Henry & The Nightcrawlers with David Vertesi and Redbird @ Biltmore Cabaret -- 03/21/11

Originally, I was not sure if I was going to blog about this show. As you should may know, I was instrumental in the organization of it, bringing the three bands together on one night. I felt that a) blogging about it would be too conflict of interest-y, and 2) during the show I was half watching, and making sure everything was going smoothly. But after a brief twitter-poll, I decided I would, but just focus on the performances. And so, inspired by Henry and his reading poetry in lieu of stage banter, I decided to review all three sets... in haiku.

Redbird
Beautiful voices
And masterful guitar work
They don't have No Game

David Vertesi
David does it all
Shoulder shimmies to heartbreak
He is Broadcasting

Henry & The Nightcrawlers
Some new Nightcrawlers
Henry rocked On A Week Night
Poetry and all.


For all of you that came to the show support my endeavour and, more importantly, Evolution1079... thank you so much. I can't express how much it meant to me.

Hey Marseilles w/ Ruffled Feathers and Henry & The Nightcrawlers @ Biltmore -- 02/10/11

It's always kind of odd going to a show where you are looking forward to the opener more than the headliner. I think for this one, the order of the lineup was the opposite of who I wanted to see most. Henry is always great to see live; after seeing them last month at the Media Club, I was interested in seeing The Ruffled Feathers again; and I had never even heard anything from Hey Marseilles.

Up first was Henry and the Nightcrawlers, and it's always fun to see who Henry has on stage with him. Last night was Tom & Zach from The Zolas, on keys & bass and Andy of We Are The City on the drums. The first few songs of the set were plagued by crackling speakers -- which, in all my time going to the Biltmore, this is only the second time I can remember audio problems -- but they were corrected a few songs in. The pause while fixing was a bit of a momentum killer, but they managed to get that, and the crowds attention, back soon enough, especially with the always incredible ending of "On A Week Night".
Aside from the usual songs off the debut album, there was also a new one which sounded pretty good, and the set closed with an extended ending on "100 Blows", which had each member of the band just go nuts for a great climax.

The Ruffled Feathers were up next, with a wide assortment of instruments, from the slide trumpet to the mandolin. As I mentioned last time I saw them, they are a very fun band to watch live. Not only is the music itself bubbling over with energy, but each and every member looks like they are having a ton of fun on stage. They had a good portion of the crowd up front dancing along, too. Near the end of the set they announced they were going to play their song "Home", followed by a different "Home". Turns out it was Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes (see a decent-quality cellphone video here), and a pretty fun cover, aside from a brief unplugging mishap. They ended the show with one of the members go into the crowd with a megaphone, and all the members lining the front of the stage -- even the drummer, with a snare.
 

Finally was Hey Marseilles. They started off with a maritimey sound, before pretty much channelling The Decemberists. I love The Decemberists, so I still liked the set well enough, but it was almost distracting how much they sounded like them. There was a stage full of people with strings and horns, but most damning of all was the lead singer, who both sounded like, and had the same cadence as, Colin Meloy. Even the lyrics were rather Meloyesque, just without being as verbose.
There were a couple songs, most notably the last of the night, that sounded a bit more like the band was branching out into their own sound -- though still very maritime-folk -- that were quite good, but for the most part, I couldn't get past the heavy influence (to put it nicely) of The Decemberists.

Even with those complaints, though, it was still a fun night of music.

Henry & The Nightcrawlers w/ Zach Gray & David Vertesi @ Billy Bishop Legion -- 11/27/10

Some of Vancouver's finest musicians came together at the Billy Bishop Legion Hall for the Record Release Party of Henry & The Nightcrawler's debut full length, 100 Blows.

The night started out with The Zolas' Zachary Gray playing a solo set. I wasn't actually sure what Tom-less Zolas songs would sound like, but I should have had more faith in Zach, as he was able to pull off the songs with his usual effortlessness. They were different, sure, but they were definitely not weird... or worse.
It was only a short set of half a dozen songs, and mostly Zolas songs, but he threw in a couple songs from his old band, Lotus Child, as well. I am woefully unfamiliar with Lotus Child, so those songs were cool to see. He ended with "Marlaina Kamikaze", which was probably the most different from the original, but also best song of the set. I also finally captured the new(ish) song "Guest" on video, after it getting perpetually stuck in my head every time I see it live. Not great video quality, but the audio is what matters.

setlist:
You're Too Cool, Guest, Coelacanth (LC), Gossip Diet (LC), The Great Collapse, Marlaina Kamikaze.

Second up was David Vertesi, and before he even started, the crowd was singing him a very off key but well meaning rendition of happy birthday. He was joined by David Joseph on bass (or sometimes keytar) playing from his debut solo album, Cardiography. His set was also just a handful of songs, but his smooth voice and charm got the crowd shoulder-shimmying along. Aside from his own songs, part way through the set he called up his Hey Ocean! bandmate Dave Beckingham for some help, only for the three Dave's (all in plaid) to be joined by Ashleigh Ball to play Hey Ocean!'s "Jolene". Another highlight of the set was "Hearts Don't Break, People Do" which, given the lyrics, would be strange to call heartbreaking, but the emotion that poured out from the song was palpable.
At the end of the set, he was surprised on stage by a cake, and another happy birthday singing.

setlist:
Gentlemen Say, Mountainside, Broadcasting, Jolene (HO!), Soft Skin, Hearts Don't Break People Do, All Night, All Night, All Night.

And finally, it was time for Henry & The Nightcrawlers. Tonight, the Nightcrawlers were to be played by Zach G on bass, with We Are The City's Andy & Cayne on drums & keys (respectively). That was the lineup that I last saw them as (making this the first time I've seen Henry play with the same backing band, interestingly enough) and the lineup that just finished a short tour. It was probably both of those factors that helped this be the best set I had seen from the band yet. The way each of them played off each other, both while performing and even stage banter, you could tell (even before Henry admitted it) that the four guys on stage were best friends. They played all of the new album, though not in order, with a couple highlights being "On A Week Night", which had a fantastic build to the ending, and "Amberly" with a slight lyrical adjustment, giving a mention to one Brenda Lee (the blogger, not the singer). 
After a brief mention of Billy Bishop, who the place they were playing in is named after, they played a cover of The Kinks' "Strangers", and "ended" the set with the title track to the album, "100 Blows".
I've always said I like encored better when they are short and consist of something special, either covers or jamming, not just a couple more regular songs -- those should be in the "main" set! -- so I quite enjoyed the one-song encore, which was a cover of Elliott Smith's "Needle In The Hay".

I should be used to it by now, but I never fail to be impressed with the music community that has been built in Vancouver. Tonight was another prime example of musicians from various bands who are willing to come together and support not just their follow musicians, but their friends.

setlist:
The Fight (La Lucha), Daytime Friend, The New Guy, The Fucking, On A Week Night, Amberly, Girl Drinks Red Wine In A Bathtub, Fan The Flames, Strangers [The Kinks cover], 100 Blows.
(encore) Needle In The Hay [Elliott Smith cover]

Young Pacific, Henry & The Nightcrawlers and Guilty About Girls @ The Forum -- 10/14/10

Now this is a pretty cool . 30:Live seems to have the modus operandi of hosting a weekly concert series focusing on local musicians. I am all for things spotlighting the local music scene and bringing bands together... especially when they are bands as good as they had this night.

The night kicked off with Guilty About Girls, a Vancouver pair comprised of two of the members of Pure. With Jordy Birch on Vocals & Guitar and Mark Henning on keys & laptop, they had a bit of an indie-pop-rock sound, with a hint of electronica, giving them somewhat of an 80s vibe. In a good way. Definitely got some people moving. Though they seemed a little stiff on stage. Not much by way of banter, either and there were a few lulls between songs, but in all a good set, and someone I would probably want to catch again. They ended with Candy Candy, with Isabelle Dunlop (I think) coming out of nowhere to help out with the vocals -- seriously, she seemed to just pop out of the crowd, and at first I thought she was just a fan.

Second for the night was Henry & The Nightcrawlers. I realized last night that each time I've seen them play, there has been a different lineup. Of course, Henry has always been Henry Alcock-White, but The Nightcrawlers has consisted of various musicians, usually members of The Zolas or Said The Whale. Tonight they consisted of Zach from The Zolas on bass and Andy & Cayne from We Are The City on drums and keys (respectively). They slid in perfectly with the indie-rock-with-a-side-of-funk sound Henry has, and you never would have guessed they hadn't played together before. Henry also seems to be more comfortable as frontman, and while he's still quiet and maybe a little stoic, there are the occasional moment of dry wit that comes through. He has good chemistry with Zach, too, and more than a couple times in this band, or the Zolas, the two of them have had amusing back & forths. A great set, and really cool to see Andy & Cayne in the band, even if it is just a one-off.

Young Pacific wrapped up the night with their energetic indie pop sound. They were incredibly catchy and really enthusiastic, though there were a couple times a couple times you could tell the band was young (both as a band, and the members). It sounds like an odd criticism, but it seemed like they were playing more to their friends in the crowd than anything, while made for a loose set... though maybe a bit too loose. Other than that minor quibble, the set was quite enjoyable, with the band having a good energy and rapport with the crowd -- though I would be interested to see if they can maintain that with a crowd of strangers. For their "encore" they broke out a cover of "Kids" by MGMT, and did a pretty decent job of it, then they were called back for yet another last song. I can see them being very good with a few years under their collective belts, but they're off to a damn good start so far.

This show in general, and Henry's set in particular, is just more proof for how great Vancouver's current music scene is, and how cool it is to see bands that support and play with their friends, rather than just a bunch of bands that never interact with each other.

Elias (w/ Henry & The Nightcrawlers) @ The Shark Club -- 07/17/10

I know what you're thinking. I was thinking it too. The Shark Club? What the hell? But even though it is an unlikely place for live music, I am all for more venues in Vancouver. And it turned out to be not that bad. The layout was kind of... strange, as it was very much like they just had a stage in the middle of a "sports bar & grill", but the sound was pretty damn good, and that's the most important thing, isn't it? I don't know if I will be clamouring to see any more shows there, but I've been to worse.

First of the night was Henry & The Nightcrawlers. They had a slightly different lineup for the night, as filling in for Zach Gray on the bass was Peter Carruthers (who you may know from Said The Whale). They started the set as the place was still filling up, and at first it was a little... chatty, but as they went through their set, the funk-infused indie rock grabbed peoples attention. Both "On A Week Night" and "100 Blows" had cool extended endings (based on the versions of the songs on the self-titled EP, anyway) and, as I'm sure I mentioned before, "The Fucking" is always a great live song.
Come to think of it, every time seem them it's been opening for someone else, so I can't wait to see their own headlining show.

setlist
The Fight (La Lucha), Daytime Friend, The New Guy, The Fucking, On A Week Night, Amberly, Fan The Flames, 100 Blows.

Next was Run The Red Light, whose LED light towers back-lit them amongst the smoke, creating an interesting atmosphere, as much of the time you could just see then band in silhouette. They had a good stage presence, but not much banter or talk between songs, and while they were certainly not bad, they perhaps lacked variety. Their songs had a kind of ambient, alt-rock sound to them, but a lot of them sounded a little similar, even the cover of Sarah McLachlan's Possession (which, okay, was actually quite awesome). I wouldn't be averse to checking the out again, but wouldn't be in any rush to.

Finally was Elias, who I hadn't actually seen live in quite some time, and I'm not sure why. They didn't have too much stage banter either, but it was easy to tell the band has been doing this for a while. Everything seemed effortless; they had a pretty commanding stage presence and you could feel the emotion dropping from each song. A few times they changed the pace of the set, with lead singer Brian Healy switching from the keys to the guitar, which gave that much more depth to their sound.
They also threw in a cover near the end, Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill, which was pretty darn good. After one other song, they came back for the prerequisite encore -- even though lead singer Healy mentioned he wasn't a fan of them -- and left everyone satisfied. And me wondering why I hadn't taken more chances to see them live.