It seems like fundraising cover nights at the Biltmore are all the rage right now. After a couple of nights in the past few months organised by David Vertesi for SingItFwd, it was JP Maurice's turn, as he presented his Peak Performance Project fundraiser, Cover Up For The Planet, "a celebration of Vancouver's music for Creatively United for the Planet."
With an all star backing band consisting of JP himself as well as Conner John Tkach on guitar, Marcus Abrams on bass, Will Watson on drums, and Owen Connell on keys, they were joined by a bevy of Vancouver musicians covering... well, other Vancouver musicians. Many times, people they were sharing the stage with that very night.
Which I will say off the top, was probably my only "gripe" about the evening. At parts it seemed a little self-indulgent or self-congratulatory (for lack of better terms). It was a very enjoyable night, don't get me wrong, but aside from a few exceptions, a lot of the songs chosen were from within the same "scene". I know JP said on stage it was a celebration of the music community, but I kind of wish they had spread a little further out to the dozens of amazing Vancouver bands.
That being said, it was the first night they were doing this, and especially impressive that the backing band was coming together in a short time to learn that many songs, so I am certainly not holding it against them. That one minor annoyance didn't take away from how fun the night was, and how neat the concept can be.
Click through to see some of my personal highlights from the show, as well as pictures of the whole night from Christine McAvoy:
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