Joel Plaskett Emergency w/ David Vertesi @ Vogue -- 04/14/12

Photographs by Leigh Eldridge

Even though he was here for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival last summer, it seemed like it had been forever since the last time Joel Plaskett was in Vancouver, so nothing was going to stop me from missing one of my favourite live acts return to the Vogue Theatre -- and seeing as it was sold out, more than a few people felt the same way.

First up was David Vertesi to warm up the crowd with his deep, smooth voice and heartfelt folk-rock songs. Joined only by Andrew Rasmussen on keys and backup vocals, Vertesi had the crowd into it, from the heartwrenching "Learn To Run" that built to a grand finish, to the shoulder-shimmy-inducing "Broadcasting".
Aside from his solo material, he also hit one of his Hey Ocean! songs "Jolene", and a great cover that's been a staple of his live shows, Spice Girls' "Say You'll Be There", which had a great jazz-piano solo to end it. He wrapped up his set by inviting a surprise guest to the stage, Hannah Georgas to sing on "Mountainside", but not before making sure everyone left the theatre with a copy of his CD, offering it on a "pay-what-you-feel" system, be it money or hugs.

setlist
Gentlemen Say; Soft Skin; Jolene; Caroline! A Ghost!; All Night, All Night, All Night; Learn To Run; Broadcasting; Cardiography; Say You'll Be There [Spice Girls cover]; Epilogue; Mountainside.

Then it was time for Joel Plaskett Emergency, the trio kicking it off with "You're Mine" from the new album, Scrappy Happiness, for a nearly-two-hour set that spanned a good chunk of Joel's career. They came out rocking, right off the bat, with "Tough Love" and "North Star" before the Emergency band took a break for Joel to play a few songs solo, including the heartbreaking "Face of the Earth", and two of his biggest songs, "Nowhere With You" and "Love This Town"; which got a roar of applause when he, a little sheepishly, sang the infamous Kelowna verse unchanged.
Joel started into "Lightning Bolt" and the band came back out mid-song for it to build to a huge ending, and they didn't let up the energy until the end. "Work Out Fine" had everyone singing along, and Joel slipped in a few lines of other songs and played around with the song and on stage, lying down on his back for a verse. There was a huge sing along to "Through & Through & Through" and they brought it to a big finish with "Extraordinary".
But of course, the crowd was hungry for more and Joel was back out after not too long for "You're Mine" -- a nice echo to the first song of the night -- and the band joined him part way through "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'", but not before the entire sold-out audience was clapping along, and capped off the night with "Come On Teacher"
Plaskett is a phenomenal performer and showman; effortlessly charming and funny on stage -- joking about his dancing monkey statues which he had on a foot switch, told stories about his old van, and more -- Joel managed to take a sold-out Vogue Theatre and make it seem much more like an intimate night of music. I don't think there would be many that would disagree with Joel Plaskett being one of Canada's best live acts.

setlist
You're Mine; Deny, Deny, Deny; Tough Love; Waiting To Be Discovered; Heartless, Heartless, Heartless; North Star; Harbour Boys; Let You Down; Love This Town; Face of the Earth; Nowhere With You; Lightning Bolt; Work Out Fine; Through & Through & Through; Maybe We Should Just Go Home; Extraordinary.
(encore) I'm Yours; Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'; Come On Teacher.

Vancouver Folk Music Festival: Day One -- 07/15/11

For the last few years, I have been wanting to go to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, but have just never had the chance. This year changed all that, and it was my first ever trip. I was excited, despite the predicted weather, to take in the whole festival, and especially for a few of the bands playing, including the headliner for the first night.
And since I have three days and dozens of artists to cover, I will try to keep things brief.

Arrived a little after six to find space at the Main Stage, hosted by Lana Gay & Tariq Hussain of CBC Radio 3, in time for Freshlyground, a passionate afrobeat from South Africa. Put on a fun and energetic set, getting most people up and dancing for their final song, "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)", from the 2010 World Cup.

The main stage also had "tweener" acts, which were short, usually acoustic sets to fill the time between main acts. The first tweener I saw was The Burning Hell. With seven members crammed into a small corner of the stage, they played a couple songs and were, as usual, entertaining and funny.

The next main act was Justin Townes Earle, joined only by a stand-up bass. He had a bit of a country twang to his songs, and was an incredible guitar player, using no looping or effects (other than a little reverb), as well as a storyteller, both in his songs and in his stage banter; he had a great personality and stage presence.

CR Avery was the next "tweener", with some slam poetry and harmonica beatboxing (you read that right). Aside from that, he had a couple of more mellow, folk-y songs and ended his short set leading the crowd in a song along.

Next out was Gillian Welch, with David Rawlings backing her up on guitar. She had a really nice voice and both her and Rawlings were great on guitar, which they played for most of the set, but occasionally pulled out the banjo and harmonica a few times; once even for the same song with Welch joking that they are the two most abrasive instruments, and she decided to put them together.
As the set progressed, they got more and more chatty and joked around between songs, and they even came back out for an encore of "I'll Fly Away". She was a great musician, but perhaps a little too country-ish for my tastes, and so her set seemed to go on quite long, but was still quite enjoyable.

The final "tweener" was Imaginary Cities, with Rusty & Marti coming out for a quick acoustic set including the massively infectious "Hummingbird" and a cover of Cake's "Mexico". I hadn’t seen them live before, and this was cool, but just a teaser for their full show tomorrow.

And finally, it was time for Joel Plaskett Emergency. It was almost exactly two years since I had last seen Joel, so I was more than a little excited. The Emergency was pretty minimal, as Joel was just backed by drums & bass, but that didn't mean they were not going to completely rock out.
The set spanned most of the Emergencies catalogue, kicking off with "Come On Teacher", and even included a couple new songs, one called "I’m Yours" and one that he didn't name (but I will dub "Lightning Bolt"), which was absolutely amazing; and mark my words, when it's recorded, it will be his next huge hit. Part way through the set the band stepped out for Joel to do a couple on his own, but came back gradually for  "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'" and the rest of the set.
Throughout the show, Plaskett proved time and again what an amazing performer he is, with great presence and some of the best storytelling, especially on things like "Work Out Fine" where he wove a story of his old cat Whitefang throughout the song.
They "ended" with everyone singing along to "Nowhere With You" and "Extraordinary" before the encore, with a trip back in time to 1999 for Thrush Hermit's "From the Back of the Film", which was an amazing way to end off the night, and the first day of the festival.

setlsit
Come On Teacher, Through & Through & Through, Let Me Down, Maybe We Should Just Go Home, Lightning Bolt [?], Face of the Earth, Light of the Moon, Rollin' Rollin' Rollin', I'm Yours, Natural Disaster, Work Out Fine, Nowhere With You, Extraordinary.
(encore) From the Back of the Film

Stay tuned for day two which has a workshop, more Imaginary Cities, my first time seeing Buck 65 and the insane Elliott BROOD. (Also, better pictures since I remembered the batteries for my actual camera, not just my cell phone snaps)

Joel Plaskett Emergency @ Fusion Festival -- 07/18/09

Despite the fact that it was in Surrey... how could one possibly pass up a free Joel Plaskett Emergency show? (Well, apparently people can, but that's besides the point.) And Said the Whale playing as well??? So, I braved the mean streets of Surrey for what is apparently Canada's largest multicultural festival, the Fusion Festival.


I will admit, the last time I saw Said The Whale live, I was slightly disappointed. I like their radio songs, heard on The Peak and Radio 3, but the show I saw a while back at the Biltmore had two specific drawbacks. Not only did they had the unenviable task of following Karkwa, but I am pretty sure that Karkwa blew out a speaker during their set, so when Said the Whale came on the sound was... not so good. But I was determined to give them a second chance, since I had been told from several people that was not the best representation of their live show. And I am ever so glad I did.
They hit the stage at 7 and only ended up playing for half an hour or so, but damn what a show. High energy and dynamic, they played the favourites as well as some new songs, including one to be on their next album, which featured another Vancouver musician Hannah Georgas on guest vocals. The Magician (Camilo), off their new vinyl EP, was probably my favourite of the set, as it is an insanely catchy song, as well as a great showcase of one of the bands strengths, the harmonies between vocalists/guitarists Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft.
And so, in the end, they won me over. I am sorry for every doubting the fine folks of Said The Whale, and I am now quite excited for the new album in October.

After a short break Barney Bentall & The Grand Cariboo Opry [sic] came on and, well, they sound exactly like their name implies. I don't know too much of Bentall, other than that one song, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the whole set was a little too... Nashville. Not just their sound, but even the way they dressed, everything seemed to come straight out of the Grand Ole Opry. Which, I am sure is what they were going for... They were all fine and capable and excellent musicians, just not quite my speed. To end the set, they had Joel Plaskett come out and sing a song with them, which was pretty cool.

And then shortly after 9, Joel Plaskett Emergency (including Peter Elkas!) came out, and rocked. The fuck. Out. His show a couple months back, for the tour to support Three, was one of my favourite shows this year, but was billed as a solo, Emergency-less show, with just him, his father, and Ana & Rose. That night was a bit more mellow, and this show, with the Emergency, seemed like a fantastic companion to it. With unparallelled enthusiasm and energy, you can really tell how much you can tell he just loves to be on stage. His liveliness, the sheer force he emits just by being there, and not to mention all the little asides and stories he throws into his songs, in the intros, mid song, changing things up and joking around, all go toward showcasing how much of a presence Plaskett has on stage, with a band or without. The set was just more proof how Plaskett is one of this countries the best live acts.
They hit mostly from the Emergency albums, with a few from Three; starting off with the Whitefang version of Work Out Fine, getting everyones psyched, and not letting the energy drop for the next hour and change. Mid way through, half of the band took a break while Plaskett and Elkas did one of my favourites from Three, Rollin Rollin Rollin, then Elkas took a break as well for Joel to do the newly reworked Love This Town (now with 75% less Kelowna-hatred). The band members came back for Nowhere With You, which had many people singing along and A Million Dollars before they ended the "main" set with the fantastic Wishful Thinking, even throwing in a guitar duel mid-song with the amazingly talented Peter Elkas. After only a few minutes they came back out and Plaskett took a seat at the drums for Fashionable People to end the night on an incredible high.

Yet another fantastic show, not that I expected anything less from Mr. Plaskett, and it was nice to see I was wrong about Said The Whale the first time around.