were joined by JP Carter on trumpet for a song that broke down a little at the end, finishing with Hayden laughing at some on stage antics -- which they joked about after, the band in very high spirits.
Along those lines, Hayden flashed a dry, self-deprecating humour a few times, certainly most evident when he drolly exclaimed something along the lines of "This could be the best your life gets" before pausing for a moment to reflect, and adding "I fucking hope not"

 But ultimately, while I can certainly respect his talent, the set didn't really do anything to convert me. Still just, not my thing.


And finally, Dan Mangan + Blacksmith arrived to moody lighting and the intro to the first song from Club Meds blasting through the speakers. They kicked right into "Offred" for a set that mostly focused on that album, and their previous Oh, Fortune. In fact, there was only one older song in the main set, and that was when the "new" sound the band had was most evident, during the ending of "Road Regrets" as it soared into a giant finale.

There were also a few opportunities for the members of Blacksmith to shine, as if to hammer the point home that they were a band now, not just Dan solo with some other guys. Guitarist Gord Grdina took over vocals on "A Doll's House", a distorted trumpet solo from JP lead into "Pretty Good Joke", and a phenomenal drum solo from Kenton Loewen brought the house down as it lead into the fierce "Post-War Blues".
But of course, some things didn't change. Dan still told a few stories and jokes -- and playfully bickered with Gord -- throughout the set, and the whole band still had a great stage presence and chemistry together.

Other highlights included my two favourite songs from the new album, "Forgettery" and the fast paced & frantic "Mouthpiece", before the set drew to an end, appropriately enough, with the final song off Club Meds, "New Skies".
There's no way that was going to be all, though, as Dan came back out alone and poked a little fun at the whole tradition of the encore (though also admitting it did feel pretty good). The theatre hushed for an incredible performance of "Basket", perhaps the only song from Nice Nice Very Nice that resembled its original, since it was just Dan on his acoustic, his gruff voice buckling with emotion.

As the rest of the band came back out, they asked the crowd what to play, before setting on "Fair Verona", and a song that Dan admitted they hadn't really been playing on this tour, the fan favourite singalong "Robots" (I assume he would have been run out of town if he didn't at least play it it in Vancouver) which had the whole crowd singing along, naturally, as well as Astral Swans and Hayden -- and at one point Gord's young daughter even joined them on the microphone.
But even that wasn't quite enough, as they played one last song, a completely reworked rendition of "Sold", the frantic song slowed way down to something that more resembled a ballad, as Dan reunited The Granville Street Choir to sing along and draw the night to a close.


It was the end of the tour, hometown show, and everyone was excited to be there; on stage and in the crowd. I've really been liking the new album from the band, and this was really my first chance to witness them really play it live. And it did not disappoint.


setlist
Offred; Vessel; Starts With Them, Ends With Us; Leaves, Trees, Forrest; Post-War Blues; Road Regrets; Pretty Good Joke; Forgettery; A Doll's House; Mouthpiece; Rows of Houses; Kitsch; New Skies.
(encore)
Basket; Fair Verona; Robots; Sold.

Vancouver Folk Music Festival Day One @ Jericho Beach Park -- 07/19/13


For its 36th year, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival took over the shores of Jericho Beach Park to put on one of the biggest festivals around. I missed last year's festival, but the lineup this year was too enticing to pass up. With three days and over sixty artists, there was a lot to take in.

One thing, though, was a new layout to the main stage, which I didn't really like. Almost the entire field was designated as a "sitting area" with tarps and blankets covering the ground, but if you wanted to stand up, dance, or groove to the music, you were pushed off to the sides of the stage, fenced off. I understand why they did it, as I assume the people on the blankets did not want people standing in front of them, but it seemed to punish people who wanted to get up and move.

Anyway, I arrived at the beach just in time for Hannah Georgas to take the main stage. The hometown hero (she may be originally from Newmarket, Ontario, but we have appropriated her for ourselves) had previously been at the festival as part of the Malahat Revue with Aidan Knight, Said the Whale, and Jeremy Fisher, but this year the flame haired singer took the main stage on opening night.
As usual, Hannah was full of energy and had a great presence, starting off with "Waiting Game" building up to "Robotic" and a set of songs focusing mostly on her new, self titled album. Other highlights were a cover of Jesus & Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey" and the incredibly danceable "Shortie". She had a little help from her friend and former touring partner, Kathleen Edwards, for vocals on "Enemies" and the final song of the set, "The Deep End", as they brought the set to a grand ending.
It's always a pleasure seeing Hannah perform, and watching her on the main stage at the folk fest was especially a treat.

Next up after Hannah was Hayden. Even though he's been around for a couple decades I never really got into the Toronto troubadour, and maybe for that reason I didn't really connect with his set. Watching the first few songs, he seemed to have a low energy -- both in his music and his between song banter -- and while his songs were well written, they were a little too slow and melancholy. Perhaps if I stayed longer it would have picked up, but I took the opportunity to explore the festival grounds; the bazaar and vendors, and especially the beer garden and food trucks.

I made it back to the main stage for the "tweener", a short, stripped down set from Aidan Knight. He warmed up the crowd with three songs, including "Margaret Downe", one of the most heartbreaking songs.
Another tweener later on the night was Mo Kenney, whose few songs included "Deja Vu" and the recent SOCAN Songwriting Prize winning "Sucker". I hadn't seen her live before, so it was a nice teaser for her full set later in the weekend.

One of the people I was most looking forward to of the festival was Kathleen Edwards, and she was out next joined by Jim Bryson and Colin Cripps. She kicked things off with "Asking for Flowers", completely capturing the crowd's attention as the sun set over the mountains. Edwards has a phenomenal stage presence and energy, and just owns the stage. Going from her heartbreaking songs to her hilarious stage banter -- at one point stopping mid-song to jokingly tease the guy in front sprawled over five spots -- she had the entire park's attention.
A few highlights of the set included older songs like "Hockey Skates" and "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory", as well as Hannah Georgas returning to the stage to help out with vocals on "Comedian/Chameleon".
Near the end of the set, Bryson took leave for Edwards and Cripps to duet of Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through The Night" after Kathleen told the crowd about their past relationship -- they were married for five years -- and that it was his first show with her again in quite a while.
Sadly, it was then time to wrap it up as they closed out the set with the raw emotion of "Change the Sheets", as Kathleen conducting Jim & Colin to a powerful finish.


That was it for me on the first night, with great sets from Hannah and Kathleen. The next day would start bright and early with workshops from everyone seen today -- Georgas, Edwards, Knight, and Kenney -- as well as a few surprise discoveries, and another big highlight: Whitehorse on the main stage at night.