The Madic Records House Concerts series is, well, exactly what it sounds like. Dan Mangan's record label, Madic Records, has started curating a series of house shows across the country, with hand picked artists. The likes of Astral Swans, The Crackling, Woodpigeon, and more have all been a part of the tours, and the latest featured Calgary-born, Victoria-based Kirsten Ludwig.
They crowd-sourced locations, and everyone met up at a nice house in the heart of Vancouver, with a living room set up for the show.

Vancouver's Alexandria Maillot started things off, joined by Daniel Baxter also on guitar. The house show setting created a more intimate atmosphere as Alexandria chatted with the crowd throughout the set, between songs off her upcoming album, TIme, as well as a cover from The Civil Wars. Maillot's voice lilted over the pair of guitars, and highlights included the soaring "Sunday Sara" and the bouncy "Time (On Your Own)" -- which is her entry into this year's CBC Searchlight competition.

After a bit of mingling Kirsten Ludwig took the (makeshift) stage, alone with her guitar. Unfortunately, she had come down with laryngitis that morning, which made singing a little... tricky. She tried to adjust her set to compensate, including a Ryan Adams cover, a few brand new songs, and "Cinnamon" off her new album Honest Tracks, a hauntingly beautiful song.
It was a little clear she was frustrated by the turn of events, but took it in stride, telling jokes between songs, and humourously slipped into spoken word mid-song. Had it been any other venue than a house show, I don't think it would have gone as well, but the audience was supportive, and even with the waning voice, the few songs she played were captivating. I hope she is back soon for another show.

Kirsten decided after a few songs that she couldn't continue, and asked Alexandria back up on stage, who finished the night with a couple more songs, including a much-requested Dixie Chicks cover.

Illness aside, it was a nice night of intimate music, and I really hope Madic continues this house show series.

Andrew Whiteman and Ariel Engle made the best of a crappy situation. A day before the scheduled AroarA show at the Electric Owl, the promoter (Sealed With A Kiss) pulled the rug out from under them and "cancelled in a very uncool way. last minute, rude, no style or guts."

But they wouldn't just leave it at that. The couple scrambled to get a house show together, playing in the back yard of people they had never even met before that day. The show was open for all; the only thing they asked was for donations to go towards the PA rental (and the couple dozen people in attendance were more than happy to contribute).

Which meant it ended up being a lot more intimate and memorable than a "normal" show would have been. The gorgeous back yard was flanked with tall trees and torches to give off some light, while the stage was lined with candles at the front, and house lights back-lit the duo. And as Andrew and Ariel are opposite handed, their mirrored silhouettes created a cool visual for the show.

As for the music itself, AroarA's album In The Pines is based on the works of poet Alice Notley, and her book of the same name. The poems "relates the spiritual and visionary experiences of a woman undergoing a cure for Hepatitis C, while being racked by Depression-era visions." With just the two of them and a sampler to fill out the sound, Whiteman and Engle built amazing and intricate music around the poems of Notley, which make up the lyrics.

All of the poems are simply numbered, so the song titles follow suit -- which Whiteman kind of poked fun at, introducing "#10" by joking "When I think of the number ten, I think of..." as he immediately went into the opening. Highlights of the set included #14 and #4, both fantastic songs showcasing Ariel's incredible and powerful voice, and #8 which was the best interplay of their two voices. The songs were rich and funky and dark and soulful; sometimes all at once.

Both are fantastic musicians -- Whiteman previously recorded under Apostle of Hustle, and they both contributed to Broken Social Scene and Feist's live band -- and even in the worst of circumstances, they put on one of the most unique shows I've seen this year. While it was a terrible thing that happened to the band, in a selfish way I am a little glad it did; the backyard AroarA show is not something soon to be forgotten.

setlist
#5
#2
#6
#10
#8
#7
#4
#14
#9
#12
#13

Madic House Concerts with Kirsten Ludwig and Alexandria Maillot -- 04/05/16

AroarA @ House Show -- 09/14/13