Jeremy Fisher @ Electric Owl -- 02/16/13

It was a busy night in Vancouver last night, concert-wise, but there was only one I had my eye on: Jeremy Fisher at the Electric Owl. It's been a while since Fisher was last in town, and the was the last stop on a short West Coast tour in support of his latest album, Mint Julep.

Vancouver's own Hilary Grist opened the show, but unfortunately I arrived too late, getting to the packed venue moments before Jeremy Fisher took the stage. Armed with just an acoustic guitar, and occasionally a harmonica, Fisher mentioned early on that the setlist was curated from requests taken earlier that day on his Facebook page -- and even a couple songs yelled at him mid-set -- so it consisted of songs new and old, and a few he had rarely played live.

He started with "On My Mind", his most recent single, and went for a little over an hour, playing old hits like "Cigarette" and "Shine A Light", which had the captivated crowd singing and clapping along, and more new songs, like "Tetris Song", a love song that borders between sweet and corny (in a good way).

Other highlights of the set were the ridiculously catchy "Scar That Never Heals" and a "dead bride wedding song", as Jeremy introduced it, called "The Bride is Dead", which is exactly what the title implies. It is a sad & darkly hilarious song, and while it's not yet recorded, I've seen him play it live a few times, and it may be one of my favourite songs of his.

He wrapped up the main set with "High School", eliciting a huge ovation, and came back with time for one more before the curfew; a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" with Hilary Grist helping out on vocals, and the crowd singing along to the "lie la lie" chorus.

Fisher is a fantastic live performer; he talks and jokes with the crowd (sometimes individually) and effortlessly weaves stories into the songs themselves, whether they're directly related to the song or random non-sequiturs. Few artists have that ability to totally engage the crowd like he does -- especially if it's just a guy with a guitar on stage -- and even if it's venue brimming with people, he makes it seem like an intimate show in someone's living room.

setlist
On My Mind, Shine A Little Light, Laissez Faire, Scar That Never Heals, Left Behind, The Bride Is Dead, Remind Me, Cigarette, Ain't Got Nothin' But Plenty Of Time, Built To Last, Tetris Song, Canned Goods, Sula, Lay Down (Ballad Of Rigoberto Alpizar), Lemon Meringue Pie, High School.
(encore) The Boxer [Simon & Garfunkel cover].

Jeremy Fisher w/ Steph Macpherson @ St James Hall -- 04/12/12

Even though I've seen Jeremy Fisher live a few times, I had somehow never seen him play a show of his own; it was always headlining or playing with others (a la the Malahat Revue). So when I heard he was coming back through town to St James Hall -- with a fine opening act, no less -- I was determined to go.

Opening the show was Steph Macpherson for a solo set consisting mostly of songs from her forthcoming album, Bells & Whistles. Mostly it was just Steph and her guitar -- her rich voice and gorgeous folk songs --  but  mid way through, she took a seat at the grad piano for the beautiful "Open Book". Throughout the set, Steph drew the audience in, giving it an intimate feeling by telling stories between songs and wearing the emotion of the lyrics on her sleeve. She also got everyone involved, singing along for the end of "Best Of Us" and clapping to the final song of the set, the upbeat and undeniably catchy "Summer Salute".
The set was short, but very sweet, and made me that much more excited for her upcoming CD release show, with a full band, next month at the Media Club

setlist
Bells & Whistles, Keeping Time, Best of Us, Open Book, Silver Platter, The Verdict, Summer Salute.

Not too long after, Jeremy Fisher hit the stage; just him, his guitar and an assortment of harmonicas. Right away, he created a very relaxed laid back atmosphere, talking and joking with the crowd and weaving stories between, and sometimes even in the middle of, songs. Even when he joked that it was a hard song, or warning us he'd screw up, he seemed absolutely comfortable on stage and made it seem effortless, with a great presence and connection with the audience.
Fisher played for just over an hour, hitting songs old and new, and also paying homage to his influences with a few covers, like when "Scar That Never Heals" segued into "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard". He also made use of the grand piano on stage for a couple songs, "Left Behind" and later for a brand new songs called "The Bride Is Dead", which was about exactly what the title implies, and was hilarious; definitely a highlight of the set. Other favourites included the high energy "Alison", and "Laissez Faire".
Near the end of the set he took requests, playing a few fan favourites, before ending with "High School" and "Fall For Anything", joined by Marcus Takizawa on violin. He was back out for an encore, this time with Vancouver's Adrian Glynn for a couple songs, first a new song by Adrian then ending the night with "Cigarette".

setlsit
Gone [John Hiatt cover], Shine A Little Light, Ain't Got Nothin' But Plenty Of Time, Scar That Never Heals -> Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard [Paul Simon cover], Left Behind, Singing on the Sidewalk, Alison, The Bride is Dead, Jolene, Lay Down (Ballad Of Rigoberto Alpizar), Just Friends, Canned Goods [Greg Brown cover], Laissez Faire, Naked Girl, High School, Fall for Anything. 
(encore) [Adrian Glynn song], Cigarette.

ShoreFest: Wide Mouth Mason & Jeremy Fisher @ English Bay -- 08/03/11

It's that time of year again, time for the Symphony of Fire Celebration of Lights. Which also means it's time for Shore104 to put on their annual ShoreFest. This year they have three stages, one in Vanier Park, one on Kits Beach -- spotlighting the Song Search top 10 -- and the usual stage at English Bay, where the setup was a little different than the last couple years. Two years ago it was on the roof of the bathhouse facing the beach, and last year there was a stage set up on the beach, but this year it was on the bathhouse roof, facing toward the VIP area, so the people on the beach could hear the music, but not see the band. It was a bit of a strange setup, but luckily I was in the prestigious VIP area (where there were also appetizers from The Keg circulating) to catch the bands.

First up was Jeremy Fisher, who I had somehow never seen live on his own, just for the Malahat Revue. He took the stage with just his acoustic guitar (and an assortment of harmonicas) starting off with "Shine A Light" and "Cigarette", playing a good mix of old and new songs. The songs sounded great, and Fisher was also pretty funny, with great banter between songs; playing with the fact that the people on the beach below couldn't really see, like joking that Paul Simon had joined him when he slipped in a cover of "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard". There was another cover near the end of the set, when he mentioned that Prince wanted a ban on people covering his songs, so he had to do this while he still could, playing "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" -- and pausing mid-song to wonder about the lyrical content.

setlist
Shine A Little Light, Cigarette, Ain't Got Nothing but Plenty of Time, Scar That Never Heals (with Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard [Paul Simon cover]), Nothing To Lose, Left Behind, Singing On The Sidewalk, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man [Prince cover], Come Fly Away, High School.

There was only a brief break before Wide Mouth Mason, with their new permanent bassist Gordie Johnson (who you may should know from Grady and Big Sugar). They kicked off the set with "Why", before concentrating on their new album, No Bad Days. I had heard a lot of the songs live at their show back in January, but it was great to hear them again, being more familiar with the album. The funk-infused "Shut Up and Kiss Me" and the bluesy "Sweet Little Thing" were both definite highlights, and it was cool to see how well Johnson meshed with the always awesome Shaun Verreault and Safwan Javed, like they had been playing together for years.
They paused mid-set for the stunt plane that was doing tricks in the bay, and finished off their set with a few more -- including Verreault's amazing guitar playing showcased on "More Of It" -- ending with an old favourite, "Change".

There's one mire night of the fireworks and ShoreFest to go, and on Saturday I plan on checking out the Kits Beach stage which will feature, among others, Steph Macpherson, The Sumner Brothers, and the unveiling of the winner for this year's Song Search.

setlist
Why, Listen Sister, Get A Hold Of You, Go Tell It To The Waterfall, Shut Up And Kiss Me, Sweet Little Thing, Only A Secret If You Keep It, Only The Young Die Good.
Midnight Rain, More Of It, Change.

The Malahat Revue w/ Said The Whale, Hannah Georgas, Aidan Knight & Jeremy Fisher @ CBC Vancouver -- 07/07/10

For a few years now, my "dream show" has been one where three or more related bands join forces on stage to play their own, and each others, songs. That dream was fulfilled last year when Monsters Of Folk (consisting of Yim Yames [My Morning Jacket], Conor Oberst [Bright Eyes] and M. Ward [M. Ward]) did just that superbly. And then it was perfected with this years Bonfire Ball with Jason Collett, Zeus and Bahamas. Of course, since a lot of the bands in Vancouver are so intertwined, it was only a matter of time before they tried something like that. The Malahat Revue sees Said The Whale, Hannah Georgas, Aidan Knight and Jeremy Fisher combine their musical might for an eight show bike tour of Vancouver Island and then back here for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Initially I was disappointed that there would be no Vancouver date other than the VFMF, as I would love to go, but am too monetarily challenged. Luckily, not two days ago, they announced a surprise show in front of the CBC building downtown to kick off the tour. And the best part? It was free!

As it was a free afternoon show, it was somewhat short, lasting about an hour, but they got trough about a dozen songs. Kicking things off with "False Creek Change", they hit at least three from each act. Aidan's "The Sun" was a perfect song to be played on such a nice day, and "The Light Is You" was highly energetic, and had at least a few people dancing. Mostly, though, the [generally younger] crowd was content to bask in the sun and the sounds on the patch of grass. "Camilo (The Magician)" had Hannah joining in on vocals, which was an interesting twist on the song and the set ended absolutely perfectly with Knight's "Jasper".

Seeing as many of them had played together before, I don't think it's any surprise how great they all meshed on stage, and if this is how well they play together at the beginning, I can't imagine how they'll be by the end of the tour. Unless they're too exhausted from all the cycling...
I think now I'm even more jealous of those who will be in attendance at the VFMF, as they will no doubt be playing a longer set, too. But I guess some Malahat Revue is better than none!

In the introduction to the show, the emcee mentioned that the CBC was recording the broadcast to be released online, which will be great for anyone who happened to miss it due to pesky things like work. And I snagged a few videos; the first one at the top being "The Light Is You" and "The National", and the second is the big finale, "Jasper". "False Creek Change", "Let's Talk" and "BC Orienteering" can be seen here.

Malahat Revue setlist:
Flase Creek Change [StW], Let's Talk [HG], BC Orienteering [StW], The Sun [AK], All We Want Is Love [JF], The Deep End [HG], Land's End [AK], Cigarette [JF], The Light Is You [StW], The National [HG], High School [JF], Camilo (The Magician) [StW], Jasper [AK]